Disclaimer: No DBZ is owned by me. *Tra-lala* The only things I own are...Foreign, Squeegle, Houyoku, Creator, Phaythe, and Sanrioki! And all the other stuff I created within the depths/shallows of my mind.
Sierrakoi: What can I say?
Chibi Sierrakoi: Lala!
Sierrakoi: Hnn..lala!
Random Dude: -_- Why me...La.
Last time: Cell decided if he absorbed enough humans he might change to his Perfect form...but is he right? Gohan is also on the way to check out the odd ki signatures!
This time: Cell goes on his hunt, taking Foreign and Houyoku along for the ride. And Gohan must deal with a certain stubborn saiyajin prince!
WARNING: Possibility of potato jokes ahead.
Clearing the Dust
"Along the strands of time we play, a dust gathers in our wake--to hide the things we've done, or to preserve the things we take."
"What do you want?!"
Noting Vegeta did not ask 'Where is Bulma?' or anything or that sort, Gohan concluded Vegeta was in one of his original saiyajin prince moods. So, being as quick as possible, the young demi-saiyajin dumped the shopping bags on the kitchen table of Capsule Corp before Vegeta could protest.
"I'm dropping these off for Bulma," Gohan replied, deliberately mentioning the wife's name. Vegeta only snorted.
"Where is that confounded woman? I want my meal," the spike-haired prince growled, eyeing the weighted shopping bags in disgust.
"Waiting for me," Gohan hastily explained as he took off at a jog toward the door. Briefly he glanced around the elegant interior of the Capsule Corp living room, then allowing his thoughts to drift to his simple home in the woods. "We're, uh- looking for something, I left her in Sanrioki to drop off the stuff- hope ya don't mind-"
Vegeta made no warning as he phased in front of Gohan, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. Gohan, taken off guard, nearly toppled into the scowling prince.
"What is this all about?" Vegeta ordered sharply. As usual, he did not appreciate not knowing something he should know.
Gohan swallowed a batch of uneasy nerves, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "It's nothing, really, I need to get back to Bulma-"
Still not phased, Vegeta interrupted Gohan once more. "I'm coming with you."
Gohan flinched at the words that seemed to be etched in stone. "But Vegeta, what about Trunks?"
Vegeta snorted tersely. "He can take care of himself."
Gohan's mouth dropped slightly. "He's only six!"
"Exactly," Vegeta responded icily as if in challenge to Gohan's outburst.
Gohan shook his head absently. How was he going to stand up against Vegeta? There was no way Trunks could be left alone! At least, not if the Briefs didn't want the house in shambles.
"Vegeta-"
Vegeta's scowl deepened as he cut Gohan off again. "Listen, boy--the onna's parents are home, the old man is in the lab and the woman is in the kitchen with Trunks. We can leave now and they won't notice our departure."
Gohan blinked once, twice. Okay, so the Briefs were home...maybe Vegeta wasn't as heartless as he liked to pretend.
"Okay," Gohan gave in. He side-stepped around Vegeta, heading for the door exiting Capsule Corp. There was a serious expression now painted on his face. "I'll explain what's happening on the way to Sanrioki."
Vegeta, clad in his traditional saiyajin armor (Gohan had decided he had recently been training with Trunks in the Gravity Room, which explained his armor--it was his preference when training) with his arms crossed, only scoffed in acknowledgement as he and Gohan exited Capsule Corp.
-_-_-_-
"What is that brat's problem?"
Houyoku, despite herself, shot Cell an agitated look with her eyebrows furrowed and her lips puckered. Foreign noted this and nearly laughed out loud at Cell's shocked and angry facial reaction. It was good the child could still show some resistance to Cell's on-going teasing and downsizing of her, but it wasn't good that the human was still scared of flying.
"She's scared," Foreign replied mutely. Her voice was laced with a note of 'No duh'. Cell noted the sarcastic tone and snorted, speeding up slightly.
Houyoku had attached herself to Foreign's back again, and with the temporary departure of Cell the little girl buried her face into the back of Foreign's neck and shuddered. Foreign checked her speed again--she wasn't going fast at all--but by her reaction, Houyoku must have thought otherwise. Cell was obviously growing impatient.
-He thinks if he devours enough humans he can become Perfect,- Foreign concluded. She shook her head just slightly, sighing. She knew she had felt something odd and wrong when she had been within Cell--something tweaked, something manipulated in a way that she felt it was hampering the road to Cell's 'perfection'. But even Foreign could sense Cell also had doubts. Maybe he even believed her. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying--and Foreign had to admire that...even if he WAS being a bit stubborn.
Knowing Houyoku was going to complain, Foreign sped up her flight where she was level with Cell again. Houyoku voiced her complaint, as expected, by tightening her grip around Foreign's neck.
Cell glanced at Foreign out of the corner of his eye, a smirk twisting itself on his beak. "I don't want any disruptions when I'm hunting. Keep the brat under control."
