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 24: Tale of a Blackened Soul
"We're in your mind? Dare I ask how I got here?" I asked, confused. Kara didn't answer for a moment, as if she was trying to clear things up in her head, but it seemed to pass very quickly.
"Ah, because I was trying to possess you. Well, not me exactly, but we'll get to that," Kara said. I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure things out. She looked exactly the same as before, but the lack of that evil shadow aura seemed to bring out any and all features that weren't so bad.
I shook my head slightly, "I'm confused; I thought you were trying to kill me?"
"I'm not who you think I am, kid. That creature may look like me, but once split, we are very different. He saw that you might have the potential to be much greater than me, and by the way, you do. So he tried to switch hosts, but I stopped him in time. For now he's trapped out there, unable to affect us here. I intervened because I wanted to examine you myself. By the time he realizes what happened, it will be too late!" she explained vaguely.
"I'm still lost here. Maybe we should start over. I heard that you were once human and you were banished by a demon named Garlic. Then you came back evil and wished yourself immortal. But you don't seem to be the same way now. I realize that looks can be deceiving so I'll warn you once; don't try to trick me. I've fought you enough to know how evil you are!" I replied.
Kara sighed again, "Too smart for your own good. I should probably start at the beginning of all this!" The area around us flashed white for a brief moment before we were standing in a park complete with a swing set. There, a tall woman with similar features as Kara was pushing a swinging child, who couldn't have been in grade school yet.
"That's me in the swing when I was about five years old. Those were probably the happiest days of my life. The woman pushing the swing was my mother," Kara explained.
"She seems nice enough," I said.
"Yes she was. She was the daughter of a witch who was particularly gifted when it came to influencing the minds of others. Compassion was mother's strong suit, and she had several unique mental abilities that she developed over the years. One of them was the ability to share feelings of any kind, to make others feel the way she did. It was usually a quick transfer, so anyone under that spell didn't realize why they were suddenly feeling that way for some time. Most often she shared happiness, and closed herself off in anger. She could also read people's minds just by touching them, their entire memory fed to her in a flash, thus she could naturally tell what a person was like just by touching them once. I miss her," Kara said sadly. The park flashed white and changed again, this time to a small training ground with multiple obstacles. A slightly older girl was running and jumping all over the place, climbing rope ladders, crawling through mud and throwing daggers at a target. A slim man in his thirties was observing, but not saying a word to her until she was done. He clicked a stopwatch as she run up to him.
"Three minutes and twenty seven seconds Kara. Very good!" he said.
"Aw, I thought I had you for sure this time!" the younger Kara pouted.
"Well, trim about thirty more seconds off and you will. But always remember, real combat moves at a much faster pace than the training course. And being one step behind could cost you everything!" he warned.
"Yes Daddy!" young Kara nodded as they both left the area.
"This is a few years later. As you can see, that was my father, a very accomplished martial artist and part time assassin. My mother refused to let me train until there was an attempt on my life as payback for a crime lord my father took down. He had many mercenaries on his tail after that one, trying to cash in on the bounty put out on him. Once mother gave the go ahead, he trained me for two straight years. Of those two years though, I think he was only around for three months. He would disappear for several weeks, saying it was a very important mission that he was going on. He used to always give us details, but never again after that. It seemed like he would only stay long enough to see how much I had improved, show me something new or different, and then he was gone again. We had no idea where he actually went since all his contacts were in the dark as well, but I understand why he never told us," Kara continued.
"I can relate. I've been through similar things," I said.
"Yes I know; I went through your memories before bringing you here," she admitted.
I looked at her with alarm, "How? And when? I would have sensed something like that!"
Kara smiled, "Maybe, if I hadn't inherited my mother's ability, and if you weren't in the heat of battle. Like I may have mentioned, the transfer is nearly instantaneous. I got your whole life story when we joined minds, so don't worry. Though I must say, we've led similar, chaotic lives. Luckily for us, Vang can't do the same!"
