The Last Fight

6

The End: Well everyone, this is it…the final chapter. I thank Thomas Drovin and queenKathBallZ for their replies—I appreciate it :D And my confession to everyone is that I had this chapter written right after uploading chapter 9—so those who predicted, well, let's see if you're right or not ;) Just for a little trivia, the part where Cell had been…stabbed? by those spikes or whatever was an idea I got from Sailor Moon, actually. I remember an earlier episode where that happened to one of the bad guys…and the whole draining-of-the-energy thing was from that episode. And I haven's seen Sailor Moon in years…wow. Also, it was noted that Cell said "Let go of my boy" in a review…yes, he said that for the reason you thought. The "my" was the important part. That line is actually from Free Willy, at the very end when the foster father says it. I just recently saw that movie, so I thought it fit well. (Good movie, btw…)

I do plan at some point to write Sasara's point of view for this story; I feel that since all of the stories in this series were basically giving Layrial or Sasara's view that the last one should as well. I think Cell's was interesting, though.

And not that I'm promoting, but I am going to be working on a new story all together—still Cell—but its going to be taking on a different theme. Yes, romance, drama, etc. but I think it'll be a different twist :)

Anyway, enjoy this one. I doubt there will be a sequel, but I've been saying that for what…two years now? Ha. Please review, as always, and tell me how you liked the story as a whole…and just for haha's, which of the 6 was your favorite :)

Take care! Best wishes :)

Chapter 10: Clemency

"Stay in line! Follow the spirit in front of you! Next!"

I watched as a line of what looked like small bouncing clouds lined themselves up along a very long and narrow path. I stood off to the side; my dread of what I knew was coming ringing in the back of my mind.

"Back again, are ya?" A nasty blue ogre smirked. "Been a while, though! Guess you just couldn't stay away, eh?"

"Shut that over-sized hole in your face," I spat. "You detest me."

"Big talk from someone who's dead again and heading off to Hell for what—the fifth time?" He laughed. "Give me your hands. You know the drill, Cell."

I knew from previous experiences that resisting this wretched person was useless. Upon my first arrival in Other World I had done just that—fought him, tried to kill him, moved to escape. Before I knew it there were half a dozen oversized ogres on top of me, holding me in such a bind that I was humiliated into giving up.

I held out my arms for him to slap on—which he did harder than necessary—the glowing green handcuffs. They were specially designed for someone like me who was deemed as highly dangerous. They prevented anyone who wore them from powering up; as far as I understood they were indestructible. The one time I tried to fight them I was zapped with an electric force that was rather embarrassing to admit almost hurt.

Once the lock was set I let my arms fall in front of me. The nameless ogre laughed again and pushed me off the edge of the platform to put me in line. Two escorts appeared behind me to make sure I did not try to run off. They did not have to worry this time; I was not going to try any attempts of escape. Regardless of how hard anyone did try to get out, they were still dead and could not return to where they had come. It would only be a matter of time before he or she appeared in Hell. Those destined for Heaven were unlikely to resist.

I waited in line for hours. It was a long and tedious process. Everyone from the universe that died appeared in this line, regardless of how they perished. Those who had power, a fighting ability so-to-speak, were allowed to keep their bodies as if being honored for their strength. Those who were commoners turned into those pathetic little clouds I became surrounded by.

Two came bounding up beside me, bouncing around like little maniacs. One was pushed by the other and bumped into me. I looked down, my expression unflattering I'm sure. Both clouds squealed and dodged forward. Since they were faceless and their language made no sense to me, I could not understand the reactions. I'm sure being in my own body was enough to scare them off.

Finally the Other World Welcome Center appeared in the distance. I sighed to myself, which only made my two escorts snicker to the other. One pushed me to move ahead, knowing full well they could boss me around for a while longer since I could not attack them back. The ogres stationed in Hell knew better than to come after me, but I would not even harass them—or at least for now. I knew it was completely against my nature to allow such treatment to myself, but I did not care. I suppose you could say I was depressed that I was once again dead, failed in everything I attempted to do, and by the time I realized what I really wanted I was far too late to get it.

"NEXT!"

"That's you, bug man!" The red ogre pushed me forward.

I gave him a loathing stare as I moved forward and away from his grasp. I absolutely despised the ogres in this wretched pit. But alas, I would get to spend eternity staring at their ugly faces and be forced to inhale their disgusting odors.

"Hands!"

"I am right here, you don't need to shout," I spat.

"Just keep moving, we don't have all day, android," he said as he released my wrists from the cuffs.

Once again I was shoved forward through the large doorway into the single monstrous room of the welcoming center. The person in charge was called King Yama—an absurdly oversized ogre the size of a twenty-story building. He sat at a desk built to fit him, a wooden hammer in one hand, and a pen in the other hovering over a large book.

