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 Starcraft or 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 7: The Mystical Cure
Videl finished explaining what happened to Gohan, as my body processes felt as if they were running three hundred miles per hour at the time and I sat speechless trying to get them under control with my energy. I wasn't having much luck.
"Figures that the little rats would do something like this. One time Piccolo was watching them and he made the mistake of saying he wanted a cape of a different color, he got a pink one," Gohan muttered.
"Well what are we going to do?" Videl asked.
"I'd say turn him back. But if I'm not mistaken, his body isn't having a very good reaction right now. Another change like that may be permanent damage, or death," Gohan said, adjusting the bang over his eye.
"He's unstable? He looks fine," Videl argued.
"No, I can tell by the way his ki is fluctuating. He isn't having a very good time in there, right Verto?" he raised his voice on the last part, startling me.
I barely heard him, "Yeah, whatever you said."
"I guess we better call Bulma and Vegeta then. I would say this would qualify as extreme emergency, though I think he looks even better this way," Videl giggled. I didn't even look at her, my insides felt like they were twisting themselves around again.
"I don't think he's going to be very cheery Videl, going through puberty in less than a minute would screw anyone up. This kind of stuff should only be done by the eternal dragon," Gohan said.
"I think I'm going to die of insanity here," I muttered.
"Videl, go call Bulma's emergency phone. I hate to break up their vacation now, but I'm not sure his body is going to remain stable. Her dad hasn't tested it on humans yet, and he is all Saiyan!" Videl ran off to get the number and call.
Gohan plopped down on the couch next to me, "You ok?"
I glanced at him, "Not really, this would be the second time my age has been altered. The first time was a breeze, this time isn't so good," I groaned.
"Hey, maybe you should go change clothes or something. Your pants should have expanded for ya, or maybe you just grew too fast for them. You're barely wearing anything as it is. Better change before I get jealous or something," he suggested with a slight grin.
I looked down, seeing he was right about that. "Geez, no wonder she was staring so much. Good plan, I'll be back in a minute." I staggered up the stairs, barely having my bearings yet. I powered up slightly to erase the feeling, and my ki made a temporary fix to the situation. I slammed the door to my room, causing some drywall to fall, and stripped off what was left of my clothes. My boxers had been wiped out too, only my half shredded pants saved me from total humiliation. I dug out a full body suit, thanking Mom that she had copied it so well as it stretched out for me. I had to settle for barefoot though, Mom hadn't made me new boots or gloves that were expandable, and I tended to run through a lot of them. I took a look at myself in the mirror, almost pleased at the result, despite the fact that I was now a little out of whack. I really did look like a cross between Gohan and Vegeta now, at least in the hairstyle. The face was more fearsome like Vegeta's, especially when I gave the mirror a sharp glare. I could have sworn it cracked under the strain. As far as body build goes, somehow I wasn't overly bulky as I might have expected considering how my clothes ripped. I trudged downstairs, overhearing Videl that Mom and Vegeta would be back sometime that day.
"She said to contact her Dad over at the other building, or try to get him here if he's still home. Just in case his condition worsens," Videl finished to Gohan.
"I'm not really concerned about his physical nature, it is his mental state that is going to be a little strange. I almost think that I should have Dad ask the Kais about this and see if they can calm down his mind before it blows up," Gohan said just as I hit the bottom of the stairs.
"Speaking of blowing up, where are the runts?" I asked, announcing my presence, realizing that I almost sounded like a Vegeta twin.
"Hey stud!" Videl chuckled in a semi-serious tone.
"We called Bulma and Vegeta, they should be home sometime today, and we should contact Dr. Briefs," Gohan caught me up.
"Well, mentally I still think I'm losing it. But I'm not a bag of jumping beans right now," I said, sitting on the couch again.
"I'm gonna go see what I can do about getting that Pulser thing away from the boys, whatever is left of it that is," Gohan said, walking out of the room. Videl jumped on the couch, slightly interested in me now.
"So how does it feel to be older again?" She asked happily.
"You want the honest truth?" I asked sharply. Videl became startled and I immediately stopped myself. My really bad mood swings are back. The Future Bulma had told me it was because of the slow Saiyan change before, but they were going full throttle now. Granted I wasn't always the most pleasant person thanks to a lot of things, but if I had to stop myself before speaking, well you get the idea. Luckily Videl didn't answer that question, and I didn't either. I sensed someone coming down the hall, the other hallway to the west wing.
"Hey Verto, did my grandson come down here this morning? I've been here most of the night testing the effects of using viruses to slow long term disease and I may have left the main lab door open. And I know he likes to play with some of my newest inventions, have you seen him?" Dr. Briefs yawned, not taking a good look in my direction.
"Yeah he was down there, care to see the results?" I asked standing. The purple haired scientist rubbed his eyes some more, before putting on his glasses and just about having a heart attack.
"Oh my, glad to see my invention works on Saiyans, but I didn't plan on testing it," he said.
"We're not sure about the mental part yet, physically he appears okay. But I'm pretty sure the hormones running wild in there are screwing up his head," Gohan said, coming in carrying two things in his hands. I almost cried when I saw what it was, two halves of the Pulser.
