I know I said I'd update Misericordia next, but truth is, that chapter is gonna be MASSIVE since I'm trying to fit the entire orientation into one chapter. So it may take a bit.
So have a surprise update to this instead.
Chapter 6: The Bird is The Word
It was a nice day, Old Osmond thought. The sun was shining outside, the birds were chirping, and despite his lovely secretary's unusual absence, he was having fun doing the paperwork for a change, occasionally reaching across his desk to give his snoozing mouse familiar a little backrub.
He had full confidence that Miss Valliere and her compatriots, Cell in particular, could handle the thief and return the inert Golem of Destruction to the school's grounds. Once they do, he'll have to work with the teachers to erect a new barrier, and then-
"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The Square class Earth mage almost jumped out of his seat when he heard a distant, piercing shriek echo out from the forest beyond the school's grounds, miles away. Birds scattered from their nests and took off into the air, and the wind itself seemed to halt in place.
"Good heavens, what on earth was that?" He murmurs to himself as he stares out the window, looking towards the forest, his familiar now startled awake and currently freaking out on his desk, running around in circles.
Cell didn't consider himself an arrogant guy.
It sounded hard to believe considering that he had the DNA of Frieza and Vegeta mixed into his body, but he didn't think he was arrogant.
Cell knew where he stood. As he was, he could wipe out the countryside in minutes. Maybe seconds if he decided to put effort into it. Hell, he could probably blow up the planet with a well-placed and fully charged Kamehameha or a Galick Gun.
The point is, from what he could sense, nobody within a few miles of the academy was even remotely powerful enough to stop him if he decided to lash out.
He didn't think he was arrogant, he just accepted that compared to everyone else here, the overwhelming girth in his power level elevated him to the highest spot on the food chain, thus making him the strongest. It wasn't arrogance, just acceptance of fact.
"Wait not the tail, not the fuckin-GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Facts were sometimes built on misinformation.
Sixteen was much, MUCH stronger than he thought. Even with the Zenkai boosts he was receiving from getting his shit kicked in and then regenerating the damage done, the gap was just too fucking big!
Which was how he found himself currently face down on the floor, toes curled in agony, eyes almost bulging, and missing his fucking tail!
"…..was not ready for today." Tabitha murmured from her spot, her expression visibly shocked for once.
"I don't think any of us were." Kirche replied, her face ashen.
….The fact that Cell could hear every word the peanut gallery was saying also added to his incredibly bruised ego.
Sixteen stared impassively down at Cell, holding the bio-android's recently ripped off and writhing appendage, before tossing it behind him.
"Y-you son of a…. do you have any idea…" Cell growls out as he slowly gets up, hunched over as he glares right at his 'brother'. "How long it's going to take… to regrow my fucking tail!?"
"…pardon?"
"Boop."
An explosion of green fluids and a disgusting squelch later, and Cell's tail had completely regrown as if nothing happened.
Sixteen visibly looked a little startled, judging by the slight widening of his eyes, before they narrow again. "Regeneration. I am detecting Namekian DNA. It seems to have been altered and enhanced to the point that the regenerative capabilities are now at the very least 300% more effective compared to a regular Namekian's."
"Ohoho, that's not all my big ginger friend!" Cell chuckles, flexing his fingers before clenching them into fists. "With my Saiyan DNA, every injury you cause gives me a Zenkai boost when I regenerate! I am literally growing stronger with every bit of damage you deal to me! Soon, I'll grow stronger and stronger as the fight goes on.. and I'll soon surpass even you!"
Cell cackles, his tail swaying behind him as he waits for Sixteen's reaction.
He was bluffing of course. Unlike his siblings, he wasn't built with an infinite amount of energy. Regenerating took a lot of power for a Namekian, triply so for him. He had a LOT of energy to spare of course but eventually he would run out. It'd take a long time, but it could happen.
Sixteen on the other hand seemed to be an Infinite Energy model… meaning he could literally just keep beating him into the ground until he didn't have enough energy to regenerate properly.
