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 25: Second Chance

"As misguided as you are about your Saiyan pride and honor, Verto, I didn't fully expect you to defeat all of those Protoss on your own. I needn't remind you of that battle!" The Overmind began, surprisingly gentle sounding. Kerrigan was expecting an explosion; Daggoth was expecting an instant death and Zerg-Verto didn't know what to expect. All of them were slightly surprised at what he said next.

"All in all, you will be given a second chance. Your miscued assault against our forces also destroyed many of the worthless Protoss at the time and severely cut them down to minuscule numbers, scattered and defeated. You will find them close to an old stone watchtower carved by this planet's previous inhabitants. Exterminate them immediately and you may yet keep your free will. Failure will result in severe punishment!" These words brought relief to Kerrigan, until Verto answered without thinking it over.

"Like you could punish me you overgrown shitbird!" He was instantly bent over in paralyzed pain.

"Do not assume that your powers will save you every time, you still have a lot to learn, boy!" After a minute or two of agony, the hold was lifted and the connection was cut, ending with Kerrigan helping Verto up. He brushed her off once on his feet, but didn't lash out.

"Okay, where's the stone tower at?" he asked right away.

"Hold on Verto, you're not in any shape to go now! Your power supply is too exhausted now, you may deny it but I can sense it! You should rest for at least a day before going out there!" she suggested.

"Apparently your senses don't work. I have more than enough power to fight them all twice, plus your little swarm of bugs!" he claimed. Kerrigan frowned but didn't retaliate.

"Perhaps you don't sense anything wrong. That would be because of how fast the Zerg cells regenerate your ki power. However your Psi energy is different and takes some time to build up again since you still aren't used to it, despite what you say. Your ki alone may not be enough against the Dark Templar, and you should never rush into any battle unprepared, unlike last time," she emphasized the last few words, making him frown harder.

"Fine, is there anything decent to eat around here?" he asked.

Interlude: Tassadar's ship

"Well, how long till we get there?" The Saiyan prince asked for the fifteenth time that day. Krator frowned at his impatience, but he was getting used to it.

"Just about twenty-two hours from now, give or take a few minutes!" he said a little loud, getting Vegeta's attention but not holding it.

"Inform me when twenty-two hours are up, I'll be training until then! Come on you two!" Vegeta said to Fasha and Tora, who had been training with him for that day. Over the past few months she had primarily been at his side most of the time, mostly because he demanded it. Why was a good question, she didn't know. It certainly wasn't for anything abnormal other than hard training.

"Sire, we will be able to save the kid?" Tora asked.

"I don't know, we'll find out when we get there. Kakarot mentioned an evil presence within his energy, however yesterday he sensed it was a little more pure than before, meaning lacking a Zerg influence. I can only guess that the Overmind is having trouble controlling him, assuming he is at all," Vegeta said, looking a little concerned.

"Should we confront him, will we need to kill him, or simply get him down and out?" Tora asked, glancing at Fasha who stiffened a little.

"Simply getting him down and out may not work. But he isn't as strong as Kakarot and myself at Super Saiyan three, never mind Gohan, and there is always fusion for you and Bardock. I'd say there is little to worry about as long as he doesn't try to blow up the planet. I am more concerned with the possibility of fighting him and all of the Zerg at the same time. Tassadar mentioned more Cerebrates were now active. There are not that many Protoss warriors on this ship, so that may become a problem. But after what we saw out of Gohan back on Earth, they will be quickly nullified should they attack."

"What about me sir? I can fight to!" Fasha said, completely missing the point.

"I don't doubt your ability girl, however the emotional baggage that will get involved will not allow you to fight him. His full power is once again higher than yours by quite a bit, you will not join us in battle!" Vegeta said sharply.

Fasha kept her head down to this order while biting her lip, "Yes sir!" Vegeta noticed the reaction and anticipated it, fumbling with his gloves momentarily.

"So when we get there, should we go out and search first?" Tora asked as Gohan came walking up.

"What's up guys?" Gohan asked.

Vegeta ignored his rival's son, "No need, he will more than likely come to us. We should however protect the ship as best we can, it'll be our only ride off that rock!"

"Oh, are you guys talking about what to do with Verto?" Gohan asked the obvious.

