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 16: Deception in the Ranks
"Whoa, did someone get the number of that bus!" I cringed as a bad headache hit me when I came to.
"You have a headache? How is that possible? We just gave you both Senzu beans, you should be completely healed!" Vegeta barked.
"Don't ask me!" I said.
"Ease off Vegeta, considering how much power they just accessed, they might need some time to recover. As I understand, Psi power comes from the mind and spirit, so maybe just healing the body doesn't take care of things like that. They will have to adjust first," Piccolo said, his voice hardly one of sympathy. I looked over at Gohan, who was also on the ground trying to gather himself from a similar predicament. Then I examined myself somewhat thoroughly. I was fine, the Senzu bean did its job well. When I sensed my own energy, I discovered something very odd. My ki was normal, as high as it ever was in my kid form. But I felt the other energy there again, one that I had been feeling from the Protoss and Gohan, but now I felt I could harness it. It had to be the Psi energy I possessed; I swore I felt it when we had been transformed. The whole last five or so minutes were a bit fuzzy at the moment so I wasn't sure. I didn't feel that combined energy flowing through me anymore, so I assumed that the transformed state we had achieved had unlocked everything and was a channeling point for using both energies as one.
"Hey Gohan, you feeling what I'm feeling now?" I asked.
"If you mean two different energy sources to use, yeah I feel it all right!" he replied.
"Excellent, they've unlocked Psi, now they must harness it!" Piccolo exclaimed.
"Good, I was hoping to get some training bouts in with these two," Vegeta cackled, cracking his knuckles.
"No I think it would be better if we left them in here to work it out alone. We do not know the extent of their powers now, nor can we train them to use an energy that we don't understand. Let's get going Vegeta. You two take all the time you need!" Piccolo said, cape flapping as he turned to leave. Vegeta grunted, but followed as Goku shut the door behind them.
"I think we should work separately at first, figure it out individually," Gohan suggested, taking a few steps away. I stood up, getting a feel for the new energy that was spiraling through me. When I tried to call it up though, it didn't respond. Well that's strange, maybe I have to push with my ki! I tried that and it came forth in an instant, like I had just changed to a Super Saiyan. Only there was no power increase to speak of, I was just suddenly being able to use both energies. After getting a feel, I wasn't quite sure what to do. Hmmmm, maybe you have to use it just like a ki blast, worth a try. I held up a palm and gathered the new Psi intertwined with my ki, and then fired what I considered to be a large blast. What I got in result resembled one of Vegeta's Big Bang attacks, except it was a green color.
"Okay, I'd say we don't have to concentrate much on this, unless were keeping the power down. That mixture of energy sure is potent," I said, rubbing my head a bit.
"I noticed," Gohan said, as he tried one of his own towards the same spot, same results, except that there appeared to be quite a scar on the all white surface. I shook my hair out, getting rid of the dirt that had been flying around.
"You may not want to do that so much, it seems to drain rather fast compared to normal. Might be better to just channel it for strength and speed, or whatever you can come up with," Gohan said in a low tone.
"You mean to use it in a different way. What other way is there?" I asked, gathering Psi into my palms again, without the ki this time. This time I tried to grasp it with my hand like I was holding a ki blast until I wanted to fire it. Let's see, that futuristic vision I saw of myself basically said I could use an energy sword. I wonder… I immediately tried to manipulate the Psi energy into a thin, but concentrated shape that extended outwards. What I got was a blue sword extending three to four feet from my hand when I clasped my hand fully around it and stretched the energy outward. Cool. Easy, but cool. I took a few swipes with it, despite that fact I had no sword training before.
"Hey Gohan check this...out," I gasped slightly when I turned to see him. He was moving all over the place, but I noticed the movement was bordering on instant. When I tried to trace his speed, I kept losing him. He stopped long enough for me to see him put two fingers to his forehead. Heh, figures. I started practicing attacks and movements with my newly created Psi sword.
Interlude 16.1 –Treachery-
Aldaris walked down the temple halls alone, a deep frown on his face. It lightened a bit when he approached his destination.
"Ah Judicator, are you here to send a transmission back to the Conclave on Auir?" The attendant inside asked.
"Yes, leave me. I can handle the controls from here," Aldaris said with a slight sneer.
"Yes Judicator," the Templar acknowledged, exiting the chamber and leaving Aldaris in the dark. Aldaris punched in the coordinates for his home planet of Auir, and waited while the transmission sent itself across the vast reaches of space. He smiled, thinking his plan over and how it would work so great, assuming the council swayed his way. About five minutes went by in the chamber without activity, besides the occasional flicker of Aldaris' golden eyes. A loud beeping went off, signaling the transmission was received, and Aldaris waited for contact.
