"You are two-hundred and thirty-four years from your destination. Please obey all posted traffic laws. Thank you."
"Ugh!"
Cell flung himself down onto the control panel. Akarius, now sitting freely on the console, bounced off the controls from the impact and hit the floor.
"Please refrain from forcefully impacting the command controls," the sing-song computer's voice said.
"Oh, shut up, you sorry excuse for a processing unit," Akarius snarled at the computer.
"Why can't I use Instant Transmission?" Cell half-snarled, half-wailed.
"Because, you tried it and immediately got sick, remember?" Akarius reminded him, "Kaelin meta-space inhibitors ringing any bells?"
"Yes, I remember," he sniffed.
"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either, you know? That just means I have to spend more time with you."
"Can you not insult me right now? I've had enough of that from Dregezia," Cell muttered.
"You like her, don't you?" Akarius' teased.
"About as much as I like you," Cell replied.
"Aw, shucks!" she tittered, "I didn't know you cared!"
"I don't like you at all. In fact, I hate you."
"Oh, stop it, you! You're making me blush!"
Cell sighed. He let his gaze focus out of the viewscreen and onto the passing stars.
"We'll have to stop for fuel, eventually," he mumbled, "this is going to take forever."
He rounded on Akarius.
"Why? Why did you do this to me?" Cell demanded of the sparkling gem.
"Because it's not like I had any other choice, Cell," she said, "You were the one who released me. And it wasn't like anyone else was coming to my rescue. I saw an opportunity to be free, so I took it."
"An opportunity to be free, huh?" he mused.
"Yeah, same as you. Think about it, if it wasn't for me, you'd still be dead in Hell."
"True, but I don't appreciate being jerked around."
"How do you think I feel?" she snapped "I don't even have a body! People look at me and see nothing but a rock!"
"Excuse me, but I think people have given you plenty of respect! Ziodon and Dregezia both practically bowed down before you!"
"Because they see some 'mystical artifact'; a 'great relic of the bygone days of the Empire'. They don't even know that I can talk!"
"Fine," Cell snapped, his voice filled with sarcastic venom, "you have it so bad! Nobody else's problems matter, because you have it much, much worse!"
"I just want my body back," she said.
"And I want to go home," he replied.
Silence reigned.
"I think you owe me an explanation," Cell broke the silence.
"I guess. You held up your end of the bargain. So, I'll keep mine," she sighed, "So, I guess I start from the beginning, right?"
"Right."
"So, my name is Akarius. I was a low-ranking Priestess during the First Time, just some grunt. I guess I must have died during my last battle, but I don't remember it. I just remember a lot of nothing, maybe some vague, general impressions. I fully came to after I was buried under the mountain where you found me. I don't know how I got there. All I knew was that I couldn't talk. I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe. But little bits of my magic still somehow worked. So, then you found me. When you released me, I got a huge surge of power that's since died down. But, thanks to our connection, I can feel that I'm growing stronger. But I know I'll never be strong enough to get out on my own. So, I need help."
"Help that someone like the High Priestess can give you."
"Yeah, I brought you here so that you could bring me to her. She'll give me back my body and then return you home."
"In over two hundred years!" Cell bellowed.
"And poor Gohan will be long dead, so you'll never get your revenge," Akarius' voice dripped with sarcasm, "L'lar is strong enough to send you back in time, doofus. Don't worry, you'll get your revenge, bug-brain."
"Stop."
"Geez, can't you take a joke?"
Cell glowered back at the rock.
"Guess not," she sighed.
Cell crossed his arms and sat heavily down in the captain's chair with a pout on his lips. Minutes passed by in cold silence. The stars whipping by on the screen with every passing second.
Akarius coughed, breaking the tension.
"So, I'll just find where the next fuel station is, then," Akarius sighed.
Cell abruptly stood. He turned and swept out of the cockpit without a backward glance.
"You do that," he snapped, slamming the thick metal door behind him.
