Hell.

Humans assumed that the evil place held endless streams of fire and scorched brimstone. A place where the souls of the damned were torn apart by scores of hungry, winged daemons. Some were smothered in a lake of boiling blood. Others were frozen under feet of sub-zero ice.

The reality was far worse.

The actual Hell held little by way of fire and brimstone. In fact, at first glance, the place seemed rather peaceful. The main courtyard held a fountain of blood surrounded by lush mountains and greenery that stretched farther than the eye could see. The sky held a red-orange hue like an early sunset. Large black, crystalline structures shot their sharp spines high into the sky, breaking the natural mountainous skyline with their spires. The wind was soft and delicate, carrying a comfortable breeze that wafted the scents of the multitude of sparkling flowers across the landscape.

The inhabitants hated all of it. The place was dull. It held nothing of value to the reams of souls trapped in the depths of the beautiful atmosphere. There was no excitement, no thrill, to the endless expanse of rocky terrain. Even the ogres and demons that guarded Hell felt its endless boredom. Some of the newer inhabitants hated the place so much that on one recent occasion they tried to overthrow the ogres and demons and escape. The rebellion would have been successful, were it not for King Yemma calling in the help of a Super Saiyan named Goku from the realm of the living to put down the frightful villains. After such a humiliating defeat, many of the former rebels lost their spark. Another round of souls was condemned to eternity of drudgery and hopelessness.

But one damned soul still fought on.

Cell snarled as he smashed another boulder into pieces with his fist. The genetically- engineered android fumed as he pummeled the mountainside in frustration. Normally he would have blasted the whole mountain to rubble with his energy field, but after his recent humiliation at the hands of Goku, he couldn't stand how weak he had become. He needed more power. He needed to train for the first time in his life to surpass his enemy. He was going to escape and when he did, he'd pummel the life out of Goku and his son, Gohan, to recompense for his defeat. For that plan to be fully accomplished, he needed to become even stronger than his wildest dreams. He screamed again, crumbling half the mountain to dust with simply his cry of frustration.

Hours later, Cell flew away from the remote mountain chain that he had turned into rubble from the force of his training to an area forested by tall crystal spikes. The android's yellow feet touched down on the ground with a distinctive squeaking noise. His glowing reddish-pink eyes surveyed the sorry scene before him. A horde of damned souls sat, stood, or otherwise milled about the forest talking in a dull murmuring drone. Cell glided through the crowd, and they parted before him like water. Hundreds of eyes eyed his armored form wearily. Cell smirked, causing the group of weaklings to cower in fear. It was rather nice to be the most powerful being in Hell. The benefits were rather rewarding.

His attention was diverted as he spotted a white and purple tailed figure in the crowd. The other individual locked eyes with the powerful green super-warrior. Cell drew near.

"Freeza," Cell smirked, his voice deep and confident, almost to the point of a constant, snide, self-important sneer.

"Cell," the much shorter former galactic overlord acknowledged.

"I have a proposition," Cell smirked, crossing his speckled arms over his midnight black chest.

"Let me guess," Freeza sneered, "you want to fight me."

Cell's confident smile turned rapidly to a snarl, "But of course."

Freeza lazily waved his hand as if to brush aside an annoying fly, "I have no interest in fighting an abomination such as yourself. My goal is to take my soldiers and attempt another assault upon those miserable ogres. After those fools are defeated, they will tell me the location of the exit and I will make my way to Earth to pay Goku a little 'visit'."

"Our goals are the same, Freeza," Cell snorted, "you're just to simple to see that if you don't train, you'll end up back here after Goku kills you again."

Freeza snapped.

"That dirty monkey won because I wasn't taking the fight seriously! He was lucky!"

Cell snorted.

"Whatever, Freeza," Cell turned and strode away, the Freeza force soldiers scampering out of his way, "I see that you're not worth my time anyway."

Freeza's only response was to glower at Cell's back. Cell opened his black, bug-like wings, and took off into the sky. The remaining Freeza Force members looked after his rapidly diminishing form with a mix of apprehension and relief. A purple, horned individual turned to Freeza.

"Lord Freeza, are you going to let that bug insult you like that?" Captain Ginyu asked.

"He'll get what's coming to him after I've taken my revenge on Goku," Freeza sneered, still glaring at the spot where Cell had dissipated into the sky.

