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 23: Mercurial's Arsenal
"Vegeta! Answer if you can hear me!" Goku called out as he rummaged through a few piles of rubble. He had sensed what was going on and teleported to the scene shortly after Verto had blasted off. He only had two Senzu beans with him, but that was enough for his downed friends.
"He should be around here somewhere Son. That thing we were fighting only hit him once," Piccolo said as he dropped his heavy weights, or what was left of them.
"So, whoever did this is that powerful?" Goku asked with a serious tone.
"Yeah. It was a little misleading, but she can definitely handle the likes of us!"
"Is that what Verto is chasing then? I only sensed a dark power for a brief moment before his energy blocked it out. Can you tell me what we're up against?" Before Piccolo could answer, one of the only buildings left suddenly exploded with golden light and an anguished scream.
"Where did she go?" Vegeta shouted down as he rose from the depths.
"Vegeta, calm down! We'll come up with a plan first!" Piccolo called back.
"Go ahead then! Proceed with your planning! You can let me know what you came up with after I rip her to pieces!" Vegeta roared as he blasted off in Verto's direction.
"It still amazes me that a fighting genius is below all of that stubbornness. Sometimes I wonder how," Piccolo noted before sighing slightly.
"I sense Gohan coming here, so you can fill us in at the same time. But tell me one thing, how was it that somebody could take a Super Saiyan down, and I could barely sense it?" Goku asked, confused.
"It is a very evil power Goku, one that isn't focused on pure strength like we are used to. But that doesn't make her any less dangerous. To top things off, she's supposedly immortal," Piccolo added.
"As in, a wish to the dragon?" Goku asked in shock. Piccolo only nodded grimly.
"But, when? We would have known!" Goku claimed.
"It was before our time Goku, that is all I know for sure. Your son is here by the way," Piccolo pointed out as Gohan flew into view.
"So, what can we do then?" Piccolo hesitated to answer, but then held up his hands and concentrated his energy. A large jar with red symbols materialized in his hands, one that he handed to Goku.
"But this is…?" Goku started to ask.
"Yes, it's just like the jar I was trapped in long ago," Piccolo replied with a deep frown.
"The Containment Wave! Of course! But are you sure you can pull it off on this fighter?" Goku said as Gohan landed.
"If there's anything I've learned over the years, especially from you two, it's to never underestimate those who are desperate and determined. We have a lot of ground to make up; I'll explain our little problem along the way!"
I sensed Mercurial occasionally continuing her attacks against the people as I followed her trail. She was moving in a somewhat straight line, all the way to the north and slightly east. She came much closer to West City then I would have preferred, but didn't even bother to make a pit stop. I could only assume that she was playing a game of cat and mouse with me, and unfortunately the mouse could teleport over great distances. I couldn't quite tell if she was getting any stronger or not, it didn't seem like she was trying to charge up as much as elude me. Every time I got close to wherever she attacked, she vanished again, and she was barely leaving her mark. It wasn't like when we had caught up and found her toying with humans. The most I even spotted was one downed human on a rooftop or in an alleyway. I also sensed Goku and Gohan joining up with Piccolo, and Vegeta following me, but I had to beat them to this one. Her weak Shadow Bolts were enough to knock Vegeta out as a Super Saiyan. No matter what her other attack did, her first move made the bigger impact on me. The second had only pissed me off once I realized what happened. I had the impression that someone using Chi could be beaten by someone like Vegeta or Goku, at least if they were stronger, but perhaps I was wrong, as was Old Kai. Vegeta wasn't even in the same league as her, and he should have been faster and stronger by far. It's possible though that it is just so concentrated that it makes any other attack seem like nothing. It's kind of like me and my own power, focus and nearly anything can be done. She's already proven she can at least hang around in a fight, or probably even win since I have no real idea how we might stop her. But why is she leading me on this wild chase? She must be looking for something, or someone. Doesn't matter, I have to stop her. My full power was thrown aside like it wasn't there, but Leira mentioned that they might have stopped her last time using Spirit power, meaning Psi energy only. Wouldn't be the first time I guess.
Mercurial's trail continued all the way up towards North City, where it stopped dead in its tracks not far away. I flew faster, catching up within a few minutes and finding her hovering near a small town among tall, snow covered mountain peaks. The way she was positioned though, I could only guess that she had been waiting for me.
She didn't react to my sudden stop, only grinned, "Well now, look who's back for more. Where are Kami and that idiotic muscle head?"
I floated closer with a deep glare, "You should hope that I'm not done with you by the time they get here, bitch!"
It was Mercurial's turn to frown at me, "Alright then kid, I've turned you down for long enough. Since you're so eager to die, I will oblige!" Her hand sparked for barely a second before another purple comet flew out of it. Being powered up kept me ready for it, and I quickly formed my blue Psi sword, batting it aside with a long sweep.
"Argh, you shouldn't be able to do that!" she growled.
I glanced back at her carefully, "You're being presumptuous, just as I was when this started. Don't assume you know everything there is to know about me just from a clash or two. Technically we haven't gone even half a battle yet!" Mercurial attempted to calm herself, barely succeeding,
"You are a student of higher forces, and I can see that now. I thought I sensed something amiss when you deflected my attacks earlier, but it seems combining your Spirit power with your physical power had somehow blinded me to it. I should have realized that you possessed an impressive amount of Spirit power and could use it separately. My mistake, don't let it be yours," she suggested.
"I doubt you have to worry about that, you dried up ugly hag!" Mercurial's anger resurfaced and she fired off more of her Shadow Bolts at a high rate. I phased out to avoid them, watching closely as they impacted one of the mountains and tore it down. She turned and fired another, which I smashed back at her with my sword. A large sphere of light purple surrounded her and blocked it, canceling out the Shadow Bolt with nothing more than a few sparks to show for it.
