Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz video. I don't
own Dragonball Z either! If any of the situations described below mirror
those of actual events then you're living in a fantasy world.
A Chance Love Productions
Is proud to present
A Human Saiyajin
By Michael Fetter
And Kazblah
Chapter Three
"Protect the weak" that is the first rule of the martial arts, and Ranma's personal motto, something he held dear in his heart. Ranma knew this rule very well and had often gone to great lengths to preserve it. He suffered humiliation, losing the cure to his curse, and almost his life on a numerous occasions. Eleven years of his life he had spent training, sacrificing, working beyond his own physical limits. Ten years of a training trip that took him around the world and away from a mother that he barely remembered, having faced off against things of tales and fables told to little children at night. A tale of magic and adventure, of curses and dragons and a string of fiancées, and he lived it every single day of his life! Day in, day out, he lived, slept, breathed and fed martial arts. He paid blood sweat and tears working to become the greatest martial artist.
Ranko had a motto too: "If you can't defend, avenge!" Everything that Ranma was, the honor and passive nature of a man who held fighting as a last resort, they were the morals of a dead man. Ranko was building herself up around the things he couldn't handle. Leaving mother when he was young, learning the Art, to steal, to cheat, the Neko-ken, the fiancées, to win no matter what the odds; she would be a better warrior than what her old man had tried to mold her to be, better than the fighter Ranma had been. She wished to embrace the very nature of what it was to be an agent of vengeance.
Feeling the hand on her shoulder and watching the world flicker and disappear; Ranko closed her eyes and saw the things that made her what she was. It was people like Cologne and Happousai, the old masters that trained her and tested her to push her limits. Enemies like Taro, Herb, and Saffron testing her resolve and will to remain a fighter, someone that would not kill, who had also wiped that ideal away. Others like Ryouga, Mousse, and Tatewaki who bombarded Ranma on a daily basis with new techniques and secret attacks. And it was Ranma's fiancées: Shampoo, Ukyou, Kodachi, and Akane, who gave him something worth fighting for. These people, memories now, had been building a fighter, and with Cell her last hold of the fighter's spirit was removed. All that remained was the warrior.
The desire to fight, to kill, had never been so strong since she had looked upon that monster, and tasted his blood. He was coming at her now, green- black body flying with a bright aura. She saw his hand held back for a great punch, knowing a dozen ways to counter, avoid, or subdue the straightforward technique. Cell was far stronger than Ranko now, but it never occurred to her to be afraid, only pleased that her chance had finally come. No matter what the outcome might be, she would embrace it fully.
-
The last image Ranko had of Cell was of his fist only a few scant centimeters from her face after passing right through her flickering arm.
"Wha?!" Ranko stumbled forward slightly as her world righted itself again and she discovered herself literally standing above the clouds. There were others, staring at her, and Ranko blinked for a moment. What had happened to Cell?
There was still the hand on her shoulder and she looked over at the taller man smiling down at her. Ranko narrowed her eyes. "BAKA!"
The floor of kami's palace cracked as Goku was smashed into it. He never could avoid being hit by angry women that well.
Ranko seethed in anger as she stared at the man easily shrugging off her blow. Goku Son merely blinked at her in confusion, paying no mind to the hit at all, which did make her that much more angry however. "What do you think you were doing?! That was my fight!"
"Sorry," Goku replied with a smile, "but you couldn't have beaten Cell anyway. He's much too powerful for you."
This had not been the first time Ranko had ever heard someone say that to her. Ranma Saotome always wins at the end, right? How many times had she fought against impossible odds, against opponents who were stronger and faster than her, and still come out the victor?! No one got in her way because they knew she would win! She was a force of nature! An unstoppable hurricane that wiped away everything in her path! And when she wanted it most, needed her vengeance, this macho, arrogant, idiotic pervert thought he could tell her she couldn't win?!?! "NO ONE BEATS RANKO SAOTOME!"
Goku was still smiling dumbly at her, but blinked as the area suddenly became warm and bore a dark red glow. Without calling out a warning, Ranko dashed forward to attack Goku in all of his vital organs.
Shrugging, Goku realized again that he would never understand women. Though Ranko was a good deal more skilled and faster than any other was he'd faced, but she was nowhere near the level of power necessary to even give him a bruise. As fast and as precise as the attacks came, Goku blocked each with simple move of his hand and refused to be pushed in any direction, which seemed to only make Ranko angrier.
On the edge of Ranko's warm red aura, the other fighters watched with stunned, nervous eyes. Most of Goku's friends started out as enemies, but this time the Saiyajin had saved someone and she was still fast becoming his enemy. Though for the spectators this event was a little more entertaining since Ranko's movements, more fluid than anything they had ever seen, somehow made her more attractive than before. Yamcha, as it was, had to run off for the far side of kami's island to avoid passing out.
Piccolo was silently watching the one-sided fight with a stoic face. If they had the time, Ranko could teach them her Art and he knew they would all benefit from it. Their own was too restricted and often more counter- offensive than anything. Ranko's form whipped like fire and flowed like water, barely a hole left in her guard. This was true art, molding and reshaping at a moment's notice. If it weren't for the fact that any one of them could push past her defenses with brute force, Ranko would be the best fighter in the world. So skilled in the Art and yet so innocent looking. Piccolo's mind drifted back to the hazy images of someone bending over him after being resuscitated by their full lips, the color of rose blossoms and tasting like . . . Piccolo shook his head and grumbled into his chest.
Gohan's head snapped back and forth, trying to decide what scene was more unexpected to watch. On the one side, his father was defending himself against the young woman he'd brought back from where she'd been about to fight with Cell, and the other had Piccolo, watching the fight between his father and the girl, and blushing into his green skin. All the fighters were acting a little strange actually. Gohan had never seen Yamcha run off like that, and Tien was bouncing his head a little while following Ranko releasing her anger on Goku.
Gohan came to the slow realization that Ranko was wearing a uniform his father and friend, Kuillin, wore to display their training backgrounds. As this piece of information filtered through his mind, Gohan also noted that the outfit was a little loose around the hips and . . . tight in other areas.
"Damn it! Fight me for real!" Ranko screamed as the infuriating man blocked another one of her combos. How could he be so fast? Was Goku reading her moves somehow? She noted he had returned to that stupid smile of his, one that said 'I decided to block only as an after thought'.
As another of her leg sweeps slammed into Goku's leg without causing the slightest tremor, Ranko's tenuous control of her fury snapped. Taking a small hop backwards, she got herself ready and ran in again, "This time for real!" Her fist flew through the air missing Goku's face. Though she had left three bleeding, horizontal marks across his face. The scent of the blood filled Ranko's nose and urged her on. Becoming more wild and unpredictable, even managing to get a few more shots in then before.
Piccolo's eyes widened as the girl just suddenly switched styles in the middle of the fight, it wasn't a particularly unusual thing. She wasn't using any more ki then she was before. The ki was different though, Ranko was getting more shots in, and it was suddenly getting a lot warmer too.
"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" hundreds of blows started to rain down on Goku, but Ranko was tiring from all the attacks. The fight began to wind down after a continuous barrage of a few thousand punches. Ranko was panting, exhausted, and angry that no matter how hard she pushed herself, only a few punches made it in.
"That was great," Goku complimented the breathless girl. "You must be even better than Master Roshi and he's a Martial Arts Master!"
Ranko snorted. She could beat a demi-god, Cologne, and the old pervert, and Goku thought being better than that hentai Roshi was good?
"I bet if you had trained the real fighters then we would have had no problem beating Cell!" He continued with the same smile.
It was said innocently, but Ranko found reason to glare at the man for the statement. What was it with men when it came to her girl body? If they weren't trying to ogle her breasts then they wanted to keep her out of fights. She wasn't some delicate glass sculpture that would break with a touch. Without even thinking about it, Ranko reached back into subspace and planted a new mallet over Goku's head
Grumbling, Ranko stomped off for the side of the island to look for a way down and then find Cell. Behind her a young Namekian and his attendant walked across the courtyard to the male fighters. Dende found his friend turned away from a girl with his cheeks flushed a bright red, similarly Piccolo and Tien. He'd passed Yamcha on the way here and could only wonder, "Did I miss something?"
~
This wasn't her fault. It was his.
Ranma had spent the last half-hour searching around the perimeter of the floating island for a way off. Down below was her destiny, where the revenge she held in her heart was to be driven. Cell was not her enemy. For what he had done, Cell was Ranko's ultimate goal, to feel the blood on her hands again, his breath in her grip slowly fading; this was her lifeblood, the waking of her dreams, the catharsis of her story.
Cell had been within her reach until 'he' had gotten in the way. Ranko shot another glare across the way to where Goku stood with the rest, looking over the edge like they could see what was happening miles below. Sitting against a pillar near the entrance to kami's home, Ranko thought over all the pain she would make Cell experience before he escaped into the beyond. If there were a way, she would make the monster suffer then bring him back to do it all over again.
Kami, Ranko snorted. He was a child, and another alien like Piccolo. A number of the people here were alien, Ranko discovered. Saiyajins and Namekians. The world wouldn't be in trouble if they hadn't come here. It was their fault some group calling themselves the Red Ribbon Army had created the androids and Cell. If not for them the world would not be in danger, she would not be stuck as a girl, and Akane . . .
Ranko swallowed back the bitter taste in her mouth. This was not the time to cry over the past, but to think on the present. She wasn't strong enough. Fighting Goku a while before had made that point clear. If someone like him was using next to nothing of his powers in their brief spat, then the danger Cell represented was far more than Ranko could handle now.
No matter how much she wanted to kill Cell with her own hands, that didn't look possible. Despising the idea, Ranko needed these people to fight for her and her family. If she had time, maybe; some warning, "It wouldn't have made a difference."
"What's that, Saotome-san?"
Goku's son, Gohan, stood before her. He had been frightful and worried as he stood beside the other fighters, feeling the tremendous energy Cell was casually tossing about in his search for android 18. Ranko had seen them all tremble, herself included when the monster began destroying whole islands in his pursuit. Such a great force of destruction, she felt each blast like a stab in her heart.
Gohan nervously looked over his shoulder every other moment as a new wave of Cell's power fell upon the earth. He was so young to be here, fighting with this group, but Ranko had discovered he was also powerful.
When she first sat down, one of the men, Tien, walked over to ask her trivial things, make small talk as a distraction from the destruction they had no way of preventing. Tight-lipped, Ranko ended up listening to Tien introduce the others by pointing them out and how he knew them. She only half-listened, too angry about being stuck here, away from where Cell was.
The young Saiyajin shifted on his feet, and Ranko lifted her head to stare into his eyes. He was scared and wanted someone to help him feel better. Around a group of men, who each appeared to be seasoned fighters, Ranko probably looked like the most comforting.
Ranko nodded to the spot beside her, "Wanna sit down?"
He nodded appreciatively and sat down, making sure they were not actually touching. "What were you thinking about before, Saotome-san?"
Ranko stared out over the side of the island to clouds floating below them. Her elbows were resting on her knees as she leaned back against the stone pillar. Ranko thought for a moment that the day should be darker. "Why I fight," she finally responded.
