Rowan woke screaming. Her body contorted in response to the unbelievable pain as it felt as if she was being roasted alive. Her scream was drowned out by the infernal roar that was thundering through her skull, threatening to render her deaf. She couldn't open her eyes, as the light was blinding her, even with them scrunched shut.

She tried to move, to get away from the heat but she was bound tightly, held against a flat surface. The sheer intensity of pain was too overwhelming and she slipped back into blessed unconsciousness.

Quill had been watching the computer screens when he had heard her scream. He whirled around, watching as she writhed and struggled against her restraints briefly before she fell still again. He narrowed his eyes as the dozens of Tecktarian technicians frantically milled around. This was the most delicate point of the entire operation, and everything had to run smoothly for the next 20 minutes. So much was at risk.

He stared at Rowan, bound to a silver table inside a tiny, re-enforced glass room at the far side of the huge room they were in. Tubes ran from her wrists and ankles and thick metal strips restrained her tightly. At the top of the domed room was a narrow tubular vent that crackled wildly with blue energy. The entire room looked as if it contained a brilliant golden inferno that was pouring out of her body and up into the vent.

"Sir, at our present rate, the subject will be drained in approximately 22 minutes." One of the younger technicians said as he stopped just short of Quill. Quill turned to face him, scowling.

"That's not fast enough. Increase the output. Open a fourth stream if you have to." The technician swallowed, obviously nervous at such instructions.

"Sir… I fear that much energy is too much strain for the sacrificial mate. We risk…" Quill snarled and backhanded the technician hard across the jaw.

"Don't you dare to lecture me, you worthless waste of space! Just do as you're told!" Quill roared, looming over the younger man who had sprawled on the floor. "Besides, she is far stronger than any other sacrificial mate we have ever utilized before. She can take the strain." The man nodded, nervous and scrambled to his feet, hurrying away from Quill. Others had stopped what they were doing to stare at him and Quill felt his anger flare.

So much was at risk. Cell was unlike anyone they had ever captured before. His regenerative capabilities and his natural immunity and resistance to drugs had made him especially difficult to subdue. It had been Quills' ingenuity that had finally rendered the android paralysed. He just counted himself fortunate, that the surprise attack with the dozen paralysing laser blasts had been enough to stun Cell for long enough to get him restrained. If Cell had been prepared for their attack, Quill doubted the weapons would have been effective.

Quill turned away from the technicians and Rowans' room, placing his hands behind his back. He stepped closer to the raised platform where a huge glass cylinder held his true prize.

Cell was suspended in the air, his arms held out to the sides with thick cables. His body was armoured, something which had proven to be too difficult to penetrate without the use of high-powered lasers which would have taken too much time to utilize, but thankfully, he had done them the service of removing his helmet before he had been ambushed. Cells' head hung forward against his chest, his rich black hair hanging around his face. Inserted in to the back of his neck was a thick metal plate that had severed his spinal cord.

On any other creature, this would have proven to be fatal, but even now, Cells' body was trying to repair itself. The metal plate had almost been ejected in the first few minutes, but a simple strap had overcome that problem, anchoring the plate in place. Quill had never been forced to take such drastic measures to immobilize a person before and he knew the kind of power that Cell possessed. Quill risked much with this endeavour. So much. He had even taken Cell to the space station rather than directly to the Tecktarian planet, just in case.

He glanced at the dials and the screens as they raced with numbers, and couldn't help but smile. So much risk, but the prize, was definitely worth it. With this much energy, with this much power, the Tecktarian Empire would be fuelled for decades which meant that he had earned a monstrous commission and had become one of the richest Tecktarians in history, almost overnight. He just needed to see this to completion, and then he would be free to finally live a life of luxury.

Quills' eyes lingered on the tubes that fed into Cells' wrists and ankles. He considered having them removed to speed the process up. They were feeding him Rowans' blood directly, increasing his power as they drained it. It was a smart thing, maximising the power obtained from a single target, but with Cell, perhaps it was too much.

"Status update?" Quill called out over his shoulder.

"73 levels have been fully charged and the overflow is being directed into the smaller stations. Not long until they too reach capacity." One of the female technicians called out in a very matter-of-fact voice. Quill frowned.

"How much energy does he still have?" Quill asked loudly, without taking his eyes off of the android.

"At best estimation, approximately 29%." Someone else replied. Quill narrowed his eyes.

"It seems we will be forced to vent excess for the first time in decades." Quill said with a frown. There was a murmur of voices behind him as his declaration.

"Can't we keep these subjects for future use?" The woman asked cautiously. Quill turned to face her with a grimace. His excitement over Cell was making his antennae overly sensitive, and they quivered at the female technicians' faint scent. He pushes such thoughts from his mind. Now was no time to allow his focus to slip.

"No. We need to drain him and then kill him, as quickly as we can. He has the ability to annihilate our entire species in a heartbeat. We cannot allow that risk to linger. As potent as his energy is, it is also too dangerous."

"But sir, he can't even move. He's completely at our mercy." An older technician said, his eyes lingering on the plate that was severing Cells' spine. Quill snarled.

"Do not make such assumptions with this one." He declared angrily. "Cell is no mere man. And I am no fool."

As if to make a point, a huge arch of blue lightning struck out from Cells' body, striking against the tube that surrounded him with a brilliant flash that burned the retinas of anyone who was looking at him.

Quill turned back to face him, laughing as several of the technicians winced and backed away. He would have loved to have drained directly from Cell, but his power was unmanageable, potent and far too destructive. They had been forced to drain Cell through Rowan, a method that was far safer but slower. It was the method they usually used, as it converted the power into something familiar and easy to manage to the Tecktarians.

Ultimately, Quills' prize and all his new found wealth, had hinged entirely on his ability to manipulate Rowan into sealing the Tecktarian bond with Cell. Quill had painted it as being a romantic thing, something that would give them unity and also to give her the impression that she could hold some form of leash over him to save her world. He had implied that it was common place for Tecktarians to create such a bond, whereas the truth couldn't be more different. Bonding was a terrifying thing, something only hopeless romantics and fools did, which rarely ever ended well.

That and of course, the sacrificial lambs that were bred with the sole purpose of finding a powerful partner to bond to, in order to drain them entirely of energy. Weaker, more manageable people would be kept and allowed to replenish before being drained again, until eventually the sacrificial mate died from the strain of power and the inevitable heart break.

Rowan had been a god-send. A pure stroke of luck, one that Quill had jumped at the chance to cash-in on. He held a moment of regret as he considered just how remarkable she herself was, but it passed quickly. Now that the Tecktarians had her genetics, they could clone her, or even duplicate the experiment back on Earth, under more controlled circumstances. Quill allowed his mind to indulge in thoughts of his future and everything he had been planning. Just a few more minutes.

Rowan stirred again, gritting her teeth against the burning inferno in her body. Something had woken her, and it took her a minute to gather her senses, fighting against the pain, before she realized what it was. She turned herself inwards, appearing inside her mental house.

Cell was there, and for the first time she could remember, he looked truly afraid.

"Rowan!" He exclaimed as she gathered her collective thoughts. Her mental house was trembling and the shelves had fallen over, dislodging their contents onto the floor. Pictures had fallen or tilted and there were cracks in the walls.

"Rowan, what's going on?" He asked her quietly, but unable to hide the anger and fear he was feeling. Rowan hesitated for a moment as she fully recalled everything that had happened. The realization that they had been kidnapped by Quill made her both horribly ashamed and bitterly angry.

"Cell, I am so sorry. This is all my fault." Cell crossed the space between them in one long stride, taking her firmly by the shoulders and brining his face down to hers. His jaw was tense and hard lines edged his eyes.

"I need you to tell me everything you can." He said firmly, but without sounding cruel. Rowan nodded and quickly explained about how she had been ambushed by Quill in the shopping mall and how he had subdued her and told her about his plan to use Cell as a power source. She told him about how Quill had manipulated her in order to use her to get to him. By the time she had finished, tears had sprung from her eyes, but she held her composure, setting her shoulders firm in resolution.

"I see." Cell finally said after she had finished. He let her go and stood up, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes as he thought.

"Cell, I'm trapped. My body feels like it's on fire." He opened his eyes, looking down at her with a small frown.

"I can't help you Rowan. They've managed to paralyse my body while they drain my energy. I've been trying, but I can't seem to move and I am unable to determine why." His voice was quiet as he spoke, but it was hard and his eyes were cold. Rowan stared at him, stunned.

"Cell…" She moved her hand towards his face, but he narrowed his eyes, and reluctantly, she let her hand fall.

"Rowan… I… I honestly don't know what to do." Cell said as he closed his eyes. It was hard for him to admit that he couldn't control a situation, and she knew how much this was costing him. It made her realize just how dire things were.

"Wait here Cell. I'm going to try to look around." He nodded, turning to her mental screen as Rowan focused back on her body. The pain had been numbed as she had focused on Cell, but now it washed back over her again, threatening to pull her back into unconsciousness, but she fought against it.