"…so what you are saying is that to make sure that does not happen, I simply need to disintegrate you completely." The Android hums, before squaring his shoulders. "That can be arranged."
"….you completely saw through my bluff didn't you?"
"I did."
"Aw beans-OW MY FUCKING DICK FACE AGAIN!?"
"….Valliere, I am having a hard time understanding what they are talking about. What is a Namekian?" Kirche blinks beside Louise, turning to look at the smaller pinkette.
"I…. don't know either?" Louise chuckles nervously.
Whatever the hell those two were talking about, it must be related to Cell's old world.
"B-but more importantly, we should take out Fouquet right now while they're fighting!" Louise turns and glares at the green haired mage. "If we take out the golem's power source, then-"
"He'll keep going!" The infamous thief almost moans out in glee, hugging her sides. "He's been made with a core that provides him with an infinite amount of energy! He'll keep going and going and going without ever needing to recharge! Not even a Square class Earth Mage of the highest caliber could hope to manage something like that! Ahahahaha!"
"I-infinite energy!? B-but that makes no sense!" Louise exclaims with horror, before turning to look at the fight, just in time to see Sixteen punch Cell right in the crotch again, before flinging him into another tree. "H-how can he be stopped then!?"
She was hoping that, despite being clearly made in Cell's world, he'd have magic powering him since he was reactivated somehow despite Old Osmond clearly saying that even he couldn't find a way to do it. But if he really does have infinite energy….
"Cell will die." Tabitha hums, eyes narrowed.
"He will… I don't know if there's anything we can do either… just look at them! They're tearing up the forest with brute strength alone!" Kirche frowns, fingering at her wand as she purses her lips. "A Zerbst shouldn't stay on the sidelines like this… but there's nothing I can do either.."
Louise grits her teeth tightly, her eyes aflame.
A Zerbst might stay on the sidelines.
But a Valliere sure as hell won't.
"He keeps punching me in the dick face…." Cell wheezes, groaning as he's curled up in the fetal position, buried amidst the shattered remains of a few trees. "Why..? Why does he keep punching me in the dick face!?"
"It is an easy target." Sixteen comments, staring down at Cell's collapsed form.
The bio-android growls, before slowly standing up, brushing the broken branches and splintered bark off his body as he glares at Sixteen. "If you wanna kill me so much, why the hell aren't ya finishing me off? You had plenty of chances!"
"I am awaiting satisfaction."
"For what!?"
"My purpose was to destroy Goku. You are the closest I will get to that here. I am hoping that while fighting you, I could find some form of satisfaction from partially achieving my sole purpose for existing…" Sixteen trails off, an indescribable look in his sky blue eyes. "…but I feel nothing."
"Yeah?" Cell growls out before spitting out some purple blood to the side, his bruises and bludgeoned internal organs healing completely as he bends his knees. "Well you know what I feel?"
Raising his arms, his white aura erupts around his body again, his power level suddenly skyrocketing, causing Sixteen's eyes to widen slightly.
"I FEEL PISSED OFF!"
With that roar, Cell's Ki erupts around him, the shockwave forcing Sixteen to leap back as the bug monster's energy begin to lash at the ground, the earth sundering and cracking around him, soil beginning to rise up into the air as his white aura begins to flicker, turning a bit yellow for a moment.
"You think you have problems buddy!? You're not the only one born to kill Goku! I'm stuck on a planet without him too! But guess what? That's not all! I'm meant to be Perfect! I am fucking Cell, the Perfect Being! I'm meant to absorb my fucking brother and sister to obtain my Perfect form and ultimate power, and you know what!? I can't do that!" Cell almost screams out, his pink eyes wide, slit pupils dilating to the point of becoming paper thin stripes. "Because they're not on this fucking planet! They're probably not even in this fucking dimension! I'll never, ever get my Perfection! And to top it all off on this fucking sundae of fuck ups and fuck yous by fate, I'm getting my ass kicked by a defective inferior piece of fucking hardware!"
