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 right to any of the music pieces you may see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 12: Gohan's Z sword
"Oh no! He's gone!" Krillin gasped at the new image that filled his head. Piccolo grimaced, as a Namek and a fighter he did not cry, but deep down he felt pain of loss. Bulma had a more classic reaction, she fainted on the spot. Videl just dropped to her knees and cried softly.
"Damn that monster!" Goku shouted, his hand was still on Trunks' shoulder having just come back from Capsule Corp with the dragon radar. Trunks was angry about it, but Goku didn't allow him to try and fly off. The general mood turned even uglier when Babidi spoke to the world.
"See what happens when you mess with me? I will destroy you all if you don't give me what I want!" Babidi laughed.
Buu however floated up behind him, "Mister Babidi, Buu do all work, you do nothing!"
"Shut up you overfilled hot air balloon, don't interrupt me!" Buu frowned. "As I was saying, you earthlings have five days before we tear this planet apart, or until those jerks show themselves, be smart or else you'll end up just like this young fool did! Come Majin Buu, it's time to go!" Buu didn't move.
"I said it's time to go, you have wax in your ears?" Buu's response was to grab Babidi by the throat, and then punch his head clean off. The vision vanished as Babidi's head did.
Everyone stood silent for a minute before Yamcha decided say something he shouldn't have, "At least the wizard's gone!" A sharp smack sounded as Eighteen smashed Yamcha over the head hard with her hand.
"Now no one will be able to control Buu, I can't imagine what he might do without a leash," Piccolo muttered.
"Well, no time to grieve guys, let's get busy with fusion training!" Goku ordered, grabbing up Trunks and Goten and heading inside. Piccolo followed.
"Man, how could Verto go up against that monster alone!" Videl cried, "He knew he couldn't beat him!"
"Actually he did it for all of us. Had he not of done it, then either Goku would have run out of time fighting the beast, or we may not have the dragon radar. Which is nice to have when you need to find dragonballs," Krillin explained. Videl still didn't like it, her scowl kept displayed on her face.
"He was too young to go! It wasn't his time! Damn you Majin Buu!"
"Hey don't feel down, Gohan and Verto would not accept us to be down at times like this, we must be strong!" Krillin stated. Videl nodded, before walking over to a pillar and slumping against it, breaking out into another flood of tears. Man I hope this fusion stuff works, or we may all have to stay in other world permanently, Krillin thought, gazing upwards after watching Videl, then he turned and scooped up his daughter Marron and headed inside to give her a bite to eat.
-
I awoke on some kind of red platform. At first I couldn't believe I woke up at all, all I remembered was Buu's final blast and then blackness, like a bad dream. I stood up and saw that I was on some sort of landing pad; it was attached to a purple, scaly looking road. My clothes were still somehow intact, yet were still pretty trashed. My gloves were peeled off in random places and my blue spandex had ripped a few times across the back and stomach. Around the purple road were yellow puffy clouds. I reached up to scratch my head in wonder when I bumped something above me. Whatever it was, it moved with my head, but was not attached to it. I felt it around, it was circular, but thin, like a ring. Then panic hit me as I frantically looked around. Along the road I saw several white dots, all moving in the same direction on the road. Also along the road I saw a few blue and red people, though they were of a race I had never seen before, they all had a horn or two sticking out. I didn't care though, I ran down the road, pushing a few white clouds aside and came up to one of the blue people. He wore a business suit of come kind, and had a megaphone, shouting directions to the line of fluffy clouds.
He stopped when I came up, "Can I help you sir?"
"Yeah, where the hell am I?" I practically screamed at him.
"Hell is below, you're not there yet, you have to be judged first ya know!" His answer was so vague that I missed what he actually said.
"I mean where am I, how did I get here?" I asked again, more clearly.
"Well, you're in the crossroads for sprits, you died and came here to this place," he said sharply.
"How can I be dead, my body is right here?" I said without thinking.
He held up a mirror for me, and I clearly saw a halo above my head, "Well obviously your physical body has been restored to you, you either did something really good, or are being sent to hell for punishment instead. Never been dead before huh?" I shook my head no.
"Okay then, just follow this road until you get to the castle, King Yemma's place," he pointed to the distance, where I indeed saw a castle sitting there. I followed the flow of white clouds slowly along the ground, some seemed to speak to each other, talking about their lives I guess. My lack of patience soon gave in and I floated into the air and flew towards the castle, noting my ki had been rejuvenated as well. Flying swiftly to the castle, I saw several more purple roads come to the one I was on and merge into one in front of it. I landed at the entrance, where another blue person watched me come in.