"Come on lad, need to check you out. Follow me to my lab," Dr. Briefs said, motioning for me to follow, "I'll need a blood sample." That could be ugly.
-
I was happy to see that the good doctor had super strong metal clamps in place around his operating table. Well they were super strong until I broke them. But I couldn't help it, just like the first time. Also kinda like the first time, Dr. Briefs finally got his sample after fifteen tries, and began analyzing it right away.
"Judging by my readout, the age acceleration was a success. However there is still an abnormal amount of chemicals and hormones floating around in there. No doubt that teenage Saiyan hormones are something that can be rather volatile, and your brain wave patterns have made a temporary shift in activity, mostly due to extreme stress. I recommend you take it easy for a few days, lay off the training otherwise you might cause serious damage to your brain. After growing so much in so little time, your body and brain need time to adjust, added gravity probably will not help," Dr. Briefs explained, pointing to his various screens of data.
"Can we turn him back?" Gohan asked.
"I don't advise that. While it may cure his mental state, I don't think his body will co-operate. Nope it's best to wait this one out and stay as he is. Only the dragon should fix this, and that's three months away. He can adjust in that amount of time, but he could easily remain slightly unstable for the rest of his life if he isn't changed back," Dr. Briefs continued, causing me to add more anger to the thoughts of killing two little demons.
"You said the dragon could fix this, could the magic of the Kais do it too?" Gohan asked.
"I wouldn't know young man, never met them, but I wouldn't count it out either. Still best to rest for a few days, take some time off and do non-stressful activities would be the best at this point," Dr. Briefs finalized, shutting off his screen.
"We can do that, easy! This could be the best few days of his new life right Verto?" Videl asked, throwing a supportive arm around my shoulder.
I gave her a slight glance, "Yeah sure." I heard a crash go off, sounded like splintered wood.
"Oh geez, what did they do this time?" Videl asked.
"That wasn't them," Gohan said.
"Three, two, one," I muttered.
"BRATS!" came the shout. About time.
"Oh, Vegeta's home?" Dr. Briefs asked. I got up off the table all grins and walked out of the lab behind Gohan and Videl, hoping to enjoy what I was about to witness. One thing I finally noticed, I was still kinda short even at seventeen years old again, I was almost the same height as Videl, not including the hair. That was slightly disappointing, but at least I didn't look like I had ten tons of steroids pumped into me either like other Saiyans. I looked pretty slender rather than a more than noticeable muscle build that Vegeta seemed to portray. If anything I may have looked a little skinnier than Gohan, but I felt like a solid rock that could take on anyone. We arrived in the lobby to see Goten and Trunks clinging to the wall, getting a tongue laKibito Kaig from the wives of doom first. They tried to dash away, but then Vegeta had them by the scruff of their clothes.
"Just what were you trying to do, kill your brother?" Mom said, giving Trunks a little slap in the face.
Goten was bent over Chichi's knee, probably getting the worst of it, "Now didn't I teach you any manners?" Uh, no.
To my great delight, Vegeta took them next, straight towards the gravity room, "You brats are training all day today, no breaks!" A hand clamped down on my shoulder from behind, revealing Goku with his Son grin attached.
"So, how does it feel to be old again?" he asked cheerfully as I frowned. I get the feeling I'm going to hear that a lot.
"Miserable." Before Goku could ask another question, I was thrown towards the wall just by Mom coming over, giving me the look over.
"Are you okay? Dad, what was the readout? Can we change him back? Well answer me!" she asked in hysterics.
"Well actually dear, he is physically okay. But he needs to take it easy for a few days, his mental state is something to be concerned with, and he has a bit of a hormonal imbalance going on as well. I don't know if that is natural for a Saiyan or not, but his brainwaves shifted dramatically and shouldn't be put under much more stress," Dr. Briefs warned again.
"Then that settles that, no training for you young man!" she said, shaking a finger at me. I looked down slightly, she knew training was one activity I really enjoyed, and I kinda wanted to test my new strength now.
"Hey Dad, could you maybe visit the Kais about this. I know we can wait three months for the eternal dragon if we want to fix this totally, but Old Kai helped out my mental abilities greatly before the fight with Buu. Maybe that's an option?" Gohan suggested again.
"Funny you should come up with that Gohan, we were just coming for him!" a familiar voice said. We all turned to the door to see Kibito Kai himself standing there.
"My honorable ancestor predicted this would happen, or something like it. He insisted that we release his hidden powers the same way we did Gohan's. That will be a great help in the upcoming events of the next year. Then when you call the dragon to erase the memories of Buu, he is to be returned to his previous age." Kibito Kai explained, completely blowing the situation out of proportion.
"Huh? Wouldn't that be useless then?" Gohan asked. Okay, I'm officially lost.
"No, as long as you ask the correct wish, his new powers at the time will remain. The mystic power up that we gave you Gohan, it lasts for a long time. The only way that they vanish is if the person doesn't use train or use it at all for a long time. We want to assist you again in the upcoming future that has been foreseen. This is the best possible way I can think of to start with, my elder agrees," Kibito Kai replied. I was still confused, or the chemicals were clouding me up again.