"Judicator Aldaris, to what do I owe the pleasure of this transmission?" A new voice asked. The screen popped up, showing a Templar figure with a gold head dressing around his head. The transmission was a bit distorted, but Aldaris paid no heed due to the extreme distance.
"Ah Chancellor Zorbon, I am merely informing you of our status as was requested of me upon departure of Auir. After all, the Conclave has always had a suspicion about Executor Tassadar," Aldaris bowed his head in mocked respect.
Zorbon sighed, "Some of us have that suspicion. I have always supported him, and I will continue that policy until sufficient evidence is provided that he is a traitor. Now then, what of the Zerg on the backwater Terran planet you landed upon? It's bad enough that your fleet had to chase them into another dimension and galaxy, but you are fortunate that we gave you and Tassadar such leeway."
"Unfortunately Chancellor, the Executor has been bordering on the fine line of sanity as of late. First he ordered all of the air support troops to remain in space even as we were just establishing a base of operations on the planet. Afterwards he made contact with a band of suspicious Terrans on the surface that was followed by a massive Zerg attack on our main base. The rogue Terrans slaughtered most of our troops. It was blind luck that we made it out alive when I gave out the distress call that pulled our support troops back to the surface. Meanwhile Tassadar continues his secret alliance with the rogue Terrans, I suspect that they may be agents of the Overmind itself! Their appearance led the Zerg right to us, you must do something about this Chancellor!" Aldaris pleaded, keeping his face relatively straight. Zorbon took a few seconds to react, before gathering himself.
"Just what is going on here Aldaris? You can't expect me to believe these claims without sufficient evidence. I won't give in to any of this without it!"
Aldaris let a very slim grin go by his face, "The recording device from inside my armor plate should be of some use then Chancellor, I'm sending it to you now!" Aldaris inserted the small card like device, almost grinning ear to ear now. Zorbon received the video feed an instant later, and watched it from his office. It displayed things from Tassadar issuing similar orders to destroy a Zerg squad that left themselves vulnerable to attack, to meeting the Saiyans, to the battle involving the Zerg in which a few unlucky Protoss got in the way of ki blasts, to finally Tassadar talking the alliance over with Prince Vegeta. But the video came with no audio at all, which left out any of Vegeta's actual words with the Executor. Zorbon lowered his head a bit, letting the information soak in.
"Chancellor, our troops are ready to begin open mutiny against us if something isn't done soon! Tassadar must be dealt with as soon as possible before this happens! If he isn't, I fear the Zerg may escape with the help of these rogue Terrans," Aldaris explained in a slightly desperate sounding voice.
Zorbon took a deep breath before speaking, "What do we know about the powers of these Terrans?" Aldaris told him everything about the Saiyans, from the ki ability, to the flying, right down to the two mystics that possessed Psi potential.
"How much has Tassadar told them about the use of Psi?" Zorbon asked, leaning close with his six large fingers intertwined under his chin. Aldaris quickly realized that Zorbon was still on the fence and that his edited visuals hadn't helped his situation. But with his very next answer, he could sway Zorbon completely.
Aldaris falsely sighed, "He has hinted on demonstration and direct training within a few days, sir." Zorbon"s face fell even more. Aldaris smiled until the Chancellor looked back up.
"Okay Aldaris, you win. In two days I will present this information to the Conclave council meeting. Know that this will create a bit of havoc on our side of things, but it will settle. Until then you do not speak of this to anyone else! I will contact you when we have rendered a decision on Executor Tassadar's status. Handle this situation carefully; if these Terrans are indeed capable of these extreme abilities then we may have already lost the battle before it's begun. Do what is necessary to disable them, then take care of the Zerg before they get away," Zorbon ordered with a heavy heart.
"It will be done by your word, Chancellor!" Aldaris bowed.
"If at all possible, isolate one of these Terrans for examination! I want to find out how they perform those abilities and if it's possible for our race to adapt technology to counteract it," Zorbon ordered again.
Aldaris was already a mile ahead of him, "Yes Chancellor, I know just the one!" The screen went black and Aldaris sat back in his chair, full grin on his face. His final act of faith had just turned the war in a new direction, and he couldn't be happier.
"Oh yes, I know just the one!"
