The Author's notorious pre-chapter notice: I hope all of you have been doing well—and thank you again for the loverly reviews. I do enjoy them J Oh, and aquasage, it's not his warrior skills…it's his ego ;) I do hope y'all enjoy this. It might sound like yet another repeat of previous events, but trust me…you'll see the difference. Any questions—just ask away and I'll answer them.

Chapter 15: Fate Crossed the Line

I stood there for the longest time trying to figure out what I was supposed to do next. It was ridiculous, actually; I had no reason to be out here in the middle of nowhere with a freak that was dead-set on destroying the world just so I could possibly be killed when a what was supposed to be a huge battle started in less than twenty-four hours. What the hell was I honestly thinking? At this point, I had a realized two things: one, I was in fact intrigued by this…creature…more so than I really wanted to think about; or two, I had suffered a serious blow to my head at some point in the course of the past five days and now I was either hallucinating or insane.

At this point I didn't know which option I preferred to be actually experiencing and which would be more beneficial in the long run (if one could even say either are beneficial), but I had this aching, stinging-pain in the pit of my stomach that number one was the reason. The question now was did I want this to be true….no…it should be just how and why it was true. Never mind—it's not important. The important part of all of this was that Cell was standing directly in front of me with that sour, yet focused attitude scraped all over his angelic face and I was at a loss at what I should do to rescue myself a second-time around.

"Well, Layrial," he said suddenly, bringing my eyes to adjust to his tall, slender form, "what do you propose should be done now? Shall we continue yet another lengthy conversation which will include insults and torture on your mind while I indulge in the pleasure of getting you frustrated, or do you think that its time for you to give up this charade and leave."

I stared at him while blinking several times. I think my brain was still back on the first sentence, trying to pick apart the words and figure out an answer, but I did hear everything he said. It almost hurt the way he structured his sentences so…perfectly, the damn idiot. I frowned.

Naturally the first thing that happened was my mouth started flapping before any logical brain cells could start to function properly. "First of all, who says I get frustrated?"

"I refuse to answer such an obvious question," he said with a deadly smile and the moment I felt my face getting hot I knew his answer was a deliberate test to prove himself right.

"Alright, then why is this a charade?"

"What would you prefer to call it?"

I said nothing. Instead my head shifted downward so my eyes could stare at my feet. I hated him so much. So why, then, couldn't I get myself to understand the fact that I should leave, forget about everything that's happened, and get home to continue my life? That was easy; I was too proud to do so. "Look Cell," I said finally after thinking it over carefully. "I want you to honestly answer this without any attitude or sarcasm involved."

"Well my dear that will all depend on the question itself" he said, but I ignored him since I considered it an interruption to my thoughts.

"Do you or do you not feel something other than a need or desire to kill me?"

Cell made no comment, no motion, no blinking of the eyes, and maybe even no breathing for a long moment. I know he was debating over and over in that thick head of his the true answer and whether or not he wanted to tell me. But finally his eyes closed and his face became serious. "Perhaps."

Perhaps? PERHAPS? What is wrong with this guy! I wanted to hurt him so badly….

"That's not a straight forward answer," I replied mocking him from previous discussion. "Perhaps it leans more towards yes, but you could be playing your mind tricks again."

"I take no pride in provoking people with mind tricks. I'd much rather use my supreme intellect in making others feel inadequate." He smiled when he took a quick second to notice my face staring at him stupidly. I wish I had known what I looked like before he opened his eyes, but it was too late. "To answer your question completely though," he continued and my heart started pounding in fear, "and first I'd like to inform you this is mere observation on my own personal feelings, that yes, I do believe there is the chance that there's something that has kept you alive longer than any normal human would've lasted under the same circumstances you found yourself in."

I think that was the most I had ever heard him speak at one time. It was beautiful. That voice was so mind-captivating that I stood there in awe and probably looked like a total loser because of it. But there I had it. Cell cared for me. It was out in the open now, but I wasn't sure what to do with that information. Of course I wasn't going to go running back into town to announce it to everyone that I, Layrial Adercon, had done something to tie up what little heart Cell had in that broad chest of his. I was thrilled.

"Stop looking all blissful," he said suddenly. His face had turned into a frown and a look of awful disgust. "Do you think I take pride in admitting that to you? I'm ashamed of it, really. It's against my programming and everything Dr. Gero requested of me. Not to mention the fact that I have no use for you."

I swear the guy was bipolar or something. My enthusiasm dropped rapidly and I felt myself taking a step back….oh no, not because of the fact of what he said. No, it was because he raised his hand and a ball of light that he was somehow able to form appeared in his palm, and it was being aimed at me. I took a deep breath and stood up tall. He wouldn't do it…no, he hadn't before!

"Don't think you'll survive this one," he said gruesomely. "I have more important matters to look forward to and I need to keep my concentration on that rather than having you around to attempt to distract me. Say good-bye to your miserable life, Layrial."

He was serious. He was actually dead serious. Cell was about to deliver what he had been holding back since we first met. He was going to kill me because I was a distraction!

And that's when the idea struck me. I backed away, tears filling my eyes slowly, but I knew what might hold him long enough for me to talk some sense into him. "So that's it then?" I started, rapidly thinking on how to put it all together.

"Yes," was the answer and he stepped forward, the energy ball growing larger. Obviously he wanted to scare me to death before I actually met my doom.

"Is it because you don't know how to handle it; or is it because you're too much of a coward to face the fact that you went against your so-called programming."

"I am not a coward!" He yelled. It was the first time I had heard his voice rise above a normal tone, and let me tell you, it wasn't pleasant. Before he had been mad, but now he had actually yelled at me and I could tell he was pretty much pissed off to no end.

