Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Singing Mountain ❯ Chapter 17: Piccolo's Request ( Chapter 17 )

Last time on Singing Mountain…

"Help!" a voice rang out past the hill. Miaka and Rhapsody turned to see Sir Biso running towards them frantically. Fear was painted all over his face. "Laerrus! It's Laerrus! Laerrus is back from the grave!"

"Oh no…" Miaka gasped. She had known about it…she should have taken action…"Was…Laerrus…behind these demons?"

As if to answer her question, a slimy demon walked over the hill behind Biso. It was Osa, the dragon god, covered in large red blood snakes that grew from his body. He was slowly marching through the camp of the ravens. The snakes from his body reached for any living thing near it, burning their flesh off with the slightest graze. Biso quickly reached the safety of the wolves, and hid behind a large brown one as if it would save him. Miaka quickly threw around her bravery.

"Ravens and wolves come together! Fight this common enemy as equals! If any of you have a reason to live, band together and fight together! Load your arrows with prayers and hit him with everything you have! Let's get some of the wounded to higher ground!"

Singing Mountain: Chapter 17

Cell could sense a horrible power in the direction he was going. He had felt it before…it was a demon, just like the one Surreal used to try and kill Masquerade. He would never forgive that spirit for what she tried to do.

And now she's going to do it again…

Never…

Tonight…I'm going to finish Surreal off tonight!

/|\

"Ready!" Miaka directed the wolf priestesses as members of the raven clan cowardly ran away from the demon Osa Gami had become. Priestesses with bows and arrows loaded their bows with arrows that had been tied to Shinto prayer scrolls. The demon dragon began to slowly lumber to them.

"Aim!" The archers drew their bowstrings, setting their sights on the demon. The dead creature roared at them angrily and began to quicken its slow pace. Miaka threw one arm foreword.

"FIRE!"

Arrows soared and whistled through the air, and pelted the demon's slithering skin. One arrow hit its eye, and it shrieked in pain. Some of the slimy coating fell off, revealing some of Osa's blood covered skin. Miaka hurried her priestesses.

"His defense is down, reload quickly!" she rushed. "Once your bow is loaded, fire at will!" Priestesses quickly loaded their bows with more prayer-tied arrows, and quickly fired. Rhapsody fired her arrow at the dragon's throat, and it roared in pain. Rhapsody looked up at Miaka, watching her elder take full command of the priestesses, and couldn't help but smile.

She was a much better High Priestess than I am now…

Why did she turn down that honorable position?

"It's not working!" a younger priestess panicked, watching Osa before her. The skin of the demon crawled back onto its body, protecting it once more. Then, it rushed with sudden speed towards the priestesses, slamming into their attack line. Several innocent girls were knocked off their wolves and to the ground. Rhapsody had run out of the way in time, loading another bow. She quickly fired it into Osa's other eye, and he screamed in fury and pain. Rhapsody quickly ran as fast as she could, the dragon was starting to chase her.

"San!" Miaka cried out in panic. Miaka quickly unsheathed her ghost powder protected knife, and ran behind the demon to attack it. "Over here, you dumb bastard!" she shouted at it, stabbing into one of his hind legs. The demon screamed, and reached his head over to Miaka. Miaka tried to jump out of the way, but the demon grabbed her foot in its jaws and hoisted her up into the air.

"Miaka!" Rhapsody screamed in futility. Just when she thought all hope was lost for her friend.

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

A large energy blast pounded into the demon's shoulder, and it fell over on its side. Miaka fell from its mouth in mid air, plummeting to the ground. Before she could make a deadly landing on the Earth below, somebody caught her in mid air.

"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked. Miaka looked up to her rescuer to see…

"Cell?"

He smiled at her as his feet touched the ground. He set her down and looked up at the demon. He glared at it, not believing his eyes.

Osa…no…

"Well?" he asked Miaka, not looking at her. Rhapsody rushed to them, frantically asking Miaka over and over if she was alright. Miaka calmed her high priestess then turned to Cell.

"You can't destroy it with your energy." Miaka explained to Cell. "There is no effect."

"I can see that." He nodded, watching Osa stand up. "Well, what can we do? I can see your arrows aren't helping any…"

"Take this!" Miaka offered, handing him her knife. "The ghost powder on the knife is the only thing that can hurt it." Cell gripped the iron knife's handle tightly, then finally turned to Miaka.

"Where is San Masquerade?"

"I sent her far away from here." Rhapsody answered. "Amon is with her, you can be assured that she is safe."

"Thank you." Cell smiled. "Go to her, and make sure she is safe. The last thing I want is for Laerrus to harm her."

"Laerrus?" Rhapsody gasped. "What would she want with…"

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Evil laughter erupted in the area. Cell looked to Osa Gami, and found his most hated Surreal perched on the demon's head.

"Surreal…" Cell growled. "Or should I say Laerrus?" Surreal held one knee to her chest as she sat on the dragon's head.

Well, now that you know who I am, you can call me whatever you want. Not that it matters, Cell. You and your friends will be dead sooner than you can decide what to call me.