"That won't work young fool, you see, I also know a few things about our kind of power. Creating a permanent, protective shield around myself protects me from all attacks, including my own. I highly doubt that you can generate enough focus and power to break it, though even if you could, you would regret it. It takes little to no energy away from me, and would take nearly all of yours. That is your only warning, you may proceed with your flawed efforts!" she warned. I allowed a quick glance to the south and west, where I sensed the others coming from. She sure is confident, enough to give me that little tip. Just have to keep her guessing so one of us to drop the big one on her! I slid back into stance, holding my sword in one hand and a ki blast in the other.
"And what do you plan to do now?" she asked.
"Just testing a few theories, like this one!" I said, firing the blast. It turned into smoke upon hitting her shield, little to no fluctuation in either her energy or her posture.
"Come now kid, you're smarter than you act. I know I don't have to point this out by now, but physical power alone cannot stand up to my abilities. And anything involving physical power can be redirected and used against you! It is futile to resist!" she declared. Well now, isn't she informative? Must be that immortality talking, thinking she's unbeatable. Thanks for clearing that up though. Ki alone won't work, and Chi has a risk of being turned back on me. That means I have to rely solely on my Psi energy. But I don't think I can generate enough power to break that shield. Though there's always the chance she's bluffing about that, none of us have had a good crack at her yet. Guess I'll have to find out the hard way.
"For someone so eager to fight, you sure are taking your time kid. Not so sure you can beat me anymore are you?" she asked.
"Just planning my next steps carefully,I wouldn't want to scar your wrinkled face!" I replied. Sparks lit up the air around her for a brief second, showing me that she angered from rude comments very, very easily. She might have looked young, but she was still feeling at least some of her age.
She suddenly smiled, "Just for that, I'm going to make sport of this!" She tugged her circular blade off its place at her waist, and held it up for a moment.
"This blade will be your doom, and I feel the need to warn you again, it will follow you until its job is done!" I frowned at this, but held up my blue sword in response, challenging her silently.
"Your energy blade might be able to hold it off, but it will not stop it, no matter what you do!" she announced. As she held it, her dark, purple energy enveloped it, creating a glowing and shimmering purple disc. What is this, a Frieza remake? She said nothing more, and hurled the disc right at me. I prepared to stop it myself with my sword, but the odd prickling at the back of my neck told me not to do that. I dodged aside as it stormed through the air, before turning when it had gone well past, and swinging back in my direction. I dove towards the ground, let it catch up, and then switched directions quickly and headed straight up. The blade stopped and turned around again, giving chase. I shook my head at this game and changed direction, heading right for Mercurial instead.
"Oh, look who has a plan. A truly foolish one I might add!" she declared as she pulled her disc towards her, hot on my tail. Well it wouldn't be the first time a foolish plan worked! I flew towards her full speed, firing a quick ki blast and phasing out. Smoke clouded her shield and the disc flew in. A loud and large crackle of energy popped through the air, probably causing a few small avalanches nearby. When things cleared though, Mercurial was still in place, and still in one piece. Her spinning blade was trying to cut her shield, but failing miserably.
"As I said, my shield protects me from even my own assaults. Good try though, stupid brat!" I should have figured. Looks like I'll need a different approach to this. Mercurial waved her hand forward, and the disc was heading my way once again. I clenched my fist for a brief moment, releasing a sizeable ki blast in an effort to overpower the disc. The golden ball didn't stop when it made contact, but to my surprise, it split in two, and then into many smaller energy balls that dispersed. The disc had smashed right through and kept on coming. She wasn't bluffing about Ki energy having no effect. I glided downwards slowly, allowing the disc to catch up before holding up my hand, dropping my sword and generating my Psi shield up to ten feet away. The disc collided with it and then spun against it, sending sparks and small lightning bursts into the air around it. I gathered a small force of energy and added it to my shield before throwing it into the blade, attempting to knock it off balance. It worked, and the disc was thrown aside, dropping towards the ground, still glowing with sparkling, purple Chi. I glanced back up at Mercurial, who didn't seem phased by this at all. Her hand suddenly shot up and grabbed at empty air. My eyes darted to the blade, which stopped dead in the air. Mercurial's hand then shot out and up, like a backwards version of a slashing attack. The blade turned a little lighter and pink in color, before blasting towards me like it suddenly had a serious speed boost. I powered up my energy shield a bit more in caution, flinching slightly when it hit. The effort behind the disc was clearly stronger this time, and I could feel my shield was struggling just to stay in place. I attempted to throw the blade off course again, but before I could act, another surge of energy came from Mercurial, two of them actually. I didn't see what she was doing, but one of the surges was clearly aimed for me. The blade suddenly sliced right through, and my shield completely collapsed. I barely managed to duck out of the way and blasted off, the blade in hot pursuit once it turned around.
Holy crap, what a strong disc! Frieza's version is nothing compared to that! I summoned my sword again when the disc picked up more speed, turning to bat it away. Another sudden rush of dread filled me as the shadowy energy got close, and I got out of the way instead. What is going on; it's like I feel danger coming and I hesitate and run away instead? I can't be like that; I have to stop this thing! Maybe her shadow power is playing tricks with my mind in order to make me weak! When that thought hit me, I stopped and turned to face the disc with all seriousness and concentration. It felt like Mercurial's energy was all over the place, and I shut it out, focusing my own power instead. My sword brightened and enhanced as I poured power into it, becoming much thicker and brighter with a thin blue Psionic flame licking the air just around it.
"This is the end for you kid!" I heard her shout from below.