"Come Verto. You will return tomorrow, fully cured of your mental state and your hidden powers released, and you can train all you like," Kibito Kai offered out a hand.
I staggered toward him sloppily, grabbing his hand, "See you guys tomorrow I guess, man this is real weird."
I was lucky, Kibito Kai's instant transmission wasn't as rough as Goku's was. We reappeared on the Kai planet, where I saw Old Kai reading his typical magazines.
"Glad to see you're here young man, shall we get started then?" Old Kai muttered.
"So this is what you meant by 'your importance is too great?' Isn't it?" I asked, recalling what he had said to me during the Buu fights.
"That is correct, the fight against the Zerg will be no picnic. Nor will the battles that come afterwards for you. This seemed like the best scenario to follow, though it won't be an easy one, are you prepared?" Funny, I can't really think straight right now and he's asking me this.
"You have a point young man, allow me to clear your thoughts," Old Kai said, his eye twinkled.
"I really do appreciate you staying out of my head," I said, realizing that I could now think clearly.
"Of course, after we are done! Now then, stand still! It's time for my exercise!" Oh no, not this! I thought in horror. Sure enough the old fart started raising his hands in different directions, and then the dance began about ten feet away, slowly circling me.
He howled with delight, "Stay still now, this sets the groove!" DAMN YOU TRUNKS!
Interlude 7.1 –Punishment-
"Awe, but Dad! We've been in here for eight hours already, can't we have a break?" Trunks begged his father.
"This will teach you to tamper with another's natural evolutionary state," Vegeta roared, giving his son another good punch in the face. The two had been battling at Super Saiyan, though it was still no contest. On the other side of the room, Goku and Goten were having almost the same conversation, but Goku was a bit gentler about it.
"Okay brats, fuse again!" Vegeta barked.
"No, not again, please dad!"
"Again, I want a decent match this time, you two should be able to take both me and Kakarot as a Super Saiyan three!" Vegeta knew of course they didn't have a prayer, even if Goku and himself remained at the second level. A small knock came from the gravity room door.
"What is it?" Vegeta barked into the speaker.
"The boys need to come to dinner now Vegeta, then you can have them back afterwards okay?" Bulma almost screeched through the speaker.
"Fine woman, but it better be a damn good dinner!" Vegeta reached over and turned the chamber down to normal from where it had been, at two hundred and fifty.
Goku nearly toppled him in the exit, "Food!"
"Ugh, low class idiot!" Vegeta shouted after him.
"So dad, are we gonna turn Verto back to normal?" Trunks dared to ask.
"Not yet son, and when we do we are certainly not doing it your way. We'll use the other wish on the dragonballs, hopefully the Kais can fix the damage you two did. If not, you two will be in here for the rest of your natural lives!"
"What? Darn I wanted to wish for a never ending supply of food!" Goten whined.
"I don't think the dragon can grant that Goten, his power is limited you know!" Trunks argued, both of them forgetting Vegeta's threat pretty quickly.
"Nah, the dragon can do anything, Gohan told me so!" Vegeta didn't follow his son or his black haired counterpart right away; instead he turned his thoughts to his adopted son who was in the heavens somewhere.
Verto, I'm just glad you survived that little mishap, but your strength will grow more than I thought possible. You may be even more powerful than Kakarot's first brat, and if you are not, you will be if I have something to say about it. I know you are a true Saiyan deep down despite any of your inward human feelings, and perhaps the legend is true after all. It may be time to put him through a test just to see if I'm right. With that thought into the wind, Vegeta went to the kitchen in search of a delicious meal, made by his rival's harpy mate with a dangerous metal object hidden somewhere.
-
"I don't suppose you're slowing this down yourself with the way you keep reading and watching TV?" I asked, annoyed. Sure I had seen him do this with Gohan too, and it worked, but it still seemed unlikely the way this old coot acted.
"Oh hush, you know the routine! Just stay still and focus on your meditation! I will do the rest!" Kai barked back at me. I sighed slightly and complied. It had been about eight hours since his ridiculous dance ended, marking hour thirteen of the whole charade, just over halfway done according to what I remembered of this. But the way this old fart acted while supposedly training me was appalling. Then again I had seen this pulled off, so I kept my faith in him and shut up for the time being. He only fell asleep once so far, a bit better than I was fairing. He had woken me up twice while I was standing, and three more times while sitting.
"Can't have you sleeping on the job now, though it will help a tad for repairing that damaged brain of yours. Don't panic if you do fall asleep. It'll be because I needed you out at the time," he explained after I nearly fell over the first time. Strange way to do things, but whatever as long as it works. I cocked my eye open again, only to see his eyes going up and down at the girls working out on the TV.
"Quick question sir," I said, snapping him back into full grouch mode.
"Make it quick!" he grumbled.
"Now what are the right words for this? How exactly did you know I was going to be turned into an adult again by Trunks and Goten?"
