Yo! Son Goku and friends! Cell Saga (Chapter 8)
Goku
"Wow!" Goku laughed out on the green grass, giggling himself silly as he gave up and looked at the salmon sky and orange clouds stalled high above the planet. "Man! I didn't even land a hit!"
King Kai cackled to himself as Gregory brought out a plate and cup of tea.
"Thank you, Gregory."
Zzzzzzz~
"Slurrrr~"
"Tcheh! I guess that means you get the spot in The Budokai."
"How do you figure that? Neither of us landed a single hit."
"You faked him at least once, I didn't even manage that. I guess that means you win."
"Huh-Hah! I'll take that."
Piccolo brushed himself off, picking up the scuffed Titans' cap and placing it on his shiny green chrome dome. The Demon took a moment to think, furrowing his brow at a possible revelation.
"Hey, Old Man."
The North Kai raised a brow, tea still steaming, fogging up his deep teashades a bit.
"Did you use Telepathy on us during the fight?"
"..."
"Tcheh."
"I'm not going to say that I Didn't."
"Unbelievable."
"I'm Galaxy Kai. If I could just be beat by some nobodies then my position wouldn't really mean anything now would it?"
"Nobodies?"
"You've got to use all the tools in your disposal if you want to beat me, Piccolo. I did in fact take it easy, not on the fighting mind you, but the persuasion. I can do a lot more to either of your minds than you would like. Until you both can raise your guards against Telepathic attacks, I simply Can't go all out on you. Wouldn't want to turn the both of you into vegetables. Then Earth would be down two defenders."
"Makes sense." Goku replied as Bubbles rushed up his shoulder with horn in tow.
"Does that satisfy you?"
Piccolo and Goku took a long look at each other, nodding and then returning their gaze to the North Kai with matched timing.
"No."
"Not even a little bit."
Goku punched his right fist as a declaration, eyes full of fire.
"I've come a long way… But I'll have to get even stronger if I want to beat Frieza."
"You're still stuck on that, huh?" The Kai teased with a bright smile.
"You said that he was stronger than you, right?"
"Mmhmm."
"Then I've got a long ways to go. Thanks for the lessons, King Kai." Goku thanked the man with a deep and respectful bow, Bubbles having to shift around the man's frame to stay afloat.
King Kai smiled wide and met Goku in the middle with a bow of his own.
Master Carrot
The sand surrounding lifted up lightly in the humble village. Nearby the houses, stark white mushrooms grew tall as could be, hard as stone. A few villagers walked to and fro, checking on what the market had in store for that day. After an average day of hustling and bustling, the sun began to set and three men walked into the bazaar. They were tattered and mangy, looking sickly and unkempt but juiced to the teeth somehow with rippling muscles. But among them was someone who was known in legend.
A lone elderly man with wraps on his head peered over and sure enough, he saw something he didn't want to see.
"Bunny..? Ears..?"
A few other people shot glances at the roughed up trio. At first they just gabbed, and the three men didn't do anything, just walking gallantly to the tailor's.
"Is that who I think it is?"
"Shhh~ They'll hear you."
"He looks rough, who is that guy?"
"If he's who I think he is, we're in trouble."
"That's Monster Carrot… I think."
Master Carrot's ears twitched and jived with the speech of the onlookers, a sly smile crept across his face as he stepped into the clothing shop with his goons right behind him. The big burly brown-skinned one got his weapons ready, cocking and checking his shotgun as he stepped through the archway of the store.
"Hello."
Cha-Chikk!
"Can you help us with some fabrics, sir?"
The man across the counter sweat bullets as the two men pointed their firearms at the poor shopkeep.
"See we don't have a lot of money, and we don't necessarily want to wear the rags any longer. You ever worn the same underwear for more than a week? Not fun."
The man feverishly tore through the store-home-hybrid, sizing them up as they stood in the middle of the shop, giggling to themselves
"Alright, boys. Pay attention!"
"Yes sir."
"Yessuh."
"If we want to build my empire back up, we have to start with a base of operations. We saved ourselves thanks to a rigorous routine, so that's just what we'll do. A routine. Gather up the youngest in the village, and we'll train them to become monsters just like us. If we have an army, there's no way that boy can defeat us all."
The Rabbit gabbed up a storm as the man fitted them and they looked at their garb.
"Ooh~ Is this the best you've got? Green is the only colour that looks good on me. I might have to take my business."
Cla-Clicc.
"Elsewhere."
"No please, I didn't know, give me another chance!" He pleaded, begging for his life on the floor as the skittering civilians watched from outside the store.
"Aww, okay. You're trying your hardest. Why not? Should we give him another chance, guys?"
"Honest mistake."
"You didn't ask for green, Boss." The taller, thinnest one pointed with a dumb smile at The Master.
"I didn't. You're right. How can I expect that of someone else? Tsk-Tsk-Tsk. Now that the precedent has been established." He took off his shades to emphasise the point. "I don't want Any more mistakes. Are we clear?"
"It is him…"
"Crap."
"No-no. No more mistakes, sir."
"Good."
In a flourish, The Master and his two goons were now fresh to death, looking ready to walk the runway or look the best at a fancy business meeting.
"Not bad."
"Gotta give it to em'."
"He runs a mean sowing machine."
"Okay."
Clapp!
"So what did I say my first agenda was?"
The trio stood silent for a moment until the dark man interjected.
"Find a base of operations."
"Right! Glad I brought you boys along."
"Yes sir."
"Yessuh."
"Does this look like a good place, gentlemen?"