"No, it isn't!" I declared, charging the purple disc as it flew towards me. I met it with a hard sword slash, barely slowing it down as it flashed with power. I managed to dash aside and spin before it could change directions. Here's my shot, I have to take it! I powered up my sword even more before throwing it end over end, right at the disc. Just as the purple disc stopped, my sword smashed into it. A bright purple and blue flash went off, but faded quickly, with Mercurial's purple blade falling. But as I looked closer, I saw that only purple colored smoke was flowing off of it, and it was actually splitting in two as it fell. I sensed Mercurial's frustration from across the way, perhaps she fancied that circular sword. I flew back down to face off with her again.
"Game over witch!" I said, holding up my Psi sword again.
"Only for you!" she growled. I lifted an eyebrow in question as her shadow aura flowed into view again. Suddenly, I felt something just behind me. I spun to see another Mercurial looming over me from just a few inches away. Ah crap, she split again! I attempted to slash at her with my sword, but found I couldn't even move, and could only watch as she grabbed my wrists and avoided my blue blade. Painful energy surged through me for a brief second before any and all sound suddenly vanished. My energy sense also clouded up and I couldn't feel anything besides myself. I opened my eyes to see that I was hovering in the air, just above ground level in a darkened part of a forest, surrounded by an even darker purple colored bubble. I could move again, but only a foot or two before brushing against its solid surface. It's some sort of trap! Mercurial was standing just outside of the bubble and placed her hand on it. Her voice filled the trap, though her lips did not move.
"I'm not quite finished with you kid, so I trapped you in my Shadow Bubble. You intrigue me. Don't bother trying to escape from this one; no matter how much power you have, you won't be able to do it! I might have a use for you later, so you can sit down here in solitude while I take care of unfinished business with your friends! When that is done, well I guess you'll find out the hard way!" She removed her hand and her voice was gone, and she vanished just as quickly. I punched the solid energy surface, getting no results. I pushed ki energy outwards to try and break out, but that didn't do anything either. Duh, physical power won't do much good! Let's see how my sword does. My blue sword didn't even stretch out two feet before it stopped and split off a few inches across on the bubble's surface. I stopped and saw barely any smoke coming from the impact point. Shit, how the hell do I get out? Maybe I should try to reverse its effects. I refocused quickly and brightened the whole bubble with white Psi.
"Feedback!" The ball burst into tiny dots upon the surface, doing even less than the sword. Son of a bitch! I sat down and tried to think my way out of this trap as golden flashes went off from above. Past the tree canopy, intense gold explosions were going off, and judging by the intensity, I could only guess that Vegeta was behind it. I still couldn't sense anything past the bubble, and I sighed in slight defeat. I was going to have to wait this one out. This is bullshit! I really hate waiting.
Vegeta picked up the pace and sweated nervously when he sensed Verto's Ki vanish. His initial reaction faded though once he thought things over. No, the kid can't be dead; I would have felt him go. He just suddenly vanished. Must be some trick by that witch to trap him! Vegeta approached the mountainous region quickly, but somewhat cautiously. He hadn't been able to sense a whole lot of Verto's last clash with Mercurial, only the random fluctuations of her dark power and an occasional flash from Verto himself. Not being able to sense all of Verto's power all the time always bothered him a bit, but nothing could be done about that. Sparring with him at full power always alleviated that somewhat, but ever since the Zerg Wars, he couldn't easily predict every move he made anymore. That particular fact now concerned him, it appeared that Mercurial was the same way. Despite the evil power she possessed, he could sense quite a bit of it. Whether it was all of it or not he wasn't sure, but it didn't matter to Vegeta anymore. She hadn't used much against his supposedly superior power, and it had knocked him out. If not for my new ability to recover, I might have been knocked out for hours before anyone found me. This woman must be dealt with, and I have a feeling that only the boy will be able to do it. That containment thing Piccolo was talking about sounds too simple, too easy, and too risky. Immortal or not, she must be killed! Vegeta's face perked up when he spotted the floating figure ahead, her arms crossed and her grin wide.
"What did you do with him?" Vegeta shouted as he stopped in midair.
"What did I do with who?" Mercurial asked, feigning ignorance.
"You know full well who woman! Where's the boy?"
"Around here somewhere. I put him in timeout because he was naughty. But if you would like to play some more, all you have to do is ask!" she replied coolly. Vegeta's already golden aura burst into flames and ki lightning before settling down again.
"Should I take that as a yes then?" she asked.
"Prepare yourself! The real battle begins!" Vegeta announced as he held both palms forward and glowing.
"Please, don't hurt me little man!" Mercurial said in a mocking manner.
"Don't be absurd! I'm not going to hurt you; I'm going to kill you! Take this!" Vegeta shouted as he rapidly fired off ki blasts by the dozens. Mercurial only held up her hand, and Vegeta sensed her power flaring again. He didn't stop firing in spite of this however. A large square field of purple energy formed ahead of her, and then dotted yellow as his blasts rained in, all of them coming to a dead stop against it.
"How the hell…" Vegeta started to ask when he felt another power surge.
"As you can see, I can play catch very well. Can you?" Mercurial asked with her hand still raised. Another screen of Chi emerged from her hand, and rushed forward to combine with the first one. As it did, a few of Vegeta's blasts flew off of the screen and back towards him. Vegeta barely dodged them before staring back at what was easily hundreds of his own energy blasts, all of them fluctuating.
"Good luck avoiding all of them!" Mercurial declared, and released. Her screen of shadow vanished, but Vegeta's blasts all flew back at him at lightning speed and frightening accuracy. Vegeta might have dodged the first few, but he couldn't keep up with the full storm of them, and was hit over and over again. Out of what were over two hundred and fifty blasts, only fourteen hit the grounds nearby right before Vegeta dropped into a forest clearing. Mercurial followed him and remained hovering above the ground, allowing him to recover.
