Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unholy Crusade: Act 1 ❯ The Mechanicle Man ( Chapter 8 )

Unholy Crusade

Act 1: Reign of Fear

Chapter 8: The Mechanical Man

Last chapter…

Some dreams aren't meant to be deciphered, I guess…

But then again, I've had the same dream every night. The only time it changed was yesterday…

Does it have a meaning?

What does my dream mean?

As she wondered, she fell asleep.

She didn't dream.

^

Something tickled her nose, and she sneezed. That was all it took to wake her up. She raised her head, feeling something weird just under her nose…and it seemed to be crawling in one of her nostrils. She rubbed her nose, and pulled her finger away to see a rather scary sized, harry spider that was trying to fit up her nose. She yelped in shock, and flicked it off her finger, and fell on her back in the process.

She quickly sat back up and looked around. It was still night, and everyone was still in the tent sleeping…

…well, almost everyone.

Selena narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her campfire, stirring something in a glass.

"Eugene, what are you doing at this time of night?"

He looked up at her.

"Oh, 'evening Selena." He greeted. "Is it time for my shift?"

"Your shift?"

"Remember, I volunteered for the second shift?"

"Oh yeah. Well, I guess so."

"Good. Go in the tent and get some sleep." He smiled at her. "We've got a big day ahead of us." Then he handed her the cup. "Here. Some orange juice? To help you go to sleep?"

"Well, this is probably the nicest thing you've done for me, Eugene." Selena smiled, a little charmed. "Thank you." She took the glass and put her lips to the rim of the cup. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the gypsy watching her intensely. Suspicious, she lowered the glass from her mouth before taking in one drop.

"It's drugged, isn't it?" she flatly asked. Eugene almost panicked.

"Of course not! Why would I do that?"

"Oh, so it's poisoned?" Selena grinned teasingly. "Izzat it?"

"NO!" Eugene violently shook his head. Selena laughed.

"I'm teasing. Don't be so tense. But why were you staring at the glass like your life depended on it?"

"Well…I dunno if you like orange juice…"

"I love orange juice."

"How about the instant kind?"

"…it's alright."

"Well, it's instant."

"I don't mind." Selena shrugged, then she downed the whole glass like it was a shot of whiskey. She gave a satisfied "ah" afterward. "See? It's still good. Well, good night." She walked into the tent and snuggled into her sleeping bag.

As instant as the drink, she fell into a very deep sleep.

^

A bright light shined in her eyes, and instantly woke her up.

"OW!" she cried, sitting up and holding her hands over her eyes. When the spots disappeared, she peeked past her hands. It was daylight, and the forest was alive in noise and light. Birds were singing, a lone cuckoo was calling for a mate, the wind stirred the leaves high above…

…then Selena realized that she wasn't in the tent…

She stood up and found that even her sleeping bag was gone. She looked around and found that the whole camp had disappeared. By her feet, Krillin and Sakura were sleeping peacefully. Derak and Eugene were gone. Selena instantly panicked.

Was it Cell?

"Derak!" she called into the forest. "Eugene!" She began walking around, but was careful not to stray too far from Krillin and Sakura. "Derak! Eugene! Where are you?! Answer me!"

"Selena?" Krillin moaned, waking up. She turned to him.

"Krillin! Sakura! Get up, quick!" she called, jogging back to them. "The whole camp is gone!"

"What?" Krillin gasped, getting to his feet. He looked around. "Whoa man! That orange juice musta knocked me out cold. I didn't notice a thing…"

"Orange juice?" Selena asked, narrowing one suspicious eyebrow.

"Yeah. Eugene and Derak offered us orange juice when you were out on your shift. I slept like a baby."

Selena quickly put two and two together, and felt instant rage. She clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth behind her lips while her face turned red.

"YOU BASTARDS!" she screamed out into the air. "IT WAS DRUGGED! I KNEW IT! AND I DRUNK IT ANYWAY! YOU MISERABLE BASTARDS! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

"Whoa, dude!" Krillin panicked, scrambling away for cover. The shouting awaked Sakura.

"What's going on?" she yawned. Selena tried to calm down and explain.

"Derak and Eugene stole our stuff while we were sleeping."

"Huh?" she squeaked in surprise. "Why would they do that?"

"Gypsies, tramps and thieves…" Selena moaned. "And they said they didn't steal anything…" She looked around. "And if they left last night, then they could be anywhere…"

"What do we do now?" Krillin wondered. Selena put a hand over her mouth in thought.

"They're probably too far away for any of us to sense…and I'm not going to the Sacred City without my capsules…hey Krillin?" She turned to her little, bald friend.

"Yeah?"

"Can you fly around the area for us?" she asked. "Sakura and I will continue to the Sacred City on foot."

Krillin blinked in surprise.

"But you said it was past the mountains! And you don't know how to fly! How do you expect to…"

"There's a shortcut." Selena explained. "Please, Krillin, we need those capsules! All my equipment and vehicles are in that case!"

"Don't you have any capsules on you?" Krillin wondered. Selena nodded, and turned her glance down to the heel of her shoes.

"Just one, but that has food rations in it. Nothing that will really be any help in traveling. Please, Krillin? Please?"

"Okay." He sighed, hovering a couple inches off the ground. "But what if one of us runs into Cell?"

"I think he'll leave us alone right now…" Selena calculated, looking at the bandages that hid her scar. "I don't think we need to worry about him."

"Okay." Krillin nodded. "Just power up as high as you can if you need me." He flew into the air over the treetops to begin his search. Selena looked at Sakura.

"Ready to go?"

"Where's the swoop?"

"It's gone too. Everything is gone."

"But why?"

"I dunno. Let's go ask Derak and Eugene when we find their sorry asses." Sakura gasped at Selena turned to leave.

"Don't say bad words, Selena-san!" she scolded, then ran after her.

"Sorry…" Selena sighed, holding onto Sakura's hand. "I'm just really mad right now."

^

Selena and Sakura walked through the forest for a few hours and found nothing. Selena still kept the journey moving northward, heading for the Sacred City. She was kind of wishing she would get the capsules back before they went too far north. There was snow further north. Lots and lots of snow. She didn't want to be stuck on the snowfield with no capsules and one more body to keep warm other than herself.

