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 56: Planning the Offensive
After my next wave of horrid nightmares ended, I pulled myself out of bed, hoping I wouldn't be back any time soon. I went straight to the nearby mess hall for a good meal, though I had trouble eating at my normal speed. I felt exhausted thanks to the bad dreams over my sleep cycle, but I didn't want to go to bed again until I had to. Gohan and the other Saiyans seemed to be watching me very carefully, especially Vegeta. Whenever I looked back up at them though they turned away, but I had a few guesses as to why they had been watching me.
"You guys afraid I'm gonna do something stupid or something?" I asked in a very low tone.
"You could say that," Gohan said after about 30 silent seconds.
"Don't worry about it, I feel horrible and I don't get a lot of sleep, but were not going there with this. If I end up dead, it will be in battle," I said, getting up in search of a human like facility to relieve myself with. Judging by their energy fluctuation, they felt somewhat relieved to hear me say that, but not much. After spending some time trying to figure out a Protoss bathroom, I joined the others on Tassadar's ship. He had somewhat urgent news for us about the day's events, but it wasn't surprising to hear.
"Overnight the Zerg expanded their territory by a great deal, they now occupy forty-five percent of Auir's land surface, primarily in the northern hemisphere. As you can see by the display here, we have detected where the Zerg Cerebrates have taken up residence. The biggest surprise is that most of them have come out further from the Overmind's location, establishing their Broods much further away from the defenses of the Overmind. How should we proceed?" Tassadar asked as he pointed things out.
"Good, we can separate the broods one by one and take them out in the same fashion. Once we take out these four Broods, there is a clear cut path right to the Overmind, we could end this in just a day or two if we pool our resources!" Vegeta suggested, looking straight at the four most spread out Broods on the map. The remaining three were overall closer to the Overmind, but were also the strongest ones judging by what I remembered. This smells like a trap.
"No, that isn't going to work," I cut in.
"Why not boy, it is obvious right on the map of current Zerg forces!" Vegeta argued.
"We could do that, but the only way we end it in a day or two is losing on our way in. I was with the Zerg long enough to know that they anticipate enemy attacks and often let their opponents make the first move. We take the Protoss fleet in there and I believe we may be the only ones coming back, if any!" I said sternly.
Vegeta growled slightly, but kept it at that, "What do you suggest then boy?"
"We attack the two of the other three Broods. They are the stronger and larger ones and therefore will be more difficult to take down, but we take them out and we have a greater advantage then just going for the smaller ones!" I suggested.
"That doesn't make sense boy! All three of those Broods are farther away and closer to the Overmind. Not only that, the smaller broods can lend assistance easily, we would be dividing our forces rather than staying together and driving a dagger into their hearts!" Vegeta snarled loudly in protest.
"Look, that plan logically makes sense, and therefore we shouldn't go through with it. The Overmind is basically one big brain with special powers. This thing thinks all the time, planning for the future. Trust me, we shouldn't go that way. Look at the positions of the other three Broods compared to the other four. They can lend assistance yes, but the way they are lined up they can just put loads of Zerg in our path to the Overmind, all of them in fact. We might eventually break through it all, but assuming its all Zerg, what are we going to have left when we reach big ugly himself? If we take them out at different angles and proceed to strategically take out the Cerebrates first, they will not be able to assist each other. Let's not forget that he's already made and revived a clone of Broly. Who knows how many of us have been cloned also. He's had plenty of time to get any DNA samples from us just from our previous fights, both on Earth and Char!" I explained more thoroughly. Vegeta slumped his head slightly, he apparently hadn't thought of all that.
"Any Saiyan clones that he may have created are going to be waiting for us when we arrive. And if I were the Overmind and expected us to come straight down the path that looks weaker, that's probably what I would do to counter it. You'd be crazy to assume it would stick with just one clone after everything that's happened so far. I'd wager we won't be seeing that much in the way of the Zerg themselves, after all they aren't that effective against us anymore!" I continued.
"You've got a few points there, but why wouldn't the Overmind just make a bunch of Broly's?" Bardock asked.
