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 85: Dark Tourney 8: The Bloody Rematch
"It all comes down to this, D versus Chal. The winner punches his team into the finals against Team Urameshi. D has plowed his way through the other four members of Team Gorenja and now it's time to face its captain. I have no idea what's going to happen, but it's sure to be exciting. Whenever you're ready Juri!" Koto called out.
"Fighters ready, let the match begin!" Juri signaled. The crowd roared with approval, what was left of it.
Chal smiled, "They're expecting greatness from us, such cretins."
"Are you saying you won't have to try?" Verto asked.
Chal closed his eyes, "Not at all. I just find that it's a waste considering how this fight will turn out."
Verto snorted back, "Well let's just see what happens first."
Chal nodded, "Yes we will. Prepare yourself!"
Both fighters finished powering up, sending erratic energy crashing through the ceiling while the rest of the arena trembled. Verto wasted little time and fired a sizable blast at Chal. Chal dodged aside to avoid it, stopping cold when Verto's fist smashed into him from the left. Chal fell back into the blast, getting swallowed in its light. Verto covered his face as the explosion kicked up wind-driven debris. It slowly cleared, revealing that the rest of the ring had been destroyed entirely. Chal was on his back and his armor had been blown off in the blast. The replay video board played back what had happened, and the crowd continued their awestruck gasping.
"What an attack by D! Chal thought he could get away, but D's speed continues to amaze us all. Could this finale be over already?" Koto asked. A long stream of lightning arced off the ground and shot towards her, nearly taking her head off and hitting a board demon behind her instead. Koto ducked away in fear as the lightning completely fried the other demon.
Chal stood up with his finger pointed at Koto, "You're too loud. You will not say another word, or else I may not miss next time!" Koto nodded nervously and ducked down to hide herself. Juri glanced around from behind her own personal boulder, seeing that only a wide crater remained of the ring.
She held the microphone up and cleared her throat, "Ahem, before we continue, I must put rule thirty-four into play. It states that if the ring is completely destroyed during a match, then there will no longer be any ring-outs for the duration of said match. Fighters can only be declared the winner if their opponent is down for ten counts, gives up, or dies."
Chal smirked as he ignored the referee, "That was a very good misdirection play my friend, shall we go again?"
Verto remained deeply focused, "Any time." Chal fired off another wave of concentrated lightning, and Verto's Psi sword snap-hissed to life as he blocked it. Chal widened the stream of his Raiko-Arc, increasing its power enough that Verto was pushed backwards quickly. Verto glanced back just as he was about to hit the stadium wall, and he phased out within inches of it. That portion of the concrete was torn apart from left to right as Chal adjusted his aim. Verto began to use his speed to race around the arena, having only a split second before Chal zapped the spot he was in. Multiple holes in the ground were left behind as Chal's lightning tore through the dirt.
Chal shook his head slightly as he followed Verto's movements, "You're getting predictable my friend, you shouldn't follow through with that poor attack when you're so low on energy!"
Four flashing forms of Verto appeared around Chal, "You shouldn't assume when you don't know what I'm trying to do!"
"You're right about not assuming. However, I do know what you're about to try and it will not end well for you," Chal claimed.
"Let's just test that theory," Verto said as his afterimages vanished. He increased his pace, and Chal struggled to react fast enough, often making a new hole in the ground well after Verto had appeared elsewhere. Chal stopped firing soon after and instead charged up his energy while he waited for the right moment. Verto continued moving faster until he vanished altogether.
Chal grinned again, "Your speed really is something, but as I already said, you're too predictable." He turned and fired an even more powerful lightning wave just as Verto stopped in its path. Verto blocked against it with his energy blade, but was pushed around almost effortlessly. He struggled with it even as he was forced into the concrete wall. Once he was pinned in place, Chal walked closer as he maintained his energy output. Verto released more power into his sword to protect himself, and quickly grew short on breath as a result. Chal stopped a dozen feet away with a look of disappointment on his face.
"I told you not to do that. Oh well, I guess this will be over far sooner than I expected," Chal said as he sighed.
Verto cringed slightly as he continued to struggle, "That depends."
Chal scoffed, "Ha, on what? You're obviously not in any position to boast."
