Thank you for reviewing, here's the next chapter.
It's rather short because I decided to give more of my attention to my other story. I've been neglecting it too much. ^^;
Enjoy the chapter. ^^
Kim grabbed Junior's hand and tried searching for an escape route for the both of them. She didn't want to leave Ron by himself, but he seemed to be handling himself against Cell-for the moment at least. She wasn't sure for how long, but with what little time they had, she wanted to aid Yori. The ninja must have gone to retrieve the scroll on her own. Chances were likely that she'd run into L and things wouldn't end well.
The path continued on the other side of the clearing. When the heroine spotted the continuation, she immediately booked for it with the mini chimera holding her hand from behind. She hoped that the bio-android wouldn't notice during his battle with the freckled teen, otherwise his threat might affect not only her, but the entire country of Japan.
Cell blocked all of Ron's attacks, and during one of them, he quickly caught the sight of fiery red hair leaving the site. After seeing the redhead deliberately ignore his threat, he impulsively caught one of the blonde's fist. After getting his fist caught, the teen was caught off guard for a moment. The chimera seized this opportunity and kneed him in the gut, putting his fists together and striking him across his face, sending him crashing into the woods below.
After the boy was temporarily dealt with, Cell lifted an arm, his palm wide open as an orb of ki grew within it. "Don't you dare defy me, Kimberly!"
When the bio-android shouted at her, the heroine ceased in her tracks abruptly, causing her to stumble. Without thinking, she briskly turned back and saw an beam of energy heading their way in a godly speed. Reacting quickly, she took a sharp turn away from where she thought it would hit. Suddenly, she, along with Junior, were sent all the way back to where they originally were. The teen looked around and saw that the orb of ki he sent their direction hadn't hit her and his son, but the path ahead of them. It was now engulfed in flames.
Ron recovered pretty quickly and came right back up in the air, ramming his head into Cell's abdomen when he was momentarily distracted. It caused them both to go flying away from the redhead and the mini chimera.
Kim knelt down immediately, facing Junior with a face mixed with fear and urgency. "Listen Junior, your dad won't let me leave, but I'm pretty sure you can! You've got to go follow Yori and get that scroll. Things don't need to get any worse, so you've got to help her, you hear?!"
The mini chimera just looked at the redhead with a look of puzzlement. He wanted to stay and protect her from his father at all costs-there might've been an issue with the assassin but he didn't want to go. How powerful would she really get if she got her hands on the scroll? He didn't know, but the girl must think Yori might not be able to retrieve the scroll on her own.
"Junior, I'll be-"
The heroine was interrupted by the sounds of trees splintering and crashing. Kim could only assume this was the work of either of Cell or Ron being thrown into the woods. She decided to dismiss it and continue on with that she was saying.
"I'll be fine," she managed to finish. "I know how to deal with your dad, he won't be able to hurt me. You just need to go-right now!"
Junior wondered what she had in mind. She didn't exactly possess great power like his father, and with the way things were going earlier, he might just have his way with her without any trouble at all. That was one outcome he desperately wanted to prevent at all costs.
Kim saw that he wasn't budging and merely gave a small grin. "Hey, look, I get it, I know how it feels to be protective over someone you care about. I mean, I should know, it's literally what I do for a living!" she said with a laugh. "Everything will work out, kiddo, it's no big," she continued in an assuring voice, placing both of her hands on each side of his face. "So not worth the drama, right? I won't get hurt, I know what to do. Besides, you've trusted me all this time, what's so different now?"
The mini chimera just gazed at her with a conflicted expression, but nodded, agreeing to do as he had been told. He wasn't really sure of what she had in mind would work, but since she seemed confident, it would end with good results. If not? Well, it's the effort that matters, right?
The child stretched out both of his arms at the redhead, this gesture causing her to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly. he returning the action. She only wanted him to go Yori so he wouldn't get hurt if he got in his father's way. It was a win-win situation: he wouldn't be around to get harmed, and he would be able to defend Yori if L happened to appear. She just hoped the assassin wasn't too much to handle this time, she was pretty battered from her confrontation with Cell at Global Justice.