"I was kidding, I don't have hands!" Akarius called after him, "I can't work this thing! Come back here!"
The door remained shut.
"Asshole," Akarius hissed under her breath.
Meanwhile, back on Planet Pokwa, the Kaelin fleet still circled the planet. Ships buzzed and hummed in a massive huddle, forming a thick ring of shifting metal around the small planet. In the middle of the throng, Xirana's Battleship thundered through the melee, its massive boosters firing to keep the massive ship in orbit. Deep inside the bowels of that ship, Xirana pushed past the wooden double doors that led to her personal chambers. Sir El followed in her wake like a scared puppy.
"I'd say that it's been quite the successful day," Sir El quipped after the large doors shut behind them.
"Indeed, Sir El," Xirana said as she strode to a cabinet and pulled out a crystal flute and decanter of light brown liquid.
"The Rebels on Pokwa are scattered and on the run," Sir El continued, "It shouldn't be long before we've rounded them all up."
Xirana opened the decanter's stopper and poured herself a tall glass. She downed the entire glass in one gulp before filling her glass again. She turned to face the former Rebel General, full glass in hand.
"Hmm," she mused as she strode to her desk, "of course. Our dear Queen won't have any more trouble with them. But there are more pressing matters."
There was a knock on her door.
"Enter," Xirana called.
A young man wrapped in bandages entered the room. His features were mostly obscured by the wrappings, disguising whatever race he could have been. He stumbled forward with one arm in a sling and the other clutching a crutch. He hobbled forward on one leg, the other had been cut off to a stump just above his knee and thickly bandaged. A nurse helped the young man forward so that he could bow in front of Xirana's desk.
"All Hail Priestess-Commander Xirana," the man wheezed, "May your reign be ever-prosperous."
"Rise," Xirana commanded.
"Thank you, Commander," he struggled to regain his footing.
"My dear young, intrepid pilot," Xirana began as soon as the man had stood back up, "I've called you here to ask about your wounds. Your fellow wing mates have all passed, you were the only one to survive. How?"
The young man looked sadly to the floor.
"It was my mistake," he said, "I allowed a Danian fighter to hit my left stabilizer. I broke formation and left my wing mates open to attack."
"Mistakes happen, pilot," Xirana said, "I'm sure you did all you could to prevent the Danian from hitting you."
"Yes ma'am. But I still left my team vulnerable. If I hadn't underestimated the other fighter, I would have stayed in formation. Maybe then my wing mates would still be alive."
"I don't think so," Xirana shook her head, "Otherwise, you would not be here. You wouldn't have received medical treatment if I thought you abandoned your team. No, I think that how your team was killed was not your fault. In fact, it is a blessing that you are alive to tell the tale."
"Ma'am. I'm sorry, but I don't understand."
"Then allow me to be clear," Xirana leaned forward, "Your team was wiped out in a large blast that came from the ground. It was a widespread attack that none of your team saw coming. There were no Danian ships in the area. They were all retreating on foot to go underwater. I want to know what you saw."
"I saw my team picking off stragglers in the water. Then two Danians ran to the water. One looked like he was injured, he was being carried on his back by the other. I tried to shoot at them from my damaged ship, but I was too far away to do anything. My team fired at them as they ran to the water. They were about to dive in when there was this bright beam of light. It clipped my ship, and whatever that light touched exploded on contact. I spiraled out of control and crashed on the shore. When everything cleared, my teammates were nothing but burning ash floating on the water."
"And the Danian soldiers?" she pressed.
"Gone."
"Could you tell what races they were?"
"The injured one was a Keff. I don't know what the other one was. An insect hybrid, maybe?"
"Very well," Xirana leaned back, "Is that all?"
"Yes, ma'am," he gasped, clearly still in pain from his half-healed wounds.
"You may go," she waved him off like a bothersome fly.
The pilot bowed and shuffled out, his nurse helping him along.
When the room had emptied, Sir El turned to Xirana.
