Author's Message: I just wanted to let everyone know that this chapter was meant to happen for the story to progress, however the finer details came to me after a comment "Draguna" made for a review during a previous chapter. So a special thanks to Draguna! Also, I apologize if my posting is becoming slower, but my brain is focusing on other things lately. I won't let you guys down though—you'll get an ending eventually ;) Oh, and to aquasage: I think what I meant by a gentleman is that he went out and helped her with the Senzu bean and was kind enough to do so? LOL—sometimes I don't know why I name the chapters; I'm actually surprised I'm doing that in this fic because normally I don't. Bear with me XD

Chapter 7: Shallow Heart

I don't know how long I sat in my little corner before my mind split itself out of an awful daydream. When I had glanced down at my watch to see how much longer I had until darkness fell upon this side of the Earth again I discovered that the face had been cracked and it was no longer useful. I assumed that had happened when Cell whacked me. Speaking of the bastard, I glanced over my shoulder to see where he had gone. He was staring out at something in the distance, but otherwise stood perfectly still. I had sat myself in a position that would allow my legs to hang over the edge of the ring and keep my back at him so I couldn't stare at his odd figure.

My stomach growled. I knew it had to be well into the afternoon, but I had been so out of it for what seemed like days I couldn't even tell if it was really late in the day or if what I had eaten earlier had already been used up. Needless to say I was picking my brain apart as to what I could possibly eat. I still had water left, yes, but one roll and one rice cake wasn't going to cut it. I wanted better food so badly it made me want to scream and take my chances on attempting to attack Cell.

"You've been very quiet," I heard out of nowhere. I turned around to see his head cocked in my direction.

"So?" I asked dully.

"Ah, so you are still with me," he said with a small smile creeping along his whitish lips. "I thought maybe you had lost it completely."

"Shut up," I said and turned away again.

For once I thought he had listened to me. There was a long pause where I heard nothing but a gust of wind picking up dust. I hated it when I got my hopes up like that...

"Are you mad at me?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you mad at me?" He repeated.

I gawked at him as if he was an alien with those big eyes or something; I had trouble believing he was real. "Mad? No, I'm not mad—I'm royally pissed off. I'm starving, tired and bored out of my skull."

"Pity," he replied quickly.

"Stop asking me what my problem is if that's all you're going to say. Thanks for that bean, but why did you even bother? I'm still in pain."

"Impossible—that bean has the capability of restoring health in a person within an inch of death," he told me. "You're perfectly fine."

"Fine physically with the exception of hunger, Cell, but I'm not one to sit around and do nothing for days on end! I don't know how you do it."

"I focus my mind and meditate."

"Good for you," I said…and then added, "do you want a damn prize for that?"

I really wished I didn't have such a bad mouth—it had always found a way to get the rest of me in trouble. His face quickly became stern and I wanted to cower away and pretend he wasn't in fact real. I didn't though…I think I honestly didn't care anymore. Just think—I wouldn't be hungry if I died.

Cell walked over to me, his arms crossed tightly over his broad chest and his eyes looking at me with all the coldness of the artic. I continued to stare at him defiantly. He stopped several feet from where I sat and looked down his nose at my pitiful form.

"What?" I asked as if this were a normal occurrence.

"What do I need to do to get you to stop complaining?"

"Huh?" I tried very hard to find the rewind button in my head because I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Did he really want to know how to help me?

"I'm tired of you telling me how cruel I'm being to you, when all I've done is let you sit here in your own misery."

"That's not cruel?" I asked sarcastically, my left eyebrow rising slightly.

"It could be so much worse, my dear Layrial," he replied with such an evil grin I wanted to shiver. And the way my name rolled off his tongue made me want to jump back and run…or something. "I give up. What is it that you want?"

"Let me go," I said without thinking it over once.

Cell shook his large head. "No—that's not possible."

"Sure it is," I said as I got to my feet. I stood on the dirt ground and faced him where he still stood on the platform…damn he was tall. "All you have to do is bring me to a city and I'll be on my way. It's that simple. I won't even go to the police, how's that?"

Out of nowhere he laughed. His eyes shut, his head leaned back and his mouth let out such an amused sound that I felt my face automatically twist into a frown. "What's so funny!" I asked.

