I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.

Chapter 11: Burn

I glanced around the desert as I flew along its borders, looking for Baba's place. I really had no idea where I was going; just to an oasis in the middle of the southern desert was all Bulma could really tell me. My assumption was that she hadn't been here much, but she did seem to know that the only thing that would be there is the oasis and a palace. I traced the entire area around before cutting back in towards the middle. I finally spotted a few buildings along with a cluster of ponds precisely in the middle of the arid landscape. As I approached, I spotted a long line of random people waiting outside. A few of them looked like rich businessmen, and a few others looked like they wanted to climb in the ring at a tournament. All of them wanted to see Baba though, I could tell that from the start. Everyone turned when I landed next to them, somewhat surprised that a kid would suddenly drop out of the skies next to them. No one said anything though, and I crossed my arms and waited as patiently as possible. After a few minutes I heard some pain filled screams coming from inside the compound before I sensed some people coming out.

"Have fun you three! Who's next?" a light and feminine voice shouted just as three fighters came out and hobbled away. They looked like someone had beaten the tar out of them, but not enough to need a stretcher.

"I said who's next!" the voice shouted again, and this time, well something came out. It sounded like a little girl, but what I saw was some sort of pink…creature wearing a yellow hat. I didn't want to call it a ghost as I couldn't see through her or anything, but it wasn't what I could legitimately call a life form either. At least not one that registered on a list of living and breathing animals. The ghost turned and glanced at me briefly, and suddenly panicked.

"Okay, that's a wrap for today everyone! I'm afraid the mistress isn't taking any more customers today! Come back tomorrow!" The crowd grumbled as they walked away slowly, a few of them unleashed some capsule cars and drove off into the distance.

"Come on in," she said, motioning for me to follow her. She took me inside the first building, and I spotted the hovering figure waiting in the very first room with her back turned.

"Hello there stranger, I am the illustrious fortuneteller Baba! You can either pay me Ten million Zeni or beat all of my fighters and I will tell you what you wish to hear. I don't care if it's your future, cause of death, future spouse or a missing remote control. Though if you are here to find a missing remote, you really are wasting my time as you are likely dumb enough to lose it again!" she said, sounding like it was a memorized speech.

"Um, mistress, that boy you mentioned is here," she whispered. A steaming cup of tea smashed to the ground a moment later and Baba shook notably.

"Fine, you may go," Baba said as the ghost bowed and departed.

"I take it you knew that I was coming?" I asked in a raised voice.

"Shhh, not so loud! You never know who might be listening!" Baba said with a finger to her aged mouth as she turned around.

"And you likely know what I plan to do, or you at least have an idea as to why," I said, not lowering my voice.

"Dear boy, I wouldn't be a very good fortuneteller if I didn't already know. I noticed this one a few days ago after you came back to Earth. I haven't told anyone about it yet, but I do not feel comfortable with this!" she shrieked suddenly.

"Calm down old lady, so can you do it or not?" I asked.

"Of course I can do it, otherwise the potential fallout from this would be a moot point!" she yelled back.

"Well, let's get going then!" I said.

"Hold on boy, one does not simply march in there and start blowing things up! I must make you understand that you must be as brief as possible and to keep your power as low as possible! If we are discovered, well I won't take responsibility for you despite being a minor!" she warned.

"Fine, it's all on me. Now take me to the afterlife!"


"Is this really necessary?" I asked as the ghost was working.

"Yes, because this simple disguise will greatly decrease your chances of being found out! The ogres on both sides of Snake Way should ignore you for the most part as long as you don't fly around recklessly, and keep away from important areas!" Baba added. The ghost was busily painting a halo on an invisible helmet that Baba dug out of her stash of items.

"There's no way that it will work anyway, it'll probably fall off when I'm flying through Hell. And probably get destroyed if I get into a fight along the way! I can go invisible once we are there, so just wait at the exit and we'll be just fine!"

"Young fools," Baba said, shaking her head, "This is only to protect both our interests. Those in charge of the afterlife are going to notice something wrong rather quickly even if you are flawless in avoiding detection. I am simply trying to avoid discovery!"

"I told you, I don't care about that. I'm not going to wear that damn thing!" I shouted, scaring the ghost.

Baba kept her resolve, "Yes you will, otherwise I will not take you there!"

"Fine!" Damn old bitch.

"Okay, let's give it a try!" the ghost said happily as she slipped the invisible helmet over my hair and head. She held up a mirror, and the only thing that looked right on was the halo. My hair was flattened and looked horrible. Now I know what Gohan felt like when he got the bull cut.

