I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 21: Turmoil
Vegeta and I left somewhat early the following morning, heading straight for the lookout in silence. I didn't even look at him the entire time, though I could feel his glare more than once. He had elected to wear his armor today, though it was likely for some sort of symbolic reason knowing him. His anger towards me had apparently increased for reasons I didn't know, unless it was constant seething like he was known to do. Piccolo awaited us at the top, alongside a nervous looking Dende and Popo.
"How long do you expect this is going to take?" Piccolo asked as a bead of sweat ran down his face.
"As long as necessary. You may witness but you may not interfere in any way," Vegeta replied with a slight grunt. He didn't bother waiting for Popo to guide us there, though it was hard not to know the way by now. Once inside though, he finally turned to face me directly.
"We will fight seriously this time. If you truly feel that you can stand on your own two feet, you will have to get by me to do it. This is as much a test for me as it is for you. I suggest you fight me with everything you have, because if you don't, you will die," he stated before walking straight out to the white void. Piccolo entered the room just as he was finishing and carefully shut the door behind him, somewhat wary of what was going to happen. Great, one of these. But doesn't he know by now that I'll beat him easily? One well placed offensive move and its over. Oh well, might as well get this over with. I slowly followed him out, energy levels rising towards maximum as I adjusted to the gravity. I noticed Vegeta was barely following suit as he locked eyes with me. I sensed something different now, relaxation. He's been fuming for days, and now he's calming himself before a fight? Talk about an oxymoron. I knew at that point that something was up; this was more than just some random test of ability. I had thought it was possible that he wanted to test his passive ability to recover, but somehow I doubted it. He had ample time to do that in the last few weeks. I waited for him to initiate the action, but found myself waiting, and waiting. He appeared to be the calm of the approaching storm for once, not riled in the least, and not even powering up.
"So, what are we waiting for oh king of patience?" I asked mockingly.
"We are waiting for you to grow up, though that will take plenty of time at this rate, even in this room," he replied coolly.
"Please, enlighten me, lord of the short," I frowned. The anger I expected unleashed itself, but not in the way I thought.
"You are pathetic, boy! You have destiny at your very fingertips and refuse to grab it! You have the power to change everything around you, and yet, you deal with the minor problems of a backwater planet! You and your soft heartedness constantly spell doom for these humans. It amazes me how you manage to put up with it!" Ah, the good old rile up the kid speech. Nice try.
"If you are trying to piss me off with your views again, you're failing," I said.
"Maybe so, but it isn't me that can't even keep a good woman satisfied enough that she'll stick around," he said with a thick grin as my eyes narrowed sharply. That was below the belt.
"You're just lucky that I even allowed that to happen. You would have been much better off without her around, maybe your damned power would have been useful when we really needed it. Instead, your emotional baggage held you down and you were captured. Then we had to go on a wild chase through space just to find you. And what do we find, an insane kid who can't tell friend from foe! Oh yes, you may have learned plenty of new tricks ever since getting control of yourself, but it still required the loving arms of a weakling female! Once your soft heart returned on planet Auir, I doubted our chances of victory. The Overmind used your weakness for emotions against you, and by sheer luck it failed. A cold and focused warrior wouldn't have fallen to those desperate attempts of assassination! Killing her should have been child's play!" he shouted. I shut my eyes and attempted to shut my ears as well. I didn't want to hear what he had to say next, but I knew it was coming.
"I find it amazing that while you were dead, you managed to stave off many enemies while juggling with not one, but two females. The second even weaker than the first! You are truly lucky that someone hasn't taken true advantage of your position yet. The girl should have been dead several times over at the rate she's going while around you. For all you know, she could be another assassin from one of our enemies. Her timing and positioning has been nearly flawless in that regard. Why send in a trained warrior when you can just send in cannon fodder? Even better when the target trains her himself, so soft that he can't recognize a threat. Maybe you would see that if you weren't suckling on those overly large breasts of hers. If it weren't so pathetic to witness, I'd do the job myself. What, nothing to say? No witty comeback or remark? Does the truth sting that much? Or does your fondness for the girl simply dull your senses into impairing your judgment. Quite typical for you brat!" he said with a scornful tone. I glared at the ground as he spoke, barely keeping my motion to a flinch.
"Are you done yet?" I growled as I shifted my glare to him.
"I haven't even started boy! Don't try the badass punk routine with me; you're talking to the king of bad! Taking matters into your own hands is something I've honed to perfection. Taking in soft hearts and helping the weak is your talent. If we hadn't needed more warriors at the time, I would have never allowed them to return with us! As things are, I also wouldn't have allowed the two of you to remain so close for so long!" he snapped.
"Then why did you? Did you get some sort of twisted pleasure in watching me deal with her loss? If you knew it was coming, why didn't you step between us beforehand?" I shouted back.