Foreign frowned as individual strands of her hair swept by her face as a frail wind blew. The ground underneath was zipping by; rust colored dirt was fading into a deep luscious green, patches of trees were becoming more noticeable. Cell had said they were heading to a nearby forest where he had gotten his last human meal. He suspected there were probably more there in some shape, form or fashion. Foreign was a bit antsy about witnessing Cell absorbing the humans--when she had been inside him, even the images she had seen were chilling enough--but she wouldn't let Cell know that. Houyoku, on the other hand...well, the kid didn't like Cell to start with. And if she saw Cell absorb any humans, she'd probably be scared to death of him. And a scared kid clinging to Foreign's leg was never a good thing.
Cell was running over various thoughts in his head, secretly cherishing the fact that androids such as he--and he now noted, Foreign,--- had the ability to fly without using much (if any) ki to do so. And this would leave them undetected. But the bio-android would have to watch out when absorbing humans and control the amount of ki he radiated. No need for unwanted attention.
That human was becoming more of a nuisance with every minute. Cell frankly had no idea why Foreign insisted on keeping the brat. Sure, the human provided a good cover--but if they were going to stay in that cabin, why keep her? The brat was just a waste of time.
Foreign noticed the trees closing in from the distance. "Is that it?" She hoped so, she wasn't one for long flights--they left her feeling vulnerable and irritated. Besides, she didn't want to venture too far from their cabin.
Houyoku carefully peeked over Foreign's head to see what all the fuss was about as Cell answered, "Yes."
Checking her speed and gradually slowing, Foreign hovered in mid-air as Cell gracefully landed on both feet near the forest edge. Following his example the foreign android landed beside him.
-_-_-_-
King Kai twitched his antennae irritably, while the rambunctious monkey known as Bubbles proceeded to do back flips behind him. Growing agitated, the blue kai finally broke. "Bubbles, will you stop that immediately?? I'm trying to concentrate!" the irritated man grumped moodily. Bubbles froze for one moment before slinking over beside his master, peering curiously up at him.
King Kai narrowed his shadowed eyes as he tried to tap into what he had been studying earlier. He had a moment to himself--Goku was training (again), there were no fellow kais around to bother him, and Bubbles had finally stopped his aggravating behavior. King Kai was usually a jolly fellow, but he had picked up something strange at Earth.
"Unbelievable," King Kai chuckled nervously. "It's almost as if I can sense that android--what's his name--oh yes, Cell wasn't it? Almost as if I could sense him. I never really noticed it until I actually tried tapping into earth's plane level..."
Bubbles, naturally not understanding any of this, scratched under his arm and tugged on Kai's sleeve.
King Kai had a miniature vein pop as he turned on the monkey again. "Go amuse yourself with someone else, Bubbles!" he spluttered.
Bubbles blinked, shrugged, then slunk around to Kai's blind side and started doing back flips again.
King Kai sweatdropped but turned his attention back to the strange phenomenon on earth.
-_-_-_-
"No! No, no, no! This is all wrong!" Creator howled, throwing shredded paper into the air. Squeegle was briefly covered with a driver's license permit before Creator brushed it aside to find his miniature blob friend.
"I don't believe it!" Creator continued as Squeegle jiggled, signaling he was listening to his master's ranting.
At least they weren't DANCING again, so Squeegle could at least take some time off to lounge around and listen to his master rant. It helped pass the time when they weren't playing poker with holographic images Creator summoned of earthling pop singers.
"Neek?" Squeegle asked innocently.
Creator shook his head, tapping his claw against his chin in thought as he propped his feet on the monitor board. "I see, I see now...Sis took the green one, he's her player this time. This I see, this I understand. Foreign is my player, mine mine mine, my pawn..."
Squeegle would have blinked if he had eyes. What was his master getting at?
Please, please, not a...
"POTATO JOKE!" Creator squealed.
Squeegle groaned, turning to a faint yellow shade.
"What do you call a baby potato?" Creator asked Squeegle earnestly, drilling into the little jello blob with piercing iris-less eyes.
"Iknu?" Squeegle answered, blankly...though he had heard this joke over a thousand times before.
"Hah! You call it a SMALL FRY!" And then Creator erupted into chaotic laughter, banging his hand on his knee as he wiped tears from his eyes. Squeegle inched away, jiggling in slight fear of his master's odd behavior.
Creator suddenly jerked upright, his eyes locked on the screen in front of him. Images of earth were flashing by in synchronization, pictures of humans and their odd jobs and hobbies. Squeegle watched the array of images phase on and off the screen before turning his attention back on his master.
Creator shook his head solemnly, his mood changing as the pictures on the screen. "The android, Sis' player. My creation, my player. The game is set. But this time, it is different. Can you guess why, my dear Squeegle?"
Squeegle jiggled, not knowing.
Creator closed his eyes, leaning back into his chair. "All other times, my dear Squeegle, Sis' and my players never interacted with each other except for in combat."
