A/N: I posted a picture of Majin Kameko on my DeviantART page. Go to my profile for a link!
Chapter 36: Memories of Tomorrow
"Come on, Buu, it's your turn," Hercule said, motioning to the checkerboard between them. "Hey, is something wrong?"
The creature just silently stared out the window, his playful grin replaced by a serious expression.
"Something wrong. Buu not know what, but Buu know it's bad. Bee sense it too."
Hercule looked at the puppy, who was growling with his ears flat in his neck. The Champion closed his eyes and concentrated, just like his daughter had taught him. Suddenly he felt a strangely familiar, but malicious ki heading right for them. He ran outside and scanned the sky, Buu and Bee following behind.
"Buu, your eyes are better than mine. See anything yet?"
"Buu seeing red-haired girl, but Buu sensing Babidi."
"Babidi?!" Hercule protested. "But you killed him!"
"Like Buu said, Babidi know many tricks. Buu thinks Hercule should hide. Red-haired girl much stronger now."
Before the Champion could react, Kameko touched down in front of them, flashing a sadistic grin. Hercule felt all blood drain from his face when he saw the Majin seal on her forehead, remembering all too well the horror that had been Majin Vegeta.
"Snap out of it, turtle girl!" he yelled, sounding a lot more confident than he really felt. "I usually don't hit women, but I'll fight you if I have to!"
Kameko's grin only grew wider, a black aura crackling around her.
("You took away my body, Majin Buu,") Babidi's voice cackled. ("And now I will take something dear of yours!")
The possessed girl dashed at Mr. Satan, who's eyes grew big as dinner plates.
"M-M-MOMMY!!!" Hercule yelped, dropping to the ground and curling up into a ball. He closed his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable, but at the last moment, he was saved by a well-aimed Namekian kick.
"T-Thanks, Piccolo," he gulped. "That was way too close."
"Get out of here, Satan, she wants you!" he barked, eyeing Kameko who was already getting up.
"What?! Why me?! What did I do?!" the Champion panicked.
"Buu likes you and the wizard wants revenge, so I think it's safe to say you rank pretty high on his hitlist."
"Oh, crud…"
("Ahahaha!!! No one escapes the wrath of Babidi! NO ONE!!!")
With a mad cackle, Kameko one again charged at the terrified Champion. He flew away with Bee in his arms, but his speed was still nowhere near his own daughter's, let alone the daughter of the Turtle Hermit. With lightning swiftness she appeared in front of them, sending both man and puppy crashing into Buu's makeshift house.
"Hey, leave my dad alone!" Videl yelled, charging at the possessed woman. She too was quickly swatted aside, no match for the regular Kameko and certainly not for the Majin version.
"Everyone attack at once!" Vegeta yelled, going SuperSaiyan. "That brat is fast, but there is no way she can dodge all of us!!!"
The Prince charged, the others following close behind. Yamcha and Videl attacked with a double Wolf Fang Fist, but both of them were quickly smashed into the ground. Kameko whirled around just in time to dodge Tien's Dodonpa, causing it to collide with Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon and Krillin's Destructo Disk. The attacks exploded on impact, the three warriors getting caught in the blast. Shin tried to trap her with his telekinesis, but Babidi's magic thwarted all his efforts, rendering him utterly powerless.
"All you clowns get out of the way!" Vegeta roared, his muscles growing to almost twice their original size. "Hehehe… let's see her dodge this one!!"
"Father, no! You'll kill her!!!" Trunks yelled.
"This is no time for weak heartedness, boy!" the Prince barked. "Trust me, I'm doing the girl a favor. Even death is better than remaining under that little rodent's control and we can always wish her back with the dragon balls!"
He brought his palms together, the Earth itself quaking with power.
"Duck and cover!!!" Krillin yelled as Vegeta began to glow so brightly he looked like a second sun.
"FINAL FLASH!!!" the Saiyan roared, releasing all of his ki at once. Had Vegeta's aim been off only by a few degrees, Earth itself would have been completely destroyed.
"Kami!" Tien breathed. "I have never seen such a huge attack! There is no way she could have gotten around… VEGETA! BEHIND YOU!!!"
Before he could even react, a black booted foot kicked the Prince in the head, sending him crashing into the rocky cliffs that surrounded the area.
"She dodged it?!" Yamcha yelped. "How on Earth could anyone have dodged that thing?!"
