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 24: Zerg-Verto vs. Zeratul
"I promise not to use the full extent of my power on you Zeratul, so try to make it more than two minutes before dying!" Zerg-Verto said with a tight grin. Zeratul disregarded this comment and refocused himself on Verto only. His dark green blade seemed to shimmer as he concentrated.
"Oh please, don't tell me you need a weapon to face me! Then again you just might need everything to even scratch me!" Verto taunted again.
Zeratul hid a smile, "I thought you wanted to fight, not talk?" Verto dashed forward and ducked under the swipe that Zeratul tried at his head as he punched towards Zeratul's chest. A blue shield hit his hand a few inches short and he was forced to back away from it. Zeratul however did not stop and ran very quickly towards Verto a few feet away, slashing towards his head again. Ducking, Verto swept his legs, only to see Zeratul jump over them completely and catch Verto across the face with a quick and accurate kick. Zeratul jumped backward and stood at a ready stance with his green sword-like wrist blade, watching Verto stand up slowly. Wiping a little dirt off his lip, Zerg-Verto smiled slightly as the Dark Templar shifted his feet.
"You really like that energy blade of yours, eh? How well do you fare without it?" Verto asked.
"Well enough," Zeratul replied, keeping it ready on his wrist, where it was attached much like a Zealot's. Verto suddenly shot a ki blast at Zeratul's sword-side wrist. He stood by, watching as the older Templar's reaction was very fast, and it hit just the green blade, canceling it out.
Looks like I'll have to wear him out, "That's okay...I can handle a little swordplay too!" Verto said, focusing his Psi and creating his Psi sword in his hands.
"Impressive, the ability to concentrate Psionic energy without the help of technology. That isn't a uncommon ability, but for a Terran child to handle it so purely...astounding," Zeratul acknowledged.
"It gets better old timer," Verto said, charging and slashing down and front. Zeratul matched his blade horizontally and the two engaged in a slight power struggle. Verto was struggling a little more than Zeratul, and soon pulled away from it and attacked quickly. He cut and slashed several times while moving with Zeratul, trying to keep the advantage. The older master parried each sword blow effectively and spun around on the last one, placing his sword right under Verto's chin.
"I believe the duel is mine," Zeratul said calmly. Verto dropped his Psi sword in surprise; he knew he was beaten and that the older master would not hesitate.
"You do not have near the experience as myself when handling weapons. However I am curious about your ability to control your powers. I sense that you cannot only control Psi, but the life energy known as Ki. Not very many beings can do that around these parts," Zeratul noted, taking the sword's edge off Verto's neck.
Several warriors nearby protested loudly, "No Prelate Zeratul, don't let him live!"
"Do not worry my brothers, I don't intend to lose this fight. There is just as much to learn here for us as well as him!"
Zerg-Verto held his slightly burnt chin in surprise, "I hope you know that you will not get a chance like that again! The warm-up is over!" Zeratul nodded slightly, easing his blade into a ready position.
-
Zerg-Verto fired a small volley of ki blasts at Zeratul first before charging towards him a few feet above ground, a ki powered fist ready to take his head off. Zeratul avoided each blast and vanished completely once Verto arrived. Verto skidded to a stop and scanned with his senses, energy sense more than anything. He was quite surprised to sense no trace of Zeratul, much like before back at Zasz's cave. Seeing he was wide open for an attack, he jumped into the air and hovered about fifteen feet up, watching and waiting. A small green energy ball came flying at him from directly below, and he dodged out of the way quickly. Several more followed before they stopped, he still couldn't sense where the source was.
"C'mon Zeratul! Do you have to use something this cheap? If you want I'll end it now!" Verto said, drawing his hands back for a finishing blast. Zeratul suddenly reappeared about fifty feet away on the ground, staring straight at Verto with his arms at their span in a horizontal position, his blade turned off by the looks of it.
"Giving up already? Fine then, say goodbye! Galic Gun…" Verto began. Zeratul began to glow bright blue like he was powering up something.