His aura flickers gold for half a second as his anger mounts, veins popping on his crown and muscles as the earth around him is completely stripped of the grass, leaving just flattened and slowly rising dirt.
"I was having such a good fucking week too! And getting my ass kicked by you reminded me just how not okay this entire fucking situation is! I am fucking FURIOUS!"
His energy continues to rise while Sixteen watches impassively, scanning Cell's body. 'Something is off… his demeanor has changed drastically… his power is elevating far more than it should… unless…'
His eyes widen. 'I am detecting a hormonal imbalance within his body… Saiyans get more powerful in fits of rage. He is deliberately manipulating his body's hormones to induce intense anger in an attempt to raise his power level!'
"I…. I'm…" Cell growls out, his pupils dilated to the point that they've vanished completely in his glowing pink eyes. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
With that shriek of exertion, he arches his back, tail lashing out as his power explodes outwards, a massive explosion of energy erupting around him in a blinding light.
The explosion tears up the ground and sends Sixteen flying back from the backlash, the android's teeth grit as he blocks the brunt of the blast with his forearms.
"V-Valliere! Did Cell just imply he's from another planet!?" Kirche screams out as she holds an arm over her face to block the dirt and wind blasting in their direction.
"Not the fucking time Zerbst!" Louise screams out, slowly inching her way towards the fight, her wand out. She staggered a bit, feeling her Willpower being drained through her Familiar bond, her own soul clamping down on the connection to halt the flow by sheer reflex on surprise. What the hell was happening!?
Her eyes squint as the backdraft dies down, and her eyes are beholden to the aftermath. "Whoa…"
Landing on the ground a few dozen feet away, Sixteen's eyes narrow as he takes in the aftermath of the explosion.
There was a smoking crater in ground zero of the blast, and hovering above it, was Cell.
His muscle mass had… increased exponentially. He was noticeably bulkier.
Overall he looked exactly the same. However, his cranial protrusions seem to have arched upwards a little more, closer towards his actual head. His eyes were glowing pink, and the black spots on his body were glowing a hot bright white.
'His power level has increased… it is some sort of rage induced transformation…' Sixteen analyzes, before narrowing his eyes further. 'No… a partial transformation. Something is preventing more of his power from being unleashed… is it a biological limiter placed by Doctor Gero? Is this what he needs the other Cyborgs for? To unlock it?'
The power gap between them had been vast before.
But now, they were both at roughly the same level of power. If this was the power that an incomplete transformation gave him…
'I must defeat him before he somehow figures out a way to remove that limiter himself, with or without the other Cyborgs. Otherwise I will lose.' Sixteen decides, before suddenly rushing towards Cell and throwing a punch.
A punch which was promptly blocked by Cell's right forearm, a loud crash echoing in the forest as a small shockwave erupts from the impact.
Cell barely budged, but he growled in exertion.
"Got another one in ya?" The bio-android growls out, his voice a bit deeper and huskier now.
"Enough to put you down." Sixteen retorts, before flashing his other fist towards Cell.
Cell catches it with his free hand, and uses his right arm to knock away the fist it was blocking, before he too threw a punch.
The punch lands against Sixteen's shoulder, denting the armor with a loud clang, causing the ginger android to grunt, before he quickly attempts to knee Cell in the stomach.
One of Cell's own knees blocks it, and suddenly the two begin to engage in a deadly game of 'Who can sneak in a hit first?' as the air around them vibrates with energy.
They start to exchange punches and kicks as they rise up into the air, each strike causing a small sonic boom to sound out, their synthetic muscles bulging with exertion.
It was a clash of titans.
"I…. words cannot describe what I am looking at." Kirche murmurs, Tabitha nodding beside her.
Their eyes could barely keep up with the battle between the two absolute units of muscle, one biomechanical, the other fully machine, as they traded blows in the air, darting around the canopy at high speeds.
A deadly dance of punches and kicks, each blow creating a deafening eruption of sound.
"T-this… this is impossible… how is he keeping up…?" Fouquet murmurs behind them, watching the fight with wide eyes. She was fully convinced that Sixteen would be able to utterly destroy Valliere's Familiar, but now… the Familiar had received some sort of ridiculous power-up!