"Did you want to bet on that?" Cell angrily shouted at her. Surreal cutely tossed some ghostly hair over her shoulder and smirked at the android. Cell turned to the priestesses. "You both should get out of here. Leave this to me."

"Okay." Miaka nodded in understanding. "Do what you have to, just don't die." She tugged on Rhapsody's arm, and they both began running to the other priestesses nearby. The whole lot of them began retreating on command. Finally, Cell was alone with the demon and the death god. Surreal flashed an incredibly evil smile at the android.

Time for you to go back to hell.

"Time for you to go back to hell and stay there!" Cell shouted back, powering up.

/|\

Soon, Masquerade and Amon could hear voices. She looked up to see a whole company of priestesses and wolves stepping into the Shishi Gami realm, and a lot of them sported demon burns. Masq quickly ran to them while Amon tried to sniff out his friend. She found Miaka directing the injured and burned across the water to the spring of Sacred Water. Masq ran to her.

"Miaka!"

The old priestess turned to her.

"Masq! There you are!" Masq prepared to fling concerned arms over the older priestess, but Miaka stopped her. "No, wait! Don't touch me, I've been burned." Masq looked Miaka over in amazement. There were purple scorches on the priestess's foot and arms.

"What happened?"

Miaka launched into a huge explanation of what happened as she and Masq helped the injured swim and walk to the Sacred Water on the other side of the pool. Masq could hardly believe her ears. Laerrus had come back, and she was trying to kill Cell? It was too outrageous to believe! Masq looked at Rhapsody, who was reunited with her wolf. Amon was licking his priestess's face in concern, and Rhapsody was scratching him behind his ears in comfort. Masq looked back at Rhapsody.

"What about Cell?"

"He's back there, fighting Rhapsody." She explained. "He thinks he can do it by himself."

"Oh no!" Masq gasped in fear. "He can't fight it! The last time he tried, he was almost killed!"

"I gave him my knife." Miaka explained. "He'll be fine."

Not listening, Masq quickly jumped back into the pool and swam for the other side. Miaka ran after her, trying to stop her.

"No, San! Wait!" she called. "Don't go! You'll get killed!"

"Ever since he came here," Masq shouted over her shoulder, "I told him I would never let him die! I'm not going back on my word! I love him!" She reached the bank and started running for the raven camp. Miaka gritted her teeth in anger, then whistled for Tori.

"Let's go!" she urged, jumping on the wolf's back. "We have to get her back! If that demon kills her, I'll never forgive myself!"

I don't want to be the cause of another death!

/|\

Cell angrily lunged for the demon, knife held high. The dragon roared at Cell, and charged. Cell flew up to the demon's massive head and stabbed into its skull right in-between its eyes. The demon roared in pain, and its tendrils tried to wrap around Cell. However, they just harmlessly batted at his skin, not leaving a mark on him. Just nearby, Surreal scratched her chin at that.

What in the… Hey, how come I can't hurt you?

Cell ignored her, pushing the knife deeper into the dragon's skull, hearing bone break under his hands. The demon began to thrash its head around, trying to fling Cell away, but Cell kept his feet firmly planted on the demon's skin and held on tight to the knife. Surreal began to laugh at him.

You're just wasting precious time and energy, Cell! You can't kill what's already dead!

"Shut up…" Cell muttered through his teeth, trying to keep his concentration. "Shut up!"

You might as well quit while you're still standing! Surreal declared, flying over to Cell and kicking him hard under the chin. Cell lost his grip and fell from the demon's head. The demon then lunged for Cell and opened its jaws to take a bite out of him. Cell quickly recovered and hovered in the air to protect himself. Before the demon's jaws could close on Cell, the android kept them pried open with his hands and feet as the demon scooped him up from the air. It was a very fierce battle, as the demon gained incredible strength from its undead state. Cell felt his knees buckling and his elbows about to bend the wrong way. He couldn't keep the demon at bay forever…

"SERU!" he heard a scream from below. He quickly turned his head to the ground, and couldn't believe who he saw running onto the scene.

"SAN!" he called down in fear. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

^

Masq tried to run from the demon, but its slimy tendrils reached for her and she backed away. She took out her knife, swiping it at the reaching slime. She looked back up at Cell, struggling to keep out of the dragon's gullet and losing. Then, she saw the spirit resting on the demon's head. She remembered that spirit…it took the body of the demon that attacked her. Masq shouted at it.

"Hey you! You're the one who's behind this, aren't you?"

The spirit looked down at her and laughed.

Ha, ha, ha! So, one of the girls has decided to join the party! Come on in, the water's fine!

The demon began to turn its attention to Masq and moved towards her with Cell still in its mouth. One of its sharp teeth was cutting into his hand, spilling Cell's cold blood on the android's arm and shoulder. Cell kept turning his eyes to Masq to make sure she was still alright.

"San!" he shouted down to her. "Run away! Run!" Masq had long gotten that message, running into the raven camp and luring the demon back into the empty river bed where Biso held camp. His tent was still there. She quickly tore the tent down and held the waterproof fabric in her hands, waving it up and down as though she was straightening the blanket on her bed.