"Because I knew you would disobey, that's something else you're good at! Add in that you were thinking with the lower brain instead of the one attached to your neck and you have the perfect recipe for foolishness. She had you by the tail and everyone knew it, just like any other woman in your life! To my knowledge, the only woman you haven't completely surrendered to was that android bitch of a babysitter, although I'm sure you would have at some point. You allow yourself to be poisoned and weakened by inferior beings, just so you don't feel isolated and alone! You may not realize it, but whatever instincts brought you to life certainly won't allow you to hang on to it. Your pathetic emotions have gotten you into much more trouble than they should have! I'm shocked you're still not wetting your bed. You require such coddling its laughable! On top of that, you can't even man up and face a woman! Is the Rotian girl to become your mother as well as your eventual mate? I imagine it's only a matter of time before you're doing her all sorts of favors and slave work! She's got you eating right out of her hand, or something else! I wonder what will happen when you come across a woman who actually has quality and standards, rather than just another little whore…" Vegeta continued, though I never gave him a chance to finish. He was sprawled out several feet away with a bleeding nose from my first hit.
"If you want to insult me all day, then do it! If you want to have fight with me all day, then do it! But do not speak about Fasha or Lenz in such a way," I warned.
"Struck a nerve did I?" he chuckled as he got to his feet.
"If having compassion is a bad thing, then tell me, why am I the superior fighter?" I asked.
"Nothing about you is superior, except your strength. It's only a temporary position, I assure you. At the rate I'm gaining, you will be nothing again soon enough!" he boasted as he slide into a power up type stance. I sensed the lie from his energy, thus giving me the answer. As I thought, he was only trying to rile me up. His true pride in my abilities hasn't changed, he just wants a good fight and he was trying to win the mental battle first. Well, half that mission was successful, I actually want to kick his ass now. He wants to see if I'm worthy, I'll show him who isn't!
"If you're done trying to get me angry, can we go ahead and get this over with?" I said with a calmer tone.
"Why? Are you so anxious to nurse off that girl that you're giving up?" he snickered. I smashed his face with a straight forearm shot half a second later.
"You can drop the insults, you've already pissed me off. If you wanted me to fight you seriously, you earned it about two minutes ago. I just don't feel like dragging you out of this room, never mind the flight home," I retorted. He wiped another burst of blood from his nose and spit out the rest as he dropped his grin. His power level finally started to rise meaningfully as he hit Super Saiyan level quickly.
"Then by all means boy, show me that you are worthy!" he challenged as he waved me on. I dashed towards him with a fist pulled back, and the next several minutes became a blur.
Interlude 21.1: Specter
Piccolo allowed his eyes to go out of focus as he observed the battle between Vegeta and Verto. Despite his current level of power, he still struggled a bit to watch. Keeping up wasn't a problem, watching the level of brutality that Vegeta was trying to unleash was. Within a few minutes, Vegeta had transformed again to the first ascendant level, because anything lower would have been suicide against his protégé. At his base level, Verto could keep up with a normal Super Saiyan for hours, or end it with a few well-timed attacks. Against an ascendant Saiyan, his enhanced senses kept him just a step ahead of Vegeta's clearly superior speed and power, all without losing energy. Vegeta would charge in, hoping to use his advantage to press Verto into drastic measures, while Verto would dodge most of the assault, only blocking when he had to. Piccolo had wondered about Verto's afterlife training, especially upon hearing that it was Dabura who trained him. He was expecting a relentless bout of offense that could crush Vegeta before he knew what hit him. After the first few attacks that Verto had made out of anger, it seemed certain. But instead, Verto was completely on the defensive, barely even trying to attack back. Piccolo had to blink a few times just to make sure he was watching the same fighter that had nearly overwhelmed a stronger Viro-Gohan with shear force. Vegeta's punches to the head and chest were all dodged, and any kicks he brought were easily blocked by Verto's forearms. Vegeta's energy flickered with frustration as he attempted to overpower several of his blows, only to watch Verto evade them easily, though some only by a hair's width. Several different points of the dangerous dance were highlighted not by the fantastic dodging, but by the openings that Vegeta was leaving once he missed on a powerful blow. Verto would be standing still after each one, waiting for Vegeta's next move.
Piccolo's eyes widened when he realized what was going on. The tables had been turned, and now Vegeta was getting furious and wasting energy while Verto remained calm. To do this against a weak fighter was one thing, doing it to an ascended Saiyan, never mind Vegeta, was another. Piccolo managed to crack a tiny smirk at the boy's antics. He may not win the verbal war all the time, but giving the impression that he wasn't taking Vegeta seriously would drive the Saiyan prince up the wall. The only thing missing was the actual taunting, and he simply didn't have time for that. After watching Verto pass up an opening more than a dozen times, Vegeta suddenly halted mid punch when Verto phased out and swung around to fire a small ki blast at another vanishing Verto. When the boy didn't reappear right away, Vegeta stood up straight and cocked his own smirk.