Krillin found them at sunset, shaking his head in failure. He didn't find them. Selena sighed.

"Now what?" she groaned.

"Well, let's fly to the nearest town." Krillin suggested. "I can carry you girls again."

"Okay!" Sakura agreed, giggling. "Flying is fun!" Selena smiled.

"But wouldn't the weight be too much?" she asked in concern.

"We'll rest at the nearest town." Krillin insisted. "And I'm sure they have a capsule shop in that town too. You can just buy some new capsules there."

"I could…" Selena half-smiled, and then the smile disappeared. "…but I don't know where the nearest town is…"

"I can find it." Krillin cheered up. "C'mon, let's go."

Selena and Sakura nodded.

So Krillin gathered Sakura in his arms, and Selena held onto his shoulders behind him. Then, he set off at a steady speed so that Selena wouldn't fall off by accident. They continued northward to the Sacred City…

…and the snow fields ahead…

^

Through the night and into the next day, Krillin flew with the girls in tow. Selena kept him awake by making him tell her about the other fighters and the story behind Cell. She learned everything from the very beginning. She learned about Raditz, the truth behind the invasion five years ago, of the powerful tyrant Freeza, and of the warrior from the future, Trunks. She paid close attention to what Krillin knew about Cell. She took notes in her head. She wanted to know everything about him.

She learned that Cell was from the future, just like Trunks was. Cell was an android that absorbed human life into his body to make himself stronger. He had the DNA of the strongest warriors that ever set foot on Earth, including Freeza. He was after two androids named #17 and #18, and once he absorbed them he would become ultimately perfect. That could not happen; if he was perfect then he would become the strongest force of power that ever lived, and it was likely he would destroy the Earth and other planets just like it.

Selena understood that this all wasn't just about saving the Earth…

…it was about saving the universe! That thought chilled her. She didn't think she was ready for that kind of task.

Cell's earlier words came back to her.

What can you do about it?

Selena ran that question through her head a few times, trying to come up with a reasonable answer.

What can I do about it?

Anything I can.

^

Soon, they traveled so far north that the land was covered in snow. There were no trees around, only barren fields of white, glistening snow. The air became cold, and chilled everyone to the bone. Krillin was so cold, that he couldn't fly anymore, and he was forced to land. All three of them stood on the ground, shivering and looking around. There was nothing in site for miles, not one break in the snow, and no sign of a town, village, or even a house.

Selena rubbed her bare arms several times with her hands to keep herself warm.

"We'll keep going north," she declared, "even if we have to go on foot."

"You're crazy!" Krillin outbursted, shivering all over. "We don't even know where we are!"

"We're on the right track." Selena suggested. "There's a village called Jingle around her somewhere…it should be further north."

"Which way is north again?"

"The way we were going." She started walking foreword. "C'mon guys, let's go!"

"Selena-san…" Sakura shivered, chattering her teeth. Krillin picked the girl up in his arms and let her get warm against his gi. He ran after Selena, hearing his feet crush in the snow.

"Hey, Selena, wait!"

^

The stomping of Cell's feet was barely heard in the snow. That was good for him. Selena had gone this way, and he was hot on her trail. A cold breeze blew his way, strong and hard. It strong enough to make him falter and almost fall over. Fortunately, he leaned into the wind and kept his balance.

I must once again give Dr. Gero credit…

For the anti-freeze in my blood stream…

And feet that can navigate any terrain…

She's out here somewhere, not too far away…

And I'm going to find her…

And we're going to play another game…

^

"Whoa!" Selena gasped, feeling another strong gust of wind knock her over. She fell sideways in the snow. Krillin ran to her aide, still holding Sakura in his arms.

"Selena!" he called in panic. Selena carefully pushed herself up with her arms and stood on her feet.

"I'm okay." She assured, brushing loose snow off of her. "Let's keep going."

"We really should stop somewhere…" Krillin tried to suggest, following Selena. "Somewhere warm…"

"We don't know where that somewhere is." Selena reasoned. "Here, let me take her." She lifted Sakura into her arms and held her close. The little girl snuggled into Selena's top as she moved on. "If we keep going, then we'll eventually get there."

"What if we don't?"

"Don't argue with me, Krillin!" Selena shouted at him. Another gust of wind blew up and once again knocked Selena off her feet. Sakura screamed in surprise as she tumbled out of Selena's arms. Selena crawled to the little girl, and gathered her back up as she stood.

"We can't give up!" Selena snapped at Krillin, noticing that Sakura's hairline was icing up. "We have to keep going! We'll make it! Now come on, or we will die out here!" She kept walking, and Krillin shivered under his arms before following her.

^

A snowstorm was brewing, and Selena, Sakura and Krillin were stuck in it. Still, even though they had been walking for hours in the cold, they were powered by Selena's determination and continued to press on northward. Selena was sure the village was nearby, and she refused to give up heading there at all costs. Krillin had no choice but to follow her and make sure she would be okay. He just couldn't believe how quickly the cold had completely drained his strength. He wished he could fly them there…

The storm turned the whole world white and was deafening. Sharp cold was all around, flying in most every direction, stabbing them on any vulnerable skin it could touch. Selena felt like she was trying to be swallowed up by the cold winds, like she was in the middle of a tornado made of swirling ice daggers. She felt like the wind was trying to lift her off the ground and carry her into the sky. It seemed like the wind had hands to grab her and pull her up…

…kind of like her dream…

…only in her dream, she was pulled down…

…and not into wind, but into something like water…

…and that voice…

Look inside yourself and see the light, not the darkness…

Who was that talking?

And what was it trying to say?

A very sharp wind blew in her face, and pushed her over on her back. Krillin rushed to her and helped her up.

"Thanks, Krillin…" Selena shivered. She didn't realize how frozen she was. Her hair was frosting over, and a small icicle was forming on her nose. She brushed it away as she stood. "Let's keep going…"

"Yeah…" Krillin nodded. "We can't give up…not now…"

Selena shook her head, and continued putting one foot in front of the other.

It shouldn't be much further…

^

Selena was so relieved to see the forest before her. Another thing that was fortunate was that the wind had died down and snowflakes were falling like grains of salt on them. The branches of the forest around them were shelter from some of the snow, even though it did nothing for the cold. Selena had Sakura move around and make noise occasionally to be sure the child wasn't frozen dead. Selena smiled to herself as she walked through the forest and looked around at all the trees.

