Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dance With Death ❯ Shattering Mirrors ( Chapter 11 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Angel Katarina aka AC 
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.19.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.19.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ or any of its characters, I just own Comet.
"Dance With Death"
by A.C
Chapter Eleven
Shattering Mirrors
---`---,---@
She stared lazily for a few minutes, letting a vision of azure and silver streaks penetrate her vision, racing before her. Momentarily, the Earthling couldn't feel her limbs. All she was aware of was a euphoric, floating sensation - dreamlike, almost. She would have let a slow, gentle smile creep across her lips, but her countenance remained oddly blank. Peaceful, yet devoid of any emotion as she plummetted towards the earth.
After a few moments of just free falling, she let her eyelids drop shut and focused on the sensation of being weightless. She kept her mind carefully empty, letting her limbs go limp as she fought and overcame her body's natural urge to stiffen, to be afraid.
And then, gradually, Comet began to deaccelerate. The light, fluttery feeling in her chest and stomach ceased, and as she was unpleasantly reminded of the feel of gravity's pull, she came to a light stop in midair. It took a moment to righten herself upward and get her feet balanced beneath her, but once she was stable and under control of the ki holding her in midair, the Earthling opened her eyes and dragged her mind back into thinking mode.
"If I were a giant green cockroach who wanted to take over the world, where would I be?" she mused, glancing downward and up to guess how far she had fallen. The Lookout was out of sight, and there was a cloud directly beneath her. She assumed that once she got beneath it, she could probably see land.
It was funny, she thought as she dipped beneath the cloud and caught a glimpse of a large stretch of green and brown beneath. She hated the Android and had been doing her best for the past few days to avoid him... and now here she was looking for him.
The Z Fighters didn't have the slightest idea where Cell was, or what he was planning. Without that knowledge, Comet knew they were as completely helpless as stick of broccoli. So before anything could really be planned, they would have to find out Cell's location. After all, if they weren't careful, he might just pop up on the Lookout and kill them all.
It wasn't as if Comet planned on confronting him to have a chat or... something. She definitely wasn't counting on being seen, either. She would just find the Android, see what he was up to, and return to the Lookout to report to the others. Just so they would know what he was doing and about how long they had left to prepare before he got bored enough to blow up the entire earth in one swoop.
The first place to look, she decided, was that damnable arena of his where he seemed to spend hours at a time standing around and being non-productive in general. Where had that been? She looked around herself curiously, as if expecting herself to suddenly spot it over there on the horizon.
"It's got to be SOMEWHERE around here..." she muttered, turning over in the air and dropping quickly - face first - towards the earth. Just flying around and hoping to spot it wasn't the best plan of attack, but it was the only one she had.
---`---,---@
"Wow, Bulma, this is really good!!"
Goku paused long enough in his eating only to give his compliments to the chef before eagerly throwing himself back into the fight, downing another bowl of rice in an instant. Across from him - like father, like son - Gohan was also eating away like there was no tomorrow.
Bulma smiled proudly to herself from her position at the end of the table, where she was tinkering with another new gadget of her's as baby Trunks slept. When asked about it, she sardonically replied it was a robot that could relieve her of cooking duties around here. Most of them doubted the idea at first, but they were beginning to think maybe that was true.
Everyone else had gone off to do their own thing. Comet was outside training slightly above the Lookout, Piccolo was meditating in one of the higher towers, Yamcha and Tien were sparring somewhere. Trunks had vanished a little after the meeting and was nowhere to be found, Krillen was making rounds around the Lookout to keep an eye open for any unwelcome visitors and Vegeta...
At that moment, the Sayain prince himself came waltzing in, having finally emerged from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He ignored the happy little lunchers completely and proceeded past them with every intent to disregard their presence entirely. Goku, however, wouldn't let that happen.
"Oh, hey, Vegeta! You're finally out! Comet will be glad to hear - she's wanted to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber all morning!"
Vegeta grunted, scooping up a bowl of rice from the table and leaning against the wall. Looked like he was hungry after all. "That weak Earthling woman?"
"Yeah! Didn't you see her outside?"
"What do I look like, Kakarotto? Her babysitter? I haven't seen the woman all morning."
Goku and Gohan exchanged puzzled glances. Bulma looked up from her little gadget to fix him with a quizzical stare, and then asked, "You mean she's not outside anymore?"
Vegeta sneered; "That's exactly what I mean. Haven't you noticed her absense of ki for about an hour, now?"
Goku abandoned his bowl of rice completely and hurried outside, an anxious Gohan and a worried Bulma close behind. On the way, they passed Krillen, who looked startled at the sudden leave of lunch. "Hey, what's up?"
The gang looked out past the collumns at the Lookout's coutyard. Before, the dark shape of the Earthling could be seen darting about above them, her red ki blasts lacing out every so often. Now, there was nothing. Goku hurried out from under the overhang and looked above him, over the entire area. There was no sign of her.
---`---,---@
Twilight was just beginning to fall, upon the small city. The time where daylight refuses to leave, refuses to give up its throne to darkness. Night had begun to slip in, and challenge the day hours. Shadows began to creep from their burrows to dance in the streets, and while the stars were taking their precious time in arrival, the sun decided to leave its last mark before giving up the struggle, and began splashing the sky with hues of crimson, orange and gold, streaks of royal blue and tinges of fuchsia - starbursts of dazzling color that faded into darkness at the pinnacle.
