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 43: Leaving Char
I did as Zeratul requested, and meditated for several hours at a time and channeling Psi all the way. He had said he only wanted me to go a few hours at once, but I didn't have anything else to do except eat and sleep. So for the next two days, all I did was meditate or walk around in a similar state. A few times I went outside to watch Vegeta and the others train "like Saiyans," mostly seeing general sparring matches, nothing too heavy. I remembered Kerrigan's help with my channeling and decided to apply that to my new training as well, it certainly couldn't hurt. When she, Raynor and I had been fighting those strange aliens that were allergic to light, she had shown me how to literally have an out of body experience on purpose. I had called it my Spiritual Vision technique, as I could see everything, including myself. One could also refer to it as an astral body form, or something similar. My evil self had used it in the very cave I was near, so my body was at least a little familiar with the technique. While meditating not far from one of Goku and Vegeta's Super Saiyan bouts, I refocused myself into watching them with that special ability while I continued to channel my Psi. It was very fun to be able to literally zoom in on the battle and then watch it a little slower than it was being fought. Every movement and every impact could be slowed to the point where I could see the individual muscles on each fighter cinch up before they even threw a punch. I didn't generally watch this way, but it was like I was in my own little time zone due to concentrating hard enough. The speed of phasing in and out did a similar thing when powered up high enough, but now I could see this without moving at all. I got so caught up in this activity that I forgot to scan around myself from time to time.
"What are you up to?" Gohan asked, landing next to my ear suddenly. I jumped slightly but stayed fixated in my concentration, looking back at my body and seeing the much taller Saiyan standing next to me.
"Training, why aren't you sparring with those two?" I asked.
"I was going to spar with Grandpa today, but he said he was tired and didn't come out of his room. We did go a little hard yesterday. But if I didn't know better I'd say you've been around Piccolo too much to be training that way. Not that there's anything wrong with constant meditation, its just not your style," he said, chuckling.
"Might change a bit, this is a really neat technique I'm using actually. It allows me to literally have an out of body visual on everything!" I said.
"You mean further enhanced senses with your energy?" Gohan asked.
"Yes and no, it was something Kerrigan showed me when she taught me how to control the Zerg against some other aliens on this planet. I was able to watch the battle and control them without moving at all. Obviously there's no Zerg to control here, but it's the visual I'm making use of. I'm using it right now to watch your dad and Vegeta duke it out from up close; they don't even know I'm there. I can see myself too, like if something is sneaking up on me and I need to shoot it down. I can literally slow down how I see things, or maybe speed myself up, whatever you want to call it," I explained.
"Sounds handy if you get in a bind and you're out of power or blind. Probably better not use it in the middle of a battle. Would be great for spying on something, though," he noted.
"Want to learn it? That way you can spy on Videl in the shower," I cracked.
"I was thinking the same thing about you," Gohan grinned, though I could tell he had blushed slightly.
"Perhaps, except I'm a kid again, I don't feel the need to do that. Oh, that was a good one," I said, bringing myself back to my position as I stopped watching the battle scene so I could speak to Gohan. The good one was seeing Goku anticipate one of Vegeta's punches and phasing out to kick him in the side, sending a shockwave off.
"So you say," Gohan grinned, giving me a slight elbow.
"Yeah…" We both fell silent once the small round of jokes were over. It was hard living with what had happened so far.
"When we get to Auir, we may need to split up to fight both Aldaris and the Zerg. It would make the most sense because then we can prevent the Zerg getting involved in that battle. Plus it may be difficult to face him if he's really as powerful as Kerrigan said," Gohan suggested.
"Well, I fought him here before that whole evil side thing started up, and he was much different compared to back on Earth. I had a lot of trouble catching him, and he used a ton of illusion techniques on me. He learned enough to channel his Psi and make a much stronger shield around his body. His Psi Storm was a hell of a lot stronger too, not to mention the energy blasts. Now that I think back to it, he could have beaten me in my Super Mystic form if he hadn't been trying to use mixed energy blasts. I don't know where he learned to use ki energy, but it didn't do him a whole lot of good to use them. His body possesses so much more pure Psi. Also, he could regenerate his ki at the sacrifice of Psi, but not to the point where he was balanced. I took me awhile to notice how deep his power goes, but it's there," I explained, letting my eyes close but still focused on the subject. I replayed that fight in my mind, looking carefully at the details that I remembered.
