And The Sky Wept (Goku vs Cell)

"Cell...That's your name." His opponent said before falling to a knee. He could have taken this opportunity to attack, but that wouldn't satisfy him. That would not be challenging, it would undermine everything he's done so far. It would take meaning away from this fight, from his scarring of nature. it would be a betrayal of the few things he held for himself. It would be a disrespect to one of the few people he honestly held respect for. It would be wrong.

He watched as the drop of blood splattered against the ground, staining the freshly charred ground. He listened intently to Goku's attempt to pull him back from the ledge. He simply didn't realize, that ledge couldn't be seen. There was no ledge for him, there was no ladder, no highway. His mind wasn't the same as any other living thing. The strange mix of Namekian, Saiyan, human, Changling and various other unimportant races along with the mind of animals such as a scorpion and a lion, it kept him from having anything resembling a normal psychological state. He wasn't insane, he just wasn't the sane that everyone else understood it to be.

Still, this attempt he was making to help him, it invoked a new feeling in him, but not one that he could understand. He searched his vast experiences once again for the answer, and couldn't come up with an answer that was a perfect fit. He shook his head again, this time forcibly washing away that feeling.

"Goku, Since another barrage like that would kill you, I'll try to explain this clearly. I have the cells of every worthwhile being on this wretched place as a part me, Bulma's intellect...it is great, but her nor her father have the ability to change that. It's not that kind of programming, this is an instinctual desire coded into every single cell inside of my body.

I could no more resist this than you could live without water. Accepting help from you? The very notion literally causes me pain." He said, his face had actually winced a bit at it. Gero had been a thorough bastard if nothing else.

"It has been all I could do to grant you this battle, to fight the urge to just kill you in your sleep. I don't want easy prey, I want a challenge, I want to experience new things...this fight has been exactly what I wanted." He said as his body lowered into a stance for the first time since this fight began. His tail coiled up behind him, tense and ready to strike.

" The last thing I can do...is to tell you that if I was created in my dimension, i was certainly created here as well. Now I've done what I can.I'll either die, or be freed. Come Goku, it's time to finish this battle! Die or Live, we're the ones who decide that!" He said, he waited for Goku's response. He would not be surprised in the man didn't want to fight him seriously now, but he would make him. He would not go through everything he had been through to be looked down upon with pity. He was a monster, but more than that he was a warrior.

He was a warrior with a purpose, even if that was a purpose he would rather rid himself of. He would achieve his goals, even if it meant dying and coming back by the force of his own will. Even if it meant destroying everything in existence, he would rid himself of this damn urge implanted by his creator. He didn't care about anything else anymore, he simply could not take it. He had fought the urge for as long as possible, trying to maintain himself. He had already failed that goal, he would not fail this one if there was even the smallest hint of life in him.

It certainly didn't help any that his hunger was building even more so. Talking and not trying to kill the 'food' in front of him was causing his body considerable discomfort. He was actually having to mentally force himself to stay where he was, to give Goku a moment before the melee began anew. Even if this was the last stage, Cell doubted it would be the same as before. Things had changed now, both fighters were both equally determined, but towards completely different goals.

Goku would know what was at stake, and if the abomination was right about him, he wouldn't feel happy about any outcome. For him, Cell assumed it would leave a bad taste in his mouth to lose or to win now. Of course losing also came with the penalty of losing his life, so that may shift his opinon to the winning side a bit more drastically. Regardless of how Goku viewed this, Cell would wait for him to make a decision on his own before attacking.


WC: 830
Total WC: 14093

Actions:
1.Rest + Respite = 15 FP Gained
2.Rest + Respite = 15 FP Gained
3.Rest + Respite = 15 FP Gained
FP gained: 45

Battle Tracker:

Spoiler:

"The last thing I can do...is to tell you that if I was created in my dimension, i was certainly created here as well. Now I've done what I can.I'll either die, or be freed. Come Goku, it's time to finish this battle! Die or Live, we're the ones who decide that!” Cell said.

The challenge did not go on deaf ears. The decision had been made. Goku didn't feel any remorse or fear about what he had to do. The emotions he had felt for the monster were only amplified into a fiery determination. Cell did not believe he could change. Therefore, he would never change. If there was any way to convince him, it would be to defeat him at his best. Cell was not perfect anymore, therefore even if Goku won, he would seek perfection only to start up the fight once again.