The city's occupants were wrapping up their daily chores, preparing for bed - or in the cases of others, preparing for their hour's beginning. Each of them blissfully ignorant of outside activites, of threats looming overhead and of conflicts that could cost them their lives. Conflicts they were absolutely oblivious to, and apart from.
A young girl was walking down the street, the steps of her sneakers echoing quietly as she marched along, a bag slung over one shoulder and hair done up in a messy ponytail. Her gaze was fixed firmly ahead, and it seemed that with each step, she fell more into a sort of half doze. Yet her pace was steady, and she pressed on determidly. It was obvious she wanted to pass out, but would reach the privacy of her home before doing so.
Just as her heavy footfalls brought her past a dark entrance to an alley, a low chuckle reached her ears. Startled, the girl stopped and stood blinking in confusion in the direction of the source. All she could make out were the shadows, leering at her.
"Didn't your mother ever inform you of how incredibly FOOLISH a decision it is to walk about - alone - at nightfall?"
She stood, transfixed by the low, rich voice. All instinct and everything her parents had told her was forgotten, as a sort of numb fear overtook her. The darkness shifted, until she could make out the pecuilar outline of some sort of creature, leaning against the wall rather close to the entrance. The creature shifted again, powerful arms folded over a muscular chest.
"You could get hurt."
It wasn't until this point that the girl's common sense returned in a rush. She stumbled away from the alley and broke into a run down the sidewalk, thin legs pumping furiously to carry her somewhere. Behind her, the voice crescendoed into a dark, cold laugh, which abruptly switched positions and was now in front of her. And just as quickly, she skidded to a stop as a horrible, tall creature in green armor appeared in front of her, pink eyes glittering in an icy delight.
Frightened for her life, the young girl took her bag and began beating the monster with it, crying in a high, shrill voice. He merely laughed, completely unaffected. That was, until he reached for her, and the girl began to scream.
Ah, what was this sound!? It was shrill, high-pitched, and assaulted his ears like a thousand needles. The laughter ceased abruptly to replaced with an affronted look of disgust, and the Android quickly batted the young human out of the way. She gave one final, even louder, shriek of surprise, before she hit the nearby brick wall with a meaty thud and finally grew silent as she slid - a crumpled heap - to the ground.
He looked down at her distastefully. How could something so small and frail be so LOUD? It was painful, her voice. And did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves. He was already tense and agitated, but the human's awful voice had heightened his fury only more.
He didn't have Comet. Plain and simple, he was without the one thing he wanted, and it annoyed him. The fact that it was those heroic, damnable Z Senshi that held her angered him. The knowledge that they were stronger than he would have liked them to be raged him, but the thought that he had to fight each of them and kill them before reaching Comet infuriated him! Curse them, those detestable Z Fighters! Didn't the idiots know when to give up to save their hides!? How dare they do this to him... it was worse than a challenge, it was an outright insult!
Not one to just show up on their front stoop and demand a fight, he had been forced to wait, impatiently, anxiously and angrily, for them to finally be satisfied with their numerous little "training" sessions. He wanted his fight, he wanted his prey and he wanted his victory, damn them! And yet they witheld this from him, taunting him almost...
Just at the thought, his hands curled into fists, but he kept his cold facade. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until he had finally tired of standing about doing nothing but meditate - which had done nothing to calm his elevated nerves - and taken off. This happened to be the first city he came across. This was all these people were to him - a stress relief. By taunting and toying with some weak humans, perhaps he could finally vent off the growing steam.
Unfortunately, it seemed that he was off to a bad start. He had just begun, and already his breaking point was closer than before. Deeply annoyed, the Android raised his gaze to the rest of the city, and raised a single hand. A small ball of golden ki began to flicker to life.
Destruction... perhaps that would vent his anger...
---`---,---@
Comet scowled heavily, glaring down at the small arena before her. Empty! As if he wasn't there! This had to be the one time he hadn't been in his precious little arena, standing like a hunk of marble. Honestly, the one time she actually needed to find him and he was off somewhere doing Kami knows what...
"I'm sorry, the mass murdering Android isn't here right now... please leave a message after the tone," she snapped sarcastically, raising her eyes and reaching vainly out for a sense of ki - any sense of ki. But again, none came. She growled in annoyance, wondering where he could possibly be.
'Not near the Lookout... I hope...'
She was struck with a mild twinge of panic. Maybe she had been just in time. Was it possible to have missed him in midair? There wasn't a designated entrance to the Lookout - one could arrive from any side. Perhaps he had appeared in her room, like the night before, and found she wasn't there. Should she go back? Would they be able to fend him off?
She was just about to turn tail and head back to the Lookout when a sharp throbbing pain hit the side of her head. She almost reeled, completely taken aback, and whipped around in the direction of the source. She knew that feeling well, for it came very frequently to her. A ki attack - and one hell of a powerful one.
Her tense posture in midair instantly relaxed. "Aha," she murmured, "Found you." To her relief, it hadn't been from any direction near the Lookout, but was instead off in the distance and at sea level. Yet what could he be up to that required such a powerful blast of ki? A stupid question. Probably killing people... what ELSE did he do...?
