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 25: Answers

Several hours later, Verto sat alone on the beach of Master Roshi's island, watching the waves brush up into the sand. Gohan had teleported them back and he was given a Senzu Bean to heal his physical wounds. The bean did not heal anything else however, which was blatantly obvious to everyone present. Bulma had tried to get him to talk to her, but he wasn't having any of it. Chichi and Videl teamed up to make a generous meal, but he wouldn't eat even one bite. Vegeta attempted to goad him into a sparring match, but Verto was quite defiant about not doing so. Krillin even tried cracking a few jokes, to no avail. About the only response any of them got was Verto putting his head down and sighing heavily. Piccolo was the only one who seemed to understand that as much as Verto needed support, he also needed to be alone to work through his thoughts. That being said, it wasn't sadness he felt from Verto like he would have expected, it was an incredible, inordinate amount of anger. The kind of anger that he would've expected out of Vegeta on a normal day, or out of Gohan given the right circumstances. He was more impressed that Verto had been able to keep even tempered, even if it was only on the outside. The amount of stress he had been under was already quite drastic, but now, it was exponentially higher. Piccolo waited until everyone on the island or ship had retired for the night before he even considered approaching the half-Saiyan.

"So, do you intend to constructively focus all of that anger and rage I am sensing from you?" Piccolo asked first.

Verto's eyes finally shifted from the water, "Probably."

Piccolo smirked, "Well, that's a start. So, your evil demon girlfriend is back, somehow. Your evil counterpart is back, somehow, and has a powerful cloned version of your body to use. Doctor Wheelo has taken over the World Nation, and all of those forces are in league with each other. What do you intend to do about it?"

Smokey waves of energy leaked out from Verto momentarily before subsiding, "Stop them."

"Even if you have to kill them to get the job done?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the only way this will go."

"Well, at least you understand that. The impression you were giving off was one of surrender, I am glad that is not the case. Now the real question is how are we going to stop them? You are also in a weakened state to fight against them. We can't seem to sense their presence until they show up again. Do you have any theories?" Piccolo asked.

Verto took a moment to answer as he stared at the water again, "I get what you're doing right now, you don't have to force it. I've actually been considering that for the last hour or so. I'm not convinced that this is the end of the line. If the entire point of the cult was to get those two back in the game, Kaon could have done it from the start without Wheelo's help. Even if it required a lot of energy before mine came into play, she could have done all that herself. And Wheelo tiptoeing around, slowing taking over, that serves no purpose at all when you put the two together. They acted coordinated, but they weren't. Wheelo didn't even know I was part of their plan. Maybe the entire point was to use him and his resources as a testing ground for making demon-human hybrids, but I would think we would have seen more than just the few. And there's a possibility that Torev, as he's calling himself, had to have me or at least my DNA to even have a body."

Piccolo put a finger to his chin, "You make a good point. Your evil counterpart is a powerful player to put out on the field, as is Kaon and, given enough time, Doctor Wheelo's mechanical army. But Gohan alone is probably stronger than all three of them."

Verto's eyes shifted, "As strong as, the power I sensed yesterday was substantial and I'm not even sure it was the full showing. That being said, yes, we still have too much to throw at them. There is something else in the mix, and I don't think we'll know what it is until they play all their cards."

"Tell me about the hostage and the priest, maybe they are part of this," Piccolo suggested.

"The priest you already know. His name is Soren, and he's also the wizard that we bumped into shortly after I came here years ago," Verto replied, surprising his mentor.

"Soren? Yes, I vaguely remember that being his name. I don't recall why he ever came to Earth however, just that Garlic Junior's father wanted his power. And we already know he can create dimensional portals and teleport people around. If he were to open an entry way for demons to invade however, that could be what we are facing," Piccolo theorized.

Verto nodded grimly, "That fits, especially considering what we have seen so far. However, that's another example of they could have just done it. He made some surprising moves to both help and hurt, so it is hard to tell where he stands. Now the alien girl they had captive, I have no idea who she is, but she is definitely not an earthling. Maybe she's connected to this too. They certainly sounded like they needed her alive for something."

"Describe her for me."

Verto's eyes shifted up and to the left, "Well, she sort of looked like a Kai, actually."

Piccolo was stunned, "What?! Are you sure about that?"

Verto shrugged, "No. But her outfit looked like what Shin and Kibito wear. She had purple skin and the pointed ears, and she had what looked like Potara Earrings on. And now that I think of it, when I was brought to that meeting between the Kais and Leira; they were talking about a missing girl they couldn't find while I happened to be there. That has to be who they meant! I honestly thought they might have been talking about Lenz and maybe they were, but if there's a captive Kai I would think that would rank very high on their list of priorities. That whole meeting wasn't just to fix the seal, it was to drop information to me."

"But which Kai is it? I know of the four lower Kais, the Grand Kai, the Supreme Kai and the Elder Supreme Kai. Aside from Kibito the assistant, I do not know of any others living," Piccolo pointed out.

"I don't know, maybe she's an assistant too, or a Kai in training. The way the rest of them talk, it sounds like they need a few more. Shin already sucks at his job," Verto remarked.

"Very good nephew, you are right, she is a Kai," a feminine voice said from behind them. Both Piccolo and Verto spun to see Leira standing there, long red hair blowing in the light ocean breeze.

"But she's not just any Kai, she is a very special one. Her true identity can wait for now though," Leira said as she stepped closer.

Verto got to his feet, scowling slightly as Leira approached, "You know, you could have saved us a lot of trouble if you had mentioned that Lenz was alive. And we could have helped her before the demon took over again."