"Nice try little man, but as you can see, your little light shows are fruitless against me!" Mercurial stated, content to let him get up. It took a moment before Vegeta even moved, but as his mouth dripped blood, he pushed himself to his knees and then to his feet. His body was battered and bruised, but his will to press on was unaffected.
He wiped some of the trickling blood off his chin and spit the rest out, "It'll take more than that to keep the prince of Saiyans down!"
"Then I suggest that you get ready. You will see more now that we've come to the last minute of your life!" Mercurial grinned.
"Even if you take me down, you won't win today! We're going to crush you!" Vegeta boasted as he sensed three descending power signals.
Mercurial's eyes darted to the skies, "Oh, more reinforcements then! How interesting." Vegeta didn't bother waiting and charged after her when she looked away. His punch impacted her shield, alerting her to his presence. He punched and kicked like crazy, smashing the shield over and over and not getting through. After several seconds, he became a simple blur of violence, but it was all for not. He was so caught up in beating up her shield that he didn't bother to notice a rather large Shadow Bolt forming between her hands. As soon as Vegeta stopped swinging, she fired, point blank. The bolt threw Vegeta off the shield and flailing backwards as Mercurial chuckled at his efforts. He suddenly flipped up, both arms charging up and brought together, releasing his ki.
"Final Flash!" Mercurial stopped laughing for the moment, but wasn't even phased when the beam smashed into her shield, and then flew off into the distance, blinding everyone. Vegeta gasped for breath as he barely hovered in the air, frustrated.
"Vegeta! Let us help you!" Goku called up from the ground.
"Do what you want clown, just as long as you stop standing around!" Vegeta shouted back. Goku, Gohan and Piccolo were more than surprised at the answer, considering how Vegeta liked to fight. Vegeta managed a slight grin in between painful heartbeats. Well, it's not like I'm winning anyway.
Goku powered up on the ground, considering going all the way to level three after watching Vegeta struggle, but held back for the moment.
"Piccolo, how close does she have to be to use the wave?" he asked.
Piccolo wasn't entirely sure, "I don't know, but a lot closer than this. Try to get her within a hundred feet at least. Gohan, hold down the jar while your father takes his turn with Vegeta. I don't want to send you up there unless necessary, there's always a chance the jar will tip over during the attack, it tends to be quite windy," Piccolo suggested. Gohan nodded and knelt to hold the jar as Goku lifted off. He met up with the battered Vegeta quickly, and stared down Mercurial.
"Oh look, another fighter has joined you. Not like it matters," Mercurial said with all confidence.
"You just keep thinking that, witch!" Vegeta grunted back. Mercurial grinned slightly, gathering another large shadow bolt. This one seemed to take longer to charge, and neither Super Saiyan was sure why. She launched it, but it came towards them much slower than before. Goku didn't take a chance and glided to the side, far from it. Vegeta however only dodged aside a short distance away, barely missing it. The shadow bolt then stopped in mid air, causing Vegeta to turn in wonder. It just sat there, spinning, and he couldn't tell what Mercurial was planning to do. It suddenly started fluctuating rapidly, and he decided it would be best to move. Just as he started flying away from it, it exploded, and multiple smaller bolts flew out in every direction. Both Goku and Vegeta were able to avoid the few that came their way, but in the process, they lost track of Mercurial. Goku looked frantically around the skies, finally catching sight of her, right behind Vegeta.
"Vegeta! Look out!" he called out, far too late. Just as Vegeta turned, Mercurial's glowing purple hand lifted up, and a shower of lightning bolts erupted from it. Vegeta's anguished scream blocked out any other for miles as his body was turned into a sizzling purple mesh for a brief moment. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough that Vegeta passed out in the air, and then promptly fell to the ground. Goku dove down to catch him, only to be picked off by another Shadow bolt. He spun completely around from the impact and managed to recover in the air, but he clearly felt the blow as Vegeta's body vanished into the trees and smashed into the ground.
"Oh man, she's got amazing power!" Goku mumbled. Goku heard a feminine clearing of the throat right behind him and spun to see a shadow bolt in his face. To Mercurial's surprise this time, the bolt went right through him, and his image faded.
"Nice dodge!" she said as she spotted him to her right, "Since muscles there has had enough, maybe you or Kami can provide more entertainment for me. I'm feeling a little frisky today. I suppose that's what happens when you're locked up for thousands of years!"
Goku scoffed at this, "I won't let you hurt anymore innocent people! This ends now!" he shouted as his aura exploded into lightning filled flames before flying straight at her. He phased out several different times when her Shadow bolts came at him, but kept coming. Just as he got close enough to strike, her lightning storm filled his vision. He quickly teleported away, and his eyes shot open when he saw her dagger flying at him. Goku glided backwards from it, he saw Mercurial charging up more Shadow Bolts to fire at him. Goku teleported out of the dagger's path again and reappeared below Mercurial. Just as he flew towards her though, swarms of Shadow Bolts erupted from her shield. Goku blocked against it, and was pelted over and over again, ripping his clothes and drawing blood in multiple spots.
"Father!" Gohan called up from below.
Piccolo sighed; things weren't going well, "She can predict our movements too easily. Gohan, you'll have to help your dad! Be very careful as she can redirect attacks back at you. Lure her this way if you can so I can use the wave. If you see an opening, take it with full power! We can't afford any life threatening mistakes though!" Gohan nodded and stood up, charging up his power quickly.
"Guess I better take this up a notch then, she won't give me anytime in combat for this!" Gohan said as he powered up all the way to Super Mystic.
Mercurial paused in her assault when she noticed Gohan's transformation.
