Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unholy Crusade: Act 1 ❯ The Forest of Nightmares ( Chapter 9 )

Unholy Crusade

Act 1: Reign of Fear

Chapter 9: Forest of Nightmares

In the last chapter…

"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.

The morning sun was peeking through the leaves of the canopy, lighting the narrow path of the forest. They had left the snow behind, and the ground was filled with many green plants and colorful flowers. The scent of the flowers wafted through the air, along with the smell of the pine trees around. They could hear the birds singing merrily, high in the trees and with no cares at all. Selena smiled at the sight. The forest was masking what it truly was.

The people in surrounding towns and settlements called this place the Haunted Forest. In truth, it was the Forest of Nightmares. Selena was among the few that knew the land's true name, for she was a guardian. She was aware of the many stories and dangers the forest held under its trees. She wasn't familiar with the land, but she knew enough to protect herself and her fellow travelers.

"Why do they call it the 'Haunted Forest?' " Krillin wondered as they walked (Selena was mentally kicking herself for forgetting her capsule case back in Jingle). "Are there really ghosts here?"

"Not really." Selena shook her head. "Strange things do happen here, and people will believe anything these days…within this forest is a strange power…not like the power we have. This power can see into our hearts, our minds…our souls, and show us things."

"Show us?" Sakura wondered, holding Selena's hand. "Show us what?"

"Our greatest fears, mostly." Selena tried to explain. "Our worst nightmares…and things worse than that. It's mostly to drive people away."

"Why drive them away?" Krillin asked.

"Because this forest is the Sacred City's first line of defense. To avoid seeing illusions of what you fear most, a guardian must be in your party." She reached behind her, and tapped the jewel on her staff. It began to glow faintly, but no light could be shed for them because the forest was too bright. "So, we shouldn't see anything. At least, nothing that could hurt us. See, illusions can be harmful, even deadly, if you believe they are real. If you believe they can hurt you, then they have the power to hurt and even kill you."

"Some way to ward people off…" Krillin muttered, then he spoke back up. "So, has anyone ever died in here?"

"Oh yeah." Selena nodded. "Lots. Those who thought they could brave the unknown lurking in the wilderness. They never returned. Some who go looking usually find bloody remains of these foolish adventurers."

"Ew!" Sakura freaked, huddling closer to Selena's body. Selena patted the little girl's head.

"It's okay. With me here, we'll be fine." Then she smirked wickedly. "And if Cell tries to follow us, he has to be within at least ten meters away from me. Or else, he stands no chance against his greatest fear."

"But Cell isn't scared of anything…" Krillin tried to explain. Selena shook her head.

"If one isn't afraid of anything…one cannot possibly exist. We all have something to fear. Even Cell is afraid of something…"

^

He was angry.

No matter how hard he had searched the remains of Jingle Village, he couldn't find Eugene. The gypsy probably ran off into the snow-covered distance where he would most likely die from frostbite. Cell let the kid go. His purpose was fulfilled, and he no longer needed the boy.

Meanwhile, Cell busied himself with the forest around him. He could remember reports from the Red Ribbon Army from long ago when they were searching for the local dragonball. A few disposable men were sent to look through these woods but they never returned. The cold of the snow couldn't have gotten them, Cell had left all that behind a mile or so ago. Written in the report were also rumors that the forest was haunted. Cell had to snort in disbelief at that.

The natives called this place the "Haunted Woods…"

Why do humans make up such fairy tales to explain what they can't understand?

Why can't they explain what causes the "impossible?"

It's downright disgusting…

He closed his eyes for a minute as he walked. His stomping footsteps were starting to drown out the other forest noises around him.

KT-CH…KT-CH…KT-CH…

I can just barely feel Selena and Krillin ahead of me…

It might have been a mistake to let them have the head start…

Searching for that damned Eugene wasted a lot of my energy.

I'll have to absorb the three of them to get it all back…

KT-CH…KT-CH…KT-CH…

"Scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit…"

"What the…" Cell gasped aloud, stopping in his tracks. He looked around the area, seeing only trees and underbrush surrounding him. He was fairly sure he heard something moving around in the underbrush, and it was making a strange kind of squeaking sound. After a few minutes, he didn't hear anything else and he continued walking.

How strange…

^

"Whoops…" Selena gasped, almost tripping to the ground. She lifted her caught foot to see what snagged her pants, which left her hopping around on her other foot. Her caught foot seemed to be held in mid air, as though whatever grabbed her was invisible. She snarled at the sight.

"What in the world…" Krillin wondered, reaching out to hold Selena's foot.

"Don't touch it!" she snapped in warning. She held her foot out into a ray of sunlight, and it revealed silvery hairs trapped around her leg. Careful not to touch, Sakura admired the strands.