Verto smirked brightly, "It depends on how much energy you're about to give me!" Verto readjusted his grip and Chal's energy lightning was pulled into the sword before traveling directly into Verto's body. Verto's power level rose rapidly, generating a vivid and intense aura that skewered the wall further.
Chal smiled even as his attack was being absorbed, "Excellent decision, seeing as your energy was starting to get low."
Verto's eyes narrowed, "Then why are you still feeding it?" His answer was given when Chal's white lightning suddenly shifted into a random burst of red, purple and blue. Verto disengaged his sword immediately and ducked out of the way of the rest of it. He stopped once he noticed that Chal wasn't giving chase, and then noticed that his body was emitting a faint, colorful hue. Shit!
Chal chuckled, "Now we're getting somewhere aren't we? A few more seconds and you wouldn't have been able to take a single blow. Still, I wouldn't advise that now until it has worn off. Silly me, I forgot to mention that it won't wear off until I cause some damage. So, I suggest you unleash every bit of power you can muster right now, or else the result won't be good."
"I've already maxed out and you know it. That extra energy you provided won't last forever," Verto admitted.
"Oh Verto, don't be so ignorant to my words. You know exactly what I meant," Chal said as he shook his finger.
Verto grimaced, "I told you already to leave your stupid mental shit out of this. I'm not going to use that form just so you can be entertained."
"And I have kept my word on that. However, I wish to get this over with quickly, and if you do not attack me with hatred in your heart, then you cannot win. I am not the forgiving type, so don't force my hand if you wish to live past today. I will see that fabulous power of yours, otherwise you'll die!" Chal declared.
"No! Fight me as a Saiyan, not a mindless animal!" Verto shouted back.
"Even the most controlled intellectual has his primitive side. That is the price we pay for power. I shall do my best to avoid letting it consume me, at least until you give it your all!" Chal's aura brightened as it turned red along with his eyes. His power rose rapidly as the air temperature increased along with the wind. Verto cringed as he carefully considered how to approach. The ground splintered under the weight of Chal's corrupt energy, and the already damaged stadium soon followed. What demons remained were glued to their seats, deeply afraid of what they were sensing and unable to even move. Chal's aura died down soon after, but that didn't change the eerie red hue that had taken over everyone's vision. Chal's hand sparked with his deadly lightning just before he suddenly charged in. Verto narrowly dodged the punch attempt, and blocked the next with both forearms crossed in front of his face. He felt the sheer force of Chal's power, more so because he had been hit with the focusing technique. Verto's forearms stung from the impact, making him wonder if Chal had broken them. Chal no longer had a calm, relaxed expression, but rather one of fury. He aimed a kick for Verto's side, missing narrowly when Verto jumped back and into the air. Chal fired a thin but potent stream of red electricity at nearly point-blank range and Verto was unable to react. The shot went through Verto's lower left side, just under the vital organs. It did however tear a wide hole through the side of the ribcage and out his back. Verto paused in utter shock before the pain set in and he screamed in agony. Blood splattered out from the wound as he dropped to the ground and ceased to move for the moment.
"And Contestant D is down, what a brutal attack by Chal!" Koto announced.
Juri ran over to Verto's prone body, "If D does not get up by the count of ten, Chal wins! One….two…" Juri's count was interrupted at five when Chal suddenly phased out and stomped on Verto's back, driving his foot into the blood soaked hole he had made. Verto cried out in severe pain as a volley of blood spilled out of his mouth and onto the dirt, but Chal didn't let up as an evil grin appeared on his face. He continued stomping away as all of the onlookers watched in silence. After nearly a minute of this, Chal looked bored and kicked Verto's side, turning him over to face upwards.
Chal leaned down as Verto winced painfully, "Well, are you going to use your full power or not kid? Decide quickly, I don't have time for your hesitation!"
"Excuse me, I have to do my job and count to ten," Juri said as she bravely stepped in.
Chal glared at her in annoyance, "We don't need one of you ridiculous judges. The last one alive will win this fight, now don't interrupt us anymore!" Juri backed off in fear, ducking behind her own adopted boulder again. Verto's eyes snapped open suddenly and he launched off the ground. He swung his arm at the surprised Chal, and his blue sword shot out, clipping Chal's upper left arm as he tried to dodge. Verto breathed hard and dropped to his knee as he allowed his sword to fade while he held his wounded side. Chal clutched at his arm as he staggered backwards, holding back his own wail of pain. The Psi sword had cut through nearly all of his arm, effectively taking away any use it had. After a brief moment, a torrent of blood gushed out and dripped off his fingertips. Verto continued to pant hard as he nearly mirrored Chal's actions of protecting current vulnerabilities.
