Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dance With Death ❯ Predator / Prey ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ or any of its characters. Just Comet.

"Dance With Death"
by A.C

Chapter Two
Predator / Prey

---`---,---@

Comet yawned, not caring if she covered her mouth or not. Out here, alone, hiding beneath a boulder was not only boring, but no one was around to care if she was polite or not enough to cover her mouth. She leaned back against the cool, rocky surface again, gazing off at a shrub almost directly in front of her. Her only companion.

How long had it been since she had last seen Goku and the others... and Cell? It felt like days, although she scolded herself for knowing better - at most, it could only be two hours. And no living thing had graced the barren desert plain since. No sign of Piccolo, Vegeta or even Cell. It wasn't very difficult for her to hide her ki; she had loads of practice at it. She just couldn't fly, power up or use any of her attacks. No problem here - she was hiding, after all.

The Earthling yawned again, and although she didn't cover her mouth, her yawn was silent. Even if it didn't seem Cell was near, it would be just her luck for him to happen to be directly ahead when she made the tiniest peep. Which was slightly unnerving; she couldn't even sing or talk to ease herself from the boredom.

'Ah, damn,' she thought to herself, playing absently with a small rock on the ground nearby, 'Sitting in one position for hours at a time is NOT fun.'

She looked again to the sky. It had to be sometime after noon, for the sun was just creeping around the left side of the boulder. The shadow that had stretched out nearly twenty feet before her had shortened considerably, but even as the sun continued to set it would always be covering her. She was getting somewhat cold as well - it was cool in her place beneath the rock.

Would Goku, Piccolo or anyone ever come to look for her? Was she destined to stay beneath this rock for a week or more, while they fought Cell? A frown came to her face.

'Over my dead body!'

She couldn't even peep out to see whether or not Cell was around or not - which she doubted. That had to be the worst part; her ignorance in remaining in hiding. At least among the other Z Fighters she knew what was going on. Here; she hadn't a clue.

Before she even knew it, she had heaved a heavy sigh. She didn't even realize it for a few moments, just gazing miserably off into the distance...

And then another sound reached her ears; the small crack of a pebble falling on top of a larger rock. And she realized what she had just done, and clamped a hand over her mouth in horror.

'Oh SHIT! What if he's there!? What if he heard me!? Oh...'

She repeated the swear over in her head in a frantic attempt to calm her now rapidly beating heart, drumming against her chest. Her entire body had froze over as she sat as still as possible, and as quiet as possible. But now that her cover was blown, she was certain anyone could hear her roaring heart.

But her desperately darting eyes met nothing out of the ordinary, just the shrubs, dirt and blue sky above. All was as silent as before, without any movement to be found. And slowly, eventually, her body relaxed. Her legs regained their feeling with a tingling sensation, and her heart gradually slowed back to a healthy pace. Her confidence shakily grew.

'He probably wasn't there. What are the odds that he was, or still is? And even if he was there at one point, he's certainly gone by now. So why am I still hiding under here? I can go. He won't find me.'

She swallowed, plucking up her courage enough to move her aching limbs slightly, still keeping as silent as possible. And even as she told herself it was safe to leave, her body refused to move. Stiffness or plain fear, she didn't know which. But either way, she wasn't going anywhere fast.

And then she heard it; another noise that made her body tense so she couldn't move, and she was certain that this time it was from fear.

Footsteps. Slow and purposefully. The footsteps that could only belong to something tall and heavy that walked on two legs. She bit her lip, drawing her last breath in a bit deeper and refusing to release it. Her eyes had darted in the direction of the sound. For a brief moment, she felt as if she had turned into part of the boulder she hid behind.

Whoever her 'visitor' was, she had no intentions of staying behind the boulder to be discovered, trapped, as a sitting duck. Instincts earned from playing hide-and-seek way over the years re-surfaced. Yes, she would hide. But when her hunter came near, by no means did she remain hidden and wait to be found. He would have to catch her first.

Trouble was, if she did run out, who would she meet? No worries if it was an animal, or Goku, Piccolo or one of them. But if Cell was the one advancing slowly towards her hiding space, what good would running do?

Either run or hide, and hope things work out for the best.

'I'll take my chances running!'

Without another moment's hesitation, she had sprung onto her feet in a crouch, ignoring the aching pain that shot up her legs at this sudden movement after sitting still for so long. Another second and her ki had flared up, her legs kicked out behind her as she shot from beneath the boulder, taking off without a glance backward into the sky.

When nothing happened immediately after she started flying, her fear began to wear down. Perhaps it was just an animal, searching for food. Or maybe it was one of the Z Fighters, come to find her! She slowed, glancing over her shoulder. But alas, there was no one behind her. An animal, then.