"Pretty!" she cried.

"It looks like silver." Krillin observed as Selena poked the strands off her with her staff. She freed her leg and brushed her staff against a nearby tree to remove the strands from that too.

"Spider webbing." She explained. "I forgot all about the spiders…"

"Spiders?!" Sakura cried in fear, hiding behind Krillin. "Where?! I hate spiders!"

"It's okay." Selena chuckled at the girl. "We probably won't see any while we're in here. They're real shy, but they're not all that hard to miss." She kept walking along the path. "Let's try to stay in the middle of the path, so that we don't accidentally step in a web."

"Musta been a big spider to make something like that." Krillin pointed out, walking behind her and holding Sakura's trembling hand.

"Not too big." Selena shook her hand, holding a flat palm out to him. "Really small. Probably about the size of my hand." Krillin's eyes went wide in shock.

"WAAA! You call that really small?!"

"Yep." Selena nodded. "I've seen spiders that came up to my thigh. Scares the hell out of me too, Sakura." She smiled at the child as Sakura suddenly shot her a hateful stare.

"Selena-san! No bad words!" Sakura scolded.

"It's not a bad word…" Selena shook her head.

"But you don't say it!"

"She's a cute kid, isn't she, Krillin?" Selena laughed.

"So, how much farther to the Sacred City?" Krillin changed the subject.

"Just on the other side of the forest." Selena directed, pointing ahead. "It's not far now. We should be out of the forest before dark."

^

Sakura soon brought up the dreaded question.

"Are we there yet?"

"Half way there." Selena answered, looking down at the child in annoyance. "Soon, okay?" Selena hated that question, but she let Sakura get away with it since she was just a kid. She looked up through the canopy of the trees at the sun. It was directly above them, which meant it was noontime. Through the rays of the sun, she could also see a split second gleam of spider threads. She didn't see any of the monstrous arachnids, so she was thankful for that.

Then, she heard a very curious sound ahead of her…

"Bruuu…bruuu…"

" 'Cuu, cuu?' " Selena wondered to herself, quickening her pace. Krillin hurried after her.

"Koo koo? Sounds like what you're going." He commented dryly. "What's up now?"

"If I'm right…" Selena muttered, "then that sound was a…" She quickly hid behind a thick tree trunk and peeked around it. "I was right. Quick guys, look at this!"

"What is it?" Krillin wondered, peeking around the other side of the tree trunks. He saw a very strange but amazing sight. It was a gigantic bird, probably the size of a horse, standing on two legs and covered in butter yellow feathers. It looked like an ostrich auditioning for the role of Big Bird from Sesame Street.

"It's a Chocobo." Selena introduced. "They're native to the Irish territory, which means we've passed the border." She turned to Krillin and Sakura. "You two stay here for a moment, okay?" Then she got down on all fours and began creeping towards the bird.

"Is she going to catch it?" Krillin blinked. The giant bird's legs looked rather strong and probably gave it a lot of speed. Selena quickly crawled into the underbrush until she couldn't be seen.

There was a few minutes pause.

The Chocobo didn't seem to know that something was stalking it. It was pecking away at a tree root with a hunk of green moss growing on it.

Then…

"Bruuu…Bruuu…" came a human sounding chirp.

The Chocobo looked towards Selena's hiding place. Krillin could see a branch loaded with bright red berries inching towards the bird from where Selena had last disappeared. The giant bird first looked around to see if there was another Chocobo around, then it stepped towards the berry filled branch and started pecking away at it. Selena slowly came out of hiding, feeding the Chocobo the branch she was holding. The bird seemed to trust her completely, gathering berries from the branch. Selena carefully patted the bird's head and scratched behind it's ears.

"Bruuu-ii-uuuu!" the Chocobo chirped happily. Then Selena looped a makeshift pair of reigns over its head and in its beak. It didn't seem to mind at all. Selena motioned with her hand for the others to come out of hiding.

"WOW!" Sakura yelled happily, running from behind the tree. "It's so cute!" This noisy entrance startled the bird.

"WARK!" it shrieked noisily, trying to run away. Selena held tight onto the reigns, keeping it in one place.

"Whoa there, girl! It's okay!" she tried to soothe. She ended up wrestling the giant bird to the ground, pinning it under her body and gently stroking its beak to calm it. When it was calm again, she let it back up. "That was close." She breathed.

"I'm sorry." Sakura mumbled sadly, sensing she was in trouble. Selena smiled at her.

"That's okay. Chocobos are rather skittish creatures, so catching one is hard. I've had lots of experience myself. My dad used to own a Chocobo farm, so I know all the tips and tricks."

"You never told us any of this." Krillin scolded playfully, petting the bird's stomach. It felt like a down pillow!

