I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. Nor do I own any legal imprinting of whatever theme I'm using, such as a crossover with another anime, movie or TV series. Did I think it up? Yes. Was I the first to think it up? Probably not, but I digress. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just the merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.

Chapter 20: ROTW

"And the reports of devastation brought by the aliens just keeps getting worse. Currently, we believe over ten thousand people were lost in the great explosion that rocked the northern landscape this morning. We believe that no less than a dozen local towns were completely destroyed and several more heavily damaged. None of the residents have been found…more on this tonight at seven."

"There's no way anyone could possibly believe that you guys did that much rampaging last night. And here I thought reporters actually reported the news," Bulma remarked as she rolled her eyes slightly.

"Oh, they will, just depends on who controls that news. This is pure projection. I'm not an expert in the art of politics, but if you want to convince people that you are right against their own values, you first confuse them about the opposition. If anything, that little light show gave them a reason to do a missing or dead person count," Sonny pointed out from his prone position on a lab table.

"Maybe we should just stay put before going on the offensive again, they'll just use it as a rallying cry," Verto said in disgust. They were in Bulma's lab on the ship, where Sonny was laying on a table while Bulma took scans of his body. Both Verto and Gohan were in the room in case something went wrong, but so far there was no indication of that.

"So, this is strange, the nanites in your body have a different signature than the ones I've seen before," Bulma mentioned.

Sonny's eyes shifted sideways, "Meaning what?"

"Well, from what I can see, they are repairing the damage you suffered to your enhanced body, but are not intruding on any motor or brain function. In other words, they are not controlling your brain right now. That's also still in there by the way, it is just encased in a stronger shell than before," Bulma explained.

Sonny sat up in concern, "Was it not supposed to be?"

"With some of the earlier cyborgs the brain was entirely gone, but I suspect that this is simply the case now with the new generation that are being transformed out in the open and not in a lab somewhere. We still don't know why the brains were removed to begin with," Verto replied.

"That's not weird at all," Sonny muttered.

"If I may intrude, I believe that the detective received a special dose of nanites unlike the others. His cyborg body is emitting slightly higher energy levels and appears to be more durable," Kain said from the console computer.

Verto nodded, "I noticed that too. You actually took one of my weak punches."

Sonny glanced at him in surprise, "Well don't worry, I'm not game for another one any time soon."

"But what does that mean?" Gohan asked.

"Well, they may have had a special purpose for Sonny, hard to tell what it is. The bomb in his chest is low yield and would barely damage a bedroom," Bulma said as she typed a few commands on her keyboard.

"That's…reassuring. Can you remove it?" Sonny asked nervously. Bulma pulled up a scan of Sonny's body which located the bomb in question inside the chest cavity.

"That's the other thing, your body doesn't appear to have transformed completely. You still have a heart and lungs that work along with your brain. That appears to be the only deviation though, the rest of you is one hundred percent robotic, even your nervous system outside your brain. I wonder if the rest are like this," Bulma pondered.

Verto folded his arms, "That would make sense if he is part of a new generation, but I have to argue on the controlling part, he also had a zombie mode."

"Had. I won't pretend to understand the application of your powers kid, but whatever your Feedback technique does, it appears to have shut down that particular function within the nanites," Bulma replied.

"I concur with Miss Bulma. Having experienced your technique for myself, I can say that it had a profound effect on my programming as a destructive hologram and pacified my code even before she could rewrite it," Kain added.

Sonny cleared his throat, "Well I won't pretend to understand any of what you guys just said, but can you answer the question about removing the bomb? I don't care if it's barely a firework, I want it out."

Bulma stroked her chin in thought, "It is awfully close to your heart, but I think I can do it with some assistance."

"You mean you aren't sure if you can?" Sonny asked with alarm.

"Well, the last time I operated on someone like that he was a full robot with no human parts at all. Not to worry, I've had some practice with cyborgs as of late. Although there is a slight problem in that I have no anesthesia to put you out with," Bulma said as she opened a small tray of tools.

