Acceptance

by Darkly-Shaded-Shadow

Set in the Future Time Line, Cell emerges to a bleak and broken world, ravished by the androids. However, they have since been destroyed, and he struggles to accept this fact. Lost, without purpose, he hunts and feeds relentlessly, only he finds himself drawn to a dying woman who has no fear of him. This story is for mature people. It has some dark and adult themes.

10. X

A/N Sorry for the delay. Longest chapter yet and I re-wrote it about a dozen times.

The sun had risen high above them, chasing away the left over clouds from the early morning storm. It was bright and beautifully warm. Everything was still soaked and it only added to the beauty of the landscape as water droplets clung to the grass and the leaves of the trees, glittering in the noon light.

Cell was standing with his arms across his chest, his head tilted to the sky above him, a smirk on his face as he took sadistic pleasure in watching Rowan struggle.

She was glowing blue, her fists clenched as she gritted her teeth. She was hovering a good 30 feet off of the ground, but it was costing her all her concentration and focus and her energy was running low. Her ill-fitting clothes were torn and dirtied and she was sporting several bruises from her more-than-just-a-little-rough landings.

But still, she was flying.

"You're still wasting too much energy. You aren't focusing enough." Cell yelled up at her. Rowan snarled at his words and tried to feel her power as it surrounded her. She was forcing it down, through her feet, propelling her upwards, but she could see that Cell was right. There was still so much of her energy that was just radiating out from her, causing her to glow blue. It was too draining and she couldn't keep it up.

She was completely absorbed in her own body, trying to stop the radiating power without sacrificing her height. The sudden blast of energy that shot right past her face startled her, snapping all of her focus and concentration and causing her to scream out as she fell, unable to regain her control.

She might not have been good at flying, but her teleporting was becoming increasingly natural to her, and she disappeared as she fell, re-appearing on a grassy patch of land near some boulders, the inertia of her fall being cancelled out, but she still stumbled forward, struggling to keep her balance.

She turned to hurl an insult at Cell, only to find another energy blast powering towards her. She disappeared, re-appearing just as the boulders she had been standing in front of, exploded in a shower of dust and shards of rock.

"Cell, what the…" She disappeared again as another blast came for her. Cell was laughing, as he hurled the weak blasts at Rowan. She barely had a chance to catch her breath between teleports.

"Stop it Cell!" She roared. He did stop, a ball of energy in one of his large pale hands. He grinned at her, his eyes wild with the excitement. Rowan panted, catching her breath as she glared daggers at the tyrant, and her lover.

"Are you trying to kill me?" She asked angrily. His eyes narrowed and his grin widened. He suddenly disappeared. Alarm bells rang in Rowans' mind and she whirled around, scanning the landscape for his form. She couldn't see him anywhere and this only made her start to panic.

She quickly turned inwards, probing her connection she shared with him. Suddenly she became aware of his presence as completely as she was her own and she whirled around, looking up, as he hurled another blast at her, throwing her hands out in front of her as the energy ball struck her open palms, forcing her backwards.

She struggled for only a moment as her body fought against the sudden surge of power as she absorbed the energy. Only, this time something had changed. The power wasn't foreign to her and it didn't sit uncomfortably in her core as it had yesterday. Instead, her body relished the surge and she felt the energy become her own. She didn't have to purge this power from her system. This confused her for a moment, which made her drop her guard.

The second energy blast struck her shoulder and knocked her flying backwards. She grunted as she landed, sprawling on the grass, stunned.

Cell landed close by, laughing loudly.

"Tsk tsk Rowan, you weren't paying attention!" He said as he stood over her, blocking out the sun from overhead and looking down at her face. She blinked a few times, before she slowly sat up, aware of the burning pain across her left shoulder. She inspected it, annoyed and frustrated.

"Damnit." She muttered angrily under her breath. A hand sized patch of skin on her shoulder had been burned from the blast and had left a huge hole in her shirt. The burn was only minor, but it still stung.

"That should serve to remind you about paying attention." He said casually, smirking. Rowan glared up at him as she stood to her feet and tried to shove him. She might as well have tried to shove a mountain. He didn't even move and all it earned her was a jarred wrist. She grumbled as she turned her back on him, storming towards the bag of food that had been waiting for her all morning.

"You're supposed to teach me how to fly, not how to dodge energy blasts." She said as she angrily opened a bottle of water, downing half the contents before pouring some gently across her burned skin. Cell approached her, still smirking.

"You know how to fly. You just aren't very good at it." He retorted with a chuckle. Rowan glared at him over her shoulder, angry.

"You are a jerk." She mumbled pointedly.

"I am, aren't I?" he agreed, as he pulled her into his embrace, making her drop the water bottle. She was still pouting up at him, but she didn't fight him as he kissed her.

After a moment he broke the kiss and looked down at her thoughtfully. Slowly, his face turned malicious as he grinned, showing his pointed canines.

"Perhaps you would learn faster if you were given some motivation." He said cruelly. Rowans felt her stomach tighten and she narrowed her eyes at the android.

"What are you planning, Cell?" She asked quietly. Cell just chuckled and absently tucked some of her hair behind her ear before he let Rowan go and stepped back. His wings opened a fraction and he slowly hovered off of the ground, making it look incredibly easy.

"Your home town is about 400 miles that way." Cell said loudly, as he pointed his arm out to the side. Rowan glared at Cell.

"I am aware. It's half way across the spice district." She said quietly.

"I'm going to give you until 2 o'clock to reach the town centre, or I'll level it." He said with a menacing grin. Rowan's eyes widened and she stared, dumbfounded at him.

"You wouldn't dare…" She said, knowing that he in fact, would. Cell chuckled as he looked down at her.

"If you teleport in order to cheat, you lose. 2 O'clock Rowan, I'll be watching you closely." Cell tapped his head with a menacing grin as he watched her, delighted as her anger made her blue aura rage around her.

Rowan looked up at the sky. The sun was more or less, overhead. That didn't give her a lot of time to fly 400 miles. It seemed like an impossible task.

"You're a bastard." She snarled as she looked back at Cell. He only folded his arms and chuckled at her insult.

"You don't have a lot of time. You really should get moving, Dear." He said, purring the last word cruelly. Rowans' eyes narrowed as she watched Cell as he rose into the air effortlessly.

Rowan took a deep breath, finding her centre as she focused. The power she had absorbed from Cell had given her a small energy burst, but she was still running low and 400 miles was a very long way. She did a quick assessment of the situation. If she was driving, she could make the 400 mile journey in about 6 or so hours. She figured she had maybe an hour before 2. 400 miles in an hour… Was that even possible?

"Rowan, time is ticking." Cell snapped her out of her moment of thought and she scowled at Cell.

"I can't fly that fast, Cell." She said quietly, admitting her own defeat.

"Then your town will be destroyed." Cell replied conversationally. Rowan glared down at the ground, feeling like a failure.

"Please don't." She pleaded.

"The only thing stopping you, Rowan, is your own doubt. Are you so sure you can't, that you won't even try?" Cell asked, his tone was disappointed. This stung Rowan and she glared up at him. He shook his head slowly, a disappointed frown on his face. "Pathetic. I thought you were more determined than this. Perhaps I was wrong about you after all. I wonder what else I was wrong about?"

His words stabbed Rowan hard, and the pain of disappointment, mingled with her anger. Cell sighed nasally and his aura erupted around him in a brilliant golden light.

"If this is how you want to be Rowan, then I'll just go destroy it now and save myself the wait." Cell turned towards the direction of the town, still glowing brilliant in his show of power.

"No wait!" Rowan yelled out. She grit her teeth as she forced her energy down and she pushed off of the ground. She wasn't steady, but she rose up, facing Cell. She could feel his energy flaring around him, hot and brilliant. He watched her carefully as she approached his fiery aura, holding her hand out. She knew he was manipulating her, pulling her strings as if she was only a puppet under his control, but she also knew, with a great deal of certainty, that he would hold true to his word. She couldn't let him destroy her town.

She sucked in some of his radiating energy through her extended hand. He didn't try to stop her, watching with a degree of curiosity, but he kept his face pulled down in a disappointed scowl.

After several moments Rowan backed away, lowering her hand.

"Which way again?" She asked flatly as she forced herself to lock eyes with him. Slowly his scowl turned into a smirk and he pointed backwards, just to the right of the arena.

Rowan took another deep breath, and with a great deal of concentration and focus, she forced her now supplemented energy out behind her as she faced the right direction. Her energy flared out in a whirl of bright blue but it took her several moments to pick up speed as she was unsure of herself and she had to adjust to flying. But by the time she reached the arena, she had a firm grip on the single direction flying and she got a brief glimpse of a birds' eye view of all the people scattered around the large white tiled square. But the square itself was devoid of people, as if they knew that stepping foot on it, would incur the androids wrath.

The view disappeared as she flew overhead, aware that she must have been an imposing sight, with her glowing blue aura flaring around her body, leaving a long arching trail of blue behind her. She couldn't deny, she felt elated as the ground rushed by underneath her.

The elation died suddenly and she felt her heart skip a beat as she looked around and she spotted the absolutely monstrous crater of destruction they had created yesterday. It was incredibly deep, perfectly rounded as if a massive person had taken an ice-cream scoop out of the Earth. The town was gone. The orchards were gone. The crater had almost reached the lake on the far side, but it had stopped just short of the lake and the caravan park. The bottom of the giant crater was so far down, that the base was cast in deep shadow and all she could see was darkness.

Rowan slowed, unable to tear her eyes away from the extent of the devastation that she had caused by simply giving herself to Cell. She mentally reminded herself that it had been a necessity to seal the bond between them, but it was still a shock to truly see how damaging Cell's power actually was.