"You there, you are to proceed to the front of the line right away, King Yemma awaits you!" I didn't argue, and walked slowly inside. Ahead of me I saw a huge man with red skin and a purple hat with horns. He was sitting at a huge desk signing papers it seemed. I approached the end of the red carpet that started at the door and looked up at him, waiting for him to notice my presence. Before long he did look up from his paperwork, and smiled a bit when he saw me.
"Ah young Verto, I was beginning to wonder how long you would take to get here with that Majin Buu around. You are to wait here for someone, though he is going to be a little while before arrival. About an hour or so I'd guess, you may wait outside on him!" he said, pointing to the door on the right. Short and sweet huh. I walked slowly out the door, not saying a word, slowly accepting the fact that I was indeed dead. I walked over to the railing and leaned on it slightly, looking over the lack of land and yellow clouds. I gazed outward, replaying the Buu fight in my head a few times, sulking.
"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice said. I turned my head slightly, not even noticing a ki signal approach until the owner spoke. He was tall and green like Piccolo, but he didn't have pointed ears. He wore a large head decoration of some kind, and white robes decorated him.
"Depends on what you mean, never been dead before," I muttered slightly.
"You seem a little young to be up here kid, involved in a big battle?"
"You could say that, I'm from Earth. It's under siege by a terrible monster. I fought it as hard as possible, but trickery overcame me, I was just trying to protect family and friends," I said sadly.
"From Earth huh, sounds like a planet a friend of mine is from. Well, kind of a friend, more like a rival and training partner. I remember the first time I had met him. Totally carefree and confident in his abilities. At first I regarded him as new fish, one that would have to train for several hundred years before I would even look at him again. Then he and I fought in a galaxy tournament, we tied unbelievably, but he actually won the match. Only a special clause in the rules made it a draw. Since then I have always regarded him with the deepest respect us warriors share," the green man told his story.
Something clicked in my head, "Was his name Goku?" I asked.
"Why yes it was, you know him?"
"Yeah I do, I'm good friends of his family and got to meet him for the first time today, he's due back here soon though I think," I explained.
"Well, if you know Goku, you must know how to fight as well. Maybe we can have a sparing match or two if you end up on Grand Kai's planet. I'm Pikkon by the way, from West Galaxy, I'm down here on orders to watch over hell and make sure no one causes trouble during Earth's time of crisis. A lot of those villains seem to die on Earth for some reason and tend to get into an uproar when there's a big battle going on," Pikkon said.
"I'm Verto, I'm supposed to wait out here for someone, don't know who yet. Wouldn't doubt it if it was Goku," I said, twiddling my thumbs slightly.
"Well good luck with your judgment, I have to go down now for my daily patrol now to make sure the everyone stays in line. Good meeting you Verto!" Pikkon waved slightly and dropped over the railing into the clouds.
-
I thought over Pikkon's words, seeing that being dead wouldn't be as bad as it seemed. That didn't mean I liked it anymore than I already didn't. I walked around the outside of the palace for a bit, stopping and gazing around as if this new world demanded it.
I wonder where Vegeta is up here, maybe he is who I'm waiting for. Either that or he's down there, if that is hell, I thought as I gazed at the yellow clouds below. After awhile I retraced my steps back to the exit doors to King Yemma's chamber and meditated lightly by the door, so I could keep an eye and ear on things while I waited. It wasn't long before I heard a loud shout come from inside, but it didn't sound like King Yemma. I rushed in to find Goku jumping and hollering all over the place in excitement.
"Gohan's alive, All right!" Goku cried in joy.
"Just go outside please, you are to take young Verto with you!" Yemma said. Goku woke from his stupor and walked towards me.
"Well little guy, you did give a pretty good fight. Why didn't you say before that you could transform?"
"I basically did when you asked last time, you know when we first met? I believe I said, and I quote 'I don't transform like a Saiyan should'," I said.
"Oh yeah, guess I must have missed that," he said, showing off his clueless grin.
"Well did you get fusion taught to the boys?" I asked instead.
"Yes, though they haven't mastered it yet. We have the basic idea and moves down, now just comes practice," Goku explained.
"Why not just throw them in the time chamber, it'll get done faster," I suggested.