"No, you couldn't have. Kaon has and will always be the true form of that girl. Neither you nor I can change that. If you want to blame someone for that, you can blame the asshole that put her in your path, or maybe blame fate. You wouldn't be completely wrong in either case," Leira said sternly.

Piccolo folded his arms, "Very well. What is your angle in all this? I was under the impression that you were not allowed to interfere on this planet going forward. That is why you taught me the spell to fix his broken seal. What changed?"

"The Kai in question is what changed, among several other things. Listen, I cannot stay here long, but I need for you two to meet me in exactly twelve hours on the far side of the Ice Continent. Specifically, near Penguin Point, where the three rivers join and move to the ocean. On a map, that would be approximately five hundred kilometers south of Land's End on the Southwestern Continent, or eight hundred kilometers due south of that mountain you just wrecked fighting your counterpart. You two must come alone and tell no one of this meeting. It is very important that only you two are aware of this for now and it is very important that you are on time," Leira declared.

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Why should we? Unless you have a really good secret way of defeating our enemies and saving your precious Kai, I'm not interested in a side quest."

Leira smirked, "Trust me."

Piccolo gave in, "Twelve hours. I think we can make that work, provided Verto actually decides to get adequate rest."

"I ate a bean, I'm good," Verto retorted as he turned back to the ocean.

"No, you're not. You're on your way to burning yourself out again with all of the stress that you have endured. Circumstances haven't helped you in that regard but fighting others while fighting your own fatigue is pointless! Especially if it is mental fatigue." Piccolo argued.

Leira grinned slightly and pointed at him, "He's right nephew, now go to bed like a good boy." Verto scowled and turned to glare at her, only to see a tiny clear sphere of energy the size of a golf ball suddenly hit him right in the head. He collapsed right on the beach and was out cold within seconds.

"Was that necessary?" Piccolo asked as he checked on Verto.

"It was either that or watch him argue with you the rest of the night. Twelve hours, Piccolo," Leira warned. Piccolo nodded grimly and scooped up Verto's sleeping body to take back inside. Leira took a moment to watch this before vanishing into thin air.

The following morning, Bulma was staring at her computer screen in the lab on the ship when she suddenly had an idea. She had been studying the nanites that Doctor Wheelo had used to transform people into cyborgs and had been going over how the devices worked and how to stop them. After pouring over pages and pages of data with Kain the previous night, she had burned out on ideas. The next morning however, she had been doing the exact same thing and was getting nowhere until Trunks and Goten came by the lab.

"Hey Mom, can me and Goten go swimming for pirate treasure?" Trunks asked somewhat excitedly.

Bulma shook her head quickly, "No, you know it's too dangerous for you boys to be off on your own right now."

"Awww, but we weren't going to go very far. Krillin said that there are all sorts of sunken ships around here! And that they're haunted!" Trunks claimed.

Bulma folded her arms, "That doesn't change the fact that it is too dangerous. Just stay on the island, okay?"

Trunks huffed slightly as he turned to leave, "No fair! It's not like we're in the way or anything. And we won't catch anything!"

As he and Goten left the room, Bulma sighed slightly and turned back, No Trunks, you're not in the way. With a Saiyan's immune system, you wouldn't catch anything anyway.

Her eyes widened at that thought, "Oh my god, how did I not think of that?!" She suddenly began a typing frenzy at her computer station, prompting one of the screens nearby to turn on.

"Madam, may I ask what you are considering? In my experience, an increased level of agitation and adrenaline seems to suggest that you may have a solution in mind," Kain said from the computer.

"Kain, run an analysis on the newest breed of nanites and run a sample simulation on what could possibly block the process of transforming cells once inside the human body," Bulma ordered.

"Processing. Does this mean you are no longer pursuing how to cure the condition?"

Bulma frowned, "I'm not sure we can cure it once it happens. I've been racking my brain on how to cure it or even slow it down. I didn't think of the most obvious thing though; we should treat this like a virus and containment scenario even though its clearly an engineering matter. We don't know what these things are vulnerable to, and it's clear that once they are in the body it is too late, especially if we cannot treat them in time. If we put up a roadblock in the form of a vaccine or the like, we can stop the infection of the patient before it starts."

"I understand madam. Processing complete. Result: I believe the only way to stop the nanites at the point of contact is if the smart adaptive programming of the micro machines can be fooled by false readings. In other words, make them believe that all tasks are complete and thus the purpose has been served. Otherwise, they would continue to inhabit the victim's body in search of untransformed cells, and once the nanites have transformed even a single set of the hosts cells, their signatures will change. The only other option to stop the transformation is not exposing the host. The nanites are not currently airborne, however I do believe that they could be introduced into the water supply and I expect that Doctor Wheelo will be able to make them airborne," Kain explained.

Bulma nodded, "Kain, if we were to program our own set of nanites to mimic Flandal's control signal, implant them with only seek and destroy commands of the enemy nanites, could that fool their sensors enough to stop a transformation before it starts?"

"Not enough data to give a definitive factual answer," Kain replied.

"Search theoretical."

Kain paused for a moment, "I believe so Madam. However, such an undertaking will require extensive research and time to complete for even an initial test. Even at maximum processing power, I will require approximately ninety-six hours to formulate a solution and reconstruct test nanites for this purpose."

"Get started immediately, we can't afford to wait. Every minute we are not working on this means that many more people might be turned against their will. In the meantime, I'm going to look at possible alternate solutions."

"Understood Madam." Just as Kain appeared to sign off and get to work, Goku walked into the room along with Chichi.

"Bulma, have you seen the boys lately? Goten wanted to go swimming with Trunks but forgot his swimwear," Chichi began.

