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 86: Dark Tourney 9: True Leader

Verto said nothing as he, Piccolo and the three Renegade Saiyans made their way back to the hotel. An absolute swarm of thoughts were going through Verto's head however, as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He opened the door to their room first, grimacing when he saw empty wine bottles laying all over the place and what appeared to be a drunk and legless Frieza nearly passed out on the floor.

"Get out! I didn't order any more wine! Someone bring me my hover chair!" Frieza ordered. Piccolo growled slightly as he stomped over and dragged Frieza to the window by his arm.

He promptly threw him out hard enough that he went sailing into the distance, "Excuse me, I needed to take care of that disgrace. You may discuss things alone now."

Verto snorted lightly as Piccolo flew after Frieza, Yeah, like you won't be listening.

"Where would you like to begin?" Dorit asked.

"I want to know why Chal just gave up his life for virtually no real reason. Not only could he have lived, but he also could have beaten me," Verto pointed out.

Dorit sighed, "His original intention was to bring you to us after your battle with Frost. Due to all of the chaos that occurred, that would have been difficult. So he came up with a new plan."

Verto frowned when Dorit paused, "I'm listening."

"He petitioned to our leaders to seek you out, though he did not have Earth's exact location at the time. The ruling council denied this request, as they did not want to get involved with what they deemed a dangerous scenario, which is Prince Vegeta. Not all of us would be willing to follow his rule you see, and that could mean civil war with our own people, we couldn't have that. I assure you though that we three have great respect for royalty, and seeing the prince return to his rightful place is one of our top priorities," Dorit explained.

"Okay, I can understand that, but don't blow smoke up my ass in order to gain favor. Vegeta and I differ on a lot of things as well. So what happened next?" Verto asked.

"Chal was given the mission to come here to find a certain artifact, this he told the Namek. What he didn't tell the council was his intention to come find you as soon as the mission was completed and of course join forces. Our only problem was that the Captain of the Guard is the strongest among us all, and he doesn't take well to insubordination. He was the one who battled Frost evenly before you did. He would instantly kill us just for speaking with you now if he knew," Dorit claimed.

"But that doesn't explain why Chal let himself die," Verto reminded.

"Chal has always had a tracking device implanted in his body, mostly because he took on solo missions quite often and would require transportation once he was finished. He did not want the captain to figure out where Earth was due to following the tracking device, and death was the only way to deactivate it. He wanted us to go with you but knew he couldn't go along or go back. So he chose to die in a battle with you from the start," Dorit continued.

Verto sighed heavily, "I wish I would have known that before."

"Chal was too proud and stubborn for that. He also had too much respect for you to try and handicap you in any way past what was already done. He believed in you all the way to his grave, and we will follow his wishes in that regard," Dorit said.

"Alright. So, the idea is that you would all essentially disappear for awhile. While that could work in theory, whose to say that no one would come looking for you? You can't tell me that they wouldn't know where to look first, and that is here. Even if Chal's tracking device clearly said that he was killed, that doesn't mean that you all were, despite what logic could be used there," Verto said.

Dorit nodded grimly, "It's a risk we three agreed to take in order to rid the universe of Frost and reunite the Saiyan people. Our plan entails joining you and anyone else to destroy that monstrosity. Then we will deal with the others. The captain is a ruthless man who should be removed by force. All of those who have tried though have met their end swiftly. He isn't on the ruling council, but he may as well be, given that all of them fear him."

"And this man didn't come here with you?" Verto asked.

Dorit shook his head, "No, only the five of us were assigned to this mission. Selffur worked directly under him however, so whether you killed him or we did, he would have had to be dealt with. You did us a favor there."

Verto paused notably, Koenma said there were six and that the leader was stronger than anything they knew. I have to assume that it's the same person that they're talking about, but are they lying, or did the timeline shift again? Either is possible since there's a time discrepancy between our arrival times.

Verto decided to get off that particular subject, "What was this artifact you were looking for?"

