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 15: Duel for Power
It did not take long for us to arrive at the lookout as Vegeta had taken quite a lead on us and we had to power up a bit to catch him. The lookout resembled a ghost town, without the tumbleweeds. All the plants had grown out of control despite they had only been left alone for a few weeks. Korin's place looked untouched, though the cat master had been quite happy to see someone as last, he had been quite nervous up there by himself. Vegeta marched right to the door and beckoned us all to go in. Luckily for us, Piccolo and Dende had Shenron remove the limits on the room long ago, otherwise only a few of us would have walked out of that place. I recalled my first visit to the time chamber, otherwise known as hell. Well it wasn't that bad, but initially training with no one but Vegeta could be called hell. Later when Piccolo came in, I could actually go a few minutes without having the shit kicked out of me. It became easier then, and even a little fun. As I crossed the threshold and entered the white void, I could only imagine what Vegeta had in store for us. He tossed the capsule down, revealing a small box. Inside were two large, metallic belts with dials on the sides, along with matching boots.
"Here you two, put these on. Set gravity to two-fifty. These will simulate that much gravity for you, but not to anyone else, and get ready to spar," he barked. Oh man, Gohan is going to cream me! I did as asked, quickly feeling the effects of added gravity.
"Power up to your maximums. You're going to fight each other until you either unlock your hidden powers, or you collapse. If you both collapse then we'll feed you Senzu beans until you can do it, go!" Vegeta barked. I stepped out onto the white floor, feeling another gravity jump hit me, increasing it to two hundred sixty just from the environment. The boots felt like concrete blocks and I struggled a little to walk at first. Gohan walked out beside me, emotionless expression on his face.
"So what do you think?" he asked.
"I think we had better find our hidden powers, but I don't think sparring is going to do it. Unless we both get really pissed off or we go all out," I paused after that last statement.
"You do realize that I'll wipe the floor with you as we are now," he chuckled slightly. I didn't respond right away, but I glanced down at the dial on the belt. It read two hundred and fifty, but I saw it had the word max engraved on the other side, right next to four hundred. I grinned slightly, Gohan had never trained much at that level, as far as I knew. I could barely stand under it when I had been a Super Saiyan at full power, my ape form had been okay with it. Five hundred times gravity is the most I had been at with the ape form and a few times as a teen not long ago. I knew Gohan had experienced five hundred a few times, but it wasn't very often. Well, I'm not going to be able to hang around quite as long as I would prefer, but neither will he since he hasn't trained under it.
"I have a challenge for you then. We go all out, at four hundred times gravity!"
Gohan gasped slightly before shrugging it off, "I get it, you think you'll be able to last longer because you've trained under it more than me. Nice idea, but it will backfire!"
"You afraid?" I asked smugly.
He smirked right back, "No, let's do it!" I unlocked the lock on the dial and cranked it to max, locking it again and taking a power up stance across from Gohan, who did the same.
Interlude 15.1 –Onlookers-
It was about five minutes into the match before Vegeta started getting a bit angry.
"What are they doing, slacking off on purpose?"
"No they are not," Piccolo said plainly.
"I know the boy can move faster than that at two-fifty times gravity, Gohan too! Hell, Gohan should be wiping the floor with him!"
"They turned it up to four hundred, which appeared to be the maximum those devices can simulate. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Gohan hasn't trained that high has he?"
"Rarely. Anything more than three hundred will push the limits of the gravity chamber, though it can withstand five hundred for about and hour. Why Namek?" Vegeta asked.
"So that's why its like Gohan is holding back, he can't handle it," Goku said before Piccolo could answer, holding a freshly cooked ham.
"Exactly, Verto suckered him into it! He is going to be a great warrior someday," Vegeta claimed, full of pride as if he had just figured it out. Piccolo shrugged off the fact Vegeta took credit for something he didn't know about, but was still curious.
"Do you pride him more than your own son?" Vegeta didn't react to that question right away, so Piccolo repeated it.
