A/N Phew, I finally got this chapter down! I hope you enjoy reading it, and for those of you who don't know what a kotatsu is, check out the footnote. R&R!

Chapter 10: Between a rock and a hard place

"Oh crap!" Jake hissed. "We gotta run!"

"How?!" Amy hissed back. "The only way out is trough the hall! It's not like we can just walk up to that creep and politely ask him to go back upstairs and pretend he didn't see us!"

The footsteps came closer and closer and a soft chuckling echoed through the house. Acting more on instinct than anything else, both of them ducked for cover. The programmers of DBV wanted to add an educational touch to the game, to please parents and teachers but also because it was fun sometimes. In West City for example, the interior of each house varied to represent different cultures from all over the world. There were Dutch homes, American homes, French homes, African homes and so on. Cells rampage had somehow messed up this particular feature, which kind of explained the hotel next to the house. Amy was somewhat curious, but further investigations would have to wait. She quickly crawled underneath a Japanese kotatsu (1) while Jake hid inside an old English standing clock.

Barely a second later, the door was kicked down and Cell entered the room in all of his bug-like glory. Amy considered pouncing on him like she had done to Jake, but for some reason she could no longer move. She barely suppressed a yelp when his footsteps stopped in front of the kotatsu and the tip of his tail brushed the cover, making it rustle slightly. Amy had vowed revenge for all the people that Cell had attacked, but she felt her warrior spirit leak away. Before, Cell had been a monster that had terrorized thousands (or perhaps even millions!) of fellow gamers. Now, he was a monster that had also comatized her father… the man that Amy trusted with her life. No matter how bad things looked or what kind of trouble she was in, her dad would always swoop in and save her.

(flashback)

"DADDY!!!"

5 year old Amy clutched her doll to her chest as she backed away from the stray dogs. She had only wanted to play, why were they being so mean to her? Whimpering, Amy pressed against a wall, she was trapped! The leader of the pack started to growl viciously and jumped at the terrified girl, but was suddenly knocked away by a large man.

"Amy, what are you doing? I told you not to wander off on your own!"

"I'm sorry daddy," the girl sniffled. "I only wanted to pet the doggies, they looked so lonely!"

"It's okay honey, are you alrigh… ARGH!!!"

"DADDY!" the girl cried when she saw her fathers bleeding arm. The leader had tried to attack Amy again, but the man had jumped in front of his daughter just in time. Growling and a murderous glint in his eyes, he bashed in the animal's skull, sending the other dogs running with their tails between their legs.

"That was scary!" Amy cried, hugging her fathers' leg.

"Don't worry pumpkin," her dad said with a forced smile, clutching his wounded arm, "As long as I'm here, I won't let anything hurt you… ever!"

She sobbed and looked up with brimming eyes. "P-promise?"

Another smile, genuine this time as he playfully ruffled her hair.

"I promise"

(end flashback)

Amy was older now, but deep down, she had always kept believing that her father was invincible. Cell had burst her bubble and it had hit her hard. She was no longer the loudmouthed warrior girl who loved rushing headlong into battles and kicking some Ginyu Force butt, even though she knew Frieza would wipe the floor with her later. Now that it wasn't a harmless game anymore, Amy felt her courage leaving her. To make a long story short: she was scared to death.

She heard Cell rummaging through the kitchen, opening cabinets and turning over tables. Not a single possible hiding place was skipped. Amy realized that it would only be a matter of time before she and Jake would be discovered. To make matters worse, the kotatsu was on and she had no idea how to turn it off without being noticed. It was getting a bit stuffy and she barely managed to suppress a yawn. There was something about the soothing warmth that made her head feel foggy.

Cell chuckled again, and Amy hated that she couldn't see a thing. For all she knew, he could be standing right in front of her! She glanced at the covers: would he notice if she lifted them just a tiny bit to take a quick peek?

'Of course he would, that creep probably already knows where we're hiding and is just playing a sick game with our minds. If I was a real warrior… I would go down fighting, but who am I kidding! I'm not like Goku, Vegeta or even that idiot Yajirobe! I don't have superhuman strength, I don't have any special talents… hell, I can't even fly! As long as Cell controls the game, I'm just like I am in the real world: a normal, average human girl and nothing more…'

Amy clenched her eyes shut and curled up in a fetal position. She would never, EVER complain again about her own life being too boring, while fantasizing about heroically beating one evil villain after another. She would never again watch her old DragonballZ DVD's and wish that she could stay in the game and fight forever instead of having to sit at home and do chores, study and prepare for a long boring life filled with work, work and more work. Those dreaded 'responsibilities' that her father warned her about constantly, didn't seem that bad right now. Amy didn't care even if she later would have to spend 24 hours, seven days a week in a stuffy, cramped office cubicle: anything was better than this!