"Outmaneuver me runt? Think again!" Piccolo recognized the bluff attempt, trying to tempt Verto into breaking his stride. Maybe even to trade blasts to weaken his position so that Vegeta could get the drop on him before he realized it. Time after time in his early training, Verto struggled with reading his opponent's attacks and mental errors. Any amateur could throw a devastating punch or a powerful blast and he excelled at that, but pure defense and counter attack was a weakness against stronger foes. Piccolo drilled Verto with mental training whenever he could, but being around Vegeta enough would dull anyone's ability to think logically. That was no longer the case. The trials and training he had gone through had eliminated it. To Piccolo's eyes that weakness was not only gone, but had become a strength. Verto's mastery over pure energy and offense had set him apart as slightly reckless and effective, but this new barrage of techniques and defense had made him a complete fighter. The pure firepower that he could create coupled with a smart mind and a rough edge of awareness. And that's what Vegeta wanted out of this from the onset, to see everything he had so he could test it. Once the prince had been satisfied with his performance of close quarters combat, the fight would get a little more explosive. It was there that Piccolo knew that Verto's offensive ability would overwhelm Vegeta, and even the prince himself likely knew it. Vegeta's other purpose for coming here was to test his recovery rate in combat. It may have been inadvertently given to him by fate, but he wasn't going to waste it.
"Come on boy, stop piddling around and give me the fight that I know you can provide!" he shouted. Verto reappeared some thirty paces away with his arms crossed. They didn't stay that way, and glowed lightly with random color as he dropped them to his sides.
Vegeta fired first with a strong ki ball meant to plow Verto over. Verto lifted off and evaded while it streaked past and blew up harmlessly. He charged one of his own and allowed it to spin in his hands before returning fire. Vegeta joined him in the air, but had to fly away quickly when Verto's blast hooked around and homed in on him. Vegeta picked up speed before throwing a small pop shot in efforts to disrupt Verto's concentration. Piccolo saw Verto's eyes barely flinch before that blast fizzled out barely two feet away by way of a blue spinning energy shield. Verto's hand stayed up, making his homing blast pick up speed and zero in on Vegeta. An audible growl came from Vegeta as he turned to face it. He held out his hands to catch the blast, and then flooded it with his own ki, turning it over to his control instead of Verto's. Piccolo eyed Verto's unmoving form carefully, trying to figure out what the boy would do when his hand suddenly glowed blue and crackled with lightning. Vegeta's eyes lowered, but he conspicuously hesitated as he tried to ascertain what Verto might actually do to him. Vegeta elected to quickly launch the blast and dash away quickly while the blast rained down on Verto. Piccolo was expecting something very explosive, but only saw Verto's hand go up before a blue Psi blade shot out of it and deflected the blast into the ground harmlessly. Vegeta landed with a slightly surprised expression, but still one of caution. Smart move kid.
Verto may or may not have had ample time to hit Vegeta with his lightning move, one that the prince clearly knew about. What impressed Piccolo was that Verto did not needlessly waste his effort and energy by showing off his Shock Cannon attack. Whether Vegeta knew of it or not, Piccolo didn't know, but at the very least, Verto had not shown his opponent a hidden move that probably wouldn't have hit anything besides air and eardrums. Piccolo managed a smile, Verto was showing discipline as well. As interested in Verto's new set of talents as he was, he would rather see a fighter that wouldn't take unnecessary chances. Since Vegeta was literally dying to see most of his attacks, that likely wouldn't continue.
"At least try to hit me with something I haven't seen before!" he dared. The sword remained at a ready position for a brief moment before vanishing back into Verto's hand, which then went to his forehead. Piccolo recognized the attack even before he began charging it, but quickly noticed it wasn't quite like his own. Instead of Verto's two fingers being together, they were split apart. The index finger was glowing bright gold while the middle was glowing blue. Though he couldn't sense it, Piccolo recognized it to be Psi energy. The other modification was that Verto was not channeling the power into a blast yet; he was holding a different charge in each finger. Even though it was lower in power than it could have been, Piccolo knew that it had to be stressful to the fingers and hand to embrace power like that and hold it there. Other than a slight shaking, Verto didn't appear to be affected by it, or he just wasn't showing it. Vegeta stood ready for whatever this was going to be, but Piccolo could tell he was going to dodge as soon as it was fired.
Verto drew his arm back and lined up with Vegeta, "Spirit Beam Cannon!" he shouted as he fired. Instead of a screw shaped beam, Piccolo saw two small beams wrapped around each other like a chain, one gold and one blue, both leading into a pulsing green tip. Vegeta didn't budge, and if anything, he seemed bewildered as the beam came towards him. Piccolo knew what it was, the amount of power Vegeta sensed from at least the ki portion of the beam wasn't even close to being enough to do much. Vegeta brought his hand up to block it with a slight grin, until he saw Vegeta lock eyes with Verto. Piccolo shifted his eyes back to Verto as well. The boy was not smiling by any means, and his deadly determined look said enough, that attack was not to be trifled with. Vegeta seemed to understand it and fired his own massive ki blast as quickly as possible at the coming attack. Right at the point of impact, the twin beam exploded into a huge bright green Chi ball that wiped out Vegeta's attack and stormed towards him. The amount of energy that Piccolo sensed from the attack had suddenly tripled and overwhelmed Vegeta's feeble attempt to cancel it out. Vegeta barely dodged the blast as it exploded at his feet, sending him tumbling through the air briefly before he landed off balance. Piccolo's ears were filled with the sound of explosion, but could faintly detect a whooshing sound. Vegeta was too busy watching the fireworks to notice, and was plowed over by Verto's kick to the head. Vegeta hit the ground, only to flip upward to send a quick blast at another Verto afterimage. The normal white lighting of the room returned as both fighters stared each other down again, though Vegeta was now much more cautious of the patient Verto, who remained deadly still.