"Another one, interesting," she muttered as Goku crept up from behind. He managed to mask everything about his approach, but her ever-present shield stopped his next sudden charge, and he hovered in place, waiting for her next move.
"Stand aside you insignificant bug. This one wants to try his hand now and I intend to let him!" Mercurial suggested as Gohan's bright silver aura filled the air. Gohan promptly vanished, and Mercurial's eyes lit up in surprise when she found a green sword smashing into her purple shield. The shield started sparking and shimmering in multiple places before Mercurial seemed to add more effort into defense. With a wave of her hand, Gohan was thrown off after a few seconds, before a bright white blur plowed into the shield again. Mercurial recoiled from the impact, but gathered another shadow bolt and fired immediately. Gohan phased out again just as Goku attacked her shield from behind. Mercurial missed Goku on the next shot, who also vanished. She felt them out, sensing Gohan to her right and Goku to her left. She took note that she was directly in between them.
"Father, let's try what we've been practicing!" Gohan called out, getting a nod out of Goku.
"Whatever you're planning, it won't work!" she claimed. Both father and son pulled their arms back to charge their trademark attack.
"Kamehame…" they both chanted together. Mercurial felt something was a bit off; their blasts weren't taking shape yet their power levels were signaling that they were.
She chuckled slightly though, "Let me guess, a double shot so I get caught in the middle? Nice thinking, but you'll both have to do better than that!" Goku fired his blast, but discontinued it right away, and moved back into his stance. Mercurial smiled as she turned to face it and let her shield deflect it into the skies. She turned back to challenge Gohan's blast, only to see the younger fighter was gone. Her eyes went wide as she heard the distinct whoosh right behind her. She vanished promptly just as a very large blue blast went by, and she reappeared right behind her attacker. To her great surprise, it was Goku standing there, waving as his form turned dark before a bright green light that was barreling towards them. Goku vanished, and Mercurial's purple shield flickered back on as Gohan's Super Kamehameha plowed into it. She groaned as the blast pushed her through the air, but she quickly powered through it and managed to stop, her shield sparkling wildly as it struggled with Gohan's mighty blast. Mercurial's eyes widened in surprise as her shield started to bend towards her. She barely had a moment before it broke through, and her whole world erupted in green pain.
Gohan panted slightly as their confusing attack paid off. Mercurial was hit directly by the beam and was currently falling to the ground, torn to shreds. She hit hard, bouncing just slightly before settling on the grass, not budging an inch.
"Great shot son!" Goku called out with a thumb up.
"Yeah, but I don't know. It seemed like she wasn't truly trying yet. I think we got really lucky on this one," Gohan said as he floated towards the ground.
"All that time trapped in the time chamber must have weakened her body then!" Goku suggested. Gohan nodded as he landed, seeing that Mercurial was suffering from multiple wounds that were gushing. Just as he approached the fallen woman, she started to move.
"What the?" Gohan started to ask. Mercurial pushed herself to her feet slowly as her wounds started to close up and stop bleeding.
"She used the Dragonballs to become immortal Gohan! We can't defeat her like that!" Piccolo reminded him from afar. Mercurial turned around to face Gohan with a deep scowl on her face.
"You should listen to Kami, because he's right. I'll give you credit though; that was a rush that I haven't felt in a long time. If not for that wish, I probably would be dead after that shot. Since I can't die and see the afterlife, I'll gladly send you in my place. I'm through playing around!" she declared as large bursts of dark energy started flowing around her. Gohan winced as the evil energy flooded the area, and backed off as Mercurial's battle cry filled his ears.
"I don't like the feel of this," he muttered aloud. He felt her energy all over the place, as if she was standing in dozens of places at once.
"Say goodbye!" Mercurial snarled as her hand lifted up, glowing with a lighter purple, slightly pink attack. A large display of lightning shot out of it, aimed for Gohan. He quickly phased out, teleporting into the skies next to Goku. Mercurial growled at this and lifted both hands, charging up much more power this time.
"I can't feel anything other than her power; she's blocking everything out!" Goku said.
"Dodge this one you maggots!" she challenged. Lightning filled the forest clearing and the skies above it spanning nearly half a mile in diameter. Gohan was able to transmit out of the way once he found a clear spot, but spun around to see that Goku wasn't able to follow. Gohan watched in horror as Mercurial's lightning assault closed in on a hopeless Goku, shocking him over and over again. His eyes widened as Goku's expression became a blank stare, one no longer showing any pain. He promptly fell to the ground as his hair turned black again, and Gohan felt his father's ki dropping just as rapidly. He rushed down to assist, only to be cut off by another lightning burst, one that didn't hit him, but did block his path.
"I think you should worry about yourself right now before you make a foolish mistake. I don't think you want to turn your back on me again boy!" Mercurial suggested as she suddenly appeared right behind him.
"What do you want from us?" Gohan asked as he frantically stalled for time. He sensed that Goku wasn't dead yet, but his ki level was dangerously low.
"Nothing, I have all I need from this pathetic planet. Be glad that you've lasted this long, not many do!" Mercurial frowned back before lifting both palms above her head. Shadow energy swirled into another purple ball, and Gohan glided backwards carefully. He intended to adjust his position so that she wouldn't fire at Goku, Vegeta or Piccolo. He didn't know where Verto was, but he didn't have to time to wonder. Mercurial followed and turned accordingly as one of her hands dropped to her side.
"Unless you want more of these bystanders wiped off the map, I don't suggest you try to outmaneuver this one. I might get an inkling to take all their lives now, just for the hell of it!" Mercurial warned.
"Gohan! Watch out!" Piccolo called up. Gohan watched as her attack suddenly caught fire, still drawing in energy as it did.