"I didn't think you'd be interested." Selena shrugged. Suddenly, she put a hand behind the bird's long neck, and hoisted herself onto its back. She straddled it as though it was a horse, and the bird straightened itself. She gripped the reigns and smiled at her party below. "She can take us to the other side of the forest. It'll be quicker, and there's a good chance we won't run into any spiders."

"Yay!" Sakura cheered.

"Sounds like a plan." Krillin smiled in approval. "Let's go." They both helped Sakura take a seat in front of Selena, and Krillin made himself comfortable behind Selena.

"Okay, we're off!" Selena announced, cracking the reigns of the Chocobo.

"Bruuu…" the bird chirped, then took off at a fast speed. Krillin had to hug his arms around Selena's waist to stay on. Selena and Sakura laughed in excitement, as though they were on a roller coaster. They all thundered down the path, watching the trees become blurs of brown and green around them.

It would have been no time at all until they got to the edge of the forest…

^

…but they had to stop when the Chocobo wanted to rest its tired feet. They clambered off its back and sat down by the base of a nearby tree. The Chocobo found another bush of berries and started pecking away at it. Sakura sat next to Selena, and Selena threaded her arm over the girl's shoulders. Krillin took a spot by another tree not too far away.

"I was wondering, Selena…" Krillin started to say. She looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"Well, how could this forest see into us and know what we fear?"

"That doesn't matter." Selena insisted. "As long as you're with me, you won't see a thing."

"Yeah, I know. But how does it do it when there's no guardian around?"

Selena leaned her head back on the tree in thought.

"It's a bit of a mystery." She admitted. "But my master, Mimic-san, once told me…well, this won't make sense when you hear it…but she said that there weren't ghosts in this forest. She said the forest was the ghost."

"Huh?" Krillin and Sakura said together.

"How is that possible?" Krillin pressed. "This whole forest can't be alive?"

"It's possible." Selena nodded. "The guardians of old had strange powers that could let them do anything. They could have created this forest to ward away those who weren't worthy of entering the Sacred City. Or this forest and the powers here have existed all along…this planet has many mysteries that we couldn't solve."

"I guess…" Krillin muttered, not getting the direct answer he wanted. "So, we just see what scares us most?"

"I've heard it can replay a whole nightmare before your eyes." Selena told him. "One minute you could be walking down the path, the next…you could find yourself in your house watching your family get murdered…or you could come across the monster that would chase you in your dreams…or something like that. I've never had it happen to me before."

"It's a creepy thought." Krillin agreed. "When does it happen?"

"Whenever." Selena shrugged. "But it always comes without warning. It goes away without warning too."

"Glad you're here to protect us." Krillin smirked, lounging against his tree.

"It's my job." Selena sighed in relaxation. She kept her eye on the Chocobo to make sure it didn't walk away as they were taking their break.

^

Cell continued walking on. Occasionally, he would hear that strange scurrying sound, or catch sight of a single hairy leg. He did his best to ignore the feeling that he was being watched and followed closely. He felt something shuffle his way from his neck down to his spine, but was relieved to discover that it was just a shiver. Something just didn't feel right with his surroundings. He didn't think someone was following him, he couldn't sense any ki. Plus, Selena and the others were just up ahead. All he had to do was sneak up on them and…

…ping…

He felt something else…and it was something he had been searching for his whole life.

It can't be…but it is…

It's them!

In excitement, he ran off the path and through the thick trees to the energy signal. It was soon that he saw the two people before him that he had looked high and low for.

"Android 17! Android 18!" he called. "Stay where you are! I'm coming!" The two people looked over their shoulders at him. They seemed unaffected by his presence as he walked to them, smiling. "There you two are. I have been looking all over for you. There is something very important we must discuss."

"Like what?" The speaker was male, so it must have been 17.

"Your future." Cell said to them, smirking smugly. "The both of you belong to me now."

"You are wrong." The female spoke. Of course it was 18. Cell chuckled at her.

"Oh, you resist now, but wait until you see what I have in store for you." His stare turned to 17. The android didn't flinch, and neither did 18. Cell walked towards 17. "Come to me, 17. Time to fulfill your destiny."

"We have no destiny." 17 suggested. "We are dead."

"Eh?" Cell blinked in surprise.

"That's right." 18 agreed. "We're dead. You're too late, Cell."

"What are you talking about?!" Cell demanded, reaching out to grab 17. "You're right here in front of me!"

He was going to gather 17's face in his hand…

…but his claws went through the boy's head!

Cell couldn't believe his eyes. He felt afraid. He backed away a step from the androids, letting his hand fall from the transparent boy's face. They both turned fully around to face Cell.

