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 20: Releasing the Darkness

I blinked a few times when I heard the message. I hadn't been watching the crystal ball that had been flashing a lot lately, I was mostly meditating. Since I was locked in my own mind, it was very easy to focus. Nothing else was up there. I found that when I played around a little with my Psi energy, the Cerebrate started to waver its control. I didn't really understand what I was trying to do; in actuality I was basically wishing for the thing to leave and generating Psi at the same time. That seemed to really agitate the Cerebrate to the point where he began to switch off between himself and my Saiyan side. Whenever it was in charge, it seemed to be looking for me most of the time, but I never saw the blue mist again. I kept up my efforts and began to see a definite change in the Saiyan when he started blowing up Zerg as well as Terran ships. The other part of me was putting on a good show by wiping out the Terran fleet. The Saiyan fighting instincts went on full and the Cerebrate could not control them at all. That and he was up at Super Saiyan two, a form I didn't think I could achieve since I was a tad different now. However, my ki was high enough and separate from my Psi for the moment, so I suppose it was possible.

Though something about my other half didn't click with what the Cerebrate was doing, or trying to do. Whenever I had the Cerebrate down a little, my other half actually responded quicker to the Overmind's orders than the Cerebrate did. It was something I didn't quite understand, but perhaps it was part of his plan. He had contacted me of when to start trying some more during the battle while the Cerebrate was focused on it, and it had paid off. I wasn't too happy with the fact that the Saiyan half was still destroying things, but that sure did beat the latter result. Odds are I would have had to destroy the Terran fleet anyway, just like before. But when I got that message from Kerrigan, I stopped concentrating on wearing down the Cerebrate. Something about it rang warning bells in my head, or in this case around me.

"You about done up there, the damn Cerebrate has vanished! He's not with me anymore!" the other me called out through my thoughts.

"Hey are you sure this is going to work? What if they prepared for us to try something like this?" I asked myself, literally.

"You got a better idea? If you do then spit it out, after all that's about all you can do up there is think. I'm the one doing all the work out here!" He had a point.

Man arguing with yourself sure is strange sometimes. I suddenly sensed a powerful force aiming down on the Overmind, where we had come up to just as it was beginning to come clear.

"It's that really big beam cannon they have! Maybe it'll make a dent!" the other me said. I watched the crystal ball as the huge beam impacted the Overmind's large form just as the light from it blinded me. When the light and smoke cleared, the Overmind was barely there at all, in fact there seemed to be nearly nothing left!

"All right, there's our chance! Wait for them to fire again and come on out. I'll land so I can concentrate better!"

"Gotcha!" I thought back. I raced towards the wall and prepared to crack it open. I felt the other me appear on the other side, no sign of any other presence was here. I sensed the Overmind get zapped again, and cracked open the wall right away with a minor surge of Psi energy.

The other me was standing there, looking impatient, "About time!"

"Hey, I was just waiting for the moment like you told me to!" I said back.

"Oh well, ready to fuse again? I'm sure you're getting tired of staying up here!"

"Well yeah, how exactly are we going to do that anyway?"

"Duh, fusion dance!"

"I thought you were the part of me that didn't want to do that silly pose?"

"You know a better way?" I gave in, plus arguing with myself all the way wasn't going to accomplish anything. I stepped sideways and raised my arms even with his.

"Just tell me we won't ever have to do this for real, it looks ridiculous enough!" I said.

"Look at it this way, at least no one can see it and we can't screw it up!" he pointed out.

"Good point!"

"FU-SION, HA!" we shouted in sync. The bright light flooded our vision, and when it cleared I felt I was still in my normal state, but I was ready to rock. But then I noticed something odd. We had fused back into one alright, and no part of the Cerebrate was present. But we were still in the upper part of my mind on the black field of nothing, though that gray wall was gone.

"Maybe I should think on how I was supposed to get out," I said.

"No need. I will provide that!" I spun to see a familiar blue mist in front of me. Tentacles spun out of it and grabbed my limbs before I could move. I tried to overpower them, but since I was in my mind, my physical strength had no bearing. I powered up to get away, but that seemed to hasten the mist into closing on me. Then it got into my every opening and pore just like before, and this time I had nowhere to run to. I felt it joining with me everywhere, and I knew now I couldn't stop it. Kerrigan had been right, it was a trap.

