This is it folks! We're down to the windup! Only three more chapters left till the end of SSJBulma! Sorry it took so long to write, but I'm emotionally drained for some reason…not in a writing mood. Writing this chapter was like clawing my eyes out with a spork. On a completely different note, does anyone else think it would be a GREAT idea if a bunch of FF.Net writers got together and made a book? They could make one for each category, and then the book would be split into sections containing the most popular sub-categories and then the best stories from THAT sub-category… I don't know, it just seems really cool to me. Anyway, no more authors notes from now on. They break up the story too much. Hope you like these chapter folks, and enjoy the rest of SSJBulma!
"Poor, poor Vegeta." Cell said chuckling. "What happened to all that stuff you were saying about being so much stronger than me?"
Vegeta stared at cell in disgust with his one good eye. Why hadn't he listened to the boy? Damn his pride! But it was too late now. Maybe the onna would…no. He didn't need her help. Besides, if he couldn't beat this thing there was no way she could. As much of a hotshot she must think herself for having attained super saiyan so fast, it was of no use to her if she just wasn't good enough…and why was he wasting time thinking about this when Cell was right in front of him?
"What's the matter Vegeta, tongue tied? So was I the challenge you were looking for?"
"Y…you just wait Cell! I swear to you that I WILL defeat you…"
"And just how do you propose to do that Vegeta? More of your 'super secret' training? No amount of power ups will ever let you defeat what I have become; you might as well give up, prince."
The way cell said that last word stirred up fresh feeling of hate in Vegeta. It was bad enough that this thing had defeated him, but now he was using his birthright as a taunt? He wasn't going to stand for that.
Hopping up Vegeta flew forward to attack Cell, and was promptly beaten back by the android.
"Stay down, Vegeta. It's over for you and this pathetic planet. You might as well accept your fate now while there's still a chance."
"I'll NEVER bow down to you, android. And I sure as hell won't sit here and let you kill either."
"Hn. You know something Vegeta? I like your spunk. I tell you what. I'll spare the lives of you and the rest of these pathetic losers if you'll agree to a little 'game' as it were. The place where this game takes place will be decided by ME, and I'll use the local media to alert you of all the details."
He let out a low chuckle and Vegeta's left eye started to twitch.
"What's the matter Vegeta? Speechless? I'll take your silence as an agreement. Catch you on the airwaves, prince!"
Laughing, Cell shot off into the air. The others watched as he faded into a dot on the horizon, his enormous ki still obvious even as he got farther away.
"Father…he should have listened to me." Was all Trunks could think of to say as he watched Cell fly away.
**************
9 days later
Bulma stared at the T.V in her bedroom, her mind racing with questions. Should she stay? Should she go? Fight and risk death or stay in the unknown? What to do, what to do? Cell had just announced his little games, and every fiber of her being itched to be there now with the others. The announcer showed that idiot Mr. Satan had been knocked out of the ring, and it was now Goku's turn to fight.
Suddenly, she threw her arms up in the air.
"That's it! I can't stand it anymore! I'm going!"
She ran downstairs and grabbed her coat. Her parents who were watching T.V at the time raised an eyebrow as she opened the door and headed out.
"Bulma dear, where are you going?" Her father called after her.
"Out." She snapped before slamming the door behind her.
**************
The other watched as Goku and Cell pummeled each other into the dirt. It was a messy business, and at the moment it was obvious to anyone watching that Goku was not doing to well.
"Come on dad, you can do it!" Gohan shouted from his position on the cliff overlooking the now decimated arena.
"Yeah Goku, kick but ya hear!" Kuririn added, raising his fist.
Behind them the others remained silent, all eyes locked on the battle. In the very back were Piccolo and Vegeta both with stoic expressions on their faces.
"This is all HIS fault you know." Yumcha whispered to Tien over his shoulder. "If it weren't for HIM we'd all be at home right now watching basketball and sipping some buds-"
"And if it weren't for that big mouth of yours I wouldn't feel the need to try and kill you so often."
Yumcha whirled on him. "Who said I was even talking to you Vegeta?"
"Who else would you be talking about? Certainly not your goody-goody little friends here." He gestured toward the group with his hand.
