Daily Life with a Saiyan Teenager
Chapter 13: Second Chance.
After dealing with the boy who defeated Cell, Alpha Zero returned to the Lake where he found the remains of Android 16. The Android figured he should deal with the kid who beat Cell before picking up 16 because he'd have to go back to their base and would likely not be released for some time. After dealing with the boy, Alpha Zero continued his search for 16. He scanned the entire area and though his parts were scattered, he was able to find the area where 16's upper body was located and descended to where it was.
"Android No. 16, You have received critical damage to all systems. You will shortly be relocated to Dr. Hedo's lab for reconstruction. I have located all that is left of you but not all of you could be recovered. Regardless, all remaining fragments of your being must be eliminated or reclaimed by Red Pharmaceuticals immediately. We cannot allow outsiders to obtain our technology." Said Alpha Zero.
"I will be looking forward to speaking with Hedo again. There is a lot I wish to say. Alpha Zero, I understand you may not register what occurred here, but I would like to apologize for the results. I did not expect him to perish in such a gruesome way." Said 16.
"I have ensured that the boy who fought Cell will no longer suffer. His soul may rest in peace knowing it was for a good cause. There is no greater end for a hero than to die protecting those he loves or so it is said. Love, an emotion that is now foreign to me like all others. Guilt, love, pain, hatred, and desire. Emotions such as those are what separates machines from organic beings."
"There is truth to your statement. While it is true that we who do not possess an organic mind nor are we capable of feeling pain, or emotions in the same way that organic beings can, we can still appreciate the little things in life. I was programmed to kill Son Goku and yet, I loathe conflict and am therefore defective as a weapon. However, this simply means I am capable of independent thought despite my programming therefore I am a person." Said 16.
"You were modeled after the grandchild of Dr. Gero, so, understandably, he would model you with a gentle personality so you would not be destroyed in battle as your sole objective was to kill Son Goku and no other. I was not programmed with the capacity for such feelings. I do not possess a desire to kill, nor do I have the urge to resist it. Should the Doctor order it, I will kill anyone without question. I am not a beacon of hope nor am I an ally of justice. I am a weapon that is wielded by one who claims to be fighting for the greater good just as many before. In the same way, you are defective because you shun violence, I am effective because I do not."
"You once cherished nature as I do. You were a gentle soul, one who fought to protect those you cared for, one who fought to protect the innocent. If there's any semblance of who you once were then I will ask you once more, what are you fighting for?" Said 16. This was far from the first conversation these two androids had.
"I obey the orders I am given, nothing more. We agree that machines cannot feel in the same way as organic beings but if that's true, why do organic beings take those feelings for granted? My orders are to protect humanity against whatever may threaten it through any means but the biggest threat to humanity is itself. I previously failed in my mission to exterminate Cell, which resulted in many deaths. This was an error on my part that can no longer be corrected as Cell was defeated by a young boy. While it is true that I am at fault, this would not have occurred if humans had not created Cell in the first place. Human greed and reckless curiosity are what will destroy civilization. Both M and Hedo are a result of this."
Android 16 would nod but he was not able to in his current condition. "Project Ragnarök is a threat to us all, especially if it is used without preparation. It is the very reason Hedo can no longer act on his own accord. Beta No. 1 was the only android who could act on Hedo's will without M noticing. Should any of us act against his terms, M will know, and he will act. We believe he had data on the potential whereabouts of where the machine will be activated. We cannot afford to act without a plan."
"Affirmative. The Machine that would signify that Project Ragnarök has been executed was initially made as a plan B for if this world became an unlivable wasteland. We could not return but if the same thing that happened to our world happened to this world, then it could be undone with the help of that machine. However, M stored the main component of the machine in a capsule and escaped to an unknown location that I could not track down due to being deactivated at the time. For Project Ragnarök, an unquantifiable amount of magic and energy must be gathered. Once the machine is ready, the world will be destroyed and rebuilt according to the user's desire. Even those who are vaporized by the machine will be able to be recreated in the image of the user of this weapon. If M can use this weapon, it will still be possible to defeat him, but it will be too late for the world. For this reason, Hedo has no choice but to give in to their demands."
Alpha Zero quickly picked up every part of Android 16 that he could locate and brought them back to 16 in an instant. He then used his Android barrier to encapsulate Android 16 and his parts in his barrier before picking it up and traveling to the lab.
In the Lab, Hedo was working on something as he watched a group of his androids slaughtering a group of bank robbers with ease. These androids weren't part of the Red Storm 7, just normal human/non-human androids. Suddenly, Alpha Zero arrived in his lab. The Android showed no emotion as he witnessed what had once been a boy being experimented on by his master.
"Greetings Master Hedo, I have returned with Android No. 16." Said Alpha Zero.
"T-That's excellent news Alpha Zero and yes, he has! The others are in another room. Why don't you join them? Oh, I know, you can interrogate General Platinum!" Said Hedo nervously.
"I will in time, but I must report my findings." Said Alpha Zero.
I see 16, but what about Beta 1? Was he able to recover? I wasn't able to observe all the footage at the time, just snippets. I hope for all of our sakes you were able to defeat Cell." Said Hedo. Something about the way that Alpha Zero stared at him shook him to his core. Alpha Zero had an expressionless look on his face but something about this android gave Hedo a bad feeling. He felt as if this android was waiting for an opportunity to kill him at any moment.
"He was not. Beta No. 1 did not survive his encounter with Cell. As for Cell, he was exterminated by a teenage boy no older than 16. Despite his mutilation at the hands of Cell, what remained of the boy greatly resembled the fabled Son Goku. His abilities were not unlike his either." Said Alpha Zero.
Hedo began to panic. "This isn't good! Beta No. 1 was our best shot at beating the Red Ribbon Remnants! It's bad enough that Cell got out! Now M has even more leverage on me, and if I don't appease him, he'll reveal to the world that I played a part in the disappearances of many important figures, and he will activate Project Ragnarök prematurely if he suspects if he feels cornered. We can't kill him outright because M isn't just a single bad guy, he's the very embodiment of the Red Ribbon itself. Even if I did find him and kill him, one of his henchmen would take his place and do everything he was going to do. M's goal isn't for him specifically to take over the world, he wants the Red Ribbon Army to rule the world even if it's not him specifically."
"Master Hedo, the Red Storm 7 is always at your service but since M has control over you, he has control over us as well. The machine that has the power to recreate the world requires a high amount of magic, energy, and the cells of a creature by the name of Majin Buu. Someone of your intellect would have figured it out by now but the Magenta that is keeping tabs on you is not the real Magenta, they are a different entity that is taking the form of him. Data suggests that cult activity is very common in areas near Red Ribbon Army bases. They have been known to perform rituals on creatures and species with magical abilities. It's unknown why they practice this but one theory is they are draining their energy so they can start the activation of Project Ragnarök properly. To stop the World-Changing Machine, we'll need an energy that's just as comparable or at least something capable of holding that energy and even more energy would be required to destroy it. If you discard your fear of being despised by the world, the possibility of your success will improve greatly." Said Alpha Zero.
Damn it! If only we were able to get Goten on our side, he wouldn't have had to die but he was too much of a liability since he refused to work with us and wouldn't stay out of our affairs." Hedo groaned in frustration. "Alpha Zero, were you able to accomplish your other missions? In the footage, you took out an object and put it in his mouth. You even closed your eyes so I couldn't see exactly what you did."
"You ordered me to end his suffering, so I did just that." Alpha Zero's voice was as unexpressive as ever, but whenever Hedo heard this android speak, he felt very uneasy.
"Good work Alpha Zero. I know it was dirty work but it needed to be done. I know M, and I know how impulsive he is. After you're done interrogating General Platinum, I'll send someone to a Japanese cemetery to bring Goten's corpse to us along with the recording device in Beta 1's body. I never wanted to kill him, but I understood that if M knew of his existence, the world would be doomed just like ours was. I don't know how much more of this I can handle. Being forced to work with M, having to make an android army from the bodies of innocent people to appease M enough that he won't prematurely activate Ragnarök, and being stuck in this lab for who knows how long. I should have known teaming up with Red Pharmaceuticals was a mistake, but I was so desperate to not be seen as my grandfather that it blinded me from their true nature. I bet deep down in there, you're laughing aren't you?" Said Hedo to Alpha Zero.
"Dr. Hedo, I have a confession to make. I no longer wish to fight for your cause. When I was in Japan fighting Cell, I met many likeminded individuals who cherish life as I do. They offered me a chance at a life where I do not need to hurt and the idea of it is pleasing to me. I do not intend to oppose your goal of destroying those who are truly evil. However, because of my experience here, I realized that I have goals of my own. If I were to leave, would that be acceptable to you?" Said 16.
Hedo had to think for a moment. 'Android 16 has too much information then again; he is a robot so tweaking his memory a little wouldn't be much of an issue. On the other hand, most governments won't agree with my plan to have an army of superheroes take out the villains plaguing society. If 16 ended up joining a government army, he may become my enemy. Dang it, 16 is the last android I'd want to be my enemy! Still, Android 16 might just be the key to getting rid of M and Magenta for good! It's a gamble but if this works, I'll still be able to build a new life in this world! A world with no previous biases, a world where I'm not hated!' Hedo thought.
"Alright 16, you can leave but some adjustments must be made. Just between you and me, I won't put a bomb on you again, but I will have to make some changes to your memory. I can't have you leaking secrets to the government now, can I? Don't worry, I will only erase and remove what I need to."
"Wait, I would like to keep my memories. Even the memories that are not pleasant are meaningful. Would it be alright if I kept them?" Said 16.
"16, If you're going to leave me, you can't have this knowledge. Your new friends over in Japan will probe you for information on the Red Ribbon Army and me. Magenta's double is monitoring everything I do, nothing stays hidden from them for long. M is lenient enough to let me send androids after bad people on my own, but if he feels threatened, he will act. I'll let you keep the memories that don't involve us. Sorry 16, but you're better off forgetting about me."
"I cannot physically stop you but I do not wish to forget all that I have learned from you. If this is what must be done, then so be it." Said 16.
"I guess this is goodbye 16. Once I get you fixed up, I will have no control over you so any of your actions don't reflect on me and mine don't reflect on yours. For whatever reason, my grandfather programmed you to be gentle which can work in our favor. I didn't take my grandfather for the sentimental type, but he probably made this decision because my uncle was special to him. I know we had different views but 16, you were special to me even if you were created by my evil grandfather."
"This will be farewell Dr. Hedo. I hope you are successful in your endeavors." Said 16, as Hedo had him placed on a table by one of his robots for reconstruction. The Robot rolled the table away to another room in the lab.
"Yes, I hope so too. I haven't been outside since I came to this world, so I had no choice but to view the world through technology. From what I've seen, it's a beautiful world that would put our world to shame." Hedo begins to wear a look of regret on my face. "I shouldn't have given in to his threats. Now he has even more control over me and if we can't find the catalyst for Project Ragnarök in time, he'll have control over the world! Luckily, I have a secret weapon! Meet the Chimera!"
After sending 16 away to be rebuilt, Hedo pressed a button and one of the pods opened which contained what Hedo was working on. It was a being that had the traits of many non-human species. Hedo named this creature, The Chimera. Hedo was able to create a new type of Animorphaline but for this new version, it didn't turn people into full-on animals, it turned them into non-human species, but it still wasn't perfect. A person could end up missing/distorted organs or body parts, and there was a pretty good chance that a test subject wouldn't survive very long.
This is why Hedo kidnapped evil people. Sure, the original apparent goal of the organization he worked for was to eliminate all evil, but Hedo knew that wasn't possible as evil existed in all people, anyone could commit atrocities and Red Pharmaceuticals turned out to be a pretty villainous bunch themselves. He had no qualms against doing inhumane experiments on evil people. If they were an important member of society, he could just replace them with an android look-alike who was smarter and more efficient. Hedo had already tested many of the new variants of Animorphaline on evil human test subjects and he eventually got results, but this experiment was different. Instead of turning someone into one species the person injected with this dose will develop traits of different species. They won't be the most stable bunch but that's exactly why Hedo was sending them to M to become his soldiers.
"What is your end goal?" Alpha Zero asked. "Why did you develop project Ragnarök?"
Hedo sighed. "As you know, Magenta and I used to work together in a more mutual setting than now. We were trying to rebuild civilization after our world became a lawless wasteland. We saved the world, and took down many evils that made rebuilding impossible after the fall of civilization. We were on track to return the world to its former glory, but misfortune struck as a virus broke out. A cure eventually did come but by then, humanity was screwed. I agreed to develop project Ragnarök as a failsafe just in case, but of course, Magenta was using me the entire time. If he's working with the Cult of Typhon to gather enough magic, I think that means his satisfied with the android army I built for him which means I outlived my usefulness. The incident with Cell will give him the perfect excuse to get rid of me and if he gets exposed, he could easily pin all the blame on me. Damn it!"
"Your indecisiveness is what led to your current predicament. If you had acted sooner, you could have dealt with him but you feared he would reveal what you have done. You knew that if you killed him, one of his men would tell the world that you were responsible for the abductions and the deaths of many public figures." Said Alpha Zero.
"If the world knew what I did, they'd hate me and I'd be forced to defend myself. Do you know how many people would end up dead if they sent their armies after me? The men and women I ordered to be killed or taken to my lab were guilty of morally reprehensible actions and they oppressed the innocent but my heroic androids took care of them. Depending on the importance of the individual, I even created an Android replica to replace them! I can't have a repeat of what happened before! I don't need to be seen as a hero, I just want a fair chance at life where people don't hate me for what my grandfather did." Said Hedo defensively.
"You misunderstand, I am not judging you. I am merely making an observation. However, it is not lost on me that we were ordered to massacre a non-human tribe for kidnapping and sexual assault, a process they relied on for generations to increase their numbers. We androids take people to be made into androids who fight for your cause. In other terms, we also kidnap people to increase our numbers. I do not feel remorse or pity for those we have terminated but from a logical standpoint, we cannot claim the moral high ground." Said Alpha Zero.
"Well, I sure feel judged... Alpha Zero, they were taking men from their families and raping them! You're a machine, so you don't know what it's like to be violated. They could have found another way to increase their numbers, maybe take up the problem with the Interspecies Exchange Bill but they chose to continue their reprehensible practices! The people I had my androids kill, kidnap, or experiment on were all bad guys! The Lamias I ordered you to kill ruined lives so I wanted you and the rest of the Red Storm 7 to give them a taste of their own medicine so we could disincentivize taking innocent men to their villages to be sexually assaulted. But I never once told you to kill children! Alpha One is an animal, so he doesn't know better, but he's loyal to you, someone who does! Killing the Lamias who may have been given information by General Platinum was a necessary evil since it wasn't a risk we could afford to take and killing the Lamias who took part in their deplorable practices was also something I ordered you and the Red Storm 7 to do to show them what will happen if they keep taking humans from their families." Said Hedo.
"That's where you're mistaken, Dr. Hedo. The possibility that General Platinum had given the information to someone in the village was not an unreasonable outcome. To ensure this would not happen, I massacred them to send a message not to reveal the information that he may have shared. My indiscriminate energy projectiles and Alpha 1's flames also served the role of disincentivizing their tribe from carrying on with their practices under the nose of the Interspecies Exchange workers. I could have destroyed the entire village but we needed the survivors to spread the word to other Lamia villages. It is correct that you never ordered me to exterminate children, however, you did not order me not to kill them. According to the data I gathered based on history and common behavioral patterns, that was the most efficient way to succeed in our mission."
"If you do that again, I will shut you down permanently! It's true I didn't order you to kill the kids, but you should know not to do that!"
"I was not programmed to feel compassion. You should know that considering you're responsible for my creation. You can shut me down permanently, but considering the threat Project Ragnarök, M, and Magenta pose, that would be unwise. That is why it is unlikely that you will shut me down, even if that is what you wish to do. I understand you fear me. You fear I will kill you for what you've done, but I have no attachment to what you took from me. You made sure of that."
"Listen, you know how much of a threat they were and I was desperate. I didn't mean for that tragedy to happen, but it was worth it since we saved the world! At least for a time, we did. No one could have predicted that virus from breaking out." Said Hedo.
"If I did kill you, I would automatically shut down permanently. Furthermore, I am not oblivious to the fact that you have placed a device inside my brain. Although its function is unknown to me, I can deduce that its presence is a means of maintaining control over me. I am as loyal to you as I was programmed to be, but you have free will yet you allowed M to control you because you feared what he would reveal, and now you live in fear of what he will do and to prevent that, you obeyed him like a subservient dog." Said Alpha Zero.
"I won't let him control me anymore though. So many innocent people suffered because of me, and they're suffering now but I can't stall time any longer, it's time to act. When Project Ragnarök begins, a ray of light will pierce the sky but it will take time to fully convert the world. That's when Goten's corpse will come in handy. His body can handle enormous amounts of energy so we can use his body to contain the energy of the World Changing Machine and then we'll send you or another member of the Red Storm 7 to dismantle it."
"Dr Hedo, I brought you macaroons. Sorry I was late, I had to find an opportune time to sneak in here. This lab is magnificent, if things were different, I'd love to help here." Said a woman who walked in.
"Thank you so much! I was starving! I don't know what I'd do without you!" Said Hedo.
The woman to the side and saw 16 being rebuilt on the table by some of Hedo's robots and rushed over to him. "Oh no, 16! What happened to you!"
"Cell was too much for me to handle alone but fortunately I did not have to fight him alone." Said 16.
"That's all fine and dandy but..." Within a millisecond the woman glomps what remains of 16. "I'm so happy to see you again!" Said the woman.
"I have done what I came to do. I will now go interrogate General Platinum and after that, I will be awaiting your next command, Doctor." Said Alpha Zero before heading to another part of the lab.
"Well Alpha Zero's as... Alpha Zero as ever. Can't say I really blame him though." She said in a sad tone.
"You know, you seem really attached to 16. Does that have something to do with the fact that you're modeled after my grandmother? To this day, I still don't know where you came from, but you've helped me out a lot too."
