This is it people. This is what the whole story has been leading up to (otherwise known as the climax ^_^). Now, I'm not sure if what happens in this chapter comes before or after the military scene, but hey, I don't think it really matters. Sorry, I'm not making sense right now. It's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to get this out as soon as I could, and I think lost a lot of quality in the process. I might come back and re-edit this chapter. You'll understand once you red. Hope it was worth the wait!
Part XIV: Love Machine
If you ever get close to a human
And human behaviour
Be ready to get confused
There's definitely no logic
To human behaviour
But yet so irristible
There's no map
And a compass
Wouldn't help at all
Human behaviour
Bjork ~ Human Behavior
"Love?"
It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. She saw it coming, but had done absolutely nothing to stop it.
"Is that what you said?"
Oh god. This couldn't be happening. Not here. Not now.
Not with him.
Maybe if she just stood absolutely still and said nothing he would leave it alone. . .
"What's love got to do with anything?"
No such luck. His curiousity was already to the point where he would not give up without a fight. And if the current state of affairs continued down the path they were following, it was a fight she was bound to lose. There was nothing she could count on to be her scape goat either. Not even sarcasm would save her now.
But maybe blatant dishonesty would.
Sticking her hands in her back pockets, Adina tilted her head skyward and feigned innocence.
"Absolutely nothing."
She tried her best to keep the false mask she put on from faultering as he paused for longer then necessary.
"It's obviously something, otherwise you wouldn't have said it."
She clenched her jaw, and had to keep her next words from hissing between her teeth.
"I don't know what you mean."
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
Adina sighed dejectedly. Ok, so maybe this method wouldn't work after all. What other option was she left with then?
To plead her case, and hope at the end he'd understand and leave her alone.
"Cell, even if I did try and explain to you what I meant, you wouldn't understand. I barely comprehend it myself."
"Why?"
Why?
Why?!
WHY?!
Frustrated without reason, Adina whirled on him and blurted out the first thing that reached her tongue.
"Because you don't know what love is!"
And suddenly she understood everything. It all became so clear. . .
. . .how had she not been able to see it before?
Her frustration quickly faded into the oddest sensation of pure awe-struck as she slowly trailed her gaze up his body to meet his eyes. Cell nearly jumped back in shock at their intesity.
He suddenly looked and felt extremely uncomfortable.
"What is it?," he asked softly. Her mouth trembled as she struggled to find the words she so desperately needed to say.
"That's it," was all she could muster.
Cell had to restrain himself from grabbing her by the shoulders and shake as hard as he could. Now was not the time to be elusive!
"What? What's it?," he asked as calmly as he could. Her gaze was really starting to get to him, and he wasn't about to wonder why. All he could do, was prepare himself for the upcoming events that would inevitably catch him unprepared.
He was jerked into focus by a coy reply, and a gentle tone that he would never forget.
"How can I be afraid of a machine. . .that. . .doesn't. . .know how to love?"
For the first time in his entire life, the prestigous android forgot how to breathe.
-"How can I be afraid of a machine. . .that. . .doesn't. . .know how to love?"-
What was happening? Where in their proverbial journey had he gone lost? Surely he'd missed something, because this just didn't seem right to him. . .
"W-what are you talking about?," he asked cautiously, because her calm exterior was slowly melting into an unstable hold on reality. He didn't want to say anything that would send her over the edge, if she was indeed beginning to lose her mind.
"It's so simple, so simple. . .now that I really think about it. . .all along, it was right there, and. . .," she babbled nonsensically, pacing one step to her left, then another to her right, and back again. It took a few more seconds of self control before Cell decided that he'd had enough. He fiercely grabbed her by the shoulders, nearly jolting her into the ground.
"ADINA! Calm down! You're not making any sense!"
It didn't seem possible, but her eyes grew twice their original size as she stared up into his face, the emotion written across their surface turning to something a little more tangible. The corners of her lips curled timidly, and when she spoke, her tone seemed to condescend his state of mind.
"No Cell, don't you see? For the first time since we've met, I'm making perfect sense!"
Then she stopped dead, and her expression faultered into blankness. Randomly, Cell wished that he had inherited the Saiyan's ability to read minds. Oh, how easy things would be then!
And then she was speaking again, leaving him to hurry after her words and ponder over their meaning.
"But you don't see. How can you, if you don't know what love is?"