Sonny glanced at both half Saiyans in the room, "Which one of you can knock me out for this?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary, although I will need an assistant, so one of you can volunteer for that," Bulma said as she pulled out a small scalpel.

"Pardon again, but the Namekian Piccolo is asking for you, Verto," Kain interrupted.

Verto grinned and hopped off the small table he had been sitting on as he glanced at Gohan, "You wanted to be a doctor, right?" Gohan looked ready to lodge a protest, but Bulma had already pulled his arm over to a nervous looking Sonny.

Verto strolled out the ship door, passing the pair of Trunks and Goten arguing over the large TV screen that Bulma had provided in the center of the ship. He sensed the Namekian in question just outside the ship, though what he wanted was anyone's guess at this point. As he stepped down the ramp, he noticed a spike in energy output nearby. It wasn't much to sense, but it was at least a few miles off. Piccolo noticed it too but didn't move to do anything about it.

"Looks like Seventeen's patrol was not a waste of time. He was just attacked by a small squadron of cyborgs. And he just wiped them out," Verto said.

Piccolo scowled, "So they're serious about making this a war, what fools."

"In fairness, it really isn't up to them," Verto reminded.

"No, it isn't. Which makes what I'm about to do harder," Piccolo said with disdain.

Verto's eyebrow went way up, "Go on."

"Vegeta tells me that fire is what flipped your power seal this time, correct?"

"Yeah, although Leira did something weird to them this time. I was able to go full power Super Saiyan Two without unlocking it. And before, when it was flipped again, I had to unlock it to have anything. So, something is different now," Verto admitted as he held his hands up.

"Have you tried using the unlock spell again since the change?" Piccolo asked.

"No, think I should test it?"

"Might as well try. But keep it away from the island," Piccolo suggested. Verto nodded and flew straight upwards before crossing his wrists together as he had been taught. There was no reaction at all. He removed his wristbands and pressed very firmly, but there was no glow, no change in the black lettering, nothing. He dropped back down and landed; a bit disappointed.

"It seems she did more than just fix the previously vulnerability. But we still need to address it now. Hold out your hands," Piccolo ordered. Verto was slightly confused but did as asked. Piccolo's hands glowed for a moment over Verto's own before the Saiyan's blue eyes suddenly shifted to black, and he felt faint. He fell to one knee for a moment and breathed hard before he realized what happened. Within moments, he felt his Ki return to him, and he was able to stand normally, but still a bit disoriented. His Psi energy was nonexistent.

"W-What did you do?" Verto asked.

"Last year when you first received those, Leira taught me the spell to fix the seal. She knew you were likely to break the seal or at least damage it in some way just from training. Every time you release it for more power, it weakens very slightly. She did not mention that your power could flip between energy sources with certain situations, and I'm sure that has had an effect as well. The spell I used is for correcting that, but I had not used it until after you and Trunks destroyed the facility in Satan City, and this time as well. It is possible that she only intended it to reverse the seal back to where it was," Piccolo explained.

Verto scowled angrily, "Fine, you demonstrated, now flip it back."

"What?"

"You heard me. You saw what happened, my Feedback technique can help them, at least it did Sonny. Who's to say it wouldn't work on the rest of them?" Verto argued.

"You're right, it might. However, you yourself gave up those powers on purpose last year, and until the gods themselves decide otherwise, you are not to have access to your Psionic energy. You set that rule as I recall, they didn't. You know as well as anyone how potentially dangerous it would be to continue to expose humans to it more than you already have," Piccolo countered.

"As opposed to being turned into mindless robots by a madman?"

"A madman you have yet to eliminate," Vegeta growled from behind as he landed.

"If there's someone who should not be speaking on that subject, it's you," Verto fired back.

"In any case, I was to fix your seal any time that this happened. It's not that I want to, but the overseers of this realm can make things very difficult, you know this all too well," Piccolo said as he turned.

"As if they could," Vegeta muttered.

Verto shook his head and scowled at both of them, "Whose side are you two on anyway?"