Gohan had been watching the redheaded martial artist as she remained silent. The muscles in her arms and jaw sometimes twitched and her chest rose and fell in deep breaths. He wasn't sure what to think of her. His mother, Chichi, was a strict and rather reserved person who you used to make the martial arts a part of her life. Bulma was a strong, opinionated woman just like his mother, and like her mother she used her mind more than her muscle to solve problems. This was probably what set Ranko apart; she did not yell and make arguments over fighting, but put up her fists and fought. It was the reaction of a Saiyajin.
Gohan's eyes became concerned as he watched the way Ranko seemed to stare at nothing and experience so much pain. What did she see? "Why do you fight, Saotome-san?"
Closing her eyes for a long moment, Ranko turned herself to face Gohan and give him a little smile. "Call me Ranko, Gohan-chan. I ain't old enough to be Saotome-san."
She looked at the boy, beyond just the cursory glance. Ranko saw scars people gained through training and fights. They were numerous, but they were also small and faded, maybe a result from the senzu beans the boy had likely taken before. He was still a preteen, maybe ten or eleven, and yet his body and the look in his eyes told Ranko the boy had been arduously trained for some time. Though she hadn't seen it, Ranko could believe the boy was strong enough to be among these fighters.
"There are lots of reasons for me to fight," Ranko continued. "I used to fight because I had to. It was the policy of my school. Anyone who challenged me I had to fight and win."
Ranko thought of her father who had made that point clear to her. As the heir to the Anything Goes school, she had to meet every challenge or face dishonor. If she lost, then she would have to train until she could beat whatever new technique or ability had been pitted against her.
"Then I fought for the people, my friends and family. They counted on me and I had to keep them safe."
"Until Cell," Gohan whispered. Cell, Frieza, Vegita, Raditz; they had all come to take something from him. They each came and took away someone he loved and cared for. Gohan could understand that the reasons Ranko had mentioned were things of the past.
"Until Cell," Ranko repeated. She felt the pressure of two little arms around her waist and a head pressed against her chest. Gohan wasn't sobbing like a child, but in another time he might have been.
Ranko put an arm around the boy and stroked back his spiky hair. Across the courtyard she could see Goku turning around to watch them, his eyes sad and concerned, but not quite sure how to express these things with his son. In a way, Goku reminded Ranko of her own father. It made sense why Gohan was here, he wanted to prove something to his father.
Another presence appeared before her. Ranko turned her eye to the young Namekian, who claimed to be the new kami of earth. The other man, Mr. Popo has moved off somewhere into the building, mumbling something about the time.
"Is Gohan alright?" Dende asked, setting down his staff as he knelt beside his friend.
7 The boy in question pulled his face away from the side of Ranko's chest and turned around slightly in her hold. Gohan kept her arm over his shoulder and smiled weakly at his friend then croaked, "I'm fine, Dende."
"He's worried about what Cell will do if we can't stop him," Ranko spoke. She felt herself worrying about the young Saiyajin, him and his friend actually. She worried about his future if Cell truly became unbeatable. The boys were too young to be fighting this kind of battle, to lose their families if something went wrong. Ranko already knew too many others who had lost their parents or had their lives destroyed at a young age.
"I'm worried too," Dende admitted with a little grin. "But you have to believe in your father, Gohan. He saved my people and defeated Frieza. He will win here too."
"But Cell is so strong, Dende," argued Gohan, "I don't see how-"
"Sometimes," Ranko thought of her own fights, which people had assumed would be impossible to win. "Sometimes you have to believe without seein, Gohan. Hopin' in a kami that'll see things through for ya. It's called faith."
Dende smiled as he caught her glance when talking about kamis.
"It's time! It's time!" Mr. Popo exclaimed as he rushed for a large bronze door on one side of the temple grounds. Gohan perked up noticeably at this and stood up, wiping at his eyes.
"Maybe Trunks and Vegita will be able to take care of Cell," Gohan hoped with a smile. With a look he thanked Ranko for her words and rushed off to see how powerful the two Ranko had yet to meet had become.
Pushing off against the wall, Ranko stood up beside Dende. "Let's go see these two Saiyajins everyone's been waitin fer."
Another pair of arms grabbed at her waist and Ranko found the young kami hugging her tightly. "I hope they can stop Cell from killing all those poor people."
Staring sadly at the Namekian, Ranko placed a hand on his back briefly while another part of her felt Cell release another volley of blasts no doubt destroying whole populations in seconds. The life of a woman is fraught with peril.
The group of Z fighters had gathered around the large bronze door by the time Ranko and Dende arrived. The doors were opening, a white light behind them leaving them as silhouettes to the rest. With slow, powerful steps the two men exited the Chamber of Time and Space with expressions that were both grim and smug.
The first was shorter, maybe an inch or more than Ranko's father had been. He wore a blue body suit that covered his legs up to his chest beneath a strange, flexible looking body armor that molded itself to his chest. His eyes were filled with contempt for others and pride in himself. Dark hair was swept back into the air like he were flying forward with the wind in his face.
The second, a young man with silver white hair, was slightly taller. He wore more casual clothing with emblems marking himself as a member of the Capsule Corps. Leaner than the older man, his muscles were more easily seen with only a black tank top covering his chest. The khaki jeans were torn in places, making him look all the more rugged and powerful.
"Wow, you two feel real strong," Goku enthused after inspecting both men.
"More powerful than you shall ever be, Kakorotto," the first man sneered. Ranko could guess that this was Vegita after hearing about his rivalry with Goku from Tien. "I will deal with this Cell and prove myself as the strongest fighter in the universe once again!"
Now who did this remind Ranko of? She quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. Despite Vegita's attitude he did seem like their best option at the moment.
"Let's go, father," Trunks interjected, passing his glance over Ranko for the moment. "We have to go stop Cell."
"Good luck you guys," Goku smiled and turned to his on. "You ready to begin training Gohan."
"Sure, dad," the boy answered.
Vegita snorted, "A waste of time."
As the large bronze door closed again Vegita and Trunks started walking over to the edge of the island and scanned the world below them for signs of Cell. It was easier than they would have expected. Both flared their auras for a moment and jumped into the air, or one of them did.
"Hey," Trunks objected to having his ear pulled down on. He turned in the air to look at who had stopped him and swallowed when he met the redhead from before, only much closer. An eyeful was not giving her the credit she deserved. "Uh, what?"
"You are taking me with you," Ranko demanded.
Trunks stared at her dumbly then looked back to where his father was already miles away. There wasn't time to argue it, and from the look in Ranko's eyes it seemed she wasn't going to give him the chance anyway.
The remaining Z fighters watched the two Saiyajins fly off with Ranko in Trunks' arms. Tien could only shake his head at the reckless ways of the redhead. "She sure does get around."
~
Cell was down to the last island in the area android 18 could have gotten to in such a short amount of time. He knew she was here somewhere with 16 and that it was only a matter of time until he found her and finally became complete.
Floating only a few hundred feet over the last island, Cell began a methodical search of the whole island or would have until he felt an enormous source of ki tracking down his location. By the feel of it, he considered it might be Vegita, a weaker fighter than Piccolo was. He was proven correct as the blonde prince of Vegita, the Saiyajin home world, and came to a stop only a hundred feet away.
"Oh?" Cell smirked and looked down on Vegita like he were an insect. "And what can I do for you, Vegita?"
Vegita growled and began to power up.
~
"What is that?" Ranko gasped as she stared out ahead to where Trunks was taking her.
The platinum haired boy's brow furrowed. "Father is fighting Cell," he stated with a determined look in his eyes and pushed himself a little harder to catch up with the older Saiyajin.
"It feels," Ranko had never been so close to something that truly felt like a god, but Vegita, even from this distance, his ki level was nothing short of breath taking. It frightened as well as excited her. Cell would die for sure this time. "It feels incredible," Ranko finished with a whisper of awe.
Trunks gave the redhead an uncertain look, but continued on his way. Soon they arrived at the island where Vegita and Cell were trading blows. Actually, though they were both fast, Vegita was that much faster. Cell was being knocked into mountain and sea like a rag doll. Trunks floated over the island with Ranko in his arms in case a blast destroyed the area. He smiled with pride, watching his father knock Cell around with such ease.
Ranko's smile was a little more malicious, but no less fixed upon the battle. She wished she could be the one with so much power, to beat Cell into a bloody mass beneath her fists. Though, she could settle for just watching in this case. Ranko would take Cell's beating any way she could get it.
After putting a large crater in the island by knocking Cell into the earth head first, Vegita backed off a bit and smirked. "Not so high and might now, eh Cell?" the Super Saiyajin sneered arrogantly. "This fight is boring. You're hardly worth the effort. How you could ever you think you would beat the prince of all Saiyajin is pathetic."
Cell grunted and lifted himself off of the ground. "Not bad, Vegita," he brushed the back of his hand over his bleeding lip, "but if I had my complete form you would never have lasted so long."
"Ha!" Vegita crossed his arms over his chest and stared down on Cell from where he floated overhead. "You keep harping about this complete form. I'm almost tempted to let you absorb the android just to prove how pathetic you really are."
"Father!" Trunks gasped. He wouldn't, would he?
Ranko saw the Saiyajin and Cell glance over to where the blonde android and the larger, broken 16 stood. Behind them stood the bald monk, Kuillin, a pile of twisted metal at his feet. Ranko's eyes went wide as she began to believe Vegita may just let Cell absorb 18, and they would be destroyed because of his pride.
Vegita glanced at the android then to Cell and finally nodded, "Make it quick. This had better be good."
Cell was not the only surprised person on the island. 18 began to back up as the green monster approached. Trunks sputtered in shock and wavered in the air for a moment. It was a short moment.
Ranko tumbled out of the air then righted herself enough to land on her feet on the island. Her heart was beating harder as she glared at Vegita and hoped for success when Trunks intercepted Cell.
"No," Trunks slid in front of the green monster, already changed into his Super Saiyajin form, arms wide. "I won't let you. Father, just defeat him and let's finish this!"
Cell stopped when confronted by Trunks. If Vegita could increase his power level so much in just one day then it was likely Trunks would be just as strong. He glanced over his shoulder to the other Saiyajin, "Vegita?"
"Get out of the way, stupid boy!" Vegita ordered, the he looked more amused than upset. "It's not like a weakling such as yourself could take on Cell anyway."
"No, Father." Trunks turned a determined gaze onto Cell and started building up a little more energy. "This is wrong. I'm going to prove you wrong!"
A new battle was suddenly taken up, and Trunks and Cell were bounding about the island, tossing energy blasts and physical attacks. The fight was on a more even scale than what it had been between Vegita and Cell. A lucky hit dropped Trunks into the sea, but the youth quickly recovered and blasted back into the air to return the favor. Cell made a larger splash as he hit the sea with help of Trunk's double hammer fist blow.
"What are you doing?!" Ranko yelled, enraged at the older Saiyajin. Vegita only gave her a glance. "Get over there and kill the monster before he hurts anyone else!"
