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 44: Blending with Shadows

The Protoss loaded up their equipment very quickly after Gohan and I returned. We were off Char in about two hours, and I was quite glad to be off that planet. I spent the rest of the standard day meditating in the room assigned to me. I had the option of sharing a room with either Vegeta or Goku, but I wanted the quiet time so I could concentrate. I took one that was on the far side of all the crew and guest quarters, with the least traffic. I barely took note of how easy it was to reach into my Psi energy now. It was like I didn't have to break the mental wall that was up for it, it was just there. Zeratul didn't have anything new to show me until the next day. After eating breakfast, which was finally something similar to an earth meal thanks to Raynor's replicators, I met Zeratul in one of the cargo bays. He seemed rather hesitant at first; as he didn't speak to me for about ten minutes after I arrived. I didn't ask why, nor did I speak to him at all. So I just sat across the room until he decided to break the silence.

"My next lesson is difficult to learn, even for the most gifted mind. I'm not sure you will be able to handle the kind of focus this technique will require," he rasped quietly.

"Well...I've been meditating more than you asked me to lately. I want to get this energy mastered as quickly as possible," I said.

"Yes, I can tell. Your eyes are beginning to permanently shift colors, more than likely a side effect of that," he said, holding up a handheld mirror. I looked into it, noting that I had not powered up today at all, not even to sense the Psi signals of others. Yet I could feel their traces without even trying, much like I could regular ki energy. My eyes were now a dark blue, yet I couldn't see any pupils in them. I figured out quickly that the pupils must have shifted colors as well, just like they would while transformed. I was already in Psi mode so to speak, but without powering up at all, or even reaching into my energy pool.

"Your body is beginning to adapt so well that you no longer have to concentrate so hard on bringing out your energy. That is a good sign. It will speed up this process and allow you to focus on your complete power. Perhaps Vegeta will get his wish sooner rather than later," Zeratul said with a grunt.

"So what is it you wanted to teach me then?" I asked, handing him back the mirror.

"Hold on. Since your power has pretty much been mastered, you should have the ability to perform this next technique. I trust you are familiar with my people's ability to cloak themselves, to literally blend into the air and environment without movement?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah. It's a neat trick, I can't even detect you guys when you do it. Some of the Protoss ships did that on Earth and I couldn't detect them either, almost like trying to sense past an invisible wall!"

Zeratul chuckled, "The cloaked ships from Auir are made from a similar technology that we designed, however over the years our people have perfected the actual technique to where nothing can detect anything but air, including the Zerg. We have referred to it as the Shadow Slip technique. The fact that even you can't sense us in that state shows me how valuable the technique actually is, and why you may need to learn it for future use. However, this is not an easy technique for a non-Dark Templar to perform, due to the extreme concentration it requires. You probably won't be able to use it for a very long amount of time, nor very often. For you it would be similar to firing a maximum power beam a few times consecutively until you get used to it. It won't burn up all of your energy, but it may leave you mentally drained. It is a great ability to have however. A nearly flawless defense to yourself during a battle by taking away the sense that most enemies need to fight against you, sight. And if you move and adjust your energy correctly, it will block you from all senses. However I am going to leave this up to you on rather you learn this or not," Zeratul said carefully.

I thought it over quickly, "Are you kidding? What's the point of telling me about it if I'm not going to at least give it a try? Let's do it!"

"Very well," he said.

-

"The reason we are training in here is so you better understand what you are attempting. The purpose of the technique is to blend completely into your surroundings by spreading your Psi energy outwards. However if any other energy is being used at the time, or the Psi concentration is affected in any way, you will lose the effect. How I want you to begin is to fall into sync with this room. Study the energy flowing from through it, and search hard to make sure you don't miss anything. Once you've done this, you must flood the area with your own Psi energy, but keep it at such a low level that your Psi energy field matches that of your surroundings completely. Any sort of difference in energy levels in the size of the area you choose to use this, and the attempt will fail. Fortunately this does not include what other beings may do to raise their ki energy level. However you must focus on any sort of spirit in the area, and apply the correct amount of energy for each spirit's location. Then you simply focus yourself into the position you are already in, as part of the field with the correct match of Psi. Do you understand?" he asked. I kept my eyebrows in a raised and curious position, as it was a bit confusing to take in.

"One question, why did we pick this room? The only energy I can currently detect is you and me, this room is void of it at all," I said.