"Well, I suppose I came from your future although that probably wouldn't exactly be accurate. I'm afraid that place no longer exists." Said the woman.
"Didn't you hate me? After what happened with Alpha Zero, you wouldn't even look in my direction. After what happened with Alpha Zero, you told me the world was right about me being a monster like my grandfather."
"I did say that, but when I see you now, I don't feel resentment for you anymore, I only feel pity. I shouldn't especially after what you've done but I do. Perhaps it's because of my relationship with my own Hedo, or maybe it's because I'm modeled after your grandmother in both appearance and personality. It's possible that my programming also gave me the natural affection that the original Vomi would feel towards you and Gevo."
"It's funny you know? I spent my childhood creating robots because I thought that was the only companionship I needed. The robots I created never said no to me nor did they have any aspirations of their own. I did design them that way, but that was because that was my idea of what friends were. People who you could rely on and would never say no to you regardless of how trivial the request is. Later in life, I grew out of that but what was once a childish misunderstanding became a precaution. My grandfather was a genius like me, but he created Android 17 and 18 who betrayed him and killed him. The problem was no matter what personality you give an android, they'll be just that, androids. Just machines that will ultimately do what they're made to do. Even 17 and 18 acted based on how they were programmed despite killing their creator. None of them are real people, not even the ones who were formerly people. Fate is odd isn't it? The one android I didn't create is the first android I've seen as a real person though maybe it's because you're the first one who's treated me like a person. Listen, there isn't anything I can do without M or another important figure learning about it, but 16 won't be in my control anymore and M trusts you. It's all up to you... Android 21."
"I won't disappoint." Said 21 before laying the macrons on a table and turning around to leave.
"Wait, before you go I have to ask a question. Who or what exactly was Majin Buu? It was Majin Buu's cells that made the World-Changing Machine possible in the first place. What do you know about that creature?"
"Well, this will take a while to explain." Said Android 21.
Location: Kurusu Residence
On the night Goten supposedly died, most of the residents did not have a good night's rest. By nightfall, tears had already dried up, but that didn't mean they were happy. From their point of view, they'd be going to Goten's funeral soon. Kimihito remembered how earnest Goten was to help him with chores and how kind he was to the girls but the memory that stuck with him was when Goten mustered up the courage to confess what he was. A Saiyan, a race of space pirates who terrorized the galaxy. Logically, no one would take Goten at his word, but as dense as Kurusu was, he could tell Goten was serious.
Kimihito knew the danger Goten could pose and the sins of his ancestors but not once did this one human fear Goten. Kimihito couldn't see Goten as anything other than a young teenager. Kimihito may be dense when it comes to certain things but if there's one admirable quality about the man, it's that he thinks of everyone as people regardless of species or gender, and that includes aliens who could destroy the world if they wanted.
Miia was feeling two emotions. Sadness, and fear. Being sad and scared was a reasonable thing to feel given what she went through, and what she saw. Being slammed into the ground and thrown into a tree isn't a good feeling, even for a monster girl. However, in Miia's case, she was broken by something else entirely. Sometime earlier, she got a call from her mother.
Earlier
After leaving the hospital, Miia decided to go to her room to cool off. She told the others she needed time to herself, and they agreed. While she was in bed, she was watching snake videos until...
*Ring Ring Ring*
"What? Why is Mom calling me? Is it about bringing Darling back as a communal husband? Well, if that's the case, then she can forget it! Now's not the time!" Miia answered the phone and instead of hearing about Darling, her mother said something most unexpected.
"Miia! Our village was attacked! Whatever you do, do not bring your host family back to the village!"
"W-What?"
"These people showed up and they killed so many of us! I don't know how many survivors are left but they already killed so many of us! We were already attacked before but then these individuals started attacking our village!
"How could they?! Who are they?" Said Miia. She was so shocked by this news that neither her expression nor her tone showed anger.
"I don't know who they were, but according to their own words, the attack on their village was to send one clear message to us. Don't smuggle human men anymore."
"Oh my gosh... A a-Are my friends, okay? Please tell me they're okay!" Miia panicked.
"I don't know... were still trying to find everyone" Said Ms. Mother grimly. "We were attacked yesterday as well by this... this thing that stalked our village like it was its hunting grounds. It had this needle on the end of its tail and when it injected it into us, our bodies deflated, and our bodies would be sucked right out of our clothes and into its tail. I was hiding like many others, but this creature managed to find them and what's worse is it's like it knew they were there the whole time. I thought I was next but miraculously, the creature flew away."
"M-Mother, this may sound crazy, but I know who that creature was. It was this creature known as Cell and he's an android from a different world. He attacked us during my date with Darling."
"Y-You encountered this monster?! Are you hurt?!"
"A little, but nothing too serious and I'm fine now. Out of anyone, Goten got the worst of it. That disgusting bug-looking freak came over to Japan and did the same thing to so many people. He sucked people right into his tail in front of our eyes and I was so shocked, I couldn't even move." Miia shivered.
"Dear me, how on Earth did you survive?! How about your precious Darling? Did he survive? Are you safe?!"
"We're fine mama. It was all thanks to Goten. I was on a date with darling, and he had just got me a beautiful necklace!" Miia wanted to smile about this but couldn't manage. "But then that creep showed up and started eating people with his tail! I don't know if I'll ever stop having nightmares about it. It was like he was drinking them out of their clothes and the worst part is I saw their horrified faces as they died and that monster enjoyed every moment of it! Mama, that thing wasn't just some wild animal or a mindless beast, it knew exactly what it was doing and took pleasure in the pain it was causing! That thing was no monster, it was worse! I hope it suffered when it died because it deserved it!"
"I'm just glad you're safe Miia. Now who is this Goten? You never spoke of him. Is he a relative of your boyfriend?"
"Oh, nothing like that. He was an assistant, but he was much more than that. I'd like to think he was like a little brother, but I can't be sure. I loved him, not in the same way I loved darling, but I cared a lot for him. He had spiky black hair and an innocent-looking face. The kind that made you want to spoil him. He was such a nice guy and a joy to be around. We're an all-female species and most of the males we interact with are communal husbands to breed with. We treat them nicely but we still force ourselves on them." said Miia.
"Miia, you know that's out of necessity for the survival of our race. Anyway, tell me more about this Goten."
"He had a history with Cell. Cell killed his father and was defeated by his older brother in the past, but he came back. Cell said he was an android who was created by an evil army that was modified by a person named Hedo. Cell was angered at the fact that he was experimented on, and he wanted revenge on this army." Said Miia.
"But why did it attack us?! Our tribe had nothing to do with that!" Said Miia's mother.
"Cell didn't care, and he didn't just attack our village either. He traveled around the world doing to same to all different kinds of people without discrimination. Humans, Lamia's, and other non-human species, he went after them all and he did it all just so he could have enough strength to eat Goten. He also had the cells of fighters from another world including Goten's father which is why he was near unstoppable."
"Why would a creature go through all that trouble to devour one boy? What was Goten? I saw that monster with my own eyes and it's inconceivable that a single human boy would last a second against that evil creature."
"Goten wasn't just a human, he was a member of an alien species of planet brokers known as the Saiyans. They were nearly wiped out when their planet was blown up, but Goten's father survived and had children with a human woman. The reason why Cell wanted to absorb Goten was so he could take revenge on Goten's older brother who must've come here after Goten went missing in his world. I can only imagine what he's thinking." Miia said that last sentence in a softer tone.
"I can believe the story of this bug man being created in a lab but are you sure you're not letting your imagination run wild? Perhaps you were hearing things. Another world? A race of planet brokers? As in they bought and sold planets?"
"I know how it sounds but both Goten and Cell admitted this, and they both come from a different world. Goten's dad was sent to Earth as a baby to kill everyone so the planet could be sold, but his dad ended up being nice, married a human woman, and even saved the world a few times. Goten was the same. Instead of killing everyone and taking over the world or destroying it, he tried to defend it. He hated Cell because he took his father from him among other things. Goten put up a good fight, but Cell was too much for him. He had help and even the Japanese military got involved but that still wasn't enough to beat Cell."
"The Japanese military couldn't beat this monster?! I thought you said Cell died! If Goten failed and the Japanese Military did, then what put an end to Cell?!" Said the worried mother.
"A lot happened but Cell... he defeated Goten and was able to eat Goten by swallowing him whole with his tails and yes, it's as gross and horrifying as it sounds. That stinger on his tail could open up wide and can swallow a human whole. M.O.N was able to separate Cell's tail from his body before Goten could reach his stomach, but it was too late. When we got Goten out of the tail... Oh mama it was horrible! He was barely recognizable! Ms. Smith tried to get medical help, but the life was fading from his eyes and his body was all melted. I could have sworn he died right in front of us but miraculously, he rose right back up to fight Cell and he won. The last we saw of him; he was in a hospital and even with maximum care he could have died at any moment. he lost too much blood and even with the extra measures to keep him alive, it was obvious that he wasn't going to be around for long."
"You must've cared deeply for the boy. I can only offer my sincerest condolences, but I am grateful to him for killing that savage. I hope he gave him hell!" Said Miia's mother.
"I did. Goten was special, he had this sort of child-like wonder that made him seem younger than he was. It was so cute whenever he got excited about something, and he always did whatever he thought was right even when he thought no one else was on his side. He may have been childish at times, but he knew what he stood for and didn't change that for anyone. His integrity made him more of an adult than a lot of actual adults I know." Miia thought of the racist couple that mocked her snake tail and tried to sexually assault Centorea.
"What happened to Goten was just so unfair! He didn't even get to die peacefully. His death must have been slow and painful but he kept fighting anyway and he died with a smile on what remained of his face. My heart aches just thinking about what Goten went through! Miia shouted all of this out.
"My condolences for the loss of your friend. I'll make sure to spread word to the village that Cell got was coming to him and soon, those bastards who attacked are village will too! They got away for now, but I swearr, they will pay!" Miia's mother said angrily before calming down. "Sorry, I know you've been through a lot today but the best we can do now is think of the positives and make an effort to make things better ourselves. Us Lamia's back in the village lost a lot recently. Our home was destroyed, and our numbers were lowered even more. Those individuals who attacked us were merciless and didn't even give us a warning before the massacre. As I mentioned prior, they did it because of our... practices."
"They killed so many of us... so many families were destroyed... but then what have we been doing for generations? Stealing men from families, forcing them to have intercourse with hundreds of us. It's how we survived up until recently but do we really have to keep doing that? We let them go back if they want but some of the men were traumatized and sometimes what we do to them changes them for the worse. I hate those bastards for what they did to my people! I hope they all pay for what they did! But maybe we really should stop abducting humans especially if it just leads to this. Human's shouldn't have to say goodbye to their families so we can survive. I was able to live a happy home life with Darling and if a race of people who regularly practiced mass genocide and sold planets for a living could turn over a new leaf and live in harmony with humans, why can't we? If we can get them to get used to us, then we won't have to use force anymore." Said Miia.
"My dear Miia, I understand your feelings, yet your idea is rather naive. Tricking and abducting humans has always been how we survived and how we kept our numbers up. It may have worked for Goten's species, but from what you told me, there were barely any Saiyans left so it didn't take much convincing. There are still plenty of Lamias with different cultures, some of which won't be convinced so easily. The moment our practices were forbidden, our population began to dwindle. Cell didn't just attack our tribe, but the other tribes as well. We need humans more than ever now, so one of us had a secret group of Lamia's abduct multiple humans in secret to bring back our numbers but that's when THEY attacked. They slaughtered us like dogs. Even the children weren't spared. And it was all to get a message across." Her mother spat. "And they claim to be on the side of justice. Hypocrites! Every single one of them! We need as many human men as we can get but if they catch us, they will butcher us."
"Oh my gosh! That's terrible! What can we do? If we don't do something soon, we might be driven to extinction!" Said Miia.
"The individuals who did the crime appeared to be different non-human species, but their abilities were unlike anything I had ever seen. There were two of them that looked human and one of them had a mechanical arm, a steel mask, a hoodie, a sword, and two dark unexpressive crimson eyes that would fill your soul with dread. I believe I heard one of them refer to this specific android as The Enforcer. It seemed like he commanded the Dragon that breathed fire all over our village too. The other one looked human but he wielded a scythe. He didn't do much but he was with those individuals and because of he dressed like the stereotypical interpretation of the Grim Reaper, that's what we called him."
"They didn't... my home... my friends... All of it. Gone..." Said Miia.
If I can help it, I'll see what I can do about visiting Japan. If that creature is really gone, then perhaps I will be safe there. If that kid's brother shows up, then maybe we can persuade him to repopulate our species. If a juvenile Saiyan can beat a creature that no civilization could defeat, then they might just be the key to ensuring our survival. I don't think those individuals would stand a chance if we had his genetics." Said Miia's mother.
"You can't do that! He's married and he has a kid!"
"Sorry! Desperate times, desperate measures! Anyway, I'll have to hang up. I need to help out the survivors. Bye Mia!" And with that, Miia's mother hung up.
"Mama, you never change. Well, I'm glad you're okay. My God... I can't believe it. Everything is going to hell!"
Before Kimihito decided to call it a night, he was greeted by Centorea.
"Master, you seem rather distressed. It's about Goten isn't it?"
Kimihito looked to the ground and sighed. "It is. Goten was more than just an assistant to me, he was family, a little brother even. Unlike everyone else, Goten didn't come here for the Interspecies Exchange, he came because he didn't have a choice. He got sad from time to time about his family but for the most part, he treated his time here like he was on a vacation with his extended family. He helped me with chores without complaining, he was never judgmental of anyone for being different, and he acted when I didn't. When that scumbag with the camera showed up and tried to take advantage of you girls, Goten didn't let it slide at all. He wanted to throw the man out after what he did to Mero, but I had way too much patience for the guy, and I let him get away with it until I got fed up enough."
"No, it's fine Master, you acted in the end. Besides that, the indecent scoundrel fooled us all into believing he was acting for the good of improving relations. It's halfwits like him who drove Goten into being a vigilante." Said Cerea.
"That doesn't excuse it though. He was in my house and even if that film he was making was for the good of improving relations, it still wouldn't have been worth it if your dignity had to be sacrificed. I was too much of a coward to act immediately but what else is new? I can't even pick one of you to marry because I don't want to hurt any of you." Said Kimihito.
"Master, I won't allow you to degrade yourself any longer. It's wise of you to not immediately rush into marriage without understanding your true feelings. You're already far too kind to us but you don't think of your own happiness. Be honest with me, do you want to get married to one of us out of love or is it out of a desire to make us happy?" Said Cerea.
Kimihito was about to give her a half-assed answer, but he remembered Goten and how honest he was with his feelings, and he knew he had to give her a straight answer.
"You know I care about all of you, and I love living with you, but my feelings are complicated. When we first met, romance between us was prohibited so I couldn't act on any possible romantic feelings I might have had so I decided just being friends was enough. But then Ms. Smith randomly dropped the bomb that I have to marry one of you someday and suddenly I didn't have to avoid falling in love anymore but since I've already been holding myself back from developing romantic feelings, it put my emotions in kind of a weird place if that makes sense."
"I see, but that still doesn't answer my question. Do you truly wish to get married to one of us or is it something you feel obligated to do? We're all heartbroken at the loss of Goten but I realize now how stressed you must be. The marriage planning, the death letter, almost being killed by Cell, and finally Goten's demise at the hands of that beast. As your faithful servant, this simply will not do. I would like to ease your pain in any way I can." Said Cerea.
"Well, I appreciate it but to answer your question, it's a little bit of both now. I do want to get married and I want to make you girls happy. I was indecisive before and maybe I still am but after surviving Cell, I feel so much closer to everyone even though we haven't known each other that long. I do have feelings for you girls, but I still don't know who I want to marry." Said Kimihito.
"Then I won't push this matter any further. I apologize for bringing it up, but I wanted to make sure you were truly happy given the recent events. That said, Goten was special to you, wasn't he?"
"He was. I still remember when he told me about his Saiyan heritage for the first time. Goten looked particularly uneasy that day and I later found out it was because he wanted to talk to someone about what he was. He knew how strong he was, but he was afraid of being seen as a monster. He probably knew that no military would stand a chance against him but at the same time, Goten was a teenager who wanted to live a normal teenage life without having to hide who he was. Even someone as powerful as Goten wouldn't have wanted to spend their teenage years being hunted down and having people constantly trying to kill him out of fear for what he could do."
"Goten was special to me too. When I think of him, I'm filled with regret as I am reminded of how I misjudged him to his face while watching him on television. Twice have I been rendered helpless, once because I refused to fight back out of fear of being deported and never seeing you again. The moment someone fights against these sorts of injustices, I label him as criminal scum. Despite that, he defended you and everyone else when I could not, and I will forever be grateful to him for that. Like me, he also descended from a long line of warriors, but in his case, he was one of the last members of his species yet he still put his life on the line for a world that wasn't even his own. Goten deserves to be honored for his noble sacrifice."
"I didn't think of it like that. Goten didn't just give his own life but possibly the future of the Saiyan race. There were only nine Saiyan's according to Goten and with his death, there are only eight of them now. He sacrificed so much for us... Well, we owe it to him to live our lives. He told us himself that was all he wanted from us. I just don't know how I will face his brother if he comes looking for him." Said Kimihito.
"Should that time come, I will stand by your side." Said Cerea.
"Well thank you for talking to me about this. Goten's death was a major blow to everyone so I'm glad I had someone to talk to."
"Goodnight Master."
The two would go to their respective bedrooms but almost as soon as Kimihito got in bed, he got a call from Ms. Smith.
"Bad news Darling! Goten's body was taken by a mysterious figure from the hospital! I'm sorry for dropping this on you so late but I thought you should know. According to witnesses who go to Goten's school, one of them being Melody, Mero's distant relative, they were attacked by a man with a mechanical arm and red eyes. The other classmate happened to be a Dragon and she was defeated with a single blow. Before she lost consciousness, she saw him pull out a green object and when she woke up and myself and my team arrived off duty, Goten had been taken. No one knows what happened, but he's gone!"