"My lady," his voice quivered, "I'm afraid that I don't understand."
Xirana shook her head.
"It is of no concern to you, Sir El," she snapped.
"Yes m'lady," he shrunk back.
Xirana stood.
"But I now must report this to Her Majesty. I will have you stay so that our Queen may meet you. Perhaps she will even thank you personally for your help."
Sir El fell to the floor and kowtowed several times at Xirana's feet.
"Truly you are magnanimous, My Lady! I am greatly honored to have a benefactor such as yourself! My life is yours to command!"
"It is nothing, Sir El," Xirana waved her hand again, "You have done great work, and should be rewarded for it."
"His Bygone Lordship was never so gracious to me, Lady Xirana. You are truly a worthy successor to his throne!"
"We are all Her Majesty's ever-loyal servants. Her generosity flows to those who do good work on her behalf, and those so rewarded may also be generous to those below them. Therefore, my generosity is her Majesty's generosity. I am but her vessel. His Bygone Lordship's lack of generosity to you was his failure to please Her Majesty and receive her grace. He deserved his fate."
"Her Majesty must then favor you greatly, My Lady, for you to be so generous to me."
"Indeed," Xirana smiled as she typed in a code into her personal computer, "And that is why I must never fail to report promptly to Her Majesty. So that I may always receive her favor, and so you too may benefit."
Xirana turned the computer terminal at her desk even closer to her. She pressed several spots on the screen before stepping back and bowing. Sir El followed suit.
The Kaelin coat of arms appeared on the screen, rotating for several moments while the person on the other line connected. After several moments of waiting, a pair of blue eyes emerged on the screen.
"Xirana, what good news do you have for me? It had better be pleasing to my ears," Miyarta's eyes glowered.
Xirana bowed again before standing.
"Thanks to the effort of this man here," Xirana gestured to the bowing Sir El, "we were able to successfully destroy the Danian Rebel base on Pokwa."
"Excellent news!" Miyarta's hands could be heard clapping, "But nothing that I have not heard before, what else?"
Xirana's face faltered for a moment.
"Did you find that creature? Or the power source?"
Xirana shook her head.
"We saw that it had been on the battlefield, but it was only for a brief moment before it disappeared. It was following the fleeing Rebels, and had been carrying an injured Danian soldier, from what we could tell."
"That's not what I asked for, Xirana."
"But this does confirm that the creature is working for the Danians! It still was able to destroy several Air Fighters before it hid, so I can guess that the creature still has the power source!"
"And were you able to find out nothing else about it?" she asked.
Xirana shook her head.
"Useless," Miyarta hissed, her eyes flashing scarlet, "I don't like mysteries, Xirana. I ordered you to capture that creature! Your work in destroying the Rebel base was exemplary, so I cannot find too much fault in your actions, but you still have yet to carry out my direct orders!"
Xirana fell to the floor.
"I was wrong in losing focus, My Queen! Please forgive me!"
"I will be lenient this time, Xirana. Do not disappoint me again."
Sir El coughed.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty and Your Grace, but I am confused about what creature you are referring to.
"I have already told you that this is not your concern, Sir El!" Xirana snapped, "so be silent!"
Sir El bowed once more.
"Again, please forgive me, Your Grace, but I was the former Rebel General, so I should know at least something about it. Can you please clarify so that I may be of some help to you?"
Miyarta laughed.
"I like this one! He's thoughtful of our cause."
Xirana visibly bristled and threw Sir El a devastatingly acidic look.
"I am unworthy of receiving praise from one so high as you, Great Queen. I am but an ant toiling in the dirt while you are the exquisite and beautiful firmament above."
Miyarta purred with contentment.