"Give it your best shot old timer!" Verto dared while letting his blast continue to charge in his hands. Suddenly he detected Zeratul's Psi energy emerge and surround him in the air, bouncing around unstable.
"So the Psi Storm trick? Ain't gonna work on me!" Verto declared, ready to fire his blast. Suddenly he got very cold in an instant, and his body quit moving just as a blurry blue glass-like substance surrounded him, his blast shut off immediately. What the hell is this, I can't move!
The Protoss warriors were cheering. "Excellent Master Zeratul, you caught him with your Stasis Technique!" one announced. Stasis technique, must be handy. Now how the hell am I going to get out of it? Zerg-Verto thought as he struggled to move an inch, or breathe for that matter.
"Only a foolish warrior charges in unprepared to face an unknown enemy, perhaps that will be a lesson learned in your venture to the next world!" Zeratul declared as his sword then flashed on again, coming towards him. Verto then started powering up to try and blow the ice off, seeing the ice turn white in the light of his aura.
"What is this?" Zeratul asked.
"It appears he is drawing up all of his energy in an attempt to free himself. Quite foolish since he will burn it all up in the process!" another Dark Templar said from the sidelines.
Zeratul shook his head, "No, this boy has been able to channel his powers for quite some time. I suspect this may be a way to use them to strengthen his own body. His anatomy is much denser than a normal Terran, fascinating." Verto then started to melt the ice under his powerup and pushed outwards with his ki, blowing it off and powering up to his maximum power in normal form, aura flowing freely and occasionally seeing a lightning bolt go through it.
"It's impossible to break the Stasis Field, isn't it?" a Zealot asked.
"Not impossible, remember it doesn't last that long. That ice is made mostly of energy and partially of water vapor, thus anyone caught within it could feasibly use their own energy to break down the field at a higher rate of decay. So any enemy in there too long can possibly find a way out or just wait patiently," Zeratul explained, not bothering to notice that Verto was taking mental notes. He stepped forward with a grin as his ki dried him off a bit.
"Cool technique old man, however, it wont work again!" Verto claimed.
"Whoever said I would use it again now, you've proven it to be fruitless. I'll show you another one though if you like, though you may not survive it!" Zeratul dared.
"I'm growing bored with your boasting, its time to put up or shut up!" Verto declared, charging his Galic Gun with every intention to make it final. With most of the Protoss base and troops at his back, Zeratul put one hand forward and created a small white energy ball to counter it. Verto sensed it was a Psi blast, but had an unusually low power behind it. Deciding not to play around, he charged enough ki that it would completely blow it over along with Zeratul and the most of the base.
"Do it Verto! Quit wasting time and kill them all now for me!" the Overmind ordered through his mental link.
"I'll do it, but certainly not for you!" he answered back, firing the giant beam. The beam wasted little time in advancing on Zeratul, who still sat back calmly and released his tiny Psi ball towards the beam of death. The two collided and Verto watched his beam struggle a bit, so he added more power quickly. The white Psi ball increased in size and absorbed the ki power from the beam, advancing faster and getting bigger.
What the hell kind of technique is that? Verto wondered, as he sensed no extra release from Zeratul. He shut off his beam and watched the ball get rather big, then suddenly shrink down to where it was before once all the power from his beam was gone, shimmering slightly and slowing coming towards him. Zerg-Verto cocked his head slightly in confusion, until the ball suddenly advanced quickly as Zeratul edged it forward with a mighty shout.
"FEEDBACK!" The ball hit Verto and vanished instantly. Verto looked at himself, unscathed, before laughing slightly.
"What the hell was that supposed to be? Yeah, it looked flashy, but come on! Your fists worked better than that did! You are a crafty old one, but it's time to put you to bed!" Verto shouted, powering up again. Once his aura appeared, he suddenly dropped to his knees in pain. White lightning surrounded his body and struck through it constantly, causing him to stop and shake a little at each bolt. It covered him head to toe and stabbed through every part of him.