"I heard you the first time Namek!" he shouted as a shockwave came by, fresh from a few ki blasts by Gohan.
"Then answer the question," Piccolo stood firm. Goku glanced over, just in case he had to step in between the two, chewing on his ham.
"Kakarot, get lost!" Vegeta barked. Goku didn't hang around once he saw Vegeta's face, and he right away made for the kitchen.
"My son has made me very proud, but I know he's too much like his mother. Someday he will probably take over the company, instead of taking the warrior's path. I know he wants to take both paths, but if he wasn't so intelligent, then he and I could have more of a say in it. As much as I despise it, I cannot control it if that's what he wants to do, it is a promising future. Verto is what Trunks could have become if he stuck to his training from day one," Vegeta said.
"So you view Verto as a second chance to be a father?"
"No I don't. Trunks is my son and heir, I am simply giving Verto the best I can provide. I was given the honor to raise and train him, and I intend to do the best that I can. He has a taller task then Trunks does after all, should he ever return to his own dimension," Vegeta said.
"Humph, we still don't know if Shenron can even grant wishes like that. I don't think even Porunga can, and Elder Kai was not too keen on that idea if you recall," Piccolo said.
"Like he is going to stop me." The two silenced themselves for a moment as Gohan and Verto had just fired dueling Kamehamehas at each other.
"You really think Verto is what you said to me before?" Piccolo asked in a hushed voice.
"I still have no idea, but he is living up to it thus far. No other Saiyan has ever been given that name that I know of. At first I thought it was pure accident, but now I see that it was a lucky guess by the other son and his mother," Vegeta grunted slightly.
"Are you ever going to tell him the meaning of his name then?" Piccolo asked again, getting another ugly look from Vegeta.
"Not until he grows up for good or it's necessary for him to know it, he's got enough pressure on him for now," Vegeta said, trying to end the subject.
"Do you think they can actually do it and break the barriers of their minds and bodies? They were trained pretty well to avoid letting their emotions get the best of them," Piccolo said.
"They can. They've been letting their emotions go haywire lately. It's either this or risk the planet getting destroyed when they go crazy again," Vegeta smirked slightly as Verto's beam started to push Gohan back.
"Assuming they can control it," Piccolo grunted as Gohan pushed back into a stalemate.
"They can, and they will! If not, we may have already lost," Vegeta said, a little softer now.
-
I growled slightly as Gohan's beam pushed back into a stalemate. The battle had started off pretty evenly; Gohan had more power for him, but couldn't adjust to the heavy gravity like I could. I knew if I gave him too much time, he would adjust and I would be in deep trouble, so I started hard and heavy. Now we were just throwing energy at each other till we ran out. I knew who would run out first, so I was quickly thinking my options over. Then I got an idea, and pumped a quick but powerful burst into my beam. This pushed it almost into Gohan's face before he started to send it back. Right when he powered up again, I shut it off, phasing out. While Gohan fired at an imaginary target, I managed to get behind him and catch him off guard. I punched and kicked for all I was worth, and luckily he was so stunned that he couldn't get a good block off. After I kicked him to the ground, I fired a Galic gun from short distance, hitting dead on. He's okay, probably already moving again, I told myself. Sure enough he was gone when the smoke cleared. I refocused, blocking a punch that was aimed for the back of my head when I finally picked him up again.
"Nice move with the Kamehameha, I didn't expect that. I figured you would just keep fighting it until you passed out, you seem to do that a lot," he smirked slightly as we traded blows only to get them blocked easily.
"Well I figured it would be the best way for me to win if I didn't do everything you expected," I grinned slightly as he blocked three more of my punches before coming back with his own.
"Well, this will be an interesting battle then, since I'm going to win it!" he shouted before vanishing as my next punch came for his head. Damn, where'd he go! My ki sense had totally lost him. Was that instant transmission? No he's still here, but he's using all his speed! He must be adjusted to this gravity. Shit, I can't fight him if he uses that speed! I'll just have to think of something else! I sensed him coming back my way, so I phased out just as he appeared, but he blocked the sidekick I aimed at him. I growled a bit while he grinned.