"Damnit, I should have listened, but it was our best shot! Sorry Kerrigan, I can't do anything else!" I thought towards her before the Cerebrate took over completely. A whole new flood of thought and memory flooded open to me then as the Cerebrate joined with me. It didn't seem quite as vile as I thought at first, actually the Cerebrate didn't feel that evil at all really. We, or I landed, but I was still on the black plane. A bright white and yellowish flash went off in the area around me, but I wasn't sure where it came from, and it was gone rather quickly.

"Verto, why are we still here, and what was that just now?" it asked me. I glanced around before realizing the Cerebrate was the one that asked me, and it had been telepathic.

"You're asking me? How should I know?" I asked aloud. This is odd, I thought that it was going to control me completely; instead it's like another voice in my head! I thought without realizing it probably heard me.

"What? You expected me to be able to handle all of that power without your help? This is part of Kerrigan's plan, The Overmind had this idea also, but he didn't know about my secret purpose. Since the Overmind cannot directly control me anymore, we can together take him down. My being here was for a different reason and this isn't quite it. Sorry about all of the deception," Cerebrate said, sounding a lot like me now, and being completely honest as far as I could tell.

"Believe me I didn't have a clue, I can definitely feel some of your power added to mine. My energies feel exactly balanced, awesome! What's this secret purpose about anyway?" I replied to the other voice in my head.

"Verto, what is that over there?" it asked, ignoring my question. I glanced over to where it had pointed out, or in this case where my eyes just happened to glance at.

"Heh, don't worry, you'll think a little better on your own soon, though might take some getting used to! Your mind isn't used to a higher level of thinking just yet, it will get there."

"No shit, to answer your question. It looks like some sort of locked door," I replied as I walked up to a door that had chains wrapped around it.

"I don't have a good feeling about this Verto, I really don't think you should get near that door," Cerebrate said in caution.

"You have a point, there's probably a reason it has chains around it," I said.

"Help me!" I heard from the door as soon as I turned around.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Good question," Cerebrate replied.

"Please help me, I've been locked in here for a very long time, alone and suffering!"

"Who are you?" I called out, not getting an answer from the door, but I could sense there was something mysterious behind it.

"Just please unlock the door and let me out. It's so dark and cold in here, I'm afraid!" the new voice said, choking slightly.

"Why is there something in my mind that is chained up and fearful? Maybe it's a more timid emotion or something, you have any idea?" I asked.

"I don't think you should be rash in finding out. It may not be something you want to deal with," Cerebrate warned again.

I shook my head, "I can't abandon those in need of help, even if it is in the recesses of my own mind. What if I ever needed their help?" I asked back. He didn't answer, so I started breaking off the chains.

"I wonder what's inside," I said, breaking the chains off and opening the door. I saw nothing but blackness inside.

"You know, I'd ask why there is a door up here anyway, but I don't really want to know. Where'd that voice go," I said, the Cerebrate wondered as well. Then I heard some sort of laughter coming from the door. A bright light went off again and a saw someone standing there. It was a blackened figure, looked about as tall as me, with a tail and spiky hair like me as well. But then I saw eyes that were glowing red and nothing but evil came from them.

"Finally, I'm free!" it said. Why do I get the feeling I made a horrible mistake? Then a whole world of pain was introduced to my head as it rushed forward and caught me across the jaw.

"Who the hell are you?" I shouted, flipping up and into a stance.

"I am what should have happened with all the power you have. Damn that half Saiyan twit, and that fucking old bastard as well for putting me here!" he said.

"What are you talking about? I've never seen you before!" I said. The figure stepped closer and somehow his blackened skin lit up.

"You sure about that?" it said as I gasped at the figure's appearance. It was me, everything about him was me, eyes, tail, hair, nose, and sadly, power level. I scanned his energy, finding that he had both energies to use as well, only it was dripping with evil.

"I guess you could say that I am your dark side. It may not be quite accurate, but your negative feelings feed me. I can't quite remember how this happened, but I know that Old Kai locked me up. He wouldn't have kept me in though, and thanks to the youth wish I am stronger than ever. Add to that, the overgrown lurch has decided that I would be best suited to take your place!"

"You're not going anywhere but back in that room!" I declared, dropping into a stance. That oddly bright flash went off again and I felt the Cerebrate stirring again. Somehow the blue mist arose from my body, quickly backing off from the new comer that resembled me.

"What the, how'd we un-fuse?" I asked it as I noticed my power level drop just slightly.