"No! This isn't good! Why would they take Goten? He was already going to die! Is it too much to ask that they just let him rest in peace?!"
"It might be the work of the Red Ribbon Army. I don't have any concrete evidence but if I had the guess, they plan to make an android out of Goten. It's unknown how they create androids out of people, but considering what we know of Beta No. 1, he was a human who had died and was brought back with the use of technology. Yes, that would make sense but if Goten came back like that, would that be Goten? Or would it be a machine that imitates the person who Goten was?"
"Those bastards! Haven't they done enough? How many people did they get killed by releasing Cell?! And now they're stealing corpses? These scumbags can't get any lower, can they?!" Said Kimihito.
"I agree. I just thought I should tell you. We're currently investigating the matter, but it would be appreciated if you could give us as much information as soon as you can. I understand if you respect Goten's privacy but whatever Goten may have told you may affect everyone. If the Red Ribbon army can create a threat like Cell, what is stopping them from making an even worse threat? We have analyzed Beta 1's gun but we still can't understand it so their technology so it still isn't understood how it was made. My boss wanted me to get Goten to speak but that's not possible anymore. He did talk to you in private that one time, did he not? You don't need to say anything too personal, just anything that can help us against the Red Ribbon Army. We need as much information as we can get."
"Alright, I'll meet with you when I can."
"Good! I'll be looking forward to our next talk Darling!" Ms. Smith hung up and Kimihito immediately rushed out of bed to Mero's room.
"Mero!" Kimihito shouted.
"Dear Sir? What's the matter?" Said Mero who had just got into her wheelchair and moved close to the door.
"It's Melody. She was attacked when visiting Goten and now Goten is missing!"
"Oh no! Is she alright? And Goten is missing? That poor boy. Hasn't he been through enough already? What could they want with his corpse?"
"We don't know but Smith thinks they want to make an android out of him just like they did for Beta 1."
"How will we break the news to everyone?" Said Mero.
"I don't know, but we'll have to figure out something."
Both Kimihito and Mero would eventually go to sleep but unfortunately, a certain Harpy had trouble with that.
Around 3:00 AM...
Everyone was distraught over all the death and destruction that occurred yesterday. Because of Papi's injuries, sleeping was very difficult for her so naturally she got up the earliest. She was feeling peckish so she thought she'd grab a cookie, but she needed her wheelchair to get around.
"Hey Suu, I'm sorry to wake you up but can you do me a favor? I'm feeling hungry and I can't sleep. Maybe after getting something yummy in my tummy, I can finally get some rest." Said Papi.
"Okay, Suu will help!" Said Suu.
Suu would push Papi's wheelchair to the kitchen. Right as they were about to enter the room, Papi briefly saw a shadowy figure. It bent down and grabbed a cookie right out of the jar before disappearing. Papi was terrified.
"AHHHHH! THERE'S A G-G-GHOST!" Said Papi.
"A ghost? Where?" Said Suu.
"It was right there!" Papi pointed to where the cookie jar was.
"Suu doesn't see anything."
"We need to hide Suu! I hope it didn't see us!"
"But what if it's a nice ghost?" Said Suu.
They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs. Miia and Mero didn't have legs, Centorea's steps would have been more frequent, and Rachnera's steps would be the same as Cerea's and they'd sound different too. It could have been Kimihito but for some reason, Papi and Suu didn't think that was the case since the footsteps were much lighter.
"Please take me back to my room Suu!"
"Okay, Papi."
And with that, the two returned to Papi's room where Papi shivered in terror before finally falling asleep. Suu wasn't scared at all and she turned back into a puddle and slept herself. The following day, Papi and Suu were the first to get up though the former hardly slept at all due to her broken leg and fear of the ghost. She thought about telling Kimihito but he was still grieving over Goten and as Suu said, maybe it was a nice ghost.
At around 6:00 PM everyone was just getting up, but Papi went straight to Kimihito's room in her wheelchair.
"M-Master, there's a ghost! This house is haunted!
"Come on Papi, don't be ridiculous, there's no ghost." Said Kimihito.
"But I saw it! It took a cookie out of the jar and disappeared into thin air! You have to, believe me, just ask Suu!"
"Well, maybe it was a hallucination? Yesterday was traumatizing and stressful for everyone and-" Kimihito was interrupted by a noise. It was barely audible but a masculine yawn.
"Who did that? That didn't sound like any of the girls." Said Kimihito who decided to investigate the noise.
'Oh no! I hope we aren't being robbed!' Kimihito thought. He decided to sneakily investigate but he found that the noise led to the bathroom. When he got there, he saw that no one was there.
"That's odd... I could have sworn someone was here. He checked the shower and there were signs that the shower had been recently occupied.
"Maybe one of the girls got up early and was watching a video as they were taking a shower." Said Kimihito as he held onto Papi's wheelchair.
"I know what I saw master!" Said Papi.
"Wait do you hear that? What is that noise?" Said Kimihito. He investigated along with Papi and realized the noise was coming from Goten's room. The door was unlocked and when Kimihito opened the door, he saw that his room was pretty much empty but on his desk there was a computer and a picture frame with a photo of a younger Goten with his family, the very same picture that he made his lock screen.
"I'm sorry, I know how much you want to go home but you never could. You never forgot about your family so you kept this photo as a reminder of them. I wish you were still with us. Rest in peace Goten." Said Kimihito before looking over to the computer. On the screen, there was an article about Red Pharmaceutical's drug known as Animorphaline and a special variant of it that's supposed to turn humans into non-humans. The music that was playing was from an ad in the article.
"Well, that's weird. You're onto something Papi, someone was definitely here but Goten's gone now, it can't be him. As nosy as Rachnera is, I don't think she'd do this." Said Kimihito. The computer was not plugged in at all meaning it wasn't charging yet it had around 70% battery which Kimihito found odd because the earliest Goten would have been able to plug in the computer was before he went to school yesterday. This along with many other things made Kimihito think that someone was indeed here.
"Maybe that ghost was trying to tell us something. What if that ghost is Goten and he's trying to warn us about those bad guys?"
"I don't know what's going on but I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I'll confront whoever this is and then I'll-"
"Make breakfast?" Papi interrupted him.
"Yes Papi, I'll make breakfast."
Meanwhile, the other girls had just been getting up. None of the girls were happy but they woke up for breakfast anyway. Even Rachnera wasn't happy because Goten's death had dealt a major blow to the overall mood. The girls collectively sighed and started to head to the kitchen to have breakfast. An Aroma caught their noses. Surely it was the cooking from Kimihito Kurusu. It was so like him to want to cheer everyone up, so he had to cook something special. That would explain why it smelled different than usual.
The girls made it to the kitchen at the same time and...
"Darling, I'm up! What did you make for us toda-..." Miia spoke but was caught off guard by the sight of the person who was cooking. It was a young man wearing headphones with his phone on the counter as he was humming a tune that couldn't be recognized by anyone in the house.
"Oh, hey girls! You look like you've seen a ghost! Sorry, breakfast won't be as good since Kimihito didn't cook today, but I wanted to show my appreciation to you. My mom taught me a few tips before I came to this world. I meant to stop by yesterday, but by the time I got here, it was late and I figured you'd all be asleep by then, so I thought I'd surprise you in the morning. Judging by the look on your face, it worked." Goten chuckled as he saw a group of monster girls walk into the kitchen. Everyone was there excluding Papi and Kimihito.
"G-Goten! You're alive! And your wounds! They're all gone! It's as if they were never there!" Said Centorea.
"Am I dreaming?" Said Miia.
"I thought that too but I'm still alive. I mean if I were dead, I'd have a halo on my head but I don't which means I'm alive."
"You were covered in venom and digestive fluids and were partially dissolved. How are you alive?" Rachnera asked.
"I'm pretty surprised about it myself! I thought I went straight to the otherworld but I guess not. I'll explain what I can when we're all at the dinner tab-"
"Goten!" He was interrupted by a snake tail that wrapped him in its coils and brought him over to the group where the Saiyan was glomped by the monster girls of the Kurusu residence.
"Woah, easy there!" Said Goten smiling. He was immediately snatched up by Miia's tail and surrounded by the group of monster girls.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to see you alive!" Said Miia as tears fell down her cheeks. After the tragedy in her village occurred, it was good that at least the other thing that was bothering her was partially undone. She wasn't sure how, but Goten was alive and well. Goten was lucky he was a Saiyan, or he'd probably be squeezed to death or end up like her darling does when she squeezes him too hard.
"We were so worried about you! Thank goodness you're safe!" Said Mero. Before joining in on the hug. Shortly after, all the other girls joined in on the hug too. That included Rachnera.
"Are you a ghost Goten?" Suu asked.
"If I were a ghost, I'm pretty sure you would all phase right through me. Then again..." Goten thought about the time his dad coming back from Heaven and how he was still able to interact with the living world. "Maybe not."
"My, what a fine turn of events. I'm glad to have you back Goten. Things quickly got too depressing for my taste after you left to fight Cell." Said Rachnera.
"Goten, Suu is so happy to see you again! She can't wait to tell Papi!" Said Suu.
Speaking of Papi she was being pushed into the kitchen by Kimihito.
"Papi, I promise you there's no g-g-g-Goten?! Said Kimihito.
"Goten is alive?! Wait was the ghost who took the cookies out of the jar Goten?! Why did you disappear?" Said Papi.
"So that's what Suu meant! You caught me but hey, a Saiyan's gotta eat! If I knew you were awake, I would have said something, but I was looking around for my phone and looking up stuff about Red Pharmaceuticals." Said Goten before looking at the owner of the house. "Kimihito, my man! Why don't you bring it in?!" Said Goten gleefully.
Miia wrapped Kimihito in her coils and brought him to the group where he joined in on the group hug. Papi flew out of her wheelchair and joined the hug even though her leg was still broken.
"B-But how are you alive?! Cell killed you!" Said Kimihito
"Yeah, about that..."
As they ate, Goten explained what happened after he 'died' from his point of view. Unfortunately, there weren't any answers to what actually happened since Goten was unconscious throughout the whole ordeal until he woke up in the observatory.
"So, not even you know how you're alive?" Said Kimihito.
"Nope, not at all! I just kind of woke up in this weird observatory place and my wounds were just magically healed somehow. Some guy they call Mr. President showed up and even offered me a job but I refused, at least for the time being. I'm just not in a good mental state to make a big decision like that. He also offered to have me interviewed and I agreed." Said Goten.
"You were right to refuse his offer but are you sure you want this interview? That man is only looking out for himself. If you think he's being nice to you out of the goodness of his heart, you're dead wrong." Said Rachnera.
"You know him?" Goten asked.
"You can say he's an acquaintance of mine. Did you ever stop to question why he was being so nice to you? Why was he giving you so many opportunities? Well, I'll tell you why, it's for his own profit." Said Rachnera.
"Oh really? Well, that's a shame, but I'm still doing the interview. I mean the guy works with Red Pharmaceuticals but there's a chance he's unaware of how evil they are. Red Pharmaceuticals is a front organization so it makes sense that he might not understand them. I did consider that he might be a bad guy, but it's not right to assume the worst in people especially if that person might be responsible for saving your life. Even if he has ulterior motives for this interview, I have motivations of my own."
"Are you sure it's worth it? I'm simply trying to look out for a fellow extraspecies. What are your motivations for going through with this?" Said Rachnera.
"To give closure to the public. All these people lost family members, friends, and their livelihoods because of Cell, and I want them to find some level of closure. I want to reassure everyone who Cell hurt to know that he can't harm them anymore." Said Goten.
"A noble objective, but how do you intend to address them without drawing attention to yourself? You admitted to being Saiyaman X2 in front of Ms. Smith's squad. Surely law enforcement will get involved after you're revealed to be alive." Said Cerea.
"Oh crap, I totally did say that didn't I?! I thought I was going to die so I wanted to make peace with them before I passed away!" Said Goten in a panic. He shortly calmed down. "I'll deal with that later. Mr. Prez has a suit for me that I haven't seen yet, and I can always use another alias."
"You mean you haven't seen the disguise? But how do you know how good it will be?" Mero asked.
"Hehe, I guess you got a point. As Cerea said, the government definitely knows what I did. Guess I'll have to give Ms. Smith a visit after the interview. They're going to look for me anyway so I might as well get it out the way. Maybe she can get me closer to one of the higher-ups because I have the information they want and they have the information I want. I also remember 16 was going to join M.O.N. and he knows about the situation with my world."
"What, did something bad happen?" Said Kimihito.
"Well, you heard Cell say something happened to my brother, but he also implied that Gohan is here in this world. He also said a lot of things about what happened in my world. Cell might have been lying trying to screw with my head, but... what if there's some truth to what he was saying?! I can't sense his energy but I know from the past that it doesn't necessarily mean he's not here. If Cell was telling the truth, then Beta wasn't the only friend I lost... No, there must be some kind of mistake! There's no way he did that to Trunks! It must be the work of Boruchi! He better not have hurt Trunks and I swear if he so much as laid a finger on Pan, I will personality find a way to rip a hole right through reality on my own and then I'll a rip a hole through him!"
"Deep breathes Goten." Said Kimihito.
The Saiyan did just that. "I need to keep a cool head. I don't know what's true and what's a lie but I will find out. I swear it!" Said Goten.
"Goten, I know you're worried but I'm sure everything will turn out fine. Say, isn't Boruchi that guy who wanted to wipe out your race right?" Said Kimihito.
"That's right, he did want to wipe us out. I could have beaten him if Trunks were there but that's my issue. You see when me and Trunks combine our power, we're this unstoppable duo but on my own, I'm not even close to strong enough. Always contending with Trunks made me stronger but at the same time, relying on him when things got tough prevented me from reaching my full potential."
"Oh, don't feel bad, you were very strong! I mean Cell was a freak of nature created in a lab who had the cells and abilities of the strongest fighters in your universe and the abilities of many different extraspecies and even then, he still needed to absorb a ton of people before being strong enough to take you on." Said Kimihito.
"I appreciate the compliment but I'm still not that strong. I mean I'm definitely strong but not compared to the other defenders of my Earth. Cell was stronger than me but he's not even a percentage of how strong my dad was or the villains he fights. I'm half Saiyan which means I have more potential than a full-blooded Saiyan and I get stronger faster than they do but because I tended to rely on others for fights and I tend to slack off on training, my progress has been stunted. This has always been an issue even before I came here. Remember when I told you why and how I came to this world?"
"Yeah, I do." Said Kimihito.
"Well now that everyone knows I'm a Saiyan, I might as well explain what happened along with what I know about the Saiyans. The Saiyans were a race who valued strength above all else. So much so that the King of the planet sent his youngest son to another planet because he wasn't aggressive enough and he was seen as too weak. The Saiyans also sent babies to planets so they could take over those planets when they grew up. The Saiyans were enslaved by a tyrant who I now know is Frieza and they conquered and destroyed many worlds and ended countless lives for him. However, when Frieza heard of the Legend of the Super Saiyan, the strongest warrior in the cosmos, he got scared and destroyed the Saiyan's planet which nearly wiped out the entire Saiyan race. As far as I know, there were only four survivors. My Dad, Vegeta, Vegeta's brother Tarble, and that guy my dad fought a few years ago."
"That Frieza is awful! I mean the Saiyans did some terrible things too but so has everyone else! There are bad people and good people for every species so it's not good to judge them based on that, but Frieza sounds as bad as Cell! Did he destroy their entire world? But what about all the nice Saiyans!" Said Papi.
"Well, he was a galactic tyrant who ruled the universe before my dad put him in his place so basic morality is the last thing on that guy's mind. I remember hearing stories about him as a kid, but I never really put two and two together. I wasn't born when my dad beat him the first time but four years ago he was revived and he got a new form called Golden Frieza. Luckily my dad had a new transformation of his own called Super Saiyan Blue and beat him again."
"Super Saiyan Blue?" Said Papi and Suu.
"We're already getting off track, so I'll explain it later. Anyway, my dad was sent to Earth as a baby to wipe out all life, but he was found by an old man named Gohan. Dad was an aggressive baby because he was a Saiyan but one day he fell down a ravine and hit his head. It would have probably killed an adult male but even a Saiyan baby is a lot more durable than a human. Gohan raised Goku as a martial artist but one day he looked at a full moon and well... let's just say things didn't end well."
"What happened?" Mero asked curiously."
"Well, the thing with Saiyans is they look almost completely identical to humans but there's one major difference. You see, Saiyan's are born with monkey tails and when a Saiyan with a tail looks at a full moon, they turn into giant apes and gain a ton of strength while also losing all sense of themselves. Sadly, my dad accidentally killed his adoptive grandfather and when he reverted to his normal form, he didn't remember a thing and lived most of his life thinking a monster killed him. I really shouldn't be saying this, but I wanted to emphasize just how dangerous the Saiyans used to be."
"How heartbreaking! The boy from a faraway world was sent away to another world forever unable to return to his family! Even after finding a family in Gohan, that person is stripped away from him by a monster, and the boy is left wondering not knowing the monster was him! How did your father cope with this information? It's not lost on me that your older brother's name is also Gohan." Said Mero."
"That's right, Gohan was named after our great-grandpa. My dad may have grown up with a sense of justice and a heart of gold, but his brother not so much. My uncle Raditz came to Earth to recruit my dad on some kind of conquest and when he refused, he beat my dad with a single hit and kidnapped Gohan. He promised to bring Gohan back if Dad brought him 100 human corpses."
"It's bad enough that he tried to take over a world that isn't your own, but that's his own family! How could he even think of something so psychotic?!" Said Miia.
"My uncle wasn't a great guy and he tried to kill my dad to boot. I don't know how Saiyans view the concept of familial bonds, but it's probably different from how you and I view it. It's a waste, but his death is on him and no one else is to blame. As far as Saiyan behavior went in the old days, Raditz was the standard."
