Save the Day
Nope, don't own DBZ.
Warning: Same as usual; blood and death.
Chapter Five
…He had ripped him apart with barely contained glee and bathed in the blood of the wicked one...
Instant Transmission didn't work too well during electrical storms when Ki signatures were harder to trace even for him. So he'd ended up in the middle of West City.
The streets were now soaked with rain. Cold, muddy puddles gushed between his toes. Rain poured down his face and made long rivulets as it traveled along his arms and legs. It didn't bother him though. He was in no rush really; he could afford to walk the rest of the way there. Besides, the key to being an evil fiend was all about the entrance.
Fires were dimming in the wake of the rain. This particular street was full of over turned cars and hordes of soaked, screaming, fleeing people. They were of no consequence. He had much more important matters to attend to than a few weak humans.
He was getting closer now. He could see the big dome shaped building off in the distance. By the looks of things Capsule Corp. had already taken great damage. There were huge perfectly shaped holes all about the structure, errant Ki blasts no doubt.
He smiled to himself, ignoring the hysterical mass of people. He could make out the battle now. High in the sky the women were having a time dealing with Nomi. The Saiyan girl was a mess of blood and tattered clothes and the one time android (though still the model of cool) didn't look to be fairing any better.
A little ways below, her husband and the other Z fighters were doing their best with a power gorged Raditz and a crew of the doctor's robots. They were dropping like flies. He took in the horrendous sight with a grim smile; eyes growing larger as he witnessed an arch of scarlet fluid spurt from the lips of a surprised Son Goten.
It was almost laughable. If they were having so much trouble with his power stealing mate, then they had absolutely no chance against him. The pervious grin on the hybrid's face grew in anticipation. This would be a most beautiful blood bath.
Cell's eyes caught movement not far away from him. He lowered his eyes and instantly found himself staring straight into the face of another. It was the little prince. By the look on his face, it was obvious that he knew. It wasn't like Cell's disheveled appearance was doing much to hide the fact that he had been the victor of his pervious battles. Though, his body however did show faint signs that the mighty Kakarot had given him quite the challenge, rain had washed his face clean of most of the blood. His tank was all but useless now and his pants were ripped in the usual places. At this point his wounds had all but healed. Regeneration was a wonderful thing.
Cerulean blue orbs squinted up at the turbulent sky. The rain had finally come and was now threatening to drown him if he didn't find the strength to close his mouth. He was gasping for breath at this point, having already lost the hold on his Super Saiyan transformation. Trunks turned over painfully onto his stomach. He was still unable to get up, but the young prince had only hoped not to drown in the down pour.
Behind him the battle continued to rage. He prayed that they could hold out long enough. The air was so thick with electricity that it was even becoming difficult to differentiate where the storm began and his allies' power levels ended. He had long ago lost track of his father and Piccolo and as soon as Seventeen and Goku had disappeared they had fallen off his radar as well. Except for the occasional flash of Ki, he was clueless as to what was going on.
A muddy palm smoothed plastered lavender strains from his view. Through the blinding sheets of rain Trunks squinted. There was a figure approaching just up the road. Could it be…had Goku truly done it?
There was a flash of lightning and the area lit up accordingly. The precious oxygen that the demi had been able to collect had left him. He couldn't believe it.
There not ten feet away stood the creature…but how?!
As the teen's eyes grew at the sight of him, Cell couldn't help but smile even wider.
"I wonder, Mirai, do you think that he will scream as prettily as his father did at the end?"
The boy reared up on his hands and knees and scuttled backward; his eyes wide in fear. He almost chocked on his own words.
"C--Cell! It's Cell! He's here!" The boy screamed.
Trunks almost knocked over the nearly catatonic form of Son Gohan. He had been standing there, unmoved ever since Cell had showed up. And at the moment it was like everything had begun to move in slow motion. Everyone turned to see what the commotion was all about. Even Nomi had struggled up the edge of a crater that either Kalika or Eighteen had created in her honor.
Raditz never left his position, hovering above a troop of supposed heroes, his thick unruly mane glittering golden with the borrowed power of the middle Son child. He turned to the green haired terror and gave a proud grin.
"So you've finally finished with your friends huh, Precious?" Raditz bellowed.
His deep gravelly voice echoed throughout the now deathly silent landscape. Cell only smiled in response, never taking his eyes off of his arch nemesis. He wasn't so much bothered by the pet name anymore. Besides, he had other things on his mind.
The rain continued to pour. The adversaries continued to stare.
"Cell." Finally Gohan growled breaking the spell.
The grin the hybrid had been sporting slowly shrank down to a smirk.
"You should be honored, Gohan. I've come back just for you."
