Chapter 19: Codie's Transmutation
Super 17 moved the hair out of his face, and looked at all of us. I didn't see any trace of my friend in his face, but that didn't mean he was gone.
"17?" I asked, stepping closer.
"Mom-" Codie put his hand on my shoulder.
"Katie, and my dear nephew. How have you been, Codie? My, you do look a lot like you father." His voice was colder than it had ever been.
Gero looked at Codie and me, and grinned.
"No wonder you are so touchy about Android 21!" he began to laugh.
"No one laughs at my family, or my heritage!" Codie went at Gero and blasted his through the chest, killing him.
"Saves me the trouble of doing it." Super 17 said.
"17, please, if you're in there, don't make us fight you."
"Why? All I've ever wanted is power, you know that. Now I have it, so why shouldn't I use it?"
"Don't you remember anything that I taught you?" I asked.
"Yeah, plenty!" he fired a blast as us, and everyone was lucky enough to dodge it. A black, charred hole formed on the ground where the blast had hit.
"I taught you that winning isn't everything, and that power isn't everything. But I guess you didn't learn that as well as I'd hoped you did." I said to 17, staring at him with what I hoped was a dark and cold face.
"Alright, playtime is over, 17!" Trunks transformed and went after 17. The rest of us followed, and none of it was any good.
Vegeta and I combined attacks.
"Super Gatlik Wave!"
"Big Bang Attack!" But it wasn't any use. The attacks hit, but there was no damaged aside from 17's hair getting ruffled.
"What the hell?" Vegeta cried.
Gohan and Goten used the Kamehameha Wave, but still no use. It had no effect.
17 seems to be getting stronger…
"Nothing we're doing is working!" Goten said.
Then Mirai and Trunks used combined Buster Cannons, yet again no result. Nothing we did, no attacks we preformed seemed to work.
Codie, Kanji, and Andy all worked together and used Alpha Volleys, but 17 seemed to like the attacks.
What's going on? We should be doing some sort of damage, but we're getting no where.
"If Ki won't work, then we'll go with another strategy." I charged at 17 and punched him as hard as I could in the stomach, only to get a similar hit to the gut. I hit the ground, knocked out of SSJ form. I got up shakily and powered all the way to SSJ3, flying at 17 to attack once more.
Codie was using Kamehameha Waves and Gatlik Guns, Tri-beam Cannons and Wolf Fang Fists, Destructo Disks, Super Dragon Fists, Special Beam Cannons, and Death Beams, all the attacks Cell could do, yet to no avail.
17 turned to the offensive and attacked us all with one powerful Ki blast that encircled his body and moved outward, similar to an Energy Field attack. Everyone hit the ground and lost hold of their transformations. Our powers just weren't enough.
17 landed and walked toward us. We were all almost stacked in a pile. I still don't know who's leg was across my chest as I tried to sit up.
"17, stop. I'm your friend, remember? I trained you, I trusted you."
"Who needs friends or trust when you have power?"
"That's it Super 17! Show no mercy!" Myuu called. 17 was powering up a large Ki blast, pointed right at me.
"17, are you going to let him tell you what to do? The 17 I knew was stronger than that." I managed to get into a sitting position.
17 had an internal battle, and lowered his guard. If I could have attacked it would have been an opportune time.
"The 17 I knew had real power. He knew how to control his body and fight like a real warrior. He wouldn't let some stupid damn scientist tell him what to do."
He looked at me, and I thought I saw recognition in his eyes. He finished his Ki blast an aimed downward. It was pointed at the others and me. I stood to take the attack full force, to protect the others with my life if I had to so someone else could save earth.
17 fired the blast, and I closed my eyes, screaming. But the blast didn't hit me, it hit Myuu.
"I knew you were better than that." I said, smiling as I wiped some blood off my face. I fell to one knee.
I reached him?
"You're next." He pointed another blast at me, and I screamed in fury and stood up, SSJ3 again.
"17, you have to snap out of this before someone gets hurt!"
"Like you?" we began to fight again. He grabbed me by my hair and head-butted me, and before I could even tell if it was stars or little blue birdies flying around my head, he kneed me in the stomach. I lost hold of SSJ3 again.
I coughed up blood and gasped for air. He probably crushed a few ribs with that hit. I dropped to the ground, lying on my back as 17 headed toward someone else.
What happened to him? I don't want to hurt him, but he isn't himself. What can I do? How can I save 17 and all of us?
