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 21: A Grand Miscalculation

Gohan waited patiently as the villagers gathered in the center of town near him and his grandfather. Ox King had wasted no time in sounding the alarm and getting everyone's attention, though there were many stragglers. He had sensed Verto land just before a storm cloud suddenly formed and began raining on them, but nothing else. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the entire crowd of villagers, of which there likely wasn't more than two hundred of them.

I know at least a few of these people are cyborg infiltrators, but which ones? We may have not much time! Who knows when that weather bomb will go off? The intensity of the storm overhead increased as the villagers retreated for the cover of an overhang or used extra layered clothing to help keep dry.

"Gohan, we should go, now!" Ox King urged.

"I know, have everyone form a chain so we can teleport," Gohan ordered.

The crowd did as they were told, forming a circle around the center of the town while Gohan prepared to use Instant Transmission. There were a few teenagers that were running late from the direction of Verto, but they joined hands just before Gohan was about to teleport. He locked on to his parents' house as he had been there more than enough times to go directly there without anyone else being there. He sensed that his father, mother and wife were also headed there, so even if he didn't have to lock on to someone, he could have. Just as he was about to trigger Instant Transmission, he paused when he sensed Verto flying in, and chose to wait.

"Good timing, we need to get going. Who knows how long we have if they choose to make that weather machine overload," Gohan said as Verto landed about twenty feet away

Verto was quick to point something out, "Hold on, we know there's a few cyborgs in the crowd. And you know they have bombs, taking them right to a potential target is not the best idea."

Gohan pulled his fingers down, "Yeah, but we can't stay here. How do we know which ones they are?" Verto glanced over the crowd, seeing nothing but fearful and nervous faces, and sensing the same. He specifically was looking for any signs of energy fluctuations or bloodlust, but he wasn't sensing anything.

"Gohan!" Ox King urged again.

"Talk about a rock and a hard place," Verto grumbled. The lightning increased and struck several houses as once, surprising everyone.

"Fine, but let's take them away from your parents' house," Verto suggested.

Gohan nodded and concentrated again. Suddenly a large, red layer of energy erupted between them and extended straight upwards before arcing inwards towards the group. Verto was quick to realize that it was a barrier of some kind. The size of the barrier alone was nothing to make light of, as it encased much of the village, easily a few miles in diameter. Despite being just feet away, Verto realized instantly he could no longer sense Gohan or anyone inside despite seeing them easily. Gohan came to the same realization as the barrier closed in above him, putting an end to the rain and blocking any lightning strikes. The people huddled together regardless as most of the village was enveloped by this strange barrier.

"What's going on Gohan?" Ox King asked.

Gohan stood ready for virtually anything but didn't have an answer for him. Outside, Verto transformed to Super Saiyan and attempted to punch his way through the barrier, to no avail. He backed off and shot a decently strong energy blast at it, but there was no effect outside of a minor crater. The barrier extended into the dirt, which began to crack around its base, effectively forming more of a sphere than a dome.

"Damnit, what the hell is this?" Verto asked. His answer came when he heard laughter from inside. Gohan turned as a previously covered villager removed his covering and revealed a thin man with short hair and a lab coat.

"So, it's you again," Gohan said with distain as he stared down the newcomer.

Doctor Wheelo bowed slightly, "This was easier than expected I must say. I didn't think it would be this simple to trap you, son of Goku. All we had to do was wait."

"Listen you, I don't know who you are, but this is my village and my people! I will not allow you to harm them," Ox King declared as he stepped forward.

Wheelo grinned, "Your compliance isn't a factor. But my business isn't with you, it's with your grandson. Son Gohan, I wish to discuss terms."

Gohan's eyes darted from side to side as he allowed his energy to slowly rise before stepping in front of his grandfather, "I'm listening."

"My offer is to end this senseless conflict, if you surrender your body to me. Allow me to join my mind with your own, and together we will combat the coming threat and bring peace to this world," Wheelo stated.

"You can just forget about that," Gohan replied in a cold tone.

"I assumed that would be your answer before you even let me say my case. Oh well, I have other methods to get what I want," Wheelo said.

A flash of light went off around Wheelo and suddenly he was gone. He reappeared outside the barrier opposite Verto and pulled a small remote control out of his clothing that featured a large red button. Verto's eyes went wide as he blasted off the ground and attempted to get around the barrier, but it was much too large to quickly get around. A very small portal the size of one's hand opened up before Gohan and Wheelo, allowing Wheelo to speak to him directly.

"So, what do you think Gohan? Do you think we can try this negotiation again?" Wheelo called out.

