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 31: The Overmind's New Weapon
Zerg-Verto was flying away from the battle as quickly as he possibly could, despite being very tired. He hadn't expected that kind of emotional reaction to hit him. He remembered Fasha from Verto's memories, but he had forgotten about the bond they shared. Her face was enough of a reminder, never mind her voice. For that reason he left the battlefield as quickly as possible, he didn't want to risk hurting her. If he had, the emotional bond would tear him apart from the inside out and he knew it. He also feared that since he would be beyond enraged, his other self might find a way to break out and expel him. He was so focused on the sight of her that he didn't detect something flying straight at him in the air. Whatever it was, it packed a powerful blow to the back of the head, grounding him to his stomach right away. Verto cursed inwardly as he picked himself up and scanned the skies. He didn't detect anything there, but quickly picked up on something directly behind him. His tail however then straightened out and became stiff just as a huge wave of pain put him back to the ground like a bad case of gravity.
"You have failed me once again Verto, and for that you will suffer pain beyond pain!" Verto growled a bit when heard the Overmind's voice in his mind.
"You don't understand, I can't destroy them now. If that girl gets hurt or gets killed then this body will no longer be yours. I guarantee that!" Verto warned through his thoughts.
"Your race's emotional bonds mean nothing to me! Your orders to terminate the Dark Templar were not followed and now you were unable to dispose of your Saiyan friends despite superior power. I have no room for subordinates that cannot follow their orders just because of emotional attachment!"
Verto snorted slightly despite being pinned to the ground by paralysis, "Go ahead and kill me then, they'll just wish me back. Free of your control!"
"Kill you? My boy, death is too good for you! Your punishment will make death seem like a blessing, I promise you that!" the Overmind chuckled in his thoughts.
"What are you planning to do then, beat me within an inch of my life? Good luck finding someone who can do that!" Verto replied, suddenly picturing a bunch of Zerglings trying to beat on him.
It was the Overmind's turn to be creative though, "No, my boy, you don't understand how far down your Zerg genes can go. Do you recall that the sensitivity genes for your tail were toned down a bit? They are now fully active. One little pinch will put you down from now on. Not only that, but I do have someone who can and will beat you to the edge of life over and over again until you realize the futility of your ways. He will also dispose of your Saiyan friends for me after he's done with you. I promise that you will be wishing for death within an hour. Now get up and receive your punishment from my knight!" the Overmind commanded. Verto's tail then released its hold, allowing him to get up. He took a slight breath and turned to see whom the Overmind had sent out.
His eyes popped wide open immediately, "You?! But...You're dead?!"
Interlude 31.1: Saiyans
"Welcome back my friends, did you have success in finding Verto out there? We detected your energy levels rising up and down, so we assumed there was quite a battle going on. How did it go?" Tassadar asked when Vegeta and the others touched down. He had been waiting for them outside the ship as a few of his probes were setting up some photon cannons for protection.
"Yeah, we found him, infested and all. He's gotten stronger since we left Earth, fortunately, so has Gohan. I'm sorry to say that only Gohan was able to beat him," Tora began, getting quite a glare from Vegeta.
"So you were forced to kill him then?" Tassadar dared to ask.
"No, when he saw Fasha he ran off. We believe that his dark side may have emerged as a dominant personality, but the rebellious instincts of a Saiyan are still there. I doubt the Overmind can control him at all. He still claims to despise the Zerg just as much as us. I think if we give him enough time that he will break away on his own. I sensed that the Verto we know is still in there somewhere," Gohan explained.
"That is because the real Verto is in there, and he is trying to get out!" a voice said from thin air. Everyone was startled by this sudden voice until it revealed itself from an invisible cloak. All at once Tassadar's Zealot guards turned on their Psi blades.
"Hey you're that girl, name's…"Gohan began.
"Kerrigan!" Tassadar said with pure distaste in his voice. The Zealots were stepping towards her with intent to exterminate before she put up her hands.
"I'm not here to fight with you! You must understand I came here on Verto's behalf, to make you realize what is going on!" she said in truth. The Saiyans seemed ready to listen, but not the Protoss.