Piccolo turned back, "This planet's side. There is some good news, if you want to call it that. You were partially right, the souls of the cyborgs you destroyed yesterday have checked into the afterlife. King Yemma told Dende that they were completely normal when they arrived, but very confused and in an extremely weakened state."

"Weakened and confused how?"

"Apparently none of them have any memory of being a cyborg at all, but their souls had been severely drained of energy for extended lengths of time. King Yemma had to basically give them the equivalent of soul life support you could say. This may be what helps keep the cyborgs in line and under the control of Doctor Wheelo," Piccolo finished.

"Well, if they are trying to summon some demon, we don't have to wonder where the energy goes at least," Verto muttered.

"Yes, that is a problem. But until we can locate and eliminate them, they will be able to continue gathering energy and turning humans into cyborgs. We can't stay still for long, and our enemy knows that," Vegeta said.

"He's right. Even if it makes us look bad, the sooner we end this problem, the better," Verto agreed.

"Perhaps the detective could help us," Vegeta suggested.

Verto grimaced, "I'd ask, but I already know."

"You want me to what?" Sonny asked in shock.

Vegeta chuckled, "What's wrong, lost your nerve?"

"Ask your wife, my nerves are gone, literally. My point is that why would I go back there?" Sonny argued.

"Told you he'd say that," Bulma added as she bent a little closer to Sonny and looked through a magnifying tool strapped to her head. Bulma was busily tinkering around in Sonny's open cyborg chest, while Gohan assisted with aiming the light. Sonny was strapped down so he wouldn't move, but wide awake as the pair worked on him.

"Just a little more…there. The bomb is off, do you feel any different?" Bulma asked as she stood up straight.

Sonny blinked sharply, "No, aside from the generous anxiety your husband just gave me."

Verto cleared his throat before Vegeta could retort, "Well that at least means you feel normal. Vegeta's right that you would be our best shot at learning more about Wheelo's activity. But I can't say I blame you for not wanting to."

"Let's see, every time I am anywhere near that man, I end up in a situation where I'm either nearly killed, or otherwise affected. Clearly that hasn't worked out for me," Sonny said in dismay as Bulma closed up his metallic but pale chest.

"Well look at it this way, at least you won't have to worry about that bomb going off now," Bulma said as she welded Sonny's cyborg chest shut.

"About that, you said you could remove it. Why didn't you instead of just shutting it off?" Sonny argued.

Bulma frowned, "Well if you caught what I said before they came back in, I told you that not only is it too close to your heart, it is wired to it. Removing it will kill you."

Sonny sighed heavily, "Great. So will a well-aimed bullet. So, what you're saying is that I'm half as tough as those other robots."

Vegeta scoffed, "That isn't much of an improvement."

Sonny glared at him, "It isn't an improvement at all! Even if it was, why would I want to try and spy on them again?"

Verto rolled his eyes, "I see we're gonna get far with this idea."

"What if a few of you go with him, just hide in the shadows?" Bulma suggested.

"Yeah we've played that game already, here's the result," Sonny sniped back at her.

"No one told you to go off on your own and need rescuing," Verto reminded.

Bulma grimaced, "Well what do you suggest we do then, detective?"

Sonny sat up in thought, "Well, I do get where you guys are coming from, and I do want to help if I can. But there's no way those mad scientists haven't noticed that I'm missing by now, right? What good would it do to just show up on their doorstep like nothing happened?"

"He's right, if they can control the cyborgs from any sort of distance, surely they would know if they couldn't control him anymore, right?" Gohan suggested. A loud beeping drew their attention from the speaker on the side of the room.

"Yes Kain?" Bulma said.

"Madam, I believe that Doctor Wheelo's direct control over the cyborgs is limited to within a few miles. In nearly every instance of the changing state of the cyborgs' behavior, either Doctor Wheelo, Kochin, or Director Schultz have been nearby. Since both Doctor Wheelo and Kochin have multiple avatar clones of themselves active at once, it is then feasible that they have to be present to override their personalities," Kain explained.