The goons looked at each other with hyped duck lips, making a bit of a goof of it.
"Looks like a good a place as any, Boss."
"If we want to run it back… I have no objections." The thinner one remarked with a shrug.
"See, I'm liking it, but… These mushrooms really aren't doing it for me."
"A bit unsightly, Boss."
"I'd have to concur."
The three well-dressed men chatted it up in the middle of the street like there weren't villagers peering out and staring at them from every corner of the town, some deeply intrigued, most deeply afraid.
"Well boys. I think this one is it. We'll need some chalk, some wood, well… All sorts of stuff. Now where's the home furnishing store?"
As The Rabbit turned around, the prying eyes vanished from sight, his whiskers twitching, and his little mouth smiling at the fact.
"Interesting. Hah!"
"Yo, uhh, we got some company, Boss."
"Look a bit unhappy to boot."
"It would appear that way, gentlemen."
Farmers, workers, you name it. Many men of the quiet villa raised their makeshift weapons and real weapons all the same as they crowded around the now well-dressed individuals.
"We know who you are! You're The Rabbit!"
"You might have forgotten us, you monster! But we haven't forgotten you!"
"Please, please." The Master pleaded, hands raised defensively. "Let's not get violent now, you wouldn't want to hurt yourselves."
"We're not going back under your rule, Rabbit!"
"Sheesh, that seems a little racist to me, Boss."
"I'd have to concur. They don't seem to be calling Us monsters."
"They're just prejudiced, boys. We can teach them right from wrong… right?"
"Yes sir."
"Yessuh."
"Good."
With a bright smile The Rabbit looked back into the crowd, tilting his sunglasses down ever so slightly.
Maloja
"Hegh~Yahh!"
KZZZKKTT! KOWW!
"GROOUGHHHHHH!"
WHUOMPP!
Monster Island. A dangerous abode for those inhabiting it, not to mention outsiders who would dare enter the domain without knowing just how many apex predators lay in wait.
Multiple dinosaurs snapped and ran after Maloja. He used expert casting skills to weave and maneuver out of the way. He casted off fire, lightning, and wind as he blew them all away. Bears, lions, tigers too. Overgrown bugs and other insects were still no match. Maloja ran the gambit between killer fauna And flora. Monster Island was littered with danger around every corner, the closest he got to death was almost touching a frog, he wasn't even trying to touch It, that's just how fucked up it was.
Maloja wiped the deep sweat from his forehead and breathed out a harsh reserve of air as he sat down on a rock, cradling his staff as he checked the radar.
Ga-Shuik. Bee! Bee! Bee!
"Motherfu-"
"ROOOOUGHHHHHWWWHHHHH!"
Maloja was blown onto his behind from the epic roar of a true Tyrannosaurus.
"You've got to be kidding me! Did he eat that thing or something!?"
Bee! Bee!
"Tchyeah! I guess he did, damn it!" Maloja complained as he shelved the radar in his back pocket, cracking his neck and strongarming his staff with an iron will. "Come on, then! I don't got all day, you know!"
It didn't take long, Maloja just fired off blasts like there really was no tomorrow, jumping and leaping from treetop to mountaintop, dodging feral beasts and pterodactyls on his way to the apex.
"Get… Back!"
KA-KOWWW!
"SCRAWWW~"
SNAPP!
At the top of the mountain, the T-Rex was still tall enough to snap at him. The Wizard rolled around and parried the dinosaur's attempt with the rocks littering the landscape.
"Here! Have it!"
WHAMM!
With an epic toss, Maloja sent a boulder crash landing into the eye of the behemoth, toppling it in a one-two punch of stone and a bolt from the blue.
KOWWWWWWWW!
"ROAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
FWOMPPP!
"Gehhh~" He let out in an uncomfortable breath as he peered into the clouds up above. "Phewww~" His breath came out with a bit of a whistle-like tone as he closed his eyes and sucked in the air around him.
He wrapped his frame up in the bubble magics that guided him to a graceful landing in front of his fallen target. The beast thrashed with last-ditch intent until Maloja quelled its rage with another violent slash of slicing airstreams, severing the dinosaur's giant maw from the rest of its body.
SWA~SCWINKKK! Sklutt!
"Gods. I guess it should be obvious but uhh, that's a lot." He lamented, staring at the pooling red liquid draining into the grass. Exotic plants nearby absolutely drained the massive mounds of pulpy fluid leaking from the beast, it was clear that they wanted it.
Ja-Shuick. Bee! Bee! Bee!
Maloja took careful and calculated steps as he hopped onto the belly of the dead T-Rex, checking the radar, then the carcass, then the radar again.
"Alright~" He winced. "Here goes."
SCINGG! Skllllllatt!
He cringed in disgust as the thick blood and various viscous liquids sprayed out, protecting himself with a blue dome of magical persuasion.
Bee! Bee!
"Finally." The Wizard commented as he used the wind to peel the small orange orb out from a bulbous organ.
He sprayed the sphere with high pressure drafts until it was spotless and glittering in the sun's rays once again.
"Perfect." He remarked with a smile.
Maloja pounced off the body of the beast, waltzing over to an empty clearing with nothing but a large cliff face on one side. He sat against one of the rocks protruding out of the wall and checked the radar once more.
Ga-Chuik. Chikk. Ja-Shuik. Bee! Bee! Bee!
"That doesn't make any sense. Are there really only three? Or does this thing just not have the best range on it?"