As if her thoughts summoned him he appeared with his brilliant golden aura besides her. He followed her gaze down to the destruction but rather than regret and despair at the damage done, he smirked, relishing his own destructive power.

"As much fun as it is to reminisce, I feel I must remind you that you are short on time, my dear." He said casually, unable to hide his apparently delight from his voice. Rowan glared at him for several moments, before, with a final look at the crater, she sighed and blasted off again, as fast as she could.

Cell matched her speed effortlessly and even taunted her by putting his arms behind his head and turning onto his back as he flew underneath her, looking as if he belonged more in a hammock on a sunny beach, than powering through the sky. He was watching Rowan intently, grinning up at her, but it was costing her everything she had to keep herself steady. The wind biting the tender skin of her face, wasn't helping her now dark mood.

"How do you deal with the wind in your face?!" Rowan yelled, trying to project over the sound of their flaring energy and the rushing wind. Cell chuckled, amused as he righted himself and pulled up alongside her again.

"Push a small amount of your energy in front of your face and it will divert the wind from your eyes. But if you're struggling with simply focusing on flying, I doubt you'll be able to control it." Cell said simply. His ego annoyed her further, but she said nothing as she turned inwards.

Focusing her power on maintaining her flight was difficult, but she was managing reasonably well. Trying to focus on that while focusing on pushing a small amount of power around her face as well, proved to be too much and she felt her flight wobble and almost give out. She gave up on focusing on two things, instead just concentrating on her flying as she snarled.

They flew in relative silence for a few more moments as Rowan's mind raced. She was a problem solver, and she couldn't fly any faster unless she could figure out how to stop the wind. She didn't have the focus to power energy in two different places at once. But teleporting had become natural to her, and so had the blanket of power she threw around herself in order to teleport.

She tried it now, going through the actions of teleporting, without actually teleporting. And it worked. The energy blanket acted as a cushion, pushing the air around her, softening the tear of the wind against her face. She was still focusing on her flight, and it hadn't suffered more than a moment of unsteadiness and the blanket of energy put very little strain on her power resources.

Rowan gave herself a mental celebration for only a moment before she addressed the next problem. She was acutely aware that Cell was watching her intently, but she pushed him from her mind. She needed to focus on herself right now. She was still wasting too much energy in her flying. At this rate she wouldn't even make the 400 miles before she ran out of power and she doubted Cell would let her siphon off some of his power again when she ran out.

Rowan tried to stop radiating energy. Her aura dimmed from a fiery blue inferno, to a dim glow, but she didn't drop in speed. She reduced the amount of power she was aiming down, pushing more behind her, and she almost cheered as she felt herself accelerate rapidly.

She was figuring it out. It was hard maintaining control over such power, but she was learning, and fast.

"Well done Rowan!" Cell said, matching her increased speed easily. "Perhaps you might be worthy of me yet!" He laughed as she shot him a vicious glare in response, but she didn't say anything. She was concentrating.

"You still need to go faster if you want to save your town, however!" He added as he accelerated in front of her. He raised two fingers to the side of his head and gave her a half-hearted wave. "Remember, I'll be watching you Rowan!" His aura burned brighter as he accelerated suddenly, his speed was insane as he put distance between them rapidly.

"CELL! Wait!" Rowan roared after him, but he was already gone, leaving behind a brilliant golden streak of energy as he became little more than a speck over the horizon within seconds. Rowan was stunned at just how fast Cell was. As if to prove a point, she saw the explosion of white around his golden glow and several seconds later, was greeted with the monstrous Boom. He had broken the sound barrier.

What a show off. She thought to herself, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Until she remembered where he was going. Rowan's smile disappeared as she clenched her jaw, her mood soured once again, forcing more power into her flight, picking up speed.

Only a couple of minutes had passed since Cell had left her, but the terrain beneath her had changed from the fields and gently sloping farm lands into steep rocky outcroppings and a large gorge that carved its way across the land. The mountains were getting closer as the terrain became less green and more grey.

Rowan was beginning to feel the exertion. Her body was aching and she was breathing heavily. Her clothes and hair whipped around her but she was warm from the blanket of energy that thinly coated her skin.

'You aren't going to make it, Rowan.' Cells' sudden voice inside her own head caused Rowan to exclaim loudly, breaking her concentration and causing her to fall. She caught herself though, and pushed her energy harder, forcing her to regain her lost altitude and accelerate back up to speed. Rowan turned her minds' eye inwards.

He wasn't inside her head, as she had been inside his, but rather, he was using their bond, talking through it.

'I didn't know we could do that.' She said inwardly. Cell chuckled in reply.

'Really? Well, it's quite a useful technique when you think about it.' He mused. Cell forced an image of a clock into Rowan's mind, and she could see it clearly. It was a large hand-made wooden clock hanging in the window of a hardware store, the hardware store in Sumac city next to Marys' café. Cell was standing in the centre of town already.

'Damn you're fast.' Rowan said with a frown.

'You don't have much time left.' Cell pointed out as he focused on the clock. The time was 1:42. She had 18 minutes left.

'How far away am I?' She asked cautiously. Cell mused for a moment. She could see through his minds' eye as he sensed her out. He saw her as a small, but very bright golden glow. She could also see hundreds of smaller and less-bright yellow glows in tightly packed areas below. He could see the people in the small towns tucked away in a valley not far from where she was flying. She was amazed by this.

'Not quite half way.' Cell said after a moment. Rowan felt her chest tighten at his words.

'Crap!' Cell chuckled again, before the image of her glowing form disappeared from her mind. Cells' attention was brought back to the window he was looking at. Rowan could still see what he was seeing. It was like one eye was focused on what she saw, flying over the landscape and the other, was focused on what Cell was seeing, a reflection in the hardware window. It was a human man, short and stocky with a long black pony tail and thick bushy moustache. His blue eyes were piercing and wore an apron around his waist.

Cell never turned to face him, but he was watching him in the reflection.

'That's Reece Hanson! He's Sumac City's' butcher…' Rowan said, sounding worried.

Reece was carrying a large rifle and he was standing on the opposite side of the street, behind where Cell was standing. Cells' attention switched from Reece as his eyes focused on the window behind Reece. Reece's' wife was inside the butchery, a small camcorder in her hands. She was filming Cell.

'You had better fly faster, Rowan. At 2 O'clock, these two will be dead if you aren't here.'

'No… Damnit Cell, I won't let you kill them!' Rowan's fury fed her energy and her aura erupted around her, brilliant and blue as she accelerated rapidly. Her energy blanket grew stronger as well, and she considered teleporting to the town in order to save Reece and his wife.

'If you teleport Rowan, I'll kill them right now.' Cell said pointedly. 'You still aren't flying fast enough.' Cell was smirking, obviously enjoying himself. 'Better fly faster.'

Rowan roared loudly, clenching her fists as she released all of her energy, forcing it behind her. She rapidly accelerated, until the ground beneath her turned into little more than a blur. Even with her protective blanket of energy, the wind began to hurt her face, but still she pushed harder.

Rowan could only watch through Cells' eyes as he focused back on Reeces' reflection in the hardware window as Reece cocked the gun to his shoulder and aimed it at Cells' broad back. Cell only smirked.

'Don't you dare hurt him! Reece is a good man!' Rowan screamed mentally. She was putting everything she had into flying, aware that every muscle in her body burned with the force of her power, and that soon, she would have nothing left.

"Cell! Turn around, you giant, green, son of a bitch!" Reece's gruff voice held a heavy southern accent. Cell slowly glanced back over his shoulder giving Reece the once over, before turning his attention back to the hardware window and the clock, effectively dismissing Reece.

Reece was trembling. Rowan couldn't tell if it was from fear or anger. All she could think of was that she had to save him. He had always been good to her, offering her a smile and a chat as she walked through town, and occasionally some free sausage links or cuts of meat, and she couldn't bear to watch him die because of her.

"Damnit, don't you ignore me!" Reece yelled angrily. "I'm warning you, I will shoot!" Cell still didn't move. He kept his back to Reece and made no acknowledgment of Reece or his threat.

'Hurry up Rowan.' Cells' voice taunted as he focused on the clock. Less than 5 minutes to go.

"That's it! Go to hell!" Reece yelled before he squeezed the trigger on his rifle. The bang was incredibly loud to Rowan, aware that Cells' hearing was sensitive. Cell didn't move. The bullet struck his lower back, but it bounced off harmlessly, clattering to the pavement floor.

Reece stared in stunned silence at the spent bullet, crushed from the force of the impact. He swallowed the lump in his throat, visibly afraid. But he wasn't a coward and he reloaded his gun, aiming it back at Cell and firing again.

This time, the bullet struck the exposed flesh in the back of Cells neck. But it had much the same reaction as the first, the crushed bullet dropping to the floor without leaving so much as a mark on Cells' skin.

Cell chuckled as Reece lowered his gun, horrified, but he stood his ground, staring.

"Are you quite done?" Cell asked casually. He still didn't turn to face Reece, watching him through the reflection in the window, while also keeping an eye on the clock.

"What… Are you?" Reece managed, his voice shaking. Cell smirked and slowly unfolded his arms.

The clock read 1:59.

Rowan was screaming with absolute determination. She had no energy left, but still she was powering across the sky like bright blue jet fighter, running entirely on grit determination and her anger.

Cell watched the clock as it the second hand ticked around to the 12.

"Time is up." Cell said out loud.

"What?" Reece replied.