Squeegle turned a faint blue in agreement. That was true. "Snik eeq skwanu?" What was so different?
"Different?" Creator shook his head, giggling slightly. "Our little Foreign has never interacted with Sis' players before. This is a first time. I do not how she will react, so it is harder to manipulate her. And I am still wondering why Sis would go through the trouble of raising a dead android to life when she could have picked one of earth's heroes to do her work for her. And the android is evil as well. Odd, do you not agree? I feel she is up to something." Absently, unclutching a tense hand, Creator glanced down at a small piece of paper that read:
The Prophecy.
Squeegle nodded to Creator's muse, wiggling briefly. He understood. Creator was unsure because this situation was different than the other Games.
Then again, Squeegle was happy as long as there were no more potato jokes.
As if reading his mind, Creator suddenly perked up. "Why do you say to an angry, ten foot tall homicidal potato??"
Squeegle groaned.
Creator answered quickly, giggling. "You don't say anything--you just butter him up! Heehee!"
-_-_-_-
Phaythe bit her lip, working feverishly at her control consol. Should she try to contact Cell again? Would he even listen? Did he even listen last time??
Forcing herself to calm down, Phaythe took a deep breath. This was how she had lost in previous Games--she had gotten too nervous. And she had made mistakes out of her uncertainty. She had to play this smart, and use her past experiences with losing to help her.
But oh, would her brother catch on to her plan?
She could not read his diseased mind. All she could do was hope that this time, there would be a difference.
-_-_-_-
"NO!! PLEASE!"
Cell chuckled maniacally, the lat bit of human essence disappearing within his form. Looking around the scattered campsite, a sadistic smile passed on his beak. How he had missed hearing those screams!
Foreign, on the other hand, was appalled and (to be blunt, using a more human term), 'grossed out'. Cell had been correct--there had been a series of camping trips assigned to the forest. The one he had previously raided (she remembered the man named Garter from Cell's memory) had only been a single camping expedition. Cell had managed to squeeze some information out of his last victim. There were three more, a few miles within each other; all with at least 20-30 people in each site. Cell had been having the time of his life chasing down the humans, sending them scattering in terror and knocking each other over in a panic. Foreign looked away, glancing to Houyoku. She was less than a few yards away, playing with some bugs she had foudn crawling along the ground. Naturally the human screaming had alarmed the child, but Foreign had sharply ordered Houyoku that it was none of her business and everything was fine, and that there were plenty of little creatures for her to play with while they were here. So, Houyoku was occupied.
A faint rustle alerted Foreign of the presence to her right. She made herself turn to face Cell, her face etched in stone. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat, his tail whipping behind him like a prowling snake.
"Hurry up and grab the brat, we're heading to the next camp," Cell ordered. He was still partially caught in the high of the hunt, and dismissed Foreign's frown of contempt.
Foreign noted this and narrowed her eyes right at Cell's, growling slightly. "Take your humans and be done with it. You'll see it won't do anything in the end anyway--you'll STILL be imperfect. And than you'll know I'M right. So, have your fun."
It was Cell's turn to frown as Foreign smirked. Foreign responded by calling Houyoku to them (naturally Houyoku kept close to Foreign and a good distance from Cell) and telling her they were leaving again.
-_-_-_-
"Empty."
Vegeta scowled. The day was wearing on, he was hungry, and confound it, he was out here in the woods!
Bulma bit her lip, examining the dust on the cabin's windowsill. She was hot, tired, and confound it, she had found something!
"The dust here--it's been disturbed. Someone walked by here not long ago. And if you look inside-" the blue-haired beauty motioned inside the open cabin door, "-the dust on the furniture has been disturbed there too. The grass is bent, there's a broken chair. This was not long ago, maybe an hour or so at my guess."
Vegeta snorted. "Whoever it is isn't here, and we're wasting time!"
Gohan shook his head. "I think Bulma's on to something..." He rounded the cabin again. The direction from where the ki signatures had come from had led them here, to this old cabin. And even Gohan had a weird feeling about the whole thing.
"On the contrary," Bulma snapped at her irritable husband. A small grin crept across her face. "Whoever was here, will eventually come back...right?"
((What up! Okay, don't kill me--no EOEB today either. But that's because I'm asking for...duhn dun...ideas! Yep yep, the need for ideas. And only you can supply that. (Plus this chapter is a tad long)
I took off the Sneak Peeks, for a few reasons. One, they sorta took up space. Two, they were sorta an excuse for me to be lazy. And three, uh...well I forgot three, but anyway. I left the first sneak peek because of one important fact: it has The Prophecy on it. Which will and is very important (And that will be shown).
Twenty points out to Bling! YES, iryuujon means illusion! Good going!
Japanese word for this installment is a simple one: ikari!
See ya!
P.S.: I done my profile AGAIN, so if in doubt, always go there to see if I've updated anything. (it's under the 'Updates' section)))