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 76: Burial
Verto held steady in his stance as his own thoughts were flooded with the new realization. Not only is this curse real, but it's extremely dangerous. Chal mentioned that none of them could use Chi, nor transform into anything, but he could have been mistaken or lying. Although, whether this curse is demonic or not, that doesn't explain why Lenz has been possessed by one and as far as I can tell, the others haven't. This is more like that incident with Mercurial. It also kind of reminds me of my own problems when I was with the Zerg. Kaon floated across from him, with an angry expression rarely seen. Her aura was no longer a calm purple flame, but a raging inferno. For the moment, it seemed as if she would explode if she were agitated any further. Alright, I can figure the rest out later. I'm going to have a tough enough time without being distracted.
Kaon snarled at Verto, "So, you think you've bought yourself time and gained the advantage out here? Think again!" She promptly soared higher into the air and cast out her palms, not aiming for Verto. Bright lavender flame jets shot out towards the ground around him. She then turned in a complete circle, making a matching swath of flames for nearly a half-mile around on the ground. She then slowly lifted her arms up as she continued to spin, and the flames extended high into the air and arced inwards. She finally stopped when the flames reached her outstretched arms above her head. Verto stood slightly in awe when the flames not only remained, but also intensified. Kaon dropped down and landed on a nearby cliff near where Verto was hovering.
"As you can see, this is a very different technique from what you saw before. It's called Hellfire Prison. I don't recommend trying to run, for those flames will penetrate your entire being instantly. So just let me kill you now, because there is no escape!" Kaon declared.
Verto glanced at her with a confused expression, Why did she make it this big? True it isn't a lot of room, but I can stay at range fairly easily here. Kaon's grin got wider as she lifted off and flew towards him. Verto side-stepped and caught her in the back with a single blow. He was quickly reminded of his earlier mistake when his hand lit up with searing pain the moment he made contact.
Kaon got off the ground and chuckled, "What's wrong little brother? Am I too hot to handle?"
"That's one way of putting it," Verto said. Kaon attacked again, but Verto phased out and moved to a safer distance. Just as I thought, close combat is completely out. That will complicate things in this fire cage she made, it's already too damned hot in here for human standards. Kaon glided towards Verto and jerked her arm back slightly. The long tentacle-like rope protruded from it once again, with a matching shade of red this time. Verto phased out before she could even swing it, and she paused before dropping back towards the ground instead. Kaon allowed her appendage to hang loosely at her side, where the end of it touched the nearest cliff. The ground there blackened and steamed at first, before it glowed hot and began to melt.
Verto watched with concern, Definitely can't let that touch me. Kaon pulled the tentacle back up and revealed that the tip had been covered in dripping magma. She cranked her arm up before she cracked it like a whip, sending a small burst of molten rock shooting towards Verto. He dodged aside, but couldn't help but notice something different when it sailed on by. It landed dozens of feet away and exploded, leaving a small but precise crater behind. That wasn't just lava, that was an extremely hot energy blast. Kaon smirked as she dipped her tentacle into the ground again.
Verto paid much more attention this time, So that's what she can do. She can control her body temperature and increase it to an incredible level at will. That also applies to her energy. I guess that makes sense, Mercurial was a type that used shadow-based energy. This one is certainly a fire-type. The cliff Kaon was standing on quickly melted away into the canyon below. Her whip-tentacle had been almost completely entrenched in liquid-hot magma that was slowly dripping off. Kaon floated into the air again and arched back, pulling her arm as if to launch everything at once. She suddenly closed in and swung forward, releasing multiple blasts of fire. Verto held his palm up and summoned his Chi shield to block them. Despite the spinning motion of the barrier, the small lava bombs seemed to stick. Verto's eyes shot open when he could see small holes forming in his shield. He flew upwards and released it, allowing the bombs to continue their path shortly before dropping into the ground and detonating.
Verto felt at a loss for words, Well that was different. Kaon laughed as she swung again, before stopping and repeating the motion. Dozens of small bombs flew at Verto from different angles. Verto used his shield again to stop the first several and allow him to move to safety. The lava bombs remained implanted in the shield and came along for the ride. He could see them quickly eating through where they had struck, and he tried to decide how to deal with them as they swirled around with his shield's motion. He heard a distinct sound behind, where Kaon appeared in the air, unleashing another barrage. Soon the shield was covered in small, bright orange dots and it began to collapse. Kaon cackled as her tentacle whip retracted back into her arm and she took aim.
"Time to fry, little man!" she shouted. Verto remained determined as his aura flashed brightly. His crumbling shield matched the intensity of his aura and reformed itself around the lava bombs. Several exploded immediately, showering the ground in hot cherries. The others were forced away and detonated on their own. Kaon frowned and held back on her planned fire wave, giving Verto time to recover. His shield dispersed, revealing several small burn marks on his clothes where some of the hot material had gotten through.
