It took Cell and his new companion only an hour to find the first soul who'd be more than willing to aid them in their crusade. It had not been Mistress 9 who found this new recruit, but the loner: Cell.
Cell had thought first of Frieza when Mistress 9 first recommended finding accomplices. Out of all the souls he had ever discovered harbored a grudge toward Goku, no one other than Frieza had ever considered, save for Cell himself, to escape from the bowels of Hell simply to exact revenge. If Cell were to find an accomplice, Frieza would be the ideal pawn.
"My, my. Cell. Have you come to show off your lady friend?" Frieza asked, in his characteristic sarcasm. Even a fool like Frieza could not comprehend perfection when it laughed at him in his face.
"No, Frieza," Cell said, a confident expression on his face, "This woman is named Mistress 9. She has told me about a rather interesting plot that might allow us to escape this nightmare."
"Really?" Frieza said, smiling, "It might be an interesting way to kill an evening. What is your plan, Mistress?" Frieza put a heavy emphasis on Mistress, as though denying her credibility.
Mistress 9 noted the emphasis, and grinned despite herself, "Have you ever heard of the power of pure hearts?"
"Pure hearts?" Frieza laughed, "A pure hearted warrior! That was the one that sent me to this abyss! First a pure hearted monkey disemboweled my body, and then another damn ape sliced me to ribbons! I know much about the power of pure hearts. What would that do to help you?"
"A pure hearted warrior? You mean Son Goku and Trunks Briefs, right?" Mistress 9 asked, smiling softly.
"I see you put some thought into this, haven't you?" Frieza had been won over, and Cell knew it. As did Mistress 9. Seeing an opening to weed her way into Frieza's loyalty, she opened up to him.
"We can steal these pure hearts, and become all powerful with enough of them. We just cannot fail. Failure is not an option."
"I have slaughtered trillions of people. Surely it would be no problem to steal a few pure hearts from a race of weaklings, and then slaughter the stupid monkey!"
"Monkey?" Mistress 9 smiled, "Believe me when I say that these monkeys will be nothing more than that with the power pure hearts give."
"I admit, you put up a convincing argument," Frieza said, "But mark my words! That damn Saiyan is mine!"
"You can take Son Goku if you want," Cell said, "So long as his child is mine for the taking!"
"I won't object. I never did care for fresh meat," Frieza laughed.
The next lackey was Frieza's idea. He had heard of another Saiyan, this one wild and uncontrollable, that would make an ideal accomplice. However, when Cell reached a mile radius of his presense, he stopped.
"I am not sure he will be a suitable candidate," Cell said, "He is too wild, and would probably lack the control to gather the pure hearts with the bodies intact."
"I suppose," Mistress 9 said, "Before I go after some of my nemesis's nemesis, do you have any other ideas?"
"Plenty," Frieza said, "That Saiyan Broly is not even a drop in the bucket of useful pawns that monkey has dispatched."
Cell was the one who thought of the next pawn, however. It took awhile to find the soul, but once they found Bojack, Cell knew he had the ideal warrior.
Bojack was training, sparing with a series of other demons and accomplices that Cell doubted would be of much use outside of his training sessions. When Cell's group approached, he glanced over, motioning for the others to stop throwing their punches before saying, quite slowly, "Cell, huh? I've been wanting to meet you for awhile. It is thanks to you that I was able to escape from that seal the Kai's set up for me. For that reason alone, it is a rather interesting pleasure to meet you."
"The same can be said for me."
"But why are those two there?"
"This woman is named Mistress 9. I'm sure you've heard of Frieza," Cell said, introducing both of them, "Mistress 9 has a scheme that might allow you to exact your revenge on a certain Sayain. Interested?"
Bojack smiled, "Yes. What do you want me to do?"
"Gather the pure hearts of the world where my enemies reside," Mistress 9 said, smiling, "For someone with your rather amazing gifts, that shouldn't be too difficult."
"Alright," Bojack said, smiling, "I'm in."
The next warrior was even easier to find. Baby was resting easily underneath a mountain, not a thought in his tiny mind. When Cell kicked him awake, however, his face was mutinous, murderous.
"What is it?!" Baby snarled, "Do you know who I am?!"
"Oh yes, we know all about you," Cell said, smirking insidiously, "Baby, do you wish to have revenge on the Saiyans?"
"Revenge?"
"This woman is named Mistress 9. She has a plan that might allow us an easy getaway."
"Those damn Saiyans…for what they did to my race, I'd be a fool not to join you. But allow me one favor."
"Name it," Mistress 9 said.
"Leave that damn Vegeta for me!" Baby snarled.
"Alright."
"I believe that balances off that half of the roster," Mistress 9 said, "I believe it might be useful to gather some enemies that know my opponents well to balance out our little league."
"I have no objections," Cell said, "Besides, any other warrior who would want in on our little scheme would probably cause chaos in the hierarchy. Chaos would dissolve us, and petty agendas would ruin us all."
"Here, here," Bojack said, "So, Mistress 9, what kind of guys would know your enemies anyhow?"
"I can think of a few," she said, with a rather insidious expression of glee on her lips.