"Vang?" I asked.
"He is the demon that I've been, entangled with for some time now. We'll get to him in a little while, first, how I found him,' Kara said, frowning.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be painful to watch?"
Kara's expression lightened just a bit, "I've gotten over it, but it still hurts to think about." The scene flashed again, showing a teenaged Kara carrying a bag of groceries towards the same house.
"Hey Mom, they were out of pork this time, so we have extra potatoes!" she announced as she walked into a kitchen. No one answered, and a bewildered Kara frowned at this, setting the bag down and examining the room. She spotted a feint drop of blood on the ground, and then another when she moved to the next room. A trail of blood soon developed as she followed it with a face full of dread, leading straight to a bedroom. The walls were damaged in the hallway, clear signs of a struggle.
"Mom?" she whispered, her hands shaking as she grabbed the door handle. The door creaked open, and there was her mother, lying in a bloody wad of sheets.
"No, please no!" Kara whispered, shaking her mother's body and getting no response.
"Mom!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and dropped her knees, crying loudly. A loud clanging sound drew her attention to the open window, and she rushed to it. On the ground, she spotted her father lying face down in red grass with a white piece of paper lying on top of him. Kara leaped straight from the window and landed next to him, sending the paper into the air. She grabbed it and read what was written.
"I'm sorry that I can't be here Kara. I love you and your mother with all my heart and I always will. I must go now to keep you both safe, take good care of her!" Kara crumpled the paper into a fist as she finished it and saw a large hole in her father's chest, pointing out that someone had ripped out his heart.
Kara finally spoke after a few sad minutes, "I was devastated, but at the same time I didn't understand how it could have happened. My father had always written that kind of note and left it in a place where I would find it whenever he had to vanish for awhile. I had learned long before then about the bounty hunters and had even fought a few of them. But bounty hunters had to take him alive for the reward, and none of them had ever been able to match him to my knowledge. The most he would ever get was a small cut; it was like the man was bulletproof. I searched for a few years for any evidence of my father's whereabouts, and that led me to the Guardian's lookout!" A fast paced batch of memories followed, showing Kara meeting Popo and a tall robed old man who was probably the previous guardian before Kami. Then training progressed with only Popo for awhile, and then back on Earth, running some sort of random errands. Everything from picking up groceries to tearing up crime bosses was done. As things progressed, Kara got older, taller and visibly stronger.
"As you can see, this is several years after I reached the lookout. Apparently my father had once been his apprentice and requested that I follow in his footsteps. I trained hard over those years and reached a level of strength and technique that surpassed him. I began using the pendulum room at the lookout to try and figure out who had killed my parents, but the furthest I got was that it was some sort of monster. The guardian was very strict about letting me near the room, knowing what I would do if I ever found out. Little did I realize, he was allowing me to track down the monster on one of my missions, and destiny literally fell into my lap," she continued. The adult Kara, dressed in all black, was leaping over a very big wall before landing and moving through the grounds of a stronghold. She mowed through several human sentries and then many random creatures of unknown origin before reaching a throne room.
"Surrender Garlic, I know it was you that assassinated the king!" she shouted. The throne spun around, showing a tall, red skinned creature with pointed ears and a few spots on his head.
"Oh, you caught me! Whatever shall I do? The errand girl is going to hurt me!" he laughed.
"Mock me all you want freak! It won't change a thing, and you will never take over the Guardian's position!" Kara claimed.
Garlic grinned, "Oh but I will. You see, there is only one person on this miserable planet that knows I was responsible, and I'm looking at her. I'm afraid you won't be leaving here to tell him about it!"
Kara scoffed at this, "Good luck stopping me then. If it weren't such a cowardly act, I'd leave right now and let him deal with you. Come to think of it, that's a really good idea; watching you squirm for awhile would be quite refreshing! On the other hand, I can do that myself. You know full well that you won't take me down as easily as all the others you've killed!"