"Yeah. Frost showed him how," Gohan said.
"Frost?" I asked, as I had no idea who he was talking about.
"Yes, he's Frieza's son. We ran into him about a month after we left Earth to come after you. He said Aldaris stopped by there for repair parts and managed to bargain with him over learning how to summon energy like we do, then stabbed him in the back. I can't say any of us trusted Frost when we landed there for a similar repair job, but he seemed to hate Aldaris more and didn't seem to care about Dad killing Frieza!" Gohan answered.
"So he says. We may have a clean-up job to do if we get back to Earth and he's there. How strong was he?" I asked.
"I'm really not sure, but Vegeta sparred with him at Super Saiyan two and it was a draw. I scanned his energy over a few times, and I think he might be as powerful as us! I'm surprised that he didn't even try to attack us, let alone allow us to leave. We found a bomb in the engine compartments, but it was designed so we would have time to catch up to Aldaris. Obviously it doesn't matter now because Broly blew up the ship!" Gohan explained further.
"Doesn't sound like something the son of Frieza would do, especially if he is as strong as you say. Guess we'll cross that road when we come to it," I said.
"Yeah, anyway, about the fight on Auir…" he began. I knew where he was about to go with it though and I held up a hand to stop him.
"Don't worry, you can have Aldaris, I won't get involved unless I need to!" I said.
"Actually I don't really care either way, it was Vegeta that was going to tell you that. I really think we should split up so we can better establish a hold there. Since you're more accustomed to the Zerg you should go for them," Gohan suggested again.
I shook my head, "If Aldaris is as powerful as he could be, we should all go for one target or another. Aldaris should go down first though, I agree there. It may be some time before we get there and the Zerg will probably be all over the place as it is. I just hope that idiot doesn't do anything rash against them! He could smash the swarms, but I'm pretty sure Broly would rip him a new one!" I said.
"Good point. I guess being with the Zerg increased your thinking ability, eh?" he nudged my shoulder again.
"Something with fusing with the mind of that Cerebrate kicked my brain into overdrive, I could probably figure out cold fusion if I really wanted to. Maybe if I wasn't trying to focus on other important things," I said with a slight scowl.
"I guess Bulma will drive you into the books when we get back to Earth then. Just like my mother did me at your age!" Gohan said, grinning some more.
"Who said she had to know?" I replied.
"Yeah, but even if we don't tell her, she'll figure it out. She always thought you were pretty smart even though you never claimed it. Now it's official!"
I grunted, "I'm not smart, I just pay attention. Sorry, but the nerd job is still yours no matter how strong you get!" We sat in silence for a few more minutes before we sensed someone approaching. Artanis had walked up to us, observing the battle going on above.
"So what's the verdict on getting out of here?" Gohan asked when he got close.
"Still waiting on a response, last minute repairs and adjustments from what I heard," he said.
"Did you find a ship we can use?" I asked. I didn't get an answer because of a loud roar of an engine getting near. I looked up high in the air, seeing what looked like a Terran battle cruiser up there. This one looked a lot like Raynor's, as I saw blue markings on the outside like I had seen before.
"I guess he's ready now," Artanis noted, going back towards the cave.
-
The ship landed in the desert plain, kicking up a lot of dust and sand. Goku and Vegeta stopped their little spar to fly down to us and observe. It landed on three large stilts before powering down the engine and releasing what seemed to be stairs from the side doors. There were a few sets of these, though I had not seen them before today. The ship had been indented halfway into the ground when I last saw it.
"I don't have a good feeling about this," Vegeta muttered.
"Why's that Vegeta? They're just normal humans," Goku said.
"That have a history of running rampant in this area according to Tassadar and Artanis. But if this is the only way off this rock I suppose I can put up with it, as long as they stay away from me," he grunted slightly. I spotted and sensed a few Terran soldiers emerging, looking unarmed by the looks of it. When the three got closer, I recognized the first one to be the bald headed Raynor himself. When he spotted me though, he quickly shifted his gaze. I knew why though, Gohan had told me that I wasn't myself in that day after Fasha's death. When I found myself walking towards Kerrigan's Hive cluster, I had been pumped full of stimulators by these guys and apparently killed the group that had done that.