Bulma immediately scowled, "Not what I heard. They are probably neck deep in trouble already. I'll let you handle it. Goku, can you use Instant Transmission and fetch Piccolo for me? I need to ask him something."

Goku turned his head slightly, "Um okay, but he's right outside the door."

The Namekian in question turned the corner a half second later, smirking slightly, "You called?"

"Piccolo, there is magical special water at the lookout that can fix problems, right?" Bulma asked.

If Piccolo had an eyebrow, it would have gone up, "The Sacred Healing Water? Yes, why?"

Bulma pressed the issue, "What are the limitations of that special water, what can it heal?"

Piccolo held his green chin in thought, "You know, that is an excellent question. I do not know the limitations of the Sacred Water. The only one that might know is Korin or perhaps Popo. What is it you have in mind?"

"It worked for Verto before, both here and in that other reality. I want to know if it can possibly cure or prevent the people turning into cyborgs," Bulma said plainly.

Piccolo looked doubtful, "I don't think it works that way, but you would have to ask one of them."

"Great. Goku, I need a ride," Bulma said before Goku could sneak out of the room.

"Can we eat first?" he pleaded.

"Not now Goku, this is important. Hurry up and take Bulma to see Korin!" Chichi ordered.

Goku surrendered, "Oh fine." Piccolo watched as the three left the ship and he sensed Goku and Bulma suddenly disappear, though he detected Goku far away after that point.

Behind him, Verto approached as he rubbed sleep from his eyes, "Remind me not to argue with Leira without being on guard. What the hell did she do to me?"

Piccolo turned, "Clearly gave you needed medicine. We have one hour to meet her, so you had best wake up quickly. Are you ready to go?"

Verto scowled but nodded, "Let's get whatever this is over with."

"Hi Korin!" Goku said excitedly as he literally popped in with Bulma in tow. Korin's reaction was to continue snoring in bed as he had been, though the arrival did wake Yajirobe.

"Geez Goku, you could at least call first before you just show up. What if we would have been bathing or something?" Yajirobe asked.

Bulma wrinkled her nose slightly as Goku just rubbed the back of his head, "Why would that be a problem?"

"Oh, just forget it. Hey Korin, we've got company!" The extra volume of Yajirobe woke Korin from his cat nap, though it would've been hard to tell due to his eyes remaining closed most of the time.

"Goku, what brings you to my tower?" Korin asked.

"Actually, he brought me here to see you. Do you know what has been going on down on Earth?" Bulma asked.

"Oh, you mean the crazy scientist Doctor Wheelo turning people into robot slaves, plus those very strong allies he has?" Korin asked as he held up a victory sign.

Bulma scowled, "As long as you understand the jest of it. Can the Sacred Water undo any of the damage? Can it restore the people back to normal?"

Korin paused noticeably, "Now that is an excellent question, Bulma. One of the first things you should know is that the Sacred Healing Water and the Sacred Water that Goku trained to get from me are two entirely different things. Neither are related to the Ultra Divine Water that Goku also trained to get."

Bulma folded her arms, "Well whatever they are called, you know which one I mean."

Goku frowned as he glanced over at her, "Bulma, calm down."

Korin scratched at his ear, "I understand the urgency Bulma, I will get to the point. The Sacred Healing Water is what you are after, and it is stored on the lookout above us. Dende and Mister Popo would be able to find it for you. However, I don't think it would do you any good. The water has been used in the past to cure people of magical possession and ailments, such as being corrupted by a demonic presence, or to cure the Black Water Mist which is essentially the same thing. The problem therein is that it only works if the infected receives the cure within twenty-four hours. After that point, the transformation is permanent, at least that is what the stories say. I would say that even if it was effective for Doctor Wheelo's slaves, which I highly doubt it would be, it would only work on those transformed today. Not only that, even if it did work, there would be nothing stopping Doctor Wheelo from just infecting them again. All of this is made moot by the fact that it is not a magical or corrupting type of infection, especially since it drastically transforms their bodies. So, many apologies, but I am unable to help in this."

Bulma looked down, "Well it was worth a try. Can we get some more Senzu Beans at least? I think we are down to only a few on my ship."

Korin nodded and motioned to Yajirobe, "Certainly, I have been preparing more. Your adopted son comes by often so I've had to grow more."

"Hmmm, I wish that the Sacred Healing Water could have been the answer. Now that I think about it, even if everyone was turned into a cyborg on the same day, we wouldn't have been able to deliver it in time anyway. Not effectively," Bulma claimed.

Korin nodded, "Probably not conventionally, but you could have used the Seven Air Currents at the bottom of the lookout to spread the water quickly. It can quickly release the water to the winds of the upper atmosphere, and the lookout can move around the world at the will of the current guardian. So no, it wouldn't have been impossible to deliver it quickly, assuming you could reach the bottom of the lookout safely of course."

Bulma mused over this, "Hmmm, okay. Thank you Korin, I'm sorry to disturb your nap." At this point Yajirobe had handed Goku a rather stuffed bag of Senzu Beans.

"Thanks guys, see you another time!" Goku waved as he grabbed Bulma's shoulder and teleported away.

Once they were back at the ship, Bulma went back to her lab, deep in thought. As soon as she was back in, she went into action.

"Kain, pause your research," she ordered.

The lights came on bright as the screen lit up again, "Processing paused. Yes Madam?"

"Can you work on a way to make the counter nanites able to travel in the air and water? I think the best way to get ahead of Flandal is to beat him to the punch."

"I will add this plan to the current research, new estimated completion time: One hundred and twenty hours. I apologize for the delay," Kain replied.