"Good question lad. We Kais have limited abilities to see into the future. When my young apprentice there was blocking off your painful memories shortly before Buu's revival, he was stricken with several visions of the future, one that included you going from young to adult. He shared this vision with me before Buu was killed, and out of that, several future visions were witnessed afterward. We felt it necessary to take certain steps to ensure that peace after Buu's destruction is protected. That is why you are here now. We will have the dragon of earth restore you to your youthful form, but your power will already be released and assuming you voice the wish correctly, it will stay. It may drop a bit, but it will increase your potential greatly. We felt that to be the best way to handle things without directly interfering too much," Kai explained.
I let that sink in for a few moments before another question popped up, "What is so bad that is coming up then, other than the Zerg?"
"That youngster I cannot say, but what I can say is that if you are not around to protect the peace, the entire universe will fall into a void of death and destruction," Kai said, staring back at his TV. There goes that great importance speech again.
"So what do you know about the Zerg?" I asked, hoping for some insight.
"I thought I would ask you that, you've encountered them before correct?"
My other eye shot open, "No, when did I do that?"
"Young one, I never asked you if you had fought one or seen one. I asked if you have encountered them. It doesn't matter what form they were in," Kai shook his head slightly.
"Well I have heard that term before. I can't seem to recall where from though, something on my planet, but it sure wasn't anything dangerous," I said, trying to pull up that memory.
"Does the term computer game ring any bells?" Kai asked. My mind was blank for a moment, and then it hit me like the heat of an uncooled lava bed. Oh of course, that old game Starcraft had those Zerg creatures!
"Well, now you get it. I'm sure you can take it from here on that subject," Kai said, annoyed.
"So these are the same Zerg?" I asked excitedly.
"Just as similar as an idea of am entertainment program regarding everyone's lives here. Things and creatures of that magnitude have been known to leak into other realities and dimensions countless times as just simple thoughts. Some things that are not real here may be natural aspects elsewhere, it's all part of a huge puzzle. Now that should be enough for now, we're slowing down the process, and I'd much prefer to get my nap in after this is done!" Old Kai said as he turned away. Well, that little tidbit helps a lot, glad I came here now.
-
Another hour passed by quickly in meditation. I managed to shun all my excited ideas so I could get the power raising done. Kibito Kai strolled over from he had been sitting and watching, bored to death now. I personally thought his fusion between himself and Kibito would make a stricter and bossy Kai, I was proven wrong. It seemed to make a better person overall, he actually smiled a lot more, and you could actually talk to him without getting a lecture or an end of the universe speech. He did seem a little clueless like Goku now though.
"So how is it going?" Kibito Kai asked, getting an immediate glare from his elder.
Old Kai growled at him, "Fine till you showed up, now I have to rearrange those two molecules again!" I don't even want to know, I decided, and remained focused on the task.
"Is his inner strength just as strong as Gohan's?" Kibito Kai dared to ask.
"That is a hard question to answer young Kai, I didn't have time to release all of Gohan's inner power, and some of it can only be released by him anyway. This boy is similar, but his power will rival Gohan's very well, especially before he returns to his youthful state. Afterwards he'll be weaker again, but then he will progress a little more naturally," Old Kai explained. Well that is good to know.
"Well isn't it time you got going kindergarten Kai? You need to see King Yemma about what we discussed," Old Kai snapped at him.
"Oh that's right, I need to get those souls ready for stasis! I'll be back soon sir," Kibito Kai said, running out of the area and teleporting out.
"Somehow, I don't think I really want to know," I muttered once he was gone.
"No, nothing important to you right now. Will be soon enough though," Old Kai muttered, before launching into a curse fest about how John was supposed to marry Martha, some soap opera he was watching. I sighed, Eleven hours to go.
Interlude 7.2 –Discovery of Life-
"How long is that purple headed old coot going to hold Verto up there? I would like to do some testing!" Bulma screeched, much to the dismay of the Saiyan Prince's ears.
"Patience woman. If luck holds the boy will come back more powerful than ever, and completely stabilized from what Trunks did to him," Vegeta snorted slightly at his mate's stomping.
"Well he better, or heaven forbid I'll plaster his head in with Chichi's skillet!" Bulma stomped around the table, swinging the metal object at the air.
"Woman, how long did Kakarot's brat say this took?"
"Gohan said it took him twenty-five hours, a little more because of Gohan's inner power, but that was about right," Bulma said in curiousness, "Why?"
"We have to assume it could take twice as long. Not only to fix the damage that may have been inflicted to the child's mind, his inner power is deep. Maybe even as deep or deeper than Kakarot's brat, we'll see," Vegeta almost sounded excited. Bulma didn't really respond, she just wanted her adopted son to be back in her arms, young or old, she cared for him just as much as she did Trunks.
Suddenly she felt slightly ill in the head, "I'll be right back," she said, finding the nearest bathroom. Vegeta watched her stagger slightly, sensing an unusually high ki level for her, one that was fluctuating slightly. He soon picked up a distinct scent coming off of her. Oh great, as if one brat and an adopted brat wasn't enough, he sighed. Bulma came back a few minutes later, her mouth fresh after brushing her teeth. She grabbed her purse and started for the door.
