Da Note: I thank all of you for your loverly reviews! And some new faces as well! Welcome…I'll reply to your comments in a moment. This chapter, as you'll see, is switching back to my normal style of writing these stories—Layrial's p.o.v. The reason I wrote the first chapter the way I did was because I wanted the background informationout since technically Layrial couldn't have been there to tell what was going on. So yeah, that's it.
Aquasage: That's interesting information! I actually never watched Dragonball (found it boring, honestly) and I never knew there was another scientist credited with the androids before Gero. I'm giving Amon the credit only for Cell (to a point), but it works either way, right? And yes, Zorro—lol. I watched it and I'm like, wow, now that's an awesome bad guy XD I figured I'd go for a new type of villain instead of the maniac scientist/wizard you usually see on DBZ. Welcome back!
hiiragi demon: Thank you very much for your kind words. I'm glad you liked my other two stories and have gotten into this one. Cell is one of my two favorite characters in DBZ and I pride myself in trying to keep him in character—it's not Cell if he's not. I look forward to hearing from you further—feel free to message me if you have any questions on anything from any of my stories or whatnot.
Akaida-Felinjin: Thank you for your review. I just wanted to point out, though, that Cell is not OOC, though I can see how you may think so because of him being under control by a mere human, as you put it. It is possible and I shall explain it later in the story; remember, Amon isn't a mere human—he is a scientist and knows his stuff. I shall say nothing more; I don't give away anything XD Welcome to the little Cell/Layrial community :)
Reindeer sausage: Ah, my faithful reviewer, how are you? I'm glad you've discovered the story—I'm so excited to be writing it. Seriously, at the end of the previous two I'm like, oh no—I can't end it 'cause I'll have nothing to write! I so adore getting flash ideas and pulling another story out of nowhere. It's wonderful.
Chapter 2: Once Upon a Time
It was a normal day like any other. I woke to find I was the only one occupying the queen bed in my bedroom and the windows were cracked just enough to let in a fresh morning breeze. I let out a long yawn and stretched my back as I sat up, swinging my legs around to hang over the side, my toes just barely touching the hardwood floor. I heard the shower running and knew I'd have to wait to get in there to take my own.
It seems strange to think on how quickly my life had changed in three years. What's really amusing is how much I enjoy it and I'd do it all over again if I could. Everything has been peaceful and I want it to stay that way. I no longer work, since its not much of a priority anymore as other things have come up—better things.
I heard the shower go off and I looked to the door. With a small smile I made my way to the closet and pulled out clean clothes to wear for the day—jeans and a t-shirt. Glancing at the time, I figured I better put coffee on and get things started in the kitchen. I headed down the hall and into the kitchen, loaded up the coffee maker with fresh grounded coffee beans and filled it with water. Flipping the switch on, I pulled out a box of cereal, a bowl and a spoon. The milk would stay in the fridge a while longer.
When I returned to the bedroom a smile came across my face as I watched Toshi tying a tie around his neck. He looked very serious as he looped it in and out in a way I still don't understand—my father had once tried teaching me for the hell of it, but it never sank into my thick skull.
"Hey there," Toshi said when he realized I was spying.
"Morning sweetheart," I replied and went into the room to open up the window a bit more. "Sleep well?"
"Sure did," he replied and straightened the tie so it hung nicely against the royal blue shirt he was wearing. "How do I look?" He asked as he ran his fingers through his dark hair while studying himself in the dresser mirror.
"Perfect," I replied and went over to give him a good morning kiss. "I got your coffee started."
"Thanks," he said and kissed my forehead. "I'm running late."
"As usual," I snickered.
While he went into the kitchen to start his breakfast I went down the hall in the opposite direction and opened the shades in the room I went into. "Rise and shine sleeping beauty," I said with a smile. I turned to the crib and looked down at the small infant who lay in there, big blue eyes staring up at me, wondering what was going on.
I picked up my nine month old daughter and held her to my chest, supporting her head so it wouldn't fall back. She automatically put her thumb in her mouth and sucked on it gently; I kissed the top of her head where dark hair—like her father's—was starting to grow in more fully now. I bounced a little as I stood there and was happy to see that she was in a good this morning—there were days where she started off the morning crying and begging for all the attention she could get. She definitely was my little girl in that respect.
