Pardon me as I make my brief speech: I guess I'll be honest with you—originally I had no intentions of writing this chapter. The idea didn't seem that great and I felt like it'd be dragging things to far. However, after finishing it I guess it's not so bad after all ;) Oh, and to give you a heads up, I know when I was editing that there was some random sentence that got pulled out of a paragraph and thrown onto a separate line or something (if that makes sense). I "undid" the action, but if you find something missing or extra added, that's it -- I apologize if its still in there and I couldn't find it. Oh, and I thought I'd respond to some of your replies:

Black Mors: Thank you very, very much….and trust me, it's not easy. You know what you have to do? (Although I honestly haven't done this since I started the story) but you have to watch an episode where Cell or whoever does a lot of speaking and has a lot of screen time. I find that by doing so you get it into your head how the character acts and you can kinda hear him/her speaking as you write their lines. Strange, perhaps, but it works for me. Try it :)
Draguna: That'd be pretty comical, but unfortunately it's not something Cell would do ;)
Aquasage: Do I get that deep and intense? I guess I never realized it. Ah and yes Layrial doesn't like it when he takes off, but honestly I'll give you the hint—it has very little to do with he himself being away from her; its more the fact that she's afraid of being out in the middle of nowhere without some sort of company. And she feels that she doesn't have to ask, if you remember; she thinks he's completely cold hearted towards her. Wouldn't you think so?
Thomas Drovin: Yes it is a shame it's soon to end…but I'm running out of ideas for arguments between them, although it is fun and amusing to make them go head to head all the time. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
reindeer sausage: hehe, thankies! And I shall do my best not to disappoint you and the others!

Chapter 17: You Belong to Me

I wondered why I felt so safe, so…protected in his arms. One would think that his body was made of some sort of armor, which it was to a point, but until now I thought it was a thick shell or something to that extent. Yet when I stood there, the side of my head resting right beneath his chest, I heard his heart beating. Cell had a heart just like any other living creature. Although it really meant nothing towards love or whatever, I always considered it something romantic. I guess it makes me feel something strange inside, like that's the life of the person I'm with.

I don't know. Sometimes I wonder why I start going off like that during my thought process. Its utter nonsense and I needed to find a way to avoid such thoughts. Cell wasn't like every other guy. Then again…maybe that could be a good thing because he wouldn't think like the other guys I've had experiences with.

"What are you thinking?" He asked suddenly and I felt myself jump slightly.

"Oh, nothing," I said with haste and backed away from him. "It's getting cooler out, so I'm going to go to the car and get my sweatshirt."

The sun was starting to set, which made me realize just how quickly the day had gone by. I spent most of it alone again, but when he was there I felt like eternity had passed. Its strange how things like that happen. He said nothing, however, as I moved away and walked slowly towards the car. Once I got it out of the backseat and pulled it over I stopped to admire the scene before me. A perfectly square, white tournament arena, elegantly topped with four cone-shaped pillars; and standing where I had left him was Cell, an extremely powerful android with unusual powers commonly unknown to mankind. Whatever the motive this Dr. Gero truly had, he had created Cell for one purpose…the destruction of Earth. And yet I started to freely walk back to this android, my mouth forming a smile when I caught his gaze.

"Layrial, I just had a thought," he said, a sly smile forming that nearly sent a chill down my spine. "What would you say I gave you the experience of a lifetime?"

My mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out except an exhale of air. What could he possibly mean by that? I feared to ask…but I had to. "Dare I ask what sort of experience?"

"Oh an honest one, let me assure you," he said with a small chuckle. Obviously he must've gotten the clue as to what my first assumption was…I mean there are only a few 'experiences of a lifetime' someone such as he would consider. "You've only experienced flying once, and I'm nearly positive you weren't concerned with the scenery given the present company."

"Yeah, you weren't exactly my favorite person," I replied and then saw through a flicker at the corner of his mouth that the way I said it made it sound like my admiration level towards him bounced sky-high. Not really…

"Well then, how would you like a second go?"

"A what…?" I said suddenly. Oh no; there was no chance. I couldn't leave the ground without the security of the floor (meaning a plane) beneath my feet. Absolutely not; he's lucky I didn't throw up the first time.

Cell didn't seem to take this into consideration though. He must've seen my horror at his suggestion, but he still advanced towards me, his arms unlocking from the tight bind they were curled into across his chest.

"Cell, I can't…" I said.

"Layrial, it's not like I've asked you to do anything else. Do you not trust me?"

I wanted to say no so badly, but then again I kind of wanted to say yes. I didn't know what I wanted except for the fact that I didn't want to go for a flight without seatbelts, barf bags and music. "You don't understand…I'm terrified of flying."

"Come now, there's nothing to be scared of," he said harmlessly, but I was still so very uneasy that I stepped back from him. "You are a strange girl," he said finally after seeing that I wasn't going to be easy. "You have enough courage to put yourself in the presence of someone such as myself, trust me enough to stick around to chit-chat, so to speak, but you won't allow me to show you something that I'm sure you'd consider spectacular."

"Damn right," I said. "You're not the one being dragged along having no clue how the hell to fly. I can't and the thought of falling how-many hundreds of feet scares me shitless."

I could tell that he was starting to get frustrated. After all, Cell was a character that liked getting his way and got insufferable when he didn't. "If you think I'd drop you at this point then you should check your logic. I could've killed you easily only hours ago—I wouldn't spare you to delay your death by falling from the air. That's immoral."

Who the hell is he to talk about morals? Seriously, what the hell does he get out of saying stuff like that? "If you had some sort of harness attached then maybe I'd think about it, but since you don't then forget it."

Cell started approaching me again, but unlike the times in the past I didn't move away just to be backed into a spot I'd be trapped in. "I'm giving you one last chance," he said. "Either come with me or I'll give up standing around here and be on my way."

