Greetings oh pleasant readers: I must say this chapter was pretty fun. I think the entire story will be amusing once I get more into it :) As for a next chapter, I don't know when it'll get out. It's been beautiful and hot outdoors and I have this urge to just bask in the sun…but it's almost too hot ;) An air-conditioned bedroom is so much more relaxing. So we'll see what happens.

Thank you all that reviewed so very much! Its like old times again :D If there are any questions, please ask—I know it's kinda hard to get a story from a completely different character than you're used to, but I'm trying to make sure I cover all grounds. Don't hesitate though if something's on your mind. Ciao for now!

Chapter 2: Inside-out

My mother has this way of making people feel bad after they did wrong. She basically said nothing to me for the remainder of the night, although before she went to bed she came up and said goodnight. Well, she said more than that. She told me she was sorry for yelling at me, but she had made a mistake by allowing herself to get tangled up in the mess of the Cell Games. I could tell the way she spoke of it that she did enjoy that strange android's company for whatever reason, but she denied it in front of me. I guess after 22 years a person can start to convince themselves that it was all nothing.

I had actually begun to wonder how much my father knew about Cell. Neither of them had ever mentioned the incident of the dead reawakening before they were married, but I knew that my father had had interaction with Cell as well—just not on the same "friendly" level my mother experienced.

"Mom," I had said before she left the room. She turned and looked at me, her gaze soft and loving. "Is he…Cell that is, the reason why you and dad split up? I mean, was he just jealous or something?"

She had come over and sat on the couch next to me, her head shaking gently to imply no. "Your father and I got together because of what happened to us—I believe you're familiar with the incidents in my second journal." I nodded. "I thought that I could find a lot of comfort in him. And I did at first, but over the years he and I just couldn't seem to agree on everything. I'm too much a free spirit to be held down by one man who can't seem to loosen the leash of marriage."

I wasn't surprised at what she told me. Actually, strangely enough, I had hoped it wasn't because of this Cell creature. I couldn't tell you why. I had heard my parents argue many, many times even over trivial things that no one could believe; her statement just confirmed the fact that they just weren't meant to be.

"So Dad wasn't jealous?"

"Oh, I think he was jealous when things happened," she replied. "But I think he always thought of himself as the victor when there was no contest."

She left shortly after that and I curled my legs under me and hugged the closest throw pillow. The sun had set, the moon had come out and the stars twinkled outside of the living room window. I had such a hard time imagining such a creature as this Cell and that my mother…thought she was in love with him.

I had gone to bed shortly after and gotten up early the next morning. It was Saturday and Mom and I usually hit the city to do shopping and errands. It was just this thing we got into when I wasn't away at school. I enjoyed it though, don't get me wrong. Shopping was like a drug to me—I can't tell you the number of shoes and skirts I have alone.

I drove the car since driving didn't come to me often; I went to school in a city, therefore I had easy transportation without a car being one of them. Buses and subways were usually the choice, but if I had to I'd suck it up and get a cab if I missed the times of the others. I enjoyed driving, though. It's a feeling of freedom and knowledge that you have the control of something so powerful and dangerous. It's exhilarating.

We parked on the side of the road in front of our favorite café that served sandwiches and pastries. After lunch it was off to the bank so she could cash her paycheck and I could take out some cash for any to-be purchases.

A walk around the town was so wonderful on a great day. There were a few puffy white clouds scattered here and there, but the rest of the sky was clear and bright blue. The sun hung high over the city and beat down on us with a shower of light and warmth. It was this type of day that made me feel confident and uncaring about what others thought about me. That's probably why I chose to dress the way I did—blue halter top, white peasant skirt and three-inch high sandals. I felt like a million bucks.

As the way things go, feeling so great made me want to buy more to continue looking great. We hit a store called "Floppy's" (I have no clue as to why it was called that) and couldn't keep our hands off of the beautiful clothes. They were dazzling and rich and that meant they were must-haves. Mom bought several shirts and skirts for school and I bought a great looking summer dress. I already had plans to wear it to the dinner I was going to with a bunch of my old friends from high school later in the week.

As a welcome home and part-graduation gift, Mom bought my stuff. I didn't really argue since I knew she wouldn't budge from her decision anyway. She seemed so happy when we walked out, handing me my bag and tossing her purse back over her shoulder.

"Where too next?" I asked as we strolled down the chalk-white sidewalk. "I can really go for some ice cream."