"Your vile ways infect everything around you. Go back to your master before we send you to meet him!" Krator warned, a large Psi blade just dripping for action.
"Be silent Protoss, your kind's interference have caused enough chaos surrounding that young boy!" she shouted back. Krator stepped forward to silence her permanently, but Gohan stood between them.
"Hey you two, knock it off. Let's listen to what she has to say!" he said, giving a warning glance to both sides.
"Fine. But once you've said what you came to say, be gone from this place!" Tassadar barked at her.
"Can't wait," she wryly muttered before taking a seat on the ground. Gohan and Goku sat down as well, though the others remained standing. She then relayed the story surrounding Verto and the Cerebrate's failed fusion and how the evil one broke out due to the Overmind's influence. The other Saiyans were shocked at this, but the Protoss believed Verto to be completely under Zerg control.
"You don't understand, the Cerebrate he was fused with was sent here to be Verto's guide. I don't know who sent him, but the only link it had to the Overmind was the form of life it was given. Together, we had planned on getting Verto's new training done very quickly so he could rise up against the Overmind, but it seems that he already knew about it and used it to his advantage. The added Psi of the Cerebrate was to be used to destroy the creature, but I'm not sure he will use it that way. This evil version of Verto made a deal with the Overmind to be set free after the Protoss were destroyed on Auir!" Kerrigan explained further.
Tassadar now looked indifferent about this, "The Overmind does not know where our home world is Kerrigan, nor will it ever know until it is sent to Hell!"
Kerrigan glared at the Templar, "How little you know Tassadar! A tracking bug was planted on Aldaris' ship shortly before he escaped here about ten days ago!"
"Aldaris?!" Gohan suddenly said, almost enraged.
Kerrigan's alarmed look didn't last. "Yes, he was here, and Verto managed to beat him and even took a few limbs from him before he left!"
Vegeta grunted slightly, "I know the boy isn't that weak. Why didn't he finish the job?"
"I see that the arrogance of the Protoss has further rubbed off onto you Vegeta, or are you naturally that way? Aldaris has discovered how to use Psi the same way your kind uses ki. Verto was barely able to beat him and couldn't give chase because he was so exhausted after the battle!" she pointed out.
"What?!" just about everyone shouted at once.
Tassadar looked concerned, "So I was right. If Aldaris can really generate his energy like our friends here, he would be able to destroy just about anything in his path!" Vegeta had a truly disbelieving look to him at the moment, as did Tora.
"Correct, the main reason Verto was able to beat him was for two reasons. First Aldaris foolishly thought that he should use mixed energies like Verto and Gohan can, which then decreased his power because his Psi is so high in comparison and he couldn't balance it. The other reason is because Verto found out about what happened on Earth right before he escaped, I don't think I need to elaborate on that," Kerrigan explained. Several grunts and grimacing nods followed; Gohan's face had retreated to a depressed state.
"Then...Aldaris should have recovered by now. The Overmind wouldn't dare go to Auir even if he found its location. That kind of power would obliterate his broods!" Krator said.
"Well, he wasn't planning on going to Auir yet, and I believe Aldaris managed to get an interdimensional recall from an escape pod rather than using the ship's transmitter. But another of your kind managed to not only kill a Cerebrate, but in the process reveal Auir's location to the Overmind!" Kerrigan said with condensed dislike in her voice.
"Who would do that?" Tassadar asked.
"The Dark Templar!"
-
"I thought the Dark Templar were long extinct. I'm surprised to learn that some of them still live even now! It makes sense though," Tassadar said in wonder after Kerrigan explained what was going on with the Dark Templar and why they were there. Not to mention how Zasz had been killed, Gohan and the other Saiyans were very interested in that.
"So to kill the Overmind all I have to do is use a really strong mixed energy attack. Sounds easy enough!" Gohan said, standing now.
"Wait Gohan, you shouldn't go now, you should regain all of your power before we head out!" Goku said, holding his shoulder down.
"Yeah, we could head out in a few days when you're well rested!" Bardock suggested.