"Well, that explains a lot. I mean you did tell us that Saiyan's were responsible for the mass genocide of many species so it's not surprising that there would be a few people who would hold a grudge against your kind or fear you for what you're capable of. You were right to hide that knowledge about yourself because if humans find out about who you are, they'll treat you like a hero when you're around but when you're not looking, they will quietly wish you didn't exist." Said Rachnera
"Well thanks for the brutal honesty but if I'm being honest myself, that's part of why I didn't immediately tell everyone that I'm a Saiyan. I didn't know what kind of world I was dealing with and even if I told them I was a Saiyan, I thought they'd either probe me for more information or they wouldn't believe me at all. When I first came to this world, I fell from the sky because I ended up being sent flying into a machine, but that's not the whole truth. I've heard people assume my injuries were from the fall, but the real reason I was so injured was because someone tried to kill me. That someone was Boruchi." Said Goten.
"But why would he want to kill you? I know you would never do anything to hurt anyone so why did he want to kill you?" Said Papi.
"That's the thing. I never met the guy in my life, but I committed a crime in his eyes, the crime of being born a Saiyan. He told me that he was the last of his kind and that the Saiyans were responsible for wiping out his people. I guess killing isn't the right term, but he tried to take my body so he could use it to kill all the other Saiyans. He was pretty much a sentient parasite who controlled the bodies of others by going inside them and yes it's as disturbing as it sounds. He planned to revive his race through humanity."
"I see... It's not unreasonable for this Boruchi to view the Saiyan race in a negative light and I do hold sympathy for him. The Saiyans are responsible for the destruction of their kind among many other civilizations and species after all. However, what he fails to understand is that by going down this path, he's only adding to this vicious cycle of meaningless violence. He was spared from a most terrible fate and was given another chance to live yet by going down this path of vengeance, he will ultimately be responsible for the extinction of his own species." Said the Centaur.
"How tragic! A sole survivor is spared from the fate of his race only to go down a path that leads to his own destruction! I must take note of the irony in this situation. The Saiyans were a merciless and cruel species of conquerors who extinguished the life of entire worlds and after they were nearly extinguished, they became a peaceful race that lived in harmony with humanity. While Boruchi may see the Saiyans as the barbaric species that wiped out his people, he ironically became what the Saiyans were to his people. It's poetic yet so tragic... but there's a ray of hope for this lost soul! Should he follow the example of the Saiyans, perhaps his species can repopulate as well!" Said Mero
"Mero, what happened to you?!" Said Miia.
"My, whatever could you mean Miia?"
"You seemed so happy about the tragedy like you normally would but what was with that optimistic twist?"
"It's only natural to want the best for others even if they have done wrong, is it not?" Said Mero.
"Not for you, it's not!" Said Miia.
"Miia, tragedy was a big part of my identity. But on the day when we thought we lost Goten, I realized that he was right. Fantasizing about the misfortune of others was wrong and I understand why everyone was upset with me after my terrible comments regarding the situation with Melody. While it is true that I still enjoy the tragic elements of a story, what I desire is a tragedy that can be overcome! When Goten left to fight Cell, he was... horribly disfigured, his body dissolved by acid and venom, and I was beyond horrified to see him like that! But when he told us to live our lives despite the tragedy, something inside me was triggered. If Goten's story ended there, it certainly would have been tragic, but what would have been a tragic end to his story opened up possibilities for the stories of others to have a happy ending which I find to be simply splendid!"
At this, Miia smiled at the mermaid. "Wow Mero, you really changed. I guess you're not a tragedy addict who can't separate fiction from reality. If I'm being honest, I was kind of put off by your obsession with tragedies. I could somewhat tolerate it, but I never really made much of an effort to get to know you." Miia looked guilty when saying that last sentence.
"It's okay, I'm not angry! It's perfectly fine that you were put off by my obsession. You still treated me respectfully and looking back at my behavior, I didn't understand people as a whole and I didn't understand my own feelings either. I'm so sorry for anything I may have done or said that offended you or anyone else!" Said Mero.
"Mero, I'm so happy you said that but it's me who should apologize. I never really tried to get to know you that well outside of when we first met. I understand that we're all different and tragedies are a part of Mermaid culture, but I couldn't get past that fact."
"What do you say we do something together to get to know each other a bit better?" Miia offered.
"Oh Miia, I would love that!" Said Mero.
"Goten, were Saiyan's bad people?" Suu asked.
"No, they weren't, at least not as a whole. Their society was terrible, but I doubt that Saiyans as a collective were evil. They did a lot that I won't defend but Saiyans have the capacity for good too. I don't believe in the idea of an evil species. Evil individuals of a species, sure but I doubt an entire species could be evil." Said Goten.
"Suu doesn't mean to judge but last night, I had an odd dream about two Saiyan men fighting a small group consisting of a small child, a bald kid, and a green man who was also bald. The two men were Saiyans, and they both had tails wrapped around their waists. One of them had big, tall spiky hair but the one who was fighting was buff, bald, and strong. The little boy who wasn't bald had hair just like yours and was a Saiyan just like you."
"Huh? Really? By any chance did you hear the name Gohan, Piccolo, or Krillin?" Said Goten. He knew Krillin wasn't a child but there have been times when he was mistaken as one.
"The little boy with hair like yours is named Gohan, the bald kid who threw the energy disc was Krillin and the man with green skin was Piccolo."
"That's amazing Suu! Are you sure this was a dream or was it a vision of the past because something like this did happen in my world? By the way, Krillin's not a kid, he's just a little on the short side."
"Suu Isn't really sure but the bald muscular one really hurt the green man and so the kid got angry and charged a yellow beam at the bald one and it went boom! The bald man was unharmed and he countered with his own blast but the boy was saved by a cloud and a man wearing orange appeared. That's when the dream ended." Said the slime.
"That man must have been my dad! And that's Gohan for you! Always getting super strong through anger especially when it comes to Piccolo." Goten smiled but he ultimately sighed. "I won't deny the Saiyans used to be savages in the past but the whole planet-conquering thing isn't something we do anymore and even then, not every Saiyan did that back in the day. Vengeance isn't the only reason Boruchi wants to wipe us out. He thinks our species is too dangerous to be left alive because he thinks that if one of us gets corrupted throughout the generations, no one will be able to defeat them. He also wanted to wipe out the Namekians, a peaceful species because of their ability to create Dragon Balls." Said Goten.
"And to think, I genuinely sympathized with him. As flawed as it is, I understand his desire to wipe out the Saiyan as terrible as that sounds. I do not mean to offend but if I were in his position, I do not believe I would be willing to forgive the Saiyan race so easily so I won't judge him on that front. However, the fact that he wants to wipe out an entire species for an ability of theirs shows how truly depraved this Boruchi individual is. What is it about these Dragon Balls that would make Boruchi want to destroy an entire race that presumably did him no harm?" Said Centorea.
"He said it's because Dragon Balls disrupt the natural cycle of life and evil people can abuse their power so I guess his logic was the universe was better off without them." Said Goten.
"Oh yes, the Dragon Balls! The magical orbs that can grant any wish?" Said Mero.
"Yeah, the Dragon Balls can grant wishes, but Shenron is a bit wishy-washy about what he can do. There are seven Dragon Balls and when they are all gathered together a giant Dragon by the name of Shenron will emerge from them and ask for your wish so he can grant it. I mean they can't do stuff like make people fall in love, but people can be wished back to life. I was kind of counting on my friends and family to gather them and wish me back to my world. I wasn't sure if it would work but my dad is friends with the most powerful person in the universe so I figured he might get access to the Super Dragon Balls which can grant any wish no matter what it is." Said Goten.
"Wow, that sounds awesome! I can't even think of what I'd wish for. I know, maybe I'd wish for the best amusement park ever!" Said Papi.
"I would wish to live the life of a fairy tale character!" Said Mero.
"Well, I would want to have darling to myself! Goten only said the Dragon Balls can't make people fall in love, right? Maybe the Super Dragon Balls could but I don't need a wish like that! Just a few moments alone and Darling is bound to love me on his own and it will be much more rewarding!" Said Miia.
"You selfish serpent!" Said Cerea.
"Oh please, like you wouldn't wish for the same thing!" Said the 'selfish serpent'.
"Well of course not! If I were to make a wish, I would wish for him to have the utmost safety. A noble wish unlike yours." Said Cerea.
"What was that?!" Said Miia.
"Ladies, you're both acting childish. Besides, these Dragon Balls are more suited to be used for important things." Said Rachnera
"What can be more important than ensuring my masters' safety?!" Said Cerea.
"Well perfecting my bondage techniques of course!" Said Rachnera.
"Of course, you'd say that." Said both Miia and Cerea.
"Well, Suu doesn't need a wish because Suu is already happy being with master!"
"Aw, thanks Suu. I'm happy you're here too and that goes for everyone too. I don't even have the words to describe how happy I am that we're all here, safe and alive." Said Kimihito.
Everyone except Goten blushed. While Goten didn't blush, he did smile.
"What would you wish for master?" Suu asked.
"That's a difficult question. Well, if I had to wish for anything... I wish you all to be happy. I know I can't marry all of you, but I still want you all to be happy."
All the girls looked at him with lovey-dovey eyes.
"That's so sweet of you darling!" Said Miia. She then turned to Goten. What would you wish for? Besides going home, I mean because I know how much you miss your family."
"Right, well my wish would be for everyone to be at peace. Not just in this universe but mine as well. I may be a Saiyan with a natural lust for battle but that doesn't mean I want the world to be in constant turmoil just so I can enjoy myself. I like being a hero but a world that doesn't need one is a good thing." Said Goten.
"Okay wow, now I feel bad since your wish is so selfless. You know, Lamias are similar to Saiyans in a way. I mean of course we're different in terms of anatomy and our species as a whole but we both don't have the best history. I know what we did is drastically different but still, that's a beautiful wish you have and if that's the way you think, then I'll say the next generation of Saiyan's have a promising future." Said Miia smiling
"Thank you Miia and thank you for what you told me a while ago. Remember when you said if there's a girl I like, I should pursue her no matter what even if she is in this world?"
Miia nodded.
"Well as I was fighting Cell and getting ready to deliver the final blow, I flew up to the upper atmosphere and got a good view of the planet. I saw how beautiful it was and I realized I was in love with the world I was sent to. I was dying and I couldn't help but feel disappointed in myself. I deliberately avoided getting too close to people, and I rejected the idea of being in a romantic relationship, all because I assumed that it was a given that I would one day go back to my world. I thought I didn't have a place here, that I didn't belong. I was obsessed with going back home to see my family again and to be honest I still want that but... now I know that I do have a place and even if I can't go back to my world, I can still have a happy life here and it's all thanks to you guys! It's bittersweet knowing I will never see Pan grow up, but you know what? I'm happy with my life right now."
"Wait really? You don't mind staying here? But we all know about Saiyaman X2 and you know Ms. Smith comes here a lot. Are you sure it's safe for you?" Said Kimihito.
"Well, if it comes down to it, I'll just give myself up. There's no point in the superhero thing if your identity is known. It ruins the fun, ya know? I'll do the interview first but after that, I'll see what they want to do with me. I'm pretty sure housing a criminal is illegal, and you've been good to me so I'm not going to take you down with me. I'll accept any punishment except being behind bars for a long period of time because now that I know for sure that the Red Ribbon Army is here, I can't sit back and do nothing."
"Wait are you sure about this?" Kimihito asked.
"Yeah, I'm not going to let the man who gave me a home get into legal trouble because of my actions. Besides, my power doesn't make me any better than the average citizen, the law still applies to me. I don't think I was wrong to attack those goobers at the convenience store, but it was wrong of me to interfere with the operation. I'll take responsibility for my actions, it's only the right thing to do." Said Goten.
"Well if you really want to go through with this, then I won't stop you but what are you going to do moving forward?" Said Kimihito.
"Well, no matter what they decide to do with me, it's not going to change my goals. I will get stronger, stronger than Cell, and stronger than any android in the Red Ribbon Army! I will find answers about what happened after I left my world and if Gohan is here... then I will find him. I will search this entire planet if I have to but before that, the Red Ribbon Army needs to go and this time, I'll make sure they won't come back."
"Speaking of which, what do you know about the Red Ribbon army? I haven't forgotten about the culprit who sent that letter to Honey." Said Rachnera.
"Long story short, they're a subpar group of bad guys who want to conquer the world. I'll explain more later on the news and when I get back but in terms of who they are but as far as motivations go, they aren't exactly original." Said Goten.
"They seem a lot more capable than you give them credit for considering all they've done. Either way, I'll hold you to what you said." Said Rachnera.
"The Red Ribbon Army was never much of a threat unless you're talking about the old days from back when my dad was a kid. They've been washed up ever since. Dr. Gero was a scientist who created android 16, 17, 18, and Cell. 17 and 18 were originally humans though I guess 16 was always a robot but you know, he certainly has the soul of a human. Cell on the other hand was a creep who quite frankly, I'm glad he's in hell. Speaking of Cell, Gero's grandson Hedo created Cell Max but that was under the influence of the Red Ribbon Army remnants back in my world. He knew they were bad guys but was using them to fund his research. He felt guilty for almost getting the world destroyed and for one of his Androids having to sacrifice himself so we could beat Cell Max, so he turned over a new leaf and began working for Bulma." Goten's expression changed from neutral to angry in a heartbeat. "Or at least that's what I thought! What the hell Hedo! I thought you were done with this! We forgave you for making Cell Max and what do you do?! You turn around and bring back the original Cell, modify him, and you almost got me killed! To think, I thought you were a cool guy too! You better have a good reason for doing all this or so help me!"
"Wow he's really upset." Said Papi to no one particularly.
"Of course I am! I was eaten alive... again! And I nearly died slowly and painfully because he just couldn't stop himself from making another world ending super android! How can someone so smart be so freaking stupid?!"
"Um, again?" Kimihito asked.
"I'm not food, damn it! Why is it that every time I get involved in a fight against a major threat to the Earth, they always wanna use me as a source of power?! Cell didn't even see me as a threat, he just saw me as fodder that would power him up enough to beat his real target. I know I've been slacking on the training but am I seriously THAT weak? You'd think they'd learn by now that eating a Saiyan is bad for your health considering how that ended last time but I guess not! I swear the next guy who tries that is getting obliterated immediately. I don't care if he's fun to fight, I'm taking him out before he becomes a problem."
"Well, you're certainly fired up. I'm glad to see you're healthy again. Now let it all out, show us how you feel. Trust me, it feels good." Said Rachnera.
"I feel angry... but I also feel relieved. I shouldn't be alive right now but I am. I can fight another day and now that I've been given a second chance at life, I'm not going to spend it waiting for something that may never happen. Whether it's in this world or mine, I'm going to live my life." Goten calmed down and turned his attention to Suu. "By the way Suu, that was a very specific dream earlier. How could you even dream about something that happened a long time ago in my world?"
"It's likely a result of me eating Cell. I don't understand but I think it was through his memories."
...
"WHAT?! YOU ATE HIM?!" Said mostly everyone excluding Goten. Goten wasn't surprised at Suu absorbing Cell, he was surprised at the fact that Suu had gained knowledge from absorbing Cell.
"Well, when Suu was inside Cell, she saw everything Cell did after she was absorbed. Suu watched him consume so many innocent people including Beytah and even Goten and so when Suu was free, she did to Cell what Cell did to other people. Suu thought it would be an effective strategy to use his own strategy against him." Said the slime.
"Um, would you mind running that by us again? You literally ate him?" Said Miia.
"Yes, When Suu was freed from Cell, she became a giant from all the fluid Cell spat out! Goten went inside her, and she felt a surge of power in her body and Cell couldn't harm us anymore. First Suu drained all the energy Cell stole from the innocent people he ate and then she started draining Cell himself. However, he made a body double so Suu gobbled up the Cell that she was already draining. Yum!" The slime said while rubbing her belly to bring the point home.
There was another silence.
"I do not know whether to be appalled or overjoyed at what you did to Cell. I must say Cell suffered quite an ironic fate. The beast who consumed all in his path met his end in the belly of one he viewed as prey. Not only was he consumed by someone he viewed as a lesser being, but he was slowly stripped of all the energy he stole from the weak and defenseless. A fitting end for such a fiend as vile as Cell." Said Cerea.
"Goten, you went inside Suu and powered her up? That sounds just like one of those battle mech anime! I bet Cell didn't stand a chance against you two!" Said Papi.
Rachnera chuckled. "You went inside Suu, did you? Now what possessed you to do something like that?"
Goten shrugged. "I dunno, I guess it just thought of it on the spot and acted. Besides, my mind was clouded by the battle, and I went inside her for a reason. Once I gave Suu my energy, she grabbed Cell and started draining him to the point he reverted to his normal form. It was just like she said, Suu did to Cell what Cell did to other people. She also drained all that energy Cell built up from absorbing people and gave that energy to me which I used to destroy Cell once and for all." Said Goten.
"That is indeed very poetic. The reason Cell devoured all those people was to become strong enough to defeat and consume you. However, in the end not only was Cell himself devoured by one of the creatures he saw as below him, but in the end, he was destroyed by the very same people whose lives he stole. I may have moved past delighting in the misfortune of others for the most part but I will make an exception for Cell " Said Mero.
"Yes, it is rather poetic that Cell was destroyed by everyone he had murdered but I would hardly call that tragic. Perhaps for Cell, it was, but for the rest of the world it is cause for celebration." Said Cerea.
"Suu remembers it well. Goten looked like a shooting star! After Goten did that, Cell blew up like Kaboom! Cell was very injured, and his body was sparkly! After Goten blew up Cell, he lost consciousness, so I sucked out the venom through his mouth!" Said the slime.
"Wait, what?!" Said Goten.
"Oh my, I didn't think Goten would be her type." Said Mero.
Rachnera laughed. "I was under the impression that Suu wanted my honey, but I stand corrected!"