"Yeah, but that room can only be used twice in a lifetime. I'm sure they will have to use it again in the future," Goku said.
"No, Piccolo and Dende must not have told you. They used the dragon to remove the limits on the room in regards to how long one can stay in there, it will work fine now! That's how I got trained by both Vegeta and Piccolo!" I stammered.
"Oh yeah, I was wondering how Vegeta pulled that off!" Goku scratched his head.
I slapped my head in dismay, "Uh, well where to now?"
"Let's go find Gohan, let me search for him first though!" Goku said, scanning the sky, "Ah, there he is, man his power sure did jump! Hang on tight!" Goku clamped a hand to my shoulder and raising two fingers to his forehead. Not this again, good thing there's nothing in my stomach.
"Instant transmission, gotta love it!" he said as the view vanished along with us.
-
When the view returned, Goku was holding his head on the ground, Gohan stood before him with a large sword in his hands. I shook off a brief wave of nausea as I observed this, some sort of effect from Goku's teleportation.
"Dad, what are you doing?" he asked.
"Just trying to keep my head!" Goku grimaced before he took a good look at his son. Gohan had on a blue outfit similar to that of Supreme Kai and Kibito, the sword he held seemed to radiate with energy.
"Oh Verto, you died after all?" Gohan asked.
"Yeah, just a little while ago he did. He risked himself so we could get the dragon radar and so I could teach Goten and Trunks the fusion technique, I guess he transformed to fight Buu! Cool huh?" Goku asked.
"Finally had to use that form huh?" Gohan shook his head slightly, "I was wondering when everyone would find that out."
"Cool clothes Gohan!" Goku interjected.
"Yeah Supreme Kai gave me these!"
"Kai's here? Oh yeah sure enough! Hi Supreme Kai!" Goku waved at the purple man standing afar.
I could hear Kibito muttering already, "How did they get here?"
"Greetings Goku, Verto!" he said loudly before floating over to us, "Verto was actually supposed to go with you back to Grand Kai's planet. But I suppose you two can stay here for now, you would be a big help to Gohan's training with the Z sword. We may have to send you to Grand Kai's planet before we go back to Earth to combat Majin Buu," Kai explained.
"Z sword, what's that do?" Goku asked, dumbfounded.
"It's a mystical sword of legend that has been stuck in a large mountain for eons of time. Legend says that the one who pulls the Z sword from the rock will attain the greatest powers in the universe, powers that cannot be matched. Gohan pulled it out earlier, he is the only one who has been able to do it," Kai explained.
"Yes, he is quite remarkable," Kibito added.
"Well now that he pulled it out, isn't he done yet? Sure his power has gone up, but I don't think he's strong enough to beat Buu on his own yet," Goku said in wonder.
"Now he must train with the sword to master its power, and as he has discovered, it's not exactly the simplest thing to handle," Kai said, shrugging a little.
"Really? Must be some sword, can I give it a try Gohan?" Goku asked, holding out his hands.
"Sure Dad, but watch it, it's a little heavy!" Gohan said as he dropped the handle into Goku's hands. Goku must not have been prepared for it, because he dropped it immediately.
"Wow, this is heavy, but maybe if you put your weight behind it like this!" Goku said, picking up the sword and struggling to take a few swipes, "Yeah that works!"
Kibito couldn't believe what he was seeing, "Not him too!" he whispered.
"If it's so heavy, then just anchor Buu to it and drop him into a nice hot star, that'll do the job!" I snickered.
"That's what I thought to," Gohan agreed.
"How dare you make jokes of the sacred Z sword!" Kibito roared in defense.
"Keep your shirt on Kibito, it was just a joke," I said sternly, hoping he would lighten up.
As I expected, he didn't, "Well obviously you couldn't keep your shirt on during battle, it's bad enough you're here mocking a legend, but now you look terrible!" Kibito shouted, pointing his finger at me. The finger glowed and some sort of energy suddenly sparkled around me, and my body tingled slightly. Then suddenly my outfit was gone and replaced by a new set of it, plus a large plate covering my upper body. It was some kind of armor that riot police must use, only looked better. It was white all around, except gold in the middle and gold on the straps. My gloves and boots were also restored nicely, the blue undershirt of spandex now extended all the way down my arms.
"There, if he's going to behave like a Saiyan he might as well look like one in proper Saiyan armor!" Kibito said in annoyance.
"Oh sweet. Thanks Kibito, always wanted one of these!" I cackled when I saw him cringe a bit.
