Disclaimer: No DBZ is owned by me. Tra-lala
Wow. It's an update. I'm even amazed, even more amazed to be on again. If you want even more information, go to my profile. I have a few end notes after this, so stick around, yes?
Synthetic
Installment 6
Bring-Bring. Brrrinnnngggg.
Urami groaned. Why did her alarm have to go off at the precise time every morning?
Because you set it, that's why, her mental voice grunted drowsily.
Her mind was blanketed in a thick fog. Soft ebbs of pain flowed through her jaw and face, trailing down her spine and up the base of her head and neck. She was sore as heck, her joints were stiff, her wounds stung and seemed to be stuck to her bandages...she should have gotten stitches like any sane person.
Her nose and feet were cold...she felt clammy...when was the last time she had a good shower? She'd drooled some on her bed...
Brrrrinnnnggg!!
She was going to kill her alarm...
When she got enough energy to get up...
Her breath caught as she heard a strange scratching sound at her door. Frowning inwardly, still rising from her foggy state of sleep, she kept her eyes closed. There was a click, then the padding of footsteps across her bedroom floor.
Brrrinnn-
BZZZT!
The popping sound, accompanied by angry sparks, sent Urami jerking up from her pillow to a sitting position.
What the?!
Her mind snapped back to reality and tried to take in what she saw.
The monster from last night was standing by her bed. One of his clawed fingers had driven right through her alarm clock. Sparks and the angry hiss of electricity sputter for a few moments, then went silent.
Urami stared for a moment, slowly absorbing the fact that the monster of Nikki Town just obliterated her alarm.
"It was damn annoying. Why can't humans be prompt enough to wake up without such aggravating noises?" the monster grumbled, not looking sorry in the least. It removed its claw and scowled to itself before turning to leave just as abruptly as it had barged in.
Urami tried to talk but her attempt came out as more of a nasty cough. "Yugh...thanks," she grumbled. It was the only thing that came to her mind, and dimly she tried to make her comment sound as sarcastic as possible.
The monster paused at the door before slowly swiveling its head to glare at the disheveled woman that was sitting on her bed. Urami made a mental note that the monster seemed to have pretty good hearing. Great.
"You're alive only by my good graces, human filth," the monster spat, though not really sounding that angry. Just annoyed, like it had something even more boring to do than exchange insults with a woman.
Urami only blinked in response. It was too early for this. If it wanted to kill her, it would have been nice if it had done it right then, while she was still sleepy. It probably wouldn't hurt as much.
Urami then realized the monster was gone and she grunted, throwing the few sheets off her. Glaring at her shattered alarm clock, she rummaged in her dresser drawer and found a good watch. Glancing at the time, she cursed mildly. She was going to be late for work!
Stumbling up and yanking on a shoe, Urami suddenly halted in front of a mirror. I don't have work anymore... Of course. Her workplace had been partially destroyed, and her face... She'd been laid off for the time being. She didn't HAVE a job.
Urami wasn't sure how to take this. She didn't really bother thinking about it as more pain shot up from her bandaged jaw. Her face looked a little swollen, but not too badly. She would have to change the bandages eventually, and she really didn't like the thought of peeling the bandages off of her tender skin. And especially not with that monster lurking around her apartment...
What was with that anyway? Urami sighed and threw her shoe on her bed, grabbing an old robe from her dresser and throwing it over her shoulders. She glanced around her sloppy room and inwardly made a note to clean it...sometime. Maybe when she didn't feel like there was a jackhammer hammering against one side of her face.
She trudged into the kitchen, at a loss for what to do. She decided she'd scrounge up some breakfast, even though she wasn't that hungry.
Something immediately felt strange as she entered the brightly lit room. She blinked and rubbed at an eye before surveying her surroundings. Everything was in place...
Wait.
Urami wandered over and expected her counters, the bar, and even looked in her fridge.
Where was the mess? The old plates, the groceries, the molded banana peel that had been sitting by the microwave for a matter of weeks?
Everything was...clean.
"All humans are pigs, but I believe you certainly set the standard," the creature snipped from across the room. It was lazily standing by a window in the living room, its eyes closed. Urami wondered how it knew she was there, and decided to chalk it up to its excellent hearing. There was a lot she didn't understand.
"Thanks," Urami grumbled again, lazily. She suddenly didn't feel very obliged for breakfast, feeling a weird churning in her stomach, so instead she decided to go to the bathroom and inspect her face.
