Part of the confusion is that, while the OP talks about "termination fees," he titled the thread "Kill fees."
Termination fees:
Author wants to break contract; asks publisher to cancel same.
The publisher can respond with:
1) Okay, sport! Here you go; no hard feelings.
2) No way, Jose. We're printing this puppy. See ya!
3) Okay, but it'll cost you a million-billion dollars. We take cash, checks, and money orders.
Which of those they use may depend on the state of their liver.
For cases 1 and 2 above, the author can say a) "Thanks!" or b) "Okay."
For case 3, the author has the choice of saying:
a) "On second thought, print it."
b) "Here's your check. No hard feelings."
Note: "Waaaaa!" is always a choice, but isn't likely to get you very far, or engender much sympathy.