Somewhere in a deep dark corner of his very own mind the one dubbed Mirai had finally found his way out. He had passed through halls so deep and dark that he thought that he'd never find his way. He'd seen things; things that had been locked away. By him…By the android…By the Prince…The third class? Maybe even the Ice-jin. Really he was no fool. He had always known they had been there as well.
But of all of the things he'd seen and believe that there were some very interesting things, the ones that hit home, the ones that bothered him the most were the memories of the android.
He had come to the middle, where all the halls intersected and had stopped dead in his tracks. Over and over again he watched seemingly the most defining moments in his counterpart's life…those fucking Cell Games. That battle…with that Kami damned boy.
Before he knew what happened he was already lost.
As of yet no one had moved a muscle. The monk and the bandit were bloody heaps on the ground. The robots had all but ignored them at this point. The blond was draped over her husband in a feeble attempt to protect him, leaving the girl, Kalika shooting worried looks from Nomi to him. Raditz stood over the prone forms of the three eyed one and other Son boy, arms crossed over his massive chest and dark eyes locked on him. Cell was pleased with the reactions he was getting. They should be afraid.
"What have you done?!" Gohan roared.
Ah, yes, he must have finally figured it out. Though, Ki signatures were a bit difficult to filter out in this damned storm.
Cell sighed in annoyance.
"Come now, Gohan, we don't really have to go there do we?"
"What did you do to my father, you bastard?!" That was the other one, the little prince.
He'd sprung up to his feet in anger, pushing his power up in an attempt to threaten. Cell shook his head in almost pity.
"I'm not here for you, Trunks. Stay out of my way." Cell said through gritted teeth. "Why don't you go tend to your boyfriend."
"Kaibutsu! (1)" He raged and before anyone could stop him, Trunks launched a pretty sizeable Ki blast in Cell's direction.
Everything happened so fast that not even Cell could be sure about what had occurred. With a mighty swing, the green haired menace knocked the attack flying in another direction. This just happened to be right where the Saiyan girl, Kalika was standing. The blast took her by surprise and sent her plowing through a row of neighboring buildings. Gohan had turned to scream to her but it was too late. In that same instance Cell sent his very own beam of energy at the stunned purple coiffed teen affectively ending up with him sailing right into Capsule Corp. Raditz had stepped aside just in time. Cell hadn't missed the highly amused grin on his face. Nomi took off to find where Kalika had landed and Cell had already had his hands around Gohan's neck.
"Now," Cell breathed against the dark haired Demi's reddening face. "Where were we?"
"Get your fucking hands off of him!"
Fucking girl. Cell launched his captured prey in the direction of a fast approaching Kalika Palo. She and Gohan collided in an awesomely vicious display, both of them soaring through the hole previously made by the purple haired Demi. Cell looked upward to find Nomi, slightly mussed, floating there looking quite pissed.
"Weren't you supposed to be dealing with her?!" The hybrid asked annoyance obvious in his tone.
"She's a slippery little bitch, huh Nomi?!" Raditz chuckled, as he nudged the battered body of the Z Senshi, Tien.
The flaxen haired cyborg only sneered in reply.
"Deal with Eighteen." Cell growled. "I'll take care of those two."
He marched purposefully toward the crumbling building. Passing the man he'd come to accept as his mate.
"C'mon dear," He added sarcastically as he dug fingers into glowing wet hair. "I suppose you can round up the brats while we're here."
"No!" It was a weak attempt to stop them, but Cell had to admit that the boy had guts. Goten had wrapped himself around one of Raditz's massive legs in an last stitch effort to keep them away from the family and friends that were hiding in Capsule Corp.
Raditz shook the boy loose with ease.
"Nephew, have some pride!" The long haired Saiyan cackled before blasting the boy to oblivion.
A quick hop found Cell and Raditz in the crumbling ruins of Capsule Corp. The emerald haired Saiyan crossbreed cautiously stepped around broken furniture and fallen debris, steadily making his way toward that familiar Ki signature.
"Gohan…" He called out, his usual superior candor coming through. "You wouldn't be hiding from me would you?"
Cell glanced behind him to find Raditz stepping over the body of the lavender prince. The Super Saiyan imposter was lighting the dim rooms with his glowing aura. He was keeping quietly in step with Cell. Not but a mere few feet away were the demi and the girl. She was kneeling over him whispering in hushed tones. Gohan struggled to get to his feet. Both of them were more than a little worse for wear.
"Oh there you are." Cell said raising an open palm.
The resulting Ki shot blasted a hole in the floor and sent Gohan, Kalika and a surprised Raditz through it. Cell followed with a pleased grin and two fingers raised to his forehead. Pained groans, wailing babies, and surprised gasps greeted him upon his arrival. He looked to his side and found the blue haired scientist and the rest of the missing ones gathered behind what he would guess was a force field of some sort.