"Alright, who's next?" His voice boomed through the room.

I stood there, arms crossed, my eyes focused on nothing in particular but looking as if I was staring off to the side.

"Oh no, Cell again?" He said with a large sigh. "No question on your destination." He raised the mallet to give the order, but I heard nothing.

My eyes snapped out of their staring into space and I glanced up at him. A rather small ogre in a shirt and tie and thick glasses hovered on a cloud next to Yama's ear, whispering something. I waited, wondering what the hold up was. The faster to Hell, the better, so I could get out of this stuffy room.

"Figures…change of plans," Yama said glaring at me, eyes wide and surprise clearly hitting him hard. "The Supreme Kai wants to see you. What you did to earn such an honorable merit I can't even imagine—your record still isn't clean for this latest life you had."

"I beg your pardon?" I said, my own face drawing an expression of astonishment.

"Move along!" The red ogre escort boomed suddenly from behind me. I followed the invisible trail laid before me towards a side room I never noticed existed before. The doorway was small compared to the rest of the place—obviously not intended for Yama.

The ogres stood to the side, leaving me to enter the normal sized room on my own. I moved past them, holding my breath so I did not have to smell the reek of their body. I couldn't possibly imagine who the hell the Supreme Kai was, nor did I care. He would offer me nothing of interest, if that is what I was moving towards. Although perhaps since I had died so many times it was time for them to exterminate me so I could not, by some strange chance, be revived only to die again.

"Good afternoon, Cell," a smooth voice said from the side. "I believe you may remember me—my name is Kaioshin."

My vision focused to the less bright room to see a purple man with a mass of white hair coming towards me. Immediately I recognized the person, dressed in his regal-like outfit. "What do you want?" I asked with an annoyed response.

"Well," he stared, "I'm aware of what happened on Earth yesterday."

"Yesterday, huh?" I said, unaware of the time-lapse. "Your Other World is slowing down—it usually only takes me half a day to get to Hell when I die."

"Your body was kept dormant for a while when you died," he said. "I was given a suggestion by a fellow Earthling that I had to think about before making a move."

"Get to the point," I said. "I'm not in the mood for games."

"Patience," the Kaioshin said. "You would rather hurry off to Hell?"

"It's where I'm destined to go so there is no reason in delaying," I replied. "What do you want from me?"

"I want nothing," he said with a small smile. "I merely have an offer for you, if you will hear it." When I did not open my mouth again, he took that as a go-ahead to continue. "Gohan came to me after your battle with Nezule, not long after you died. He told me of what happened and of whom you were protecting."

"Good for him," I drawled. "Nezule, however, was not a threat to planet Earth, so why you are interested is beyond me."

Kaioshin tried to hide the frown from my words that obviously was getting to him a bit. "I am aware of that. I know, however, that your treatment of the situation was based more on a personal level. I realized upon first meeting you in person that you had somehow found it within yourself to protect the life of a human woman—if I'm not mistaking two at the time? According to Gohan, you still protect one of them and you even had a son with her."

"By chance," I said.

"I know the story, actually," he told me. "After hearing about Gohan's suggestion I wondered how it was possible you had a human son. I looked up your file."

"My what?"

"Your file," he repeated. "You as well as any other spirit have a file that is kept on their life. Yours is unusually long because of your multiple deaths and revivals, although I do believe Goku holds the record on file length. I saw what happened to you some years ago—your human experience. You actually saved a large population of people then as well."

"What is your point, Kai?" I said, my arms tensing across my chest with the time it was taking him to tell me the offer.
"I offer you the chance to live once again—your last chance at life," he said. "And this time, I will revive you myself. The suggestion given to me was not to restore you, however, as you are now. I will grant you humanity."

I laughed and turned away from him, tempted to return to Yama and have him finally send me to Hell. "You're wasting my time."

"Am I?" Kaioshin replied. "As far as I see it, you want to be alive again and fix what you have broken—namely your relationship with Sasara and Satoru."

The names being spoken from behind nearly sent a shiver down my back. How he was able to dig out thoughts that were…nearly word for word…made me sick to my stomach. The fool had the ability to read minds. However, I shook my head. "They are better off without the likes of me. I attract danger, much like Goku did."

"Goku is a different story, though," said Kaioshin. "You're an android and can alter your form. Goku is a Saiyan, destined to always be one therefore never being able to hide himself. You have the qualities of humans, Saiyans and others in your genes. You already saw that you could transform into a human with certain magical properties added. I'm going to allow you to do it again and live out the rest of your life with those I know deep down you love, whether you admit it to yourself or not."