"Oh relax; it's only for a little while anyway!" Baba said, chuckling. You are damn right about that; it's coming off as soon as I'm away from you!

"Whatever, can we just get going?" I said with a deep scowl.

"Sure, just grab a hold of my crystal ball, otherwise you won't be able to pass through the void! And don't fall off, that isn't a place you want to be stuck in, believe me!" Baba said as she lifted off. I held onto the ball firmly, but not enough to break it, and off we went into the sky. Once we were past the clouds, Baba muttered some sort of enchantment and a black hole suddenly opened up.

"In we go!" she said, as the hole seemed to expand and swallow us. As Baba flew forward, the space we were in started to change colors and I could see streams of multicolored light going all around us. I even saw what looked to be a planet or two go by quickly before another hole opened up and revealed a familiar red sky with yellow clouds, and a castle in the distance.

"Wow, what was that place?" I asked as I let go of the ball and flew on my own power.

"That was the space between the physical realm and the afterlife realm. Normally spirits pass right through instantly once their dying bodies release them. Since we did not die, we had to go slower," she explained.

"I don't suppose you could tell me about the planets I saw in there could you?" I asked.

"Even I have no idea where they go, I haven't dared to venture there," she said with a shrug.

"Well, thanks Baba. I'll go alone from here. Just wait here for me to get back, unless of course you hear from some authorities about my capture," I said with a smirk.

"I'll just watch for the explosions," she laughed.

"Is that seriously going to happen?" I asked.

"I have no idea; I don't plan on looking in on it. But it might be amusing to watch King Yemma's face turn red more than once. Go give that creep hell kid!" she said with a slight wave.

I nodded slightly and dove towards the clouds, passing into Hell very quickly. Well, this is it. Still, I can't believe that I'm actually going to use that attack. I guess its just fate that Dabura should have me learn it. Then again I might have discovered it on my own despite all of Old Kai's warnings. Oh well, game time.


Once into hell, I quickly flew across the lands of the dead, searching for my target. I thought about trying to sense his location with my spiritual vision ability, but there were so many dead souls around that it would prove difficult. I scanned for pure Psi emissions instead, and after about an hour of searching, I finally found a slightly higher and fluctuating one amidst a cluster of high ki levels. As I flew towards it, I took note of a lot of ogres glancing up as I blazed by. To my surprise though, they didn't really react and went about their business. Okay, Old Hag: One, Verto: Zero. Guess I'll keep the retarded disguise on for a few more moments. As I approached the cluster of power signals, it didn't take me long to figure out who everyone else was, and it definitely didn't take long for several of them to run when they saw me coming. Only one of them seemed to be in a good mood when I landed, and not surprisingly, he was green.

"Well look who dropped in! Dead again so soon? Too bad!" Cell said with a hearty laugh.

"Looks like a really bad haircut followed him. Typical with you monkeys!" Frieza piped in nearby with a very big frown on his face. His midsection was sporting a large bandage, as was his tail; apparently he hadn't quite healed from our last encounter.

"Whoever said I was dead?" I asked as I powered up quickly. The painted helmet shattered and my hair flowed freely once again as I pushed up to maximum power in normal form. My brawl with Vegeta and Lenz earlier had cut my ki level to less than half of normal. That was fine however, because I didn't need it for what I was going to do.

"I see, though you don't look so well today. Feeling a bit under the weather, or are you just weak?" Cell asked, likely sensing part of my current power level. As for rather I actually looked sick or not, maybe, but I definitely didn't feel that way.

"Trust me Cell, what you can't sense can definitely hurt you today," I warned.

"In that case, you should find who you are looking for just over that rise. Don't mind if we tag along do you? I wouldn't mind seeing just what you are going to do to him! If it's anything like what you did to poor Frieza, then this should be a good show!" Cell laughed as he walked towards me.

"Fine, but stay out of my way. I'm in a bad enough mood as it is!" I warned.

"I wouldn't think of it," Cell grinned.

"It's not you I was warning. He'll lose more than his tail if he screws with me this time," I growled at Frieza, who stepped back cautiously.

"You have my word that neither of us will impede your path," Cell said as he nodded to Frieza.

"I'll hold you to that," I said as I walked over the hill slowly, sniffing out my prey. I spotted Babidi almost right away, though the short imp was hard to miss. Next to him though was where the Psi emissions were coming from, and Freddy was currently laughing his sick head off. Any attempts at remaining calm instantly vanished when I laid eyes on him. In all honesty, I didn't want to use the attack that Dabura had me learn privately, but I knew it was necessary now. If it were a simple job of kicking the Freddy's teeth in, I wouldn't have even bothered coming. The laws of the afterlife weren't going to prevail though, not with Babidi or Freddy around.