"That makes sense. Otherwise what would be the point of making a cult of believers out of them? Leave the demon out of it, even with their minds and personalities wiped they have had emotions such as fear. I saw several that tried to run for it, only to be forced to fighting," Verto added.

"Exactly. And with the cult and propaganda show going on around the world, it is their way of attracting more followers. Even with the thousands they already have, it is a far cry from the millions of others. Even with his technology, the increased number of cyborgs would be more difficult to keep track of," Vegeta pointed out.

"Kain, you said before that there was a signal being transmitted and received from every cyborg. If that signal isn't for controlling them, what it is for?" Bulma asked.

Kain continued after a short pause, "Our previous assessment of the cyborg signal appears to be incorrect, as asserting direct control over that signal would essentially turn on the function for each cyborg all at once. That would create a massive vulnerability that I doubt Doctor Wheelo would risk. It would directly interfere with his recruitment plans. I suspect it is only for tracking and possibly each cyborg's explosive device."

Sonny breathed a noticeable sigh of relief, "Well good thing you just turned that off."

"I would not be so sure Detective, I am detecting that the signal is able to reach you in this very room," Kain replied. As soon as the words were said, Vegeta had pulled Bulma aside and aimed a charging blast at the surprised Sonny.

"Vegeta!" Bulma complained.

"So, hologram, they can track him. What else can they do? Give me another reason to end his misery right now," Vegeta warned.

"I do not have enough data for a hypothesis sir, but I cannot rule out video and audio transmissions as well. However, because the Detective's brain is intact and virtually undisturbed, I do not think they will be able to know what we are saying or doing, just his location," Kain added.

Bulma pulled Vegeta's hand down as the blast dissipated, "C'mon Vegeta, it's not like they wouldn't know we might be here anyway. Even without Flandal tracking him or us in some way, anyone that knows about us would know that we may be at Kame House. Especially with Capsule Corp gone."

Verto stepped in a bit closer, "Still, it isn't a good idea for Sonny to hang out here and constantly give them a location to home in on."

Sonny sighed again, "Fine, so I have to leave regardless. I get it."

Gohan, who had been fairly quiet, spoke up, "Maybe not. Kain, you said before you can trace the cyborg signal. Can you disrupt it in some way, or perhaps use it so that we can see their locations too?"

"An excellent suggestion sir. Allow me a moment to test your theory," Kain responded.

"I see, so we can use Wheelo's own trick against him," Verto said.

Gohan nodded, "Yeah. We can't rely on that map you found if they've already done their work there. But we can see where they are going, if this works." A large screen detached and lowered from the ceiling as the lights dimmed. A flat view of the world appeared on it, with numerous red dots afterwards. Each one blinked and glowed for a moment before fading, only to blink on again a few seconds later.

"I was successful, but this may not show every cyborg active at all times as we are at the mercy of the signal's refresh rate. I am also not able to scan past a certain distance accurately," Kain explained. Verto eyed the map, noting the large numbers that were around North City and South City. There were also scattered pockets near the other major cities, but not nearly the same concentration. Aside from South City and the one at Kame House, there were almost no cyborgs in the southern lands, which was surprising. There were some very scattered signals, but nothing concentrated.

"Kain, overlay with the known occupied territory and locations of labs, destroyed or otherwise," Bulma ordered. The terrain around North and South City changed to a darker red, while the lab locations were revealed in purple or gray. This included all of the labs they had visited so far, and four more. One was in the far northeast, well past East City. Another was further west in the cold tundra, but quite a distance away from the other one that had been destroyed. The third was just west of West City, but on the land and not the water. The fourth was in gray over the south-western desert in the vicinity of Nam's village.

"Practically on our doorstep," Bulma muttered aloud.

"The laboratory locations in gray have already been critically damaged or destroyed. The three locations in purple I was able to retrieve in the raid this morning. The West City location is likely still being constructed or was very recently brought online. The last one in the desert appears to have been heavily damaged by the overloaded weather devices. I am unable to ascertain this however," Kain explained.