Dorit shrugged, "Something that the captain was interested in for some reason. We aren't really sure there even was one here, and it has become a moot point. You were the goal."

"I guess I'm all yours, in a manner of speaking," Verto replied.

"I still think this is a waste of time. The kid is strong, but it isn't enough to defeat Frost. Maybe in a decade. I still say he looks like he's only been out of the nursery for a few years," Frit claimed.

Verto glared at him slightly, "Guess that says a lot about you doesn't it?"

"Easy brother, don't start problems when you clearly can't defend yourself right now. Do you require time to discuss the matter with your Namekian friend?" Dorit asked.

Verto nodded, "Give me a few hours. I have a few loose ends to tie up."

"We will leave you to it then, in the meantime we'll return to our ship. As you can see, my brother would like to visit a rejuvenation tank and get his hands back," Dorit pointed out.

Laysh finally broke her silence, "Hmph, how do we know he won't run away?"

Verto's eyebrow went up, slightly confounded, "I'm not a coward if that's what you mean."

"Whatever, you pulled my tail to win our fight! That is cowardice at its best. Clearly, Prince Vegeta has never taught you honor or respect of your opponent. I'll be happy to teach it to you in spades!" Laysh declared with a raised voice.

Dorit frowned, "Laysh, cut it out!"

"No, let her speak her mind. I admit that I took the shortcut so I could save my energy for Chal. After all, I was fighting all five of you in a row and I needed to get out of the round. I also didn't want to resort to killing anyone if I didn't have to. I understand why you're upset since I used to have a tail as well, and it was used against me more than once," Verto admitted.

All three Saiyans blinked sharply before Laysh straightened up, "Well, I guess I can accept that as an apology. I retract my opinion that you were a coward seeing as you were willing to do what it took to win."

Verto smiled back, "Yeah, I'm sure you would use every weapon in your arsenal to win if you had to, especially being a beautiful woman."

Laysh grinned slyly, "Maybe I'll let you see all of my weapons in a few years." She promptly allowed her hips to sway as she left the room, followed closely by Frit.

Verto shook his head slightly, "You know, I really need to just shut up more often rather than saying what a nice guy would. I know I'm going to be in trouble for that one."

Dorit looked thoughtful, "Oh I don't see any problems with complimenting a female, just be careful what you wish for. We will meet with you in a few hours."

Verto walked around the hotel grounds as he thought things over. He didn't have to tell Piccolo anything because the Namek had heard every word. For the time being, he was trying to decide how exactly to process. Bringing them straight to Vegeta is probably the best option, no matter what his opinion of them may be. Although, Leira is going to protest how I handled this, knowing her. Well too bad, she only said to stop them, and I did. Verto's thoughts were put on hold when he sensed a strong presence coming closer. Out of the trees came the impressive looking agent Ranot, who looked as if he had been waiting for Verto to turn up.

"That was an excellent display you put on out there. I have to say that even I wouldn't want to anger you much," Ranot claimed as he clapped a bit.

"It didn't turn out like I had hoped, but it did get the job done. I called a truce with them and I'm going to join them against a common foe. All that needs done now is to leave, the sooner the better," Verto replied.

"Oh, you're not going to stay for the finals?" Ranot asked.

"What for? There's no point, I did what I came here to do. Toguro will just have to accept that and do things himself. Personally, I kind of hope that Yusuke kid beats his ass," Verto admitted.

Ranot shrugged, "That's too bad. I was looking forward to possibly having a match with you, pity."

Verto grinned slightly, "Maybe the next time that Leira invents another crises to deal with, we can spar or something. You're not the first of her colleagues I've come across."

Ranot nodded, "Perhaps. I guess this is farewell, for now." Ranot then walked off in a different direction from Verto's own. Verto passed by several groups of humans and demons in their own little clusters. All gave him some sort of look, though most were of a nervous fear. Verto felt slightly unnerved, as if there was something amiss and he couldn't place it. He locked onto Piccolo's power signal and suddenly launched into the air. He found the green Namekian on the far side of the island, next to a battered and bruised Frieza. Verto landed just in time to witness Piccolo driving his foot into Frieza's back.