It took several attempts for her to finally manage to open her eyes. It was blindingly bright, and she rolled her head to the side, gritting her teeth. Her vision was blurred and tinted golden, but she could see. Slowly it became clear. She was inside a small domed glass room which was at the far side of a monstrous room that looked like a control room for a laboratory or a space ship. Benches of monitors and keyboards lined the centre of the room with massive monitors on the walls.

On the opposite side of the room was the huge circular tube that held Cell, suspended in a crucifixion pose as blue energy crackled around him inside the tube.

'They are draining me through you.' Cell said angrily into her head. Rowan grit her teeth and looked down at herself. Her arms, feet and waist were bound with thick metal bands, trapping her against the table. The entire room was aflame with golden power crackling with blue energy as it was sucked up through the vent in the top of the dome. She snarled and tried to teleport, but it was being blocked and she couldn't bring the energy blanket to bear, watching as it fell apart before she could even throw it around her.

'How are they draining you through me?!' She asked, hysterically. 'I'm not controlling it…' She turned inwards again, appearing back inside her head. Cell was staring at her intently with a small frown on his face.

Rowan looked downwards, staring at the blue orb in her chest. It was glowing, albeit dimly and it was growing dimmer, even as she watched it. She felt her heart skip a beat as she looked up at Cell.

"You're dying…" He gave her a small nod.

"We don't have a lot of time." He said quietly. Rowan bit her lip and frowned as she looked back down at the sphere. She touched it, and felt a monstrous surge of power which almost crippled her, causing her to fall to her knees, gasping. Cell only narrowed his eyes, watching her.

"Oh god, what are they doing?!" She gasped, waiting for the stun effect to pass. Slowly she managed to crawl back to her feet and grimaced. Whatever was happening, she didn't understand it, and trying to interrupt it that way would be impossible.

"Do you have any ideas Rowan? Anything at all?" Cell asked her. Rowan looked around and frowned. Cell couldn't move his body. In sheer desperation, he had come to her for help. But what could she do? She was tied to a table, with his power almost burning her alive. She couldn't deal with the pain enough to focus on actually doing anything constructive.

She wasn't a warrior who had been built to withstand pain while focusing on what needed to be done.

But Cell was.

The idea was absolutely ludicrous, but they were desperate. She didn't give it time to sink in before she turned to him with a small grin.

"I think… I have an idea…"

Alarms screamed suddenly and Quill whirled around to face Cell. But he wasn't moving. His body was still hanging limply suspended from the tube, the plate in his spine still intact.

"Sir!" He whirled back around to face the army of technicians, most of who were staring at the domed room that held Rowan. She was awake, pulling against the restraints, her teeth bared in a savage snarl.

"Quick, neutralize her! Knock her out!" Quill roared. The technicians buzzed into action, frantically tapping away on the keyboards. Green lasers shot out at her from small turrets that were installed in the room, but they were too late. Rowan's limbs shattered the metal bindings as she flipped over backwards, landing smoothly on her feet. Instantly she was in motion, leaping out of the way of the lasers as they struggled to track her movements.

With one fluid motion she leaped at the first turret, swiping at it with her hand, causing it to shatter. Within seconds the remaining turrets followed suit. She landed smoothly on the table, crouched low, her hair whipping wildly around her as the energy continued to pour from her body, until she reached around, quickly ripping out the wires and cords that had peppered her skin. The golden inferno died down, the link severed.

Slowly she lifted her gaze, locking her eyes with Quills, and then she smirked.

"No!" Quill roared. "Impossible!" He knew that look and it wasn't Rowans. Quill acted fast, turning around to Cell.

It was the strangest thing for Rowan to be actively aware of her body, but not be the one controlling it. She watched as Cell focused her power into single tiny impact points, shattering the re-enforced glass with a single punch. He dodged the hand held lasers from the technicians, taking the closest out with a quick elbow to the face before leaping over a console, kicking another in the jaw on the way through and landing next to a third, which he quickly disabled with a palm strike to the face. Other technicians turned and fled from the room. Some cowered against the consoles.

Cell turned and focused on Quill, quickly charging after him as Quills' long fingers danced across the console in front of Cells' suspended body.

Rowans' body was blasted to the side before Cell could reach Quill, struck in the side with a projectile weapon as security forces began to pour into the room.

Rowan gasped inside her own head. She could feel everything, sharing her senses with Cell. Cell ignored the pain. He flipped back to his feet, dodging the next few shots. Rowan grit her teeth internally, and focused. She fed him her energy, connecting him to her personal store.

It was amazing to watch Cell as he effortlessly moved with absolute grace as he fought. Her body was so different to his, but he had adapted quickly, adjusting to the lighter and smaller frame, taking advantage of it. Unfortunately, he disregarded the pain and her injury, not realizing just how severe it was to someone who couldn't regenerate.

He accepted the link to her energy without even thinking about it, throwing his hand forward as he shot an absolutely immense blast of power at the guards without needing to charge the attack. He couldn't hide the stunned expression from his face inside her head as the blast of power carved a huge hole through room after room through the heart of the space station.

"Well that explains how you managed to blow off my arm." He said internally. Rowan grimaced and remained silent, not wanting to distract his attention away from what needed to be done. But she was fully aware of the fact that he was aggravating the hole in her side. Cell focused fired smaller, more controlled blasts at the remaining security forces, incinerating them brutally.

"Hey Cell!" Cell turned to look at Quill through Rowans' eyes. Quill grinned at him suddenly, his hand over a large blue button. Cell snarled at Quill, and with staggering speed, lunged at the small, white haired man. Quill slammed his hand against the button, just as Cell reached him.

A grid of lasers erupted to life inside the tube that held Cells' body, slicing him into tiny cubed pieces almost instantly. Rowans' eyes widened in horror as Cell vanished from inside her head and her body collapsed to her knees at Quills' feet. She screamed as she regained control over her own body, clutching at her chest. The pain she had felt in her side was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the desperate ache that exploded in her chest, spreading out from her heart and shooting into the rest of her body.

Quill laughed hysterically as the pieces of diced Cell collapsed to the bottom of the tube, which opened up a moment later, sucking them out.

Within seconds, the only sign that Cell had even been there, was the purple smears against the glass.

The pain that blossomed in Rowans' chest was intense and utterly overwhelming, feeling as if her heart was being ripped into pieces. She gasped, struggling just to get air into her lungs.

"I win Rowan! We've taken all your mates' power for our own! And I still get the delightful joy of watching you die from the severed bond!" Quill laughed as he kicked Rowan hard, causing her to sprawl over backwards. She cried out loudly, her voice hoarse. She lay where she fell, her eyes scrunched shut and her lungs screaming as she struggled to get breath into her body.

Slowly, the pain began to ease and she managed to get a blessed lung full of air. Quill stopped laughing and glared down at her as she began to pant heavily, her face easing.

"Why are you not dead?!" He demanded and kicked her again. Rowan screamed out as his boot connected with the blast wound in her side and she rolled across the floor. But the pain in her chest was easing and its grip over her mind was giving her control back over her body. Slowly she forced herself to her feet, teeth grit to counter the physical pain that was so little, compared to the heart ache she had just suffered.

"What's wrong Quill?" She asked venomously as she slowly turned to face him, grinning, even though she was still panting.

"Impossible! Even he couldn't survive being diced into pieces and ejected into space!" Quill roared his face twisted into one of absolute horror. Rowan gave herself a precious second to probe her connection with Cell. The blue sphere in her chest was glowing brilliantly and it was potently powerful.

Cells' body was a work of absolute genius. His core cells inside of his head had survived undamaged. He didn't have the chance to appreciate this until after he had begun to regrow, sprouting new limbs and eventually a new head. It took several seconds for everything to come back to him in full, and for him to do a full analysis of his body. It felt good to have his own body back, not that controlling Rowan's hadn't been an interesting and insightful experience, but now, he had been completely restored and with even more power than he had before, thanks not just to his near-death experience and the Sayain DNA that coursed through his blood, but for the foolish idiots who had been pumping him full of Rowans' blood. He felt invigorated, renewed and very pissed off.

Cell clenched his fists and turned towards the absolutely enormous space station that he had been ejected out of. It was about the size of a City and made entirely out of artificial materials and currently in orbit around an enormous purple gas giant with several smaller habitable moons.

It took all of his self-control to stop himself from simply blowing up the space station, and to instead think. His mind raced as he considered several options, but one thing stood out as being quite important, at least to him.

Rowan was always getting into trouble. She needed a protector. One who would be there, even when he himself, was not.

Cell snarled as he focused inwards, on his body. He was doing something he knew he could do, but had never tried before. It cost a huge amount of energy, but in the grand scheme of things, was nothing he could not afford easily. He grit his teeth, snarling as his wings opened up as wide as they could. His tiny tail stub flared open into a huge funnel as he spat out a tiny replica of himself.