Piccolo glanced at the spot of the void where Verto's blast had hit, seeing a sizable black burn mark there, and it didn't show any signs of fading. Remembering what Verto and Gohan had told him about their initial training in there during the Zerg war, he was very concerned around what that might actually mean. As far as he and Kami knew, there was nothing about the room that should even take damage, other than the door and small living area that had been constructed around it. Popo had never mentioned anything either, and he had probably been at the lookout longer than anyone. Though he did recall a conversation between Kami and Popo about the room that ended with hesitation. Piccolo's train of thought was interrupted when Vegeta's power level went through the roof, charging one of his favorite attacks at either side. Piccolo's eyes widened when he realized that Verto was between them, giving Vegeta a clear shot at him and the door should Verto elect to dodge.
"Do not fire that Vegeta! Look where you're aiming you fool!" Piccolo shouted. Vegeta glanced up just as Verto turned his head, but grinned sharply and continued to power up as his hair lengthened notably.
"Shut up Namek!" Vegeta growled as his power increased and darkened the chamber. Piccolo realized what he was trying to do immediately, trying to pull Verto into a situation where he would have to show his true power. It was dirty tactics, but effective, as green and gray smoky waves of energy pulsed off Verto within seconds. Bright silver light erupted and for a brief second, outshined the golden ki of Vegeta before simmering down and concentrating into Verto's Super Mystic form. With both hands glowing green, Verto's power matched Vegeta's quickly before rising just a bit further. The ground shook violently under the weight of their emerging power, and it was apparent to Piccolo that neither would hold back this time. Though as powerful as Vegeta's blast was becoming, Verto remained completely calm just as before.
"Show me what you've got boy! Final Flash!" Vegeta roared as he brought his hands forward. Verto's right hand came up and brandished a glowing green sword this time. Piccolo frowned at the continued tactic for the moment, thinking it wouldn't be enough this time. The sword brightened and became very charged with Chi energy, enough that a flowing and darker green flame surrounded it as Verto held it with both hands. He swung forward and struck Vegeta's beam with full force, and the giant rush of ki energy nearly came to a dead stop against the might of the enhanced Chi sword. A small crackle of lightning broke out between sword and blast, but didn't last before Verto pulled back just slightly before pressing forward again, stopping its forward motion. The only problem was that if he moved, it would go barreling into Piccolo and the exit. Piccolo knew that Verto had ways of dealing with this problem, but Vegeta had already moved away and stood at the large burn mark on the ground with another blast ready to go. This one was much smaller in size and power, but it had a purpose. He fired it and struck his own attack, causing it to pulse slightly as Verto's eyes widened a bit. A large golden explosion blinded Piccolo and Vegeta to Verto's actions, but Piccolo had felt a slight power drop. When the blast cleared, Verto was still standing in its place with his arms in a guard position, a green glowing shield surrounded him. Some of Vegeta's attack had gotten through in time though, showing where Verto's clothes were torn up as well his arms and face. But it hadn't been enough to do much damage.
Quick, Piccolo thought. He hadn't believed that Verto would have been able to conjure his shield that fast in that situation, but there it was. Vegeta's satisfaction flooded the area in the form of a slight chuckle.
"You were extremely lucky to get through that one. Go ahead and let me know when you've had enough brat!" he laughed. Verto's arms lowered as his aura flashed on, making Piccolo forget about any power drop he might have sensed.
"You want it all, I'll show you all!" Verto announced as he dropped back into a charging stance. Piccolo recognized what the attack was going to be this time, as he was sure Vegeta did as well by the time the green ball swirled into view. Verto didn't waste much time and fired his Super Galic Gun quickly, not going for the full charge like he might have done before. Vegeta jumped into the air to avoid it, getting a bit of a flight boost out of the explosion. Verto charged after him quickly, intercepting Vegeta and punching for his head. Vegeta caught his fist and threw him aside, turning and gliding backwards as Verto recovered and gave chase. Vegeta's grin tightened as he led Verto around the area before firing a quick blast to disrupt him. Verto batted it away without looking, and caught up with his teacher in a hurry. Vegeta took a shot to the chest before catching Verto in the right side of his body with a hard knife-edge chop. Verto backed off as he grimaced and held his side, appearing to be protecting that area as if it were injured. Vegeta jumped all over the chance and attacked furiously, trying to hit the same weakened area as fast as Verto tried to guard it. Dozens of punches and kicks were thrown at the younger warrior as he tried to defend them. Verto appeared to be struggling to keep up after the initial burst, but Piccolo sensed otherwise when his power did not drop. Vegeta didn't appear to be noticing as he managed to hit Verto lightly in other areas, giving the impression that he was winning. After getting off a lucky punch to the chest, Vegeta powered up a much harder shot, meant to be the deciding blow.