"Hey! Worm feast!" she shouted at it. "Down here! Leave him alone and get me instead!"

"MASQ!" Cell yelled at her. The demon raised a massive foot to step on Masquerade, and she quickly ran out of the way, dragging the tent with her. The demon stepped on the tent instead, and Masq accidentally dragged herself to her feet. She tried to tug the fabric away from his foot, but it was just too heavy for her. Some of the tendrils snaking from the demon's foot reached for Masq, but she cut them away from her with her knife. It didn't do much good, the tendrils grew back. The spirit on the demon's head just laughed.

Oh, this is so touching! She sarcastically remarked. Two lovers bound together forever…in death!

"No!" Cell shouted, finally freeing his bleeding hand and using it to punch the demon in the roof of its mouth. It roared in pain, and tendrils formed from its new wound, enveloping Cell's fist and forearm. Finally, Cell got a good grip of the dragon's upper jawbone, and ripped it off its skull. The demon shrieked as half its head was torn off and flung to the ground. Cell finally stood in front of Surreal with the top half of the dragon's head cleared away.

Masq was very grossed out at the sight, about ready to throw up, but she kept her stomach in its place and watched. The demon still stood, half-headless and undead. Cell and Surreal were on the small of its neck, standing and staring.

Hmph, Surreal snorted. Oh, is that why he couldn't hurt you?! Your blood is blue…I wouldn't have thought otherwise…

"Lucky me, huh?" Cell supposed, ready to rip Surreal limb from limb. Even though she was an immortal spirit, she was going to wish she was dead.

It'll save you from a demon but it won't save you from me. Surreal sneered. A demon and a god are two entirely different things.

Cell lunged for her, punching her with his bloody fist. She grabbed it and held her other hand out to his face. Demon tendrils shot from her palm and grabbed Cell's face. They burned, and he screamed in pain. He used his bloody hand to tear them away and fling them into the air. The slimy demon tendrils disappeared in the air harmlessly. He lunged for her again, attempting to scratch her with his claws, but she moved harmlessly away from each strike.

Masq could see that Cell was losing again, and she had to do something…

My knife is no good…if only I had my crystal dagger…

But Cell has it…

Wait a minute! That's it!

"Seru!" Masq called up to the android. "Use the crystal dagger I gave you! It'll kill the demon!"

The dagger! Cell remembered. It was still hanging from his neck. He quickly yanked it from his neck and plunged it into the demon's neck. It screeched in even more pain, thrashing side to side. Surreal was knocked off from her post, but she hovered to the ground in front of Masquerade.

Damn you! Surreal shouted at the priestess. She raised a hand and a tight knot of demon tendrils blasted from her palm towards Masquerade. Masq quickly raised the tent fabric she was holding and the ball of demon snakes bounced harmlessly off it and headed back to Surreal. The spirit caught her attack, and it reabsorbed into her body. Masq then flung the tent material over the spirit and made a mad dash retreat. Surreal disappeared from Masq's barrier and reappeared in front of the priestess's escape path.

I don't think so, girly. The spirit snarled. You came here expecting to die for the man you love, and I'm not going to disappoint you! She struck a hand foreword, clutching Masq's neck and hovered in the air. Masq was being hung by the spirit, and tried to pry Surreal's fingers off her neck. Surreal laughed in murderous lunacy, and her arm began to sprout demon tendrils and they engulfed Masq's head and shoulders. The priestess screamed in pain and horror. Cell looked up at the scene.

"SAN!" he yelled in fear. He yanked the crystal dagger from the demon's flesh and flew up to Surreal. "LAERRUS! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" He flew behind the spirit and stabbed the dagger in the back of her neck. Surreal screamed in pain, letting go of Masquerade. Cell then slashed down on the dagger, cutting into the spirit's back. Surreal then vanished with her painful screams echoing in the night. The demon, no longer in control of its master, fell silent and slumped noisily to the ground in a gooey mess.

"Help!" Masq screamed as she plummeted to the ground. Cell dove for her, and caught her just inches from the ground. He put his feet on the ground and gathered Masquerade in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked her in grave concern. Too frightened and shaken to speak, she nodded. Cell could see all the nasty burns on her face, neck and shoulders. Some of her hair had been scorched off her neck too. He could feel the burns on his own face, and his bleeding hand was throbbing as it tried to heal itself. He carefully held her close to him. She barely had any strength to hug him, so she rested her burnt face on his chest. "Come on." Cell urged after a while, holding Masq and levitating in the air. "We better go find the others." He carefully flew through the forest towards the Shishi Gami realm.

^

The other priestesses were so happy seeing Cell and Masquerade alive, a cheer rose up in the realm. Miaka quickly put an end to the excitement and directed the two heroes to the Sacred Spring to heal their wounds. It wasn't enough to let them drink from the water, Miaka had to carefully splash the water in their faces so that the more serious burns would fade in hours. It didn't matter to Masq and Cell, they were just happy that they were together again.