"We are dead, Cell." 18 repeated. "We died long before you hatched."

"No…" Cell denied.

"We were killed by Trunks." 17 explained. "We have no destiny, just like you."

"No…"

"We are dead…and so are you."

"NO!" Cell denied. Suddenly, the world seemed to fall away from him, and he fell sharply through a blur of greens and browns.

"You can't be dead! I have searched my whole life for you! I won't stop until I find you! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE!"

Then, he landed sharply on his back. He quickly sat up and looked around. He was in the clearing he had run to and saw the androids in…but they were gone. He didn't see any sign of them. He relaxed and lay back down on the ground, trying to calm his quickly beating heart.

What happened?

That was them…

…wasn't it?

Weren't they the androids?

What did they mean that I had no destiny and that I was dead?

I'm alive! I have a destiny! I have a purpose…

He sat back up, trying to dismiss what happened.

I must be malfunctioning…the loss of energy is making me hallucinate…

I must find Selena…

He quickly got back up and walked back to the trail. When his feet finally touched the tilled earth, he sighed in relief. It was short lived, however, when he couldn't feel Selena or the others anymore.

They had moved father away from him.

Growling in frustration, he started running after them.

I couldn't have been hallucinating for that long!

How did they get away so far so quickly?!

^

The Chocobo was probably running at the speed of a racing car. The world around them was becoming a blur. But since Selena was urging the bird to run so fast, they had to stop more and more often for it rest its feet. Sakura was having the time of her life, but each ride left Krillin shaking like he had just gotten off a very fast carnival ride. He just couldn't believe an animal like a Chocobo could go so fast. When he commented on it, Selena had to laugh.

"I should take you to see a Chocobo race then." She invited. "They move so fast that you can hardly see them. And they're bred to be different colors so that you can tell them apart." She patted her Chocobo on the head softly. "Yellow is much too common and dull."

During one of their rides through the forest, Selena suddenly made the Chocobo stop and the bird held still. Sakura looked up at her.

"What's wrong, Selena-san?" she wondered. Selena was looking up at the sky, and seemed frozen in shock. Krillin looked up too, confused.

"Is it the spider webs?" he asked. He could see the silvery strands above their heads in the afternoon sun. Suddenly, Selena let out a scream, and covered her head with her arms.

"NO!" she shouted, batting something away over her head. It looked like she was trying to slap away something on top of her, but there was nothing. Krillin didn't see any spiders or their webs falling on her…what was happening?

Suddenly, she fell off the Chocobo backward and landed hard on the ground on her back. She quickly got up, trying to bat the unseen substance out of her hair. Then she started running away, still trying to shield her head with her arms. Krillin jumped from the Chocobo and ran after her.

"Selena! Come back!"

"What's wrong with her?!" Sakura shouted, not daring to get off the Chocobo's back.

The giant bird just picked some stray blades of grass on the ground, without a care in the world.

^

She saw the rain of blood storming down on her, just like in her nightmare. She had panicked, she just had to get away! She ran, covering her head, trying to keep the blood off her. Why was it raining blood?! What did it mean?! She couldn't accept it…she didn't want it…She couldn't stop screaming…

Suddenly, she tripped on something, and fell to the ground headfirst into a thick puddle of blood. She screamed even louder.

"Snap out of it!" she heard a rasp voice shout at her. Then suddenly, the blood disappeared, and she found herself lying on the dirt path of the forest. It wasn't raining blood, and nothing else for that matter. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and everything was dry. She blinked a couple of times, then carefully stood up.

"What…" she wondered.

"What did you think you were doing?" a voice asked her calmly yet firmly. Selena growled as she supported herself on her feet, and brushed dirt off her face and shirt.

"I can't quite explain it myself, Cell." She snarled. He was right behind her, but she didn't want to face him. She didn't want to keep her back to him either, so the most she could hope for was for him to go away. "Have you been seeing pink elephants lately?"

" 'Pink elephants?' " Cell snorted. "You take me for a drunkard?"

"Heh." Selena smirked. "No, I mean illusions. Hallucinations. Have you had any lately?"

"Why should I?"

"Well, you're not in the company of a guardian…and this forest tends to show you the thing you are scared of most."

"No wonder I haven't seen anything. I am scared of nothing."

"I figured you'd say that." Selena smirked. "So, what do you want with me now?" She turned around to face him, and he looked at her over his shoulder.

"You should know that by now, what I want." He turned fully around so that he was facing her. Selena quickly jumped up into a tree, landing on a branch.