"Where are you going woman?" Vegeta asked.
"To the medical wing, I need to run some tests on DNA samples that Dad collected on Verto," she said without turning around.
Vegeta cleared his throat, "Why are you really going there?"
That stopped her dead in her tracks, "To run some tests I said!"
"No need, you're positive," Vegeta smirked slightly.
"I still wonder how you do that," she thought back at him.
"Advanced Saiyan senses, I could pick that up a mile away," he answered.
"So how long do you think then?" Bulma asked verbally.
"Six months, same as Trunks," Vegeta said, turning on his heel and walking towards the gravity room. He stopped momentarily, "Bulma, have you worked on that spare time machine lately?"
"Not since the fight with Buu, why?"
"Upgrade it if you can, I have a feeling we will have a use for it soon," Vegeta said.
"Why would we need that?" she asked. Vegeta didn't answer, giving Bulma the go ahead to work on it anyway. Vegeta walked past the living room area, where his purple haired son was watching morning cartoons, yelling and screaming at it from time to time.
"Brat, it's time to train!"
-
Only one hour to go, only one hour to go, I convinced myself, though the feeling of sitting still for so long was beyond beginning to get to me. Ever driven a car for twelve hours with nothing but the traffic? Double that boredom and its about right. I began to wonder why I hadn't cramped up yet, but no doubt it would take several days before that happened in my Saiyan body. We passed the twenty-five hour threshold not long ago, but Old Kai explained that we required three additional hours to finish up. That included last minute tweaks, not to mention the added time to heal my mind, which was functioning quite satisfactory now. The time was going a little smoother now, and I was allowed to sleep about eight hours in stasis. This kept my progress going and kept me sitting up while my mind rested after being healed. I awoke to the sounds of laughter from Old Kai, reading a rather large stack of comics he had set out. This continued on, and now he was on the last comic, and he looked eager to read the ending. I said nothing, just wanting this to be over so I could go home.
"I'm back sir!" Kibito Kai shouted loudly as he teleported in, getting a slight growl of annoyance from Old Kai.
"Everything was taken care of successfully sir, just as you directed," Kibito Kai strode up happily.
Old Kai snapped at him, "Yes I know that young Kai! Now please be quiet, we are in the home stretch here!" Kibito Kai held his tongue for a few more minutes. Old Kai suddenly tossed his magazine aside, arranging both his hands before me again, and seemed to be in deep concentration now.
"What is it sir?"
"Another barrier of power, just as I thought. I came across this with Gohan as well, which is where I stopped. The initial one Verto had was erased when he was changed into a teenager, but this one is just like the one I saw within Gohan. My abilities cannot crack this, Verto must do this on his own, just as Gohan will," Old Kai said.
"What are you two talking about?" I asked as I cracked an eye open.
"Nothing of your concern lad, not at this time," Old Kai said.
"A lot of that going around today," I muttered.
"Okay, two more little things here," Old Kai said, "You might feel a strange sensation in just a second." He was right, something clicked in the back of my mind and somehow I knew he was done.
"There, that should do it," Old Kai said as he dropped his arms.
I opened both eyes, "You mean you're done and I can go?"
"Yes, now get lost!" Old Kai grumbled, turning back to his comics. I stood up quickly, with every intent of testing my new power right then and there.
"So, I just attempt to become a Super Saiyan right?" I asked.
"Yes yes, now hurry up and do it, your going to anyway!" Well, he asked for it. I powered up slowly, trying to get a feel for the new power. Not finding it yet, I kept going, and started to fuel the slightly angry thoughts that required a transformation. Then everything stopped, and my emotions held as well, as if time itself had stopped for everything except my mind. The Kais even stopped moving and breathing, the skies around me turned a deep shade of blue. I felt within myself that I didn't have to rely on anger to reach my new level like I had Super Saiyan. Something told me that this power could come from all emotional states: Happiness, anger, sadness, suffering, joyfulness, love, arrogance, confidence and hatred, among countless other emotional states, the medium of all was content. In other words both negative and positive energy would work out, rather than just negative all the time. It also felt like the different emotions might do different things, but I wasn't sure. Incredible, no wonder Gohan didn't have to tap into his rage when he powered up like this the first time, it all makes sense now. I'll get used to this pretty quickly.
I felt my ki surge suddenly and grinned slightly. With that in mind, time resumed to flow, and I cranked up the power more normally. Lightning crackled around me, as well as in the sky. Old Kai had already been thrown into the air, Kibito Kai was getting blown back a little bit as well, before he flew up to rescue his elder. I could feel ki power like never before, and a new mastery of it all came with. My hair stood on end a little bit, but I couldn't detect a golden power emitting from me like before, not that I expected one. I surged forward to my maximum in this state, eager to measure it for myself. When I finally reached it, the nearby mountains blew away, the trees had already been long gone. My aura remained white and silver, blue and green lightning streaked by occasionally, mostly around my arms and legs though. Once I hit my limit, I dropped the aura, looking at my hands a little bit. The new power felt intoxicating, but at the same time understanding and familiar, like it had been at the tips of my fingers the whole time.