Maloja contemplated many theories as he paced with radar in hand, clicking all the buttons and fiddling with as many settings as were provided. After a while passed, and the sun began to set, he saw something.
"Oh..? What?"
After using the high-end ping feature activated by touching the screen of the radar. He picked up a signal of not 1 or 2 but apparently of 7 Dragon Balls. Kami's Lookout.
"What!? Baba lied to me! There's not 7, there's 10! One bastard has em' all too! That makes no sense! Wait… That Dragon Ball wasn't near me last time I checked… Someone's coming for me!" He shouted under hushed breaths, quieting himself immediately.
With a few sparkles from his staff and a wave of his green musty cloak, he covered himself in an invisible barrier, wrapping himself like a child hiding away from their parents at bedtime. Only moments later:
"Holy shit." Maloja couldn't keep to himself, barely whispering aloud. "How in the hell did he get here that fast? I… that blip must have been miles away and he cleared that in less than a minute."
Maloja peered out the see-through cape and watched studiously as the green spotted bug-man tore through the skies.
"Unreal."
Ga-Shuik. Bee! Bee!
"Ahh, overshot again." Cell murmured lowly to himself, clearly getting a bit annoyed at the prospect.
"I'm in luck. It looks like he… crap." Maloja thought to himself as he saw the bug-man peer over the edge of the cliff.
"Huh? There's no Dragon Ball down there." Cell remarked as he scratched the top of his sleek black dome.
Fwomp.
The bug-man landed and studied the landscape with fervor.
Ga-Shuik. Bee! Bee!
"Huh? Did it move?" Cell questioned as he locked eyes with where the balls should have been, and then where they should be.
"..."
"..."
Cell glanced down at the radar and then fixed for altitude with a few rapid yet precise clicks.
Ga-Shui-Ga-Jick. Bee! Bee!
"It's… here." Cell stated with determination as he locked eyes on an empty spot in the clearing.
FOOSHHHUHHH! Skffffffffffffff~
Cell cleared the distance from zero to 100 like nothing, no apparent startup time, just skidding across the dirt like a car and throwing up stones in his wake as he attempted to claw at the air where the balls would be. He shot a sharp look down at the radar and noticed the balls move to his left ever so slightly.
"Found you!" He yelled, prompting the man in hiding to throw over his cape and fire an epic beam of lighting at Cell's frame.
Cell VS Maloja
Objective: Obtain the last Dragon Balls!
FOOSHHHUHHH! Skffffffffffffff~
"Found you!"
KzzzzzTzzz~Ka-KRAKK!
Cell ducked right under the sharp bolt, widening his eyes in realisation of who was standing from him.
"That's… my radar!" Cell shouted with ferocity.
Cell had never been truly angry yet, having only lived like three days there hadn't been an opportunity that just prodded at him like this did.
Maloja stomped his staff with ferocity, the earth around them upheaving and shifting wildly and throwing stones and columns everywhere in its wake.
KA-KOOMMM! Fwuwuwuwuwu~
Cell's eyes shot back and forth like ricocheting bullets trying to download the newly received data from the environmental change as Maloja swung his staff in a winding arc.
"Oop-Zaa-Laaaa~"
With arcs of fire, lightning, and ice the magics pulsed and blasted at Cell with a sharp pierce of the wind.
FWUOFF~ssssssuuuu~KzzTTAcKK!
The bug-man jumped from hold to hold as Maloja shot chunks of rock at him like a gatling gun. Cell blew Kiai and Telekinetic bursts at the stones, dissuading them from his form as he tried to close the gap.
FU-FU-FUSHH!
With a triple-fake zig-zag, Cell had done it, he was in range zero, ready to strike. He went all in, trying to take the raggedy man's head off with an overcommital right hand. Instead of trying to dodge, Maloja blew himself back with a harsh gust of wind, simultaneously gaining distance while pressing into Cell's large frame with his pressuring gale magic.
"Get back here!"
Cell tore right through the gap, crashing through the still raising stones at a breakneck pace. He threw out his left arm for a lariat but no dice as Maloja dodged last second. Cell called in his arm with a flex of his bicep as he glared down at his foe. Maloja and Cell locked eyes for only a moment but the second long eye contact lasted for a lifetime until The Wizard hit a jumping flourish into the air with his staff, twirling in a 360.
Cell furrowed his already sharp brow into a fearsome scowl just before he shot into the air like a rocket, sending the upheaved earth all around in his wake into a leveled field, locking the tectonics into perfect synchronics. As Cell left the ground Maloja nodded, bringing out his arms, allowing his staff to stall in the air as he clapped both hands together.
CLAPP!
After Maloja hit the clap, the orb atop his weapon shined with brilliance, the orange and purple hues of the sunset providing a last hurrah of sorts as The Wizard flared out both arms wide like he were about to summon something grandiose.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr~
The ground shook with terrific tremors just before:
KA-KLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
The back wall behind Maloja jutted forward on all angles except his, shooting forward and then in on itself as it tried to pin down the mobile assailant.
KOM! KOM! KOM!
Every which way.
KLM! KLM! KLM!
Cell jumped and jumped.
WHUM! WHUM! WHUM!
Trying desperately to gain ground against the high flying wizard.
"ERAAAAAAGHHH!" Maloja yelled as the entire cliff face collapsed and closed in on Cell.
Cell focused up, making eye contact from the bottom of the canyon as he held off both sides of the chasm. Not even for showmanship, but more so because he was pissed, Cell jammed his left fist into the colossal left wall, shattering it to dust, atoms even, they were pebbles, a whole entire mile long wall turned into nothing but paste in a single attack.