She flinched when the android knocked over the microwave. She knew it had been the microwave because of the beeping sound it gave, just before hitting the floor. She also knew that the device had been standing on the counter, close to the invisible border between the kitchen and the living room. That bastard, he was actually enjoying this! Taking his sweet time playing dumb before finally 'discovering' them!

Her logical mind screamed at her to run, to refuse continuing to play this twisted game of hide and seek and make a run for it. Her primordial survival instincts screamed back, arguing that Cell was extremely fast and would kill her on the spot before she even made it to the door. Amy agreed with her instincts this time; her goal now was to stay alive for as long as possible, until they were able to safely remove her helmet.

'I have to stay alive,' she thought hazily, wiping the sweat off her forehead, 'I just have to survive long enough… I just have to keep holding on until they save us… just a little longer!'

"You know, my dear," she suddenly heard Cell talking out loud, "It would be much easier for both of us if you would just come out, but if you insist on hiding from me, may I suggest breathing a little less loudly?"

Kicking herself mentally, Amy suddenly realised to her embarrassment that she had been panting like a horse. It was so warm… and the air was so stale… The heater could not be turned off from under the kotatsu and the heavy covers reached all the way to the floor, making it feel like she was trapped in an airtight Tupperware box. Amy fought against the blanket of fog that was wrapping itself around her mind, but it was becoming more and more difficult with every passing minute. She needed fresh air and she needed it now!

"You can stay under that table for as long as you want," Cell continued with a hint of amusement in his voice, "I have all the time in the world"

'That son of a… he's just gonna wait until I suffocate? Smoke me out like a rat?' she thought angrily.

"Speaking of time…" he added mockingly, "what a marvellous example of British craftsmanship we have here! My, I do wonder how it works…"

That was the final straw. Without thinking, Amy jumped to he feet, knocking over the kotatsu in the process. No way she was going to let that creep kill Jake! She felt a wave of cool air wash over her face, the sudden change of temperature making her feel dizzy. The fact that all her blood had rushed to her feet as the result of getting up too quickly, did not help either. Amy took a few bumbling steps towards Cell, staggered backwards again in a almost drunken fashion, flailed her arms in a futile attempt to keep her balance, tripped over the fallen kotatsu and finally passed out.

"AMY!" Jake cried, jumping out of the standing clock, almost tripping over his own two feet. His friend was laying sprawled out on the floor rather ungracefully, with little swirls for eyes and a head like a tomato. He grabbed a coffee mug to throw at the android, only to spill the contents on his hand. Cell sweatdropped at the sight of the unconscious girl and the boy who was now trying to stick his burned hand in a flower vase.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked, the sweat drop on the side of his head growing larger. It was one of the added effects to give the game a more anime-like feel.

Jake turned beet red from embarrassment, but got in front of Amy, holding the now empty mug in front of him as, as if it were some sort of Jedi weapon.

"S-stay back!" Jake stuttered, "I have a c-coffee mug a-and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Cell blinked, the laughed.

"Of all the humans I absorbed, you two have certainly been the most amusing ones"

"You make it sound like it's already over," Jake said with a shaking voice.

"That's because it is," Cell chuckled darkly and took a step forward, poising his tail. Jake startled and took a step back.

"R-really, you don't want our cells!" he squeaked. "I'm terrible at math, always loose at dodge ball, am allergic to almost anything with a shadow, and in the morning, Amy has really, REALLY bad breath!"

"I heard that!"

Staggering, his friend got up. She almost fell again, but Jake caught her and helped her stand.

"Next time we're hiding, I call dibs on the fridge," she muttered groggily, while trying to focus and get rid of the blurred view. The image of Cell standing in front of them, ready to move in for the kill, finally registered in her mind and she could only think one thing:

'Uh, oh…'

(1) The "kotatsu" is a small table with a heavy quilted cover that extends to the floor. A heavy dining surface holds the cover in place, and underneath the table sits an electric heater (most of the time infrared, so you can't burn yourself). The Japanese sit at the table to keep their legs and feet warm during the winter, at least… that's what I got from the Love Hina manga, hehehe.