"Looking for me?"

Her head whipped back around so fast that, had she been not overcome with panic, she might be afraid of giving herself whiplash. But it took one glance at the pale white face, gleaming pink eyes and dark aura of power for her to give a short cry of fear - not a scream; she was never the screaming type - and blast backward to put a good ten feet between herself and the monster.

"I'll admit, girl, you are by far one of the better at hiding I've met." A smirk curled Cell's lips as he continued talking, as if not at all surprised by her gaping silence, "You are truly talented at hiding your ki. Who could have known you'd be out here in the middle of this barren wasteland?" He spread his arms, as if gesturing to the dry shrubbery around them, "But ultimately, I am the better hunter."

Amazingly, despite her shock at this creature's sudden appearance and fear at his power, she didn't quite feel any want or need to plea for her life. Perhaps it was because she knew it would do her no good, so she might as well waste her breath on getting questions answered instead of lowering herself to beg. "How did you find me!?"

Cell raised an eyebrow - if that was at all possible. Yet it appeared so plainly on his face, just like the next human being (or android, perhaps). "Interestingly enough, it appeared to be partial luck. You left a very faint ki trail, my dear. Very faint, so much, that it took me a good deal of time just to find it. Following it was equally difficult - but in the end, I must say it was your sigh that led me to you."

She stared at him, appalled. Ki trail. She didn't even know she left one. 'Note to self next time in need of hiding; attempt not to leave a "ki trail".' Eventually, the only thing she could find to say was a simple; "Damn."

Cell chuckled, plainly amused by her lack of responses. He was also starting to wonder why she wasn't begging for her life, despite her fear of him. No matter - perhaps it hadn't hit her yet. "Interesting; in all your successful attempts to hide, it was that one sigh that gave you away. Why did you feel the need to?"

She blinked, frozen in mid-air for a few minutes, and then suddenly backed up a few feet. For a moment, Cell feared she would try and escape again, but apparently she had only decided just then a ten-foot distance wasn't enough. Once she was (somewhat) comfortable in being fifteen feet away from him, she answered shortly; "I was bored."

"Bored?" he repeated, his smirk fading in a thoughtfully expressionless look, "Well, it looks like you could say you were bored to death." A cruel sneer painted on his face, eyes glinting as he fixed their hungry gaze upon her. Again, she became uncomfortable with the distance between them and backed up yet again, but no plea left her lips. He began advancing slowly and meaningfully, never straying his gaze from those beautiful green eyes.

Both began moving; Cell advancing, Comet retreating. A twenty foot gap remained between them, but with as he continued, his annoyance grew in her lack of pleading. Finally he stopped abruptly and folded his arms, a disgusted look coming onto his face. Surprised, she also stopped.

"Why aren't you pleading?" he asked, the tone of his voice annoyed. But he wasn't frustrated; no... he had patience. Merely curiosity as to why she didn't appear to want to live.

His question blew over her head, as if riding on the next breeze that swirled around them. "P-pardon?"

"Why aren't you begging for your life? Why aren't you pleading for me to spare you? I'm about to kill you, and yet you seem to have no objections against it." He spoke patiently, not quite frustrated; merely wanting an answer to satisfy his wondering. She gazed at him a few minutes longer, apparently thinking, and then a slight shrug lifted her smooth shoulders.

"I don't know... I mean, what's the point?" She scowled slightly, "You're going to kill me anyway, despite what I say. Why waste my breath? I could use that last bit before I die for something more resourceful."

Cell blinked. What was with this Earthling? It was perfect logic, but since when had logic came to the citizens of Earth when their death was minutes away? Perhaps this particular Earthling was more intelligent, perhaps as intelligent as she was beautiful. He paused in his advance, his slight smile returning.

"You know, you never did tell me your name."

Her lovely green eyes widened in disbelief. He had been moments away from killing her, and now he wanted to know her name!? Androids. "And why should I?"

Instead of growing annoyed or angry by her impertinence, he seemed merely amused; "Because I can stop calling you 'Earthling' or 'girl' and satisfy my curiosity."

It didn't seem he left any question un-answered, she noticed. Even if it was embarrassing to him, he seemed to answer. And truthfully, or so it appeared. Who knew; maybe he was lying. Either way, it was a decent answer to a not-so-decent question. And therefore calling for her to answer his first.

"Comet," she replied, almost evasively. She wasn't quite comfortable with him questioning her. Why would he want to know more about her? Did he always interrogate his victims, so he could more personally know those he was about to kill!?