"It's lights out boy!" he declared. Verto's energy came alive suddenly from his glowing hand, and any weakness that there might have been was utterly gone when he suddenly rushed up to Vegeta with his right fist drawn back.
"Super Galic Fist!" The air around the two fighters turned bright green for a brief second before Piccolo found Vegeta plunging towards the ground and hitting hard. His stomach looked like raw meat after the blow, and his power dropped considerably as his hair shortened once again. Piccolo chuckled slightly; the kid had lured Vegeta into a false opening off his own mistake, and then had flipped the course of the battle completely. Whether Verto had gotten hit on purpose or not, Piccolo wasn't sure. It was also possible that in his higher form, his senses weren't as sharpened compared to his normal form, but in reality it didn't matter. Vegeta struggled to get to a sitting position as Verto dropped out of the skies and landed before him.
"Have you had enough yet?" Verto asked as Vegeta glared up at him, wincing at the pain he felt.
"It won't be done until you've crippled me boy!" Vegeta growled as he fired a sudden ki blast, point blank. Verto dodged it easily, but was unprepared for Vegeta to rush him from a sitting position, laying a knee into his chin. Verto was momentarily stunned, and was hit again when Vegeta smashed his forearm into Verto's body. Verto bounced off the surface as Vegeta caught his breath. Piccolo scanned both fighters thoroughly, and while Vegeta appeared to be drawing off reserves to bolster himself at Super Saiyan three, Verto's power wasn't fluctuating as much as he thought it would. Whether it was a result of his training or not, his body was either taking the punishment without much trouble, or his power was passively shielding it from heavy damage. Piccolo wagered that it was a little of both. Verto slowly got to his hands and knees as Vegeta remained motionless. When the boy stood up, he wiped the blood trickle from his mouth, spitting the rest before shaking his head slightly in dismay. Vegeta slid back into his stance, waiting for the attack.
"Come on boy, you said you would show it all to me! Where's the rest? Or is that your limit?" he asked. Verto snorted by reaction and walked forward slowly, his left hand charging up a blast this time. Vegeta readied himself for it, but Verto only walked forward with that same determined expression, slowly charging the blast as he did. It suddenly turned bright blue and white in color before flashing briefly, filling the air with zapping sounds before settling down and shimmering silently. Vegeta looked at it with slight dread, but still didn't move. Piccolo's eyes narrowed, The Spirit Bomb?
"Something new boy! Don't you think I've been around Kakarot enough to know that one?" Vegeta grinned.
"Maybe you think you do," Verto replied. Piccolo thought that Vegeta would be able to handle it easily; the low amount of power coming off of it couldn't have threatened Nappa, never mind him. At the same time though, he knew something had to be up for Verto to even bother if he wasn't going to go all out with it.
"Spirit Bomb!" Verto shouted as he merely lifted his hand and let it go. The blue-white blast moved very slowly towards Vegeta compared to everything before, and Vegeta already had his counter blast waiting, an attack much stronger than the bomb.
"Big Bang attack!" Vegeta's attack smashed into Verto's and held steady for a brief moment as Verto continued walking forward. Piccolo couldn't understand why he would let himself get hit, until he saw that his attack was not only holding the Big Bang ball at bay, it was absorbing it. Since both attacks were light blue in color, Vegeta hadn't noticed for the moment, until the bigger attack abruptly vanished and the smaller one was still moving forward, though much faster when Verto pushed it ahead with his energy. Vegeta's eyes went wide, but he dodged aside from the Spirit Bomb. Verto maintained control of the bomb and turned it around, sending it streaking towards Vegeta again. When Vegeta dodged this time, he stopped right above the charred surface. Verto's battle cry only previewed his bright green sword coming out of the sky, straight down at Vegeta's head. Vegeta barely got away and Verto struck the center of the burnt ground, his sword piercing down into it for the moment as he held a kneeling position. Verto got up and grinned brightly as Piccolo tried to figure out what Vegeta had been so afraid of.
"That was your blasted Feedback technique wasn't it?" Vegeta shouted with a sour tone. Verto's grin didn't fade, but his sword did for the moment as he stepped towards Vegeta again. Piccolo's eyes immediately locked onto the ground behind Verto though. His sword had left a distinct breach in the burned area, and there were reddened cracks emerging from it. From the ground, a small trickle of what appeared to be lava came out, along with a purple smoke began to rise out into the air as Verto walked away from it, unaware.
"So, where's the next fancy move hot shot? You haven't used that damned lightning yet!" Vegeta grunted.
Verto's grin vanished for the moment, "I haven't had a reason to use it, don't tempt me," Verto warned as he stepped to within a dozen feet. Piccolo didn't even watch their next scuffle; the breach in the ground had taken his full interest. The purple smoke that had emerged was beginning to flood a broad area before it darkened in color. For a brief moment, Piccolo had a dreadful flashback of Majin Buu's regeneration ability, but this was clearly different. Sounds of battle covered any noise that the purple smoke cloud might have been creating, but the dark feeling of it was frightening to Piccolo's mind. Silence quite suddenly filled the area as the two Saiyans had finally noticed and halted their battle.
