Hallo: Yes, the author is bored and decided she had nothing better to do with her Friday night than write another chapter. I will say, though, that I had gone back and changed some stuff, but returned it to the original writing because I think it'd be a little bit of an exaggeration (not to mention foolhardiness) with the events that would happen later on. I may or may incorporate that idea later, but for now…we'll keep it this way. I'll tell you what I was going to plan at the end of the chapter as to not ruin it before hand. I don't expect to be getting a fifth chapter up tonight, possibly not until next week.

Oh, and for those of you who really liked Shadowed Spirit, I'm tempted to re-write it only from a different perspective. I'm sure you can figure out which that would be; but I'd like to know if you guys would enjoy it or not. It'd be more of a fun thing, truthfully. Though I wouldn't start it until after this story is done (I think). Anyway, yeah, let me know :)

Chapter 4: Death Wish

I ended up turning the television set off soon after the weather forecast had ended, though I made no attempt to get up off the couch. I wanted to do something, to see if I could help because I knew Cell, but there was one thing keeping me from doing so. How the hell was I supposed to find him?

Sure I could go out into the desert and throw up fireworks to announce where I was, but since I wasn't about to go back out there willingly and I didn't own fireworks, the idea was nothing but my mind running wild.

So I waited until dawn. Before the sun had fully reached the peak of the mountain in the distance, I dressed myself in the same jeans, but a different t-shirt I had the day before. I grabbed a zip-up sweatshirt, sneakers and car keys and headed out. I had left a note on the kitchen table telling Toshi not to go to work, but to stay home and take care of Sasara and this was something I had to do. I didn't bother telling him why I was gone…I was sure he could figure it out.

As I was driving down the street I glanced up at my house getting smaller in the rear-view mirror. For a brief moment I wondered if I was out of my mind…but someone had to get through to Cell. The military was no match for him—I witnessed that first hand—and no one was going to pledge allegiance to that whacko professor. So unless Goku's friends showed up, Cell would end up destroying the planet, just like he had wanted to in the first place. Why he was working with this other guy, though, was what still didn't make sense. Cell was much too independent and egoistic to want to work with an outside force. He must be benefiting in some way.

I drove down a main drag, having really no idea where I was going. I don't know what got into me, but I needed to be doing this…I needed…

…to see him.

So it finally came out. I frowned and let out a heavy sigh after allowing myself to think what I've been struggling to keep a secret for a very long time. Even after being able to say goodbye to him, knowing I had a chance to see his face one more time, to hear that voice, was something I couldn't escape, even though I had really, desperately tried. Toshi was going to kill me.

When I saw a sign that said I still had another eight miles to go until I hit the border of a city southwest of South Bay I wondered if I was heading in the right direction. Coincidently, and rather freakishly, I got my answer. In the distance, when I was just starting to be able to make out the skyline of the city, I saw a monstrous mushroom cloud billowing into the morning sky. There was no other explanation…Cell had hit for a third time.

I drove a little further, but stopped my car when I saw that traffic was actually coming down both lanes! I swerved of the road and the car bumped along the dry landscape of the outer desert. Cars were going past me at such high speeds I feared they'd join me on the side of the road; I drove further onto the unpaved land and then stopped to watch more and more cars zoom past without a care that they were on the wrong side.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of something in the air. I inclined my head to look and saw that it wasn't anything man-made…in the transportation sense, that is. I was certain it was Cell and he was heading this way. Now please understand I have no idea what's up with my head since I discovered this whole catastrophe twenty-four hours ago, but something was screaming at me to get out of the car and run.

I did just that. I got out and ran for my life. There was a small hill that I aimed for, my legs burning with the intense exercise that I hadn't undergone since before I got pregnant Sasara (I was a very fortunate woman not to have gained an extreme amount of weight that went along with most pregnancies). Before I could get to the top, though, I was pushed down by a mighty force from behind. I landed face first into the dirt, my hands scraping on small pieces of rock, my knees smacking the ground and lurching back up from the blow.

While holding my hands protectively over my head I waited for the blast to end; I knew exactly what it was. I didn't dare a chance to see what was going on, though. I feared if I did I'd go blind or die…if I wasn't already dead. Though when it was over and I couldn't hear the wind howling around me, I unwrapped my arms and glanced over my shoulder.

Needless to say there was no longer any traffic on either side of the highway. In fact, there wasn't even a highway to look at…just a black burn mark on the rocky terrain. When I saw exactly how far this burn mark stretched I nearly had a heart attack. I couldn't even tell where it ended or started.

I rolled onto my back and scooted backwards, despite the stinging pain I felt in the palms of my hands from scrapping the ground the way they did when I fell. When my back hit something and I couldn't scoot any further, I felt like I had lost all the blood in my body. I immediately felt cold and my eyes couldn't find the energy to blink.

Looking up I expected to see magenta eyes staring down at me; I expected to see a smirk on a white and purple face that knew me all too well. What I saw was actually quite different. Sharp green eyes stared at me like I was nothing more than a domestic animal being caught red-pawed doing something bad. There was a smirk on his face, but it wasn't welcoming at all. In fact, it was almost scary.

"Well, well," he said. "What have we here? A survivor, perhaps?"

I jolted away and got to my feet, my hands pressing against my hips to hopefully calm the sting I was feeling in them. "Who are you?" I asked.

"You haven't heard of me by now?" he asked, then chuckled with his eyes closed. He looked back at me and smiled, his eyes narrowing and his hands moving behind his back. I watched them and tried to see if they were handling something that would kill me.

The man, no older than me, continued to stare as if I was supposed to know something. Finally, though, he answered my question. "My name is Dr. Amon Kizufumi," he replied. "And what is yours, may I ask?"

Did I dare tell him? Would it make any difference? "Layrial," I said knowing I knew my voice held no fear. I was more surprised at him being there than anything else. He was only a person, like me, and the worst he could do was pull out a gun.

I have no idea what I was thinking…I knew I had lost my mind, but for me to think that a gunshot wound wouldn't be painful was ludicrous. "You're the one responsible for Cell, aren't you?" I assumed.

"Very good," he said with a bright nod. "At last someone who realizes I was the genius behind the android, not that old man Gero."

I gawked at him in bewilderment. "You were who? I meant that you were the one to bring him back since no one else is crazy enough to do so."

Kizufumi no longer looked happy or amused. Actually, he looked like a wax figure staring at me without even taking the luxury of breathing. His near-perfect features scared me in ways I couldn't explain…he was almost less human than Cell was (in a weird, twisted way…don't ask).

The man took in hissing breath and looked to the sky. "You know, I was almost tempted to let you live a bit longer since you seemed to be clever enough to know the truth, but…" He snapped his fingers and shot me a glare, "…I think you deserve to die."

I wanted to thank him for being so blunt, but I didn't have the chance to dwell on it further. Above where we both stood loomed an intense shadow. I looked up and this time saw the figure I expected.

Only somehow, Cell didn't look happy to see me.

AN: As I mentioned earlier, I had changed events a bit several times. I was really thinking, and actually had written Sasara into the chapter where Layrial takes her during her search for Cell, though I figured that a nine month old baby had little chance of making it out normally without any sort of harm. Besides, I thought I'd cut Layrial a little slack here ;) She's not an unfit mother and having her take her daughter, ultimately putting her in danger would make it seem that way.

Why I felt the need to explain all of this to you when you would've been none the wiser is beyond me. I think it's my boredom. Anywho, until next time.