LETTIE
I couldn't take it anymore. It was all too much for me.
As soon as we finished watching the horrors unfold on Master Roshi's television, I decided to leave and help the other warriors. I just… couldn't stay idle, waiting in that house.
Fighting was in my blood. I had to do something.
Gohan insisted strongly on coming with me, and we even considered the possibility of him joining me (even Chi-Chi agreed, by some miracle), but ultimately, we thought it was safer for him to stay behind. As encouragement, we suggested he train on the beach. At least my nephew would have something to occupy his mind. Poor kid.
Now, I was flying across the skies of the vast planet I called home, searching for any sign of the threat that dared put it at risk.
I soared through the air for long, anxious minutes, replaying everything we'd witnessed on TV. It had been a while since I'd felt this much fear—maybe not since the Saiyans.
Piccolo's safety didn't worry me as much now. The cameraman continued filming, and fortunately, I saw he was alright. Still, seeing him again would be wonderful.
However, something strange stirred within me. As I flew over an airport, I noticed it was oddly empty, missing the usual activity one would expect from such a place.
Then I felt it. Three Kis —two good, and one evil.
No. Could it be…? Was it possible?
I hovered high above the runway lined with airplanes. My eyes were alert for any movement, but there wasn't a single living soul.
What was happening? What was this strange sensation?
Suddenly, screams erupted—from the boarding area. Narrowing my eyes, I spotted two tiny figures running through the automatic glass doors toward the runway: a woman clutching a small child, both desperately calling for help.
They were the two benign Kis I'd sensed!
Before I could take a breath, I saw it: a grotesque being over two meters tall, entirely covered by a green shell, with massive wings on its back and a tail swishing behind it.
The evil Ki—the creature that had captured Piccolo.
It scuttled forward like a vile insect, quickly pursuing its victims, eyes filled with bloodlust and a wicked grin.
Ready to kill them.
For a moment, I froze witnessing that scene, as the dark and sinister Ki emanating from the monster made every hair on my body stand on end in sheer terror.
But then, the woman stumbled and fell with the child onto the ground. The creature advanced, its pointed tail slithering like a venomous snake, ready to strike.
I stared at those helpless humans and saw only a mother and her child desperately trying to save their lives. In another reality, it could very well have been me and my little Naíma.
All my fear vanished, and I flew towards them.
"DIE!!!!!!!!" the creature screamed.
In the next instant, I was back in the air, carrying the woman and the child. Below, the rigid tail had smashed into the runway's asphalt.
"I won't let you harm these people, you disgusting monster!" I shouted at him.
"Ah! Lettie!" the creature responded, a vile grin spreading across his face. "What a pleasure to find you here. We finally meet in person. Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Cell."
Cell? So that was the name of that… thing?
But what was most puzzling of all: how did he know my name?
It didn't matter. The woman and child trembled in my arms. I needed to help them.
"Are you alright?" I asked them.
"Y-Yes…" the woman answered, tears in her eyes. "Th-Thank you so much for saving us."
Slowly, I landed on the ground, carefully maintaining a safe distance from Cell, who was watching us with a somber expression.
"Quickly, get away from here," I urged, anxious. "Take a car or something—"
"Don't worry," the woman replied. "I'm a pilot. Today was my day off, and I thought it would be nice to bring my son to see the airport, and…" Her voice trailed off.
I knew exactly what she meant to say—that she never could have imagined that precisely today a massacre would happen, killing everyone there. And that she and her son would be the only survivors.
"I understand," I nodded firmly. "Now go!"
They ran toward a nearby jet. Before focusing ahead, the little boy waved goodbye to me and thanked me once more for saving his life.
He reminded me of Gohan when he was little…
Cell cleared his throat, forcing me to turn toward him.
"Thank you, Lettie. You've given me an advantage."
"Which is?" I narrowed my eyes.
"I'll absorb your vital energy first."
With that, he flashed a malicious smile.
Dang it. I had no way out. It was impossible for me to defeat Cell all by myself. But at least I could stall him so the woman and child could escape. So, I stood firm. In response, I said, "I lived in a tent in the wild for a year, so bugs aren't a problem for me. Bring it on, you dumb cockroach."
Cell clearly didn't like my comment, and he charged at me with full force. I dodged at the last second, bracing myself on the ground. From the corner of my eye, I saw his sharp tail rising to strike me, but I leaped backward as if evading a speeding arrow.
In the background, the sound of the jet filled my ears, bringing relief knowing the woman and child were finally safe.