"What gave it away boy?" Vegeta sneered.

"Well, you guys might want me to handle that. Dad and I felt him get up to full power yesterday and I think he may be higher than Dad and you at Super Saiyan three!" Vegeta growled slightly at the fact that Gohan had the nerve to point that out in front of other Saiyans, but didn't argue the point.

"It doesn't matter, he can't take us all by any means!" Vegeta claimed.

"I don't know Vegeta, if he's partially Zerg now then he might be able to regenerate himself very quickly. Borgos was like that, honestly I think Verto was lucky to kill him!" Gohan countered.

"Well then, boy, I guess it's all on your shoulders now isn't it? Careful not to choke under the pressure!" Vegeta mocked back, shutting Gohan up as they entered the gravity room. He carefully pulled his armor off so he was only wearing his spandex suit. Dropping the armor at a bench, he then removed a small vial of blue fluid from his gloves. He glanced back at Fasha to see if she was looking before placing the vial under his armor.

-

Back on the bridge, Krator was going over the latest scans of Char, getting a little confused on how many Psionic signatures he was picking up.

"Executor, I am getting a high number of Psionic sources from Char but lower in energy output. My guess is that some of our brethren are there now!" Tassadar glanced up at this and seemed to think it over.

He stood up, "Krator, tap into the Protoss communications network and scan for any and all distress calls sent out from Char! Let's see how many have been recently sent!" The computers beeped for a few seconds.

"I've got two different ones, one of them was from an escape pod from Aldaris' ship after he left, requested interdimensional recall back to Auir at the earliest possible time. We haven't detected his ship for several days so that must have been granted. The other was sent...yesterday? Checking identification number, sent by Praetor Artanis!"

"Artanis, I should have known he would get involved sooner or later. More than likely he answered Aldaris' distress call and tried to take on the Zerg with his own fleet. As young and stalwart as he is, he is still naïve. Was there any response from Auir on this?" Tassadar asked.

"Yes there was, sent by Aldaris, it says find your own way home!" Krator read off.

"Humph, it figures he would turn his back on another just he did us. Anything else in there Krator?" Tassadar asked again.

"One more thing, there is a special coronation ceremony being held on Auir today!"

"Coronation? Of who?"

"High Executor...? Aldaris?!"

"Patch it in, and record it for the Saiyans, they may want to see it! I'd call them back up here now, but I've had about all I can stand of Prince Vegeta for today," Tassadar sighed.

"He is quite impatient isn't he? Coming in now sir!" Krator said.

Interlude: Aldaris' rule

"Fellow comrades, the day has come for the Conclave's rule to end! Their dictatorship is costing us this war against the Zerg. They are always…no that's not it, damnit. What is a good speech for this type of event?" Aldaris asked himself in his private quarters. The past week didn't start off too good, but finished flawlessly. His defeat at the hands of Verto was hard to stomach. His artificial arm and leg constantly reminded him of the fight, and left a new thought process in his head. His body would never be able to compensate for Saiyan strength, nor would he be able to use it well anymore. He knew that he was very fortunate that he had that much left after he saw what the boy could have done to him. He didn't care though, he had been mastering his powers as of late, and now he felt he could take the Saiyan and the Zerg by himself, no contest. He knew he could strengthen himself to be more than fast enough, at least to dodge the heavier attacks. He just needed to remember not to let his guard down and keep the heat on his enemies; otherwise he could be beaten again. Mastering his powers again took its toll on his crew though, as he blew up their small ship while experimenting. He managed to get to an escape pod before the hyper drive blew up, no doubt partially because of Frost's little gift to them. On the pod however, he could use the long-range transmitter without fear of it blowing up. This got him an inter-dimensional recall back to Auir in no time.

Once back on Auir, he set about sewing the seeds of his own ascension to ruling power. At first the Conclave were accepting him into a new seat on their council, until he mentioned replacing Chancellor Zorbon as the Conclave leader and spokesperson. Many guards were called to remove Aldaris from the chamber at that time. After they were vaporized, the council was a little more willing to listen to what he had to say. Now the ceremony to crown himself High Executor was about to commence, but he was struggling with making a speech, something rare for him.