Zhuuu~
"What the hell..?" Maloja pondered out loud as the mystical energy behind his eyes faded into nothingness.
Fshhhhhhhuu!
"Fuck..!" He cursed himself as he saw Cell blazing towards his location. He eyed The Dragon Balls in his coat and his mind ran a mile a minute trying to come up with an idea.
FshhhhhhHUU!
"Come on, come on, think!"
Maloja racked his brain in the less than a second he had, ultimately settling on the only relevant idea.
"I can't use it as a catalyst directly but I can do some patch-job finagling to draw out power to My staff… Here goes!"
Maloja yelled at the top of his lungs as he knocked the orb of his staff and that of The 5 Star Dragon Ball.
BVUUU~
It was as if time stopped, not that it did, but the moment felt so long as an energy warmer than the sun poured into Maloja's hands from the feedback of just Holding his staff and a warm circle bellowed out into the aether.
Fsht! WHAPP!
He dropped the ball, but caught the punch, and he didn't really feel the heat behind the hit either despite the fact that the bug-man came crashing in for the maneuver. Both men had wide eyes at the revelation, Cell not taking too long to digest the information before following through with more punches.
TINKK. Tink-tin-Kllllllllll~
The ball bounced once, then twice, then rolled off onto the grass.
FuFuSwuFwuFuSwuSuScuFuFwu~
Cell laid on the pressure but somehow, someway, The Wizard was expertly dodging like he had seen the attacks thousands of times before. With calculated precision, Maloja blocked Cell's right arm with his staff and proceeded to smash the red glassy orb onto the bug-man's face.
BONK!
"Ow!" Cell called out as his pale white face was instantly stained from the hit.
Maloja spun around, hyping up the frontflip slam he had lined up for his opponent only for Cell to catch the staff and throw the unshaven mage down to the earth.
KOFF! Skffffff~ Wsht!
Cell landed with determination, causing dust and dirt to fly into the air. He dashed like mad to chase down Maloja, The Wizard doing his best to block and detain him with warpy ward walls. Cell attempted to break through with brute force but the orb still shined brightly with the orange hue of a Dragon Ball, his magics having been improved greatly by the ethereal force.
"Oh yes!" Maloja couldn't keep to himself as he saw Cell's ineptitude at breaking his barriers. "That Dragon Ball is mine!" He shouted in hysterics, conjuring a great ball of fire overhead to launch at his foe.
SWOOSHH! FWAFFFF~
The great fire spread all around the ground at the same time as Maloja conjured a saferoom to lock Cell in. The fire churned and scorched the earth as Cell looked through the clear glassy structure, maintaining fierce eye contact with his foe. Maloja smiled and mimed the oncoming waves of flame with his hands as his staff stalled in the air next to him. Cell tightened up, flexing his muscles and crouching low to the ground, raring to go and crash right through the top glass.
FOOSHH! THUNKK! Krrckkkle~
"What!?" Maloja let out unintentionally as the bug-man cracked the top of the dome. He didn't break it, but it was pretty obvious that it could be broken. "HAHH!" He yelled, bringing his left hand up high to coerce the inferno inside the box to swell upwards.
DUNNDUNNDUNNKKLE~
FWOUFFFFF~
The box was turned into nothing but fire as the glassy outside was marked with black burn marks and smoke, the top continued to crack until:
Ka-KOMM! FYUUUUUUUU!
Cell broke through the ground and not the box.
Maloja was not ready.
WHAMM! FYUUUUUUUU~
Cell sent him flying through the air, just over the treeline. In a display of his newfound power, Maloja kept calm and skirted along the leafy platforms scattered about, weaving and dodging Cell's attempted follow-up attacks. The orange aura started to wane a bit but The Wizard still kept it steady, actually firing back strikes of his own instead of relying wholly on magic.
ShuShuFuFwuFu~
They threw fast bombs back to back at each other, barely grazing the face, the arms and each other's necks until Cell saw the moment he needed, grappling onto Maloja's left hand and arm dragging him with the weight of God, throwing him like a missile at the Earth. Maloja bounced off the ground hard like a ragdoll, bleeding from the mouth at the ordeal as his opponent crash landed on the grass next to him.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this." Cell remarked aloud as he closed the gap. "How about~"
With four lightning fast attacks, Cell practically teleported into a sliding dash that tripped up the unshaven mage, forcing him off the ground with wide eyes at just how fast the bug-man was. After the low slide, Cell delivered a slamming right leg in the midsection, stalling the man just above the ground as he coughed up loose saliva and blood all the same, after that he drew the line above his frame with a stunning elbow drop, slamming it right into the hapless spine of The Wizard and finishing it off with one last high boot, catching his opponent on the way down and causing him to tumble onto the grass with a wobbly disposition.
Maloja fell onto his backside with the large bug-man staring right at him. With seemingly no other options left, Maloja attempted a retreat with a dazzling flash of light.
Tap-Tap. ZNNNNNNN~
"Yah~ What in the world?"
After a moment, Cell opened his eyes and scanned the area, no man in sight.
"You're not getting away from me a second time." Cell stated with stoicism, closing his eyes, raising his right hand, and sending out a pulse of Scanning.
Trees.
Grass.
Insects.
Rodents.
Dinosaurs.
Flowers.
Man.
"There we are." Cell said solemnly, opening his eyes and absolutely blasting off, tearing right through hundreds of trees to make sure that he followed the straightest path possible.