Vegita laughed, but he was growing tired of watching this pathetic battle between his future son and Cell. In a flash he disappeared and stood before his son a moment later, fist firmly planted in Trunks' gut. "Now hurry up," he ordered Cell. "I'm not waiting all day for a decent fight."
Cell backed off a few steps, then turned and ran for android 18, not allowing time for anyone else to get in his way.
"NO!" Cell was fast, but Ranko was still closer to 18. She got in the green monsters direct path, ready to fight as hard as she could to prevent Cell from becoming any stronger. A hard energy blast from Vegita was her reward for trying to protect humanity from this creature, its extinction.
"Stupid girl," Vegita scoffed and dropped his son on the ground.
Rolling with the blast when she touched the ground, Ranko picked herself right back up and rushed after 18 while Cell was momentarily distracted. With a quick swoop, Ranko had the fear-locked 18 in her arms and she was bolting for the protection of the forest. It was not to be.
Cell had paused as Vegita's energy blast past him to knock away the redhead. He'd never thought Vegita was this eager for a battle with a stronger opponent. Now the redhead had the last piece to his ultimate revenge against the world. Racing faster, Cell's tail lashed out for her back, "Drop the android, girl!"
Ranko cried out in pain as she lost grip of 18 and was sent hurdling towards the mountain, speeds where she would be lucky to survive with just a broken bone or two.
"I've got you!" Kuillin called out, catching Ranko before she hit the mountain and reducing the impact with his ki. Together, their impact punched a hole in the mountain.
18 held off for a few moments, but Cell quickly had her wrapped up in his tail. "Now then, where were we?"
"You were on your way to hell," 18 grunted as the tail constricted. She tried to kick, but Cell was feeling none of it. Her doom came with a cone descending over her head, and she was powerless to stop it. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me-!"
Cell smirked at her muffled screams as she was absorbed through the tail and then closed his eyes as a new rush of power overwhelmed him. An electrical storm raged through his veins and struck the world around him like an entity that dominated its space and pushed aside all else. Here was power that rivaled the sun. Here was the energy he needed to claim his superiority over the universe!
"Ahahahaha! No power in the galaxy is great enough to stand against me now!" Cell arched back and released great gales of laughter, flexing his new body, the white skin defended by green and black armoring. His wings hung down from his shoulders to compare to those of a large cockroach's back. The long tail that had brought him this fate pulled in tightly to his body, no longer needed. His was now absolute perfection, the greatest of all things.
Smirking, Cell looked back up t where Vegita floated in the air, waiting for his next battle. He could see the bit of surprise on the Saiyajin's face and knew it would be worse still once the extent of his new power was revealed. The arrogant Vegita would fall from his self-proclaimed throne and would rot beneath his feet. "Are you ready now to face my complete form, Vegita?"
Growling, Vegita fell into a concentrated fighting stance. This time the fight would be far more interesting.
~
The water about the island shimmered as if the land had just been dropped within the sea. Trees swayed to a breeze generated by one being. A crater beneath Cell's feet grew quickly to encompass a twenty-meter radius. Trunks felt his chest tighten with this show of power. For someone to become this powerful . . Cell truly was a monster.
Trunks was paused before the hole in the mountain where Kuillin and Ranko were stuck. He could feel their ki and knew they were fine so he kept his eyes on the new fight. It began almost immediately. Cell stood there a moment while flexing his new body and grinning at himself and then he was off, back to physical blows with his father. Things were not looking so good this time.
"Damn you, father," Trunks cursed. "It's your Saiyajin heritage that let Cell get this far. Now it's probably too late."
Cell dodged a combination of kicks and punches, phased out, and reappeared behind Vegita. Then next moment Vegita was plummeting for the earth, the wind rushing by screamed like a comet's backlash. Vegita's body dug a hole in the ground so deep and wide that the whole island shuddered and divided.
"I hope this isn't the best you can do, Vegita," Cell taunted the fallen Saiyajin.
Trunks watched his father's aura flare even brighter, his body expanding a little, and then punching out of the ground with a roar. "No one beats Vegita!"
Cell laughed and knocked away the golden ki blasts coming at him faster than a machine gun could fire. A cloud of dust developed about Cell's body as the blasts continued to pile up and explode over the green monster's body.
Breathing deeply, Vegita smirked at what he assumed would be a pile of ashes falling out of the sky. He'd just delivered more power in those last blasts than what had been previously seen on this earth. Cell was dead, nothing could survi-
"Hahahahaha!" Cell's new golden aura brushed away the dust to reveal his body whole and unhurt. "A good try, Vegita, but now it is my turn."
Energy shot forth from Cell's right hand. Vegita attempted to negate it with another of his own, but Cell's energy overwhelmed the defense and hit Vegita squarely in the chest.
"Father!" Trunks cried out in alarm. Vegita was dropped into the water this time and his bright golden aura was impossible to make out at the depths he had been pushed.
Still smirking arrogantly, Cell descended to the island to wait out Vegita's return, if he returned. "That was too easy, Vegita! Were you all bark and no bite?"
Trunks waited for agonizing moments while his father resurfaced from the water. There was no way his arrogant, egotistical father could have been killed. Since coming to the past, Vegita surprised Trunks one time after the next. He'd originally come to warn Goku, his mother believing Goku Son was their true savior, but his father's power had been putting that theory to the test. Now, after training a full year with his father, Trunks knew Vegita could not be put down like this; Vegita was meant for greater things. Trunks could see it in his father's eyes.
The mountainside crumbled and shifted slightly and a slide of dirt revealed Kuillin pulling himself out. In his arms was a coughing redhead, who spat out dirt and shook her head of dizziness. "Hey, Trunks," Kuillin greeted the Saiyajin weakly. "How are things going?"
"Not to good, Kuillin," Trunks replied, still focused on the sea. There was something there, his father maybe, but what was he waiting for? "Cell's power has grown a hundred times of what it was."
"That's bad," Kuillin agreed and hoisted Ranko out of the dirt completely. He held her in his arms as they floated high in the air and looked out to the battlefield where Cell stood patiently, waiting for Vegita's return.
"It's coming," Trunks whispered.
Kuillin closed his eyes to feel for the energy. It was deep below the surface of the ocean. A massive buildup of energy was beginning to boil the water and the source was climbing closer to the surface. In his arms, Ranko kept an arm around his neck and was looking over to watch events unfold.
The water parted at the force of Vegita's aura as the Saiyajin continued to rise into the air. His ki flow was immense, larger than what it was before. Golden flames burned brighter and higher to look like a second sun. Vegita's body could only be seen as an outline as he roared for more power to build up in his body.
"Oh?" Cell looked up, unimpressed. "And what are you planning now, Vegita?"
"Now you die, Cell!" Vegita's body drank in the golden aura and forced it all between his cupped hands. Taking a deep breath, Vegita shot forth his hands and screamed, "BIG BANG ATTACK!"
~
The once beautiful island was now ransacked of the nature that had made it. The valley was desert where once had been fields of lush grass, flowers, and trees. There was nothing now but the brown desolation. Not a sound but the wind winding into the energy carved valley. Not a sound but the wind and laughter.
"Hahahaha!" Cell had lost his arm and leg, but he still felt in the mood for laughter. His enemy lay on the ground, wasted of his own energy. "That was pathetic. I am now the perfect, invincible warrior and you thought you could destroy me with that pitiful attack?!"
Cell's laughter rang through the valley, echoing loud into the sky.
Further off, the sands shifted and some heavy sections of earth were toppled over. Trunks stood up after having to protect Kuillin and Ranko with his body from his father's attack. With a shove, he tossed aside another boulder. The two humans were dirty, but unharmed.
This destruction should never have happened. If only, "Father."
"That's it," Kuillin stuttered and fear. "Cell's won."
"No." Trunks stood up straighter, tightening his fists and he turned to look on Cell. "I'll kill him."
"But Trunks, Vegita-"
"Was nothing compared to me," Trunks put in.
Kuillin gasped. The statement had not gone unheard by Cell either. All eyes turned to the younger Saiyajin as he strode further into the valley, His eyes hard and focused on Cell. "During training father pushed himself harder than I'd ever seen anyone train. He got to where he is now after only six months. He stopped there and began to train at that level every day afterwards."
Trunks' eyes went over to where his father lay in his normal state, black, spiky hair wafting in the wind. "But where father stopped, I went on. I didn't have the heart to tell him, but now that he's unconscious I don't mind showing you Cell!"
Cell was a little startled then his mouth curved into a cocky smile. "You're bluffing."
"You think so?" Trunks blinked out from the area and reappeared before Cell with his fist firmly planted in the monster's gut, sending the creature skidding across the ground. "Think again."
"Wow," Kuillin awed at the sight. "Trunks has gotten really strong." Ranko nodded in agreement.
Shaking his head, Cell slowly picked himself up. "Not bad. This should be very interesting."
"Count on it," Trunks answered heatedly. Still facing Cell, Trunks braced himself and began to gather his full power. Unlike his father, Trunks wanted this fight over as quickly as possible. He'd seen enough destruction and death in his own timeline, he wouldn't let it happen again.
The ground began to shake and whole clumps of dirt began to rise with the energy. Kuillin circled his arms around Ranko's waist and pulled her to the air. He could tell this was going to be a massive ki battle if Cell lasted long enough. "Go get him, Trunks! Yeah!"
"Yes, Trunks," Cell taunted as he watched the Super Saiyajin continue to climb in power. "Come get me."
Super Trunks' arms and legs exploded outwards with greater muscle tone that increased his height and girth by a number of inches. His forearms alone looked like tree trunks. "You'll pay for all the pain you've caused, Cell."
Cell only smirked and waited.
Finished with his buildup, Trunks broke his concentration and focused on Cell again. With a sneer he rushed forward to slam his fist into Cell's face.
The punch came and passed by harmlessly.
Cell continued to smirk and dodged further attacks with ease. "You're a bigger fool than Vegita."
"What?!" Trunks pushed himself harder, but he continued to miss. "What is this? I can't even touch him!"
Back on the edge of the battle, Ranko shook her head at this latest failure. "Baka."
"What is it?" Kuillin asked, concerned.
Ranko glanced back up at the futile battle. Trunks was definitely strong, but his training had been a waste of time. Vegita must have seen this and that's why he really stopped. "He's too big."
Kuillin looked to Trunks and then back, "So?"
"So his bulk is getting in the way." Ranko sneered. She'd thought Vegita was a bullheaded egotist like Ryouga, but here was Trunks proving himself even more so. From experience, Ranko could say that strength was not everything. "He's too slow now."
The point was being driven home into Trunks' body at the same time. Cell finished dodging and moved in to attack. No matter what the Saiyajin did he was too slow, and Cell returned to toss him into mountains, the sea, and hit him with powerful energy blasts.
"Father," Trunks croaked at the unconscious form of his father. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"So you see the futility of this now?" Cell laughed and backed off. "It was a good try Trunks, but you should know now that you are no match for the perfect warrior!"