Gohan tensed up slightly, "You leave these people out of this. I'm warning you now!"

"I would, if you would kindly surrender yourself. But I don't think you're going to do that, so an example will be made. Remember, it will be you that failed them," Wheelo said as he pressed the button and the small portal disappeared. All at once the ground shook violently before the village disappeared in a great light.

"Gohan!" Verto shouted as the barrier contained the bulk of the explosion.

He managed to clear the other side of the barrier and approach Wheelo, but it was far too late. Inside the barrier, the smoke slowly cleared, revealing a desolate landscape and an utterly destroyed village. Most of the land was blackened to a point where there was nothing left to burn. Gohan had been able to guard himself and only his outfit was affected, but the same could not be said others inside the barrier. There were no villagers left alive, and many of them had simply vaporized in the blast. Ox King himself was down and in a ruined condition, unable to do much aside from gasp for breath as blood came from his mouth and stained his beard.

Gohan was quick to dart to his grandfather and attempt to hold his head up, "No! Grandpa, hang on!"

"Go-Gohan! D-Don't give in Gohan. You f-fight, you fight them! Evil men like him d-don't deserve your kindness…or… m-mercy…" Ox King stuttered. He promptly slumped in Gohan's arms as a last exhale of air came out of him.

Gohan closed his eyes painfully as tears flowed out and he wept, "Grandpa, no!"

Outside the barrier, Verto landed a few dozen feet from Wheelo, who crushed his remote control before dropping the remains.

"I don't suppose you would like to take his place? You wouldn't be my first choice, but you'd be an acceptable one," Wheelo said with a sneer.

Verto's face darkened as he stepped towards Wheelo, "Oh you're about to get more of me than you ever wanted."

"Sorry, but that's not in the cards today," Wheelo said as he suddenly vanished in another flash of light. A noticeable footfall sounded just inside the barrier, where Wheelo now was as he laughed and faced Verto.

"As you have seen, this barrier is quite impregnable. Soren's ability to create barriers is quite astounding, as are his teleportation powers. You see, if we don't want you to get near us, you won't be able to. Everything you've done to us has all been expected. You have never been in control of the situation. Every action you've taken has been anticipated down to the hairs on your head. It was a pity that Director Schultz was unable to survive your onslaught, but that experiment had run its course. You actually did us a great favor," Wheelo claimed.

Verto snorted slightly, "I doubt that. If you had truly anticipated everything, you'd know that the last place you should be is inside that barrier right now."

Wheelo's eyes widened as he turned around. He promptly exploded into thousands of small metal parts from one punch by an enraged Gohan. The force alone sent the parts flying into the barrier, which they bounced off as Verto looked on. Wheelo's head sparked at the neckline and rolled to the side on the ground, a look of pure shock that remained etched on his face as his robotic body ceased to function. Gohan breathed heavy as he had put much more into the attack than necessary, which given the circumstances was understandable.

Verto put his hand up to the barrier, "Gohan, I'm sorry." Gohan didn't look at him but nodded as he knelt and held his head.

"This barrier, it has to be something that Wizard conjured up," Verto remarked as he gazed upwards.

Gohan suddenly tensed up again and turned towards the center of what was the village. A large opening appeared in the air as an excessively large robot dropped out of it. It was identical to the Mark Six that Verto had seen that very morning, as was the pilot sitting in the head casing with the controls. The opening disappeared as Kochin drove the robot forward. There was one noticeable difference is that there were no extra power cores that the original had taken from the smaller models Verto and Vegeta had fought against. Being outside the barrier however, Verto was unable to tell if there was a large power difference.

"Hahaha, now this will be a true test!" Kochin declared as the Mk-Six stomped towards Gohan. Gohan stood up and clenched his fists, allowing his energy to flow out into a clear aura.

"Gohan, don't hold back. We can't afford to play around at this point," Verto advised. He needn't be concerned, as Gohan's eyes shifted to blue as he concentrated his power. A brief moment later, his hair turned silvery-white and his power skyrocketed.

The Mk-Six stopped as Kochin observed the transformation and waited. Verto also eyed the half-Saiyan, a little worried. He glanced around and tried to sense if there was another presence nearby, but he sensed nothing. Dirt and dust clogged his view as Gohan blasted off and sped towards the Mk-Six with incredible speed. Kochin was able to block against the incoming attack and forced Gohan away momentarily by swinging the massive robot's claw outward. Gohan phased out and struck the legs of the robot. Mk-Six tumbled to the ground, swinging wildly as it did. Gohan blocked the counter-attack with both hands before grabbing a hold of the large metal arm. Kochin cringed as the robot was thrown to the side and Gohan let go, sending the Mk-Six crashing into the barrier on the edge of the ruined village. Gohan didn't even hesitate and pulled his arms back, charging his father's trademark attack as his hands filled with bright green light. Kochin was able to recover the robot in time to see this and Mk-Six fired a golden energy blast before Gohan was ready. Verto was able to see Gohan pull one hand away before the robot's attack hit. Kochin laughed from inside the robot's head, until a bright green light leaked into his pod from the side.