"C'mon Verto, you know you can't win!" To prove his point, I received an unseen hard blow that broke my nose instantly. I kicked back at him in retaliation, only to get it blocked too before he caught me in the gut. I forgot about my broken nose and spit up the blood from my throat first.
He backed off, slightly concerned, "Maybe we better stop," he said, starting to drop his power. Anger filled me, I was going to make him pay for that one.
"KAIOKEN!" I charged ahead and his face turned into the classic deer in the headlights look. I backhanded his face from the left side, before kicking him in the chest so hard that his breath skipped for a moment. Guess I'll make him go a little more seriously while I still have some power left, I thought. Rushing forward, I attacked with a double axe handle to his back and phased out to intercept his body's path. When I got there he recovered enough to dodge to the side, landing with a sharp gasp of breath. I landed, keeping the Kaioken going as best I could. That's when I noticed a swirl of blue going through my red aura. Must be my hidden power again, I wonder if the Kaioken technique has any effect on it? Or perhaps it's because I'm so worked up now, maybe if I can get him angry I can push this further!
"C'mon Gohan, you know that if we don't train that we can't find our power and save Earth! Then what will happen, everyone will be killed, Mom, Chichi, Videl, Goku, everyone!" I backed off quick when I saw his angry face, but realized that I'd have to keep it up if he was going to transform.
"Yeah, even Goku can't save everyone this time! He will fall in battle before all of us die, he can't save us! He isn't even a true warrior!" I smirked slightly when I saw the expression on Gohan's face. I definitely pressed the right button and I prepared myself for the explosion I was going to receive. But he stopped and smirked at me instead.
"You know, Vegeta is worthless! He can't beat Dad or me, what a disgrace he is! Doesn't deserve to live as a prince, more like a peasant, Hahaha!" he laughed.
"So much for that idea then," I said lowly, dropping the Kaioken powerup and taking a short breather.
Gohan chuckled slightly, "Well you started it!"
"I don't think this is ever going to work if were trying to make each other angry, we're too controlled despite what has happened lately. We need someone we don't know well to do this," I said, trying to think of someone that would be able to pull it off.
"What if we fed each other mental pictures, it's worked for me and you before, right?" Gohan suggested.
"Sure, but we'd have to go one at a time, and without the gravity strain to concentrate. It doesn't sound easy to do, not to mention one of us would be too pissed off to care about the other at that point," I said, glancing over at Piccolo and Vegeta. I sensed Goku leave the time chamber, must have run out of food.
"Maybe we should just beat each other senseless then, that might work too!" Gohan said, leaping forward and catching me off guard with a kick to the chest. I flew backwards into the ground before jumping up and firing a ki blast at his face. He shrugged it off and fired one of his own that cut open my leg as I tried to dodge it. He wants to do this the hard way, fine, I'm all for it!
"Galic gun..." I started up the chant as he started on a Kamehameha. "FIRE!" I shouted as I landed and aimed right at him. He fired back and we had another stalemate on our hands as the beams pushed towards each other. My power however was running low quickly, I had used too much on the last attack and his was still higher than mine afterwards. I dug in, giving every ounce of it to the beam. This is it, it is now or never! As his beam quickly pushed back, his power shot up again and it pushed back to the middle. Damn! His beam started overpowering me, and I sensed him pull it back a bit.
"NO GOHAN, DO NOT RELEASE IT!" I heard someone shout. He didn't, and beyond my red beam I saw bright blue. No, I have to do it, I have to win!
"KAIOKEN!" I shouted for one last go. My beam's power increased, but didn't even do anything to his.
"Damn," I closed my eyes and waited to be knocked out, I wasn't going to be able to dodge this one. When blackness occurred, my view shifted somehow. I saw Trunks and Goten, playing together, Mom working in the lab as they ran by.