"Who's to say he hasn't, but do you remember when we talked to Kerrigan? She specifically said that it took the Overmind a lot of time and energy to revive him. That and I don't think you could have two Broly's on the same side, they'd try to kill each other all the time I'd bet. That and reviving them would burn up energy and resources. Who would want to deal with that?" Gohan asked, bringing up another point.
"Which is why I think there's a chance there's more than one person that's been cloned. Kerrigan warned me about it when we left Char, and the reports said infested Terrans as in more than one. All we have to do is figure out who else has been cloned," I finished.
"How should we proceed then?" Tassadar asked again. Vegeta looked back towards me, giving me the go ahead since I was the one filling in missing facts.
"Well Vegeta's idea to stick together is still good to go with. But attacking all at once in one place will just draw us into a fight with the whole swarm and possibly the clones. I suggest we divide into three forces and attack at either side of the Zerg territory at the same time. A multi-front war doesn't suit the Zerg no matter how many Broods they have. We do to them what they did to us on Earth and slowly chip away at their forces with a well-coordinated attack. Plus we have to factor in that only the Dark Templar, Gohan and I can kill the Cerebrates with our mixed energy. I will go with Vegeta, and Zeratul to Daggoth's Surtur Brood, the blue Zerg here. Gohan, you go with Goku, and Bardock to the Taimat Red Zerg here on the other end. We should be able to divide the Protoss forces easily enough, but I only want you to give our groups five percent of the fleet," I said.
"Wait a moment, who's going to go with the third group? And why only five percent?" Vegeta asked with a smirk just in case I missed something.
"The Protoss fleet is going to be the big distraction while we attack. And this will also minimize Protoss casualties. Fenix will direct the majority ninety percent of the fleet, and will attack up the middle like Vegeta suggested, and Zeratul's brethren will be with them to kill the Cerebrates on the way up! Split up the commanders as you like. The five percent we each take is going to draw the Zerg away from their hives while we go in and take care of the Cerebrates with very little in the way of Zerg around. Any Saiyan clones should either be drawn to us, or they'll stick around the Overmind's area even if he figures this plan out. Once we take a Cerebrate out, our chances of winning this war will dramatically increase. I imagine that we may have a battle on our hands with infested Saiyan clones that are potentially stronger, so we'll have to be in constant communication for this to work!" I said with a slight grin, impressed that I could come up with this sort of designed attack. Hopefully it panned out the way I planned it.
"Any objections?" Tassadar asked. No one shook their heads, all of them seemed agreed very quickly once I explained it.
"The attack begins at seventeen hundred standard hours, make your necessary preparations!" Tassadar said, rising and leaving the room.
"Impressive boy, there are many great Saiyan generals that would have fallen against your stratagems," Vegeta said with pride.
"I learn from the best," I said as we both laughed slightly.
-
Vegeta and I waited patiently aboard the Ganthithor Two as we crossed the lands with one of the smaller Protoss fleets around. I had been doing all kinds of scanning around the areas our group had split off to, to watch for any signs of energy levels other than ourselves. I didn't get anything except Zerg signals in return, almost as expected.
"How long before Fenix's fleet commences their attack?" I asked.
"Five minutes sir," an officer said quickly.
"What's wrong?" Vegeta asked.
"I thought there may have been a change in things by now if there really is any clones to fight out there other than Broly. Logically they would send most of the Zerg after Fenix's larger fleet. I was hoping this would draw the clones out of hiding if there were any more. Maybe I was wrong, but Kerrigan seemed very sincere about this," I said.
"You shouldn't put so much trust into that vile creature. She has been an agent for the Zerg for a very long time and has been known to be crafty and deceitful in our dealings with her, never mind her own kind," Tassadar said from the captain's chair.
"You didn't spend three months with the Zerg like I did. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't be here now, or at least I wouldn't be," I said with a serious tone.
"My apologies, its just that we've never known any infested being to be an ally at any time," Tassadar replied.
"Understandable, but she wants the Overmind dead as much as we do," I answered just as a loud beeping sounded.