But I couldn't say the same for myself. Cell relentlessly thrust his massive tail at me, almost desperately trying to strike, whipping it around in a frenzied rage. I had to fly upward to gain some distance.
Then, enraged, Cell shouted and lunged at me with arms wide open. That was his big mistake. I seized the opportunity of his lowered guard, curled inward, and delivered a punch straight to his stomach.
But the effect wasn't what I expected. He groaned slightly in pain, but his shell was so thick it felt like I had punched a rock wall. It was clear that hand-to-hand combat would be futile. From what little I could analyze, only his joints appeared vulnerable.
Cell kept attacking, and I kept dodging as best I could. Indeed, he was as fast as an irritating bug. At one point, I noticed that his neck might be a sensitive area.
That would be my next target. After he attempted to pierce me again with his tail, I spun around, formed my hand into a blade shape, and struck him right in the back of the neck, causing him to gasp.
Not waiting for him to recover, I flew upward to gain distance above him, extended my arms in front of me, and opened my palms parallel to each other. "TENKOCHI!!!!!!!!!!"
Ten energy spheres burst from my fingertips, homing straight towards Cell.
He crashed onto the ground, forming a small crater around him. I hovered in the air, staring down at him, unable to believe what I'd just done.
So, was it true what Goku had said? That Saiyans grew stronger after recovering from severe injuries? Had my fight and defeat against Dr. Gero—including the breaking of my spine—actually made me stronger now?
Below, Cell slowly rose from the crater. Right. I might be stronger, but I couldn't let that get to my head.
My opponent was still incredibly powerful.
Cell glared at me furiously and attacked again. I dodged one, two, three blows and successfully counterattacked, but he caught me squarely in the center of my chest. I was hurled straight into an airplane.
When I came to, I realized I'd crashed through the walls of the aircraft, lying among several seats destroyed by the impact of my fall. What a shame… I never imagined my first airplane ride would be such a disaster.
But I had no time to lament. Cell quickly appeared through the hole in the airplane's wall and spotted me. Staggering, I tried to escape down the narrow aisle, but he grabbed my leg and threw me to the ground.
I kicked and screamed like a hysterical child, but Cell's grip was like iron. He pinned me against the aisle floor, straddling me, gripping my wrists tightly and locking his legs around my hips.
"You have nowhere to run, Lettie," his disgusting voice hissed. "Soon… you will experience the sensation of death."
The tip of his tail glowed ominously above his head. My heart felt like it was about to burst from my chest. In a desperate moment, I managed to free my right hand and punched him hard in the face.
But this only enraged Cell further, and he restrained me even more fiercely.
"YOU WRETCH!!!" he roared. "NOW, DIE—"
Suddenly, Cell was yanked upward, choking on his own words. My eyes widened in shock as, in the next instant, Piccolo stood before me in the airplane aisle, holding Cell by the throat.
"You…" Piccolo glared furiously at Cell. "Stay away from my wife!"
It was Cell's turn to kick and thrash like a hysterical child in my fiancé's grasp. Meanwhile, gentle hands lifted me up. It was Tien, asking if I was alright. I thanked him and reassured him I was. When we turned back to Piccolo, Cell was gone.
"The bastard escaped again," Krillin sighed in annoyance, appearing through the hole in the airplane.
"Lettie…" Piccolo squeezed through the narrow aisle toward me, extremely worried. "Are you okay?!" He began inspecting me from head to toe. "Are you hurt??"
"I'm fine, dear." I took his warm, trembling hands, feeling the adrenaline still coursing through him. "Really." I added when he gave me a doubtful look. "It didn't even hurt that much." I stretched my arms and neck and smiled. "I'm already good to fight again!"
"She truly is Goku's sister!" Krillin laughed.
"Yeah…" Tien smiled faintly but quickly turned serious again. "But I doubt we'll find Cell again anytime soon."
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"He has the ability to hide his Ki," Piccolo explained.
"Oh…" I frowned. That wasn't good at all. "Then… How did you manage to find us?"
"Well…" Piccolo began. "Tien and I were searching for Cell."
"Meanwhile, Trunks and I were destroying Dr. Gero's lab to prevent Cell from this timeline from fully developing," Krillin explained. "Then I took some reports we found about the Androids to Bulma for analysis. Afterward, Trunks decided to try training with Vegeta, and I came to join Piccolo and Tien."
"Then," Tien continued, "we started sensing a massive disappearance of Kis in this area."
