PART TWENTY SIX: SINISTER CREATIONS

Chapter 130

Translated by npberryhill

Pan sped through the hallway, dashing to the apartment. She could tell from her father’s face how serious the situation was, realizing that her mother was in danger — and she wouldn’t allow it. With the Nyoibō in hand, she burst through the door, senses on the alert.

“Mom!”

It was an immediate relief when she saw her mother safe and sound, though out of breath — the assailants were bruised and beaten, lying on the ground amongst the debris. Videl had one of them pinned to the ground, arm twisted behind as he grumbled in pain, cursing.

“Son of a bitch!”

“Oh, darling,” Videl exclaimed, turning to her daughter and smiling.

“Mom, are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?”

“Yeah, sweetie, I’m fine. Can’t say the same for these four. I tried teaching them a lesson, but they just kept getting back up — brings back some bad memories...”

Just the thought of Spopovitch was enough to make her cringe. It was the worst beating she’d ever received bar none, a brutal memory even years later. The bald Majin’s unnatural endurance extended past even having his neck broken, and these foes on the floor had the same dark hateful eyes. They were monsters, all of them...

She was pulled out of her reminiscence by a thud. Pan had became a Super Saiyan and KO’d one of the attackers, who during her thoughts had gotten back to his feet and was preparing to attack again. This time, with the young Saiyan’s attack, he was decidedly unconscious.

“There!” exclaimed Pan. “He won’t be getting up again.”

The sound of footsteps entering came from the corridor, the two turning defensively, but it was only Uub wearing a surprised look. He relaxed upon seeing the situation resolved and the girls safe.

“Master Goku asked me to lend you a hand, but it looks like you’ve got it covered.”

One of the attackers pushed themselves up and rushed at him, screaming in rage. Uub merely blocked and landed a gentle tap in his foe’s face that sent him spinning in the air.

“Watch out, Uub! They might be weak, but they keep getting back up!” Videl warned, tightening her grip on the Majin’s arm.

Nearby, the man Pan had knocked out began groaning, awakening already. Using one of his borrowed techniques from Gotenks, Uub shot a galactic donut that ensnared each of the four intruders — adding a touch of his own magic to bolster the restraint. Scream as they might, none was able to free themselves in any way. Uub’s magic prevented them from launching even an attack — something he found to be quite useful.

A surge of cheering from the arena caught their attention, then gasps. The match was apparently turning, and perplexed as they were they refocused on their situation.

“Nice work, Uub, thanks,” Videl said, wiping her forehead with her sleeve. “I don’t know what drove them to attack, but I think I have an idea...”

Her mind suddenly blanked, as if she was just on the verge of a thought and then couldn’t find the right word. Uub’s expression mirrored the same sensation as did Pan’s, each of them suddenly suffering from the same symptoms. Hidden in the universe 11 apartments, Babidi himself was at work, casting an incantation to remove any evidence tying himself to back this unfortunate failure. He was especially careful to erase any record of how they’d shown unnatural levels of endurance, such as Spopovich had. No one could find out about that for sure, and it concerned him enough that Videl had been familiar with the abilities he endowed his slaves with. The last thing he wanted was having universe 18 on his back — their hearts were too pure to manipulate, so he’d have to settle for wiping their minds...

Pan turned to her mother with a curious expression, waiting on her to continue, when a large thudd sounded from the arena. Cries of disgust and enthusiasm followed and the three members of universe 18 hurried through the doorway, curious. Uub dragged the intruders behind him, not realizing that their memories had been altered as well...

A bit earlier, while Pan and Uub were still inside the apartments, the clash of titans Hildegan and Giant Cell was shaking the asteroid. The perfected android had repeatedly knocked the idol to the ground, but with each powerful blow the damage seemed to vanish almost instantly from Hildegan’s body.

It was becoming more and more frustrating to Cell, dealing with a seemingly invincible opponent, and it didn’t help that Vegetto of all people had cheered him on. The fused Saiyan’s arrogance was unbearable, and was distracting him from finding a way to defeat the monster. Even more infuriating were how the behemoth’s blows were nothing, Tapion’s beast was nothing but a minor nuisance — though perhaps, he’d simply become too strong. Maybe such a creature would’ve posed him some problem if he was back at the same level he’d been at the Cell Games, and this was just further proof of how far he’d come.