"HA!" Mk-Six was blown aside and rolled around along the barrier as Gohan's Super Warp Kamehameha pushed the robot continuously. It even passed right in front of Verto and was sent flying along the barrier before the robot managed to push off. This did not save the robot however, as the powerful attack exploded just as the robot cleared the barrier. A brief moment passed before Verto could see the results. Kochin was struggling to get the robot up on its feet, gasping when he realized that the entire left arm was gone. It had been forced against the barrier and caught in the explosion of the blast, leaving nothing but ruined metal behind.

"No! It can't be! The shielding of this model is superior!" Kochin claimed.

Verto floated upwards so he could see the mad scientist at eye level, "Maybe you should've picked another target you fool!"

"Silence from the gallery you worm! I didn't think this battle would be an easy one! If we wanted an easy win, we would've chosen you instead!" Kochin exclaimed.

That did stop Verto from speaking any further, but it was more in realization, That means they're not serious in trying to beat us, not yet anyway. This is still in a planning and preparation phase and they haven't shown their real cards. But if that were the case, they wouldn't have upped their game either. Maybe our efforts to stop them are not a complete waste, but it's possible that we are being distracted on purpose. And with the Wizard's teleportation abilities, they may not have to try too hard in order to isolate one of us like this.

Gohan approached Kochin's Mk-Six slowly while the latter appeared to be going over his options. A moment later he held out his right hand and formed a bright green Chi sword, one that Kochin took seriously.

"You can do his technique?!" Kochin shouted in surprise.

"Don't be that shocked, it isn't a hard concept if you know how to manipulate and concentrate energy," Verto said, pulling Kochin's attention for a moment.

That moment cost him dearly when Gohan phased out. The Mk-Six could not react fast enough when Gohan plunged his Chi sword into the shoulder of the robot's remaining arm. A brief barrier flashed on to block it, but it wasn't for long before Gohan's energy ripped through it. Kochin's eyes filled with fear when the other arm fell off from a nearly clean cut.

Verto smirked, Thought so, their armor and shielding are no match for Chi powered energy attacks, and certainly not the added training we've had since last year. Gohan has won this.

Kochin appeared to be coming to the same conclusion as he attempted to turn the Mk-Six and run away. The robot didn't get far before Gohan instantly phased out and blocked its path. Kochin got desperate and hit a large red button at the front of his console. The robot's mouth opened wide and fired a very powerful golden blast at nearly point-blank range. The blast poured over Gohan's position, but within an instant, Verto could see that it was not hitting him. Gohan was holding his right arm up as a thin but strong energy shield was blocking and dispersing the blast safely around him. The shield itself was shaped oddly with dips and peaks, similar to a police badge only much larger. Kochin seemed to realize that the blast wasn't doing any good, and Mk-Six stopped firing a moment later, revealing his folly when Gohan was unharmed.

"Damn, why can't I hurt him?!" Kochin grumbled aloud.

Gohan's shield then began to glow brightly, "Masenko-Shredder!"

All at once, dozens and hundreds of smaller green energy bullets fired out from the shield and straight into the motionless robot. Multiple explosions followed and large chunks of metal began hitting the ground amidst the firestorm. Gohan kept firing with all his fury behind each of the energy bullets, and Verto did not see one of them go astray from the robot for at least thirty seconds. When they finally did, it was due to a large portion of the robot falling away and being mixed in the cloud of dust and fire. Gohan ceased firing and stood up straight, allowing the smoke to clear. Around them, the barrier flashed for a moment before fading, allowing Verto to fly in closer.

"Nice to know Gohan took those training suggestions to heart. That robot didn't have a prayer," Verto muttered aloud.

The Mark Six robot was beyond shambles and had become mostly sparking debris with a few chunks of metal that could be considered usable. The casing had shattered at some point, and Kochin had been thrown out, but he did not escape the damage either. One of his robotic legs was missing, his lab coat torn to pieces, part of his metal head was exposed, and there was a sizable hole in his side that was leaking brown fluid.

"Damn you!" Kochin shouted as he tried to crawl away. He stopped crawling when he bumped his head directly into Verto's foot.

