Title: Breaking the Ice
Author: Dorrica
Summary: Frieza finds himself on the brink of insanity as he resides all alone in Hell, but an encounter with a certain android could help refocus his desire for revenge.
Pairing: Cell/Frieza (light)
Rating: K
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this story are property of Akira Toriyama. I do not make any profit from these writings.

Breaking the Ice

He knew that a decent amount of time had passed since he had arrived, but he couldn't be sure exactly how much, as time almost seemed nonexistent in the hellish dimension. Time was a hard thing to be concerned about when one was slowly losing his mind. Each and every obstacle he had faced in the time leading up to his death had only proved to anger Frieza even more every time, but now he was certain his anger had been completely tapped out. What was the point of being angry now?

Upon arriving in Hell, Frieza had paid very little attention to anyone and anything around him. He vaguely recalled being bombarded by questions from his former elite soldiers, the Ginyu Force, but their words had only come out as mumbled nonsense. Contrary to what everyone had expected, the alien did not go off on anyone. He didn't rant, or scream, or go on a ten minute monologue about how he was the superior being in all the universe and that no one was above him. No, he simply disappeared, confining himself to a quiet region in the underworld, where he was out of sight and never caused a problem. It was quite possible tears had been shed in his solitude, but no one would have ever known, and Frieza certainly wouldn't tell you if there had. Death was a cruel and bitter reality, especially when one had lived for many decades as the supreme ruler of the universe. He had never been challenged, never had to break a sweat, and in a short period of time, not one but two Saiyans had made a mockery of his legacy. The prince no longer stood proud. He could hardly hold his head up anymore. If he wasn't already dead, death would certainly seem like a kindness.

It had indeed been years, although Frieza wasn't really aware. To this day, he had yet to speak a word to anyone and continued to live as a recluse. Training seemed pointless. He couldn't be sure if there was an escape from this hellish prison, but Frieza truly didn't care. He knew now what would happen. They would come for him…Those piercing, green eyes…They would haunt him, they would bore a hole right through him. The prince shuddered and hugged himself. He did not want to look into those eyes ever again.

0ooooooo0

Elsewhere, another being had also died at the hands of a Super Saiyan and had just arrived within the underworld. His demeanor was quite different than Frieza's had been. In fact, it was hard to tell if he even knew he was dead, but a quick survey around the landscape and at all the strange spectators quickly clenched it for the being.

Cell smirked. "So the boy really did it," he said with surprising calm, although everyone was keeping a safe distance. After having watched the epic battle on Earth through the large, crystal ball, no one dared challenge the android. And lucky for them, Cell didn't seem to care or even notice that anyone else was there besides him.

The android suddenly glanced off to the east. "There you are," he said and took to the sky without a moment's hesitation. When he finally found the being, Cell simply hovered for a moment. Even from his height, Frieza still looked like a broken shell. The android frowned as he finally descended. The alien didn't even look up as his feet touched the ground. "This wasn't what I was expecting," he said.

"Who are you?" Frieza said hoarsely, never once looking up.

"I am Cell, a creation of Dr. Gero," the android said proudly. Still, the tyrant did not look up. "My purpose was to achieve perfection."

The smaller being huffed. "A lot of good that did."

"Oh no? You should know that thanks to me, Goku is no longer among the living."

Hearing this seemed to ignite the tiniest spark in the prince's eyes, but he hardly looked up, but it was hard for him to be happy when he hadn't been the one to bring the Saiyan to his end. All this proved was that there was yet another being in the universe who surpassed him, but it was hard to fear this creature when he was already dead.

The android frowned deeply. "You disappoint me. I had thought that the only good thing about being dead was having the chance to meet you."

Frieza finally forced his head up slightly, but his gaze only made it as far as the android's kneecaps. "And how do you know of me?"

"I am an android, created from the DNA of others, including your own."

Frieza's eyes widened slightly. He almost wanted to ask how that was even possible, but he didn't, and Cell was somewhat glad for this, as there was a lot to explain. "So you see…I owe a lot of my strength to you. I think it would be rather rude of me not to express my gratitude, don't you think?"

The prince shrugged. "Why? If it had truly done you any good, then you wouldn't be standing here, talking to me…would you?"

The android's eye twitched. This little pity party was starting to annoy him. All information that had been given to him told him that Frieza was a being of great power, intelligence and pride, not this. But Cell supposed it made sense. Everyone had a breaking point, after all, and Frieza had sat unchallenged for such a long time. He had fallen quite hard.

"So this is what you intend to do? Just sit here and mope? Pathetic."

The prince didn't so much as flinch at the comment.

Cell grit his teeth. "Did you not hear me? I said you're pathetic! A weakling! Why don't you get up right now and challenge me? I expected better from you!"

"The eyes…" Frieza whispered, causing Cell to go quiet again. "He had the same eyes…" The tyrant's eyes widened for a moment and he found himself hyperventilating. "It's over, Frieza," a cold voice mocked, echoing in his mind. He could see the flash of a blade, and the wickedest smirk. "No…No! Get away, Saiyan!" the prince screamed, scooting away and pressing himself against a large rock. "Stay away from me!" He grabbed at his head and shook it violently, as though trying to shake the horrifying images from his mind.