"NOOOOO!" Rowan screamed out loud. She could see the town up ahead, nestled in amongst the forested area. She could even see the clearing in the distance where once her little house had been nestled amongst the greenery.

Cell turned around slowly, facing Reece, as he raised one of his arms, stretching out his hand. He paused for just a moment, chuckling.

A sphere of brilliant and intense blue light formed in his outstretched palm, aimed at Reece. Reece was still shocked and he made no attempt to move as Cell laughed cruelly, firing the blast.

The sudden eruption of dirt and debris cloaked the street in a cloud of dust. Small chunks of pavement rained down and Cell smirked. He wasn't a fool.

The dust cleared and Reece was still standing, staring at Rowans' back. The blast hadn't been from Cell, but the sheer amount of force that she had crashed into the ground with, but she had saved Reece, absorbing the energy blast with her outstretched hands.

Unfortunately, she was utterly spent. Her body had been pushed beyond her limits and she was struggling just to keep standing upright. She was trembling, covered in sweat and panting heavily, but the fire in her eyes burned bright and she glared at Cell.

"…Rowan?" Reece managed a hoarse whisper. The shock and surprise on his face made him look like an entirely different person. Rowan didn't break her glare with Cell but she turned her face to the side, talking over her shoulder.

"Get out of her Reece." She said quietly. Reece was shocked into silence.

"You're late." Cell said with a smirk as he powered up another blast in his hand. Rowan grit her teeth.

"Damnit Cell! Are you really going to destroy the whole town because of 10 fricking seconds?" She asked angrily, still breathing heavily. Cell tilted his head back, grinning.

"Of course. You were supposed to be here by 2 O'clock. You were too slow."

"Wait… But… It's only 1…" Reece pointed out, his voice small and shaky. Rowan glanced back over her shoulder at Reece.

"What?" She asked. Reece pulled himself back up and pointed at the hardware store.

"That clock is set to Central City time, because that's where Mikey comes from." Reece was still shaken, but his voice gained confidence and strength as he spoke.

"Oh…That's… That's right…" Rowan said as she remembered, blinking a few times. She brought the memory into her mind's eye, showing Cell. Mikey was the man who owned the hardware store, a very strong and masculine man with short blonde hair and hairy arms. She remembered when she first came to the town and Mikey was standing outside the hardware store with a different handmade grandfather clock . He had told her about his home in Central City and how he missed it terribly, and he kept the time on Central City's time in order to make him feel at home.

Rowan had been expecting Cell to pout, or protest, instead he just chuckled and made no effort to lower his arm. She turned her attention fully back to him.

"You… You knew…" She said quietly. His broad smirk answered her theory. "This whole time, you knew that I had another hour…" Her voice turned dark and angry and her eyes narrowed as her hands balled into fists.

"But of course." Rowan's anger flared around her in a burst of brilliant blue.

"You ass, you were going to kill them and I still had an hour to get here…" She roared. Her body couldn't keep up with her new exertion, and her legs gave out under her. Her blue aura vanished as she fell to her hands and knees, panting to catch her breath, trembling. She looked up at Cell, furious, but aware that she couldn't do anything to stop him now. She didn't have the energy to stand, let alone teleport him away from Reece and the town.

"I knew you would save them." Cell said, still focusing his new attack at Rowan. But his eyes had softened as she had collapsed to the ground. "Besides, I was right. You just needed the motivation to push yourself." Rowan shook her head at his words, frustrated and angry.

"Why are you being such an ass?" She asked quietly, her voice hoarse from yelling and her heavy exertion. Cell smirked, narrowing his eyes. The blue ball of light in his hand was full of power and menace. It would be so easy for him to destroy the town and her right now.

He didn't reply, but instead glanced at the window where Reeces' wife was still recording everything from the other side of the glass. Rowan peered over her shoulder, watching as Reece also followed her gaze. Reece swallowed a lump in his throat and turned back to Rowan.

It took every ounce of will power that Rowan had to force her feet underneath her body as she shakily stood up. Her knees trembled and every single muscle screamed in agonizing protest. Her body was spent. She had nothing left to give except the fire of her spirit. She gave Reece a weak smile.

"Go, get her out of here Reece. It's not safe." She said quietly, but with as much authority as she could muster. Reece hesitated, glancing between Rowan who was clearly no match for Cell, and the imposing android with his arm outstretched, a ball of glowing blue death still held in his palm.

Cell snickered as Reece finally turned, clutching his rifle to his chest as he hurried inside. Rowan watched over her shoulder as Reece grabbed his wife by the elbow and steered her away from the window, out of sight.

Finally, Rowan sighed and she turned back to Cell. Slowly, he closed his hand, clenching his fist as the ball of light vanished. Rowan glared angrily at him, but as he folded his arms across his chest, she felt her anger give way to the pain she felt, and she let her legs give out under her in a more controlled way, awkwardly falling onto her rear as she sat in the street.

"I was right." He said smugly as he watched her closely. She was sitting with her legs spread, hunched forward, shivering from the massive energy exertion. Slowly, she lifted her face to glare back up at him.

"I don't care if you were right. You were going to hurt people, for no reason." She replied venomously. Cell chuckled and slowly stepped towards her. She stared up at him, feeling so small as he towered completely over her. He offered her his hand after a moment and with a heavy sigh, she took it. He pulled her to her feet with such ease, she felt like she was little more than a feather. He didn't let her hand go as she regained her balance on her feet. She felt his hand growing warm against hers.

Rowan was so exhausted she was like a dry sponge being dunked in water as he channelled his energy into her body. The rush of energy was exhilarating. The aches and pains vanished and the minor bruises and burns of this mornings' flying lessons healed rapidly. She began to glow blue as he continued to feed power into her until finally, she let his hand go, deciding she had enough. Cell folded his arms across his chest again and smirked as Rowan flexed, feeling the renewed power and vigour of her body. Finally she sighed and let her arms fall against her side and she smiled up at him, her aura disappearing as she brought this new energy under her control.

"Thanks, Cell." She murmured quietly. His smirk turned into a menacing grin as his wings opened and he hovered off of the ground.

"Come." He ordered. His aura erupted around him like a golden inferno as he suddenly blasted into the sky. Rowan sighed and focused. She felt the ground fall away from her as she lifted herself off of the ground. She paused for a moment, looking down as Reece and his wife ran out into the street below her.

"Rowan!" Reece yelled up at her. "Thank you!" He waved furiously and Rowan lifted her arm in acknowledgement, smiling before she let her new power rip, her aura flaring up around her, brilliant and blue. She blasted off after Cell, laughing at just how alive she felt with the renewed power.

Cell was little more than a golden speck on the horizon. She was amazed at just how far he had travelled, in only a matter of moments. She followed his golden vapour trail, testing her speed, amazed at how quickly the ground zoomed along below her. Now that she knew she could fly, it seemed easier than it had before.

She kept her energy blanket tightly wrapped around her, protecting her skin from the severe wind and icy chill of the air. She was aware the Cell had stopped and that he was waiting for her, arms folded across his chest, suspended in the air, wings opened behind him, golden aura burning brightly around him.

He still wore his smirk. Below them was the grey rocky landscape of the gorge that Rowan had passed over earlier. Her eyes followed the huge natural gash in the landscape towards the mountains far to her right. She was aware that there was a concentration of people on the other side of the mountains. But they were quite a distance away and below them, only rocks and shrubs and a scattering of stunted trees.

"I am amazed, at just how quickly you're learning." Cell said as he let his aura diminish. Rowan felt a flush of colour rise to her cheeks at his compliment. She was aware that he had taken her far from where anyone could possibly hear him, just to say so, but the fact that he had, was still quite remarkable.

"I'd thank my teacher, but his ego is big enough without me feeding it." She replied with a grin. Cell snickered at her, slowly closing the distance between them.

"I am curious, how much you could achieve with a little encouragement." He said quietly as he reached his hand out to her cheek.

"I don't want you to hurt anyone Cell." She said with a grim determination. He chuckled, ignoring her comment, and lowering his face to hers, kissing her mouth. She tried to resist him, but it was increasingly hard as he held one hand against her cheek, the other against the small of her back, pulling her against his body.

Finally he let her mouth go and tilted her face up as he kissed her neck. Her arms slid around his neck and she found herself once again, completely at his mercy.

"A few days ago, you believed you were a mere human." He said, his breath hot against her neck as he spoke. "Not two days ago, you just barely managed to absorb a tiny amount of energy and even then, you had to discharge it. Yesterday, you channelled a monstrous amount of my energy through your body without any serious repercussion and just now, you absorbed another large amount, without even having to vent any of it off." His hand on her lower back slid lower, squeezing her rear through her jeans. His other hand toyed with her hair as it slid behind her head. Rowan tried to focus, but he was making it hard for her to concentrate.

"It wasn't that much, surely." Her voice was husked and breathy as he gently bit at her neck and ear.

"Compared to me, no. But at this moment in time, I'd say your power level is on par with Piccolos'." Rowan was surprised by this and she gently pushed his face away from her neck so she could look him in the eye.

"You're joking, right?" She asked. His eyes were lidded and full of lust, his mouth partially opened, but slowly he smirked at her.

"No, I am not joking. It's why I'm curious. You don't even know what you're capable of right now." He said quietly, before he pulled her face back into a hungry kiss. She returned it, tasting his tongue before biting his bottom lip. He chuckled into her mouth, but broke their kiss, staring down at her with a broad smirk as he slowly licked his lip. It sent an electric charge down her spine, but she forced herself to focus.

"Just imagine what I'll do tomorrow." She finally managed to say. His eyes hardened for a moment and his smirk faded.