"No, don't go anywhere near the Overmind!" Kerrigan warned.
"Why not wench, afraid we will kill your precious master? Or that all of your pet Zerg will die off as a result?" Vegeta said with a threatening glare.
Kerrigan rolled her eyes at this, "No, it's not that. It's for your own good. First off I'm not sure that Gohan has enough to do it, and the Overmind has something, or should I say someone that will kill you if you attack it. Trust me, you don't want to attempt it. I'm not sure even Gohan and Verto combined could beat this guy now that the Overmind has him!" she warned.
"Who is it?" Goku asked. Kerrigan was about to tell them when she suddenly felt the energy levels around the planet shift around.
"Damnit, my time is up. I have to go before he realizes where I am. Don't worry about Verto right now, I'm sure he will break away from the Overmind's grip if you give him time. I suggest you let me handle it for now. I will contact you telepathically if there is anything you need to know. Farewell!" Kerrigan said as she promptly vanished into thin air and left the area undetected. All of the Saiyan's senses then perked up on a distant energy level flaring up.
"Hey, that's Verto! He feels much weaker than before, what's he fighting?" Goku asked. No one seemed to know until another power level popped up, much higher and even more vicious in feeling.
"Whoa, feel that. Man, what power!" Gohan said.
"I think it's as high as your Super Mystic form, but who is it? Whoever it is, it's gonna beat Verto, no problem!" Tora pointed out.
"Then we should go help him!" Fasha shouted, ending her silence during the discussion.
"We will do no such thing girl, for all we know that thing is much stronger than Gohan and we may be walking into a trap. We need to plan things out first!" Vegeta barked as Fasha was rising into the air. She huffed and pouted slightly, but obeyed.
"Everyone lower your power levels. We don't need them tracing us here. Tassadar, do you have long range scanners strong enough to pick up any activity in this area, no matter how insignificant?" Vegeta asked, taking charge of the operation.
"Yes, we are in the process of setting up a massive detection field along with a large array of photon cannons. We may not be able to call for assistance, but nothing is going to get through without taking at least some damage!" he boasted.
"Good, I suggest we rest for now and train some as well. Tomorrow, we should look for your Dark Templar friends. Perhaps they can assist us against the Zerg!" Vegeta said in a surprising tone. The other Saiyans were somewhat stunned at the notion of their prince perhaps needed help from others, but then again a lot of things had changed lately. Not only that, but Vegeta was a brilliant tactician and it was the logical choice at the moment.
"Krator, get those cannons up within the hour! We don't need whatever is out there to come in without warning!"
"Yes, Executor!"
Interlude 31.2: Verto
I had been searching the black void that was my mind for a long time before I found anything. I stopped once when I sensed the other me get mad at Gohan and it gave me a chance to try to power up again. If anything it let the others know that I was still around, just stuck. After watching and sensing him get beaten, something I was very glad to see, my heart sank when I saw Fasha for the first time since I left her that morning on Earth. It was when we joined up with the Protoss to fight the Zerg that day. If it hadn't been for that creep Aldaris, none of this would have happened. I sighed in relief when my evil half ran off. I felt lucky that he had been aware of that bond that we shared. Shortly afterward, I found a bright blue column of light going from ground to sky, if that's what you call it. That's when I found the Cerebrate. He still held my shape and form to an extent, but he was trapped within that light, floating a little off the ground, yet out cold from the looks of it.
"Great, now what?" I asked aloud.
"Hey, about time you found me!" Cerebrate said from inside the blue light. It felt like all Psi to me, just as I expected.
"Well, you're a little late. When he stopped using my extra energy, this containment field shot up again. Until he gets angry again or tries to access my power, you're still stuck!" he said.
I frowned, "You spent all that time trying to tell me that I would have to figure out how to escape, now you tell me directly?" I asked in a low tone.
"Like I said, I never said I was going to make it easy for you. Plus I had to make you understand that you can't just do it at any time. It's easier my way than your way!" he said with a happy sounding tone that resembled Goku.