"Hmph. Yeah well, so maybe I was talking about you. So what? You wouldn't dare try anything with Goku down there."
"You honestly think I'm scared of Kakkarot? Please. And besides, I think he's a bit preoccupied what with fighting cell and all. Do you think he's really going to notice your screams while I rip your arms off and beat you with them?"
"Hey Vegeta, if you wanna start something I'm right here. Hit me with your best-"
"ENOUGH!"
Piccolo's sudden outburst was enough to catch the attention of all gathered around.
"Enough, both of you. I think we've had plenty of your mindless bickering. If you really want to fight save it for another day; we have business to attend to."
"Well then, tell your little friend over there to quit pestering me before he gets himself hurt."
"Hey you guys, do you feel that?" Gohan cut in.
"Feel what? I don't…hey wait, I do! Who is that?" Kurirn said raising his eyebrows.
"That ki…it seems familiar to me somehow…" Piccolo remarked to himself.
"No way…she wouldn't have…she couldn't be that foolish…" Vegeta trailed off as he stared toward the direction of the unknown ki.
Down on the battlefield, Goku and Cell had also stopped their assaults on each other to watch the horizon where a ki was approaching rapidly.
"Bulma?" Goku whispered to himself. Cell glanced at him but said nothing.
Minutes later, a figure landed on a cliff opposite the senshi. She had dark azure blue eyes and pale sky-blue hair. And twitching behind her tip crackling with energy was a tail.
The Z senshi were too stunned to even move as they tried to make sense of this newcomer. Vegeta just bared his teeth and growled low in his throat, anger slowly but steadily rising in him.
"Who are you?" Cell demanded of the muscular blue-haired woman who'd landed on the cliff.
"Who I am doesn't matter." Bulma said coldly, glaring down with icy blue eyes at Cell. "You'll be dead in a few minutes anyway."
"Hah! Another one who thinks they can beat me? I'd like to see you try! Your power level is no where NEAR mine little one. I suggest you fly back to whatever hole you just crawled out of because you're in over your head."
"I don't need your advice Cell. And I have no intention of trying to beat you all by myself, but I'm going to help in whatever way I can. As for my power level, well let's just say 'you ain't seen nothing yet.'"
"My, cocky aren't we? We'll see how long that attitude lasts girl. As you can see there's quite a line ahead of you, so you might as well go stand with the other 'competitors' while you wait. Once I'm done disposing of them we can play all you want."
Vegeta chose that exact moment to come sliding down the hill and toward the edge of the battlefield.
"WOMAN! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?"
"I'M FIGHTING, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?"
"I THOUGHT I GAVE YOU STRICT ORDERS TO STAY HOME AND NOT COME HERE!"
"And you thought I would listen to you? Vegeta dear, you underestimate me." She said telepathically.
"Woman." He growled, "I'm giving you till the count of ten to leave. If you don't I'll come up there and drag your ass back myself."
"You know what Vegeta, go right ahead and take me home. And while you're at it lock me up in my lab or tie me to the train tracks, because nothing you do is going to stop me from coming here. Not you, not Trunks, not anything."
Vegeta scowled at her last words, at the way she's almost hissed them into his mind. What was wrong with her? She's been acting oddly lately. In space he had been able to pick up bits and pieces of her thoughts and from what he could tell they'd been pretty dark these last few months. Was there something she wasn't telling him? He couldn't even get into her head now; there was an impenetrable wall around it, and on the rare occasions since he'd been back that he'd been able to break through he was greeted with nothing but images of pain and torture. Something tickled the back of his mind, telling him the answer was right in front of him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Fine woman, do as you please…if you die it isn't my fault."
He floated back up to the cliff and glowered at her.
"Um Vegeta, do you…know that girl?"
"You mean you still haven't figured it out yet? Your really ARE retarded."
"Well I mean, from here she almost looks just like Bulma, but then she has a tail and a power level. I figured she must be saiyan or something. Is she another kid from the future?"
Vegeta shrugged. "Sure, why not? Yeah, she's my great great grandaughter come back from the future to warn us about some new psycho monster that wants to kill us all."