"I don't have to foolish girl! Besides, your father said the same thing to me. I was only trying to ensure you and your mother's safety. You remember what happened on this very day a few years ago?"
Kara was seething before Garlic even finished those words, "It was you!"
"Poor little soft hearted humans, so weak! All I did was offer to make you my disciple. I saw the potential in you, far beyond your father's! I offered full shelter and protection for your entire family and all prices on his head would have been gone. All he had to do was hand you over and serve me instead of the Guardian. But he would have none of it, how stupid of him. So I decided to take matters into my own hands, and paid him a visit while you were gone. I'm sure you remember how that ended!" Garlic laughed. Kara already had a bright white aura billowing up around her, but Garlic was unfazed by it.
"If you must know, your father went first, like it mattered. He couldn't stand to see his precious wife die, so he offered up his own life in exchange. It didn't matter, they both died in the end. He went first when I ripped out his heart, and then I decided to have a little fun with mommy dearest. I wonder if you are like her in any way. Oh the things she could do!" Kara had gone past the point of enraged, and was done listening. She rushed at Garlic, who only chuckled and dropped into a defensive stance. When his muscles expanded and his skin turned blue, I thought I was going to see a horrible beating, but that wasn't quite the case. Kara avoided the huge fist aimed at her, flipped out her dagger and threw it at his head. Garlic cringed in surprise and dove out of the way. Kara chased him down as he rose off the floor, charging up a blast in his hand. He fired as she skidded to stop, but to his great surprise, she knocked it straight back at him easily. Garlic was stunned by his own blast, and barely had time to register the dagger that was flying towards his chest. He managed to step aside just enough that it didn't go through the center of his body, but it did pierce his shoulder. Kara was already running towards him, with a fist drawing in blazing white energy, but she stopped short when Garlic started laughing again.
"Is death funny to you?" she asked.
"No, but I don't intend to die today. You won't either, yet. But you will spend eternity in your own personal hell!" To Garlic's right, a purple tinted void opened up, and it started sucking in everything around it at a high rate. Kara's eyes widened and she took off for the door, looking back at Garlic as she reached it. His toothed smile continued, and the strength of the vacuum increased. The room shook apart and got sucked in along with half of the stronghold. Kara ran for all she was worth, trying to put some distance and some walls between her and Garlic. The portal expanded as she got outside and close to the entrance, and Garlic floated next to it, laughing his sick head off. She reached the property line and turned around to face him, though it was much harder to see where Garlic was now. She barely held onto the cracking wall as she tried to get the last word in.
"This isn't over you beast!" Only Garlic's laughter could be heard and Kara shook her head at him as she turned around. Just as she did though, another strong looking demon swooped down and grabbed her as he flew straight towards the void. Kara tried to shake him, but by the time she did, they were surrounded by purple darkness. Once the pull of the void vanished, she spun the demon around in mid air and beheaded the demon with one knife hand swoop. When she turned around though, Garlic was waving at her through a closing hole, and she was trapped inside.
"I think I hated him most for that cowardly act. Killing my parents like that was bad enough, but refusing to face the music robbed me of my vengeance!" Kara said angrily.
We were quiet for several more minutes as we witnessed her next set of memoirs. This revolved around her life in the Dead Zone, which turned out to be a wasteland filled with random creatures that attacked her daily, trying to prolong their own lives. She struggled to find food and shelter, and over time her clothes deteriorated. Most of the time, any creatures she killed then became her food, but she never stayed in one place very long.
"For months I searched for a way out of that damned place. And everyday, I grew more desperate and weaker. Very rarely, I found someone with half the compassion I had and we traded information, but that only happened a few times. One day, probably over a year in there, something got lucky and caught me off my guard," Kara said. The scene changed to show a sleeping and dirty Kara, and as she opened her eyes, a large beast was charging at her. It appeared to be a large small dog like creature that had an eerie similarity to a Zergling, only with more teeth than it needed. Kara was barely able to react as it took a bite out of her leg. She kicked it off just by reaction and attempted to get away limping, but the blood drove the creature mad and it charged her, sending both it and her over a cliff, into a ravine. The creature flew just a bit farther and fell into a dark valley that didn't seem to have an end. Kara bounced off one ledge and managed to grab hold of another. She barely pulled herself up to a sitting position, leaning against the rock. Her left arm was limp and broken, and the bite wounds on her leg were gushing blood. Days and nights passed, and Kara never moved from the same spot, slowly dying.