"Great Aldaris, I have received word that the Conclave counsel has left the Senate. All of them have returned to their provinces and are stepping down it seems!" an aid said as he bowed and entered.

"What a shame, I was hoping they would stick around a little longer to see my rise and their fall. Pity they didn't want to wait for it!"

"What about the Zerg on Char? Shouldn't they be dealt with? After all, Praetor Artanis was well respected, and showed much devotion to your and Executor Tassadar's leadership!" Aldaris frowned when he heard Tassadar's name.

"Artanis was a loyal subject, however he has always followed Tassadar's teachings. As a follower of Tassadar, he must be terminated. I shall let the Zerg handle that on that barren planet. As for the Zerg, their time will come. I will personally see that our great fleets are ready to destroy them soon enough. However today is different! The grand celebration of my ascension will not be tarnished with the taint of Tassadar!"

"What is the nature of these great powers you have developed?" the aid asked out of curiosity.

Aldaris frowned a bit, but shook it off, no doubt others were as interested as he had been. He had considered the possibility of teaching other Templars how to break the barriers of their own powers and access the true power of the Protoss. The only problem was that a lot of them were more talented than he was, and potentially more powerful. He didn't need other Protoss rising up to overthrow him, therefore he chose not to do this.

"They are ancient arts that I…acquired, in order to combat the Saiyans of Earth. They are very difficult to master and require much sacrifice! I am the only son of Auir that will be able to bear it! My artificial limbs are a testament to that, a lesser Templar would have died!" he lied.

"Ah, I understand. May your guidance lead us all to greatness!" the aid bowed again. Aldaris turned back to the mirror and contemplated his speech again, scowling when he noticed the aid hadn't left yet.

"Is that all?" he asked calmly.

"Pardon Great One, but if the Conclave has disbanded, that leaves only the High Executor in charge of the entire Protoss empire. Does it not?" the aid asked.

Aldaris grinned, "Why it does! Pity!"

-

A couple of hours later, Aldaris stood in the middle of the very large Senate dome. He was surrounded by thousands of Protoss of all kinds. Mostly high Templar nobles, many Zealot warriors as well as Dragoon guards. He himself was buzzing with excitement, even more so when he saw that eight seats in front were vacant, those belonging to the Conclave members of each of the upper Protoss tribes on Auir. Despite his distaste for lesser Protoss tribes that weren't all that high on nobility, wealth and power, he knew that he would have to appeal to them if he were to win the support of the people of Auir as a whole. He waited for the entire Senate to fill up, as it would be inappropriate to start without as many as possible. It amused him that there was still a Senate, despite the fact that the Conclave was the ruling body. More often than not the Senate suggested an improvement to standing law, only for the Conclave to reject it within a few minutes. Many higher voices objected to their dictatorship-like rule for years, but with all of the tribes of Auir involved in the Conclave, it would never be disbanded without a massive civil war. Before that happened though, the Zerg appeared, and that united the Protoss. Even though they still had some general border disputes from time to time, all of which were taken care of by the Conclave after their formation. Aldaris smiled, he would now truly unite them. He held his arms to quiet the crowd, in which they did right away.

"Citizens of Auir, Protoss all around the sector on colonized worlds! As many of you know, I have become the first High Executor in many centuries. This is due to another lacking ruling body that simply cannot rule our race any longer!" The crowd grew very silent at these words.

"For centuries our people have squabbled with each other even in peaceful times! The lower classes always arguing with the higher classes, and vice versa, and of course the middle class keep getting involved as well! We have never had much peace between our different tribes. The Conclave is no different! They are like another tribe that was supposed to interpret the wishes of the people, when all they gave rise to was their wealthy driven bureaucrats!" A few nods of disgust followed, some booing could be heard.

"It is their greedy lifestyle that is costing us the war against the Terran Dominion and the Zerg! As the Terrans and Zerg fight it out in the Koprulu Sector, one fact has become clear to me about their victories against ourselves and against their other enemies. Before the Terran Dominion came to be, the Terran Confederacy and the oppressed colonies were very weak and vulnerable. Mengsk's defeat of the Confederacy and the unification caused the balance of power to shift in their favor. Our countless victories over the Zerg became erratic at best thanks to the interference of the Terrans. The reason is because the Terrans and Zerg are one unified force fighting one another rather than a bunch of squabbling tribes trying to best each other. They fight for their entire race, and thus can gain ultimate victory even in the face of overwhelming power. That is what we must do, we must fight as one unified race!" A deafening cheer suddenly erupted and Aldaris smiled, he knew he had done it.

