Chapter 7: Z vs. Z

"Hello, Cell. It's about time you got here." Katrin said, grabbing Cell around the shoulders and pulling him into a deep kiss. They intertwined their tails as they kissed.

I was shocked, right down to the core. My knees gave out on me and I fell to the dirt, standing on my knees as I stared at Cell.

I thought I lost him… I didn't think he'd still be alive in that dimension… but it's opposite, right?

When they pulled apart Dark Katrin looked right at me. I stood up, brushed off my knees and acted like nothing happened.

"Nothing like a good kiss from your mate." Katrin said, licking her lips.

I looked at Codie and Mirai. They were both in shock. To tell the truth, I was still in shock.

"Glad you could join us, Emperor." King Vegeta stated. Cell nodded to him and then looked at us.

"Who is that?" Dark Cell ignored everyone but Codie. I noticed that Dark Cell's eyes weren't pink, they were red.

"I'm… I'm…" I walked over and put my hands on Codie's shoulders, trying to steady him. In fact, I was also trying to steady myself.

"Cell, this is Codie Allen Briefs. In this dimension, you sacrificed your soul to save my life. He's our son, a reincarnation of your good side."

"He's more than that…" Cell walked up to him and looked him in the eyes. Codie leaned back, unnerved by the invasion of personal space, as Cell leaned in closer.

"I'm more?" Codie was mumbling, and I could feel him shaking in fear and in anxiety.

"You are not just my son in this dimension, you are me. I am you. We are the same." Dark Cell's tone and his motions made me nervous.

"We are the same…" Codie's eyes flashed red. I knew that wasn't good. Not thinking, I kicked Dark Cell away, and he landed on his butt.

"Codie, are you okay?" I moved around and turned so I was facing him. Codie shook his head, clearing it.

"Mom, what was that?"

"I don't know, but don't listen to him. He isn't your father, he's evil."

"How dare you strike down my mate!" Empress Katrin fired a Ki blast at me, hitting me and throwing me to the ground. Chaos ensued as everyone started to fight. Dark Cell got up and got out of the way. I could tell by his power level that he wasn't as strong as our Cell and, in fact, he was just barely stronger than a Super Sayjin.

Empress Katrin just stood and watched our families fight. She was smirking, proud of the efforts.

Vegeta and Dark Vegeta were both at SSJ level already, neither holding back. In fact, most of the fighters were transformed. Dark Piccolo was, of course, the exception.

"Why are you making them fight? It's like fighting your own twin!" I snapped.

"They'll do anything for me because I have done so much for them. I learned the hard way that if you want something, you take it. I want more power, so I'm going to take your universe now."

"I know you're better than this!" I said, getting to my feet since her blast earlier, "I heard what your Goten said, about Kakorot beating him and his brother. Why did you stop it?"

"No one deserves to be treated that way, especially not a kid." she said, her voice low and unsteady, "I bet your life was normal, perfect even." She sounded cold, and she growled at me, "But my life wasn't. When I was young I was sent to a planet to conquer, as most Sayjin children are. But my ship crash-landed on an unmarked planet. I had no idea where I was. When I finally found civilization, it turned into a nightmare." She laughed, crazy and shaking, "The people weren't anything like me, so I couldn't try to blend in. they didn't have a moon, either, and I was too young to have been taught the simulated full moon technique. I was taken to the castle, and the king liked me. His name was Lios, a name I'll never forget. He liked me a little too well. I was his slave for years, his slave in every aspect of the word. But I always fought back. He was too strong for me… he'd punish me for trying to attack him… every night for years…" her voice was shaking as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, "this all started when I was 5 earth-years-old. By the time I was finally strong enough to kill him I was 15 years old."

"By the Kais…"

"It's too late for your useless pity!" she snapped, "When I arrived back to Planet Vegeta, my parents had died. It was my uncle Bardock who took me in. I had been gone for 10 earth-years, and so much had changed. Vegeta over there was king, Kakorot had gone to earth with Raditz and took it over."

"We're not so different after all…"

"I went to earth one day years later, answering a distress call from Raditz. There were these androids created by Dr. Gero to stop Kakorot and free earth once more. King Vegeta wanted to test his Super Sayjin abilities and I wanted to help my cousins. I didn't have any real sort of power as of yet."

"The Androids…" her story was like a parallel, and mentally I whacked myself for being so shocked. But it reminded me of that damn illusion and the alternate timeline as well.