"Yeah, I know what you want." She retorted, swinging her hips around seductively. "You want me…but you can't have me!" Cell frowned at that before jumping up after her. Selena quickly climbed further up the tree as Cell chased her up. Moving as though a tree was his natural territory, Cell moved up the tree in quick, flowing movements. He closed in on Selena, grabbing her ankle. She yelped as he pulled her down to him. She quickly grabbed a thick branch, and tried to pull her foot out of Cell's grasp. The moment she freed her foot, his tail shot foreword and wrapped around her neck then yanked her from the tree. Selena was hung by her neck, gasping for breath and kicking her feet desperately. Cell laughed at her.

"Now I got you." He teased triumphantly. "I don't think you'll be so cocky around me again, now will you?" Selena tried to call for help, but she was losing air. She could feel her face turning blue…

^

"Oh my God!" Krillin cried in shock, seeing Selena hovering in the air as though something was holding her up. She looked like she was trying to strangle herself by grabbing her own throat. He quickly rushed up to her and harshly shook her shoulders. "Selena! What are you doing?!"

"K…Krillin…" Selena gasped, losing air fast. "Run…Cell…"

Then, Krillin knew what was happening.

"It's an illusion, Selena! You said it yourself, if you believe in it then it can kill you! Take your mind off it! Selena!"

Reason got to her. She mustered the strength she had left, and screamed out into the air.

"ILLUSION, BE GONE!"

Suddenly, she and Krillin fell to the ground. Selena's hands were sprawled out at her sides and she was gasping heavily. Krillin hovered over her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She looked up at him, slightly dazed.

"All the blood's rushing to my head." She moaned. Then, she slowly sat up and supported her head with one hand. "Krillin, what happened?"

"You saw an illusion." He tried to explain. "But it looked like you were trying to kill yourself." She turned her head to him.

"But I don't understand. I'm a guardian, how can I get illusions? I'm suppost to be protected by my sacred aura…"

"Selena-san!" Sakura called as she rode into the scene on the Chocobo. "What happened?" Selena smiled and carefully stood up.

"I'm fine." She suggested. "C'mon, let's keep going." She walked toward the Chocobo.

"Hey, I got it!" Krillin exclaimed as he climbed up the giant bird with Selena. "A guardian needs to be present to keep others from seeing mirages, right?"

"Well, yeah." Selena nodded, making herself comfortable.

"But what about the guardian?" Krillin continued. "Maybe he or she is using the aura to protect the other people, but not him or her self. So, out of the three of us, you're the one who's having the illusions."

"I…guess." Selena shrugged. Then, she smiled as she gently spurred the Chocobo into a trot. "You know quite a bit about being a guardian, Krillin. Where do you learn this stuff?"

"I didn't learn anything." Krillin admitted, feeling foolish. "I don't even know what I just said."

^

"That's odd…I could have sworn I heard Selena screaming up ahead…"

Cell thought to himself again as he walked along the forest trail after Selena and the others. Ahead of him, in the dirt trail, he could see tracks of a bird no bigger than he was, but he had no idea what they were. Dr. Gero's computer didn't teach him about this kind of wildlife. The strangest creatures were living in this forest…

Then, he felt something on his head. It felt like many strands of hair. He looked up above him in the canopy. He could see many silvery threads laced through the tree branches, and a few of them were caught in his headcrest. They appeared to be spider threads. Growling, he brushed the strands off his head, but they stuck to his hand and wrist. Snarling, he ripped his hand away from the strands. A large hole was torn in the web, and many of the sticky threads were still attached to Cell's hand.

"Disgusting." He dryly commented, wiping his hand back and forth on a tree trunk. The threads still wouldn't come off of his hand. "…and strange…"

"Scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit…"

Cell froze. The sound came from directly behind him.

"What in…" Cell wondered silently as he turned around. "What was that sound…" Then, he saw it behind him, and he became paralyzed.

^

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Selena, Sakura, and Krillin looked behind them at the sound of the scream. Several birds from the canopies flew away as the sound blew over the land like wind. Selena blinked a few times in confusion.

"Was that Cell?"

"It sounded like him." Krillin shrugged.

"Why was he screaming?" Sakura wondered. Selena snickered.

"I'll bet he's seeing illusions. C'mon, let's get out of here before he snaps out of it." She spurred the Chocobo sharply. "HAH!"

"Bruuuu…" the bird cooed, taking off at a gallop. Trees became blurs in the background as they sped down the trail. Suddenly, Selena seemed to be thrown off from the seat of the Chocobo. As she wondered what knocked her off the saddle, Krillin and Sakura screamed.

"Another illusion!" Krillin panicked.

"Huh?" Selena blinked. She looked around her. She seemed to be held up in the air by something invisible. She blinked again. "What in the…" Then she noticed something shimmer by her hand. A silvery strand wrapped around her arm. A spider thread.

"Are you okay, Selena?" Krillin called. Selena nodded.