--------
Such insolence! Cell fumed inwardly at the reaction he was getting from this woman. He expected some measure of anger or fear or respect from her, but the most he got was grumbling. Then again, humans had a tendency to suffer from stupidity, so he really wasn't that surprised.
It was good, in a way. This meant the human wouldn't be getting in his way that much--he detested even to hear their grating little voices, unless they were screaming in terror. Then again, it also meant the human wouldn't be putting up many fights. This was a small let-down, but it didn't really matter. He'd kill her eventually. Hell, if she really was mentally unstable, she'd probably thank him for it. Who wouldn't want to be a part of Perfection?
Cell almost purred at the thought as he kept his arms folded against his chest. He loved that word. Perfection.
The noise from the city came slipped through the window, but it was suitably much more depressed than usual. There weren't as many cars driving by, no honking of horns, not the sound of innumerable feet pounding on the sidewalk outside...
Of course, when you decimate half the population of a city, that happens. Instead of sunny-faced pedestrians merrily marching down the road on their way to work, somber--and unnerved--secret service and police crept down the sidewalks, weapons bristled, eyes watching. And afraid, always afraid. That cool, chilling fear that Cell could feel radiating from the city even from his stance in that apartment room. The cold chill of a city shaken. It was beautiful to him, to almost hear the quaking of its population, and he basked in the thoughts of people whispering about him over their coffee breaks, over their phones. It was a kind of twisted serenity, an attention--and respect--he craved. It was what fed him.
If only the damn Z fighters kept out of his way. it might have been a good thing, in the long run, that he left half the city. It presented a confusing dilemma. Would he go ahead and wipe out the rest of the city? Or would he move on?
Knowing the simplicity of the Z fighters, and how they thought him to be a simple monster, Cell knew what they thought. They would think he'd keep his pride and kill off the rest of this city. it was tempting, but Android 21 knew better. he would raid another city at sundown, and begin an elaborate but untraceable pattern. he would raid a different city every night, in different degrees, striking and retreating when he saw fit. Of course he would have to strike this city again sometime soon, just so it wouldn't seem like he was hiding out here. The Z tenshi would be at a loss for what he'd do next, and they'd be unable to track him.
Then, once he felt bloated on enough death, Cell would hunt for his androids. One at a time, naturally...too dangerous to try both at once. Surely they'd be lured in by the chaos of the cities. Easy prey. It was just a matter of keeping away from the Z tenshi. The android despised the game of Hide And Go Seek, but there was little he could to. He had to admit to himself he was weak. He was not yet perfect.
Yet.
A vague "Ouch!" from the nearby bathroom pulled the android from his stirring thoughts of glory. He grunted, a small and rumbling noise, and shifted his weight. If he had to deal with this insolence much longer, he'd end up killing the human sooner than he wanted. He quietly regretted destroying most of her workplace and even giving her such a serious injury--if it weren't for all that, she would have somewhere to GO during the day. Meanwhile he was patiently waiting for sundown, so he could plot out his next attack. He had all the patience in the world...when it suited him.
--------
Urami winced, plastering some new bandages to her face. The grooves in her skin were thin but deep, and her attempts to wash her face only made her injuries burn unfaithfully. Once the painful procedure was done the young woman did her best to wash out her air and wipe down her arms and legs. She felt a bit cleaner and more presentable--not like it mattered, since her only company was a monster.
After finishing up in the bathroom, Urami exited and grabbed some orange juice from the newly-cleaned refrigerator. She paused on entering the main room, where the monster was idly standing by the window. Despite being distant and disconnected from most emotions, she couldn't HELP but feel the hair on her neck prickle and her heart start hammering faster when she got near that thing. Try as she might, she could push the fear away. It pulsated through her veins, and she tried her best to mask it. Coughing to herself, she warily sat on her couch and picked up the TV remote.
The monster didn't move or even make any motion signalling it knew she was there. Urami breathed slowly and sucked in quickly before turning the TV on. She quickly set it on mute, trying to calm her heart as she sipped her juice and stared straight ahead.
Yeah, wonderful. It's a classic picture from every TV show. A woman and a monster...watching TV. Urami would have almost thought it funny if she'd been more humorous and hadn't been so unnerved by the whole situation.