Cell stared in bewilderment at the display. It seemed clear now that the prince had lost his mind. It almost made him nervous. Would he face the same fate as the alien? Would he slowly lose his mind in this foreboding dimension as well? The thought was nauseating. Surely he wouldn't…

Hearing soft sniffles, Cell was shaken from his thoughts and refocused his attention on the broken tyrant. He was still grasping his head tightly, his shoulders shaking with gentle sobs. Pity was the last thing the android ever thought himself capable of feeling. Sighing, Cell approached the being and reached out a pale hand. He gently grasped the prince's chin and lifted his head, forcing him to finally meet his gaze.

Now that he was finally looking at the android for the first time, the horrendous mental images seemed to dissolve. Unable to look anywhere else, he stared into the creature's eyes, which seemed to harbor understanding. They were a lovely change from the memory of those cold, green eyes that had haunted him so.

"Don't let them win," Cell told him quietly, his thumb pressing into the alien's flushed cheek.

"They already have."

"No, they haven't, you fool."

"I'm dead, as are you, my friend."

"And in death we shall train and become even stronger."

"And then what?"

"Find our way out of here, of course!"

Frieza's gaze lowered again. "It's useless."

Cell growled and pulled up on the prince's chin, forcing him to look at him once again. "Am I going to have to slap you to get you to understand? Stop acting like such a weakling!" Without realizing it, Cell's thumb moved across the smaller being's cheek, wiping away his tears. "Now stand up and leave all this self pitying behind you!"

"But…"

"I said stand up!" the android snapped, grabbing for the prince's arm and hauling him to his feet. Even now that he was standing, Frieza still had to crane his neck back to actually meet the other's gaze. "We'll find our way out of here," he said confidently. "And we'll have our revenge."

It all just seemed so out of reach.

"I've already given it my all," Frieza said miserably.

"Then you'll have to find more to give. I'll make sure of that."

Frieza couldn't bring himself to say another word after that. He could only stare, stare into those magenta eyes, which reflected strength, as well as an uncharacteristic gentleness.

0ooooooo0

More time had passed since their first encounter. Years, in fact, but within those years, Frieza had gradually found his spark again, thanks to Cell's encouragement. His fire had slowly returned, something Cell had looked forward to since the beginning. Of course, returning to his old self also proved to be a bit of an annoyance at times for the android. Frieza had his ways of getting under his skin, but he had learned to let the prince's ranting and raving roll off his back. It was certainly better than having him lying around like a lump. Occasional sparring matches proved to increase their strength, but Frieza found it hard to keep up with the android, given his superior strength.

Today, the pair were resting quietly, both lying upon the ground, staring up at the yellowish clouds that hovered overhead, clouds which they had tried numerous times to break through but had failed. Frieza lay pouting, rotating his wrist around.

"Did you have to twist my wrist like that?"

"Must you always complain? People don't usually walk away from a sparring match without some injuries. You just can't get used to someone being stronger than yourself. You've lived for far too long without the threat of a superior."

The prince growled. As he mulled over their plans for escape, he soon appeared doubtful. "Maybe there really isn't a way out of here," he sighed, promptly changing the subject.

"If there's a way in, there's a way out."

"And if we find it, then what? Where do we go from there?"

Cell rested an arm behind his head. "We find our way back to Earth and destroy everything," he replied bluntly.

Frieza continued to stare up into the clouds, a lump forming in his throat. "And then?"

The android turned to him, frowning. "And then…what?"

"Well…how do I know you won't turn on me?"

"Ah…so you don't trust me?"

"Should I?"

Cell smiled and shifted his gaze back to the sky. "You're wise to be suspicious, but think about it, do you really think I need your help?" Cell sighed as he felt Frieza's energy spike. "Calm down. It's not my intent to be insulting. I am only speaking honestly. I can do this with or without your help. There's no need for trickery."

Unsatisfied by the prince's silence, Cell rolled over and touched his hand to Frieza's face, forcing him to look at him. Frieza had little time to form any kind of reaction before he found the larger creature's lips upon his own. It was the first display of affection the android had ever shown him since their first meeting, and Frieza didn't have the slightest inkling about how to respond. The obvious response probably would have been for him to kiss him back, but the prince was as rigid and still as a corpse.

When Cell finally pulled away, Frieza's eyes were still wide with shock, and the faintest blush had colored his cheeks.

"I wouldn't betray you. Not you…ever. You and I have quite a lot in common, my dear. I could use the company. Universal domination might get a bit lonely after a while. Now stop worrying."

Cell rolled over again and glanced back towards the clouds, leaving Frieza to stare into the empty space where the android had once hovered. After taking a moment to recover, he curled his still tingling lips inside his mouth, caressing them with his tongue. Universal domination seemed that much sweeter to him now.

Author's Note: I apologize for this. I wanted to write another Cell/Frieza centric fanfic, but I didn't want to write something dirty this time. I tried to avoid being overly fluffy. It's so hard to capture these characters.