"W-What?" he asked. Zeratul walked up slowly with a menacing looking glare, but said nothing. Verto tried to power up again, but his body shifted and jolted him again in more pain the more he tried. The white lightning around him increased in intensity when this happened.
"What the hell was…was that?" he asked himself while struggling.
"A technique designed to stop those with too much power from becoming worse than a cold-blooded murderer. The more power you try to use, the more your body will damage itself until you either die or change your ways!" Zeratul explained calmly. Verto heard this too late and tried to power up all the way to Super Mystic, screaming in pain as his hair flashed silver once before his power dropped again. There must be some counter to this, but what? He thought as he cringed and continued to struggle while Zeratul and the other Protoss looked on.
-
Kerrigan and Daggoth looked on from their respective places, neither really liking what they were seeing.
"I told you Daggoth, this Dark Templar's abilities are obviously more than he can handle!" Kerrigan said.
Daggoth was slightly surprised at this turn in events, "Incredible though isn't it? The Templar's powers are far weaker than the boy's, yet still manages to take him down with minimal effort. No wonder the Overmind wanted them gone so quickly!"
"Yeah, enough staring Daggoth. What shall we do about this?" Neither got to answer that question, until orders came in from another.
"Kerrigan, Daggoth, it's obvious the boy is far to weak to handle these Dark Templar on his own. I may have put too much faith in his limited ability, unleash the entire swarm upon these Protoss fools! Show them the fury of the Zerg!" Both gasped slightly at this sudden order, but executed it all the same. The thousands of Zerg in the surrounding area started moving in. Alarms blared all over the Protoss base as soldiers scattered back to their respective stations, many getting ready to fight off the Zerg in the open, others in between large buildings. The Zerg air forces began to swarm in the air, turning the sky into shades of purple and blue. Since Kerrigan and Daggoth had been sidelined for a time, they had been able to call upon their other Hive clusters to send in reinforcements to add to their own, making a substantial force. The Protoss base came alive with Psi powered laser beams and energy balls pouring into the sky, striking many Zerg but also missing many. Whatever did strike the flyers turned them into falling carcasses. Those bounced off some of the building shields, but crushed Protoss soldiers because of the weight. Overlords dropped ground troops in before they were shot down and soon it was a war zone all over the base.
Zeratul and the incapacitated Zerg-Verto remained at the ground entrance, Verto still struggling from the Feedback technique. Zeratul looked on, confused slightly.
"Tell me child, were you always this evil?" Zeratul asked. Verto managed to glance at him with his own confused look.
"Yes at one time I was a pacifistic weakling, not quite sure how I got so much power from that boring life. That big ugly octopus let me out into the real world for some fresh air, and that wimpy goody two-shoes is gone forever," he said, still trying to at least get to his hands and knees. The other Dark Templar looked on as Zeratul was trying to think this out. Then the Zerg ground forces came rushing in from the valley, something Verto had not noticed yet.
"What, no! This is my fight, stay out of it!" Verto shouted angrily. The white lightning erupted even worse when he growled at the Zerg. Some of the Dark Templar and Zealots rushed past him to take on the Zerg, engaging Kerrigan's ground forces not a tenth of a mile away.
"Damnit! You will pay for interrupting a Saiyan's battle! I'll kill you myself!" Verto snarled again as he caught full look at the base being beaten on. Another Templar came running up, and Verto caught a familiar look of him.
"Prelate Zeratul, our base has taken heavy damage, we must escape before the Zerg overwhelm us. Our pylon clusters will not be able to keep the auto defense systems up for long!"
"Fine, Artanis, order the evacuation. We shall escape through the mountain passes and caves, meet up in area six-zero-four!" Artanis nodded and headed off while Zeratul looked back at the grounded Verto, who was barely struggling with the deadly technique now. He was looking more like a defeated warrior who was waiting for the finishing blow.
"Damn Zerg, better hope I don't live or I'll blow them all to Hell and back!" he whispered loudly. Zeratul caught this little declaration and seemed to think it over.