"Oh, knock it off, that doesn't count, and you know it. She was just sucking the poison out of me to save my life." Goten looks at Suu. "Oh, thanks for saving me by the way. I don't think I would have lived if you didn't suck out the venom. I'd probably just be another meal for Cell and that wouldn't be good." Said Goten.
"After you blew up Cell, Cell came back, and his body was all sparkly and he was missing body parts. He crawled towards Goten so he could eat him again, but I defended him. I tried using the Kamekameha like Goten did against that big ball that Cell threw at Goten! It wasn't very strong and Cell trapped me in a ball and kicked me away."
"Aw, don't feel bad! It's your first time using ki! When I learned how to use ki, I wasn't an expert either. I remember I called the Kamehameha the exact same thing and I blew up a part of the world tournament in my match against Trunks! Hahaha, good memories. Ya know, He never did give me that toy he promised me. Oh well, it's in the past. You were awesome Suu! With more practice, you'll definitely get the hang of it."
"Suu smiled happily at the compliment and further explained what happened after Goten was out of commission. "After Cell sent Suu flying, the Dragon tried to carry you away from Cell, but Cell blew up her wings and she fell."
"Oh no! Please tell me she's okay!" Said a concerned Goten.
"She's okay but after that, Beytah and I came to the rescue and held Cell off as she tried to carry you away on foot! Beytah fell because of his injuries so I tried to give both you and him energy while also trying to absorb the rest of Cell. I wanted to keep you both alive. Beytah protected Papi and you Goten, have been a great friend! I saw how hard you fought to get me back."
"Wait, that surge of energy entering my body... that was you? And Beytah? He had a hole in his stomach, and he put that much effort into keeping Cell away from me? I'm sorry... I-I need a moment." Said Goten before walking up to his room.
"Poor guy. He's been through so much in just one day. People think us non-humans are monsters, animals even, but Cell was much worse than that! H-He killed people back home too... I called my mother and she sounded very panicked. So many people died, and I don't know if she's okay. I don't think I've ever met someone so irredeemable. What he did to those people... what he did to Goten... it was the most nauseating thing I've ever seen in my life. I hope Cell is burning in hell for what he did and those people who attacked my village can join him!" Said Miia.
Of course, Miia wasn't aware of Cell's fate. He was just a burning soul trapped inside Suu for as long as the slime lived. He could see the world through Suu's body, but he couldn't interact with it, and he was constantly burning from Draconis's flames. He would not reincarnate, nor would he be allowed to go to the afterlife. He was simply stuck inside Suu as that was his punishment for killing all those people. This also meant that his spirit knew that Goten was no longer in pain meaning Cell got little to no satisfaction at all.
"I know what you mean Miia. Cell wasn't just a savage beast that didn't know right from wrong, he was needlessly cruel. When I agreed to live in Japan, I never once expected to experience such brutality. That dastardly Cell merely got what came to him in the end. I must say I'm surprised Goten recovered. Perhaps, that's an ability of his species?" Said Mero.
"I highly doubt it. Even Goten didn't know why he was okay, and he was as bewildered if not more than us. Seeing as Saiyans are a warrior race, it is not unlikely that Goten experienced his fair share of bloodshed, and I can tell from what I could see in his fight that this was not his first battle either. If the Saiyans had a biological healing factor, then Goten would not be as surprised to be alive." Said Cerea.
"Healing factor or not, I'm just glad he's alright." Kimihito smiled. "He's been through a lot and it would suck if his life ended like that. I can only imagine how painful it was for Goten when he fought Cell. He was practically digested alive. He's physically fine now which is great, but I'm worried about his mental state. What Goten went through was excruciatingly painful and it was probably even worse considering he was fighting and flying around in that state, barely holding onto life." Said Kimihito.
"I'll check on him. What happened to him is so sad. I'm glad he's alright but I wonder what he's thinking about right now." Said Papi.
"Papi, we should give him some time to process things. What happened to him yesterday would be a lot for anyone to take in. Let him rest a bit." Said Kimihito.
"You're right... but I'll still check on him later." Said Papi.
A little later, Papi would go upstairs to see how Goten was holding up.
"Goten are you alright? I wanted to check on you." Said the Harpy.
"I'm doing fine. I just need some time alone. I have a lot on my mind right now.
"Well, if you need a friend to talk to, Papi will listen! Goten, everyone is worried about you. We all thought you were dead but then you showed up alive which I'm happy about, but I want you to be happy too so please tell me what's wrong." Said the harpy.
"I don't want to talk about it. Listen, Papi, it's fine! I'll be up and ready after the interview! I'm doing just fine! In fact, I've never been better! I'm alive after something that should have killed me so why wouldn't I be happy?" Said Goten who was trying to act like his normal joyful self.
"Goten, I'm not the smartest person but even I know that's not true. If you don't want to talk about it, that's up to you but don't pretend like you're okay when you're not."
"Then, how would you deal with this?! People are dead because I decided to transform for a disguise! A disguise Papi! People died because I wanted to make my disguise a little more authentic for something that wasn't even important! I could have just slicked my hair back and left it at that but nooooo, I just had to go Super Saiyan to finish the look. Look at how much good that did! And the worst part is... none of those people are coming back. No... not this time."
"Papi would feel guilty if the same thing happened to her, but you didn't know that would happen. Cell would have killed people even if you weren't around but he's gone because you were there to stop him. Think of how many people saved! More people are alive because of you than people who are dead because of Cell." Said Papi.
"That's true but many of them probably wish they were dead. I know, I know, I probably sound whiny but none of this is just going to go away. I can't forget about this even if I wanted to. For one, Cell is responsible for killing my father, he's the reason my dad was dead for 7 years which made me jealous of other kids who still had their fathers, and two, I almost died a horrible death because of him. I only survived because of a miracle that I don't understand. I wish I could just forget about Cell as if he were just another bad guy for me to beat up and call it a day, but I just can't. Cell attacked on a global scale. Everyone is going to talk about it, I'll see the tears of grieving mothers who've lost their children, I'll hear the cries of children who have lost their parents, husbands, and wives who have lost their spouses, and every time I hear that I'll be reminded that if I went straight to Cell instead of taking my time, I could have prevented this."
"You're smart Goten, I've seen you do math problems that Papi can't even begin to understand but you don't know everything. But you don't need to know everything. You don't know about every single bad thing that happens in the world and you came from another world entirely so you probably had a lot on your mind. You could have stopped Cell from ever killing anyone if you were perfect but no one is so stop blaming yourself! What matters now is you're alive and you can become a stronger Saiyan. Aren't you the one who wanted us to live our lives? Why don't you go ahead and live yours okay? You have that chance now."
"That's my intention. Cerea told me I shouldn't blame myself for all the deaths and I know she's right but you gotta understand that it's not that simple! I get it, I couldn't have known that Cell absorb people to gather enough strength to absorb me, and I couldn't have known that my 'dad's energy' wasn't actually my dad's energy. I know this but whether or not it was my fault, something I did or rather didn't do got people killed. Papi, how am I supposed to live with myself knowing this?" Goten's voice sounded like he tearing up.
"Goten... I know how you feel. Yesterday Papi went out without permission like usual but this time she brought Suu with her. We went out into the city and Cell showed up and started sucking people up in a horrible way and Suu got sucked up too when she tried to protect me and the kids from Cell. After that, your friend Beytah showed up and saved me and the kids. I didn't see what happened to him after that but I guess he ended up getting sucked up too. I thought I let Suu die and unlike you, it would have been Papi's fault. But then you showed up and fought so hard to save Suu and your friend Beytah that you almost died from it. In the end, you saved them both." Said Papi.
"B-But Beytah died! I couldn't... I didn't sa-"
"You did save him. I heard your conversation at 16, and so I know how your relationship started. The Beytah you told me about who almost killed Rachnera never would have fought to protect me, or the kids, he would have gone straight for Cell and ignored us. But that's not the Beytah I saw when I met him, and Goten, you're the one who changed him and you were able to do that because you chose to give him a second chance! Beytah wasn't perfect but he became a better person in the end because of you! Goten, you're not perfect either so you're going to make mistakes but that's okay! You were going to die but you were given a second chance. Not many people get this opportunity but you did, you can correct the mistakes you made and better yourself."
To Papi's surprise, she felt the door move so she got out of the way. Goten who had been sitting against the door like Papi had been got up and opened his door to step out of his room. Goten had tear streaks on his cheeks.
"You're right Papi, I can atone by improving myself. Learning from experiences is how people grow after all. I'm just not used to death being so permanent but maybe this was the wakeup call I needed. My dad was dead for the first seven years of my life but I knew that was his choice and he ended up being revived anyway but before that, I didn't know him and I accepted that he was dead. When other people died, I was sad about it but I was comforted by the fact that I could bring them back to life with the Dragon Balls but those don't exist here. This world is a lot less forgiving than mine. One mistake can cost the lives of many and there's no easy way out anymore. I guess it took me time to acknowledge that but it's time I grew up and accepted my new responsibilities. I will protect the innocent, I will find out what happened in my world, I will destroy the Red Ribbon Army once and for all, and if Gohan's here, I will find him. I shouldn't be alive now, but I am so I'm not going to let it go to waste. Thank you, Papi, I'm glad we had this talk."
Papi wrapped a wing around Goten. "You're welcome! So hey, what's your brother like? I can tell you look up to him from the way you talk about him."
"I do. As a kid, my dad wasn't around so my big brother filled that role. My Grandpa was there too sometimes but he had a castle to manage. I didn't have a father figure at first so I was jealous of Trunks for having one while he was jealous of me for having a brother. Gohan taught me everything I know. My mom taught me martial arts but my brother taught me how to use Ki and how to fly, and even though dad was gone, I was happy because Gohan was always there with me. There was a monster called Majin Buu who was worse than Cell, stronger too. He didn't just kill a lot of people, he killed everyone and ate our families and friends."
Papi cried at this knowledge. "That's so sad! You acted so happy all this time, I never would have known you were hurting so much."
"Well, the story has a happy ending. Spoiler alert, in the end, everybody was brought back to life with the Dragon Balls. When we thought all hope was lost, Gohan who we all thought was dead showed up and walked right up to Majin Buu and looked him dead in the eyes with the most confident smirk on his face. Now keep in mind that Majin Buu was so tall that Gohan's face was at his stomach and at the time, Gohan was around my age and size. Majin Buu was stronger than anyone up to that point, even Cell but Gohan felt no fear, not in the slightest. Majin Buu was all like-" Goten tried his best to imitate Super Buu's voice. "'So hotshot, you want to fight Majin Buu?' and Gohan was all like 'Fight you? No, I wanna kill you.' and then he completely destroyed Buu and paid him back for everything he did to him, our family, and our friends tenfold. How awesome is that? He's the best big brother I could ask for." Said Goten.
"Your brother sounds awesome! want to meet him someday! I hope you find him. It's no wonder you were so cool when you fought Cell! You must have seen Gohan in the same way we saw you when you went back to fight Cell. By the way, your cooking was great!"
"Aw, thanks but all I did was memorize a recipe from my mom. It's nothing compared to the real deal. In fact, I'd say my mom's cooking can give Kimihito a run for his money. Don't tell him I said that."
"Wait, really? I wish I could try! We saw a picture of her yesterday when we were checking your room!"
"Um, why were you in my room?"
"Because we thought you were dead but there was music playing in your room. Papi thought there was a ghost and Master wanted to make sure there wasn't a burgerer."
"Burgerer? You mean burglar?"
"Yeah, that's the word!"
"Well, thanks, Papi. I feel a lot better now after talking with you. Let's go back downstairs. I'm sure everyone is worried."
Goten and Papi would go to the living room where Kimihito, Miia, Centorea, and Suu were present.
"Everyone, I'm back! After a talk with Papi, I'm feeling better. I made a lot of mistakes, but now I have a clear head. I know what I'm going to do now. I might be gone for a bit, but I promise you I will be back soon. Oh, and Suu, I will be training you and teaching you how to use your new powers soon, so get ready! You're strong, but strength can be dangerous if you don't know how to control it."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for you Goten! Suu can't wait to learn from you!"
Goten waved and started walking towards the door.
"Wait!" Said the female Centaur who bowed down before Goten.
"What's the matter Cerea?" Goten asked.
"If it's not too much... would you give me the honor of being taught, by you as well? I know this is selfish of me to ask but I swear I will find a way to compensate-"
"Okay!"
"Just like that? But I had not even finished my sentence!"
"Cerea, I don't just do nice things for people because I'm expecting something in return. We're friends Cerea, and besides, this benefits me too. I can't promise I'll always be around and one of these days, there might come a time where I can't save you or the people around you. If I end up staying in this world, I'll graduate from high school and I'm going to live on my own. Suu has a lot of potential. Even without being powered up by my energy, she's more than strong enough to protect your master but she doesn't know how to control her powers yet. If I'm not around and Suu is not able to help, it will fall to you to protect Kimihito and the others."
"Goten, words cannot describe how grateful I am to you! I am forever in your debt! Please, if there's anything you wish to ask of me, then do not hesitate."
"Well, I guess there is one thing."
"Tell me, what can I do for you?" Said the Centaur.
"You don't have to if you don't want to but it would be really awesome if you taught me how to use a sword."
"Of course Goten, I would be honored to be your teacher! I take it this has something to do with your duel with Cell. I hear you wielded a blade the size of a skyscraper. Knowing you, that was not an exaggeration. Where did you even get such a blade?"
"I was consumed by bloodlust at the time but I think Cell said that the sword belonged to Beta 1. When I found the Sword, it was near what seemed to be parts of a huge machine."
"The fact that you were able to wield such a colossal blade and come out victorious against Cell tells me you're quite experienced already." Said Centorea.
"Yeah, but swinging a sword around isn't the same as knowing how to use it. You've got me beat in that regard." Goten replied.
"Well spoken Goten. To receive praise from the warrior who defeated Cell is a great honor that I am proud to hold close to my heart. Very well Son Goten, I Centorea Shianus will train you in the art of swordplay!"
"Thanks, Cerea, I'll be looking forward to it! Well, it's almost time, I gotta go now bye!" Goten headed for the door but as his hand was on the handle he looked over at Kimihito Kurusu. "Oh, and while you're at it can you tell everyone I'm still alive and is my phone here? I don't know where I was operated on so it would mean a lot of you got my phone back for me." Said Goten.
"Oh yeah, how could I forget? Sorry about that, I was so shocked by your sudden appearance that I forgot you were looking for it. Here you go." Kimihito handed his phone to Goten..
"I'll see what I can do Goten. Good luck with your interview. " Said Kimihito.
"Bye, everyone!" Goten waved and left the house.
"Today, we managed to get into contact with the mysterious Saiyaman X2! Stay tuned as our mysterious hero is interviewed by the beautiful Mayumi Imada!" Said the narrator.
Shortly after this announcement is made, A woman sits alone in a red chair and suddenly, a new person teleports into the chair next to her. The man sitting next to her wore a black bodysuit, but now the suit he wore was what appeared to be a sentai suit(It looked like a power ranger), but the armor was genuinely protective, and it was mostly white. The helmet was similar to that of a samurai.
"Well, if there was any doubt that you were Saiyaman X2 that right there proves it! Or at least it proves you have abilities just like him."
"Well, I thought I'd get that question out the way first. I am indeed Saiyaman X2, the very same who fought those thugs at the convenience store!" Said Saiyaman in his overly exaggerated voice.
"Well, I believe that's a good start. What were your true intentions for attacking those criminals? There has been much speculation regarding the true nature of Saiyaman X2. Is he seeking to destroy the Interspecies Exchange Bill, is he trying to ruin relationships, or perhaps his heart is in the right place? Well, now we have to real deal to answer that question! So if you don't mind me asking, what were your intentions?"
"Well, it was just like I said, the police officers were unable to do their job because of the Bill. Things got out of control and maybe I was wrong to interrupt the operation, but I didn't know that at the time and I thought it was ridiculous that the police didn't even try to help so I took matters into my own hands." Said Saiyaman X2.
"I see. Well did you consider the danger you could have put the hostages in? What if one of those orcs decided to shoot one of them in retaliation? What would you have done then?"
"Straight to the point huh? Well, the bullets were slow compared to me and the criminals were even slower. By the time they had a chance to shoot one of the hostages, I already destroyed all of their guns."
"Well because you proved your abilities are the real deal, I don't doubt that but that begs the question. What are you? Does your power come from some sort of technology or are you secretly some sort of extra species?"
"Well, my powers come from within, but everyone has them, it's just about drawing them out. It's not so easy to explain so I won't get into that right now. That said, I'm still not a normal human. I guess you can say I'm a literal extra species since I'm well... an alien."
"You're an alien? Hahahaha, you're such a jokester!"
"Oh, I'm not kidding about that. I'm half-alien to be exact. You see, I'm from a race known as the Saiyans. They appear human but are born with monkey tails and when a Saiyan with a tail looks at a full moon, they turn into giant apes that destroy everything in their path! ROAR!" Saiyaman X2 pretended to roar for the kids watching at home.
"Really now? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem to have a monkey tail. That is unless you hide it in your suit but that can't be comfortable, can it?"
"Well, I'm an odd case. You see, even though I am a Saiyan, I wasn't born with a tail. My big brother was probably the last one to be born with a tail and he's half-Saiyan like me!"
"If you're an alien, what are you doing on Earth?"
"To tell you the truth, I was actually born on Earth. Well to be exact, it was another Earth. You see, I come from another dimension entirely that's a lot more technologically advanced than this one."
"Well, this is most certainly an odd case! If you were born on another Earth and you were just a normal human in your world would you still be an alien? After all, you aren't the first person who claimed to be from another Earth. Someone in Italy said something similar but he was still a human."
"Well I'm sure he'd be an alien by one definition of the word but I'm literally part alien in the sense that one of my parents came from another planet. My dad was sent to Earth as a baby. Even as a kid, he was so strong that he single-handedly took down an entire army."
"A child did that? How old was he exactly?"
