Gohan screamed as his power erupted, all his energy tearing from him
in an incredible display of power. His father's plea was still in his
mind - he would not hold back!
Cell screamed too, but this time in agony, as every last cell of his being was torn apart by the power of the young Saiyajin's Kamehameha. "Impossible," he rasped, feeling the very power that allowed him to regenerate being stolen from him. "This can't be happening to me!"
And then it was over. Gohan's hair faded from golden to black, and he fell, hitting the ground twenty feet below him.
Piccolo was the first to move, Yamcha and Krillin close behind him. Vegeta lowered his hand and used his other to wipe the blood from his face. They had gathered around Gohan, helping him to his feet.
"Well," remarked Tenshinhan, "at least we're safe from evil now."
"Have you finished burying the spaceship, Dabura?" shouted Babidi. Overhead was the sound of dirt pounding onto the spaceship's curved roof. "Make sure you get all of it!"
"I don't see why this is necessary," Dabura bellowed, far on the surface. "If Kaioshin appears I can just kill him!"
"I want to be certain! You, Yakon! Stop eating that henchman! Go back to your dark corner! Where's Pui-Pui?"
"You sent him to find servants, Master Babidi," said a henchman nervously. "Remember?"
"Of course I remember! Dabura, have you finished burying the spaceship yet?"
Pui-Pui adjusted his false moustache and made sure his hat was covering his less than human features. He had to make sure he blended in. He nodded politely at the people who moved past him, crowding the streets of Satan City, where a giant statue had been erected to celebrate the defeat of Cell.
A dog walked past, followed by a dinosaur, and then a small bee with the head of a man. "Good morning, Mr. Smith," somebody said to the bee. Somebody with three heads and twenty legs rumbled past on his way to business meeting.
Suddenly everything froze, and a woman screamed. "A freak! Look at the freak!" Fingers were pointing at Pui-Pui, people were moving closer for a better look. "He's a freak!"
Terrified, Pui-Pui ripped off his moustache and hat, ready for a fight. But as soon as his diguise was gone the mob relaxed. "Nah," said one. "He's just a regular human wearing a stupid disguise. Sorry about that!"
Pui-Pui stared as the crowd dispersed. A planet where weird people were considered normal? Well, that made his job a little easier. If Babidi's plan failed, he could probably settle down here and have a normal life. He might even find a wife.
Only a few metres away Spopovich was walking, feeling more depressed than he had in a long time. He closed his eyes, reliving the moment...
"Satan! Satan! Satan!"
"Don't get cocky!" said Spopovich, tossing back his hair. "You're no champ, you're a CHUMP!"
Mr. Satan laughed. "You think you could last a minute against Cell, Spopovich? You're just a wimp! Heee-yah!" A knee cracked into Spopovich's skull, and then a fist landed in his back, and it was all over. Just the laughter of the crowd, and the sound of his brain slowly melting through the new gaping hole in his head. Oh, the humiliation...
He bumped into somebody. Somebody tall and bony, somebody with glowing yellow eyes!
"What?" said the Grim Reaper. "I'm not even in this story." He moved aside, revealing Pui-Pui. There was something about Pui-Pui that made Spopovich slow down. That, and the fact that the leg Mr. Satan had broken had decided to seize up again.
Pui-Pui noticed Spopovich, too. "Hello," he said. "My name is Pui-Pui. Tell me... do you ever wish you had power? Unimaginable POWER?"
Spopovich's eyes gleamed. "Power? What sort of power?"
"The power to crush anybody who ever laughed at you! To take that smile and force it back in their face!"
"How do you force a smile in somebody's face?"
"It's a figure of speech. You look pretty beat up, don't you? What kind of sissy would get beaten up like that?"
"Shut up," Spopovich growled.
"I'm wasting my time. I don't want somebody who gets the stuffing pounded out of then--"
"I said, shut up!" Spopovich's fist smacked into Pui-Pui's face. The Majin smiled.
"You have potential. Why don't you come with me?"
Yamu inhaled, exhaled, and focused. Then he took a swinging punch at the bag and completely failed to burst it open. He glanced down at his fists, enraged. Why couldn't he get stronger? He trained and trained! How could that fraud Satan have defeated Cell?
"Well, well," said Pui-Pui, emerging from the punching bag. "You seem to be angry."
"How did you get in there?"
Pui-Pui tapped the M on his forehead. "I can go anywhere I want to, now that I'm Majin. I've been watching you, Yamu. You're a very angry man."
"You're right about that," spat Yamu. "That bastard Satan is beating everybody in the tournaments! That title is mine! Now he even has a city named after him, a statue in his name!"
"They're building statues to Satan? What kind of city is this!?"
"Mr. Satan! The world champion! Where are you from that you don't know that?"
"A planet with ten times gravity," said Pui-Pui proudly. "Yamu... if you come with me, you'll have the power to break Mr. Satan in half. You'll have the power to take on the world."
Yamu slowly raised his head. "And if I refuse?"
"Then you'll keep losing. But if you accept, then..." Pui-Pui smiled. "Mr. Satan will be more like, Mr. DEAD." Pui-Pui sighed. "Oh, God, I completely ruined the dramatic moment. That was so lame. Mr. Dead."
"No, it wasn't too bad."