Bulma yawned a bit before logging into her computer, "At least this way we can keep an eye on him and see what happens. This is your top priority; I will handle surveillance for a bit."

"Of course, Madam," Kain said as he signed off.

While Bulma may have meant to work or monitor Kain's progress, her sleepiness caught up with her and she dozed off at her desk. Shortly afterwards, a brief alarm message flashed on her screen, but vanished again before it could be acknowledged.

Verto yawned rather loudly as he flew behind Piccolo to the cold ice continent. Despite eating another Senzu Bean to silence his stomach, he had yet to feel fully awake. This was unusual for him since he typically could pop right out of bed and train immediately. He silently chalked it up to whatever Leira had done to him, but it was no less annoying. Piccolo noted this but did not address it right away, as he had a different question in mind.

"So, when are we going to discuss how you learned Instant Transmission? Is that something you picked up while training with Gohan?" Piccolo asked straight away.

Verto frowned, "Not exactly. Let's just say in what was one of Soren's stranger moves, I got dumped someplace that had someone who could teach me before Kibito brought me back. I didn't necessarily ask or even want to, but I didn't have anything better to do before I could get back to Earth that night. I'm not very good at it yet anyway, at least not for quick travel."

Piccolo glanced back at him, "I see. Well, it is still a useful technique to know, even if it is only for short range battle situations. Someone who is quick on action and proficient in using energy could be nearly unstoppable with the right training."

Verto snorted slightly, "True, but it can be countered."

Piccolo nodded, "That I already knew, and since you know how to counter it, you can use it even better."

Verto yawned again as he slowed down slightly, "Fair point."

"Do I have to carry you? Pick up the pace or we will be late!"

"Blame her!"

The two continued in silence for the next several minutes before they could see land ahead, in which they both sped up. They discovered the three rivers coming together fairly quickly, though they were frozen solid and could only be seen by their outlines. Near there, there was single lonely mountain covered in ice that spanned at least two kilometers in diameter. Near its base however, there was a large opening that looked like a deceased creature's mouth, minus the teeth. And standing in that opening, was a very easy to see figure with red hair.

"This must be the place," Piccolo muttered as he flew down. Verto followed him but felt so groggy that he nearly dozed off during decent. This showed when he hit the snow a little harder than expected and sunk into the frozen powder to the top of his knees. The cold snow seemed to do the job in waking him up a little more as he jumped out like he was snake bit. Piccolo was concerned about this, but Leira was very amused.

"Should've brought your snow pants for stuff like that nephew. Maybe you and the Namekian can make snow angels," she suggested.

Verto's brow wrinkled in dismay, "The Kais aren't here, you don't need to be weird."

Leira's smile didn't fade, "Yeah, but teasing you never gets old, come inside please."

Verto scowled as he followed the pair inside the cave, though noted how well-lit it actually was inside. The mountain was carved out in a way that living quarters could be provided, though the middle of the room featured a large pillar that looked like it grew out of the ground. Verto's eyes narrowed when he thought he saw something dark inside the pillar, but it was only Leira walking behind it for a moment. Suddenly he felt very sleepy again and it showed as his body rocked slightly and then fell over. He wasn't out for long before a rich salty order filled his nose and a firm hand slapped the side of his face. Verto shot to his feet, startling Leira who stumbled backwards. Both she and Piccolo were standing over him with concern, though she had a small tube of what appeared to be smelling salts.

"What the hell?!" Verto shouted.

"You nodded off and fell asleep. You're welcome," Leira said with a frown.

"It appears that whatever you did to him has finally worn off. He seems much more awake and aware than he has been since yesterday," Piccolo stated.

"In fairness, smelling salts are pretty disgusting," Leira admitted.

Verto folded his arms and turned away, "No shit. When I was still human, I got pranked with one of those and accidentally licked it before waking up. It was hours before the taste went away. Thanks for that lovely memory."

"So, can you tell us about the missing Kai?" Piccolo asked.

Verto glanced back over at Leira, "That would be useful, no more of this vague shit. We can't help if we don't know what the situation is. She seemed to know who I was."

Leira nodded, "Yes, you two do deserve that and also need to know, but the others do not right now. The Kai in question is actually much, much older than Shin, but a tad younger than Old Kai. She is roughly seventy-five million years old, obviously her appearance would not suggest that, but she can alter that with ease. Her name is Chronoa."

Verto's eyebrow went up, "So, judging by the name, I'm guessing this has something to do with time travel?"

Leira stared at him in surprise, "How did you guess that?"

Verto shrugged, "Someone recently told me to pay attention to names. And let's be honest, you're involved."

Leira continued, "Well, you're not wrong. Chronoa is the Supreme Kai of Time for this universe. She is in charge of making sure the timelines of this universe are stable and that no changes are made. If changes are made by outer forces, she has the authority to correct them by various means."

Verto immediately laughed, "Hahaha! Well clearly she sucks at her job as much as Shin does."

Piccolo was incensed by this, "Show respect!"

Leira maintained a very serious face, "Actually she is pretty good at her job. If she wasn't, there is a fair chance that you all would be dead now."

Piccolo took the warning to heart, but Verto, despite the bad mood he was in, could not help to chuckle, "Oh, and how many timeline changes have happened just in the last year? Hell, since I got here!"

"That I'm aware of, three hundred and fifty-two," Leira stated.

Piccolo stared at her in disbelief while Verto's eyebrows both raised in surprise, "Should I ask how you know that?"