"Comet," he repeated, much more slowly than she had said it. As if he were tasting the words, trying them out on her. "Interesting... a unique but lovely name." Once again that charming smile came to his face, "For a unique but lovely woman."

She narrowed her eyes, not at all liking his last 'observation'. She would happily go along with the unique part, but was severely unnerved by the word 'lovely' as one of her characteristics coming from his lips. As if taking his last words as a signal that she ought to leave, she began considering escape. If she could take him off guard, maybe he couldn't react fast enough to catch her. She knew, when scared enough, she could fly like the wind. So she momentarily kept up the conversation.

"So what about you?"

He smiled. Was he pleased she was willing to talk to him in a somewhat civil way? Odd, she noticed. Here he was about to kill her and they were talking as if he weren't a murdering Android, she a warrior Earthling. "What about me?" Every answer or question that came from him was tinged with amusement. 'And I thought I was easily amused,' Comet thought to herself.

"Do you always question your victims before death? Or am I special?"

Cell chuckled, and she almost felt like groaning in exasperation. Why was everything so funny to him!? But nevertheless, he answered, still smiling, "My other victims didn't seem to like to respond to me as much as you do. Making you very special, my dear. Very special indeed."

That was the last straw. Deciding now was a good as time as any - and he was totally not expecting it - she suddenly took off as fast as she could to the right. It appeared her prediction was true; Cell was too stunned to try anything at first, and she had gotten a fairly good head start before he regained himself and took off after her.

And, using that infamous speed inherited from two Sayajins and Frieza, he flashed in front of her, abruptly stopping her escape. She floated backward again, plain anger and frustration glowing on her face. He smirked, folding his arms as he looked down at her - even floating in air, he was a good foot and a half taller than she was.

"Why the sudden leave? Was it something I said?" he questioned mockingly. There was a savage playfulness in his pink eyes she caught, but was too exasperated to do anything about it.

"Argh! Why can't you..." she paused, took a deep breath, and looked up at him with a critical eye. "You like games, right, Cell?" Her tone was angry and brutal, demanding an answer from him.

His smile faded only slightly, curious as to what she was getting at. "Why, yes, I'm rather fond of them."

"Then I have a game for you," she announced. As Cell listened closer, eagerly, she finished her sentence in a furious yell; "LET COMET GET A HEAD START!!!!!"

He leaned back again, mildly impressed that such a small (to him) creature could be so loud. Apparently he had a lot to learn about females. However, to her amazement, he actually seemed to contemplate her proposal - no matter how much she had been angrily sarcastic.

"You mean like a game of hide and seek?" he asked thoughtfully, raising his eyes to the sky as he thought. She only gaped at him, stunned. "Hmm... yes, actually, that sounds fun." He smirked back down at her, folding his arms. "All right, Comet. I'll play. I'll give you an hour to find a suitable hiding place, and then..." his smirk cracked into a purely evil sneer, "I come find you."

---`---,---@

"I don't believe it. That bastard actually thinks we're playing a game. This is all some stupid game of hide and seek to him! With my life on the line! He's toying with me! That son of a..."

Comet mumbled furiously to herself, flying off rapidly as fast as she could, intending to use the full hour to hide herself as well as she could. Somehow, she couldn't help but think Cell would keep his word and not come after her until her time was up. But playing games with a murderer...?

"I don't believe I'm doing this."

But only Cell took this for what it seemed to be; a game. Comet, on the other hand, was planning to use this (along with some newly found knowledge on how to hide better) for her chance to escape from the monster. If she could hide herself well enough to get away from him... it might buy some time for Goku and the others to finish their training (which she knew was what they were doing) and come challenge the evil Android. And win.

And yet she couldn't help but feel a little proud. Thanks to Cell sharing some 'secrets' with her, she was now certain she had left a rather puzzling "ki trail" for him. She had no idea how to mask it completely - the only thing she could come up with not using her ki at all and walking, but there was no hiding place in walking distance that could help her. So, with a few loop-the loops, back-tracking and up and down flying, she was certain he would have the hardest time of his life in finding her. Heck, maybe he'd even get frustrated enough to give up! There was one certain part she was particularly proud of her cleverness, flying down to another boulder and running a good distance away before taking to the air again. He'd think she had hidden under the boulder, and lose the trail from there!

'Sometimes, I feel like I can outwit myself,' she thought smugly, adding a back-track and loop-the-loop to confuse him only more, 'There. That ought to do it. Now to find a serious hiding spot.'

She didn't pause in mid-air to look around, but looked around as she flew. Nowhere in the sky or below... at least, not at the moment. Perhaps a small town, or a huge bustling city could hide her well enough. Perhaps if Cell thought they were playing, he wouldn't kill all those people in trying to find her.