The small blue-armoured clone of Cell took a moment to adjust to its rather brutal and sudden birth, but it possessed all of Cells' knowledge and quickly gained its composure. They were still in space so Cell couldn't tell the miniature clone what to do verbally.

But he didn't need to.

His single purpose and drive had been imposed upon the little clone already and as if to acknowledge this, the little clone grinned up at Cell as his golden aura erupted into life and he took off towards the space station. Cells' eyes narrowed as he lifted his hands out in front of him. Blue lightning crackled around his hands as his wrists came together. There was no sound. Only silence as Cells' eyes narrowed, focused intently.

All of his power, all of his energy, all of his rage and his sheer frustration at having been made a fool of was channelled into this attack as he cupped his hands to his side. It was far more than was needed but Cell felt that he needed to vent. There was only so much he could tolerate and he had reached his limits, a long time ago.

Rowan had never wanted to kill anyone before. It was an intense hatred that she had never really experienced, fuelled by Quill's betrayal and the fact that he had used her to get to the man she loved. She brought her hatred to bear as she lashed out at Quill, uppercutting him hard in the belly.

She couldn't teleport inside the space station, and neither could he. The anti-teleportation seemed to be universal. She had seen the focus on his face as he had tried, only to be replaced with surprise and pain as she buried her fist deep in his stomach.

He doubled over, clutching his stomach and coughing as he stumbled back, away from Rowan. The room was devastated. Computer consoles were crushed or incinerated by Cell's blast, half of one of the walls was missing, carving a cavernous hole through the interior of the station so deep that it became too far to see. Flickering lights and dangling wires hung exposed from the destruction. Several people had been incinerated in that attack, and there were a few unmoving bodies on the floor, technicians that Cell had taken out.

Rowan was mildly aware that she was bleeding from the blast wound in her side, something she couldn't afford since she had already lost a fair amount of blood when they had been pumping it into Cell. But her anger over-rode her weakness and she grabbed a twisted piece of scrap metal from the floor as she stalked towards Quill.

He looked at her, worried as she approached. She was a truly terribly sight to behold. Her skin was pale, her hair wild and messy, and her tank top drenched in her own blood while her face was twisted in a savage snarl. But her eyes were the worst. Bright with absolute fury, he saw only his own death in them. Her entire focus was on him and how much she wanted to make him hurt.

Quill was not a fighter like Cell, but he was also not the pacifist he had claimed to be either and he knew how to defend himself. Rowan roared as she swung the metal make-shift club at Quill. He ducked the strike and charged forward, jabbing his thumb-claw deep into the wound in her side, and he flicked his wrist, tearing the wound even more.

Rowan screamed out and staggered back, tripping over an exposed wire and stumbling, falling to her knees. She clutched at the injury, snarling. Quill didn't give her time to get back up, lunging at her again with his arms held wide, thumb claws poised to strike. Rowan threw one of her hands forward with a staggering amount of speed and forced all her remaining energy out.

Quill was too close and he didn't have the time to open himself to absorb the attack. Her blast incinerated his head and shoulders and his corpse collapsed to the ground in front of Rowan, smoking.

Rowan grimaced, unable to fully celebrate her victory. After everything they had been through, she was going to die anyway on this god forsaken station and take Cell out with her. The sound of someone screaming down in the distance caused her to lift her head.

Gun shots and lasers echoed through the open hole in the wall, followed by more screams, yells and a child's laughter.

A child's laughter? Rowan blinked as the cause of the laughter suddenly burst into the room, and she couldn't stop staring. He was tiny, probably no taller than her waist and his armour was blue, his face was smooth and rounded with youth and he flashed a toothy grin at her, but no matter how she tried to think about it, the little being was Cell.

"Ma!" The child-Cell said happily and waved at her before it flew over the rubble and the corpses, landing next to her. His face fell into concern as he saw the blood pouring from her side and her pale and pasty skin, but still she stared, shocked, at the little Cell.

"Hello." She finally managed in a hoarse voice. "And who might you be?" The little Cell beamed at her.

"I'm a Cell Junior!" He said with a giggle. Rowan frowned. Up close, she noticed that it wasn't an exact replica of Cell. His eyes weren't the pale pink of Cells', but the grassy green of Rowans'. And his nose was rounded and buttoned. The more she looked at him, the more she saw of herself in the little creature, and quite suddenly, she realized that somehow, in some impossible way, she had become a parent.

"Junior? Really? That's the best name he could give you?" Rowan asked, wincing as the little Cell lifted her arm around his neck and hovered up, helping her to her feet.

"Uh-huh!" The little Cell said chirpily. Rowan grunted. She didn't think she could walk very far like this.

"I don't like that name." She said conversationally, trying to distract herself as she put one foot slowly in front of the other.

"What name do you like?" The little Cell asked her as he led her down a corridor.

"Hmm..." She considered this for a moment, walking slowly in silence. "How about… Serin?" She asked. The little Cell giggled and smiled at her.

"I like that name! I am now Serin!" He laughed again and genuinely looked pleased. Rowan gave him a small smile.

Serin suddenly turned serious and he gently let Rowan go, leaning her against the side of the wall. A dozen armed soldiers came roaring around the corner. Serin was ready and he proved to Rowan that despite his diminutive size, he was every bit as strong and competent a fighter as Cell. Within seconds all the soldiers were subdued. Serin gave himself a little victory dance as he hovered in the air, punching the air and humming to himself in pride.

"Wow, you're just full of beans." Rowan said absently. She had slid down the wall and was sitting awkwardly on the floor. Her red blood smear marked her descent vividly and she knew she wouldn't be able to stand back up again. Serin landed in front of her, concern plastered to his young face.

She was looking at him, taking in all of his details and committing them to memory. Until her sudden realization caused her to gasp as she slipped her fingers into the pockets in her jeans. The foil packets were still there, which was surprising. The Tecktarians had never bothered to empty her pockets or strip her clothes. Rowan patted her pants quickly, aware that Serin was watching her intently.

The tiny little greyish coloured bean was in her back pocket and she slipped it out, staring at it for a moment, giving a silent prayer of thanks to Goku before she popped it into her mouth. It was a rather bland taste and it was quite dry as she chewed it, but she swallowed it down, hoping that it would work.

Rowan cried out from the sudden shock as the magical little bean rapidly healed the wound in her side and fully replenished her energy. She was still a little weakened from the blood loss, but her body was already working on that. She stared at Serin for a moment before she started to laugh. Serin offered her his hand as he hovered back off the ground again and she took it, jumping to her feet.

She lifted her blood-soaked shirt quickly, running her fingers across the scar. There was too much blood to inspect it closely, and she would need to bathe first. But that could wait.

"Come, we need to get out of here!" Serin exclaimed urgently, but he was smiling at her. Rowan nodded and took off after Serin as he flew down the corridor. Her aura erupted around her, brilliant and blue and Serin giggled as his own golden one flared to life.

Serin paused at the intersection of a corridor, looking down each with a small frown. With a small roar he threw his hands forward and unleashed a terrifying attack, obliterating the walls in front of him, creating a long passageway out. The sudden rush of air told Rowan that he had breached the hull of the space station and she frowned.

"Serin, I can't breathe in space like you and Cell can." She said pointedly. Serin nodded and grinned as he offered her his hand.

"Trust me!" He declared. Rowan didn't even hesitate. She liked Serin. He might look like Cell, but he was full of life and his smile was heart-warming. A bubble of thin blue energy flared to life around them as she took his hand and he led them towards the hole in the hull.

The cold was numbing, but the atmosphere in the bubble was still breathable. Outer space was breathtaking as the overwhelming feeling of insignificance gripped her as she stared out at the vast universe and the trillions of stars that twinkled at her in the depths of space.

She glanced back behind her as the monstrous space station began to shrink as they moved away from it. Behind the space station was a breathtakingly beautiful purple gas-giant similar to Jupiter with the multitude of layers and the swirling clouds.

"Look!" Serin called her attention back in front of her. There was a small twinkle of bright yellow in front of them, glittering and bright. It looked like a bright star but it was captivatingly beautiful. Until they started to get close. It was Cell, surrounded in a monstrous sphere of golden energy, crackling with power. A tiny blue light, even brighter than his aura was focused in his hands.

Cell waited a moment. He could sense Rowan and his junior approaching. Her energy had become dangerously dim, but had suddenly flared brilliant. The little junior waved at him as they stopped short of his sphere of power, hovering in their own small ball.

'Can you teleport?' Rowan startled at the sheer power in Cells' mental voice. He was quiet and firm, but there was no denying his fury. Rowan swallowed her sudden nervousness under the pressure of such a voice and she focused, concentrating her energy as she threw her blanket around herself. She didn't teleport but the blanket held fast and strong.

'Yes.' She replied after a moment.

'Good. Do so.' Cell demanded. Rowan frowned, looking back at the space station.