Quickly, she alllowed her own ki to flare, and then took off in the direction of the blast. It had reduced to a light tingling on her forehead - now directly in front, the direction she was facing - telling her she was moving the right way. Afraid she'd lose her only lead, she put on a burst of speed.
It took about fifteen minutes of rapid flying - the kind that really drained one's energy - before she came upon the ruins of the small city, smouldering as if recently hit by a meteor. She recognized the carnage the Android liked to leave in his wake. He must have been there recently, if not still there. Instantly, she reached out again to get a feel of him, but was unable to do so.
'If he is still here, he'll sense me soon enough. Better resort to walking.'
She swiftly landed on one of the few remaints of a taller building and masked the rest of her ki, hoping he hadn't felt her yet. The Earthling walked over to the edge of the building and glanced around to see if she could spot him, but no such luck. She didn't exactly see any bodies, leaving her to assume the place had already been evacuated. It seemed that he had only felt like taking out buildings.
Comet looked around the top of the building she stood atop now. How to get to the bottom floors? Ah, there it was - a small ladder, off to the side. She walked briskly over and climbed down, soon entering the top floor of the building and leaping to steady ground again with a slight crunch.
It looked like Cell had taken out the power lines with his attack, for the place was completely dark. Not at all unnerved, she walked slowly across the threshold, letting her eyes become accustomed to the darkness. The faint crunching under her boots signified plaster had been broken from the walls, and a few lumps here and there showed where walls had been blown through. The building was still standing, but barely, and was missing quite a few chunks. One thing she noticed, however, was that it looked like it had been completely abandoned in the first place. From what she could make out and feel as she felt her way around, it was devoid of any furniture whatsoever.
Where were the stairs leading down to other floors? At this rate, she'd either wander around the room like a blind fool or fall down the stairs like an ungraceful one. "Oh well," she muttered, "Never claimed to be graceful in the first place."
It took a few minutes of stumbling around across plaster and wood before finding something even remotely similar to stairs, which she crept down and soon emerged on the next floor - which, from what she could tell - was no different. The same style, the same emptiness, and the same mess. Another thing about this building, was that the staircases had been scattered randomly. She couldn't just go straight down. She'd have to find a different stairwell for each floor.
"Whoever designed... this building..." she grumbled, stubbing her foot on a chunk of brick for the umpteenth time, "Needs... to be.... dragged... into.... the street... and SHOT!!!"
"Couldn't agree with you more."
She froze, staring in shock into the darkness. No. No way.
A dark chuckle. "What's the matter, my dear? Lost?"
How could he find her this quickly? How!? It was impossible! She had just arrived in the city, at some random building! How could he be here? How, how, how!?
"Oh, you look surprised. Why is that? Does it seem that much of a shock to you to see me again? Or... rather, HEAR me?" Another chuckle at his own joke. "I'm afraid that, as of the moment, you aren't doing that much seeing, are you?"
"Where are you?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice from trembling. Her courage - damn her fear - her courage was leaving her rapidly, and she was fighting to keep a hold on it. The remembrance of being in a dark building, trapped, unable to see, with a monster who was lusting after her wasn't making her feel too brave.
"Well, I'd rather not just outwardly tell you. It'd ruin all the fun."
"Forget the fun factor!" she snapped, "Just show your bloody face, you coward!"
More chuckles, that grew into resounding laughter. Comet glanced around her in horror. Where was his voice coming from?? It seemed to be bouncing off the walls, attacking her from each side.
"Call me a coward, do you? How ironic! You're the one who insists on fleeing from each battle."
"Shut up," she remarked, staring around, determined to find out exactly where the voice was coming from. "If I can find you, this will be one battle I won't back out of!"
"Is that a promise?" He sounded SO amused, it was making her ill. "Very well. I'll help you out. Follow my voice."
She could finally tell where it was coming from, too. Some twenty feet ahead, and slightly to her left. She quickly pinpointed the location, gathered up a small red ki ball in her right hand, and flung it in the direction. It briefly illuminated a small patch of the area before exploading into the wall. No one there.
Cell was chuckling again. "You missed."
"I can see that," she retorted, searching again for his location. Now it was in a position off to the right. She hurled another ki ball in that direction, only to hit empty air. Another rain of plaster scattered across the floor, as Cell snickered. He was closer to her, now.
"Am I making this too difficult for you?"
She chose not to respond this time, concentrated on where he was, and flung two more attacks in the direction, only to miss again! He was laughing now, loudly and darkly, and she was terrified to hear it coming at her in two directions. One directly to her left, the other directly to her right. "Try again, Comet! I'm over here!"
She flung out both arms and attacked simultaneously, shooting ki blasts rapidly in both directions. Cell's laughter echoed around her, and she knew she had missed. Her nerves were heightening with each miss, and with each of his taunts. Along with her anger, her fear grew.
Laughter. "I'm right here, Comet! Go on, attack me." A furious blast, and an empty explosion. A cold shudder ran down her body as she looked desperately around, fighting to block out the laughter that only echoed around her in a horrible tunnel of sound.
"What's wrong, Comet, can't focus? Here!"
Ki blast. Missed target. Unconsciously, she gave a quiet whine of panic.
"Over here."