"As of this day I declare that all tribes are disbanded and all of Auir shall be under one banner! No Protoss shall make war on another, we will crush our enemies and traitors beneath our feet like common waste. Nothing will compare to our overwhelming might, the Zerg and the Overmind will finally be destroyed and the Terrans will be eliminated in my name!"

The crowd then shouted together in a makeshift chant, "Hail High Executor Aldaris, HAIL!"

-

Tassadar pressed a button and cut the transmission, disgusted.

"He's really done it now hasn't he, but the only thing this will lead to is a massacre. He will be leading them all to their own deaths," he mused.

Krator looked a little confused, "But Executor, if all of Auir unites against the Zerg, their forces will be decimated under the combined might of our great fleets!"

"You're missing the point, do you recall the ancient history of the wars with the Zerg?" Tassadar asked his assistant.

"Of course sire, it's a required study at the Citadels of Adun!"

"Then you might recall the time in which Auir was united against the Zerg, and which a massive attack was made against the Overmind and its swarm. Did you study that?"

Krator looked indifferent, "It was a lesson on not to underestimate the Zerg, as the entire grand fleet vanished after engaging the Zerg. One Protoss tribe was exiled from Auir on belief of sabotage, but I know not of which one!"

"That is close to correct. The story is thus: The swarms were crushed by the superior firepower of the grand fleet under High Executor Vermillio, an interesting name chosen for a Protoss mind you. That aside, the Overmind was pinned down and hit constantly but it just would not die. Then something strange happened, all of the Zerg that had been destroyed were then revived all over the planet and in space. In an organized battle, the grand fleet would win easily. However the Zerg appeared everywhere, even between ground soldiers. In essence the fleet destroyed itself by friendly fire. However, the High Executor still believe the battle to be won, and pressed the remaining fleet to kill the Overmind. The tribe in question protested furiously and left that planet in search of another way to kill it. Their tribe was banished from Auir on rule of the Conclave, never to be seen again, and their existence was erased from the ancient history of the Protoss. This is probably why you had never heard of them. I was very young when I heard of it from an elder."

Krator was beyond confused now, and had a few questions now, "Why is Vermillio such a strange name for a Protoss warrior and who were the other tribe? Why was their existence erased from the Templar archives?"

"In the Ancient language of Adun, Vermillion means on the verge of collapse, or at the breaking point. All of which nearly describes what has happened to our race since that fateful day a thousand years ago. Funny thing is that Aldaris is a direct descendant of Vermillio. As for the tribe in question...well, there is much to tell there. They were not quite the same as most Protoss, they were more like distant relation, but were similar enough in beliefs, honor and attitude. They were superior warriors to all other tribes and many believed that if they had stayed with the High Executor, the Overmind would have been long since destroyed. Even though it probably would not have mattered. As I said it was difficult to refer to them as simply Protoss or Templar. Their energies were very different to ours, and yet similar, like a missing link was discovered. They were called the Dark Templar!"

-

Light years away, upon the planet Char, the Overmind stirred under the transmission, "Yes Aldaris! You...you and your race will soon be mine. You have now made it easier for me. As I expected, your flawed race will unite under your banner, and then fall at my feet! I shall come for you soon! First...I have some Saiyans to deal with!"

A/N: Oh, Aldaris has done it now hasn't he? Can anyone say 3-way war, AGAIN?

Koprulu Sector- a vast area of space where the Terran and Zerg colonies are, including most of the Dominion and planet Char. Auir is in another Sector nearby, hidden from the other two races.

Vermillion- it actually means the color Red according to the dictionary. The song is epic though, and the song is just the way it sounds: On the verge of collapse.

Next time on DBV: Good Verto awakens inside of his own mind and encounters the Cerebrate once again. The Cerebrate helps him understand what has occurred and he attempts to figure out how to escape this prison. Evil Verto proceeds to seek out the Protoss and destroy them, unaware that his counterpart has awoken.