"…wait, where's Valliere?" Kirche blinks, realizing the pinkette wasn't among them anymore.
Cell growled as he barely dodges another haymaker from the hulking android in front of him, before slamming his elbow into Sixteen's chin, causing the ginger robot's head to snap backwards, before it rushes forwards again, delivering a headbutt so hard that it sent Cell flying back down into the ground.
"Damn it!" The green bio-android quickly pulls himself out of the crater he formed, before lurching forward in a dodge to avoid Sixteen crashing down with a stomp, barely managing to avoid getting his skull crushed. "What does it take to kill you!?"
"More than you can manage in your current state." Sixteen declares, before aiming his right fist towards Cell. "Rocket Punch!"
Right before Cell's eyes, the ginger android's forearm suddenly blasts off from the elbow and soars right towards him, jet thrusters fueling its charge.
"Okay that's pretty cool-OH CRAP!" Cell snaps out of his awe and manages to duck out of the way, before he blocks a shoulder bash from Sixteen with his forearms. "Ha! Now you're down an arm, dumbass!"
"I only need one to take care of you." Sixteen retorts with cold, steely determination, lifting his stump of an arm and…. Was that a fucking blaster?
"Oh shit!" The giant bug man yelps, before managing to kick up with his leg and slamming his knee into Sixteen's fully charged right arm, diverting its aim as the yellow energy blast fires off straight into the sky, burning a hole in the forest's canopy.
Before Sixteen could recover, he planted both his feet against the android's face and kicked off, sending Sixteen skidding back while Cell backflipped a few times through the air and landed on the ground, his right arm raising up to his forehead, index and middle finger together.
Lightning starts to crackle at the tips of his fingers as he growls, his energy rising. He wasn't going to wait a full five fucking minutes to charge this bloody attack, so it wasn't going to be as powerful, but in this state, it'll still probably punch a hole in Sixteen!
"Hope you're ready to be the world's first walking donut, Sixteen!" Cell roars out as Sixteen manages to reorient himself, his eyes narrowing when he sees Cell charging up an attack.
"You have made a critical error, Cell."
"Oh yeah, and what's that!?" Cell growls, raising his hand up to the side. "As far as I'm concerned, my only mistake… was not using a sure-kill attack the first time! MAKANKOSAPPO!"
With a shriek of energy, he thrusts his arm forward, and a spiraling drill of energy lances out from his fingertips, screaming through the air towards Sixteen.
"Your mistake was that you did not account for my arm." Sixteen coldly declares, and dread suddenly mounts in Cell's gut as he realizes he could hear the sound of rocket thrusts getting closer. "Like I said… I only need one arm to take care of you."
Cell turned his head, but it was too late, as Sixteen's rocket powered right fist suddenly slams into the back of his skull, crunching through it and crushing the base of his brain, his eyes widening as he feels his energy get thrown into disarray.
The Special Beam Cannon fizzles out before it can even reach Sixteen, and Cell suddenly collapses onto his stomach, chunks of his brain matter and skull splattering across the forest floor as he spasms violently and tries to reorient himself.
To his horror, his body starts to shrink back to normal, and his power-up vanishes entirely.
"W-wha..? W-wha happun..?" He manages to choke out, his speech slurred as his body struggles to regenerate the damage done to his skull.
"I obliterated your pituitary gland." Sixteen states, slowly walking towards Cell's downed form as his right arm comes flying back to him, the ginger android grabbing it out of the air before reattaching it to his elbow. "The pituitary gland controls the hormones in the body. Seeing as you were manipulating your body's hormones to induce blinding rage, I eliminated your ability to do so by damaging it enough that you would lose control of your energy, and motor functions."
"Y-you a fucking X-ray too…?" Cell gasps out weakly, glaring up at Sixteen. "Y-you could tell all that from scanning me?"