-
Hours later, Tassadar sat at dinner, sipping on what his race considered to be fine wine. Aldaris strode into the room in almost a swagger.
"Confident about something you'd like to share, Judicator?" Tassadar asked.
"I sense our victory approaching, that is all."
Tassadar grunted slightly, "Yes the situation certainly looks better than it did, but don't get cocky Aldaris! We've been in this kind of situation before when the Zerg slip away like they have a habit of doing, don't jump to conclusions!"
"Indeed, but I sense a change in power on the horizon, I can't wait for it!" Aldaris chuckled as he sipped his own wine, not catching the look of suspicion on Tassadar's face.
-
"So can a device be made to those specifications?" Aldaris asked his scientist.
"Yes Judicator, we should be able to build such a device that can either restrict, and possibly absorb the energy known as ki, that won't be difficult. We already have Psi inhibitors for Templars who have committed treachery, it's only a matter of changing the energy frequency, and our scans have picked that up from the Saiyans already. The only tricky part will be to compensate for how much strain it can take before it breaks. Any outside energy influence may destroy the device!"
"I don't care about that, and it shouldn't be a problem anyway as long as we get them all at once. Then, after I probe them on how to summon ki energy, we can dispose of them. This is what the Conclave wishes; so do not inform the Executor on this. He will soon be tried for treason! The less the enemy knows, the better!" Aldaris said.
"Understood Judicator, I will begin work on the devices immediately!" The scientist scurried away and back to work in his lab as Aldaris left with a large smile on his face. Had he stuck around any longer, or gone the other way. He would have seen the one Protoss warrior that he feared more than any, Fenix.
-
"Hey Gohan, toss me a big ki blast, watch what I can do with this thing!" I shouted at him. He threw a big gold ball at me, easily the size of a house. I grinned, pulling my energy sword into the physical plane and into a ready position. I let the ball get close enough before letting my Psi flash into the sword. I swung down first, cutting the ki ball in half, then across, cutting it into fourths. Then I swung diagonally twice, making eight harmless ki balls that all flew off target and harmlessly to the ground, evaporating back into nothing.
"Nice, but how about this?" he shouted, vanishing. I shifted my hands just a bit by reaction to this, pulling my sword back a bit and getting ready for an attack. Next thing I saw was a gold ki ball next to my ear, very capable of taking my head off.
"Oh really? You think just because you figured out instant transmission doesn't mean I don't have a counter for it!" I said with a sly smile.
"You can't counter if your head is missing," he said from barely a foot away.
"And you and Videl will have a lot of trouble if my head does vanish!" I said, nodding towards my swords position, which never moved after he had appeared there. He extinguished the ki ball instantly, while I moved the sword away from between his legs.
"Heh, maybe I need to work on where I appear," he said, giving off a Son grin.
"I'd say, you'd be scared for life," I said, letting the Psi sword vanish. We had been practicing for nearly three days, so I had plenty of time to figure out my new sword technique, its end and outs anyway. We had each slept and ate what we could once, other than that we had done nothing but practice some of our abilities. We figured out how I had healed Mom before, by spreading a thin layer of mixed energy over another and moving it around very slowly while it healed the person. It seemed to help to think positively about it, mostly because a negative thought or two would likely make me slip up.
"Well, I think we have the whole calling it up thing down, but that power is unpredictable. We should refrain from using it too much other than special techniques and sensing. We don't know what it may actually do on the outside. As for the other form, well we probably shouldn't try to do that again until we've mastered the transformation. I don't know about you, but that one was harder than when I first went Super Saiyan in here training with Dad. It was easier to achieve, but emotional control was almost nonexistent," Gohan shrugged.
"I agree, I felt a lot of power while I was in that form, not to mention that it exhausted us once we reverted. I'm not quite sure about yours, but my ki and my Psi feel like they are at about the same level as far as energy goes. Since I was only transformed once I couldn't tell you if they were truly stuck together or separate like they are now. It really felt like they had been fused now that I think about it, but still manageable," I said.
"Still weird that our eyes changed to blue once we started using Psi in here. While you were sword swinging, I put the energy away and looked in the mirror, my eyes were black again," he looked quite puzzled.
"Maybe its like a signal to everyone else or something, like don't piss us off," I suggested, catching his weird expression again as I put my Psi back into the depths of my so-called energy well.
"Well yours changed again too, oh well. Let's get out of here, no doubt only a few minutes has gone by outside, so Vegeta probably already pacing, heh," Gohan chuckled along with me about the prince's lack of patience.