'Cell, there are a lot of innocent…'

'DO NOT STOP ME, ROWAN!' Cells command was primal in its savagery and the glare he levelled at her was the most monstrous look she had ever seen on his face before. Rowan was faltering in her resolution to protest further, but a small thought stopped her. The dragon balls.

Rowan said nothing further and cast her blanket around Serin as well.

"No ma, I want to see the bang!" Serin said as the energy surrounded him. She glared at him.

"No. We do not condone murdering so many people!" She declared angrily. Serin pouted, still holding Rowans' hand but resigned to not getting his way. With a sigh, Rowan focused her mind, and suddenly, Cell was alone in the depths of space.

Cell roared, thrusting his arms forward as he unleashed a truly terrifying Kamehameha wave that was almost as tall as a skyscraper. The silence was deafening, even with the intensity of the blast. The energy ripped past the space station and tore a hole through the clouds in the atmosphere of the planet.

Cell watched as brilliant blue light burst out of the clouds, peppering the gas giant with columns of light, before it suddenly ignited. Cell watched, just long enough, for the planet to explode outwards, obliterating the moons and the space station before he teleported, just as the immense shock wave ripped past where he had been.

He never got to see the full extent of the devastation he had single headedly caused. The sheer power of his explosive force continued to spread out from the destroyed gas giant, devouring everything caught in its path. It took a few minutes for the shock wave to reach the star in the centre of the solar system, but the destructive force rendered the star unstable, and it also exploded outwards.

Within days, there would be nothing left in the solar system. The energy from the exploding star and the destructive force of Cells' attack would travel for millions of miles until eventually the energy would finally dissipate.

Cell appeared in his arena. It was dark, dismal and stormy. His mood matched the weather. He looked around absently. There was no life near his arena, the storm had forced everyone to ground. He looked up at the sky, focusing for a moment. His best guess was that it was only a couple of hours before dawn. The incident with the Tecktarians had taken around about 6 hours, but it had felt like years. In only a couple of hours, his tournament would begin. He wondered if Goku and the others had even noticed that he had disappeared from Earth for a few hours. He doubted it. They would be pre-occupied with their own arrangements and their final night of certainty on Earth.

Cells' eyes narrowed as he considered his promise to Goku. He hadn't used Rowan, but her blood had been forced into his body, and by technicality, he had taken advantage of her gift. That, and almost dying, had increased his power massively. He had spent a large chunk of it annihilating the Tecktarian space station and what he assumed to be their home world orbiting the purple gas giant, but the amount of energy he still possessed, was far more than he had when he had woken this morning. But instead of making him feel better, he felt even more frustrated than before.

He had just murdered millions of people. He had demonstrated his absolute power and his destructive force. But it didn't make him feel pleased or even a little satisfied. Perhaps it was because nobody had survived to witness it. Perhaps it was because he had done it out of an act of vengeance or perhaps it was because he was still angry at having been almost killed in the first place.

Or perhaps it is because Rowan is disappointed in such actions. The thought crept into his mind and with a snarl, he forced it away. To admit that Rowan had changed him so much, was more than he could truly bear to consider in his current chaotic mind. He sighed, trying to calm himself down. He focused his senses, locking onto Rowans' energy. She was not far away from him, and he realized, she had teleported back to the caravan park. Cell opened his wings and hovered off the ground, away from the arena.

He was powerful enough now, that simply bursting away from the ground, would probably devastate the surrounding area, and he had no intention of damaging the arena when the tournament was so close. When he decided that he was high enough to avoid doing any serious damage, he blasted off across the sky towards Rowan.

Serin was playing in the lake, ignoring the bad weather completely. Rowan was rifling through her destroyed house. She had found the photo of her parents, singed, but thankfully intact and she clutched it to her chest with one hand for a moment before she finally folded it and slipped it into her jeans pocket. She sighed as she knelt down, moving more debris around as she continued to sift.

Cell left a monstrous golden vapour trail across the darkened sky, vanishing suddenly overhead. She stood up, turning to face him as he lowered himself to the ground, the gravel crunching under his feet as he did so. His face was hard and his eyes were cold, his arms folded across his chest. Rowan was soaked from the rain and she casually flipped her hair from her face, pushing it back against her head.

"Cell…" She finally said, nervous. She couldn't read him when he was like this. Was he mad at her? Cautiously, she stepped through the rubble of her house, making her way towards him. He watched her intently, remaining unreadable as she approached. She stopped just short of him, staring for several moments. Finally, she sighed and looked away from his intense gaze and instead turned to face the soaked wreckage of her house.

"So much has happened lately. It's hard to fully appreciate just how lucky we are." She said quietly as the rain eased into a drizzle. After another silence, she glanced over her shoulder at Cell. Even in the dark of the night, she could see him easily. He was very faintly glowing golden, his power was now so potent. He was still watching her, obviously thinking hard about something. She looked away again and hugged her arms. She wasn't chilled but she was uncomfortably wet and her clothes were ruined once again.

"I think… I'd like a shower. And a change of clothes before the tournament begins. Maybe a hot cup of tea if I can find one." She said, more to herself than to Cell. But it broke the silence and it gave her something to do. She didn't look back at Cell, instead keeping her head turned away from him as she headed towards the lake.

"Serin!" She called out over the sound of the drizzle on the leaves and the surface of the water. She waited a moment before she called out again. Almost instantly, the waters' surface exploded outwards in a huge plume as an absolutely monstrous fish breached, twisting angrily as the diminutive Serin laughed, riding on its back. Rowan stared dumbfounded as Serin launched himself off of the fish, letting it splash back into the water, and he hovered over towards Rowan, landing on the gravelled beach.

"Hiya!" He said with a grin as he tucked his hands behind his head, proud of himself. "I was playing with the fish!" Rowan broke into a laugh and knelt down in front of him.

"That's so cool." She said with enthusiasm, loving his cheeky smile. "Look Serin, I'm going to go to the city to get some clothes and have a shower before the big tournament. Would you like to come with me?" Serins' face turned serious for a moment as he looked up at Rowan.

Despite his small, child-like features, his eyes were full of intelligence and he looked like Cell when he considered things.

"I go where you go. I have to protect you." He said simply, but firmly. Rowan frowned at this. "You don't have to protect me, Serin." Serin shook his head and beamed up at her again, giggling.

"Only reason Dad created me! It's my purpose!" Rowan opened her mouth to object, but stopped as she heard Cells' approaching footsteps.

"Junior, go to the arena. Stay out of sight, but don't leave the area." Cell said firmly, in a voice that brokered no argument. Serin stared up at him with a wide-eyed surprise.

"But…"

"His name is Serin, not Junior, and he's our son, not your slave!" Rowan suddenly spat angrily, as she stood to her full height with her shoulders set back in a challenging posture. Cell looked at her, raising an eye ridge. He didn't look impressed though.

"Junior, is a clone of me. A solider, not a child, and you have nothing to do with his creation." Cell replied coolly. Rowan snarled and gestured at Serin.

"Have you actually even looked at him?!" She demanded. Cell narrowed his eyes at her, letting them linger before he finally turned his attention to the smaller blue version of himself. His face widened in surprise as he realized that the little clone, did in fact, have her eyes and nose.

Several moments passed in awkward silence. Rowan was glaring at Cell, Cell was staring surprised at Serin, and Serin was just curiously glancing between the two of them.

"Serin then, would you please do as I asked?" Cell finally broke the silence, his voice venomous. Serin nodded once, blasting off suddenly, before Rowan could object. Serin was not as strong or as fast as Cell, but he was still quite the sight to behold as he disappeared over the horizon in a flash of gold.

"It's quite unusual that he has your DNA in his body." Cell stated, almost conversationally. Rowans' face was still set in a snarl, and she glared up at Cell for another moment before she finally sighed and let her shoulders fall.

"Fine, I'll bite. Where did he come from?" She asked.

"I reproduce A-Sexually, Rowan." His voice was quiet and firm, but his eyes were watching her closely, studying her reaction. Her face was one of surprise as his statement settled in her mind.

"You… But… Can you? Um… I'm really confused." She finally managed. He couldn't stop himself from chuckling at her obvious discomfort.

"It would seem, enough of your DNA is in my body to affect my offspring." He said casually, with a small flourish of his hand as if it was everyday news. Rowan opened her mouth to speak, only to close it as she processed this strange revelation.

"But… If you can… um… birth babies… does that make you female?" Her face flushed with colour at her obvious embarrassment, but she held his stare as his eyes narrowed.

"I'd prefer to be considered male, with the ability to clone myself as needed." He said in an annoyed voice.

"But…" Rowan began. She silenced herself as Cell's face darkened. He obviously wasn't in the mood to discuss his strange reproductive abilities further. Rowans' curiosity ate away at her thought.

"Your body confuses me." She finally declared with resignation as she folded her arms, hugging herself. She wasn't affected by the cold, but she was soaked and the weather was miserable. She still longed for a hot shower and a cup of tea, and Cells' aggravating nature was only making her more desperate. She looked up at him carefully for a moment.