'I know the perfect hiding spot; Kami's Lookout. But I can't get up there without their help. Dammit! Looks like I'm still on my own.'

Just as the Earthling was finished with that thought, a small speck on the horizon appeared, steadily growing larger as she flew towards it. As she came even closer, she realized it for what it was; a city. With a small smile, she flew straight up in the air and then dropped, re-tracing that path and landing on a building rooftop.

'Hmm... what about in a dumpster? Unn... no, even I'm not that desperate. A store? Office building? Should I disguise myself or something? Oh, sure, maybe I'm taking this a bit too seriously... no, I'm not! I'm hiding from a mass murderer, here!'

She walked to the edge of the roof and looked down, peering amongst the balconies and windows to watch the cars go by. The ones that stood out the most, the yellow taxis, drifted by; sometimes zooming up or slowing down, constantly on the move. Constantly on the move...

The last stage of her plan clicking into place, she ran across the rooftop to the stairs leading to the first floor.

---`---,---@

It took a good deal of energy to run, without stop, down ten flights of stairs and onto the city streets, but eventually she made it. Panting, she hurried to the edge of the sidewalk and raised her arm to hail a taxi. After a few passed by, ignoring her completely, one pulled over and stopped.

"Thank you so much," she said to the driver as she got in, slamming and locking the door behind her, "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Anytime, ma'am," the taxi driver replied, pulling away from the sidewalk, "Where would ya like to go?"

"Er, if its okay with you, I think I'd just like to drive around a bit," she replied, glancing nervously out the window. How much time until Cell started looking? A half hour? No, shorter than that. Ten minutes?

The driver looked up into the rear-view mirror, the surprise etched clearly on his face. "I'd be delighted to, ma'am, but are ya sure if that's what ya wanna do? It'll cost a pretty penny..."

"I don't care, as long as we keep moving," she answered hurriedly, wondering how well the people passing by could see her through these windows. The driver murmured his consent, a faint smile on his face, and drove on. They rode in silence for a few minutes, with the cab driver glancing between the rear view mirror, the street ahead, and the small machine that recorded how much she owed him, keeping track as the numbers rose. He seemed to catch her anxious face glancing out the windows a few times, for he asked, "Are you running from something, ma'am?"

"More like someone," she murmured in response, gazing out the window. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him tilt his head slightly.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing," she replied quickly. "Is there any way we can cover these windows?"

The cab driver scratched his chin in thought, twiddling his thumb on the steering wheel as they paused at a light, "Well, there's one or two towels in the back, ma'am, I s'pose you could use those..."

Without another word, she reached behind her and snatched up two towels, arranging them on the windows so they blocked out all sunlight. Finally feeling safe, she leaned back in her seat and relaxed. A glance upward showed her the cab driver giving her an odd look.

"Don't ask."

---`---,---@

The ride was long, tedious, and in silence. Comet ran over her "ki trail" in her mind's eye countless times, trying to picture Cell following it and testing to see if he'd get stuck. But she couldn't shake off the haunting feeling Cell had not told her the real reason he had managed to find her. Her trail might still be fresh, for he wasn't held up by Goku or the others... how had he gotten past them? What had happened?

For the first time in an hour, a twinge of fear sprang in her mind. Had he killed them all, and set out after her? He did have the power... no, Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks... they all must have gotten away. They had to.

Trying to reassure herself, she shifted in her seat yet again. The cab driver had turned on the radio and was humming along with one of the songs. She watched him enviously - oh sure, he had a reason to be happy. He had gotten a customer that would pay him loads, and he hadn't a care in the world. No evil Android chasing after him, hunting him down.

Curses came with the blessing of power.

She tried to focus on the song, as if the music might calm her nerves, but for some reason the song didn't quite strike her. It was just elevator music, boring and in the background, something without words or emotion. She jiggled her foot tersely, gazing out the front windshield at the cars. No sign of him yet.

She hadn't seen much out her two windows past the thick towels, and could only see her surroundings through the windshield. But they were turning to pass some green part of the city. As she peered at it, her driver cheerfully spoke up.

"We're comin' past the main park again, if ya don't mind, miss. I like this part of the city - prettiest part, if ya ask me... I always drive by here when I ain't driving someone..."

She nodded absently, leaning her head back against the warm leather seat and staring stupidly at the cab ceiling. Again, a problem presented itself. How long would she have to go around like this, before Cell would give up? If he did give up at all? Hiding was fruitless... she was only delaying the inevitable. Somehow she had to get away from him, and fast. But how was that at all possible?