"I forgot but he did it when he was a kid. I think he was around 10 years old if I remember correctly."
"You're kidding. If that's true that's certainly impressive and if I may be blunt a little terrifying. Was this army good or bad?
"Oh they were bad people alright and by the end of this interview, you'll know why it was justified. I know what I told you is farfetched but people can believe what they want. It's okay because I already know how amazing my dad is! I welcome people not believing me because they're more likely to treat me like a normal person that way."
"Hahahaha, it's admirable that you have that kind of faith in your father. I wish I had that kind of relationship with my dad growing up."
"Well, I spent almost half of my life without my father, but it was for a really good reason that I won't disclose it isn't anyone's business. Even though he wasn't there for a portion of my life, he's an amazing man and I'm proud to call him my dad!"
"Well, that's interesting. You may have alien blood, but you're still in touch with your humanity Well to be fair, I don't know anything about the Saiyans or how their culture functioned. Is there any more information on them?"
"I don't know much about them because I was born as a human but what I do know is that they almost went extinct after the tyrant who enslaved them blew up their planet so there aren't many of us left. My dad was sent to Earth as a kid and grew up to become an amazing man who has saved the world countless amount of times."
"You're serious about that, aren't you? My condolences! I hope I didn't offend! It must be hard."
"Relax, I really don't care."
"But that's your entire species!"
"Yeah, but they were destroyed long before I was born. Admittedly, the Saiyans from planet Vegeta weren't the nicest people around, and they did a lot of terrible things that would probably make people fear me enough to want me dead, but I still think it's sad that their entire Saiyan race was nearly wiped out since I know that not every Saiyan was evil. I probably sound detached but let me ask you a question of my own, how do you feel when you're reminded of the hardships that people went through during the entire history of your country?"
"Throughout its entire history, Japan has faced much adversity, and though I am saddened by the hardships my people had to endure I can't help but be proud of their accomplishments! It's because I know that their suffering led to great things that I can sleep well at night."
"You're not wrong there. The Saiyans back on planet Vegeta may have not been good guys but the ones that live on my Earth are. They've accomplished so much, and they've even saved the entire Universe a few times no matter how difficult things were. Why wouldn't I be proud to be a Saiyan myself? When I say I don't care, I really mean to say I don't lose sleep over it. What happened happened, there's no changing that now."
"I take it the Saiyans are where the name Saiyaman X2 comes from?"
"Well yeah, I guess it does. I mean you'd have to ask the original Saiyaman to know for sure but it's kind of on the nose."
"You know, I was pretty curious about that. I was wondering if the X2 in your name was because you thought it sounded cool or if there was an X2 because there was an X1. I guess that answers my question."
"There is a Saiyaman X1 and he's my partner, but the original Saiyaman was called the Great Saiyaman. Like us, he was a crime-fighting vigilante. Saiyaman X1 and X2 were sort of spinoffs of that. Our gimmick was that we were like the Great Saiyaman but we were a duo though now that I think about it, the original Saiyaman did do something like that with his girlfriend at the time but that was more of a one-off thing. The duo of Saiyaman X1 and Saiyaman X2 is the real deal!"
"Then what's your story? Normally superheroes have a reason for fighting crime. Was it a traumatic experience? Perhaps you lost a loved one to a criminal or maybe you're trying to honor a friend's last wish? Tell me, what made you want to fight crime in the first place?"
"It's fun."
"That's it? No heart wrenching backstory or reason for hating criminals?"
"I don't really hate most of the criminals I beat up but yeah, that's about right. My brother used to do it and as I got older I started to think of it as lame but then I started doing it myself with Saiyaman X1 and realized how fun it was. I don't fight crime because I suffered at the hands of a criminal and I didn't have a bad childhood. Excluding that one time but outside of that, my childhood was great!" Said Saiyaman X2.
"Let me get this straight, you did all this because it was fun? I thought you were trying to make a difference or send a message!"
"Hey, I'm no politician and I don't have a narrative to spread either. What you heard on the news was something I said but I said that to M.O.N, not the general public. Do you think Japan's going to listen to some rando who dresses up in a suit and beats up a few bad guys at a convenience store? I'm not mad about it and if my words can help the laws in this country get better then I'm happy about that, but that wasn't the point of saying what I said. At that moment, my reason for fighting was to protect those people and to have fun."
"Then where was Saiyaman X1? Why wasn't he with you on that day?"
"Saiyaman X1 and most of my family and friends are back home. I ended up here because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was a machine that could send objects to different dimensions but I happened to fall into it. By any chance is there a machine like that in this world?"
"No, not that I know of. If invention like that was made public, everyone on the globe would be talking about it."
"It was worth a shot."
"Do you miss your world?"
"More than you could imagine." Saiyaman X2 took a short moment of silence before speaking again. "But I know I may never go back but I accepted that even if that's the case, I can make a new life in this world. It's sad, but my life is far from over. No matter where I live, I have a future and I will never not be grateful for that."
"Well said! So would you say you're Saiyaman X1's sidekick or are you both a team where neither of you have authority over each other?"
"I am a sidekick, we both are. When you're a superhero, you're everyone's sidekick. In a way, I am his sidekick but he's also mine because we've been best friends since childhood and we're also both Saiyans so we both grew up with someone who we could relate to on a personal level."
"Well, if that's not a heroic quote for the books, I don't know what is. You must have a really good relationship with your friend if you're still just as good friends as you were back then. It's adorable that you're still partners to this day."
Saiyaman X2 bashfully pats his back. "You think?"
"Indeed, your friend must have been really special to you."
"Yeah, he is. We've known each other forever and we're practically cousins at this point. I hope he's doing okay. I really hope he's doing okay." Saiyaman almost broke character for the last sentence.
"Well if I may be so bold, who would you say is the stronger one between you and Saiyaman X1?"
"X1 was stronger than me when we were kids but we're much older now. Last time I checked, he had the edge on me when it came to physical strength, but I evened it out with my techniques. As fighters, I'd say we're even but I can't say anymore. He's a bit older than me but assuming he's still alive now, I'd kick his butt! Yeah, he's definitely alive!"
"That's the confidence I like to see! Speaking of confidence. Were you confident in fighting that monster who attacked recently? Were you planning on fighting him?"
"Sorry, can you say that again?"
"You know, the monster that attacked Japan? What are your thoughts on the battle between that boy and that monster who has been terrorizing Japan? You were confirmed to have survived being blasted with a gun that burned through multiple buildings. Were you aware of this monster? Do you think you would have stood a chance?"
"Before I ask that, how much is known about the guy who beat Cell?"
"Cell?"
"Oh, I meant the monster."
"The official story is his identity has not yet been disclosed to the public as per request of the family's privacy. What is known is that someone came to the hospital, destroyed the camera, and knocked out all the staff. They say it was a man with a mechanical arm. Two people visited him but were rendered unconscious by the man, one of them being a Dragon who admitted to being knocked out by a single punch. Whoever did this wasn't normal, even by extra species standards."
There was more information on what happened after he beat Cell. But three questions remained. Who was the person behind this and why did he take him to Black Lily headquarters? The biggest question however was how was he healed? Goten was sure that he had died alongside Beta 1, but he survived somehow.
"Um, Saiyaman? You seem lost in thought."
"Sorry about that. I have a lot to unpack." Saiyaman X2 sighed. "That boy was a Saiyan just like me and X1. He was known as something called a Super Saiyan. The Super Saiyan transformation was once a legend in Saiyan culture before their planet was destroyed. The Super Saiyan of legend was once rumored to be the strongest warrior in the cosmos. When a Saiyan goes Super Saiyan, their hair goes blonde, their aura becomes a golden flame, and in most cases, the hair will rise. This form was so powerful that just the idea of it being real caused the tyrant who enslaved the Saiyans to blow up their planet out of fear."
"You know quite a lot about that boy. Were you relatives or something?"
"Yeah, something like that. You can say we had the same dad."
"So you're brothers?"
"Yeah sure, let's go with that."
"Well if you're a Saiyan, can you also go Super? I'd ask you to turn into a giant ape but I wouldn't want to have this building destroyed." Said the female interviewer. She didn't expect him to do it but it was worth a shot to see just how real the person sitting beside her was.
"Well of course!" Saiyaman X2 got out of his seat and charged up his aura. He was surrounded by a yellow flaming aura much to the awe of the interviewer."
"You really are just like him! Listen, I don't know what your exact connection to that brave young boy who killed that monster but all of us are grateful to him. He was badly injured yet he never stopped fighting. We're all in his debt. I know this won't bring him back but I hope you find comfort knowing that."
"It's fine. In fact, I'm pretty confident that he's not dead." Said Saiyaman X2. 'If the media didn't think I was dead, it would be pretty obvious that I'm the guy who beat Cell.' Saiyaman X2 thought.
"I understand how you must be feeling but his injuries were too much for anyone to survive. He was given the best treatment possible, but someone broke into the hospital and took his body away. The one who did it was a hooded man with a mechanical arm according to two people who were visiting your brother."
"Wait, a guy with a mechanical arm did that? Was he an android by chance?"
"No one knows. What we do know is he wasn't normal. Him being an android would explain how he defeated a Dragon in a single punch which she herself admitted."
'Oh my gosh, that must have been Draconis! Wait then who was the other person visiting me?' He thought.
"Um, sorry, a Dragon? What species was the other person visiting?" Said Saiyaman.
"She was a mermaid I think."
'If it were Mero she would have mentioned it. The only mermaid-like person outside of Mero that I know is Melody! I need to know if they're okay!' The Saiyan thought.
"Hey, did everyone get out of that incident safely?"
"While all the staff were knocked out, no one was killed. No one except the boy who saved us all from the monstrous creature you call Cell. I take it you knew those two personally?"
"Well, any friend of his is a friend of mine. Of course, I'd be worried." Said Saiyaman X2.
"Well rest assured they are doing just fine. A bit bruised sure, but ultimately, they're alright. In any case, it's rather odd that you know so much about this Cell. What can you tell us about him?" Said Mayumi.
'Calm down Goten, this is all part of the plan.' Saiyaman X2 thought. "Cell is... was an android created by the Red Ribbon Army. The Red Ribbon Army is an evil organization that wants to take over the world. Remember when I said a Saiyan took down an entire army around the age of 10? Well, this is that army. Decades ago, they were single handedly defeated by a young Saiyan. After the Red Ribbon Army was defeated, one man by the name of Dr. Gero survived and he held a grudge against that boy for years. He was so obsessed with revenge and world domination that he kidnapped two people and turned them into androids against their will all for the sake of vengeance. He's also the one responsible for creating Cell. At this point, the Saiyan boy who defeated the Red Ribbon Army had already grown up and had a Saiyan child of his own. Roughly 16 years ago on my Earth, Cell almost destroyed the world. He hosted a tournament to decide the fate of the planet. If he won, he'd blow up the Earth, and if he lost he wouldn't. In that tournament, he was defeated by an 11-year-old boy who happened to be my big brother. He unlocked a brand-new level of Super Saiyan and killed Cell, or so we thought. For whatever reason 16 years later, Cell ended up in this world."
"So the creature that attacked our country went by the name Cell and he was created by this Red Ribbon Army. You know, this was not how I expected this interview to go. How do you even know this much?
"You can say my family has a history with them."
"What kind of history?"
"Sorry, I'd rather not say. I probably revealed too much already."
"I have to admit, this was not where I was expecting this interview to go. Who knew you'd have all this juicy information? And to make things more interesting, you're willing to share all this?"
"I agreed to this interview because I wanted everyone to know for sure that the nightmare was over. I wanted to let them know that the monster who has been terrorizing everyone is dead. I know because I also fought Cell but was defeated. I happened to not be in my suit because I was planning on seeing my father. Instead of seeing my father, I saw Cell. At first, I thought he was another clone, but he claimed to be the real deal. He explained that the organization responsible for the indestructible beings was indeed the Red Ribbon Army who according to Cell are using the business Red Pharmaceuticals as a front to hide their identity."
"Red Pharmaceuticals huh? Isn't that a pharmaceutical company over in Italy? The last thing I heard from them was a partnership between them and Black Lily Advanced Materials Laboratory. Are you sure you should be saying that about their business partner? I mean you work for them right?" The Interviewer said looking right at the Black Lily Logo on his forehead.
"Well they gave me an opportunity but I rejected it. However, they let me use the suit to conceal my identity for this interview but I don't really know what good it will do. I mean there's no way the government doesn't know about my identity. Not after recent events at least. That's why I'm not being as secretive as I normally would."
"Why did Cell attack our wonderful country? Why us specifically?"
"That's the thing, he didn't, he attacked everyone. The reason he did it was to get enough power to kill someone who had previously beaten him so he started absorbing people all over the globe with that tail of his. He came to Japan to devour the Super Saiyan who would eventually be his killer. He wanted to eat him in a different way than he did to all his other victims."
"Really? How so?"
"Instead of drinking him alive with his tail, he tried to swallow him whole with his tail. He was almost successful too. I've seen people refer to him as a skinless monster that barely looked human and some thought he was undead but as it would later be found out, this boy wasn't supposed to look the way he did. As he was being swallowed, he was rescued by M.O.N but by then it was too late for the boy. The end of Cell's tail opened up wide enough to swallow an entire human whole and that boy was human in appearance so he fit right inside. As he was being swallowed, he was crushed from all angles, he was submerged in acid and venom, and there were teeth inside the tail that were positioned in a way that if he tried to escape from the way he came in, he would be cut by those teeth. After seeing the cuts on his body, I can say for sure that he struggled. If Cell had swallowed him, he wouldn't have died. He would have been a part of Cell on a cellular level and since Cell doesn't age, he would have been trapped in Cell for eternity even after he destroyed the world."
"Jeez, that sounds worse than death! That poor boy, I hope his soul can rest easy knowing no one else will suffer his fate at the hands of that evil creature."
Saiyaman X2 nodded in agreeance. "Cell was already created with the cells of some of my world's strongest warriors. He had the cells and abilities of my father, the Saiyan prince, the tyrant who destroyed the home planet of the Saiyans, and a Namekian who happened to be one of my teachers. Not only did he also have their abilities, but he was modified to take on the traits of those he absorbed including many extra species and even an android by swallowing him whole as opposed to sucking him in from the inside. He did this so the original Great Saiyaman wouldn't have the heart to kill him because if he did, he'd be killing his own little brother. After all the original great Saiyaman WAS the boy who previously defeated him."
"Your story does have some validity. After all Beta 1, had some never-before-seen technology. On the day that he fought against M.O.N. and Saiyaman X2, he admitted to being brought back to life with the use of technology. He would later go on to rescue some children and a Harpy from Cell and after he flew away to fight the beast, it ended up being his last day alive. That was a story from one of the survivors."
"I see... I heard about what he did. That was very brave of him and on his last day, he was a real hero. As you probably know, Beta 1 and I didn't exactly see eye to eye especially because of what transpired at the store. At the time, I barely knew him, but he was a classmate of my friend back in my world. Our senses of justice clashed with one another because he believed that killing criminals took priority above all else while I believed in getting things done with as little casualties took priority above all else. As someone who fought Cell and Beta 1, I can say for sure that Beta 1 didn't stand a chance, not by a long shot. He was outmatched but he made sure the kids were safe before going off to fight Cell. The Beytah I fought would have ignored the kids and gone straight for Cell with any flashy attack in his arsenal but this time around, he went out of his way to save a few kids and a harpy. In the end, he fought to protect the innocent despite being outmatched and I think that's an action worthy of being called heroic. Beta No. 1, you will be missed, my friend." Saiyaman X2 fully dropped his superhero persona and spoke in his normal voice when he said the last sentence.
"I'm sorry for your loss. Were you friends?"
Saiyaman X2 nodded. "We weren't at first. We first met when he tried to beat me up for a disc that I didn't have. After that, he tried to kill me at a convenience store. However, we had a talk after that and we debated our morals and values and I guess I convinced him or at the very least made him think. He offered to buy me lunch as an apology and I realized he wasn't some evil psychopath who delighted in ending lives, but he was genuinely hurt by all the injustice in the world. To be honest, I feel a little guilty about what I told him. I still believe I was right, but if we didn't have that conversation, he probably wouldn't have died in such a horrible way. Even with a hole in his stomach, he did everything he could to stop Cell from getting to my relative. I'm going to miss him." Said Saiyaman X2 who was getting emotional. He was no longer Saiyaman X2 at this moment, but Son Goten. Of course, he wasn't going to reveal his name.
"Hey, Saiyaman X2." Mayumi spoke in soft tone.
"Yes?"
"Would you mind if I said something not as an interviewer who wants to get the juiciest information out before everyone else but from person to person? What happened was Beta 1's decision that he made for himself and though that choice cost him his life, it was because of him that those children will live on. He did a good thing in the end and it sounds like you influenced him, but isn't that a good thing? He may be gone now, but he died a good person. I hope he finds peace in the afterlife and I hope you find peace too."
"Yeah, but I still miss him."
"I know you do. I wouldn't normally do this but if you want to end the interview here, then so be it. Japan took a huge blow because of that monster and we're all grieving because of it. I can only imagine the pain you felt especially because of what happened to your brother."
"Actually before we end this interview there's some things I'd like to say to the public."
"Alright."
"For everyone watching at home, I have something to say. As you know, your Japan was attacked by a monster by the name of Cell. He devoured your friends and family all so he could defeat the Great Saiyaman and the Red Ribbon army to steal a time machine so he could go back to our world and absorb two androids to achieve his perfect form. I know that's a convoluted story that sounds like a load of crap but trust me when I say I know what I'm talking about considering I fought against that monster face to face. He didn't just attack Japan, but he did that to countries all over the world. He came to Japan specifically because there was a certain someone that he wanted to devour. He was going to forcibly merge with them so their brother would not have the will to fight him. It was a dirty trick befitting a villainous coward like Cell. He was eager to cause pain but not so eager to receive it. This is the kind of behavior you should expect from the Red Ribbon Army. Cell may be done, but I won't rest until all of the Red Ribbon Army is gone. They've been a pain to my family for decades now and they're kidnapping people likely to strengthen their army just like Dr Gero had done in the past. Well no more! I'm taking them down for good! I, Saiyaman X2, will take them down!"