"I hope you are ready to torture the Saiyan some more. By my calculations, he should be going insane right about now. Just a little more and that precious little mind of his is going to shatter. And then, oh it will be gorgeous! All of that destruction, I just can't wait to make him my slave!" Babidi cackled.

"So that's what the imp has been scheming over lately. That is certainly an interesting turn of events. I didn't realize he was planning on trying to turn you into his messenger of death," Cell noted.

"He would have failed," I said as I moved towards the pair.

"Perhaps," Cell chuckled.

"Hey Freddy! Get your pathetic ass over here! It's time to face the fucking music!" I roared, scaring both of them.

"How did you get here you brat? You aren't dead!" Babidi pointed out.

"Master, please protect me!" Freddy begged suddenly, cowering behind Babidi.

"I suggest you get out of the way wizard; this bastard is mine!" I warned. Babidi did step out of the way, a look of both curiosity and concern displayed on his face. Freddy visibly shook as I slowly stalked towards him, as the look on my face was probably enough to make him want to commit suicide. It didn't matter; he wasn't going to get that kind of chance. He turned around to run in the other direction, only to stop when I suddenly phased out and appeared in front of him.

"Please no!" he pleaded.

"Save it for someone who cares about your worthless rotting carcass," I growled. Freddy got down on his knees for a moment, before I stepped up and punched him hard in the shoulder. I heard a distinct pop as he went flying backwards, and his arm ceased to move afterwards. He attempted to flee again while dragging his dead arm, but stopped and fell backward when I appeared in his path again.

"I'm sure you enjoyed making your victims run for their lives even though they had no real chance of escape. Well picture that right now, because payback is a bitch!" I snarled at him. Freddy got to his feet and backed up a step just as I rushed at him and drove into his left leg, breaking several bones in the process. Freddy collapsed in pain as he held his injured leg protectively. When he looked up again, I had one finger pointed at his chest and a potent ki blast ready to fire.

"No, please!" he begged again. I snorted slightly and aimed a little further down before firing, sending the small ki beam right through his stomach and clean through his back, just inches below his ribcage. He cried out in pain and gasped as he lost his breath suddenly. When he bent over again, I walked up and grabbed hold of his good arm and pulled hard. It easily ripped out of the shoulder and he suddenly forgot about his stomach wound as blood spurted out from his newest injury. He didn't have much time to mourn the loss of his arm before I used it to smash his face in. He fell backwards several feet before struggling to get to a sitting position.

"What have you done to me?!" he asked.

"I've robbed you of the use of your body, just like you did all those people by killing them in their dreams! You never even gave them a real chance to run, and neither will I! If you think I'm satisfied with that, think again. I know you will be able to recover here in Hell, but it's not going to be that way. Care to guess what I'm going to take next?" I asked.

"You won't be able to kill me boy! I'm already dead!" he grinned weakly. The grin vanished when I charged up one hand with all Psi energy. Freddy's lower lip quivered in fear as he stared at the attack brewing in my palm.

"You can either stand there or try to run, but it doesn't matter. You're still gonna get the shit end of this attack and I promise that you will not enjoy it!" I scowled. Freddy managed to get to his feet and limped away as fast as he could in the opposite direction, but it was fruitless since he was so slow. I snarled as I let out some very angry emotions, thoughts of death and mutilation came to mind when I thought of one Freddy Krueger. But he went too far when he screwed with my mind and killed all those people. Now he's going to pay for it! I heard a slight whoosh behind me and detected Kibito-Kai teleporting in. His presence instantly calmed me for the moment, and I lost the focus I needed to create the attack. I turned and glared at his floating form, staring him down.

"No Verto! Don't do it!" he shouted.

"Don't even think about stopping me. It's too late for him Kai; he had this one coming!" I growled. The mere thought of someone as benevolent as him trying to protect Freddy was sickening.

"I know he's guilty, but if you do this, you will be throwing away your life both on Earth and afterwards! I cannot tell you what this will do to your standing, but you will likely be branded an outlaw for this! You will be fortunate to keep your body even if you were sent here afterwards!" Kibito pleaded with me.

"I don't give a shit about what happens to me, that son of a bitch deserves his fate!" I shouted as I kept the power flowing into my right hand, the whole area darkened in the light of my attack, which was rippling with lightning. I barely noticed that my building energy had now turned red, but I had been expecting that. Kibito only continued to fuel it through his own words, as well as distract me.