She was jerked out of her thoughts as the cab jolted to an abrupt stop. Her seatbelt restrained her, and she fell back against the seat as the cab lurched backwards. The driver, too, was jolted, and uttered a loud curse. He looked up into the back mirror to meet her frown.

"So sorry, ma'am, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied tensely, "What happened?"

"I rightly don't know, miss, we were goin' along just fine. Wasn't no tire, and we got ourselves plenty of gas... prolly some jackarse who dun't know how to drive..."

He leaned around in his seat to peer out the back window, trying to find the source of the problem. As he gazed back past her, his eyes suddenly widened, his mouth dropping open in shock, his skin turning a ghostly shade of white. Comet, recognizing his mortal terror instantly, whipped around in her seat with a gasped; "No!"

Standing behind the car, with a firm grip on the fender and a frightening smirk on his face, was none other than Cell. His gaze fell on Comet, and his smirk broadened. He said something, but through the car neither could hear him. She, however, could read his lips perfectly.

I win.

She reached into her pockets and quickly pulled out a handful of bills, throwing them into the front seat and unlocking her door at the same time. "Here, thanks!" she yelped, hurrying to leap out of the car. The cab driver looked back to her, his face stretched in fear.

"Hey!" he squawked, "What's hap-"

Too late. The minute Comet leapt from the taxi, the evil Android behind it raised it into the air and hurled it over her head, right into the park the cab driver loved so much. She barely had time to throw herself to her stomach as the car made contact with a large, thick oak and exploded in a ball of crimson flames, which roared over her bowed head. She could feel the heat on her hands, see the light penetrating her squeezed-shut eyes.

She waited, staying in that position for what felt like hours, until everything had become one strange, slightly muffled ringing. Slowly, she uncovered her head and lifted her face. People were either standing, staring in awe-struck horror at the car wreck, or running as fast as they could, screaming. For a split moment, Comet wanted to join them, but rolled onto her back to look for Cell.

The Android had stepped up the street and was walking steadily towards her, smirking. She tried to push herself away, to take to the air, to at least stand up, anything - but he had reached her too fast. Her body became paralyzed once again as she stared up at him, and he folded his arms to smirk down at her.

"You have earned my congratulations, my dear," he announced, "For that was the most challenging game I've played yet. It's no wonder why you chose it - you are truly a master at hiding." His smirk broadened to a sneer, "Just as I am a master at hunting."

She didn't even want to know how he had possibly managed to find her this time. All she could manage was a horrified squeak, "Why? Why did you have to kill him!?"

"He was preventing me from getting to you," Cell answered calmly, as if the cab driver had been a mere bug. "Now. You must get a reward for hiding so well..." He paused, and then smiled. A chilling smile, that sent shivers down her spine as she pushed herself to her feet, "I've got it. You get to live a little longer."

"Is this how I have to survive?" she asked shakily, brushing herself off warily, "Keep winning these games?"

"Well, no," Cell admitted, raising his head to keep eye contact as she stood, "After all, I won this game, didn't I?"

Comet stared at him, breathing heavily but keeping her ground and her gaze as steady as she could. "You're a heartless bastard. I hate to think who else you'll hurt in your stupid little 'games'."

Cell chuckled, raising a hand to her face. Before she could react, he had lifted her chin slightly, supporting it on his two fingers. Instantly, she tensed under his cool touch, but he ignored it. "Do you really think of me in that way?" he asked, his tone mockingly innocent. She narrowed her eyes, taking a quick step back to get away from him.

"Yes."

He smiled yet again, unfazed by her negative reaction to his gentle gesture. "Very well. Now, Comet, what are you going to do with the few precious minutes you've just earned? Somehow, I don't think you''ll waste them begging for your life." A frown once again crossed his face, "You truly are unique. I still don't quite see why you won't plead."

"What's it to you?" she demanded venomously, "Do you like hearing women beg or something!?"

The cruel yet charming smile he displayed answered her question well enough. Disgusted, she recoiled away from him.

"Sick bastard! I don't believe you! You actually like to kill people and then hear them cry and beg for their lives before you take that away from them! How-how can live that way?" Her voice began to shake, and she could feel the burning in her throat as the tears built behind her eyes, but she fiercely fought them back.

"As you can see..." he spread his arms, as if showing her something - in a way, he was - "Quite well. My one goal was to attain my Perfect form, and now that it is complete... I can do whatever I wish. Until the time comes, that is."

"Time?" she repeated, fighting to keep her voice as steady as her glare, "Time for what?"

That alluring smile appeared on his face once again. "To kill your friends."

---`---,---@

Hehe... this is all thanks to my muse, who's been buggin' me for the past few days...