After they parted from each other, Junior immediately disappeared into thin air, probably racing towards Yori at incredible speeds. He must want to return to the redhead pretty quickly to protect her from his father. When Kim saw that he was gone, she returned to the current situation at hand.
"If this is all you've got to exhibit, you're wasting my time," Cell remarked disdainfully, effortlessly blocking and dodging the freckled teen's attacks.
"Shut up, you-you monster!" Ron shouted, sending a sheer punch to his alabaster face, to which was met with his palm instead. He could feel the fiend wrapping his fingers around his fist, his grip tightening with each second. The teen grimaced as he struggled to free his fist from the monster's hold.
"It doesn't seem you've got a hold of this power of yours," he mocked at the glowing teen. "Allow me to demonstrate good power control, boy."
Despite Ron's sudden power up due to his slight tapping into his Mystical Monkey Power, the chimera easily landed one devastating blow to the gut with his fist, then delivering few more that seemed to happen instantaneously. He only had to use a little more effort in defeating the freckled teen, nonetheless he still won the short battle with ease.
The wind was knocked out of Ron, and his Mystical Monkey Power had disappeared as soon as it transpired. He began to fall out of the sky before being caught by Cell. The bio-android grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and brought him up to his face. The blonde could already see his smug look of victory. It truly disgusted him to see this fiend's face so close to his, and more so that he couldn't do a single thing about it.
"You should feel lucky, you were far more than I initially expected. I had always thought you were a sniveling, spineless coward who paled in comparison to your lovely friend," the chimera remarked with a smirk, sending a brief glance to the redhead below before continuing. "It did puzzle me for a bit as to why she had such an incompetent partner-excuse me-sidekick by her side. But now I know, you aren't so inept as you make yourself out to be, albeit you do have poor control over your power. If you had better control of it, you would've proven to be a worthy challenger."
Cell then released Ron, watching him fall out of his hand and towards the ground. He turned his attention towards Kim and watched in amusement as she scrambled to catch her boyfriend. This briefly reminded him of when she scrambled to find out what transpired months ago. It was the day he had chosen to save her life rather than watch her get killed by the assassin-to which he was glad he didn't go for the latter.
The redhead managed to catch the blonde, but it caused her to fall back onto her rump. She immediately observed his body to see what kind of injuries he received from the bio-android. She nearly flinched at the sight of already forming contusions on his abdomen. She began to gently pat the teen's face, trying to awake him from his sudden loss of consciousness.
She ceased when she saw him turn his head slightly, his eyes beginning to flutter open. When he fully opened his eyes, he looked right up at the heroine, the sun shining above her and giving her a somewhat angelic appearance.
"Wow," he said in awe, placing a hand on one side of her face. "Am I in heaven?"
"Ron, get it together, you're still alive," came the redhead's terse reply, as she placed her own hand on his. "Can you stand?"
Ron groaned in pain slightly when he tried to move. "Y-yeah, I think so."
"Don't move too fast, you're hurt," she suggested worriedly, as they both stood up, her arm around him for support.
"Come on, KP, it's not that bad. See, I didn't even lose my pants this time."
Kim averted her eyes briefly. "Um, Ron.."
The freckled teen looked down at himself and saw his heart-patterned boxers were displayed quite conspicuously. He gazed around, looking for his pants until he spotted them floating in the air, descending to the ground in a peaceful manner. A louder groan was emitted from his mouth.
"Oh come on!" he shouted indignantly. "Just one time! ONE TIME!"
Cell descended from the sky and landed gracefully in front of the duo. He looked down at them, a chuckle escaping his mouth as he watched how helpless the two truly were. It seemed his son and the other human were no where to be found, but that didn't exactly concern him at the moment.
"It's odd," he began at the two while crossing his arms over his black-plated chest. "I've desired to end you both for quite some time now, but I haven't got a clue on how to do it. It seems you've grown onto me."