On a separate bank from the wolf priestesses, Cell could see the surviving members of the raven clan resting. There were about ten ravens and fifty priests remaining of the hundreds that came to the mountain. There were survivors because they had decided to flee. In the crowd of cowards, Cell could see Suzaku and the high priest Sir Marcus. On the wolf's side of the bank, he could see Rhapsody staring harshly at Marcus. The raven priest was ignoring her, tending to Suzaku's wounds. Cell turned his head away as he and Masq headed back to join the wolves.

"You two had me scared to death!" Miaka scolded them. "Going and fighting a demon without proper weapons! I would have given up my position as a medicine woman if you two died!"

"Oh, San," Masq looked to her friend, "you wouldn't…"

"Why not?" Miaka huffed as Tori walked to her. "I've done it before."

"What?" Cell blinked. Miaka suddenly realized what she said, and lowered her head in shame. Tori nuzzled Miaka's head as she explained.

"San Miaka was a high priestess once, before Rhapsody came. Miaka was so very well respected because of her dedication to medicine and spirits. She could drive out any spirit, harmful or friendly. And she could cure any illness with her practices and potions. But one day, a deadly spirit attacked San Miaka's niece and the poor girl died. Miaka blamed herself for not being able to banish the spirit in time. She gave up being a high priestess, and she was the last one the wolf tribe had until San Rhapsody was given the honor. San Rhapsody was our first priestess in ten years."

"Oh my God…" Masq gasped. "Miaka, I'm so sorry…"

"She was only four…" Miaka began to sob about her niece. "She had barely begun to live…I could have saved her…"

"Let's not brood about the past." Cell comforted, putting his bandaged hand on Miaka's shoulder. "I think it wasn't your fault at all, and no one was to blame." Miaka looked up into Cell's eyes and serious face. She smiled.

"Thank you." She sniffled.

"Everyone!" Rhapsody called out to the wolf priestesses. "We should leave and call it the night! Go to your homes, and carry the wounded to the nearest hospital to rest!"

"What about you, San?" an eight-year-old priestess called to Rhapsody.

"I'm going to stay here and…talk to the ravens."

"I think you should leave them alone." Masq called to Rhapsody. "They've went through a whole lot more than we did."

"…" Rhapsody glared at Masq. Masq shrunk away in fear, then she looked up at the ravens. Sir Marcus was herding the survivors out of the realm and away from the wolves. Cell quickly came to their defense.

"They won't attack us again, San." He said to Rhapsody. "They're scared, confused, and have suffered just as many losses as we have. Leave them alone." Rhapsody didn't turn to him, she just watched them disappear silently into the trees. She angrily stabbed her spear into the soft moss of the bank and lowered her head. Masquerade quickly whispered Rhapsody's past into Cell's ear, and he nodded his head. "We should leave her alone then." They walked away with the rest of the wolves, leaving Rhapsody alone on the lakeside.

Alone at last, the high priestess collapsed to the ground and cried.

^

Masquerade and Cell accompanied the priestesses to Eboshi and saw them all to hospital rooms. During their precession, they ran into three familiar people.

"Piccolo?" Cell blinked. "And Yamcha? And Gohan? What are you three doing here?"

"We need to talk to you." Piccolo said. "We need to talk right now."

They settled on the inn Piccolo was staying at, and they all took a seat in his room. It looked like a log cabin, and perhaps the tidiest room any of them had seen. As Cell and Masq took a seat on the bed, Piccolo looked at them to relay his message from Amaroq.

"What's going on?" Cell demanded.

"A lot of the mountain's people have been suffering from the demon attacks." Piccolo began. "And these demon attacks have been the first in centuries."

"Two thousand years!" Masq corrected angrily, not knowing what Piccolo was getting at. The Namek ignored her.

"During the past week, more than demon attacks have occurred. Invasions by dragons, invasions by ravens, spirit attacks, declaration of war…" He looked Cell right in the eyes. "Something triggered all of that."

"Are you saying it was me?!" Cell snarled. "Are you saying all of this is happening because of me?"

"Many of the wolves agree with me when I say you have been causing all this trouble just by being here." Piccolo began to raise his voice. "The wolves want you to leave the mountain as soon as possible."

"WHAT?!" Masq stood up in shock and outrage.

"No." Cell shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere."

Gohan and Yamcha sat silently in a corner of the room, watching.

"He didn't hurt anyone when he was here!" Masq argued. "He doesn't deserve this! I told you a long time ago, Piccolo, his life is in my hands now!"

"I'm not asking that he be killed." Piccolo calmly reasoned. "I just want him to leave. I understand he hasn't hurt anyone and doesn't want to hurt anybody…but everyone wants him to leave. The longer he stays, the bigger the threat he is to the mountain."

Cell narrowed his eyes at his rival.

"Listen to yourself." He resumed snarling. "You sound like an emperor. You sound like you live here!"

"Kami would frequently visit this mountain, and he even trained San Rhapsody the Namekian battle arts. It was a second home to him."

"Enough!" Cell stood up in anger. "I won't leave! I've decided to make this mountain my home!"

"Huh?!" Yamcha yelped in surprise.