"Oh god he looks like a mini Vegeta now, well with a change to the hair he would," Gohan said in amazement.
"Hahaha, I am the prince of all Saiyans! You are all weaklings!" I did my best impression of Vegeta's voice and crossed my arms and scowled.
Goku apparently found it hilarious and was on the ground rolling, "Wow, that was a good one Verto! Teach me how to do that!" I didn't think it was that good.
"Oh dad," Gohan sighed. Kai just chuckled a little, ever so amused at the scene while Kibito pulled a book from behind his back and opened it up.
-
"Hey Supreme Kai, I, uh need a favor. It'll help with our training!" Goku said, grinning slightly. Dare I ask what this is?
"What is it Goku?" Kai turned slightly confused and serious at the same time.
"Can you give us something good to eat?" Kai was on the ground in barely a second, Kibito joined him as I laughed aloud.
I stepped up to the two, "Only a Saiyan's second favorite thing to do!"
Kai picked himself back up, "I suppose we could round something up," he said, extended his arms in front of him. They glowed blue and all of a sudden a platter appeared in the air, with a lid. Kai grabbed the platter and pulled the lid to reveal three golden pieces of fruit, looked like pears. They looked delicious all right, but only three was not going to cut it with three Saiyans.
"Gee Supreme Kai, not to be rude or anything, but I don't think that's going to do it," Goku said, holding his stomach.
"Oh that's okay Goku, I think it will. Here each of you take one!" Kai ordered. I grabbed one of the golden pieces, it seemed to have a glowing aura around it. Well, its not like I'm in danger of poisoning, I thought as I took a bite of the pear. It tasted quite good, better than any piece of fruit I could remember. I polished it off quickly, swallowing the bits and pieces, and letting it sink to my stomach. Suddenly I was full, and totally energized, just from a little pear.
"Wow, good fruit, I'm full!" I said.
"Yes, that is a magical fruit that only grows on this planet! It instantly fills a man's stomach and keeps him full for three days, providing all the nutrients for the person for that amount of time. Even for you highly energetic Saiyans with black holes in place of stomachs," Kai explained.
"Wow, that's handy!" Gohan exclaimed, finishing his piece. Goku's piece must have known instant transmission, because it was gone in a flash.
"Ah, much better!" Goku sat, patting his stomach.
"Well Gohan, shall we get back to work?" Kai asked. Gohan already had the sword out and was swinging it a little, more like heaving it with the weight; I could sense Gohan's slight strain. Goku looked bored though, knowing he wasn't part of the action.
"Hey Verto, you wanna have a sparring match with me?" Goku asked, "We got all the time in the world now! We can even test our ultimate forms on each other!" he said, excited. Kai looked slightly concerned.
I however relished the chance, "Yeah sure Goku. I mean, Kakarot!" My words left Goku suffering from another bout of tearful laughter.
"Umm, don't you think you could train elsewhere though? I know you're bored Goku, but we don't want to slow down or disrupt Gohan's sword training," Kai suggested.
"Good point, I wish Pikkon was here, he always knew the good training places in other world. I mean we could go to King Kai's place but I kind of wiped out his new house last time I had a sparring match there and he wasn't too happy!" Goku whined a little.
"Pikkon is the green one right? I ran into him at Yemma's place, he said he had to check on Hell. To make sure the villains don't break out or something," I explained.
"Ah, well we can go there then. I'm sure Frieza and Cell won't mind us showing up to kick their butts. Plus you've gotten stronger since you were healed and then died, you can test your new powers then!" Goku said with a finger in the air.
"Frieza is down there huh? Good," I said, as I suddenly turned serious. I knew exactly what I wanted to do to that alien. It may not have been the Frieza I truly wanted to kill, but he was close enough.
"Umm, Goku, we actually do need your help here with Gohan's latter training. But Verto is free to go have a little fun if he wants," Kai said with a slight smile.
"Hmmm, how about this? I'll take Verto to hell so he can beat around the bad guys. Once you're done working out down there, just send me a telepathic message, and I'll come get you, how's that sound?" Goku asked.
Well I miss out training with Goku, but I could still beat Frieza around a few times. I'd say that's a good compromise, "Sounds like a plan, I can't wait!" I punched my fist to my palm in excitement.
"Okay hang on then!" Goku said, grabbing my shoulder and putting his fingers to his head. God damnit, I just ate too.