Guardian of Earth (Ryouji + Cell)

Guardian of Earth

Easy Quest

Requirement: None

Reward: 1,000 zeni

You've learned of Kami, the chosen Guardian of Earth, who is also a renowned warrior and teacher. Wishing to see if he would take you as his pupil, you decide to ascend to Kami's Lookout, which lies far above Korin's Tower, in the clouds. Upon arriving you are greeted by a robust black genie who tells you his name is Mr. Popo. Mr. Popo is very polite to you and a very generious host. However, he wishes to test your skills before he permits you to speak to the Guardian Kami. All you have to do is land a punch. Beware, despite his jovial appearance, Popo is a fearsome warrior.

It is said that far above the clouds lies a shrine dedicated to the Guardian of Earth, a simple man whose sole purpose is to protect the Earth from being destroyed. If such a man did exist and he was there to halt the destruction of Earth, then his power must be absolute. It was the reason that Ryouji had first decided to make the trip to the place known only as Kami’s Lookout, or God’s Platform.

The lookout is said to reach high into the sky, far beyond the layer of clouds and ever further above the realm of possibility. With its location and unique properties it would almost be as if it were a stepping stone for heaven itself.

Today Ryouji had decided to bring along his newest comrade, Cell. Normally he and Broly were inseparable, but with the loss of his arms the warrior had to regenerate his body inside the rejuvenation tank, the newest addition to the Nakashima home. The boy had very little experience dealing with Cell whether it as against him or with him, his power always seemed to fluctuate. He was a devious bastard that you couldn’t quite understand. His speech pattern was flawed, but he made up for it with his efficiency in combat. His graceful techniques and fluid movements, it was as if the creature were a spawn of Satan himself, created only for combat.

Ryouji had heard from this place from Broly, who had gained much of his strength from undergoing the Guardian’s trials. If Ryouji wished to keep his comrade in check, he had to keep his strength in line with his ally’s; not an easy task to accomplish.

With Broly’s instructions Ryouji was glad he had found the place within several hours. With a few more precise routes, the trip would have only taken a few minutes instead. Broly’s sense of direction had always been off; it must have been the constant head butts he had dished out as a child.

Ryouji landed upon the platform in the clouds, his boots softly tapping the white ceramic tile that covered the entire floor of the lookout. The place was much smaller than the purple haired boy had originally thought, it was no larger than his estate back on earth while the building that stood at the center was smaller than his mansion.

Ryouji looked to a man adorned in Arabian clothes with a solid black skin tone. Just what was this creature? Was he some sort of genie? Whatever he was, it mattered not. The young ambitious man had to gain power and apparently this man was to help him.

“Pardon me,” Ryouji called out with his false smile. “may I speak with you for just a moment?”

The black man looked up from tending the flower bed with a smile. He got up to his feet and slowly walked over. He was a short and stout man, with strange lips and a weird aura about him.

“Why certainly,” the man replied in a most jubilant tone. “I am Popo, Genie of the lookout and right hand to Kami himself. What may I assist you gentleman with?”

His voice was strange. It was so foreign to Ryouji, but perhaps that is the way all genies talk, after all, this is his first encounter with one.

“We seek power from Kami,” Ryouji replied politely, careful to keep his pleasant composure. No matter how skewed your reality becomes, there is never a case where rudeness is acceptable. “I have come to ask humbly for his training.”

“Oh you certainly aren’t the first,” The doughy man replied with a hearty laugh. “but few have ever been accepted as his students. You can understand how stressful and tedious a job as the Guardian of Earth can be. I will have to ask you to pass a test before you can undergo any of Kami’s training.”

“Of course,” Ryouji replied with a slight bow. He was hesitant to ask, but they had to have the training of their goals were to be achieved. “and what task is that?”

Mr. Popo smiled in return. “You must fight me. If you land a hit, then I will permit you an audience with Kami. In fact, you can both come at me at once just to make it fair.” And with those words, the first trial had begun.