"We're really close now." She assured Krillin and herself. "Jingle is close by. It shouldn't be hard to miss now."

"Great." Krillin nodded, his head completely frozen. His ears felt like they were going to fall off, and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open and his chattering jaw still. He needed shelter and something hot in his mouth and stomach right now. He was really looking foreword to some hot cocoa next to a warm fireplace…

"AAAAA!" Selena yelped, faltering foreword a few steps. Her scar was throbbing again. She looked at it, to see it swelling up. Her theory was starting to prove itself. She screamed in the air. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"What's wrong?" Krillin panicked. Selena quickly broke into a run, hoping to get away.

"He's following us!" she shouted. "He's right behind us! We can't let him get us!" Krillin tried to follow her, but he was too cold and too tired to run.

"Wait! Selena!" he called to her.

Selena knew Cell was coming, and that through the grabbing storm and deadly cold he was unaffected and fit to fight. He would be coming for them, and he had the power to kill them all in one spot. She couldn't let him have that advantage, and she couldn't let him kill Sakura.

Suddenly, the cold got to her, and her mind was frozen. She stopped running, fell off her toe, and landed face down on the ground. She had fainted.

"SELENA!" Krillin yelled in alarm, heading as fast as he could to her. He tried to shake her, but she didn't respond. He heard Sakura crying underneath her, and he pushed Selena's body away to free the little girl. He gave the crying girl a hug, trying to keep her warm.

Now what would he do?

^

Such a powerful storm…

The anti-freeze isn't up to the job…

I'm cold…

Cell was standing in the middle of the falling snow, thankful that the wind was gone. His arms were crossed, and he was shivering. He was so very cold, and knew he needed shelter. His internal map and sense of direction told him there was a village nearby called Jingle.

Jingle? Why is that name familiar?

Oh yes, the Red Ribbon Army was stationed here…

They have a base…the Muscle Tower…

I can take shelter there for a while…Yes…

He began walking in the direction of the tower, hoping it was still standing.

I'm sure it is, why shouldn't it be…

Hey, wait a minute…

…

I wonder if 'he' is still here too…

^

Selena felt much warmer…she was starting to wake up. She carefully opened her eyes, since her eyelashes had frozen together. Everything was a blur at first, but around her seemed to be a pleasant glow. When the blurs came into focus, she found that she was staring at a wall and a window that showed it was snowing outside. She was inside a house…that was explaining a bit…

She slowly turned her head…man; her neck felt so stiff…she saw that she was in a bed inside a cozy bedroom. A small fire was ablaze in a nearby iron fireplace, warming up the room. She was wrapped in two down blankets and her head was resting on a very soft and comfortable pillow. She felt so warm and cozy that she snuggled deeper into her blankets and started to doze off back to sleep.

Then she remembered that she last found herself in a snowfield freezing to death, and she bolted to a sit, wide-awake. Her breathing became very rapid and sharp from the scare. She held her hands to her quickly beating heart.

"Where…am I?" she asked the room around her. The empty room had no response for her. Then she turned her head to the door, seeing that it was open. She carefully slid off the comfy bed and unfolded the blankets away from her. She noticed that she was wearing a warm sweater over her clothes and her shoes had been replaced with wool socks. Whoever lived here was definently adapted to the cold. She walked out the door of the bedroom and entered the living space.

A bear rug centered the room, and was cornered by two sofas. A much larger fireplace roared with fierily life, greatly warming up the home. A small kitchen was to the far end of the room, and the stove was brewing something in a huge soup pot. Selena smelled chicken and something like flowers coming from the pot. It made her mouth water. She walked towards the stove, and carefully sniffed the steamy fumes of the pot.

"Mmmmm…" she hummed hungrily. "Chicken soup."

"Oh, you're up." A voice said, making Selena jump in surprise. From another doorway came a young woman with blond hair tied behind her in a loose braid and draped in a cooking apron. She was wearing a red sweater and black pants with brown boots to match. The attire reminded Selena of a lumberjack. "Hi." The woman greeted with a friendly smile.

"Good morning." Selena nodded politely.

"Good evening, you should say." The woman insisted, walking towards her. "It's half past eleven. You've been asleep for hours." She waved her hand at the pot. "Help yourself. It's for you."

"Thank you very much." Selena smiled, nodding again but in thanks. The woman opened an upper cabinet door and handed Selena a small, brown bowl that was carved from wood and then varnished to a protective shine. Selena smiled at it before reaching for the ladle in the pot. It was so hot she burned her fingers.

"Ow!"

"Careful." The woman warned too late with a chuckle. "Here, let me get that for you."

^

"So," Selena began as she blew on a spoonful of her soup, "could you please tell me where I am?"

"This is Jingle Village." The woman answered, as she helped herself to a bowl of chicken soup. "My name is Yukii, and you with your friends are in my house."

"Thank God." Selena sighed, sitting down on a couch. Yukii sat on the other couch, spooning the broth in her mouth. "We made it. Wait, 'my friends?' Is a little girl and a bald guy here too?"

"Why yes." Yukii nodded, pointing to the door Selena saw her leave. "Krillin and Sakura, right? You three were all found together and I volunteered to take care of you until you all warmed up. You all just about froze to death, and are lucky to be alive. We're all so glad he found you."

"Who's he?" Selena wondered, before taking in a piece of chicken into her mouth and chewing. It was good to have hot food in her system, she felt much better.

"The man who found you." Yukii smiled. "The guardian of the village."

"Guardian?" Selena blinked in surprise.

Is there a guardian here too?

Like one of the Four Guardians? Like…me?

"Don't worry." Yukii waved an assured hand at Selena. "You'll get to meet him in the morning. He's very nice and very strong. If he didn't find you all in time…well…"

"I'll thank him myself." Selena nodded. She set her bowl down beside her. "Can I go see Krillin and Sakura? I want to be sure they're alright."

"Okay, but they're sleeping." Yukii cautioned. "They're fine. They were conscious when he found them. I quickly warmed them up with some hot chocolate and made sure they stayed warm. Krillin wanted to watch over you until you woke up, but I insisted that he got some rest." Selena smiled as she stood up.