"To do what, more warm ups?"

"But of course," he replied.

He really new how to get me, the bastard. I didn't want to stay out here alone again…honestly I was just too damn scared to sit around and wonder what sort of animals could be lurking about without me knowing. "Alright, alright, I give up. I'll go."

"As I figured you would," he said and held his arm out as the invitation.

I cautiously approached him, having well-encased memories of the last time I flew with him. I clearly remember him telling me that he held my fate in his hands. I was still putting that claim on this time around too. However, I allowed him to pick me up with both arms, which surprised me because the last time he just held me with one as if I was some sort of package. Immediately I put my arms around his neck and interlocked my fingers—just in case.

"No hanging on your back, huh?" I asked when my mind thought that might be a much safer way for him not to be tempted to let go of me.

He smiled when his feet slowly left the ground. "I don't think you'd be very comfortable." I suppose that was true. He did have those huge wings and that…thing in the center of his back.

"I just ask you one favor," I started to say…but before I could finish my stomach lurched and I yelled. He was going so fast that it almost hurt my eyes to open to see just how terribly far up we were.

"And what would that be?" He asked, his head glancing down towards me. I really didn't like this.

"SLOW DOWN!"

He did so and I was able to concentrate again on a notion other than I thought my skin was going to separate from my bones. I looked down and saw nothing but water. There was no way he already made it to the ocean.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the Sea of Japan," he said casually.

I looked down. "The…no way, Cell—we couldn't have gotten over here that quickly."

"You forget that I'm capable of many things you don't realize possible, speed being one of them. However, if I went any faster you'd be crushed by the pressure."

I was speechless, but my eyes were focused on the blue water below. If he had to drop me I suppose I'd rather crash into icy waves instead of splattering on hard ground. Though the way his arms and hands were holding my legs and upper back, I felt as if I was completely secure.

Soon more land came into view and I wondered if somehow he turned around without me realizing it. But we kept going further and further, and the more mileage we covered the brighter the sun got. Instead of it setting it seemed to be going backwards.

"Cell, where are we now?" I asked him trying to find some sort of landmark that I'd recognize.

"Central Asia," he replied.

This was very hard for my mind to grasp. I had traveled to China and Russia before, but I had never made it there in less than five minutes. If this had been a few days ago I'd quickly start doubting him. However, now I knew that he wouldn't lie about it—we were truly over the grand continent.

As time passed us, the more I realized that he was taking me around the entire planet. We passed the Middle East, Germany, France, Spain, the Atlantic…it was heart stopping and I couldn't believe he was doing this. Fifteen minutes later we finished passing the United States and we were heading back over the Pacific Ocean.

I glanced at my watch—we had been gone for only forty minutes or so. The sun was no longer visible over the horizon, although daylight still lingered on into the twilight. A vibrant red sky hung over the mountain range in the distance and I had a perfect view from the tall cliff Cell landed on. He set me down, but I remained close to him—I had no desire to check out the range from where I stood to the bottom where I knew crashing waves attacked the deadly rock forms below.

"Cell, why did you do it?" I asked humbly, wondering why his attitude changed all of the sudden.

When I glanced over my shoulder towards him I saw that he stood straight as a pole with his arms crossed over his chest again. He looked at me almost as if saying he had no clue why he bothered. "I figured you'd enjoy it."

"It was nice," I said.

"I also wanted to see how much you trusted me now."

I didn't expect that one. "Yeah? And what's your prognosis?"

He smiled and looked out into the distance. "You trust me perhaps too well at this point, Layrial. Only a few moments after getting over the initial shock of being up there did you loosen your hold on me. Your reflexes wouldn't have been quick enough to grab on again if I had decided to let go."

"Were you thinking of letting go?" I countered.

"No."

I turned my gaze back onto the scenery, but not many moments after that I felt my hair being pulled away from where it was draped over my shoulder and warm fingertips grazing my neck. I shivered the moment I felt his body directly behind mine. His hands rested on my shoulders and slowly traced down the lengths of my arms. What was he thinking…what was going through his intelligent mind?

Finally I started to turn around to face him. His eyes were sharp and steady and his face unfaltering. I realized at that point that I was looking past what I saw as his physical appearance—I was glancing inside of him. He had so much anger, so much fierceness and whatever else that connected to the negative built up inside he could burst at any moment with a fiery rage. But in the back of his mind, a very small part was being occupied by another desire; perhaps a longing for companionship, friendship, love…something that could turn him away from his evil intentions.

"I want you to come with me," he said softly, his thumb brushing over my temple.

"Where?"

"Wherever I go after this," he replied in the same tone.

I shook my head before even considering it for a slight moment. "I can't. This is my home and I could never sit and watch you destroy it and then go with you so you can do the same to some place else."

He said nothing after that. I was surprised when he leaned down for our lips to meet, and the first thought that crossed my mind during the kiss was that he was trying to persuade me to change it. Although I had no intentions of going with him, I wanted to see what he'd do if I did something more than just stand there and let him do what he wanted. My hand reached up as far as it could and touched the side of his head, slowly making its way down his face, neck and shoulder. He didn't move.

"Cell, do you love me?"

He backed away then and gave me a hard look. "I cannot answer that."

"Why? You wanted me to? If you had to choose—"

"Do not try to repeat the method I used on you," he said. "It won't work."

I bit my lip and looked away. I had blown the whole thing so quickly and easily. It was still a rough topic for him to step into and obviously he had no care to trespass the border. To me it seemed that Cell had no idea what he'd do with me once he took me away from here. I expect that eventually he'd grow tired of carrying me around and dispose of me once that tolerant level reached its peak. That was all the answer I needed.