Leira pointed at Verto with one of her more serious expressions, "Since you are taking this fairly lightly, allow me to explain how and why, and listen very closely, nephew. The Guardians of Time watch over all the realms, you know this from the little bit of history you received. The word 'realms' is a bit subjective here and we don't have time to dive into that. Having been to a few others, you get the idea. The same applies to parallel timelines that are attached this realm, split from the main one. We however are not allowed to interfere in any way, in any realm, in any timeline, without the Supreme Kai of Time of that realm, in this case Chronoa, signing off on it. We cannot even travel freely to those realms without that Kai's permission, never mind make a calculated change. Is it impossible to do so without her leave, no. Is it wise to do that, hell no. When changes are made that she has deemed a negative change, she can choose to eliminate that change to correct a timeline, in sometimes not so nice ways. So, let's put this in very clear terms, you have been allowed to exist here because she has allowed it!"

Verto took the hint and returned the urgent stare, "So, she's known about me all along?"

Leira nodded, "She knew your ancestor. And she probably knows the most about you, though I wouldn't ask her how much as she does not make a habit of playing god and telling people their future."

Verto's single eyebrow crept back up, "But, according to you, she literally is a god."

"You know what I meant!" Leira snapped back, "And frankly I wonder sometimes why she has allowed this timeline to continue, but continue it has."

Verto was not sure what to make of this, "What is that supposed to mean? You yourself have been responsible for a lot of those changes."

Leira nodded grimly, "Yes, and things have gotten quite chaotic as a result of far too many parties interfering, be it for the greater good or not. I would dare say that this universe would have far fewer threats and evil entities if not for that interference. For example: Goku and Vegeta alone would be far and away more powerful than they are now."

"Wait, they're pretty damn strong now. Are you saying that if I wasn't here, they would be stronger than that?" Verto asked.

Leira nodded again, "I'll give you a benchmark comparison. Super Saiyan Three is pathetic compared to the potential they have, and I would dare say even the fusions don't come close currently. But I cannot assume that the reason they haven't reached that power is solely because of your presence and what we have done already. I'm not excusing it, but even with Chronoa helping to guide all of those changes, things have a way of snapping back, and like a rubber band, it is going to sting, on a very large scale. Remember what I told you about the balance of good and evil suddenly reversing?"

Verto gave an annoyed sigh, "No need to remind me."

Piccolo shook his head, "So what does her being a captive on Earth mean?"

"It means that whoever captured her now has the power and means to come and go from this realm as they please. She normally resides in a place called the Time Nest, where she can watch over all of the timelines and adjust them if need be. While there, she has one of the greatest powers in the cosmos, that obviously being controlling time to an extent. When she is not there, her powers are greatly diminished, and if she is gone for too long, she will not have the power to return there on her own free will. And that means that whoever did this might be able to take control and make any changes they want to make. To eliminate any threats they perceive, or to start conflicts between planets. To throw this realm into utter chaos, and I think at this point you can draw a fairly clear picture and put some of the pieces together. Now that is a big might, however it is not a pretty one to think about," Leira explained as she gave Verto a beaming expression.

He easily followed her lead, "Whoever is making the changes rescued Lenz from dying in that explosion between realms somehow, after which she then fully turned into the demon, and whoever did that is at least partially responsible for Torev, whether she had a hand in it or not. And I'm betting the mystery person has something to do with Doctor Wheelo getting his hands on some of his technology, materials and apparent ability to make occasional demon hybrids."

"Very good, nephew," Leira said as she clapped slightly.

Piccolo frowned deeply, "This sounds like way too much for someone like Doctor Wheelo to be able to pull off. So, who is this enemy?"

Verto's lip twitched angrily, "I can think of someone."

Piccolo turned his head sharply to his student, "Who?"

"An asshole."

Leira cautiously glanced at him, "While who you might be thinking of is a very good deduction, we are not completely certain of that yet. Once we are, we can act, provided we can rescue Chronoa. That is my current mission. There hasn't been an incursion for a few days, and the last one I could truly pinpoint was the night that you helped to blow up the Satan City REDIC facility not long ago."

Verto turned his head slightly, "You can detect when a timeline change occurs?"

Leira shook her head, "Not entirely. Chronoa is that skilled, when she is in the Time Nest. It is sort of a version of the lookout here on Earth. But when she is not there, it no longer functions that way. However, we can make a determination when someone is interfering directly from another realm. Even if it just a short conversation, it will be detected. Without the ability to travel or view the event with help from Chronoa, however, it is impossible to tell what happened without making an incursion ourselves and possibly screwing things up worse."

Verto seemed to accept this, "Alright then. So, you are essentially an outside consultant for the Time Kai. Why doesn't she have her own team?"

Leira shrugged, "I am not certain, you would have to ask her. But I do think she prefers the solitude. And her cooking skills leave something to be desired but that is beside the point."

Verto turned his head slightly, "Okay, cooking ability aside, wouldn't this be a job for you and all your buddies to just storm the place and make sure it is secure?"

Leira shook her head, "Therein lies the problem. This is a case of we can't act until we know who is behind it and without Chronoa at her post, we're powerless to do much about it. If we act in force like you are suggesting, the other side will too, and the amount of chaos we are seeing now will seem minimal. Cold wars are like that, you know that from your own Earth's history. Both sides maneuvering around each other without being the side that opens up the gates of hell. If you thought that situation with Vang was bad, then imagine a few thousand of him running around."

Verto scowled deeply, "Mark that down on the list of shit I don't want to deal with."

"Indeed."

"Regardless of what may or may not happen, we have our own problems to deal with," Piccolo pointed out.