"Tomorrow is the tournament… Do you intend to try to fight me?" He asked her suddenly. Rowan hesitated under the intensity of his stare but slowly, she nodded.

"I'll do what I can to stop you." She declared quietly. Cells' eyes narrowed and he frowned.

"Surely you jest." He said flatly. Rowan pushed herself free from his embrace, hovering back a few feet, putting distance between them.

"I'm being serious, Cell." He folded his arms across his chest, staring with a disapproving frown on his face.

"What exactly, are you expecting to do against me? You might be able to fly and absorb energy, but you are no fighter, Rowan. You wouldn't last 10 seconds in a real fight." Rowan nodded slowly.

"I know. One good hit from you and I'd probably be little more than a smear on the arena floor." She said with a bitter smile. "But, as long as you pose a threat to the world and the people who live on it, then I kind of have a duty to do whatever I can to stop you. After all, your current power, is my fault." Cell frowned at her, his eyes narrow and his arms folded across his chest, he looked truly annoyed.

"As I recall it, Rowan, you gave yourself to me willingly, knowing full well the consequences of your actions." Cell pointed out. Rowan grinned wryly.

"I had to do that to seal the bond between us." She said quietly. Cell studied her for a long time in silence, staring as his mind raced.

"And why was that so important? What are you not telling me, Rowan?" He finally asked. His voice was cold and icy and although he looked calm and collected, she could feel his anger seething under the surface, ready to explode. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, hesitating. She couldn't lie to him. He could read her far too well.

"I… Um… Well…" She stopped, unable to bring herself to tell him. He snarled at her in annoyance.

"Tell me Rowan. Aside from us sharing a mental link, what else does this bond do?" Although his voice was calm and level, it felt as if he was screaming at her. She couldn't hide it. There was no other choice. She took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"If I die, you die with me. And vica-versa."

Cells' reaction was exactly as she had been expecting. It took a second for the impact of her words to really sink in, where he just stared, furiously at her, before he suddenly exploded. His energy was powerfully potent and the blast that radiated out was strong enough to force her backwards several feet, before she was able to stabilize herself. Her hair whipped around her as he roared, utterly infuriated.

His golden aura turned into a monstrous column of power, discharging huge arches of blue power up into the sky which was beginning to turn dark. The ground below him was shaking with his terrible power, shattering the rocks and causing the debris to rise up into the sky.

"WHAT?!" He screamed, his face twisted with his rage. Rowan was terrified, and despite her resolve, she couldn't hide her fear, lifting her arms to protect her face from the onslaught of his power.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you!" She yelled over the roar of his inferno. For a moment, she was glad they were way up in the sky. Even now the ground was suffering as a huge crack branched out from under Cell splitting off to join the gorge. Cell was so angry he couldn't even formulate words as he vented his frustration. It was made worse as she tried to reach out to him mentally, and only received a huge wave of his anger in return, forcing her to slam up her mental defences.

"You didn't THINK that little DETAIL, was worth mentioning BEFORE HAND?!" He roared finally. His pupils were little more than pin-pricks, and the veins in his neck stood out vividly.

"Calm down Cell, you're over reacting!" She yelled at him. He began to move towards her, slowly. Even from the distance she was at, his power was overwhelming. The heat was intense and she was terrified of one of those discharges striking at her. But despite this, she held her ground as he approached.

"You think I'm over-reacting, Rowan? I am supposed to be PERFECT, without weakness or flaw!" He snarled at her, stopping a few feet from where she was. He regained control over himself and his energy stopped increasing, but the immense power he was channelling now, didn't subside either.

"You think I'm a flaw?" She asked bitterly. His face darkened and his pale lavender gums showed as he snarled.

"You are a weakness. Something that can be exploited. Used against me. Such things are unacceptable." Rowan felt his words stab at her heart and the scar in her chest ached bitterly. She tried not to let his foul temper and angry words bring her down, but it was hard to not take what he said seriously.

"Can it be undone?!" He demanded. She hesitated for a moment as she considered this.

"It can be weakened over time." She finally answered quietly. "If you truly don't feel anything for me, then it will fade until it's no longer a threat to your life." His eyes narrowed until they were barely slits.

"But nothing will sever this infernal bond prior to the tournament?!"

Rowan shook her head slowly.

"No. Even if you hated me with a vengeance, it wouldn't sever the bond. As far as I am aware, only time will weaken it."

"DAMNIT ROWAN!" Cell roared suddenly, his aura flaring even greater into a swirling vortex that surrounded him. Rowan was blasted backwards by the sudden surge of power, and she struggled to keep herself hovering in the air.

"Everything comes with a price Cell!" She yelled at him when she had finally regained control over her flying, steadying herself a distance away from him again. He glared at her as blue lightning shot out of the thick black clouds that were swirling overhead, striking at the golden column that surrounded Cell. He didn't even blink, completely unfazed by the power, his eyes focused entirely on her. Rowan grit her teeth, determined not to turn tail and run from him, even though all his anger was focused on her.

"Are you planning on using it against me tomorrow?" He asked quietly. His voice was back under his control, but nothing else suggested he had calmed down. Rowan grimaced at the question, which made him snarl again.

"Only if you were planning on doing something stupid, like blowing up the Earth…" She replied hesitantly.

"You would kill yourself, in order to stop me?" His voice was like ice but his eyes were full of furious fire.

"Look at yourself Cell! Can you really say you're surprised?! Look at what you're doing right now!" Rowan pointed at the ground beneath Cell which was slowly collapsing into the giant crack as it spread out beneath him. Cell lowered his gaze down, studying the destruction beneath him.

A moment passed and as quickly as it had started, it was over. His monstrous power faded and the swirling clouds overhead slowed and then stopped, beginning to disperse. The ground stopped shaking and the sunlight began to shoot through the clouds as the sky opened up again.

Cell lifted his gaze back to hers, frowning, but he looked visibly, more under control although he was no less angry. Rowan couldn't help but let out the breath she had been holding, feeling a small amount of relief. Cell was truly, utterly terrifying when he was mad. His power was staggering. Even just channelling it was enough to cause huge amounts of destruction. She didn't want to know what he could do when he actually tried.

His intent gaze was un-nerving, especially as the silence between them grew. She felt tiny under his stare, small and insignificant. Whatever he was thinking, it was deciding her fate as well as her own but he gave away nothing on his face.

"Zenni, for your thoughts?" She asked quietly after several moments had passed. The dust had settling below them and the clouds were once again light and fluffy and scattered across the afternoon sky. The sun light that reached her was delightfully warm. Cell narrowed his eyes slightly but he sighed and slowly folded his arms across his chest.

"I was considering my options." He said in a casual voice. If he was still angry, he was now hiding it well. "There are a lot of scenarios that could play out, but it is difficult to truly know how you would react in any given situation and with so many variables, any truly good plan, would be uncertain at best." Rowan stared at him a little surprised for a moment.

"So… What does that mean now?" Cells' face broke into a smirk, something that was surprisingly comforting to Rowan.

"It means, that for now, with a great deal of trepidation, I might add, that I have decided to 'wing it'." Cell said with a great deal of arrogance. Rowan couldn't stop herself and she laughed.

"You've decided to do nothing, basically." She laughed. Cells' eyes narrowed as his smirk grew.

"Not nothing exactly." He said with a cruel grin. "If you are to be my weakness, Rowan, then I'm sure as hell going to make sure you're also my source of strength." Rowans' smile fell suddenly and she stared with a frown at Cells' face. It was shadowed with a malicious cruelty.

"What are you saying?"

"I'll keep my word. I'll wait until after the tournament." He replied coyly. But he offered no further explanation. He didn't need to. Rowan knew exactly what he was saying. He was going to use her, repeatedly, after the tournament.

"Assuming you win, tomorrow." Cell's face twisted into a scowl at her words.

"You think I won't?" He asked with a great deal of pride. "I am stronger, faster and far more resourceful than any of them. They will not defeat me. They stand no chance."

"What about me?" She asked, bringing their entire conversation full circle again. Cell snarled and was silent for several moments, glaring at her.

Suddenly he chuckled and he closed his eyes, unfolding his arms and spreading them out to the side.

"If you can land an attack on me, just one attack, I won't stop you from facing me in the arena." He declared with a grin. Rowan narrowed her eyes at him.

"Just one attack?" He nodded and held up his index finger to emphasize the point.

"Just one. But if you touch the ground before you can hit me, then you have to give me your word that you won't be as foolish as to dare to challenge me tomorrow." Rowan considered the deal carefully. The odds were stacked high against her. But at least now, the whole world wasn't watching and he wouldn't be pressured to do something stupid. Besides, if she couldn't hit him now, she wouldn't be able to do much tomorrow.

"Alright, agreed." Cell's face twisted into the most malicious grin she had ever seen him make.

"Good. Then, let us begin!" He roared the final word as he suddenly charged at her. But Rowan had been expecting that and she disappeared a fraction of a second before his open hand grabbed the air where she had just been. He laughed as he whirled around effortlessly blocking a sloppy punch from her. He was so much faster than she was as his free hand grabbed her wrist and threw her down with enough force to turn her into a rocket.

But she disappeared again before she hit the ground, regaining her control of flying high overhead where she had teleported to. She felt Cell probing their mental connection but she kept her mental defences up tight, blocking him from sensing her that way. But he didn't need the connection to track her movements. He could sense her energy and almost instantly, he was powering towards her again.

Rowan kept her energy blanket around her without letting it falter, allowing her to teleport almost instantly rather than having to generate it anew each time. It made her faster than Cell, buying her precious time as she teleported out of his reach. He was chuckling as he chased after her, clearly enjoying the sport.