I brought Sasara down the hall and Toshi glanced up with a twinkle in his dark brown eyes. He smiled as he sipped his coffee and waved to our daughter. "Hey there pumpkin," he greeted. "How's my little girl this morning?" I handed Sasara over to him so I could get her bottle ready.
This was my new morning routine—and I loved it. Soon after I started dating Toshi three years ago I discovered how much I really liked him. It was only five months and he asked me to marry him—and I agreed only after a hesitation where I was completely stunned that things could turn around for me so quickly. Our wedding was nice and simple, held on the water front of a hotel. I worked until I was six months pregnant with Sasara and then I decided that I wanted to be the house wife instead of the working mom that never saw her child…or children as I was once told that Toshi wanted a bunch of kids. We still haven't agreed on that one.
Nothing could have made me happier with the sight I was seeing right now. Toshi held Sasara in his arm, the other hand holding up the morning newspaper as he read her a comic strip. She was quiet and looked at the paper as if she knew exactly what he was telling her.
"Toshi, you're going to be really late," I said after catching sight of the clock on the wall next to the door.
"Oh you're right," he said and kissed our daughter before handing her back over to me. "I'll see you later darling."
"Have a good day," I told him and he was off.
The rest of the morning was usually spent feeding Sasara and putting her in a playpen where she napped most of the day. When I was sure she was asleep I took a quick shower, checked on her, then proceeded to get dressed and fix my hair. Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom I combed out the snarls in my dark blue hair and then blow dried it only enough to take away the dripping wetness. I didn't bother framing my gray eyes with make up any more; for some reason it was no longer important to me if I wasn't going out to a party or wherever.
When I returned to the living room I found Sasara had woken up and was in need of a diaper change. I made baby noises and rubbed my nose against hers as I brought her to the nursery to clean her up. "My gosh, Sasara, what did Daddy feed you this morning?" I joked as I discarded the nasty-smelling diaper she had been wearing.
Within five minutes she was back in her playpen and I turned on the TV so I could listen to my favorite soap opera as I picked up the room. The night before Toshi had his parents and his cousin with his wife over; it wasn't a big mess, but magazines and empty glasses were still littering the coffee table. I also wanted to vacuum the floor in case any popcorn or peanut crumbs missed someone's mouth.
It's strange how my tastes had changed in the past few years. Before I couldn't stand the thought of soap operas—now they were an every morning ritual. I had always laughed at my mother who was, and still is, big on daytime television—I thought that the only worthy things on the air were the news reports, since that had once been a profession of mine…until those events eleven years ago, but I'm not going to even think about them.
I finished clearing the coffee table and was in the process of dragging out the vacuum from the hall closet when I heard a familiar voice filling the living room. My old colleague Marco Mendon was the image on the screen, which surprised me because it wasn't the late morning news hour. I stood the vacuum up and tried to listen over Sasara's playful giggles.
"…the Mayor asked that no one venture out of town to check on any relatives or friends. The height of the danger is not exactly certain, but if any of you remember what happened the last time any terror was unleashed you know that it's not a good idea to be barging into what is now military business," Marco said.
The image next to his head was what made me step closer to the TV. Kingsville, a city nearly ten miles from here, was under attack by some sort of unknown force. Marco continued talking. "Sandy, what can you tell us about the devastation Kingsville saw this morning?"
A woman named Sandy Brinks came onto the screen, a face I was never acquainted with, and turned to a smoldering office building behind her. "Marco, this morning eyewitnesses claim that a horror that many hadn't seen in over a decade returned with what they said was a revengeful wrath. Police chief Simon Simmons said that this monster, who was known as Cell back in the day, had appeared early this morning and started a wave of destruction on the entire city. Officials say nearly one-hundred people were killed and even more than that were severely injured from burning and falling buildings."
I dropped the handle of the vacuum and it crashed to the floor. I stared at what they now showed—a home made video where one could barely make out a green figure blasting the city bank to bits. My hands stated shaking and I let my legs slink my body down to the floor where I sat there staring, my heart pounding in my chest.
Not again, I thought. This can't be…he's dead…he can't come back. I had forgotten about him completely until this moment. I had put that horrible memory of that android aside and vowed never to open that book ever again. He had nearly killed me, had put me through hell and back, and now he returned for a reason I didn't, nor wanted to know. All I knew was I didn't want to see that face again…