Not that the monster was watching the TV, anyway. His eyes were closed and they had remained that way ever since Urami had come out of her bedroom. The woman was thankful, because his eyes were more than a little unsettling. They were cat eyes...snake eyes...monster eyes.
Monster. She had to come up with a better term than that to describe this thing. Did it have a species, race? Even a name? She'd given it HER name, but it hadn't done the same. Not like it should feel obligated or anything, since she was just a human.
Where had it come from? What was its purpose? Did it have any weaknesses? Goals?
These questions plagued Urami, but she didn't bother to ponder over them too much, much less ask them. It didn't really matter. She was trapped. All she could do was play this out like it was a normal day...her sitting on her couch, jobless, trying not to disturb a monster standing by her window...
Carefully studying the creature out of the corner of her eye, she readily determined it was a male, or close to one anyway. Its body structure was masculine, and its voice--though raspy--held masculine qualities. It was also pretty egotistical.
Hm.
"What are you staring at?"
The monster's cynical voice caught Urami off guard. She almost jumped in her seat but remained calm, still watching the moving scenes on the TV.
"The TV," she muttered lamely. Idiot.
The monster scoffed deeply. "You're even more of a liar than you are a pig," it responded rudely.
"What made you clean everything up, anyway?" Urami suddenly blurted, just as rudely. What was she DOING? It was almost like she was poking fun at the fact that a great monster cleaned up her apartment for her. If I want to live even for a little while, the last thing I can do is not take shots at his ego! Strangely at that moment, Urami decided living was just a little better than dying.
Slowly one of the monster's eyes peeled open, revealing that haunting slanted pupil that drilled holes through the woman. "Because it was disgusting," he hissed carefully.
"I know," Urami muttered. She didn't know what else to say. She could have sworn she saw the monster roll its one open eye from disgust. She didn't blame him--she was acting more than a little stupid. She was never good at socializing, much less with non-humans.
"Go do something," the monster ordered. "Your human stench is detestable."
Urami stiffened, ready to fire back some sort of half-thought-of comment before sighing. Going far, far away didn't seem like such a bad idea. She went to stand.
"And don't even think about running your mouth," the creature added lowly.
It was Urami's turn to utter a small scoff. "I'm not stupid," she remarked.
Surprisingly the monster barked out a raspy laugh at the woman's choice of words. Urami scowled and straightened her shoulders, turning off the TV and trying not to look directly at the thing.
"Hypocritical humans," it went on, almost in a merciless giggle.
"Urami," the woman repeated tiredly. The whole "human" thing was getting annoying. "Do all monsters talk like you do?"
Inwardly, Urami felt like smacking herself. If she wanted to live for as long as possible, WHY was she talking to him like she was begging for him to kill her? Being disconnected from most emotions left her confused. What exactly DID she want?
Urami's hand was on the doorknob when she felt the looming presence rise up behind her. Her whole body went rigid as the tips of her fingers trembled slightly. Great. She'd pissed him off.
"Cell."
What?
Urami dared not speak. The initial fear was gone. If he wanted to kill her, there was nothing stopping him. Her back was to him. And even if it wasn't, he'd still have no trouble. How easily did he kill everyone else? Too easily, if he could decimate half a city in only one night. She could almost see that horrible tail wavering behind him. It was what she feared most of all, for some reason.
"Cell," the monster repeated, its hot breath against the back of Urami's head. Vaguely detached from the moment, Urami noted is breath smelled vaguely sweet. How strange.
"Is that..." she managed, keeping her voice monotone.
"My name. Learn it well."
No problem there.
Cell. What a weird name.
"Alright," the woman managed again. She quickly opened the door, expecting the monster to grab her, or kill her on the spot. She just wanted to get away from that looming shadow, that churning presence. She was in that mood that caused her to want to live for today.
He didn't. She didn't look back, but she heard the door close behind her as she hurried from her apartment and down the stairs.
So his name was Cell.
Hello again! Been a while. Well, it's been years since I've seen the Cell Saga, and it's been almost as long since I've looked at this fiction. Due to this, I'm trying to brush up on my education. But I just couldn't bear to leave this fiction hanging, after all. Thanks to everyone that reviewed. If I get any reviews this time, (which would be surprising,) I'll try to reply to them in the next installment. I hope that's sometime soon. Any ideas and suggestions for this story is encouraged.
Ciao!