"Really?" she wondered as she walked to the door. Yukii nodded as Selena slowly opened the door to a crack and peeked inside. The lights were off in the main bedroom, but she could see, tucked into the huge feather bed, Krillin and Sakura fast asleep in the dark room. It was such a peaceful picture that Selena's smile grew a little bigger just before she quietly closed the door.

"Thank you so very much." Selena bowed to Yukii. "This is very kind of you."

"Don't mention it." Yukii chuckled behind one hand. "It's all out of the kindness of my heart. I guess I get it from my mother. A long time ago, when I was little, my mother and I took a young boy in from the cold snows and saved him too."

"Oh really?" Selena wondered, sitting back on the couch and picking up her soup bowl. Yukii nodded.

"It was a good thing I saved him too. During that time, the Red Ribbon Army had attacked our village and rooted out all the men to help them search for the dragonball."

"Dragonball?" Selena blinked. Oh yeah, she knew all about the dragonballs. Kami used to tell her stories about them. "Why did they want a dragonball?"

"We were never told why." Yukii shook her head. "To take over the world, I guess. Anyway, my father was taken away by them, and my mother and I missed him so much. Then, when I found the boy, he promised to save the village and bring back my father in return for my kindness. He was quite the fighter, I have to admit that I was scared of him when he showed off his strength."

Selena was suspecting the end to this little fairy tale…

"So what happened?"

"He went to the Muscle Tower, defeated the army, and saved our village. All the men came back, including my father."

"And the boy?"

"Left in search of the other dragonballs. I never saw him again."

Drat. I thought she would have fallen in love with him and got married…

Oh well…life's not a fairy tale, after all…

"So…did this boy have a name?" Selena wondered as she sipped a spoonful of broth.

"Of course he did." Yukii laughed behind her hand again. "Son Goku."

Selena spit out her soup in shock.

"Son Goku?!" she yelped. "No kidding?!"

^

"Whew." Eugene sighed, leaning against the stone wall. "That was close. We just barely got out of that storm. Lucky to be alive, eh Derak?" His friend was on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall on his back with one leg crossed over the other and his arms folded on his chest. Derak was staring at his shoes, a guilty look was painted on his face. "Hey man, what's eatin ya?"

"I can't believe we had to do that to her, Eugene." Derak sighed. "We stranded her, and that monster probably got her because of us." He glared at him. "If she is dead, and we're responsible…then that makes us murderers."

"Why the hell are you worried about her?" Eugene waved an unconcerned hand at Derak. "She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She said it herself, she could fight that monster." He shrugged. "Idiot bitch…"

"Gin!" Derak snapped. "Cut that out! What if she is dead? If she were heading north like she said, then she would have to come this way just like we did! Out here, in that storm? With no capsules? If that monster didn't kill her, this storm will."

"Will you stop worrying already?" Eugene insisted in annoyance. He slumped down until he was sitting on the floor. "If she is what she says she is then she'll be fine, right? But she did mention a city in the north where the monster wouldn't be able to go. It's a guaranteed safe spot, and that's where we're going to go. Then we won't have to worry about the monster. We have the equipment we need…" He held up Selena's capsule case for Derak to see. "…so we'll get there before the monster does. So relax. Once the storm calms down, we'll keep going."

"Fine." Derak sighed. "So, where are we again?"

"I dunno. Some old tower…" Eugene shrugged. "I'm sure there's a map around here somewhere that'll tell us where we are…"

"You are in the Muscle Tower…" a different voice answered them from the shadows, "…the northern headquarters of the Red Ribbon Army…" Derak and Eugene turned their heads to an open doorway in fear.

"That voice…" Derak gasped.

"Is it…what I think it is…" Eugene shivered.

Then, it stepped out of the darkness as though the shadows were melting off of its speckled skin.

"It's the monster!" Eugene screamed.

"Stand back!" Derak threatened it, pointing his rifle at it. The monster flicked a finger at him, and the rifle suddenly flung from Derak's hands and landed behind him. The monster seemed to form a pleased smile on its beak as it walked towards the two gypsies. Derak took a frightened step back, and tripped over the rifle, falling on his back. The monster immediately lunged for the man, and stabbed its tail into his chest.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Eugene screamed in fear. Derak reached a hand out to his comrade.

"Gin!" he screamed in fear and pain. "Help…"

GRUUUP! GRUUUP! GRUUUP!

Loud slurping sounds from the monster's tail echoed off the walls as Derak seemed to melt away and get sucked up the syringe of the monster's tail. Soon, all that was left of Derak was his clothes. Eugene was paralyzed. His best friend since childhood was gone! Died before his eyes! Wrapped in fear and disgust, he was frozen in place. Then, the monster met his gaze and growled softly. It broke the small spell, and Eugene pushed himself away from the monster with his feet.

"NO!" Eugene screamed in panic. "Please, don't hurt me!" Then, his back thudded against the wall, and the monster began walking towards him. Eugene screamed again, putting his hands and arms in front of himself in defense. "Please, don't! No!"

KT-CH! KT-CH! KT-CH! KT-CH!

The monster's loud steps rang in Eugene's ears. His heartbeat seemed to fall in the rhythm of the stomping.

"Wait! Wait!" Eugene tried to stop. "You're name is Cell, right?"

KT-CH, KT-CH, KT-CH, KT-CH…

Cell's steps quickened upon hearing his name. Now he couldn't afford to let the boy live.

"WAIT!" Eugene shouted at him. "Please, listen to me! You're after that Selena girl, right? She's not dead yet, right?"

KT-CH, KT-CH, KT-CH, KT-CH…

"I know where she is!"

KT…

The monster paused just inches from Eugene. He stared at the boy long and hard. Eugene shivered under the android's shadow, only fearing the worst of what would happen to him. Suddenly, Cell reached down for the boy.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Cell grabbed Eugene's neck and hoisted him up into the air while pressing him against the wall. Both were at eye level and Cell leaned his face so close to Eugene's that the boys nose almost touched Cell's beak.

"I know where she is too…" Cell whispered harshly.

"…" Eugene shivered under Cell's grasp. The monster smiled.

"…and I have a use for you…"

^

Selena awoke the next morning on the couch, covered in a wool blanket. She felt a lot better, less cold and less stiff. She had recovered. She sat up and looked around. Yukii was at the stove, making something that smelled wonderful. Selena stretched her arms up in the air, and tossed the blanket off her.