Trunks began to descend, powering down as he finally came to rest on his knees, staring at the ground. He'd lost without even landing one hit. The world was doomed because he hadn't seen what was so obvious to his father. He was a fool! "Damn. Damnit! DAMNIT!"
"Don't worry. I won't be destroying the world yet." Cell floated up a little higher. "I'll give you ten days to prepare for my tournament. Ten days and then the fate of this planet will be decided."
"Hey!" Trunks' face slammed into the ground as Ranko rushed in and used it as a catapult. "Aren't you forgetting someone?!" Her lower body rose over her head as she turned herself into a downward kick.
Cell blinked in surprise and gave way for a few feet, but remained in the air.
Unable to fly, Ranko fell back down to the earth in a ready stance. Her leg hurt like hell from the kick, but she'd take more just to hurt Cell a little. "You ain't leavin here till I've kicked yer ass!"
Trunks recovered and put his hand out to ward Ranko off, "You can't-"
"Shove it, you coward!" Ranko glared at the young Saiyajin then turned back to the amused Cell. "I don't give up just because someone is stronger than me! A true martial artist fights because she has too, not because she knows she'll win!"
"Ranko!" Kuillin called out fearfully. He'd been to intent on the fight between Trunks and Cell that he hadn't noticed when she escaped his grasp. The crazy girl was going to get herself killed facing Cell now.
With a grin, Cell descended from the air and set down softly on the ground. "You should listen to the girl, Trunks. Alone she has already killed me once, which is far more than any of your friends have been able to accomplish."
Trunks blinked at that and looked at Ranko again. She certainly didn't look that powerful. In fact, she seemed weaker than Cell was in his first form. Almost killed him? How? This weak fighter?
"And I'll do it again as many times as it takes to get rid of you for good!" Ranko cried out, raising her fist at the murderer of her family and friends.
"I believe you would try," Cell laughed.
He laughed? Laughed at her? Ranko's left eye twitched. She was not weak and she always kept her promises. If she said she would kill Cell, then she would kill Cell! "I may not be the strongest fighter in the world, but I'm still the best god damn martial artist and I'm gonna shove that straight down yer fucking throat!"
"You're no longer worth my time," Cell chuckled as he looked down on her, "little girl."
"THAT'S IT!" Ranko screeched. So much hate, so much anger, it pumped through her body until it all felt like one big flexing muscle. She would teach Cell to take her seriously. It didn't matter how strong Cell got, Ranko was still anything but a weak little girl! "I'LL," Ranko dropped into a slight crouch, "DESTROY," ki claws shot out of her hands the color of thick blood, "YOU!"
Cell lost his smirk as he watched Ranko take off at speeds that should not be possible for someone so weak. It was nothing near what he was capable of, but the fact itself was enough to draw his attention and take her more seriously. "Fine, you want to meet your fate sooner rather than later? Then you shall have your wish!"
Unlike Goku, Cell was easier to anger. Ranko continued to spout insults, some of which made Kuillin and Trunks cringe. Cell's incredible power was overwhelming, but she would where a pink dress before running in fear. In her mind, Cell's days were numbered and the clock was running out.
Ranko rushed in with her ki claws ready. She watched him rear back with a reverse punch. Though the speed Cell could now move at was invisible to her eye, Ranko knew form. In the momentary flash of movement, Ranko also knew that Cell was off balance.
"Ha!" Cell's fist ripped through the area he'd expected Ranko to end up. He felt nothing and was surprised to see she had sidestepped and stopped just within his reach. Her hand was already around his wrist and using his momentum Cell found himself planted in the ground. "What?!"
Ranko wasn't going to give him the luxury of examining what had just happened. The cat in her wanted blood and urged her to pounce. She jumped into the air after Cell immediately after letting go and came down with a ki charged sidekick. The power of the blow knocked Cell's face a few inches deeper into the ground.
"Damnit," she mentally cursed herself. Ranko had forgotten how hard Cell's body felt now with all of that ki reinforcing his frame. It was like striking steel and she only had pool cue. Well then, she'll need to use the point a little more.
"Little girl!" Cell growled and jumped back to his feet.
Ranko rolled away in time and poised herself for a new attack. This time Cell charged in. He flew in like before on the island Goku had taken her away from. Cell's fists were already flying, but she wasn't concerned about his fists this time.
Smirking, Ranko suddenly ducked and came up with a hold on Cell's feet. His momentum again brought him face down in the dirt. Ranko had used his legs as leverage to get him there. This time she pushed off immediately and gathered her ki into her hands. "Mouko Takabisha!"
The blast hit and kicked up another cloud of dirt. Ranko's smile almost widened until Cell came flying out of the dust cloud, obviously pissed. From his other battles, Ranko knew where Cell would place himself for double hammer blow. She quickly flipped and prayed he'd be there and kicked off.
Cell jerked in surprise as he received a mouthful of feminine heel. "You little . ."
Tumbling out of her fall, Ranko jumped to her feet and began taunting him again. "What's wrong, Cell-chan? Is a little girl like me giving you troubles?" She added on a little giggle for effect and was pleased to see Cell's rage increase, as well as his aura.
"You die!" Cell's hands came together for a powerful blast, which struck the ground at Ranko's feet.
For a few moments the area was silent as everyone watched the settling dust cloud. Trunks and Kuillin had been gaping at the small fight since it started, stunned to see Cell being tossed into the ground almost casually. To the other side, Vegita was able to turn his head to watch the fight. He'd expected Trunks to be in the losing battle, only to find the redhead from before giving more than she got.
"She's . . She's . ." Kuillin hoped, prayed that his feelings were wrong, but Ranko's ki . .
"She's gone," Trunks finished sadly. Ranko had contained amazing skill, but against someone as powerful as Cell, skill could only take her so far.
"Pity," Cell dusted off his hands, "I was starting to like her."
"That's very sweet, Cell-chan."
"What?!" Everyone looked around for the source of the voice. The Z-fighters were once again dazzled by Ranko's skill as they watched Cell once again tossed into the ground by his wrist, but Ranko was nowhere to be seen.
Cell growled and looked about the area. He closed his eyes and looked harder. "There is no ki here. Where did the little girl go?"
"What did I say about the little girl thing?!" Ranko's voice screamed from behind the monster.
Cell tried to turn and fire off a ki blast, but his left foot was kicked out from beneath him and he ended up slamming the energy blast into his own torso. Shrieking scratch marks appeared over his back, but his body was too strong to be pierced by Ranko's invisible cat claws. He stood and was again tossed in another direction.
Flaming golden aura bursting about his body, Cell stood up solidly, willing himself not to be thrown again. "When I catch you . ."
"Who said you could catch me?"
Cell's hand shot off a quick blast that struck against the far mountainside.
"That was way off!"
He shot again.
Ranko's voice came again and it giggled with insult, "Nope, try again!"
"DIE!" Cell growled and shot a blast into every direction. If the area was barren before it was utterly devastated this time. Kuillin and Trunks had to fly off a distance to avoid the random blasts. The whole island was surrounded in a dust cloud. When it was over Cell stood in the same spot breathing hard through his nose and glaring in every direction.
"That was good, Cell-chan. Now it's my turn."
Cell gasped and took an involuntary step back as Ranko suddenly appeared ducking at his feet and rising up with an uppercut.
"HIRYU SHOUTEN HA!"
The perfect warrior looked at the small fist for a second when Ranko missed by over a foot. He looked down to her smirking face and sudden gale of wind lifted him into the air. "You bitch!"
The Z-fighter's jaws dropped at the size of the tornado developing. They could see Cell's aura rolling around in the wind and could even see it get brighter with every moment as he attempted to force himself out. Unfortunately for Cell, every time he increased the strength of his aura, the hurricane increased its hold to keep him there. It was a cycle that lasted so far that the hurricane base could touch every edge of the island at the same time.
Water was drawn up from the sea to enter the funnel along with rocks, trees, and anything else that was not bolted to the planet. The hurricane lasted another five minutes before Cell's energy level dropped of completely and suddenly.
Without the energy being provided by Cell, the winds fell away to nothing. Everything that had been drawn up into the hurricane began to fall away also until all that was left was a slowly spinning Cell, gravity beginning to reassert itself brought him down with a heavy impact against the ground miles below.
Over the edge of the island, Ranko reappeared, spitting up some seawater and dragging herself back onto dry land. "Wow. Didn't think it was gonna get that big." She rung out some water from her pigtail and looked around for Cell.
His landing kicked up a sizeable amount of debris that had been caught up in the hurricane. Cautious, Ranko used the Umisenken again and disappeared from view.
Cell knocked away the rocks and tree limbs in his way and stood up straight. "An interesting technique little girl," he yelled to the empty valley. "But it would take years for it to completely burn off my power!"
"Can't blame a girl for trying."
The monster glanced about the area more carefully this time. "This invisibility technique is also quite interesting, but there is a flaw."
"Oh?"
Cell nodded. Smirking, he quickly turned about and caught a hold of an invisible hand about to strike the back of his knee. "It leaves a space of complete emptiness."
Ranko eeped and found herself flying through the air without the help of having learned the ability first. She hit the mountainside hard and cried out with pain. Her back felt like it had been broken in a hundred different places and her limbs all felt numb and lifeless. Unable to stop herself, Ranko fell out of the hole and landed face first on the ground. The only thing her broken spine did for her now was holding off the excruciating pain she knew her body would normally be feeling.
Watching after the redhead for a moment, Cell took off for the air. When he was high enough he looked back, "Ten days and then any who wish may enter my tournament."
Tears ran down Ranko's cheeks as she wept softly into the dirt. She didn't even have the ability to roll over and take her face out of the ground. It had taken all of her skill, speed, and power just to pull off that short battle against Cell. And all he did was brush it off, brushed her off, like an insect barely worth noticing. "You weak, little girl."
End Chapter Three
* * *
Michael's piece:
Whew! That took a little longer than I expected, but that happens when you have finals. A few notes:
Cell could feel the emptiness of ki to see through Ranko's invisibility technique. Think of it as there is ki, life force, in everything, even the air. It would take someone with a huge amount of ki to even 'see' this (Cell for instance) so he would have to look very hard to see where the air is absent of ki.
The fight scenes with Cell vs. Vegita and Cell vs. Trunks were very cool and Kaz and I agree, truly epic. But if you want to see them then watch the DBZ series. It would be a waste of your time for us to explain those fights that we all know and have likely seen repeated on Toonami a dozen times before.
Notes from Kaz:
I hope that this chapter was enjoyable! I didn't get much input this time because it's hard to get internet access when your homeless! Yes folks, that's right, homeless. . . I've been leading a
nomadic life for the last two weeks, no home, no internet. Don't know
where i'm gonna end up the next day, I'm starting to know a little
on how Ryoga feels, or something. I'll be on the road for about another week so I can start back into the writing!
Give Mike a round of applause for his work on this chapter,
and hope to see you next time, same Cell time, same Cell channel!
Send C&C to Michael at: jehtek@hotmail.com
Or Kazblah at: kazblah945@aol.com
Or visit the Temple of the Creative: www.geocities.com/jehtek
Ja ne.