"This isn't funny Vegeta, we're serious! Whoever that person is, you'd better tell her to leave. There's no way she can beat cell. Even GOKU can't do it, what chance could she stand?" Piccolo said angrily.
"You worry too much. That girl out there is just some annoying little pest that insists on following me around. Wait until she breaks a nail or something. THEN she'll leave."
Piccolo frowned but said nothing.
*********
"So girl, are you going to stand there and watch or do you want to fight?" Cell teased from the ground.
"Not that I'd wouldn't love to fight you, but it seems you're a bit busy at the moment." She said gesturing toward Goku.
"Who him? Well, I suppose I can set him aside for a moment. I'm in the mood for a challenge, and since no one here has been able to offer me one maybe you'll be better sport. Good target practice at the least. So what do you say Goku? Shall we put our match on hold while I fight this little girl?"
He hesitated for a moment, looking from Bulma to Cell. Finally sighing heavily he nodded. "Have it your way." Goku said. "I withdraw… for now."
He looked up at Bulma and looked her over. Smiling weakly he held up a hand and mouthed the words 'good luck' to her.
She smiled and waved as Goku hopped off the battlefield and onto the cliff with the other Z senshi.
Bulma turned her icy blue gaze to Cell and slowly made her way down to him.
"That's right girl. Let's get this over with. I've got better things to do than to sit around playing with you and your friends."
You leave my friends alone. They'll destroy you Cell, mark my words." Bulma whispered coldly to him. Her eyes narrowed and flashed an even darker blue.
"Perhaps. But forget about them for now; we've got a battle to fight. Want to make the first move?"
"It'll be my pleasure." Bulma said and leaping up she went straight for Cell.
The two immediately disappeared into a blur of punches and kicks, with Bulma on the offensive. Cell moved back an inch or two to compensate for the sudden lack of space between them. He laughed to himself, enjoying the fact that this girl honestly thought she could beat him. There were so many holes in her defense he could have easily rendered her unconscious by now or worse. But he would let her have her way for a little while; besides, it was so much sweeter to see their faces after they gave their all and saw it was useless.
Bulma grunted and suddenly backed off, floating in midair for a moment. Something wasn't right. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but her mind was filled with this awful sense of foreboding like something bad was going to happen. Was she going to die before she left this field? She immediately thought of Trunks, but the thoughts of her son were quickly shooed away as Cell decided to resume the assault.
Bulma let out a gasp as Cell slammed a fist into her chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her into a rock face. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, but Cell wouldn't hear of it. He kept coming and soon had her pinned against the wall, beating her with his fists. She finally managed to block some of the attacks and after a bit of effort raised up a foot and shoved it in his gut, pushing him back the few feet she needed to get onto her feet again.
Growling she jumped for him and the two were once again engaged in heavy combat. Bulma tilted her head to dodge a right kick and at the same time sent up her own foot to clip him under the chin. Cell caught it and proceeded to spin her around so that she went sailing across the field.
Catching herself in midair Bulma stopped and looked back at the spot where Cell had just been.
"Now just where did he-!"
She fell forward and smashed into the ground as Cell hit her from behind. She groaned and rolled over, clutching her chest where it had struck a rock on her descent.
"Aw poor baby. Did I hurt you? Well why don't you run home to your mommy then little girl? I'm sure she'll make it all better." He laughed and floated down till he was only a few feet above her.
"We're going to finish this now girl. You present no challenge to me, and I've got bigger fish to fry. You're even more pathetic than Kuririn over there." He added sticking his thumb out in Kuririn's direction.
Bulma glared at him from one of her bruised and puffy eyes, and drew herself into a crouching position while holding her chest.
"Damn…think I might have broken a rib…bugger." She muttered to herself while keeping an eye on him. She had to power up; if she didn't she'd be a goner for sure.
"No cell, this isn't over yet. I was just getting warmed up."
Putting her feet apart and bringing her arms low to her sides she closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt around inside her mind, struggling to find the door that would unlock her hidden powers. Oh if only she could find such a power as she had that day on the cliff! But here she'd finally found the door she was looking for, and now she had to open it.