" 'Morning, Yukii." Selena greeted.

"Good morning." Yukii greeted in a singsong voice. "You ready for breakfast? I'm making waffles."

"Waffles?" Selena blinked. "What are those?" Yukii turned to her.

"You must be kidding."

"No."

"Well, waffles are like pancakes…only they have square bumps in them."

"How strange." Selena chuckled behind her hand. "Sure, I would love to try some waffles."

"Where are you from, Selena?"

"Ireland."

"Really?" Yukii blinked. "But that's just north of here, and you were found in the south."

"Yeah, I know." Selena nodded, standing up. "I've been away from home for a long time, and I'm heading back."

"Oh, I see." Yukii nodded. "I've never been to Ireland…so they don't have waffles there?"

"Nope."

"Strange. Well, I have the first batch ready for you when you want it."

"Thank you. I'll eat right now." Yukii readied a plate for Selena, and Selena applied her own amount of warm maple syrup and butter. "Oh, by the way, are Krillin and Sakura alright?"

"They woke up before you did." Yukii informed as Selena found a place to sit at the kitchen counter. "Sakura wanted to make a snowman so she and Krillin are outside."

"Okay." Selena nodded, looking at her waffles carefully. "Wow. This is strange…"

"I'm amazed you've never seen a waffle in your life." Yukii smiled. "If you travel, haven't you been to a diner that served them?"

"None that I know of." Selena shook her head. "Oh, by the way," she changed the subject. "Thank you so much for taking the three of us in. I can't tell you how grateful we are."

"I understand." Yukii nodded. "Now eat up. Waffles are no good when they're cold."

^

After eating up her breakfast and putting on a lent wool jacket, Selena walked outside and into the small village of Jingle. She had been here before, but that was just a quick stop to buy supplies. She didn't know the town very well, but she knew that beyond here was a forest that provided a shortcut through the mountains and to the Sacred City. The people of Jingle Village called it the Haunted Woods, since there were ghost sightings there, but Selena knew the real name of the forest. It was known as the Forest of Nightmares. True, strange things did happen there, and they were usually bad. However, if a guardian was in the wandering party then no bad things happened at all. The forest was Selena's next destination…

…but first she needed capsules.

She found Sakura and Krillin rolling up huge snowballs and stacking them into a decent snowman. Sakura was having a ball making her first snowman. Selena smiled at the little girl. Sakura was wearing a small red parka and black goulashes. Krillin was in a puffy black jacket and wore oversized snow boots on his feet. Both of them were having fun drawing in a face on the snowman's head and giving it branch arms.

"We need a carrot!" Sakura announced enthusiastically as Selena approached.

"Why do we need a carrot?" Krillin wondered.

"For the nose!" Sakura put a finger on her own nose. "Every snowman has a carrot nose."

"Lemme see." Selena insisted, standing behind the two. She nodded her head as she evaluated. "That's a very good snowman, guys."

"Hey Selena." Krillin greeted. "Glad to see ya up and around."

"Thanks Krillin."

"Selena-san!" Sakura cheered, hugging Selena's legs. "You're alright!" Selena smiled, and picked up the little girl in her arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Selena nodded. "So, what have you two been doing while I was asleep?"

"Making Frosty the Snowman, mostly," Krillin explained, waving his hand at the snowman. "But we stopped by 8-man's place to say thank you."

" '8-man?' " Selena blinked.

"That's the guy who saved us." Krillin nodded. "Oh man, Selena, you have got to see this guy! He's huge!"

"He's cool!" Sakura laughed. "I like 8-man-san!"

"I think I should go see him." Selena nodded, putting down Sakura. "Where is he?"

"He lives in the mayor's house. This way." Krillin directed, heading in the indicated way.

"I wanna come to!" Sakura suggested. "I wanna see him again!"

8-man…Selena wondered to herself.

Is he the guardian of the village?

I wonder what he's like…

^

Selena knocked on the door of the mayor's house. It was a house just like the other houses in the village, small and cozy. However, the door was rather massive. She wondered if this 8-man was the mayor of the town…

Then, the biggest man she had ever seen opened the door.

"Whoa." Selena gasped in surprise.

The man was roughly six foot seven feet tall, and had broad shoulders, a hunched over head, and a body size that was lucky to fit through a door. He must have been the reason why the mayor's door was so wide. The man looked like the Frankenstein monster with his squared off head, bolts in the neck, green skin, stitches across his face and hands, and a mess of black hair. Selena was very intimidated.

"Hi 8-man-san!" Sakura greeted, waving. The huge man looked at her and smiled. Selena's tension eased a bit.

"So, you're 8-man?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Yes, I am." He answered in a mechanical voice. Selena nodded.

"Not to sound impolite, but…it's a most unusual name." The man smiled.

"It is my nickname. My full name is Mechanical Man #8."

Selena raised an eyebrow.

#8? Like Android #8?

"Well, thank you for saving me and my friends yesterday." Selena bowed. "That was very heroic of you. We probably would have died if we stayed out any later than we did."

"I am grateful that you three survived." The man nodded. "There was something very bad traveling the same road you were on."

"What do you mean?"

"It was something bad. It would have hurt you a lot. But you are safe here."

"Yes." Selena nodded. "Thank you again."

"You may stay here as long as you like." 8-man offered. "But you must beware of what is following you."

"I think I know what you're talking about now. I'll be careful, I promise."

"You have a nice day." The man wished as Selena and the others began walking away.

"Bye bye!" Sakura called as the door closed. The three of them walked back to the snowman.

"What is up with that guy?" Selena asked Krillin. "Is he a robot or something?"

"I think he's an android." Krillin nodded. "He has a number for a name, and all androids have numbers. 17 and 18 are the ones we have to look for."

"So, was #8 an old project of Gero's?"

"I think so."

"Then he could be trouble?"

"I dunno. He's been here for years, and I dunno what his story is. But he hasn't caused any trouble at all as far as I heard. He's been protecting this place for a long time. Yukii said he's been here ever since she was a little girl."

"Hmmm…" Selena bowed her head in thought, "he said a bad thing was following us. I think he meant Cell…"

"Is that why you panicked back there?"

