AS22: Now we see why empress Katrin is how she is… it's sad, really… R&R! hey, I fixed the problem!

Chapter 11: The Pain of the Fallen Angel

3rd P.O.V.

Empress Katrin had cried herself to sleep. Dark Cell could recollect seeing her like this only once before. He didn't want to remember that day, so he pushed back the thoughts. He stared at his mate lying on the hard stone, lying with her tail wrapped around her legs, her long hair a mess, and tears still lighting up her cheeks. Her head rested on one arm, the other tight to her side defensively. Even in sleep she was on guard. Dark Cell attributed that to her years under the hold of that madman, King Lios of the Amphibiousians. Basically his people were giant frogs. The first thing Katrin did after gaining control of her Angel power was destroy that planet. No one blamed her, and in fact thought it was a bout time someone had done something about those nasty frogs. They were worse than the Icejin ever had been.

As Cell watched her sleep, he noticed how weak she looked. He didn't care at all. As she slept, hopefully starting to return back to normal, chasing the voice away, he remembered. Nothing the bionic android did could drive away the memory.

XxX

Katrin always had a glow about her, something pure, something special that made everyone she met feel so good around her. Her hair was always neat, usually braided, and her armor was usually polished to a shine. The spandex was always gold, yellow, and occasionally blue, but always bright unless she had just been in battle.

But this day the Empress was glowing even more so than usual. She was pregnant, and due soon, and she had never been happier and more hopeful.

The doctors had warned her many times. Injuries she had suffered as a child from that maniac King Lios had damaged her reproductive organs, and the damage was irreversible.

They warned her that pregnancy was impossible. They were wrong, she had become pregnant 7 months ago, and as a Sayjin her child was due any day.

It wasn't just her child, it was mine as well. Dark Cell remembered.

The doctors warned her that if she did somehow become pregnant, the child wouldn't make it full term. They were wrong again; his mate was ready any day now to deliver.

It may have been easier if the child had died sooner, or if the seed had never been planted at all…

The doctors had warned that the child would die if it were born. This time, Dark Cell cursed them for being right.

Empress Katrin was in labor, and Dark Cell was right there with her. He wanted to see his child born. He didn't want to the child to grow not knowing its father as he had.

It took many hours, and Katrin never faltered. She pushed and breathed and never gave in. She never took any medication for the pain. She was ready for her child. In Dark Cell's mind, she was ready to love.

Finally it was born, the doctors took the baby to clean it and check it. It was a boy, and his tail was long and dark like a Sayjin's.

"Cell, something's wrong. Why isn't he crying?"

"I'm sure it is fine, my love. I'll be right back." He kissed her forehead and followed after the doctor.

Cell's worse fear had come true. When he caught up with the doctor, he saw that the monitors hooked up to the child were all negative. The child had died during birth. It wasn't strong enough.

"What happened?" Cell asked. The doctor looked at the ground as she spoke up. Cell noticed her voice broke with fear, anger, and sorrow.

"I'm sorry emperor. The child's heart wasn't strong enough… he died in the womb…" There was silence for a moment, "I'm so sorry, emperor. There was nothing we could have done."

He punched the wall, leaving a dent. He barely heard the doctors call in an order to repair the wall. Sweat and tears fell from his face as he stood there, his hand bleeding as it sat still in the wall.

Cell stood and wiped off his face. His regeneration kicked in and repaired his hand. He looked through the curtain to his mate. She was leaning against her pillow, wanting to see her child. She was still so strong.

Cell leaned forward again with his arms on the wall, sweating. He didn't want to tell her, he didn't want to break her heart, but if anyone should tell her, it had to be him. He was the only one who could hurt with her.

He sighed and walked back to the bed. She still looked so hopeful.

"Cell?"

He sat on the chair next to her and took her hand. He had to look her in the eye, which was hard to do even when she was happy. Her eyes were just so strong.

"My love… the child…"

Her howls of sorrow filled the castle. Nothing Cell did could comfort her.

As days went by she was quite and kept busy with her usual training and duties. She seemed okay, considering, but as the days dragged on, Dark Cell could see subtle changes in her character. Anyone else couldn't notice, but he did.

She used to walk by the nursery everyday to check on the Sayjin and orphaned children. Now she avoided that area at all costs, even if it meant taking another twenty minutes by walking around the nursery.

She used to sing. Dark Cell was often taken aback by her voice, but now she never sang, not even humming notes to old songs.

XxX

Then the voices came. That first night scared me, and I'm creature that flew right through our sun in a one-man ship to cut-off rebel troops.

She was so weak… so small… it broke my heart, even with all the dried blood coating it from years of battle…

Cell looked at the boy. Codie could have been his, and his mate's child. He looked back at Katrin as the memories of that night flooded him and wouldn't stop no matter what he tried.

XxX

As Dark Cell walked out of the shower, cleaning up after sparring with Raditz, he heard the howls again. Katrin's sad howls weren't uncommon now, but this time they sounded different. They sounded painful.