"Cell could have evaded that," Sixteen warned. "And as my calculations have showed earlier, Kameko is now almost his equal in both strength and speed. Retreat is highly recommended!"
"It's no use!" Shin growled. "After she's finished off Hercule, Babidi will send her after us next. There is no escape!" He fell to his knees, pounding his fists on the ground. "It's my fault, I should have known this was going to happen again! Pan was right, why didn't I listen…"
"Again?" Piccolo asked, and the deity nodded grimly.
"In my timeline, we could not stop Babidi the first time he tried to possess her. She went mad, tried to kill us all and was eventually taken out by myself. We had no choice…"
"Do it again then!" The Namek snapped. "Vegeta is right, death is far kinder than living as Babidi's slave. Don't hold back, we can ask Shenlong to revive her!"
"She wasn't as strong then as she is now!" Shin protested. "Babidi greatly amps up the power of his victims, and the Majin Kameko from my timeline hadn't entered the chamber yet. I could barely handle her then, and I'm certainly no match for her now! Not as long as the wizards blocks my magic!"
Suddenly an insulted yell sounded throughout the plains. Taking the girl completely by surprise, Chiaotzu had latched onto her body, holding her face in an iron grip.
("What is this?! What do you think you're doing you little runt?! Get your grubby hands off my servant!")
("I don't think so, Babidi,") the psychic Emperor glared back, his eyes glowing blue. ("Now leave Kameko's soul, or I'll drag you out!!!")
"Alright, Chiaotzu!" Tien shouted, grinning confidently. "Kick that creep on the curb!"
Kameko trashed and screamed, Babidi's voice echoing through her own. The clown like figure gritted his teeth, locked in a mental battle unlike any he had waged before.
("Kameko!") he tried to reach her soul. ("Kameko, I can't do this alone! You need to fight him! Break free!!!")
A vision entered his mind. He could see countless doors floating in a black void, each of them hiding a different memory. Somewhere in the depth of her being, thousands of icy spikes were shooting up and clustering together to form a frozen mountain that grew larger with each passing second. And trapped inside that translucent prison was a small, naked figure, her eyes closed and her body curled up in a fetal position.
("Kameko!") The Emperor called out before he was expelled from her mind, his body slammed into the ground by a vicious kick.
"Chiaotzu!" Tien yelled, grabbing the small clown and leaping out of the way before an ink black ki-blast could pulverize them both.
"I'm sorry Tien," the Emperor groaned. "I couldn't reach her spirit… I wasn't strong enough…"
"It's okay, Chiaotzu, you did all you could."
A large shadow fell over them. Tien growled, protectively holding his weakened friend.
"What do you want?!" he glared at the pink creature. "Come to finish him off while he's down?!"
"You friend of Hercule. That makes you friend of Buu. Hercule says friends help each other."
The antenna on his head began to glow, a pink beam shooting from the tip and bathing the small clown in a warm glow. Within seconds his wounds healed, and Chiaotzu opened his eyes.
"What… what happened?"
"Buu heal you!" The creature chirped happily.
"So wait… does that mean you're on our side?"
The monster nodded eagerly.
"Great!" Tien smirked. "You're the only one strong enough to take down Kameko. Go get her!!!"
"Nuh uh," Buu shook his head. "Red-haired girl is human. Buu stop make humans dead."
"We'll wish her back! It's the only way to free her soul of the Majin seal!"
"Killing for bad guys," the creature protested. "Buu good guy now! Buu promised Hercule Buu kill no more!"
"For the love of…!"
Before Tien could finish his sentence, a gigantic blast send them all flying.
"Dad, run for it!" they heard Videl yell, but it was already too late. Hercule emerged from the rubble of the destroyed house, looking up in time only to see a demonic Kameko launching herself at him with lightning speed.
("Ahahaha!!! Say farewell to your friend, Buu!!!") Babidi cackled. ("DIIIIEEE!!!… OWW!!!")
Just when everyone thought it was over, a green flash appeared on the battlefield and knocked Kameko off course. With a startle cry she was send crashing into a giant crater, not coming out.
"Whoa, Kameko's ki just took a nosedive!" Trunks exclaimed. "But who…?"
His face paled when he saw who was hovering above them.
"Heh…" Shin smiled. "Perhaps hope is not lost after all…"
"But what-?"