"Cell, there's something you need to know," the heroine started, dismissing what the chimera had just said to the two. "You'll be just a victim as we will be if you don't hear me out!"
Cell released a scoff, his magenta orbs darkening a tad. "Is that a threat?"
"No," came the redhead's terse reply. "A warning. This affects both you and us."
The sudden reply piqued the bio-android's interest. "Is that so? Well, don't let me stop you, Kimberly, please, do go on."
Kim decided not to let it show that it bothered her when he used her full name. Instead, she merely replied, "Alright look, you know who L is, right? She's the-"
"She's the insane, lunatic lady who wants to take Kim out!" Ron shouted, interrupting his girlfriend and shooting the chimera a glare. "Other than you."
"Right," the redhead continued, sending her boyfriend a brief, angry look before returning to the chimera. "That's her, so you know who we mean, don't you?"
Cell already knew when the heroine first asked him about the assassin. Ron's disruption wasn't exactly needed to aid him in deciphering who it was, since there was only one person who wanted to take her life. He was an exception, considering he currently had no desire for that-yet.
"Ah, yes, her," he simply responded, an alabaster hand on his chin. "She is like a thorn in my side, that one. Her power pales in comparison to mine, so she is of no threat to me. Is that what you were trying to warn me about? I appreciate your worry, my dear, but she is unable to lay a finger on me."
"I'm not done, there's still more," Kim added seriously. "She's able to take energy from people through touch, but if she gets her hands on a certain something, she'll be able to do it without that limitation."
"Yeah!" the freckled teen exclaimed shortly after. "You might be all high and mighty right now, Cell, but if L gets what she wants, all that energy of yours is as good as gone!"
The chimera scowled. The crime fighters may be lying to him, but if this were true, this assassin might truly be a threat. He might've gotten powerful before thanks to the androids and the biomass of humans by unfair means, but he certainly earned and deserved his newfound power that he gained from his training. He wasn't going to allow a mortal such as L to take all that arduous work away and make it seem like it was done for nothing.
"Now, if I were to believe you, where would that leave you both?" Cell questioned the two, suspicion clear in his voice. "How do I know you've had this planned in case we've encountered one another again? I've already been tricked by one of you." He sent the redhead an accusing look as he said that, and in a bitter tone.
Kim scowled at him. "Hey, I don't have to explain myself, I had my reasons. Besides, this time, we didn't even know you were here, we just used this path to get to that mountain," she replied angrily, pointing to the mountain behind him. "That's where L's headed, and we've got to get there before her!"
Cell narrowed his eyes at her, taking a step forward, leaning forward and towering over the two. "Is that right?"
"It's the truth," the redhead cut in impatiently, also taking a step forward and sending a glare into his eyes. "If you don't believe me, then why don't you come with us and check it out for yourself? If we're wrong, just take us out on the spot! No big, right?"
Ron began sweating bullets. "Uh, KP, I'm outta Mystical Monkey Power juice! I can't exactly protect us from a bargain like this!"
"Ron, you don't gotta! We're not lying or bending the truth!" Kim told him firmly. "Besides, if Cell thinks he's so right, then he can just go see for himself. Then we'll see who's right!"
"If you must insist I accompany you so much, I might as well," the bio-android finally said aloud, silencing the crime fighters at once. "I could even spare the same kindness you've given me back then and quicken the completion of this little task of yours."
Kim grabbed onto her boyfriend and pulled him back slightly, raising a brow simultaneously. "What do you mean?" she asked warily.
A rather perturbing smirk stretched across his alabaster face. His eyes narrowing slightly simultaneously, giving his magenta orbs a more reddish tint. Kim managed to maintain her fearless, outward appearance, only so she wouldn't give the monster any satisfaction of witnessing her lack of confidence. Still, the heroine would be lying to herself if she said she looked right at him without any fear.
"Allow me to show you."