Leira shook her head, "No, this is the biggest problem you have, bar none. Without her, anyone can do what they want to your realm, at any time. Examples: My nephew here, maybe he gets erased from existence. Your birth from King Piccolo never happened. Goku hitting his head instead of conquering, scratch that one. Anyone born good or bad, suddenly not born. And if she dies, well let's just say it would be very bad. Find Chronoa and these problems stop."

"Very well, any ideas on how to find this Supreme Kai of Time?" Piccolo asked.

"Soren can," Verto said simply.

"Okay, any ideas on how to force him to let us rescue her? You said it yourself, he is unpredictable," Piccolo pointed out.

Leira leaned backwards against the nearest icy wall, "I don't know what that wizard's angle is, but convincing him to return Chronoa doesn't appear to be an available option. This I do know; they have some sort of history."

"I'm guessing not a pretty one," Verto added.

Leira looked grim, "Probably not." She then glanced upwards for a moment before sighing, "Come here nephew, and hold out your hands."

Verto was taken aback, "Are you serious?"

Leira nodded, "Yes I'm serious."

Verto trotted over, somewhat elated as he pulled his cloth bracers midway up both arms. Leira held out her palms as they glowed over the black lettering, and the lettering began to turn randomly before the characters changed. Verto's eyes narrowed at this as the seal didn't appear to be vanishing, but he definitely felt a change within him. His eyes turned blue just as he felt Psi energy flow into him, but his Ki disappeared. Leira paused for a moment before stopping and pulling back.

"Okay, you flipped me around on purpose this time? I don't get it, I thought you were about to just take it off?" Verto asked in confusion.

"I can't just take it off, I'm not allowed or able to, and you know why. It's like a metal safe that someone else steals and changes the combination to. However, I can adjust it, which I did. No elemental energy will be able to affect it now, not even a demon's hellfire," Leira explained.

"But with just his Psi energy, he won't be able to use his full power. Even if he taps into his darker energy, the result is the same," Piccolo argued.

"What he said," Verto added with a nod.

Leira shook her head, "That is not why. I wasn't going to tell you this, but you should know the truth of it. Pretty soon that seal is going to be meaningless the way things are."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean? Does that mean I'll overcome it, or there's a time limit on it, or what?"

"Remember we told you that it would be a temporary solution. There's a time limit alright, just not on the seal. The time limit is on you. Your Psionic power was always going to be temporary, even as a Supreme Kai's disciple. Which you are by the way, both you and Son Gohan," Leira pointed out.

Verto's head turned in question, "Um, what? How can that be? I barely get along with them!"

"Getting along was never the point. Old Kai blessed you by unlocking the basis of your power and in turn made you a disciple, whether he meant to or not. That's how you have some of your special abilities. The ability to heal others for example, didn't you notice how similar that was to Kibito's and how easy it was for you to do? What you call your Super Mystic power grants you and others close enough to you the ability to breathe in space. The ability to learn certain elemental type attacks such as your Soul Blazer and Psi Freeze techniques, that wasn't just learning from alien species, you had a somewhat natural affinity for it. Obviously the former of those was for a much different purpose but you get the drift. And, for this realm anyway, that type of Psionic power residing inside of an uncorrupted mortal being is not destined to last, especially the more it is used," Leira explained further.

Verto felt the need to raise his energy a bit but felt nothing unusual nor did it feel like it was running low, "I don't get it. I thought my Psi power came from the demon inheritance. And for that matter, wouldn't the Renegade Saiyans be affected?"

Leira nodded, "It partially does because it is immature demon energy. That red power of yours was not fully developed, you should realize that because Vang and Kaon were not that way, and I believe Vang himself told you that it wasn't developed fully. The ability to tap into that demonic energy came from being blessed by the Kai, at least in your case. Remember that you were left young so that you could learn to tap into your power over time instead of all at once. The Kais played a part in that so that you could slowly ease into it. That blessing is slowly fading, and by my calculations it won't be much longer before you lose that power. You'll be reduced to whatever is left and whatever you have trained yourself on. All your Psionic-based techniques will also be gone. No more Feedback, no more Shock Cannon. Not that any of those have mattered lately unless by accident. On the plus side, no more changes in normal humans unless you're really doing something you shouldn't be doing. Which if I'm being honest was more the Kai's fault than yours."

Verto grimaced at this news, "Great…"

Leira continued on, "As to your question about the Renegades, it is important to realize that not that many of them can control Psionic energy to begin with, in fact you met most of them already. Did they all seem stable to you? I'm not saying that it does or does not diminish their potential, their corrupt energies make it possible. But they also weren't blessed by a Kai and did not receive what was left of an ancestor's potential. It's also important to understand that in more ways than one, they are not true Saiyans. Technically you are not either, but you are more so than they are." Verto stared at the ground, unsure of what to make of the news at first, though the last part of her speech hit his pride a bit.

"What do you determine to be a true Saiyan versus a false one? It's not just about DNA," Verto growled slightly.

Leira folded her arms again, "I am strictly talking DNA in this case, but you make a fair point. All life forms that are not hybrids have a genetic code which can help determine the path to an ultimate power for that species. Disrupting that path means that path changes, and sometimes not for the better. Sure, you, Son Gohan and the other children are half human and have great power, but it is not the same exact type of power as pure blood Saiyans. That being said, there are other paths and methods to achieving great power that are not restricted to simply DNA. I'm sure you of all people can appreciate that. Who knows, maybe you'll have a transformation that turns your hair pink someday."

Verto wrinkled his nose immediately, "You had best hope not."