Kaon seemed impressed, "Hmmm, you're the type that adapts quickly aren't you?" Verto didn't respond as a few drops of sweat streaked down the side of his face.
Kaon's grin returned, "Let's find out then!" Kaon dropped both arms down and concentrated on a portion of the land below. A large square chunk split from the main plateau and rose up at her command. It floated up and stopped before her, temporarily obscuring her view. She then drove both arms deep into the excessively large boulder, making the entire thing glow hot and partially melt. Kaon could sense Verto preparing his energy for something, but wasn't content to wait once she realized that he hadn't moved yet.
"Let's see how you deal with ten thousand of my Lava Bombs!" The boulder shattered apart into numerous blazing rockets of shrapnel. Kaon's wicked smile remained when she saw Verto was still there, but it vanished when she saw what he was doing.
"Super Galic Gun!" Kaon froze in surprised when a massive wave of green came roaring towards her. The majority of the Lava Bombs were obliterated instantly and she scrambled to get out of the way. Verto's beam went on by and smashed into her Hellfire Prison flames. There was a momentary struggled before it blasted through and soared into the morning skies. Verto's eyes narrowed when he saw that the rest of the flame wall remained intact, despite the large hole that he had made.
Kaon gazed at her flame wall with clear disdain before floating upwards, "That was the correct way to counter. It seems I can't be playing games with you any longer." She turned and fired another spray of purple fire at the opening and then adjusted her aim accordingly. The flame wall filled back in and Kaon raised both arms wide. Verto felt her extending her power outwards and carefully prepared for whatever was about to happen.
Kaon then brought her arms in and crossed them together with an evil glare, "Time to settle this!" Kaon's flame walls started moving inwards all around, quickly bearing down on Verto. He glanced around with concern before diving towards the parts of the ground that were still unaffected.
Kaon scoffed as she turned around, "Do you really think that I hadn't considered that? My Hellfire Prison Sphere is perfect!" Just as Verto reached the lowest parts of the canyons, all of the ground rock heated up and broke away as great pools of magma rose to the surface. They were quickly followed by a bottom layer of the flame wall that came upwards and joined the rest, completing the hot sphere. Verto scowled as he retreated back into the air. The flames then took on a thicker, darker hue as Verto felt more energy being expelled from Kaon. Damn it, she's trying to limit my options. His palm glowed and sparked with green Chi as he turned away from Kaon and fired.
"Final Shine!" His wave crashed into the flames and held steady, showing little if any real effect. Yeah, that figures. Even if I concentrate my energy as much as possible, I can't get through if she's doing the same. She wants close combat and is taking away my range advantage to get it. Fine then, I guess I'll oblige. I just hope it works this time, or I'm toast. Verto began to break into a heavy sweat as the air temperature rapidly increased with the flames inching closer, but he still turned to face Kaon. She pulled her arms down and prepared her whip tentacle again. The flame walls stopped moving abruptly and held position in a radius of about one hundred feet around Verto. He took note of Kaon's body motion as she appeared to sigh with relief, and her energy fluctuated.
Why did she stop? She knows I'll have to get desperate or risk killing Lenz to defeat her at this point, so why opt for this if she has me cornered? Maybe she still wants the rest of my energy like before. It does feel like her power dropped after she strengthened her flame barrier. I wonder if that means she has to stay still to manipulate it. Kaon appeared to be very confident of the current predicament and floated forward.
"Come little boy, I want to finish this!" she declared. Verto held his wrist out and his Chi sword snapped to life, hissing at the air momentarily. He concentrated and increased its power, making it thicker and brighter.
Kaon's whip pulsed with energy as she smirked, "That's more like it!" She flew forwards and slashed with her whip. Verto parried left and spun around, missing a kick to her side. He twirled his sword over his shoulder and blocked the whip again before phasing out and away.
Great, just like my sword, she can increase that tentacle's durability with her energy. I won't be cutting it easily. Kaon laughed crazily as her other arm shuddered before producing an identical whip-appendage.
"Hahaha! Good, but let's see how you deal with two!" she laughed as she lashed at him with both whips. Verto pulled back into a defensive posture, deflecting both attacks before floating out of range to go through his options.
That's going to be tough to deal with. I'll have to keep up the best I can and surprise her when there's an opening. If it doesn't work, well, shit. Kaon screamed with delight and flew in, swinging both arms for all they were worth. Verto defected both whips as they came in one at a time, and then back-flipped when she swung low from the left. Kaon sent the other towards his opposite shoulder just as he turned. Verto blocked it, but felt more pressure, allowing Kaon to attack from the other side. Verto quickly held out his other hand and formed another blade of green light just in time to block it. He pushed forward and forced both whips away for the moment. He hurled the extra sword like a javelin straight at Kaon, who had to duck out of the way to avoid it. When she turned back, Verto was forming a potent ball of Chi in his free hand. It sparked with green lightning, turning bright blue for a brief moment before remaining green.