Cell was slow on his walk to the bedroom, anxious and worried about what he'd find. He grasped the doorknob, holding it tight, feeling the cold metal against his hot skin. He squeezed the doorknob tighter.

"Empress?" it took all his will to keep his voice steady.

Her voice was muffled, ranting. High pitched squeals of terror made way through the wooden door.

"Empress Katrin, let me in! Katrin!" pushing formalities aside, he burst through the wooden door easily, breaking the metal hinges with a whiny crack.

The site before him was a horror. There was blood on the floor, bloody handprints and footprints scattered around the floors, walls, even the ceiling. Sheets that were once white now had large red puddles dried on.

Cell's red eyes adjusted to the darkness, seeing with better quality than a human would have. The large table on the far side of the room was smashed into pieces, and the large portrait of the two of them was ripped right down the middle, Cell on one side, his mate on the other.

A soft, muddled moan caught his attention. The source led to the balcony. The breeze blowing in was cool, and the scent of blood floated on it.

Cell went to the balcony threshold, and looked to the stone rail. The form of his mate stood on the railing, dangerously teetering back and forth.

"Katrin?" Cell came up slowly, not wanting to scare her and thus causing her to fall.

"Hush now, my little one…"

"Katrin, please, come down." Cell got a little closer. He recognized the song, a Sayjin lullaby. She often sang it while she was pregnant.

Katrin turned her head, dangerously teetering again. Her eyes shined in the moonlight with tears.

"I can't go on like this…"

"Yes you can. You're better than this." Cell took a step closer.

"Don't take another step, I warn you." she hissed. Cell stopped cold in his tracks.

"This fall won't kill you."

"Yes it will, I've lowered my power level to 1, less than an adult human male's power level. And my loss of blood…"

Cell saw the horrible gashes on her arms now. They were deep and long, and ragged. Ti looked like she had used her own claws to rip the skin away.

"Don't do this, Katrin. You're the Empress, you rule over the universe. The universe needs you to rule over it."

"It was fine before I took over."

"No, it wasn't. Don't you remember? The torture, the rape, the crime? It's gone now because of you."

"It'll go on without me." she whimpered.

"No, without you our empire will crumble."

"It'll go on without me because once I die I won't have an heir. I can't have a child, I've been damned for all my sins."

"Katrin, it isn't ready to be left alone. It still needs you. I still need you, and you aren't dammed. You have no sins to pay for."

"I thought killing Lios would end my pain. It didn't, so I went on and destroyed the planet." She was talking of something that had happened nearly 30 years prior to now.

"This I know." Cell daringly took a step forward. She didn't notice as she stared out into the stars.

"That is the sin."

"He wronged you and many others like you. What you did was justice. No one was saddened by the loss of those creatures."

"He'd be a year old today…" Cell turned his head away, trying not to cry in front of his mate. If she saw him cry now, she'd surely jump. It was true, a year ago today the child had been born and died.

Her body was shaking and teetering. Cell looked closer and saw tears falling from her face.

She's crying… I've never seen her cry, only the howls.

"This, too, I know." Cell responded.

"Blood flowing from damned arms… the fallen angel takes her final stand. One tells her to jump, the other to live… which does she listen to?"

"Katrin?" Cell noticed her bare arms, dark red smears covering the tanned skin. The redness was from blood, open cuts up and down her arms, and they were still bleeding.

If I don't get her to the healers soon she'll die from blood loss…

"One says jump… one says live… one says kill… one says fall…"

Her voice seemed far away.

"Who is telling you these things?" Cell asked.

"The voices… can't you hear them? They're speaking to me, even now."

Cell's eyes grew wide upon hearing this.

"Katrin, come down now." Cell reached out his hand.

"They say you don't love me."

Cell stopped cold.

"Katrin, you know I love you. I do, with all that I am."

"And what are you? One voice asks…"

"I'm your mate, that's all that matters."

"Love is a weakness… love is a strength… love is only a fool's dream…"

Taking a chance, Cell reached out and grabbed Katrin's arm, pulling her down to his level.

"Love can be all of those things, but our love is right." Cell looked her right in the eyes, making her look into his. Her voice was lost to her as more tears flowed.

"They stopped. Cell… I'm… I'm scared. What will happen next time?"

Katrin did something she never did. She went into Cell's arm, seeking comfort. At first he was shocked, but he saw what she needed, for the first time, she needed comfort and wasn't scared to let him comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her, enfolding her smaller frame into his larger one. Wrapping his tail around her signaled that they were as close as they could ever be.

"I'll be there with you when they come back."

She went limp in his arms, tired and weak from the loss of blood. He picked her up and headed to the healers, thinking of a lie to tell the doctors on the way.

XxX

Since then the voices came and went, and Dark Cell made sure to always be close to his mate. She was stable now, but the voices were always there.

AS22: now see? Isn't this so depressing? But now, Thomas Drovin, you see why I couldn't use your quotes!

PS- I fixed the weird chapter thingy!