"I had always camped near that huge ravine because it was usually deserted. I hardly ever spotted a beast around there, at least not one that big. Guess I paid for that assumption. I knew that it had to be the end. Imagine my surprise when someone actually showed up!" Kara said as her vision body suddenly looked up. A slowly rotating cloud was descending towards her. It had a bit of a vapor at its rear, but its head was a deformed skull with black eyes.
"Why are you here?" it asked, bearing a deep, grumbling voice.
"Bad luck, what about you?"
"The same. Would you like the chance for revenge?" it asked.
Kara glanced at the vapor like it was on drugs, "And how would you know that I want revenge?"
"Because you have that defeated look in your eye!" it claimed.
Kara chuckled, "You have no idea how badly I want revenge. Unfortunately, as you can see, I'm in no shape to even consider it. Just leave me to die in peace on this ledge!"
The vapor rumbled, "Now that would be a waste of your talents. What would you say if I told you that I know of a way to escape this place?"
Kara managed to crack one more smile, "I'd say point me in that direction, maybe I can hobble there!"
"There isn't a simple entrance or exit to this place; portals have to be summoned from within to escape. I have that capability, but I have to have a corporeal body in order to perform the ritual! As you can see, I don't have one!" the vapor explained.
"My my, and let me guess? You want to use mine now that I'm injured and unable to resist, right?" Kara asked with a slowly darkening glare.
"I can possess you, but that would do me little to no good because I would have little to no access to my powers. It would have to be a complete merger and I cannot merge with a host without their consent," the vapor admitted.
"Hmph, well you're out of luck then. Get me off this ledge and I'll reconsider!" Kara said, looking away. The air around her suddenly turned dark and cloudy before she found herself leaning against a large boulder, back on top of the plateau.
"Okay, how did you do that?" she asked the vapor before her.
"It's an ability of mine, one of many that you would gain by joining with my essence! I have the power to manipulate shadows to my every whim, granting a nearly unlimited power supply. Since I lost my body, I've become very limited with what I can do. What is your decision?" it asked. The scene faded out and remained black as Kara was glaring out into nothing before turning away from me.
"So, you joined with that thing?" I asked.
"Eventually. Being stuck in that place was motivation enough. For what it's worth, I still regret it to this day. That was Vang by the way, and he used to be some sort of powerful demon in whatever realm he was from. Very limited access to his memories prevents me from knowing anything more than that. When we joined, I acquired the bulk of his powers added to my own. I shouldn't need to tell you that he was more powerful than anything I had come to know at that time," Kara explained further.
"Yeah, that much is obvious. So how did you escape?" The area flashed back to the dead zone, where Kara was glowing in dark purple Chi energy with her hands raised. A hole suddenly emerged from the skies, revealing a lush green forest and she fly through it, closing the hole behind her. The first thing she did was fly back towards what was left of Garlic's fortress, but there was nothing left there besides ruins and debris. Once she established that he wasn't there anymore, she took off for the lookout. There, the robed Guardian was training a Namekian with a striking resemblance to Piccolo. I could only guess that it was Kami, though I couldn't tell if it was before or after the split. The guardian's head shot up upon Kara's arrival, clearly surprised to see her.
"Kara? How did you escape from Garlic's trap?" he asked.
"In my own way. Where is he?" Kara asked, though her tone of voice was clearly taking on the volatility that I had become used to.
"Who?" the guardian asked.
"Don't be such an idiot. Where is Garlic?" Kara asked.