"So you're the other Saiyans, pleased to meet you," Raynor said, sticking his hand out to shake Vegeta's, who was closest to him. Goku shook it instead, knowing Vegeta would not.
"I take it Artanis is in the cave?" he asked.
"Most of them are, do you know approximately how long it will take us to reach planet Auir?" Gohan asked, getting straight to the point.
"I don't know, they haven't given me the location yet. Guarded secret for now I guess, but we have more than enough room for all of you," Raynor said, giving me a quick glance once again.
"I see you have met the boy, you scared of him?" Vegeta asked, noticing his slight twitching.
"Who wouldn't be?" Raynor muttered a little too loudly.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I wasn't myself at the time," I said in a low tone.
"Well, it's not me that will hold it against you, it's the others on the ship. Fortunately I don't think many of them know your face, it was an audio only transmission. And most of their visual contacts with the Dominion fleet were not quick enough to see you. Besides, they all know not to mess with your kind, learned that lesson the hard way," Raynor said, casting a glance to his two aides. Artanis and Tassadar emerged from the cave a moment later, coming over to discuss things with Raynor.
"Are we all ready to go then?" Raynor asked.
"Nearly, we should load all of our portable supplies onto your ship. Whatever we leave behind should not be operable!" Tassadar suggested.
"No problem, one of us will just blow up the mountain," Vegeta grunted.
"Have you calculated how long it will take to get to Auir?" Gohan asked the Protoss this time.
"We estimate that with this ship it will take about one and a half months. However we can tinker with the hyper drive of this ship and install some modifications to cut that time to three to four weeks. At top speed with no problems we could get there six days after the Zerg arrive, but that is the best-case scenario. Most likely we will arrive nearly two weeks behind them," Tassadar replied.
"What about your global defenses? If Aldaris is indeed in charge of everything, won't he have us shot down before we enter the planet's atmosphere?" Vegeta asked.
"We are hoping that the chaos that the Zerg create will allow us to arrive without a problem. Do you have extra environmental suits Captain Raynor?" Artanis asked.
"More than enough to fix the whole damn thing in the middle of the trip if need be...assuming we have to!" he said.
"Very well, we should depart as soon as possible. Have our people begin loading the ship!" Tassadar ordered as Artanis ran off.
"I suppose I should wake up Grandpa," Gohan muttered, walking that way as well.
"He still isn't out of bed yet?" Goku asked, looking a bit concerned.
"Well, I tried to wake him up earlier for training, but he said he was tired. I didn't bother him past that point, why?" Gohan asked.
"We trained very moderate yesterday, but a Saiyan like him shouldn't be tired," Vegeta said, looking wary.
"I'll go get him," Gohan said, heading inside. He was running back to us within a few minutes.
"He isn't there, I didn't sense him anywhere inside!" Gohan said in a slight panic.
"Calm down boy, I'm sure your senses were blocked by the cave walls, they are made of a dense material," Vegeta said, scanning around. I took this as a signal to scan around the planet. I quickly found a strong energy signal flying straight towards the one remaining Zerg Hive Cluster. Bardock was angry by what I could sense, and I had a pretty good feeling of what he was going to try to do. There weren't that many Zerg there, but they were Kerrigan's brood and were not hostile anymore, that and she may get pulled into it. Apparently Goku found it about the same time as I did.
"He's near the Zerg and powering up by the feel of it, you don't think he's going to…?" he asked.
"Let's go Gohan," I said, putting a hand to his arm.
"You two shouldn't go alone. Bardock can handle himself against the Zerg, if anything he will be doing us a favor," Vegeta said.
"I don't think he's thinking about just taking out a Zerg base, he feels too angry to be thinking clearly at all!" I explained.
"Go you two, stop him before he gets himself hurt," Goku ordered, making the executive decision for us.
"Hang on," Gohan said, putting two fingers to his head.
-
I was most displeased to see that Gohan's instant transmission was just like Goku's, rough on the insides. I kept my lunch down as we arrived to see Bardock firing all kinds of ki blasts at the surroundings. The Zerg did try to attack back, but many of them got cut down where they stood. All of the structures were either bleeding or collapsed, the smaller ones getting the worst of it so far.