A Chance Love Productions
Is proud to present
A Human Saiyajin
By Michael Fetter
And Kazblah
Chapter Three
"Protect the weak" that is the first rule of the martial arts, and Ranma's personal motto, something he held dear in his heart. Ranma knew this rule very well and had often gone to great lengths to preserve it. He suffered humiliation, losing the cure to his curse, and almost his life on a numerous occasions. Eleven years of his life he had spent training, sacrificing, working beyond his own physical limits. Ten years of a training trip that took him around the world and away from a mother that he barely remembered, having faced off against things of tales and fables told to little children at night. A tale of magic and adventure, of curses and dragons and a string of fiancées, and he lived it every single day of his life! Day in, day out, he lived, slept, breathed and fed martial arts. He paid blood sweat and tears working to become the greatest martial artist.
Ranko had a motto too: "If you can't defend, avenge!" Everything that Ranma was, the honor and passive nature of a man who held fighting as a last resort, they were the morals of a dead man. Ranko was building herself up around the things he couldn't handle. Leaving mother when he was young, learning the Art, to steal, to cheat, the Neko-ken, the fiancées, to win no matter what the odds; she would be a better warrior than what her old man had tried to mold her to be, better than the fighter Ranma had been. She wished to embrace the very nature of what it was to be an agent of vengeance.
Feeling the hand on her shoulder and watching the world flicker and disappear; Ranko closed her eyes and saw the things that made her what she was. It was people like Cologne and Happousai, the old masters that trained her and tested her to push her limits. Enemies like Taro, Herb, and Saffron testing her resolve and will to remain a fighter, someone that would not kill, who had also wiped that ideal away. Others like Ryouga, Mousse, and Tatewaki who bombarded Ranma on a daily basis with new techniques and secret attacks. And it was Ranma's fiancées: Shampoo, Ukyou, Kodachi, and Akane, who gave him something worth fighting for. These people, memories now, had been building a fighter, and with Cell her last hold of the fighter's spirit was removed. All that remained was the warrior.
The desire to fight, to kill, had never been so strong since she had looked upon that monster, and tasted his blood. He was coming at her now, green- black body flying with a bright aura. She saw his hand held back for a great punch, knowing a dozen ways to counter, avoid, or subdue the straightforward technique. Cell was far stronger than Ranko now, but it never occurred to her to be afraid, only pleased that her chance had finally come. No matter what the outcome might be, she would embrace it fully.
-
The last image Ranko had of Cell was of his fist only a few scant centimeters from her face after passing right through her flickering arm.
"Wha?!" Ranko stumbled forward slightly as her world righted itself again and she discovered herself literally standing above the clouds. There were others, staring at her, and Ranko blinked for a moment. What had happened to Cell?
There was still the hand on her shoulder and she looked over at the taller man smiling down at her. Ranko narrowed her eyes. "BAKA!"
The floor of kami's palace cracked as Goku was smashed into it. He never could avoid being hit by angry women that well.
Ranko seethed in anger as she stared at the man easily shrugging off her blow. Goku Son merely blinked at her in confusion, paying no mind to the hit at all, which did make her that much more angry however. "What do you think you were doing?! That was my fight!"
"Sorry," Goku replied with a smile, "but you couldn't have beaten Cell anyway. He's much too powerful for you."
This had not been the first time Ranko had ever heard someone say that to her. Ranma Saotome always wins at the end, right? How many times had she fought against impossible odds, against opponents who were stronger and faster than her, and still come out the victor?! No one got in her way because they knew she would win! She was a force of nature! An unstoppable hurricane that wiped away everything in her path! And when she wanted it most, needed her vengeance, this macho, arrogant, idiotic pervert thought he could tell her she couldn't win?!?! "NO ONE BEATS RANKO SAOTOME!"
Goku was still smiling dumbly at her, but blinked as the area suddenly became warm and bore a dark red glow. Without calling out a warning, Ranko dashed forward to attack Goku in all of his vital organs.
Shrugging, Goku realized again that he would never understand women. Though Ranko was a good deal more skilled and faster than any other was he'd faced, but she was nowhere near the level of power necessary to even give him a bruise. As fast and as precise as the attacks came, Goku blocked each with simple move of his hand and refused to be pushed in any direction, which seemed to only make Ranko angrier.
On the edge of Ranko's warm red aura, the other fighters watched with stunned, nervous eyes. Most of Goku's friends started out as enemies, but this time the Saiyajin had saved someone and she was still fast becoming his enemy. Though for the spectators this event was a little more entertaining since Ranko's movements, more fluid than anything they had ever seen, somehow made her more attractive than before. Yamcha, as it was, had to run off for the far side of kami's island to avoid passing out.
Piccolo was silently watching the one-sided fight with a stoic face. If they had the time, Ranko could teach them her Art and he knew they would all benefit from it. Their own was too restricted and often more counter- offensive than anything. Ranko's form whipped like fire and flowed like water, barely a hole left in her guard. This was true art, molding and reshaping at a moment's notice. If it weren't for the fact that any one of them could push past her defenses with brute force, Ranko would be the best fighter in the world. So skilled in the Art and yet so innocent looking. Piccolo's mind drifted back to the hazy images of someone bending over him after being resuscitated by their full lips, the color of rose blossoms and tasting like . . . Piccolo shook his head and grumbled into his chest.
Gohan's head snapped back and forth, trying to decide what scene was more unexpected to watch. On the one side, his father was defending himself against the young woman he'd brought back from where she'd been about to fight with Cell, and the other had Piccolo, watching the fight between his father and the girl, and blushing into his green skin. All the fighters were acting a little strange actually. Gohan had never seen Yamcha run off like that, and Tien was bouncing his head a little while following Ranko releasing her anger on Goku.
Gohan came to the slow realization that Ranko was wearing a uniform his father and friend, Kuillin, wore to display their training backgrounds. As this piece of information filtered through his mind, Gohan also noted that the outfit was a little loose around the hips and . . . tight in other areas.
"Damn it! Fight me for real!" Ranko screamed as the infuriating man blocked another one of her combos. How could he be so fast? Was Goku reading her moves somehow? She noted he had returned to that stupid smile of his, one that said 'I decided to block only as an after thought'.
As another of her leg sweeps slammed into Goku's leg without causing the slightest tremor, Ranko's tenuous control of her fury snapped. Taking a small hop backwards, she got herself ready and ran in again, "This time for real!" Her fist flew through the air missing Goku's face. Though she had left three bleeding, horizontal marks across his face. The scent of the blood filled Ranko's nose and urged her on. Becoming more wild and unpredictable, even managing to get a few more shots in then before.
Piccolo's eyes widened as the girl just suddenly switched styles in the middle of the fight, it wasn't a particularly unusual thing. She wasn't using any more ki then she was before. The ki was different though, Ranko was getting more shots in, and it was suddenly getting a lot warmer too.
"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" hundreds of blows started to rain down on Goku, but Ranko was tiring from all the attacks. The fight began to wind down after a continuous barrage of a few thousand punches. Ranko was panting, exhausted, and angry that no matter how hard she pushed herself, only a few punches made it in.
"That was great," Goku complimented the breathless girl. "You must be even better than Master Roshi and he's a Martial Arts Master!"
Ranko snorted. She could beat a demi-god, Cologne, and the old pervert, and Goku thought being better than that hentai Roshi was good?
"I bet if you had trained the real fighters then we would have had no problem beating Cell!" He continued with the same smile.
It was said innocently, but Ranko found reason to glare at the man for the statement. What was it with men when it came to her girl body? If they weren't trying to ogle her breasts then they wanted to keep her out of fights. She wasn't some delicate glass sculpture that would break with a touch. Without even thinking about it, Ranko reached back into subspace and planted a new mallet over Goku's head
Grumbling, Ranko stomped off for the side of the island to look for a way down and then find Cell. Behind her a young Namekian and his attendant walked across the courtyard to the male fighters. Dende found his friend turned away from a girl with his cheeks flushed a bright red, similarly Piccolo and Tien. He'd passed Yamcha on the way here and could only wonder, "Did I miss something?"
~
This wasn't her fault. It was his.
Ranma had spent the last half-hour searching around the perimeter of the floating island for a way off. Down below was her destiny, where the revenge she held in her heart was to be driven. Cell was not her enemy. For what he had done, Cell was Ranko's ultimate goal, to feel the blood on her hands again, his breath in her grip slowly fading; this was her lifeblood, the waking of her dreams, the catharsis of her story.
Cell had been within her reach until 'he' had gotten in the way. Ranko shot another glare across the way to where Goku stood with the rest, looking over the edge like they could see what was happening miles below. Sitting against a pillar near the entrance to kami's home, Ranko thought over all the pain she would make Cell experience before he escaped into the beyond. If there were a way, she would make the monster suffer then bring him back to do it all over again.
Kami, Ranko snorted. He was a child, and another alien like Piccolo. A number of the people here were alien, Ranko discovered. Saiyajins and Namekians. The world wouldn't be in trouble if they hadn't come here. It was their fault some group calling themselves the Red Ribbon Army had created the androids and Cell. If not for them the world would not be in danger, she would not be stuck as a girl, and Akane . . .
Ranko swallowed back the bitter taste in her mouth. This was not the time to cry over the past, but to think on the present. She wasn't strong enough. Fighting Goku a while before had made that point clear. If someone like him was using next to nothing of his powers in their brief spat, then the danger Cell represented was far more than Ranko could handle now.
No matter how much she wanted to kill Cell with her own hands, that didn't look possible. Despising the idea, Ranko needed these people to fight for her and her family. If she had time, maybe; some warning, "It wouldn't have made a difference."
"What's that, Saotome-san?"
Goku's son, Gohan, stood before her. He had been frightful and worried as he stood beside the other fighters, feeling the tremendous energy Cell was casually tossing about in his search for android 18. Ranko had seen them all tremble, herself included when the monster began destroying whole islands in his pursuit. Such a great force of destruction, she felt each blast like a stab in her heart.
Gohan nervously looked over his shoulder every other moment as a new wave of Cell's power fell upon the earth. He was so young to be here, fighting with this group, but Ranko had discovered he was also powerful.
When she first sat down, one of the men, Tien, walked over to ask her trivial things, make small talk as a distraction from the destruction they had no way of preventing. Tight-lipped, Ranko ended up listening to Tien introduce the others by pointing them out and how he knew them. She only half-listened, too angry about being stuck here, away from where Cell was.
The young Saiyajin shifted on his feet, and Ranko lifted her head to stare into his eyes. He was scared and wanted someone to help him feel better. Around a group of men, who each appeared to be seasoned fighters, Ranko probably looked like the most comforting.
Ranko nodded to the spot beside her, "Wanna sit down?"
He nodded appreciatively and sat down, making sure they were not actually touching. "What were you thinking about before, Saotome-san?"
Ranko stared out over the side of the island to clouds floating below them. Her elbows were resting on her knees as she leaned back against the stone pillar. Ranko thought for a moment that the day should be darker. "Why I fight," she finally responded.