"Yeah, I thought he was right behind us."

"Kid, you worry too much."

Then, a commotion began to buzz through the village. People began gathering at the southern side of town and their chatter was very loud and panicky. After blinking a couple of times, Selena went to go investigate too. Krillin and Sakura followed.

Everyone was crowded around a young man who had stumbled in from the cold. He was absolutely frozen, and seemed extremely scared. An elderly man was guiding him through the crowd. Someone tossed a warm blanket over the man's shoulders as he was guided to a house. Selena took a look at the refuged man's face, and was shocked.

"It can't be…" she breathed. "Eugene!"

Eugene looked at Selena, and he appeared to be more frightened than before. The older man took him into the house. Selena glared at the door of the house as it closed. She marched up to it with her hands balled into angry fists. Krillin took notice of that immediately.

"Whoa!" he panicked, running after Selena. "Hey Selena, wait up!" Sakura followed. Selena opened the unlocked door to the house and looked it. The house was the exact same thing as Yukii's if not for the different décor. Eugene was seated in a recliner and the old man was tucking blankets around him. Selena cleared her throat to make her presence known. The old man gasped.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Where did you come from?"

"I know this man." Selena said firmly. "He's a gypsy and his name is Eugene. And the little thief stole something from me. Can I talk to him for a moment?"

"Can't you see he's frozen solid?!" the man outbursted. "He can barely say a word."

"Then I'll help warm him up." Selena offered. "Do you have any hot chocolate or soup for him to eat?"

^

Selena and the old man made some hot chocolate for Eugene while Krillin and Sakura made themselves at home. After Eugene was warmed up, the old man wandered into another room to let Selena go on with her interrogating. Selena sat directly across from the gypsy with her legs slightly apart, resting her elbows on her knees, and bunching her hands under her nose. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel by now. Was she angry? Homicidal? Annoyed? She was a mix of all three, but she kept herself in control.

"Eugene…" she sighed. "I don't know if I should kill you or not. Not only did you take off like that, but you stole my capsules and equipment. The three of us had to travel through the snow without so much as the clothes on our back. We almost died out there. I feel that you and Derak made quick time with my swoops and used some of my sweaters and jackets to stay warm…or maybe even my battery powered heater or my gas lamp? While we're on the subject, where are my capsules?"

"Don't got 'em…" he said, rubbing his hands over his cold arms.

"Don't give me that crap. Hand them over!"

"I dropped them…in the tower…"

"You lost them? How could you lose them? What the hell were you and Derak doing?!"

"Derak…" Eugene shivered under the blanket draped over his shoulders.

"And that reminds me, where is Derak? Knowing you guys, you wouldn't just take off without him, would you?"

"He's dead…"

"Dead?"

"The monster…got him…"

"Oh no!" Sakura squeaked, cuddling closer to Krillin.

"Cell…" Krillin shivered in fear. Selena narrowed her eyes.

"Wait a minute…that thing killed Derak and not you? How come?"

"He's coming!" Eugene suddenly shouted, bolting up to his feet. "He's coming here! He wants you!"

"Me?" Selena blinked suspiciously. "Tell me something I don't know."

"He's gonna kill me too!" Then, he grabbed her shirt desperately. "Please help me! Please! I don't wanna die!"

"None of us wanna die." Selena snorted, pushing Eugene back into his chair. "And how do I know you're not making this up?!"

"Selena!" Krillin tried to reprimand. "He's trying to warn us!"

"I don't think so." Selena shook her head. "That monster has spared no one except for me. Why would he spare Eugene? He told me himself, the kid didn't mean anything to him. Eugene probably abandoned Derak somewhere and took off without him, and Derak has frozen to death."

"I wouldn't do that to him!" Eugene defended.

"I wouldn't know that for sure. From what I've seen, Eugene, you don't care about anyone other than yourself. How would you even know Cell is coming this…"

Suddenly, her scar jerked in pain.

"…AAAAAA!" Selena was forced on her knees, holding her wrist tightly. "Oh crap!"

"Selena-san!" Sakura jumped off the couch and ran to Selena's side. Selena was trying to stare past the bandages that covered her scar. She could feel the bite marks swell under the cloth.

"Oh God…" Selena began whispering. "Eugene…I'm so sorry…"

"Huh?" Eugene blinked as Selena stood up.

"You were right. I'm sorry I doubted you. He is coming."

"But how would you know?" Eugene wondered. Selena held out her bandaged left arm.

"Have you ever wondered where my scar came from? Well, a few days ago, Cell bit this arm with his own teeth. The arm healed, but the bite marks didn't. Since then, I found that when Cell is nearby, the marks swell and start hurting all over again. It's like a warning that Cell is coming. That was what happened just now. Cell is coming…and I sensed him."

"Oh my God…" Krillin gasped in disbelief. "Selena, are you sure?"

"Not really." She admitted, shaking her head. "I don't know if that's the case. And if it is, I don't know how it can be happening…" Then she raised it higher. "…but enough of that. We can't waste any time. We need to get the people out of here. Cell is on his way, and I don't know how fast he's traveling."

^

Selena had rallied the villagers in the town square. She let them know that the monster of Nickey Town was on his way and he would spare no one. The mayor, a man in his mid-forties, made plans for everyone to take refuge in the Haunted Woods. Selena watched everyone take any food or what they could carry, and quickly herd to the woods to the north.

She spotted Sakura and Krillin next to Yukii. Selena stepped down to them.

"Yukii," Selena said to the woman, "take Sakura with you. Take care of her for me, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Yukii asked as Sakura looked up at her. "You're coming with us, aren't you?"

"No." Selena shook her head. "I'm going to stay here and try to buy you guys more time to escape."

"Don't tell us you're going to take Cell on by yourself?!" Krillin exclaimed. "Selena, you can't win!"

"That doesn't matter in this case." Selena insisted. "I'm just giving you more time. Krillin, go with them too. Protect them in case I can't keep Cell in one place."

"But Selena…"

"Don't argue!" she snapped. "There's no time! Get going!"

"Selena-san…" Sakura sniffed, like she was about to cry. Selena lowered herself to one knee to look the child in the eye.

"Sakura, you have to go with them. I can't have you here, you'll get hurt. Krillin will take care of you."

"But he always has to take care of me!" the girl protested. "I wanna be with you!"