"Doctor Gero programmed what he has dubbed 'The Exposition Scanning System' into my body. I am capable of observing all the biological details and processes in any living creature I look at, down to the very composition of their DNA, and the makeup of their energy." The buff android nods, before preparing to detach his arms again to unleash another energy attack, this time at point blank range. "And now, you will die."
"Damn it…. I wanted to be Perfect damn it.. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!" Cell growls out, trying to regenerate the damage done to him faster so he could get up and dodge, or clock Sixteen! Something, anything!
"HEY!"
Both androids freeze up and their eyes turn to find a furious Louise standing a few dozen feet away, her wand held out, eyes alight with fury.
"Stay away from my Familiar you damn dirty brute!" Louise exclaims, before flooding the tip of her wand with magic, aiming straight for Sixteen.
"Do not waste your-" The android starts, before his eyes widen at the sudden massive surge of energy gathering at the tip of Louise's wand. "What the-"
"FIREBALL!"
What came out of that wand was most definitely not a fireball.
Instead, a hot white and violet rimmed blast of pure energy erupted from the wand, prompting Sixteen to duck out of the way, the energy blast managing to clip his shoulder and disintegrate a piece of his green shoulder armor on contact, before it flies off through the air and up through the canopy, disintegrating a hole through the leaves, branches, and the clouds in the sky.
'What was that?' Sixteen thinks to himself as his eyes scan Louise's body. 'The composition of that energy was unusual. It was Ki for sure, however it was of an unusual quality, and the purity of that energy was beyond anything Gero's archives could identify.'
Louise panted for breath, her wand almost splintering at the tip from the sudden and angry burst of magic, her body swaying. That… took a lot out of her. It was only one spell, why was she so tired?
It did something at least, it sort of ate a hole through the canopy and took out a bit of the golem's armor.
"W-what the fuck was that!?" Cell exclaims, his head finally repairing all the damage done to it as he manages to get up onto his feet.
"I-I'm sorry, I snapped for a moment!" Louise whimpers out, feeling a bit ashamed at how she lost her composure.
"No no, stay snapped! Stay snapped!"
Louise fell to her knees, suddenly feeling drained. "Oof…"
"Awwww crap…" Cell grunted, before he manages to get onto his knees, panting as his tail shot out and wrapped around Louise, prompting a squeak from her as he pulls her close and sets her right behind him. "Just stay behind me and keep your head down!"
"What was that?"
The mage and familiar duo look up towards a very stone faced but curious Sixteen.
"That blast was most definitely not magic. It was Ki of an unusual quality that I could not identify."
"I… used Ki…?" Louise blinked, her eyes widening. "I can use Ki? Wait, is THAT why my spells have always failed!? I've been using the wrong energy source!?"
"That sounds great and all, but it isn't enough to stop the big guy from killing me." Cell grumbled, before glaring up at Sixteen. "Alright… you wanna kill me? Fucking fine."
"Cell!?" Louise gasped, staring at her Familiar in shock.
"But you better stay the fuck away from my Mother, or I'll find some way to claw my way out of HFIL and rip you to shreds." Cell snarled, clenching his fists.
He really, REALLY didn't want to do this. But he was outmatched. The Saiyan blood in him felt outraged that he was giving up, but the Frieza side was smarter.
It was also pettier, because he knew damn well he could probably try and kill Sixteen by blowing up the fucking planet, but Sixteen would probably kill him before he got the chance, and he was trying to keep his Mother alive damn it!
"Cell! No! We can figure this out! Maybe if we just.. hit him with a big blast together! I-I.. I can't lose you Cell!" Louise pleaded, grabbing one of her Familiar's shoulders, her bright pink eyes wide and teary. "You're.. you're my Familiar! You're supposed to stay with me until the day I die! You can beat him, you're my Perfect Familiar!"
…..Perfect.
No, he wasn't. He wasn't even semi-perfect. He was just incomplete. Imperfect. In every way, shape and form…
…but at least he could protect Louise.
It… felt odd. Feeling so protective over her. But she did raise him. She gave him more entertainment and companionship in several days than he had ever felt in his many years of being in Gero's lab. Regardless of what he was, he imprinted on her, and she was his Mother.