The younger half-Saiyan scowled down at him, "You sure chose poorly."

Kochin attempted to take it in stride, "You know nothing. This was just another experiment, and it gave us results beyond expectation!"

"I've noticed a trend with your experiments regarding us. They don't tend to go very well. Maybe you should write that down in your scientific conclusions. You're starting to get predictable," Verto replied.

Kochin laughed, causing his head to spark, "I beg to differ, you cocky brat. It tells us exactly what we need to know and allows us to adjust our strategy. We will find a way to overcome you and your friends. And then it won't matter how much power you possess or how angry you get!" Gohan approached, causing concern to rise in Kochin despite having powered down to normal but no less angry.

"Why are you doing this?" Gohan asked, shaking slightly.

"Isn't it obvious you alien scum? The world is in chaos, we are bringing it to order. It is only a matter of time now," Kochin claimed. A bright red light began flashing on Kochin's left wrist and he attempted to address it with his other hand, until Verto quite firmly dropped his foot onto Kochin's right shoulder, shattering it.

"I'm going to guess that's your own personal cyanide bomb, not this time shithead," Verto said.

Kochin scowled, "Hmph, it doesn't matter if you kill this robotic clone or not, our work will continue. We know your weakness for these foolish humans, and we will use it to our advantage. Even if you find all of our bases, we will use the people against you. By the time you find all of the labs it will be far too late, if you even can! You won't be able to rely on that turncoat hologram forever!"

"Well the beauty about that is that we won't have to," Verto said as he produced his golden Ki sword. He twirled it in his hand for a brief moment before plunging it into the exposed hole in Kochin's head.

Kochin's voice warped as he laughed strangely, "Ha ha…you…won't…survive…"

The clone ceased to function and a distinct sound of machinery powering down could be heard. Verto sighed as he powered down and allowed his energy sword to fade, while Gohan dropped to his knees and held his head in sorrow. The short battle was over, and now the emotions were going to run hard over what happened. Seconds later, Goku suddenly appeared via Instant Transmission. Goku first looked around in amazement, and quickly saw the body of the Ox King before turning to his weeping first born.

"Gohan, what happened here?!" Goku asked as he ran up to his son. Gohan couldn't answer as the tears flowed from his eyes. As father and son knelt together, Verto stared at the distance. The reality of the situation was that it wasn't just an experiment, the mad scientists had struck a vulnerability. Even if they had been dealt a blow in the process, the declaration of war was very real.

Several hours later, Verto sat in what had become basically his own personal command center, and slowly ate what dinner he felt like eating while he brooded a bit. The Son family had gathered together with the others and mourned the loss of the Ox King, in which Chichi in particular was the most devastated for obvious reasons. Before leaving the battlefield, Verto had grabbed what remaining parts he could find of any of the cyborgs, though there wasn't much after the weather machine had overloaded. Most of the remaining parts belonged to the huge robot, and what was Kochin. Verto had opted to bring the deactivated clone back and dump it on the floor of Bulma's lab, but not before kicking the head clean off in case it decided to activate again. Bulma had been a little shocked by this, but she didn't argue and thanked him for retrieving what had remained.

Before he had come down to brood, he confronted Sonny, who was preparing to leave. After what had happened, Sonny had a renewed courage to infiltrate Max and was busily prepping. Verto told him what Soren had suggested, omitting that the wizard had actually said it. There were enough Max uniform remnants nearby to make a passable disguise with, which Sonny did so, making him look like he had just been through a battle himself. He left on a small hover boat that Bulma provided and headed to South City. Verto had the world map up as he watched Sonny's tracking device blip on and off, showing his position. Bulma had wisely planted it in Sonny's arm, much like the tracking device she had implanted in Trunks the previous year, except this time there was no argument regarding it. Despite Sonny reaching South City and continuing on, Verto felt the need to stare at the screen and wait for the signal to stop suddenly.

"Sir, I am programmed to monitor everyone's actions and moods. You have barely consumed your meal," Kain said.

Verto scowled, "Yeah well, your emotional range is a little different than ours."

"That is true, my apologies sir," Kain replied.

Verto rolled his eyes slightly, "Don't waste processing power on apologies."

"I understand sir. By the way, my I ask why you directed Detective Satsu to the Southern Capital in order to infiltrate the Max organization in Central Capital? The chances of discovery are much higher within their occupied territory," Kain pointed out.

Verto's scowl deepened, "You don't miss much do you? Call it a hunch if you want. Besides, the argument could be made that they may find it more believable that he survived a battle here, unless he runs into another Kochin clone."