"While it may be easier to pick up all traces of energy in a environment rich of spirits and life, it is possible to miss tiny fields of energy that you didn't detect before. Master it in a room void of life and you can do it anywhere much easier," he said. I suppose I should have expected an answer like that.

"I will cloak myself so you can concentrate on this room a little better, just ask if you need assistance," Zeratul said. I sighed as he slowly vanished like a ghost, opening myself to the cargo bay. I didn't bother looking around; it was full of technology that I didn't understand. I scanned for all traces of Psi in the room, not finding any to start with, including Zeratul. I looked deeper, finding just a trace of it in the air and in a spread out cloud of it, about five feet to my right and all the way up to the ceiling, clinging there. It was easier to find than I thought it would be, but tracking it was something in and of itself. Its layer was about three feet thick from what I could tell, but it was varied and moving just slightly. I groaned slightly as I felt its slight wavering. He wasn't kidding when he said it was difficult.

"Have you found the tiny amount of energy in this room yet?" Zeratul asked, startling me.

"Yeah, it's up in the air and moving around a little. This is gonna be really hard to follow its movement," I said.

"You must follow its pattern, most energy flows do not change no matter what happens. However on the battlefield that you may be used to, a large energy bomb may kill the plant life and any sort of animals in the area, which will affect the energy field as that Psi has been extinguished. You must be prepared to change the Psi field you apply quickly, otherwise it will reveal your form in a short amount of time. As long as your energy field matches the environment, you will not be detected," he said.

"Okay, I'll try," I said, focusing on the area of the room again. So it's based on using a Psi filled field of power, kind of like the Psi storm technique Kerrigan showed me. I followed the tiny energy field with my senses, seeing that it wavered a bit to the right before floating to the left again. Much like an oscillating fan. Luckily for me, it kept on the same track. I started releasing my energy around me, focusing it up into the ceiling area. I had to pull a lot more power back to me than I thought I needed to; the amount of energy in the air was next to nothing by comparison.

"You're almost there," I heard Zeratul whisper. I managed to match the level of the energy in the air, and then started to move it around in the pattern it was displaying. I pulled the rest of my energy back to me before burying all of it. This part was easy, I was used to concealing my power level thanks to Vegeta and Piccolo's training. I made sure to match the small amount of energy around myself as well, no doubt that was part of it.

"Keep your focus, but open your eyes," Zeratul said. In front of my face the mirror hovered as I kept a lock on the energy field. The surrounding room stayed the same, but in the mirror I did not see my face, only the cargo directly behind me. I waved my hands in front, noticing that I barely saw them at all. I looked down at myself, seeing directly through my body like I was a ghost. I could see a trace of myself there, but it was clear and barely visible to me other than a slight outline. I glanced to my right, seeing Zeratul standing there, his body in a similar state.

"Stay focused, but now get up and walk around. Adjust the energy field as you need," Zeratul instructed. I did as he asked, grunting slightly when I detected a slight fluctuation in the energy field. I managed to make a quick enough adjustment to maintain it, but just barely as my hands started to come into view again.

"This wasn't as hard as you made it out to be," I said after a few laps around the room.

"It really isn't that bad, however using it on a battle field is much different," Zeratul explained. I noticed that he then shifted back into normal view, his figure solid. The Psi field then became disrupted as a new spirit had come back into view. I sent out a very small amount of energy to counteract this, keeping it around where his body was. I then waved my arms around, not seeing them myself.

"Impressive. You are a fast learner," Zeratul said with what looked like a grin.

"Thanks, I try," I smirked even though he didn't see it. The door to the cargo bay suddenly opened, with Vegeta storming in. Zeratul looked back in surprise, but I sent out more energy to cover Vegeta's abrupt entry into the room. Luckily I already knew how strong of a Psi signal Vegeta would have, which was hardly any stronger than a normal spirit.

"Where's the boy old man? There are matters of which he and I must discuss!" the prince said with a snarl.

"Where is Verto? That is an excellent question," Zeratul said smugly. I grinned while keeping a sharp focus, Vegeta was technically staring right at me.

"No games old timer, these are serious matters!" Vegeta growled.

"Have patience young prince. I will send him to you once he and I are done for today. He is in a very focused state right now and must not be disturbed with your small talk!" Zeratul said sharply.