"I'm afraid he is no longer here. He gathered quite a large force and attempted to take the lookout. I trapped him and his horde in a Dead Zone just like he did you, poetic justice if you ask me. I've been training this lad here for some time now since your departure..." he stopped when Kara growled in rage and promptly blasted a large hole that went right through the lookout.
"Oh dear," Popo muttered as he dropped his watering jar.
"Calm down Kara! What I did was for the best! You must see that!" the guardian urged. Kara's head snapped to attention and she glared at him with a new seething hatred.
"Don't call me that! Kara is dead! My name is Mercurial! And if I can't have my revenge on that bastard, then you will suffer the consequences!" Mercurial promptly vanished into thin air once she said her peace, and the scene shifted back down on Earth. I got the full and ugly version of the consequences, though Mercurial seemed to be doing it more for her pleasure rather than to spite the guardian. Random murders that involved life draining wasn't the only skeleton in her closet. Several times she possessed a ruler of a nation or two, drawing them into pointless border wars. Sometimes though, it wasn't the ruler she took over, it was his wife or mistress, or Mercurial posing as one. She didn't bother shielding me from seeing her seduce multiple victims, only to kill them in the heat of the action.
"I'm not particularly proud of all that," she said after what seemed like ten to fifteen different instances of what could be considered date rape.
"Nor should you be. Was Vang just trying out your body or what?" I asked.
"It was both of us in one. I wouldn't have done that on my own, but all of my inhibitions were stripped away when we joined. It was kind of like having a split personality, only in this case there were two different beings feeding it. Sort of like that fusion trick your friends can do, and Vang was definitely the dominant side," Kara explained.
"Well at least we answered one question about you, leather or lace," I joked. Kara actually managed to chuckle at that, but things quickly turned serious again when I was shown a vision of Mercurial approaching Kami. No words were spoken, but Kami was paralyzed by her shadow storm before she clasped his head and muttered something that I couldn't understand. Kami's eyes glowed purple for a brief moment, and the scene changed to Kami handing over all seven dragonballs before he simply passed out.
"So it's true after all! You can't die!" I exclaimed.
Kara snorted slightly, "There is a loophole around that. I learned it from Vang since he wanted to make the wish. Having to bear a human body's life span was difficult for him to accept, but he knew that it was the only way to stay alive long enough and find a better host. We'll discuss that soon." Mercurial went back to the lookout right away, but it wasn't just the Guardian waiting for her.
"And she definitely prefers leather," I muttered as the image of Leira came into view.
"I take it you know her pretty well then?" Kara asked me.
"Barely. She's butted in on my life as of late, and hasn't necessarily been a big help either, though she seems to have her moments. Maybe this will help in understanding what she wants," I replied.
Kara seemed hesitant to answer, "This is the first time I was truly defeated badly by an opponent, at least since I merged with Vang."
"This should be good then," I said anxiously.
"Actually, I really didn't know what hit me until it was too late," Kara admitted. I stared at her in surprise for a brief moment until the action started.
"I suggest you surrender and come peacefully. You have no idea what you are facing girl!" Leira warned.
Mercurial scoffed at this, "Is that so? Why is it I don't believe you?" Mercurial promptly fired off several of her Shadow Bolts, all of which Leira avoided, but the lookout flooring didn't. Mercurial lost Leira in the smoke and dust, but found her again when she fired a green blast, easily bounced by the shield.