"Sorry, kid." Selena sighed. "The last thing I want is something bad to happen to you. If Cell hurt you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for not being able to stop him. So, just go on with Yukii and the others. Everything will be alright."

"Selena-san…"

"Yukii…" Selena said to the woman, "…if anything does happen to me, you take good care of Sakura for me, okay?"

"But Selena…you're talking like you're about to die…" Yukii tried to reason. Selena stood up and shook her head.

"You're running out of time." She insisted. "Get going." Then she turned around and began walking to the south side of the village. The three of them watched as she walked away. Bursting out crying, Sakura started running to her friend. Krillin held the girl back.

"Selena-san!" Sakura cried. "Come back!"

"We better go." Krillin nodded to Yukii. They started walking away as Sakura starting hitting Krillin to make him let go of her.

"Let me go! Let me go, Krillin! Selena-san! She's gonna die! We gotta help her! Krillin, let go! SELENA-SAN!"

^

Protected from the cold by Yukii's coat and goulashes, Selena stood ready for Cell with her staff in hand. Her scar was beginning to hurt more, signaling that Cell was getting very close now. She kept her eyes on the horizon, looking for any sign of Cell's approach. She would spot him any minute now.

The skies began to cloud above her, becoming peaceful shades of light gray. Light flakes of snow began to glide down from the sky. The numbers were small at first, but then hundreds of snowflakes began tumbling from the sky and became thicker and bigger by the minute. Another snowstorm would follow soon. Selena recalculated her odds of survival. She was fighting on terrain she wasn't familiar with and wasn't comfortable on, and she was frozen, and her muscles couldn't be any stiffer. She wasn't sure how Cell would perform in the cold, but hopefully she would stand some chance.

…but, if Cell didn't kill her, then the cold will…

^

From inside an empty house, someone watched her. Someone wondered what she would be doing out here, and not with the others in the forest outside of town. Someone prayed that this girl knew what she was doing.

^

Someone else was watching from a more secret hiding place. Watching Selena and the horizon, trading gazes for each. Someone was anxious for the monster to come quickly. Someone was hoping that he would survive through the coming events.

Hurry up, dammit! Hurry up!

^

She saw him.

He was walking towards her, unaffected by the cold snow falling. Their eyes were locked, they could see each other. She couldn't hear his footsteps, they were muffled in the snow. The snowfall was letting up, as though someone was lifting a curtain and signaling the show to begin. Selena gripped her staff tighter in her hands. Cell's stride quickened pace.

Both were waiting for one or the other to move.

Soon, Cell was standing just a few feet away from Selena. Both just stared at each other for a while. The only thing moving was Cell's tail, which wavered around slightly until it held a still arch pointing away from the girl. Selena said the only thing that could come to mind.

"Hi."

"Hello."

"Nice weather…"

"…if you're a penguin."

"Heh."

Then they were silent again. Suddenly, they both struck fighting poses.

"Well," Selena shrugged, "let's get this over with."

"Are you going to win this time?" Cell asked with a teasing smirk.

"Nah."

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

"No, I don't."

"…" Selena decided to stop the small talk. It was just proving she was nervous. Cell was calm and casual, not bothered at all. He knew he was going to win. Selena was not sure if she had one advantage.

"Well, what's the problem? Is it too cold for you?"

"What about you?"

"I'm not bothered."

"Damn."

Cell grinned.

"Fool. Did you actually think the snow and cold would bother me? Did you figure that I couldn't fight as well in the cold? Why don't you calculate your own odds for a change?!"

Selena ran for him with a yell. Cell just smiled, anticipating attack. Selena swung her staff at him, but he easily caught it. He kept a firm grip on the staff, and used it to fling Selena away from him. She was thrown into the village, and tumbled to a stop in the snow. Cell ran after her, then raised a foot to kick her. Selena quickly rolled away from him, just missing his flinging foot. She grabbed her staff and jumped up to her feet.

Cell flung a flexed hand at her, trying to claw her face. She brought up her staff, and Cell's claws only scraped the jewel end. She raised the other end of the staff, and knocked him a hard blow to the face. He growled in pain, backing away a couple of steps. Selena quickly sheathed her staff on her back, and lunged for Cell with her hands before her. Cell prepared for attack as Selena charged. She slapped his blocking arms with openhanded hits. He tried to attack back with jabs, but he was having trouble trying to hit her. With both on the offence, neither was causing much damage.

Cell jumped in the air, and Selena jumped after him. A strong gust of wind picked up, and blew Selena slightly away from Cell. She yelped, shielding her face from the cold gust. Cell took the unguarded opportunity to attack, and he kicked her back to the ground. Selena landed on her back on the snow, and sank in deep. She climbed out angrily.

"Dammit…" she muttered, gritting her teeth, "He got stronger…"

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

Selena quickly looked up to the buzzing noise above her just in time to see Cell's foot before it came in contact with her face. She was knocked further into the snow. She quickly raised her head and shook her ears clear of snow.

"That does it!" she shouted. "Now I'm mad!" Then, she powered up her aura, and the heat of her ki melted the snow around her. She stood up, and found herself in a puddle of water that came up to her knees. The water was steaming. She shook the snow out of her hair, and looked around for Cell. He was hovering rather close to the ground, watching her. Then, his eyes turned up to a nearby roof behind Selena. She turned her head to look. She saw a young man with a high-powered rifle in his hands jump from the roof and run in their direction. The man was dressed in a huge black coat and had his face hidden behind snow goggles and the coat hood.

"Hey!" Selena shouted at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The man didn't answer. Cell landed softly on the ground, crossed his arms, and let his tail rest on the ground. The man walked in front of Cell and pointed his gun at Selena. "What the…" Selena blinked. The man freed one hand from his gun and reached into his jacket. He pulled out a capsule case, and held it out for Selena to see. She recognized it.

"That's my capsule case!" She exclaimed. She started running for him. "Thanks for finding it. Can I have it back?!"

Suddenly, he fired the gun. A bullet hit Selena in the leg, and she fell over on her stomach with a yelp.

"Hey!" she yelled back. "What the hell gives?!" She tried to stand up, but her leg was bleeding and was starting to stiffen. The man laughed, and raised his goggles off his eyes.