"Hey Namek! What in the blazes is that?" Vegeta shouted at him. Piccolo didn't answer, and Verto grew wary of what might be coming out of the breach. The small amount of lava had hardened and was not progressing any further, but the smoke was now streaming out from the void, filling the area with darkness.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Verto muttered.
"It's just a little smoke boy, you shouldn't assume another crisis with just a fire!" Vegeta growled at him.
"We should leave, whatever that is, its not just smoke," Verto suggested as he backed up a step.
"Don't be ridiculous, you're just trying to get out of fighting me!" Vegeta roared as he turned away from the shadow cloud. Piccolo's eyes only got wider as the cloud suddenly condensed into a purple aura and a blackened figure emerged beneath it. A dark power signal hit his insides, filling him with fear. He wasn't able to measure the energy he felt, but it was darker than he had ever felt before. That in and of itself was saying something.
"That is a Chi signal. But its evil," Verto pointed out.
Vegeta snorted at this, "Afraid of a shadow now brat?" The black figure stepped out of the breach, and a brief shadow stuck to the ground before following it. The figure had on some sort of light armor by what Piccolo could see, but he wasn't able to tell much past that. He did notice an equally dark circular blade at the side of this newcomer, along with a dagger. Piccolo saw two large pink eyes open and blink sharply before settling themselves on Verto and Vegeta.
"Humans," it bellowed. Piccolo was able to make out an older feminine voice, but the eerie low tone drove shivers up his spine.
"Not quite, woman!" Vegeta grinned. The blackened head snapped towards Vegeta, and if Piccolo could have actually seen her whole face, he would have seen a deep glare.
"Look boy, you managed to free another female from her troubles! When's the wedding?" Vegeta laughed.
"I… hate… humans!" the shadow said.
"I like this one already kid!" Vegeta chuckled again.
"You will all perish!" she shouted. The blackened figure then vanished in a poof of smoke. Piccolo tried to track her, but couldn't detect where she might have gone.
"Wow, your shortest relationship ever!" Vegeta laughed again.
"Please, tell me you're smarter then that," Verto replied coldly.
"You've succeeded on making me laugh too hard to fight anymore! I suppose we'll call it a draw! Can you conjure up anything else with your tricks? That shadow was rather creative!" Vegeta continued to laugh.
"That wasn't me!" Verto raised his voice. A loud screech suddenly filled the air, and Piccolo found himself staring at the shadow woman face to face. She was much larger up close than he thought, taller than even him and he found he had to look up just a bit to stare into her cold pink eyes.
"Let me out of here!" she said in a calm tone. Piccolo felt the pure malice of her voice though, and suddenly knew why Popo was hesitant about the room. A brief flashback of Kami's memories led him to a conversation about it.
"Tell me Mister Popo, about the hyperbolic time chamber. If I'm ever to make use of that dimension, I must know everything about it," Kami began.
"Well Kami, it is a very hazardous environment that can change from hot to extremely cold in very little time. The air is thinner the deeper you venture into the void, and the gravity is ten times that of Earth's. Only at the entrance are you safe. Also, the rate of time moves swiftly inside. Where one minute may pass out here, nearly six hours pass in the chamber. If you were to stay for a whole day, you would experience an entire year inside," Popo explained.
"Is there anything else I should know? I'm sure that I might find that chamber useful for training and solitude," Kami said.
Popo paused for a moment, drawing Kami's deep stare before continuing, "Only two may be inside at the same time. And a person cannot stay in the chamber for more than two whole days. If that were to occur, the door would disappear and you would be trapped for all time!"
"That is unfortunate. There are many times where I wished to have extra time to consider my choices and decisions. The solitude of such a room would have assisted me greatly. Very well, since that is precious time to be used, I shall not waste it," Kami decided.
"A very wise choice Kami," Popo agreed with a slight frown.
Kami had caught on very quickly though, "Is there something about the room that you are not telling me Popo?" he asked as he sensed deception.
"Understand that I am bound to obey obligations any of the previous guardians, including your mentor, Kami. He made much more use of the hyperbolic time chamber than he should have done, though it was necessary at the time. I am not at liberty to say what might have happened in there Kami, but know that it was for the good of mankind. No Kami, there is nothing in there that should be any problem to you or anyone else," Popo finished. Piccolo frowned in dismay, that statement had now proven false.
"So tell me, Kami, is that lousy guardian still haunting this station? I would enjoy a few personal minutes in his audience! After locking me away for hundreds of years!" the blackened lady said with a slight sneer. Piccolo's ears perked up to only one chilling voice, but he sensed three dark powers instead of one now, and managed to lean over to see an identical pair before Vegeta and Verto. It also bothered him that this woman knew him, or at least part of him, at one time or another.
"If you mean the one before me, no. He passed his position on before he died," Piccolo answered, somewhat truthfully.