"Just watch, Trunks. Have patience and see a new future unfold."
Slowly, with legs that wobbled dangerously under her body, Kameko emerged from the crater. She seemed greatly confused, but only for a second. Suddenly her head shot up, the girl's eyes widening with recognition.
("What are you standing around for?!") Babidi yelled. ("Kill that afro haired clown before he gets away!!!")
His servant didn't seem to listen. Her gaze was glued to the figure floating above her, magenta eyes meeting her own.
"Buu thinks Hercule should go hide now," the pink creature said, but the Champion shook his head, smiling grimly at his friend.
"Sounds tempting, but if that wizard can find me here, he can find me anywhere, and I don't want my daughter's last memory of her father being an image of his back as he cowardly ran for his life. Maybe the fear has finally gone to my head, but if there is a chance I can help out, no matter how small, I think I should stay. I just wish I could get my legs to stop shaking… oh man…"
"… I already thought I sensed something strange about your powerlevel," Cell said, his voice visibly triggering something inside the girl. Kameko's eyes narrowed in a murderous stare, her body trembling with rage. She bared her teeth, clenching her fists until her nails drew blood.
("Ooh, what fun!") Babidi laughed. ("I was hoping you'd show up, android! It seems my servant harbors quite the grudge against you. In fact, I doubt I would have been able to control her without it.")
"You…" Kameko whispered, the first time anyone had heard her speak since the wizard had possessed her. "You… You… You…"
("Oh my, it looks like even in her Majin state, part of her still remembers. How unusual… Oh well, I'll let her have some fun with you after we've dealt with Hercule and my rebellious pet. Go get them, my maiden of darkness! We'll take care of Cell and those other pests later.")
With an inhuman shriek, Kameko attacked. However, her target was not the world Champion or his pink friend…
("What… What are you doing?! You dare defy me?! Forget the android and do as you are told! That is an order!!!")
The girl ignored the wizard completely. Faster than any of the Z-fighters could track, she kicked Cell in the face and send him flying. Before he could regain his balance, she appeared above him and slammed him into the ground with both fists. The girl shot down like a bullet and moved in for the kill, but the android managed to jump out of the way just in time, landing on his feet and assuming a defensive stance. Kameko growled at him, her eyes filled with a cold, silent fury.
"I'll kill you…" she hissed through clenched teeth, tears streaming down her face. "Kill… I'll… I'll kill…"
("Determined, aren't you? Well, I suppose I could let you blow off some steam…") Babidi said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. ("It will make it easier to control you in the long run. Now watch, everyone! Watch what happens to those who dare to oppose me! AHAHAHA!!!")
Kameko lunged at the android again, who barely dodged her attack. He grabbed her arm and flung her into the air, but she regained her composure and formed a Turtle Shell Barrier just in time to block his Death Beam. The two warriors from the future engaged in a heated air battle, exchanging a wild flurry of kicks and punches.
"They both seem about equal in strength and speed… but I'm not sure who to root for," Krillin said. "If Cell wins, the Earth is done for. But if Kameko wins… same story. Either way, we're toast!"
"Love," Shin grinned. "You should root for love."
"What?!" he blinked. "That's about the last thing I expected you to say."
"Yes… that is why my timeline has been destroyed. Kameko was the first to die, and Cell followed soon after. He could have defeated Babidi and Buu, but he was unable to tap into his full power and lost. It took me a long time to realize why it had happened, and an even longer time to accept it."
The deity sighed, lowering his head.
"The Kai have always frowned upon love. It was utterly distracting and made mortals do the most impulsive and foolish things. It was an unstable emotion that, to acquire the divine serenity needed to rule the universe, had to be banned from our hearts. And so we did, not knowing that by giving up on love, we gave up on the key to our true potential. It wasn't until Earth was destroyed… until I adopted Pan as my own child… that I witnessed the raw power gained by fighting for someone other than yourself. I just wish it didn't have to come at the price of my dear Kibito's life…"
"Your servant," Piccolo said grimly. "Kami remembers his name."