FYUUTUNKTUNKTUNKTUNKYUUUUU!
"Shit." Is all Maloja could get out before his already broken body was mangled from drive-by left leg, snapping his spine in half and bending him over backwards like clay doll, killing him instantly.
Cell let nary a stray breath loose, for he had not even been challenged, not since The Triceratops King.
"Hmm. I suppose that's what you get for defying me." Cell declared as he pointed down at the limp body of The Wizard.
Ga-Chuik. Bee! Bee! Bee!
Cell pocketed the other Dragon Ball in the man's musty green robe, gazing at its ethereal shine in the last flitters of sunlight left under the brush of the treetops blocking out most of the sun's rays.
"At last. Here's to you, Father, Doctor Kochin. I've done my duty to you all. Huh-Hah-Hah!" The giggles came out in droves, something about it was just so funny, he couldn't describe it, because he didn't know it either.
After wiping a tear away, he checked the radar one more time and gazed down the roughed up hallway of trees he left in his wake from the starting point.
"Well."
FSHUUUU!
He used his wispy auras to pick up the last ball, gazing at its glory all the same as the sun finally set and the rays now only kicked over the horizon and not onto him. He let the air breathe, looking up at the stars and once again just watching the world go round as night fell. Creatures of the shadows came around, prowling and studying the possible prey with an interesting form.
"I wonder what Doctor Wheelo is like? He must be a very interesting man if Father and Kochin want to wish him back to life. Huh-Huh-Hah!" He breathed in sharply through his nose. "Man this feels good! I want the whole world to know!" Cell bellowed, raising his limbs out in starfish formation, laughing a bit goofily as he did it.
The hoots of owls and buzzing of insects alerted Cell to more important matters.
Ga-Chuik. Bee! Bee!
"I've got to get back." He lamented, swirling the three Dragon Balls around his frame with the Kiai.
FOOOSHH!
"Oh." He remarked, stopping on a dime, the air pressuring out from his stall. "I better pick up the other radar for Doctor Kochin."
So Cell did just that, backtracking to palm the locator cradled in the dead man's coat.
"Hmm."
Bzzzzzzz~
The crickets buzzed, punctuated the moment almost.
"I might as well. What if he comes back to steal The Dragon Balls?"
Vyoip~Vyoip~Vyoip~
"Hah! As if he could best me, I was made for this. Huh-Hah-Hah!"
Raditz
Raditz sat patiently on the other side of the boardroom as various monks in orange and purple robes chatted up a storm with Mic at the head of the table. The Director was barking up a storm and The Saiyan seemed to be the only one none the wiser.
"What the fuck is he saying?" Raditz dared not let aloud for fear of looking out of place, seeing as everyone ooed and awed at the dog-man's whoofs.
"That's a great idea! What do you think, Raditz?" Mic asked as Raditz was spaced the fuck out.
"I'm sorry..?"
"We were discussing the possibility of granting the winner of each division a guaranteed spot in their respective bracket if they so wish to take it, making sure that winners of The Budokai can come back and test their mettle without having to sign in, what say you?"
Fwof.
The whole boardroom was silent, staring right at him.
"Shit." "Uhm~ Well wouldn't that give the winners an unfair advantage?"
"..."
"And don't the people want to see an upset?" He let out in a bit of an unconvincing way, winging it as hard as he could.
"Huuu~"
"He's got a point."
"Everyone wants a new winner, especially since that Tien guy keeps entering every time. What if he wins a third one? Might that even… stop a few people from entering?"
"He might be onto something."
"Phew~" Raditz whistled as he looked outside onto the mostly empty nighttime streets of Papaya Island.
The discussion ran long, until it was finally decided.
"Okay." Mic commanded as they all stood up formally. "Those who are for the tournament winner placement holding, stand on this side, and those against, stand against the window."
Klm. Klm.
"..."
"Whoof."
"You're right, that does seem to make sense to me, Director. There you have it."
Clapp!
"I can understand your frustration, gentlemen." He posited to the men at the window. "But the placement idea only helps to bolster The Non-Supernatural Division and The Supernatural Division. The Top 4 isn't really affected in that same way. We made The Top 4 bracket for the health of the competition. I would be in total agreeance with you guys if we still ran the tournament the same way we have since The 24th, but after that tournament, it became clear that we'd need to rework how we approach our prestigious contest. Thank you for your understanding."
A few minutes later and it was just Raditz, The Director, and Mic in the room.
"Raditz… You haven't left yet?"
"..."
"Raditz?"
The Saiyan was spaced out, just looking at the nightlights and street signs on the empty roads leading out of the tournament hall. Mic placed his hand on the big man's shoulder, finally drawing a reaction.
"..?"
"Now I'm not gonna say I know you all that well but you've been spacin' out on me a little bit. You having a rough time?"
"... No." Raditz answered simply, a genuine smile opening up the rest of his face. "I just… been thinking about something from my childhood."
"Ahh, nostalgia. The one constant of the human condition." Mic replied as he leaned against the glass with his forearm.
"..."
"..."
"I used to not have the power to do what I wanted."
"..."
"I have that now. And it's a little daunting to be let free. That's all."
Mic stared out the window with him, watching cars go by every so often, but not too often.
Piccolo
"Hey honey, I'm home!" Goku yelled with a chipper tone as he stretched it out in the kitchen. "Mmm!"
Chi-Chi walked around the corner onto the wood floor with a nightgown on and a sassy temperament about her.
"Goku."
"Yes dear?"
"You're never home this late." She waved to Piccolo, he waved back.