"Oh those two!" Chichi was shown next, shaking off wet laundry before hanging it, next to her stood Videl, doing the same. She had a long ponytail for hair this time. Gohan sat in some sort of study, reading books with some nerdy glasses on. Next to him was a small crib, with a baby girl sleeping soundly inside. Next it showed Vegeta, training as usual, but on the outside. His head turned slightly as if he sensed something right before I saw a bright explosion. Everything was now changing as the sky turned blood red, the ground was covered in the same. The trees were on fire and I could see Zerg running about. Then I saw piles of dead bodies, some very familiar.
"What's going on?" I asked.
The answer I got was a large flaming but familiar looking black head laughing at my face, "Now destroy it all!" Then everything and everyone blew up in a huge explosion, followed by a vision from space of the earth blowing up. I felt energy bellowing up from underneath and pulled it forth.
"NO!" The visions ceased as a blinding silver light appeared. I tried to block it out to see better, but I couldn't, because it was my power. I screamed as it invaded my body and began to burn my muscles and my eyes. I forced it out through my hands, bringing me back to a red light beam in front of a blue one. The blue beam from Gohan's was barely two feet away, but I barely noticed. I felt my hair go up in a flame, and change. My eyebrows shifted colors and I could see a hint of a light silver color, and then I knew I had done it. I did it? Seemed kinda easy, but wow this power is awesome! I pushed my Galic gun beam back easily, using plenty of the energy I just acquired, right into Gohan's face. It took me a moment to realize that my beam had turned green. Okay, that was different. Rather than wonder why this happened, I focused on getting Gohan to achieve the same thing. He tried to push it back as well, but couldn't. Had he been at full power that might be a different story, but I had been able to get him to burn a lot of it up. I thought about holding back, but then declined, if it worked for me it can work for him. I pushed until I sensed him struggling to keep up. Then I sensed him start to convulse, meaning his transformation was starting. He screamed rather loud before sending the Kamehameha back at me. I sent more power into my Galic gun, just enough to keep a stalemate again. His beam had turned green as well. A few minutes went by before any of us did anything, as I wanted to make sure he had a good hold on himself before I did anything.
"You can stop now Verto!" Gohan's voice rang through my head. I shut off the beam just as he did, catching a good look of him. His hair stood just as it had, silver now. His eyes blue and glowing lightly. He was the spitting image of what Mom had described about me. I tried to compare my new power to his, before I sensed three different energies within him. One was his ki, whatever was left of it, the other I wasn't sure about. I assumed it must be Psi, because I realized I could sense it from myself as well. The third was both of them working together like they were fused, and that was being emitted throughout our silver auras. I scanned my own body to discover the same thing. I drew what felt like ki into one ball in my hand. It showed up yellow like usual. I drew what felt to be different into the other, making a blue one. I noted though that it was a bit harder to form each energy ball than it should have been, pulling it apart from the fused energy.
"So this is Psi? Doesn't feel that much different than using ki. Feels like I have just a little bit less Psi than ki in my body. This two-energy thing could be nice though, as long as we don't have to transform to use it. It feels like this form is more like both of Psi and ki put together, but I can separate them out pretty easily," I said, watching Gohan with his own little test. I then pulled both energy balls together and formed a bright teal green one when they merged, feeling more powerful than it should have been.
"Well that was certainly an experience. Good job getting a hold of yourself long enough to send me mental pictures like that, that laughing skull did the trick!" he said with a slight smile.
I stopped, letting my new energy vanish in my hands, "I didn't, I thought you did that to me!" We both looked at Piccolo and Vegeta, who were shaking where they stood. Then I saw the door closing from afar, a small purple figure slipped out just as I noticed him, not long enough to know whom it was.
"Well it doesn't matter I suppose," Gohan shrugged and walked towards them.
"Maybe we better try and master this transformation before we call it a day Gohan," I suggested, powering down.
"Good idea," he said, doing the same. We both collapsed the instant we powered down.
Power levels:
Verto: 250,000,000; Kaioken: 375,000,000; Super Mystic: 495,000,000
Gohan: 565,000,000 Super Mystic Gohan: 650,000,000