"Listen to me Verto! There are higher forces at work here, higher than you could ever understand! What you are about to do will provoke them, and your destiny could only be filled with darkness and pain if that happens!" Something inside me heard his words, and whatever tedious control it had over my emotions snapped. I turned to Kibito and grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him close so I could scream in his face.

"I'll tell you whose destiny will be filled with darkness and pain, yours! If you stop me from doing this, I can't describe how I will tear you down into little pieces of purple shit! I don't care if I have to chase your ass down for all time either, I will do it! This mother fucker has mercilessly killed countless numbers of people unchecked for god knows how long after death. Do you think that's fair? You think they deserved that? And the worst part is he gets to hide out here and do it over and over again, while you and everyone else sit back and let it happen! Whatever happened to the non-interference crap with the mortal realm, huh? Seems like he's doing it as much as he fucking wants to!" I growled at the Kai and threw him off, who seemed hesitant to answer once I let him go. It felt very good to get that out of my system, and at the moment, I didn't care whom I was talking to, I felt free. It felt so good that my blast seemed to slip away for a brief moment before I powered it back up, letting Hell have some of its red shading for a few moments.

"You shouldn't let revenge dictate your actions," he scolded in a slightly calmer tone.

"This isn't revenge; it's justice. For all the lives he took, he deserves it," I said in a low voice.

"That may be, but you don't know the circumstances! And you don't know what this action may cause in the future!"

"Apparently not, give me a good fucking reason why I shouldn't do this. Dodging the question is not an acceptable answer," I said, allowing my blast to shrink just a bit.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But destroying a soul completely will condemn you forever. No matter how much good you do from now on, it will follow you to the grave and beyond! Darkness is bound to fill your destiny forever! I implore you, please come with me and we can forget about this whole mess!" Kibito said, holding out a hand. I thought it over for about half a second, and reenergized my blast.

"Wrong answer," I said as I rose into the air and locked onto Freddy, who hadn't even made it a tenth of a mile away yet.

"No, stop! I won't let you ruin your life!" Kibito shouted, as he pulled down hard on my arm right before I was going to fire it. I barely held onto the energy and nearly blasted him for it.

"Get off of me! I'm seeing this through! I don't care what kind of shit comes down on me for it!" I shouted as I struggled to get free. When he didn't let go, I brought up my other arm with another reddened blast aimed right at his face. He froze in surprise, but did not let me go. I increased the amount of power I held, ready to unload on him for everything that I blamed him for, and that was quite a list. It always seemed like he and Old Kai were trying to keep me at arms length, like I was their pet on a leash, born to clean up their mess. I didn't want that; I wanted to be left alone. I wanted to be free. One shot is all it could take. One shot and I'll never have to face him again, no more of his shit! Kibito's eyes widened as the crimson light reflected off of his face.

"Refocus your anger. The Kai is not your target!" a clearly feminine voice said. I glanced up at the sky and then at Kibito, who apparently didn't hear it. His face said it all, he was afraid of me. I blinked once by reaction and dropped the urge to let Kibito have it. I also didn't sense anything new around me, but the voice was right, I was losing sight of my objective, which was limping away. All of a sudden I heard the sound of a jaw being smashed and I was loose. I turned to see Cell with his fist outstretched and Kibito bouncing off the dirt several feet away.

"I don't necessarily owe you anything kid; I was just tired of hearing him talk! Get on with it; I want to see if you really have the balls to defy the gods!" Cell said as he pointed towards Freddy. I snorted slightly at this and lifted up further so I could get a clear shot, bringing both arms together much like the Final Flash. I refocused my angry emotions into the blast to finish it for maximum results. As I expected, my blast changed in color several times until it remained red with a slightly orange tint at its bright core. It spun quickly around at it strengthened and flowed with occasional lightning plus a feint fiery outline. Freddy was struggling to keep his feet and stumbled into the dirt before he started crawling as fast as he could with his bad arm.

"This is for killing all those people, for torturing my friends and for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong! You've killed for the last time and now you are getting it all back at once you sick son of a bitch!" I shouted at him as larger streams of red lightning erupted from my blast, which probably had enough negative force behind it to neutralize a spirit bomb that was ten times more powerful. Freddy stopped when he saw his shadow vanish from the reddened ground and stared back in horror.