'….hmm… maybe this is why Goku fights too.. to protect people like this… fuck, this is such a weird feeling. I don't like it. At least I'll be dead soon so I won't have to feel it much longer.'
In front of the kneeling Cell, Sixteen simply stared with razor focus, his brow furrowed.
This… didn't feel right.
He would honor Cell's request of course. But…
…killing him like this didn't feel right. He wasn't sure why. He was not designed to comprehend feelings like this.
His primary programming was trying to make him comply with his purpose and kill Son Goku, or whatever being possessed his DNA.
But… it felt…
…..wrong.
As he pondered this, a few birds flew down and landed on Cell's cranial protrusions, causing the three to freeze.
The birds, a pair of robins, just perched there, chirping all the while, seemingly not noticing what was going on.
"….well shit." Cell murmured, blinking a little as he looked up towards the birds. "Heh, they're cuties… not a bad thing to see before I die."
"You like birds as well?"
The sudden question from Sixteen caused Cell and Louise to stiffen. They both stared at his expressionless face, blinking.
"….yeah? I definitely do. You like 'em too, right mother?"
"H-huh? O-oh, yes, I do like birds, I suppose…" Louise murmured, a little caught off-guard.
The android stared at them silently before his eyes narrowed. "What is your favorite type of bird?"
Cell stared at his 'brother' with visible confusion. "Uhhhhh… all of them?"
A few seconds ticked by, before Sixteen slowly smiled, nodding a little. "Correct answer. You may live."
"…..excuse me but what the fuck did you just say?"
Shockingly, it wasn't Cell who said that, but Louise.
"Is.. is the fight over? Did they win?" Kirche blinked, staring at the very… odd scene.
"Not sure." Tabitha deadpanned, her face back to its normal, that is to say, flat expression. "Seems we're unneeded in the end. Irrelevant."
Nearby, Fouquet was just staring with visible confusion, and irritation.
"Confound it… maybe I should have helped give him a hobby that wasn't birds… like knitting…" The thief grumbled.
It seems that Sixteen had.. decided to spare Cell.
That still didn't guarantee she'd escape here. One brief second was all it would take for that monstrosity to kill her.
Thankfully… she had a pair of convenient hostages nearby, just in case.
"So you're telling me that you're sparing me because you felt bad about it, and because I like birds." Cell drawled, his voice flat as his brow twitched, Louise standing with an identical expression beside him.
"Yes. If I am going to kill Son Goku, I will have the genuine article. Not someone with his DNA. That may never happen, since we are on another planet entirely. But I will find a way one day. For now however, I will forge my own path, and become my own android. Hobbies, and all." The ginger giant nodded, seemingly at peace with his decision.
"….so we're cool then?"
"Affirmative. We are cool."
"Okay… okay, you know what? Fine, that works for me." Cell groaned, slowly standing up, his body now aching like hell. "Fuck, you definitely gave me the workout of my life."
"I will be more than happy to do it again if you wish."
"I think I'll take a raincheck on that for now."
Louise stared at the two technical siblings, her face confused, emotions in a flurry.
Did that just happen? Did a brutal fight just get resolved because of… a bad feeling and a shared affection for avians!?
"Life just stopped making sense ever since I got you Cell." Louise muttered, shaking her head.
"Psh, you know you love it." Cell snorted, patting his master on the head, the diminutive mage too emotionally and physically drained to even slap his hand away.
"At this rate I might have to learn to or I may die from an aneurysm."
"If you two don't stay where you are, your friends might die instead!"
The trio turned to find... Kirche and Tabitha buried up to their necks in dirt and stone, a smirking Fouquet standing beside them. Kirche's wand and Tabitha's staff were several feet away, left on the ground.
Louise stared at the odd scene for a few seconds…
…and all the mounting stress finally snapped, as the absurd image before her caused her to start giggling, covering her mouth as she tried to hold back her laughs, before completely failing as she began to chortle, snorting a little as she bellowed with gut busting laughter.
