Apparently I lie…: I know I said I didn't know when I'd get this out, but I decided to stay up and re-read it. It's a good thing I did, because I added more to this chapter and I'm happy with it. One more after this one, but I'm not even going to try to look at it tonight—I'm way too tired XD Though I know I wanted to reply to reviews from long ago, but forgot on my last post. So here goes:

Aquasage: I know you asked this a while back, but I'm afraid that I haven't the slightest clue on how Vegeta or Goku died for movie 12. Since Trunks and Goten know the fusion dance (as well as Goku) then it must be after the Buu Saga, but apparently you're not supposed to wonder how everyone ended up dead again ;) And as for the question(s) you asked in your review to chapter 8, your answer(s) are in this chapter :)

Akaida-Felinjin: I hate Gohan for two reasons—he's a damn cry baby throughout all the sagas and he killed Cell. How dare he… :raises angry fist:

Thomas Drovin: Yes, Gohan was rusty. Remember, he basically slacked off after the Cell Saga because there was such a long round of peace on Earth, so to speak. And although he did work himself and stuff during the Buu Saga and so forth, I like to still pretend he's horrible :) Cell needed to kick his butt…it was overdue.

CicadaS: Yes, darts do work ;) And your scenario is interesting and amusing to imagine, but I'm afraid that Layrial doesn't have the nerve to do anything that could potentially harm Cell—besides, with Cell's body structure he couldn't feel anything she even tried to attempt because she has no physical strength over him. That, and pity Cell's not like the common man ;) I don't think the spot you're thinking of would affect him much ;) But it made me laugh XD Thanks.

ShadowPrincess-Shekailaia: Did I get your name right? …Sorry, it's long and I had to keep looking back to see if I got it :) ANYWAY, honestly, the idea of Cell being controlled wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had, but I figured I could get away with it in this case. Its something different, and I feel that it was done tastefully…well, I'm the writer, of course I think that XD But thank you for giving it a chance!

Reindeer Sausage: You're not reading into things! You're putting a lot of thought into what's going on, and that's great! I'm so happy to hear that I can 'make' people consider my stories so much ;) hehe. Anyway your answer is in this chapter.

Jessiegurl2: Thanks :) hehe. Though I think I gave Kizufumi about 24 hours or more to terrorize people—remember it was the next day when Layrial decided to head out and try her luck at stopping Cell. And I agree—I'm sad it has to end so soon too, but I don't like it when things are stretched out beyond their limit. Ah well…

I believe that's everyone—If I missed you, forgive me. Its 12:30 in the morning and I really need to go to bed. So, enough of my crap—go read the chapter!

Chapter 10: Triumph

Dr. Amon Kizufumi went stark white. If I had known my mind was working up to normality I'd like to think that I saw sweat quickly forming on his face forcing it to gleam in the afternoon sunlight. Though he was caught with surprise and uncertainty, he tried very hard to keep his composure strong.

"You've got the wrong person," he said with a slightly smug grin. "Release me and break her neck."

Cell stood still and stared at him with malice pulled clearly over his angelic face. He turned his back on me and lifted Kizufumi up off his feet where the man's legs swung about in fear. "Let me go, you fool!" The scientist ordered. "Kill her."

As if it had been a temporarily forgotten thought, Kizufumi raised the gun to Cell's neck, but Cell's free hand grabbed it and crumbled it between his fingers. To prove that the little machine had been completely destroyed, he held his arm out and let the tiny pieces fall to the ground.

I believe it was then that Kizufumi realized that he no longer had control over the great android. Cell held him higher in the air, his hand clearly starting to slowly, painfully cut off the air supply Kizufumi was fighting to keep. His pale, manicured hands grasped Cell's strong wrists in attempts to pull away, but he knew his android's strength.

"Cell," he gasped, "you don't know what you're doing. I…I'm the only one who can keep you alive."

Cell's hand became tighter around Kizufumi's throat.

"Seriously!" Kizufumi gagged. "Those…those darts had enough power to weaken you if a steady supply isn't fed through your blood stream—you can…probably…already feel…"

At that moment Cell dropped the pitiful man, but didn't make any other move. Kizufumi coughed and turned to support himself on his hands and knees, but he quickly got to his feet and faced Cell, fear covering every inch of his trembling body. "You see—we need each other. I can create a cure for you and you can do what I need you to do."

"For a man of great intelligence such as yourself, you know nothing of what you claim you created," Cell spoke, his accented masculine voice ringing beautifully through my ears.

Kizufumi forced a short laugh and took a few steps back. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean…"

"I never take the time to explain myself," Cell replied. "But I'll let you in on this—you never should've threatened her. Now…I suggest you run."