No longer was he facing some beast, but an equal. Another fighter, with capabilities that rivaled the best of them. He could only look upon Cell with a warrior's admiration.

Goku's eyes narrowed and he felt his loose stance tighten. If Cell knew anything about him, he would know the look in Goku's eyes. It was a forlorn gaze of a fighter, one who had seen too much, had too many bad dreams, and their hope crushed far too many times If not for the kind heart that he possessed, it have been easily mistaken as the look of a killer.

Would Goku kill Cell? He hadn't decided yet. His son had not hesitated to wipe him from existence, and had been but a boy. If that was any indication, he knew he should heed the example and destroy him as well. But, he would cross that bridge when it came. For now, he had to shatter Cell's defenses.

Goku vanished from plain sight, barely stirring the ash beneath his feet. When he re-appeared again, he was directly in front of Cell. His right leg was raised up and his knee tucked close to his chest. Using all the strength he could muster, he thrust it forward , attempting to slam his heel into the center of Cell's torso.

Bending at the knees, he launched himself, vaulting over the top of Cell. In mid air, Goku did a backflip. Once he was straight again, he attempted to land on top of Cell's shoulders and wrap both legs around his neck. He intended to lean backwards, into a verticale hand stand. His goal was to pull forward with his legs hurl the android across the length of the scar.

There was no time to waste. His red aura flared up around him again as he blasted off. He flew at Cell with an accelerated pace. The only way for him to ensure his victory was to keep up the pressure and whittle Cell down. The words had been spoken, there was no resolving this, no agreements could be made. It wasn't a tournament, where a ring out or a buzzer would stop the fighting.

No, this was war. Both were capable of destruction at a level that even the greatest of armies would cower before. They could do it with nothing more than their bare hands and willpower. Goku fought to protect the innocent and the weak, those who had no idea that he was their champion. Cell, he fought for desire, for the single more important thing in his existence, perfection. To defeat Goku was but a step in that direction.

It's my job to make him take a step back, Goku thought as air whipped past him.

A wash of blackened earth sprayed up in his wake. Once upon Cell, he threw a fast knee strike aimed at the bottom of his beak. His other knee was primed and ready. As he withdrew the first leg and the second one came flying in, taking its place, this time aimed a bit higher, where the upper part of his beak met the broad part of his face.

“Hyah!” escaped from his lips. He ended the salvo with a swift elbow strike, directed straight for Cell's cat-like left eye.

WC: 696
TWC: 11,097

Actions:

1) Speed Burst + Rush Attack [STR: 2,445] → +15 FP
2) Grapple Throw → [STR: 2,126] +10 FP
3) Powered Flight + Pummel [STR: 2,254] → +10 FP

Battle Tracker:

Cell watched as Goku's face and eyes set into the new look. He knew exactly what was coming his way, and relished it. It was the only time he really felt at home. Battle was coming, war was beginning again. He had been created for the purpose of this war, and so it felt more natural to him than anything else. Far more natural than the conversation they had just had. Only recently had he even become accustomed to them in the slightest, considering his new comradeship with The Fallen.

Goku's body suddenly disappeared. Cell's eyes went wide just as he re-appeared in front of him, a foot pulled back to deliver some swift punishment. It slammed into his chest, his carapace cracking evenly around his chest as he was forced to take a step back. Just before he could mount a retaliation, Goku's feet landed on his shoulders.
His eyes went a bit wider for a moment as he tried to speak.

"Shi-" he was cut off as he was suddenly lifted from his feet and flung through the air at a rapid pace. He looked back towards where Goku had been, only to see him catch up to the creature. Cell wasn't tired anymore, but the blow to the chest had taken him completely by surprise. That blow itself could have launched him backwards, if he had not resisted it. That had obviously been a folly on his part, now that Goku was launching another fierce barrage of attacks his way.

Each blow impacted it's intended location, the final one Cell had just barely managed to move so that his face took the punishment instead of his eye. He couldn't afford a detriment like that in a battle of this magnitude. Sure, he could heal it, but that would take even more energy that he could save.

His body bounced off the ground once behind he landed on his feet. Cracks easily apparent in his carapace, and on top of that, he was bleeding from most of them. More so, even his beak had a small crack in it. It felt as though a human would if the entire bottom row of teeth had cracked, it was painful as hell. He had endured worse, but this hurt in a strangely peculiar and agonizing manner.

