Cyborg 009 Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ For the Term of His Unnatural Life ❯ One-Shot

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

"For the Term of his Unnatural Life"
by DigistarDBZ
* * * *
(WARNING: This fic may contain some major spoilers for the 1980 Cyborg 009 movie "Chou Ginga Densetsu". But by this time, I'm pretty sure you've all heard what happens. But if you've been living under a rock, turn back and watch the movie for yourself. Otherwise, enjoy.)
* * * *
"Excuse me, sir- but you have to get back in line. There are other people behind you that are still waiting to get to the station."

Station? He wasn't sure what this man was talking about, but the last thing Albert Heinrich remembered was blowing himself up at the space station. He had expected people to be beckoning him towards a bright light..

But he certainly didn't expect a very short blue-skinned man in office attire and glasses with a horn sticking out of his head to be beckoning him towards a line, filled with God-knows-what kind of people.

"Sir? Are you listening to me??"

That snapped him out of it. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The horned man looked very flustered. "Look, get back in line, or you'll have to go to the end of the line, and there are people coming as we speak."

"In line for what?"

"To recieve judgement from Enma-Daiou!! Haven't you ever heard of him and the judgement for the afterlife?"

Albert was perplexed, to say the least. "....I don't understand."

"Just get back in line, and I'll explain it to you!" The little man was now shoving him towards the line and now Albert found himself walking with a gigantic dinosaur-like creature in front of him and a bear in white martial arts gi behind him.

The horned man cleared his throat as the line moved, walking alongside the supposedly deceased cyborg. "You see, when anything dies, its soul is transported to this realm, the afterlife. And--" he was interrupted when he saw someone trying to cut in line. "HEY!!" He shouted into a white and red megaphone. "NO CUTTING!"

Even now, all of this was causing Albert to become terribly confused.

"..As I was saying," the horned man continued. "The soul comes to the immortal judgement god Enma-Daiou. It arrives at the station over there," he pointed at the large pagoda with what appeared to be large horns coming from a sign. "And comes before Enma-Daiou himself. He checks their life story, and if they have done more good than bad, they go on to Heaven. However, if it's vice-versa, they go to Hell. Not a very comfortable place."

"What are they like?" Albert felt ridiculous asking the question, but eventually decided that any answers he could get about this strange place was fine with him.

"Well, Heaven is.. well.. whatever you make it, I guess. They send you to a terminal where your deceased family and friends are."

"Really?" Albert's intrest finally peaked at that one moment. "Then.. I can see Hilda again?"

"You can see anyone you want, so long as Enma-Daiou sends you to Heaven." The horned man then sighed woefully. "Hell, on the other hand.. that place isn't exactly the whole 'fire and brimstone' thing you're probably thinking about. But it's pretty lonely down there- endless labor in some pretty harsh conditions, a lake made completely of blood- I hear that the mountain climbing excersizes up Mount Needle isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea."

Albert cringed. With what had been going on in his life and what he had been made to do.. he just prayed that this 'Enma-Daiou' would be merciful to him.

"All right, I want the next person in line to come forward!" A similar horned man like the blue-skinned one he had been talking to (only this one had red-orange skin) spoke into a megaphone. The dinosaur creature stepped through the large doors, and Albert was left to wonder what could possibly be in store for him as soon as he was to enter.

"Well, good luck with the judgement. You're going to need it." The blue-skinned horned man said, bowing as he ran to keep the line moving smoothly.

A hammer of a mallet, and the whooping cheer of the dinosaur inside gave him a pretty good idea of what that creature's judgement was.

"Next person, please step forward to recieve your judgement!!"

Albert took a deep breath as he walked through the giant doors.

"All right, state your name, please." A booming voice asked him. Albert looked stunned, as he realized that the gigantic man in a purple business suit and a horned hat sitting at an equally gigantic desk before him was the said 'Enma-Daiou'.

He had to be, as the name stand on his desk said so.