"Damn it," he muttered aloud.
Kaon turned her head in question, but shrugged it off, "What's wrong? Is the heat getting to you?"
Verto grimaced, This fucking figures, I can't use Feedback in either form, which means I also can't use my healing technique. Any damage I do will have to be handled by someone else. Alright, I have to finish this as soon as I can. Verto threw the green orb at Kaon in slight frustration.
Kaon dodged easily, "Oh come on, you can do better." She froze when the orb spun back towards her from behind. Kaon swung one of her whips and batted it into the Hellfire Prison flames, where it exploded harmlessly. Verto charged in just as she was turning back, completely unguarded. Kaon gasped but managed to fall backwards just as Verto swung his sword over wide her chest, barely missing her. Verto caught a direct kick under his chin and his sword faded from the stunning blow. Kaon turned and hurled both whips at him, surrounding his body and then pulling tight. Both tentacles wrapped around his body, binding his arms and legs as well. Verto groaned as the heat quickly began to burn his skin.
"I have you now! Time to relieve you of all that energy, and then I'm going to drown you in lava!" Kaon proclaimed. The bindings glowed and sparked just as Verto cried out in pain. He struggled to even squirm, but to no avail as he felt his power fading.
"How appropriate this is. You taught the girl, which eventually allowed me to get free, and now I get to kill you and use your power to annihilate this planet. It really is poetic isn't it?" Kaon asked. Verto's face filled with dismay and he looked downwards as his aura fell away.
"A soft heart too, no wonder I beat you. You practically let me do it!" Kaon claimed.
"I'm sorry…" Verto whispered.
"What's that brat? Speak up while you can!"
"I'm sorry, Lenz."
"It's a little late for that isn't it runt? Don't worry, she can't hear you anyway!"
"I'm sorry!"
"For what?"
"I'm sorry, that it had to come to this. Please forgive me!" Verto shouted.
"Exactly what are you getting at brat? You're too weak now to stop me!"
Verto's aura crackled to life suddenly before it flashed with vivid intensity, "Kaio-ken!" Kaon's eyes widened just before her tentacle whips were blown apart. Kaon shook it off despite the surprise, eyeing the freed Verto, who looked very different at the moment. Nothing physically had changed, aside from the deadly look in his eye. His aura had shifted to bright green and was shooting up to the skies and down to the ground in a wild column of energy. A sharp buzzing sound went through Kaon's ears before she was aware that he was holding his sword. It was easily four times thicker than it had been a moment before, and energy came off it in green flame-like waves She was able to take this in before she realized that both of her arms were hurting badly. She glanced down to see two bloody stumps where her hands were supposed to be. She shuddered as she stared wide-eyed at her severed limbs, tumbling into the flames below. When she glanced at Verto again, he came at her in an instant, and she forgot about the pain in her arms. A mixture of red and orange colored blood burst from her throat as Verto's empowered sword penetrated her body from front to back. She began to fall, but was caught and held in the air by Verto. His hands and arms sizzled from touching her skin, but he didn't let go.
Kaon managed a painful laugh, "I'll be damned, you did have it in you after all." Verto's eyes leaked fresh drops of salt water, which evaporated when they fell onto her. Kaon's skin seemed to cool from this as it shifted back to a dark blue. Verto's uniform partially flaked off into blackened ashes from the contact, and his forearms blistered rapidly. The Hellfire Prison also dissipated, leaving only the sun's early light in the darker sky. Despite all this, Verto didn't let her go, even when Kaon stopped breathing.
Vegeta glanced back at Doctor Wheelo's dark robotic form in the red and orange morning sky. He had led him far to the north and east, almost to the end of the land. Out there, only ice and snow could be seen, aside from the cold mountain tops. Vegeta stopped once Wheelo entered the area and waited patiently for him to catch up.
"Well, let's finish our business once and for all, I'm getting sick of dealing with you," Vegeta said spitefully.
Wheelo also stopped and hovered about a hundred feet away, "Yes, I concur. Now I'll be able to repay your barbarism with my own. This design is far superior to every one of you Saiyans!"
Vegeta laughed, "Hahahaha, apparently your memory banks need to be filled. You already know that I'm not an average Saiyan! You're just like that failure Gero, always underestimating your opponent!"
"The same could be said for you. I am not an average human, nor is this ugly metal shell that I've had to resort to. But I assure you, it is much more powerful than you!"
"Now that I'd like to see. Since we are far from any civilized area and any technology, you will be able to prove it on equal ground. Let's see how well you do without one of your ridiculous ki disruptors. Now come on, I want to kill you before I eat breakfast!" Vegeta shouted as he waved Wheelo on.