I shook my head in disarray, "What about all that crap you told me about the Overmind just waiting for me to try to take my body back, is that a load of shit as well?" I more shouted than asked.
"No, that can still happen, but like you sometimes I tend to be overly cautious!" he said with a grin.
"I'm not like that! And to think you were supposed to be a big part of my personality. Argh, what is the other me up to now? All I can see is the dirt!" I said, pointing at the viewing ball that I had placed on the ground.
"Place your hand on the force field and you can read his thoughts along with me!" I put my hand against the blue light, getting a solid feeling from it. When I touched it, I picked up a conversation between my evil self and the Overmind. An argument was going on about the previous battle and the viewing ball lit up sharply again when he powered up to challenge whoever the Overmind had sent out to nab him. When the viewing ball shifted upwards with his eyes, I swear I felt my body's blood run cold with fear.
"No...way..." I managed to stutter when I saw who it was.
Interlude 31.3 – Raynor's Raiders -
"That's it boys, get this baby repaired n' back to the base camp and we will be sitting pretty good!" Raynor said as he watched the manned SCV units work hard on the outer hull of his battle cruiser.
"Captain Raynor, the generators are repaired. The ship has enough power to try to start the engine once its repaired!" a soldier came to report. Raynor nodded at this, continuing to watch the progress. Sergeant Kline watched from a few feet away, still disgusted with the idea of helping this outlaw.
"How do you plan to get past the Zerg and escape the planet when we only have this one ship?" Kline asked with a sour tone to his voice.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing that all of you are assisting me then. Might get a little dicey," Raynor chuckled slightly.
"That wasn't meant as a joke, Captain Raynor! Answer the question!" Kline growled.
Raynor frowned slightly but didn't lead into it. "With any luck we will have some help from our Protoss friends on getting past the Zerg. The faster we get this done the faster we can go home!"
"You're going to ask for help from the Protoss? You might as well go try to take on all of the Zerg with this one ship, at least that makes a little more sense!" Kline said in surprise.
"They aren't as bad as they are made out to be, and they are mutual enemies of the Zerg. Besides, they already helped me out once. I plan to use this ship to return the favor. They have no way home right now and we are going to help them get home, or at least get off the planet. It beats trying to get back to Korhal with that lockdown that Duke more than likely has in place. You know what will happen should we try to get back there!" Raynor beamed slightly at Kline, who stared at the ground.
"Yeah, we will be shot down on appearance because of possible infestation by the Zerg. Any ship that is separated from the fleet on a Zerg controlled planet is to be destroyed right away, lockdown procedures," Kline mumbled out.
"There, you see," Raynor said in slight victory.
"Captain Raynor, what is that?!" a marine shouted from afar. The marine had been manning a small missile turret to watch out for any Zerg in the area, and had spotted a single flying figure a mile or two away. Everyone stopped to look at what he had pointed out. Raynor pulled up his binoculars to get a better look. He increased the magnification and got a good look at the figure. It was humanoid in shape, but had Zerg tissues covering it in places and its hair was a dark green color. That didn't really stand out too much, the fact that this creature had a furry tail and was flying very fast did. Raynor thought it was Verto for a second, but soon saw that this was an adult and had an evil grin the child couldn't possibly imitate if he tried.
"Should I shoot it down sir?" the soldier asked, arming the turret and locking on.
"No, don't, he hasn't seen us. Don't provoke him!" Raynor ordered as the marine stood ready.
"Do you know what that is?" Kline asked.
"No, but I've encountered something like it before though, and it's not something we should be messing with if we value our lives. Keep an eye out, but do not engage any targets without my order! We need to get this ship done and ready soon!" Raynor suggested. Kline grunted slightly and lazily wondered off into the ship. A small insect landed on his armor undetected as he went inside.
Interlude 31.4 - Tassadar and Vegeta -
"Executor, the defenses have been prepared as per your orders, your photon cannons are up and running!" Krator reported to Tassadar on the bridge of their carrier ship.
"Very good, now double the number of cannons that you set up," Tassadar ordered from the command chair.