What if I can't? What if no one can?
I heard screams and cries of pain as I tried to get up. I couldn't move, I could barely see, and the screams were echoing in my mind like a hundred nightmares.
Then there was a scream that shook my core. It was a wet scream, like someone was drowning. That scream made me snap. I heard Mirai cry out in pain. It was his cry that sounded wet, like he was drowning in his own blood.
I shot up to my feet and saw 17 crushing Mirai's neck.
"No! 17, stop it!" I ran at him, punching him in the side, but it was about as effective as Hercule punching Cell. He took his free arm and slapped me away. I got back up and charged at 17, still crushing Mirai's throat. I kicked him in the head, and spun around to kick again, but he grabbed my leg and twisted hard. I heard a pop as I hit the ground; the force of that twist dislocated my leg at the knee.
I couldn't get up now, and I sure as HFIL couldn't fight. All I could do was watch and scream in horror as 17 continued his assault on Mirai.
"17, stop it! You beat him, now please, let him go!" I cried.
"Why? Because you told me to, sensei? And I'm not to question your methods?" he sneered, smiling wickedly as he squeezed tighter.
"You're killing him!" I cried.
"That's the point." 17 responded.
I screamed in fury, but I was unable to transform anymore, to any level.
Why did I give up my damn Angel Powers so soon?
In fear and fury I shot the largest blast I could at Super 17 with both hands. I was still unable to get up, but it knocked him away, finally. Mirai hit the ground with a sickening thud.
I crawled over to Mirai. The crawl felt like it took hours, and when I finally got to my mate, I had more cuts from crawling over broken glass and rock. I sat with my weight on my good leg and lifted Mirai into my lap. Mirai smiled at me, and reached up to me. I took his hand and held it to my face. It was sticky and covered in his own blood, but I didn't care.
"Mirai, you'll be okay. I'll get you to Dende, and you'll be fine. Just hold on so I can teleport us there." I whispered. Mirai just looked right in my eyes and didn't say a word.
His hand went limp, and it slid out of my grasp. A bloody handprint stuck to my face as his hand hit the ground. I didn't move.
"Mirai? No… no…" I cried, and his body faded from sight. The pain stopped for him, but it only began for me.
"Mirai! Don't leave me again, please!" I screamed into the sky.
I looked around. 17 was standing on top of a pile of rubble like he was king of the mountain. I saw Vegeta and Codie struggling to get up, and Gohan and Goten were out cold, but fine. Trunks stood on his own, but just barely. But when I looked at Kanji and Andy, I screamed again.
"No! Dear Kami no…!"
Codie looked to see what I had seen. There was a large hole through Kanji's torso, caused by his own sword that was sticking out of his chest. Andy's hair was matted to her head by thick blood, bleeding from a gash that I could see started from between her eyes and disappeared into her hair. As I sat there, crying and fearing the worse, their bodies faded to Otherworld, to be with their father. Kanji's sword hit the ground and the sound echoed through the empty city.
I went numb. I sat there, seeing their faces frozen with death. The sword rocked back and forth on the rubble. The blood from their injuries was still wet on the ground. That scene froze in my mind like a hellish portrait of death.
"No! They can't be gone!" I heard Codie scream. I looked over to him, and he transformed into his Nymph form. A light grew around him as he continued to scream. Gohan and Goten started to get up, just in time to see this new transformation.
A dragonfly lays its eggs near or in water, and when the larva hatch they live in the nearest water source, usually small ponds. As they mature, they reach their nymph stage, an immature dragonfly. It then goes through a metamorphosis and becomes the adult dragonfly, which is short lived…
Unless that dragonfly is my son.
Codie's body changed, and we could see the changes occur. His size doubled, at least, and his Sayjin/human features completely disappeared. I heard sounds coming from him that were inhuman. Bones rearranging and growing, and organs growing or disappearing. It was disgusting, but then who said bugs were pleasant?
Codie soon stopped and before us stood his perfect form. Yes, you guessed it, he was Cell in body completely. A carbon copy.
"What the…?" Vegeta, who was nearest, said in dismay.
"Holy shit!" Codie swore at himself. A large piece of glass nearby revealed his reflection.
"Katrin?" Vegeta looked over to me. He looked worried as he started in my direction.
I was laughing, more like a cackle, completely losing any self-control. My kids were gone, but Cell was back! Cell was back! Cell was back!