Honor Trip

Chapter Three: Declaration

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc.

With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!

Cell soared through the air, with clouds passing by his sides as he flew toward Gohan. He recollected the events that had brought him from the arena and into the brightness. 'Gohan. That Saiyan. A boy whose friends' and father's genetics helped make me who I am. Their emotions had always been dormant within me, locked away by Dr. Gero. And with Gohan punching me in the head, what wondrous feelings he allowed me to feel in all their glory for the truly first time. Somehow, he managed to damage the tissue that had been so intricately designed by Gero to never allow me to feel the kindness of Goku's smile. Somehow, I was never able to feel the true and genuine desire to help others that Krillin has felt so many times. Somehow, I was never able to feel the benevolent sense of friendship shared by Chaoitzu and Tien. And now, after that boy punched me in the head, I am free. Free from a deeper tyranny Frieza never knew he had imposed. Free from the real hatred that had bound Vegeta for so long, not his disdainful but well-meaning arrogance that lingers. Free from the gleeful malice that marked King Cold's wicked smile as he conquered dominions and ravaged the worlds of all too many innocents.' He quickly took a breath of crisp, fresh air, then continued in his musings. 'Now, I can look back on the dark and distant day that I killed the champion of this world's future after he had destroyed the other androids of his timeline. I prevented him from having his true chance to stop me and, alas, ended his holy mission. I can feel free to feel deep shame for my actions. That is as any sensible being should feel. No longer am I a monster, despite this wretched and eclectic appearance. I can fight for good. I just hope the others will understand that. Even more so, I hope I'll stay this way forever. There is no guarantee right now that I either can or will, although soon, … very soon … yes, it would be excellent if my hopes turned out to be realizable.' As he deeply pondered the circumstances of his new and broader vision of reality, Cell caught up to the Z-Fighters. They had stopped in their path, with cold, hardened expressions on their faces. Cell decelerated, and came to a halt in front of Gohan. "What took you so long?" Gohan asked. "I had short notice," Cell said. "And now that I'm here, I'll embrace what you have planned for me. Tell me, what is it that you want me to do?" "I want you to shut up and fly between Trunks and my father, with myself behind and everyone else in front," Gohan said, as his aura sparkled with anger. "We're going to the Lookout. I'm keeping an eye on you, so don't think of doing anything conspicuous. Normally, I would never think of bringing you there, but if I let you go now and someone dies because of my mistake, that would mean that I failed yet again. As you can of course understand, watching you is therefore preferable. If you even think about interfering with my plans or threatening anyone, you will be saying hello to Frieza in Hell. Got it?" "I do." "Then get moving." The eight warriors began their collective procession toward the Lookout. Tien, Piccolo, Yamcha, and Krillin guarded the front, Goku and Trunks flanked Cell's right and left sides, and Gohan watched all ahead from the rear. Never before had Gohan experienced a flight of such foreboding. The air usually felt calm, even soothing, as he flew fast through the sky. Right now, it felt as though it was making cuts upon his features, as would a broken razorblade. He would have to make the wishes quick, and if Cell did not cooperate and instead attempted to threaten the peace, it would mean his father had been wrong. Truth be told, he would have rather not let Cell anywhere near the Lookout, but he planned on using this situation as a test of Cell's intentions. Even though it was risky, he felt it was worth seeing what

Cell would do with the Dragon Balls readily accessible…. Goku was flying to the left of Cell. As he turned his head to the right, he saw that Trunks was keeping his gaze fixed to the android, and never once letting the gaze go. It seemed quite clear to Goku that Trunks' ardent observation over Cell was being carried out as per his anticipation that the peace that the android had promised was nothing but a farce. Again, and not for the last time, Goku wondered if he had made a terrible mistake in all this. At last, the spiritual region came into clear vision ahead. The eight fighters approached Korin's Tower, and the mystic cat, who had sensed disturbances from the norm all afternoon, looked ahead with caution. "Yajirobe, it would be good for us to have Senzu beans at the ready," Korin said. "Korin, I wish you would have at least given me some sort of clue about what's going on down there," he said. "Please, tell me how Goku's doing. Did he beat Cell, or has the real battle just begun?" "It seems that our friends are having a hard time of judging the current circumstances," Korin said. "I still don't understa – hey wait, I can sense them getting closer!" Yajirobe said. "Isn't that them in the distance?" "Yes, it is they," Korin said. "Oh boy! That means they defeated Cell! Yeah, all right!" he bellowed, while jumping in ecstasy. Korin was deep in thought, and did not respond to his friend's jubilation. Yajirobe then saw the four fighters at the front of the brigade pass by. "Hey guys, good job!" he yelled to them. Yajirobe was startled when he saw that their facial expressions were in no way reflective of anything close to celebration. Instead, he observed that they seemed to be inundated by solemnity, as if danger still deeply loomed. "Korin, what's going on here my fr– ," and he stopped midsentence when he saw Cell, with his arms folded, flying between Goku and Trunks. "What the …?" He then saw Gohan pass by, although the boy stopped momentarily, gave Korin and Yajirobe a quick glance that marked his pain, and then flew forward. "Alright Korin, now you really have to tell me what's going on," Yajirobe said. "If I actually knew, I would tell you," Korin said. "This was not an outcome that was readily predictable. It's almost as if … no, but the last time that happened was a quite long while ago. I hope they know what they're doing." "Korin, I feel like going up to the Lookout," Yajirobe said. "Did that freak brainwash them or something? Why are they just escorting Cell up to the holiest of holy places, where the Dragon Balls are at?" "I didn't sense any confusion or manipulated intent in Gohan's eyes when I saw him," Korin said. "Our friends must be planning something. We're going to have to put our faith in Goku and his son." Farther up in the atmosphere, the fighters landed. Dende and Mr. Popo, who had sensed with greater clarity than Korin what had been happening below, jumped back in startled fashion when they saw Cell land with the rest of the fighters. "No, this is sacred ground. I will not let this horror spend one more second on it!" Mr. Popo said. "Gohan, what are you thinking?" Dende asked. "He's got the same look on his face as the tyrants who killed my people back on Namek!" "My father thinks this worthless bastard is worth something. Don't ask me," he said as he folded his arms and looked toward Cell.