"Damn you Namek! I curse the day you were spit out of Guru's mouth!" Frieza shouted as he spit wet sand from his mouth.

"Yeah, well I'm sure he's smiling right now from heaven," Piccolo growled back.

"Am I interrupting, or do you two need some more time alone? Remember to use protection," Verto joked.

Piccolo glanced up, "So, what did you decide to do with the Saiyans?" Verto frowned at the fact that Piccolo didn't get his joke, but moved on.

"I say we take them back to Earth with us and go from there. They'll be a big help in beating Frost for good," Verto replied.

"Have you thought this through? I don't trust them and I don't think Vegeta will approve either. That is an incredibly enormous risk kid!" Piccolo declared.

"Kind of like leaving Frost alone because he may come to Earth, right? Seriously, which one do you prefer because now I'm confused," Verto retorted.

"I'm saying that you should stop reacting on impulse and think things out much more thoroughly," Piccolo said.

Verto grimaced, "Look, we have a common enemy and as you said before, Frost will probably come to Earth eventually. I wasn't sent here to kill them, only to stop them, and I did. Chal died to make sure they left with us and assisted in taking Frost down. So what part about this doesn't make sense again?"

"It's too sudden Verto, it may be a ploy to undermine us instead after gaining our trust. Leira will not approve to this either."

"Like I give a crap about what she thinks," Verto grumbled.

"You should, she has been looking out for your best interests. And you also should because she's standing right behind you," Piccolo pointed out. Verto turned to see Leira standing a mere ten feet away, completely clad in black leather as usual.

"Your mission isn't complete, the timeline hasn't shifted back yet. So before you make any long-term plans, I would make sure to cover all the bases," Leira suggested.

"What are you talking about? I beat Chal and called a truce with his crew, we'll be leaving soon," Verto summarized.

Leira shook her head, "No, you mustn't until I'm sure the problem is taken care of. Their leader is still here somewhere, hiding. You might have already seen him and didn't know it."

"It might help if you told us their leader's name and gave his appearance. The other Saiyans said specifically that he wasn't here. Although if they were lying, I couldn't detect it," Piccolo claimed.

"Me neither. Are you sure that the timeline isn't fixed? I mean, you said yourself that us being here caused a big disruption before," Verto added.

"Yes, I'm sure. Yusuke and his team are killed somewhere between now and three days from today. All of them are supposed to live. I haven't pinpointed the exact when and where yet, but I would call that rather certain wouldn't you?" Leira countered.

Verto frowned deeply, "Fine, I'll stick around. But don't be trying to get the other Saiyans killed just because they have the cursed blood lines."

"I don't care about them, as long as the leader doesn't leave here alive!" Leira shouted suddenly. Verto and Piccolo glanced at each other, slightly taken aback at her sudden outburst. Verto was about to say something when he felt a strong flare up of power coming from the other side of the island.

"What is that? There's one strong demon fighting someone a lot weaker," Piccolo noted.

"It feels like Toguro, I guess that explains where he's been. But who is he fighting?" Verto asked.

Piccolo's eyes widened, "It's the old woman, Yusuke's teacher."

Verto seemed confused, "I thought they were supposed to wait for the finals?"

"Looks like he isn't."

"I sense Yusuke heading there too," Verto said. He glanced at Leira long enough for her to nod slightly before his aura flashed on and he launched into the air. Both Leira and Piccolo watched him go before saying another word.

"Maybe you should have been involved from the start instead of sending another of your strange agents to keep an eye on things here. It probably would have been better than using this maniac as bait," Piccolo suggested as he gestured to Frieza.

Leira turned slightly, "What are you talking about? You three are the only ones I sent here."

"Then who sent the other one, surely you know who I'm talking about. He's the large fighter with a mostly bald head and a ponytail," Piccolo described.

Leira's eyes narrowed, "I assure you Piccolo, I didn't bring anyone else here. Nor have my superiors, who have not allowed anyone other than Etarb to interact with you."