My reaction wasn't what I expected. Normally I think I'd back off and stop pursuing all intentions on instigating the other person further or whatnot if I saw that it wouldn't get me anywhere. This time, though, I knew that I was probably dead no matter what so there was no harm in putting up a fighting chance.

"You're not, huh? Then what the hell do you call it, Cell?" Suddenly I had felt a strong gust of wind stir up and dust circled around us. I don't know what he was doing to create such a commotion, but whatever it was started to scare the crap out of me…but I had to stand strong. "You never thought that you'd find a flaw in yourself! But if you think about it, it's not a flaw! It only makes you more real than a stupid machine!"

I was hoping to the Heavens above that what I was saying was making some sort of sense to him, although everything was basically my way of getting my panic into words. It was actually true—if he was able to admit that he did have feelings, feelings he wasn't supposed to be able to experience then he was more human than he even thought possible.

Before I knew it I was pressed up against something cold and hard. I couldn't tell what it was because it happened so quickly; I figured it was one of the pillars in a corner of the ring because I don't recall feeling myself falling back and banging against the floor. Everything around me was dark and cold; the wind was blowing my hair so hard that it kept striking the side of my face like a whip. I opened my eyes to see not only his salient eyes, but that ball of light directly in front of my chest. His face was so menacing and scary from the light hit it.

"Foolish girl," he spat. "I hold your life in the palm of my hand. I can blow you away without any hopes of finding a crump of your existence in the mess of rubble that'll land on the desert floor. You have NO idea what you're dealing with!"

"What's the difference? If you kill me you've lost! It'll mean that I was right after all!"

"If you live it'll mean you were right on me being fond of you!"

"I never came out and said you were fond of me!"

The grasp he held on my throat then was worse than I had ever felt before—this time I could feel the blood rushing to my head and I had absolutely no oxygen left to conserve. "Please…" I squeaked out. "Cell…you're hurting me."

The dust settled and the wind calmed. The light in his hand disappeared and the restraint on my body loosened. Just as quickly as it started it had all ended. Cell didn't back away, but the threat on my life wasn't so apparent—again I had escaped his wrath; but for what? I dare say I didn't want to experience anything remotely similar to it again—I've never been so terrified in my entire life.

"I will not admit to losing to you Layrial," Cell said softly; "but I will say that what you claim holds true. You caught me and I shall admit the fact that my anger let it be so."

I wasn't quite sure I understood so the only thing I could do was stand there and stare at him like I was still waiting for him to shove his hand through my chest and wrench out my heart. I wouldn't put it past him…

"I want you to tell me the real reason why you came back out here."

I hesitated only because I didn't know what to say, although I believe I had answered that question for him before. I told him he intrigued me—what other answer did he want? "I…I guess it's because there's something that's struck me into…liking you."

"Like," he repeated. "As in that intrigue you mentioned earlier was true? You have an interest in me beyond the fact that it would make such a wonderful story that you survived my clutches?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Don't ask me why…I just…" I shrugged and looked away. "I think it's your eyes and voice that have captivated me. They're so human I forget that you're an android. And your…intellect, as you called it, is so smooth and stuff that its hard for me to remember that you're a terrorist, not a poet or something."

Cell let out a silent, but deep breath and turned away. His arms were crossed and his head slightly bowed. If I hadn't known better I'd say he was depressed or something. And although I could see his humiliation clearly written across the board everywhere, I had to ask. "Cell…why didn't you kill me just now when you were so close?"

At first I thought maybe he was in a state of shock that'd prevent him from giving out any sort of logical sense that he had been noted for. Either that or he was deeply involved in the thoughts that he gave in to what he had considered his better judgment. However, I was wrong and apparently he was just giving himself a second to form his words on his tongue. "When you said I was hurting you I realized…it wasn't what I wanted to do."

I guess I kind of started to feel bad for him at this point. I had torn apart what made Cell so powerful in his own mind—or at least I thought I did. It was a bit much to call it "winning," but it was for the most part true; I had overpowered him with the simple words and actions of human emotions. I decided that maybe it was time the barrier closed between us. I reached forward and placed my hand on his right wing, my fingers sliding for a second over its smooth surface. It felt hard, yet almost like a rubberized skin all at the same time. Actually, remembering back to a vacation to an aquarium, it felt like the skin of a dolphin.

Cell must not have expected my touch; his head came up and he looked over his shoulder at me. I glanced up at him and knew the fear that still gurgled inside of me was built into my expression. He turned, making my hand back away from the thought that he'd try to strike me for touching him; instead though he looked down at me gently.

"Did I scare you and what you put on was all a show?" he asked humbly.

"Yeah, Cell, you scared the living daylights out of me," I said honestly. "But I figured what was the difference whether I died in apparent fear or tried to be brave?" While he stood there, I decided to try again; I wanted to know if he'd let me touch him or if he'd back away because it was something foreign to him. It wasn't easy because he was so much taller, but I stretched up my arm and reached over to touch his face. My finger tips ran along his cheek, down the side of his face and to the harder surface of his jaw and chin. He stood there without flinching as if testing me to see what I'd do. I couldn't do much more because even standing on my toes wouldn't make me tall enough to see over his shoulder.

I let my hand start to fall, but he caught it before it skimmed past his firm chest. His hand held mine gently, but his eyes were locked on mine so tightly I thought if I moved they'd be pulled out of their sockets. "Do you want to kiss me again, Layrial?"

I stood there dumbfounded at his question—only he would be bold enough to ask such a thing. Only I would be so stupid as to stand there and look like an idiot. "Yes…" was what finally came from my mouth. It was done—we now fully admitted that surrender was inevitable and fate had won.