Leira chuckled, "Anyways, when it comes to the Renegades, you have to remember that their ancestors accepted a curse to gain corrupt power, and regardless of what gifts came later, they are slaves to it. This is not unlike numerous other examples in other realms, or even the history of humans. And that curse makes them hybrids in their own sense, and despite their potential for power, that potential brings both pros and cons that come with it. You know from your own abilities that it isn't always as easy, simple, or as great as it appears to be, and that's how life is anyway. Taking a shortcut to gain power, especially a very corrupting power, is only a path to misery."

Verto scowled as he looked down, "Fair point."

Piccolo huffed slightly, "That aside, how can you be sure that Verto's Psionic power will disappear? Gohan's power hasn't changed yet and he's had it longer."

Leira shrugged, "They both unlocked it at about the same time, even if the blessing was earlier for him. I am not sure which is the ultimate determining factor, it might have to do with usage, but it might also have to do with the age of their souls, in which Verto's is older. This is a case of physical age not mattering as much."

Piccolo had a noted look of frustration on his face, "Then what was the point of him coming here at all? What was the point of anything you did if he's just going to grow weaker? What's the point of Time Guardians and Demons caring about what happens with him?"

Leira had an equal expression to throw back at him, "There were many points to all of that, but I didn't make the decision to give up my powers and stay here, he did that. If he wouldn't have done that, he could have probably remained blessed with those gifts for a long time to come or would have found another way, but we'll never know now. Sure, I was disappointed beyond belief when he made that choice, but he has free will and can make that choice on his own, and I am proud of him for that."

Verto glanced up at her again, "You are?"

Leira nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Very much so. My brother, your predecessor, didn't have a chance at the normal life he always wanted, not on his terms anyway. Maybe you can have one, assuming you get out of this mess first."

Piccolo was unconvinced, "Still, something about this seems fishy to me. All that talk, all that fear of what he might become, and just like that, it doesn't even matter?"

Leira turned to Piccolo, "You can read into that any way you want, Namekian. I don't particularly care. And I never said anything about him getting weaker. As a half-Saiyan, he can reach absurd heights, potential is still there to be tapped by all of you, you just need the right push. My point was that his temporary gifts are just that, temporary. If he wants to find his own path and keep pushing forward, he is free to do so. That's all I have ever wanted for him, despite what you may have thought before. Due to the recent developments, I'm making the call to let him use that power while he has it. I just can't go all the way with it, that's someone else's bridge to cross."

Verto took in a deep breath and let it out, and he instantly felt relief, "That's actually really great to hear."

"It is?" Piccolo asked.

Verto nodded, "Hell yeah it is. Do you realize how much pressure all of that bullshit has been over the last couple of years? Ever since Majin Buu showed up? Pressure to perform, to be the best even though I didn't really care if I was. Pressure to not lose control and go nuts. I can just be me, around my friends and family, that's all I've ever wanted."

Piccolo frowned at this, "You know, Vegeta and I pressure you in order to motivate you, so you don't fall behind in training like others I can name. It's not like threats to the planet are going to just go away."

Verto glared at him, "Oh I know they're probably not going away, and I've certainly proved to you time and time again that I'm willing to train heavy and often. But defending life on this planet is meaningless if you can't live a little too. I've made that mistake enough of not living in the moment and enjoying what I have and spending too much time fretting about what is going to happen next. Hell, look how I've dealt with stress the last year, burying myself in crime fighting and training, it's not healthy. Sure, things are bad now, but if we can't enjoy the good moments, what point is there to even fight?"

Leira smiled, "That's the spirit. Remember, don't bury your feelings."

Verto smiled back before heading for the cave exit, "Thanks Auntie, I needed that. Now let's go find that asshole that looks like me and put him down while I still can. Let's start there."

"I'll be charging on the next motivational speech," Leira said with a wave as Verto left the cave.

Piccolo grimaced and moved to follow before turning back to her, "You artfully dodged the question about his Psi energy. You know he hates being lied too."

Leira's red eyebrow raised up, "I didn't lie to him, I just didn't tell him everything. He was so damn distracted by anger when you two got here that it was easy to miss."

"Lying by omission is still being dishonest," Piccolo retorted.

Leira smirked this time, "Yes, I could try to give you all the answers up front like a pre-written textbook you could sit at a desk and read, but the story has to be written first. And like any good story, what fun would it be to know the ending right away? Take care of him, he's going to need it."

Piccolo's grim expression held, "What you said about him being a Supreme Kai's disciple; was that true?"

"It was, but it won't be for much longer. And that is probably for the best. It isn't in his nature, and I think you know what that is like as much as anyone," Leira replied.

Piccolo growled slightly, "And what if his disappearing energy hampers him in battle? That is quite a handicap to put on him, even worse than before."

Leira's smirk held firm, "You both clearly missed some of what I said. It's not a handicap, it's a bridge to cross, and I didn't say whose bridge, now did I? Nothing I have done or said just now was meant to hamper him in the least."

Piccolo's eyes narrowed at her words before closing his eyes in dismay, "Hmph, well it's a gamble. I hope you know what you're doing." He walked towards the exit, casting one more look at the cave's central pillar and departing.

Leira also turned to the pillar which appeared to have darkened somewhat, "Three hundred and fifty-three."

Both Verto and Piccolo flew back towards Roshi's island, but neither had the same flow of thoughts in their mind. Verto was more relaxed and even eager than he was before, while Piccolo had an ominous feeling.

"So, that was revealing. You seem to be taking it fairly well," Piccolo noted as he flew next to Verto and kept pace.

"Honestly, I'm fine with not being special. I've never considered myself to be the best at any one thing or unique in any way, even if I've been cursed with being that exact thing. You've never heard me say this I don't think, but while it can be cool to get special treatment or have that chip on my shoulder, it's not something I enjoy," Verto mused.