"Fine, I'll be in my quarters, but hurry it up!" Vegeta barked before stomping out. When his spiritual signal was gone, I quickly pulled that amount of energy back to my body, burying it again.

"I believe you are ready for the next step," Zeratul said when I didn't reappear.

-

Zeratul had been very impressed with my progress. As he had told me, not many of his people could master that technique in less than a week, never mind an hour. He was right though, the technique was a little straining to constantly do. He told me that the size of the area I chose was up to me, but described how much harder it actually is for a small area of affect. It would work just the same, and it would be easier to start with, but maintaining the energy field is much more difficult as moving around constantly changes it more than a large area would. Plus it's easier to sense the potential changes coming in a larger energy field than a small one, especially if you can see them coming; Vegeta barging in was a great example. On the flipside, changing the energy field in a large area would be slower than a smaller one. He had me try a few more times, noting that I could do it faster and faster each time. On the last try before he sent me off, he had me power up just a little bit with my ki. Nothing happened, until he had me charge some into my hands. The golden ki appeared as solid as it would be normally, showing a better outline of my body in the process. I floated a bit around the room, showing a golden hue beneath my feet that would definitely look suspicious. I stopped this concentration and tried my Psi sword ability while keeping myself under the cloak. The sword became a dull gray color, telling me that I could keep it very low with my energy until a striking point was reached.

Zeratul continued being impressed with my progress, saying that it wouldn't take long at this rate. He had a challenge for me to master the technique: Walk around the ship in that state, including during meal times. Before I did that though, I tried it out while going to see Vegeta, who was in his room. I walked down the hall, ducking past Zealots, Human soldiers and Templars. None of them saw me from what I could tell, as I didn't get any ugly looks and I could see through my hands as I waved at them. I did struggle a bit to hold up the technique though, despite there being a low number of people. I got to Vegeta's room, buzzing him with the control pad on the outside.

"ENTER!" he barked. The door opened at that command, and I stepped inside as it shut quickly behind me, obviously not detecting me either. Vegeta looked back at the door and narrowed his eyes, not seeing me at all as I stepped out of the line of sight. He growled and started towards the door. I kept an easier focus now that I was out of the hallway, putting a small amount of Psi around his position and moving it as he stomped towards the door. I couldn't help but chuckle at the role reversal. More than once he has done the same thing to me by moving so fast that I couldn't detect him. He pressed the button to open the door, scowling, as he looked both ways. Luckily the halls were very empty and no one passed by to disrupt my energy field, or to get blasted by Vegeta. He stepped back inside, which automatically closed the door, grumbling about any children that might be on board.

"So what did you want to see me for?" I asked, but not dropping my cloak.

"What? Who's there?" he snarled, looking and scanning around. I rolled my eyes, I should have known he would react like this.

"It's me Vegeta, look to your right," I ordered, slowly pulling all of the energy I released back to me and coming out of sync with the area. I kept a hand in front of my eyes so I could see when I finally reappeared.

"How did you move that fast boy? I couldn't hear you or sense you? And you're not powered up! Explain!" he ordered once I slowly faded into view.

"I didn't move fast at all, it was what Zeratul showed me how to do. You know how they cloak themselves from sight and sense? I walked in here like that," I said with a grin.

"Impossible," he claimed.

"Want me to do it again?" I asked.

"Can you teach others this ability?" he asked, just like he had about the Feedback attack.

"No, it requires Psi usage, and it's really hard to focus on," I said.

"That is another excellent ability to have for battle," he noted.

"Yeah, but it won't do me that much good. I can't concentrate a big attack without it showing my location, and I can't fly around. It'll show my position," I said.

"Then why teach it to you if you can't attack?" he barked back at me.

"I can attack, it just won't be a big attack, more like a sneak attack or something. It'll be real good with my sword technique, or maybe to quickly charge a big one when an opponent's back is turned!" I argued.

Vegeta thought about that one for a minute, "Wait just a second, I was to understand that you and Gohan had to use ki energy to access your Psi energy. How can you keep that down enough to vanish like that?"

"Good point. Once I got things down a few months ago, I could pretty much use it at will with only a very slight drain. Now I've started to master my Psi enough to the point where I don't need ki to bring it out. Here I'll power all the way down and my eyes will stay blue!" I said, doing just that.

Vegeta stood there, dumbfounded, "How does this kid do it?"