"Yes," Shin nodded. "He helped me raise young Pan, even taught her how to heal. Buu killed him when she was only ten years old, but she put up a much better fight than I did. She loved him as much as she loves me, and did everything in her power to defend him. Never had I seen her fight so fiercely, so passionately as I did then. Unfortunately our brave daughter was no match for the monster, but when Kibito was killed… when even his soul was destroyed by that foul creature… I saw with my own eyes what the pain of loss could unleash. Pan, at only ten years old, transformed into a Super Saiyan for the first time, her power soaring to heights I thought no mortal would ever be able to claim."
Shin smiled wryly, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Even then her strength wasn't enough to faze the monster, but I had seen it. I had seen what this forbidden emotion called 'love' could do. And I knew then, that it was not cold, calculated Kaioshin logic that would save this timeline from complete destruction."
"You're crazy!" Trunks exclaimed, his jaw dropping. "This was your big plan!? To act like a celestial dating service and set the two of them up, hoping that Cell will learn to fight for someone other than himself?!"
"Kameko already loved him, long before she left for this timeline. I merely set the conditions for Cell's heart to open itself up as well. It will motivate him to tap into his full power, work with you rather than beside you, and give us the edge needed to finally destroy Babidi once and for all."
"Cell is evil incarnated! He cares for no one but himself! What makes you think he can change?!"
"Why don't you ask Piccolo?"
"Oh no, you leave me out of this," the Namek sweatdropped, visibly uncomfortable. "I'm asexual. I don't understand that kind of love, I'll never understand it… I don't even want to understand it."
"You know… I'm willing to buy that Kameko has a crush on that creep," Yamcha mused. "After all, if someone on this planet is willing to date Vegeta, then even a villain like Cell should be able to score with the ladies."
"I HEARD THAT, EARTHLING!!!"
"But the question is… does Cell love her back?" Tien frowned, ignoring Yamcha's panicked cries for mercy as a certain Saiyan prince advanced on his position. "Does an android even know what love is?!"
"I hope so…" Krillin murmured, his mind returning to the beautiful, but deadly Eighteen. "Kami, I hope so…"
"Come back…" Kameko whispered angrily, visibly struggling to speak. "Why… you come back… why?"
"I'm… I'm not sure myself."
"AAAAAAIIIEEEEEE!!!"
With a screech that cut straight through his soul, she unleashed another furious barrage of attacks.
"Doubt!" she screamed, grabbing her head and pulling at her hair. "No more doubt!!! You give hope! You crush it again! Heal me, hurt me! Jekyll and Hyde! Friendly and default! NO MORE!!!"
Kameko's eyes glowed bright red, her entire body crackling with energy.
"I DON'T CARE IF I LIVE OR DIE! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!!! THIS ENDS NOW!!!"
"Oh crap… she's gonna fry us! She's gonna fry us!!!" Krillin panicked, flailing his arms. "Goodbye, cruel world!!!"
Laughing madly but with tears still streaming down her face, Kameko rose up into the sky, cupping her hands into a familiar stance.
"KA… ME…"
"Do you guys sense the ki in that thing?!" Yamcha exclaimed. "If Babidi has amped up her power as much as I think he has, it will easily destroy half the planet! We have to stop her!!!"
"HA…"
"But there's nothing we can do!" Piccolo growled. "She's gone completely berserk! Even if we somehow scrape enough energy together to block that thing, she'll just fire another! It's hopeless!!!"
"ME…"
"Okay Buu, forget what I said about not fighting," Hercule yelped. "Take her down!!!"
"HAAA!!!… AH?!"
It all happened in a flash. Kameko extended her arms, about to fire the deadly attack, when Cell suddenly flew up and pressed his lips against her own. Their eyes met, the mental link between them opened, and both their worlds faded to black…
The android groggily opened his eyes, his head feeling strangely light. Where was he…? What was this place?
He looked around, at first seeing nothing but darkness. Then he spotted it; a door floating in the desolate void. Then he spotted another. And another. And another. Thousands of doors, with no clue as to where they led. Curiosity winning it from hesitation, Cell reached for a white one, covered in pink hearts and childish crayon drawings. Suddenly his vision began to swim again and he could feel himself being pulled inside the world behind the door. When his sight returned, he found himself in an empty room, staring into a pair of mischievous brown eyes.
"Hi, mister," the red-haired girl, no older than five, chirped happily. "What's your name?"
"My name is Cell," he heard himself rasp in his imperfect voice. What in Kami's name was going on?! "I'm a simulation created by Miss Bulma."
"My name's Kameko," she smiled at him. "Let's play sometime!"