"Gladly." Wheelo aimed one of his crab-like claws, which opened up and released a massive golden blast. Vegeta phased out just in time, and the nearby mountain lost part of its cliff side. Wheelo turned and fired at Vegeta several more times, causing various avalanches when he missed.
Vegeta phased in behind him, "Pathetic!" Wheelo swung at him wildly with his massive claw, hitting air. He roared with early frustration as bolts of electricity surged off his metal skin and struck the ground at random.
"Well, I can actually sense a power level from you now. Clearly, you're nowhere near your limits. You should try harder, because I'm not impressed yet," Vegeta said with a frown.
"Your ego is over-inflated. My scanners indicate that you're holding back a considerable amount of energy as well. Release it so I can fully test this body!" Wheelo ordered.
"What for? It doesn't matter how much power you have if you don't know how to use it. Beating a child is no great feat. You won't defeat a seasoned warrior, and certainly not me!" Vegeta growled back.
"What are you? A Saiyan, or a coward?" Wheelo asked.
The veins on Vegeta's forehead popped out, though his smirk reappeared, "You are a fool, but I'll reward your ignorance just this once." The wind increased exponentially as Vegeta rapidly powered up, breaking the Super Saiyan barrier and causing a ground blizzard in the process. Vegeta's golden aura became the only differential color in the white-out conditions.
"That's better, but you're still holding back!" Wheelo claimed.
"If there's one thing you're going to learn today, it will be that I don't hold back. The idea of finishing off a weaker opponent excites me. Taking on a stronger one is even better! However, you're neither since you lack any real battle skills. If you think that an overcharged pile of junk is any match for a Saiyan, then prove it!" Vegeta proclaimed as he continued generate the powerful wind. He lost sight of Wheelo for a brief moment, and then the huge robot came barreling at him through the wind-driven snow.
"What?" Vegeta managed to say. Wheelo swung hard with his right claw, grazing Vegeta just as he moved out of the way, altering his flight into the snow pack headfirst. Vegeta pulled his head out of the snow and shook it off in anger. Behind him, a large golden blast quickly arrived. The blast detonated, clearing the air of the loosened snow. Wheelo looked on as Vegeta stood tall where the blast had hit, looking a bit roughed up from the impact. He held his palm flat and aimed at Wheelo, who appeared to be waiting patiently.
Vegeta smirked again, "You want to test that rust bucket's strength, then stay right there!" Wheelo firmly planted his huge metal feet into the snow, and awaited the attack.
Bright blue shimmered into view, pulsing with Vegeta's anticipated kill, "Here's your going away present! Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta released the blast and hit Wheelo dead on as it detonated, blinding all around. The mushroom cloud quickly took over the skies above, giving the mountain range a very odd feature for early morning. The snow around had melted off and was causing mudslides into the new crater. As the smoke cleared, Vegeta's eyes widened when he saw Wheelo's robotic legs still intact in the pools of mud. Wheelo laughed as the blast fully dissipated, showing that he had taken very little, if any, damage.
"Well, I would call that a very successful test, wouldn't you?" Wheelo asked.
"So you can take a hit, too bad that you didn't just die, because now the real battle begins!" Vegeta roared as his aura reappeared. It quickly filled with lightning as he ascended to Super Saiyan Two, blowing any remaining snow pack completely away to reveal the rough barren terrain below. Wheelo showed no real reaction to this, and Vegeta elected to act first. Vegeta rushed in, kicking at Wheelo's tree-trunk leg before ducking away from the left arm's swing. Wheelo stumbled off balance enough to allow Vegeta to move behind him. Vegeta punched the side of Wheelo's large head multiple times before phasing out and moving up. Wheelo staggered through the muddy crater, unable to regain balance initially. When he was finally able to stop himself and look up, all he saw was a sizable barrage of ki bolts dropping towards him. Wheelo vanished in the explosive cloud after a few seconds, though Vegeta added several more blasts for good measure. He stopped and smirked as he prepared to witness the results. The cloud bellowed up on the last explosion, and Wheelo shot out of it. Vegeta cringed and dodged as Wheelo tried to run him over like before. Vegeta dropped low to strike the midsection. Wheelo stopped quickly enough to swing his large claw into Vegeta, knocking him down and into the ground. Wheelo leaped into the air and came down hard with his feet. Vegeta grunted in pain as the blow pushed him into the hard mountain side.
Wheelo backed off long enough to laugh, "Hahaha, I told you Vegeta, you'll never beat me!" The ground around Vegeta exploded, sending chunks of rock flying in all directions as Vegeta stood up.
"I admire your ability to stand up after that," Wheelo said.