It was taking every amount of concentration she had to focus on Cell. His movements were staggeringly fast and he was little more than a blur as he chased her across the sky. If she couldn't teleport, their game would have ended quite fast. As she teleported once again just as he reached where she had been a second earlier, he stopped and whirled around to face Rowan. She was a fair distance away from him, grimacing from the sheer concentration and focus as well as the energy drain that such frequent teleporting was costing her.

"This is actually quite fun, dear." He said with a chuckle. But his eyes narrowed as he smirked. "But, all fun things must come to an end." Cell paused for a moment and suddenly vanished.

Rowan didn't even turn to look, she knew he had teleported behind her, his hands circling her waist as he bear hugged her. He brought his mouth to her ear as he snickered, biting her ear. The sudden shock of pain sent an electrifying current down her spine, tightening her belly and causing her to lower her guard.

He suddenly blasted towards the ground, still pinning her against his chest. Rowan barely managed to bring her body back under her control, fighting against his sneaky distraction, vanishing in his arms as he slammed into the ground.

Small rocks and dust exploded into the sky, taking a moment to settle. Cell stood up, with his grin spread across his face as he looked up at Rowan hovering high in the sky, her face flushed with colour.

"That was a dirty trick." She declared a little annoyed. He only laughed, spreading his wings as he blasted back into the air towards her. She scowled and disappeared, appearing directly behind him. He used his momentum to flip forward, slapping her away with his opened wings before she could strike. In the same movement, he grabbed her ankle before she could be knocked back too far and tossed her at the ground.

The attack from his wings had stunned her for a second as she hadn't been expecting the counter attack, but it hadn't done any real damage, and she quickly righted herself. She didn't even have to teleport to save herself from hitting the ground. Cell was watching her, still suspended upside down in the air. He had obviously been expecting her to teleport, and hadn't given chase.

"Good Rowan. Your mastery over flying is quite remarkable." He observed. She scowled up at him, her blue aura erupting around her as she blasted towards him. Cell grinned and lifted his arms into a defensive posture. Rowan roared, pulling a fist back to strike him with as she charged towards him. But she disappeared just before she was in range to strike, reappearing behind him. She struck out at him, but his incredible speed saved him, narrowly missing his back by a hairs breadth as he twisted away.

He righted himself and grinned at Rowan. She charged again, this time following through with her attack, but he effortlessly deflected it with his forearm. She tried again, gritting her teeth as she tried to punch him, earning only chuckles from Cell.

"Your technique is terrible. Even if you could land one of these on me, it would do more damage to you." He pointed out smugly as he continued to effortlessly block her attacks. Rowan snarled, annoyed and tried to kick him in the side instead. He grabbed her calf easily and using her own momentum, swung her around and threw her down again. This time he did give chase, reaching out to push her down.

Rowan teleported out, and Cell stopped himself from crashing into the ground, sending a cloud of dust out as he hovered over some shrubs. He couldn't deny he was enjoying himself as he turned back up to face Rowan. She looked down at him, determined not to let him get the better of her, and she teleported again. Cells' eyes widened as she appeared, inches from the ground beneath him.

Rowan didn't need to charge energy like he did. Her ability allowed her to channel massive amounts of energy in a very short amount of time and she threw everything she had out and up at Cell through her outstretched hands.

Cell narrowly avoided the beam of blue light as it shot past him into the sky. He followed it for a moment until it disappeared harmlessly into the atmosphere and he turned back to Rowan. She was breathing heavily from the sudden exertion. He smirked.

"That was unexpected." He declared, before he suddenly lunged down at her with his feet. Rowans' eyes widened and she disappeared just as Cells' boots crashed into the ground with enough force to put a giant dent in the Earth.

Rowan was running low on power. She had hoped the energy blast would have been enough of a surprise to catch him off guard, but he had avoided it and it had cost her both her energy, and the element of surprise.

Cell appeared suddenly opposite her, smirking.

"I feel I should complement you on your ingenious plan. But since it ultimately failed, I think I won't." He said with a sneer. Rowan growled at him, clenching her fists. Beads of sweat were trickling down the side of her face and she was acutely aware that her ill-fitting clothes were little more than rags at this point, in stark contrast to Cell who looked completely unfazed by his earlier exertion in his pristine armour.

"I wonder how long you can keep up this game of cat and mouse." He mused as he folded his arms across his chest. Rowan remained silent, her mind racing to come up with a plan. He was too damn fast and too smart. Anything she tried to do, she could only really try once. A second time would be just plain stupid.

Rowan disappeared again suddenly, reappearing behind Cell. He whirled around, as she disappeared again. He dodged forwards as her attack missed him completely, but she followed through with the momentum, going over the top of him, avoiding being slapped by his wings again. He righted himself in one fluid movement and reached out to grab her, but she vanished as his hand grabbed thin air. Only she reappeared in much the same place, just slightly to the side. Cells' eyes widened, as she aimed a punch at his face.

He barely managed to whip his head back, dodging the strike. If she had aimed lower, she would have struck him, Cell realized and he quickly recovered his composure as she swung another jab, this time lower. She had realized it too. He grabbed her wrist effortlessly and yanked her towards him as he extended his other elbow, ramming it into her abdomen.

He hadn't intended to hurt her, it was a reaction that had been triggered by the near-miss. She coughed, winded by his attack, but it hadn't been a powerful jab and at most, it would leave a bruise. He let her wrist go as she suddenly swung out at him again, a renewed fire in her eyes.

"Damnit Cell, that hurt!" She snarled, as she struggled to straighten herself out. Cell chuckled, covering up his own concern.

"That was only a tap." He said half-heartedly. "And you want to seriously fight me?" Rowan growled and charged at him again, swinging. He easily blocked the first attack, and lifted his other arm to block the next swing, only she disappeared as she swung. He was learning her tricks as quickly as she was and he disappeared as her fist harmlessly swung through the air where he had been. She looked around, struggling to find him. She couldn't sense his energy like he could, and with their mental link blocked, she was forced to rely on her eyes.

"Up here!" He yelled, causing her to look directly above her. He held his hands cupped at his side. Rowan watched, suddenly terrified as she saw the brilliant blue energy stutter into a solid glow inside his hands.

"Wait, Cell, don't do anything stupid! That could kill me!" She yelled, unable to hide the fear she felt.

"It could do a great deal more to the Earth if you don't catch this." He warned her as a vicious grin spread across his face.

"Please don't Cell!" She cried out. Cell only laughed as the blue light intensified.

"Catch!" He roared, thrusting his arms forward, unleashing a tremendous amount of power in one go. Rowan grit her teeth, swallowing her fear as she threw her arms forward.

The blast struck her hands with a tremendous amount of force, pushing her down towards the ground. She screamed as she forced herself to absorb the power. It was immense, blistering her hands and burning a course through her body from the intensity of such raw power.

It quickly replenished her energy stores and then began to over-load her body and she was forced to channel the excess out, lifting one of her hands up towards the sky and blasting the energy out and up above her. Cell stopped fuelling the blast, laughing as Rowan sucked in the last of the Kamehamaeha wave, her body glowing blue and crackling with power as the excess discharged out harmlessly into the sky.

Rowans' body trembled from the sudden shock of power, her hands were burned and blistered, but she had never felt more powerful. The force of the attack had pushed her until she was hovering just a few inches above the ground. She snarled, glaring up at Cell.

"You… Jackass!" She screamed. Cell laughed at her, folding his arms across his chest.

"Very good Rowan!" He yelled down at her, unaware of just how furious she was.

She didn't even think about what she did, as she suddenly disappeared, re-appearing directly in front of Cell. All the anger she felt at Cell for daring to endanger the Earth for no apparently good reason except his own amusement, fuelled her actions. She screamed, throwing her hand forward, palm open at Cell. He didn't realize just how potent her attack was, and he intended to simply deflect it away.

But her energy was concentrated and she channelled everything she had just absorbed, plus all of her reserves into this single attack. It took no time to charge, and it was savage.

Cell realized it too late, and she was right in front of him. The energy blast was only the size of her hand, but it was powerfully potent and it struck his right shoulder, ripping through armour flesh and bone until it erupted out behind him.

Rowans anger vanished as soon as she realized what she had done. Cell was staring, stunned at Rowan, his right arm was all-but amputated, hanging on by threads. Rowan's face twisted into horror.

"Oh my god, Cell…." She trailed off, watching as Cell inspected the hole in his perfect body. He grabbed his dangling arm with his left hand and ripped it free, discarding it. With a grunt, he regenerated a new limb, effectively repairing the damage dealt. Satisfied, he lifted his gaze to Rowan. The look he gave her was death. She didn't have a chance to open her mouth to say anything. His attack was sudden and savage as he backhanded her hard across the face with a brutal 'crack'.

She went flying like a bullet towards the mountain in the distance. Barely a moment passed before a trail of dust and debris was carved through a forested area at the base of the mountain several miles away from where Cell hovered.

His face was contorted into a snarl, until a sudden wave of immense pain crippled him and he doubled over, winded. The pain wasn't physical and it took him several moments for his anger-clouded brain to figure it out.

Rowan was hurting, and so was he.

He regained his composure, forcing himself upright and with gritted teeth, he blasted towards Rowan.

She had created a rather hefty trail of destruction through the forest until she had come to rest at the base of a collapsed tree. She was sprawled awkwardly, unmoving.

He landed besides her, stunned by his own actions. Guilt gripped him then as painful memories from Seru played through his mind.

