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 90: Dark Tourney 13: Bargain
Verto continued to breathe heavily as he recovered from his short fight with Ranot, who was slowly getting up from the final attack that seemed to decide the match.
"Way to go kid! You sure showed that dickhead!" Yusuke shouted from afar. Verto ignored Yusuke completely as he glared down at Ranot, who was in the process of peeling off the small shards of his burnt armor that remained. Verto slid down the crater wall and stood a few feet away, eyes ablaze with obvious anger.
"Good maneuver, I'll have to watch out for that when we fight again. You apparently already figured out that I can be a bit susceptible to multi-pronged attacks with my barrier up," Ranot declared.
Verto bared his teeth, "Why did you throw the fight?"
"That's easy. Think about it boy, what possible use would it be if the last of these rich, pompous humans loses? It would be quite difficult for Sakyo to make good on our agreement when he's dead. Even if he survives, he won't be so accommodating if his team loses the contest, so I'm helping him win. They are not the type to give in to any threats, so that would be a waste of my time. Don't worry, next time I won't be putting on a convincing show," Ranot explained. Verto stared at the ground in dismay just before Juri finished the rest of her official announcement.
"Team Toguro is now up two to one! We will have a break in the round as the replacement ring is brought in," Juri said to the crowd.
"What? He's with us!" Yusuke argued.
Juri scowled at him, "He is registered with Team Toguro while contestant Ranot is listed as your substitute. It doesn't matter what their personal views or agendas are, those are the rules."
Verto walked past Juri, giving her a rather sharp glare before looking Yusuke in the eye, "Sorry, I should have known that would happen. I just kept pushing so I could beat him without realizing what the repercussions may be. He baited me into having our match so that he could affect the other two and put more pressure on you guys to win."
Yusuke nodded, "Don't sweat it, that just means Kuwabara has to try harder." Kuwabara looked at Yusuke like he was crazy for a moment, before he figured out that he had just been insulted.
"Shut up Urameshi! I don't see you making any more effort! I'm gonna wipe out that little Toguro so fast it'll make your head spin!"
Verto sighed at the outburst as he powered down, and his hair faded back to black. As he did, he felt tremendous fatigue wash over him, enough that he nearly fell over. Whoa, that wore me out worse than I thought it would. I shouldn't be trying that out once I go back home.
Kuwabara was concerned, "You alright?"
"Just tired, I used too much power like Hiei did," Verto replied as he dropped to one knee.
"Does that mean you're going to hibernate or whatever too?" Kuwabara asked.
Verto grimaced slightly as he stood back up, "No, just need food for now. I can't imagine the break will be very long."
Kuwabara grinned, "Ha, right. Well, I'm off for some fresh air, who's coming with me?"
Everyone gave him a strange look before Yusuke asked the question, "Um, what's wrong?"
Kuwabara hid it, "Nothin', it just stinks in here!" He walked off, though it was obvious what the issue was.
Verto shook his head a bit, "He's nervous about his fight isn't he?"
"Very likely," Kurama replied.
"Considering what fish girl up there just said, I'm betting I can't fight in his place either," Verto guessed.
"Even if you were considered part of our team you couldn't, not for the finals. I'm afraid that Kuwabara's fate is in his own hands right now. But he must win, or we're all finished," Kurama said.
Verto kicked a loose rock, which broke against the stadium wall, "I'll make this right, somehow."
"We've all had our own struggles in this tournament, you're certainly not alone in that regard. You've done all you can for now, so let's just see what happens," Kurama suggested. Verto nodded grimly and walked away, heading towards Laysh, who was patiently waiting for him near the tunnel.
"So does your captain often quit fights like that just for a laugh?" Verto asked bitterly.
"No, I think you really did surprise him with that silver transformation. Chal told us that you could do that, but none of us believed it, myself included," Laysh admitted.
"Hmph, it's not like it was enough anyway, he was holding back. Either that, or he's a huge liar and can't handle a challenge," Verto remarked.
Laysh sighed, "I've never known the captain to hold back, but if you say so then it must be right."
Verto's questioning eyebrow shot up, "What do you mean if I say so? What happened to the queen of the universe crap you were giving me earlier?"
Laysh smacked the side of his head suddenly, "Don't be getting such a big head, runt! You may be as strong as the captain, but you're still a brat that needs to listen! Just because you're not in a diaper anymore doesn't mean you're all grown up!"
Verto winced as he felt a fresh bruise forming, "Whether I still need to listen or not is beside the point, I'm not that strong. What I did was desperate and I was just lucky that it worked."
Laysh huffed slightly, "What are you, an idiot? The fact that you can rise up and go past your limits says a lot about your strength."
Verto blinked sharply, "I guess I never thought of it that way."
Laysh smirked, "Ha, that's obvious. Now go rest or something, I don't think I need to tell you that you'll face him again before this is all over. Whether your human friends win or not, you'll have to if you want to live."
Verto nodded back, "Yeah, I'm counting on it. First though, I'm gonna eat."
Verto ate quickly, and upon being informed that the delay in action would be much longer, he opted to take a nap. He really didn't feel like sleeping, but the extra fatigue he felt from using the triple Kaio-ken was telling him otherwise. Laysh decided to keep an eye on the arena for the time being, and left Verto up in the hotel room. Verto however, did not have a peaceful nap. He found himself in a vast, green and lush forest under a red sky. Only a small wooden hut stood out amongst the trees. The smoke coming from the nearest fire pit told Verto that someone was there. He walked up and knocked on the door just before it opened up quickly. The person inside looked out briefly, and then shut the door as if he hadn't seen anyone. Verto, however, had seen all of his features, and could have sworn that he had just seen Gohan. The only difference was that Gohan's hair always stood up and this man's hair was hanging down the back of his head, near his neckline. His clothing was brown and ragged for the most part, it was obvious that he hadn't been anywhere near a clothing store for a long time.