"Shadow and Flame!" she shouted. Gohan's sensed lit up all around him as the forest suddenly turned into a burning blaze, with most of the flames funneling towards Mercurial's attack. What kind of attack is this? He thought, as hell literally seemed to rise out of the grounds. Mercurial's swirling ball of energy now had orange-yellow flames churning through it, and Gohan felt the heat starting to burn his skin.
"Gohan, get out of there!" Piccolo suggested.
"There's no where to run! Now die!" Mercurial shouted as she tossed her attack at Gohan. Gohan knew he had to get further away before facing the attack, and seeing as there was a town not far away, he chose to blast off. Mercurial kept her attack on him as he circled around to the south and east, making it move faster to catch up with him. Gohan stopped once he felt he was a safe distance, and fired a quick Chi blast to disrupt the shadow-fireball. The blast didn't even slow it, bouncing right off. Gohan crossed his arms to block, knowing that if he chose to run again, Mercurial might send it elsewhere. The swirling ball started flashing rapidly as it spun towards him, and Gohan's eyes narrowed in uncertainty. A sudden burst of energy slammed into his sides and he turned his head in reaction, seeing Mercurial's hand raised and smoking not far away.
"Enjoy your last ride!" she said as she vanished. Gohan's attention went back to the shadow and flame ball, which suddenly became very deformed, as it was about to explode. Gohan lowered his guard just slightly as it collapsed. Just as it did before though, hundreds of smaller fireballs flew out of it, charged with the same shadow energy. Gohan backed off a step before knocking away the first several. They blew up at his sides, clouding his vision. He didn't stay blind for long, as the rest of the attack came down at him with frightening speed. Gohan fell out of the sky with the bombardment, hitting at ground zero from what looked like a massive bomb followed by a napalm strike. After a few seconds, Gohan realized he was still alive, but could barely take a breath. He crawled out of the crater he left, seeing that for at least a good half-mile, there were no more trees standing. The forest beyond that was completely on fire and falling apart. Gohan coughed hard, spitting up blood onto the burnt wasteland. Broken ribs, not good.
"That's enough!" Gohan said as he blasted off again. His flight path wavered a bit as he charged back towards Mercurial's floating form; his power was starting to fade.
"Well, that's disappointing. I thought I had put enough power into that one for sure. Better luck next time then," Mercurial laughed as she shook her head.
"There won't be a next time!" Gohan growled as he drew his arms back again, green Chi shimmering and spinning into view.
"Go ahead; give it everything you've got kid! See if it does you any good!" Mercurial challenged as her aura flashed into view, spreading her energy outwards again.
"I don't know if it will, but at the very least, you're going to feel this one! Kamehameha!" Gohan shouted, firing a massive green beam more powerful than his previous one. Mercurial smiled and turned her shield back on just in time to block against it. It struggled, just like before, and she held on as she focused her energy to its point of impact. Gohan sensed something strange, but he kept his effort going. All of a sudden, it felt like there was a blank hole in the middle of Mercurial's shield, and his Super Kamehameha was plowing right into it. He suddenly sensed another hole forming nearby, and his own power was about to erupt from it. Gohan panicked when he sensed someone right in front of it.
"No! Piccolo!"
A/N: Next time on DBV…Ah hell! That's just wrong and I know it. It just doesn't feel right to end the chapter with such an evil cliffhanger for the umpteenth time. I know you readers would really hate me for putting you on the edge of your seats like that again only to wait for the next update. Fine, I'll keep going for now and find another cliffhanger to leave you on.
With the only light in the form of the battle above, I tried to think my way out of the trap I was in. Nothing had worked so far, and I had tried blasting, Feedback, my sword, and just plain powering up. The most that happened was a minor burn mark on the shadow bubble. Only a few minutes had passed since I got stuck, and Vegeta had already gone down. I couldn't see anything specific after that, but judging by spectacle of colors in the sky, I could only guess that it was getting very dicey. I sat down and thought things over, replaying my reckless errors a few times over and thinking up counter attacks while I had the time. Soon after, I noticed a darkened figure jumping through the forest. Had the bubble not been there, I might have been able to tell who it was, but it was all for naught. The shadow came closer, within reach of the bubble before stopping. A blast went off close by, revealing the curvy features of Leira, who had a deep frown on her face. She placed her hand on the bubble and spoke just as Mercurial had done.
"I see I was wrong to think you could handle this!" she said scornfully.
"You threw us to the wolves, literally. How was I supposed to know about all of the things she can do?" I retorted. Leira's long red hair seemed to stand on end for the briefest of moments before settling down to her neck again.
"You didn't. I admit I didn't think she would be able to regain her full strength so quickly against you and the others. I have to ask though, why didn't you use your full power on her?" she asked. Her eyes were piercing through mine like daggers, but it felt like a legitimate question.
"Well, after she threw my sword back into Vegeta, I didn't think it would do any good. She's proven she can redirect all ki attacks and anything involving that can be thrown back as well. I haven't gone back to full power because of that risk, and Psi energy alone seemed to be working until I got stuck in here!" I replied, head down.
"Good, you've caught on to that little weakness of hers. For your information, she can be hurt and overpowered by your full power, but it runs the risk of being redirected, so it's not advised. Just be glad she's still in a human form, otherwise we might've really been in trouble here," Leira said.
My head shot up at her words, "What the hell do you mean by that?" Leira though had taken her hand off of the bubble, and didn't hear what I said. She drew her dagger and must have charged it with energy, as it turned mostly white with swirls of other colors mixed in. She then drove it into the bubble, and it cracked around the tip of the blade before shattering into dust, freeing me. My senses returned immediately, and I felt Mercurial all over the place with only Gohan and Piccolo still showing up. I knew Vegeta had gone down, but I couldn't sense Goku now either.