"Praetor Fenix has encountered the Zerg sir, shall we signal our commando forces to begin?" the tactical officer asked me.
"Wait a moment, show me a current scan of Zerg forces over their territory," I ordered. Tassadar didn't bother acknowledging it, he probably knew what I had in mind. I watched the overview of Zerg hive clusters not involved in the attack, waiting for either an energy spike or a vast movement in one direction. The scan refreshed itself automatically every few seconds, showing only the clusters of the front line Zerg moving around overly much. About ten minutes of nothing but the same type of general movement before I noted a massive amount of Zerg begin to surge towards Fenix's fleet from a majority of the Hive clusters, save those that were right around the Overmind itself. This left the sides that were to be attacked wide open.
"Signal the other commando fleet to start their attack, were going in," I said as soon as I saw it.
-
Just as I had planned, the presence of Fenix's large fleet had drastically reduced the Zerg's standing forces around Daggoth's Hive cluster, no doubt the other one as well. Our own smaller Protoss fleet nabbed the attention of any other Zerg while Vegeta, Zeratul and I crept into the primary Hive cluster almost undetected. Once we were in we were attacked quickly, but the amount of Zerg present were in miniscule amounts of a few dozen. We proceeded to tear up the Zerg buildings with energy blasts while Zeratul moped up the ground Zerg while staying invisible.
"Verto to Gohan, how are things over there?" I asked through the scouters Tassadar had given us. They were vastly upgraded for better communication, but that was about it.
"Excellent, we're about to blow up the main Hive cluster!" he said.
"You have to enter it and go to the bottom level of the thing to get at the Cerebrate, otherwise you'll just blast at empty grounds trying to find it," I said.
"Got it, over and out!" he answered. Speaking of which, Vegeta and I entered the Hive cluster once I blew off its roof. At first it was going to be Vegeta standing guard outside and Zeratul coming with me, but something told me to have Zeratul hide in stealth out there while Vegeta and I took care of business. Vegeta couldn't hide in the shadows in case there was trouble, even if he would take on and beat just about anyone who would dare get close to him. I couldn't see where the entrance was to the lower levels, so I simply blew a hole in the floor and we descended that way. Random ground Zerg ran about in this place, low power ki blasts did the job as we slowly damaged the Hive more and more on the way down, but not to the point of collapse just yet. We reached the bottom easily and I ignited my sword with mixed energy, showing a bright green hue instead of blue. I did this for the simple fact that it was my mixed power that was going to hurt the Zerg the most. We entered the Cerebrate's chamber with caution, scanning for anything other than the monster sitting in there. Daggoth's one eye popped up from the side of his unmoving but glowing mesh of a body that filled the room.
"Surprised to see me?" I asked with a glare. He didn't answer, not that I cared.
"I don't care if you don't speak to me. Admitting defeat is hard to do for anyone, now your going to pay for all that you've done! Your master is going to be next!" I said, swinging my sword directly at the eye.
"It doesn't matter what you do here boy, you believe your alliance is going to win this war. You are in for a rude awakening very soon, none of you are leaving this planet alive!" Daggoth finally roared.
"You mean the Broly clone, I can beat him no matter how strong he is!" I said with confidence as I held the blade less than a foot away.
"Then strike me down now and end my existence, but know that I can be returned to life again eventually, and nothing you do here will matter!" Daggoth roared again, sounding like he was laughing.
I frowned slightly, "Let's just put that to the test!" I said, stabbing towards the eye. I was easily within an inch when a sudden telepathic burst of some kind hit my mind. I saw a vision of Fasha, she was suffering somehow. Another flash hit me that repeated her death. A different version of it soon came, and I stopped my attack while me head deciphered the information, my hand holding my head slightly.
"You boy are weak! Your weak emotions towards your loved ones will stall your actions because of your fear to hurt others. The Overmind sees this and will break your spirit slowly, even if it means one piece at a time until you realize that you are nothing! Your former mate is not worth the effort that her parental units used to spawn her!" Daggoth chuckled. His laughter angered me while I backed off, how dare he bring this up now.