"W-what are you laughing at!? This is a hostage situation!" Fouquet yelled, her brow furrowed.
"Z-ZERBST! Y-YOU LOOK LIKE A RED HEAD OF LETTUCE!" Louise managed to exclaim, before continuing to laugh. For once, Kirche looked utterly mortified to be on the other side of the teasing, her face reddening as she squirmed in the prison of earth.
"T-this isn't the time to be laughing Valliere! Hey! Are you listening!? Louise!? Stop laughing damn it! It isn't funny!"
"It's a little funny." Tabitha hummed from beside her, drawing a sharp glare from her best friend.
"Tabby, this isn't the time!"
"How the fuck did you two get caught anyway?" Cell raised a brow, staring at the two mostly buried students.
"Caught off guard. Now we can be irrelevant three feet under." Tabitha drawled out, her bland delivery of those words making Louise laugh harder, the pinkette now rolling on the ground, clutching her stomach.
"…..I can't believe this." Fouquet grumbled, before staring at Cell. "Look, this is a hostage situation, their lives are in my hands, so stay the ever loving hell away from me and Sixteen, and I'll let them live."
"Why exactly are you doing this? I can't exactly try to kill you with the big guy looming behind me." Cell grumbled, his pride bruised.
"Correct, if you attempted to harm her, I would indeed rip your spine out from whatever orifice you have that passes for a rectum." The android nodded unblinkingly.
"Y-you're still fast enough to kill me without anyone being able to react if you had the chance! I'm trying to make sure I can get out of this without getting killed!" The green haired thief growled.
"Why not come back?"
That question from Tabitha was met with silence, as Louise's laughs finally died down, the pinkette sniffling as she wiped away the tears her hard and painful laughter caused, her face red as she realized how unladylike she just acted.
"…what did you say?" Fouquet turned to look at the captured bluenette.
"Nobody knows you're Fouquet. Why not come back? Can pretend to be Longueville again." Tabitha replied. "Steady job. Steady income. Secret bragging rights for awakening Golem of Destruction when Old Osmond couldn't."
"She makes a point actually." Kirche hummed, trying to look as dignified as possible despite being buried up to her chin in dirt. "It's not like any of us would spill. Your boytoy there is way stronger than Cell-"
"FOR NOW!" The green familiar exclaimed.
"-and you'd probably be seen as a hero as well if we just… make up something about you managing to reactivate the Golem and using it to escape 'Fouquet's grasp."
"It isn't that simple! I was hired to steal the Golem this time, and if I don't leave, my employers WILL find me, and they'll try to kill me. I have no doubt Sixteen can destroy them, but I want to put as much distance between them and myself before they can track me down!" Fouquet exclaimed, her tone.. Desperate. "If I don't, they'll probably try and dig into my history and find… find leverage!"
"Leverage?" Louise spoke up, dusting herself off. "You mean… a hostage? Or blackmail?"
"…a little bit of both. It doesn't matter!" Fouquet growls.
"If it's a hostage, you could just get Sixteen to transport them, couldn't you? They could be kept safe here at the academy if we find a way to-" Louise continued, her lips parting to say something else before the thief snapped.
"She can't be moved here because she's a half elf!"
Silence rang throughout the woods.
"….yeah, I can see how that'd be a problem." Cell hummed, blinking. "No, wait, I can't actually. Why's that matter? Aren't elves meant to be like, super magic royalty?"
"Not here Cell. Elves are… considered demonic by most of Halkeginia." Louise shook her head, her eyes wide as she processed this.
"Tristain more than others. They were considered the enemies of Brimir after all. If an entire race is considered the enemy of God, then that makes them little more than monsters." Kirche nodded, her lips in a firm frown. "I don't agree with it, especially since its been such a long time since then, but this is how most of the world is. Elves are considered very dangerous due to how versatile their magic is. A half-elf might be considered worse than an elf simply because it means that an elf's blood 'tainted' a human bloodline."