He was done fucking around however, as much enjoyment as he had in this fight, he had to end this hunger. He couldn't take dealing with it for another second. He HAD to eat, and there was only one meal that would fill him. Only one dish that would satisfy his tastes.

He crouched down and sprung himself into the air with next to no warning. Continuing his fighting style as normal, he would have came directly at Goku with something in the melee category. He hoped this sudden change would be what he needed to give him just a moment of a head start.

When he stopped himself mid-air and turned to face the battle ground below him, he could see it in full. If it hadn't been for his advanced eyesight, he wouldn't have been able to make out any more than what the lava that still was still seeping from the ground under him would dimly illuminate.

His arms spread wide to both sides, but this was not just another Final Flash as he had used moments ago. No this was going to be bigger, even if it wasn't as devastatingly powerful. His ki began funneling out of his body first, gathering directly in front of him. At the same time, even more was being directed into both hands. He couldn't afford a miss, and even if Goku managed to block this one, he would find himself highly injured.

Soon, the area in front of Cell took a darker appearance that what was normal. He was twisting his very hatred into the ki energy that left his entire body to form what was one of the most devastating attacks he had ever unleashed. It was easily more powerful than the most powerful of human armaments, the Nuke as it was referred to by most.

An orb of pure black energy formed first, as if there was no light that could shine brightly enough to illuminate that space. Next formed a small layer of energy that held a dimly purple color. Finally, Another black layer of seething hate and malice. The spaces between each of these layers was filled with small micro-bursts of electricity. The air around this attack burned so heavily that it become Ozone.

Besides this, his palms were once again filled with a completely, stupidly large amount of power. It illuminated the entire sky around him, and accented the dark sphere even more. It made it look menacing against the bright background. Cell's beak ground against itself from the strain. He couldn't even feel the pain from that nor from his ears. His ears had once again began bleeding from the torrential amounts of energy he was putting out around him. He didn't care, he only cared about victory.

It was the only thing that mattered. Winners decided what was good, what was evil. They decided right and wrong, though to Cell some concepts were not the same as they were in humans. He did what he enjoyed and what he was born to do. He did what was simply natural to him. A human, even a sadistic killer, knew the difference between right and wrong. They knew that what they were doing was 'wrong' but to them it was enjoyable. To the abomination against nature the concept of right and wrong was basically non-existent. To him, killing Goku was right, as it quenched his thirst and hunger.

With this notion in mind, his hands came together in front of him. He was pushing the final amounts of energy needed for this attack into a single sphere of energy. Yellow bolts of lightning struck the sky behind him. His carapace was cracking off and turning into energy before joining the sphere. The Scar below him was about to get a lot bigger, and probably a good deal deeper.

He took careful aim, even though he knew the explosion this generated would probably require little in the way of such a thing. He was not going to risk missing with this much on the line. It took a moment, but he finally pulled out the last bit of energy he needed to fire off this attack.

He let out a bestial roar that filled the skies, though he himself was deaf to it. He pushed the immense beam of energy forward, directly into the bomb of energy he had formed. Both soared forward towards his opponent. Regardless of if they hit him or not, he highly doubted Goku could outrun the explosion at his level of speed. It would take quite the feat to do so.

If the Final Flash was a lance of destructive power, this was a missile the likes of which this universe had never seen before. It's explosion could very well light one hemisphere as it wiped the rest of this battleground from existence. This place would truly deserve the name "The Scar" after this, being a place even nature could not every fully heal. Regardless of what happened, Cell had certainly made his mark that he was here.

WC:1233
Total WC: 15326

Actions: Instant: used Haste.
Took attacks - Rage gained = 7
1+2: Final Flash (Crack Shot) [Rating 5, 65 FP, Ki for this attack = 17,893]
3+4: Electro Eclipse Bomb: Unleashing Rage (27 = + 14% ki = 12362 ki. 54 FP. Ki for this attack = 19038)
FP Spent = 119 - 8% from manipulation
Total FP Spent =109

Battle Tracker:

Spoiler:

“Goku,” the voice the was not a voice said. “You need to wake up.”

He could have honestly thought it was Kami's voice, or he could have been terribly mistaken. He couldn't see, or feel, or smell. It was a strange sensation. Trying to move his arm didn't work, neither did his legs. Did he even have arms and legs anymore?

“Use your mind Goku, not your body. Your body won't work anymore, not after what that monster did to you.”

What?