"I do not know!" it answered as the mist backed away quickly. The evil me went after it and it tried to run.

"Hey where are you going?" I shouted after both of them.

"You must not let him take me, Verto!" the mist said through the air as the evil flew after it. Well, good point there. I flew after both of them, catching the Saiyan first. I punched at his head, but he only smirked and ducked down, catching me way low where no one wants to be hit. I dropped in severe pain, and he sped forward. I spat what had been in my mouth and charged a Kamehameha just for him as the mist had turned enough of a circle to head back my way, Saiyan in tow.

"I don't care what you are or how you came to be, no evil presence will take over my body! Now get out, HAAAA!!!!" My blue beam shot past the mist and right into the Saiyan. I don't know why I intentionally missed the Cerebrate, I just wanted the other one dead for good. He said he was my dark side and I could sense that he couldn't have been far off, he was everything that I wasn't and worse. The smoke from my blast cleared quickly, and my face fell as I saw he was still there. He smirked sharply, and started powering up. I wasn't sure how the breeze got there, but his power blew me back a little ways. Then what I thought was impossible happened, he transformed into Super Mystic right there. The silver hair and blue eyes were a dead ringer, only there were dark lines around the eyes, showing all the evil he was made of. I didn't recall seeing him move before several hard blows occurred, several to my head, most to my chest and stomach. I coughed up some blood somehow and dropped to my hands and knees. I didn't even see the boot that knocked me out.

"Now then, Cerebrate, we have some business to attend to…" I heard him say. What have I done?

Interlude 20.1: Evil Verto

Kerrigan sighed again as she felt Verto lose his body for good this time. She felt the Overmind's influence over him increase by several times before settling down. The next ion beam that was shot down was returned upon by Zerg-Verto's Super Galic Gun. It took a minute or two, but he eventually overpowered the ion cannon. She then sensed him move his beam over the space fleet and an extensive amount of Terran lives suddenly vanished. The static over Mengsk's radio confirmed it.

"The boy has destroyed most of our fleet Arcturus, you must evacuate before he comes back to your position!" Duke announced over the radio.

"Roger that general. I had no idea that the boy was this powerful! Sarah, you coming?" he asked sweetly. Kerrigan however knew that since Verto was back under control, she had better behave now as well.

"Sorry Mengsk, I'm afraid I can't let you go. Not without dying anyway!" The marines opened fire right away. She cloaked herself before they got a shot off and dashed in, slashing them all apart in no time, despite their armors. Mengsk gasped as this happened just as Kerrigan reappeared. The drop ship above them was still hovering, until Kerrigan focused her Psi around it and blew the thing apart with her Psi storm. Blood splattered everywhere as a few of its occupants were struck, and it landed on both Mengsk and Kerrigan. She grinned slightly, licking some of it off her cheek.

Mengsk backed up, "Oh my god, what kind of monster did that thing create? Please don't kill me!" He got on his knees and begged, almost kissing her feet. She frowned in disgust, she hated beggars.

"You know Mengsk, I could infest you and then kill you. Then the Overmind could revive you as much as I wanted just so I could kill you over and over! But that will quickly grow old and it's a waste of energy. So I think I'll settle on taking your head and play darts with it in my hive. Darts always was your favorite game wasn't it?" Mengsk gasped by her sudden cruelty, but managed to nod.

"It's settled then!" she said, swiping at his head. A line of red formed around his neck as he managed to open his mouth wide in shock. Then the head fell straight off as the body collapsed. She didn't take the head with her, but she did feel a certain amount of satisfaction. Now, I guess I must wait for the backup plan to arrive, I just hope they brought her with.

-

"Oh no, I knew it! I shouldn't have released those powers! I fear I may have tampered with the fate of both dimensions and released a horrible evil upon it!" Old Kai whined as he and Kibito watched what happened.

"But sir, how could the Cerebrate do that to him? A fusion between the two surely wouldn't have turned him into that!" Kibito claimed.

"Verto was smart to separate himself like that, even by accident. The Saiyan in him could not be completely controlled without the mind. Slowly the Cerebrate lost control, and then something happened. Vegeta and the others will have to find a way to kill the Overmind first before Verto. Otherwise he could be revived again as this evil entity!"

"I don't think I quite get it elder? Who or what is that?" Kibito asked.