"Not surprising, but we won't know for sure now," Verto added.

"Not without visual confirmation sir. The weather anomalies in that area have continued since they were activated. It is unlikely anything is still alive in that area. Even the cyborgs would not function well," Kain continued.

Bulma frowned slightly, "Kain, could the tracking signal trace the weather machines too?" Another moment passed before several orange dots appeared on the map, filling the desert lands. Two however were much further from the rest of them. One of them was in the icy tundra but a fair distance from the active lab. The other was in the south not far from Kame Island, very near a small city that was just under a mountain range. There were also a few red dots that were blinking in and out near it.

"So that signal is literally running his entire network," Bulma said as she observed the colorful map.

"Kain, that one that is near here, is it close enough to have an impact?" Verto asked with concern.

"No sir, but the potential detonation would damage the city and any populace there," Kain explained.

"That's Mount Frypan, Ox King's village," Bulma said in realization.

"If that map is right, there's cyborgs there, but not very many of them. Gohan, I think it's time to pick up your grandpa. I'll come with you," Verto suggested as he put his hand on Gohan's back.

"Should just the two of you be going?" Sonny asked.

Vegeta snorted, "They can take care of themselves. Gohan is the last of us that Cash would want to mess with."

Gohan nodded and placed two fingers on his head, "We're on it. Bulma, please call my Dad so he knows we're coming. I think it would be best to take the villagers there. I sense him in the town closest to his house, probably helping my mother and Videl shop."

Bulma nodded, "Good luck you two." Both Verto and Gohan promptly phased out due to Instant Transmission, leaving the rest of them silent for a moment.

"So, am I staying or going?" Sonny dared to ask.

Vegeta's glare practically answered the question, "Depends on if you plan to be useful."

Sonny scowled slightly, "Well that hasn't changed. Fine, I'll do it."

Goku waited outside a supermarket for his wife and daughter-in-law. He had wanted to spend his time training, but with the added threat of the cyborgs, he didn't want to risk Chichi nor Videl's safety when no one else was around. They had left Goten with Gohan at Bulma's ship, so there was little to worry about there. The survivors of Nam's village were camped within a mile of his house and were adjusting to their new environment on their own. Though Chichi wanted to prepare at least a few dinners in their honor, thus the need for the store trip. Goku was overly excited for Uub's powerful showing the other day, but knew he had to temper his excitement since the child was barely even aware of his own surroundings. The promise of an eventual fight with a powerful foe did keep him occupied but his appetite for battle was not going to be filled with cyborgs weaker than he was. This resulted in some disappointed boredom, but not so much that he lost focus. Doctor Wheelo was proving to be a foe not to underestimate, nor look down upon.

Goku folded his arms impatiently, "I wonder what Chichi will make for dinner?"

"Excuse me, Son Goku?" a voice asked.

Goku turned, seeing a hooded figure not far away, "Do I know you?"

The figure removed his hood, revealing a thin man with short dark hair with gray streaks beneath, "No, I suppose you probably wouldn't. But I know you quite well, Son Goku." Goku's eyes narrowed, trying to place the man's face, but his memory was drawing a blank.

"Sorry, have we met?"

The man frowned, "Fine, I'll spell it out for you. I'm Doctor Wheelo!"

"You are? Where's the big robot?" Goku asked as he looked around.

Wheelo's face twisted into a deep scowl, "This is an avatar you fool, I literally have the same type of body as the one you saw the other day! It's a robotic clone that I can control from a distance and I modeled it after my human form. Understand now?"

Goku nodded and assumed a fighting stance, "Okay, I got you now. That's right I saw you like that the other day, but you were all busted up. So, I take it you are here to fight. Let's see what you've got."

Wheelo's face fell as he smacked his own head, "Clearly I did not choose the smart one. Maybe I should have considered your son and had the other one come here."

Goku was confused, "Huh? What do you mean? If you're not here to fight, why are you here?"