A shower of plaster, and more peals of laughter.
"Now here. Excellent, but I'm afraid now I'm over here... oh, not quite - this way! Oops, missed again. To your left, my dear, left - ooh, now to the right. One more time, directly above - that's it, now here!"
She felt like collapsing, like screaming, like blowing up the entire building just to get away from that horrible laughter. Dust was beginning to fill the room, getting into her lungs and making it all the more difficult to breathe. She gasped for breath, unable to identify where the evil Android was. She was attacking at random, now, wearing herself down but unable to stop. She was close to a panic.
Suddenly, a pair of warm, muscular arms enveloped her from behind and she was caught, momentarily, feeling his warm breath on her ear. "I'm right behind you, now."
Amazingly, she was close to tears. His taunting and his mind games were wearing away at her, and she was struggling for each breath. Angrily, she tried to fight him away, struggling furiously, but he wouldn't let her go. She drew in a repressed breath and lashed out, only to have him tighten his grip a little more.
"Stop fighting, my little one. You'll wear yourself out."
"Let me go," she demanded, fighting back the sobs that were threatening to break free, simply out of hopelessness of her situation. Instead of complying, he gently nuzzled her neck - sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine.
"Sshhh... relax. Be still. I won't hurt you."
"How do I know that!?" she cried, wriggling furiously and losing energy fast.
"Trust me."
"I don't!" she snarled in reply.
"You have to."
She was out of energy now, and slumped in his grasp, chest heaving. Her limbs were aching and there was a pain in her chest, along with a general feeling of fatigue thanks to her rised nerves and steady flow of ki attacks. Cell loosened his grip slightly only to gently steady her and hold her upright, before turning her around. A few holes had been made in the plaster, and moonlight spilled in to pool on the floor. She could just make out the outline of his pale face, of his coldly gleaming eyes.
Comet drew a shuddering breath, fighting down the tears for good. "Repetetive, isn't this?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking somewhat. He chuckled in response, and she knew full well he agreed. "So... for a, er, change of pace... how about letting me go?"
"Are you really that anxious to get away from me?"
She opened her mouth to reply with a sharp 'yes' when she realized the previous question wasn't amused, as his tone had been up until now. She couldn't catch what it was that had suddenly changed his demeanor, but all she knew was that he was no longer smirking. His eyes glinted again in the dark, and she felt awkward at the instant change of mood.
"I imagine you would be," he continued, seeing he wasn't getting a response right away. His tone was losing its humor fast, cool and serious. "After all, what am I to you? A beast? A monster? It's the form I take in the eyes of the world - a creature and nothing more."
She blinked at him, surprised. What was that pecuilar emotion lacing his voice? She couldn't quite place it yet, it was right on the edge of her tongue. Like her heart knew, but her mind was refusing to accept it.
Abruptly, he let her go. She stepped back a little, crunching and stumbling on the plaster scattered across the floor. He stared at her through the darkness, meeting her gaze and not allowing her to drop it. In that moment, all she could focus on was the faint outline of his figure, of the half of his face she could see, illuminated in a patch of moonlight. His eyes were shining oddly, but it never occured to her as of why.
"Confused, Comet?" he murmured, staring at her in a sort of mad attentiveness.
A new kind of fear was gripping her now. Fear of not being able to understand, fear of knowing what he was driving at and yet... not feeling it. She knew what he spoke of, but she didn't feel it.
"Do you know what it's like?" He was whispering now. "To be looked upon in hatred everywhere you go? To have never known such simple emotions... as..."
That was pain crippling his voice. Unbridled pain and misery, in an outpour of silent sadness. He was feeling truly wretched, for the way he was created, for the things he had missed...
He moved forward quickly and gripped her wrist, staring in a sort of fierce intensity into her eyes. "I see these things on the street, and in the daily lives of the people of earth. I know what they're feeling, I know it, but I can't feel it..."
She looked up at him in shock. She couldn't think, and everything she felt - except for the grip he had on her wrist - was numb and cold.
"I see it, but I cannot feel it. I haven't..." he paused, a mildly disgusted look flashing across his face - as if disgusted with himself, or the rest of the world? - and resumed, regaining his calm composure. "I haven't been given that permission."
He raised his other hand and ran it freely through her dark hair, gazing sadly into her face. The full misery and despair of his pain, and of his solitude, reached her all at once, there in the dark. Every barrier she had put up around her heart was torn down in an onslaught of pain from him.
He had never felt love. His own creator had never treated him with kindness. He acted in such a way, in such a bloodthirsty way, merely because he knew no different. But he knew of these things, he had seen them. And yet the world had banned such simple pleasures from him, he - shunned, to be forever scorned, horribly alone.
Cell moved his hand behind her head again, and gently brought it forward as he leaned down. She didn't fight back, merely stood there limply as he slowly lowered his lips to her's and brushed across them with his own - gently, tenderly. She trembled slightly, and he made contact through one brief, gentle kiss, before pulling back. She saw his face a last time, heavy with pain, and then he released his hold on her and began walking slowly backwards.
"C-cell..." she murmured under her breath, barely making a sound. The Android didn't pause in his steady retreat, until he had slipped into shadows. A silence prevailed, and it took her a moment before she realized he had gone.
