The Hunted
Chapter II: The First Taste
Not needing to sacrifice his speed at all, Cell expertly navigated his way through a jagged, rocky area. Jumping over small formations, darting up cliff faces, leaping basins, it was all too easy for the bio-android. Impressed with the time he was making, Cell began to wonder how much farther away his destination was. He was frustrated at the sheer size of the world, and the fact that he had no choice but to travel by foot (for the moment, anyway). Steadily growing impatient, a small wave of relief washed over him as the rocky terrain started to fade into a sandy desert.
"Not far off now," Cell assured himself, his feet digging into the sand as he ran. Although the soft traction was slowing him down, he didn't have to put any extra thought into the process of moving through it, which was a nice change. The fact that he was already in the sandy region told him that he was at least two thirds of the way there. In no time at all, he would reach a jungle, and within the thick cluster of trees he would find what he was looking for.
XXXXXXXXXX
Korin stood perched on the rail of his tower-top home. He hadn't moved in days, his eyes fixed on something far, far in the distance, as if he were deep in thought. His staff gripped tightly in his hand, he was starting to realise that his greatest fears were coming into fruition.
Meanwhile, Yajirobe was growing impatient with his only companion, who had been paying him no mind for way too long.
"What the hell is your problem, Korin? You haven't budged an inch in ages! Just say something, will ya?" the portly mountain man demanded, but he got no response.
"Damn cat must be going senile," he told himself, although he didn't believe it for a second.
More hours passed, before finally, the wise old cat slumped his shoulders. Hopping down from his perch, he made his way over to Yajirobe, a look of despair in his usually calm eyes.
"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Something terrible has been set in motion," said the wise feline, his head drooping slightly.
"What do you mean?" asked Yajirobe, who had never seen his friend act so weirdly.
"I'm afraid we have very little time left. The Cell of this timeline has been born, and this time I fear there is no stopping him," said Korin, showing none of his usual quirk.
Yajirobe nearly did a double take. His mouth trembled as a thousand questions all crossed his mind at once.
"W-why is he coming for us?"
"It appears that the failure of the last Cell did not go unnoticed by whomever… or whatever is running things now in Dr Gero's lab," Korin stroked his whiskers in anxiety as he spoke.
"But I thought that lab was destroyed," Yajirobe could feel sheer terror bubbling to the surface as all the information was thrown at him.
"Trunks and Krillin must have failed to find a certain, presumably hidden area of the lab when they raided it. Unfortunately for this world, that hidden area was where Cell was being developed."
Unable to remain calm or even rational, Yajirobe ran and leapt over the rail, not caring whether the fall would hurt or kill him. He may not have been as strong as Cell, but he wasn't going to let that freak catch him. The irony of such thoughts were lost on him, as a hand grasped his ankle, stopping his descent dead and snapping his neck from the sudden whiplash.
The last thing he felt was something penetrate his stomach and begin draining away at his insides. Then it all went black.
Korin was well aware of what was happening only a few hundred metres below him, and wasn't surprised in the slightest when a dark green figure ascended up to his home. The night sky shrouded the figure in shadow, but it took no stretch of the imagination to see that he was looking into the eyes of Dr Gero's nightmarish abomination.
"How can I help you, stranger?" asked Korin, his usual demeanor acting as nothing more than a façade.
"I know all about you, cat," came an unnatural, hissing voice.
"And I also know that you are very wise, which means that you have known this day was coming for a good while," the voice continued, and as the figure came closer, it could be seen that the words were coming from a disgusting, slater-like mouth.
"Well, you're certainly right about that," Korin replied snidely as the creature's feet touched the ground before him.
He looked up at the horrifying beast that he knew was going to take his life.
"I guess I could say that I've lived too long, and maybe this is my punishment for defying mortality. But on the flip side, nine-hundred years is longer than most people could comprehend, so what's another five minutes?" A smirk spread across the wise feline's face.
Grasping the object that he held behind his back, Korin waited for the right moment to strike.
"Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Cell," said the creature, readying his tail.
"Oh believe me, I know," said Korin, and before Cell could respond, the cat leapt forward, tossing a mysterious bottle of bright red fluid at his soon-to-be aggressor's face.
The bottle smashed on impact, dousing Cell in the strange liquid and making a sizzling sound as it burnt away at his flesh.
"Darn you!" Cell screeched, stumbling backwards as pink smoke poured off of his body.
Korin could have used the distraction to run away, but he knew that such attempt would prove ultimately pointless. Instead, he watched in satisfaction as the creature that was destined to end his existence stumbled around in agonizing pain.
However, it wasn't long before the smoke subsided and Cell regained his composure. The deep, cavernous craters in Cell's body where the liquid had splashed began to rapidly regenerate, and in the space of only a few seconds, the damage was completely repaired.
"I'm going to make you suffer for that," Cell whispered, a deranged look in his eyes.
He darted forwards, connecting with a brutal knee to Korin's face that broke most of his teeth and shattered his short, feline snout. Tumbling along the ground, the cat's momentum was only stopped when he collided with the central pillar, causing it to crack.
Advancing on his unconscious victim, Cell licked his lips, now knowing how satisfying the feeling of draining another's life force was.
His tail shot forward and pierced Korin's flesh.
Author's Note:
Haha, I had a feeling that nobody would guess Cell's first victim(s) correctly. In case you were wondering, Korin was the actual target, but Cell decided to drain Yajirobe anyways, you know, because he's evil like that. Keep guessing though; who do you think Cell will be hunting down next?
- TheSaiyanDemonPrince