“Sense Goku, sense what is around you.”

Everything came to life. The scar that spread across the earth for miles upon miles, the wind, the air, and the spiritual presence of Kami who was standing beside him. Goku sat up, looking around, figuratively speaking. He didn't actually have eyes, but he was feeling what was beyond his energy, touching it.

“Cell,” he said. They weren't words, but an expression of his spirit that communicated with the spirit of Kami. “I lost?”

“You did lose Goku. But, don't worry. This is not the end.”

Goku tried to remember what happened, but it was all so blurry. He had blows on Cell, but the android had unleashed—

“Stop it,” Kami said. “Do not dwell on what was. That will ground you here, in this in between-realm It is time you ascend to Other World.”

“I would be a ghost?” Goku asked.

“Yes, if you try to remember the business of the mortal realm, while you are a spirit like this, it will anchor you to that realm.”

“Take my hand Goku, I will lead you there. It is time that you meet King Yemma, I think he will be able to give you your body back. You have done so much for this world, it would be crazy for him not to. Besides, it's not like the heavens can easily contain a spiritual energy like yours. You'd be like a wrecking ball in a room filled with marbles,” Kami said.

Goku reached out, with an imaginary hand and took hold of Kami's. He felt himself drifting, for what seemed an eternity. It could have been a second, or a minute. Time didn't have a concept in this form, everything just was. In his heart he felt no fear, and as he grew closer to a warmth, no, a light, it soothed him. Suddenly, he was free—truly free—for the first time in his entire life.

He didn't have to worry about anything. All he had to do was sit in the warm light and absorb it.

Just as the android Cell, was most likely absorbing the power out of his charred carcass, far far way, upon the little speck of sand in a sea of stars, known as Earth.

WC: 469
TWC: 11,566

---

Death

Victory

It was the only thing that filled the beasts mind at that moment. Killing Goku, winning this battle and finally destroying the chains that Gero had placed upon him. If he ever found that old bastard in this dimension, if he still lived...He would enjoy torturing and killing him for even thinking he could control perfection itself. A fitting end for the pedophilic scientist. Despite his genius, he had proved himself to be a massive and unforgivable fool. If Cell disliked anything more than humans, it would probably be the fools of not only their race, but any race.

Stupidity, while it tended to benefit him in battle and while hunting, was something he found frustrating. At least if he was hunting smart prey, they could put up some type of resistance. It might be useless, but it made the hunt far more enjoyable. His current opponent was no such thing, he was a genius in battle if nothing else. It had made this fun, and it was almost a shame that it had to come to an end, but the monster was hungry. It felt similar to what a Lion would have to feel if it had it's jaws around the neck of it's prey, but was unable or incapable of finishing the job.

The massive yellow torrent of energy surged forward towards Goku, unbridled and furious in both nature and appearance. The attack had once again displaced a large amount of air, creating such pressure underneath it that the ground cracked and created multiple fissures in the Earth. A dim glow emitted from these fissures, indicating that there was lava beneath, though it did not have the pressure to escape to the surface. The after affects of this attack alone could have flattened a small town, and this time it was backed up with the power of a menacing ball of seething hatred. The bright background of the Final Flash gave the attack the appearance of it's namesake, an Eclipse. Only a short time ago he had given light to a good portion of the planet from his previous assault, and yet it was not enough to cast even the smallest glimmer of light through the dark sphere.

The wind alone shattered the tree's that were around them as if they were mere twigs. The splinters would then catch fire from the rising heat from the Lava and his own attacks. Those tree's fortunate enough to weather the wind would erupt into pillars of flame by the heat. The grass didn't even have a chance to burst into flames before it turned into ash and leave nothing but a hard, ugly, charred ground covered with a gray snow-like substance. The ash was so thick, that it would hide the hideous appearance of the ground as even more fell from the trees and filled the air. If any wildlife had remained in the area to watch the fight, they would certainly be choking on the heavy amounts of the substance.

Cell had said he would not die until the ashes of the Earth filled his lungs, and if he had died here than he would have been correct. This beautiful forest would have come out better if there had been a major human war housed entirely and completely within it's confines between two large nations. Of course, war had been had here, it had simply been between a man and a monster each of which housed enough power to crush a mountain on a whim, or to survive incredible almost cataclysmic events. At least if it hadn't been those two, then something would have remained after the fact.

