Bringer of Death

Tournament Saga - Part 14: Mersisse Imperfectionem

Tournament Saga - Part 14: Mersisse Imperfectionem

Just minutes earlier...

Pain. Eviscerating, unbearable pain.

Cell lay facedown in the dirt, not quite sure how he had even gotten to where he was. One moment he had been charging an Ultra Kamehameha, furiously intent on destroying the planet; the next moment he was smashed into the ground with a kick so violent and forceful he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

In fact, the kick had instantly paralyzed him, leaving him completely helpless. The blow that came moments later—Gohan's knee crushing his spine—had only added to his injuries.

Had the two blows been sustained elsewhere on his body, such as his chest or stomach, they would have likely rearranged his insides. Aimed at his head, they could have caused permanent brain damage. But the impacts to his spine completely immobilized him. It was only with great force of will that he had managed to maintain consciousness at all.

He was doing everything he could to jumpstart his regeneration, but it was slow going. The shock from Gohan's attacks had reverberated through his body like seismic waves, leaving his nervous system barely functioning. Nevertheless, he focused with everything he had, trying to repair his damaged spine as quickly as possible.

Each second stretched on like hours, making his plight harder and harder to deny. With each wave of pain came the chilling cancer of fear, thrumming in the back of his mind. Worst of all, his mind was working overtime: calculating, analyzing, trying to somehow make sense of it all. That's when the horrible realization came.

He wasn't perfect.

It was a matter of simple logic, really. If he was perfect, he would be winning. He wasn't winning. Therefore, he wasn't perfect. The truth was as undeniable as it was infuriating.

How could Gero's masterful design have failed before the power of a mere child—a child who couldn't even maintain control over his own emotions? Could it be that his "perfection" was nothing more than the idle scheming of a crazed scientist—an imperfect fool, deluded into madness? What if true perfection didn't even exist!? Was his place in the universe mere chance? No, it couldn't be—perfection was all he had ever believed in, his one purpose for existing. Everything in his mind and soul fought against the idea, pushing it away. Surely perfection did exist, somewhere out there—even if it wasn't him, it certainly wasn't this Saiyan brat either.

But...if he was not perfect...perhaps it was only because he had not yet fully realized his own potential. He wanted to believe, to have faith that perhaps Doctor Gero really had been able to design perfection. What if there was more? What if Gero had intentionally left the last step of perfection out of those recordings Cell had listened to as a tiny embryo, intending the final level to be a test? Was there yet some hidden truth to be found, a final step to achieving perfect unequaled greatness?

With every passing second, he regained more of his energy, his regeneration working faster and faster. Still, he lay motionless, not yet daring to show any signs of recovery. This was his test, the great trial of his life. He had to figure something out immediately or he would be finished. Even if by some miracle he could discover a hidden truth to gaining more power, the chances of him actually being able to get away from Gohan in order to attain it were miniscule. Still, he knew it was his only hope, the last opportunity. He let his deepest instincts take over, reasoning that if nothing else, his own design to seek perfection might possibly provide him some insight. His mind raced as he listened to the hated Z Fighters beginning to celebrate his defeat.

"That was amazing, Gohan! I can't believe it's finally over."

...Krillin.

The short little monk, ever optimistic and stubborn, had been a terrible thorn in his side. Through some inconceivable trick of fate, the miserable human had become far more powerful than his companions, gaining the strength of the cyborgs and pushing even further. Cell knew Krillin had been given a spare energy module obtained from Gero's lab. That damned woman, Bulma, had managed to turn the monk into a cyborg just like 17 and 18.