Vegeta shifted his stance as his palm glowed green, "And I admire your ability to die! Final Shine!" The intense wave of ki smashed into Wheelo and blew up, darkening the sun's light momentarily with its raw fury. When the light cleared, Wheelo was still there. His armor had been partially burned and dirtied, but not broken.
"Damn it, just what the hell is he made of?" Vegeta muttered.
Wheelo chuckled again, "This is my newest armor design, and it shall stand up to even the most powerful attacks that you can perform. Give up!"
Vegeta growled back at him, "Blasted coward, hiding in a shell. Be a real man!"
"Call it what you want. You obviously don't understand my genius even as you see it for yourself!"
"Hmph, now whose ego is over-inflated?" Vegeta asked. He charged in before Wheelo could answer, ducking under Wheelo's claw swing and kicking hard at the robot's midsection. Wheelo fell backwards from the force, but braced himself and recovered with a sudden close range blast from his other arm. Vegeta blocked against it, but was still forced away several hundred feet through the air before he could get off its path. Another blast quickly followed with precise accuracy, and Vegeta was pushed into the clouds.
"Blasted robot!" he grumbled. He shoved the synthetic energy ball to the side and dove downwards. Just as he passed the cloud layer, he suddenly rammed into Wheelo's head. Vegeta groaned as the blow stunned him and Wheelo reached up and grabbed Vegeta by the arms and pulled sideways. Vegeta let out an agonizing yell as Wheelo tried to literally pull his arms from their sockets.
"What a predicament this is. Since you slowly removed a piece of me at a time, so shall I with you!" Wheelo proclaimed. Vegeta cringed as he attempted to shake him off, having little if any apparent luck. Wheelo pulled tight again and Vegeta felt a distinct pop in his neck this time. He glanced over at the large claws holding strong near his wrists and his eyes widened when he noticed something about them. A few particles of black material were dropping off from it, leaving residue on Vegeta's arm. He promptly smirked, albeit painfully as he chuckled.
Wheelo turned his head slightly, "What is so funny, monkey? You're going to die!"
"Oh really? Well you haven't beaten me yet!" Vegeta's power surged as Wheelo managed to maintain his grip. Vegeta then painfully rotated his left arm, into the angle Wheelo was holding him by. He groaned loudly when his shoulder popped and went slightly limp. When it did, it swung backwards easily, and Wheelo's claw exploded in golden light from a point-blank blast.
"Argh! How did you do that?" Wheelo shouted. Vegeta grinned as the claw broke apart, freeing his left side. He immediately swayed towards the other arm, kicking it hard enough for Wheelo to let go. Wheelo backed off to examine the damage while Vegeta favored his left shoulder. He winced as he maneuvered his arm back into place with his shoulder, panting slightly as he did.
"Heh, apparently you failed to cover all of that robot with your special armor. I couldn't help but notice that the inside of that poor excuse for a weapon was not as durable as the rest. That will be your last mistake!" Vegeta claimed.
Wheelo glanced at the broken claw and grunted with slight disgust, "A minor setback."
"Then show me how I'm wrong!" Vegeta shouted back. Wheelo's broken claw fell completely off, leaving only a sparking stump of an arm. He then charged at Vegeta and they collided midair once again, wrecking even more landscape as their battle continued.
Verto cringed as he held Lenz's smoldering, lifeless body, allowing tears to flow freely. Even though her body temperature had dropped, it was still very hot to the touch, and Verto's arms and hands continued to blister slightly even in his Super Mystic form. As he wept in silence, he could sense several power signals heading his way, all of which he recognized. Gohan and Piccolo got there first, both surprised at what they saw.
"Is that, the girl?" Piccolo asked. Verto nodded his speechless answer as he looked away.
"Verto, if you can save her, you should do it quickly. Use your healing technique!" Gohan urged.
Verto couldn't even look him in the eyes as he held Lenz tightly and whispered back, "I can't."
Piccolo was incredibly alarmed, "What?"
Verto glared back at him, "I can't!"
"Why not?" Gohan asked.
Verto didn't answer directly, "It's my fault, I should have listened."
"Give her here, we'll take her to Dende!" Gohan offered.
"I think not!" a voice said from the side. All three turned to see Leira and Kibito Kai flying closer.
Gohan was confused, "What? Why not?"
Leira glanced at him first before setting her gaze on Verto, "I did warn you, didn't I. Now you've seen what she would have become in due time. Granted it was much earlier than I expected."
Verto shook his head sadly, "You didn't warn me about this."
"And I was ordered not to, for your own good and protection. Had you known, this would have happened far sooner, and to an even worse degree of pain for you. What's the first thing you would've done?" Leira asked. Verto didn't answer as he stared down at Lenz.
Leira answered for him, "You would have tried to get her to release and master her own power, just like you did after your battle with Frost. Now that you've seen the demon within, my orders are to eliminate the threat by any means necessary."
"Who would order such a thing?" Gohan protested.