Cell had caught on to a few key components, however. By landing a blow against the behemoth’s torso, he could make physical contact — unlike any piercing or energy attacks, which triggered the smoke process. If he could catch Tapion’s beast unaware, perhaps he could get in a piercing blow without the creature vanishing. Cell was, after all, composed of some of the most brilliant strategic fighters... he took pride in his ability to overcome obstacles through well-designed tactics.

“Tsss, this is getting annoying!” Cell cried, scheming inwardly. “Only one of us is getting out of this match alive, understand? Take this!”

The behemoth roared in anger, provoked by the bait, and attacked the android. Cell tilted his head to the side to avoid the enemy’s fist before immediately planting a barrage of blows in the monster’s abdomen. These were in preparation to sell his facade, as he pulled his fist back again for an even stronger blow. He swung, at the last second extending his fingers from closed to open just before he reached Hildegan’s chest. They sliced into the behemoth just below the right shoulder, squirting purple blood out the wound. Tapion’s monster wailed from the pain, Cell smirking all the while. His arm suddenly began expelling heat, glowing red-hot as he cooked the flesh of Hildegan from the inside. The hiss of steam shot out of the wound as the idol writhed in pain, then fell to one knee blinded by its suffering.

Laughing with a cruel satisfaction, Cell increased the temperature of his body more and more. The tortured cries of the demon idol resounded throughout the arena, some spectators looking away, some transfixed at the spectacle unfolding before them. Many of the participants, particularly those of the 12th, 16th, 18th, and 19th, grimaced in disgust at the perversity. Dr. Raichi patted his knee nervously, concerned for the young man he’d grown to care for. It astonished him that, in his hatred for Saiyans, he’d become blind to the fact many other creatures could be just as wild and monstrous as the primates. Over on the Universe 7 balcony, Gast leaned against the wall as usual, arms crossed. Yet, the look of disgust curling in the corner of his left lip was unmistakable. The Kaioshins, who had gone past the stage of aversion, openly protested the horror. Grand Kaioshin himself glanced towards his supposed prisoner with repulsion, as Buu was snickering at the sight.

Tapion felt himself suffocating in the furnace that was burning inside their shared body, as he was feeling the same excruciating pain Hildelgan was enduring. But a thought crossed his mind, thinking that if he could focus his mind he might be able to help flood his monster’s mind with good vibes that might stem the pain. He connected himself to the creature, trying to make it feel his empathy and compassion, and hoping the beast might understand that, in spite of all their grievances, he supported it in this fight. The demon had been destined for war and destruction, and was stunned by the emotional impulse that flowed into it. For the very first time, it felt sorrow, not just pain, and along with it the strength to get back up and keep fighting. Tapion and the beast were united together, spiritually, and they set themselves back upon their executioner with all their fury and might.

Cell was as surprised by the counter attack as any and didn’t react quickly enough, taking a blow to the face and resuming his normal temperature. He staggered back, wide-eyed and stupefied — the monster’s power level had drastically increased.

Hildegan grabbed the bio-android’s arm and tried to remove it from his chest, but even with his increased strength he was still much weaker. Cell then grabbed its neck and squeezed tightly.

“Haha, well you do surprise me,” the android chuckled. “But, I think it’s about time I end this. You’ve certainly been entertaining as an opponent, and I do appreciate the warm up, but... the end has finally come. At least you’ll die with the knowledge that you were a decent appetizer before the main course of Vegeta...”

Of course, neither Tapion nor Hildegan intended to go along with that idea. The monster began to evaporate into mist, escaping Cell’s grasp — though the bio-android only grinned.

“Coward,” he sneered. “Very well, enjoy your last 30 seconds alive...”

The behemoth’s fist suddenly appeared behind Cell, swinging the same way it had at the start of their fight. But the perfect android was no longer toying around, and grabbed the white fist with one hand then with his other hand swiped the wrist. The monster’s severed bloody member evaporated, as did the creature while Cell laughed sadistically.

“You’ve got nowhere to run, stupid. Any solid part of your body will be immediately hurt!”