"What a honeyed tongue you have. Very well, Sir El," Miyarta continued, "About a month ago, I received notice that someone had opened a Gate without permission. Intent on capturing and torturing the criminal, I had the signal traced to Pokwa's sister-planet, Hluir. I sent Usir to investigate. He exterminated the planet, and discovered that Seven was there, along with a very powerful magic signal. Usir then discovered that Seven had given a life raft to someone who was heading to Pokwa. Seven vanished before we could capture him, as he is prone to do, and a creature aboard the life raft attacked Usir's battleship, nearly destroying it. I assumed that the creature had gained so much power because it was in control of a new Danian weapon: one that Seven was testing to see if it could open Gates. As soon as he found out that it could, he likely gave the weapon to the creature and told it to take it to Pokwa for Nine to use against us. It seems that the creature has now used it several times, to varying effect. But I want to confirm all of this. And if it is a new weapon in the creature's possession, then I want it."
"Cell!" Sir El gasped.
"A what?" Xirana asked.
"An Outsider! He arrived half a day before your Fleet, Lady Xirana! Dregezia herself brought him to the Rebel Base! He was one of the people who revealed my identity as a Kaelin to Dregezia."
"What did he look like?" Xirana asked, leaning forward.
"Very tall, I'd guess about 12 chords! Green and spotted armor, with snow white skin. Black wings! He looked like an insect."
Xirana's eyes widened.
"That's it!" she stood, "that's the creature!"
"Cell, eh?" Miyarta said.
"Do you know where he might be now?" Xirana asked.
"I assume a secondary base, if he survived," Sir El said, "he got bit by the Kaling that you gave me as I escaped.
Miyarta closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
"Is there a way to know for sure?" she asked, her eyes still closed.
"I've been capturing the scattered Rebel Soldiers since the destruction of their base, Your Majesty," Xirana offered, "one of them may know the creature's fate."
"Did you manage to get a boy by the name of Whildu, perchance, Xirana?" Sir El asked.
Xirana bristled, clearly angry at Sir El's flippant disregard of her title.
"No, why?" she snapped.
"He was the closest one to Cell, although they didn't know each other long, Dregezia made sure that they were inseparable. If you didn't manage to get him, did anyone capture a member of the 24th Ground Squadron instead?"
"Only one," Xirana sniffed.
"Bring him," Miyarta commanded.
Xirana pushed a button underneath the table. A single beep sounded.
"Yes, M'Lady?" a man's voice asked from a nearby speaker.
"Bring in the prisoner from the Rebel 24th squadron."
"Yes, M'Lady."
The three beings waited in silence for several long minutes as they waited for the guards to arrive with their quarry. Finally, the wooden double doors opened, revealing two heavily armored guards dragging a body between them. They unceremoniously dumped the figure at Xirana's feet.
"Leave," she commanded.
The guards bowed and left without a word. The doors creaked shut behind them, finally closing with an ominous boom. The echoes faded, slowly being overtaken by the shallow, ragged breaths of the shivering prisoner lying prone on the floor.
"Who are you?" Miyarta asked.
The figure coughed grey blood from his mouth.
"Answer!" Miyarta bellowed.
The crouching figure slowly raised his head, revealing the badly beaten face of Dridge. Bruises and deep gashed covered his face. One eye was swollen shut. He shivered as he gazed upon Miyarta's scarlet eyes.
"My name is Dridge," he gasped, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
"You will avert your gaze when you address the Demon Queen, scum!" Xirana kicked Dridge in the side, hard.
He collapsed, holding his stomach, and gasping for air.
"That's enough, Xirana!" Miyarta snarled.
Xirana looked taken aback. She backed away slowly from the crumpled form of Dridge, bowing to her mistress as she did so.
"So, Dridge, tell me about this 'Cell'," Miyarta demanded.
"Cell?" Dridge asked, his eyes filling with confusion, "The bug-looking guy? Uh, he was an Outsider. Came to see Dregezia. I don't know much about him. Gave our squad the dressing-down of a lifetime, though."
"And what business did he have with Dregezia?"
"Dregezia was helping Cell find High Priestess L'lar. She gave him a ship, he's already on his way," he coughed.
"Did he carry a pouch around his neck when he left?" Sir El asked.