"Wow," I managed to say.
"Well, this time you won't be risking destruction when you fight at this level, unlike last time," Old Kai said, brushing off his clothes.
"Unlike last time?" I asked.
"Ugh, silly Saiyan, do you recall the last time you felt this much energy running through you?"
"Yeah, a little bit, but I was just acting in desperation at the time. It was when I used a triple Kaioken while a Super Saiyan. I did it to rescue Vegeta so Goku could throw the spirit bomb. I was a bit on fire at the time, before Buu crippled me again, but at least it worked," I shrugged slightly.
"Well now you can fight fully at that level. In time you will tap into more of your power slowly, like Gohan is now. However you must know two things, first of all, you cannot change into a Super Saiyan now. The mystic form is better than it anyway and does not require extreme rage. Secondly, you cannot transform into your ape form any longer, I took that little ability away from you. Try all you like, it will not work," Old Kai said sharply.
"But why?" I asked, looking at my tail as it unwrapped itself in surprise.
"Two things. One, I simply don't know if it would work. Second, if it did work, there's a very likely chance that you would lose control of yourself. Not to mention the power would more than likely destroy the planet you are one from just one surface-to-surface ki attack. So I took the precaution and removed that transformation gene in your DNA. I have reworked everything to balance it out though, fear not," Old Kai reassured me. There wasn't any doubt to his words either, not after what he just did, and that fact became a bit clearer as I no longer felt the need to tear apart some random animal and eat it's insides. I was more in control of the beast now. Just for the hell of it though, I formed my fake moon ball in my hand and shot it into the sky. Once formed, I stared directly at it and merely blinked. Old Kai was correct, absolutely nothing happened, except that I had to squint a little bit.
"Okay. One more question, can I still use the Kaioken technique?"
"Oh that, if you need to yes, but I doubt you will for a long time. By all means be prepared to use it if needs be. Now get out of here, I need my beauty rest!" Old Kai shouted, not that I minded, I wanted to get going too.
Kibito Kai held out his hand, "Let's go Verto, I think a few people would like to see you back now!"
-
Almost upon arrival I was bombarded with questions and statements from Mom, Vegeta, Videl, Chichi, Gohan, Goku and the two twin terrors.
"It's about time you came home son!"
"Brat, gravity room now! I want to test those powers!"
"Wow, doesn't he look good now!"
"Gohan, you have some competition for Videl! Win her over!"
"Mom!"
"Wow! What a power increase! Can we eat now?"
"I'm hungry too!"
"Oh man, I hope he doesn't still want to kill me now!" Trunks said lastly. I stared at the group as they stared back at me, some with glares, some with fear, some with smirks. Kibito Kai left in a big hurry, he didn't want part of this. Mental note, I have a Kai to kill.
"Whoa, one at a time!" I said, holding my head slightly.
"Well how did it go?" everyone asked at once. There's one at a time for ya, me and my big mouth!
"Successful, my mind is repaired and Old Kai released some of my inner power just like he did Gohan," I started, waiting for the next round.
"What do you mean by some, I thought he released it all?" Goku and Gohan asked.
"No, according to him, both of us still have some to release on our own. He said that would take a great deal of time though, he took you to your limit just like he did me. Now all we need to due is restore my age by use of the dragonballs in three months. Although I don't feel so weird anymore," I explained. That seemed to do it for Goku, Gohan and Vegeta, the prince though headed back towards the gravity room.
"Come there when you're done brat!" he called back. Mom though, she was just getting started. First she went into a fit about how she and Chichi had to go get all new clothes and make some new Saiyan jumpsuits for me since I had grown a bit in size. This was before she noticed the mystic side effect that had gotten Gohan as well.
"Hey Verto, do you realize you and Gohan almost look alike now?" Mom said. Videl and Chichi gasped, as Gohan and I looked each other in the eye, then compared in the mirror. Aside from slight facial differences, and more of my hair stuck up and straight back like Vegeta's. I had two bangs that stuck up in front unlike Gohan's one, but we looked almost the same. There was one major difference though, Gohan was about a foot taller, where as I was just about Videl's height, not including my hair, and I was most displeased at this. Videl was shorter than Vegeta was, by about three inches, again not including the hair.
"Wow Videl, which one are you going to pick again?" Goku joked.
"Of course she's going to choose Gohan! Verto is a sweet kid, but he is still just a kid. This is just a sidetrack, and they don't look that alike, I can still tell my boy apart," Chichi huffed slightly, turning her back to us.
"Now Goku, we need to get going home now. I planned on cooking a meal for the family tonight so my dad will be over there soon, and little Goten is still grounded. Come along Gohan, you're attending as well!" Chichi said, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the door.
I widened in shock, "Uh, Chichi?"
"Hey Chichi, I thought you could tell them apart?" Mom said, laughing slightly. Chichi turned and looked at me, realization hit her quickly as we were pretty much the same height.
"My apologies, Gohan, let's go!"