Unconciously, his grip on her shoulders tightened. This pressumption made him feel inexplicablly angry. He couldn't stop the rising resentment from leaving his mouth.
"How do you know I don't know what love is? Who do you think you are, telling me what I can and can't feel?"
For whatever reason, this spur of anger took her by surprise, and all she did was stare up at him, completely stupified. This turned out to be misleading, though, because what she said next was as firm as the gaze they were locked in.
"Cell, what am I to you? Do you see me as a lover?"
His hands fell away from her almost instinctively.
"A lover?," he echoed, running the word over and over again inside his head. He knew what it meant. . .generally speaking anyway. Lovers were two people who cared for eachother beyond a platonic relationship. And. . .well. . .when put in that context, it certainly applied to him and his female companion.
Didn't it?
". . .Yes, I suppose I do."
She seemed to anticipate his response, because she was shaking her head before he even finished his sentence.
"No you don't."
He felt that unexplained anger rise again. Damn, that was getting annoying.
"Well then, since you seem to know so much about my emotional capabilities, would you be so kind as to tell me why?"
"Because, Cell, in order for two people to become lovers, they have to learn how to be friends first."
The puzzled look on his face was priceless. She would have giggled, had it not been for the current circumstances.
"Friends?"
"Yes, friends."
". . .I've never had any friends."
"Obviously."
That curiously puzzled scowl deepened into an expression she had trouble deciphering. He seemed to be disgesting her words one by one, trying to unveil their true nature, and not having a very easy time of it.
Adina couldn't help but think the way he tried so hard to understand her was somewhat. . .endearing. At first, he had simply wanted to get inside her head to find what he desired, and that was that. He would've been content to leave her for dead out in the desert if he thought it logical!
But now, it was clear that he wanted more then just the knowledge of her fearless trait.
He wanted her.
Just her.
And Adina was still deciding whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. If he didn't make her go through anymore unecessary soul searching, she might consider it to be a good thing. But if he persisted in matters he had no business poking his nose in, then she would not hesitate to call it a bad thing.
"Do you consider me a friend, Adina?"
And it looked like she was going to go with the latter after all.
Oh you stubborn, stubborn android.
How could she possibly answer a question like that? She couldn't very tell him,'Well Cell, you know what they say, a true friend will stab you in the front! Hahahahaha, get it?! Hahaha, hehe, hm.'
No. He wouldn't understand even if she did try and explain it to him, just like he wouldn't understand love, so why bother? Instead, she chose to search for an outlet away from the touchy subject.
"Oh, so now it's back to calling me by my name again? Geez, Cell, why don't you make up your mind?"
"Why don't you stop beating around the bush and answer the question?"
She found herself unconciously glaring at him. He would choose now to be a jerk, wouldn't he?
"Cell, there's only so much emotional baggage I can take at a time, and I've reached my limit for the day, so you can back off now ok?"
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because, you know as well as I do that our time together runs short. We're less then 48 hours away from The Cell Games, and we haven't gotten anywhere."
"But we HAVE gotten somewhere, remember?"
"Sorry, but I don't buy it. There has to be a better reason."
"Why? Why is it so hard to believe?"
"Because the source of your valor has to come from a more solid tangent. The question of my inability to love or not is weak based and invalid."
"You couldn't be more wrong android."
He looked at her expectantly, and she was about to elborate when a slight movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Unconciously, her eyes averted to the temporary distraction, and having noticed this immediately, Cell turned his head to see what she was looking at.
Two men with a large video camera were slowly approaching them, shakey footstep by shakey footstep. They were both trembling so badly, he could practically hear their bones rattling in their flesh. Adina just stared.
Why hadn't he been able to detect their presence earlier? He must've been more distracted then he had originally thought.
The duo watched attentively as the men reached what they considered to be a safe distance, cowering behind a rock only ten feet away. They conversed together for a minute or so, casting uneasy glances evey now and then over their shoulders. When they finally made a move, it surprised both the android, and the human at his side.
One of the men poked his head out from their hiding spot, and made a sloppy gesture with his hands. He was beckoning for one of them to come over.
Well, since it was more then obvious that neither of them had a death wish, Adina assumed they were calling for her. She pointed a finger to her chest, and at their enthusiastics nods, turned to Cell, who looked more then a little irate at the entire situation.