"Wouldn't it be a good idea to spend the whole year in here? You know, try and master it? You know that will be what he suggests. The situation out there certainly gives us that kind of time," I suggested.
"We could, but we still don't know much about this power. Tassadar seemed willing to educate us a little more if we were able to finally bring our hidden energy to the surface, which we've done. With the Earth still in danger, I don't want to be in here longer than we have to just because the situation could change at any moment. I don't completely trust the Protoss, not all of them anyway," Gohan added.
"Fine with me then. What do you suppose we should call that transformation anyway?" I asked.
"Super Mystic sound good?" he asked.
I rolled my eyes slightly, "How original, but it works for me."
-
"What is the meaning of this you brats? You were barely in there for ten minutes alone! We told you to take all the time you need! You need much more time than that, get back in there!" Vegeta roared when we emerged. Piccolo didn't really say anything to the contrary, just stood there with a glaring stare that seemed to penetrate my eyes.
"Ah lay off Vegeta, I'm sure the boys know what they're doing. Gotta let kids decide things for themselves!" Goku proclaimed, munching on an apple. Well he was the last one I expected that from.
"Nonsense Kakarot, it takes an enormous amount of time to master ones energy! These two are obviously slacking to get out of it, well tough luck boys!" Vegeta declared, stretching his neck muscles, his energy rising.
"Looks like we may need to prove a point here Gohan, Vegeta always does that right before he attacks during a sparring match," I thought to him. He nodded as we both powered up and let Psi enter our physical bodies, our eyes shifting to blue. Now that we had accessed it right before what appeared to be a short battle, I found that I could focus a hell of a lot better. I had heard Psi mentioned as energy of both the mind and spirit, and it seemed correct.
"What the?" Piccolo and Goku said at the same time. Vegeta didn't react that much to it, until he suddenly transformed to Super Saiyan two and charged an attack.
"You brats think you've had enough training, time to show me I'm wrong! Atomic Blast!" He shouted as he prepared to unleash his new finishing move on us from about thirty feet away. Gohan and I were light years ahead of him. In the time chamber we had found that our so-called Psi mode could enhance our senses for quicker reactions to such threats, even quicker than if we were fully powered up with ki. Being extra focused was an added bonus to this.
"Okay, time to show him bro! Use your sword like you did during practice. I'll teleport and attack from the blindside!" Gohan suggested. I gave him a mental nod, calling up my new Psi sword and extending it to about three and a half feet long, preparing to test the new abilities I learned in the time chamber. The golden blast of death came in quickly, and I jabbed forward as it arrived, piercing the middle and stopping it. For several seconds the blue sword struggled with the blast, lightning crackled around the sword and me as it did. I noticed Goku and Piccolo's concerned looks.
"Verto, what are you doing? That blast could kill you if you don't get away!" Piccolo's message came across loud and clear.
"No it won't, watch this!" I answered. As I did, I turned the sword to the right about a quarter turn. This caused the properties of the sword to change from just a normal blade of light to an absorbent sword. I found this out by playing around with it in the time chamber, seeing its different properties were kind of nice to know. It could disrupt, deflect or absorb energy blasts, depending on how I held it, and of course it was sharper than anything else. Deflecting was much easier than the other two, and disruption took a precise stab or slice. Absorption was obvious and rather easy, but it was a difficult the first few times. The blast energy filed into the Psi blade, drawing a thin yellow line in the middle of it as it filled up with the ki power. Now, as I had learned through trial and error, I had a few choices. I could either absorb the energy straight into my body and power myself up with someone else's ki, or keep it in the sword and use it in multiple ways before it runs out. This time though, I kept it in the sword, and it turned completely golden as the blast filled it up. The look on Vegeta's face would make anyone laugh. I gave the sword a few swishes, watching the golden lightning crackle around it as I did. Vegeta's expression turned back to anger as he noticed Gohan coming in on him.
"Oh, you wanna go now do you?" he shouted, punching at Gohan's vanishing form. He was instantly floored from the other side since Gohan did not go that far.
"Wow, did you see that Piccolo?" Goku exclaimed with slight excitement, more surprise.