If it was not for history books, this place and what had happened to it would be forgotten with time. If it had not been for maps proving otherwise, no one would be able to believe that a forest had been here. If it were not for satellite imaging, no one could have possibly fathomed in their wildest dreams that it had become this barren inhospitable wasteland in just ten minutes. Ten fucking minutes had turned one of the most beautiful places on Earth by human accounts into the most desolate and ugly things to ever grace it's surface. Cell had no idea what they would explain it away as, but the truth would always remain in him. This had been the area that titans had clashed in, that two gods who had lived alongside mortals had waged war. It was here that a battle between wills had resulted in the crushing destruction of anything that could make sense to a normal person.

All of this, and yet this final combination of attacks had yet to even touch the ground. As it drew closer, the area near the soon to be impact zone was being assaulted by wind. Dust and ash was thrown into the air, whirling around like a hurricane. Soon it was joined by small pieces of debris that battered against the few things remaining stationary in the area. Then the larger burning pieces that had just barely managed to stay on the ground thanks to their weight where lifted and pulled into the mealstrom. Finally entire burning tree trunks were ripped from the ground and swirled around. The wind was chaotic, and because of this the debris slammed into each other, sending burning chunks and embers into the wind only to be extinguished.

Finally it drew so close that large chunks of the ground itself was pulled from the Earth. The only thing left was for it to finally impact both Goku and the Earth itself. The planet seemed to quiver in fear of the oncoming blow. It was as if the planet had it's own consciousness and sentience. It was as if it was fearing it's own death. The ground beneath The Champions feet would shake and move as if in reaction to this threat. It was not out of the realm of possibility that this attack could result in the very destruction of Earth. If so, all of it's inhabitants that could not survive in the vacuum of space would die in an instant. As it so happened most could not, though Cell could.

It finally happened, the two powerful attacks meet their target and the ground beneath it collapsed immediately under it's weight. A large plume of dirt rose on all sides of it as the ground was dug out around the target zone. The ground further cracked and the gaps became wider. It was only a mere moment before Cell had dug quite the hole. It resembled something akin to the aftermath of an impact from a large asteroid. If there had been sand in the area, it would have been melted into glass. The only difference was that because of the constant and extreme pressure it had an affect on the molten rock below. Lava began shooting from the large cracks in the ground. Normally this would be a significant thing, but it was easily over shadowed by fountains of dirt and rock that filled the area around the impact. That wasn't even mentioning the attack itself.

Finally it could dig no more, the orb that formed the head of this spear had reached a depth in which it could not surpass. The ticking bomb had finally hit the zero mark, and it was time for destruction to be rout on everything that may be left alive or for miles. The Final Flash that had formed the shaft of the spear was not an exception to this. No, it wouldn't even get the mercy of being allowed to explode, the orb that the monstrous entity watching from above had twisted his hatred and rage into would take everything it wanted just like the creature that had created it. The brilliant golden wave of ki dimmed considerably before seemingly being sucked into the orb. The bomb crackled for a mere moment before the detonation.

It seemed as if, to someone with eyes such as Cells', that the world bent under the sudden rush of kinetic energy. The orb expanded violently for a moment, turning almost everything around it into it's fuel. Only then did the explosion truly occur. Black flames spread across in the ground in all directions. Nothing was save from it's gnashing maw as it consumed everything. Even light was consumed as the entire area became darker than the rest of the planet. It was like a black star had formed on the planet. It burned everything it touched to nothing more than mere crisps. Not even embers could form, fires that had been there only moments ago were suffocated and smothered by the heavy black flare. Nothing survived it's touch, as if it had been backed by the power of Death itself. If there had somehow been any wildlife at all remaining in the area to watch this devastating climax, there would be none now. Not even bones would be left to speak of the existence of such stupid creatures.
That was, besides one man. He had survived it pushing him into the ground. He was even pushing through the detonation that scorched everything else to nothing. He had been able to survive everything that the creation of Gero had thrown his way. It was absolutely infuriating to the creature. He had the power to char the surface of this wretched world clean of it's inhabitants. He had the power to destroy the planet itself, and yet he stood in his way. This one man was able to hold back the tide that was Cell's fury. At least, he had for a time.