"Uhh. I told you I was going to Other World."
TOMPP!
"I even remembered the Hell water. Me and Picco-"
"..."
"Piccolo and I."
Chi-Chi nodded.
"-Went through a lot of different places to grab something that didn't have blood or bones or dead bodies in it. Though, it looks like this is just water so… I don't know if this'll amount to much or not."
Tonk-Tong!
"But here you go."
"Thank you Goku but uhh… you would do better to remember what time it is. You always speak so loud. The boys are asleep. It's 1 A.M."
"It is!?"
"..."
"Sheesh. Huh-Hah! Really hard to keep track of time up there. It didn't feel long at all!"
"Hurry up and get to bed. Sorry for having to rush you out like this, Piccolo but we have a curfew in this household."
"No offence taken, Ma'am."
Goku waved Piccolo off which caught him a nod back. On his way out he realised he was still wearing the Titans cap.
"Oh. Goku!"
"..?"
Fwof.
"Thanks."
Klm.
It was now just The Demon, staring out into the nighttime wilderness.
"Whuuu~" A breath tapered out of his green lips with solemnity as he stared up at the stars. "So that old Kai was taking it easy on us, huh? Unbelievable."
He soaked in the moment as the critters of Mount Paozu croaked and buzzed, the prowlers growling and the trees whistling. He stood there for a while until he felt something hit the back of his mind.
"What is that..? The last time I felt that was…"
The day he was born.
The day the Saiyans arrived.
And lastly, the day of The 25th Tenkaichi Budokai.
"Is that..? Shenron?"
ZYUUUUUUU~
His green skin tightened up, veins pulsating to the surface.
"I think it is. Who's summoning The Eternal Dragon?"
His jaw locked up as he opened his eyes with a stoic devotion, assuming the position.
Vsht!
Cell
Cell arrived with the last three Dragon Balls, waltzing through the large circular entrance to the metal hideout with a swagger about him.
"Took you long enough, Cell."
"Here are The Dragon Balls, per your request."
"Hmm."
"No thank you?"
The two Doctors looked at each other with a strange air about them.
"Unusually chipper."
"I feel good, Father. I completed my task."
"So you have."
The machines in the back were fired up again, glass fixed and bubbles boiling. Cell raised a curious brow at the fact.
"Didn't I break that machine?" He questioned with a pointer finger.
"You didn't break the machine, Cell, you just broke the glass."
"Right…"
"Hurry up." Kochin called from the top level, motioning the other two into the corridor with Capsules in hand.
"We're doing it outside?"
"We can't do it here."
Cell stopped talking, just walking with them the rest of the way until Kochin pressed a button on the wall, Cell, characteristically overshooting and then having to double back to enter the side hallway.
"What is this place?"
"Garage." He shot back quickly as he entered a polished skycar.
"Get in."
"Yes, Father."
Cell had trouble fitting his large frame into the more compact vehicle, not having much struggle other than his large, horn-like appendages at the top of his head that simply refused to fit inside the space allotted.
Klm.
"Mm-Hmm!" Cell cleared his throat once as the shutters opened and the ground separated.
FYUUUUU~
The car ride felt like forever, and while it Was somewhat lengthy, it was made ever more time consuming just by the fact that his father and Kochin elected not to talk. He felt isolated, even though he was in the company of those who made him.
"It was a lot better on Vinnie's couch." Cell contemplated as he looked out to the changing scenery, it was desert at first, then trees, then plains, then icy glaciers capsized by raging waters, and then ultimately snow covered mountains.
The wind howled, echoing sentiments of rowdy wolves and rattled against the windshield with pleting snow, sleet, and hail. The gale bellowed and churned, pushing the car slightly around as they hovered above the mountains in search of something.
"Why are we going out this far?" Cell would have asked, if not for already committing to shutting up. "Is this where Wheelo died? Does the spot have anything to do with resurrection?"
Soon enough, the trio came upon a gigantic mountain, the biggest in the region, and Kochin parked the car.
Kla-Clicc. Klm.
FWUUUUUUUU~
The ice and snow packed it on, Cell was already stiffening at the fingertips, touching them together in the wake of the new sensation.
"Hurry up!"
"..." Cell glared back at Kochin with a bit of animosity, keeping to himself and looking at the pretty lights of the aether instead of speaking up.
The two men and one bug-man trekked the highlands in the freezing cold until Kochin finally settled upon a spot he deemed acceptable.
Bom! Bom! Bom! Bom!
As he popped the Capsules, The Dragon Balls continued to glow and shine in their luminescence, continuing to glow with each consecutive unveiling until all 7 were gathered. The Doctor nodded and kicked The Dragon Balls down into a chasm, a huge snowfall following them as they shined epically.
"What? Why did he do that?" Cell questioned with a raised brow.
"Come out, Eternal Dragon! Come out and grant me my request!"
The ice ripped apart under the golden majesty of an ethereal serpentine creature. The foothold shook with violence, causing Gero to fall over and Cell to wonder how powerful The Eternal Dragon was going to be.
VYUUUUUUUUU~
KOWW! KAOWW! KA-KAOOWW!
The already low light conditions night provided turned even darker, the icy blues of the snow made harder to see by the pitch black clouds forming in the sky. Lightning strikes struck with ferocity, it almost felt intentional as the lightning barely missed and arced just around the trio, smashing into the snow and burning it with epic flares. The yellow glow glinted navy blue, then red, then purple, then gold, then sky blue, then icy blue, then a pure white. The Eternal Dragon was putting on a light show, the likes of which was simply not present when The Murasaki Brothers summoned him, nor at any other time of his invitation.
