Bringer of Death

Otherworld Saga, Part 3: You Only Live Twice

Otherworld Saga, Part 3: You Only Live Twice

Sections of Otherworld, most notably the check-in station, shook violently from Cell's release of energy. Yemma—having flipped backwards in his chair, rolled, and slammed into the back wall—rubbed his head and brushed the thick black hair from his eyes. Gero's monster floated jovially above the red rug in front of Yemma's desk, eyeing the great judge from beneath its surface. A second later, the being launched the mahogany desk flying with another kiai, its massive frame threatening to flatten Yemma like a pancake.

Pikkon was first to act, the two Saiyans having been caught off guard staring at one another in an uncharacteristic state of indecision. The green warrior bolted in front of the work desk, dodging the airborne giant phone and flower pot along the way, and then divided the piece of furniture in half with a glowing kick.

"My—my desk..." Yemma gaped, staring wide-eyed. His precious mahogany desk was now nothing but splinters.

Without any further hesitation, both Super Saiyans teleported over beside Pikkon, barring the way between Cell and the Ogre boss. Cell only smiled at them, the blue tendrils of electricity around him cracking the yellow tile of the floor and beginning to lick their way up the walls.

"Go on, then. Try and stop me," Cell chuckled.

Again without any warning, Pikkon charged, leaving the Saiyans behind. Whether completely uninterested in dialogue or merely hoping to take his opponent by surprise, the alien fighter unleashed a flaming kick at the monster. Cell allowed the blow to strike his chest directly, absorbing the attack as if it were nothing but a flea bite. But the West Quadrant's warrior quickly redoubled his strikes, increasing power and speed as he attacked. He was immediately joined by Goku and Vegeta, whose added presence seemed to suddenly give them an edge.

Goku hammered Cell from behind, enabling Pikkon to kick him out of the steadily crumbling check-in station. Vegeta was there waiting, a sphere of gold energy charged in his hand which he thrust into Cell's face. The detonation launched Gero's monster backwards, causing him to tumble into the endless line of pillowy souls outside. White wisps were scattered into the air as if a bomb had gone off, throwing them in every direction. But Cell's retaliation came swiftly, much more so than Pikkon had expected—he was gone before anyone noticed.

"Really?" Cell chuckled, zipping unnoticed right behind Pikkon. "Don't tell me you're unable to follow my movements—I'm only just warming up."

Without replying, Pikkon swung his arm to the left in a powerful chop. Wind whirred with his strike, but Cell caught the blow by blocking with a single finger.

"Come now, are you unable to sense my overwhelming power? You're completely outmatched." The monster laughed, vanishing a second later just before the two Saiyans arrived. The three turned to find Cell standing nearby on the nose of Snake way, just between its nostrils. Confident as he looked, arms crossed, black wings folded down behind his legs, the bio-android was secretly deep in thought.

'I cannot allow this skirmish to drag on. They may no longer have the means to permanently contain me within Hell, but if they send me back there I'll lose my strength. Not to mention, I can't deny that Vegeta's full power may exceed my own—I'll have to be crafty to keep him from powering up for as long as possible. My best option at the moment may actually be escape. Once safe, I can learn out more about my situation and find an opportunity to exploit.'

Above the crafty bio-android, the others paused as well.

"It seems I may have acted prematurely," Pikkon began, examining Cell more closely this time. "Tell me, Goku: you've fought this creature before. Just what are we dealing with?"