"Goku and Vegeta are all right, but they are out of this battle! I'll help keep your friends out of danger so you can fight without distractions. It would be best if you can stun her long enough for Piccolo to use the containment wave. Killing her will prove too difficult now!" Leira suggested.
"Is that what you meant by being glad she's still in a human form?" I asked.
"Not now Verto, do not speculate at a time like this! You had better save the Namek!" Leira suddenly pointed out as a massive power erupted from both Gohan's position and Piccolo's. Suddenly, clear as day, I could see a shadowy void opening up right next to Piccolo, who apparently couldn't feel it yet.
"Oh shit," I said as I blasted off towards his position, powering up as I did. Piccolo noticed the blast just as the area darkened, but was frozen in surprise. Damnit, I'm not going to make it! I stopped short and fired a quick beam to deflect it, nearly taking Piccolo's shoulder off at it blazed past him. I wasn't quite lined up with the blast to struggle with it myself, but as long as I kept it at bay, Piccolo could avoid it. My small gold beam crashed into the larger green one that was spinning into view, and barely even held.
I kept the effort going to buy time, "Piccolo, stop standing around and move it!" I saw him trying to take a step when his leg didn't even budge. Near the ground, ghost like hands were reaching up from the dirt, holding him down. I glared up at Mercurial, who was obviously behind it.
"I guess I'll do it myself!" I called out as I powered up fully, turning my small beam green once I transformed. I let my own power build up before throwing it back into Gohan's blast.
"Super Galic Gun!" My power surged through and pushed Gohan's back into the shadow like void and I glanced upwards to see he was still floating, but no longer discharging any energy.
"Gohan, get out of the way!" He looked downwards to see what was happening and dove downwards once he realized that he was in the line of fire. Our combined beams surged out from Mercurial's general area and blasted across the darkened skies before leaving the atmosphere harmlessly. I sighed lightly and powered down purposefully, Gohan's mistake had almost cost us all, even if he hadn't known about it.
Gohan landed next to Piccolo and sank to one knee, "Thanks Verto, that was too close. I couldn't tell what she was doing till it was too late!" he said in between breaths.
"Incredible, I didn't realize she could redirect a blast that powerful," Piccolo said, sweating slightly. The shadowy hands that had held him to the ground were gone, but their intent was still stinking up the air.
"Nothing's impossible anymore," I replied as I began to rise into the air, carefully suppressing my ki.
"That was impressive little boy! Not only did you manage to escape my Shadow Bubble, but you also saved Kami's life! That one there is stronger than you, but from what I've seen, you are clearly ahead of him in every other way!" Mercurial called down.
"Shut the hell up!" I snarled back.
"Easy kid, she's trying to get under your skin again," Piccolo warned.
"I see you can't take an honest compliment very well. Must have gotten that attitude from that pitiful little man that I dropped earlier!" she shouted again, clearly referring to Vegeta. Her words, combined with Piccolo's, gave me an idea though and I forcefully calmed myself and took a deep breath.
"Piccolo, be ready with that containment wave. I'll signal you telepathically when its time," I ordered.
"You can't be serious! You're going to fight her alone again?" Piccolo asked, shocked.
"I almost had her before she caught me with a trap that I wasn't expecting. I know I can get her into an unguarded situation again, she will have to focus on me entirely," I explained.
"I'm not sure the wave will even affect her!" Piccolo claimed.
"Leira still thinks it will, so she must know something we don't. She's helping Goku and Vegeta at the moment," I pointed out.
"It took the full force of my Kamehameha Wave to break that shield, and that was when I had caught her off guard. You can see how much good it did!" Gohan mentioned.
"The containment wave doesn't depend on power though, does it?" I asked Piccolo.
"No, you have to know it to be able to reverse it to stop it. The user just can't miss," he replied. I scanned Mercurial's power for any fluctuations, and noticed that she was expending a lot more energy now than she had been before.
I cracked a small grin, "Well, you got her to burn up a lot of energy by the feel of things. She may be able to survive everything we throw at her, but that energy will run out eventually!"
"Be careful Verto; you will have to fight flawlessly, and that would be difficult against anyone this powerful, never mind someone like her!" Piccolo said.
"Yeah, I know. I think I can force her into making her own mistakes. Let's just say that dirty mouth of mine is going to come in handy here," I said as Gohan shook his head.
I rose to Mercurial's altitude before starting up what would likely be a suicide to anyone else. "Hey, you punk-bitch! Why don't you stop being such a fucking chicken shit and come face me head on! Stop hiding behind your little shield and fight like you mean it! Or do we have to wait for all your fingernails to dry before I break them all?" I could hear Mercurial's growl filling the air the entire time, but she didn't budge. Well, it's a start! Not overly creative but I haven't got time to think up insults. Let's see how long it takes before the dam breaks.
"What's wrong you ugly ho? I thought you were going to grant my death wish? All I've seen is cheap tricks to keep me out of the way. I would tell you that you don't have the nuts to fight me, but we can all see that! Or are you really hiding something after all?" I barely saw the purple energy form before it smashed into the side of my face. It felt like Vegeta had punched me at full power, and judging by the blood that was filling my mouth, it did the same damage.
I kept my cool though and cocked a bloody grin, "Struck a nerve? It must be that time of the month again! I'll bet that was fun to deal with for thousands of years in a cramped space. Gives me a headache just picturing it!"
"Shut up twerp! You know not what you face!" she finally answered, very angrily.
"Well come on then Misses All and Mighty! Oh I'm sorry, I meant to say Miss. There's no way any guy would go for such a crusty old hag like you!" I considered backing off when the air around us started sparking randomly, mostly around her.
"Your eyes are clearly not working correctly, or you're just blinded by overconfidence. I have regained my youth and beauty!" she answered, gesturing to her slender form.