"I see, then my revenge must be through other means. Since the old coot cannot do anything about it now, I might as well take full advantage of the situation!" she laughed.
"What are you talking about, what revenge?" Piccolo demanded.
"For me to know, its too bad you won't be able to witness it!" she proclaimed. Faster than he could trace, one of her arms lashed out, and Piccolo's stomach erupted in searing pain.
"Look boy, she's a big one. Remind you of anyone?" Vegeta asked as we stared down the replicas of the female creature that had appeared.
"Shut up," I groaned. They were both quite large, a little taller than Piccolo by my estimation. I could only guess that this was a split form of some kind, but I wasn't sure what this creature's next move would be. The air was filled with dark intent, but it didn't seem to be directed at us. I had already assumed that my power had done this. After all, Gohan and I had lightly breached the void once before, though not to this extent. I hadn't thought much of it when my blast had only scorched the ground, but when my sword pierced the exact same spot, oh boy did something happen. No one had warned me about what might have been in the time chamber, though there was a chance that no one knew either.
"If she wasn't so damned ugly, she might make a decent Saiyan," Vegeta chuckled.
"Odd thing to say, since you really can't see her body at all. Maybe she is very attractive underneath, you don't know based off first glance," I reminded him.
"Ever the optimist. I'll be sure to let the girl know that you've fallen for someone else," he cracked again. I rolled my eyes at his constant barrage of jokes in my direction. I could hear this newcomer talking to Piccolo about something briefly, but we were far enough away that I couldn't make it out. Piccolo didn't seem too happy about this, but at the same time, confusion filled his energy. All of a sudden, fear welled up inside him, and the creature lashed out with her dagger, stabbing Piccolo's midsection with it. Piccolo cried out in pain before slumping to the ground. This isn't good.
"Well, she doesn't appear to like Nameks either. Looks like a keeper," Vegeta grinned.
"That leaves you two, what will I do with you?" the dark figure in front of Vegeta asked. The third one in front of Piccolo had vanished, leaving only the two before us. Piccolo was still very much alive, and I knew all we had to do was give him a few minutes and he'd be back on his feet.
"I'll tell you what you will do, woman! You will get on your knees in front of royalty before I dispense with you!" Vegeta threatened, though he kept his smirk nice and wide. I continually scanned this shadow creature over and over, picking up the same dark Chi signal. It was low in power, but there was something very misleading about it. I felt energy coming off her weapons too, but in a slightly different spectrum so to speak. Rather the dagger and circular blade were intertwined with her power or not, I wasn't sure, but they were not normal weapons to be sure. She had been focused on Vegeta, but I felt her gaze shifting to me from both forms.
"You, boy! You are the one who broke my prison and freed me. For that, I thank you, and for now, you will be spared!" she said in a slightly softer tone, but still full of hatred.
"Spared? You've got to be joking woman! What makes you think you are even in our league?" Vegeta asked. She barely gave Vegeta a look before vanishing again, this time only one form appeared, just a few paces away from Piccolo's prone form. I didn't bother waiting for a go signal and chased after her with Vegeta trailing behind me.
"Tsk Tsk, so much wasted destructive potential. Looks like I did you a favor Kami," she noted as I landed. I instantly activated my Chi sword, filling it with energy just to be safe and intimidating at the same time.
"Yes?" she asked without turning.
"Why did you stab Piccolo? If you have unresolved issues with him, you may take them up with me!" I said sternly.
"Put your blade away before you hurt yourself, I have no quarrel with you, or even him. I'm very grateful to you in fact, but don't get in my way," she warned.
"What do you want then?" Vegeta asked as he came up from behind.
"Think about it little man, what would anyone locked up in here want? Freedom of course!"
"Just how long have you been in here?" I asked out of curiosity.
"To be truthful, I have no idea. I stopped keeping track a long time ago. But it's probably been the equivalent of thousands of years, give or take a few. Cut off from the world, floating in nothing. I would occasionally see flashes of energy from different people making use of this place, but never enough to see much other than that," she murmured sadly.
"Why were you locked up then? And who did it?" I asked again.
"A mystery for another time, its my business now and no one else's. As for who locked me up, he's long dead by now," she said, aggravated.
"Why did you stab the Namek then?" Vegeta asked.
"Oh you mean lizard boy here? Simple, he was in my way," she said, not sounding the least bit remorseful. I then grasped my sword with both hands and held it up, ready to charge her.
"Didn't I tell you to back down? You and I have nothing to fight about. And as I said, I am very grateful to you boy, do not force me to kill you so soon!" she threatened again.
"Ha, like you could beat him! Maybe you've been locked away for too long to realize when you are outmatched! My youngest child could wipe the floor with you!" Vegeta boasted from next to me. I cast a confusing eye up at him, hoping he didn't actually suggest that his baby girl should get anywhere near this dangerous creature.
"Fool! One does not need overwhelming power to be effective," she scolded.
"Really, try me then! You'll be dust before you learn otherwise!" Vegeta challenged.