"SOUL BLAZER!" I bellowed, firing the red pulsing lightning ball. The attack cut across the landscape, leaving a trail of lightning behind it. It ripped right into Freddy's body and erupted from there. Over the roar of the blast wave, I could hear him screaming and cursing as his body erupted into red and slightly black flames with lightning pulsing outwards for several feet. Everyone shielded their eyes against the vivid red light, except me. I had to see my new attack do its dirty work. The energy waves formed into one around Freddy and then it collapsed in on itself before exploding, throwing up a large amount of wind. The normal lighting of Hell returned a moment later, and Freddy was down on the ground in a prone state, unmoving. Most of his center mass had been obliterated, while the rest of his body had turned to an ashy gray color. No kind of energy came from him at all, and I didn't expect any either. I noticed a bit of my red Psi energy emerging from him in a form of minor lightning and a bit of blackened smoke, before it floated harmlessly into the clouds and vanished.

"Judging by his lack of strength, I would have thought all of him would be gone after an attack like that. What happened?" Cell asked from behind me.

"I didn't miss, if that's what you mean. My target wasn't the body, it was just in the way," I said.

"Where's his soul?" Frieza piped in.

"Gone," I said.

"What?!" Cell yelled in surprise.

"Burned," I replied.

"His attack didn't destroy his body like a normal one might have, but it is now just a broken shell. What he killed was his mind and spirit. Normally you would see a more delayed reaction with his soul rising out of him, burning and evaporating into nothing as it disconnected itself from the body. The power behind that blast was likely more than was needed and hit the core of his soul directly. Thus it did the job much faster," Kibito Kai explained, apparently recovered from Cell's hit. I nodded slightly as Frieza and Cell stared blankly at the motionless corpse.

I kept my eye on it as well as I spoke to Kibito, "So, you spied on me during Dabura's training after all?"

"That would have been difficult. We saw this by premonition," Kibito said softly, drawing my angry gaze.

"Just out of curiosity, what happens next?" Frieza asked.

"This," I replied as I shifted slightly while glaring at Kibito. I fired a quick but powerful golden ki blast, meant to wipe the rest of Freddy's ruined body out. When it cleared, there was nothing left of him, not even a spirit vapor or a halo. When it cleared, Freddy Krueger no longer existed.

I sighed slightly as I let the severity of the situation go through my head over and over. Man, I never thought I would actually have to do that. They got the sacred power thing right; guess now I'm probably going to lose it. I shook it off and landed, glancing over at the shocked expressions on everyone present. Cell was amazed and Frieza's jaw was on the ground. King Kold looked ready to faint and Kibito was staring off towards the ground. Babidi, of all people, was laughing.

"And what is so funny?" I asked.

"Just that you have proven that you do have an inner evil and that you will make an excellent crony! Looks like you completely fooled the Kai. I simply can't wait to make you my slave!" he boasted.

"Is that your way of saying you want to be next?" I asked as glared at him darkly.

"Oh no, you will be mine!" he said as he raised his hands and pointed them both in my direction. I growled slightly and allowed my Psi energy to flare again, and less than a second later all the hairs on his head were cleaved in half by my sudden lightning burst, and his cape was on fire.

"What the?" he gasped as he fanned off his hot head.

"Wanna try for seconds Babidi? I don't think I'll miss twice with the mood I'm in. If you want, you can have a taste of what your crony just received. I promise I'll go slow this time so you can enjoy all of the agony you will feel," I replied as the wizard backed off.

Cell started laughing now, "I can't believe the kid actually did all that!"

"Despite what he has done to me in the past, I have new respect for that brat! I'd even hire him as a soldier if we were still alive," Frieza said with a bright grin.

"Tell me boy, why didn't you use that attack on that monster he let out a few months ago?" Cell asked. I ignored Cell as Kibito sighed and walked towards me with a determined frown on his face.

"Come on, I have to take you home right now," he said, holding out a hand.

"Now that is rude, I only wanted to inquire about his power. It is obviously far greater than yours or ours! You will not tell this kid what to do no matter who you are, now back off!" Cell declared as he charged in. Kibito glared at him as his power flared, and with a wave of his hand he sent Cell flying backwards, right into Frieza and knocking them both down.

"Don't make this any more difficult than it already is Verto, you've done enough today," he said sternly.

"I still have one more to go and you know it," I answered as I put on my best death glare.

"That won't be necessary; I will see to it that Jason Voorhees stays in Hell where he belongs. Without Babidi's interference, nor his enchanted mask, he won't be able to return to life again. He may have also been a cold-blooded murderer, but for the most part he was just insane and acted upon his instincts with mindless violence. He didn't truly have any special powers to use on his victims. Now let's go!" Kibito ordered in a much stricter tone than I had heard from him before.