"Are that many cannons necessary Executor? Surely it would take a great number of Zerg to get through all one hundred of them that we have set up!" Krator boasted.
"It's a precaution, judging by the energy levels we detected yesterday, we may have not seen the last of this Evil-Verto. Nor can we excuse the possibility of a stronger being out there. Even if that situation doesn't arise, it doesn't hurt to be prepared for it!" Tassadar explained.
"Of course Executor, I'll get right on it!" Krator bowed and left the bridge. Vegeta had been staring out one of the windows at the desolate land before turning around as Krator left.
"A wise course of action, however what we sensed would probably tear all of those little pee-shooters up with no problem!" he grunted. Tassadar would have rolled his eyes at the prince, but he probably wouldn't have detected it.
"We make due with what we have Prince Vegeta. Besides, they can detect any sort of movement or energy shift within twenty miles of this base, that is more than enough warning when we are at rest!" Vegeta grunted and turned back around, his way of agreeing to Tassadar's statement. The older Templar sighed and slumped slightly in his chair, he hadn't slept most of the night because of the prince's constant reminder that photon cannons probably wouldn't stop whatever was out there. What slightly alarmed Tassadar was the fact that he was probably right about that. Tassadar only hoped that Gohan could stop whoever or whatever this was; he was by far the strongest of their group. A loud beeping interrupted Tassadar's sigh of relief. One of his officers answered the beeping at the tactical station.
"Executor, we have a distress call coming in on audio only. It's coming from some sort of settlement about eight hundred miles away, a Protoss settlement!"
"Patch it in!" Tassadar ordered right away as Vegeta turned to listen himself.
"This is Praetor Artanis of the Protoss Armada, requesting assistance to anyone who can read this signal. We are being hit hard by the Zerg and we cannot hold out, this is a priority one distress call!" came the distressed Templar's voice.
Tassadar stood up, "Artanis, this is Tassadar, we read you loud and clear!"
"Executor, is it truly you? Praise Adun! We need your help right away! The Zerg are hitting us with numerous troops with many more on the way. They are here to destroy the Dark Templar, and we must not let this happen Executor! They are the key to defeating the Overmind! All of our transport spaceships have been destroyed and we are stranded out here. We have a few land transports, but not enough for all of us. Please come as soon as possible!" Artanis said in response, almost sounding desperate.
"Affirmative Artanis, transmit your coordinates. We should get there in about one hour, hold out as best you can!" Tassadar ordered.
"By the Kalah's will!" The transmission was then ended, with Vegeta releasing a massive grunt.
"Okay, start up the Gantrithor's engine, we are moving out!" Tassadar ordered as officers ran about to get to their stations.
"This is a bad idea Tassadar," Vegeta growled from the side of the bridge.
"And why is that?" the elder Templar sneered slightly.
"Because you risk destroying the only ship we have to get off this rock," Vegeta said, unfolding his arms.
"And what do you suggest we do then, we must help them!" Tassadar said.
"Yes, I know. The others and myself will go assist your friends. If these Dark Templar really know how to kill the Overmind than we must consult with them. However if you bring the ship we risk being stuck here for a long time. We will fly out there and arrive in a shorter amount of time! Besides, I suspect that we may see more than just Zerg out there," Vegeta said, heading for the elevator exit.
"Here, take this, this will identify yourselves to Artanis's troops and lead you to them as well!" Tassadar said, handing Vegeta a small computer pad. The Saiyan prince grunted at it before departing.
-
"We're almost there guys," Gohan said, following the direction on the computer pad that Vegeta had given to him to look after. All of the Saiyans had come with them to rescue the Protoss from the Zerg, so the journey there was quite fast as no one was flying below Super Saiyan.
"Where exactly are they from here? I don't see any sign of a settlement, just mountains and ash," Tora said, glancing around ahead of them.