Leaving her, free, alone, in the cold and empty office building. To be finally hit with the truth of his words.
---`---,---@
"Dance With Death"
by A.C
Chapter Eleven
Shattering Mirrors
---`---,---@
She stared lazily for a few minutes, letting a vision of azure and silver streaks penetrate her vision, racing before her. Momentarily, the Earthling couldn't feel her limbs. All she was aware of was a euphoric, floating sensation - dreamlike, almost. She would have let a slow, gentle smile creep across her lips, but her countenance remained oddly blank. Peaceful, yet devoid of any emotion as she plummetted towards the earth.
After a few moments of just free falling, she let her eyelids drop shut and focused on the sensation of being weightless. She kept her mind carefully empty, letting her limbs go limp as she fought and overcame her body's natural urge to stiffen, to be afraid.
And then, gradually, Comet began to deaccelerate. The light, fluttery feeling in her chest and stomach ceased, and as she was unpleasantly reminded of the feel of gravity's pull, she came to a light stop in midair. It took a moment to righten herself upward and get her feet balanced beneath her, but once she was stable and under control of the ki holding her in midair, the Earthling opened her eyes and dragged her mind back into thinking mode.
"If I were a giant green cockroach who wanted to take over the world, where would I be?" she mused, glancing downward and up to guess how far she had fallen. The Lookout was out of sight, and there was a cloud directly beneath her. She assumed that once she got beneath it, she could probably see land.
It was funny, she thought as she dipped beneath the cloud and caught a glimpse of a large stretch of green and brown beneath. She hated the Android and had been doing her best for the past few days to avoid him... and now here she was looking for him.
The Z Fighters didn't have the slightest idea where Cell was, or what he was planning. Without that knowledge, Comet knew they were as completely helpless as stick of broccoli. So before anything could really be planned, they would have to find out Cell's location. After all, if they weren't careful, he might just pop up on the Lookout and kill them all.
It wasn't as if Comet planned on confronting him to have a chat or... something. She definitely wasn't counting on being seen, either. She would just find the Android, see what he was up to, and return to the Lookout to report to the others. Just so they would know what he was doing and about how long they had left to prepare before he got bored enough to blow up the entire earth in one swoop.
The first place to look, she decided, was that damnable arena of his where he seemed to spend hours at a time standing around and being non-productive in general. Where had that been? She looked around herself curiously, as if expecting herself to suddenly spot it over there on the horizon.
"It's got to be SOMEWHERE around here..." she muttered, turning over in the air and dropping quickly - face first - towards the earth. Just flying around and hoping to spot it wasn't the best plan of attack, but it was the only one she had.
---`---,---@
"Wow, Bulma, this is really good!!"
Goku paused long enough in his eating only to give his compliments to the chef before eagerly throwing himself back into the fight, downing another bowl of rice in an instant. Across from him - like father, like son - Gohan was also eating away like there was no tomorrow.
Bulma smiled proudly to herself from her position at the end of the table, where she was tinkering with another new gadget of her's as baby Trunks slept. When asked about it, she sardonically replied it was a robot that could relieve her of cooking duties around here. Most of them doubted the idea at first, but they were beginning to think maybe that was true.
Everyone else had gone off to do their own thing. Comet was outside training slightly above the Lookout, Piccolo was meditating in one of the higher towers, Yamcha and Tien were sparring somewhere. Trunks had vanished a little after the meeting and was nowhere to be found, Krillen was making rounds around the Lookout to keep an eye open for any unwelcome visitors and Vegeta...
At that moment, the Sayain prince himself came waltzing in, having finally emerged from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He ignored the happy little lunchers completely and proceeded past them with every intent to disregard their presence entirely. Goku, however, wouldn't let that happen.
"Oh, hey, Vegeta! You're finally out! Comet will be glad to hear - she's wanted to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber all morning!"
Vegeta grunted, scooping up a bowl of rice from the table and leaning against the wall. Looked like he was hungry after all. "That weak Earthling woman?"
"Yeah! Didn't you see her outside?"
"What do I look like, Kakarotto? Her babysitter? I haven't seen the woman all morning."
Goku and Gohan exchanged puzzled glances. Bulma looked up from her little gadget to fix him with a quizzical stare, and then asked, "You mean she's not outside anymore?"
Vegeta sneered; "That's exactly what I mean. Haven't you noticed her absense of ki for about an hour, now?"
Goku abandoned his bowl of rice completely and hurried outside, an anxious Gohan and a worried Bulma close behind. On the way, they passed Krillen, who looked startled at the sudden leave of lunch. "Hey, what's up?"
The gang looked out past the collumns at the Lookout's coutyard. Before, the dark shape of the Earthling could be seen darting about above them, her red ki blasts lacing out every so often. Now, there was nothing. Goku hurried out from under the overhang and looked above him, over the entire area. There was no sign of her.
---`---,---@
Twilight was just beginning to fall, upon the small city. The time where daylight refuses to leave, refuses to give up its throne to darkness. Night had begun to slip in, and challenge the day hours. Shadows began to creep from their burrows to dance in the streets, and while the stars were taking their precious time in arrival, the sun decided to leave its last mark before giving up the struggle, and began splashing the sky with hues of crimson, orange and gold, streaks of royal blue and tinges of fuchsia - starbursts of dazzling color that faded into darkness at the pinnacle.