Concentrating all her thoughts on that one spot, she drew the energy from deep within her body. It coursed through her veins, a thin trickle of energy that was flowing faster and faster by the second. And then it was there ripping through her senses and sending her into a euphoria that caused her to tilt her head back and let out a pure, animalistic scream.
Cell raised an eyebrow and watched with dim fascination. The girl WAS powerful. Not as strong as him of course, but he supposed by the z senshi's standards she could give Vegeta or Goku a good run for their money. As it was now the senshi were captivated by the scene, some of them gaping with jaws open at this sudden rush of power from the girl.
"OH YES! OH GOD, YES!" Bulma screamed and threw her hands up in the air cackling like a maniac. Vegeta, on the cliff, opened his mouth and backed up slowly.
"Oh no…it's happening again…"
"What? What's going on?!" Gohan shouted over the din of Bulma's screaming.
"It's just like when she went super saiyan the first time…that power…she's gonna blow! Hit the dirt!"
No one stopped to question Vegeta's actions as a stray energy wave from Bulma whapped the wall of the cliff and started a small earthquake. They all got down and covered their heads, awaiting the end they had begun to fear.
"Yes dearie, that's right. You're doing just fine. A little more and it will all be over soon…"
And then it was over. Bulma stopped powering up, and the earthquakes faded away. Raising their heads the Z senshi looked onto the field and stared in awe at the transformation that Bulma had undergone.
On the outside, she looked pretty much the same. But all around her was an emanating aura of evil, a pure, uncorrupted sense of rage that had just about everyone on the field in shock. Was this the same girl who had stood there a few seconds before?
"Well Cell, is this what you wanted?" She grinned evilly at him.
Cell quickly recovered from his shock and returned the smile. "Why yes indeed! I must say I'm impressed; I wouldn't have expected such a change from a little girl like you."
She shrugged. "I'm not as weak as I look. Still wanna take me on?"
Cell laughed. "It'll be my pleasure."
She charged him and slammed her shoulder into his chest, causing him to stumble back a few feet. Using the momentum she'd built up from the charge she kept the attack going raising her left foot for a twist kick. It connected, but at the same time Cell shot out a fist toward her. She blocked and soon the two were pounding into each other with Bulma gaining a strong foothold. Cell narrowed his eyes and grunted then slapped her across the cheek and kneed her in the belly. Letting out an OOF! Bulma fell back and raised up her arms to block another attack.
"Not bad little girl! Let's see what else you've got for me."
"I have a name. It's Bulma."
"Bulma! I knew it!" Kuririn said clapping his hands. "Look at her go! Did YOU teach her that Vegeta?"
"Yes."
"Wow, I'm impressed! You did a great job; she's fighting like a real pro! How did she get the power so fast?"
"Long story. Ask her. I don't believe it myself."
"Oh." Nodding slightly he looked back to the battle going on below.
***********
"Soon…so soon. It's so close, I can TASTE it. Just a little more dearie. I was scared there for a minute, but things are turning out just fine. I'll have my revenge soon. Oh look dearie…I think Cell's going to try and blast you. Better pay attention or you might get hit. And wouldn't THAT be a pity…"
*********
Bulma gasped and stared at the glowing white ball of light at the end of Cell's arms. They'd been battling hard for the past half hour since her power up, and Cell had been getting angrier and angrier by the minute. Was he going to finish her off?
"I've enjoyed this game girl, but it's time to end this. You're finished girlie!"
"I already told you, my name is BULMA. B-U-L-M-A."
"Whatever. What was it you said to me earlier? It doesn't matter anyway; you'll be dead in a few seconds."
Bulma raised up her arms to block, but she knew before he even fired that it was futile. She was exhausted from the battle, the last of her energy reserves gone. She wasn't going to leave this battlefield alive, and she knew it. The blast left his hands and came swiftly toward her at lighting speed…
**********
"Perfect, beautiful! My plan will soon be complete! This is it! The moment I've spent all these years working for! Just a bit closer and all will be well!"
********
"Bulma!
"Onna!"
Two things happening at once soon followed the screams from the people on the hill. Goku teleported himself to Bulma, trying to move her to the safety of the hill, and Vegeta took off down the cliff intent on knocking away the blast or taking it for her or something.
But they were both too late.