"Then who is he? Who is this man Ranot?" Piccolo asked.

Leira froze, "Did you say Ranot?"

"Yes, what do you know of him?"

Leira seemed terribly troubled, "Go help Verto now. I'll take care of Frieza and send him back to King Yemma."

"But…" Piccolo started to argue."

Leira became incensed, "Just go!"

Verto landed between Yusuke's teacher Genkai and a pumped up Toguro. His upper body had swelled to nearly three to four times its original size, more so in the shoulders. He was giving Verto flashbacks of Dorit before he had overloaded, and of course, Frost.

"What the hell are you doing?" Verto asked.

"Stay out of this boy, this doesn't concern you. She and I have a score to settle," Toguro claimed. Verto glanced at a weary Genkai, who wasn't emitting near as much spirit energy as she had been before. It was clear to him that she had no chance of fighting Toguro and surviving.

"If picking on the elderly is your idea of exercise, I'll happily rip you apart instead," Verto offered.

"No, you can't!" Genkai shouted.

Verto grinned at her, "Relax, he knows what will happen." Toguro gritted his teeth slightly and darted to his right, circling Verto. He stopped and fired a red blast towards Genkai, only to see it knocked away when Verto intercepted it.

"Quit interfering! She will die!" Toguro roared.

"Not before you get through me she won't. And trust me, you'll have a hell of a time trying to do that!" Verto declared.

"So, eighty percent of my strength still doesn't impress you? How would you feel if I went full power instead?" Toguro asked.

"Based on your strength test earlier, do you honestly think such a tiny increase would mean anything?" Verto countered. Both of them tensed up as they felt another presence suddenly appear next to them in the forest. Out of the trees stepped Ranot, who looked small next to Toguro's current size, but still massive.

"He's right you know Toguro. Compared to him, your full power is at the level of a common house fly," Ranot said as he crossed his arms.

Toguro grinned slightly, "Then perhaps you'll show me what a real level of power is then?"

Ranot nodded, "Gladly."

Verto stared in confusion, "What are you still doing here? And by the way, I've got this under control if you didn't notice."

Ranot smiled, "Well, I have every intention of staying for the final round. But I can't fight unless one of their team dies. Since Toguro is going to take care of that little hag for me, I'll need to find a worthy opponent. You will do."

Verto cautiously lowered into his fighting stance, "What happened to not getting in the way? You can't tell me that Leira ordered this."

"That meddlesome woman doesn't have anything to do with this. Now will you accept my challenge or not?" Ranot asked.

"No."

Ranot snorted lightly, "I pegged you as the overly brave and headstrong type that rushes into battle. Perhaps I was wrong, or maybe you need the proper motivation."

Verto's expression became a stern glare, "Do the words, fuck off, mean anything to you?"

Ranot's smile didn't waver, "Afraid not, but this should mean something to you." Ranot suddenly vanished and Verto's world was turned upside down by one powerful punch into the side of his face. His body smashed through several trees and flew out of control through the forest.

Ranot glanced at Toguro briefly, "If you will excuse us, there's a little brat that needs to be taught a lesson." Ranot blasted off after Verto, leaving Toguro and Genkai alone.

"Where were we, Genkai?" Toguro asked with a deep evil grin.

Verto groaned as he held his broken face under a fallen tree. He had flown nearly a mile from the impact alone and was currently trying to regain his equilibrium. Okay, that hurt. He threw the tree that had fallen on him aside and sat up uneasily as a wave of dizziness coupled with double vision hit him. Man, I should have just said yes. I don't have enough energy to be fighting someone that strong right now. A pair of large boots landed on the ground in front of him, belonging to an equally large man. Verto glanced up as a fair amount of blood leaked from his nose and mouth.

"I guess we'll call that my formal introduction," Ranot said as he stood with his arms crossed.

Verto got back up and spat the blood from his mouth aside, "It would be rude of me not to answer that then."