I nearly lost all feeling in my body when Kizufumi fell to the ground and grabbed me. He pulled out a pocket knife, flipped it open, and held it to my neck. I was forced to my feet as he stood back up, the knife's blade uncomfortably close to grazing my skin.

"I'll kill her, I swear," he said. "You're not as perfect as I thought you'd be—you have too many flaws! My android would never consider the life of a lesser being! She's nothing to you—she's worthless."

Cell's eyes narrowed, but he looked unmoved by Kizufumi's words. "I am not your android," he replied resentfully. "I belong to no one." His eyes looked at me for a split second, but his focus returned to my attacker. "Though there is a bit of truth in your words—I'm currently not considering the life of a lesser being."

I could feel my sweat glands going into overtime with this. One wrong move and it would be over for me—and I prayed to whoever would listen that Cell knew this. I wondered if I dared try to kick or punch this asshole in the groin, but with my luck I'd miss and I'd kill myself in the process.

Kizufumi began to back away, his hand shaking as he held the knife up to my throat. "I'm warning you…"

"You're warning me?" Cell laughed, his hands resting on his hips. "Please; you yourself should realize what I'm capable of. Threatening her life makes no difference to me. Whether you kill her or not, you are still going to die." The way that last word…no…the way that entire second half of that phrase rolled off his tongue, his voice going deeper than usual in a way that sounded wickedly evil, made my body break out in goose bumps.

"Y-you don't scare me," Kizufumi lied. "I know how you work—I designed you."

"Is that so?" Cell said, seemingly replying to the man's boast. "Let's put you to the test, shall we?"

Kizufumi's eyes became extremely large, and his mouth dropped. His gaze narrowed to Cell's finger, which was pointed directly at him, a small spark appearing at the tip. "You'll kill your little prize here if you kill me like that," he warned.

"We'll see," Cell replied simply.

Kizufumi realized Cell wasn't bluffing. I realized this too, but thankfully, Kizufumi thought of himself more than he did of getting even with Cell. He quickly turned, stumbled twice and tried to pick up speed. The man wasn't smart enough to realize he hadn't the slightest chance.

Cell released his attack and Kizufumi burst into pieces. I turned my head and wished I had been smart enough to close my eyes, but what I had just witnessed brought about a large sigh of relief. I forced myself to drop back to my knees, my fear gone now, and a bit of my strength returning to me.

Cell turned, finally, and looked down to me with a soft gaze. He knelt down and pulled me gently to my feet, his thumb grazing over a gash I didn't realize I had on my forehead until he touched it. "It wasn't nice to throw such vulgarity at me," he said.

At first I thought he had gone mad, but then I remembered how I had yelled at him before escaping. I smiled and looked away, feeling a bit sheepish. "Well, I guess it worked," I replied shortly after. "Did you know what you were doing?"

Cell brushed my hair away from my face and looked me over as if he had never seen me before. "Yes," was his answer. "I saw you, I knew exactly who you were and heard everything you said, but I couldn't do anything about it."

"So you know what happened to you?"

Cell nodded. "When the first injection was released, I was forced to listen to that idiot man explain everything to me. You have no idea how infuriated I was, though he claimed that the more anger I released the easier he would have to take hold of my mind."

"I thought that he did have complete control of you mind," I said. "I mean, after what you did to me…"

"He had a certain amount—but not as much as he thought," he explained. "You should know, though, that I had to keep an absurd amount of focus not to follow through with every order Kizufumi gave me to kill you. Although this last time I could feel myself losing until you yelled at me." Cell smiled and looked at me adoringly. "I do believe you snapped me out of it, dear Layrial."

I made a short nod and took a deep breath. "I'm glad you did snap out of it," I said after a long moment. "I was about to feel the effects of that…poison." As I spoke it dawned on me exactly why I would've died so quickly from the toxic liquid. It was designed to kill, but for Cell, because of his genetic make-up, it would act as a mind controlling chemical while only slowly killing him.

I looked up at the android quickly and tried to pull out the truth. Was he dying and neither of us truly knew it? Would he just collapse without any warning and I'd be left with his body? My toes lifted me up a few more inches and I put my hand against his cheek. I was actually surprised that his normally warm skin was a bit chilled.

"Cell," I said softly. "That virus…"

Cell took my hand and I returned to my normal footing. He kissed my knuckles, his lips lingering for a moment, and he let me go. "Shall I return you home?"

My answer came with his tone. I knew he understood the truth and I had to accept it. I needed to go home, though, and return to my family—God only knows what sort of condition Toshi was in. I gave a slight nod and took a step closer to Cell; his arms scooped me up and he easily left with a small kick off the ground.