Piccolo grabbed his shoulder, "Gohan don't."
"It is not your time to know, Son Gohan. Verto, you will hand her body over to me and I will take care of the rest," Leira ordered.
"No."
Leira dared to float closer, "Listen, I know you're distraught, but you must hand her over now. The demon inside is still alive."
Verto pulled Lenz into a tight, protective embrace, "No! Stay away!" Leira paused cautiously as she saw the sad, desperate look of fear on Verto's face. Gone were the serious eyes that shined with age and experience well beyond his current self. In that rare moment, he had the expression of a scared child, and Leira sighed heavily.
"Alright, I can see where this is going to go. I'm going to need some assistance Kibito," she said.
Verto's sad eyes were gone in a heartbeat, "Don't you dare even think about it Kai!"
"It's not what you think Verto," Kibito said in a peaceful manner.
"Don't bullshit me! She's already dead, enough has been done!" Verto shouted back.
"Calm down kid," Leira said.
Verto's eyes flashed with bright blue, "Fuck off bitch!" Piccolo and Gohan became increasingly concerned about the potential bloodlust forming from Verto's anger. Despite being in his Super Mystic state, there was obviously very little control over his actions at the moment.
Leira briefly showed anger, "Calm down, or we won't be able to save her life."
It was Verto's turn to be surprised, "What?"
"You heard me right, I'm offering to save her life, but only if you agree to my terms," Leira stated.
"But you wanted her dead, you admitted that!" Verto reminded her.
"Perhaps, but I said just now that I will take care of the threat. That does not necessarily mean that she will die. But again, only if you if agree to my conditions," Leira replied.
Verto's serious expression returned, "I'm listening."
"If we act fast enough, we can save her and reseal the demon. But she must not develop her powers any further, for it will risk setting the demon free again. My other condition involves a return favor, details of which will be provided at a later time. Do you accept?"
Verto didn't show one breath of hesitation, "Do it." Leira nodded slightly and flew closer to take Lenz out of Verto's arms. Verto held on briefly, but let go in slightly dismay. Leira took Lenz and floated down to set Lenz on the ground, very near the edge of the lava pool.
Piccolo moved over to Verto, "That was risky kid, you have no idea what she might ask you to do."
"Did I really have any other choice but to trust her? I'll do whatever it takes," Verto said sternly. The small group watched in silence as Leira stepped away and started making strange hand signals in rapid fashion. They all felt energy rise out of Leira and fluctuate rapidly. Suddenly, a mass of lava washed up and over Lenz's body. Verto was on the ground in an instant, boiling mad.
"Stop, this will help her!" Leira said.
"How? It's lava!" Verto shouted.
"You need to understand what we're dealing with here. There are many types of demons, and since you fought her in this form, you know that she is one that not only withstands extreme heat, but increases her body temperature to magmatic levels. Exposing her in this form will heal her, and then we have to act fast. Kibito, get ready!" Leira ordered. Kibito nodded and dropped to the ground, standing ready with his palms aimed at Lenz. The lava rolled over Lenz smoothly, including the hole in her chest where Verto's sword had pierced. The lava rose back out and the hole filled back in with blue tissue, as did her other scrapes and bruises. Within mere seconds, she was as good as new, and the lava crawled away, back into the pool. Even her hands and forearms had been restored, to Verto's amazement. Leira cast out her hand and used telekinesis to levitate her away from the fiery lake, setting her gently down.
"Restrain her now Kibito, the demon could wake up any second," Leira warned. Lenz was surrounded by a thin layer of blue energy as Leira stood over her with some sort of rolled up paper scroll. She studied it briefly before rolling it back up and holding it between her fingers in another odd pose.
"What is that?" Gohan asked.
"A gift from a far away place. It will help us seal the demon," Leira replied as she heaved it down onto Lenz's torso, "Tri-gram Seal!" Three thick streams of energy burst from the scroll and surrounded Lenz. Verto recognized the effect from what the crystal shard had attempted to do before.
Her eyes shot open and locked onto Leira with anger, "You!" Verto heard the distinct voice pattern of Kaon, which naturally surprised everyone else.
Leira kept her poise, "Go back to the abyss, demon!"
Kaon laughed as she began to hover as her body glowed with the familiar purple flames, "I don't think so, traitor! You're not putting me back in there!"
"Everyone, channel your energy towards the scroll!" Leira ordered. Piccolo and Gohan held their glowing hands up without much thought, and the energy beams tightened around Kaon. Verto's bright silver aura flashed to life after a moment of hesitation, and the demon screamed in agony.
"You can't hold me down forever, I will return. And I'll make sure you are all incinerated!" Kaon cried out. Just as she finished, her skin color fluctuated back to a normal peach tone. The blue retreated towards her center before vanishing completely as she slumped in defeat. The energy bonds slowly faded away as a notable branding symbol appeared on her bare stomach. It featured three solid circles with unfamiliar glyphs that spiraled outwards. They also faded rather quickly, and Leira sighed heavily once the activity ceased.