Gohan had been watching the redheaded martial artist as she remained silent. The muscles in her arms and jaw sometimes twitched and her chest rose and fell in deep breaths. He wasn't sure what to think of her. His mother, Chichi, was a strict and rather reserved person who you used to make the martial arts a part of her life. Bulma was a strong, opinionated woman just like his mother, and like her mother she used her mind more than her muscle to solve problems. This was probably what set Ranko apart; she did not yell and make arguments over fighting, but put up her fists and fought. It was the reaction of a Saiyajin.
Gohan's eyes became concerned as he watched the way Ranko seemed to stare at nothing and experience so much pain. What did she see? "Why do you fight, Saotome-san?"
Closing her eyes for a long moment, Ranko turned herself to face Gohan and give him a little smile. "Call me Ranko, Gohan-chan. I ain't old enough to be Saotome-san."
She looked at the boy, beyond just the cursory glance. Ranko saw scars people gained through training and fights. They were numerous, but they were also small and faded, maybe a result from the senzu beans the boy had likely taken before. He was still a preteen, maybe ten or eleven, and yet his body and the look in his eyes told Ranko the boy had been arduously trained for some time. Though she hadn't seen it, Ranko could believe the boy was strong enough to be among these fighters.
"There are lots of reasons for me to fight," Ranko continued. "I used to fight because I had to. It was the policy of my school. Anyone who challenged me I had to fight and win."
Ranko thought of her father who had made that point clear to her. As the heir to the Anything Goes school, she had to meet every challenge or face dishonor. If she lost, then she would have to train until she could beat whatever new technique or ability had been pitted against her.
"Then I fought for the people, my friends and family. They counted on me and I had to keep them safe."
"Until Cell," Gohan whispered. Cell, Frieza, Vegita, Raditz; they had all come to take something from him. They each came and took away someone he loved and cared for. Gohan could understand that the reasons Ranko had mentioned were things of the past.
"Until Cell," Ranko repeated. She felt the pressure of two little arms around her waist and a head pressed against her chest. Gohan wasn't sobbing like a child, but in another time he might have been.
Ranko put an arm around the boy and stroked back his spiky hair. Across the courtyard she could see Goku turning around to watch them, his eyes sad and concerned, but not quite sure how to express these things with his son. In a way, Goku reminded Ranko of her own father. It made sense why Gohan was here, he wanted to prove something to his father.
Another presence appeared before her. Ranko turned her eye to the young Namekian, who claimed to be the new kami of earth. The other man, Mr. Popo has moved off somewhere into the building, mumbling something about the time.
"Is Gohan alright?" Dende asked, setting down his staff as he knelt beside his friend.
7 The boy in question pulled his face away from the side of Ranko's chest and turned around slightly in her hold. Gohan kept her arm over his shoulder and smiled weakly at his friend then croaked, "I'm fine, Dende."
"He's worried about what Cell will do if we can't stop him," Ranko spoke. She felt herself worrying about the young Saiyajin, him and his friend actually. She worried about his future if Cell truly became unbeatable. The boys were too young to be fighting this kind of battle, to lose their families if something went wrong. Ranko already knew too many others who had lost their parents or had their lives destroyed at a young age.
"I'm worried too," Dende admitted with a little grin. "But you have to believe in your father, Gohan. He saved my people and defeated Frieza. He will win here too."
"But Cell is so strong, Dende," argued Gohan, "I don't see how-"
"Sometimes," Ranko thought of her own fights, which people had assumed would be impossible to win. "Sometimes you have to believe without seein, Gohan. Hopin' in a kami that'll see things through for ya. It's called faith."
Dende smiled as he caught her glance when talking about kamis.
"It's time! It's time!" Mr. Popo exclaimed as he rushed for a large bronze door on one side of the temple grounds. Gohan perked up noticeably at this and stood up, wiping at his eyes.
"Maybe Trunks and Vegita will be able to take care of Cell," Gohan hoped with a smile. With a look he thanked Ranko for her words and rushed off to see how powerful the two Ranko had yet to meet had become.
Pushing off against the wall, Ranko stood up beside Dende. "Let's go see these two Saiyajins everyone's been waitin fer."
Another pair of arms grabbed at her waist and Ranko found the young kami hugging her tightly. "I hope they can stop Cell from killing all those poor people."
Staring sadly at the Namekian, Ranko placed a hand on his back briefly while another part of her felt Cell release another volley of blasts no doubt destroying whole populations in seconds. The life of a woman is fraught with peril.
The group of Z fighters had gathered around the large bronze door by the time Ranko and Dende arrived. The doors were opening, a white light behind them leaving them as silhouettes to the rest. With slow, powerful steps the two men exited the Chamber of Time and Space with expressions that were both grim and smug.
The first was shorter, maybe an inch or more than Ranko's father had been. He wore a blue body suit that covered his legs up to his chest beneath a strange, flexible looking body armor that molded itself to his chest. His eyes were filled with contempt for others and pride in himself. Dark hair was swept back into the air like he were flying forward with the wind in his face.
The second, a young man with silver white hair, was slightly taller. He wore more casual clothing with emblems marking himself as a member of the Capsule Corps. Leaner than the older man, his muscles were more easily seen with only a black tank top covering his chest. The khaki jeans were torn in places, making him look all the more rugged and powerful.
"Wow, you two feel real strong," Goku enthused after inspecting both men.
"More powerful than you shall ever be, Kakorotto," the first man sneered. Ranko could guess that this was Vegita after hearing about his rivalry with Goku from Tien. "I will deal with this Cell and prove myself as the strongest fighter in the universe once again!"
Now who did this remind Ranko of? She quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. Despite Vegita's attitude he did seem like their best option at the moment.
"Let's go, father," Trunks interjected, passing his glance over Ranko for the moment. "We have to go stop Cell."
"Good luck you guys," Goku smiled and turned to his on. "You ready to begin training Gohan."
"Sure, dad," the boy answered.
Vegita snorted, "A waste of time."
As the large bronze door closed again Vegita and Trunks started walking over to the edge of the island and scanned the world below them for signs of Cell. It was easier than they would have expected. Both flared their auras for a moment and jumped into the air, or one of them did.
"Hey," Trunks objected to having his ear pulled down on. He turned in the air to look at who had stopped him and swallowed when he met the redhead from before, only much closer. An eyeful was not giving her the credit she deserved. "Uh, what?"
"You are taking me with you," Ranko demanded.
Trunks stared at her dumbly then looked back to where his father was already miles away. There wasn't time to argue it, and from the look in Ranko's eyes it seemed she wasn't going to give him the chance anyway.
The remaining Z fighters watched the two Saiyajins fly off with Ranko in Trunks' arms. Tien could only shake his head at the reckless ways of the redhead. "She sure does get around."
~
Cell was down to the last island in the area android 18 could have gotten to in such a short amount of time. He knew she was here somewhere with 16 and that it was only a matter of time until he found her and finally became complete.
Floating only a few hundred feet over the last island, Cell began a methodical search of the whole island or would have until he felt an enormous source of ki tracking down his location. By the feel of it, he considered it might be Vegita, a weaker fighter than Piccolo was. He was proven correct as the blonde prince of Vegita, the Saiyajin home world, and came to a stop only a hundred feet away.
"Oh?" Cell smirked and looked down on Vegita like he were an insect. "And what can I do for you, Vegita?"
Vegita growled and began to power up.
~
"What is that?" Ranko gasped as she stared out ahead to where Trunks was taking her.
The platinum haired boy's brow furrowed. "Father is fighting Cell," he stated with a determined look in his eyes and pushed himself a little harder to catch up with the older Saiyajin.
"It feels," Ranko had never been so close to something that truly felt like a god, but Vegita, even from this distance, his ki level was nothing short of breath taking. It frightened as well as excited her. Cell would die for sure this time. "It feels incredible," Ranko finished with a whisper of awe.
Trunks gave the redhead an uncertain look, but continued on his way. Soon they arrived at the island where Vegita and Cell were trading blows. Actually, though they were both fast, Vegita was that much faster. Cell was being knocked into mountain and sea like a rag doll. Trunks floated over the island with Ranko in his arms in case a blast destroyed the area. He smiled with pride, watching his father knock Cell around with such ease.
Ranko's smile was a little more malicious, but no less fixed upon the battle. She wished she could be the one with so much power, to beat Cell into a bloody mass beneath her fists. Though, she could settle for just watching in this case. Ranko would take Cell's beating any way she could get it.
After putting a large crater in the island by knocking Cell into the earth head first, Vegita backed off a bit and smirked. "Not so high and might now, eh Cell?" the Super Saiyajin sneered arrogantly. "This fight is boring. You're hardly worth the effort. How you could ever you think you would beat the prince of all Saiyajin is pathetic."
Cell grunted and lifted himself off of the ground. "Not bad, Vegita," he brushed the back of his hand over his bleeding lip, "but if I had my complete form you would never have lasted so long."
"Ha!" Vegita crossed his arms over his chest and stared down on Cell from where he floated overhead. "You keep harping about this complete form. I'm almost tempted to let you absorb the android just to prove how pathetic you really are."
"Father!" Trunks gasped. He wouldn't, would he?
Ranko saw the Saiyajin and Cell glance over to where the blonde android and the larger, broken 16 stood. Behind them stood the bald monk, Kuillin, a pile of twisted metal at his feet. Ranko's eyes went wide as she began to believe Vegita may just let Cell absorb 18, and they would be destroyed because of his pride.
Vegita glanced at the android then to Cell and finally nodded, "Make it quick. This had better be good."
Cell was not the only surprised person on the island. 18 began to back up as the green monster approached. Trunks sputtered in shock and wavered in the air for a moment. It was a short moment.
Ranko tumbled out of the air then righted herself enough to land on her feet on the island. Her heart was beating harder as she glared at Vegita and hoped for success when Trunks intercepted Cell.
"No," Trunks slid in front of the green monster, already changed into his Super Saiyajin form, arms wide. "I won't let you. Father, just defeat him and let's finish this!"
Cell stopped when confronted by Trunks. If Vegita could increase his power level so much in just one day then it was likely Trunks would be just as strong. He glanced over his shoulder to the other Saiyajin, "Vegita?"
"Get out of the way, stupid boy!" Vegita ordered, the he looked more amused than upset. "It's not like a weakling such as yourself could take on Cell anyway."
"No, Father." Trunks turned a determined gaze onto Cell and started building up a little more energy. "This is wrong. I'm going to prove you wrong!"
A new battle was suddenly taken up, and Trunks and Cell were bounding about the island, tossing energy blasts and physical attacks. The fight was on a more even scale than what it had been between Vegita and Cell. A lucky hit dropped Trunks into the sea, but the youth quickly recovered and blasted back into the air to return the favor. Cell made a larger splash as he hit the sea with help of Trunk's double hammer fist blow.
"What are you doing?!" Ranko yelled, enraged at the older Saiyajin. Vegita only gave her a glance. "Get over there and kill the monster before he hurts anyone else!"
