The AN: Yes…surprisingly I'm posting this tonight. I decided to quiet after finishing chapter 6 and read over what I've created. It's amazing on how much you can accomplish during an hour break between classes in the course of two days. Again, I like this chapter, so enjoy it ;)

Chapter 5: The Past Returns

My body froze completely. The first thought that came to my mind was that I was dead. There was no other explanation. It was impossible for who I thought stood before me to actually be there. Either that or I had completely lost my mind—it just took eight years for it to get there. Yet I could still feel myself breathing, I could feel my heart pounding for two reasons: one, because I had just ran myself to death (I wondered if that statement were completely true, not just in the figurative sense) and two, I was getting myself to believe that…he was here.

The figure before me shifted a little; what I thought to be a hand placed itself on his hip. "So are you going to bore me and stand there all day?"

That voice…oh my God, that voice. There was no mistaking that accent, that way of speaking, that stance. Yet…my mind wouldn't accept it. Somewhere there was a little part of me yelling at me to snap out of it, that I was completely hallucinating.

"Who are you?" I finally asked after finding my voice hiding deep within my throat, which was extremely dry.

There was a brief chuckle and the figure walked forward, that familiar squeaking sound emitting after each step. "Layrial, are you telling me you don't remember?"

Cell stepped into a place where the high-noon sun wasn't blinding me from behind him. I gaped at him knowing full well my mouth was hanging open. He was exactly the same as I last saw him—tall and slim, his body speckled green or, in some areas, covered in a smooth black surface, both of which were unnatural skin textures, this of which I knew from past experiences. His face formed a sly smile that played across his pale gray lips, his sharp magenta eyes staring hard at me. As he approached closer his hand dropped back down to his side; his smirk remained unchanging.

"Will you say something or has my presence surprised you enough to lose your ability to speak?" He asked once he was no more than two feet in front of me.

I had found that I absentmindedly backed up against the fender of the car behind me, leaving me trapped between a hunk of plastic and the android. Again I couldn't find my voice—I was either dead or something was very wrong here. Cell seemed unscathed, as if he never died.

"I…I don't understand how this could be possible," I said softly.

Cell's eyes closed and his head bowed, the split two-sided crest on his head gleaming under the sun as he did so. "Yes, it is rather remarkable, isn't it? I assure you I had no idea it would happen, nor how it happened, but when I discovered that there was a gateway that led back to the world of the living, I immediately followed the leaders of the pack and went to see for myself if it were true."

My eyes became wide and my hand rested on the car's hood. "You're…dead?"

"But of course," he said wickedly, but then quickly glanced up. "Ah, I see the halo has disappeared. No matter; tell me, Layrial, how long has it been since my Cell Games?"

His Cell Games…his damn games…that damn tournament. If it weren't for that point in time I could be safely hidden somewhere until all of this was over. No, that wasn't true. If it weren't for his tournament and what had happened then I would be dead right now. Cell had saved my life from those three samurai. If he had shown up a moment too late I would be laying in pieces on the hot pavement.

"Eight years," I finally answered. "It's been eight years and a lot has happened since then."

"Oh? Such as?"

"Like I'm a teacher now and I'm quite happy with my life!" I snapped, which alarmed not only him but me as well. I turned and put both my elbows on the car and leaned forward so my hands could hold my head. Tears flooded my eyes and I could see one fall and trickle down the metallic blue plastic I leaned on. "I've tried so many times to pretend I never met you, but every time I think I've succeeded something restores those memories. And this…this has been the worst bout of them all."

"You've tried to forget about me?" Instead of the disappointment or uncertainty I expected was coming next, I heard laugher. "My dear girl, you were the one who brought it all on to yourself. And don't think I don't remember our last encounter."

"And what encounter was that, Cell?" I circled back around and gave him what I hoped to be a disgusted and most certainly agitated look. "How you killed me?"

He chuckled. "You don't remember? We had met on the path to the Other World check-in station," he replied simply. "Do you not remember the question I asked or the response you gave?"

Then it wasn't a dream—it had actually happened. For years I had wondered if my mind fabricated that whole incident to create a sort-of closure after learning he was dead. I had gotten myself to believe that it happened, but I still had doubts that such a place as the after world did exist.

"Have I jolted your memory?" he pressed.

I nodded and shied away from looking at him. I was so damn uncomfortable I didn't know what to do, say or think. I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out; I wanted to pretend he wasn't there; but the most terrifying thought was that part of me wanted to toss myself against him to see what he'd do.

It seemed that he had grown tired of the subject because he started walking away, giving me a clear view of the long, hard black wings that sprouted from his shoulder blades.

"What…" I paused for a moment and watched him. "What are you going to do?"

At first he didn't answer and I wondered if he was about to give up and move on to do whatever he came here to do. He folded his arms across his broad chest and looked around the deserted street. "I don't sense Goku's energy anywhere," he said. "How disappointing—I was sure I'd meet him again."

I remembered Goku—the tall, blonde man that had basically saved my life. He had been the one to make an agreement with Cell that if I were kept alive then he'd fight Cell first in the tournament. I also knew, although I hadn't witnessed it, what had happened to him. "You killed him…"

"Of course," Cell said. "He tried to be a hero when I decided to self-destruct, however I figured he'd have been wished back by his petty friends with the dragon balls. That's how you're still alive, is it not?"

"I guess so," I replied, searching my brain to see if I remembered if that's what had been used when that guy had told me what happened when I had returned to life after the tournament had ended.

Cell made an amused "humph" sound and unfolded his arms. "Well then, I guess there's only one thing to do now that I've been given a second chance to step foot on this trivial planet."

I knew exactly what he meant—he wanted to try to destroy it again. Only this time I had no idea how anyone would know where he was, how to find him, or if they were even still around!

"Cell, you can't possibly be thinking of destroying the world again," I remarked. "You failed once before, and I dare say you'll fail again."

Boy, had I opened my mouth far enough to insert both feet. Cell's head whipped around and his eyes shot invisible daggers at me. "I'd watch your mouth if I were you, girl. You've apparently forgotten who you're dealing with."

The moment I saw his anger rise and heard his arrogant attitude, I gave up. I wasn't going to let this turn into another round of making-Layrial's-life-miserable. I was already sickened by the day's events and to hear him come out with not only a snapping remark but also his conceited statement made me want to kill him myself.

Instead, though, I crawled back over the car and headed down the street. I made no attempt to look behind me to see if he was staring at me or following. I didn't care. All the more power to him if he did, I suppose. All I knew was that I didn't want to be taken by him again.

Continued AN: I had mentioned in the previous chapter that I'd explain the origins of how this sequel came to be. One night last week my friend AVC came online and told me of an idea for a setting she had for a sequel if I still wanted to write it. She said she had watched Movie 12 recently and it dawned on her that Cell had never made a single appearance even for a split second. And as she said, it was true—it was a perfect opportunity that I had complete control over Cell's whereabouts without having to integrate him into the movie's storyline. Thanks to my brother's superb downloading/saving skills from years ago (lol) I watched the movie for myself, never caught sight of Cell, and therefore the sequel was created. AVC is brilliant and I owe her this fanfic—lol. I know many of you caught onto my foreshadowing statement at the end of chapter 1—excellent. Although I'm sure you guys thought of DBGT; I may have mentioned before that I only watched the first episode of that and was disgusted with it. Movie 12 hasn't been released in the dubbed version, as far as I know, but I'm sure if you look around the net enough you'll find it:) Its actually quiet funny…you've gotta love Gogeta XD Not to mention Jenenba has Cell's squeeky feet XD