"Yeah. Just a spider web. Hey, can you get me down, please?"

"Sure." Krillin agreed, jumping off the Chocobo and flying up to Selena. Suddenly, two long, thin spider legs poked through the above leaves followed by a massive oval shaped body and more thin legs. Krillin froze in the air, and shivered. "Oh my God…"

"What?" Selena asked, looking up. She was staring at two, bone white fangs and eight garnet eyes staring back at her. She couldn't help herself, womanly instinct took over.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The giant spider grabbed her, and hoisted her up into the trees.

"SELENA!" Krillin yelled. Sakura was left paralyzed on the Chocobo's back, not able to even make a sound or move a finger. She was scared stiff.

Krillin shivered as Selena's feet were hauled into the leaves.

"Oh man…now what do I do…"

Selena's screams were echoing through the whole forest…

^

She couldn't stop screaming as she was pulled into the canopy and set on a huge mass of threads that seemed to form a hammock. Her hair and back were stuck to the threads, preventing her from trying to sit up. She started calming down as the spider let her go and skittered away.

"Scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit…"

Selena just breathed heavily as though she had escaped another strangling. She was scared to death. That spider was as big as her! They couldn't have gotten that big…

Getting back her wits, she took a breath and called down to the forest floor below.

"Krillin, can you hear me?!"

"Selena!" he cried out in relief. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." She called back. "I'm stuck, but I'll try to free myself. Stay with Sakura, okay? Let me know if you seen any sign of Cell."

"Selena, you've been grabbed by a giant spider with fangs the size of your head, and you're still worried about Cell?"

"Hey, Cell is more dangerous than these things!" she called down. "Even in groups, they don't stand a chance against…"

" 'Groups?' " Krillin squeaked in fear.

"Yes, groups. The smaller ones travel in groups until they get big enough to hunt on their own. Krillin, just stay down there with Sakura and keep an eye out for Cell. I'll be right down." Selena quickly fished her pocket knife out of her pants pocket, and carefully cut away the webbing around her. She fixed her setting so that she could at least stand up.

"Me not worried about the spiders…" she grumbled to herself as she cut webbing carefully from her legs. "C'mon, not even a hoard of little ones can take him down. He's the most dangerous thing in these woo…what the…?" She saw something green with black spots nearby, and she sat up a little straighter to see what exactly it was. Yes, it was Cell, but his arms and legs were bound by thousands of spider threads, and he appeared to be unconscious. She could also see hundreds of tiny red welts all over his body, marks where the smaller spiders had bitten him.

Selena started to worry more about the spiders.

"Well, that takes care of that problem…" she sighed, grabbing a tree branch free of webbing over her head. She cut the webbing from her other leg and hoisted herself up the branch. She looked down at Cell. He wasn't moving at all. He couldn't have been dead, the spiders weren't poisonous. Their bites only paralyzed, so he must have been alright. She could only see movements from his closed eyes, and they were tightening together as though he was desperately keeping his eyes shut. Selena wondered if he was awake…

"Hey!" she called down to him. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine!" she heard Krillin call from below. "No sign of spiders or Cell! What about you?"

Cell slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Selena. He seemed to be in a daze.

"I'm fine, Krillin!" Selena called back. "But I wasn't talking to you!"

"Huh?" Krillin wondered. "Is there someone else up there?"

"Yeah." Selena answered. She wasn't sure if she should say who. Cell's eyes seemed to get watery, as though he was about to cry. He didn't seem to be looking at Selena, but rather staring out into space.

She started feeling really bad.

I really should leave him here…he deserves it after what he did to all those people…

But…

Why can't I just abandon him?

She stared through the branches.

I can just climb down without alerting any more spiders…

We're almost out of the forest…

Cell will be dead and eaten by the time we're at the Sacred City…

So why can't I move away from him…

How come I can't leave him like this?

She growled.

God damn it!

She used the branches above her to climb as close as she could to Cell. She was going to try and help him. Being a guardian, she couldn't let anyone, no matter how evil, die like this. She stopped her climbing when she was directly over him. She wrapped her legs around the thick branch and slowly lowered her body down, staying off the webbing. She held her pocket knife in one hand and gently touched Cell's shoulder with her other hand.

"Hey," she gently said, "are you alright?"

He began blinking his eyes as though he had snapped out a trance and began to turn his head.

"Stay still!" she hissed. He froze. "If you move or touch the threads, they'll sense it." Cell made a determined face that would have went well with a nod. "Okay, hold still. I'm going to get you out."

"Why bother?" he asked. "You want me dead, so why not leave me here?"

"It's against my code."

"Ah."