"Fine, put the handcuffs on," I said, holding out my hands. The only reason I was compliant though was because I knew he could make it difficult to find Jason and put him out of his misery for good. If the Kai was going to supposedly keep an eye on him, I didn't need to.

"Well, we won't be doing that just yet," he replied as he grabbed a hold of my shoulder and teleported away.


"All right Kai, just what did the boy do that was so wrong?" Vegeta growled once heard the nitty-gritty on what had been going on. Once Kibito had teleported me home, he had pulled Bulma and Vegeta away from their usual activities. Lenz and Trunks were also present, but only because they happened to be in the room when we suddenly appeared.

"Long story short, he broke into the afterlife, went down into hell and completely destroyed someone's soul. That villain, despite how terrible he was, no longer exists. This is a serious crime that he may have to answer for," Kibito said as he glared at me, crossing his arms.

Vegeta began to laugh at this, "Hahahahaha, so let me get this straight. He somehow got past everyone's senses and detection methods, and then wiped out an enemy that as I understand has been killing humans in their sleep ever since he died so many years ago. Hell I can't blame the boy for that; I would have done it too! Where was your non-interference crap about the dead and the living? I'd say the boy did you a favor!" Vegeta grunted.

"That's what I did, a fucking public service," I grumbled.

"Be that as it may, destroying a soul completely is a forbidden act for anyone. His good deeds in the past might alleviate some of his punishment, but I don't expect this one to go completely unanswered. Even though he is a minor under your care, neither of you will be brought down. This is all on Verto," Kibito explained.

"So, when do we find out what his punishment is?" Bulma asked.

"I do not know, but a lot of it may pertain on everything that has happened to him lately. And a lot of it will depend on what happens from here on," Kibito said with a warning glance in my direction.

"Well son, what do you have to say for yourself?" Bulma asked with a slightly irritated glare.

"If you're concerned that I'll bust in there again and wipe out all the villains, don't be. With the exception of Babidi, none of them seemed to be doing anything that would affect things here. As far as Freddy goes, that piece of shit deserved every bit of what I gave him! Even if it leads to some horrible punishment in the future, I'd do it again if I had to!" I said with pure defiance.

"I thought as much. For now, know that you will be monitored very closely from now on. Anything you say or do will be documented and will likely have some sort of impact on your judgment. And I have to ask that you not leave this place without supervision for a minimum of one week. Consider yourself on house arrest," he said as he turned to leave.

"You mean he can't leave the house at all?" Bulma asked in surprise.

"That's not exactly what I said. Someone, preferably an adult, must be with him. I will place a magical barrier around the complex that will alert me if he should leave the premises, supervised or not. Nothing will happen if you should leave here unless we deem it necessary, but we will be watching you. The barrier will dissipate exactly one week from now," Kibito explained.

"I don't need a fucking leash!" I growled.

"Verto, watch your language!" Bulma scolded.

"I'm sorry about this, but for now this is the best thing for you. Those in charge would have wanted much worse, and that includes life termination," Kibito warned.

"Ha! I'd like to see one you Kais come down and try to do that!" Vegeta boasted, eager for a fight.

"No, you wouldn't," Kibito Kai said as he suddenly teleported away. My eyes narrowed slightly as I noticed something that Kibito had left out. Those in charge, well that narrows down the list slightly, he couldn't have meant himself or the other Kais. Vegeta must not have caught that one. Kibito wasn't very open with me to begin with, but he clearly withheld more information this time. And a judgment, unless he knows that I'm going to die again soon, that must mean something else.

"Well, this is a real fine mess you've gotten yourself into," Bulma said, clearly disappointed.

"Doesn't seem fair to me," Trunks said after staying quiet for most of the time.

"It isn't fair at all!" Lenz screeched.

"Calm down girl, he isn't completely forbidden to leave," Vegeta pointed out.

"But how is it fair to punish someone for doing the right thing?" she asked as her voice cracked a bit.

"Yeah dad, that creep attacked me and Goten in our dreams too! If Verto hadn't of stepped in and helped us out, we could have died too!" Trunks said.

"Well, the situation certainly has its good and bad points of view. What I don't understand is how they could allow someone with this ability to keep killing humans from the afterlife and then come down on Verto for fixing the problem. That doesn't make sense!" Bulma said in slight anger.

"That's what I keep wondering. He seemed too eager to get me out of there before I killed that bastard. It was like he was completely ignoring Freddy's track record," I replied.

"Humph, pathetic," Vegeta grunted as he walked off.

