Chapter 35: Maiden of Darkness
Kameko flew through the night sky, the world below only illuminated by the faint glow of the stars. There were no streetlights, most of Earth's cities having been destroyed by Majin Buu. In the distance she could see the white platform looming, a small silhouette standing in the middle.
"I thought I'd find you here," she said, touching down on the stone tiles of the Cell Games arena. Well… what was left of it after Goku's and Majin Vegeta's fight, that was. The figure didn't react, his arms folded and his back still towards her.
"Why did you leave?"
No answer.
"Why am I still alive?"
No answer.
"I think I might be pregnant."
That got a reaction. The android spun around, almost tripping over his own feet.
"Just kidding," Kameko said dryly as he opened his mouth to speak. "But now that I finally have your attention…"
"You are a crude and vulgar woman," Cell glared.
"And you're an arrogant, indecisive ass," she glared back. "Care to tell me what's going inside that so-called perfect head of yours?"
"You are pushing your luck, girl. I thought even you would be smarter than that," he scoffed. "I still don't know what compelled me to let you live, but I suggest you take your winnings and leave before I change my mind."
"There used to be days that survival alone was enough for me. But it isn't anymore. Hasn't been for a long time."
"What is it you're after then, that is worth risking your life?"
"If you don't know by now, then there is no use in telling you."
"Are you saying my superior mind is incapable of understanding?"
"I am saying it would be like teaching quantum physics to a woodpecker."
"Try," he narrowed his eyes. "Or I will kill you on this very spot."
"The fact that you're trying to scare me into explaining, only proves my point," Kameko snapped, meeting his icy stare. "Do you think I don't wish you understood!? Dear Kami! What I wouldn't give for you to feel what I feel!"
"Then explain to me this," he growled dangerously, clenching his chalk white fists so tightly his nails drew blood. "What have you done to me?! I don't know what kind of trick this is, but something stopped me from killing you in the chamber. I had the ki-blast ready, aimed it at your head and then suddenly found myself unable to fire. Me, the ultimate killing machine!"
"How about that," Kameko smiled wryly. "The Big Bad Android has a sense of honor after all."
"Oh, this had nothing to do with not wanting to strike while you were down," Cell said, his voice shaking with hidden rage. "This was something else, something bigger, a feeling my system has yet to properly label. You might be safe for the moment, girl, but make no mistake; I WILL find a way to overcome it. And when I do, when I have rid myself of these disturbing new emotions, I will make sure that your death shall be slow and especially pain-"
The android never got a chance to finish his sentence. Before he could react, Kameko shot forward, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss. Neither of them knew how long it lasted. Seconds, minutes, hours even? With that single, bold move, Kameko had risked it all… and lost everything.
"Can your system label it now?" she asked, almost pleaded. If there was a chance, no matter how slim, no matter how fragile…
"I… I am not certain," Cell said, the doubt in his eyes quickly fading. "But I am certain of one thing: you were right about what you said in the chamber."
"What was that?"
"I do hate you. For how you changed me, for what you made me become."
With that the android took off, leaving the utterly devastated girl behind.
I do hate you.
Her muscles trembled as she fell to her knees, his words repeating themselves over and over again in her head like a broken record.
I do hate you.
Tears began to stream down Kameko's face, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces. His words pierced through her soul, leaving a gaping, black hole behind. The emptiness began to spread like an oil stain, slowly consuming her entire being.
I do hate you.
I do hate you.
I do hate you.
("Make him pay.")
A new voice entered her mind, a calm and comforting one at the surface, but laced with cruelty and malice.
("Make him pay? But how? I'm not strong enough. I was never strong enough…")
("I can give you the strength you need,") the voice soothed, talking to her like a spider to a fly in its web. ("I can give you revenge. He hurt you, Kameko. Don't you want to hurt him back?")
("Yes…")
("Then do it! Let Cell feel every bit of pain you felt!")
("Yes!")
The voice was like a siren's call, unable to ignore or resist. Shadows began to claw at her soul once more, and this time, there was no Pan or Supreme Kai to guide it back to the light.
("Go forth, maiden of darkness! Make him suffer! Make all of them suffer! Go forth in the name of Babidi!!!")
Her body was engulfed in a cloud of black smoke. Her clothes were ripped to shreds, the color draining from them until they were dark as the night itself. Kameko's power soared to mindboggling heights, energy crackling around her as the shredded clothes began to reattach themselves to her body, forming a short, black gothic dress. Wisps of smoke came together to shape her gloves and boots, and on the girl's forehead appeared the Majin symbol, glowing as the last glimmer of light faded from her eyes.
("Ah, excellent,") Babidi said after the tempest died down and her transformation was completed. ("If you're going to be my new maiden of darkness, you had better look the part.")
Kameko did not respond, her soul lulled into an uneasy slumber. Those who met her gaze saw nothing but cold hatred, an icy stare devoid of all life, love and compassion. Without saying a word she broke the elastic band that held her ponytail; the last reminder of their stay in the chamber. She threw the piece of rubber on the platform, incinerating it with a small ki-blast. Kameko stared at it for a moment, smirking a little. Then, with an insane cackle, she fired a much larger attack that destroyed what was left of the arena, and blasted off into the night.
Piccolo's eyes shot open, a sense of dread overwhelming him. Or rather, the Kami side of him. Something terrible had happened on Earth, he could feel it in every fiber of his being. He ran through the Palace, pounding on every door in his way.
"Wake up!" he barked. "Wake up now!!!"