The city's occupants were wrapping up their daily chores, preparing for bed - or in the cases of others, preparing for their hour's beginning. Each of them blissfully ignorant of outside activites, of threats looming overhead and of conflicts that could cost them their lives. Conflicts they were absolutely oblivious to, and apart from.
A young girl was walking down the street, the steps of her sneakers echoing quietly as she marched along, a bag slung over one shoulder and hair done up in a messy ponytail. Her gaze was fixed firmly ahead, and it seemed that with each step, she fell more into a sort of half doze. Yet her pace was steady, and she pressed on determidly. It was obvious she wanted to pass out, but would reach the privacy of her home before doing so.
Just as her heavy footfalls brought her past a dark entrance to an alley, a low chuckle reached her ears. Startled, the girl stopped and stood blinking in confusion in the direction of the source. All she could make out were the shadows, leering at her.
"Didn't your mother ever inform you of how incredibly FOOLISH a decision it is to walk about - alone - at nightfall?"
She stood, transfixed by the low, rich voice. All instinct and everything her parents had told her was forgotten, as a sort of numb fear overtook her. The darkness shifted, until she could make out the pecuilar outline of some sort of creature, leaning against the wall rather close to the entrance. The creature shifted again, powerful arms folded over a muscular chest.
"You could get hurt."
It wasn't until this point that the girl's common sense returned in a rush. She stumbled away from the alley and broke into a run down the sidewalk, thin legs pumping furiously to carry her somewhere. Behind her, the voice crescendoed into a dark, cold laugh, which abruptly switched positions and was now in front of her. And just as quickly, she skidded to a stop as a horrible, tall creature in green armor appeared in front of her, pink eyes glittering in an icy delight.
Frightened for her life, the young girl took her bag and began beating the monster with it, crying in a high, shrill voice. He merely laughed, completely unaffected. That was, until he reached for her, and the girl began to scream.
Ah, what was this sound!? It was shrill, high-pitched, and assaulted his ears like a thousand needles. The laughter ceased abruptly to replaced with an affronted look of disgust, and the Android quickly batted the young human out of the way. She gave one final, even louder, shriek of surprise, before she hit the nearby brick wall with a meaty thud and finally grew silent as she slid - a crumpled heap - to the ground.
He looked down at her distastefully. How could something so small and frail be so LOUD? It was painful, her voice. And did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves. He was already tense and agitated, but the human's awful voice had heightened his fury only more.
He didn't have Comet. Plain and simple, he was without the one thing he wanted, and it annoyed him. The fact that it was those heroic, damnable Z Senshi that held her angered him. The knowledge that they were stronger than he would have liked them to be raged him, but the thought that he had to fight each of them and kill them before reaching Comet infuriated him! Curse them, those detestable Z Fighters! Didn't the idiots know when to give up to save their hides!? How dare they do this to him... it was worse than a challenge, it was an outright insult!
Not one to just show up on their front stoop and demand a fight, he had been forced to wait, impatiently, anxiously and angrily, for them to finally be satisfied with their numerous little "training" sessions. He wanted his fight, he wanted his prey and he wanted his victory, damn them! And yet they witheld this from him, taunting him almost...
Just at the thought, his hands curled into fists, but he kept his cold facade. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until he had finally tired of standing about doing nothing but meditate - which had done nothing to calm his elevated nerves - and taken off. This happened to be the first city he came across. This was all these people were to him - a stress relief. By taunting and toying with some weak humans, perhaps he could finally vent off the growing steam.
Unfortunately, it seemed that he was off to a bad start. He had just begun, and already his breaking point was closer than before. Deeply annoyed, the Android raised his gaze to the rest of the city, and raised a single hand. A small ball of golden ki began to flicker to life.
Destruction... perhaps that would vent his anger...
---`---,---@
Comet scowled heavily, glaring down at the small arena before her. Empty! As if he wasn't there! This had to be the one time he hadn't been in his precious little arena, standing like a hunk of marble. Honestly, the one time she actually needed to find him and he was off somewhere doing Kami knows what...
"I'm sorry, the mass murdering Android isn't here right now... please leave a message after the tone," she snapped sarcastically, raising her eyes and reaching vainly out for a sense of ki - any sense of ki. But again, none came. She growled in annoyance, wondering where he could possibly be.
'Not near the Lookout... I hope...'
She was struck with a mild twinge of panic. Maybe she had been just in time. Was it possible to have missed him in midair? There wasn't a designated entrance to the Lookout - one could arrive from any side. Perhaps he had appeared in her room, like the night before, and found she wasn't there. Should she go back? Would they be able to fend him off?
She was just about to turn tail and head back to the Lookout when a sharp throbbing pain hit the side of her head. She almost reeled, completely taken aback, and whipped around in the direction of the source. She knew that feeling well, for it came very frequently to her. A ki attack - and one hell of a powerful one.
Her tense posture in midair instantly relaxed. "Aha," she murmured, "Found you." To her relief, it hadn't been from any direction near the Lookout, but was instead off in the distance and at sea level. Yet what could he be up to that required such a powerful blast of ki? A stupid question. Probably killing people... what ELSE did he do...?