"It's purely cosmetic. You're still older than dirt on the inside and you know it. How was the stone age anyway?" I asked. Mercurial's power was starting to build up to the point of explode, but it still felt like she needed another jab before she would snap.
"Have you said enough yet, or are you ready for me to destroy you?" she responded with a vile tone.
"It must suck to look in the mirror now. To know that without taking it from other humans, you are so ugly and old that no one could ever love you again! And you have to live with that thought, every, single, day! For eternity!" I said.
Purple energy exploded out from Mercurial as she roared in anger, "I'll make you pay! I've seen your weak compassion for these humans! So much potential and you care about their useless lives! I'd vomit if they weren't so easy to kill! Take that small settlement over there! Let's see if I can get them all in one shot!" she growled, lifting her palms upward again. I frowned slightly, in retaliation to my words; she was using her anger against the people.
"Leave them out of this! Your fight is with me!" I said, crossing her path.
"Not to worry, they will be out of this, as soon as they are out of my sight! Be gone filthy wretches! Shadow and Flame!" she called out. Great, this one again. I hope my idea works. Her shadow ball quickly powered up and caught fire, which seemed to be the signal that brought in the searing fire from the shadows around. I focused a small Psi ball into my hand, condensing it over and over until it felt cold. If this doesn't work, I won't be able to stop it from hitting the town. God I hope I'm right about this one! Just to be sure, I increased the amount of energy that was swirling in my hand as Mercurial's attack finished.
"Say goodbye to those ants!" she declared, throwing her ball. I arched back and carefully waited for the right moment before tossing my ball into her attack.
"Psi Freeze!"
"Huh?" she asked as I did so. My cold blue ball crashed into the side of her shadow-fireball and it instantly glazed over. I sensed the energy ease down and the fire inside completely fade as the ball simply fell to the barren grounds. It shattered on impact, leaving ice shards and just a bit of the shadow energy behind, but nothing more. Mercurial was simply stunned at what had happened, her lip was actually quivering.
"Wow. No one has ever stopped that before. That's seriously impressive work," she managed to say.
"The only thing that's going to be impressive now is my foot up your ass here in a minute you fucking whore!" I shouted at her, letting my anger spill out again.
"Then let's finish it, I'll gladly fight you on your terms if it will shut that rude little mouth!" she challenged.
"About time!" I replied and flew towards her. She did the same, and I pulled back to let her have it in the face. I hit nothing but shield and felt a sudden burst of lightning go through my arm when I made contact. Damnit, should have known.
Mercurial allowed herself to grin and stay in place while she egged me on, "Come on kid, you should be able to break this if you can stop my best attack! Show me you're not just a waste of space like all these others!" My sword flashed on and I charged it up like a cannon before swinging into her shield. Bright white sparks flew off her shield, and Mercurial was actually pushed backwards by my first swing. I angled myself above her and slashed downwards as hard as I could. Her shield barely held, but I kept pushing against it, forcing her downwards as I saw her shield starting to bend at the impact point. Piccolo was in an odd pose below, and judging by the way we were descending, he had about as perfect a shot as he was going to get.
"Piccolo, get ready!" He didn't answer, but I felt a small power build up and his hands flashed with green energy. It wasn't the standard ki energy he used though; it was Chi. I felt Piccolo straining, so it was obvious that it wasn't an easy move for him to pull off. I poured power into my sword and pushed harder, and her shield nearly broke until she descended further. Before giving chase, I pulled back and charged up a Psi blast with one hand, intent to drive her into the ground for the final attack.
"Final Shine!" The blue beam smashed her protective shield and pushed it and her into the ground below. She was recovering just fine though, and judging by the power flashing from Piccolo, I didn't have but a moment. Damnit, I've got to break that thing; time to take it further then. With sword in hand, I charged up to full with Psi only, and then went further.
"Kaioken!" My blue power exploded, and I sent it all into my sword as I flew towards the ground. I struck her shield, and it didn't even try to give this time. It simple cracked apart a lot like her fireball did, and she looked at her hands in true surprise just as she heard Piccolo's words.
"Evil Containment Wave!" A very large green beam rocketed out of Piccolo's hands and straight at Mercurial. I backed off to let Piccolo do his thing, watching as Mercurial jumped to the side to avoid it. The wave might have been difficult to handle, but it seemed that Piccolo could adjust its path without a problem, and bent it towards her easily. Mercurial looked to be unsure what to do, until she turned towards me. I was standing by, sword off and breathing hard from the Kaioken channeling, but the truly horrible look in her eye told me I had missed something. She had a thick smile on her face suddenly.
"Now, you're mine!" She promptly teleported to my position, well within arms reach. Crap, not again! Piccolo was already changing directions without realizing where it was going. I felt slow and paralyzed just like before, but then she bent down and wrapped her arms around my midsection. A surge of energy hit my insides and for a moment, I could only see a deep red color before everything went black. The surge only lasted a few more seconds before I managed to move. But the place I was in was no longer a burnt wasteland. I found myself laying down, staring at blue skies with fluffy clouds passing over. I sat up and looked around, seeing long green grass and a few small trees with apples growing on them.
"What the hell?" I asked aloud. I heard someone's throat clearing and I immediately stood up, dropping into a careful stance when I spotted Mercurial.
"Where the hell are we?" I said, as calmly as I could. Mercurial only blinked sharply at me, as if she was just as surprised as I was.
"Answer me!" I yelled this time.
She winced slightly before sighing, "Sorry, you must be someone from the outside. My name is Kara, and I've been waiting for someone like you. Welcome to my mind."
A/N: Oops, I did it again. Another sudden change! So, what's going to happen now? All I will say is good luck figuring this one out.
WDG: You evil bastard…
VB: Win!