Chal bared his teeth a bit, "It seems you're incredibly lucky today kid. Everyone keeps dropping their guard and allowing you to strike. No matter, I only need one arm to do what needs to be done!" He held up his right hand as he charged a vivid red mass of lightning. It formed into a red-orange ball that sparked off smaller bolts all around it.
Chal grinned evilly, "You probably remember my Raiko-Ball from our fight before, though it's quite a bit more powerful now. But you don't need to worry, this one isn't for you."
Verto's eyes narrowed, "I don't care about all the demons here, but don't involve others in our fight! It's a gutless tactic!"
"I will do what I have to in order to force you into using all of your power! If others die due to your inaction, then so be it! Now come at me with all you've got, otherwise someone is going to die right now!" Chal demanded.
Verto's blue aura shot up around him and darkened, "Kaio-ken, times two!" The stadium shook violently as the force of Verto's sudden energy output floored most of the weaker occupants.
Chal pointed to his right, "Wrong answer." Verto gazed at the Raiko-Ball's destination for a split second before he phased out. Chal's crew panicked when they saw the attack rushing towards them in a thick, concentrated and twisted arrow-like shape. It stopped when it struck Verto's blue sword, which was nearly three to four times bigger than it usually was. Despite the incredible amount of energy lightning coming from the Raiko-Ball, Verto managed to hold his ground for the moment. The other Saiyans were very surprised, though it was difficult to tell if it was due to Chal or Verto's actions. Random smaller bolts of lightning streaked off the vast energy ball and struck Verto all over as he struggled to hold it back. He cringed and grunted as he pulled his sword back a bit, and then pushed the Raiko-Ball to the right. It sailed into a vacated section of the stands and detonated, leaving a large crater that continued to spark with residual energy.
"Why did you save us?" Laysh asked in a demanding tone as the light faded.
Verto turned as his uniform smoked in spots where the lightning had burnt through, "Are you complaining? Your leader just tried to kill you. Now get back!" Dorit tugged at Laysh's arm as he and Frit both backed away.
Chal's evil grin didn't waver, "Close one kid. I wasn't sure if you would even lift a finger. In a way, I'm happy you did that."
"Hmph, I doubt that," Verto retorted. Chal then charged up another intense lightning ball and turned his back completely. He looked up towards the rafters and pulled his arm back to launch his attack.
Verto scanned in that direction before his eyes widened, "Stop this!"
"You know what I want, so produce the results. Otherwise I'll keep targeting others until you cooperate!" Chal said as he fired. Verto shot into the air and intercepted the leading edge of lightning just before it reached its apparent target: Piccolo. Verto swung his sword into the ball in a reckless downward slash, and sent it tumbling into the stands. This time however, there were plenty of demons that were scrambling to get out of the way. Several of them were struck at random and literally disintegrated into nothing but dust by the lightning. The Raiko-Ball itself smashed into the area and wiped out anyone that was there, leaving another electrically charged crater behind. Verto growled a bit as he gasped for breath while the Kaio-ken boost wore off.
"Thanks kid, but you mustn't focus on protecting others this time, it's only going to wear you out even more at this rate! This Saiyan is obviously determined to get you to release your anger and rage on him. Let him see it, don't hold back," Piccolo suggested.
Verto turned with a look of despair, "No! I won't let that happen! If I lose control again, no one will be able to stop me!"
Piccolo's arm shot out and griped his shoulder, "It's okay to let go Verto. Your training will not be a complete waste. The fact that you've managed to keep a hold of yourself in this entire battle without even slipping shows that you're much closer to mastering your power than you may even realize. It's not wrong to fight for the right reason, surely I've told you that before. I have faith that you won't become any sort of evil being, you've been able to fight like that with nothing but your own instinct of right and wrong to steer you, so trust that. He wants to see the monster, so let him see it and regret it forever. Remember, he's the one who pushed it this far!" Piccolo reminded. Verto paused notably as Piccolo's words seemed to hit him.