"Okay, here we go." Selena held onto Cell's closest arm for support and gently sawed away at the threads holding his wrists and hands. She freed his hand easily, and reached over to free his other hand. The branch holding her creaked from more weight as she leaned her knife over while putting her hand on Cell's chest for support. Cell held perfectly still.

But I don't understand…what's the real reason for her to help me?

"How you feeling?" she asked him as she cut away his arm from the web.

"Why?"

"Is the poison in your system?"

"My body has released an antidote for the spider bites. I'll be fine."

"Okay, so you'll be able to make a fast get away?"

"I should."

"Cool."

After freeing his hand, she carefully leaned down to his legs, and started cutting away at the threads around his feet. She heard a small snap from her branch, and looked up at it. It was starting to break off. She growled at it, and freed Cell's foot. She looked at his other foot, it was too far away for her to reach without breaking the branch. She looked at Cell.

"If you get up slowly, you should be able to untangle your foot."

He smiled at her.

"Thanks."

"Shut up and get out of my sight." She groaned, pulling herself up the branch. "I'm outta here."

CRACK!

The branch snapped and fell, taking Selena with it. She fell on the web, tearing it from the branches supporting it. Cell was dragged down with her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

They both screamed as they plummeted through the canopy, but they stopped before they could hit the forest floor. Selena just saw a split second of Krillin, Sakura, and the Chocobo a ways away before the last supports of the webbing tossed them back up into the canopy like a bungee cord.

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Suddenly, they were stuck to the higher branches of the canopy as though they were stuck to fly paper. Cell pulled one arm out of the webbing surrounding him and tried to free the rest of his body.

"They're coming!" Selena cried, seeing a black wave of hand-sized spiders scurrying towards them. She turned her head to the android. "Cell, can you free your tail?"

"Yes…" he groaned under strain. The webbing that held them to the branches had become thicker as it was bunched together during the plummet. His tail wiggled free, and pointed menacingly at the spiders. "Now what?" Selena turned her head up to where a thick branch was rooted to a tree trunk. She pointed at it the best she could.

"Can you break that off?" He looked at it.

"Sure." He decided. His tail struck the base of the branch, and it snapped easily. Once again, they fell through the canopy.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

But once again, they were stopped just before they could hit the ground on their faces. Selena just heard Krillin cry out "What the hell is going on?" before she and Cell were launched back into the canopy.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Then, they felt something grabbing them. Selena could see a long spider leg wrapping around her waist, and she screamed bloody murder. Cell felt panic as another leg held his legs together and another nearly touched his head. What was happening?

Selena judged by the size of the legs that the spider must have been the exact size and length as an average sized car! She went pale. How could these creatures grow to be so big? She turned her head through the branches she was attached to and saw one garnet eye the size of her head staring back at her. Seven more were somewhere on its head. She quickly turned her head back around with a frightened squeak. What now?

"Scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit-scrit-scr it-scrit-scrit-scrit…"

Then, the flood of spiders surrounded the canopy area. Palm-sized arachnids were crawling up trees and adventuring out to several branches. Many of them hung down from threads from their spinnerets in front of her face, and many more dropped from beyond her. They were absolutely surrounded. Selena clutched the pocketknife still in her hand. There was no way to fight them all. It would have been suicide to try. She turned her head to Cell. His eyes were closed in thought. He was trying to come up with an escape plan.

A voice spoke. It was low, and it could barely be heard.

"So…you…are…the…guardian…"

It came directly from behind Selena. She turned her head again up to the one garnet eye staring at her through the branches. Was the spider talking to her?

Since when did they talk?

She couldn't do anything except answer.

"Y-yes…"

"Gooooooooooood." The voice murmured softly. It was indeed, the spider. "We…need…a…guardian…here…"

"Why?" Cell demanded. "What good is she to you?"

"Siiiiiiilence…my…supper…" the spider hissed loudly. Cell blinked at that remark as the spider continued. "Guardian…stay…with…us… Stay…and…protect…usssssssss…"

"What's wrong?" she asked with little concern. "Is there something bothering you? Who are you?"

"I…am…Elder…" the spider introduced. "My…children…are…suffering… They…see…horrible…things… They…see…their…mates…eating…them… They…see…their…children…being…eaten… They…see…many…bad…things… But…you…guardian…can…save…them… Stay… Keep…the…visions…away…"

"I can't…" Selena shook her head. "I have to go to the Sacred City. I can't stay to protect you."

"Yoooooooooou…must…stay…" Elder begged. "Keep…my…children…safe… The…forest…sees…within…us…all…"

"It sees within me too!" Selena argued back. "Sure, you and your…uh…" she looked around at all the spiders, "…uh, family will be fine, but I'll get those visions my self. I won't be fine!"

"What?" Cell looked at Selena. "You had visions too?"