"Try again girl!" Mercurial laughed. Leira did exactly that, holding out her hand and revealing what looked like a sword handle, without the sword. She grimaced for a brief moment before her energy shot through and conjured an energy sword just like mine. But this one was much different then mine, its color was more like a swirl of every color, but was mostly a light gold with multiple different hues shimmering through it.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Mercurial laughed as her hands glowed again. She fired off what seemed to be an endless barrage of Shadow bolts, but it was Leira's action that surprised me. Her sword lengthened into a long whip that started to slash and rip through the air at her command, creating small energy surges and bursts. This canceled out every single bolt, and Mercurial gasped in surprise. She charged up her Shadow and Flame attack next, and Leira flicked her energy whip to stab into it, creating an electrical display before the flaming shadow ball dispersed harmlessly. Mercurial vanished and reappeared directly behind Leira, her charged palm not three feet away when she fired. The pink storm of lightning surged out, but was instantly stopped by Leira's energy weapon, which was now a sword again. Mercurial backed off a few steps as Leira walked slowly towards her, a look of pure contempt on her face. Mercurial raised her hand again, but this time was only reinforcing her shield, which glowed and sparked with thick shadow energy. Leira swiped at the shield once, and after a moment it shattered. Before the shocked Mercurial could even react, Leira had chopped her in the neck and she was down and out just like that. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in a deep dark pit, with the white sky of the time chamber directly above her and the guardian casting some sort of spell. The pit closed up and she was trapped in darkness, slowly growing older as time moved on.
"Well, I figured she was good, but I didn't see all that coming!" I said of Leira skills. A brief image of Leira shimmered into view, only this one stayed in place and slowly spun in mid air.
"I have a feeling that she is here for more than one reason. My imprisonment was one thing, but being involved with you is something entirely different. We just happened to cross paths by chance. But, I am slightly confused at what she did to me," Kara said.
"Why's that?"
"Despite my sensing abilities, even those combined with Vang's, I couldn't tell what kind of powers she was using against me through that weapon. It was like it was on a whole different level than even yours. Ever since then, I've felt an opening gap between Vang and I, like he was ready to be rid of this merger as soon as possible, and she had a lot to do with it. Whether it was her actions or not, I still haven't been able to figure out why exactly, other than basic theories of course," she explained before pausing and gazing at me.
"What?" I asked as I cocked an eyebrow.
"Only one thought has repeatedly gone through our combined minds ever since that day, and that is how Vang's powers are weaker coming from me. He wants a new, more powerful body, one that can truly handle the kind of power he has hidden deep down. Rather that is you or someone else, I still don't know. I can only imagine what he was like before he lost his body and got trapped in that damned void!"
"Can you tell me about that then?"
Kara frowned in frustration, "Believe me, I've tried to find out. Only brief, feint images come from him about that, and I can't make any sense of them. What I do know is that something truly terrible could happen if he were ever to regain his true powers. The ones I inherited are bad enough, but from what I've felt, there would be a substantial difference!"
"So how should we proceed then?" I asked.
Kara stared directly into my eyes with a rather fierce look, but hesitated before speaking, "The only way to do this and prevent Vang from inhabiting someone else is to kill him while he's still inside me!"
"You mean, kill you both at once?" I asked carefully.
"Precisely."
"I won't do that. There's got to be another way; maybe we can lure him out first? You said that he could only merge with someone who is willing to join him! No one nearby should be willing to do that!" I argued.
"No, Vang said that to me. I really don't know how accurate that statement was. Even if it is true, he can still possess others. And don't forget that he can use the shadows to hide and teleport through. You'd be searching the whole world for him and you would never succeed if he didn't want you to. Trust me; it's the right thing to do. I've lived long enough!" she claimed.
I stared at the ground for a few seconds before glancing back up at her, "But you wished yourself immortal?"
Kara smiled for the briefest moment, "To be specific, immortality only applies to the living body. Without a soul to inhabit that body, it is just a lifeless shell!"
My eyes widened at this, "You can't mean…"
"I mean exactly that. I saw it in your recent memories, so I know you have that capability. You must destroy us both to end this!" she said.
"No, don't ask me to do that! You're innocent in all this; I can't and won't do it!" I retorted. Kara knelt down to look me in the eye and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"I know it's not fair to ask you. But there is no one else that can carry out this task. And I am hardly innocent in all this. I may have been extremely influenced by Vang, but I still did all those evil deeds willingly. I welcome death!"
"There's got to be something else I can try before we resort to that. Maybe my feedback technique can stop or at least stall him?" I suggested.
