Notes: Well, it's certainly been awhile. Unfortunately, I have a bit of habit of leaving stories for large amounts of time and focusing upon others. Not to say that this story isn't important, I just needed to regain some of my inspiration. Personally, I'm not really fond of this chapter, but I do hope it's found enjoyable. As for the reason I seem to be skipping around (since the last chapter revealed a new persona and focused upon Faye's dreams), it's a bit of habit of mine. I don't like to keep the focus of the story upon one person for too long and this is a Dragon Ball Z story after all.
Things will start to come together soon and since I'm getting a little tired of exposition there will be fighting, all in good time. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z and its respective characters are the property of Akira Toriyama.
Chapter 10: Kogishunjun
To say that things were tense would have been a vast understatement. After Goku had used his teleportation in an effort to confront Cell, he had returned unexpectedly and with an unfamiliar passenger in tow.
Piccolo gazed at the new arrival, a scrawny, scratched female, warily. The emerald-skinned Namek-sei-jin had never been one to understand Son Goku, but his bringing a strange human to Kami's Palace was mystifying at best.
Gohan was obviously equally bemused and unlike his mentor, chose to express it.
"Daddy? What's going on?" The young Saiya-jin approached his father curiously. "Who is she?"
As though then becoming aware of the unconscious girl who threatened to collapse at his feet, Goku hastily scooped her into his arms.
"It's kind of a long story." He admitted uneasily. "Gohan, could you ask Mr. Popo if there's someplace to put Faye until she wakes up?"
Gohan nodded and stretched out his arms. Goku nimbly deposited Faye into them, then smiled slightly.
"And will you stay with her too? She was pretty scared about teleporting and will probably be upset when she comes around. It'll be a lot better if she sees you."
"Sure." Gohan replied determinedly. He didn't like being left out, but knew that he'd most likely be filled in later. Carrying Faye as though she weighed nothing, the young Saiya-jin walked away.
His usually easygoing expression full of resolve, Goku turned to the other Z-Senshi…
"…And that's all of it." Goku finished seriously. He glanced expectantly at those assembled, apprehensive of their reactions.
Piccolo was first to speak, his stoic expression unaltered. "Do you have any proof of the girl's story being true? Have you actually seen this supposed ability in action?"
Goku frowned. "Well…not exactly." He paused, his expression becoming thoughtful. "But Cell killed so many people, what other reason could he have had for sparing her? She also seemed very serious when she asked me to kill her."
"Still," Tenshinhan argued. "This could all be just another way for Cell to manipulate us. He's done so before."
The Z-Senshi became silent, their thoughts clearly on Vegeta and the disastrous results of his hubris-fueled folly.
Goku's eyes widened as a new realization dawned upon him. "Wait a minute, that's it! Everything Faye said has to be true. Cell would have been here a long time ago, but his ki hasn't moved an inch since we arrived."
"I don't like this." Piccolo spoke gruffly, crossing his arms in front of him. "First the appearance and almost instantaneous disappearance of the strange ki and now this girl, who claims to share a physical connection with Cell. Yet she has no knowledge of how it came into existence."
"There's no doubt of both things being related." Tenshinhan responded. "But the real question, is what do we do now?"
"What do you mean?" Goku asked, his confusion apparent.
"As long as the girl is here, she's a liability to Cell." Piccolo observed. "All that would be necessary to end his life is her death and that knowledge makes him more dangerous than ever."
"But we're not going to kill her." Goku spoke matter-of-factly. "And Cell knows that."
Tenshinhan's three eyes narrowed. "We also can't spend our time baby-sitting her. Sooner or later, she's going to wake up and Cell is going to come and get her."
"What about using the Dragon Balls to try and break the connection between them?" Trunks suggested.
"That isn't an option. Three wishes or not, they might all become necessary over the course of the next few days. We can't take the chance of being unprepared."
The Z-Senshi became silent once again as Piccolo's stark explanation sunk in. It was a paradox, the quick and easy way to destroy Cell forever and they were unable and unwilling to use it.
"Whatever we decide," Trunks began uncomfortably. "We'll have to tell my father. He's so absorbed in the idea of making Cell pay for beating him and regaining his honor, there's no telling what he would do."
"I wouldn't put it past Vegeta to want to see the connection between Faye and Cell for himself." Tenshinhan muttered darkly.
"Neither would-" Unable to continue, Piccolo winced and clutched his large ears tightly. He clenched his fangs together unconsciously against the pain that assaulted his acute hearing.
"Piccolo-" Goku began, but the Namek-sei-jin cut him off with a growl.
"Your bright idea about Gohan keeping her calm when she awakened was a failure, Son."
Goku's eyes widened slightly. "That bad, huh?"
The sudden sound of things crashing was soon accompanied by a terribly piercing shriek. Goku, Tenshinhan and Trucks glanced at one another, while Piccolo finally regained his bearings.
"Does that answer your question?" He inquired sarcastically.
Amidst the rolling dust and arid wind, a lone form awakened. While most would have stirred or coughed amongst the soil, the figure stood immediately, taking a moment or two to stretch his limbs. His time spent in slumber had been an enlightening, if not perplexing experience.
Cell had only dreamed twice in his life. First while I his larval stage in as he traveled in the time machine belonging to Trunks and also when he had arrived in the present time and had gone into hiding while his body evolved once again to his first Imperfect form.
In an effort to shake the aftereffects of his memories, Cell fixed his gaze upon the area around him and the food he had dropped in his descent, callously. He had gone to a great amount of trouble in the acquisition of the provisions, only to have it be put to waste. Faye had taken advantage of his disappearance to escape with Son Goku.
For how could the "noble" Saiya-jin resist the plight of a young woman in the clutches of the "evil" Cell?
The thought caused the android to make a sound of derision. Judging from observation, it couldn't be difficult to mislead Goku, especially in matters concerning an "innocent" person. Even one who had made her own trouble with foolish decisions and who deserved the repercussions that came along with them.
Even now he could sense her ki, weak and feeble as it normally was. Cell surmised that Faye had fainted during her departure, thereby providing more unwanted evidence of their loathsome connection.
Cell wasn't surprised however, to find himself still living. As humiliating as it was, his existence depended solely upon the sacrifice of Faye's life, something the Z-Senshi would not use to their advantage.
Still… Cell darkly mused. There is always Vegeta. And as much as he deludes himself into believing he can defeat me, he may be petty enough to try and utilize Faye to hinder me.
It was something he couldn't permit to happen.
With swift consideration, Cell evaluated several courses of action, before settling upon one that appealed to him. Rather than tracking Faye's ki and taking her from Goku by force, he could appeal to the Saiya-jin's Achilles' heel, his pathetic sense of morality and compel him to relinquish Faye on his own accord.
Cell smirked iniquitously, while powering up his ki. His plan would show Goku the extent of his limitations and prove to Faye the detail she seemed unwilling to believe, that there was no escape from him.
With that pleasant thought in mind, Cell took to the air. The was a certain television studio he felt a great interest in visiting…