The situation for Tapion and Hildegan was becoming critical. If they couldn’t directly reach their opponent, their only other option was to attack from a distance, out of range. Opening a portal, the monster spat out a jet of flame with all the power it could muster. But the brief hope of it succeeding evaporated as Cell surrounded himself in an energy barrier. Then came that same mocking tone again.

“You can’t even touch me, it’s hopeless. You’re out of your league!”

Cell exhaled fully, then took an enormous breath that forcibly sucked in all the vapor. Hildegan’s mist disappeared completely inside of the bio-android’s mouth as he swelled up to even greater size. Vegetto burst out laughing at the sight of Cell’s disfigured head, which wore a broad smile. Upon vanishing, the Vargas began the timer.

“Tapion has been completely sucked inside! We’ll start the count. One, two...”

“Tapion?” Trunks of the 18th repeated, exasperated. “They still don’t get it do they.”

“So... you think he’s gonna explode?” Goku wondered aloud.

Vegeta, beside him, turned his head in amazement. “Of course not, that’s got nothing to do with it. Forget what he did in the past with us, all Cell is doing is trying to keep the monster out of sight for thirty seconds...”

He was interrupted by the sound of an echoed tearing and ripping. Cell’s eyes bulged, seeing the monster’s tail sticking out of his chest. He’d felt what was going on inside him, and wore a look of pure terror as he understood what was about to happen an instant before it did. The puffed up android exploded into a thousand pieces as the fully intact form of Hildegan emerged, covered in blood and chunks of raw flesh. All around the bleachers, spectators vomited on the floor, including even those in the Varga’s lodge. The nauseating stench of puke permeated the arena, not to mention the smell of Cell’s innards. The North Kaioshin had already hurried to help out those who were sickened by the putrid stench. One of the Vargas in the booth, with difficulty, finally spoke.

“We’ll resume the count, for Cell this time... blurp...”

Hildegan’s tail had sliced like a sharp sword, allowing his escape. Seven seconds had already passed and Tapion, inside, closed his eyes with relief and exhaustion. The fight had been intense, trying, but it had taught him many lessons. The image of Minosha was clear in his mind, and even Hildegan seemed sympathetic now — as if the two of them had bonded in a new way. His wish would soon be at hand.

No one, except Buu or Vegetto, realized that something was happening beneath the feet of the gigantic idol. Cell had spent months, years, decades, training and improving — it was his nature. But he hadn’t just worked on his power, speed, and technique. Regeneration was a major advantage he held in battle, one he had honed through purposeful amputation, specifically speeding up the process.

As the counter reached nine, Tapion assumed himself victorious, relaxing his senses. At that moment, Cell, fully regenerated to his normal size, shot straight up from below him. With wings spread apart to each side, he sliced through the monster like a pair of scissors. He flew at top speed, severing the monster in half from the lower abdomen to the skull. Neither Tapion nor his demon realized what had happened, their life sparks had vanished even before the great creature’s body slumped to the ground. Cell smiled with delight at the great thud, the two halfs smashing below and revealing Tapion’s own body covered in a violet liquid.

“And, again, the count for Tapion,” a Varga announced from above.

“Don’t waste your time,” Cell laughed, glancing absentmindedly at his opponent’s corpse. “He’s dead, as is his creature. That’s in case I still need to clarify the difference for you birdbrains...”

His words had been heard by Dr. Raichi nearby, who couldn’t fight back his expression of rage and horror. The Tsuful couldn’t find the words for how he felt. The assassination of such a pure-hearted young man, a friend of his no less, by such a cruel and sadistic monster... it made his hatred burn all the more. Hatchiyack’s boundless fury only grew with Raichi’s wrath. Cell had seemed to share qualities with the Saiyans, and eradicating him along with all the rest of the garbage wouldn’t be enough. There were so many more universes — thousands, millions, all stained by evil... the filth of those monsters! He would make it his mission to vanquish all of them without mercy, he would avenge the billions of oppressed innocents. Dr. Raichi’s fists balled tight, a single thought forming in his mind during that thirty seconds.

“Victory for Cell of Universe 17!”

“Kid... I will avenge you.”