Future Rowan coughing as she made a deal with a stranger on the highway as he had hidden in the tree line. The stranger seizing his chance, had uppercut her in the chest and in his fury, Seru had charged the man, killing him brutally. He had turned on the young girl that had been travelling with the stranger, but Rowan had put herself between them. In his fury, Seru had backhanded Rowan out of the way.

Although Cell knew that he hadn't killed her, the fact was, that later that day, Rowan had died. And he couldn't help but feel as if he had struck the final blow.

And now he had done it again. Rowan was not a fighter. She could deal with energy attacks, far better than the Z warriors, but physical attacks would do her serious damage. And he had struck her with a tremendous amount of force.

Her mouth was twisted into a grimace of pain, her lip and nose were oozing blood and the right side of her face was a giant dark bruise. He was afraid for a moment as he lowered himself to the ground besides her. Gingerly he slid his hand under the back of her head and lifted her forward. It was clear to him from the odd way her mouth hung that he had broken her jaw.

"Rowan?" He asked quietly, gently inspecting her body for any other apparent injuries. He was careful, finding a number of bruises and scrapes, but no apparently broken bones.

Gingerly she groaned as she stirred back into consciousness. It felt as if she had been hit by a train at full speed, and everything hurt. Her face screamed in protest as she tried to open her eyes and she grimaced, clenching her jaw which hurt even more.

She was aware of Cells' hand gently probing her jaw and she groaned in pain but she couldn't bring herself to speak and all she could do was weakly flail.

"Stop moving Rowan. Your jaw is broken." Cell ordered. Rowan grimaced, and tried to open her eyes again. Only her left eye opened, the right was sealed shut from the swelling. She glared up at Cell for a moment. His face was shadowed and dark. She tried to talk again but the pain was dizzying and she felt nauseous.

Instead she turned inwards, projecting herself towards Cell.

'You Jackass!' She yelled at him mentally. 'I can't believe you hit me like that!'

"To be fair, you blew off my arm." He retorted quietly with a small smile. She narrowed her eye at him.

'To be doubly fair, YOU TRIED TO BLOW ME UP!' She screamed. Cell winced at her mental scream.

"It was not my intention to hurt you. Would it make you feel better if I said I was sorry?" He asked quietly. She glared at him for a long time before she sighed nasally and sat up gingerly. She felt sick to her stomach and the pain was making her see stars. He tried to help her to her feet, but she pushed him away and slowly made her way upright on her own. She stood shakily on her feet, but levelled an angry glare at him with her one good eye.

'What would make me feel better right now, Cell, is if you left me the hell alone.' She said mentally with a great deal of venom. Cell frowned and made to move towards her, but she slammed up her mental defences and teleported away before he could touch her.

Their connection wasn't broken, but it was unpleasantly cold and for the first time in his life, he felt quite upset to be utterly alone. He vented his frustration and anger in a sudden forceful blast of energy out from his body, creating a huge crater as his power pushed the trees, rocks and ground, out and away from his body. It did little to ease his tense feelings.

He spread his wings and with an eruption of golden power, he blasted into the air, heading back towards his arena. The countdown to the tournament was no longer a matter of days, but rather a matter of hours and it was high time he made an appearance plus it would give him time to think.

Rowan appeared in the streets of Central City. The place looked worse for wear. Almost every window at street level had been shattered and there were piles of debris, over turned cars and garbage scattered throughout the street. Rowans' clothes that she had 'borrowed' from the cottage earlier in the morning, were now little more than rags, peppered with holes, singed, ripped and frayed, offering her little protection or decency. Shards of glass littered the pavement and the streets, acting as caltrops. Picking her way across the pavement became a time consuming hassle, and with a grunt at the exertion, Rowan lifted herself off of the ground and hovered down the street.

It didn't take long to find a clothing store that had been ransacked, clothes scattered through the shattered window. Rowan sighed and settled on the ground, stepping over the threshold of the display window and gingerly heading into the store. There wasn't a lot left, but she wasn't fussy at this point. She donned some fresh underwear, a rather bland bra, a pair of form fitting jeans that had a rip in the calf from the glass, and a rather plain red tank top. She inspected herself in the mirror and stared, stunned at the reflection that stared back at her.

The bruise on her face was terrible, dark, ugly and swollen. Her jaw looked awkward and out of place. Her skin was peppered with small bruises and the mark on her neck from where Cell had bit her yesterday, all stood out vividly against her skin, which was several shades lighter than it had been. Her hair was a tangled mess, but it too, looked lighter. Rowan lifted her shirt, inspecting the changes in her body.

The softness of her thighs and belly had become firmed and toned. She could even see definition in her flat stomach, which amazed her. She gingerly touched the skin, but it too was bruised from Cells' elbow.

She pulled her shirt back down and stared at herself with concern. She was beaten up, bloodied, bruised and suffering, but on the flip side, she was stronger, faster and more powerful than she had ever been before.

Her stomach rumbled loudly and she felt her anger soften. She was also starving. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and it was late afternoon, plus she had used a staggering amount of energy. She needed to eat something. But she couldn't with a broken jaw.

She narrowed her eyes and considered her options. She needed to visit a hospital. Get her jaw fixed up.

She sighed and thought about Bulma and Doctor Briefs. She quickly dismissed that idea. The Z warriors and their friends and family, would not be willing to help her now. With a sad thought, she dismissed Dende as well. Piccolo would be at the lookout and even though Dende had struck her as a helpful soul, Piccolo would probably try to kill her on sight.

Rowan grinned internally at that thought. If Piccolo did manage to kill her, he would unknowingly, kill Cell as well. If only Piccolo knew that, then boy, would he come after her with a vengeance.

The best place she could think of, was a good old fashioned hospital. She focused on West City, the only place she knew hadn't been evacuated and could hopefully give her the help she needed. She took a deep breath, aware she was running on reserves at this point, as she teleported. She appeared outside the Capsule Corp, the only place she could focus on with great clarity in West City. She stared at the huge yellow domed building for a moment, feeling saddened as she thought of Android 16. She was sorely tempted to visit him, but she couldn't talk so it would do her little good.

"Rowan?" Her focus shattered and she whirled around, facing Doctor Briefs and his wife, Panchy who was holding a metal capsule case. He blinked several times behind his glasses, stunned. "Dear god, what happened to you?" He asked.

"Oh dear me, that looks terribly painful!" Mrs Briefs said with horror. She quickly took Rowans' elbow and began to lead her towards the Capsule Corp. Rowan tried to protest, but the sudden dizzying wave of pain as she tried to talk, made her stumble. Doctor Briefs' quickly grabbed her other elbow, steadying her and they led her inside. Bulma was thankfully nowhere to be seen as they led her into the kitchen. They sat her in a chair.

"You sit right here Rowan and don't move. I'm going to grab my medical kit and some pain killers from upstairs." Doctor Briefs said with authority. He turned to his wife. "Can you grab some fresh towels and the portable X-Ray from the basement honey?"

"Okay dear!" She replied and the two hurried from the room. Rowan had a moment to think. She seriously considered teleporting out before they returned and following through with her original plan but if Bulma wasn't around, she didn't see the point.

"Rowan?" 16's monotone voice caught her off guard and she lifted her head to the back door that led out of the kitchen into the backyard. She grunted a reply and lifted her hand in greeting. 16's eyes were hard as he stared at her. His head had been completely repaired and there was no visible sign of an injury.

"I do not need to ask to know that Cell did that to you." Rowan gave him a small nod and gestured at her right shoulder and made the motion of an explosion. 16 shook his head.

"I do not understand what you are saying. Do not worry, it does not matter." He sat down at the table opposite Rowan. He was a huge man and he looked awkward sitting in the chair. She lifted her eye brows in what she hoped was a smile. He offered her his huge hand and after a moment of hesitation, she gave him hers.

"Did your plan work?" He asked her quietly. Rowan looked him in the eye, and slowly nodded. It was hard to remember that 16 was created by the same man that had created Cell. The contrast between the two were staggering.

Doctor Briefs returned carrying a black case which he opened on the table, revealing several vials of drugs and some packaged syringes. He quickly set about setting one of them up.

"Don't worry Rowan, this is just something to help with the pain." He said as he stabbed the needle into the vial and proceeded to suck out some of the pale yellow liquid. He went to sterilize a spot on her arm, hesitating as he noticed the multitude of burns and bruises. She nodded at him and he proceeded, jabbing the needle into her arm.

Rowan looked over at 16 who was still holding her hand. She almost cried as the pain of her face began to ease and she felt the tension in her body ease. Doctor Briefs smiled at her as he continued to rummage around. A moment later and his wife re-appeared in the kitchen with a stack of fluffy white towels and a small hand held contraption. Doctor Briefs took the contraption from the top and fiddled with it.

"Thank you dear. Could you give Bulma a call?" he asked. Rowan instantly tried to protest, grunting and waving her free hand as she shook her head. Doctor Briefs dismissed her protest and Panchy hurried from the room. Rowan tried to protest but she stilled as Doctor Briefs gently aimed the machine at her face.

"I need you to hold still please." He said quietly as the scanning device shot out several lasers at her jaw, a display appearing on the screen. He analysed it carefully with a frown.

"Well, it's not just broken, but shattered." He put the machine down and stared at her quite intently. "Did Cell do that to you?" He asked. Rowan furrowed her brows and gave him a pleading look, but he didn't budge and finally she sighed and nodded. Doctor Briefs' face went stony and he nodded back. "Right-o, well, no worries. You just sit tight for a minute." He said and he got up and left the room.

Rowan looked over at 16, a constant source of comfort. He smiled at her.