I stood there, shocked to no end that this was happening to me. In a way I would love to see the look on Dr. Gero's face if he could hear what was being offered to his greatest achievement, his perfect android.

The memories of my existence came flooding back so quickly, it was as if I was downloading them. I clearly remember my first steps on solid ground, hunting humans everywhere to suck up their bioextract so I could become strong enough to combine Androids 17 and 18 into my being. I stole Trunks' time machine and went to the past to find those androids; I succeeded and gained my perfect form. I created the Cell Games…met Layrial…

Meeting her was the detour. Had I destroyed her like the rest of her TV crew I never would be standing here in the presence of this so-called god, being offered a chance to return to Earth to live out a human life with Layrial's daughter and grandson. Damn that woman for tempting me—damn her daughter for succeeding in making me succumb to temptation.

"What will it be Cell?"

My brain raced quickly. It should be a no-brainer, as some would call it. Should I return to Earth as a human? Would my life be better? Or will I be completely bored and hate myself for eternity for choosing that path?

"Will I still have my powers?" I asked suddenly.

"Most," Kaionshin replied. "Obviously ones that were unique to others that you had embedded in your cells will not follow you, such as your regenerative strength. But you will still have your fighting skills and such. You will probably take a power decrease though since your body will not be able to physically hold it—or at least at first."

So I would have some of my power…but I would not be the same. If I said yes, I would become human—the very creature I said I would destroy, the very being I said I hated with every living cell in my body. Yet if I turn this down and walk away…I would never see her again…

"Cell? You have to make up your mind," Kaioshin said. "It's either humanity or eternity in Hell."

I turned to this Supreme Kai, my mind settled. I looked at my chalky white hands, black fingernails, green-speckled arms. I had worked so hard to achieve what I had become and now…I was going to be just like everyone else that I fought against on Earth.

"I accept your offer," I said softly.

"Very well," Kaioshin said, a smile creeping along his purple face. "I think that was the best choice."

"Shut up and change me before I decide to just go to Hell," I scoffed.

I ignored his hand as it raised and pointed towards me. I felt the shift taking place immediately, my wings retreating into my shoulders, the crest on my head shrinking, my feet adding toes. It did not feel the same as I did last time I became human; this time wasn't as…unpleasant.

When I opened my eyes I saw brightness all around me, grass and trees ahead and a blue sky above. I looked around and saw no one around me. I was alone. I raised my hand to eyelevel and saw the peach skin, my arm covered in a black sleeve. As I looked over the rest of my human body I noticed the Kai had dressed me in a black shirt, blue pants, and white shoes. I was human once again. This time, however, I felt my full power instead of feeling feeble and worthless to my purpose.

I couldn't resist the temptation to power up, my blood rushing through me as I built up my energy, a gust of wind swirling around my body, my hair whipping against my face. It felt incredible to be alive again and to be returned with my power. I felt it was as the Kai said it might be; I had taken a cut, but it was not as dramatic as I feared it could have been.

There was one last task now. I had to locate Sasara's new home. I leapt into the air and flew towards Eastern City, feeling it was the best bet to start looking. As I traveled over the landscaping I came across a lake. I swept down to take a look at my reflection. I looked the same as I did the first time I was human—same eyes as I always had, black hair and a narrow face. Despite the human characteristics, I could see I was the same.

Finding Sasara was not as difficult as I thought it could have been. I had an inkling that she would not have moved too far from her first location. In fact, she moved only a few kilometers away. I detected Satoru's energy, thus being able to be sure of their location.

I landed on the ground in the front yard. Their house was on a large piece of land, the nearest neighbor perhaps a kilometer away. It was no larger or smaller than the old, which made me wonder why she bothered to move in the first place. I did not care. I had found her.

As if fate planned this meeting, the front door opened. She stepped out onto the stoop, a bag slung over her shoulder suggesting she was going somewhere. "Stay here and be good," she said to whom I assumed was Satoru inside. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

She moved forward, closing the door behind her; her head came up and her eyes immediately locked on me standing before her. The keys fell from her hand; the house door slowly fell open again. It took several moments for her to stare at me before she moved again. "I can't believe it…"

"Neither can I," I said to her. And as if that were her cue, she dropped her bag and ran over to me, jumping into my arms. I held her possessively, feeling the first fleet of humanity washing over me. I looked over her shoulder to see Satoru opening the door further, a smile appearing across his face. Upon seeing him now, I saw how much he resembled me.

"How did--?" Sasara started, but I put my hand to her mouth gently.

"Lets just say this was one fight I didn't mind losing," I replied and looked ahead to see my son running for us. Over thirty years of being an android and fighting to destroy everything that lay in my path, I had created something that I now saw was more important than I gave credit for. Now I see why Goku and Vegeta lived as they did—it gave them true meaning.