"It's done. She will be out of it for awhile, but should recover soon. As for you…" Leira paused as she pulled a small brown candy from her back pocket, similar in size and shape of the one Etarb Erec had given Verto.
She tossed it to him, "I believe you know what to do with that. Best heal all those burns right away, I take my leave."
"Wait!" Piccolo shouted to her.
Leira turned, "Yes?"
"Just what is it you're going to ask for in return?" Piccolo asked.
Leira gave him a sly smirk, "You'll find out soon enough. You can even assist him if you like. I'll have to arrange a meeting with an old friend of mine first." She then vanished before anyone could get another word in. Kibito stayed around just as long before he was gone too, leaving Verto, Gohan and Piccolo to their own thoughts. Gohan then turned northeast, sensing Vegeta's power along with another. Verto ate the small candy, and his power sparked through his aura before he forcibly powered down. He bent down and draped Lenz over his shoulder, noting that she seemed bigger than before. That transformation aged her at least a few years, strange. Oh well, it doesn't matter, at least she's alive.
"I guess we should go help Vegeta," Gohan said.
"Don't bother, it's Doctor Wheelo he's fighting with. I already sense Goku heading that way, let them settle it. I don't want to see that bastard ever again," Verto said in a very threatening tone. He then took off into the air as he flew west, leaving Gohan and Piccolo behind.
Shockwaves went off over the frozen tundra as Wheelo and Vegeta continued their clash. Wheelo's robotic armor was showing more signs of dirt and small blemishes, while Vegeta was slowly becoming more winded. His body was battered in places and his clothing was partially ripped off, but he was maintaining his form. The battle scared off wildlife for miles around, even from the distant forests south of them. The activity ceased suddenly when Wheelo managed to land a sizable kick that sent Vegeta flying backwards.
Vegeta recovered quickly while in midair and aimed his hands forward, "Enough!" His hands lit up with gold as a rapid barrage of ki blasts shot forth. Wheelo attempted to dodge them, but was caught immediately when Vegeta adjusted his aim. Wheelo fell to the ground, followed quickly by Vegeta's blasts, which further added to changing the landscape. Wheelo suddenly launched out of the smoke cloud and swung his broken metal arm at Vegeta, missing completely without the attached claw. Vegeta barreled into Wheelo's body, hammering it back to the ground. Vegeta smirked as he followed the robot's path and landed a short distance away.
Wheelo groaned slightly, "I don't understand! He shouldn't be able to do this!"
Vegeta laughed, "I told you, fool. You have no real combat skills, and even if you did, it wouldn't be of any use now. Soon I'll rip the other arm off, then where will you be?"
Wheelo stumbled to his feet, "I'll show you Saiyan!" Wheelo's robotic mouth opened up and fired a powerful burst of energy that skimmed across the land like a massive laser. Vegeta narrowly avoided the shot as a small canyon was cut from its force. Wheelo lunged at him before Vegeta had a chance to recover, smashing him with the other claw. Wheelo quickly fired another golden laser towards Vegeta's flailing body. The ground exploded near where he fell, clouding the results. Wheelo waited patiently for Vegeta to emerge, though it wasn't very quick. When he finally did stand up, he was holding a bloodied and injured shoulder in definite pain.
"No combat skills huh? Well what would you call that?" Wheelo shouted.
"If you want to consider a lucky shot as skillful, be my guest. In the meantime, I'm going to show you real power and blow you away!" Vegeta bellowed. His aura broke apart the dust and expanded in size as his hair lengthened and his eyebrows vanished.
Wheelo watched intently, "What is this? His energy level is surpassing his limits! I don't have enough remaining power to combat that!" Vegeta's battle cry continued until his Super Saiyan Three transformation was finished. He charged up his Final Shine blast once again as he aimed for Wheelo. It took on a much fuller ball form this time as Vegeta was releasing much more energy into it.
"Let's see you survive it this time Cash! Final Shine!" Wheelo recoiled slightly before sending a return blast to at least stall Vegeta's beam. Green and gold clashed between them, and it was clear that Vegeta's would win.
"Curse him! I'll have to use all of my remaining power!" Wheelo grumbled. Wheelo's golden beam expanded and pushed Vegeta's back to a middle point between the two. Vegeta's response enhanced his blast to nearly twice its original size, which steamrolled Wheelo's like it wasn't even there. Wheelo saw what was coming and could only try to withstand it as he protected his brain casing. The massive green explosion that followed lit up the skies all around the world, dimming all of the other light for nearly a full minute before fading. Vegeta stood still in his normal form, panting a bit from the effort he had put out. He didn't see Wheelo initially, but that didn't stop him from scowling when he noticed another power signal flying in.