"You have changed." He observed. Rowan shrugged. Her stomach growled and she groaned. 16's smile broadened. Several minutes of awkward silence passed between them, as she could only stare at 16 who smiled back at her.

The sudden appearance of Goku and Gohan in the kitchen startled Rowan and she fell backwards, her arms windmilling as she tried not to overbalance. She failed, crashing onto the floor with a loud grunt.

"Whoops!" Goku exclaimed as Gohan helped her back up. Gohans' face was hard and he wore a scowl as he saw her face. As she stood up to face Goku, his face mimicked his sons.

"Oh wow, that looks nasty!" Goku exclaimed, almost conversationally. Rowan sighed and rolled her eyes, wishing she could talk. Goku pulled a small brown bag from inside his Gi's shirt and opened it up, pulling out a small greyish looking bean.

"Bulmas' dad called Bulma to tell us about you. Said you were injured by Cell. So, I thought you might like one of these!" Goku said with a huge smile as he flicked the bean at Rowan. She caught the bean and looked at it hard.

"It is a senzu bean, Rowan." 16 said in his monotone voice. "If you eat it, it will heal your injury." Rowan sighed and grunted, pointing at her jaw. Goku stared at her for a moment before he finally caught on.

"Oh right! Well, I guess we'll go ask Dende to help!" Goku said with a huge grin. Rowan shook her head and grunted but once again, her protest was ignored as Goku grabbed her shoulder. Gohan touched Gokus' arm as well as Goku pressed his two fingers against his forehead. Rowan felt the teleportation and it was wickedly different to her own as they appeared suddenly on top of the Kamis' Lookout.

Piccolo was the first to appear, snarling at Rowan.

"What is she doing here?!" He roared. But he stopped as he saw the damage to her face.

"Hey Piccolo! I was hoping Dende could fix Rowan up like he did last time." As if he had been summoned, Mr Popo and Dende ran outside of the temple. Rowan grunted and gave a half-hearted wave at Dende as he approached her.

"Oh my…" Mr Popo exclaimed as he looked at Rowan. Dende frowned as he looked from Piccolo to Rowan. Rowan felt tiny under the intensity of Piccolo's glare.

"You deserve worse." He snarled at her, but he turned his back, folding his arms. Rowan sighed, turning her attention to Dende as he touched her arm, looking at the burns and bruises that peppered her skin.

"What happened?" He asked. Rowan grunted in reply.

"Would you mind fixing her up again?" Goku asked with a grin.

"Waste of energy." Piccolo snarled over his shoulder. Rowan rolled her eyes. Dende nodded.

"Could you sit down please?" He asked her. She complied, easing herself to the floor as Dende very gently touched her face. The painkillers were still numbing the sensation but she could feel his warmth as it spread across her face and into her body. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling her shattered bones miraculously stitch back together and the swelling around her eye ease. Moments passed as Dende's magical touch healed all her various bruises cuts and burns.

"I have done what I can, but for some reason, that will not heal." Dende said. Rowan opened her eyes, following what Dende was pointing at. Her face flushed with colour as she realized he was pointing at the strange bite mark that Cell had given her yesterday.

"I… Uh, yeah. Thank you Dende." She said, her voice a little hoarse, but she felt amazing. Dende beamed up at her.

"So, what happened?" Goku asked chirpily. Rowan looked up him with a small frown.

"Cell lost his temper." She replied a little hesitantly.

"That's not really surprising." Piccolo said bitterly.

"Well, to be entirely fair, I did kind of blow his arm off." Rowan said a little sheepishly. Piccolo whirled around, glaring at her.

"You did what?" He demanded. Goku grinned.

"Really?! That's awesome!" Rowan remained seated in front of Dende, looking around at their faces, all of them focused on her.

"I… Um… Well it's a bit of a long story, but he used the kami umm ka… may…."

"Kamehameha?" Goku asked. Rowan nodded.

"Yeah that. He shot that at me and I deflected it back at him, which took off his arm. He got kind of mad and hit me." She said, deliberately keeping it short. She didn't want to tell them the whole story.

"That's kind of handy. That you can deflect his power back at him." Goku said with a smile. Rowan shrugged and looked down at the floor.

Her stomach rumbled loudly and Goku started to laugh.

"Would you like something to eat, Rowan?" Mr Popo asked quietly. Rowan grinned up at him.

"Would you mind? I'm starving." Mr Popo laughed and nodded. Dende helped her to her feet and she dusted herself off, feeling considerably better.

"Perhaps you would like to freshen up while Mr Popo prepares some food?" Dende asked, noting the dried blood and dirt on her face.

"I would love that."

An hour later and Rowan was feeling infinitely better. She had showered and washed her hair. She had tied it back after she had given it a thorough combing and then she had eaten a huge amount of food. More than she had ever eaten before in her life. But Mr Popo had been expecting that and had prepared several plates piled high with delectable treats.

Goku and Gohan had departed while she had showered and as she had dressed herself, she realized she still had the senzu bean they had given her earlier. She slipped that into her jeans pocket, just in case.

The sun was setting when she finally headed out of the temple with Dende and Mr Popo.

"I am really grateful for everything you've done for me." She said with a smile. Piccolo was standing in his usual spot on the edge of lookout again.

"You are most welcome." Mr Popo said with a grin.

"Are you going back to Cell?" Dende asked. Rowan grimaced at the question.

"I guess. The tournament is tomorrow. Tonight might be the last time I get to see him." She said sadly. Piccolo glared at her over his shoulder.

"You wouldn't do what I think you're going to?" He asked in a venomous voice. She grinned at him wryly.

"I have no intention of giving him any more power than he already has. Besides, he promised Goku." Piccolo narrowed his eyes at her, scowling.

"You disgust me." He snarled.

"And I love you too." She retorted sarcastically. Dende smiled up at her.

"But he hit you." Dende pointed out. Rowan shrugged.

"Yeah, but I don't think he meant to hurt me. It was more of a re-action." She was surprised that she was defending his actions, but she didn't stop herself.

"Well… I guess it's your choice." Dende conceded after a moment.

"Thank you Dende." He nodded.

"Look after yourself, please." Rowan nodded and leaned down to hug him gently before she stood up to her full height and with a sigh, she vanished.

Rowan didn't go back to Cell straight away. She appeared inside the shopping mall where Cell and her had shared their intimacy inside the café upstairs. She looked up towards the café wistfully, but she turned and headed across the plaza towards a pharmacy. It had been ransacked in a hurry. Drug containers and pill packets littered the floor. All of the shelves had been tipped over and stuff was everywhere, but even through the mess, she headed to where the bathroom supplies were kept and found a packet of capsule corp condoms. She opened it, pocketing a few of the foils in her jeans. She was still pissed at Cell for hitting her, but her anger had subsided and she was no fool.

Even now, despite her anger and annoyance, she could feel the pull towards him, and she knew she would go back to him.

She left the pharmacy and headed deeper into the mall, looking around at all the destruction the looters had left behind. Cell might be more capable of mass destruction, but what people had done in their panic and in their greed, was far more devastating.

Rowan found a shoe shop, ransacked and trashed. There were several shoes to choose from, but they were scattered around the store. Finding a matching pair was difficult. But finally, she found a pair of serviceable boots and some socks which she happily slipped on.

'Rowan…' Rowans' eyes widened as Cell probed at their mental connection. She hesitated for a moment before she accepted his touch.

'Cell.' She replied curtly. She could feel his mental turmoil but he didn't say anything for a long time. Finally she turned her attention back to her boot, lacing it up tightly before she headed out of the shoe shop.

She stopped suddenly as she heard voices. Laughing and yelling coming from the entrance plaza and heading in her direction. She snarled and looked around.

'Looters.' Cell said angrily.

'Get out of my head Cell.' She responded as she hurried into the closest shop, a small men's' clothing boutique. She hid behind the counter, sitting on the floor with her back against the cupboards, hidden from sight.

'They are no threat to you now Rowan. You are far more powerful than they are. Taking them out would be quite easy…' He trailed off as she sent a wave of annoyance at him. She could hear them approaching and she dared a glance around the cupboards, peering out the window. There were 3 men and 2 women, all in their mid to late 20s', carrying backpacks and an assortment of weapons, from make-shift clubs to a semi-automatic rifle. The rifle worried Rowan and she ducked back around the cupboard, hiding.

'I don't thrive on confrontation as you do Cell. I would prefer to avoid hurting people where I can.' She said rather angrily. She could hear the group stop, laughing loudly outside the jewellery shop opposite the men's' boutique.

"Hey, you reckon there's anything left?"

"Can't hurt to look!" Rowan heard them enter the shop and start smashing and rifling through the jewellery store. Rowan grimaced at the wanton destruction but she didn't feel threatened and remained where she was.

'I know Rowan. Your compassion is actually something I admire.' Cell said quietly. Rowans' eyes widened and she couldn't hide the surprise she felt.

'I always assumed you thought me weak because I cared about others.' She replied, feeling small. She felt him sigh.

'No. Your conviction in what you believe to be right, and your dedication to helping other people… It's an admirable quality, not a weakness. Even if I don't share it, I can still appreciate it. Plus, it's what makes you strong. You are actually willing to fight me, because you truly believe it is the right thing to do, in order to save people, like those looters. Though you know it is a foolish thing to do, you will still do it.'

'That is probably the nicest way to call someone an idiot, that I have ever heard.' Rowan said with a mental laugh. She heard the looters leaving the jewellery store, heard their footsteps crunching over the glass as they talked and laughed loudly. They were heading away from her, further down the mall, stopping a few shops down to ransack anything else they could find. Rowan remained where she was, waiting.