"A reasonable hypothesis sir. I have examined the clone of Kochin you brought back, and it does have similar nanotechnology as the other cyborgs, but with different programming. Miss Bulma is currently examining the data it has, but I find it doubtful that it will produce results. As a safety precaution, I deactivated the bomb within its core."

"Yeah good call, that's the last thing we need right now," Verto admitted.

"Miss Bulma is also asking for you," Kain said.

Verto sighed and stood up, leaving the room and his small dinner half eaten. He passed by the mourning Son family and other friends that were in the area, which now included Mr. Satan and Tien, who had come when called about what happened. Verto closed his eyes momentarily, sensing Vegeta and Piccolo within a few miles of the island, patrolling. Not surprisingly, he found Bulma alone in the lab, in which she appeared to be examining what was left of the Kochin clone with one of her hand tools.

"Hey, so I've been meaning to talk to you alone, but with all the craziness lately it just hasn't happened," Bulma said as he walked in.

"Yeah well, it's a little hard to do that when we have to group up. What is it?" Verto asked plainly.

Bulma put down her tool, "Are you alright? You've been going through, well a lot lately. You can talk to me you know."

Verto sighed slightly, "Yeah I'm a bit broody, I get it. I know I can talk to you or whomever, but I think other people need the support more than I do right now. I'm better at that than I am leaning on them."

"Sweetie, you've done incredibly well this past year given the circumstances, but you have done it mostly on your own. And while that is part of what makes you so strong, it can also weaken you. Even the strongest person needs a little help sometimes. I know how isolated it can feel when you are used to being the support system for everyone and then when you need it, you don't have it. It is a really lonely feeling," Bulma stated.

Verto grimaced but nodded slightly, "It hasn't been easy this past year, well, the past few years. I'll be honest about that. But I figured out a while ago that easy was not in the cards."

Bulma stepped closer, "Well, you know how to find me, even if it's just for an ear. You don't have to shoulder everything yourself."

"Thanks. Can we get back to the problems at hand?" Verto asked as Bulma nodded as she picked up her tool again.

"So, one thing confuses me a bit about all this, why has Flandal come out in the open like this? You told us that Kochin claimed that everything that has happened since this started was more or less planned. That would mean that they have been tracking us the entire time. But they've also lost, virtually every time. That doesn't make any sense. Setting up a bunch of walls for us to punch through, sometimes literally, is counter-productive," Bulma pointed out.

Verto rubbed his chin in thought, "True, and they couldn't rely on what moves we actually made. Sure, they can leave breadcrumbs, but there isn't always certainty in what happens after that. You can only anticipate someone's actions so much. So far, every battle they sure seemed determined to win, and they didn't. Had I, or any one of us, been alone for all of them, that might be different. But they have to know that taking one of us out will bring the group, and even with powered up giant robots, they are not ready for that."

"Well, maybe it is just a big distraction before the main show. We know for sure that Flandal has ties to Frost and the rest of the Frieza Empire, maybe they're finally coming. But my satellites in space show nothing even close to our solar system, and you guys would be able to sense him approaching, right?" Bulma asked.

"Well Frost can hide his energy, but not all of them would be able to. No this seems really deliberate, but Wheelo has always operated better with surprise attacks, not these. And the fact that they've gone after us the most is extra confusing," Verto replied.

"Well we're the ones that would stop them, that part makes sense," Bulma countered.

Verto shook his head, "No, specifically us. You, me, Vegeta, Trunks, even the detective to an extent. Until a few days ago when they brought their group front and center and what, a few times last year? They never purposefully went after Goku or Gohan, or even anyone else that I know of unless they sent agents on the side. If either of them or the others got involved it was entirely circumstantial. What changed for them to do so now?"

"Well it's easy to guess based on how strong they are, but we have other friends that are not as powerful that would be easier to take on. Aside from Gohan, who among them was more likely to be onto Flandal? We share the analytical traits, even Vegeta, and obviously the detective. If you're going to strategically take out targets, you would want to get rid of the smart ones first, the ones that can see it coming," Bulma pointed out.

Verto nodded, "Makes sense. And yet, they've failed nearly every time. Either they are hitting us in desperation, or this is purposefully a waste of effort."

"Which makes me think this is a huge distraction to keep us off balance. Maybe they want you to hit back in force and keep turning the world against us. Or maybe like today, they want to hit us where it hurts, where we're vulnerable. Let's think this through like they would, what would we then do?"