"This body cannot possibly compete with you, Son Goku, there is no denying that fact. Your base Saiyan power would be too much to go up against. I wish to discuss terms with you. If you give up your body willingly, I will leave this planet. I will stop creating cyborg slaves and I will cease the destruction. You are the strongest and have the perfect body for me to inhabit. And let's face it, in brain power alone, you would be far superior than you are now. Imagine the possibilities, your strength and my mind joined together. There is no foe you could not defeat," Wheelo offered with a sly smile.

Goku grimaced slightly, "No thanks. I don't think that's any way to gain strength. Besides, if you can do this much, just build yourself a better body."

Wheelo smile didn't waver, "Oh believe me, if it were that simple I would. And while your idea is not without merit, the resources to accomplish that are not easily gathered. But I will consider it as a contingency plan."

"Oh well, I'm not interested. Come back when you want to fight," Goku said as he turned around.

"There is something you should probably know, Goku. As things are right now, this world is doomed," Wheelo warned.

"Then stop doing what you're doing. Stop hurting people," Goku retorted.

"It isn't doomed because of me Goku. I have no control over the direction of the Max cult, I am as much a slave as the cyborgs are. You see, the powerful being Lord Torev demands that I keep making them. Several forces will be coming together to obliterate this planet and then the entire galaxy after it. The destruction they will bring is on a scale you have never experienced. I have foreseen it, and it is not a future I am interested in. If we were to join together however, we could stop it before it starts," Wheelo claimed.

Goku glanced back at Wheelo, "What forces?"

Wheelo smirked, "You'll find out soon."

Wheelo then turned around and walked away, "Think about it Goku. I am not hard to find should you change your mind. Just know that the activities of the Max cult are a result of the careless behavior that you and your friends take with all your battles. I can end it immediately, with your help. Until then, I will explore other possibilities." Wheelo then phased out, and Goku was unable to sense where he went. The doors of the store opened suddenly, and Chichi poked her head out.

"Goku, who were you talking to?" she asked.

Goku rubbed the back of his head, "Oh no one really. Are you ready to go home yet?"

"Only if you help us get all the groceries, we only have two hands after all!"

Goku glanced inside the store at Videl, who was paying the clerk at the cash register, "Isn't Videl helping too?"

Chichi folded her arms in disgust, "Videl's not feeling well. Besides, she's paying for it all, so the least you could do is provide some muscle since that's what you're good at!"

Verto flew over the edge of Ox King's village, searching for any stragglers. He and Gohan did not have much trouble in convincing the Ox King nor the villagers to prepare for evacuation. Unlike other places, the people were aware of the Z fighters and did not need to be told twice. Most of them were clustered near the half-ruined castle where the Ox King himself lived, but there was a smattering of houses around the edge by several miles. Given that it was very calm around the area, the people were given time to collect some essentials before coming back to Gohan for transportation, but given the situation, they didn't want to wait long. That being said, both Verto and Gohan were very aware that there were at least a few cyborgs among them, but they had yet to identify who. Near the tree line, Verto spotted a pair of teenagers walking together. He reached out with his senses to check to see if they were cyborgs, but he sensed nothing abnormal about them. Verto dove down and landed in front, startling them.

"Hey, you need to go to the center of town. Everyone is evacuating. I know things seem calm right now, but that could change very quickly, there's a bomb underground nearby that could go off at any time," Verto warned. The two teens nodded and ran off into town without a word, which Verto was thankful for. Above, storm clouds began to quickly gather, indicating that their time was up.

"Impressive. Did you and your friends naturally deduce that this location was about to be destroyed or was it a lucky guess?" a voice asked. Verto sensed the odd energy signal and knew who it was before he turned around.

"A little bit of both I suppose. So, tell me, Wizard, been to any fun dimensions lately?" Verto asked in spite.

Soren smiled lightly as he bowed, "You may call me Soren, remember? And no, I would not say I have."

"I can say I at least know who you are now. Kinda surprised I didn't realize it sooner, but I was a bit distracted," Verto admitted.