"…" She couldn't answer him right now.

"We…do…not…care…about…you…" Elder stated. "You…will…stop…the…visions… You…will…save…us…"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Never!" she barked. "I hate spiders!"

"I've had enough of this!" Cell hissed. "Let us go…NOW!"

His tail stabbed into Elder's underbelly, and the spider seemed to shriek loud in pain. Selena screamed, not able to block the sound out of her ears with her hands. Elder unwrapped his legs and leg go of the branches. Cell and Selena were still hanging in the air. Their supports of webbing and branches were held in the air by threads from Elder's spinneret. Cell turned his head towards the threads holding them up.

"Bree, bree…bree…"

Selena heard strange beeping noises as Cell's eyes lit up a red color.

"What…"

Suddenly, two lasers shot from his eyes and cut the strings. Their support of branches and webbing once again fell from the canopy, but this time, hit the forest floor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…OOF!"

"Ow…" Selena commented dryly. She tried to get up, but she was still trapped under the branches and webbing and couldn't move. Cell beat her to another idea.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

He powered up his yellow aura, and the branches and webbing disintegrated. They both stood up, and breathed sighs of relief.

"Phew." Selena puffed. "I'm glad that's over with…"

"Selena-san!" she heard Sakura calling nearby.

"Selena!" Krillin's call followed. Selena looked at Cell.

"I guess I owe you a 'thank you.' " she moaned.

"No." he shook his head. "Thank you." He turned to leave. "Uh…"

"What?" Selena wondered. Cell nervously pointed to the tree trunks above them. Selena could see swarms of spiders crawling down them, after Selena and Cell. Selena glowered at the spiders, and took off running without saying anything more to Cell. Cell took off in the opposite direction.

Oh, forget about collecting energy from her! I'll use what I can to get away from these damn spiders!

Selena soon found herself running towards the Chocobo with Selena and Krillin still near it.

"We're getting out of here now!" she announced, jumping on the Chocobo's back and grabbing the make-shift reigns. "Hya! C'mon, go!"

"WARK!" the Chocobo squealed, taking off like a bullet right out the gun barrel. It kept squealing through the whole ride in fear of the spiders chasing them. "WARK! WARK! WARK!"

"We're almost out of here!" Selena laughed as a road sign came into view before quickly leaving them behind with the rest of the scenery. The sign had read:

END OF FOREST

1 MILE

"Hey Selena?" Krillin looked up at the guardian.

"Yeah, Krillin?"

"When we leave the Sacred City, let's take the mountain route, okay?"

Selena smiled.

"Okay."

In almost no time at all, the Haunted Woods was left behind them. It was only a few hours trip to go until they reached the Sacred City at last.

To Be Continued!

END OF EPISODE BONUS!

The beginning theme of Act 1 can be found on the short story "Unholy Crusade: Typical Tokyo Love Story." Here's the ending theme, Ayumi Hamasaki's "Poker Face."

Poker Face

Itsu datte naku kurai kantan dakedo Waratte itai
Anata no ai ga hoshii yo

HONTO no jibun no sugata ga sukoshi zutsu boyake dashiteru
Oshiyoseru hitonami no naka Kotae dasenai mama sagashite ita
USO ya iiwake jouzu ni naru hodo munashisa ni kowaku naru yo

Itsu datte naku kurai kantan dakedo Waratte itai
Tsuyogatte tara yasashisa sae Wasurechau kara sunao ni naritai
Anata no ai ga hoshii yo

Hito wa minna itsu datte hitori bocchina iki MONO
Dakara sou dareka ga hitsuyou Sasae raretakute sasaete itakute
Tashikana MONO wa nani mo nai keredo Shinjiteru kokoro ga aru

Taisetsuna MONO wa hitotsu mitsuke raretara mamori toosou
Takasugiru kabe butsukattara KIZU wo ottara mata tateba ii
Hoka ni wa nani mo nozomanai kara Tatta hitotsu sore dake de ii
Anata no ai ga hoshii yo

Translation

Although it's possible to cry at any time,
I hope I can wait with a smile
I need your love

My mind is starting to be blurred,
couldn't I get the answer in a crowd but I'm still looking for it
Telling lies is as good as saying excuses, at the same time,
I'm feeling panic

Although it's possible to cry at any time,
I hope I can wait with a smile
Being strengthened will let you to forget everything even the kindness,
I hope I can back to the real life
So, open your heart
I need your love

Whatever, human is a lonely living thing
Therefore when someone needs help, I wish I can do for him
Although it's not so meaningful,
at least we have a heart of trust

If you find something you like you must keep loving them till the end
Falling and hurting yourself when you leap, that's enough if you stand up after recovery
I don't have any other wishes, but the only one is:
I need your love