"I'm going to Central City." She said simply, and before he could reply, she vanished in a small puff of air and rain drops. Cells' eyes narrowed and he frowned as he looked out at the lake.

Despite how much she annoyed him, he had to admit he was relieved that she was ultimately, unharmed. They had avoided talking about what had happened. Something he didn't object to, but it had changed them, he knew. A dark thought crossed his mind and it made him scowl. Even though he had obliterated every trace of the Space station and the entire solar system they had been in, that did not guarantee Rowans', nor his own security. Even now, he was tense.

And Rowan had just once again, ventured out on her own. Cell closed his eyes, sighing nasally as he thought. He knew the full consequences of continuing his relationship with Rowan. He understood that the young and naïve girl was probably the only being in the universe who currently posed a serious threat to his life now, but, regardless of how much his brain told him it was foolish, he still felt the irresistible pull towards her.

Ultimately, he would be forced to make the decision of a life without flaw or weakness, without Rowan, or a life where she would be at his side, and he would never be alone, but a life where he would forever suffer under the knowledge that she held power over him. It was a hard decision for him to make, but even if he decided right this second, it wouldn't change his vulnerability at the tournament.

Cell forced his dark thoughts from his mind and focused on Rowan's energy. Teleporting was not a difficult thing for him to do, but it was strange to him, and at the end of the day, he would always prefer to fly. Central City was not very far away, and it would give them both time to think as well.

Rowan appeared in the middle of an intersection in Central City. She sighed as she looked around, getting her bearings. It was dismally dark and although it wasn't quite raining here yet, the clouds overhead were heavy and threatening to burst. The streets were blissfully empty and silent. Rowan quickly headed down one of the main streets, heading towards the shopping district in the centre of the city. After a few dozen steps, she lifted herself off of the ground, flying to make better time, and to avoid the echoing and eerie sounds of her boots on the shattered glass strewn across the pavement.

It did not take her long to find a smashed and looted clothes boutique. She hesitated as she landed outside the shop, feeling tense. The last shop she had been in, had almost cost her and Cell their lives. She set her jaw and shoulders and quickly stepped inside. She kept her energy blanket wrapped around her, just in case as she rummaged for fresh clothes.

Within moments she flew out of the store with a bag full of clothes and she quickly gained altitude. She couldn't deny how uncomfortable that had been for her, and it had darkened her mood substantially. Shopping would no longer be an enjoyable past time for her, she realized darkly.

Rowan scanned the sky scrapers, looking for a hotel or apartment with a balcony. It didn't take her long to find a suitable hotel room and she landed on a lavish penthouse room balcony. The glass door was locked, but the curtains were ajar and she peered inside, uncertain.

It was dark but she could make out the bed, empty with tightly folded sheets. Everything was pristinely organized and clean, which suggested that it was unoccupied and had been left prepared for the next guests.

Rowan sighed, momentarily scolding herself as she tapped the window, shattering it. She remembered how she had scolded Cell for doing the same thing only a few days ago. She looked out at the dark sky for a moment, realising that it had only been a few days ago, but it felt like so long. So much had happened in such a short time. It was staggering.

She had become a mother. She smiled to herself as she dumped her pile of clothes on the large and luxurious bed. Or was she the father? That thought stopped her for a moment as she considered it. She shrugged it off, emptying her pockets onto the bed before quickly stripping off her blood soaked clothes, and dumping them in the garbage. She headed into the magnificently beautiful bathroom with its vast open space with the large shower cubicle and a very inviting raised spa. Rowan couldn't resist the temptation and quickly began to run the hot water in the spa. It would take several minutes to fill however, so she headed to the shower, giving herself only a few minutes, just enough to wash away the blood, sweat and grime that had become caked to her body.

She slipped out of the shower, checking the spa. It was just over half way. She sighed and sat on the edge with her feet in the hot water, inspecting her injuries. The senzu bean was not as gifted at healing as Dende. The skin where the blast had been was shiny and distorted. Another scar to add to her rather rapidly growing collection. She stood up and looked at herself hard in the mirror. She touched the spidery scar on her chest, and her face hardened as she remembered Seru. It felt like a lifetime ago.

She moved her hand to her shoulder, remembering her father. The strange red mark on her neck made her smile though as she recalled the passion that Cell had shown her in that moment as he had made her his. Her fingers lingered on the mark for a few moments and she let herself smile.

Finally, she turned away from her reflection and stepped into the spa. It was delightfully hot and almost filled. She groaned softly as she sat down until only her neck was above the water line, letting the hot water ease her. After a moment she turned the water off, and examined the controls on the side of the raised platform. Within seconds, she had the jets and bubbles set to max and she closed her eyes, soaking.

She had let herself lose focus of anything, except this moment of heavenly bliss. She had needed this, more than she had realized, and she slowly dunked her head under the water, letting her hair fan out around her.

When she finally lifted her head back out of the water, raising her hands to brush her hair back, Cell was waiting for her. He was standing in the open space of the bathroom, his arms folded across his armoured chest, watching her closely. She opened her eyes and managed a warm smile.

"This is, truly, delightful." She said quietly as she eased back into the seat, pressing her back against the massaging jets. Cell watched her, his jaw tensing as she moaned softly. Rowan grinned at him for a moment before she let her head roll back against the edge of the spa and she closed her eyes.

"I'd ask you to join me, but I don't think your wings will allow that." She said softly as she opened one eye, watching him. His eyes narrowed but still he said nothing. The silence between them stretched on for several minutes as she relaxed. But the water was beginning to chill and she was growing restless.

"Cell…" She hesitated for a moment as her face became serious. She lifted herself from the chair, instead resting her chin on her arms as she leaned over the edge of the spa.

"Cell, I am sorry for what happened." She said after a moment, in a small voice.

"You were manipulated, Rowan." He replied in a firm voice, effectively dismissing her concern. She looked at him for a moment, surprised.

"Aren't you angry at me?" She was watching him carefully, trying to read him. Finally he sighed and unfolded his arms, lifting one of his hands to his temples.

"I am not angry at you." He said with a heavy sigh, exasperated. "I am angry at myself for not only allowing us both to be captured, but for also suffering the indignity of almost being killed." He lowered his hand, locking his gaze with her again. Rowan couldn't hide the small smile that crossed her face. This only annoyed Cell further.

"What?" He demanded. Her smile spread into a grin and she giggled.

"Nothing. I'm just… You never cease to amaze me, that's all." She reached over, turning off the spa.

"Why?" He asked, not bothering to try to hide his irritation. Rowan pulled the plug, allowing the water to drain and she stood up. Cell's face went from irritated to mildly amused as she stepped out of the spa, exposing herself completely to him with a small grin. She swept her hair back over her shoulders, wringing it out as the water pooled around her feet.

She never bothered to answer his question, enjoying the look on his face as he watched her grab a towel from the rack and dry herself off.

"You know, someone once told me that it's rude to stare." She said casually over her shoulder as she leaned down to dry her legs. She could see the tension in his jaw line again as he openly watched her. Slowly, his eyes drifted back to hers.

"You do know how to push my buttons Rowan." He said softly. She stood back up, folding the towel and placing it on the sink. She rummaged in the drawers, finding a small plastic comb and began to tackle her hair.

Cells' arms wrapped around her waist gently as he lowered his head to her neck, breathing in her scent. She craned her neck to the side, pulling her hair forward as she continued to work out the tangles. He held her tightly, lifting his face to look in the mirror.

She could see the strange shadows of emotion that crossed across his eyes as he studied their reflection.

"What are you thinking, Cell?" She asked after a moment, finally lowering the comb back to the sink. She leaned against him, resting her hands on top of his arms. Slowly he stood back up to his full, impressive height behind her, his eyes hard and unblinking.

"I'm thinking about how truly foolish I have been." He replied quietly. She watched his face in the reflection carefully, waiting for him to continue.

"People like me… Monsters, like me, we don't get a happily ever after. No matter the outcome of the tournament, my life will not be an easy one. When I win I must decide what to do with the Earth. If I rule it, there will be constant uprisings, guerrilla style fighting, battles and the like. If I choose to start an empire, it will much the same as well, but on a much larger scale."

"If I leave the Earth to go in search of greater challenges, my life will be just constant battles and uncertainty. No matter what I chose, Rowan, you will be my constant vulnerability, something that will weigh heavily against me. All I can promise you, is a life of turmoil, worry and insecurity. You deserve better than that."

Rowan frowned at his words, giving them due consideration.

"Have you considered… Maybe after the tournament, just leaving things the way they are? We could find somewhere quiet, just the two of us. Make a life for ourselves…" Rowan let her voice trail off. Cell tightened his grip around her waist, holding her against his body.

"I am a fighter, Rowan. I cannot simply settle down. I need to fight. It is who I am." Rowan sighed softly at his words.

"Goku and the others are fighters too. They manage without feeling the need to obliterate everything and everyone in the process."