'You are not an idiot, Rowan. Foolish, perhaps, but not an idiot. I have no doubts about your mental aptitude.' Cell said rather proudly. She focused on their connection, and she could see his arena around him. It was dark there, clouds threatening to break into a storm again. He wasn't fazed by the chilled air.

'Thanks. But I'm still mad at you for hitting me.' She said a little bluntly.

'Your counter attack, blasted my arm off.' He replied, equally bluntly.

'And you tried to kill me with that blast of yours, which you KNEW would risk the Earth!' She yelled at him. Cell was silent for a moment after this.

' Rowan, I am truly sorry for hurting you.' He said quietly, his voice full of sincerity. Rowan sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her back against the cupboard.

'I know you're sorry, Cell. I forgive you for attacking me.' She finally said after a while.

'You have a remarkable gift of making me feel quite humble, Rowan.' Cell said with a small grin.

'It's hard to imagine you being humble.' She replied with a snort. Cell was silent for a moment, as if considering things.

'I know who and what I am. I am fully aware of what I was created for and why. I was given the remarkable collective abilities of the greatest warriors in the universe, and a rather remarkable set of genetic enhancements that give me absolute supremacy in almost any situation. On top of that, I am an incredibly intelligent, very resourceful and adaptable being who can adjust to counter any problem that might present its self. Not to mention my unfathomable power and absolute control over that energy, makes me an unstoppable destructive force.'

'Is there a reason for this monologue?' Rowan asked rather annoyed.

'You do know how much I hate to be interrupted, Rowan.' Cell replied, equally annoyed. Rowan grinned.

'Too bad you aren't here to shut me up.' She said coyly. She felt the rush of temptation from Cell as he sorely considered teleporting to her, and she admired his control as he remained at his arena.

'My point… Before you rather rudely interrupted me, is that, despite being, the single greatest warrior in the universe, I feel as if at times, I am inferior to you.' Rowan sat in completely stunned silence as his words sunk in.

'Okay, I'll admit, I was NOT expecting that from you…. Ever.' Rowan finally managed. She heard him chuckling at her reaction.

'I wasn't expecting to say it. Ever.' Rowan was brought back to the shopping mall as the looters smashed something in the distance, howling with laughter as something large gave way. But they had moved further away from her hiding spot.

'Now, will you please come back to me?' Cell asked her seriously, despite his grin. Rowan sighed.

'I want you answer a question for me first.' She said pointedly.

'And your question is?' Rowan hesitated for a moment.

'Do you still think I am your weakness?' She could feel him withdraw slightly as he turned inwards, considering his answer.

'This is a very difficult question to answer.' He finally said. Rowan nodded her understanding.

'Don't worry about it then.' She said a little disappointed. She felt his focus return and she could almost see the intensity of his eyes.

'To answer your question Yes and No. Yes, not just because you are a huge liability in battle, but because you have such a huge amount of control over me. You have changed me and I would do almost anything for you, as much as it pains me to admit this. And No, because ultimately, you are also my greatest strength, and again, not just because of the power you give me, but also because you make me think, you make me consider things in an entirely different way which opens up new possibilities. Additionally, you give me something to fight for.' Rowan stared down at her hands as she considered everything he had said. She knew that telling her that had cost his pride dearly, which made her appreciate it all the more.

'Does my answer satisfy you?' He asked after the silence had stretched on for quite a while.

'How can I give you something to fight for, if you know I plan to stand against you in the arena?'

'I must admit, that hearing you say that you will stand against me, rather than at my side, is quite a blow. But it does not change my outlook.' Cell said rather bluntly. Rowan sighed.

'It also fails to answer my question.' Rowan pointed out.

'I would still fight to protect you Rowan. You are my mate, and even if you are truly set to stand against me tomorrow, so be it. I still won't hurt you.'

'I feel there should be an 'again' at the end of that sentence.' Rowan added pointedly, but she was smiling, projecting her playfulness at Cell. She felt Cell's irritation but it was half hearted at best.

'I have answered your questions.' He said after a moment. Rowan could feel his impatience and she grinned.

'As beautiful as your arena is, it isn't really inviting with that weather. Plus I know how you get when you have an audience.' Rowan pointed out. She felt a small wave of annoyance emanate from Cell.

'What do I have to do to have you tonight?' He asked bitterly. She chuckled at him, feeling like he was a child, being denied some candy.

'I was merely suggesting that we return to where we began this day.' Cells' annoyance vanished and he smirked.

'I assume you mean the dingy little cabin we spent the night in?' He asked flatly.

'Can you think of somewhere better?'

'At this point in time, I am half tempted to just take you in the clothes shop. The cabin will do fine.' Rowan couldn't hide the giggle at the tone in his voice. She felt him focus on the cabin as he teleported. She noted that it was quite difficult for him to teleport, and it didn't come as easy to him as it did to her.

'Will you be joining me?' He enquired after a moment, snapping her out of her thoughts. She could see him sliding his helmet off, placing it on the small table at the side of the room. Rowan grinned and gently severed their mental connection.

She stood up, and casually dusted her jeans. She turned towards the door, and froze.

"Hello Rowan." Quill said quietly with a huge amount of malice in his voice. Rowan stared at him, stunned. His robe was gone, replaced with a hi-tech form-fitting suit, complete with gadgets on his wrist and forehead.

"Quill?" He seemed so much more menacing in the dim light. "What are you doing here?" She asked. He suddenly levelled a small remote control looking thing at her and fired a beam of green light at her.

Rowan had never been tazered but she imagined it felt something like this. Her entire body fell into spasms as pain flooded her system paralysing her and causing her to collapse to the floor in a sprawling heap. The beam stopped and she struggled to catch her breath as Quill loomed over her.

"I have to admit Rowan, things couldn't have worked out better! Because of you and your sheer ignorance, the Tecktarian race now has in its possession, the greatest source of power in the entire universe. And, because of you, he's completely at our mercy." Rowan tried to scream but her body was completely unresponsive, and she realized she was trapped inside her own head. She turned inwards, trying to scream a warning at Cell, but she received no response from him. The connection had gone dark.

"Oh don't worry about big green. He'll be fine. We just knocked him out. Makes him easier to manage. Apparently, he was expecting someone else to teleport into the room, instead of the small army of Tecktarians with our little neutralizers." Quill tapped the device on his forehead with a cruel grin. "I can see everything and might I add, he was very surprised."

Rowan struggled desperately trying to regain control over her body. She screamed internally out of desperation as Quill knelt down beside her, brushing the hair from her face.

"I suppose I should tell you that everything I told you about our race was basically a lie. I fed you untruths when I dumped all my so called 'memories' in your brain. The only real truth was the information about your abilities and the bond, but even then, some parts I chose to leave out. Everything else was a lie. Your mother, for example, was sent to Earth deliberately to breed with a human." Rowan gave him a questioning look as her body tensed from the spasms. Quill laughed, but proceeded to continue with his story.

"Earth is quite a remarkable place. It has some kind of unknown power to it. Look at the Sayains for example. One super Sayain in the history of the entire race, but they come to Earth and right now, every single Sayain that is on Earth is a damned super Sayain. The human-Sayain hybrids are stronger than their parents. Even the Namekians on Earth are far superior to the ones on Namek. You can see why we were curious." Quill sneered down at Rowan, and all she could do was stare back, horrified.

"So, naturally, we decided to see if it would work for our race too. Your mother, Thornya, was the most gifted of all of us. She could do things that most of us can't. Like teleport for instance. Only a handful of Tecktarians can master that. And the energy absorption. That's a rare gift too. Combined together, and that's exceedingly rare. Something that seems to only run in our family. But anyway, we sent her off to Earth to breed with a human. And lo and behold, you were produced. And look at you! You've only known for a couple of days what you can do, and you've mastered it all. Plus, now you can fly as well. You've shown us all up, as it were."

"Basically, you've become the Tecktarian Prodigy which is what we always wanted. What we didn't want however, was for your mother to sever all contact with us and hide your existence from us, since apparently she decided her sentimental attachment to you and her dead beat mate were more important than the future of her entire race. That seems like a trait that's common on Earth as well."

"In all honesty, if your father hadn't contacted us, we never would have discovered you. But imagine our surprise, when not only did we find that you were in fact, alive and well, but lo and behold, you had attracted the attention of an insanely powerful being. Originally the plan was to bond you with one of the Sayains and consequently drain them, but oh no, you found someone even stronger than that and more importantly, you bonded with him."

Rowan glared up at him as the spasms eased, but she was still paralysed. He chuckled down at her.

"Oh don't look at me like that. It's business! Your mates' energy will power our planets' resources for years! It's insane actually, to know that someone that powerful exists. But don't worry, we've been doing this for years. Draining the energy from alien species to power our own, it makes sense. Just imagine a never-ending supply of rich, non-polluting power that does not cripple our society or endanger our lives. I say our lives, but really I just mean the Tecktarians because those we drain and their sacrificial mates die afterwards. This does make me a little sad since we are going to lose you and your potential could be staggering. But I'd say it's worth it. You and your mate have made me a very, very rich man and I thank you for that."

Quill looked down at the controller in his hand and fiddled with the settings for a moment, looking almost bored as he did so. He aimed it back at Rowan suddenly and grinned.

"Good night Rowan." He said quietly before a blast of green energy struck her again. The pain was intense as it shocked her system, but it ended quickly as she slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N: Please no flipping tables Kat. 3

Sorry for the long delay. I did hit a small writer's block and turned to drawing instead for a while. But it seems to have broken and yay, I can finally get stuck back into this story.

I hope you're enjoying it.