(WC: 731)

Cell's feet made no real sound as he touched down. He was always careful about these things. It was true that he wasn't to kill anyone up here, at least yet, but that did not mean that he had give up what he did instinctively. He looked around the place, and it was certainly all Broly had made it out to be. Mostly useless decoration but done with much better style than any human could have done. It was not to Cell's tastes, but he didn't feel the urge to blow it out of the sky either.

As he thought about Broly, he would have smiled if he could. That idiotic oaf managed to lose in arm in combat. To a human, how ridiculous. From what Ryouji said the human wasn't much stronger than they were until he transformed. Since when did humans have transformations? Oh well, it might be better for Cell anyways. It would probably mean that he could find more humans with that ability and then absorb them. In any case, he had been quiet for most of the trip, and so had Ryouji besides complaining that Broly couldn't give directions to save his life. Cell couldn't help but comment that while that was a true statement, he obviously could give up his arm to. The young boy didn't seem to be too amused by that, but never the less, Cell found it fucking hilarious.

The duo saw a strange looking man in front of him. He somehow knew that this guy was not to be taken lightly despite his looks. He was not fat, this guy was muscle. He was not slow either, but how he knew that he could not be sure. He also knew his name was Popo. He chopped it up to his cells, after all the ones he had from all of the Z fighters had at least some encounter with him. He also knew that this guy was NOT a human in the least. He was more of a genie than anything, though Cell found it hard to believe even though he knew it to be true.

“Pardon me, may I speak with you for just a moment?” Ryouji said. Cell noted his fake smile. He guessed he used often when dealing with situations he knew profitable, but still not something he want to do. Cell didn't care, power and knowledge was his goal. This would work him towards that, though he would rather just absorb the little thing in front of him...but that would probably not get them what they really wanted.

The green insect-like humanoid listened to them speak between themselves for a moment, not caring for all the pleasant banter, he knew what he had to do already. He waited patiently however, not giving any signs of being aggravated by it. He was aggravated though, and was ready to get this started. Like a formula one car at the starting line, it's engine rumbling as it got ready to launch and leave the competition behind. That's exactly what Cell planned to do as well. He would hit this little thing in front of him and end the test before it really even got started. He wished the area under their feet was dirt and not tile. If that was the case, he could just lunge in tail from the ground and get the hit the instant the words left his mouth.

Cell did speak up after the little guy spoke. "I'll be enough. This guy next to me is currently the stronger of the two of us anyways, so as long as I can land a hit he could do so as well." His voice not bothering the black genie. Then again, if he was so casual about Cell's appearance then he shouldn't have a problem with his voice either, which was deep and raspy with a slight hiss in the back ground. It was certainly rare to find anyone that would not be at least somewhat taken back by the appearance. Even Broly had given pause and he had seen quite a few different species of aliens as he had rampaged across the galaxies.

He lunged forward with intent in his eyes. He might not be able to kill this guy, but that didn't mean he couldn't make that one hit hurt like hell. He would be sure to try. The little guy didn't so much as flinch until Cell launched a powerful right hook at the small man. The Genie ducked down expertly, having probably nearly the same experience pool as Cell. His small stature compared to Cell's massive seven foot tall frame certainly helped. Gero's creation had pretty much expected this, but was surprised by how fast the retaliation came.

Before he even had time to kick forward as he had planned, the little bastard had flipped over, and used his hands as a spring board and planted his feet directly into Cell's abdomen. He skidded back a bit from the blow, but did not let the throbbing pain show in his eyes as he immediately went back in. This time, he would be more prepared however. His filled his muscles and tendons to the brim with ki. His body burst forward with much more force and speed than the first time, closing the distance in a mere second. He would, once close enough, launch a powerful punt-like kick towards the small body of his opponent.

His target deftly moved to the right side, of his left leg as if it had been moving slowly. Cell had wanted this exact thing, and launched his powerful tail into action. He could not stab his opponent as that would probably breach the rules. Instead he slung it to slam the thick part of the tail into his face. What Cell did not expect was that Popo had anticipated this already and stopped his strike with a single hand. That was surprising, because he had not expected him to know that attack would even be coming in much less react that quickly. His opponent grabbed onto his tail with quite some force. It wasn't nearly as powerful as Broly's grip however, and he was not in pain from it.