Verto frowned, "We group up, it would keep us all in one place, perfect for a strike designed to take us out all at once. But, they know how stupid that would be to attempt. They know that together we are harder to defeat without a lot of help that they don't appear to have yet. Or, if we are all together in one place, we're not out there, stopping them from doing what they want to do. Maybe that was the point of all this, to get us together for one of those outcomes. In chess, you have to shore up your pieces for a coordinated attack, and you have to pick off your enemy's pieces one by one while trying to anticipate what they will do. I think that's what this is."

Bulma sighed in agreement, "And we can't just split up again because that would make us easy targets, which they took advantage of with the Ox King and used that attempt to get at Gohan."

"Right, and it almost worked," Verto said in disgust.

"But, the armor of that new model was no match for him, right?" Bulma asked.

"That's right. It didn't have any chance against his power. Gohan probably could have handled that powered up one we fought this morning too. That's probably another reason they had avoided him, and another reason that I was targeted," Verto said as he glanced down at his hands.

"What do you mean? Surely they don't know about …" Bulma paused as Verto glanced up at her.

"That I can't generate Chi energy by myself because of the seal? I doubt they know it in such detail, but yeah, they know, and they took advantage of that. I also doubt they knew the seal would behave like it has, but had it not, I think several of these situations would have ended up with different outcomes," Verto exclaimed.

"Maybe you should reconsider that deal you made," Bulma said plainly.

Verto closed his eyes for a moment before a small single tear slipped out, "I know why you say that, but I didn't make that deal for me. And I'm not going back on my word. If it means leaving all of you behind, the ones that have become my new family, then forget it, I'd rather be weak. I have no interest in whatever they had in mind for me, which was probably fight their stupid wars."

Bulma smiled lightly and walked over, pulling Verto into a hug, "I know." Verto remained tense for a few seconds but gave into the embrace.

"Aw, hugs are nice," Goku said from the doorway.

Verto scowled slightly as Bulma allowed him to pull away, "How long were you there?"

"Geez, you don't have to go all Vegeta on me. Anyways, the TV was saying something interesting and that hologram-thing said it was saying something else," Goku claimed.

"Pardon the interruption Miss Bulma, but it appears that King Furry has been trying to contact you on a secured frequency. It was sent along with a global message from East City approximately one hour ago," Kain announced.

"Play the global message first Kain," Bulma requested. On the nearest video monitor, it blipped on with King Furry's face on a transmission from his desk. The video transmission was noticeably garbled, but the audio was clean.

"Fellow citizens of Earth, these have been trying times indeed. With the succession of North and South City from the world government and implied declaration of war, these are frightening times. But we must remain vigilant and we must reach out and negotiate a peace agreement. I ask that representatives of all capitols and regional governments come together at a peace summit here in Central Capital so that we can work together and restore peace to the world. I include those representatives of the MAX Nation in these discussions. I also invite Bulma Briefs and Mister Satan to attend. I know that there are bad feelings on both sides, but without negotiation, this can only end badly. Please…help us resolve this and regain what we have lost. The summit will be held at high noon in two days. Feel free to bring witnesses and other people to share your stories and we will begin the process of healing our damaged world. But please do not arrive with armies. We do not need to resolve this with violence."

Goku looked hopeful, "Well, that's good right?"

"Play the other message Kain," Verto ordered. The video didn't change, but the words coming from Furry did.

"Bulma, I hope this message is not intercepted. You probably know this already, but you and your group are being framed in these attacks by MAX, I know that now. MAX is trying to take over the entire world and transform everyone into cyborg slaves of Doctor Wheelo. My intelligence officers discovered that the acting heads of state for North and South cities were replaced with others loyal to him. We haven't been able to pinpoint everyone who has been transformed, but we were hoping you would be able to help before they attacked you. My best officer, Sonny Satsu, disappeared while investigating these actions, and while I know you were helping him to an extent, I had asked him to keep you out of it for now. Unfortunately, they are using these attacks as a smokescreen to hide the truth. I still don't know what they are after outside of world domination, but they have been looking into all sorts of relics, lost artifacts and temples, trying to find some kind of weapon. Something, or someone they call Torev. I'm sorry I don't have any more details and it is dangerous to speak on this channel. Please some to the summit and help me restore order."

"He knows all about it," Bulma deduced.

"Sounds like we should go to that sum…that something," Goku stuttered.

Bulma was quick to correct him, "Summit, Goku. It's a peace gathering, or at least that's what he wants it to be. It's good to know that he's on our side, but why did he feel the need to contact us using a coded message?"

Verto was quick to answer, "Because he's either been compromised, or his administration has, and it's a trap."

"What? No, I don't think he would do that," Goku claimed.