KOWW! Ka-KOWWW!
The lightning strikes also coincided with the changing hues of The Eternal Dragon. The aurora in the winter sky shined brightly through the clouds, the lightshow was luminescent, shifting from pitch black to a brilliant rainbow on a dime, the icy walls of the cavernous mountain region fusing into a prismatic landscape.
"Huh-huh-hah." Cell laughed jubilantly as he gazed upon the terrain.
The Eternal Dragon just kept going, spearing right through the black clouds at the top in a burrowing motion as it continued to change colours, only more rapidly.
"GAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The roar from The Eternal Dragon was monstrous, almost sounding like it was in pain, not of a roar to intimidate. It spent a long time above the clouds, its tail end finally rising from the icy cavern and subsequently drawing through the hole in the top of the sky.
Vwa~Vsh!
Piccolo peered around the shining vista, totally perplexed.
"Did I miss it?"
Cell raised a brow.
"Sir? Who are you?"
"..."
"..."
Piccolo shot out his Telepathic surge, looking to divulge any information from the bug-man with wings.
"He's going to wish his Master's colleague back to life? I guess that's not too different from how we've been using them."
"Sir?"
Piccolo said nothing, just nodding back in response.
"What are you doing here?"
Gero and Kochin were focused on the sight up above, too enthralled to even notice The Postboy's appearance in the snow.
"It's kind of my job to make sure things don't go awry." Piccolo replied as he had his attention stolen by The Eternal Dragon finally descending into this realm.
"..."
"I guess I can let this one slide."
"Let this one slide?"
"It would be hypocritical to not let you do what we've been doing this entire time."
Cell had no words as the strangely dressed green man pivoted, a shining yellow glow in his fingertips before he was enveloped in it.
Zzzzzatt!
In one moment The Postboy had turned into a much more regal looking figure with a white cape.
"He's not evil." Piccolo ruminated as he let one last glance slip at the green bug-man. "But I don't like how I can't use my Telepathy on those two."
KA-KOWW!
"ROOOOOOOOOOOAGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Va-Vsh!
"What a strange man…" Cell contemplated, not really paying attention until it was too hard to ignore.
The sight was otherworldly, Cell couldn't help but stare in awe as the gigantic serpentine behemoth descended and stalled out, smothering the entire icescape with his phenomenal frame.
"TELL ME WHAT YOU DESIRE. I'LL GRANT ONE WISH NO MATTER WHAT IT MAY BE."
"Eternal Dragon, my mentor, Doctor Wheelo, lies frozen inside these icy walls, that even the great sun cannot melt! I want you to melt this frozen tomb so that I can wake him up!"
"AS YOU WISH."
"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED AND NOW I BID YOU FAREWELL."
"Doctor Wheelo is free and sweet revenge will soon be ours! After 50 years of waiting we can finally put our greatest plan into motion! The world will be ours! Yes! Yes! Whohoohoo!"
Cell had never seen Doctor Kochin as excited as he saw him that day, in fact, he hadn't seen either of the two scientists even really show a positive emotion in his entire life. Even the hype Kochin displayed seemed almost artificial. Perhaps it was old age but the voice didn't match the old man's movements correctly.
"Freeing the ice? I thought we were reviving him." Cell kept to himself as he furrowed his brow at the two old men before him.
KLOWW! SKFFFFFFF~ KLLLLLLLLLLL~ KROKK! KMMMMMMMMMM!
The icy monument segmented and fell to pieces, revealing a submerged facility of some kind, an epic dome-like structure of obsidian black. The final throes of the lights dissipated and The 7 Dragon Balls shot out in all directions once more. After the lights faded, it was back to cold gales and low lights, forcing Cell to squint to see in front of him.
"Hurry!" Kochin commanded as he started to descend the icy hill leading to the dome.
"Have they been lying to me this whole time? My purpose was to find The Dragon Balls for them, why would they lie to me like that? I was created for this, couldn't they have me destroy the mountain instead? Well… I guess Doctor said he was trapped in here but I can't help but wonder."
The trio slid down the icy slide and entered the black building. The entrance was almost like a mouth and the architecture was like nothing Cell had seen before, wide eyes and intrigue as the lights on the inside turned on, revealing more ribbed designs.
KOOOOOOOO~KMM!
The large entrance sealed up, locking them in. Kochin led the way through the never-ending labyrinthian design until he finally settled upon a wet room in the back. The whole place was like this but the room in the back that he was about to enter was particularly drenched and ice cold.
KSHKK! Blublublublublu~
"What is that?" Cell pondered as he raised a brow at the strange wrinkly pink mass of what looked like gum.
"Finally. Good to see you, Wheelo."
No response.
"Let's get you out of there."
With a few clicks on a keyboard in the back, the dome covering the pink mass lifted, leaving only the strange thing in a compact device. Kochin walked back over and pressed a big red button on the console of the jar.
Blululu~
"Kochin." Kululululu~
"Wheelo."
"You sound different." Klulululu~
"I was unable to escape alive. Our project worked, though. I can never be replicated like you. Just a machine, now. No more complex than what I put into the computer that day."
The pink mass took a long time to respond.
"And what of Gero?" Bubululu~
"He's right here, but he was lost as well. You are the only thing resembling human life of the three of us."
"What are they saying..? Are Father and Doctor not alive..? That doesn't make any sense."