"Yes mother," Gohan muttered.
"Videl, you're invited to come as well, in fact I insist! You need to spend time with your future husband you know!" Chichi roared in her direction now. Videl was face fixed on me, then Gohan, then me again, before shaking confusion away and heading for the door.
"Bye Verto, don't beat up Vegeta and Trunks too badly!" Goku called back, getting a slight look of fear from Trunks. As soon as the crowd was gone, Mom took her chance to embarrass me, but inside the house wasn't too horrible.
"Well, I suppose I could put up with this. Feeling any extra needs kido?" she asked with a tight grin. I groaned, Trunks did too, but he was more confused for the moment.
"I could design a robotic girlfriend for ya, though I'm sure you would break it pretty fast," she commented, getting a louder groan.
"No thanks mom, really," I said, giving up on the subject.
She didn't though, "So, you're going to be altitude challenged just like Vegeta is. Oh well, short guys are just as good as tall ones. Sometimes better, I would know!" Well I can see this trend at its source.
"Mom, you're talking gross again!" Trunks whined.
"Quiet Trunks, go watch TV!" she ordered.
"I thought I was grounded?" he asked.
"Trunks, do I have to repeat myself?" He didn't give an answer, instead a cloud of dust remained from where he was.
"Well, I'm just glad you're okay, though I'm a bit disappointed that you turned out short. Did you turn out that way in your other life?"
I nodded in slight dismay, "Well this wasn't exactly natural. And back then I wasn't really done until I hit twenty. And why are you staring at me like that?" I asked when Bulma's eyes didn't stop shifting.
"Oh it's nothing. Now I did want to run some tests once you got back, but Vegeta stopped me from doing so. He said it wouldn't be worth it or something, doesn't matter I guess. I got all the information I needed from the old test samples," Mom said, a bit slow at the start.
"What do you mean he stopped you? Did he not want them done or something, that never stopped you before," I said, curious.
"Oh that and something came up," she said, blushing slightly. I figured I knew what it was, until an odd aroma filled the air. It was faint and hard to pick out, but it was there, my nose didn't miss it. And even though I had never smelled it before, I somehow knew what it was, like I had been around it many a time. That and her ki was higher, and fluctuating just enough to pinpoint why.
"You're pregnant aren't you?" I asked. She nodded, sitting on the couch and holding her palms together. I sat down as well, watching her for panic.
None came, "So you picked that up too, it must be really noticeable. I'm surprised Goku and his family didn't catch on. Vegeta noticed right away, he said it happened during our little trip, which would make sense," she trailed off at the end.
That reminded me of something, "Guess that's why the Trojan Man guy showed up," I chuckled.
Mom looked at me with a horrified face, "They still showed up? I thought after Vegeta blew them all up that they would stop coming!"
"Well, add another casualty to that list. Trunks blew that one up, one of many blast marks for that night."
"You're referring to the incident with the android? Why didn't you try to contact us? Goku and Vegeta could have come quickly ya know!" she said sternly.
"Well, I can't describe it, but I discovered the problem in a premonition. I had to save Videl right off the bat and I had this nagging feeling that I had to the entire night. Even as the android deceived us, even as I was telling myself I was paranoid. I had a bad dream about Videl getting killed by her, and a bit later the same events started to occur, except I stepped in just in time," I said in wonder.
Mom giggled, "You started some kind of special connection with Videl sweetie, and I think it's a Saiyan thing. But I don't see how, Vegeta said you could only bond as mates to one person at a time. If what you say is true, then Videl is bonded to both you and Gohan," Mom started to get confused now too.
"No, I'm sure it wasn't that, at least not specifically. I was going to ask Vegeta about all this once you guys got back, and this thing with her didn't start after my little change here, it was before," I explained.
"You're right, it can't be that. Or at least I don't think so, ask him. I'm going to fix you some dinner, no doubt your starving after being stuck up there with the Kai's for a day and a half!" Mom skipped off towards the kitchen quickly. I got up a minute later and headed for the gravity chamber.
-
"About time boy, I thought the panels would start falling off due to old age," Vegeta chuckled at the reference he just made to me.
"I guess you would know all about that wouldn't you?" I grinned back.
He took it in stride, "Let us begin."
"Before we do, I have a few things I need to know," I said, finding the correct wording to put this into. After I told him of what was occurring between Videl and myself, before Trunks screwed everything up, he looked slightly puzzled.
"That doesn't make much sense boy, but then these bond things never do. Now I know for a fact that the Satan girl already started a bond with Kakarot's first brat, they will mate eventually. What you're telling me about thought transmissions sounds almost the same. Something I know for sure though is that unless the Saiyan is mature, he or she cannot mate. Maturity does not happen until the age of nine zurals, or eighteen earth years. A zural is a year on planet Vegita, which is about two earth years. According to the woman's readout, your blood is now about seventeen and a half years, give or take a few months. Now you said you could hear each other's thoughts correct?" Vegeta asked.
"Yeah, but it was strange. I had to be directing them at her before she noticed, and as far as I know the same went for her. So it was like Namekian telepathy, I actually had to direct the thought to her. It is my belief that whatever caused this helped me save Videl from the android," I explained.