"That's when I met Cell. He was built to kill Kakorot and Raditz. Kakorot and Cell had already fought so much that my dear cousin became the second Super Sayjin. Cell wanted more… he was evil like us but didn't want to show it. He tried to deny it. To prove he was good, he held a tournament for everyone on earth to see, and he held me prisoner so my cousins would fight him. That's how I knew he had to be evil."

Dear Kais, Cell… the similarities!

"I was so angry with him. I had already gone through that experience, and now I was being used."

"What happened?"

"I transformed into a Super Sayjin. I tried to convince Cell to join us, but he wouldn't do it. He wanted to save earth."

"Like what happened to me…"

"Its Newton all over these worlds, isn't it? Equal, yet opposite. Then once the tournament began, Vegeta and Kakorot teamed up. They were about to kill him."

"And you stopped them?" I asked.

"Yes, I did."

"How?"

"Just as your Inner Light had helped your Cell become good, my Inner Darkness turned him bad. That very moment I Bonded to him."

"We aren't so different. I grew up away from my family, and thinking back I can't see why I wanted to go back to where I thought my home was. Cell abducted me before the tournament, but I had already Bonded to my mate."

"I've wasted enough time talking! I came here to take over a universe!" Empress Katrin cried, powering up.

I had no choice, I had to power up and fight her.

How can I beat her? If she truly has the Angel power, then she's practically immortal.

She was me, everything I was, and everything I use to be. If I was evil, I would have used the Angel power to take over the universe, as she had in her universe.

But wait… you have to earn the Angel power… you have to deserve it… you have to open it with love… those are qualities she doesn't possess…

She had answers to questions I wanted answered. I probably wouldn't have ever thought about these things if it wasn't for the rift. It was a good way to look at myself truthfully.

But I understood that I had to fight her. Instead of trying to put this off, I did exactly what she was doing. I began to go to my ultimate form, SSJ4.

Empress Katrin stood tall, finishing before I finished. She had a good couple of minutes ahead of me, but I couldn't focus on her yet. I knew she'd let me finish powering up because we were both Sayjins. We both wanted a challenge. We both wanted to feel pain and to hurt the other fighter. That was, in many ways, the only way you could make sure you were still alive sometimes.

Sometimes I think back on my life, and I literally go numb with all the bad mistakes and all the responsibility I had years ago haunting me. If it weren't for the pain when I trained, or the pain when I fought, I'd have to focus and remember. I'd have to remember that I couldn't save Yamcha from that Saibaman, or warn Choazu that his attack against Nappa wouldn't work. I'd have to remember not being able to save Dende from Frieza, or save Vegeta from Frieza. I'd have to remember letting Krillen die so Goku could defeat Frieza, and make that first step into his life as a Sayjin. I'd have to remember losing my human home. I'd have to remember Cell and all he did for me. I'd have to remember killing Vegeta and all those innocent people. I'd have to remember Roxx's torture and the illusion that still claws at my heart. I'd have to remember that I can't do it all, even when I have to do it all.

I'm supposed to protect earth now, and no matter what, no matter what the cost, I will protect earth.

I continued to power up. I couldn't focus on the past right now, I had to save earth… again.

Light engulfed my body as my clothes were replaced with fur. My shirt, my fighting Gi, was transformed along with my body. My orange fur sprouted all over my body, itching as it grew. The ground was shaking as I powered up, as it had for many of the others during my conversation with Empress Katrin.

My hair started to grow out, going down my neck, past my shoulders, all the way down until it was just past my knees. My fur and the streaks in my hair were orange, I had no red tint whatsoever, unlike last time I fought. This was due to my power increase from my training.

My pants were tighter than last time, showing off my legs through the material. The wristbands were no more, but the lavender belt remained. It was a reminder to me, like the Majin scar, that I had weakness. The last time I had weakness I lost my mind. It wouldn't happen again.

I saw Empress Katrin, Dark Vegeta, and Dark Kakorot also in SSJ4 form. Codie had already transformed into his Naiad form, but I realized he'd need more to beat SSJ4 Kakorot.

They looked so wrong. The fur and hair were all black, and their eyes and clothing were red. There were no discrepancies in the way they looked between them. And besides that, they looked the same as us.

AS22: I think a completely black SSJ4 looks cool, don't you? R&R, or I won't post. Soonest post could be Sunday…