[11] Bra, Vegeta, and Cell

[Bra]

The hospital was a testament to the grotesque adulteration of reality that had taken place. Blood and gore had been strewn about everywhere, and this deep into the building, no wall was without a thick streak of the red substance. Cell led the trio into what appeared to be an operating room, parts of which were literally overtaken by what appeared to be flesh and bone. It was like some kind of sadistic interior decorator had decided to put up walls of skin and muscle, and supported them with dozens of bones, many of which stained with even more of the spilled blood. These walls of tissue pulsed, as though some horrible form of life had been given to the sickening architecture.

?H-help me! Th-they?re coming! Oh God, help!? Bra didn?t even notice the doctor who hung from the ceiling by a noose which had somehow failed to kill him. A razor sharp, metallic rod protruded from his chest, the wound staining his clothes with his own blood.

?Oh, fuck!? the princess shrieked, trembling uncontrollably against the intense trepidation she felt for this place, ?What?s next??

Cell stepped forward, into the room. Bra couldn?t bring herself to accompany him, and Vegeta seemed more concerned with the girl than he did with the android, so he, too, remained behind. The artificial warrior looked up at the doctor, who began to convulse as he approached.

?They?re here! Burn in hell! All of you!? the victimized physician roared, his voice twisted and filled with some kind of hellish contempt. Without warning, his body exploded, raining flesh and blood throughout the room, drenching the bio-android with the substance.

?Damn it all.? he spat in frustration, smearing the thick, foul fluid off his face. He shook the blood from his arms, and did the best to remove it from the rest of his body, but knew that he would ultimately be defeated until he could find a source of water.

?This place just keeps getting better, hm?? Vegeta scoffed, stepping into the room with a scowl of dissatisfaction. He didn?t appreciate people playing mind games with him. Bra followed her father, staying close to the man as she tried to keep her whimpers of fear as quiet as she could.

?...The Beta Labs are close. We should keep moving.? the black speckled creature replied, heading toward the door across from the one they had entered from. The cyan haired hybrid tightly wrapped her arms around herself, as though she were huddling herself from some unfelt chill. They descended a sloping hallway, which led them into another series of corridors, but they never once stopped at a junction, as Cell?s deft leadership was ceaselessly advancing.

?N-No way.? the halfling stammered as they rounded another corner. Stalagmites appeared to have had shot upward into the air, each one impaling a lab coat-clad man or woman. The entirety of this corridor had been overtaken by the sickening, living architecture. A proud banner suspended from the ceiling had been obscured by fleshy tendrils which had extended from the perpetually beating ceiling of flesh. A spray of blood suddenly fell from the ceiling, splattering all over the floor, which squished disturbingly beneath their feet.

?This is the entrance to Beta Labs...? Cell paused, taking in the vile scene that awaited them. Bra had taken to the air, refusing to come into contact with the ghastly surface. The young heiress? eyes nervously darted about the area as she bit her lip with uncertainty.

?Th-they?re talking again!? she whispered sharply, frightfully scanning the region in hopes of finding something to attribute the noise to. The disembodied threats were getting darker, more horrible. Tears began to well up in Bra?s eyes, but she blinked them back, fighting desperately against her own emotions.

?Get out!! Leave this place at once! We?ll swallow your souls!!? the voice was deep and guttural, with a deep sense of rage. It was as though everything they were to face from now on would inevitably be ridiculously pissed off.

?Shut up, dammit!!? the cyan haired princess roared as fiercely as her mostly soft voice would allow. Both of her companions realized the futility of her outburst, but decided it was better to allow her to take her frustration out on something that wasn?t them. ?W-We shouldn?t be here! We have to go.?

?No!? to the girl?s surprise, it wasn?t the android who defied her, but Vegeta. ?It?s obvious there?s something here they?re desperate to keep from us. We have to move on, Bra.?

?It?s only a matter of time before this... stuff... begins to spread outside of the hospital. If we discover something important, or at the very least, destroy the source of this abomination, we could make our lives much easier in the future.? Cell interjected. The hybrid kept her eyes on the putrid floor, assessing their arguments and knowing -in advance- that her own would fail.

?...Okay. But you go first, okay?? her voice grew weaker with each word. Her very breaths were ragged, on the verge of sobbing. She was genuinely terrified of this place, and the sooner they were done here, the better. Bra hugged herself tighter. Had it been Trunks who displayed this kind of weakness, her father would surely have reprimanded him for it. At least... he would have. Perhaps he?d changed even more than the half human half saiyan hybrid gave him credit for.

Without any further conversation, the three fighters trekked into Beta Labs, whose security doors had been burned away like paper over a flame. Corpses of scientists and security guards were strewn haphazardly about, some with deep gash marks, others bearing wounds which still contained the weapons they were murdered with. Several of the plexiglass windows which had been designed to confine adjoining rooms had been smashed to pieces, despite their literally bulletproof nature.

?Help... meee...? the trio was taken aback by a chemist who crawled towards them. Bra gasped, realizing that the researcher was missing his legs and the lower part of his torso. Entrails were dragged behind the maimed civilian, painting a horrifying stroke on the white tiles he crawled on. Finally, the horrible injuries he sustained proved too much, and his arms gave out on him. With a final, exasperated grunt, the chemist struck the floor, his own life slipping away from him.

?Something?s coming!!? Bra exclaimed. She shrieked as a jet black creature bearing fangs leapt straight at her just after rounding a corner. Frozen in shock, she could only watched as the monstrosity neared her, only to be swatted away and obliterated by a swift blast of energy from the hand of Vegeta.

?Bra! You have to keep your guard up!? he scolded. It was a strange approach to parenting, but his daughter knew he meant well, and simply gave him an embarrassed nod.

Cell continued to lead on, marching past nothing but the hideous, pulsating flesh which had become expected by now. He came to a stop upon noticing an elevator in the center of a circular room. The elevator was without doors, and the car itself had been torn out of the shaft and tossed into the room, where it was now being covered by the organic matter on the floor.

?It?s like a virus!? the princess observed, watching as bloodied tendrils continually wrapped around the derelict elevator car, slowly obscuring it from view. The android neared the edge of the shaft, peering into the darkness below.

?It looks like your ?virus? is coming from down here,? Cell observed, following the pulsating material as it disappeared into the abyss. His train of thought was rudely derailed by an ear-piercing scream.

Bra wailed uncontrollably as a skeleton fell upon her from above. Instinctually, she fiercely batted the remains away, blasting them with a powerful wave of energy, which tore straight into one of the living walls, exploding with a shower of blood. A thunderous, disembodied moan echoed from all directions, putting the cyan haired fighter even more on edge.

?Let?s go!!? she demanded, starting toward the elevator shaft, ?Let?s just get this over with, already.? Cell leapt down first, followed by Vegeta and then his daughter. As they touched down on the floor beneath, the android quickly snapped into a combat stance.

?Look at that!? he pointed toward the object of his attention; a massive, beating heart which was connected to the foul tissue via gigantic veins. No doubt it was what had been sustaining the disgusting matter.

?What... what do we do now?? the princess inquired, her initial shock fading somewhat, allowing her to at least participate in the situation at hand.

?We destroy it. It?s obviously the thing responsible for this filth around us.? Vegeta sneered, spitting on the fleshy ground at his feet.

?But why is it here? The demons can obviously survive in our world...? Cell thought aloud, while the other two eyed their surroundings.

OOC: You guys can feel free to take this wherever you want. =o