We looked at each other with profound sadness. Only then did we realize that the plane was filled with clothing scattered among the seats, remnants of lives destroyed during my fight with Cell.
All dead.
All drained by his malice.
No one said a word for nearly a full minute.
"Then we sensed your Ki…" Piccolo's eyes were full of bitterness. "We knew Cell was here… with you."
Gently, I intertwined my fingers with his. I would have hugged him if I could, but I knew it would be an overly public display of affection. He blushed slightly but appreciated the gesture.
Afterward, we decided to head back to Master Roshi's house, as night was falling, and we were physically and emotionally exhausted. On the way, Piccolo explained Cell's entire plan—his intention to absorb Androids 17 and 18 to achieve his perfect form.
But all I heard was: cliché, cliché, and more cliché.
And so, three days passed, and our anxiety only intensified. Every day we went searching for Cell, but without success, and every night we watched the news, which constantly reported how many people he had killed and how many cities had become desolate due to his actions.
During that brief period, Piccolo and I visited Kami's Lookout once to see Naíma and Mr. Popo. After all, we missed our daughter greatly, and the looming threat of Cell intensified our maternal and paternal instincts.
It was wonderful. Although our time was brief, we managed to play with Naíma in the beautiful flower gardens my late father-in-law had lovingly tended. But I could sense Piccolo's nostalgic gaze. He surely missed his father deeply.
When we handed a sleeping Naíma back to Mr. Popo and said our goodbyes at sunset, we walked through the silent marble corridors of the Lookout without speaking. I glanced sideways at Piccolo. His expression was stern and taciturn. What was he thinking about? What was he feeling?
Suddenly, he took my hand and pulled me into a quiet corner. We gazed at each other. His eyes shone with intense worry.
"What is it, sweetheart?" I touched his face.
He placed his hand over mine. "I don't want to lose you both."
And then he kissed me intensely. In the next second, I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned the kiss.
Ever since we confessed our feelings, Piccolo and I hadn't had time to… well… you know… just be a couple. And there's no room for romance when you're surrounded by war.
But there, in those brief two minutes alone, we allowed ourselves to forget the disaster engulfing our world and simply focused on each other.
We ended our kiss softly and sweetly, brushing our noses together, savoring that rare moment until the very last second.
"You won't lose us," I said firmly. "And in the future, you'll even have the twins. I have faith."
Piccolo gave me such a relieved smile that his eyes nearly closed. In response, he cupped my face and gave me one final kiss. Then we departed from the Lookout to join the other warriors at Master Roshi's house.
Finally, on the fourth day of our search, Bulma sent us a military-style cargo aircraft equipped with a new technology capable of hiding our Ki—her latest invention. With it, we could search for Cell without him detecting our presence. We'd have the disadvantage of all being together in one place, but at least we'd appear to be just another airplane.
With this new aircraft, we set out to find Cell. This time, Gohan joined us, and amazingly enough, Chi-Chi herself encouraged him to come and help us.
Indeed, my sister-in-law was no longer the same.
We had been flying for over an hour, Yamcha piloting. The radio was tuned to a news channel over the speakers, and we were headed toward a city where Cell had recently been spotted.
The group's spirits were extremely low. I was sitting on one of the side benches with Piccolo. Gohan and Krillin sat up front.
"Are we almost there yet?! Huh?!" Tien jumped from his seat and dashed to the cockpit.
"Not yet…" Yamcha answered.
"Ugh!" Tien threw his arms down by his sides. "If we don't hurry, he'll escape again!"
I'd never seen him so anxious and frustrated in all these years. Through a glance, I asked Piccolo if I should try calming him down, but my fiancé advised it was best to leave him be, so I complied.
"Gee…" Krillin sighed. "It'd be great if Goku recovered quickly and was here and…"
Goku materialized before us.
"Goku?!?!" Piccolo exclaimed.
"Brother?!?!" I squealed.
"…wouldn't it, everyone?" Krillin continued, completely oblivious to what was happening right in front of him. "If Goku were here…"
"DAD?!?!" Gohan shrieked.
"G-Goku?!?!" Yamcha and Tien stammered simultaneously.
"Ah…" Krillin went on, looking downcast. "If only he used Instant Transmission and appeared here… Wouldn't that be amazing?"
Silence.
Everyone stared at the figure standing in the middle of the airplane.
Tall, spiky black hair, an orange and blue uniform, and a big smile on his face…
Yes… It was him…
It was… It was my brother…
IT WAS GOKU!