Goku had stood at the epicenter of the attack. He didn't have time to move, doing so would have been about as pointless as an action could be. If he had, not only would the massive explosion have caught up to him in an instant, he would have also been a terrible hero. In fact he would have let Cell's expectations of him down considering what the consequences of such a choice would have been. If he had not been in between the Earth and the attack that had only moments ago been plowing it's way towards him, then it would not have stopped it's 'dig' so early. It would have continued down past the crust of the Earth. It very well may have had the chance to excavate it's way to the core of the planet. Should it have reached the core, it would have guaranteed the absolute end of the planet.

Even if it had not, it would have been deep enough that upon it's eruption, it would have easily cracked the mantle of the planet. Even though such a thing would not totally destroy it, it would spell the end of civilization and life in general for the most part.. There would be more volcanic eruptions, and eventually the planet would choke on the ash. The sun itself would be incapable of providing light to a large portion of the planet, effectively killing all plant life. From that the ecosystems would literally starve.

The herbivores would die first from lack of plants to sustain them. From there the predators would eventually die and so would humanity. Or rather, a great portion would die, the resourceful and intelligent ones would use the relatively small area of the planet to cultivate plant life and livestock. However, it would be an inescapable destiny that Gero's Creation would hunt them down. He would slaughter and eat them just like they had done to the stock they had grown.

It had nothing to do with how humans treated animals however, as Cell cared little for any of the organisms on the planet outside of his new views on Nature. It was just the simple fact that humans were his main source of nutrition. They were his sustenance thanks to Gero's sadistic nature and hatred for humans in general. Due to this almost that entire species were no more than cattle in the twisted views of Natures Abomination. They happened to be able to put up more of a fight, and were slightly more intelligent. Though that made no difference to him. He was the apex predator, very few creatures to his knowledge could or even would attempt to hunt him. At least those that were natural to this planet. However, this man was a foreign element to Earth, and he had once again done something spectacular. The creature looming over the battlefield did not know if the man he was facing was doing this with the knowledge that he would be sacrificing himself, or if he had held an actual hope to survive and overcome this.

When he had made the decision however, not even fate that had been seemingly guarding his life could not help him now. He had sealed his own fate. However in doing so saved he had saved the planet from destruction once again. It was just as Cell knew, no matter what dimension he went do, Goku was not the type to die in vain. He had shown that to be true once again.

The menacing black orb had come down onto Goku, who had decided to try and divert the energy as much as possible. He had pressed against it even as it pushed him into the ground. He had used all of his strength and willpower to stop it. It had lingered only for a moment before detonation, but even before that he had sustained grave injures. The flesh on his palms had been the first to disappear from site. Almost instantly had it been burned away like paper thrown into a raging blaze. The fat and muscle were gone next, the area would have wreaked of burnt, dead flesh if the wind had not been blowing it away into the maelstrom. The only thing left was the tough connective tissue, tendons, and bone. The damage had extended up to his wrists just before the explosion that would truly wreck the hero's body.

Cell himself had been struck some by his own corrupted energy. It did very little damage to him considering it was his own energy, but he had small burns covering his carapace. He was so exhausted from feeding so much ki into the attacks and he slowly let himself lower to the ground. As he descended, he could see Goku standing. For a moment Cell's eyes had gone wide in pure shock. Before he could even start to fathom how the Saiyan could still be alive, let alone standing, his right hand fell from his body. His right wrist had been burned so badly that it could not hold itself together. Goku himself hit the ground next, with a dull, limp, thud. He was not moving, besides a slow rise and fall in his chest, though even that was extremely labored.

The dust and smoke no longer obscured his body from the beasts vision thanks to what seemed to be a very climatic and out of place gust of wind. His left arm had been burned completely away by the powerful and lethal black flames. Only a stub of bone remained sticking awkwardly out from his shoulder. It was not the pristine white color that would normally be seen. No, instead it was charred and black. Cracks visibly went deep into the bone towards the shoulder. Despite the cauterization, the wound alone bleed profusely. The ground beneath his opponent had been exposed to such great temperatures that it as no longer dirt. It had become glass, reflecting Goku's battered body. Crimson liquid stained it in multiple places. Gash's had been made deep into his muscles and flesh, then subsequently burned closed. Blisters and charred black skin covered his body. He was a mere shadow of his formal self.

Cell's feet touched the ground, surprisingly it was not hot. It had cooled at an unnatural pace, probably due to the nature of the attack he had used. It resembled obsidian, but the creature did not pay much attention to it. It was unimportant to the prize before him. He was defenseless, no more sensu beans, no more fighting back. It was over, besides the actual deed itself. He paused for a moment, feeling surreal. His entire life had culminated to this very moment at this very place. It caused him to stop and look around him.