"Wha?!" Gohan gasped.

"Really?" Masq silently asked her love. He didn't look at her, he kept full eye contact with Piccolo.

"You can't force me to leave, not when I have anything and everything to lose doing so!" Cell put a hand on Masq's shoulder and squeezed it. Her eyes couldn't leave his serious face. "Not once in my life did I have friends, or a home, but now I do. And I won't let anyone take them away from me!"

"You don't have a choice!" Piccolo roared. "You'll kill everyone on the mountain just by staying here!"

"That's enough!" Gohan finally spoke up. Everyone looked at the twelve-year-old son of Goku as he spoke. "Listen guys, he does have a choice. Yes, a lot of bad things happened since he came here, but they weren't his fault at all. You can't put a crime on a man who didn't commit it. I know how that is…"

"Gohan…" Cell whispered silently in shock. He couldn't believe who was standing up for him. Gohan continued his defense.

"Piccolo-san…I haven't met anyone on the mountain who doesn't want him to leave. They all like him…he even has a girlfriend, someone who is in love with him for who he is, not what he did in the past. Why should he leave if no one wants him to go?"

"Yeah." Yamcha agreed. "My sister hasn't complained about him at all. She even told me once that she wasn't even scared of him. Why, just yesterday she asked me if it was okay to invite him and Masq over for lunch. Sure, I'm scared to death of the guy, but Rice just adores him."

"…" Piccolo fell silent. His friends seemed to be going against him completely. He turned back to Cell, finding Masquerade carefully wrapping her arms around his waist and him putting his hand on her back in comfort. Masq finally gave her argument.

"If he left the mountain, then he'd be leaving me behind." She said quietly. "I would never see him again…and he's the only man who I've ever loved like this. I don't care what he did…I would rather die than live a life without him."

"San Masquerade…" Piccolo said gently, "…perhaps you don't realize the consequences of Cell's existence here. What if the rest of the world finds out he's here? What would they do? They would send their armies after him and destroy your forests. They would drop bombs from the air and kill everyone here. They would do whatever they could to make sure Cell would be dead."

Cell kept his face straight, but inside he was growing fearful. Piccolo was right. What if the ravens told the rest of the world he was alive and living on Singing Mountain? Wolf gods were no match for machine guns, war tanks, and plane dropped missiles. If it did happen, then it would be his fault…

"It won't happen." Masq shook her head. "We're cut off from the outside world. No one even knows the wolf gods exist…"

"We had better go." Cell insisted firmly. "Masquerade and I need to rest. We've been injured in battle." Piccolo desperately sighed out of his nose, and moved aside from the door. Cell and Masq walked outside and closed the door behind them.

"You're asking him to never see her again." Yamcha said to Piccolo's back, carefully approaching. "What if someone said you could never see Gohan again, how would you react?"

Piccolo did react.

He punched Yamcha hard in the face.

^

They both got to the house in what felt like no time and both quickly went to bed. Cell laid awake in his bed, thinking about Piccolo's words. He tried to close his eyes and sleep, but was afraid of what would happen if he dozed off. It seemed to take forever for daylight to come, but Cell stayed awake until he could see sunlight out the window. Just as he started to drift off to sleep, he heard Masq climb out of her bed and yawn to wake herself up.

Well, at least she got her good night's sleep…

There was a pause in the room as Masq looked around, then she walked towards the bathroom and closed the door. Cell felt much more at ease, and then he closed his eyes for a quick nap.

^

He woke up six hours later to the smell of hot tea. He sat up in his bed, letting the covers fall from his chest and looked around. Masq's bed was neatly made and resting on the pillow was the crystal dagger. He rubbed his eyes and yawned with a hand over his mouth. He looked around again, but didn't see Masq in the bedroom. The bathroom door was open, and the lights were off meaning no one was inside. Cell stood up and headed for the next room. He rubbed his stiff neck as he walked.

He spotted her sitting in a chair next to the table, reading a very old scroll of paper. A steaming cup of tea was sitting next to her on the table. She looked up at him, hearing him enter the room, and smiled.

"Finally, you're up." She greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"I didn't sleep at all last night." He admitted.

"Good thing I let you sleep in, then." Masq nodded as Cell took a seat right next to her. "I thought that battle left you sore. Me too. Can I get you some tea?"

"Yes please." Cell nodded. Masquerade folded the scroll and got up to the whistling teapot on the stove. Curious, Cell picked up the scroll and unfolded it in his hands. The paper was old, as though the Imperial Japanese scribes once used it. The calligraphy was just as old, and Cell remembered it being the same writing from the dream with Eboshi. The same characters from the scroll were from the piece of paper from the emperor.

"What's this?" Cell asked Masq, holding up the scroll.

"That would be a copy of the demon scroll."

"Ah. So this is it?" Cell smirked, looking over the letters. "Can you read any of this?"

"I'm still learning. I know some of the words." Masq explained, pouring tea into a cup and saucer for Cell. Cell looked through the scroll until he saw a very familiar list of characters. Yes, he remembered this; it was the poem written on the stone back at the Ashitaka shrine. He looked up at Masq as she sat back down in her chair and handed Cell his cup of tea.

