Dum Dee Dum: A bit short, but I like this chapter. I think it'll finally help some of you people out that were a bit skeptical in the beginning. Anyway, I'd like to mention that aquasage is a brilliant psychic…no further comment. I send out thanks to those who have reviewed—I do so enjoy your feedback on the chapter(s). Enjoy this one, won't you:)

Chapter 6: Imperfect Cell

I wished to no end that Kizufumi would speed up so we could get to wherever faster. My abdomen was getting sore from the position I was in over Cell's shoulder; I could feel the blood going to my head more and more and I was getting nauseous from flying backwards—I barely did well with flying in general.

I tried very hard to keep my mind off of my discomforts. Hitting Cell relentlessly had gotten me nowhere, so I had given up my attempts to free myself. His hold was much too strong on me, so there was no chance of even jumping to my death, though I wouldn't have done that on purpose anyway, let me assure you. Instead I found myself just looking around.

There was one thing, however, I noticed when I looked in the direction towards Cell; my eye caught sight of very tiny marks—burn marks, perhaps? There were six of them, from what I could count at the angle I was at, but they were all perfectly round. I couldn't figure out how Cell, being the type that could have half his body blown apart and then grow it back within minutes, could have such scars. I tried to study them more closely, but all my eyes would allow me to do was reach long enough to see that there were little pricks in the center of those reddish-brown dots.

I twisted my head back to normal and looked ahead, my eyes glancing down at Cell's unusually yellow and toe-less feet. He wasn't made of metal, but he was much too powerful to have such marks on him. I knew he could bleed—his fights in the Cell Games made that obvious, but those marks didn't look like they had bled.

My thoughts were dislocated, though, when Cell shifted violently and started heading down. I instinctively grabbed onto whatever I could reach—his wing in this case—and held on for dear life. He was speeding down so fast I thought I was going to throw up on him.

He halted though just before my stomach made that thought a reality. I looked up and felt his arm loosen its hold on me, but before I could push away, he dropped me. I landed on my butt with a rough thud and moaned from the pain that shot up my already injured back.

As I got to my feet I noticed Kizufumi getting out of his plane. I made to move away from Cell, but a hand grabbed my shoulder and yanked me back so I was pressed up against his body. I looked up at him, thinking maybe he regained consciousness, but he looked blankly ahead at the scientist.

"Well, Miss Layrial, did you enjoy your flight?" Kizufumi asked with a smug grin, his hand fixing the opposite arm's shirt sleeve.

"Oh yes, it was delightful," I replied agitatedly. "So what did you do to him?"

"I beg your pardon?" he asked formally, his sharp gaze sweeping over mine and his eyes practically fluttering. He was such an asshole.

"I want to know what you did to Cell," I repeated, mocking him by fixing my own shirt.

Kizufumi chuckled to himself and started to walk away. I waited for him to answer, but it seemed he was going to be rude and keep any knowledge of his control over Cell from me. He paused in his steps and reached inside his coat pocket. I saw a small gun-like object, but I couldn't make out what it was for.

"Its actually quite simple," the man replied. "Seeing that Cell was my original design, I know exactly what he's capable of and what I can still manipulate, though he is in his final form."

"Obviously," I muttered, but pretended to be innocent when he turned around. Cell released my shoulder at this point and I took the chance to take several baby steps away.

"You see this android, though a biological creature, still works similar to a computer; it's easy to crash its system as long as you know how. And this, my dear, contains the deadly virus that can wipe out the hard drive."

I stared at him as he raised the gun and pointed it towards me. I thought he was going to shoot me—my heart immediately flying up my throat and my eyes widening to their limits. His manicured finger pulled the trigger and I heard Cell gasp ever-so slightly behind me. I spun around, having no idea what had just happened, and looked at the android. He stood perfectly still, though slouching slightly, and had three very small red darts piercing his neck. Staring at it for several seconds, I now learned where the burn marks came from.

Kizufumi startled me when he came up to my side; he reached up and pulled the darts out of Cell's neck. "You see, each dart tip is coated with an acid that no normal human being could ever touch without protection. This acid, though, has just enough strength to penetrate through the android's outer layer; once the dart has made its way in, it automatically releases a toxin that basically numbs his brain. He's highly intelligent and hard to control, so the power of this chemical is miraculous, wouldn't you say?"

I nearly choked; I took in a ragged breath and stared at the blank expression on Cell's whimsical face. Though he didn't move, I could see the veins in his neck appearing as if he was fighting the effects of the drug. Three darts, nine small dots—that meant this was the third time Kizufumi had to inject Cell. Amazingly, my brain worked this out: the brilliant scientist had to religiously inject more of the drug into Cell's body in order to maintain control. There may be a time limit…which meant it would eventually wear off again if he didn't put more in.

"You monster," I said finally once I absorbed all of this. "You're killing him."

"In a sense, yes," he said. "Very good, Miss Layrial; you obviously have some sort of understanding of science. Indeed, after a while even my perfect Cell won't be able to sustain the mounting effects of my mind controlling chemical. Though he'll do much better and last much longer than say you or I would, he'll eventually go into total melt down—but at that point I'll have no further use for him."

Even the all powerful android had a design flaw. His body allowed him to take this stuff in. I couldn't believe—I didn't want to believe it. The idea that Cell was slowly being tortured to the point of no return ate me up inside. I could only wonder if he knew of his defeat, that he understood that he had no control over what was happening to him.

"Now, Miss Layrial, let me show you what true power really is," Kizufumi said boldly, his near-perfect smile setting off his face. He stepped aside, taking my upper arm tightly in his grasp, and pulled me away. "Cell, that island straight ahead," he said. "Destroy it."

"NO!" I yelled out and tugged at his hold, but he grabbed me with both hands, restraining me by both arms and forced me into watching. I couldn't tell from where we stood if the island was highly inhabited, but I knew someone was there because there'd be no point to blowing it up otherwise.

Cell took off, slower than I thought he normally would, but he was still quicker than anyone I could name. I could barely see him in the distance, several miles above the island. I had no idea what expression he wore—did he smile? Did he blink? I also had no idea what method he was going to use, though I figured the usual fire ball in his hand would do the job.

Within moments…the island was engulfed in a monstrous cloud of black smoke. A nearby airplane was caught in the blaze, and it made me break into a sob. Kizufumi allowed me to yank my arms away from him and I ran a few feet ahead. My hands clasped themselves over my mouth and I broke down, my knees giving way from under me.

I had never witnessed something so devastating.

Cell returned within a few moments, landing in front of Kizufumi, but making no movement to acknowledge his actions. I was torn between looking at his backside to the smoking area in the middle of the gulf. I wanted to lose it entirely, but by doing so would've put me at a greater disadvantage.

"Shall I demonstrate him once more?" Kizufumi asked.

"NO!" I hollered. My voice was caught in my throat at the end of my cry; my eyes were stinging with tears. "Stop this madness! Please, don't do this anymore…release him!"

"Release him?" Kizufumi laughed. "I think not. He's my toy, don't you see? Until I get what I want, I'll do what I please with him. However, it is time for me to go meet the press. This is the last warning; the next time Cell is set lose I'll destroy the capital city. Bring her with us," he ordered.

Cell walked over to me, his eyes looking at me coldly, but with no emotion of recognition beyond that. He grabbed my arm and started walking away before hoisting me to my feet. I cried, I scratched his hand, even drawing blood, but he didn't turn. Instead he took off into the air and waited for Kizufumi to finish starting up his capsule plane. I hung there helplessly nearly fifty feet above the ground, holding Cell's hand in fear he'd uncurl his fingers. I tried pleading with him again, but he was still numb inside.