Piccolo smirked, "Well, you're nothing if not humble. Your words and actions contradict a little, but considering it's usually against corrupt evil beings that don't share that belief, I think we can make an exception. So, in the time you still have to be special, how are we going to find the wizard, the girl, and your counterpart? We can't easily sense their position."

Verto grimaced in thought as he looked directly at Piccolo, "Well, if I were to think like them, I think they would want to make use of Soren's ability to teleport and trap us one by one to pick us off. If we stick together, then isolating us would not be as easy to do, assuming of course they are not tracking us all individually."

Piccolo nodded slightly and closed his eyes for a moment, "That makes sense, we shouldn't lower our guard for a moment."

He then looked ahead, and his eyes widened when he saw two figures floating ahead of them. Verto realized it and put on the brakes, stopping along with his teacher as they eyed the newcomers. It was unmistakable to identify the pair of Kaon and Torev, both looked healed and refreshed compared to how they left the mountain cave, both dressed in black. It was the first time for Piccolo seeing Torev in person, and he couldn't help but stare at him and then back at Verto to compare their similarities. Torev looked exactly like Verto aside from the clothes and a fairly obvious age gap. To anyone else, they would've looked like brothers, but not twins. The other similarity Verto and Torev appeared to share was a hatred of each other, which showed as they glared daggers at one another. Piccolo also noticed the scar on Torev's left cheek, which he had heard Verto had put there with his Ki Cutter attack.

"Well, look what the Namekian dragged in. It's been too long Piccolo, oh how I miss your training sessions," Kaon laughed.

"Training is not what you needed, clearly," Piccolo retorted.

Kaon frowned, "Well that's just rude. I was hoping we could talk, you were always telling me how much I did before. Well not me specifically but it's all the same."

Piccolo pulled his turban off and cast it aside, "I told you that you talked too much, I see that hasn't changed."

"Hey, I have only four moods in my life and I have to make the best of them. Talking, business, killing, and pleasure. Fortunately, my man here can take care of that last one on his own," Kaon said slyly as she ran a finger down Torev's arm. He smirked as he watched her do so, but said nothing to it.

Verto snorted, "Gross."

Kaon huffed and folded her arms under her large chest, "Well, it's your genes, so you should be happy that at least someone can do something with them."

Verto chuckled, "Oh scathing. Look at you, insulting the libido of a pre-teen. I suppose when you give it up so often everyone else seems boring!"

Kaon laughed, "Oh please, everyone here knows you are not a pre-teen, regardless of what age your physical body is."

"We all know what you are, regardless of yours. And the sight of the two of you together is frankly vomit inducing!" Verto fired back.

Torev floated forward a few feet, "You want a moment to rephrase that before I turn your face into mush?"

Verto was undeterred, "Look at you, also threatening a pre-teen. Does that make you feel brave? How's the scar on your face? Ready for another one?"

Torev gritted his teeth and was about to attack but Kaon held him back by the arm, "Lover, you know that's not the plan. His taunts mean nothing, he means nothing. Follow the plan."

Torev sighed heavily and calmed himself, "Fine, I guess it isn't my turn."

Piccolo's eyes narrowed, "Whose turn is it?"

Suddenly a blinding light flashed all around them and Verto realized he could not see the sky or ocean around him, nor sense where he was. A moment later he bumped the ground with his foot and landed there. The light faded, and the four of them found themselves in a green meadow full of grass along with a fairly large lake, but virtually no trees around them. There were mountains in the distance, but there didn't appear to be any civilization nearby. Verto reached out with his senses to try and ascertain their location, but he felt nothing except those around him. The reason for that became obvious when an incredibly large dome of red became visible around them, though it wasn't as large as the one around the Ox King's village.

Verto scowled, "I hate being right, but I called it. Our friends won't be able to sense whatever is about to happen." Another flash of light went off next to Torev, and a small portal opened, which another Wheelo cyborg-clone, Kochin and Soren all walked through.

"Wheelo," Piccolo grumbled as he removed the rest of his weighted clothing.

"I'm surprised that you know me, Namekian. I, of course, know you. And personally, we cannot wait to study that marvelous body of yours," Wheelo laughed.

Verto smirked, "Oh, is it you that is getting a crack at us first? Hope you have a stopwatch."

Wheelo grinned evilly, "As much as I would enjoy that, I'm afraid not."

Soren bowed his head slightly and revealed both of his glowing red hands, "Shall we begin then?"

Behind them, and all around them, multiple light portals began to open, and new figures stepped out of them. Verto noticed the MAX uniforms immediately, but then he saw other figures that were clearly not cyborgs, because they weren't even human to begin with. The first set were six similarly shaped warriors of some kind that all looked the same, like they were sextuplets. They were all tall, with broad shoulders, mullet-style haircuts and matching goatees. The only thing that truly set them apart were the colors of their skin. From left to right, it was blue, red, gold, black, white and brown. That wasn't the most obvious feature however, and Piccolo shook slightly in realization.

"I think our problems just got a lot worse. Those are Frieza Force uniforms," Piccolo whispered.

Verto didn't need to be told however, as he sensed not only their strong energies, but a massive and incredibly familiar one behind him. He turned in surprise as what anyone else would assume was Frieza's brother walked out of a portal as well. Only he knew all too well that it was not Cooler, despite looking like him, and that fact was very clear when a mechanical eye opened and transfixed on him. Verto glared right back at it, knowing that it was he himself that made the fake eye necessary.

"The Namekian slug is wrong, Saiyan. Your problems will end here, when I kill you," Frost said.

A/N: I'd say business is about to pick up.