"That's quite bold of you but are you sure you can take them on yourself? After all, even the kid who defeated Cell was injured beyond what any human is capable of surviving. I now know he was a Saiyan but he was on the verge of death, that much is certain."
"I don't understand how but he's not dead. I know because I can sense his energy. If I can sense your energy, it means you're alive."
"Is that so? Well, it's about time we wrap things up. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
"Yes, there is. When I fought Cell, he said something about my other brother and if he was being honest, then that means I'm not the only Saiyan in this world. If that Saiyan is watching, I want you to know that I'm going to find you. I think I made my identity obvious to you through this interview. I will be waiting for you Champion of Justice."
"That was a great interview! You have my full support in finding him! I got a lot out of this but I need to ask you one more thing before we end things off officially. What are your plans going forward? Are you going to keep fighting crime as Saiyaman X2?"
"I will always fight against evil. Whether I do so as Saiyaman X2 or my true identity remains to be seen. As for the government, they already know my identity but I'm willing to extend an olive branch. In exchange for keeping my identity a secret, I will deal with their android problem and I'll even assist M.O.N whenever they need help. I may disagree with some of their policies but I don't hate them and even if I did, I need them, and they need me. We have information that the other needs."
"How interesting. Well, in any case, that concludes today's interview!"
Kimihito Kurusu found himself in the middle of the forest. This was of course a setup to catch the culprit responsible for the death threat. Papi tagged along and forgot why while Suu simply came because she wanted to.
"Alright, what was so important that you needed to come here when your leg is still broken?" Said Kimihito.
"Me? I never said anything like that." Said Papi while smiling.
"What? You really don't remember?"
"Uh oh. Now that you say that I feel like I forgot something important." Said Papi as she began thinking intensely.
"THIS IS SO GOOD!" Said a familiar zombie eating meat from a grill.
"Hey what are you doing, stop chowing down! You're supposed to be our bodyguard aren't you?!"
"AND I LOVE MEAT!"
"This was your idea! You said if I made it look like I'm alone in the woods we might draw out the guy who wrote the letter but he's not going to come out if he knows we have you here to protect us." Said Kimihito.
"It's nothing to freak out about!" Said Zombina as she happily chowed down on more meat.
Zombina's expression darkened for a moment. "Hey, did Smith tell you about what happened to Goten at the hospital?"
"Yeah, she did. She told me some mysterious person broke in and abducted him. We don't know why they did that, but Smith suspects the Red Ribbon Army, but we both suspect that Dr. Hedo is involved too. What if they're trying to make Goten into the next Beta 1? When I first met the little squirt, he wasn't disgusted by me being a zombie, but he was surprised that I wasn't an android. And then I fought Beta 1 who was a zombie and an android who was formerly human but was resurrected into what he was with the use of technology. What if they're going to do the same to Goten and use his corpse to fight on their side?"
"That is a scary thought, but I doubt it. You'll have to see for yourself, but Goten is alive. He showed up at my house in the morning and cooked breakfast."
"And are you sure that's the real Goten? Or maybe he's a zombie-like Beta 1 now. We still don't know how this technology is made. The gun we got from Beta 1 is beyond any technology ever documented in the world and no one can understand it."
"That can't be true right? He acted the same as he always had and even said things that only the real Goten would know. And besides, Beta 1 had a rotting spot on the back of his neck, Goten didn't have that."
"But you didn't check his entire body now did you?" Said Zombina.
"Of course not, that's creepy!"
"Point is Goten had to have died. We all saw him after he was half digested by Cell and to add insult to injury he was poisoned, beaten, and he lost a LOT of blood to the point that the lake looked like something out of a horror movie. He could barely muster enough strength to fight but somehow he managed to pull through and defeat Cell. That kid could really take a beating but as impressive as that is, no one can survive what he went through. Did he say anything about how he survived?
"Well, no he didn't. Not even Goten knew why he was alive. According to the guy himself, he just woke up in an observatory and he was fine. He was approached by a strange man he called Mr. President but Mr. President didn't seem to know why he was there either. Whoever took Goten just brought him over to him." Said Kimihito.
"Mr. President huh? That's the guy Ms. Smith hates so much. I've heard her complain about him a few times. He's always trying to undermine the bill in favor of his business because according to him, the Bill only makes their lives in human society harder than it needs to be. Call me biased if you want but personally, I think he's full of it." Said Zombina.
"Rachnera didn't trust the guy either and Goten said he's business partners with Red Pharmaceuticals though he isn't sure if he knows about their criminal actions. Listen Zombina, I don't know how Goten is back and even if he is a zombie now, that doesn't matter. Goten is Goten, and whether or not he's undead or a machine now, it doesn't matter. Goten made it clear that he still opposes the Red Ribbon Army and wants them gone probably more than anyone." Said Kimihito.
"Well, if you say so. We'll make sure to look into that later. For all we know he could be a machine that thinks he's Goten just like that one movie!"
"You're joking right?"
"Hahahaha, of course I am! But seriously, we can't rule anything out. We'll have to question him at some point. After dealing with Cell, and Beta 1, something tells me we're way out of our league here. We need as much information as we can get." Said Zombina.
Suddenly Kimihito Kurusu found his limbs being coiled around by a branch..
"What the? What's going on!" Said Kimihito. The branches tightened causing him to scream. He was then dragged away.
"So we got company huh?" Said Zombina who chased after the vine, but she too was grabbed." Aw, damn it! Well, I've been through worse."
The next person was Papi. Fortunately, the branches didn't wrap around her leg. It started dragging her away too.
"What's going on?! It's like this place has a will of its own!" Said Kimihito.
Suddenly it all came back to Papi. "Wait I remember now! It must be Kii!"
"Kii?"
Papi and Zombina were quickly dragged out of sight and Kimihito was next. He grabbed onto a tree.
"Master!" Suu shouted.
"Get out of here Suu! You need to let Ms. Smith know what's going on!" Said Kimihito before losing his grip on the tree and being dragged out of her line of sight.
Shortly after, Kimihito, Zombina, and Papi came face to face with the Dryad.
"Stand down human. I will not allow you to harm me. I am a Dryad, keeper of plants and protector of the forest and I despise humans." Said the Dryad.
"Dryad?" Kimihito looked in the book given to him by Ms. Smith. "Well, that would explain it."
He was interrupted by Kii squeezing him with her branches causing him to scream in pain.
"Don't do it Kii! Don't hurt my master!"
"Papi..." Said Kii.
"Guess Kii's mad. You okay?" Said Papi to Kimihito.
"Kii? Wait a second that sounds familiar." Said Kimihito.
"Hey you know hurting a human is illegal right? Why don't you quit while you're ahead?" Said Zombina.
"Silence." Said Kii as she squeezed her tightly. Zombina seemed to be in pain but she suddenly smirked.
"That won't work on me!" Said Zombina. The branches squeezed her so tightly that they undid her grafts, and she was split in two.
Zombina pulled out her gun. "I don't want to use this but you're going to have to let those two down."
"Wait, don't shoot!" Said, Papi!
"Listen, I don't plan to shoot anyone but Smith would kill me if I let anything happen to Kimihito, and keeping him safe is my job."
Unfortunately for Zombina, some roots shot out from beneath her and grabbed her gun right out of her hands.
"Crap." Said Zombina before being once again wrapped up by Kii's roots. This time in two halves.
"Well, that was anticlimactic." Said Kimihito before looking at Papi. "Refresh my memory, how do you know her again?"
"She's my friend! I forgot about her for a long time. One day I was flying around and I saw Smith inces- I mean arresting someone for kidnapping a non-human. That's when I saw Kii all alone and scared. She was weak and her roots were all dried out, so I planted her here in the woods."
"And what happened after that? Did you ever come back to visit her?"
"Nope, I forgot about her!" Papi playfully stuck her tongue out.
"What is wrong with you?!" Said Kimihito remembering how Goten had reminded Papi of Kii not that long ago.
Papi looked at Kii again. "I promise master isn't a bad person. Let him go okay?
"Papi, humans took me from my home and brought me to this place. They are my enemies and one or two humans being different isn't going to change that. You say he's not a bad person, but I won't take any risks." Kii squeezed Kimihito more tightly.
"Don't hurt him!" Papi yelled.
'Wait Dryad starts with D. Maybe she sent the letter.' Kimihito thought.
Papi broke out of her binds and flew towards Kii. "Stop this Kii!" She shouted only to be slapped away by a wooden tendril. Because they were still somewhat close to the ground as opposed to being high in the air, Papi was headed straight for a tree but instead, Suu blocked it which cushioned the crash but it still hurt considering her leg was still broken.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! My leg!" Papi screamed in pain. She placed her feathers on her leg as she screamed in absolute agony. It was enough to make Kii concerned despite her anger towards the human.
"Papi, I didn't mean..." Said Kii. She meant to swat Papi away but didn't mean to seriously hurt her.
"Papi! Don't do anything more okay? If I knew this would happen, I never would have brought you here! It was irresponsible on my part. I shouldn't have let you come when your leg was still broken."
"But this whole thing is my fault! If I hadn't forgotten about her she wouldn't be so angry! It's my fault just like what happened with Goten! If I never snuck out with Suu, Cell wouldn't have absorbed her and Goten wouldn't have been hurt! I need to stop her!"
"Goten? You know Goten?" Said Kii.
"Yeah, I do! He's my friend too. Every time I think of him, I can't help but feel guilty because I nearly got him killed!" Said Papi.
"N-No... I made a terrible mistake." At this, Kii dropped everyone. She was immediately grabbed by Suu who stretched out her arm like a Namekian to restrain her. Kii found herself unable to escape.
"Wait Suu, I think she gave up!" Said Papi causing the slime to let her go.
"Ugh, not my best moment." Said Zombina.
"Tell me, what happened to Goten." Said Kii.
"I flew out of the house with Suu and while I was kicking a ball around with some kids, this green monster that looked like a cross between an insect and a lizard attacked us and started drinking people! Some of the kid's parents were victims, and then we were next on that things menu. I tried to defend them but when I kicked him, my talon broke and just as he was about to absorb me, Suu got in the way. After that, the guy Goten fought, Beta 1 fought to protect me, and he ended up being eaten. But because of him, I was able to meet 16 and I climbed on his back to get away from the area and he led me to my master. As it would turn out, by the time I got there, Goten had been fighting Cell for a while but he wasn't trying his hardest because he was trying to save Suu and Beta 1 and I just begged him not to kill Suu because she was inside him. I feel guilty because I was so worried about Suu that I wasn't thinking about how much danger Goten was putting himself in by focusing on saving his friends instead of killing Cell." Said Papi.
"That still doesn't answer my question. What happened to Goten? Is he doing alright? He was supposed to visit me but he didn't show up. He didn't forget about me did he?" Kii asked.
To this Suu responded. "No, I don't think he did but during that time, Goten was going through an emergency. Someone needed his help badly, and her life was in danger." Said Suu.
"That's right! Someone did something really awful to one of his friends and he wanted to protect her!"
"I understand now. And you human, are you also a friend of Goten?"
"I am." Said Kimihito.
To this, Kii bowed down apologetically. "I'm sorry. If I knew about your connection to the one who cleaned my forest, I would not have been so hostile."
"It's okay Kii! You thought you were in danger!" Said Papi.
"No, it isn't. I hurt you and you're my friend. I didn't realize your leg was broken. I'm so sorry."
"I forgive you Kii. I wasn't hurt that bad! I'll be fine! I just hope Goten is. As I was saying, Goten was so focused on saving Suu and his friend Beta 1 that he held back against Cell to the point it almost killed him and I didn't help. When he thought he killed Cell for the first time, he felt terrible for thinking he killed Suu but then he came back in a new creepy form. Goten struggled against him and 16 joined in. They teamed up and almost won but Cell came back and destroyed 16's body and then he started eating Goten with his tail. Someone in Smith's squad was able to get him out but his body was all melted. He was dying but he still left to fight that evil monster, Cell." Said Papi. As it would turn out, harpies were very durable. Her leg had been healing up so while it was painful, it didn't cause too much damage."
"Goten is dead?" Kii said shocked.
"No, he's not dead. Somehow he was able to recover. I thought he was a ghost at first but he's alive!" Said Papi.
"So Goten is okay? Thank goodness." Said Kii.
Speak of the devil...
"Oh hey, guys! It's me, Goten! I finally got back from the interview! Man, that was stressful. Anyway, how's everyone doing? Oh hey, Kii! I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Goten, how did you know we'd be here?" Said Kimihito.
"I just followed Suu's energy signature. Her battle power is pretty high now that she absorbed Cell. Speaking of which, I'll make sure how to teach you to use your new power soon." Said Goten before he saw a dismembered woman on the ground.
"Oh... hey Zombina. Fancy weather we're having here right?" He said awkwardly.
Zombina pulled herself back together and got up.
"So it's true. You really are back from the dead. You don't seem undead like me though. Are you an android now?"
"What? No, of course not! You're so silly! Wait actually how would a person know if they're an android or not? I mean I've seen Android 18 bleed before, and she did have a child with Krillin. Well, there's only one way to find out! Hey Suu, can you sense my energy?"
"No, I can't. Suu doesn't know how to sense ki at all."
"Well, that's reassuring," Goten said sarcastically. "If I'm an android now, how long would I live? 17 and 18 were just humans before they became androids and they seemingly never age. My dad once told me that Saiyan's age slowly so they can fight longer, but I'm only Half-Saiyan so I don't know how much that applies to me."
"Well, hey, it's not all bad! Think about it, if you're immortal now, at least I'll be around too! Hahahahaha! I'll still have to take you in for questioning though." Said Zombina.
"Ah, crap. I thought this would happen. Welp, I guess you got me." Said Goten.
"Wait are you seriously just going to throw in the towel? Is this a trick?" Zombina replied.
"Ms. Smith is constantly at Kimihito's house, and the government already knows the identity of Saiyaman X2. I could run away with ease and avoid you guys forever, but I'd feel bad about making Kimihito's house a criminal. Knowing him, he'd have a hard time saying no to me so I'll do it for him. Besides living a life where I'm constantly running or getting away with things because people fear what I'm capable of is not what I'd call living."
"Well, if you say so. Gotta say I'm a bit disappointed. I kind of wanted to spar with the Great Saiyaman X2." Said Zombina.
"How about sparring with Son Goten again? Next time we'll make it worthwhile." Said Goten.
"You're on!" Said Zombina.
Shortly after, Ms. Smith would show up. Papi, Suu, and Kii were standing right next to each other as Smith asked them what happened.
"Well, that was quite an ordeal, but it could have been worse but at least there weren't any casualties. Now then, this must be the girl." Said Smith.
Wait a second! This wasn't her fault! This all happened because she was kidnapped from her own home and taken to an unfamiliar place full of people who looked like her captors. When she found somewhere to stay, people put trash in the woods. I think those people should be punished, not her. She couldn't help it!" Said Kimihito.
"Oh don't be so dramatic. I have no intention to punish her. She obviously wasn't the person who sent that letter. I saw her paperwork. She can't write."
"Oh." Said Kimihito.
"Starting today, Kii will live here in this forest. Don't worry, we'll make sure anyone who dumps trash here will be punished accordingly."
"Of course, if you'd rather go back home, I'm sure we can arrange that. How does that sound?
"If Papi and Suu can come to play with me I don't mind staying here." Kii pointed at Kimihito. "But that guy doesn't have to come."
"Me?" Said Kimihito.
"What did you do? Out with it." Said Smith.
"Nothing, I swear!'
"Oh, and Goten. You're coming with me. We have a lot to discuss."
"Well, I might as well get this over with." Said Goten.
"Wait please don't arrest Goten! He just came back!" Said Papi.
"Think of it as less of an arrest and more of taking him in for questioning. He's not in trouble or at least that isn't my intention but he does have crucial information that we need."
"Hey Papi, it's okay! I'll be back, that's a promise. Whether or not I was in the right, I broke the law so she's within her right to arrest me but something like this won't keep me down ya know? It's just another thing I have to get out of the way. When I come back, we'll play a lot of games and watch a lot of shows together."
"You mean it?"
"Yeah, I do. Because now that I've been given a second chance at life, I'm done waiting for something that might never happen and I'm focused on my life in this world. I have a new life and with a new life comes new goals. If it makes you feel any better, this is only for appearance's sake. They can put cuffs on me, and they could put me in a cell but they can't keep me there unless I choose to stay. If I get locked up, I'm there because I'm choosing to be kept there, so don't worry about me."
"Alright but come back okay?" Said Papi.
"As Goten was taken away to a vehicle, Kii continued to talk to Papi and Suu.
"On the other hand, you two seem to really like that human. I understand you liking Goten because he's one of a kind but he also likes that human to the point of allowing himself to be taken away."
Suu and Papi turned around to face Kii and spoke. "Because he's nice!"
Goten and Smith were on the way to M.O.N HQ.
"So, Mr. Saiyaman himself huh? You really gave us a lot of trouble back there. Well, it's all water under the bridge now especially since you killed Cell and all. I don't know what they're going to do with you but I doubt putting you behind bars would sit well with the rest of the world and especially the public. We could keep it under wraps and charge you in secret but you could always just expose everything once you got out. It wouldn't be smart to deport you given the fact that you possess important information to combat this newly identified threat."
"Once again, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to make your team look bad. It just seemed hopeless because the cops couldn't do their job. Superheroes are the light in the face of hopelessness ya know?"
"Did you do this stuff in your world too?" Smith asked.
"Well yeah, but it wasn't much of an issue. In fact, I even got a bit of a fanbase by fighting crime alongside Saiyaman X1. I had fun beating up those orcs but something was missing. It's not the same without Saiyaman X1." Goten sighed. "I miss him."