"...I am Albert Heinrich."

Enma-Daiou flipped through his giant red-covered book, muttering 'Heinrich.. Heinrich..' under his breath as he searched for his name. "Planet of Birth?"

Albert was puzzled that he would ask for planet instead of an exact place like 'Germany', or even 'Berlin'. "....Earth, I suppose."

"Another Earthian, I see. Ah, here we are! Albert Heinrich, see also 'Cyborg 004'. I see you were quite the hero on Earth."

"I suppose so, your highness."

"Enma-Daiou, please." He continued to look through his book, but suddenly seemed confused. "Hmm.. this is odd.."

"What's wrong?" Albert had to force himself to speak, as this whole chain of events seemed almost impossible to even imagine.

Enma-Daiou suddenly slapped himself on the face. "Ugh.. of all the people to die, it had to be someone on the page that I spilled my coffee on!!" He then motioned for a lighter-blue-skinned horned man in a grey suit. "Taoyakin, I want you to search the records for any copies for this 'Albert Heinrich' fellow from Earth. Make sure they're accurate to the date of his death."

"Place of death, sir?"

"..I believe somewhere near the center of the Northern Galaxy."

"Yes, Enma-Daiousama."

"Hey!! What's the holdup?!" Someone shouted from behind the doors.

"Be patient, all of you!!" Enma-Daiou boomed. "Your judgement will come soon enough!!"

The same red-skinned horned man from the doors motioned Albert to a row of seats where several others were waiting. "Sit here, and your judgement will come shortly."

"What do you mean, 'sit here'?! I thought this was supposed to be eternal judgement!" Normally, Albert was very patient. But the fact that all of this nonsense about coffee and gigantic filing cabinets was pulling his already confused and frazzled patience to its limits.

"Now, I know this has been rough for you, but it won't take very long."

So he sat.

And sat.

And sat some more.

And had a cup of tea that was offered by a horned, red-skinned female in office attire.

And continued to sit.

Still, they couldn't find his name in those giant filing cabinets.

"...Mr. Heinrich?"

"What?!" He snapped, holding his head in his right hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, but we still couldn't find your name in the archives," the red-skinned horned man said to him. "We're sending out for your planet's guardian to recreate your life profile, which might take a few more days."

"What do you mean, days?!" Albert said angrily. "I want to see Hilda, damn it!! I've been waiting long enough!!"

"Actually, time doesn't have any relevence here. You could wait years, and it wouldn't make any negative differences for you."

"............."

"If you wish, we can set something up for you in the lobby. It's a place where people who are still awaiting judgement are."

"Let me guess... that's what 'limbo' is?"

"Actually, that's just the name of the bar and grill. They have the most wonderful Happy Hour, and the wings are second to none!"

Albert groaned impatiently as he got up and followed the man towards the lobby. 'If this is what eternity is like, please get me out of here...'

"And here, you can also get some pretty good--"

The red horned man suddenly whirled around as the tall, silver-haired man that was walking behind him suddenly vanished. "...What the-?!"

Enma-Daiou had just then found out that the now-rewritten profile had suddenly been marked 'living', while it was 'deceased' only seconds earlier.

"....Well, that's another one with those balls. Send in the next for judgement!!"
* * * *
Albert was about to sit down when he was suddenly surrounded by his tearful, smiling teammates. He jumped in shock before asking, "When did you all die?!" He then looked around, and saw the old laboratory, just as he remembered it before they left for deep space in search of the Vortex.

"We're not dead, 004!!" Joe said happily as tears streamed down his face. "And neither are you!!"

Now he was confused. He remembered that he had a strange gold ring on his head when he was in that strange 'afterlife' world, but now, it was gone. Now, if anything was stuck to his body, it was a sobbing Francoise and the others trying to shake his hand to welcome him back. "...What's going on?!"

"Well," Jet started. "I guess this is a good time we should tell you about these things called 'Dragon Balls'...."
* * * *
~das Ende~