Vegita laughed, but he was growing tired of watching this pathetic battle between his future son and Cell. In a flash he disappeared and stood before his son a moment later, fist firmly planted in Trunks' gut. "Now hurry up," he ordered Cell. "I'm not waiting all day for a decent fight."
Cell backed off a few steps, then turned and ran for android 18, not allowing time for anyone else to get in his way.
"NO!" Cell was fast, but Ranko was still closer to 18. She got in the green monsters direct path, ready to fight as hard as she could to prevent Cell from becoming any stronger. A hard energy blast from Vegita was her reward for trying to protect humanity from this creature, its extinction.
"Stupid girl," Vegita scoffed and dropped his son on the ground.
Rolling with the blast when she touched the ground, Ranko picked herself right back up and rushed after 18 while Cell was momentarily distracted. With a quick swoop, Ranko had the fear-locked 18 in her arms and she was bolting for the protection of the forest. It was not to be.
Cell had paused as Vegita's energy blast past him to knock away the redhead. He'd never thought Vegita was this eager for a battle with a stronger opponent. Now the redhead had the last piece to his ultimate revenge against the world. Racing faster, Cell's tail lashed out for her back, "Drop the android, girl!"
Ranko cried out in pain as she lost grip of 18 and was sent hurdling towards the mountain, speeds where she would be lucky to survive with just a broken bone or two.
"I've got you!" Kuillin called out, catching Ranko before she hit the mountain and reducing the impact with his ki. Together, their impact punched a hole in the mountain.
18 held off for a few moments, but Cell quickly had her wrapped up in his tail. "Now then, where were we?"
"You were on your way to hell," 18 grunted as the tail constricted. She tried to kick, but Cell was feeling none of it. Her doom came with a cone descending over her head, and she was powerless to stop it. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me-!"
Cell smirked at her muffled screams as she was absorbed through the tail and then closed his eyes as a new rush of power overwhelmed him. An electrical storm raged through his veins and struck the world around him like an entity that dominated its space and pushed aside all else. Here was power that rivaled the sun. Here was the energy he needed to claim his superiority over the universe!
"Ahahahaha! No power in the galaxy is great enough to stand against me now!" Cell arched back and released great gales of laughter, flexing his new body, the white skin defended by green and black armoring. His wings hung down from his shoulders to compare to those of a large cockroach's back. The long tail that had brought him this fate pulled in tightly to his body, no longer needed. His was now absolute perfection, the greatest of all things.
Smirking, Cell looked back up t where Vegita floated in the air, waiting for his next battle. He could see the bit of surprise on the Saiyajin's face and knew it would be worse still once the extent of his new power was revealed. The arrogant Vegita would fall from his self-proclaimed throne and would rot beneath his feet. "Are you ready now to face my complete form, Vegita?"
Growling, Vegita fell into a concentrated fighting stance. This time the fight would be far more interesting.
~
The water about the island shimmered as if the land had just been dropped within the sea. Trees swayed to a breeze generated by one being. A crater beneath Cell's feet grew quickly to encompass a twenty-meter radius. Trunks felt his chest tighten with this show of power. For someone to become this powerful . . Cell truly was a monster.
Trunks was paused before the hole in the mountain where Kuillin and Ranko were stuck. He could feel their ki and knew they were fine so he kept his eyes on the new fight. It began almost immediately. Cell stood there a moment while flexing his new body and grinning at himself and then he was off, back to physical blows with his father. Things were not looking so good this time.
"Damn you, father," Trunks cursed. "It's your Saiyajin heritage that let Cell get this far. Now it's probably too late."
Cell dodged a combination of kicks and punches, phased out, and reappeared behind Vegita. Then next moment Vegita was plummeting for the earth, the wind rushing by screamed like a comet's backlash. Vegita's body dug a hole in the ground so deep and wide that the whole island shuddered and divided.
"I hope this isn't the best you can do, Vegita," Cell taunted the fallen Saiyajin.
Trunks watched his father's aura flare even brighter, his body expanding a little, and then punching out of the ground with a roar. "No one beats Vegita!"
Cell laughed and knocked away the golden ki blasts coming at him faster than a machine gun could fire. A cloud of dust developed about Cell's body as the blasts continued to pile up and explode over the green monster's body.
Breathing deeply, Vegita smirked at what he assumed would be a pile of ashes falling out of the sky. He'd just delivered more power in those last blasts than what had been previously seen on this earth. Cell was dead, nothing could survi-
"Hahahahaha!" Cell's new golden aura brushed away the dust to reveal his body whole and unhurt. "A good try, Vegita, but now it is my turn."
Energy shot forth from Cell's right hand. Vegita attempted to negate it with another of his own, but Cell's energy overwhelmed the defense and hit Vegita squarely in the chest.
"Father!" Trunks cried out in alarm. Vegita was dropped into the water this time and his bright golden aura was impossible to make out at the depths he had been pushed.
Still smirking arrogantly, Cell descended to the island to wait out Vegita's return, if he returned. "That was too easy, Vegita! Were you all bark and no bite?"
Trunks waited for agonizing moments while his father resurfaced from the water. There was no way his arrogant, egotistical father could have been killed. Since coming to the past, Vegita surprised Trunks one time after the next. He'd originally come to warn Goku, his mother believing Goku Son was their true savior, but his father's power had been putting that theory to the test. Now, after training a full year with his father, Trunks knew Vegita could not be put down like this; Vegita was meant for greater things. Trunks could see it in his father's eyes.
The mountainside crumbled and shifted slightly and a slide of dirt revealed Kuillin pulling himself out. In his arms was a coughing redhead, who spat out dirt and shook her head of dizziness. "Hey, Trunks," Kuillin greeted the Saiyajin weakly. "How are things going?"
"Not to good, Kuillin," Trunks replied, still focused on the sea. There was something there, his father maybe, but what was he waiting for? "Cell's power has grown a hundred times of what it was."
"That's bad," Kuillin agreed and hoisted Ranko out of the dirt completely. He held her in his arms as they floated high in the air and looked out to the battlefield where Cell stood patiently, waiting for Vegita's return.
"It's coming," Trunks whispered.
Kuillin closed his eyes to feel for the energy. It was deep below the surface of the ocean. A massive buildup of energy was beginning to boil the water and the source was climbing closer to the surface. In his arms, Ranko kept an arm around his neck and was looking over to watch events unfold.
The water parted at the force of Vegita's aura as the Saiyajin continued to rise into the air. His ki flow was immense, larger than what it was before. Golden flames burned brighter and higher to look like a second sun. Vegita's body could only be seen as an outline as he roared for more power to build up in his body.
"Oh?" Cell looked up, unimpressed. "And what are you planning now, Vegita?"
"Now you die, Cell!" Vegita's body drank in the golden aura and forced it all between his cupped hands. Taking a deep breath, Vegita shot forth his hands and screamed, "BIG BANG ATTACK!"
~
The once beautiful island was now ransacked of the nature that had made it. The valley was desert where once had been fields of lush grass, flowers, and trees. There was nothing now but the brown desolation. Not a sound but the wind winding into the energy carved valley. Not a sound but the wind and laughter.
"Hahahaha!" Cell had lost his arm and leg, but he still felt in the mood for laughter. His enemy lay on the ground, wasted of his own energy. "That was pathetic. I am now the perfect, invincible warrior and you thought you could destroy me with that pitiful attack?!"
Cell's laughter rang through the valley, echoing loud into the sky.
Further off, the sands shifted and some heavy sections of earth were toppled over. Trunks stood up after having to protect Kuillin and Ranko with his body from his father's attack. With a shove, he tossed aside another boulder. The two humans were dirty, but unharmed.
This destruction should never have happened. If only, "Father."
"That's it," Kuillin stuttered and fear. "Cell's won."
"No." Trunks stood up straighter, tightening his fists and he turned to look on Cell. "I'll kill him."
"But Trunks, Vegita-"
"Was nothing compared to me," Trunks put in.
Kuillin gasped. The statement had not gone unheard by Cell either. All eyes turned to the younger Saiyajin as he strode further into the valley, His eyes hard and focused on Cell. "During training father pushed himself harder than I'd ever seen anyone train. He got to where he is now after only six months. He stopped there and began to train at that level every day afterwards."
Trunks' eyes went over to where his father lay in his normal state, black, spiky hair wafting in the wind. "But where father stopped, I went on. I didn't have the heart to tell him, but now that he's unconscious I don't mind showing you Cell!"
Cell was a little startled then his mouth curved into a cocky smile. "You're bluffing."
"You think so?" Trunks blinked out from the area and reappeared before Cell with his fist firmly planted in the monster's gut, sending the creature skidding across the ground. "Think again."
"Wow," Kuillin awed at the sight. "Trunks has gotten really strong." Ranko nodded in agreement.
Shaking his head, Cell slowly picked himself up. "Not bad. This should be very interesting."
"Count on it," Trunks answered heatedly. Still facing Cell, Trunks braced himself and began to gather his full power. Unlike his father, Trunks wanted this fight over as quickly as possible. He'd seen enough destruction and death in his own timeline, he wouldn't let it happen again.
The ground began to shake and whole clumps of dirt began to rise with the energy. Kuillin circled his arms around Ranko's waist and pulled her to the air. He could tell this was going to be a massive ki battle if Cell lasted long enough. "Go get him, Trunks! Yeah!"
"Yes, Trunks," Cell taunted as he watched the Super Saiyajin continue to climb in power. "Come get me."
Super Trunks' arms and legs exploded outwards with greater muscle tone that increased his height and girth by a number of inches. His forearms alone looked like tree trunks. "You'll pay for all the pain you've caused, Cell."
Cell only smirked and waited.
Finished with his buildup, Trunks broke his concentration and focused on Cell again. With a sneer he rushed forward to slam his fist into Cell's face.
The punch came and passed by harmlessly.
Cell continued to smirk and dodged further attacks with ease. "You're a bigger fool than Vegita."
"What?!" Trunks pushed himself harder, but he continued to miss. "What is this? I can't even touch him!"
Back on the edge of the battle, Ranko shook her head at this latest failure. "Baka."
"What is it?" Kuillin asked, concerned.
Ranko glanced back up at the futile battle. Trunks was definitely strong, but his training had been a waste of time. Vegita must have seen this and that's why he really stopped. "He's too big."
Kuillin looked to Trunks and then back, "So?"
"So his bulk is getting in the way." Ranko sneered. She'd thought Vegita was a bullheaded egotist like Ryouga, but here was Trunks proving himself even more so. From experience, Ranko could say that strength was not everything. "He's too slow now."
The point was being driven home into Trunks' body at the same time. Cell finished dodging and moved in to attack. No matter what the Saiyajin did he was too slow, and Cell returned to toss him into mountains, the sea, and hit him with powerful energy blasts.
"Father," Trunks croaked at the unconscious form of his father. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"So you see the futility of this now?" Cell laughed and backed off. "It was a good try Trunks, but you should know now that you are no match for the perfect warrior!"