There was no forest anymore. Nothing could be seen for miles. He had single handedly changed an area miles wide. Maps would have to be redrawn and memories could never be relived. In the center on this giant black blemish on the planet, was a massive hole. In the center was the champion of Earth, Broken and surrounded by cracked obsidian glass. He took the sight in, a memory of his own. A memory he would be sure to never forget. He took another moment to think of his journey, his rise and fall. He was truly a member of The Fallen if anyone was. He had fallen from the very peak of genetic perfection, in both mind and body, to an ugly monstrous form. Yet it had been this form that he had finally achieved his goal of killing Goku. Or at least, he would in the next few moments.

Breath still somehow seemed to remain in the body of the titanic defender as his chest slowly rose and fell. It came out in a sickening wheeze that was generated from his heavily damaged and scarred lungs. He had breathed in super-heated air during his attempt at a defensive action. The heat of the air had caused blisters to form even on the inside of his mouth and lungs. Then there were his eyes. His eye lids were closed, but because of their strangely flat appearance he knew that they housed nothing. He had dried and burned the organs from Goku's head. Tears of blood streamed down the side of his face.
Cell had killed and consumed enough people that he could tell something was off about the warrior. His 'soul' was not actually present in his body. It was more of a feeling than anything else, but he trusted it. It didn't matter very much, as his soul was not his target, just his end. If he did have to venture a guess though, he would say that more than likely, it had been Kami. The Goku in front of him had never encountered Raditz, and therefore never died in that battle. Thus he had yet to meet King Kai or Yemma. If he was correct in the analysis that Goku's soul had already left his body, only Kami could have been the one responsible for such a thing. Knowing that old Namekian as well as Cell did, being that he had his cells inside of him and therefore his knowledge and memories, he was probably guiding Goku to the afterlife as he was preparing to consume the body.

However, despite it's soul having left, the body refused to give up. It couldn't fight, but it could still breath and it's heart could still beat. Barely, but the were still functioning. It was just one more mark to show how incredible Goku could be. His body was so resilient and so well conditioned that it wouldn't give in to injures even without his actual will being present. He truly did deserve to be part of perfection. Cell, even if he hadn't had the unconquerable hunger for the flesh of the champion, he would gladly have brought him into that.

The abomination simply stared at his defeated opponent for a moment, as if admiring his own handiwork. Out of all the entities that had been gunning for this one man, he had been the first to actually accomplish the goal of legitimately killing him. Sure in the universe he was from, Piccolo had achieved it but it was not legitimate. Goku had sacrificed himself in order for the duo to kill Raditz. Here he had not had an option, he would have died either way. He simply choose to do what he could, though maybe he had held some small hope to once again withstand the power of Cell's will. It did not matter now, as he was about to be truly dead.

The end of Cell's tail, which had burns along it's length, opened into a wide receptacle. It was time to eat. His 'mouth' was watering in anticipation, like a predator about to feast on it's slain prey. He placed it at Goku's feet and slowly moved it upwards. His tail expanded awkwardly and in what appeared to be an unnatural way as it made room for his meal. The glass that had formed from his attacks made it easier for him to slide it up under him. He had always disliked when dirt had gotten inside of his tail. It wasn't detrimental, but he could 'taste' it. It was always a gritty, foul taste and as would later be happy that he did not have to deal with that spoiling his meal.

After a few moments, the entire body of Goku was enveloped in his tail. Powerful anesthetics would run on his body, which were secreted from his tail as a natural hunting aid. It would keep till living prey from fighting back, though this meal required no such thing. The needle-tip once again reformed as it closed into it's normal shape. His tail was still strangely expanded like that of a snake who had recently eaten a very large meal. He could feel the heartbeat and breathing of the living corpse inside of him slow. The anesthetics were so powerful that they themselves could kill, and to this severely injured opponent it was quickly becoming too much. Cell would not allow that to be what killed the body however. No he wanted the pleasure of what he was about to do, to add to this memory.