"I am not Goku." Cell replied dryly. Rowan smiled at him in the mirror.

"No, you are Cell. You, and only you, get to decide what you do with your life. At the moment, you are still confined by what you believe you are, rather than what you actually are." Cell narrowed his eyes, frowning at her as she smiled. He considered her words for a moment.

"And what is it you think I am, exactly?" Rowan turned around in his arms to face him, looking up into his eyes. Slowly she reached up, sliding her fingers under his helmet.

"You believe that you are this monster, created with the purpose of killing Goku and destroying everything else in your path." After a moment, she finally managed to free his helmet, sliding it off over his head. She held it against her chest with one hand, as she reached the other up to his cheek.

"But what you actually are, is a man standing at precipice of a vast world. You might have been created with dark intentions, but you've proven time and time again that you govern your own life. You can be whatever you want to be, and do whatever you want to do."

"Think of all the things you could experience, all the things to see and do. You pass your nose up at them because you believe you're above such small things but the few times you have tried something new, you've been impressed."

"You don't have to destroy things. You can seek out new challenges without being evil. Hell, you don't even have to kill Goku. Keep him around so you two can constantly challenge each other. You have a lot of choices, a lot of options. Not everything has to be black and white, and you don't have to be a monster, not unless you chose to be one." Rowan smiled to add emphasis to her words, letting her hand play with his hair absently.

Cell studied her face hard, letting her words truly sink in. He leaned down suddenly, kissing her mouth firmly. She accepted him happily, deepening the kiss and tasting his tongue with her own. He pulled her tighter against him, but she grunted and broke the kiss. His helmet had dug into chest. He let her go as she turned away from him, placing the helmet on the sink.

She turned back to him with her arms free and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his face back down into a tender kiss.

She had changed him. He realized suddenly, as he found himself actually considering her words. She countered the savagery in his personality, and forced his ego under control, numbing the killer instinct. Things he would definitely have to consider, but right now, he needed her and the release she could offer him.

He broke their embrace suddenly, scooping her into his arms in one fast and fluid motion. She couldn't stop herself from squealing at the suddenness of his action, but she didn't fight him either, letting him carry her effortlessly out of the bathroom. He laid her on the bed, leaning over her to kiss her again, smirking as she bit his lip gently. He pushed away from the bed, taking a few steps back.

Rowan propped herself up on her elbow, watching as he disintegrated his amour again.

"You know, at this rate, after the tournament, you should just leave it off. It would save you having to regrow it every few minutes." She said playfully. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Every few minutes? Is that a promise or a challenge?" He asked with a chuckle. Rowan laughed, grabbing a pillow and hurling it at him. His fighting reflex made him react as he swiped it in half, causing it to explode in a cloud of feathers, which only made Rowan laugh harder. Cell shook the feathers from his hair with a look of annoyance.

"You look good with feathers! Maybe give your wings an upgrade!" She laughed. Cell rolled his eyes.

"Irritating woman." He grumbled. She was on her side, propped up on one elbow, watching him, her hair spread out behind her, her soft lips curled into a grin. He couldn't deny, she looked inviting at that moment, but he hid it behind a look of annoyance.

"Infuriating man." She retorted. He smirked at her.

"Stubborn creature." He said as he took a step towards the bed. She grinned, showing her teeth.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black." She said with feigned indignity. Cell snickered as he towered over her and the bed.

"Of all the women on this planet, how did I manage to end up with the most vexatious, foolish…" He stopped short as her hand grabbed him suddenly, squeezing gently. She grinned up at him as she sat up on the bed.

"So that's how I get you to shut up." She said with a chuckle, pausing for a moment, gently playing with him. He narrowed his eyes, watching with a smirk as she suddenly took him in her mouth. He rolled his head back, groaning. His hands cradled her head gently as she made him very rigid, very quickly.

After a few moments, Cell pushed her head back, his jaw line tense as he fought to control himself. She looked up at him, slowly licking her lips. It was a very arousing sight to him. He grabbed her shoulders, pushing her back onto the bed. He leaned over her, supporting himself on one hand and kissing her hungrily as his other hand gently traced the lines of her body downwards.

His fingers explored her welcoming body, as he broke their kiss, lowering his face to one of her breasts, biting the nipple gently, teasing it hard. She moaned, running her fingers through his hair, letting him know that she was more than ready.

He slid his fingers free, sucking them clean. The consequential energy boost was greatly diminished, due to having so much of her blood pumped into his body so recently, but it was still there. He watched as Rowan leaned over, rummaging through the pile of stuff on the opposite side of the bed that she had dumped there earlier, grabbing one of the foil packets and quickly tearing it open. He couldn't hide the small groan that escaped his throat as her hands gripped him tightly, stroking him before sliding the protection down his shaft.

He pushed her hurriedly down onto the bed, his face finding her neck, nibbling it hungrily. He put his knees between her legs, spreading them before he slid inside her, feeling her tense tightly around him and hearing her gasp. Her nails dug into his shoulders and the back of his neck, as he thrust into her hard and fast. Both of them needed this release, and it was almost primal in its simplicity. She climaxed quickly, and he followed soon after, collapsing onto her chest as she hugged him tightly, both breathing hard to catch their breath.

"I spose we'll both need a shower before the tournament now." Rowan finally said after a while. Cell chuckled, propping himself up onto one hand, as he kissed her again. She snaked her arms around him tightly, loving having his weight and warmth pressed against her body. Finally, he rolled off of her, standing up and rolling his shoulders. She watched him, admiring his flawless body and the light speckling pattern of his smooth skin. She could see each of the perfectly shaped muscles moving under the surface as he casually walked around the bed, disappearing into the bathroom. She heard the snap as he removed the used protection and sighed as the water began to run in the shower.

She laid back on the bed for a few minutes, rolling her head to the side and staring out of the partially drawn curtains on the balcony. The sun was just beginning to lighten the horizon.

It was dawn, on the day of the Tournament that would determine the fate of the Earth. Rowans' thoughts turned sombre as she considered if she could still bring herself to stop Cell if he truly threatened the Earth. If it was to be at this exact moment, she knew with a heavy heart, that she didn't have the resolve to kill him. She silently hoped that she wouldn't need to test herself on the battle field later on today.

Rowan finally eased herself out of bed and headed to the small kitchen area of the hotel room. She boiled the complimentary kettle, making a couple of cups of tea and leaving them to brew before she headed to the bathroom to join her lover, and the tyrant of Earth.

The shower was larger than average and even with his awkward wings, there was still enough room for her to join him.

He embraced her tenderly, kissing her softly as the water ran over his back, making a gentle shushing sound as it struck the hard shell of his wings. Rowan held her hands against his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily beneath her fingers as he held her tightly. Finally he let her mouth go, lowering his face to her neck, just breathing in her scent and enjoying the tender and relaxing moment.

"Not long to go now." She said quietly. He grunted a reply against her neck. "Couple of hours and you'll be finally fighting Goku." With a heavy nasal sigh, Cell lifted his head, looking down at her.

"It's too bad that I've become so powerful that it won't even be a challenge now." He said bitterly. Rowan frowned.

"You sound so disappointed."

"It will still be an entertaining battle, to be sure, but it won't be a true challenge. My power far exceeds his own." Rowan bit her lip, looking up at him for a moment.

"Maybe… I could even the odds a bit to make it more of a challenge for you?" She asked hesitantly. Cell raised a brow at her, but he considered it.

"Are you suggesting I let you vent off some of my energy?" He asked. She nodded up at him, smiling.

"Think about it. If I take it right before the tournament begins, then the fight will truly be everything you really wanted and you can fight without regret." Cell furrowed his brow as he thought about it.

"It's not a bad idea Rowan." He finally said, smirking. The challenge was proving to be irresistible to him. Rowan grinned up at him, inwardly giving herself a high five.

"Should we get going soon?" She asked him quietly. He smirked down at her suddenly.

"Soon enough. There is something I'd like to do first."

"And what's that?" She asked. Cells' sudden movement caught her off guard as he grabbed her rear, picking her up and pinning her against the wall of the shower, pressing himself against her.

"I'd like to have you again." He replied, in a sultry voice, before he bit her neck forcefully, making her moan. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips.

The sun was well and truly up, breaching the hills and turning the sky from dawn pink and gold to a rich blue by the time Cell and Rowan were both dressed. He slipped his helmet back on as she laced up her boots before she stood up, admiring her new outfit. Tight black jeans with a green halter top and a short dark grey jacket. She had her hair tied back in a high pony tail. Cell nodded at her with approval.

She slipped into his arms, kissing the bridge of his nose gently as he held her one last time before the tournament. He kissed her softly.

"Please Cell, try not to kill anyone." Rowan pleaded after a moment. Cell sighed softly.

"Rowan… I don't want you to challenge me today." He said quietly. Rowan frowned up at him.