Trunks began to descend, powering down as he finally came to rest on his knees, staring at the ground. He'd lost without even landing one hit. The world was doomed because he hadn't seen what was so obvious to his father. He was a fool! "Damn. Damnit! DAMNIT!"
"Don't worry. I won't be destroying the world yet." Cell floated up a little higher. "I'll give you ten days to prepare for my tournament. Ten days and then the fate of this planet will be decided."
"Hey!" Trunks' face slammed into the ground as Ranko rushed in and used it as a catapult. "Aren't you forgetting someone?!" Her lower body rose over her head as she turned herself into a downward kick.
Cell blinked in surprise and gave way for a few feet, but remained in the air.
Unable to fly, Ranko fell back down to the earth in a ready stance. Her leg hurt like hell from the kick, but she'd take more just to hurt Cell a little. "You ain't leavin here till I've kicked yer ass!"
Trunks recovered and put his hand out to ward Ranko off, "You can't-"
"Shove it, you coward!" Ranko glared at the young Saiyajin then turned back to the amused Cell. "I don't give up just because someone is stronger than me! A true martial artist fights because she has too, not because she knows she'll win!"
"Ranko!" Kuillin called out fearfully. He'd been to intent on the fight between Trunks and Cell that he hadn't noticed when she escaped his grasp. The crazy girl was going to get herself killed facing Cell now.
With a grin, Cell descended from the air and set down softly on the ground. "You should listen to the girl, Trunks. Alone she has already killed me once, which is far more than any of your friends have been able to accomplish."
Trunks blinked at that and looked at Ranko again. She certainly didn't look that powerful. In fact, she seemed weaker than Cell was in his first form. Almost killed him? How? This weak fighter?
"And I'll do it again as many times as it takes to get rid of you for good!" Ranko cried out, raising her fist at the murderer of her family and friends.
"I believe you would try," Cell laughed.
He laughed? Laughed at her? Ranko's left eye twitched. She was not weak and she always kept her promises. If she said she would kill Cell, then she would kill Cell! "I may not be the strongest fighter in the world, but I'm still the best god damn martial artist and I'm gonna shove that straight down yer fucking throat!"
"You're no longer worth my time," Cell chuckled as he looked down on her, "little girl."
"THAT'S IT!" Ranko screeched. So much hate, so much anger, it pumped through her body until it all felt like one big flexing muscle. She would teach Cell to take her seriously. It didn't matter how strong Cell got, Ranko was still anything but a weak little girl! "I'LL," Ranko dropped into a slight crouch, "DESTROY," ki claws shot out of her hands the color of thick blood, "YOU!"
Cell lost his smirk as he watched Ranko take off at speeds that should not be possible for someone so weak. It was nothing near what he was capable of, but the fact itself was enough to draw his attention and take her more seriously. "Fine, you want to meet your fate sooner rather than later? Then you shall have your wish!"
Unlike Goku, Cell was easier to anger. Ranko continued to spout insults, some of which made Kuillin and Trunks cringe. Cell's incredible power was overwhelming, but she would where a pink dress before running in fear. In her mind, Cell's days were numbered and the clock was running out.
Ranko rushed in with her ki claws ready. She watched him rear back with a reverse punch. Though the speed Cell could now move at was invisible to her eye, Ranko knew form. In the momentary flash of movement, Ranko also knew that Cell was off balance.
"Ha!" Cell's fist ripped through the area he'd expected Ranko to end up. He felt nothing and was surprised to see she had sidestepped and stopped just within his reach. Her hand was already around his wrist and using his momentum Cell found himself planted in the ground. "What?!"
Ranko wasn't going to give him the luxury of examining what had just happened. The cat in her wanted blood and urged her to pounce. She jumped into the air after Cell immediately after letting go and came down with a ki charged sidekick. The power of the blow knocked Cell's face a few inches deeper into the ground.
"Damnit," she mentally cursed herself. Ranko had forgotten how hard Cell's body felt now with all of that ki reinforcing his frame. It was like striking steel and she only had pool cue. Well then, she'll need to use the point a little more.
"Little girl!" Cell growled and jumped back to his feet.
Ranko rolled away in time and poised herself for a new attack. This time Cell charged in. He flew in like before on the island Goku had taken her away from. Cell's fists were already flying, but she wasn't concerned about his fists this time.
Smirking, Ranko suddenly ducked and came up with a hold on Cell's feet. His momentum again brought him face down in the dirt. Ranko had used his legs as leverage to get him there. This time she pushed off immediately and gathered her ki into her hands. "Mouko Takabisha!"
The blast hit and kicked up another cloud of dirt. Ranko's smile almost widened until Cell came flying out of the dust cloud, obviously pissed. From his other battles, Ranko knew where Cell would place himself for double hammer blow. She quickly flipped and prayed he'd be there and kicked off.
Cell jerked in surprise as he received a mouthful of feminine heel. "You little . ."
Tumbling out of her fall, Ranko jumped to her feet and began taunting him again. "What's wrong, Cell-chan? Is a little girl like me giving you troubles?" She added on a little giggle for effect and was pleased to see Cell's rage increase, as well as his aura.
"You die!" Cell's hands came together for a powerful blast, which struck the ground at Ranko's feet.
For a few moments the area was silent as everyone watched the settling dust cloud. Trunks and Kuillin had been gaping at the small fight since it started, stunned to see Cell being tossed into the ground almost casually. To the other side, Vegita was able to turn his head to watch the fight. He'd expected Trunks to be in the losing battle, only to find the redhead from before giving more than she got.
"She's . . She's . ." Kuillin hoped, prayed that his feelings were wrong, but Ranko's ki . .
"She's gone," Trunks finished sadly. Ranko had contained amazing skill, but against someone as powerful as Cell, skill could only take her so far.
"Pity," Cell dusted off his hands, "I was starting to like her."
"That's very sweet, Cell-chan."
"What?!" Everyone looked around for the source of the voice. The Z-fighters were once again dazzled by Ranko's skill as they watched Cell once again tossed into the ground by his wrist, but Ranko was nowhere to be seen.
Cell growled and looked about the area. He closed his eyes and looked harder. "There is no ki here. Where did the little girl go?"
"What did I say about the little girl thing?!" Ranko's voice screamed from behind the monster.
Cell tried to turn and fire off a ki blast, but his left foot was kicked out from beneath him and he ended up slamming the energy blast into his own torso. Shrieking scratch marks appeared over his back, but his body was too strong to be pierced by Ranko's invisible cat claws. He stood and was again tossed in another direction.
Flaming golden aura bursting about his body, Cell stood up solidly, willing himself not to be thrown again. "When I catch you . ."
"Who said you could catch me?"
Cell's hand shot off a quick blast that struck against the far mountainside.
"That was way off!"
He shot again.
Ranko's voice came again and it giggled with insult, "Nope, try again!"
"DIE!" Cell growled and shot a blast into every direction. If the area was barren before it was utterly devastated this time. Kuillin and Trunks had to fly off a distance to avoid the random blasts. The whole island was surrounded in a dust cloud. When it was over Cell stood in the same spot breathing hard through his nose and glaring in every direction.
"That was good, Cell-chan. Now it's my turn."
Cell gasped and took an involuntary step back as Ranko suddenly appeared ducking at his feet and rising up with an uppercut.
"HIRYU SHOUTEN HA!"
The perfect warrior looked at the small fist for a second when Ranko missed by over a foot. He looked down to her smirking face and sudden gale of wind lifted him into the air. "You bitch!"
The Z-fighter's jaws dropped at the size of the tornado developing. They could see Cell's aura rolling around in the wind and could even see it get brighter with every moment as he attempted to force himself out. Unfortunately for Cell, every time he increased the strength of his aura, the hurricane increased its hold to keep him there. It was a cycle that lasted so far that the hurricane base could touch every edge of the island at the same time.
Water was drawn up from the sea to enter the funnel along with rocks, trees, and anything else that was not bolted to the planet. The hurricane lasted another five minutes before Cell's energy level dropped of completely and suddenly.
Without the energy being provided by Cell, the winds fell away to nothing. Everything that had been drawn up into the hurricane began to fall away also until all that was left was a slowly spinning Cell, gravity beginning to reassert itself brought him down with a heavy impact against the ground miles below.
Over the edge of the island, Ranko reappeared, spitting up some seawater and dragging herself back onto dry land. "Wow. Didn't think it was gonna get that big." She rung out some water from her pigtail and looked around for Cell.
His landing kicked up a sizeable amount of debris that had been caught up in the hurricane. Cautious, Ranko used the Umisenken again and disappeared from view.
Cell knocked away the rocks and tree limbs in his way and stood up straight. "An interesting technique little girl," he yelled to the empty valley. "But it would take years for it to completely burn off my power!"
"Can't blame a girl for trying."
The monster glanced about the area more carefully this time. "This invisibility technique is also quite interesting, but there is a flaw."
"Oh?"
Cell nodded. Smirking, he quickly turned about and caught a hold of an invisible hand about to strike the back of his knee. "It leaves a space of complete emptiness."
Ranko eeped and found herself flying through the air without the help of having learned the ability first. She hit the mountainside hard and cried out with pain. Her back felt like it had been broken in a hundred different places and her limbs all felt numb and lifeless. Unable to stop herself, Ranko fell out of the hole and landed face first on the ground. The only thing her broken spine did for her now was holding off the excruciating pain she knew her body would normally be feeling.
Watching after the redhead for a moment, Cell took off for the air. When he was high enough he looked back, "Ten days and then any who wish may enter my tournament."
Tears ran down Ranko's cheeks as she wept softly into the dirt. She didn't even have the ability to roll over and take her face out of the ground. It had taken all of her skill, speed, and power just to pull off that short battle against Cell. And all he did was brush it off, brushed her off, like an insect barely worth noticing. "You weak, little girl."
End Chapter Three
* * *
Michael's piece:
Whew! That took a little longer than I expected, but that happens when you have finals. A few notes:
Cell could feel the emptiness of ki to see through Ranko's invisibility technique. Think of it as there is ki, life force, in everything, even the air. It would take someone with a huge amount of ki to even 'see' this (Cell for instance) so he would have to look very hard to see where the air is absent of ki.
The fight scenes with Cell vs. Vegita and Cell vs. Trunks were very cool and Kaz and I agree, truly epic. But if you want to see them then watch the DBZ series. It would be a waste of your time for us to explain those fights that we all know and have likely seen repeated on Toonami a dozen times before.
Notes from Kaz:
I hope that this chapter was enjoyable! I didn't get much input this time because it's hard to get internet access when your homeless! Yes folks, that's right, homeless. . . I've been leading a
nomadic life for the last two weeks, no home, no internet. Don't know
where i'm gonna end up the next day, I'm starting to know a little
on how Ryoga feels, or something. I'll be on the road for about another week so I can start back into the writing!
Give Mike a round of applause for his work on this chapter,
and hope to see you next time, same Cell time, same Cell channel!
Send C&C to Michael at: jehtek@hotmail.com
Or Kazblah at: kazblah945@aol.com
Or visit the Temple of the Creative: www.geocities.com/jehtek
Ja ne.