"Go on kid, do what you do best. I'll keep everyone out of it," Piccolo said. Verto nodded uneasily and dropped to the ground to face Chal. Piccolo lowered his altitude to the first level, where Koto was bravely sticking her head out to see what was going on.
"Tell everyone to evacuate, if they value their lives they'll listen. This fight is about to get very rough," Piccolo suggested. Koto started to protest, but Piccolo had already left her broadcast station.
He landed next to the other Saiyans and motion with his finger, "I suggest you all get out of their way."
"A Namek? Why should we?" Dorit asked.
"I think you know why. Verto is about to unleash his rage, and I've seen what it can do to those who get too close. He cared enough to protect you from your own leader, so I will trust him enough to warn you," Piccolo replied.
"We don't take orders from Nameks!" Frit shouted back.
Piccolo snorted lightly, "Suit yourself. I prefer to live." Piccolo took off towards the open part of the stadium, where the demons were rushing out. Laysh, Dorit and Frit reluctantly followed, each of them taking a last look at both fighters.
Chal's evil expression shifted to slightly determined, "So, are you finally going to follow through?" Verto didn't answer as his eyes became as blood red as the hole in his side. The stadium shook along with the ground, and all light sources darkened briefly as the arena was overtaken with red. Verto's aura filled with the red energy and sparked relentlessly with lightning that set fire to some of the ground nearby.
Chal smiled eagerly, "Now that's more like it!" Verto's scream shattered all of the stadium lighting, though it had already become obsolete at this point. The holes that had been ripped out of the ceiling broke into larger gaps, showering the arena floor with twisted metal. One such chunk partially grazed Verto's wide aura and burned up instantly, sending hot metallic ash cherries flying around. Chal lowered into his fighting stance and waved Verto on. He was immediately smashed in the face by Verto's first punch. Chal stumbled backwards just before he was kicked harshly in the back, sending him flying up. He winced in pain as Verto went flying past him, preparing a double-arm attack next. Chal recovered first and fired another Raiko-Arc lightning stream, one that Verto narrowly avoided as it shot into the skies above the arena. Chal shifted around, but was unable to avoid another kick to the chest that sent him flying towards the open part of the stadium. Verto chased him down, eyes aglow with intense fury as he sped up.
Chal's eyes widened in pure surprise, What incredible speed! He was clothes-lined out of flight control by Verto's forearm, and dropped towards the ground. Verto blazed a trail after Chal, grabbing his leg just before he was about to hit and swinging him back into the darker arena. Chal managed to regain his bearings and glided backwards, firing a twisted arc of lightning. Verto charged at him, phasing in and out multiple times on his warpath.
Chal paled slightly when Verto appeared above him, "Oh damn!" Chal had barely heard the snap-hiss of Verto's red Psi sword before his left shoulder was sliced open. His ruined arm was completely severed from the first swipe. The second left a long and deep cut that went from Chal's collar bone down the side and nearly to his waistline. The wounds smoked with burnt blood before the liquid finally gushed out and showered the ground and strained the dirt once Chal crash-landed. He was barely down when Verto landed on him, sending a generous burst of fluid out of his mouth. Verto took the full mount position and smashed Chal in the face. Bloodied teeth slipped out from the impact and landed in the smoking dirt. Chal turned his head back up with a smile of satisfaction, before Verto punched him again and caused his head to bend the other way. Chal's face lit up with painful shock as a large cut opened above his eye. Verto wailed on him again with precise blows to the side of his head, causing so much damage that Chal's entire face was covered in the crimson fluid. Verto stared at his bloodied fists for a moment before letting Chal have it one more time and standing up. Chal groaned with intense pain as Verto stood over him, as if waiting for him to get up just to beat him down again.
Chal managed a painful laugh, "Heh, now that's the kind of ruthlessness I've been looking for. My only question is why didn't you take the shot and kill me? You intentionally missed!"
Verto didn't answer directly, "Either get up or give up! I don't care which it is!" Chal stood up uneasily and was sent flying by another vicious forearm shot to his battered face. He crashed into empty seats and was buried under the rubble. Verto lifted off into the air until he was eye-level with Chal's position, and he waited. The rubble shook out of place shortly before it was shot into the air by Chal's intense aura. Verto bashed one such boulder away and Chal was suddenly right in his face. Verto was hit by a brutal front kick that damaged his wounded torso, and he fell back to create his own pile of rubble in the stands. Chal grinned wickedly as blood poured from both his face and body while he began charging a strong beam attack with his one hand.