"Well, I assume your probably going to be training a lot for awhile, I guess you could help me with upgrading the new gravity chamber," Bulma suggested.

"What kind of upgrade?" I asked, somewhat curious.

"The hologram programs of course, I'm ready to test them!" she boasted, sounding quite proud of herself.

"We get to fight holograms now instead of each other? Awesome!" Trunks said, sounding amazed.

"Tired of getting the crap kicked out of you I take it?" I asked.

"Nah, I just kept getting bored against you and dad!" he lied.

"Whatever. Anything else that we can do for the week without it turning into a crisis?" I asked.

"Is that a trick question?" Lenz asked in a low voice with a slight grin on her face.

"Ugh, count me out!" Trunks gagged as he ran for his room.

"Let me rephrase that; is there anything that doesn't involve a bedroom and those who are clearly underage?" I asked as I gave her a warning glance.

She only smiled back, "Whoever said we had use a bedroom? And you're only handicapped until you learn a few things. I can help with that you know!"

"I know enough!"

"I don't know, you seem too shy to know much of the important stuff," Lenz cooed a bit.

"Was there something about waiting till I'm older that you missed?" I asked.

"You're a few days older! What? You never said how much older!" Lenz pointed out as I shook my head.

Bulma chuckled slightly at this, "I don't care what you two do under this roof, just try to keep it down! But I suppose it is never too early to learn new tricks now is it son? You didn't exactly have a lot of time to play with Fasha, now did you? How long ago was that anyway? It's got to have been over a year at least!"

"Longer," I grumbled.

"No wonder he's so uptight all the time, I guess I've got work to do!" Lenz said happily.

"Ugh," I groaned.

"I was only kidding Lenz; it's just fun to watch him squirm. And other than the hologram testing I don't have any immediate plans. But you know me and my science projects. That could change at any time. Good night!" Bulma said, as she seemed to have a skip in her step. I shook my head slightly, being cooped up in the house for any amount of time didn't sound like something I would enjoy no matter what was going on. Nor did it sound likely that I would even obey that so called ruling.

"Wow, what a day! Huh, runt?" Lenz asked as she draped an arm over my shoulders.

"One that I'd like to forget with some sleep now," I said as I stood up.

"If you have another nightmare tonight, you can come stay with me!" Lenz offered.

"The key word in that sentence was sleep. If it involves being in the same room as you, I'll never get any rest!"

"That's not true! I'd let you sleep, occasionally," she laughed.

"Whatever, I'm going to bed!" I said as I trudged off towards my room.

"Oh come on, just one full-body massage to help you relax! I promise there will be a happy ending!" Lenz called out, though she didn't pursue it.

When I passed the main lobby, I could sense a very low-level energy field surrounding the whole compound, starting somewhere near the streets. That's the Supreme Kai for you, always on top of the things he says. Just as I shrugged it off and was about to go upstairs, I sensed a familiar spark of energy outside the barrier. It felt the same as the energy I felt from the girl named Leira just before she vanished, thus I quickly opened the door and looked out. Across the street, I spotted the leather clad red head. She seemed frustrated about something judging by the way she was glaring back at me. Her glare softened slightly at she stood still. My right hand suddenly erupted in pain, a burning pain. It wasn't bad, but it streaked through over and over in pulses almost in tune with my heartbeat. I examined it for damage and saw barely noticeable red scars coming to the surface of my skin. They became bright with the color of blood for several seconds before receding and entrenching themselves around my palm like I had been cut badly there months ago. The pain slowly faded as I glanced up at Leira, who stood unmoving. I wonder if she is behind this? She tilted her head slightly, as if perplexed by my reaction. A thought came to my head as I waited for some sort of action by Leira, but it wasn't because of her. My hand burned a lot like the blast I had used to wipe out Krueger. A wave of guilt and slight despair washed over me and to be honest I had no idea where it was coming from. I held slight regret that I had resorted to that measure to solve the issue, but I felt that it needed to be done since that vicious beast was still able to orchestrate his madness from the afterlife. Why do I feel this way? He deserved it. Leira straightened up and stared back, almost piercing my eyes with her gaze.

It softened after a moment, "What you are feeling is a result of the energy field erected around this dwelling. It hones in on your unique energy signature and floods it with emotional turmoil meant to bring about grief and guilt at regular intervals. It may also make you feel brief intervals of pain from your hands. It is designed to punish you for your actions," her voice said through my head.

My eyes widened just slightly, "You're telepathic too?"