"Great teachers," I cracked a smile.

"Can you use this in your Super Mystic form?" he asked next.

I stopped, "Umm, I don't know. I haven't been in that form, since… well you know," I said, wondering myself.

"Well then, ascend to that form right now, power up! Just don't get so angry that you shake the ship apart!" he ordered. I powered up quickly with both energies. I thought about getting angry for a second, but instead tried to just bring my energies together at the same time and same level. I had been hearing nothing but how it worked based on balance, so I figured I should try it. As soon as my ki and Psi flowed together, a sudden rush of power came flying out, one that I wasn't expecting. This caused me to shout a little louder than normal as the bright silver aura surrounded me and the room brightened greatly. Vegeta was forced back a step or two before I pulled the energy back to me once getting control of it again. I looked at myself in surprise, it was just as easy as powering up the regular way. I heard a slight alarm go off, followed by Goku and Gohan teleporting into the room, both with food in their mouths.

"Is everything okay?" they both asked in panic.

"It's fine," Vegeta said, scowling in my direction.

"Why are you powered up?" Gohan asked.

"I was just testing it," I admitted, staring at my hands.

"In other words, he's about mastered the form in a short amount of time," Vegeta grumbled.

"Oh, okay. Well I'm going back for my food, come on Gohan!" Goku said, teleporting out with his son.

"You jealous or something?" I asked.

"No, I am very proud of you. That doesn't mean they needed to know though," he said, turning back towards the space windows. I sighed, it had been awhile since I had been around Vegeta to remember all of his emotional reactions, or lack there of. My Vegetese was out of date.

"Well, try out that cloaking technique while you're powered up!" he ordered a moment later.

I immediately concentrated and closed my eyes, focusing on the energy of the room. I found all of it easily, but when I attempted to pull up my Psi, I realized a very serious problem. My fused energy made it a pain to use Psi by itself, and actually made it even more difficult to concentrate on both the outside energy field, and my own. I gave it a shot anyway, and then noticed that my full power was adding to the energy field at a rather constant rate, I wasn't going to be able to match it for longer than a second or two. I worked with my fully mixed energy instead of just Psi, and most of the electronic devices in the room started going crazy once the air started to charge up. I sighed slightly when I go no real effect out of it.

"I don't think it's going to work so well in this form. The fused energy makes it even more difficult to focus with that particular technique. It didn't do anything to the surroundings when I managed it with my energy suppressed," I explained quickly.

"I see, no matter I suppose. It's probably better used as cover to escape from a battle, the coward's way out!" Vegeta snorted slightly. I rolled my eyes slightly at this, he never changes.

-

"So what did you need to see me about?" I asked as I powered down.

"How's your mental and emotional attitude lately?" he asked.

"Fine. Why?" I asked back.

"It's because of your mate. I would have thought that depression might have sunk in by now, but perhaps you have accepted the fact that it wasn't directly your fault," he stated.

I frowned slightly, "Well, as much as I wanted to blame myself for not stopping it at the time, I can't legitimately. You guys are right, it wasn't me that killed her, and I understand that, but I do long to see her. As much as I despise it, turning me back into a kid probably helped me in that regard. It hurts inside a lot, this training has been a pretty good distraction come to think of it," I explained, my mood quickly turning gloomy.

"Keep it that way if you can, focus on nothing but your training and your objective to destroy the Overmind. It'll keep you alive a lot longer!" he ordered as I nodded.

"Is that all?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"We were planning on performing the Ritual of Separation with you two, but that plan has been shot to hell. Assuming we all make it through this, we will do that once we wish everyone back. Otherwise, if you end up dying, you will have to meet up with her and then find a Saiyan in the afterlife that knows of it, understand?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I'll pull through," I said plainly.

"You had better, I can't stand the sound of my woman crying," he said, smirking slightly. I laughed slightly along with him, Bulma, aka Mother, was only a step away from angry mode when she was crying.

"Get back to your training, I expect you to plow over our enemies on Auir at the rate you're going now," he said, practically shoving me out the door.

A/N: I hope that the Shadow Slip technique was explained well enough for you readers. Basically its Invisibility to both sight and energy senses, but can't really be used while powered up. You can also call it stealth.

Next time on DBV: General Duke plants a trap for the crew of the Hyperion, and the Saiyans are pulled into a large space battle. Oh, and Verto discovers a new ability too, next time.