"We took too long, Wheelo. It was faster to create machines than to transport our brain matter. At least, You, will get to live."
"Hmm." Bulululu~
"..."
"Is anyone else here?" Bubububu~
"..."
"Yes. Nice to meet you sir, I am Cell." Cell remarked as he took a kneel before the brain.
"I see." Kulululu~
"We have your body prepared, Wheelo. Whenever you are ready."
There was another long pause.
"Already?" Lulululu~
"We made sure to not come back until we had the plan ready to go." Gero remarked.
"..." Kululululu~ "Interesting."
"Come. Let's get back to the hideout so that we can get you your new body."
This pause was the longest of all of them, Wheelo started to speak up but seemed to decline once he fully wound, retreating into himself as bubbles floated to the top of his head jar.
"..."
The sun started to rise over the desert mountains as Cell, Gero, Kochin, and Wheelo parked the car in the garage. The trio walked the hallways, Kochin carrying the glass jar with the matter inside. Soon enough.
Clicc-Clicc-Clicc.
"..."
"..."
The silence was awkward, Cell was in the room with three other people but yet again, didn't feel like it was his place to speak or break the silence, something he would happily do with Vinnie.
Clacc-Clacc-Clacc.
"It's done. Cell. Get in there."
"..?"
"You heard me."
"Why?"
"Are you doubting me?"
"Yes."
"..." Bulululu~
"We created you, you do what we say!"
"Okay, fine. Sure enough. But why?"
"I don't answer to you, Cell, you answer to me."
"Actually, I answer to Father." He said with an index pointed at Gero. He pointed another at the half bald old head. "I do not answer to you."
"Get in."
"I'm not getting in until you tell me why."
"..."
"..." Kululululu~
"We created you for this purpose, Cell, you were to host Wheelo's body. We gave you your own free will as a gift, so that you might hasten our plans to gather the, Dragonballs. Now your mission is over. It was always Wheelo's body."
"..." Cell swallowed harshly, cold sweat breaking out his insect-like armour.
"Your work here is done. Time to move on."
"..."
"..." Kululululu~
The silence was broken up by the bubbles boiling on both sides, one from Wheelo's jar and the other from the green tank on the opposite side. Cell couldn't keep it together, laughing a bit strangely as the two Doctors stared him down.
"Huh-Huh-Hah-Hah-Hah!"
"..." Kululululu~
"Hah-Hah-Huh-Huh-Hah!"
"Why are you laughing?"
"I get it now! Ho-how could I be so stupid?"
"Yes."
"Huh-Huh-Hah." Cell giggled out the last bit as he put his hand on Kochin's shoulder, letting out the last few wisps of breath through his teeth. "Tss-tss-tss."
"..."
He drew his hand from The Doctor, and finally met his eyeline.
"It has always been."
"..." Kulululu~
"Survival of the Fittest."
WHOKK! Krrrzzzztttztt!
Kochin's head came clean off, sparking electrical units frayed and arced as he fell limp to the floor, oils and circuits spilling outward onto the metal grating.
"Huh-Huh-Hah! It would appear… that the late Doctor simply wasn't fit enough. Knnn~ Huh-Hah-Hah! How embarrassing."
Cell smiled gleefully before turning his attention to Gero.
"I created you!"
"Sure. But you do not own me unless you are more powerful than I, Father. Show me that you possess the power and I will submit. For that is the only constant that has shown to be true."
"..." Bulululu~
"Well?"
"I command you to stop!"
"Here's your chance."
Zhhhhhhhh! Ba-BOOM! Kzzzttatttzz!
"Mnnnn~" Cell breathed in a cathartic breath through his nostrils, cheesing big time at the death of the two electronic Earthlings. "Ahhh~"
Fufufufufu~
With a flutter of his wings and a stretching of his arms, Cell smiled brighter than ever.
"Free at last. What a joy it is."
Cell spared a cursory glance at the wrinkled brain in a jar, prompting a response by picking it up and staring fervently at the bubbles.
"So what are you going to do now, Cell?" Kulululu~
"I don't know… I really don't know."
"Are you going to kill me?" Bubblu~
"No. Probably not." He replied, setting the glass container back on the table with solemnity, a cold rushing in after the warmth of the fuzzies just moments previous.
"Why not?"
"You can't cause me any harm as you are. You have a will of your own, but you can't express it. You aren't fit for me to even worry about."
"..." Kulululu~ "Fair enough."
"I want to watch more movies and I want to fight more people. That's the only thing that ever really made sense anyway. Unfortunately I feel like my time might be up."
"...Why do you say that?" Kulululu~
"I'm Too good. I've won every fight I've had simply by trying, I'm not sure how much better I can get."
"..." Kulululu~
Cell waved Wheelo goodbye before he quickly interjected one last thought.
Tmp. Dmp. Tnk. Tnk.
"Cell."
"What?"
"Have you ever heard of The Tenkaichi Budokai?"
"Can't say that I have, no."
"It was the premier tournament circuit for testing one's martial prowess back in my day. I don't know how long has passed since then but... You might want to look into it. The name is Japanese, it roughly translates to: The Strongest Under The Heavens. If that's not your answer, I don't know what else will be."
"Why are you telling me this? I ruined your chance at having a body, didn't I?"
"..." Kululululu~ "I planned to take the body Kochin gave me when he promised me that day and use it to win The Tenkaichi Budokai. If you win it, that's a small victory for me, Gero, and for Kochin's work as well. My faith will be rewarded all the same, whether it's my body or not."
"Thanks."
"..." Kulululu~