"Sjeesj, Piccolo… where's the fire?" Krillin yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"It's Babidi! He's back! His soul must have escaped from Otherworld somehow!"
"Babidi?" Bulma blinked. "Are you sure?"
"You woke us up for that?" Vegeta scoffed. "You worry too much, Namek. So what if the onis were too stupid to keep an eye on the wizard's spirit? If that wrinkly little troll shows up here, I'll be glad to send him straight back to hell with one single blast. I know how he works, his petty magic tricks are useless against me now."
"You don't understand the graveness of the situation, do you?" Piccolo snapped, balling his fist. "A warrior uses his body, a wizard uses his soul. When they die the loss of their bodies doesn't weaken them; it removes their limitations!"
"Death only makes them stronger," Shin nodded grimly. "Evil creatures of magic are rarely sent to hell, it is far too dangerous. No, their souls are automatically cleansed of evil and reincarnated into new bodies, with all of their memories erased."
"But that's not fair," Videl frowned. "How come magical beings get a second chance at life and normal bad guys get stuck in hell for all eternity?"
"Non-magical villains are given the option to be reborn as well," Shin said. "But most would rather rot away in the bowels of the underworld than lose what they are. They usually change their minds after a few thousand years though, when they realize there is no other way to escape their dead-end existence."
"Too bad Babidi never even made it past the check-in station," Tien growled. "He must have slipped through King Yemma's grasp somehow and now he's back on Earth! We better catch him before he…"
"Hey, you guys!" Oolong asked. "Have any of you seen Kameko?"
"No… but I can sense her," Trunks said, his face ashen. "Kami… her power… it's… it's horrible!"
"It feels like Kameko… but yet it doesn't," Chiaotzu shuddered. "There's something off about it… It feels… evil."
"It's Babidi!" Vegeta yelled. "It's faint, but I know that's his energy mixed with hers! I would recognize that ki-signature in my sleep!"
"They're heading this way!" Krillin panicked. "Babidi must have read her mind! He knows we're here!!!"
"My sensors are detecting an abnormal increase in Kameko's power," Sixteen warned. "Her ki is now almost equal to Cell's before he entered the chamber… and it's still going up!"
"WHAT?!"
"There she is!!!" Videl shouted, and their heads all turned to the dark figure that touched down on the Lookout.
"Just as I thought, she's wearing the Majin seal!" the Prince growled. "Dammit Babidi, you wrinkly little troll! Stop cowering behind that brat's body and face me! I have a bone to pick with you!"
("I don't think so, Vegeta,") they heard the wizard's voice chuckle, black energy crackling around Kameko's form. ("I like it here just fine. She'll make a much better servant than you did, Saiyans are always so annoyingly stubborn…")
"Kameko, fight it!" Master Roshi yelled. "Don't let that creep control you!!!"
"Yeah! Shake it off or… or I'll donate all of your dirty magazines to the homeless!" Oolong shouted. "Don't think I won't do it!!!"
Kameko seemed to doubt, as if something deep down inside of her still recognized the shapeshifter. However, her hesitation quickly vanished and she narrowed her eyes, flying into the air while her power rapidly rose.
"Crap, she's gonna attack! EVERYONE HIT THE DIRT!!!" Krillin yelped as Kameko silently raised her hand, forming the beginning of a pitch-black Tortoise Tornado above their heads. The sphere grew larger and larger until it was almost the size of the Lookout itself.
"If that thing explodes into smaller blasts, there is no way we can block all of them," Yamcha gritted his teeth. "The Lookout will be destroyed, along with the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Goku and the others will be trapped inside forever!!!"
"Kameko, over here!!!" Piccolo yelled, disappearing and reappearing behind Oolong, wrapping an arm around the unsuspecting shapeshifter.
"Hey!!! What's the big idea?!" the pig yelped when the nails of the Namek's free hand grew longer, threatening to pierce his neck.
"Don't even think about firing that attack, or your little friend gets it!"
"I knew it! I KNEW IT!!!" Oolong shrieked, helplessly failing his limbs. "The whole mentoring Gohan thing and helping Goku fight the Saiyans was just a facade, wasn't it?! You still plan on taking over the world!!! Piccolo the Demon King has returned!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Calm down, you hysteric pig!" the Namek hissed in his ear. "We need to draw Kameko away from the Lookout, and a small part of her still seems to remember you. Now play along and stop screaming, or I really will snap your neck!"
Oolong nodded bleakly, clamping his hands over his mouth to muffle his own panicked cries.
("What are you waiting for?!") Babidi yelled. ("Kill them! Kill them all!!!")
The girl didn't listen, still hovering above their heads with her hand holding up the attack and her gaze fixated on the shapeshifter. It was as if she was frozen in time, her soul's protests growing louder with each passing second. Babidi seemed to realize the danger of the situation they were in, and quickly gave into her rebellious spirit's demands.
("Fine then, don't destroy the stupid platform,") he snapped, placating her soul so it would return to sleep. ("We'll just fight on your precious planet instead. Follow me, children! Or should I let my new maiden of darkness have a little fun with what's left of the human race instead?")
The corners of Kameko's mouth curled up in a wicked grin, before she suddenly turned around and blasted off in a direct course for Earth. However, she wasn't flying straight down. It was almost as if the girl was headed for a specific target, one that felt awfully familiar…
"Someone stop her!" Videl suddenly screamed. "She's going after my dad!!!"
A/N: Uh oh. Cell and his pride really blew it this time, didn't they? Could this really be the end for our mismatched couple?
… Oh, come on. You know me better than that ;)