"It was terrible! Mr. Dead? That was just... no. I can't believe I screwed that up. Look, just come with me, okay?"
Cell screamed too, but this time in agony, as every last cell of his being was torn apart by the power of the young Saiyajin's Kamehameha. "Impossible," he rasped, feeling the very power that allowed him to regenerate being stolen from him. "This can't be happening to me!"
And then it was over. Gohan's hair faded from golden to black, and he fell, hitting the ground twenty feet below him.
Piccolo was the first to move, Yamcha and Krillin close behind him. Vegeta lowered his hand and used his other to wipe the blood from his face. They had gathered around Gohan, helping him to his feet.
"Well," remarked Tenshinhan, "at least we're safe from evil now."
"Have you finished burying the spaceship, Dabura?" shouted Babidi. Overhead was the sound of dirt pounding onto the spaceship's curved roof. "Make sure you get all of it!"
"I don't see why this is necessary," Dabura bellowed, far on the surface. "If Kaioshin appears I can just kill him!"
"I want to be certain! You, Yakon! Stop eating that henchman! Go back to your dark corner! Where's Pui-Pui?"
"You sent him to find servants, Master Babidi," said a henchman nervously. "Remember?"
"Of course I remember! Dabura, have you finished burying the spaceship yet?"
Pui-Pui adjusted his false moustache and made sure his hat was covering his less than human features. He had to make sure he blended in. He nodded politely at the people who moved past him, crowding the streets of Satan City, where a giant statue had been erected to celebrate the defeat of Cell.
A dog walked past, followed by a dinosaur, and then a small bee with the head of a man. "Good morning, Mr. Smith," somebody said to the bee. Somebody with three heads and twenty legs rumbled past on his way to business meeting.
Suddenly everything froze, and a woman screamed. "A freak! Look at the freak!" Fingers were pointing at Pui-Pui, people were moving closer for a better look. "He's a freak!"
Terrified, Pui-Pui ripped off his moustache and hat, ready for a fight. But as soon as his diguise was gone the mob relaxed. "Nah," said one. "He's just a regular human wearing a stupid disguise. Sorry about that!"
Pui-Pui stared as the crowd dispersed. A planet where weird people were considered normal? Well, that made his job a little easier. If Babidi's plan failed, he could probably settle down here and have a normal life. He might even find a wife.
Only a few metres away Spopovich was walking, feeling more depressed than he had in a long time. He closed his eyes, reliving the moment...
"Satan! Satan! Satan!"
"Don't get cocky!" said Spopovich, tossing back his hair. "You're no champ, you're a CHUMP!"
Mr. Satan laughed. "You think you could last a minute against Cell, Spopovich? You're just a wimp! Heee-yah!" A knee cracked into Spopovich's skull, and then a fist landed in his back, and it was all over. Just the laughter of the crowd, and the sound of his brain slowly melting through the new gaping hole in his head. Oh, the humiliation...
He bumped into somebody. Somebody tall and bony, somebody with glowing yellow eyes!
"What?" said the Grim Reaper. "I'm not even in this story." He moved aside, revealing Pui-Pui. There was something about Pui-Pui that made Spopovich slow down. That, and the fact that the leg Mr. Satan had broken had decided to seize up again.
Pui-Pui noticed Spopovich, too. "Hello," he said. "My name is Pui-Pui. Tell me... do you ever wish you had power? Unimaginable POWER?"
Spopovich's eyes gleamed. "Power? What sort of power?"
"The power to crush anybody who ever laughed at you! To take that smile and force it back in their face!"
"How do you force a smile in somebody's face?"
"It's a figure of speech. You look pretty beat up, don't you? What kind of sissy would get beaten up like that?"
"Shut up," Spopovich growled.
"I'm wasting my time. I don't want somebody who gets the stuffing pounded out of then--"
"I said, shut up!" Spopovich's fist smacked into Pui-Pui's face. The Majin smiled.
"You have potential. Why don't you come with me?"
Yamu inhaled, exhaled, and focused. Then he took a swinging punch at the bag and completely failed to burst it open. He glanced down at his fists, enraged. Why couldn't he get stronger? He trained and trained! How could that fraud Satan have defeated Cell?
"Well, well," said Pui-Pui, emerging from the punching bag. "You seem to be angry."
"How did you get in there?"
Pui-Pui tapped the M on his forehead. "I can go anywhere I want to, now that I'm Majin. I've been watching you, Yamu. You're a very angry man."
"You're right about that," spat Yamu. "That bastard Satan is beating everybody in the tournaments! That title is mine! Now he even has a city named after him, a statue in his name!"
"They're building statues to Satan? What kind of city is this!?"
"Mr. Satan! The world champion! Where are you from that you don't know that?"
"A planet with ten times gravity," said Pui-Pui proudly. "Yamu... if you come with me, you'll have the power to break Mr. Satan in half. You'll have the power to take on the world."
Yamu slowly raised his head. "And if I refuse?"
"Then you'll keep losing. But if you accept, then..." Pui-Pui smiled. "Mr. Satan will be more like, Mr. DEAD." Pui-Pui sighed. "Oh, God, I completely ruined the dramatic moment. That was so lame. Mr. Dead."
"No, it wasn't too bad."
"It was terrible! Mr. Dead? That was just... no. I can't believe I screwed that up. Look, just come with me, okay?"