Suddenly, Cell materialized behind them, grabbing the two by their collars and ascending into the air. Ron began fidgeting in his hold while Kim stared down at the ground and watched as everything below got smaller and smaller. She was caught off guard for a moment before realizing what was occurring. She took a gander at the chimera above with a glowering expression.
"Hey, what are you doing?! In case you haven't noticed, we're perfectly capable of getting there ourselves!" she shouted indignantly.
"But this should make things quite quicker, don't you think?" the bio-android asked with a condescending laugh. "You made this situation sound quite dire, I had thought you would want to arrive to your destination before L, am I right?"
"Well, yeah, but it's no big-"
"Silence," he ordered her sternly. "Every word that comes out of that mouth is full of hypocrisy. We depart now."
"WAIT!" Ron practically screamed, flailing his arms in the air in a frantic manner. "M-my pants! MY PANTS!"
Cell shot the teen a puzzled, but disgruntled look. "What?"
"Dude, do you not see that I'm PANTS-LESS?! LOOK!"
Ron furiously gestured to his heart-patterned boxers and his pants lying gently on the ground. The bio-android just noticed that the teen was in his embarrassing boxers. He didn't give much reaction, he merely scoffed and began floating away from the clearing, causing an offended look to appear on the freckled teen's face. He expressed his grievances thereon without stopping, seemingly incessant. It would've been his downfall right then and there if the chimera hadn't tuned him out.
As Trunks headed back to the lookout, he felt a sudden rise in energy. He couldn't tell who it belonged to, since he could only recognize the Z-warriors, Cell, and L. He ceased flying in the air momentarily. Soon, he could feel multiple energies near the lookout. It seemed passive, which meant Goku and the others must have gathered there while he was gone. The other energy, however, was the opposite. It was like someone was preparing for a battle of some sort.
"Weird, I don't recognize it, but it feels like.. like I've encountered it before," he mused to himself.
The energy was now fluctuating, indicating battle. It didn't seem like there was another being fighting against it. He could only sense one energy rise in that particular area. It wasn't until he realized it came from the direction in which he dropped off Kim, Ron, and Junior. Were they in trouble? Who were they up against?
Then, there was a rather small rise in energy, but it wasn't like the one he felt before. It hit him like a sack of bricks the moment he sensed it. It was Cell.
He couldn't believe it. He dropped off the very people who tried to get away from him. The time traveler couldn't believe he literally placed them where Cell was. It was like they were some kind of.. some kind of Cell magnets!
"God.. this has to be a coincidence," he grumbled to himself, rocketing away from his original destination and right for Yamanouchi.
Yori had already begin climbing the mountain in which the temple was embedded in. She didn't really like the idea of doing it alone, mostly because she had left everyone else somewhere incredibly dangerous. She hoped they were handling themselves, otherwise she'd be guilty for abandoning them.
When she cast her eyes above, she noticed she was a long way from making it to her destination. But she wouldn't let that put her down. With just enough perseverance she continued climbing the mountain. Albeit the weather had other plans.
Clouds scattered and it seemed to have made the blue sky unobstructed, especially the sun. Its hot rays beating down the ninja's back. She really hadn't expected this to be an issue when she started her mission.
Then, like a miracle, a shadow enveloped her being. Yori released a sigh of relief, but noticed there still wasn't a single cloud in the sky. She froze on the spot and reluctantly turned her head around. Once more, she let out another sigh of relief.
It was Junior. He seemed to come to her aid. But her eyes widened slightly when she noticed he was floating in the air. The redhead did say he wasn't human, so the ninja just dismissed any further thoughts and decided to speak to the small child.
"Oh hello, you must be Miss Possible's little friend," she started at him. "She spoke of your name, but I am afraid I do not remember."
The mini chimera gestured to himself. "Junior," he said, then repeating it slowly for the human to understand. "Joo-nee-er."
"Oh, very well, Junior," Yori repeated, then letting out a giggle. "It is funny, I just noticed you look very much like this Cell that Stoppable-san was speaking to me about."