"I think it's time you told me the story of Ashitaka." He insisted, handing her back the scroll.

"Sure." She nodded. "It's right here. I can just read off the scroll."

"Let's hear it, then." Cell nodded, beginning to sip his tea. Masq cleared her throat and began:

"There was a time, long, long ago

When people killed the Great God of the Forest.

Human face. Body of a stag.

Horns atop his head like the trunks of massive trees.

For what reason did the humans take his life?

The human population was large.

Much of the ancient forests had been cut.

Here and there, stands of the old forest remained

Defying the humans' attempt to penetrate it.

Great wise beasts, wolves, boars and others

Desperately guarded the last sanctuaries.

They were feared as rampaging gods.

They revered the Great God of the Forest

A clan called Tatara were makers of iron,

And it was the Tatara who fought battle

After savage battle

With the raging gods of the forest.

Their leader was a woman, the Lady Eboshi,

Determined to clear and open the forest.

And to those that served her

Gonza, who would follow her through the gates of hell,

Otoki and Kohroku.

And the mysterious priest, Jiko, who is sworn

To capture the head of the Great God of the Forest.

The old woman, the Oracle, the far-seeing and wise

Lived in a village remote and hidden from time.

Nago, Moro and Okkotonushi, fierce-eyed and terrible

Rampaging gods who guarded the forest.

And the tiny woodland spirits, the Kodama…"

"Are you sure you want to continue?" Masq smirked at Cell. He glared at her.

"Oh, keep reading." He snorted. Masq shrugged and read on.

"The girl San was born a human

But she was raised by Moro the wolf

To be the Princess Mononoke, the defender of the forest.

She loathed the humans who invaded their land.

The youth Ashitaka, delivered by fate

Into the midst of the last desperate battle

Between the humans and the rampaging gods

On a journey to cleanse from his body a scar

And escape its slow curse of death.

Ashitaka and San,

Met in the midst of the carnage and chaos of battle.

What hope could there be for feelings of love

Born of a place steeped in hatred and killing?

In the weaving of this epic tapestry,

Which current will prevail?

The battle between forest and human

Or the love between warrior and princess?"

"It's not the whole story, but that pretty much sums it up." Masq frowned.

"And…no one won the war?" Cell wondered. Masq looked up at him.

"When Eboshi killed the Shishi Gami, she wasn't aware of the extreme consequences. She didn't understand that he was the last thing keeping the balance between the order and chaos of life. The moment the Shishi Gami died, chaos and death spread throughout the land. Almost everything died, and the whole forest was destroyed."

"Did the Shishi Gami turn into a demon?"

"We don't know for sure. I guess he did…" Masq sighed. "I'm still new to the story, and there are some parts of it that are unclear to us all. Not everyone knows the whole story…not even the wolves."

"Huh." Cell sighed before taking another sip of tea. "They don't even know their history. Well, what's unknown about the story?"

"Where Ashitaka came from, for example. We later learned he was an Emishi warrior, and the only thing he told the Tatara people was the wise woman of his village that instructed him to head to the west and to this mountain. Back then, this mountain and others like it had no name. It was completely uncharted territory."

"…and the Tatara wanted to change that."

"Yes. Lady Eboshi too. A lot of people wanted possession of the mountain."

"What else is unknown?"

"Most of Lady Eboshi's background. We know she was a member of the royal court, and the most constant battles she fought were against Asano and his band of samurai. Also, we don't know if other gods were involved in the war and San's true origin."

"That's quite a few holes to fill." Cell admitted. "Isn't there a historian on the mountain?"

"Oh yeah, San Sakuya." Masq nodded. "She was the one who gave me this copy of the demon scroll. Even she doesn't know the whole story."

"Hmmm…" Cell thought to himself, finishing his tea.

A battle where nobody won and everyone lost?

That can't be it…somebody got the land back…somebody won the war…

What happened on Singing Mountain six thousand years ago?

^

Cell spent all the time he could with Masquerade, not letting her out of his sight. The atmosphere of her cottage was becoming very dull, especially without little Yume around. Cell missed the wolf cub, wishing she could jump on his bed and chatter on about her day. There was little entertainment except being with Masquerade.

They found themselves cuddling a lot. Whenever Cell would sit down, Masq would jump in his lap and hug his neck. He would hold her to him gently, being careful to not touch her remaining burns. The demon burns were healing up nicely, and the marks on their faces were entirely gone. Both were still stiff as the healing continued.

Neither of them tried to kiss. Cell was sure something would interfere, and he didn't want any moment with Masquerade ruined. He wanted this day to be pleasant, dammit! He still felt affections for Masquerade, a deep untouched love he had never expressed before, and he wasn't sure if he was bringing them out right. He did constantly say "I love you" to her, but he wasn't satisfied with how they came out. It must have sounded fine to her, because she would smile warmly and return his words to him. When she said "I love you" to him, it was the full truth, and it felt warm and seductive. Hearing himself say those words…they just didn't sound right.