"I'm sure all that we need to do is follow the trail of Zerg to know that, keep your blasts at a minimum until we do find them. We can ill afford to kill off these Dark Templar if they indeed have the key to kill the damned Overmind! Once we find them, terminate the Zerg quickly so we can return to the ship. I don't like the idea of leaving it out there without sufficient protection!" Vegeta ordered to everyone. It wasn't long after that they spotted a large group of Zerg flyers floating above what remained of a large statue carved out of a mountain. Below in the canyon were hundreds of groundlings, mostly the smaller Zerglings and Hydralisks, but there were a few of the larger elephant like Ultralisks roaming about. They were all trying to get in a smaller cave opening where several dozen Protoss troops were holding them off.
"Alright guys, I'll lure them away!" Gohan said as he tossed the computer pad to Vegeta before powering up and charging in first He quickly gained the sudden attention of the Zerg with some Psi output. He flew by and glanced back to see that the Zerg were indeed following him like zombies, the Protoss on the ground were soon left alone there. Gohan waited until the Zerg had come out of the canyon and into the wide open. He quickly dropped some of his ki level and then brought it out together with the Psi level, powering himself up to Super Mystic. The Zerg quickly stopped in wonder before charging at him again. Gohan released an invisible energy field around himself composed of mixed power that covered the lands and air where the Zerg were charging in. Once it expanded outward to engulf them all, he pushed it through all of them quickly. All of the Zerg that were stampeding towards him dropped dead where they were, some simply exploding as their bodies could not handle that type of energy being thrown at them, no matter how strong. He had learned how to do this back on Earth. It was as simple as powering up, just releasing more power out from himself. It was very similar to the technique Verto had used on his father, but greatly toned down and without the lightning. Gohan doubted that what he did would do much more than a minor shock to a normal human. Luckily the Zerg were extremely vulnerable to it. Once they were down and Gohan had scanned around to check for more, he powered back down and flew back to the canyon. There, Vegeta and the other Saiyans were talking with the Protoss. Vegeta handed them the computer pad that Tassadar had given them and it was transferred to a younger Templar that had emerged.
"I am Praetor Artanis, you are the same type of creatures that the infested boy is! You came here with Executor Tassadar?" Artanis asked.
"I take it you encountered him, that would explain why this mountain looks pretty ragged out. You don't know how lucky you are," Bardock said in observance.
"The mountains are nothing compared to some of the blood stained walls inside, where is Tassadar's ship?" Artanis asked.
"It's not coming, we flew out here ourselves and will return the same way. If you have some land transports you will need to come with us. Tassadar wants to meet these Dark Templar, as do I," Vegeta explained.
"We only have a few transports, not enough for one trip. Prelate Zeratul, leader of the Dark Templar awaits us inside. Come my friends, we shall gather ourselves before holding a grand celebration for the return of the true Executor Tassadar!" Artanis declared. All of the Saiyans then perked up to a sudden energy surge coming straight for them.
"Praetor, we are detecting a powerful energy signature coming straight for us, it's energy is similar to the boy we encountered! We should take shelter inside!" a zealot suggested.
Gohan got a better sense of things than they did, "No, get your land transports up and get ready to evacuate to Tassadar's ship. We will handle this!" he ordered the Protoss before ascending up the mountain side and jetting out towards the vast plain filled with dead Zerg. There he landed as the other Saiyans followed him out there.
"It's him, isn't it? It's whoever Verto was fighting against yesterday?" Fasha asked.
"Yeah, looks like we're about to find out who it is. Be prepared for anything, guys!" Gohan shouted. The figure in question arrived a few minutes later, descending and landing about forty feet away, more than close enough to identify him. When he came into view though, all of the Saiyans' jaws dropped open in shock.
"No way," Tora whispered.
"How in the hell," both Vegeta and Bardock uttered. Goku, Fasha and Gohan kept it to a mild gasp without words. The figure stepped forward, letting a very evil cackling laugh go as he did.
"Impossible, he's dead!" Vegeta said in true fear.
"Afraid not my mistaken prince. I am the legendary Super Saiyan, nothing can kill me!" he said.
Gohan managed to contain his fear better than the others, "All right then, just what do you want, Broly?"
A/N: I wonder how many of you actually figured out that it was Broly? It wasn't hard to see it. How did he come back, the answers are coming.