"Uh. . .I guess, they want me to go over there," she said cautiously, praying inside her head that he wouldn't fly off the handle just yet. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stepped closer to him.
"Don't worry, I'll find out what's going on. Please be paitent."
He remained frozen for some time, and Adina found herself crossing her fingers behind her back. Thankfully, he finally consented by jerking his head toward the men, silently giving her leave. She smiled uneasily and mouthed the words 'thank you' to him before turning around. She felt his eyes burning her back the entire time she was walking, which oddly enough, gave her more comfort then grief. Strange, was the only word she could come up with to describe it.
As Adina grew closer, she began to discern the similarities and differences between the two men. . .one with blonde hair, the other brown, one considerably taller, and with green eyes and one with slightly hazel. She faintly realized that she was being extremely contingent, but she didn't try to stop herself. After all, it'd been nearly a week and a half since she'd last laid eyes on another human being. . .of course she was going to be eager!
She was immediately bombarded with questions the moment she came to stand before them.
"Who are you?!"
"What are you doing here?!"
"Are you nuts or something?!?"
These same questions were repeated several times, and she had to raise her hands in order to silence them.
"Gentlemen, please, calm down. That's not what's important right now. Right now you both need to get as far away from here as possible--"
"Are you kidding? We're not going anywhere!," the brunette interrupted excitedly, "Do you realize what kind of story this would make for the presses?!"
Adina fought the urge to glare and calmed her senses.
"You don't understand. Your lives are in grave danger. Take it from me, I've been stuck with this maniac for over a week now and--"
"Are you a prisoner or something?" It was the blonde who interrupted this time. She lowered her eyes and shook her head.
"Well. . .no. Not anymore."
"What do you mean not anymore? How do you even come to meet Cell? Please, you have to tell us everything from the very beginning up until now."
"I can't. Look, I don't have time to explain. All I can tell you is if you stay any longer, you'll both die!"
"What about you? We can't just leave you here."
"Trust me, I can take care of myself."
". . .will you at least answer this one question?"
Adina sighed, clearly irritated with their ignorance, but nodded her head.
"Fine."
"What would a gorgeous girl like you be doing hanging around with a monster like Cell?"
Adina scrutinized the brunette curiously, and looked over her shoulder at the android in question.
". . .I couldn't really tell you."
The unsolicited touch of flesh made her jerk her head back around to see the blonde man's callused hand against her wrist. She stared at it curiously for a second before looking up at him.
"Don't you worry miss, we'll find a way to get you away from that freak somehow," he said, his eyes burning into hers. She knew that look. She'd recieved it many times before from highschool sweethearts and broken valentines. It was a look she both relished, and loathed at the same time.
A sudden scream brought her back into focus, and she realized the man had jumped back in terror. She also noticed the hand that was supposed to be connected to his wrist, was still attached to her own appendage, barely dangling by now lifeless fingers. It was only after she had flung the body part away in disgust that she saw Cell, his muscles clenched, his teeth gritted, his eyes red. She recognized the emotion immediately.
Jealousy.
Jealousy?
She didn't get the chance to wonder. All at once, the blonde went up in glowing, yellow flames, his screams drowned out by the sheer energy emanating from Cell's own palm. The other male was so terrified, he couldn't move. He lay frozen on his back side, staring in horror at the empty space his friend once occupied. Adina felt pity swell inside her chest at the momentary loss, but had no time to lament. The android was powering up again, positioning himself to strike out his next victim.
"No!"
Without thinking, Adina leaped forward with speed she didn't even know she was capable of, and flung herself around Cell's outstretched arm. Instantly, his raging malice drained from his face as he slowly turned to gaze at her.
"Please don't do it Cell. Please dont' kill him," she pleaded, encouraged by the emotion written on his expression. And judging by that same expression, he apparently was having an internal battle with himself.
It was so extrodinary, so surreal, yet so horrifying and chilling all at the same time. Seeing the desperate look in his would-be lover's eyes forced his previous rage to fade back into the shadows of his mind. And then, all he could think of doing was indulge her every whim, every need. He wanted to please her, to trade in his desire to kill for whatever brought her the most joy.
In that moment, her happiness meant everything to him.
-"Let her go, Seru."-
In that moment, he realized something very, very imporant.
-"If you can't make her happy, then let her go, I beg of you."-
In that moment, he knew what love was.