"Your mate is better off dead than with a weakling like you who can't even do his duty when the time comes, always hiding behind the true warriors!" Daggoth dared to say. I heard Vegeta's breath catch just as I glared towards the door. I had turned around to attempt to flush this sudden disparity from my mind, but Daggoth's words did it for me, and I snapped.
"You, Daggoth are the weakling! You send your Zerg slaves at your enemies like cannon fodder, you care nothing for them while they sacrifice themselves for your evil cause. You can't fight a battle yourself and constantly need others to do it for you! Your kind sickens me, and this is the day you pay for it," I growled, not facing Daggoth still.
"I am not weak, I hold no care for these creatures, they are only pawns to reach the ultimate goals set for us by the Overmind. I hold no such fear for any other creature, for they are disposable just like your worthless emotions!" he countered.
"And that is the difference between you and me. My caring gives me strength to protect others, and your kind won't win while I'm around, now die!" I shouted as I spun, throwing my sword straight at Daggoth like a javelin. It stabbed right through the eye and into the body's core. The energy inside Daggoth flashed violently before dying out into nothingness, bleeding out in random spots. I panted slightly in anger towards the creature. Vegeta paused slightly after what he witnessed, but said nothing to continue it.
I sensed the Hive cluster begin to collapse, "We better get out of here!"
Vegeta and I raced to the surface while the remains of the Hive caved in behind us, random chunks of Zerg tissue fell into the deeps, dying on the way down. Outside the remaining Zerg began to go crazy and attack each other in a free for all type melee. The Protoss ships withdrew from the fighting and let the Zerg forces take each other out. The entire Hive cluster had pretty much fallen to the grounds and died, the purple creep was retreating from the dead lands around.
"That went remarkably well, good plan boy," Vegeta said. I sensed something strange as the small Protoss fleet came to us from the south. I didn't see Tassadar's ship, but he had stayed back just in case something went wrong, and I sensed his Templar presence off in the direction we came from.
"What is it boy?" Vegeta asked.
"I don't know, something's wrong here, but I don't know what. I can't sense any power levels, but it feels like were being watched."
"You sure it isn't Zeratul?" he asked.
"No, because Zeratul is right behind you," I said smugly. Vegeta spun to see Zeratul emerge from the shadows there with a grin on his face.
"Verto is correct, there is something not right around here," he said carefully. I spotted a light energy distortion directly below the Protoss ships as I suddenly felt two presences. One of them clearly felt like a Zerg version of Vegeta, even as the real Vegeta was standing next to me. The other one didn't show up on my senses in a regular way, it felt like there was a void of energy there instead of normal air, much like Protoss ships when they are cloaked.
I quickly deduced what it was, "Commander, get your ships out of here right now!" I shouted into the scouter.
"What is the matter, wh-, ahhhh!" the voice screamed over the scouter just as an explosion went off right in the middle of the pack of ships. An energy beam had shot up from directly below and struck the largest ship, blowing it up and a majority of the rest with the single explosion. I frowned while Vegeta and Zeratul went through their gasping phases.
"What the hell? I sense a void of energy and I sense another one of you out there?" he asked.
"Take a guess," I said as two figures emerged from the smoke and debris. They landed in front of us, causing Vegeta to start double taking.
"Look what we found, the mold to the pieces of art, shall we play?" the shorter one asked, igniting more energy within him, his eyes turning blue. Once he started using his power, the void vanished in favor of his similar power. His energy felt familiar now that he was using more than just ki, he felt exactly like my darker self before I got rid of him. As he should, he looked just like I did when I was infested. Since he and the Overmind were linked and I had rid myself of the link, it was safe to say that he was sustained and reborn into this living mirror I was staring at. The taller one had a smirk that only the original could have produced, and possessed the same amount of power.
"Vegeta, you can take your predecessor. The little goody two shoes is mine," the other me said as they both powered up.
"Fine by me," I said in a low voice.
A/N: Hoowah! Here we go with my own little Clone War.