As the day wore on into twilight, Masq went in to bathe for the night. Cell griped about not joining her. Not only did she call him a "selfish pervert," but she firmly stated that he wouldn't fit in her bathtub. He ended up laying on his bed, staring up angrily at the ceiling, drumming his fingers impatiently against his head. When he begged her one last time, he felt the frying pan crash on his face. He had stopped seeing double a short while ago.

Cell went back to thinking about Piccolo's request to leave Singing Mountain.

A week ago, I would have been more than happy to leave…

But now…with everything to lose…

He said that more and more bad things will start happening as I stay here.

That could be nonsense…but it could also be the truth…

What if the rest of the world found out I was here?

What if they did send their armies to destroy the mountain?

He scowled at himself.

What am I saying?!

I am Cell, the ultimate warrior! I am the perfect being!

Bring on the whole damn army! I'll destroy them all!

There's nothing they can send that I can't fight, not even raven priests with laser guns! Ha!

There's nothing I can't destroy!

Suddenly, he thought of Surreal…and her demons…

Well, almost nothing…

Then, Masquerade came out of the bathroom and he turned to her. She was wearing a pink bathrobe, and rubbing a white towel over her hair. Her wet hair looked brown as it tumbled in thick clumps around her face. She also held a hairbrush in one hand.

"Well, since you couldn't take a bath with me," she offered, holding up the brush and smirking, "you can comb out my hair, okay Seru?"

"Works for me." Cell smiled, sitting up. Masq sat on his bed and handed him the brush. He delicately worked the brush through her hair, careful to avoid the places where she had been burned and the hair scalded off her head. He didn't stop brushing her hair until it was all straight and shiny. Neither of them spoke during the procedure. And since she slept with her hair braided, Cell decided to tie it all back in a braid. He had trouble getting started, so Masq guided him along. Then they started talking and chatting about this and that, and laughing every once in a while. The talking stopped when Cell tied off the braid with a provided scrunchie. Then, Masq decided to make more tea before calling it the night.

Cell watched her from his bed. He began thinking back to the day they first met. She couldn't remember because of something in the tranquilizer he ejected in her, but he could remember it all so well…

………

"Where are the androids?" Cell demanded, glaring into her horrified eyes. A few tears ran down her face as she answered.

"Son Goku's house."

"Why would they go there?"

"I don't know!" The girl screamed, squeezing her eyes shut and turning away from him. "They just are! There, I told you! Please don't kill me!"

Cell couldn't help but grow suspicious. Still, a bad lead was better than no lead at all. He took a few steps towards her, and carefully moved his tail towards her neck. He held her head still with one hand, and the very tip of his tail ever so carefully pricked her skin and she squeaked through her clenched teeth in pain.

"Relax." Cell insisted. "I'm not going to kill you…"

"Wh…what are you doing?" she groaned. He could hear sleepiness in her voice.

"Just relax." He soothed. "I'm injecting a tranquilizer in your blood. You will be asleep for a few hours. And by the time you wake up, we will be at Son Goku's house and we will see if what you claim is true."

The girl then closed her eyes and fell limp. Cell gathered her and flung her over his shoulder. A quick detour to the west wouldn't hurt him, and he could cover more ground looking for the androids. And even if she was lying to save her skin, he could absorb more human energy along the way, since the west was very heavily populated.

He began running westward, believing with ever stomping step that the girl was most likely lying.

Finally, the destination was in sight. He could see the plain, white house ahead of him. He could also see Son Goku's car parked by the door. He slowed himself down to a walk, and kicked open the door. He looked around the house, and found no one in sight. He had trouble feeling out any prencences of ki as well. He set the girl down on the floor, and began searching the house. There was no one home, not the Son family and most certainly not the androids. Cell became so enraged that he ripped the whole house apart hoping for some shred of evidence the androids were once here. But there was nothing.

He went back to the front of the house where he left the girl and sneered at her. She had lied to him! He should have known better! He was about to absorb her on the spot with no hesitation…but he hesitated. He didn't know how she found out about the androids, but she apparently knew Goku if she said the androids would go to his house. He shook his head at the thought of absorbing her. He decided to leave her there, let Goku take care of her when he and his family got back. The girl would tell Goku what happened and the Saiyan would just be on his guard.

The moment he stepped out the door, she awoke.

"Wait…" she called out to him, lying on the floor. "I can't move…"

"Well, isn't that too bad?" Cell spat at her through his beak. "Would you rather I'd kill you?"

"Please…help me up…" The girl stretched out a hand towards him. He glared at her, and huffed.

"Hmph." He turned from her, and left the house.

"Wait! Please!" the girl pleaded, probably crying. He didn't look back at her, but he did hear her desperate cries. "Help me…please…"

………

He felt like crying. He couldn't believe that Masquerade was the very same girl…

"Tea's ready!" Masq announced. She came back in the bedroom carrying the teapot and two tea cups on a wooden tray. She poured them both tea and handed Cell his cup. He stared into the brown drink in worry.

She doesn't remember, does she?