Quickly, she alllowed her own ki to flare, and then took off in the direction of the blast. It had reduced to a light tingling on her forehead - now directly in front, the direction she was facing - telling her she was moving the right way. Afraid she'd lose her only lead, she put on a burst of speed.
It took about fifteen minutes of rapid flying - the kind that really drained one's energy - before she came upon the ruins of the small city, smouldering as if recently hit by a meteor. She recognized the carnage the Android liked to leave in his wake. He must have been there recently, if not still there. Instantly, she reached out again to get a feel of him, but was unable to do so.
'If he is still here, he'll sense me soon enough. Better resort to walking.'
She swiftly landed on one of the few remaints of a taller building and masked the rest of her ki, hoping he hadn't felt her yet. The Earthling walked over to the edge of the building and glanced around to see if she could spot him, but no such luck. She didn't exactly see any bodies, leaving her to assume the place had already been evacuated. It seemed that he had only felt like taking out buildings.
Comet looked around the top of the building she stood atop now. How to get to the bottom floors? Ah, there it was - a small ladder, off to the side. She walked briskly over and climbed down, soon entering the top floor of the building and leaping to steady ground again with a slight crunch.
It looked like Cell had taken out the power lines with his attack, for the place was completely dark. Not at all unnerved, she walked slowly across the threshold, letting her eyes become accustomed to the darkness. The faint crunching under her boots signified plaster had been broken from the walls, and a few lumps here and there showed where walls had been blown through. The building was still standing, but barely, and was missing quite a few chunks. One thing she noticed, however, was that it looked like it had been completely abandoned in the first place. From what she could make out and feel as she felt her way around, it was devoid of any furniture whatsoever.
Where were the stairs leading down to other floors? At this rate, she'd either wander around the room like a blind fool or fall down the stairs like an ungraceful one. "Oh well," she muttered, "Never claimed to be graceful in the first place."
It took a few minutes of stumbling around across plaster and wood before finding something even remotely similar to stairs, which she crept down and soon emerged on the next floor - which, from what she could tell - was no different. The same style, the same emptiness, and the same mess. Another thing about this building, was that the staircases had been scattered randomly. She couldn't just go straight down. She'd have to find a different stairwell for each floor.
"Whoever designed... this building..." she grumbled, stubbing her foot on a chunk of brick for the umpteenth time, "Needs... to be.... dragged... into.... the street... and SHOT!!!"
"Couldn't agree with you more."
She froze, staring in shock into the darkness. No. No way.
A dark chuckle. "What's the matter, my dear? Lost?"
How could he find her this quickly? How!? It was impossible! She had just arrived in the city, at some random building! How could he be here? How, how, how!?
"Oh, you look surprised. Why is that? Does it seem that much of a shock to you to see me again? Or... rather, HEAR me?" Another chuckle at his own joke. "I'm afraid that, as of the moment, you aren't doing that much seeing, are you?"
"Where are you?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice from trembling. Her courage - damn her fear - her courage was leaving her rapidly, and she was fighting to keep a hold on it. The remembrance of being in a dark building, trapped, unable to see, with a monster who was lusting after her wasn't making her feel too brave.
"Well, I'd rather not just outwardly tell you. It'd ruin all the fun."
"Forget the fun factor!" she snapped, "Just show your bloody face, you coward!"
More chuckles, that grew into resounding laughter. Comet glanced around her in horror. Where was his voice coming from?? It seemed to be bouncing off the walls, attacking her from each side.
"Call me a coward, do you? How ironic! You're the one who insists on fleeing from each battle."
"Shut up," she remarked, staring around, determined to find out exactly where the voice was coming from. "If I can find you, this will be one battle I won't back out of!"
"Is that a promise?" He sounded SO amused, it was making her ill. "Very well. I'll help you out. Follow my voice."
She could finally tell where it was coming from, too. Some twenty feet ahead, and slightly to her left. She quickly pinpointed the location, gathered up a small red ki ball in her right hand, and flung it in the direction. It briefly illuminated a small patch of the area before exploading into the wall. No one there.
Cell was chuckling again. "You missed."
"I can see that," she retorted, searching again for his location. Now it was in a position off to the right. She hurled another ki ball in that direction, only to hit empty air. Another rain of plaster scattered across the floor, as Cell snickered. He was closer to her, now.
"Am I making this too difficult for you?"
She chose not to respond this time, concentrated on where he was, and flung two more attacks in the direction, only to miss again! He was laughing now, loudly and darkly, and she was terrified to hear it coming at her in two directions. One directly to her left, the other directly to her right. "Try again, Comet! I'm over here!"
She flung out both arms and attacked simultaneously, shooting ki blasts rapidly in both directions. Cell's laughter echoed around her, and she knew she had missed. Her nerves were heightening with each miss, and with each of his taunts. Along with her anger, her fear grew.
Laughter. "I'm right here, Comet! Go on, attack me." A furious blast, and an empty explosion. A cold shudder ran down her body as she looked desperately around, fighting to block out the laughter that only echoed around her in a horrible tunnel of sound.
"What's wrong, Comet, can't focus? Here!"
Ki blast. Missed target. Unconsciously, she gave a quiet whine of panic.
"Over here."
A shower of plaster, and more peals of laughter.