"Then don't give me a reason to." She replied simply. He gently let her go, but she put her hand on his shoulder.

"No matter what happens Cell, there is something I want you to know." She began, a flush of colour in her cheeks. Cell frowned.

"I already know, Rowan. I can feel it through our bond."

"I know, but sometimes, you just have to say it." Rowan shrugged and smiled as she spoke. Cell frowned down at her and opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him, quickly kissing him.

"I know it's not easy for you and you don't have to say it. But I still want you to know that I love you." She said. Cell gave her a small nod. He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off as her energy blanket engulfed them, and they vanished from the hotel room.

It was cold and windy at the arena and the clouds were still threateningly dark overhead. Cell was still looking at Rowan, fully aware of what she had done. She let go of his shoulder, but remained where she was, smiling up at him.

"Would you mind if I stayed with you until the tournament began?" She asked him hesitantly. Cell smirked and folded his arms across his chest, assuming his usual pose.

"That would please me immensely." She nodded and sighed, looking around. She spotted a van parked on the road and a couple of people standing close by.

"Reporters." She observed as she noted the TV station in bold on the side of the van. There was a satellite dish on top of the van, indicating it was a live broadcast. Cell followed her gaze for a moment before closing his eyes and plastering a small frown to his face.

Rowan watched the reporter and the cameraman for a few minutes as they remained where they were, several hundred feet from the arena, next to their van, but even from here, it was clear the reporter was obviously talking, keeping up a running commentary.

Rowan finally turned her attention skyward as a few heavy drops of rain splattered her face.

"Shame the weather is so dismal." She remarked casually. Cell opened his eyes at this and looked up at the heavy clouds. He unfolded his arms and concentrated, extending one of his hands skyward. Standing so close, she could feel the heat radiating out from him as he fuelled his energy into his hand. A moment later and he fired a small but potently powerful disc of golden energy into the sky. After a few seconds he clenched his outstretched hand into a fist, causing the sphere to suddenly explode in a monstrous blast of light.

Rowan had to blink a few times before her vision returned, revealing a bright blue sky, with no sign of the clouds that had threatened only seconds before. Cell smirked and folded his arms again.

"Better?" He asked. She grinned and nodded.

"Would have been a shame if someone had been to slip over from the rain during the fight." She said chirpily. Cell stared at her with a small smile, inwardly admiring how radiant she looked in the sun light.

"How long till it starts?" She asked suddenly. Cell narrowed his eyes as he glanced up at the sun.

"45 minutes. 50 at most." He declared. Rowan nodded, turning back to the reporter and his cameraman. There was a plume of dust approaching from down the road and they were watching it closely.

"I wonder who that is." Cell followed her attention, his senses scanning.

"A human. Very minor power, nothing exceptional." He answered, dismissing it and closing his eyes.

Rowan watched, enthralled as Hercule Satan stepped out of the limo as it stopped close to the van. He posed and flexed and performed some strong-man feats in front of the camera. She was captivated by his charisma, but stunned by his stupidity if he actually intended to challenge Cell.

As if to answer her unspoken question, he and the two media men, approached the arena. Hercule was a large and muscular man with a huge moustache, exposed hairy chest and a head of thick and curly hair. He locked eyes with Rowan for a moment, as if he was stunned to see her casually standing next to Cell, but he obviously dismissed her, turning to face Cell.

"Oi Cell! I'm going to make you beg for mercy, do you hear me?! You're going to regret the day you ever crawled out whatever hole it was you came from, YEAH!" Rowan blinked, dumbfounded as Hercule stepped up into the arena, flexing and showing off for the camera. Cell hadn't even acknowledged his existence, ignoring him completely.

"Oh my god, he's actually serious." Rowan muttered under her breath, so only Cell could hear it. Cell couldn't stop himself from giving her a small smirk, but kept his eyes closed and his arms folded, looking ever the intimidating tyrant.

"Oi, little girl, you shouldn't be here! You could get hurt!" Hercule yelled, pointing rudely at Rowan. Rowan broke into a grin and waved at him.

"Don't you mind me, I'm just a spectator." She called back.

"You need to get out of the ring, girl! I'm going to crush Cell like a bug beneath my boot!" Hercule yelled, posturing as he imitated crushing a bug. Rowan was acutely aware of the camera and felt her resolve weaken a little.

"But… Cell is… Far stronger than you. If you challenge him, you will most likely, get seriously hurt." She said with a frown. The veins on Hercules' neck stood out suddenly as his face twisted into one of rage.

"WHAT?! Do you know who I am, little girl?! I am Hercule Satan, strongest man on Earth and Martial Arts Champion of the world! Don't you try and tell me I can't defeat Cell! He's a pushover compared to me."

"Oh brother. And here I thought you had an ego problem." Rowan said quietly. Cell chuckled but otherwise remained unmoving.

"For the last time, get out of the ring girl!" Rowan felt her frustration at the foolish man cause her temper to swell up.

"My name is ROWAN, not GIRL, you insufferable man. If you want to fight him so bad, be my guest. You won't last ten seconds!" She yelled across the arena at him. But she turned away from Hercule, facing Cell. "Try not to kill him please, but I really won't object if you hurt this moron." Cell opened his eyes at this, chuckling as Rowan stormed off to the edge of the arena, away from Hercule, jumping down.

Hercule postured in front of the camera, laughing like an idiot.

"Yeah! Hercule is gonna beat the stuffing out of that giant green roach! YEAH!" Rowan shook her head, watching as the idiot strut over to Cell. Cell looked at him with cold pink eyes.

Hercule lunged at Cell, punching, striking and kicking the android ruthlessly. Cell didn't even flinch, and only narrowed his eyes. Hercule stopped after a moment, taking a step back, swallowing his obvious fear. Cell said something quietly to Hercule, something that Rowan didn't manage to hear, but the effect it had on Hercule was astounding. His face twisted into true surprise, right before Cell lunged, backhanding Hercule, launching him from the arena and into a cliff face a few hundred feet away.

Cell chuckled and folded his arms again, closing his eyes. Rowan looked towards the cliff where Hercule had landed, silently relieved as he sat up in the pile of rocks and dust, clutching his face with tears in his eyes.

Rowan stared back up at her lover with admiration, thankful that he had been controlled enough to kill Hercule.

"Excuse me, Miss…" Rowan turned around, startled as the reporter and his cameraman approached her from the outside of the arena. She blinked a few times at the pair. The reporter was a middle aged, small and greasy looking man in a slick black suit with a small wire like moustache and gelled back hair. The reporter was much more casually dressed, and looked a little younger with his backwards baseball cap. He had his face against the lens of the camera, which was focused on her.

"Um, hello." She said nervously, staring at the camera.

"Miss, can I ask who are you? Why were you standing in the arena with Cell? Are you on his side? What are you doing here?" Rowan grimaced at the bombardment of question and cowered back a few steps.

"Um… My name is Rowan…" She said hesitantly. " Uh… You're kind of making me nervous." She took a few more steps back as they continued to approach.

"Rowan, please, why were you in the arena with Cell?"

"Uhhh…"

"Did you plan to fight him, or fight alongside him?"

"Ummm…"

"Can you give us any insight as to why Cell is doing this, please?" Rowan grit her teeth, afraid of the camera and suddenly vanished, re-appearing besides Cell in the middle of the arena. She heard the media men exclaim loudly as the realized where she had gone to.

"Amazing! Did you get that on camera?!" The reporter asked. The camera man nodded and continued to record.

"I don't know how you can love being the centre of attention Cell. That scares the absolute crap out of me." Rowan said quietly. Cell chuckled, and opened his eyes slightly, watching her.

"You do realize the irony of what you are doing right now?" He asked quietly. Rowan looked at him for a moment before she broke into a grin.

"I'm cowering behind the evil tyrant who's threatening to destroy the Earth, because I find you less terrifying than a camera?" Cell chuckled, closing his eyes again.

"15 more minutes. The Z warriors should be arriving soon." Rowan nodded her understanding.

"Have you decided if you want to face Goku at an equal power level?" Cell frowned slightly.

"I'll let you know when he arrives." Rowan nodded and just for the hell of it, she mimicked Cell's pose, folding her arms across her chest and lowering her head slightly, closing her eyes.

"So… What did you say to Hercule before you hit him?" She asked him, curiously.

"I told him that I don't take kindly to people disrespecting my wife." Cell replied casually.

"…Wife?" Rowan unfolded her arms and absently twisted the ring that was still on her finger. She had almost forgotten about it. Cell opened his eyes for a moment, watching her with a small smile.

"What would you prefer? Mate? Wife? Partner?" Rowan felt her face flush as she thought about it.

"I don't really have a preference. You can call me whatever you like. I'm just surprised you openly admitted it to someone else." Cell chuckled.

"I am not ashamed of you Rowan. I merely do not wish for you to become the object of other people's misguided vengeance and the like."

"Oh." They fell back into an awkward silence again as Cell closed his eyes. Rowan stared around for a moment, aware that the camera was focused on them again, before she imitated Cells' pose again, folding her arms across her chest.