He turned his eyes to her, not moving his head. She was seated on her bed, sipping away her tea. Then she turned to him and smiled sweetly. He smiled weakly at her, and she turned away. Cell stared back at his tea.

I won't bring it up if she doesn't. She doesn't need to know. But if she did remember…would her feelings about me change?

No, of course not…what I did to her back that wasn't as bad as what I did to her family…she has forgiven me for that.

He sipped at his tea and raised his head to her. She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head to look at him.

"Something wrong?" she asked in concern.

"No." Cell shook his head. She smiled at him, sensing something was troubling him.

"I love you, Seru."

He had to smile, but once again the smile was weak.

"I love you too, San."

Damn it all, it still doesn't sound right!

They both went back to their tea until they ended up finishing off every drop in the pot. Masq took the dishes to the kitchen and washed them off in the sink. Cell ended up watching her from his bed again. He was smiling again, but it was no longer weak. He was smiling in admiration. Watching her do mundane chores was comforting in some way. It gave him a feeling of normality, a feeling that nothing bad would ever happen to them again. It was a feeling of the bond of love between man and wo…

Oh, this is so touching! Two lovers bound together forever…in death!

Surreal…

Suddenly, he could think of nothing else. That horrible spirit…Laerrus, the god of death! She brought him back to life…she brought him here…she had tried to kill him numerous times…then she tried to kill Masquerade…

He kept fretting about the spirit as Masq dressed in her pajamas and slipped into bed.

"Seru?"

He flinched, and turned to her. Seeing her unharmed, he sighed in relief.

"Yes San?"

"Are you sure there is nothing wrong?"

"Oh no. Nothing wrong at all."

Masq narrowed her eyes at him.

"Seru, are you lying to me?"

"Lying?!" Cell nervously laughed. "I don't lie. Lying makes me feel guilty."

"Alright." Masq smiled in forgiving. "I just get this feeling that there's something you're not telling me."

"It's nothing for you to worry about." He insisted. Masq nodded, and then rested her head on the pillow.

"Well…good night, Seru."

"Sleep well, San."

He didn't lay down to sleep. He just stared out the window and up into the starry sky. He was very worried about what could happen in the future.

The only reason Surreal attacked Masquerade was because Masq was getting in the way of killing me…

I'm the one Surreal wants, not Masq.

Which means…

If I stay here…

Masquerade could die…

He looked at her, and found her fast asleep in her bed. He just stared at her a few moments, then he made up his mind.

But, he didn't want to do it…

This is for her…you are doing it for her, Cell!

If you love her, you will do this!

He got up from his bed, and bent over the bed. She looked so beautiful asleep…he was about to change his mind again…

NO!

You have to do this!

Do you want her to die?!

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and she didn't stir. Then he picked up the crystal dagger she had given to him, and placed it in her hand.

"I do love you, San…" he whispered to her, leaning away and standing up straight. Then, he walked for the front door. Every step was painful, like he was walking on sharp knives. He didn't want to do this…but he had to…he was doing it for her…he didn't care what Piccolo thought, Cell was leaving the mountain to protect the woman he loved.

Finally, Cell opened the door and stepped outside. He quietly closed the door behind him, but the clicking of the latch seemed to echo loud enough for the world to hear. He was feeling extremely guilty now. He didn't want to leave her…he was in such great pain…

Then, the memories began to flood in his head.

…When he first came…the first time he had seen kodama…being carried in Moro-sama's gentle jaws…saving Masq from Surreal's demon…the night at the hot springs…the time he spent with Miaka…watching Rhapsody spar with other Sans…conversing with Moro-sama…hold Masq in his arms…hearing her laughter…seeing the joy and life in her eyes…catching the sweet fragrance of her garden…

He looked down next to his feet. Her garden was there, about to bloom. She was so proud of it. He could remember the day she found the sprouts growing. She was hugging him so tight, he thought he would run out of air. She did put a lot of work in that garden…a Green Witch, she called herself…

He shook his head clear of the thoughts of her, and stared out at the forest before him. He knew where to go…getting there was his only problem…

Could he bring himself to take the first step away from her?

He could feel the tears well in his eyes. He squinted them tight, and they trickled past his nose and down his cheek. Finally, he took one step foreword. Then he took another step. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another…Finally, he was walking away.

He was just at the edge of the forest when he stopped and looked behind him. The cottage was still dark, and she was still asleep. She was completely unaware of what he was doing for her. He began to fascinate what would happen when she woke up and discovered he wasn't in the house…she would be so hurt…she would start crying…she would fall to the floor in her sorrow…she would vow to never fall in love again…she would hate Cell for the rest of her life…

Get a grip! Her pain will be nothing compared to what you're feeling right now!

He gulped, feeling his throat becoming dry. More tears were pouring from his eyes. What was he going to do? He had to say something now…even though she couldn't hear him…

"Goodbye…" he said, his voice quivering. "Goodbye, San…" Suddenly, he turned back to the path and started running away as fast as he could. "Goodbye, San! Goodbye!"

Back in the cottage, Masq stirred slightly, barely opening her eyes.

"Seru…"