"I thought you were allied with the Overmind, or is this more of a control that it has over you?" he asked. Verto glanced up, not truly caring what this Dark Templar believed, but was also willing to give a truthful answer.
"Apparently your old ears missed it earlier. I despise the Overmind and the Zerg, something that has not changed since being freed from my cage so to speak. I am none too fond of you Protoss either. My, other self, suffered at your hands and it was passed on to me," he explained in a pitiful tone. Other Dark Templars ran up to Zeratul, waiting on his orders.
"We must escape Prelate Zeratul, the Zerg will have this base completely overrun in a matter of minutes and we will not be able to escape without notice. We should either finish off the boy or leave him for the Zerg!"
"It's not him they are after, but in any case…" Zeratul started to say, bringing his blade to Verto's neck. Verto closed his eyes, waiting for the killer blow. Zeratul's green blade flashed once and the white energy that was shocking and crippling Verto then lifted and flashed into the sword. Zeratul then snapped his hand to the right, shooting the white ball into the mountainside and making it dissipate.
"No Prelate, don't let him go!" Upon hearing this Verto was on his feet in an instant, looking himself over and scanning his own energy. It was completely fine like nothing had happened at all.
"But, why did you let me go?" he asked. Zeratul didn't answer, as a pack of Zerglings came up from behind the group. Verto noticed them first, and snarled in rage. One ki beam took care of the small pack before he turned and saw the swarm that was either attacking or circling the air above the base. Verto powered up and screamed in anger, shooting up to Super Mystic and blasting off into the air. Zeratul watched in curiosity as several large explosions went off as the Protoss buildings were destroyed. In the air however, Verto was tearing through Zerg that wouldn't fight him back, making the ability to kill them become even faster. He probably used his hands and feet to kill several hundred of them in a few minutes before descended about halfway to the ground and stopping. His aura relit and expanded into a large field of clear energy that encircled him and expanded outwards rapidly into a large sphere. It passed through nearly all of the Zerg in the base and stopped at the canyon walls, not ten feet away from Zeratul and the Dark Templar, but missing them. The field vanished just as all of the Zerg suddenly dropped to the ground and died, many of the weaker Zerg strains simply exploded on the spot and showered their area in blood.
"What incredible power this boy has," Zeratul noted as he retracted his hand from feeling the concentrated energy ahead of him.
"We should be leaving Prelate Zeratul, there are still many more Zerg around and most of our forces have either perished or escaped!"
Zeratul nodded, "Yes of course, let's get going!" The small troop started towards a small cave on the sidewall of the canyon, which was littered with many Zerg and some Protoss bodies. They were just a few feet from the cave when Verto dropped in behind them, still in his Super Mystic state and looking like he had seen better mood swings. His eyes were flashing bright blue every few seconds and his determined face looked even more deadly. He held up his palm and charged a teal-green energy blast, one being mixed of ki and Psi. Unless Zeratul had another trick up his sleeve, it would kill them for sure. Zeratul stepped back towards him and stared at him hard, a glare in which Verto returned without firing.
After a minute of silent treatment Zeratul dared to speak up, "Well, what is it going to be then boy?" Verto gave him another hard stare, but this time dropped out of Super Mystic and lowered his hand.
"Do what you wish, that's one for one. I'll maintain honor for this time only, but don't expect any mercy next time!" With that said Verto took off into the air in the general direction of Kerrigan's hive cluster.
"I still believe that boy to be an enemy Prelate," one Dark Templar said softly.
"For now yes, however his objectives may be the same as ours. He is definitely the source of the Psionic distress call we picked up on. We may have been too late to help him for now, but he may yet prove to be a strong ally in the future. Let us depart before more Zerg arrive!" The group then entered the mountain cave and vanished into the darkness.
Next time on DBV: The Overmind grants Zerg-Verto another chance at destroying the Dark Templar, and he rests and prepares for the next onslaught. Meanwhile, the Z fighters continue their journey through space and stumble upon a transmission from the Protoss home world regarding Aldaris. Whatever the evil Templar has in mind, it can't be good, next time!