Junior grimaced slightly. He didn't really like talking or thinking about his father, much being compared to him. He used to look up to him and do what he says because he hadn't had a clue about his true nature, but now that he had, all he really wanted was to avoid him-at all costs.
"I do wonder," the ninja mused to herself, before moving her coal orbs back to the mini bio-android. "Can you bring me up there?" she asked, pointing at her destination above.
The child looked up and nodded. It didn't seem that far anyway, it seemed simple enough. With that in mind, he gently grabbed the collar of her shirt and lifted her up and off the mountain. He ascended quickly, but not too much that it'd be an uncomfortable flight for the ninja. Yori saw the entrance to the temple and said to stop immediately. He complied acquiescently and ceased in the air, planting the girl in front of the entrance.
"Thank you," Yori said gratefully, giving Junior a bow, whom only gazed at her in confusion, mostly because he didn't recognize the gesture.
The ninja and the mini bio-android gazed at the their destination. There was a gate in front of the temple. It resembled much like a torii gate in front of a Shinto shrine. There seemed to be a sculpture of a dragon running across the top, and the temple, or rather, the shrine itself seemed to be the opening of a dragon's mouth.
"This scroll has remained untouched for centuries," the teen began to say. "Sensei has said this scroll can amplify a certain ability, an ability which only the headmaster of Yamanouchi should have. Let us hope it has still remained untouched all these years."
Yori started to move forward, signifying the mini chimera to follow. He complied and strolled with her as they passed through the gate and eventually entered the mouth of the dragon. When they were inside, they saw how large the actual shrine was. It was incredibly hollow and dark, looking a lot like the insides of a cave. Nothing was there but what seemed like a holder for the scroll at the very center of the ancient shrine. There was a light pouring down from a hole in the ceiling, peculiarly shining on the parchment.
A smile spread across the ninja's face. "Yes, it is still there! Let us go get it and keep it away from L!" The girl immediately sprinted right for the scroll, but then there was a sudden absence of ground for her to go across. She let out a yelp and fell right into what looked like an abyss.
Junior let out a small gasp at her abrupt departure. He reacted briskly and dived into the bottomless pit, speeding to Yori and catching up fairly quickly. He grabbed her collar and ascended back up to where they were at, gently placing her down on the ground. The ninja's eyes were broadened, but they returned to their normal size when she regained her composure.
"Thank you, again," said the teen, breathing in deeply. "It seems this isn't a path for someone like me." The girl began to ponder until she saw Junior floating at her side. A lightbulb popped right on top of her head. "Yes! How can I not see until now? You are the answer!"
"Answer?" he asked.
"Yes, you can go across with no problem!"
"No problem?" a rich voice asked out. "But of course, he has inherited my powers."
Yori whipped her head back, her eyes widening at the sight. Junior did the same and saw his father standing at the entrance, with Kim and Ron in front of him. The both were looking down at the ground when they came in, but when Yori and Junior came into view, their expressions altered instantly.
"Junior!" the redhead called out, her face filled with relief, mostly because it looked like he hadn't encountered L or any other danger.
"Yori!" Ron shouted, moving forward abruptly before collapsing.
Kim caught her boyfriend and helped him stay up. "Ron, don't move like that, you're still hurt, you know!"
"Sorry, guess I got too excited," he said apologetically.
"That is what occurs when you are too weak," Cell added disdainfully, causing the heroine to look back with a glare.
"Stoppable-san is not weak!" Yori suddenly yelled, an angry expression on her face as she came to the blonde. "He is the most resilient and courageous person I know! He had saved Yamanouchi numerous times!"
The bio-android let out a short laugh. "Resilient? Don't make me laugh. Courageous? Maybe so, seeing how stupidly impulsive he reacted earlier."
"Cell, quit badmouthing Ron and look around you!" Kim yelled angrily, placing herself in front of Ron. "We brought you to our proof. Don't you see what this is?"