"I can too," Mom said and we started heading down towards the tiny ice cream parlor next block over. We were about to cross the street when Mom's eyes caught hold of a window display and became sidetracked. "Oh, I didn't know the new Marvin Kellier book was out," she said. "And they're having a sale on his other works. Sasara, I need to go see this."

Bookstores weren't exactly my favorite past times. My mother loved to read—thus the large collection she kept stashed in the living room bookcase and the spare bedroom. "Well, what do you want for ice cream? I'll go pick it up and meet you back here," I suggested to keep me out of that store.

"Double chocolate fudge with those little chips in it, caramel sauce and whipped cream…and nuts," she said as she hunched over to get a better look at the cover on the books displayed in front of her.

I nodded and told her I'd be back in fifteen minutes—that would give her plenty of time to do what she had to in there and met to get the food. I still had another five minute walk down the street to the parlor, but when I saw the line out the door I wished I had told her to just meet me here.

I guess it was obvious that the place would be swarming with people of all shapes and sizes. I mean, it wasn't that cool out and what better way to cool down than stuff quick-melting ice cream into your mouth to sooth your tongue? I looked at my cell phone's clock and sighed. Twenty minutes had passed since I left Mom to her books, but I had a feeling she was still browsing anyway. The section of the line I stood in finally made it inside the air-conditioned sales room, but I kept my eyes peeled on the outdoors for any sign of her coming and looking for me. On one of my glances out, though, I noticed that everything outdoors became rather dark and dull. It was as if a sudden mass of gray clouds moved in to cover the sun and threaten to open up to drench us in a heavy afternoon shower. I shrugged, though, when moments later the clouds seemed to have disappeared and the sky was free again.

I believe I was three people behind the counter when everything happened. I never did get to sooth my mouth with the delicious taste of mocha and chocolate tossed into a cold dish for me alone to devour. Everyone inside had paused and turned towards the large store window when we heard several sharp screams. What I saw scared me nearly to death. Why the hell were people screaming and running down the street?

What terrified me even more was that they were running from the direction I had come. There was a large boom somewhere in the distance and the floor shook violently. Everyone, including myself, had crouched down on the floor with this sudden act and thought the world was coming to an end. The guy at the end of the line had looked out the door and yelled a scared, "Holy shit," and ran off.

Of course, with such a reaction from one, others had to follow. Soon the store emptied out as a second earthquake rocked the building and caused decorations on the walls to smash on the tiled floor. At this point I decided that ice cream wasn't worth my time and I ran outside to see what was going on.

I was right when my mind thought that maybe the world was coming to an end. I didn't think it'd be true…until I saw exactly what people were running from. Smoke billowed from buildings in the far distance and I realized what caused the earthquakes. A figure hovered far into the air above the city and shot out some sort of laser blast and when it hit, the ground shook from fear. A loud explosion hit my eardrums and I ducked to the ground again, though I don't know why my instincts lead me to do that.

When I looked up I saw that there wasn't just one person up there; there were three, and each displayed the same actions as the first. I started running against the crowd and headed towards the bookstore. I shouted my mother's name in hopes that she was running and would hear me. I looked but didn't recognize anyone as her. I was thankful that as I made it over the small hill I saw the bookstore was still in tact…but the building next to it wasn't. The doorway had been blocked by rubble and I yelled out my mother's title again from fear she was still trapped inside.

I heard a laugh that made me want to cringe. I looked above, as did everyone else around me, each stopping to see where the human-like tone had come from. This person was directly above us and seemed to mock each person as they fled for their lives. I could tell it was a male from the laugh, but it was so wicked I wondered if he were human. I squinted my eyes hard against the brightness of the afternoon sun and couldn't make out what this weirdo looked like.

Another boom rattled my heart and everyone yelled out and ducked. We were all standing their like idiots, waiting and watching this person above us to do something that could send us all to the grave.

"Oh my God, he's going to fire!" a woman from the crowed shouted out. I looked up and saw the direction he was aiming for. I yelled out and started to run, pushing people aside to get to my Mom.

Before I could gain another two feet of distance, though, a shot was fired and the bookstore went up in smoke, the debris spewing up and over our heads from the impact the monster above delivered.

I held my hands on my head and screamed for my mother. Hot tears shot through my eyes and poured down my cheeks. Dust from the brick building ballooned all around, but I made no attempt to shield my lungs while I breathed in my heavy sobs. People started running away again, but I stood there crying and staring at the smoldering building. At that point I wanted to kill whoever it was that murdered my mother.