Cell soared overhead. What a waste of time, of course Freeza would never fight. The bastard was both delusional and lazy, he'd never stoop to fighting anyone other than Goku. Such a shame, Freeza was the closest thing to a worthwhile training partner in this garbage wasteland. Oh well. He'd have to find another way to test his training.

Another hour later, Cell landed again in another mountain chain. This area seemed like it had been untouched by Hell's inhabitants for generations. The trees and spires were tangled and overgrown, vines fell in thick curtains from the treetops. Cell forced his way through so that he could reach the base of the nearest mountain so that he could blast it to pieces. The vines gabbed at him, but he incinerated anything that came too close, so his path was not impeded for long. He arrived at the bottom of the mountain within a few short minutes.

Cell grinned with excitement. He cracked his neck in anticipation of the workout to come. He began his training by tearing up the mountain. It was unfortunate that there were no asteroids to top off the day's training. They always were a fun warm-up or relaxing cool-down. But since none were present, he had to make do with these. He then spent hours blasting the mountains to rubble. By the time that he was finished, all that remained was a desert wasteland.

He was about to take off to find another location to continue his training when he spotted it. Something glimmered in the light of the fading sun almost entirely buried by the rubble he left behind. Curious, Cell approached the shining object. His shadow fell over it, and the reflected light winked out from the darkness of his shadow. At his feet was a large oval diamond, probably 100 carats at least.

In hindsight, Cell wouldn't remember why he picked it up. He would tell himself later that it was for the sake of idle curiosity. Maybe it was. Regardless of his reasoning, he picked up the diamond and took off.

The night fell as he flew through the sky. Hell at night was far less pleasant than the day. The wind turned ice cold and tiny spikes littered the ground, so it became unconformable to sleep. Fortunately for Cell, he was not burdened by the need for sleep. So, he continued scouring hell for a suitable spot to train.

He landed outside the mouth of a cave. Usually some hellish creatures inhabited these caves. Perhaps one of them could pose some threat. He entered the cave with reckless abandon, intent to awaken the creatures inside. He punched the walls and tossed stones around with his energy.

Something rumbled in the depth of the cave. Cell smirked. He waited for the beast to emerge.

Silence.

Nothing happened.

Snarling in disappointment, Cell slammed his back against the wall and slid to the ground. He groaned, tilting his head back and letting his tall chitin crest hit the wall, propping his head up so that he stared at the blank cave ceiling.

Water dripped in the silence that permeated through the darkness of the cave. Cell sighed, finally getting to his feet. Maybe the creatures were deeper down then he thought.

Sticking to his instincts, he traipsed down into even blacker depths. He wandered for hours, sliding through caverns and tunnels that varied from massive to positively miniscule. Cold, clear water dripped down, cascading over Cell's armor and skin. He shivered from the cold. He was certain that if it were bright enough, he could've seen his own breath. He scanned the darkness around him using his impressive skills of energy sensing and a new technique that was a modified form of echolocation to navigate. His night vision was not fantastic, but it was suitable enough to get him through space, so it would do here.

Finally, the tunnels opened to a wide cavern. Cell could detect the faint sounds of an underground lake in the dark enclosure. He wandered along the shore. Perhaps the creatures here were underwater?

He picked up a stone and threw it into the inky water. It hit the surface with a loud 'plop' and sank rapidly. Ripples scattered out from the point of contact, causing small waves that lapped at Cell's feet.

Again, nothing happened.

The lake was silent. There was nothing to be found here. Cell growled in frustration. What a waste of time. The small waves continued to lap the rocky shore, twinkling in the light.

He sank to the ground and drew his knees up to his chin. This was so dull! So frustrating! Even the warm light in his palm couldn't distract him from his sulking.

Wait.

Cell's eyes widened with surprise as he opened his palm. There, on his snow-white skin, the large diamond he had acquired glowed with a warm, white light. The entire cavern was aglow, the rocks revealed to be shining, multicolored crystals of various size. The massive hall glowed and swam from the light. The whole room became rainbows of beauty. The sight almost took Cell's breath away. Almost.

The diamond in his palm vibrated suddenly. It became burning hot, and Cell yelped from the heat. He dropped the thing instinctively. The diamond fell to the ground, the waves turning to steam upon contact with the scalding, brilliant crystal. Cell watched with growing amazement as the crystal began to float, glowing ever brighter as it lifted itself ever higher. Cell stood as it floated ever higher, staring at the light source until it became too bright and he needed to shield his eyes.