"Sorry, Selena," a familiar voice chuckled, "but you better stay where you are if you want this to run smoothly."

"Eugene, you bastard!" Selena shouted at the gypsy. Eugene waved around Selena's capsule case tauntingly.

"So, yeah, I had your capsules all along. I'm a pretty good actor, aren't I?"

"I am going to kill your ass!"

"You want your capsules?" Eugene asked. "Then you better surrender yourself."

"To who? You?"

"To him." Eugene looked over his shoulder at Cell. The monster didn't move. Selena could not believe it. Fear welled in her eyes. She just could not believe what was happening. The fear melted away into absolute hatred. She started crawling to him, reaching out with her hands and pulling herself in his direction.

"I'm gonna kill you…" she growled. "I am going to kill your sorry ass!"

"So, do you give up or not?"

"Why should I?"

"You want your capsules back, don't you?"

"They're not worth my life!"

"Oh really?" Eugene chuckled. "That's not what you thought earlier. You said that without your capsules, all you had to keep you warm were the clothes on your back. You said you almost died because you didn't have your capsules. Am I right?"

He's right. God damn it, he's right…

"So, what do you say, Selena? You want them back?"

"What if I decide not to surrender?" Selena spat back. The blood on her leg was starting to freeze. Eugene turned to Cell.

"You wanna know where the villagers went?" he asked the monster.

"Do tell." Cell nodded.

"You wouldn't!" Selena shouted at Eugene.

"Well, she ordered everyone out of town and to the…"

"Eugene!"

"She even told that little girl to go with them…"

"Don't!"

"They all went to the forest just up the…"

"SHUT UP, DAMN YOU!" Selena screamed, about to burst into tears. Eugene turned back to Selena.

"Should I tell him more?!"

"You bastard…" Selena muttered, almost too tired to talk. "You're selling me out to save your own skin, aren't you? You sacrificed Derak just so that you could live!"

"You have half the story right." Eugene nodded. "So, are you going to surrender? You're the one who's getting the better side of the bargain, after all."

Selena lowered her head for a moment to think, then she raised it.

"I surrender!" she announced desperately. Then she resumed pulling herself up to Eugene. "But I surrender only to Cell, not you! I'm gonna kill you, backstabber!" Cell chuckled behind one hand as Eugene backed away from Selena. He turned to Cell.

"The villagers are in the Haunted Woods just north of here." He spilled. Selena froze in shock.

"And I thank you for your cooperation." Cell nodded as he walked away. "Do what you want with her, but don't kill her. Or else." He gave Eugene an evil eye, and the gypsy flinched.

"No problem." He chuckled. With that, Cell ran off. Selena angrily rose to her feet, and charged for Eugene.

"TRAITOR!" she screamed. Eugene fired another round at her leg, and she fell over back into the puddle. She was starting to black out from the blood loss. Then she heard Eugene start cackling like a madman, and preparing his gun for one more shot.

"Sorry, Selena." He laughed. "I'll keep the capsules. He said not to kill you, but I'm gonna prepare a little accident for ya. Later, sweetie! Ha, ha, ha, ha…huh? Hey, what the…OH MY GOD!"

Then he was screaming, and then she heard his scream suddenly go far away like he was flung away. Then she heard a crash from the other side of the village. Then, she felt huge hands pick her up and hold her close.

"Are you alright?" a familiar monotone voice asked.

"8-man?" Selena shivered.

"Let us go." The android suggested. "We have no time to waste." Then he started running. His body was warm, and the movements of his running body rocked her gently.

She fell asleep.

^

She awoke to the sound of birds singing. She opened her eyes and saw snow-covered trees around her. She sat up, and found herself wrapped in a long blanket. She wrestled her way out of it and stood up. Pain shot up her leg, and she fell back on her bottom. She looked at her leg, and noticed that it was bandaged. It didn't feel like any bones were broken. She stood back up carefully and looked around.

Krillin and Sakura were nearby, asleep under one blanket. No one else was around. She carefully walked to them and shook them awake. As soon as Krillin woke up, he told Selena what had happened. Cell found them and attacked. Krillin tried to defend who was left, but all he could save was Sakura. Then 8-man showed up with Selena and tried to fight Cell.

"Poor guy…" Krillin mourned for 8-man, "he didn't stand a chance. Cell blew him to pieces."

"No…" Selena gasped. Sakura's lip quivered and her eyes watered, like she was going to cry. Selena sat by the girl and hugged her. "He saved my life…what happened after that?"

"Well…Cell saw you…and he stopped." Krillin tried to explain.

"He stopped?"

"He was gonna attack me next, but he saw you and…he just stood there, looking at you…then he…he cleaned off the blood, took out the bullets in your leg, and…took off for the village…"

"I think I know why." Selena nodded. She told her half of the story, and Krillin couldn't believe his ears. Sakura started crying, not in belief either.

"Eugene…" Krillin whispered sadly.

"Save your tears." Selena spat angrily. "Cell killed him for trying to kill me. Good riddance to bad rubbish." She gathered Sakura in her arms and stood up. "Is this the Haunted Woods?"

"Yeah." Krillin nodded.

"Where did you come in from?"

"That way." Krillin pointed south. Selena nodded and headed north.

"Then we go this way." She proposed. "On the other side of this forest is the Sacred City. Stick with me, and we'll get there."

"Okay." Krillin nodded, then walked after her. Selena looked behind her, past Krillin and at the blanket that she was wrapped in.

Yukii…are you dead too?

I'm sorry, Yukii…

Thanks for protecting Sakura for me…

…and thanks for the waffles…

To Be Continued

Masquerade: Hi everybody! Thanks for reading Unholy Crusade so far. It's my biggest project so far, and I'm hoping for it to get bigger. Uh, you're probably wondering where the end of episode bonus is…well, this chapter was so long that there won't be one this episode. So sorry, plus it's the holidays and I'm a particularly busy woman. So, let me put a really quick thing together. **turns around** Hey, guys!

(The cast of Unholy Crusade walks out. All of them are wearing Santa Clause suits.)

Everyone: Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all!

Masq: Not much, I know, but it'll do ya, right?

Selena: Hey Cell, you look good in a Santa suit.

Cell: **looks around nervously** There had better be no cameras around here!

Masq: Happy Holidays, everyone!