"Grandpa stop!" Gohan said as we got close.
"Die you Zerg bastards! Think you could kill my crew and get away with it?!" Bardock shouted as he ignored us. Well at least he isn't blaming me, yet.
"Grandpa!" Gohan shouted again, this time hurling towards him and catching him in a full nelson lock to hold him back.
"Get back Gohan, I'm finishing the job here on Char!" he warned. I chose this moment to float in front of Bardock, fully realizing that he may snap on me.
"Hey, these Zerg are not part of the Overmind's swarm anymore, they are gone. If you're going to pin this on anyone, either take it out on me, or on the Overmind!" I said sharply. He stopped for a moment, taking in my words and seemingly calming a bit, despite being at Super Saiyan two.
"I don't blame you kid, the Zerg made you do those things. I blame them for everything!" Bardock said in a lower but calmer tone.
"Then let's get the hell out of here and finish the job that needs to be done. Let's take this fight to the Overmind!" I replied sharply.
"All right then," Bardock nodded, powering down a bit. I sighed, This could have been bad. I noticed that I spoke to soon, a lot of Zerg forces then surrounded us in the air, mostly comprised of the dragon like Mutalisks and the kamikaze Scrounges. There were easily over a thousand of them.
"Looks like you got their attention Grandpa," Gohan noted, taking up a mid air stance.
"You two go back to the ship. I can handle this without it getting ugly, and there's something I need to do anyway," I claimed.
"Kid, we just got you back from the Zerg, don't be doing foolish things like this!" Bardock suggested.
"I've been with them for a few months now, they aren't going to screw with me," I said.
"If you're sure," Gohan said, getting ready to teleport out.
"Positive, I'll signal you when I'm ready to go back," I said.
"Okay, I'll be waiting," Gohan said as he and Bardock teleported out. I turned a slow circle, hearing all kinds of hissing and screeching going on, now directed towards me primarily. I powered up slightly with both energies, making sure they got a good feel of it. At first they began to close in on me when they sensed it.
"Get back!" I shouted. As I expected, they stopped and backed off, some of them whimpering slightly. Just as I thought, they recognize my energy signal. I floated down but stayed about a foot off the ground, flying towards the main hive cluster. I didn't enter though, and chose to wait outside instead. The Zerg gathered around me, but stayed at a distance in case I decided to go off on them, they seemed to remember what I could do to them at any moment. The doorway opened and the creature I expected stepped out.
"Glad to see you're up and about. You really should teach some of your manners and restraint to your friends," Kerrigan said, wiping some of the hive's residue off of her shoulders and hair. No doubt she was a mess because of all of the blasting that had been going on.
"Sorry about that. I didn't know until it was too late," I explained.
"Nothing that can't be fixed. I suppose you're here to tell me you're leaving now, you shouldn't bother. I'm a telepath after all," she replied.
"Actually, I was here to thank you," I said.
"I was partially responsible for everything that has happened to you and your friends. Part of the reason you had that apparent split personality was because of me. Your girl died because of my interference and you're here to thank me?" she asked, astonished.
"It wasn't you that is the cause of that, it is the Overmind's fault all the way. You helped to save me, besides, it's nothing that can't be fixed with the Dragonballs back on Earth or Namek," I said.
"I see. Truly, you are a gifted youngster, and I sense you are learning things from the Dark Templar as well, you will probably need them. Just remember, focus yourself to completely wiping out the Overmind, it's the only way this nightmare is going to end for either of us!" she said strictly.
"Don't worry about that," I said, turning to fly away.
"One more thing Verto," she said as I began to flare my energy for Gohan to pick up.
"What's that?" I asked.
"You may encounter your friends as infested clones on Auir. The Overmind has had more than enough time both here and on the Earth to get all of the blood samples he would need, rather they were living or dead. That includes yourself as well! It may not seem likely, but he has considerable ways to get what he wants. It may not only be Broly you face!" she said just as Gohan teleported in.
"I see. I'll do my best!" I saluted as Gohan put a hand to my shoulder.
"I know you will. Farewell!"