"Now here. Excellent, but I'm afraid now I'm over here... oh, not quite - this way! Oops, missed again. To your left, my dear, left - ooh, now to the right. One more time, directly above - that's it, now here!"
She felt like collapsing, like screaming, like blowing up the entire building just to get away from that horrible laughter. Dust was beginning to fill the room, getting into her lungs and making it all the more difficult to breathe. She gasped for breath, unable to identify where the evil Android was. She was attacking at random, now, wearing herself down but unable to stop. She was close to a panic.
Suddenly, a pair of warm, muscular arms enveloped her from behind and she was caught, momentarily, feeling his warm breath on her ear. "I'm right behind you, now."
Amazingly, she was close to tears. His taunting and his mind games were wearing away at her, and she was struggling for each breath. Angrily, she tried to fight him away, struggling furiously, but he wouldn't let her go. She drew in a repressed breath and lashed out, only to have him tighten his grip a little more.
"Stop fighting, my little one. You'll wear yourself out."
"Let me go," she demanded, fighting back the sobs that were threatening to break free, simply out of hopelessness of her situation. Instead of complying, he gently nuzzled her neck - sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine.
"Sshhh... relax. Be still. I won't hurt you."
"How do I know that!?" she cried, wriggling furiously and losing energy fast.
"Trust me."
"I don't!" she snarled in reply.
"You have to."
She was out of energy now, and slumped in his grasp, chest heaving. Her limbs were aching and there was a pain in her chest, along with a general feeling of fatigue thanks to her rised nerves and steady flow of ki attacks. Cell loosened his grip slightly only to gently steady her and hold her upright, before turning her around. A few holes had been made in the plaster, and moonlight spilled in to pool on the floor. She could just make out the outline of his pale face, of his coldly gleaming eyes.
Comet drew a shuddering breath, fighting down the tears for good. "Repetetive, isn't this?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking somewhat. He chuckled in response, and she knew full well he agreed. "So... for a, er, change of pace... how about letting me go?"
"Are you really that anxious to get away from me?"
She opened her mouth to reply with a sharp 'yes' when she realized the previous question wasn't amused, as his tone had been up until now. She couldn't catch what it was that had suddenly changed his demeanor, but all she knew was that he was no longer smirking. His eyes glinted again in the dark, and she felt awkward at the instant change of mood.
"I imagine you would be," he continued, seeing he wasn't getting a response right away. His tone was losing its humor fast, cool and serious. "After all, what am I to you? A beast? A monster? It's the form I take in the eyes of the world - a creature and nothing more."
She blinked at him, surprised. What was that pecuilar emotion lacing his voice? She couldn't quite place it yet, it was right on the edge of her tongue. Like her heart knew, but her mind was refusing to accept it.
Abruptly, he let her go. She stepped back a little, crunching and stumbling on the plaster scattered across the floor. He stared at her through the darkness, meeting her gaze and not allowing her to drop it. In that moment, all she could focus on was the faint outline of his figure, of the half of his face she could see, illuminated in a patch of moonlight. His eyes were shining oddly, but it never occured to her as of why.
"Confused, Comet?" he murmured, staring at her in a sort of mad attentiveness.
A new kind of fear was gripping her now. Fear of not being able to understand, fear of knowing what he was driving at and yet... not feeling it. She knew what he spoke of, but she didn't feel it.
"Do you know what it's like?" He was whispering now. "To be looked upon in hatred everywhere you go? To have never known such simple emotions... as..."
That was pain crippling his voice. Unbridled pain and misery, in an outpour of silent sadness. He was feeling truly wretched, for the way he was created, for the things he had missed...
He moved forward quickly and gripped her wrist, staring in a sort of fierce intensity into her eyes. "I see these things on the street, and in the daily lives of the people of earth. I know what they're feeling, I know it, but I can't feel it..."
She looked up at him in shock. She couldn't think, and everything she felt - except for the grip he had on her wrist - was numb and cold.
"I see it, but I cannot feel it. I haven't..." he paused, a mildly disgusted look flashing across his face - as if disgusted with himself, or the rest of the world? - and resumed, regaining his calm composure. "I haven't been given that permission."
He raised his other hand and ran it freely through her dark hair, gazing sadly into her face. The full misery and despair of his pain, and of his solitude, reached her all at once, there in the dark. Every barrier she had put up around her heart was torn down in an onslaught of pain from him.
He had never felt love. His own creator had never treated him with kindness. He acted in such a way, in such a bloodthirsty way, merely because he knew no different. But he knew of these things, he had seen them. And yet the world had banned such simple pleasures from him, he - shunned, to be forever scorned, horribly alone.
Cell moved his hand behind her head again, and gently brought it forward as he leaned down. She didn't fight back, merely stood there limply as he slowly lowered his lips to her's and brushed across them with his own - gently, tenderly. She trembled slightly, and he made contact through one brief, gentle kiss, before pulling back. She saw his face a last time, heavy with pain, and then he released his hold on her and began walking slowly backwards.
"C-cell..." she murmured under her breath, barely making a sound. The Android didn't pause in his steady retreat, until he had slipped into shadows. A silence prevailed, and it took her a moment before she realized he had gone.
Leaving her, free, alone, in the cold and empty office building. To be finally hit with the truth of his words.
---`---,---@