"Yes. He always had it with him. I saw him even sleep with it!"
"How do you know this?" Miyarta asked.
Dridge looked up, blood leaking from the corners of his mouth.
"Cadet Whildu told us; the kid blurted it out. Cell was there with him and didn't deny it. And I know that he left because I was the one who saw his ship off. Dregezia had me program the coordinates into his ship's computer."
"Where is his destination?" Miyarta asked.
"Yan-Fi," Dridge sobbed.
"I see," Miyarta hissed, "Take him away!"
The sobbing Dridge was carried out.
"So, Cell is going to meet Queen Aellorin. Nine actually sent an Outsider to meet her. This source of power must be important if Dregezia is willing to throw him to her. My guess is that Nine sent him there in the hopes Three would give him L'lar's location."
"Nine? I'm sorry, your majesty, but isn't Dregezia's codename Four?" Sir El asked.
"Not anymore. Thanks to her losing the Rebel Base, the other members of the Counsel of Nine decided to demote her to Nine-of-Nine. And they have officially withdrawn any Danian support of her Rebellion. Your victory destroyed her, Xirana. I doubt she'll be much of a problem for us now. Besides, I agree with Two, it was in very poor taste to have a Gazian in such a high position in the first place."
Sir El smirked at the news.
"I'm surprised they still let her stay as one of the Nine," he snickered.
Miyarta also chuckled.
"L'lar is too forgiving. Two and Three are not. They'll keep her in her place."
"And what about Cell?" Xirana asked.
"We must be prudent and reach him before he gets to Yan-Fi. I refuse to get into a direct confrontation with Queen Aellorin. She has always turned a blind eye to us using her peoples' skills over the millenia, but if we fight her, I can guarantee she won't be so tolerant. I loath to let that talent go. So once Cell is in her kingdom, he'll be lost to us," Miyarta paused, deep in thought for a solid minute, "He will need to refuel his ship. I want you to calculate when that time occurs, and what planets will be nearby. We'll have our people waiting for him. He is, after all, an Outsider. He won't be that hard to miss. It's just a matter of time now before I have him."
"I will see to it at once, your Majesty," Xirana bowed.
"Do not disappoint me, Xirana."
The call was cut.
Deep in the main bedchambers of the small vessel, Cell sat. The android's eyes were closed, twitching slightly under their lids. His hands rested on his cross-legged knees as he inhaled and exhaled deeply.
Softly.
Quietly.
Meditating.
After all that he had been through over the past few weeks, Cell wasn't sure that his perfect psyche had remained unscathed. It was far past time that he mediated on his experiences and properly sorted the tangled web of thoughts.
It was as if he was floating in a misty, dark haze. Each memory and thought flashed by like a twinkling shooting star in his mind's eye. Cell opened his eyes and stood, completely surrounded by his thoughts. Cell directed his attention to one of the brighter flashes of light. It expanded, revealing the image of Hell's landscape.
"To think that I was there a mere month ago," Cell's voice echoed in his mind, "I'll never go back if I can help it. Maybe I'll send Gohan there instead. We'll see how he likes it!"
Cell swatted the image away with his hand, dispersing the image into a smoky cloud of light. Turning, Cell focused on another bright light, which then formed into the shape of the various Kaling Beasts he had encountered.
"I hate these things," he snarled, "They have done nothing but get in my way and slow me down. And their damn poison-."
Cell trailed off, the image of the Kalings morphed into the face of Doctor Knetsua.
"Another injection of Kaling venom would likely kill you in less than a minute," the Doctor's voice repeated over and over.
Cell shivered again.
He felt so exposed. So vulnerable. It was as if these Kaling revealed every little flaw in his design. They tore him apart. Now he was weakened, having to constantly spend energy to keep himself alive. If that garbage in his veins wasn't removed soon, then he'd never have enough power to keep up with Gohan in their next battle. He was now crippled. Broken.
He shuddered again.