He held up his hand suddenly, "Hmmm, well it does not have anything to do with mating. She admitted to you that she had been hearing Gohan's random thoughts correct? Then it must be something like a bond of trust or friendship, which must be how you knew to save her at just the right time. I have only met a few Saiyans that have gone through this. All I heard about it was that it was similar to a warrior's bond in that both participants could communicate telepathically, and one had saved the other's life a time or two. It doesn't matter if the debt was returned. I'm drawn to a warrior's bond with Kakarot, something I am not too thrilled about myself. It's basic characteristics are the same, except in our case we started out as rivals, but eventually join forces enough times that we are permanent allies. I didn't truly realize this bond had been put in place until we had fused. As for you, you have nothing to worry about, and besides, I wouldn't want you mating with that Satan girl anyway," Vegeta smirked slightly, dropping into a fighting stance.
"You're more worthy to mate with a Saiyan anyway. And if one doesn't turn up, then maybe I'll reconsider that; until then, no mating with any humans, Got it? Now let's see how high that power is!" he smirked. I smirked back, he knew I was dying to show off in front of him, and I knew he was dying for a good sparring match, I slowly started to release my power.
-
Two hours later, Vegeta and I emerged from the gravity room, both of us a little beat up, mostly exhausted though. We both bore smirks at each other, but I was sure his was bigger. That didn't make much sense; as he had yielded to me for the first time. Vegeta and I nearly went all out with it, the thrill of a challenge overtook our minds. I'm still not sure if he really enjoyed having to pump up to Super Saiyan three to match my power or not, but deep down I'm sure he was happy with it. Had I been used to all the power I had, I might have beaten him sooner. As I was adjusting though, I let the match drag on a bit. Vegeta wasn't that far behind me in terms of pure power until he had to power down again. The instant I came out, the smell of food put me into autopilot, and I practically floated to the kitchen. Vegeta followed, I heard his stomach growling a bit as well. Mom was directing the robots to hurry up and set everything out when we came in, a bit out of breath.
"Well?" she asked.
"Well, if I didn't see it and fight it with my own body, I would not have believed it. The boy finally beat me in a sparring match," Vegeta said, half of pride, half of distaste.
His wife dropped the plate and it crashed to the floor, "Say that again?" She had every right to be shocked, I had never beat Vegeta in a sparring match, never. Then again, that was before Buu, and we hadn't had a decent match since then. Nor had I even attempted to transform into my ape form other than the fight with the android.
"Yes, the boy has incredible power. It was worth training him," Vegeta said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"Well, you finally defeated me in there! I told you long ago you would not train yourself until you did. I didn't think you would be able to do so for a long time. Consider yourself off the hook for now!" he admitted. I smirked slightly at the idea of not having to listen to him bitch about training and drag my ass in there, but then again, it had been enjoyable.
"Allow me to put myself back on the hook then. It wasn't a real battle anyway, so it doesn't count. I have always enjoyed training under you Vegeta, and I always will," I said, letting go of that wonderful idea.
"Mistake number one boy! Don't ever talk back to me," he said in a threatening tone, "However, it would be a great honor to me to continue training you, you have made me proud. May the moonlight of Vegeta shine upon you always, and may the blood of your enemies fill the ground!" Vegeta raised a glass in a slight toast. I wasn't quite sure how to react; Mom sure as hell didn't either.
"That is an official and formal toast on Planet Vegita. A couple of them anyway, fit for a true Saiyan such as you," he smirked slightly.
"Okay, who are you and what did you do with my husband?" Mom asked jokingly.
"Right here. And by the way, you owe me that new program now!"
"Oh damn, you're right!"
"A bet?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, the woman wanted to bet that you wouldn't last to beat me in a sparring match, ever, and you know I don't let people win. The bet was for that new hologram program I came up with," Vegeta crossed his arms in victory.
"Guess I'll be busy now," Mom muttered.
"Hey, Old Kai explained something to me about this little change. He said that he took away my ability to transform at the moon, saying it was too dangerous to keep and I would not be able to control it. Still don't know how he did it, but whatever. I tested that little theory too, nothing." I explained. Vegeta seemed to accept this, Mom looked relieved.
"Can you still use the Kaioken technique?" Vegeta asked.
"Yeah, that's a technique," I reminded him.
"Good, always nice to have something like that on hand. I guess the next thing to work on is adapting yourself to the strains of that added on to your current power level," Vegeta said. Food was placed out, and the robots grabbed the chairs and pulled them back, giving me the go ahead to dig in.
"Damn, that sure didn't change!" Mom said when I made a plateful of food vanish in about three seconds.
Power levels:
Verto (child): 55,000,000; SS: 185,000,000
Verto (teen): 160,000,000; SS: 385,000,000; Mystic: 520,000,000
Vegeta: 83,000,000; SS3: 500,000,000
Mystic Gohan: 525,000,000
A/N: Meant to post some of these last chapter, but didn't feel the need. As for why I posted Gohan's, just read the next chapter.