Verto scowled, "Not on purpose, no. That was very detailed for someone who doesn't usually get involved. Either he does know all of this in advance and he's warning us, or he was given all of that information. Notice he spoke of the detective not knowing we were already helping him, and he invoked Wheelo's preferred name. He also said there at the end that he wants to restore order, does that sound like the pacifistic king?"

"So, you don't trust him, do you?" Goku asked in disappointment.

Verto folded his arms, "It pays to be paranoid sometimes."

"Well I do trust King Furry, he wouldn't betray us. I wonder what that Torev weapon is, I wonder if it's a strong fighter to go up against," Goku pondered.

Bulma rolled her eyes, "One track mind as usual. Verto's right Goku, this could easily be a trap. And I think we have to fall into it."

Verto nodded, "Yeah, otherwise they'll just keep taking over. But we go in force. I don't care what that first message says, you know they'll be saving something big for this one. Whether they planned it, or the King did."

"Agreed. Let's go talk to Mister Satan and we'll plan this out," Bulma suggested as she headed for the door, followed by Verto and Goku.

Across the northern tundra, there was a vast area of flat land covered in snow. That snow soon shook and displaced slightly with a voice that came beneath it.

"Damn it, how can this be?!" Wheelo shouted. Below a dozen feet of snow was a small layer of dirt that covered a larger metal building. Inside that building, along a huge wall, was a large casing of glass held back liquid and a snug brain with wired connected. This brain casing was by itself on the wall, though it took up nearly half of it. Before it was an assortment of computers and other associated equipment, where another robotic clone of Kochin nervously typed on a keyboard. Nearby, the wizard Soren had folded his arms, grinning in amusement. Soren was flanked by a few hooded figures with matching beige colored robes, but their faces remained concealed.

"It is not my fault your clone crossed into a raging blizzard! Of course, it would suffer damage and malfunction!" Kochin snapped back as he typed furiously.

"I meant your Mark-Six for failing to defeat Son Gohan," Wheelo grumbled. Kochin paused momentarily but said nothing.

"I did tell you not to underestimate them, you should have learned that lesson by now," Soren reminded.

"Son Gohan is the strongest of them, that is true. Nevertheless, the Mark Six should have been able to defeat him when he was by himself!" Wheelo proclaimed, "Kochin-Ten, you better have an answer for this!"

Kochin's robotic body shook slightly, "I am uncertain Doctor Wheelo. But it is known that Son Gohan can produce more potent energy than the others. Our armor shielding was effective against the normal but powerful Ki energy attacks from Vegeta and even the Psionic attacks of Verto, but this was of a different type. We had assumed that because of his pursuit of education and career after his marriage that he had weakened somewhat, but that does not appear to be the case!"

Soren cleared his throat, "Ahem, I can be of assistance on this front. Son Gohan in his Super Mystic form can wield Chi energy, which is on a different level than normal Ki or Psionic energy, it is more or less the two put together. And fair warning, a strong enough wielder of those base energies can advance to the next level with enough concentration. Chi energy is near the level of the divine, but not quite."

"So, Son Gohan and the boy are like gods?" Wheelo asked with a notable tone of annoyance.

"Compared to a normal being it can seem that way, but no, they are not gods. Actual deities are god-like compared to them. But the potency of Chi energy is beyond your current level of technological expertise. You've seen it several times now in your experiments, and I can also wield it in small doses to perform my magic," Soren explained.

"That is enough Soren, they do not need to know all the details to understand the challenge Son Gohan brings. I suggest not angering him in the next confrontation without a suitable plan," a deep dark voice grumbled. A shadow raced across the ground and took an opposing place on the wall opposite Wheelo's brain, showing a vague dark form with large red eyes and nothing else.

"So, it's you," Wheelo said, earning a glare from the red eyed shadow.

"Apologies my lord, I was simply being of assistance to those that desire knowledge," Soren said with a bow.

The shadow's eyes fixated on him, "You have assisted. Now assist with furthering the summoning, when will it happen?"

"Preparations are nearing completion; I estimate no more than three days are needed to finally be ready. The amount of energy needed is nearly gathered and Lord Torev's form should be strong enough for travel," Soren replied.

"Good, this is your most important task so stay on it. Wheelo, is your part in this ready?" Wheelo took a moment to answer before the floor opened next to Kochin and an identical Wheelo clone emerged. The brain casing went dark as the clone appeared to activate.

"Much better. And in fairness, I'm just supplying the sacrificial meat for the summoning ritual, and the tracking sensors. But yes, that part has been ready for some time," Wheelo said as Kochin handed him a lab coat.

