Bringer of Death

Otherworld Saga, Part 1: Into the Light

Otherworld Saga, Part 1: Into the Light

The evening air whipped cooly against Vegeta's face as he streaked skyward. He could hear Cell grunting furiously and straining against his restraints, but the creature's groans seemed muffled and far away. The sun was almost setting over the cratered battleground now, and more and more stars were becoming visible as the prince shot up through the upper layers of the atmosphere—on, bravely and boldly—to whatever mysteries waited on the other side.

There was a surreal note to it all, as if he were already dead. As if the deed had been done aeons ago, and he was only a spectator to the memory. As if this same drama had played out over and over a hundred million times on a hundred million worlds, and he and Cell were merely actors playing their assigned roles.

But a warmth still filled him, warmer and deeper than the hum of energy from the brat. Not even the merest whisper of a doubt had entered his mind; he knew for absolute certain that this was the decision he would make over and over again. He would change nothing. His confidence was complete, his pride vindicated like never before. A smile played on his face, one of relief and satisfaction...and faith.

Then the moment was passed and everything shifted back into focus. His duty was not complete; the explosion had not yet happened. His arms rippled with strength as they contracted more tightly around Cell, a satisfying crunch giving testimony to the way the bio-android's exoskeleton was slowly being crushed. He was in the here and now, awake and alive if only for a few more moments. It didn't matter what happened after, whether he would meet Kakarott after death. He would not let daydreams about the other side cloud his mind, not now when he had so little time left.

"You really think you'll destroy me, Vegeta!?"

Cell's features were now twisted beyond recognition, his throat and face bloated and his voice more monstrous and beastly than it had ever been. Blood poured out of the cracks in his exoskeleton, down over Vegeta's arms. Foam dripped from Cell's mouth and his eyes bulged. "You can't destroy me! I'll come back, just like I always have! You've failed again, stupid prince—I swear it! And when I return, I'll disembowel every person you ever cared about, starting with that blue-haired bitc—"

"—Boom."

Vegeta's last word, whispered with a smile just softly enough to be heard, echoed through Cell's ears. Fear gripped the monster, and his face revealed an instant of panic which the prince found perfectly and completely satisfying. It lasted for a split second, and then overwhelming red-gold light engulfed and enveloped it and washed it away.

'It is finished,' Vegeta thought. The glorious roaring brilliance gave way to darkness, and the darkness accepted him as gently and calmly as if he were merely slipping into a long and peaceful slumber.

The intense golden light from Vegeta's final blast blanketed the entire landscape. To the Z Fighters, it was as if they had emerged suddenly from a dark room into a bright summer afternoon. They closed and covered their eyes, but it wasn't enough—the image had already been burned into their vision. After what seemed like forever, the deafening roar of thunder reached them and rushed out across the horizon with a rumble that went on and on in their ears even after it had subsided.

Gohan could feel his heart pounding in the left side of his chest, racing at such speeds that he could hardly block out its thumping. His ears were hot, his vision still blurry, but as he looked up into the canopy above he just glimpsed the last flicker of orange vanish. No one needed ask him, nor ask each other—they all began immediately to reach out with their senses. The boy emptied his mind and closed his eyes, extending his consciousness outward as he searched. From the smoke trails that loomed on the horizon to the smell of singed earth and sky, he felt it all. Diligently the boy searched, forced his mind to linger on every small detail—Cell would not escape him this time. When no disruption was felt, he and the other Z fighters turned their eyes skyward, to the silent sentinels above.