"Let's just say I took a per-caution and it may have backfired. Figure it out for yourself young Kai, just make sure that any of our friends that die in that dimension are sent to King Yemma on this side. Those overseers will understand that since it won't be interference with anything!"

"Uh, yes sir, right away!" Kibitoshin said, teleporting out.

Old Kai sat in slight meditation, thinking about the events of the past few months up until now over. Something else occurred while Verto was struggling with the Cerebrate. Had I been able to see into his mind, I might know what it was. Whatever it was, it happened after the complete fusion occurred. If it really was the safety net I put in there, I may have made an incredibly terrible mistake. Oh the things I do just for the promise of a little nookie!

-

Back on Char, the Overmind was giving a few congratulatory remarks to Zerg-Verto on his so-called complete infestation. Kerrigan was with him in their hive cluster while the Overmind maintained most communication by telepathy. Noteworthy things occurred that she paid attention to. First off, the Overmind referred to him as Verto, not as the Cerebrate. Kerrigan noticed that he played along to that perfectly, and the Overmind's link to the body had been drastically reduced, or so she sensed. He still had the capacity to order him around, but without that strong link, it wasn't by much. She doubted that the Overmind could do much other than slow him down should he get out of control now. She felt that the Overmind might have known that as well, but didn't appear to pay much heed to the fact. That was a mistake, she managed to think by herself while the other two were laughing a little with the other Cerebrates about their dominant victory over the Terrans. The Terran fleet had been decimated, and only a few ships got away. The Overmind then declared that since Verto was now one of them, they could release some of the Zerg to spread out more over the planet. Another mistake, maybe.

"But great father, what if the Saiyans did come after our friend here? They are quite powerful!" Zasz asked.

"There is little to be concerned with, the only concern is that fusion technique of theirs, even with all of this power at my disposal. An overwhelming amount power like that of a Goku and Vegeta fusion would cause a few problems, and that is not limited to just them. However as long as that doesn't happen very much, it shouldn't be a huge concern as their ki power alone cannot defeat the Overmind!" Zerg-Verto said. Kerrigan nearly choked when she heard that. She had the answer to kill the Overmind, ki and psi combined, or at least that's what she believed, and only three beings knew how to do that. She kept quiet about it though, she knew the Overmind would sense her thoughts if she focused on them too much.

Later when she was by herself, she recounted how many mistakes the Overmind and, well whatever was now in control of Verto, made. They had just made many mistakes because of their combined arrogance. She smiled though, she now knew Gohan had a shot, but it was very slim, his energies were not as aligned as Verto's. While he commanded a higher amount of ki like most of the warriors, Verto had just as much Psi to balance his powers out. The only reason he had so much less ki now was because of that wish to the dragon.

No matter, he would have discovered his true power eventually, its just faster now. His friends better get here quickly! She took notice of something else as well; the Cerebrate-Verto was acting very, odd. She had been noticing this the entire time, yet the others didn't seem to pay any heed. It wasn't talking, thinking, or behaving like a Cerebrate waiting for orders. It was acting like an evil Saiyan, as best she could figure anyway. It had acted like that before, when it was just fused with his Saiyan side, but now there seemed to be a different being in control. She scanned his mind very briefly so he wouldn't notice, only to get a bit of a shock to sense what she felt in there, and she quickly disconnected before he noticed. She sensed the Cerebrate was hardly even there, if at all. Neither was Verto himself, she still felt that gentle presence in there somewhere, but it wouldn't respond and didn't feel active. She felt a third presence, eerily similar to what she was staring at now, it felt very evil.

That doesn't make sense, I should be sensing either Verto or the Cerebrate in control, or both combined. I don't sense either one. But if this isn't one of them, who is it? And how can, whoever that is, control all of Verto's powers?

Out of the corner of her senses, she picked up on something arriving on Char. A ship with high Psionic emitions, it vanished the instant she sought it out. Aldaris? No way it could be him already, not by himself after what Verto did to him before. And that would be suicide coming back now, Verto could wipe him out easily now that the Cerebrate's inner power has been added. It feels like more Protoss, but I can't be sure, they've never hidden themselves this well from me before!

She detected another surge of Psi drop from hyperspace shortly after, much lower in signal but in a more numerous amount. That's definitely a Protoss fleet. She expected a message to investigate shortly, but fell asleep waiting for it, because it never came.

