03-26-2018, 04:14 AM
The sun pelted down on Cell’s mottled skin as he swayed back and forth. A set of oars burst from the waters and flopped in a semicircle, crashing back into them and thrusting beneath them. A spray of ocean mist settled on the bio-android’s skin. Normally he would chastise the culprit but mixed with the gentle sea breeze, the splashes gave his sizzling body some reprieve from the heat.
“We could have stowed away on a ship,” Cell said, dipping his barbed tail into the ocean and letting it drag as Davin plunged the oars of their flimsy wooden lifeboat once more into the waves. “It would have been much more comfortable. At least out of the damn heat.”
“Not ... an option,” Davin said between pants. “I’m not ... paying for a ... ship to take me ... to an island that ... has to stay secret. Besides ... I have no ... money.”
Cell glared at the sun, a bright white stain in his vision, bleaching the blue sky around it. When they first entered this vast network of islands, being spat out into the bustling city of Costa del Sol, the bio-android figured the trip to perfection would be a leisurely and relaxing one. Davin had quickly informed him that the police presence on the island city was also enforced by the Empire so they had to make themselves scarce. Apparently that meant avoiding all practical routes to their destination, stealing a lifeboat from a distracted or drunk sea captain and rowing for all they were worth. How many hours had they been baking in the sun now? It seemed petty to count them.
Eight. It had been eight hours.
“That is the island at least?” Cell asked, sticking a thumb at a clump of green on the horizon. It was the only thing that separated the blue of the ocean from the blue of the sky.
Davin nodded, his face a shade darker of red than his hair.
Cell frowned. The human scientist was slowing down. His strokes were more laboured, and the time from the oars leaving the water to slapping back down again had increased.
“This is taking far too long!” Cell said, standing up in the boat as it rocked. “I might be too weak to fly with another person on my back, but there’s other ways of making this unbearable journey shorter!”
Davin’s eyes lit up. “Are you ... going to ... take over the ... rowing for a ... while?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Cell said, unsure whether to chalk up the human’s intransigence to exhaustion or stupidity. “Energy propulsion works better than two fat-ended sticks! Step aside! Oh, and you might want to hold onto something tightly. Very tightly.”
Davin clambered around the edge of the boat as Cell crawled to the back. Cell stared back to the empty horizon from where they had come from, turned to spot their island destination, and bent his knees. He drew cupped hands to his side and unstoppered the energy in his body, channelling it into a single point.
“Ka ... me ...”
Blue light trickled into the space between his palms. It pooled into a single orb, growing in intensity with each passing moment.
“... ha ... me ...”
The orb ballooned until it fit snugly within Cell’s hands. Shafts of light struck out between his fingers.
Davin shielded his eyes from the light. “What are you doing?”
“Ha!”
Cell thrust his hands towards the horizon and a beam of blue ki exploded from his palms. The boat lurched forward, its bow tipping up and pointing at an almost forty-five degree angle as it screamed through the water. Cell’s kamehameha acted as a huge jet engine, launching them across the seas as if it were made of ice and the boat an ice skate. Davin screeched at their newfound velocity, his arms and legs wrapped around a beam of wood. Cell chuckled to himself. He turned and saw the island racing to meet them. Cutting the flow of energy, he crouched into the boat, finding the exertion more taxing than he had anticipated.
Even without the constant supply of ki, the boat carried slicing through the waves with the inherited inertia. The boat bounced as it hit a crop of waves and skidded to a halt in the sands of the island.
Cell hopped out. The sensation of warm sand between his toes dulled as he took in the enormous palm trees that grouped together and weaved a dense forest only a hundred paces from the shore line. He looked at Davin. The human flung himself over the edge of the boat, landing on the sands on hands and knees, and retched into the gently lapping waters. Gathering himself, he stood and plodded over to the bio-android.
“In there somewhere?” Cell asked, pointing at the tropical vegetation.
Davin nodded, his face pale beneath the red and flushed skin.
Cell pushed the human forward. “Lead the way.”
“We could have stowed away on a ship,” Cell said, dipping his barbed tail into the ocean and letting it drag as Davin plunged the oars of their flimsy wooden lifeboat once more into the waves. “It would have been much more comfortable. At least out of the damn heat.”
“Not ... an option,” Davin said between pants. “I’m not ... paying for a ... ship to take me ... to an island that ... has to stay secret. Besides ... I have no ... money.”
Cell glared at the sun, a bright white stain in his vision, bleaching the blue sky around it. When they first entered this vast network of islands, being spat out into the bustling city of Costa del Sol, the bio-android figured the trip to perfection would be a leisurely and relaxing one. Davin had quickly informed him that the police presence on the island city was also enforced by the Empire so they had to make themselves scarce. Apparently that meant avoiding all practical routes to their destination, stealing a lifeboat from a distracted or drunk sea captain and rowing for all they were worth. How many hours had they been baking in the sun now? It seemed petty to count them.
Eight. It had been eight hours.
“That is the island at least?” Cell asked, sticking a thumb at a clump of green on the horizon. It was the only thing that separated the blue of the ocean from the blue of the sky.
Davin nodded, his face a shade darker of red than his hair.
Cell frowned. The human scientist was slowing down. His strokes were more laboured, and the time from the oars leaving the water to slapping back down again had increased.
“This is taking far too long!” Cell said, standing up in the boat as it rocked. “I might be too weak to fly with another person on my back, but there’s other ways of making this unbearable journey shorter!”
Davin’s eyes lit up. “Are you ... going to ... take over the ... rowing for a ... while?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Cell said, unsure whether to chalk up the human’s intransigence to exhaustion or stupidity. “Energy propulsion works better than two fat-ended sticks! Step aside! Oh, and you might want to hold onto something tightly. Very tightly.”
Davin clambered around the edge of the boat as Cell crawled to the back. Cell stared back to the empty horizon from where they had come from, turned to spot their island destination, and bent his knees. He drew cupped hands to his side and unstoppered the energy in his body, channelling it into a single point.
“Ka ... me ...”
Blue light trickled into the space between his palms. It pooled into a single orb, growing in intensity with each passing moment.
“... ha ... me ...”
The orb ballooned until it fit snugly within Cell’s hands. Shafts of light struck out between his fingers.
Davin shielded his eyes from the light. “What are you doing?”
“Ha!”
Cell thrust his hands towards the horizon and a beam of blue ki exploded from his palms. The boat lurched forward, its bow tipping up and pointing at an almost forty-five degree angle as it screamed through the water. Cell’s kamehameha acted as a huge jet engine, launching them across the seas as if it were made of ice and the boat an ice skate. Davin screeched at their newfound velocity, his arms and legs wrapped around a beam of wood. Cell chuckled to himself. He turned and saw the island racing to meet them. Cutting the flow of energy, he crouched into the boat, finding the exertion more taxing than he had anticipated.
Even without the constant supply of ki, the boat carried slicing through the waves with the inherited inertia. The boat bounced as it hit a crop of waves and skidded to a halt in the sands of the island.
Cell hopped out. The sensation of warm sand between his toes dulled as he took in the enormous palm trees that grouped together and weaved a dense forest only a hundred paces from the shore line. He looked at Davin. The human flung himself over the edge of the boat, landing on the sands on hands and knees, and retched into the gently lapping waters. Gathering himself, he stood and plodded over to the bio-android.
“In there somewhere?” Cell asked, pointing at the tropical vegetation.
Davin nodded, his face pale beneath the red and flushed skin.
Cell pushed the human forward. “Lead the way.”