"Back off Vegeta, you shouldn't fight her," I said. I had a really bad feeling about this creature, and it only got worse the longer I was around her. Her power might have been low, but even if she only caught Piccolo off guard with her attack, it was enough to keep him down. Piccolo was stronger overall, by far. The fact that he was still not moving surprised me, but he wasn't dying either. There was a good chance he was trying to gather his thoughts and was playing possum.
"You should listen to your young friend here, he is obviously far more intelligent than you," she chuckled.
"Shut up witch! Or feel my wrath!" Vegeta shouted, holding up his hand to blast her. I pulled down on his arm, seeing what she was standing in front of.
"Let go boy, or you'll be next!" he growled as he pulled free.
"Then at least think, your aiming right at the door. Do you really want to lock us in here forever if you miss?" I whispered.
The creature overheard anyway, "Interesting, so there was a fail-safe sort of magic put on the door as well. Let's see how effective it is!" She reached out, and a bony, wrinkled hand emerged from the shadow form. Other than her story, she didn't sound or feel like someone old and decrepit. But being locked behind a shadow aura would probably hide that pretty well. When she grasped the door handle, an eruption of energy surged out of it, shocking her hand mildly. She didn't make any sort of sound regarding pain, just shook it off and stepped back.
"I see, which one of you gentlemen will open the door for me?" She asked as she turned to face us.
"Now that is amusing, asking one of us to open the door for a bitch like you!" Vegeta snorted.
I sensed an immediate flush of anger from her, "Do not continue your rude comments towards me! I will not tolerate them!"
Vegeta laughed right away, "Or what? You ugly excuse for a woman! You shouldn't be such an angry bitch, your period should have ended eons ago!" The creature vanished with a loud whoosh, and there were suddenly three versions of her surrounding Vegeta, one of them facing me.
"Am I supposed to be scared by a little illusion trick?" he laughed. I sensed differently, there were three clear-cut signals coming from them.
"Believe what you want to little man! You'll be dead before the day is over!" she claimed.
"Stay away from him!" I said as I powered up my sword just a bit more. The shadow in front reached out for me, but stopped just short as I stepped backwards, the shadow aura still engulfing her hand.
"I told you to stay out of this kid, or you'll do something you'll regret!" she said as her dark energy surrounded her.
"You'll have to do your worst to stop me then!" I shouted as I dashed forward and thrust my sword towards her stomach. As my Chi sword passed her outstretched hands, it breached her energy field and started to vanish. And then Vegeta cried out in pain. I stopped when I sensed my energy was next to him, and glanced over to see a green sword poking out from one of the other shadow forms, sticking right through Vegeta's side. I pulled back right away, and the other sword vanished. I stared in shock at the image before me, she had somehow redirected my attack from her to Vegeta.
"I told you not to, but now you learn the hard way. It's a shame! You won't be able to harm me without hurting your friends!" she claimed as all three forms marched back to the door, "Now open the door and I will leave you in peace!"
"Don't you dare let her go boy!" Vegeta growled as he spat up blood to go along with what was dripping out onto the ground.
"I don't have to let her do anything, without one of us, she can't escape," I said with a slight frown as I stepped towards Vegeta. I knelt down and poured energy into his wound as I kept an eye on the shadow forms.
"Don't waste your power on me!" he groaned.
"Shut up, she's not going anywhere. Besides, she's already proven that it would be useless to stay at full power," I said as I powered down to normal form.
"Quit being a fool boy!"
"Humph, now he smartens up, a bit too late little man! And by the way, it appears I won't need your help after all!" she declared.
"What do you mean?" I asked carefully. My answer opened the door a moment later, and a shocked Mister Popo stood there shaking.
"Oh my goodness! Mercurial!"
"Hello, fat man! Glad to see you remember me after all this time!" she growled.
"How did you escape your prison?" he asked.
"Ask someone who cares, I'm leaving this damned place!" she laughed.
"Over my dead body!" Popo said as he attempted to shut the door. The shadow images of this Mercurial reformed into one and vanished briefly before rushing past and reappearing out on the lookout before Popo could even budge.
"Go boy!" Vegeta pushed me back towards the door, though I was already flying in that direction. Popo was still in the process of shutting the door, he clearly didn't realize she had gone through already. The door nearly closed before I burst through it, knocking Popo on his ass and splintering the magic door. I scanned for Mercurial, and saw her wave a bony hand at me before jumping off the lookout. I rushed to the edge to follow, but saw nothing but clouds, sensing even less.
"Popo, what the hell was that?" I shouted at him. Popo whimpered a bit as he stayed on the ground, a stunned expression glued to his face.
"That, was a creature that should not have left this place! You have no idea what you've done!" another feminine voice answered for him. I glanced over to see Leira standing nearby, her own dagger in hand.
"Why do I get the feeling that you have something to do with this?" I asked.
Leira frowned, "Your instincts serve you well, but I am only involved to clean up the mess. And it's likely to be a big one," she replied.
Power levels:
Verto: 311,000,000; Super Mystic: 622,000,000
Vegeta (SS2): 478,000,000; Super Saiyan 3: 587,000,000
A/n: For those that need it, Mercurial is another word for volatile. Appropriate isn't it?