"Ah…" He said with a full on grin. "Very clever Miss Bulma."
He locked eyes with the woman behind the field. She was clutching a small monkey tailed child close to her chest.
"Cell?" She gasped. "But…"
"Where's my dad you big jerk!" A pint sized version of the genius yelled.
"I'm afraid he won't be joining us little miss." Cell said as he approached the force field. "But don't worry though, you'll be joining him soon enough."
There was an angry pop of electricity and Cell raised his eyes from the little girl to find the woman called ChiChi standing in front of him, a broom firmly in hand.
"You get away from here you…you monster!" She was shaking in rage.
Cell guessed that she was probably smart enough to know that her ex-husband had failed in his attempt to stop him. He just stared back however affectively lessening the woman's resolve. She backed away form the edge of the field pulling Bra with her.
"Oh Goku." She muttered.
The former android scanned the rest of the force field interior. There were the women of course. Bulma (who was holding the female brat) and ChiChi, the two little girls, Bra and Pan who had returned to the corner to see to what he guessed was the male child. His survey was interrupted however by the booming voice of his mate.
"What in the hell did you do that for?!"
The group behind the shield jumped back even closer to the wall at the sight of Raditz. Cell turned to the enraged Saiyan with a smile.
"I'm sorry; I thought that you'd be quicker than that." He chuckled. "Now get through that shield," He instructed. "I'm going to finish off the demi."
Cell headed to where he thought the two Saiyans had landed. And found Gohan clutching his head, trying to stop a nasty looking gash from bleeding. The dark fluid had turned what was left of his white dress shirt a beautiful shade of crimson that glistened when the light hit it just right.
"Gohan." Cell said inhaling the scent of the dark haired man's blood. "I've waited a long time for this."
"Gohan!" ChiChi screamed. "You stay away from him, you beast!"
"Shut you're trap woman!" Raditz yelled from some where behind him.
Any further screeching was drowned out by loud surges of electrical energy. The girl, Kalika got to her feet immediately seizing a mangled left arm.
"Stay back, you monster!" She yelled, tears standing in her glowing amber eyes.
Behind her a dazed Gohan raised a shaky shimmering palm. "Get--get out of--the way, Ka--lika. It's me he--safter." His speech was slurred, no doubt from a concussion.
"True," Cell said with his ever present grin. "But if she wants to join in on the fun, she is more than welcome."
And before Gohan even got a chance to say another word, there was a blur of movement and a gust of air. His inky black orbs grew wide upon the sight of Kalika lying on the ground in a growing pool of her own blood, her neck twisted in a horrible angle. His mouth gapped open and his ears rung with the screams of his mother and child. Then just as suddenly, there was another strong gust and Gohan's head whipped around just in time to come face to face with his most hated enemy.
"You…you!" The demi sputtered, grasping at his head once again. "You killed her! You bastard!"
Tears were forming in the hanyou's eyes. His hand was shaking even worse now; he was barely keeping his self together. There was a flickering of electricity in the air around the two of them. It wasn't Cell, so he could only conclude that Gohan was trying desperately to power up. The poor boy, he just couldn't focus.
"Not this time, Gohan!"
There was a change behind the jade haired monster's lavender gaze. It happened so suddenly that Gohan had not been sure he'd seen it. Those same eyes that had just seconds ago been full of cool, calm, collected confidence were now those of a power fueled, revenge crazed child. The already dazed warrior was shaken even more at this.
"I won't let you defeat me again!"
The voice was even different now. It was worn…frightened even. The hand that Gohan had raised in defense was suddenly grabbed and crushed effortlessly.
"That's right, Mirai. Make him pay."
Still holding Gohan's ruined hand; Cell viciously ripped the entire appendage from the older man's body. And before the Demi even had a chance to scream, Cell's other hand was wrapped securely around his neck holding him off the ground.
"Gohan!" His mother shrieked.
"No, Chichi get back!" Bulma yelled, trying desperately to keep the woman as far away from the chaos as she could.
Raditz had begun to drain power form the energy shield now. It was only a matter of time before he'd break through completely. Mirai ignored the woman's screams, the cries of the children, and the amused laughter of his mate. At this point, he had Gohan dangling in the air; the man's bloodied face was white as a sheet and twisted in agony.
"I wonder how good you'll taste." He growled viciously like some sort of caged animal, right before he plunged his left hand into the hanyou's chest.
A/N: Okay this was just getting entirely too long. But you get the point. The first line of this fic, you know the one in italics comes from something else I wrote. Some little snippets about Cell that were published on and for about a week. I think MB was the only one who read them. They're on my livejournal somewhere, but they're not important. I'm off to start chapter 6.
(1)… Kaibutsu: me dictionary claims it means monster in Japanese.