"C'mon kid, let's see what you've got!"
Verto's power exploded again as he charged up an answer to Chal's challenge, "Super Galic Gun!" The two reddened beams collided and struggled against each other, producing an even bigger ball of energy. It swelled to nearly half the size of the stadium, and then moved towards Chal. The elder fighter dove towards the ground and watched as Verto's stronger beam took another fourth of the stadium out before heading into the skies. Chal tensed up and spun to fire another Raiko-Arc stream just as an energy blade hissed, hitting him in the chest. More blood splattered onto Chal's face from Verto's mouth as he dropped to the ground from the air, having been hit in the lower stomach region again. Chal smirked as he looked down, only to see a bright blue blade fading from right next to his heart. Chal's smile didn't waver even as he choked up another batch of red fluid and fell to the ground next to Verto. Both Saiyans ceased to move much at this point, drawing curious gazes from afar. Piccolo floated on the edge of the stadium, shaking from the amazing display he had just seen.
Verto managed to reel himself back in just before his final attack so he wouldn't burn Chal's soul. He's starting to master his control, although it wasn't the best idea since it gave his opponent enough time to counter attack. Still, it doesn't seem like he was really the one holding back.
Koto, who was still in her place, jumped all over the microphone, "What an awesome ending to this fight, it's a shame so many of you demons out there ran away and missed it! Don't worry, we'll sell you the video copies! Both fighters are gushing blood all over the place and neither can even move at this point. Juri, who wins this?" Juri ran over as Verto staggered up to a knee, blood pouring from both his wounds and throat. Chal on the other hand, couldn't manage to even budge.
Juri counted him out quickly, "Nine…ten! The winner is D, Team Toguro advances to the finals!" Verto made it uneasily to his feet and stumbled over to Chal's fallen form. He could still sense a feint energy level, but it was fading fast.
Chal coughed, sending a generous gush of red into the air, "N-nice work Verto, but why did you suddenly hold back? That could have been the end of you."
Verto winced as he sat down on his knees, holding his wounded stomach, "Whether I killed you or not didn't matter to me. But had I followed through, I would have torched your soul and there wouldn't have even been a Hell left for you to go."
Chal chuckled weakly, "How thoughtful."
"Why didn't you aim for my vitals? You missed twice," Verto countered.
"Because I never intended to win this fight, only to look convincing," Chal admitted.
Verto went cold with shock, "What?"
"My mission, my real mission, wasn't to retrieve any artifacts once you showed up. That was someone else's doing and a cover for me to slip out and wait for you," Chal continued.
"Piccolo! Bring the Senzu beans!" Verto shouted.
Chal managed to grab a hold of Verto's arm, pulling his complete attention, "Don't bother. I didn't choose this for me, I chose it for my friends. T-Take care of them!" Verto sensed three presences suddenly arrive behind him, and turned to see the other Saiyans were very distraught.
"You three have your orders, now carry them out!" Chal ordered.
Dorit and Frit both bowed and saluted, "Understood sir!"
Laysh appeared to be fighting back tears and turned around to save face, "Fine!"
Chal smiled meekly, "Alright, lead them well, they're in your hands now. W-watch out for…him!" Chal slumped just as Piccolo landed and Verto stared at the ground in dismay. Chal's energy level completely died out in an instant and Verto knew that he didn't have a chance to save him.
"Why?" he asked.
Piccolo held out his hand, revealing a single Senzu bean, "Maybe you should ask them." Verto hesitated to eat the bean for a moment, but did so and stood up once his wounds were healed. The three Renegades cautiously bowed and saluted him.
Dorit turned his head upwards and was the only one to speak, "What are your orders, sir?"
Power levels
Verto: 312,000; Kaioken(x2): 624,000; Berserker: 550,000
Chal: 305,000; Berserker: 530,000
A/n: Another chapter ends, and another one will begin. Don't assume anything at this point.
WDG: Assume-assume-assume-assume-assume…
VB: You will lose!
Next time on DBV: Verto learns the reason for Chal's sacrifice and prepares to return to the Z universe. Before he can though, a series of events unfold rapidly and force him to stay due to betrayals of trust. Plus, the leader of the Renegades steps onto the scene and he is not happy with his troops.