He gazed around and noticed the same features which Yori and Junior had observed. The scroll especially placed in the center of the shrine. He then focused on the abyss, an obstacle which had made it impossible for someone who did not possess the ability of flight to go across. That was, until he met a certain someone.
"Then, what are you waiting for?" the chimera asked with a smirk, already expecting failure as a result. "Go and fetch that very important parchment. You said this situation was quite dire after all."
Junior scowled and moved forward for the scroll, but ceased abruptly when he heard his father's voice directed at him.
"Don't grant them any compassion, this is their problem to fix, not ours," Cell told his son sternly. "Besides, I think it will be rather entertaining to watch them try."
The mini chimera was about to blatantly disobey his father and go forward anyway, but then he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He turned back and saw the heroine right behind him, with a look that told him it wasn't worth it.
"Junior, this isn't the first time I've done this," Kim said with a smile. "I know I can't fly, shoot things out of my hands, move mountains or whatever, but I can certainly manage this. Trust me when I say I'm not completely helpless."
The child frowned slightly, but eventually nodded. The heroine gave him a pat on the back and then turned to the situation at hand. The distance between them and the scroll was pretty lengthy, she wasn't sure if she could make it over, but she had no choice but to try. She was Kim Possible after all, she was known to do the impossible. With that in mind, she began walking back out the entrance, making her way past the bio-android without a look back.
Cell crossed his arms over his black-plated chest and gazed back at the heroine, an amused expression on his alabaster face as he let out a short laugh. "Is there something wrong, Kimberly? Don't tell me you've given up already. You are truly a-"
Suddenly, Kim bolted right past him, causing him to cease speaking in mid sentence. She went right past everyone, and with as much strength as she could muster, she leaped as far as she could to the nearest wall of the shrine. The heroine flipped once to put her feet out in front of her. She ended up landing on the wall with them, pushing against it as hard as she could and jumping back, aiming for the ground which had the holder containing the scroll. Flipping again, she landed her feet on her desired location smoothly.
"Kim Possible did it!" Yori exclaimed. "She made it to the scroll!"
"Boo-yah! Go KP!" Ron shouted, throwing a fist in the air before clutching his gut in pain.
"Stoppable-san, you should be careful, you are injured, correct?" the ninja asked, briefly worried.
"Yeah, yeah, I am, but I'm good," he replied with a passive swipe of his hand. "But-there's a little something that'll make me even better."
Ron turned back and got a good look of Cell's face. He seemed fairly surprised that the heroine took the risk, more so that she actually completed this so-called impossible task. His amused expression seemed to have been wiped clean off his alabaster face, with an indifferent look in place.
Kim immediately grabbed a hold of the scroll, careful not to open it by accident. She turned back and returned to where everyone was the same way she made it to the sacred parchment. She was immediately met with a hug by everyone-except Cell of course-by which she returned without hesitation. When they all parted, she turned to the ninja.
"Here you go, Yori," Kim said as she held out the scroll. "Now all we really have to do now is keep that away from L."
"Yes, thank you very much for your help," Yori said gratefully, grabbing the scroll and giving her one bow.
"So, about this being entertaining?" Ron asked the chimera with a smirk.
Cell didn't take too kindly to the blonde's question and frowned. "Perhaps I assumed too quickly about the limit to her abilities," he said, then turning to the redhead. "It seems you are more capable than I had initially thought."
Kim decided to interpret what he said as a veiled compliment, like the ones Bonnie and Shego sometimes gave. That was, until he continued.
"But let us not forget you are human," he added, his eyes darkening a tad. "And humans are weak."
The redhead glowered, a glare already being sent his way.
"Ugh, let's just go," she said in a frustrated manner, trying to dismiss what he added about her race as she just made her way out the shrine.
We got to see a little more interaction between Cell and everyone because honestly I've been thinking that's what this story's been lacking.
I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review if you enjoyed. I appreciate ALL reviews! (As long as they are within critiquing boundaries of course.)
If you have an issue with the story, please state it and I'll revise if necessary.