A/N: Alright, here' the first chapter of Mysterious Beginnings. I hope y'all enjoy. And thanks to my very wonderful beta, Darkened-Storm, for taking time out of her busy, busy life to help me with this. If I had the money, I'd send her a small present. But alas, I'm a broke college student. :(
Oh well. Like I said, enjoy! :)
Mysterious Beginnings
Prologue
"Trouble in Another Reality"
In a small courtyard, people mingled about. They were talking, laughing, and flirting. An occasional group or individual appeared at the edge, but they quickly disappeared into one of the seven large brick buildings that surrounded the courtyard on all sides.
Unbeknownst to the people, they were being watched. A rather large humanoid figure made of shadows hovered just centimeters above one of the two flagpoles at one end of the courtyard. His facial features were just barely visible due to the utter darkness of his body.
The people below passed the figure as though not seeing him. He was completely invisible to them. He looked down on them with a completely passive face.
"It's time," the figure said. Suddenly, another figure appeared next to him. He was also humanoid, but had tall horns on his head and wings on his back. Like the first, his face was just barely visible. He looked down at the people in the courtyard and his face twisted into an evil smile.
Both figures floated over to one corner of the courtyard that was covered by trees. They floated above the ground for several more seconds. The horned being kept his evil smile while watching the people in the courtyard and flexed his fists twice.
"I'm ready," the horned being said.
"Not so fast," the other cautioned him. "You do remember our agreement, don't you?"
"Yes," the horned being said, almost irritated. It was a simple agreement, really, the horned being would be brought back from the dead, and would follow the other beings orders.
Both beings stared at each other for several moments. When they broke eye contact, the first being placed his right hand on the horned beings shoulder. When he did, a wave of slow moving white light spread from the horned beings shoulder and across the rest of his body.
The horned being was a strange mix of light green with dark green spots. He had a gray and purple face with a yellow chin and yellow feet. He was very muscular and stood just over two meters in height.
When this was finished, he looked down at his hands and began flexing them experimentally. He then began flexing and stretching his arms. He slowly flexed more and more of his muscles to test them. When he was finished, he smiled maliciously.
The android looked up at the people in the courtyard. He began walking slowly towards the center. As he emerged from the trees, some people looked at him immediately dismissed him before they did a double take and looked more closely at him. As he passed by one small group, one of the people called out to him.
"Hey buddy. Don't you know Halloween isn't for another nine months?"
"Yeah, how stupid can you be?" another asked. The android merely ignored them and kept walking. He kept the same evil smile on his face.
After hearing the first two people yelling, other people turned to look at him. Some immediately recognized the figure, but, like the first two, dismissed it as some kind of costume. Some people also felt the need to yell at him, but most just went back to their individual conversations. Subconsciously, they kept an eye on him, though.
When he finally arrived in the center of the courtyard, he stopped and opened his mouth to speak. Then he thought better of it. Some of the reactions he got just moments ago meant that he would have to demonstrate his power to them.
He pointed him finger at a building at one end and fired a small purple ki ball. The ki hit the wall and detonated. The shock wave tore through the building and, for a moment, the purple explosion was brighter than the sun.
When the dust cleared, a large, deep crater was all that remained. Some of the rubble was still smoking from the heat of the explosion. The people nearest the explosion were thrown violently across the courtyard. They were unconscious before their bodies hit the ground.
The look of fear on the faces of those that were still conscious only made the android smile. A slight twinkle in his eye told those nearest him that he enjoyed destroying the building and killing the people who were inside. He opened his mouth once again to speak to them.
"My name, as I'm sure many of you know, is Cell," Cell said. Some of the people never took their eyes off of the smoking crater. But most of them kept their eyes on Cell.
"I want you all to listen closely, because I don't like repeating myself," Cell began after a few seconds of silence. "I have a simple request."
When Cell was sure everybody was listening, he continued.
"I'm looking for someone. A very specific someone."
He paused for a second more.
"I don't know who this person is exactly, or what he looks like. But you will know who I'm talking about. This person I'm looking for is rumored to be very special. I've heard that he has special powers and I'm very interested in meeting him."
He smiled even more maliciously than before.
"I'm interested in meeting him because I've heard that he is incredibly strong. I want to know just how strong. Of course, I know he's not stronger than me. But I have been dead for nearly thirty years and wasn't allowed to keep my body while I was in Hell. I'm interested in a little warm-up to test my body once again."
"This person would have no doubt displayed his special powers before now, so there's no excuse for you to not know who I'm talking about. Now, give him to me or you will all perish."
Cell paused for several seconds. Nobody responded. As more time passed, Cell began to be irritated by their silence.
"What? Nobody? Are you not afraid of dying?" Cell asked. After another two seconds, he continued.
"Oh. I understand. You probably think that I will kill you even if you do comply. Well, yes. You will be killed regardless. But the question is, how painful do you want your deaths to be?" Cell asked, his voice growing deeper with every word.
Cell paused again to let that information sink in.
"If you comply, your deaths will be quick and painless. If you don't, well... I'm going to enjoy watching the pain and fear on your faces."
He licked his lips just to scare the people even more.
Nobody responded partly because none of them knew what he was talking about and partly because they were scared speechless.
"So nobody is willing to do me a simple favor? Well, then. I'll just have to motivate you," Cell said. With those words still hanging in the air, he turned to face a nearby group. He spotted a young woman in gray sweatpants and a black jacket. His piercing eyes made her feel like he was staring into her soul.