There it was again. That same feeling of self-doubt that had begun to appear more and more frequently these past weeks. This was why he needed to sort through these memories. To try and find the source of this doubt. To sift for the seed of uncertainty that had embedded itself in his mind and then rip it out before it could grow into a vile weed in his brain.
So where was it?
"So this is how you spend your time? What a disappointment."
Cell whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" he shouted into the void.
Something began to shift and swirl in the darkness. Cell squinted, trying to get a better idea of who was there. The moving mass began to take a clearer shape. It looked like a short human man moving through the darkest corners of his mind. It strode towards him, inky darkness giving way to color as it moved. Finally, its form was revealed.
Cell gasped.
"What are you doing here?" Cell asked.
"I am always here, Cell," the ghostly form of Dr. Gero responded, "I am your creator. No matter where you go, or what you do, I will always be watching."
"How comforting," Cell rolled his eyes, "then why show yourself now?"
"You know why," the scientist snarled, "stop wasting your time here with these insects. I did not create you to simply 'hang out' with aliens. I created you to destroy the Son Goku! Something which you have failed to do!"
"Excuse me," Cell sniffed, "I already killed him. I've done your dirty work already."
"And yet he was revived and is enjoying his time on Earth with his son."
Cell snorted.
"You need to put him down permanently!" Dr. Gero snarled.
"I am aware," Cell sniffed.
"Then get back to Earth!"
"That's what I'm trying to do, old man. Don't you see that?"
"All I see is that you've been wasting your time bouncing around different planets and getting cozy with their inhabitants. You should be back on Earth by now!"
"Or," Cell interrupted, "I would still be in Hell, with no chance of being revived."
"You are alive now! And you are failing your mission with every breath you take that isn't spent on fighting Goku and his son!"
Cell crossed his arms over his broad chest.
"I'm doing all that I can to get back. I have thought about what I'm doing. I don't think I know enough to get back to Earth on my own. I don't know how I got here or where this galaxy is in relation to Earth. Even if I could sense where Earth is, which I can't, I can't use Instant Transmission. In my opinion, the best way to move forward is to get help from this galaxy's inhabitants. Although I don't like being so helpless, I can't think of a better way to move forward. If I try to attack to torture them, they're more than willing and capable of fighting back. Fear and intimidation doesn't seem to work on them like humans. If I am friendly with them, then they can get me to Earth faster than I could on my own. And once I'm done with Earth, then I can return here and destroy everything. And it will be a great deal easier to attack them if they're willing to let a 'friend' in. So, I think that's what I need to do."
Dr. Gero's eyes narrowed.
"I did not create you to think! I created you to fight!" the scientist snarled, "Just start blasting your way back! Threaten them! Kill them until they give you a way back!"
Cell bit his lip, thinking.
"But I-," he began.
"Don't question me, Cell!" the ghostly image of his creator howled, "just get back to Earth! Every moment you waste here is another moment that Son Goku and his vile spawn are allowed to live!"
"I know. I'm getting to it! I just-," Cell shook his head, "I have a plan!"
"Don't tell me," Dr. Gero's eyes narrowed, "Don't tell me that my last and greatest machine is just as defective as the rest. Just when I was beginning to think that I finally had one who was loyal to me. One who would achieve my ambitions!"
"I am not defective!" Cell bellowed.
"It all starts the same," Dr. Gero shook his head, "First they start thinking. Then they start believing that they're worth something. Then they disobey. Be careful, Cell, or I'll scrap you like the rest."
"I won't have a weakling like you threaten me!"
Cell lunged for the ghostly image of his creator. His hands thrust forward to grab Dr. Gero by the throat, but as soon as his fingertips reached his image, Dr. Gero dissolved into curls of yellow smoke. Cell watched as they curled around his fingertips.
Dr. Gero's disembodied voice laughed.
"You know what you need to do, Cell. Kill them. Kill them all," Dr. Gero's voice echoed in Cell's brain, until it faded into silence.
Leaving Cell alone.