Kara shook her head immediately, "Forget that. Vang cannot be harmed by positively charged energy. It was something that happened when he merged with me. It went along with how physical energy can't do anything against his power, and it seemed to evolve more so with me. Your spirit energy is the effective weapon, but you must lash out with your anger and rage. Sometimes you simply have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few in this situation! Again, I'm sorry for that!" she said, gripping both of my shoulders tightly.
I shook her off and backed up a step, "I couldn't live with myself for doing something like that to someone who doesn't deserve it. Are you absolutely sure that we can't figure out something else. Maybe we can use the dragon for something, or try to dip into more of his memories?"
Kara sighed in clear frustration, "No. I told you that already! And trying to use the dragonballs is too risky; we cannot delay! I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm going to say it anyway. This is the reality of the universe; some beings simply have to be killed, even if it's for the wrong reason. It's a chaotic and messy circle of life, and it's the world you've gotten yourself into. I know it isn't pretty, but you will just have to deal with it, or you can just give up and let it be destroyed!" I dropped to the ground and held my head, deep in thought. She was right and I couldn't deny it, yet at the same time, I didn't want to face it.
"Come on kid. I know you can do it! There's a darkness buried within you that feeds it, a raging storm just waiting to be released! You simply have to rely on it! Sometimes the only way to destroy an evil like Vang is with another kind of evil!" she said softly. I glared back up at her with a slight tear coming from my eye, but I wiped it away.
"Yeah I get that, but what about after that. What good does it do to destroy one evil person only to give rise to an even worse one?" I asked angrily.
Kara was taken aback by my question, "You've killed before kid, and this situation is no different!"
"Yes it is! I've only used that attack once and it was a last resort type of thing against someone who truly deserved it. And when I started it, I nearly lost control and blasted the wrong person, who was only trying to stop me for my own good. It was liberating, and to be honest, I don't know how I regained my control, but I don't intend to be in that situation if I can help it. It's not that I can't go through with it, it's just…" I stopped, picturing in my thoughts what might happen.
"I see, you're afraid of losing control again aren't you?" Kara asked with a knowing look.
"If you've seen my memories, you know that a majority of my abilities rely on self control. Without that control…it could get very bad. That's not someone I want to become!" I said defiantly.
"You're speaking of your time with that species called the Zerg, when you supposedly became someone else for a short time," Kara beamed.
"Yeah, that's right," I replied, recalling a few ugly moments.
"I don't think things are clear about that particular being," she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked as I stood up.
"The so called dark side that you banished, well that can't be accurate. And I know you've heard something like this before; perhaps you simply didn't understand it at the time. Everyone has light and darkness inside of them. Without both, it would be impossible to find a balance. You believe that he was a manifestation of darkness built up over time, and I don't agree. You weren't even present, thus you didn't make any of those decisions. I think that it was something else put into your mind at some point and it merely fed off any negative feelings you had. Like a split personality, but different since it seemed to have its own soul," she explained.
I was amazed at hearing this, "The Overmind must have put it there then, if it wasn't there to begin with!"
Kara looked thoughtful, "Maybe," She paused in deep thought for what seemed like hours before she spoke again.
"Enough about that. I'm willing to look into other ways for now. This will obviously be too difficult for you to handle emotionally; there are too many conflicting thoughts in your mind!" she said in distain.
"Thanks, the preparation time for that attack would have cost us badly anyway," I said.
Kara's eyes opened a little wider, "I saw your memory, and it didn't take that long to do!"
"Maybe you just didn't see all of it. I fretted about using it for several days before I actually did, and it still took awhile before the actual time came," I replied.
"Just curious, how long would it have taken?" Kara asked. I narrowed my eyes slightly, as I recognized that she wanted the information, but I knew the attack wasn't going to come out as long as I didn't want it to.
Kara seemed to be reading my hesitation, "I'm not going to do anything to you Verto, and I certainly cannot separate from my body to control you like Vang could if he got a hold of you. And I wouldn't be able to use your powers anyway, as I'm not familiar with them!"