Which, of course, he was. The person he was looking for had a very special soul. For his task, he had been given the ability to see into any mortal beings soul, among other abilities.
He didn't find what he was looking for, so he began walking towards her. For the woman, time seemed to slow. Cell's agonizingly slow walk only made it worse for her. She tried to run, but fear kept her butt planted firmly on the ground.
Cell finally reached her and grabbed her by the neck. He picked the woman up and held her above his head.
"You wouldn't happen to know who the person is who I'm looking for, would you?" Cell asked. His grasp on her neck was choking her, and she was unable to make any sound at all.
"No. Alright then," He said. He began squeezing her neck harder. Just as she was about to fall unconscious, he dropped her without warning. His evil smile immediately turned neutral and he closed his eyes.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the crowd, his companion was communicating telepathically with him.
'I think I might have found him,' his companion said. He then sent an image to Cell. Cell opened his eyes and gently lifted off into the air. He turned around and began scanning the crowd. After a few seconds, he spotted the person he was looking for.
The person he was looking for was a young man. He stood about one point eight meters in height and had six centimeter long brunet hair that lay flat. He had bangs that ended in slight curls just above his eyebrows. His body was large and toned, but not overly muscular. He was lightly tanned and his face was clean-shaven. He wore faded blue jeans, a plain gray T-shirt, and white running shoes. He had a pair of glasses hanging from the collar of his shirt, leading Cell to believe he was wearing contact lenses at the moment.
Cell's malicious smile returned and he dematerialized and rematerialized directly in front of the young man. He grabbed him by the neck and looked directly into his eyes and stared into his soul.
At the surface, the man's soul was purer than most, but there was still the occasional black spot. Cell looked deeper, down into the very core of the soul. Inside, he found a cobalt blue glow that pulsed slowly.
The androids smile widened and he showed his fangs. The man grabbed Cell's hand and tried to break free from his grip, but couldn't. He used his left leg to kick the android as hard as he could. The kick only succeeded in fracturing the man's tibia. He tried to scream in pain, but Cell's grip prevented the air from leaving his lungs.
"Is that the best you can do?" Cell asked rhetorically. "I was expecting more of a fight from you. Especially after the rumors I've heard."
Without another word, Cell used his left hand to deliver a punch to the man's gut that shattered every single one of his ribs instantly.
He then threw the man to the ground and watched him like he expected the man to jump up and attack at any moment. He watched for several more seconds, but was quickly growing bored with his game.
"Are you not going to attack? I'm growing bored," Cell said. The young man lay on the ground, just barely conscious. Cell waited for several more seconds before speaking again.
"Oh, come on now. I know you've got more of a fight in you than that," Cell said.
'Kill him now!' Cell heard someone yell inside of his head.
'Why should I?' Cell responded. He had only spent a few hours with the being, and already hated him.
'You do remember our agreement, don't you?' Cell's companion asked.
'Of course.'
'Then you will kill him now!'
'All I wanted to do was test out my body. After all, I've been dead for nearly thirty years.'
'Kill him now, or I'll send you back to Hell!'
Cell's companion was growing impatient with Cell's games.
'I dare you to try,' Cell challenged.
'What?'
Cell's companion was completely taken aback by Cell's challenge.
'You heard me. I dare you to send me back to Hell!'
'You dare challenge the power of the empire?'
'Yes, I do.'
Cell's companion clenched his fists tightly. Unfortunately, he couldn't. Now that Cell had been brought back from the dead, he had no power over him whatsoever. All he could do was communicate with Cell.
Unbeknownst to them, another figure was watching from the cover of a tree. Like the shadow being, this figure was invisible to everyone, with the exception of the shadow being, which was why she was hiding from him. However, her features were clearly defined.
She was a beautiful young woman with an angelic face. Her eyes were soft but had the wisdom that could only come with years of battle clearly visible. Her hair was green with gold highlights and ran down to her knees. She wore green robes that were hemmed with gold. Her body was well-toned and very beautiful.
She watched the entire incident with a solemn face.
'It's time,' She thought to herself when she heard Cell and his companion arguing through their mental link. In a blinding flash of green and gold light, she shot forward towards them. She gathered every ounce of her energy and delivered a punch to the air in front of her.
She struck an invisible barrier that shattered outward from her fist. She sped through the opening and it healed just as quickly as it appeared.
She scooped the young man into her arms and sped through a black portal that appeared from nowhere. The portal closed behind her.
Nobody saw exactly what happened, not even Cell's companion. All they saw was a blinding flash of green and gold light and the body disappearing. Cell merely looked at the area where the body had been with confusion on his face. His companion did the same, until he figured out what happened.
Cell's companion let out a primal roar and struck the air in front of him with all of his might. He struck the invisible barrier and cracked it, but due to the energy drain associated with bringing Cell back from the dead, he was unable to break through. The cracks healed almost immediately and he began panting.
'Rest assured, Cell. Your insubordination will not go unpunished. You will be sent back to Hell,' he said through his mental link to Cell. Without waiting around to find out Cell's response, he terminated the mental link and sped off in a flash of light.
Cell merely smirked. He looked at where the body had been earlier and merely shrugged his shoulders. He had doubted the rumors he'd heard about the man being incredibly strong in the first place.
He turned towards a group of people who were cowering a few meters away, bared his fangs, and began walking towards them.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. I honestly don't know when the next update will come. I have a very hectic week ahead, but I'll try to have it in about 2 weeks. Assuming my beta also has time, that is. Please Read and Review. Let me know what you guys think about it so far. Thanks for reading! :)