"Wow Vegeta, you really did a number on this place," Goku said as he landed and looked around.
"Idiot," Vegeta grumbled. Both of them heard rustling ahead as Wheelo tried to stand. His robotic body was still intact, but was sparking all over as if it was shorting out. The heavy limbs were no longer moving with ease, and soon both legs broke apart at the knee joints.
Wheelo fell backwards into the deep crate and ceased to move, "Damn you…..Vegeta…." His robotic voice faded and the rest of his body slumped completely.
"So, what is that?" Goku asked.
"Fool! It's that ridiculous Doctor Cash! The one who you tried to save when I left him for dead!" Vegeta growled at him.
Goku shook his head, "Some people just don't learn."
"Exactly. Since it's your fault he survived, I think I'll let you bury him this time!" Vegeta said. Goku frowned slightly as Vegeta walked off, but sighed and aimed at the crater. He fired multiple shots into the sides, causing the walls to collapse and completely cover Wheelo's robotic shell. Once done, he followed Vegeta through the air towards the south and west.
"….And so, the SHARC corporate headquarters will be scheduled for demolition this Friday. Not much is being said from the incident this past Sunday evening other than that a biological experiment went terribly wrong. Officials say there is no danger of contamination, but they are not allowing anyone near the building." CLICK.
"Looks like the cover-up machine is hard at work again," Verto muttered in disgust as he tossed the remote control aside.
"Well, they have to, otherwise there will be a massive panic," Bulma pointed out.
"Can't say I disagree with it, most people in a group will react badly to something like that. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen the sheep run in circles," Verto said.
Bulma shifted slightly, "How's Lenz?"
Verto sighed, "Not awake yet."
"Did that woman say how long she'd be out?" Bulma asked.
"No, but for now I'll settle for alive. I don't know though, I've never seen that sealing technique before….then again there were several techniques yesterday that I haven't seen," Verto said.
"Well, if there's any good news out of this, with ol' Flandal gone, things should be quiet around here," Bulma said with confidence.
"Maybe, but I doubt it."
"I take it you have no idea what kind of mission she's going to send you on?"
"Not a clue."
"You could always refuse," Bulma suggested.
"No, she stayed true to her word and saved Lenz after trying to get her killed several times. The least I can do is honor my end of the deal," Verto claimed.
"But she did say that thing inside could resurface, right? So what would be the point in saving her now?" Bulma asked. She regretted the question when Verto's glared heated the room.
"Sorry, bad question," Bulma apologized.
"It's okay, I haven't figured that out either. If there was only a way to remove it without killing her…" Verto trailed off.
"Yeah, if only. We could always ask Shenron…" Bulma started to say.
Verto cut her off, "Oh of course! I nearly forgot about the Dragonballs! Trunks said he was rounding them up for no particular reason. I think we have one now. How many has he found?"
Bulma bit her lip momentarily, "Five, last I checked." She regretted that answer as well when Verto's suspicious eyes seemed to pierce her own.
"What's that supposed to mean? Is there something you're not telling me about this?" Verto asked.
"Um…let's just forget about that sweetie. That's not the important thing," Bulma said with assurance, "What exactly would you wish for to help her?"
Verto clearly didn't buy into the answer, but let it slide, "Alright, you can tell me later. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of wishing the demon away and or changing her into a full-blooded Saiyan without the curse bit. But of course we'd have to do something with her people that Frost killed off. I've already figured out that both the Rotians and Renegade Saiyans have some sort of demonic ancestors, I just need to figure out the rest. I'm sure I can help these people if I'm given the chance to."
"Yes, I'm sure you could," Bulma said shakily. She reached into her capsule case and opened one marked with orange, revealing the Dragon Radar.
"This is a new radar since we lost one the other day. The sixth ball is still buried in Flandal's lab somewhere. I'll leave that to you. The last one hasn't been found yet, for some reason I can't pick it up on the radar," Bulma explained.
Verto took the radar with a stern expression, "Thanks." He turned to leave, but stopped at the door.
"Something wrong?" Bulma asked.
"I expect some truth when I get back, you know how I feel about being kept in the dark," Verto said in a lowered tone.
Bulma failed to answer him, but didn't have to when Vegeta came walking by, "You'll be told what you need to know boy!"
Verto glared up at him, "That goes double for you." He promptly left the compound and flew quickly back to South City.
Power levels:
Super Mystic Verto: 624,000,000; Kaioken burst: 800,000,000
Kaon (enraged Demon form): 575,000,000
Vegeta (SS2): 500,000,000; SS3: 600,000,000
Doctor Wheelo (Mech Form): 510,000,000
WDG: Hmm, Leira wants a 'favour'…
VB: Doubt that'll be any fun