"So does this pose actually do anything specific for you, or is it just intimidating?" She asked quietly.

"It's a meditative pose. It allows me to cast my senses wide so I can get a feel for the people around me. Like right now for example, I can sense some of the Z warriors approaching from the left."

"I wish I could sense energy like you." Rowan said, annoyed after a few moments. She had been trying to 'detect' energy but she just didn't know how to do it. Cell chuckled and lifted his head as Vegeta suddenly blasted over the top of a cliff, landing on the outside of the arena. He glared at Cell, who stared back for a few moments.

"I don't recognise that man." Rowan said quietly.

"That, is Vegeta. The last time we battled, was just after I obtained perfection. He was quite the weakling then. I do hope he had improved since then." Cell said, loud enough for Vegeta to hear. Vegetas' snarl was quite savage and Rowan frowned. She didn't get a good feeling from him.

Cell suddenly turned his attention to the back of the arena, unfolding his arms as android 16 lowered himself to the ground.

"16!" Rowan said happily and gave him a wave. 16 lifted his hand in a greeting, but scowled at Cell.

"Bulma and her father, did quite a good job on you." Cell said casually with a smirk. 16 narrowed his eyes and looked up. Cell followed his gaze, suddenly laughing like a child on Christmas as the rest of the Z warriors, auras burning brilliantly, flew over a cliff face, landing on the side of the arena.

Goku, Gohan, Tien, Piccolo, Yamcha, Trunks and Krillin, all dressed in their fighting gis or armour, grim faced and staring at Cell.

"Welcome, everyone!" Cell announced with a broad smirk. Cell locked his gaze with Goku. Goku glanced at Rowan, and then back at Cell before he slowly stepped up into the arena.

"Do you mind if I go first?" Goku asked with a smile.

"Not at all, but I have a request of you, Goku, before we begin." Cell said in a polite voice, which oozed smugness.

"Oh, and what's that?" Cell grinned, narrowing his eyes.

"I'd like you to power up to full for a moment." Goku hesitated, looking at Rowan who was standing just behind and to the side of Cell smiling at him.

"Um, why?"

"I'd like our fight to be a fair one. I'm going to match your power level, but first I need to know just how strong you are." Cell was keeping his voice quiet, so just Goku could hear him. Goku grinned suddenly.

"Alright!" He spread his legs, slipping into a powerful stance, as a brilliant golden aura burst to life around him. Rubble and rocks from around the outside of the arena began to rise off of the ground as he roared, channelling his power.

"Yes, Goku, that is magnificent power." Cell declared, chuckling. Goku continued to roar, the arena trembling under the wake of his power. Rowan stared, amazed. She looked at Cell, saw the absolute excitement on his face and knew how desperately he wanted this moment, how desperately he wanted to fight Goku.

"How's that?!" Goku asked, his aura flaring around him as he stood back upright, crackling with golden power. Cell laughed.

"Very impressive! You are far stronger than I anticipated. This will be a glorious battle indeed." Cell turned to face Rowan and gave her a small nod.

She was aware that everyone at the tournament, and everyone in the world, was currently watching her, as Cell offered her his hand. She took it and took a deep breath.

"Ready." She declared. Cell grinned, as his energy began to flood into her body rapidly. Rowan grit her teeth, bracing as she took everything he gave her, saturating her body. Within seconds it was too much as he continued to pour his power into her. Her hair began to rise upwards as the power radiated out from her, golden and crackling with the blue discharge.

She heard their gasps, but she ignored them, focusing her attention entirely on Cell's power as it coursed into her. She reached her capacity and opened herself up, exploding outwards and up in an immense column of golden power that shot up into the sky. The entire Earth trembled and she focused harder, forcing more of the power up. The shaking eased and stopped as the column grew brighter.

Still he fed her power, and she was amazed at just how much he had. He barely looked as if he was exerting himself at all. She probed the connection between them, and she could see just how much power he had inside. He hadn't vented even close to half of it yet.

Quite abruptly, he stopped, letting go of her hand. Instantly the column vanished and her hair fell around her head, her hair tie incinerated. She grinned and shook herself.

"Phew, that was fun." She declared. Cell chuckled and tilted his head to the side.

"Thank you, dear. You can go now." He said with a grin. Rowan nodded and smiled at him as she turned and headed to the edge of the arena. She waved at Goku as she walked past him, stunned look on his face as he glowed golden.

"Good luck Goku!" She declared, jumping off of the arena, not too far from where the others stood, staring dumb founded at her. She tried to ignore them, but she felt the colour rise to her cheeks as she brushed her hair over her shoulder.

16 approached her, taking up a position beside her as he watched Goku and Cell.

"Rowan, what just happened?" He asked quietly.

"I convinced Cell that he should let me vent off some of his power before he fights Goku so it would be a fairer fight."

"That… Is actually a very good idea." 16 said hesitantly, but with a smile. Rowan folded her arms and nodded.

"Yep." She frowned to herself, knowing that although he had sacrificed a huge amount of power, he hadn't vented anywhere near enough to lower himself down to Gokus' level. It would still be an unfair fight. Just not as much so.

"Woman!" Rowan turned to look at the spikey haired man known as Vegeta as he stormed angrily towards her, fist raised, veins on his temple throbbing painfully.

"Um, hello." She said with a nervous smile. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Rowan."

"Screw the formalities! I demand you tell me what you just did!" He roared angrily. Rowans' face fell into a frown and she furrowed her brow.

"You have quite the nasty temper." She pointed out. Vegeta roared angrily.

"Quit stalling and tell me!" 16 frowned down at Vegeta. Rowan was aware that the others were watching them as well.

"I took some of Cells' energy, and vented it off so that he could fight Goku on equal footing." She explained angrily. "It's really not that hard to understand."

"You infuriating creature!" Rowans' eyes widened and she glanced at Cell, but he was engrossed in conversation with Goku.

"That's the second time I've been called that today." She said conversationally. She was pressing all of Vegeta's buttons, and he was losing his temper.

"Damn you woman!" Rowan glared at him angrily.

"I don't know what you're getting so pissy for. I did you a favour. Cell has less power now."

"You gave him the power in the first place, because you couldn't keep your damned legs shut!" Vegeta snarled angrily.

Rowan snapped at that, and she moved with astonishing speed, slapping Vegeta hard in the cheek. It made him stumble back a step. He roared again, his hair turning white-gold as his aura flared around him. He charged her with his fist, but was suddenly sent flying as blue blur shot into him like a bullet.

It took Rowan a second to realize it was Serin, snarling angrily as he landed in front of Rowan, slipping into a battle pose.

"What?!" Vegeta leapt back to his feet, glaring at the little blue Cell. Everyone stared at the little blue Cell in stunned amazement.

"Serin!" Rowan exclaimed, kneeling down to hug him. His face went from serious to happy in a heartbeat and he let her pick him up, holding him in her arms.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Piccolo asked angrily. Rowan glared at him.

"This is Serin. He's our son." She said, secretly delighting in the shocked faces that stared, stunned at her.

"Rowan!" Rowan looked over at Cell who was glaring angrily at her. "If you don't mind, I'd like to fight Goku. Perhaps you and Vegeta could save your skirmish until after wards?" Cell said bitterly. He was controlling his voice greatly, but Rowan could hear the venom in it and she sighed and nodded.

"Sorry."

16 looked just as surprised as the others.

"I did not know you had a child. He looks to be around 6 years old, and yet you have only known Cell for four." Rowan was still holding Serin who was watching the Z warriors closely.

"Actually he's only a few hours old. Apparently Cell can reproduce A-Sexually." 16 stared at Serin closely and frowned.

"I see." Vegeta was still glowing golden, glaring angrily at Rowan and Serin, but he didn't attack. Rowan watched him for a moment and frowned.

"I think we should go somewhere a little safer." Serin said in his child-like voice. Rowan nodded and looked up at 16 as she offered him one of her hands. 16 took it hesitantly, as Rowan threw her energy around them, disappearing.

They re-appeared on top of a cliff overlooking the arena, away from the Z warriors. 16 looked down at the arena as Cell began to power up. His energy flared brilliant and golden, like Gokus', crackling with energy. She could feel its potency, even from up here, and she narrowed her eyes as he roared, unleashing his power.

But as he stood up, declaring he was ready to fight Goku, Rowan narrowed her eyes. The others' wouldn't be able to tell yet, but she had seen the full extent of his power, and she knew that he hadn't given her anywhere near enough to bring his level down to Gokus'. He was holding back a lot of power right now, and he was still going to hold all the cards by the end of this fight.

Cell laughed as his aura sizzled the air around him, burning the same brilliant gold as Gokus'. Goku was smiling, just as eager for this fight as Cell.

"Well Goku, let the Cell Games, begin."

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to read this. I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I am enjoying writing it.

Much love to all of you for the support you've shown!