"Oh? Did you finally recognize me?"

"You're the wizard I met when I first came to this world. The one who could send us to other worlds and times at will. You sent me and my friends on a wild and annoying roller coaster ride that damn near got us killed. You changed your form somehow as you were way more decrepit before, but I can't think of anyone else who can transport people around like you can. If anything made that clearer, it's the fact that you didn't just dump me on a random world god knows where. You sent me somewhere I would be easily found. Not to mention that you conveniently saved me the other day and allowed me to wipe out Schultz," Verto explained.

Soren clapped his hands, "Very good young man. You are not quite the punch-happy kid I met several years ago. I'm impressed, I am not easily found out or detected. Even by deities."

"That doesn't really say anything, I don't recall you being very benevolent last time we met either. So why are you working with Wheelo? And for that matter, why did you help me?" Verto asked directly.

"Well, it's complicated. There are forces at work far beyond this planet or even this realm. And unfortunately, they have a greater reach than I do presently. In fact, one could say I am at their mercy right now," Soren said vaguely.

Verto huffed slightly, "You're at their mercy? Yeah, I don't buy it. You could just drop them in the sun if it's that dire. So, tell me another one."

"If you must know, they are holding someone hostage in return for my services. A girl, whose fate was thrown onto her and who has been dealt a bad hand. You could say that she has had a hand in the events lately, though it goes back further than that. I care very much for her you see, so I cannot just drop someone in the sun as you say without her being killed. That cannot happen, for it would throw this realm into greater chaos than it already is in. Unfortunately, she is also the reason that your friends the Guardians cannot interfere, so I'm already walking a very fine line," Soren continued.

"Interesting you would name drop them. What do they have to do with this?" Verto asked.

Soren frowned, "Let's just say, their cold war with their enemy and dealings with you have a rather large part to do with this. No one from either side is supposed to interfere in this realm, but it has been happening anyway."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Well that's just great. This girl, who is she?"

"Well, she has mentioned you more than once. Let's just say purple is definitely her color," Soren said with a knowing smile. Verto's spine went rigid and cold as he said nothing.

"Judging by your reaction, it appears you may know of whom I speak. Listen, there is a slim chance to save her, but that chance must come at the right time. No one can know that we are speaking now, I'm already taking a risk just speaking to you. It isn't just Doctor Wheelo you should be worried about. He has a part to play in their plan, but he is not the most crucial piece," Soren said.

Verto scowled, "How do I know you are not just trying to bait me into taking action?"

Soren smirked, "I suppose you don't have any reason to trust me. Except that I have not used my abilities to harm you."

"Not killing me is not the same as gaining my trust," Verto countered.

"No, it isn't. I suggest that once you debrief the detective, you send him back by way of the Central Capital through a South City transport. That is Wheelo's next target to secede from the World Government, despite what the news may tell you about the other cities. I will see to it that they do not discover that he has been compromised, and he will be able to report back what he finds there," Soren stated.

"And if we don't?" Verto asked.

"Well, whether you do or do not, more people are likely to die. But the chance of stopping it will become greater when you find the girl, if you act fast enough. One more thing, I apologize now for what is about to happen. I'm afraid Doctor Wheelo is quite insistent on his attempts to combat you and your friends and does not always heed my advice," Soren claimed. Soren then promptly vanished into thin air, leaving Verto alone in the rain. He had heard the last part of Soren's statement, but he was far more distracted with the previous words. He stayed there for many moments as he stared up into the storm clouds above, as if they held a clue as to what was happening.

Are you really still alive, Lenz?

A/n: If you are wondering, the chapter title ROTW is an acronym for Return of the Wizard.

Next time on DBV: The mad scientists manage to separate Verto from Gohan, but the outcome does not go the way they expect. Elsewhere, Bulma and Mr. Satan are invited to a World Peace Summit by King Furry, but as they soon find out, peace is not the expected outcome...

WDG: Well now, there's a twist and a half... ;)

VB: Nah, I have no idea what you mean… :p