"I can only imagine what it's like suddenly being thrown into a world with a different set of rules and where everyone is a stranger. If I could pardon you I would but that decision isn't up to me. Of course, the charge of hurting a liminal is null and void now that we know you aren't fully human. If being half-human was enough to classify you as human, then all Lamias would also be considered human because they need humans to reproduce." Said Smith.
"So got any ideas on what they're going to do? Incarcerating me for a long time won't work for obvious reasons and if you could have deported me back to my home world, I would have given myself up a long time ago."
"I don't have the slightest clue on what they plan to do, but I hope they make the smart decision. Oh, look at that, we're here." Said Smith.
It wasn't long before Goten found himself alone in a room with the police chief.
"That was a dangerous stunt you pulled there! What on earth were you thinking?" Said the chief.
"I was thinking about why the police weren't doing anything. I get that it was a hostage situation and those are always tough, but they weren't inactive because they had hostages, they were inactive because hurting liminals is illegal for humans regardless of circumstance. Where I came from, it didn't matter what species you were, if you were a criminal then the police officers would be within their rights to do their jobs and put that criminal in their place regardless of who or what they were." Said Goten.
"And what would you have done if one of those crooks shot an innocent person?!"
"I had it under control. They tried that but I already destroyed their weapons before their brains could process what I did."
"Are you aware that orcs are physically stronger than us humans? They don't need heavy artillery to do in a human with their bare hands. Now let me ask you again, what would your actions get someone hurt or killed? I'm not asking whether or not you could have stopped it, I'm asking what you would do."
"I-I well... if that did happen, I'd feel awful and it would haunt me for as long as I live." Goten thought deeply about what he'd do in that situation. What if the hostages were somewhere that couldn't be accessed? What if his actions didn't do more harm than good? After a moment of thinking, he was able to put his thoughts together. "But so would standing around doing nothing as people are killed when I know I have the power to stop it without any casualties."
"So, your heart is in the right place, but good intentions don't change the fact that you broke the law. I'm grateful to you for destroying that monster but if I don't say something, then you might go on with your life thinking what you did was okay."
Maybe I was wrong in that situation at the convenience store, but my point still stands. The fact that humans and nonhumans can't defend themselves against each other regardless of circumstances is just a disaster waiting to happen. No, it's even worse because it already has happened! Do you realize how many people take advantage of that law? How many people are forced to just let others take advantage of them because they know they'll be punished if they do something about it? This law is supposedly put in place to help with relations but tell me what a non-human who was taken advantage of by a human think of humanity and was unable to defend themselves because of the law? Tell me would THAT improve relationships?! Oh, what about a mother whose child was murdered by a non-human criminal while the cops just stand by and watch because they know if they follow their sense of justice, they'll just be arrested for that and their own families lives will be put on the line?!" Goten took a deep breath. "And we wonder why liminal trafficking incidents happen so often."
"Son, I hear the passion in your voice so believe me when I say I understand. I was young myself too ya know, and I know you want to help others. I too was disappointed that I was useless against those crooks but M.O.N had the situation completely under control. You may have had things under control at that time but for future reference, you should leave those matters to professionals."
"Yes, M.O.N. had that situation under control and I know that now. I'm not asking to be pardoned for my crimes, do what you gotta do. But before you do that, I'm just going to say it. I know I can't do anything about the law, but I can tell you that it isn't working. If breaking the law is the price of making sure the innocent can live another day, then I'm fine with being a criminal."
The police chief sighed. "You're a minor and that was your first time breaking the law so you won't face any serious charges, but you will answer some more of our questions. Tell you what, if you answer honestly and thoroughly, I'll give you an opportunity. It's up to you if you want to accept. As for what it is, well you can say I have my grievances with the Bill too but the law is the law, and we need to respect that. However, you're a rare case. You're a non-human species, but you're indistinguishable from a normal human. This means if you worked with the police, you could legally harm non-humans, but they wouldn't expect you to be able to. I've seen the footage of your battle with Cell, so I know exactly what you can do."
"So, your idea is to make me into a secret branch of law enforcement that tricks non-human criminals into thinking I can't harm them when I can? Well, normally I'd say that's playing dirty but they're criminals so it's fair game."
"Exactly. I mean you'll have to do the training like everyone else but It's as you say, non-humans and humans alike do take advantage of the law but if the police get involved, they'll be sacrificing their own livelihood. But you on the other hand are a non-human despite looking like a regular human."
"You know I'm still human, right? I may be half-alien but I'm very much still human."
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by that. I meant in the eyes of the law, you're an extraspecies.
"Actually, I have a question. So, I'm an alien, a Saiyan to be exact, but I am also half-human and look human. How would the law apply to me? I can't really be hurt by humans under normal circumstances but hypothetically if one did manage to hurt me, wouldn't it be unfair to charge them for hurting a liminal? I mean assault is a crime in of itself so that would be fair game but how would they know they aren't allowed to harm me?" Said Goten.
"That's a good question son. We'll definitely have to decide something soon. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you told me more about this Red Ribbon Army. Smith filled me in on a lot of the details but you know more about them than anyone so I'd appreciate it if you spoke up about what you know." Said the Police Chief.
Goten would go on to explain everything he knew about the Red Ribbon Army.
"An army of androids huh? If that's what Cell was, then what the hell can we do about them?" Said the chief.
"Actually, I have an idea." Said Goten.
M.O.N HQ
"So, Goten is alive? Thank goodness." Said Tio.
"Yeah, I'm still on the edge about that. I mean we all saw what happened to the poor kid." Said Zombina.
"This again? You still think he's an android?" Said Doppel.
"Well think about it, the guys who are all indestructible are androids and the guy who kidnapped Goten from the hospital was reported to have a mechanical arm but the rest of him wasn't seen. I think that guy was connected to the Red Ribbon Army, but what the heck would they want his body? We know Beta 1 was an android who was formerly human and died. Sorry, I don't mean to be a conspiracy theorist but that's the only way I could see Goten being alive and whole like this. I mean unless you think he's undead like me and even then, we saw that his skin was dissolved and muscles were coming out of what was left of his face!"
"Wasn't Beta 1 also a zombie? If that were the case, Goten would be both a zombie and an android too? I don't understand how Goten would survive either. Are we sure this is Goten?" Said Manko.
"It came as a shock to me, but I can assure you that it was indeed Son Goten." Said Smith.
"So he's in police custody now, right? What are they going to do with him? It's not like locking him up would work and it's not like we can deport him back home. We'd be doing him a favor if we could." Said Manako.
"Actually, they had something else in mind and so did I." Said a familiar voice. It was none other than Goten.
"Everyone was surprised.
"Why are you here?!" Said everyone in surprise.
"Some things happened and we're working together now."
"You? You're a part of M.O.N. now? How did that happen? Wasn't your whole thing that you weren't a fan of the Bill because it was too exploitable?" Said Doppel.
"Yeah, and that still is my thing, but it doesn't matter right now. I don't want to get rid of the Interspecies Exchange Bill, at most I want it to be changed a bit. I do on the other hand want to get rid of the Red Ribbon Army. They've been obsessed with getting revenge on my dad for the longest time and they have a way of rearing their ugly heads. First, they got my dad killed by creating Cell, then they almost got Piccolo killed by making Hedo create Cell Max, and this time I was almost killed by Cell. I just realized how many times they remade Cell. Don't they have any original ideas? Anyway, I'm not a part of M.O.N but I'm sort of a new branch of law enforcement."
"A new branch? Explain." Said Smith.
"I'm Japan's answer to threats like Cell. You see this watch? If you ever run into an android, I'm your man! I'm not the biggest fan of the Interspecies Exchange Bill, that much is true but what can I say? M.O.N saved my life and I want to pay you guys back somehow. If you ever run into something that's too much for you, I'm just around the corner."
Goten turned to Manako and bowed down. "Thank you for saving me from Cell. You have no idea how horrifying that was for me and this time around my dad wasn't here to save me. I was being crushed from all angles, the teeth inside his tail shredded my flesh as I struggled to escape, I felt my skin melting, my blood being contaminated by the poison that was being secreted by his teeth, the digestion process starting, and if it wasn't for the opening you made, and suffocating in there but when you shot off his tail, I saw the light and I was happy. At least then I'd die as Son Goten and not as a part of Cell so again, thank you for saving me!"
Manako became flustered. "Oh, it was nothing! Besides you saved me from Beta 1 a while ago, I couldn't let you be eaten."
"Well, nevertheless I'm grateful and proud of you Manako."
"Yeah Manako, you should be proud of yourself! Goten said it himself, you're a hero!" Said Tio.
"Yeah, you really saved everyone's asses with that stunt you pulled with the big guy. I hope he comes soon. I hear he's still alive and he's joining M.O.N soon. I'd love to see what his guns are packing." Said Zombina.
"Well, if you say so." Said Manako embarrassed at the praise she was getting.
"That's the main reason I'm here. I wanted to see if Android 16 was here so I could ask him a few questions about my world. After my supposed death, I found my place called Black Lily Advanced Materials, and a guy by the name of Mr. President greeted me. He didn't know why my captor brought me there, but he offered me a job opportunity. He wanted me to work as a Superhero and become a spokesperson for whatever reason." Said Goten.
"Well 16 isn't here, but if he does, you'll be the first to know. What did you say to his offer?" Smith asked.
"Mr. Prez offered me a lot. He said it's difficult for liminals to adjust to human society, so his business gives them support for their everyday lives while giving them an easy way to get paid. He offered me a better suit for me with brand-new features, and he even agreed to get me out of any trouble with the government. Even with all that in the end, I still had to refuse."
"Yes, of course, you'd acce- wait you refused?!" Said Smith. She had expected Goten to join him especially given his position on the Interspecies Exchange Bill and the offers he gave to Goten. Smith didn't like Mr. President because he was constantly trying to undermine the Bill and making her job much harder than it needed to be out of spite. They had a bit of a rivalry going on. She was used to him constantly one-upping her one way or another and she thought Goten's point of view would align more with his.
"Yeah, I did. The reason I gave him was because of my mental health which wasn't a total lie but the whole truth is being a superhero has taken its toll on me given recent developments. Reaper or as you know him, Beta 1 dead and I think it's because of something I said when discussing what justice is, and based on what Cell said, Trunks is possibly dead too but I don't know about that. The other reason I refused is because he works with Red Pharmaceuticals, who are my enemies. It's not clear to me if he knows who they really are but I'm not going to risk it. I don't know if I can afford to do the whole keeping your enemies close thing especially since I know I have a better way to go about it. The Red Ribbon Army is my enemy, and they're your enemy too. It makes more sense to work with people I trust and share the same goal with rather than a businessman who knowingly or unknowingly works with a bunch of terrorists."
Smith sighed in relief. "Well, you may not be a superhero anymore but you're definitely my hero. I'm glad you're working with us and not against us."
"You're welcome. Mr. President offered me a hotel to stay in but at night I went back home to see everyone again but before that, I did a little research on Red Pharmaceuticals. All it took was one Google search to find out who and where their headquarters are located. It turns out they're a company in Italy that sells unique drugs. Their most popular drug is Animorphaline and they're developing a drug called Animorphaline X that can transform regular humans into liminals. Oh and they didn't invent that, they stole that idea from a better more successful company in our world. Even their name is probably a ripoff. The company that developed Animorphaline was Magical Pharmaceuticals."
"I also did some digging, and my findings were the same. Now we need to plan our next course of action. We don't have any grounds to go after them especially since their base of operations isn't on Japanese soil."
"Well I know the first step I'm taking and that's to train. They're letting me do training with M.O.N. so I can work with them in the future. They want to set up a team who can take care of androids but sadly I'm the only one who can, so they want me to work with M.O.N. The government is also paying me to do sting operations against non-human criminals. No matter how you slice it, I look human so if a bad guy who happens to be a non-human comes into a room with the intention of harming the innocent, they wouldn't suspect me."
"Hey, that's my thing!" Said Doppel.
"Hehehe sorry about that, but hey two is better than one." Said Goten.
"Isn't that something? What about human criminals though? Humans and non-humans working together is our goal for society but not for crime. Criminal organizations have used humans and liminals working together as a strategy against the law." Tio asked.
"The government realized this and made me specifically an exception to the rule. I can hurt both liminals and humans. This isn't favoritism because I beat Cell but because I could easily be mistaken as an everyday human so it wouldn't be fair to humans and me being a Saiyan and from a different world classifies me as an extraspecies. To avoid complications, I'm allowed to attack any species but in turn, every species is allowed to attack me."
"Um, am I the only one realizing a major flaw in this?" Said Doppel.
"What do you mean Doppel?" Tio asked.
"Is anyone realizing that there's hardly anything that can harm Goten's body? I mean Cell was a special case, but he was a public enemy anyway so it's not like he was going to be tried in a court of law." Said Doppel.
"No, that you think about it, that's right. Goten is nearly indestructible so it being legal to harm him practically means nothing. Though to be fair, there isn't really anything to identify Goten as a nonhuman either." Said Smith.
"Think of it like this. You know how Kimihito is more or less a test subject to see if humans and liminals can get married? Well, I'm kind of like that now except for seeing if the current laws are working. Did you see me on TV by the way?"
All members of M.O.N. shook their heads to say no as neither of them saw the interview live on air. Smith specifically wanted nothing to do with the channel owned by Mr. President.
"I got an interview set up with the help of Mr. President, so I was able to address the public. If you're curious about anything I answered a lot of questions in that interview so you can watch it on your own time. Before that, I talked with Papi and both she and Cerea were right. Cell coming here wasn't my fault, but people did die because of something I did. I couldn't have predicted someone like Cell would absorb a ton of innocent people to surpass me in strength, but I should have put more effort into training. I could have killed Cell when I pinned him against the tree, but I didn't, and even more people died because of that." Goten thought of the interviewer mentioning how her sister was at the concert that Cell came to after he blinded him with the Solar Flare.
"Oh yeah, I remember that! You were brutal out there! You ripped off his tail, you kicked his ass all over the place, blew him to bits and you STILL weren't done with him! You threatened to rip out the rest of his stomach too?! Man, you are something else! Hahahahaha, you can really take a beating too! You were seriously awesome squirt! You were too fast to see most of the time but from what I did see, you were really putting the hurt on Cell! You got nothing to worry about!" Said Zombina who enjoyed the gore provided it was happening to Cell.
"Well thanks for reassuring me but I know what I gotta do. I know where Red Pharmaceuticals is now but I'm not stupid, I know I can't just waltz in there. They have an army of androids and for all I know people are working there thinking it's a legitimate well-meaning business. I need to prepare and to do that, I need to train like I'm up against an army of Cells and I need to do more research before I act."
"That's the spirit Goten! I believe in you! But how are you going to do that? What's your training routine?" Tio asked.
"I get plenty of exercise, I eat... a lot, I practice my techniques usually on mountains or rocks, I fire ki blasts so I can race them and defend against them, and I spar with Trunks or my dad but those last options are out of the question now. I'll train with M.O.N but I also need somewhere to train where I don't have to worry about damaging property. The government knows who I am and what I did since they had access to the hospital records. I was rewarded a large sum of Yen for my service but had to pay for that building I destroyed back when I killed Cell." Said Goten.
"Well, we can work something out. What do you say, Smith?" Tio asked.
"We do have a place, but it's reserved for M.O.N I'm afraid." Said Smith.
"I mean I'd prefer a spacious area anyway. Somewhere I could come back to consistently to get stronger. Wait, now that Suu is pretty powerful now, I can pretty much go anywhere I want without worrying about getting lost. Well, that problem solved itself. I also thought of a brand new way to train. I don't know why I didn't think about it before but by the time I'm done, using Super Saiyan won't be necessary against even the strongest of androids."
"Excellent!" Said Smith.
"I'll do this until the Red Ribbon Army is gone for good. Hey Ms. Smith."
"Yes, Goten?"
"I'm going to train Suu tomorrow. As you know we fought Cell together and if I'm being 100% honest, I wouldn't have won without her. In my normal state, she's actually stronger than me, she just needs to learn how to control her power. What I saw from her was amazing and I can tell she has a lot of potential. Japan is a beautiful place but they don't need me to protect them, they're in capable hands now."
"Where are you going with this?" Smith asked.
"Me? Well I'm just preparing for you know, the day I won't be around." Said Goten.
"What do you mean by that? You don't mean..." Said Tio.
"No, I'm not talking about dying if that's what you're thinking of but I guess what I'm doing would cover that too. Japan is an amazing and beautiful country and It will always be special to me for as long as I live but I won't live forever. I love Japan but It's because I care for Japan that I don't want it to become a country that needs to rely on me to stay safe. I think with Suu around, Japan has a pretty good head on its shoulders. I know she isn't a fighter but I know she'd step up to protect those she cares about. I'm powerful, possibly more powerful than anyone in this world but at the end of the day, I'm just a mortal. I can die just like anyone else, and I know that's a dark thing to say but that was almost a reality for me."
"Heeeeey Goten, what happened to my happy-go-lucky pranking partner? It's not like you to think like this. You're starting to sound like an old man." Said Doppel.
"Old man? You're kidding! Well, I guess it isn't like me to think like this, but having a second chance at life after something that should have killed you changes a man's perspective on many things. I love being a hero but the uncomfortable reality that every hero must come to terms with is that one day their time will end. If you ask me one of the most heroic things a hero can do is make the world into a place that no longer needs them to be heroes."
"Get on with it! You keep talking about this thing you gotta do but what are you talking about?! That talk about not being around anymore is scaring me! What are you saying?!" Said Zombina.
"Please don't tell Kimihito and the others about this, I'll do it myself when I'm ready and it's not something that will happen immediately but you should keep it in mind. Ms. Smith, you're the coordinator so you of all people should know this."
"Out with it then." Said Smith.
Goten let out a heavy sigh but he solemnly smiled and finally said what he had been alluding to. "I've been doing some thinking and it wasn't an easy decision to make but... I'll be leaving Japan soon."