His performance was however being negatively impacted by not being able to kill his opponent. He was having to keep his abilities and instinct in check, otherwise the mass of muscle that was his tail would curve and stab his opponent in the back. That's when Cell got an idea though, he couldn't stab him, but he could cut him lightly and still get the point he needed. He spin around using his left leg as a pivot. The monstrous creation threw it's right leg forward as he came around, aiming the hardened tip for Popo's jaw. Popo however was not to be hit easily and leaned back as he dodged. He also pulled hard on Cell's tail as he gripped it with both hands.

The black genie then began spinning himself in a circle, taking Cell with him as he was spun around and taken off the ground. The speed was increasing with each rotation, and before long Popo looked more like a black spinning top than a man. Cell did not have the ability to GET dizzy though, thanks to his unique anatomy and heavily trained martial artist body. That did not mean that he enjoyed being slung around like a children's toy and he was not having an easy time keeping himself from attacking Popo with a Death beam aimed for the eyes. He hated that he had to keep himself in check that way but there was little he could do about the situation now.

Then, once the rotation speed had risen enough, he was let go. It seemed to him that Popo was trying to fling him off of the tower. He did not know if the black Genie knew he could fly or not, that did not matter. What did matter however, was that his plan was working flawlessly. Just as he was released, he lifted the needle end of his tail upwards slightly. He did not know if this would work or not, but it was a pretty good plan all things considered. It would even save him quite a good bit of energy and keep him from killing the bastard that hew as dealing with.

He flew about ten yards before able to stop himself and flip to his feet. He spoke quickly once he had landed though. " There, now can the real training begin?" He said, and Popo had a puzzled look on his face. He spoke in a very nice and pleasant tone as always "I'm sorry, but your objective is to hit me once..." He paused as if to say something else, and Cell spoke up quickly interrupting him.

"Look on the underside of your upper arm." He said, and the genie did so. Once he did, he looked quite surprised. There was a shallow but still bleeding cut. A drop of crimson liquid hit the floor under him and he let out a sigh. He never did lose his smile however, and seemed geniunly surprised and happy that he had been beaten. Cell would never understand that, and never even gave it a thought. What was the point? He would not understand and he didn't care to try to. He had won, and that was all that mattered to him. It was time to get the real training started, time to become even stronger. He walked his way back to Ryouji and waited for whatever task came next.

WC: 1,600
Total: 2,331

"I'll be enough. This guy next to me is currently the stronger of the two of us anyways, so as long as I can land a hit he could do so as well." Cell hissed as he stepped forward.

Ryouji felt no obligation to prevent him from doing what he wished. He knew that what he had said was true, but he wanted more to see just how Cell would fight. His combat experience and techniques were still relatively new to the young boy.

Ryouji folded his arms and watched the fight ensue. The first strike of Cell’s was quick, much more so than when they first met, but his eyes could easily follow. Suddenly the genie ducked as if it were nothing. His movements surprised the boy, how could such a small and robust man be so quick. Then the man countered Cell’s next attack with a flip in midair. That surprised the boy even further. How was this man so agile?

It was no matter, Ryouji was amused watching Cell and Mr. Popo exchange blows. With flips and kicks and various other acrobatics, the black genie seemed to be able to read the green insect’s attacks. It was obvious with each missed strike, Cell’s frustration grew. Perhaps with this genie being so abnormally strong, this place was a perfect choice to train. If this simple introductory test proved even a bit challenging then perhaps the real test would really strain them.

Ryouji watched Cell fly across the floor and stop himself just short of the edge. "There, now can the real training begin?"

"I'm sorry, but your objective is to hit me once..."

"Look on the underside of your upper arm." Cell snapped.

It would seem as though, through some sort of feat even Ryouji didn’t quite understand, the creature was able to land a solid blow on the black genie. He was impressed, but now it was time for the real training to begin.

(WC: 327+731=1058)
(TWC: 1058+1600=2658)