The muscles in his tail contracted suddenly. They held more than enough force to shatter concrete and bend a steel girder into nothing more than a crumpled mess of metal. Thus they had more than enough force to violently end the struggle that The Champion's body was putting up. The violent and powerful contraction would do just that. It made a sickening crunch on the first contraction as all of the bones in the mans body, besides his skull, were shattered and ground together. On the second more crunching could be heard, but now it had more of a 'squelch' type sound to it as the muscles, tendons, fat, and other tissues were mashed together into a macabre goo. Each contraction had easily halved the width of the expanded tail. There was a final third contraction that gave yet another horrid crack sound. It had been the sound of Goku's super-humanly tough skull cracking into shards around the brain. There was more contractions as each force the goo through the limb and into Cell's body.

Inside of him a process began instantly. Various substances foreign to any normal body had began breaking down the 'food'. Unlike a normal humans body which broke down whatever it ate using powerful acids that dissolved it down into the basic proteins and other needed nutrients, his body was not so wasteful. In a human body, there were many things that the acids simply could not dissolve either at all or without more time than the body would allow. Some things that even though they had been dissolved would be filtered out by the liver and kidneys into urine. Cell made no such waste, everything went to some use. Though it wasn't like there was much of a choice considering Gero had seen it fit to leave him without certain amenities.

Cell himself had no idea what the process was that his body used, and he didn't need to. All he needed to know was that it worked. Should it even come across a problem? It wouldn't matter, his body had the ability to regenerate from even a single damaged cell. It had been how he had survived so much, including Gohan's attempt to kill him. Of course that had failed fantastically, but it had managed to push him out of that dimension to this one. In the end all he accomplished was putting Cell into a place where he had an easier time accomplishing his goal. He contemplated for a moment if he would go back to that dimension, should the chance arrive. He did not have time to finish that train of though, because it hit him at that very moment.

He had always experienced something like this when feeding. Though for the most part it was never so intense. He had felt it being stronger for individuals he consumed who had a very powerful body or very useful and strong genetics. Roshi and Yamcha had been the two closest to this feeling. Each had given him this while also satisfying another need inside of him. Yamcha had given him power, The old Master and Teacher had given him knowledge. The 'reward' he had gotten from when he killed the Wolf Brother had been the greater of those two, but it was nearly nothing compared to this sensation that was hitting him.

The euphoria that washed over his body was absolutely exquisite. For a human it would have been totally incomprehensible, it would have been considered something along the lines of mind-shattering pleasure and excitement. It could very well drive them to the brink of insanity and throw them overboard, into a hole. It would have formed an instantaneous insatiable addiction to something that they could never replicate again. Not even the release of chemicals that death brought a human could come close, nor could the most powerful chemicals and drugs. It would lead to crippling depression as they attempted to deal with the fact that nothing could ever compare. It was good, considering this, that Cell's mind was far different and far stronger. He himself was conditioned to be born with this type of addiction, though it did not bring along any real detriments. It was simply a reward-based conditioning Gero had enacted in his body through genetic resynchronizing and manipulation to help ensure the creature did as he had intended.

He could feel his cells changing as the included all of the Saiyan's memories and genetics into them fully. First the injures he had sustained began healing. The blisters he had gained from his own attack seemed to vanish without a trace. Soon the the only blood that remained on his body was that which had leaked just before he had ingested his meal. Finally his ear drums healed themselves and he could hear once more, though besides the wind and bubbling sounds of lava, it was a dead silence. The world had hushed itself in order to watch and listen intently to see the next moments, Nature had become quite in order to watch it's newly adopted son change.

Though his outer appearance did not shift, his innards changed a good deal. His muscles repaired the damage that they had incurred, but also strengthened a few times over. His energy was instantly filled to the brim once again, to the point that he involuntarily erupted into a red aura. Goku's aura had truly become his own, now. His carapace hardened further representing taking in the skeletal structure of the man who had been the toughest person he had killed yet. His tendons tightened and became more flexible as well as became more resistant to tension and damage, allowing him to move more quickly. His fast-twitch muscles became more efficient, allowing him to react to threats more quickly. Even his nerve endings became improved.

That was not the biggest change however. Even as the euphoria left his body, he still felt giddy from the new sensation. The chains that had binded him were gone. The nagging hunger, the agony that was constantly whispering into his thoughts, it had vanished. He began laughing maniacally as he enjoyed the sense of being truly free. He stopped a bit short and spoke aloud to himself with a strange quizzical expression on his face.

“Wait... Why the Hell did that old witch want my brain?”

WC: 4,738
Total Word Count: 20,000
***********************NEW HIGH SCORE**************************

Victory.