"….screw it, I'll.. I might as well tell you. But this stays between us, or I'll order Sixteen to stomp you all into paste… you'd do that, right Sixteen?" Fouquet pleaded, her eyes wide.
"I can do that."
"Good… then… listen, I'll only say this once. I'm not from here. I'm from Albion. I was once a noble there, but… that doesn't matter, what matters is that my best friend is a half-elf. We've known each other for years, we're like sisters. But she's never interacted with strangers, and she lives alone in a cottage in the woods." Fouquet sighed, rubbing her eyes under her glasses. "If… if Reconquista figures out my connection with her… I… I fear for her safety. Which is why I have to get out of here as fast as possible before they realize I hoodwinked them, and get to her so I can have Sixteen protect her."
"….of course the thief has a compelling backstory…" Louise groans as she rubs her temples. "Well.. I don't think any of us can keep you here in good conscience. As strange as the idea of protecting a half-elf is to me, my biases towards other races has been thoroughly shattered today since I gained a strange, horrifying Familiar like Cell."
"I thought you said I was perfect?"
"You are. Perfectly horrifying."
"I'll take it."
Fouquet blinked, a bit of warmth filling her chest. "So… you'll let me go? Just like that?"
"Honestly, we couldn't stop you if we wanted to anyway." Kirche groans from her spot. "Just go already so I can get out of this dirt and wash off all this muck in the bathe."
"Getting itchy." Tabitha added.
"…I… thank you, I suppose. Then… Sixteen? Will you.. come with me?" Fouquet turned to look at the tall android, who stared at her with an intense expression.
"Affirmative. I will follow you. However, I have a suggestion."
"Oh?"
Sixteen nodded slowly. "It would be a wise course of action to bring your friend here to the academy. If she is a half-elf, then the defining factor would be her ears, assuming elves here are the same as ones described in fantasy."
"Wait what's that supposed to-" Kirche started before Tabitha shushed her.
"Simply covering her ears up would provide enough of a disguise for her race. Nobody would question it."
Fouquet processed this, her brow furrowed. "I… I'm not sure… she's.. she's not the best around people…"
"Gotta learn sometime. Besides, if you're worried about protection, bringing her here is probably the safest bet, since me and Sixteen would be here." Cell shrugged, drawing a surprised look from Fouquet.
"Are you saying you'd protect her..?"
"If mother asks me to, I will. I'm just throwing out suggestions. I'm fucking tired, more tired than I thought I could be after a battle of life or death, I just want this discussion to be over with so I can go back to the bloody academy and sleep for another thirty years." Cell grumbled, crossing his arms. "Look, make a decision already. Live on the run with your buddy, or bring her here."
The earth mage stood there silently, weighing her options.
Slowly, she waved her wand, and the earth slowly started to spit out Kirche and Tabitha as she stared at Louise.
"Can you promise that you'll have your Familiar help protect my friend?"
"I can't exactly say no to the idea of protecting someone in danger, even if they are half elf… so fine." Louise sighed, nodding. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this…"
"…thank you, Miss Valliere." Fouquet slowly smiled a little. "Well.. I suppose we should return to the academy then. And think up a backstory while we're at it."
"And that's gonna be the fun part. Hard part is gonna be selling it to Old Osmand." Cell snorted, the group relaxing as they started to discuss a plan.
All the while, Sylphid was peacefully snoozing in a grove nearby, having ignored the entire fight, simply sunbathing.
Shorter chapter, but you guys deserved an update.
Hope you all enjoyed the conclusion to Sixteen VS Cell! As well as a sneakpeek to Cell's growing power!
I'm off to bed. Because of course I decided to finish this thing up at 3 fucking AM.
Also, I don't study biology, I have no idea if smashing a pituitary gland would cause the hormones to simply stop being produced or whatever. I'm using dumb science. You know. The kind of science that DBZ uses from time to time. Sue me.
Anyway, love you all, good night. Here's hoping I can finish the next chapter of Misericordia before 2020. I'll probably end up posting updates of either Epic of Remnant or, God forbid, Silberner Streitwagen before then otherwise.