He calmed down several moments later and I half-waited for him to wipe a hidden tear from his eye. "Do you really believe a mere police force can stop me? My dear, I can destroy this planet with a snap of my fingers—a mere army has no power over me."

I knew he wasn't lying…for the most part I guess. He had already demonstrated what he could do and I wasn't ready to see it again. There was no point in arguing with him on that matter. "Well," I started, but I wasn't sure how to go on.

"Go ahead," he said slyly. "All you have to do is ask; just don't bother thinking you'll have a chance to escape me. I've actually grown fond of your company—it delights me in knowing I have the power to stand and do nothing and still keep you under wraps all at the same time."

"Jerk," I mumbled but if he heard it he didn't let on. "I need to get out of here."

"I already told you no."

"No, I mean that's what you can do—get me away from here for a bit. Look, I feel like I've been playing in dirt for days, I'm absolutely starving, and a change of clothes would make things a lot more comfortable."

Cell stood silently staring at me for a long time; too long, actually. I knew he was thinking it over, but in a way he'd be giving into something he didn't want to—he'd let me have my way and allow me to leave this place even if only for a few hours. Finally, though, his arms unlocked and fell slowly to his sides with ease.

"Very well," he said and I knew my eyes had become wider. "What is it you need the most?"

"A shower and food," I said automatically, but I was still trying to grasp the fact that he had actually said yes. All I could think of was a nice hot shower and a lot of food.

The moment he moved though, I felt myself backing away. He came closer and I stepped back again. "What are you doing?"

"How do you expect to get there? I dare say you're not capable of flying yourself."

"Yeah…but…"

"Bite your tongue and let me do the work, human."

I hesitated, but finally allowed him to get closer than he had ever been to me…and much closer than I was comfortable with. Quickly, his arm wrapped around my waist and easily picked me up as if I were a stuffed animal. And without having a chance to get used to that fact itself, I soon found myself clinging to him for dear life.

"Put me down!" I yelled out.

Cell's head jerked away from me—I must've screamed in his odd looking ear. "I hold your fate in my arm as we speak. You don't want me to let go, now do you?"

I looked down and saw that the road and anything around it was so small it all looked like toys. I don't know exactly how high up we were as he flew towards civilization, but it was enough to make me want to wet my pants…figuratively speaking of course. Maybe…

"I'm deathly afraid of heights you idiot!" I said as my arms wrapped around his neck so tightly I wondered if there was a chance he was being choked. Then again, that wouldn't be a good idea since, like he said, he held my fate in one arm.

"If you don't look down there won't be a problem," he said.

"What am I supposed to look at? You?"

I tried to pretend I hadn't noticed that small flicker of a smile. He said nothing to my question, but I knew what was running through his mind—android or not, he was still male and if he had absorbed so many people like he claimed, then there were enough male genes floating around in his head to boost his ego clear across the universe.

I decided the best thing to do was in fact to look at him…especially since he was holding me in such a way that the first thing I'd see when I put my head straight was his neck. And as awful as this may sound, I looked it over for the mere reason that there was nothing else to do while he flew me home. As I already knew, his strength could clearly be seen from his physical stature alone—his neck and shoulders showed lines where every muscle twisted into the other. But what surprised me, actually, is that I didn't notice one vein popping out like you'd see on wrestlers or weight lifters. He was buff, but it was like that's the way he was born. Then again, I guess that is the way he was born, as strange as it was to think about.

It didn't take long for him to reach the city, although I hadn't timed him exactly. I will say that the amount of air I felt on my head indicated that he was going fairly fast. Although when I happily looked around I saw that there was nothing I recognized. In fact, there was nothing at all.

Cell stepped down with that familiar squeak, but paused a second before letting his arm release me. I turned from him and stared at the deserted street. There were no cars, no buses, no pedestrians…no nothing. Glancing down a nearby alley I saw that a few stray cats lingered around a garbage bin, but that was it. That was the only sign of life I saw in the entire area.

But what frightened me most was what I noticed once I took a better look at the street and sidewalks. Scattered everywhere were clothes—shirts, pants, shoes, hats, ties, you name it and it was there. At that moment, I wanted to throw up.

"Cell…what the hell is this? 'Cause it sure isn't Eastern City!" I said, hoping it was a joke just to try to scare me—he did seem fond of doing that.