-

"Help ME, Someone Please Help Me!" Fasha was woken from her sleep by that thought alone. She sat in bed, sweating for a few minutes, wondering what that meant for the future. It was the second night in a row that she had heard that message, and it disturbed her greatly. Even if she was going to be parted from Verto permanently as soon as they found him, it still bothered her. She sighed and dressed, heading for the mess hall. There, the other Saiyans were busy gorging food like usual, except they were going much slower, grim looks on their faces.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Fasha asked. No one said anything right away, except for Goku asking the Protoss attendant if they had any pepper.

Vegeta spoke up pretty quickly though, "We felt a powerful ki surge last night, coming from Char. And the day before, Tassadar recorded two Psionic signatures battling on Char. Both dropped to nothing shortly before Aldaris' ship departed, that is all we know."

"That isn't all, last night during meditation, I picked up a telepathic message. It was faint, but I'm sure it came from Verto, he was calling for help!" Gohan said, looking even grimmer.

"It's still another six days to Char, unless you want to try for Instant Transmission Kakarot?" Vegeta asked sternly.

Goku shook his head, "We don't truly know what we will be up against once there, and unlike on Earth, we won't have anywhere to fall back to if need be. While I could sense that high power level just fine from here, if it's moving around a lot I may not be able to get a lock on him anyway. Very few Saiyans leave behind a strong enough energy trail, except Broly that is. The only reason I felt his before was because I was at Grand Kai's place and he had just left the planet he had destroyed that day. Not only that, but the Zerg signals around him will blur it up!" Everyone starred slightly at Goku, who somehow had all the facts together when the stars and planets lined up.

"What's wrong guys, you look like I've said something wrong?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Just surprised, that's all Dad. You better tell Tassadar to get best possible speed to Char if were going to make it in time!" Gohan suggested.

Vegeta nodded at this, "Keep your senses active for the next few days Kakarot. If you get a clear enough signal, we will go for it right away. It's a risk, but it may win the day! We should pick up that signal at least a little very soon, that inferior human battle fleet should be arriving any day now!"

"Actually they just arrived and are currently setting up for an assault on the planet," Tassadar said from the door. Everyone proceeded to the bridge to watch the latest scans. Nothing really happened for the first couple of hours, other than picking up general troop movements and fussy transmissions. Goku suddenly felt a large ki erupt just as the Terran fleet began the attack.

"I sense Verto guys, but his signal seems distorted. It's not from the Zerg being around, it's coming from him!"

"Damn, that means…" Fasha started before falling silent.

"That probably means the worst, however I have faith that he can break the Overmind's control. I trained him to resist such things, and the Namek helped a little as well with his mental abilities, he will not give in!" Vegeta boasted. Just as he finished his phrase, the ship shook slightly from a shockwave.

"What was that?" just about everyone asked at once.

"It appears to be another large Psionic signature on the surface, I believe it's coming from the boy since it's moving around rapidly. The Terrans on the surface are getting wiped out very quickly. Analyzing what could have happened to affect us way out here. Ah, it appears the Terrans fired their ion cannon on the boy, and he fired back as best I can guess by the gauge reading, it more than likely produced that shockwave," Krator said from his station.

"What's the status of their ion cannon? Is it functional enough to take out the Overmind, or at least damage it?" Tassadar asked.

"No, it's been completely destroyed. However I think that the Terrans were thinking the same thing. It now appears that they targeted the Overmind, but the boy intervened and fired back. These readings are still too early to tell, and a lot of their transmissions are garbled. One thing is for sure, the Dominion's battle fleet is losing its battle with the Zerg because of young Verto, infested or not!" Krator said in boldness. Suddenly all of the Saiyans' senses perked up to the energy signature in the area.

"That feels like Verto, but his ki feels so big and, so evil!" Goku said, almost trembling.

Gohan narrowed his eyes, "No dad that is mixed energy, he transformed! But you're right, he feels evil!"

"Then our chances of success are dipping quickly. The more time we waste getting there, the lower they get. Best speed to Planet Char!" Vegeta barked.

A/n: This is the end of Part 1: Infestation. Probably not the kind of events that you might expect. Believe me, more crazy things will be happening in Part 2: Confrontation, which starts next chapter!

Now that I have that out of the way… Next Time on DBV: Kerrigan discovers a new Protoss force on the surface of Char and sends her Brood after it. While she is distracted, a new weapon is used against a different Brood and it is sent spiraling out of control.