"Yes, that was your instant transmission move!" Piccolo said, though watching me more intently. I held my sword steadily forward, pointing at the fallen Saiyan, waiting for the right moment when Vegeta got back up. When he did, I released the ki energy from the sword. The golden Psi-enhanced ki energy raced at Vegeta, plowing over him and racing into the sky, where it vanished into space. Vegeta was a mess on the ground. He was still powered up, and more than likely able to fight for a long time coming, but several bones had been broken. He was bleeding in multiple places, and his armor was torn to shreds. I leaped up into the air, coming down at him at blinding speed. He gasped as I came down, but was smart enough to phase out before I dug the sword into a downward slash. He obviously wasn't prepared for this kind of display from two different energies. Since he could not sense or manipulate Psi, he was very unaware of what it could do despite having fought a Zealot earlier in the day.
"Impressive boy, I didn't expect this! It's a nice challenge to have once in awhile, but I want to see the great power I sensed earlier, otherwise disappear!" He charged up his ki, hitting Super Saiyan three quickly, and then bringing his palms from the sides to forward.
"FINAL FLASH!" he bellowed. Sorry Vegeta, I have to disappoint you again. I turned the blade around in my hands again, shifting back to where it had been before. I better deflect this one, that's a lot of power coming in and I'm still not sure what limits this thing has. I swung the sword to the side and slammed it into the beam when it arrived much like a baseball swing, sending it flowing into space just like the last one. My sword barely stayed intact, flashing a little from such a power display and draining me. Vegeta's expression was perplexing to say the least, he looked half disappointed, half surprised. He powered down to normal and just about dropped to his knees. He was still feeling the damage after being hit with his reflected attack, going Super Saiyan three probably didn't help him much.
"Nice sword you have there boy, got anything else?" he asked. I sighed, pulling the Psi sword back into my body and extinguished it. I walked over to where he took a knee, trying to gather himself. Using my hands to mix the energy first, I poured a green wave from my hands slowly, letting it wash over him slowly as I tried to maintain a positive thought base.
"What are you doing brat?" he questioned in a threatening tone.
"Unless you want to end up deep fried, shut up and don't move!" I warned. Seeing what I had done to his best ki attacks, he shut up. As my power churned through him, his wounds closed up and his ki rose back to normal. When I sensed he was fully healed, I pulled my energy back to me, standing back and taking a step back. He checked himself over, before giving off the priceless looks of surprise.
"You healed me? I thought only the little Namek could do that! So what Bulma said was true after all!" While it was my first real time situation of actually doing it, I was relieved that we figured it out on our own and not let some trance give me a crash course on it. While in the time chamber, Gohan and I did spar a little to test the ability. We found that healing with Psi only could recharge ki when we were spent. However I could only use it on others, and the mixture of ki and Psi could completely heal injuries. Gohan attempted this in the time chamber after I had gotten the bad end of an instant transmission beam attack. He found that he couldn't focus enough energy at such a low rate to use it, luckily we had Senzu beans. When it was my turn I didn't have any troubles, nor did I have any problem with tearing him up beforehand when he kept his power down.
"So can we go home now?" I asked.
"Hmph, you still have yet to show me all of your hidden powers," Vegeta barked.
"And it's a dangerous power to access, it's just like Super Saiyan for the first time, unpredictable! We've both agreed not to use it unless absolutely necessary, besides, our new abilities will be enough. This Psi power can't be taken lightly you guys, the mixture with ki is even more powerful, and it's dangerous if it falls into the wrong or inexperienced hands. That form we transformed into unlocked the basics of it. We have agreed to master the basics before going any further; one bad move could destroy everyone on this planet. We tested enough of that power to know!" Gohan said sternly.
"Tested enough of it huh? What did you do, color the floor in there?" Vegeta grunted. Damn he guesses good.
"Yeah you could say that. Verto and I experimented a little and found that combining a lot of ki and Psi into one energy blast can have some really destructive properties. It opened up a hole in the time chamber floor where some lava came up and spread around a bit," Gohan said catching the eye of Piccolo.
"You opened up a volcano in there?!" Piccolo suddenly roared. Vegeta looked partially amazed as well, as he had thought it was one of the toughest surfaces ever created. We both gave him our best Goku imitations.
"Its sealed now, but that's my point. If one of us were to get too angry.." Gohan pointed out.
"Fine! I see your point boy, you don't have to spell it out unless it's to that clown you call a father! Perhaps it is best that way, let's head back home now," Vegeta complied, jumping down the side of the platform.
"Did you really tear a hole in there?" Piccolo asked.
"Yeah, we're still trying to figure out where the lava came from," Gohan laughed slightly nervous. Piccolo looked as if he had been babysitting Goten and Trunks too long.
A/n: Atomic blast is the move Majin Vegeta uses on Fat Buu that rips a hole right through him, for those who didn't know that.