"I really do not see the point in you being in a weak robotic clone body any longer, you only draw attention to yourself. Not that it matters since once the clone is destroyed your interaction with the world is reduced to that jar," the shadow sneered.

"Sometimes to see the whole perspective, you need to walk with your own two feet," Wheelo said with a grin.

"Perhaps."

"My lord, I must ask, has the situation with the God of Destruction been resolved?" Soren asked.

"For now, yes. Ask no more about the local deities, you know they can monitor virtually anything in the lower realms. Leave us now Soren, so you can go and prepare the altar and our…guest," the shadow ordered.

"Understood," Soren said with a bow. A flash of light covered Soren for a moment before he vanished, though his two attendants stayed.

"As for you Wheelo, I suggest you return to more covert methods for the time being. Directly challenging the Saiyans at this point may not prove fruitful, and just throwing large heaps of robots at them will deplete your resources even more. Wait for them to come to you, as they have been, and utilize the weaklings they protect," the shadow suggested before fading.

Kochin sighed, "Are we to follow those directions?"

Wheelo scowled, "For now, it will probably be in our best interest. How many Mark Sixes have been completed?"

Kochin tapped on his keyboard once more, "We are down to only one sir, and it has not had proper time to charge its power yet as the solar batteries have been affected by the snowstorms. If our conduit between bases had not been obliterated by the Saiyans, we would have been able to deploy it by now. However, we do have ten Mark Fives that can be deployed at any time. And we have an abundance of spare power cores."

Wheelo teeth appeared for a moment in anger, "And our advanced cyborgs? How has testing progressed?"

Kochin nervously grimaced at this, "Most of our test subjects were in the now-destroyed lab sir, deactivated due to problematic field tests. I suspect I could have corrected them within a week but now that is impossible."

Wheelo's fist hit the console, creating a dent and startling Kochin, "Damn monkeys. Alright, we'll take his advice and stop our major activities for now. We won't be able to fully defeat them right now anyway. You two!"

The robed figures glanced up at Wheelo and spoke together, "Yes Doctor?"

"How is recruitment into the Torev Cult proceeding?"

The robed figure on the right stepped forward, "Unfortunately, nearly all of our operatives in Satan City were wiped out. That being said, we have successfully infiltrated all layers of government and law enforcement in Eastern and Western Capitals despite the damage caused by the aliens. Much of Central Capital is ours as well, but we ran into setbacks that you are already aware of. We can begin advertising the mass gatherings soon at your convenience."

"Doctor Wheelo, I advise we not do that quite yet, I think the Saiyans are onto us using that traitorous hologram Kain. Allow me to bring up the display," Kochin said as he typed more into the computer. A large display opened up a few feet away, displaying various red dots. It was very similar to the map Kain had produced, but it also featured several large gray rings that extended outwards from a small island off the coastline in the east. That island was covered in a large blue dot and was the center point of all the rings.

Wheelo folded his arms, "Kain's scanning ability even when boosted by Bulma's technology cannot completely pick up our signal, that much I know. I would guess that the operational limit is four hundred kilometers before efficiency drops below fifty percent, after which the locations will not be as accurate. That's likely how they were able to detect the trap we laid for them at Mount Frypan. They won't venture too far from that old hermit's island until provoked, and certainly not alone at this stage. If we can avoid their immediate perimeter and avoid Son Goku's home near Mount Paozu, we should be able to operate as we wish to some extent."

"If you say so sir, but we should still find a way to disrupt this. All their forms of communication should be dealt with before we can make the next big move," Kochin advised.

Wheelo nodded, "Yes, find a way to do so quickly."

A loud beeping sound drew their attention, and Kochin was quick to investigate, "It seems that King Furry has extended an invitation to every major city governor and Bulma Briefs to attend a world peace summit. This of course means you as well Doctor Wheelo."

Wheelo grinned, "Interesting. We should make use of this peace talk to further our position. You two, send whoever can be of use to the summit and pursue the word of your lord. Avoid actions against the Saiyans unless the opportunity presents itself. I assume they will come in force, so limit your targets and do not kill anyone in front of the cameras until it is time. I want the whole world to watch as we expose them." The two robed figures bowed and scurried away while Wheelo gazed at the paused screen of King Furry, chuckling to himself.

"Didn't we fail to infiltrate the King's cabinet in the Central Capital?" Kochin asked.

Wheelo's grin didn't waver, "True, we haven't been able to as of yet, but the Saiyans don't know that. It's time for them to make the critical error. I assume I can also count on some extra special presents to give them?"

Kochin cackled, "Of course, Doctor Wheelo."