Cell smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "You never said anything about Eastern City; you merely requested food and a shower. What better place than this where you can go anywhere you want and not have to worry about others getting in your way?"

His voice was so confident, so smooth, and so…scary. I still had that urge to throw up knowing that this was a town where every resident had been murdered…by Cell himself. "Just…where are we?"

"Nikki Town."

I gulped. I already knew, but somehow I still wanted to ask just in case it was a figment of my imagination. To know that where I was standing was where the largest murder committed by one person in history had taken place; where innocent people going about their daily lives were literally sucked out of existence and melted down, so to speak, into the creature that stood behind me.

"You need to take me somewhere else," I said turning away from the street. I couldn't bear to look at it any longer.

"If I take you anywhere it'll be back to my arena," he said. "Do what you must before I get tired of standing here waiting."

"There's no way I'm going into any building where someone died!" I shouted at him. "What do you think this is? You murdered all these people, Cell! How can you even think about letting me pick up something that…that…"

"You're losing your train of thought," he pointed out and my mouth shut immediately. "You should just go do your thing before you say something you'll regret."

"I regret you sparing my life."

Cell said nothing; actually, one glance at his face before I turned and slowly walked away showed me that I had hit a nerve. Which nerve that was, I don't know, but I know his expression wasn't all so haughty like it had been. I didn't care if I hurt his feelings—why should I? Look what I had to do! I had no money, but that didn't even matter because there was no one here to pay. So that meant anything I found and used would make me a thief…a common criminal that couldn't be caught.

I figured the first thing to do was satisfy my hunger. Luckily I didn't have to go very far since Cell had picked out a street that was covered with restaurants. He had probably done that on purpose as I thought of it.

I found myself walking absentmindedly into a little café that stood on the corner of a street. Outside were several tables and chairs complete with umbrellas and window boxes. The flowers in each box were wilting because there was no longer someone to water them. The door to the café was open and any breeze sweeping by made the bell on the top of the door ring softly giving the atmosphere an eerie feeling. I felt like I was in a ghost down from an old movie and I really wished that weren't true. Again I saw clothes laying everywhere—uniforms on the floor that must have belonged to the waitresses; sundresses and suits slumped on the edge of booths and chairs where customers had sat; half-eaten meals remained where they had been left, little flies hovering around to pick up what they could.

The thought of eating this food was enough to make me start to tear up. Out of all the people that had had to confront this monster, I was the only one to survive. And what the funny part was…I walked right up to him as if handing him my death warrant…and I can still live to tell about it.

I went into the kitchen to see what I could gather up. There were only two sets of clothing on the floor and thankfully neither was next to the refrigerator. I figured that if I didn't look at them I could get food and get out as quickly as possible with less regret. And I did just that. I grabbed bread from the counter, a mayonnaise jar and some deli meat. I didn't care what it was, I just grabbed it. There was a plastic bag on the counter and I helped myself to it, loading whatever food I could find and then hauling it out as if this was my job.

Cell remained on the street where I left him. I swear, he could look like a heavily detailed, painted statue and no one would know the difference until he actually decided to blink. I guess it didn't matter though. I wasn't ready to go anyway…no matter what I needed a shower. As long as there weren't clothes lying around the bathroom I picked, I'd be fine.

I figured the best place to go now was a hotel of some sort. I had never been to Nikki Town though, so I had no idea where to go. The only thing I could do was walk and see what I found. During my quest, however, I took a quick detour into a small clothing store and…borrowed…black pants, a pink t-shirt, and a white cardigan. It took me a little longer to dig out shoes that would fit me from the back room, but it wasn't that bad. I just had to remember never to apply to a retail store if I lived long enough to get a new job.

Then it was off to finish searching for a place to take a shower. Thankfully, though, I actually didn't have to go far. Whether Cell knew this or not, I don't know, but it turned out to be very convenient. I found a small motel with only a few cars parked outside—which to meant unoccupied rooms.

I hurried forward and made my way into the main office and pulled off several keys from the board behind the desk. Now all I had to do was find a room that didn't have people suddenly sucked out of their vacationing outfits. Of course, I never thought of the fact that all the doors were knocked off their hinges when Cell barged in so keys weren't really necessary. After finding what I was looking for, though, I hurried in to make everything quick before the android started to get anxious and wondered where I had disappeared.