Ranot nodded and uncrossed his arms, "Take your best shot kid."

Verto's blue aura exploded, ripping away nearby trees from the ground, "Kaio-ken!" He immediately dropped back and charged up a powerful energy beam, intent on ending the fight before it even began.

"Is that all?" Ranot asked.

"It's all I'll need to drop you! Galic Gun!" The blue wave of raw energy tore through the first layers of dirt as it blazed a path towards Ranot. The beam overwhelmed him in seconds and exploded, lighting up the skies all around. Verto covered his eyes from the close blast, standing up with a bright smirk when it cleared.

"I hope you lived through that. Fight me again and there will be more where that came from!" Verto boasted. The smoke finished clearing and Ranot was still on his feet, barely even blemished.

"More like that? I realize that you are rather tired from your fight with Chal, but you should have more impact than just that. How disappointing," Ranot scoffed. Verto's jaw slipped in surprise, and he never saw the next blow coming. Verto was floored from behind by Ranot's kick to his spine. He only flew about a dozen feet before Ranot phased out and kicked him in the chest, reversing the momentum. Ranot bounced Verto around in the same manner several more times before he grabbed him by the neck and applied a fair amount of pressure on his throat with one hand. Verto gagged as he struggled to breath, and his entire face was now bloodied enough to drop off and land on his uniform.

Ranot snorted, "You're pathetic! You don't deserve the title of Saiyan! Frost must have been crippled if he was beaten by a worm like you!"

Verto coughed hard as he was still low on breath, "You're the leader, the one who fought him before?"

Ranot grinned, "About time you figured that out. You'd think that stupid woman would've told you about me from the start. I guess she still hasn't gotten over it yet. I would've killed her long ago if it wasn't so much fun to see her suffer."

"W-what the hell are you going on about? If you're going to kill me, j-just get on with it!" Verto urged. Ranot squeezed Verto's neck harder, causing him to choke for air.

"You should know not to tempt fate you little insect. But what would be the use of killing you now without seeing you in despair first?" Ranot asked. Verto was pulled up a little farther before Ranot hammered his other fist into Verto's chest. Only a small set of red drops were able to escape Verto's mouth, but the cracking sound that came with them was unmistakable. Ranot dropped Verto to the ground and kicked him lightly in the same spot. Verto crashed through another tree before he landed, holding his right side.

"Don't pack it in yet little brat, I wouldn't want you to miss the show…" Ranot said just before a golden blast suddenly smashed into him and exploded as a long white cape blocked Verto's view.

"You alright kid?" Piccolo asked. Verto managed a painful nod as he struggled to get up.

Piccolo offered out his hand, "C'mon, let's go."

"Go?" a voice asked from the blast driven smoke.

"Oh great," Piccolo muttered as he spun around.

"And where do you think you can go Namek? The only place I will allow you to go is hell!" Ranot declared. Out of the smoke came a strong purple beam that had every intention of wiping out everything in its path. Verto sensed a very strong ki level channeling it, but almost no Psi at all. Piccolo yanked Verto up by the arm and threw him out of the way just before it hit. The blast made the entire island shudder violently as a small nuclear cloud formed around it. Upon clearing, Piccolo emerged in the crater, shaking as he remained standing. His weighted clothing had been wiped out along with most of his gi. His body was covered in bloodied cuts and charred skin. These apparent injuries were enough to cause him to fall face down and stop moving completely.

"Piccolo!" Verto shouted.

"One toasted Namek, ready to serve!" Ranot laughed. Verto's glare shifted towards him as his anger quickly took hold and smoky waves of red poured off him.

"Ah, a little upset now are we?" Ranot asked. Verto didn't answer as he was too busy screaming while he powered up.

Ranot shook his head, "You're too used up to even consider this course of action, but I welcome you to try. Either way, you're going to die!"

A/n: And we're off!

WDG: Whoosh!

VB: Yeah well, I'm sure all were waiting for the 'grand betrayal' anyway. Not sure you can call it that since he barely knew him. Whatever, its fight time again!