I relaxed a bit, knowing that she was probably right, "The setup kind of depends on me I guess. When I used it the first time, I had already worn myself out. The, person, who told me about it said that I had to use up most of my Ki energy first."
Kara looked confused, "Why would you have to burn up all your physical power? The attack has nothing to do with it?"
"I don't have to use it all up, just a little more than half. It's because if I don't, I'll likely transform when I get mad, or at least the energies will mix together, and then it wouldn't work the way I want it to. Even though Chi is incredibly potent, it seems to have different properties than raw Psi energy when it comes to certain effects. And since that is the case, when I transform while angry, I'll calm down for the most part and focus, it's almost a habit by now due to training. Transformations happen to Saiyans that are strong enough and angry enough as it is," I explained.
"Ah, that form that allows you to combine physical and spiritual powers at will. I understand now; it would have proven a bit difficult if that were to happen. Thank you for telling me how fruitless that would have been," Kara admitted.
"I can control the transformation and have been able to for awhile now. But extreme anger triggered it to begin with, well sort of. It's almost automatic when I get mad enough now, thus why I would have to be worn down physically before hand," I explained further.
"I see," Kara said, suddenly frowning.
Just as she did, I felt suddenly weak and my head started to spin, "Speaking of tired, what the hell was that?"
Kara looked concerned, "What's wrong?"
"I just feel dizzy and exhausted all of a sudden," I replied.
Kara paused in slight surprise before her mouth fell upon, "Vang must be trying to take over your body again, or he's draining your life force to take you completely out of the picture! Take my hand, I should be able to separate us and at least interrupt him!" She held out her palm with a worried expression, and I hesitated before taking it.
"But what about…" I started before she cut me off.
Kara reached forward and grabbed my own hand quickly, "There's no time!" Nothing happened right away other than a slight glow around our joined hands. She looked very sad all of a sudden as she gazed into my eyes.
Her other hand brushed through my hair for a moment, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" I asked, as my breath seemed to get short.
"For forcing your hand!" she said just as a massive wave of dizziness shot through my head. Everything went black as I held onto my head, trying to keep it from flying off my neck. For a brief moment, all I could feel was a pulsing pounding headache, and the bright light only added to it. Bright light? I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on the ground, staring into the clouded skies. I sat up and looked around, spotting Mercurial, who was glaring at her hands like she tried to stab herself. What I saw behind her though snapped me out of my dizzy spell. There lay Goku and Gohan, bodies smoking and unmoving.
"What the hell happened?" Mercurial shouted towards me. I slowly got to my feet and spotted Vegeta a little further away, lying face down in a pool of blood. I suddenly felt very aware of the situation, shortly before I felt my own rage bubbling up.
"You…you killed them?" I asked.
Mercurial looked confused, but managed a sly smile as she ran a hand through her messy hair, "Yes, while you were sleeping I decided to have a little fun! Pity they couldn't last any longer!" My bubbling rage came to the surface at my command, and all I could see was red before settling in and locking onto Mercurial's shadow energy. I felt myself losing it, and I let it happen. It must have been a trick all along, she'll pay! I didn't want control anymore; I just wanted her dead. I lifted my hand and saw red Psi energy crackling around it, my own aura had turned deep red as well as I felt this new raw power surging through me. This wasn't my charged up Soul Blazer attack, I had to be focused enough for that. But it felt just like it; it felt good, so good. Somehow I knew it would feel even better once I got rid of this insane, possessed woman who killed my friends. Just setting eyes on her again turned my stomach several times, and I soon got tired of it. I could still hear Mercurial laughing, despite the perplexed expression on her face.
"You…I'll kill you! Arghhhh!" I shouted as I charged in.
A/N: Yeah, that's right. We're going to a violent, angry place next time on DBV.
WDG: You're still an evil bastard… Hmm, why do I feel so repetitive?
VB: Because you usually are.