The crystal began to dance over the water, the light it emitted shifting through all the hues of the rainbow. It bounced over the water happily sparkling and bounding as it went along its merry way. Cell lowered his arm to watch the little ball of light dance about. It almost seemed to be mocking him. It was if its movements were designed to tease him. Like it wanted to be caught.

Cell sniffed. If the little ball of light wanted a challenge, then it would get one. He too began to hover. His intent was to drift over the surface of the lake and grab that little ball out of thin air. Perhaps he would even crush the thing as punishment for being so insolent. It slowed as he approached, as if it was waiting for him to draw near.

He crossed the surface, hovering beside the ball of light. With lightning speed, his hand darted after the ball, but the little thing was too quick. It dodged his fingers and bounced away, skirting the walls and bounding into a tunnel. With a feral snarl, Cell began his pursuit.

The ball of light moved faster than Cell expected. He flew through the caves at blinding speed. The little ball of light dancing tantalizingly close to his person. But it always managed to dance just out of reach. Stalactites whipped by his face, occasionally nicking his face or chest. He dodged stalagmites with ease as they appeared before his path.

The dangerous game continued as he raced after the light. The speed caused the wind to deafen him. His eyes focused intently on his tiny goal. Every muscle and nerve strained to avoid slipping to an abysmal accident.

He skidded to a halt. A cliff appeared in front of him unexpectedly. He managed to stop mere inches from the edge. Small pebbles fell over the side. He almost hadn't noticed the cave mouth that they two racers had approached. A roaring waterfall covered the entrance. Cell had almost fallen over the edge to a watery second grave. He looked around, his prey had vanished. With the roar of the waterfall thundering in his ears, he peered over the edge of the cliff.

He couldn't see how far the cliff went down, or how far up it went. But something told him that his prey had passed through the watery curtain. So, he followed, wings outstretched to fly.

He took off. The water hit him hard. The massive force almost knocked him out of the air. Yet, he pushed through. The waterfall opened to a deep ravine. Cell looked over the scene. The waterfall towered high overhead, the lip of the plateau almost out of sight in the light of the full moon. Stars gleamed overhead in a thick blanket of glittering diamonds. Speaking of diamonds, Cell looked down at the small pool at the foot of the falls that trickled off into a small stream that wound its way into a thick deep green forest. Dense tropical trees swayed in the gentle, warm wind. The exotic scents of the thick rainforest flowers filled his nostrils. The water glowed like silver in the light of the moon as it gurgled happily in the tropical scene.

Cell touched down at the pool's edge, facing the foot of the waterfall. The waterfall itself glowed and shimmered like molten silver as it fell hundreds of feet. A nighttime rainbow glowed from the waterfall's vapor that spilled into the night air. Cell's skin and armor was dappled by the droplets, making him sparkle as if covered in tiny diamonds.

There it floated. It hovered at Cell's eye level in the center of the pool. Cell watched as the ball of light grew ever brighter. Sparkles of light danced like embers, skittering over the top of the water.

A bolt of stunning light blinded Cell. He covered his eyes for the second time in the past few minutes. When he opened his eyes again, his jaw dropped.

A vision hovered high overhead of a glittering city of crystal and gold. Each crystal- shaped tower twisted and thrust its spires high into a bright blue sky ringed by two suns. Each piece of architecture seemed to glow with their own light, shimmering like rainbows. Thousands of sharp and elegant silvery machines streamed through the skyline, making the air seem like water. Cell watched with wonder and growing excitement as he saw the inhabitants mill about in the marketplaces and streets. Thousands of different types of beings in all variety of shapes and colors yammered silently in the moving image. A galactic map was superimposed over the scene.

Cell watched hungrily. To him, he was being presented the menu of a great buffet. He was becoming famished simply staring at the image. So many millions of lives that he could drain away and add to his own power! The thought made him giddy. He turned his attention to the glowing diamond.

"Thank you very much, my little Guidestone," he chuckled darkly.

Laughing maniacally, he snatched the glowing diamond from its hovering spot and took off into the night sky. The city's image still glimmered in the water as Cell vanished from sight.

Suddenly, the watery image shifted to show the great city being lapped by tongues of flame. The whole sky aflame, raining down a hailstorm of fire. The image panned out to show the planet being consumed by rings of fire. The whole planet turned from glowing blue-green marble to blazing inferno within seconds. The white-hot ball of light burned brightly for several seconds. Then, the flames were extinguished, leaving a charred, barren wasteland behind.

Then, the image was gone. The chirping of the crickets resumed.