"Try not to be surprised young one. There is much you have to learn about both yourself and me. I suggest you focus on the former!" she replied with a stiff tone.

"Don't leave me in the dark; I can't stand that. Why are you here?" She didn't answer that, though I wasn't surprised by any means. After a few minutes of silence, rain started to fall along with the occasional round of lightning and thunder.

"You will have to maintain focus in order to control your emotions while you stay here. Do not let grief overcome you!" she said as I nodded. We watched each other's lack of movement for a little while longer before she promptly vanished again, leaving no trace behind.

Interlude: Supreme Kai

"I take it things went as expected," Old Kai asked as Kibito suddenly appeared with a grim look on his face.

"Yes sir," he replied.

"I did tell you, didn't I?" Old Kai asked as he sipped his tea.

"It's not fair, you know that! It's too soon for this!" Kibito said with a raised voice.

"You saw the visions as I did, and you saw the reports. And we were visited, so you knew this was coming. Now that it has begun, you should not be surprised at any of this. You've played your part well enough; just keep at it! You know what the rules are in this ordeal, and they must be followed to the letter!"

"It's not fair to Verto; he wasn't even given a choice in the matter! It just hit him right in the face and he wasn't given time to go over his options!" Kibito argued.

"It may not be fair, but it's the way of things rather this happened or not. Besides, what did you honestly expect him to do? Sit back and watch while his friends were killed? When things hit someone like Verto in the face, they don't go unanswered!" Old Kai proclaimed.

"But forcing him into that situation was wrong from the start, and allowing all those innocents to die is even worse!" Kibito shouted.

"Calm down young Kai, you don't understand the politics when dealing with the Elders. You have to do things their way, no matter how wrong it may seem to us. It is certainly better than the alternative!" Old Kai pointed out.

Kibito sighed, "I suppose so, when you put it that way. I still can't believe it had to start like this!"

"What are you saying young Kai?" Old Kai asked.

"Even as I was trying to talk him out of it and he wasn't listening. Even as he held that lethal blast in his hand and even as he fired it, I still never thought he'd do it," Kibito explained.

"You are truly naïve to believe that. He is not Goku after all. While he isn't as brash as Vegeta, he won't hesitate either, and that is what makes him so effective. I have to admit, I was a little unsure about putting him through this, hell I still am. But it may prove worthwhile in the future," Old Kai replied.

"How can you say that? Aren't you worried that this trial will tear him apart from the inside? He almost became an agent of evil right before my eyes. I mean what if Babidi were to turn him into a slave and negate all of our work?" Kibito asked in a panicked tone.

"Oh I am worried, but not for the same reasons. I seriously doubt Babidi could do anything to that kid now. I also doubt that this ordeal will drive him to insanity. On the other hand, you've seen that boy's mind. As knowledgeable as he is, he still takes gut reactions to certain situations without thinking them out. He will do what he feels he needs to do at any given time. And he is smart enough to know when something is wrong. As tough as the near future might be on him, and as hard as the decisions he is forced into may be, I don't think that could be his undoing. So you should be content that he is being tested now. Still, I'm concerned about the future from now on; it's still very cloudy," Old Kai explained as his expression clearly read extreme stress.

"Well, if it isn't that, what could worry you so much elder?" Kibito asked.

"What I am worried about is when he figures all of this out and what sort of reaction he will have. Now I believe you have a report to help deliver, so get on with it," Old Kai said as Kibito walked away. Briefly, he turned back to his elder, wondering if he indeed saw everything that happened. Someone interfered. Verto was ready to follow an evil path and blast me instead. It couldn't have been Cell that redirected his wrath; it had to have been someone I didn't sense there. There's no way he could have refocused that quickly. Perhaps that was part of the test as well. Still, I feel bad about erecting that energy field around the Capsule compound; Verto should not have to suffer for doing the right thing. Kibito pondered over this before shaking his head and vanishing into thin air.

A/Ns:

WDG: Pivotal indeed. The role of the Kais actually seems to be important here. I always wondered why they even existed in the series, as all they seemed to do was screw up and be weak bystanders. They didn't even know a whole lot. And they were supposed to be gods, too…

VB: The Kais, just weak bystanders? I couldn't imagine that could ever be the case. But they do have a slightly bigger role than you or anyone else will realize. We'll get to that, there's still a long way to go. This was more or less the opening act.

Next time on DBV: Bulma and Verto test the new holograms shortly before Gohan requests some private training with Verto on further use of Psi energy. While all of that is going on, Capsule Corp's satellites pick up on something going on in the frozen wastelands near the South Pole. What could it be?