Verto knocked again, "Hey, look down next time!"
The door opened again, but this time he reacted to someone else's presence, "About time!"
Verto turned and saw Leira rushing towards him, or rather, towards the taller man in the doorway. They embraced with a certain passion before she entered the hut. This is a dream, otherwise they would have noticed me by now. What am I seeing though?
"What took you so long?" the man asked.
"You know how dangerous it is when the Guardians are trying to lock down all travel between realms. And it doesn't really help when all of the demons think you're a traitor either," Leira explained.
The man smirked slightly, "But you are a traitor, in their eyes anyway."
"As long as I'm not in yours," Leira replied slyly as she ran a hand down the side of his face. Verto's eyebrow went up at this information and he felt the need to listen in, despite what the scene was hinting at turning into.
"Did you locate him?" the man asked.
"No, but I have a few leads. Why is this so important?" Leira asked.
The man lifted up his shirt and revealed a deep scar that was glowing bright purple, "This would be why."
Leira's eyes went down, "You were attacked again weren't you? Let me guess, you went out to visit the Vegita family? You know you can't go and frolic with the other Saiyans anymore. If they sense your weakness, and they obviously have, they'll attack without mercy. You can't trust them anymore!"
The man put a hand on her shoulder, "I know that, and they didn't attack me, but I had to make one final visit before this ends. You know I chose to stay here, no matter what our family wanted. You're the one who is better suited for the work of the Guardians, not me. That's why I gave up my power to save the ones who were cursed. Even if that choice ends up killing me in the long run."
Leira shook her head in dismay, "God you're stubborn. I can't even go out and find our father without you running into the fire. You do realize that just about every normal Saiyan out there wants you dead for what you did. The cursed ones may have some renewed faith in you, but at what cost? I'm surprised the royal family would even speak to you."
"If you remember correctly, it was me that gave them that title. I may have lost my powers, but not my voice. Besides, being on an even playing field with other Saiyans is kind of refreshing. Having royal guards escort me back home was different though. I haven't felt this weak since I was a toddler," the man said with an odd satisfaction.
"Brother, you are hopeless. You know I can protect you better than any of those lousy guards," Leira suggested.
Verto's eyes widened, Brother? And he was a Saiyan? That means she is too! Who is this guy?
The man's face turned serious suddenly, "I know, but what you may face is a descendant who is very bitter with me."
"What the devil are you talking about?"
Leira's brother turned away from her for the moment, "In the final battle years ago, I went up against one of the strongest Saiyans I've ever seen. He could match me blow for blow and stood up to every technique I had, and you personally know how that came to be. Obviously I won the battle, but your favorite demonic teacher removed his soul from the battlefield and vowed that one day that I would meet my end at the hands of this particular Saiyan's descendant. I'm guessing that he was still angry at me about you switching sides."
"Whatever, that's his problem," Leira said as she stepped closer to hold onto him.
Verto's eyes narrowed, This must be some sort of vision that happened in the past, similar to what I saw in the Pendulum Room. The Leira I know is never like this. Judging by the clothing, this is well before the Saiyans even acquired armor. Just how far back is this?
Her brother scowled as he held her by the shoulders, "And his problem may become ours. I don't want you living your life for revenge if they manage to find me. That's why I wanted you to find our father."
Leira grimaced, "When that day comes, they'll have to go through me first. I've been damned once, and I'll go there again if it means keeping you alive. Our father hasn't been there for us since what, age ten? What makes you think he'd help us now?"
"His only crime was impregnating our Saiyan mother and he was banished for that. But I know he'll want to do the right thing and if the demons get their way again, our Saiyan race will doom themselves. I want to believe that Vegita won't have the cursed ones and their children hunted down, but he is a brute that will do what it takes to keep his namesake safe. I'm sure that brutality will remain for several generations after I'm gone. So I'm going to make myself very visible for those demons to take their shot," he said.
Leira's eyes went wide with horror, "Are you suicidal now? You won't last ten seconds against any of their agents, or any Saiyan that thinks of you poorly!"
The man put his hand up to silence her, "Hear me out, I chose this path for a reason." He then walked over to a section of the floor that looked offset before opening it like a trap door. He pulled out a glimmering ball of light and handed it to her, "Give this to our father and he'll take care of the rest."
Leira gasped, "But this is…how did you do this?"
"Your Shadow Hunter friend Vang stabbed me with his poisoned dagger to begin with, which started the slow decay of my powers years ago, this you remember. When the Guardians offered to cure me and I refused in order to save the Saiyans from their own fate, I received this from our grandmother Venestra. All I had to do was hold onto the ball and it did the rest. The bulk of my energy was pulled in before Vang's shadow poison could finish the job, that's why it's taken so long to affect me again and light me up like a beacon for any evil entity out there. Along with that energy went part of my soul. All that you need to do is give it to our father and he'll do the rest," the man explained.
Vang? That demon was involved with Leira's brother? And this Venestra person is their grandmother? What the hell is going on? The answers didn't come for Verto though as the vision continued without him.
"Why? Why go through all this? You know that I love you like no one ever could. With my pass we could leave this world and go where no one could ever find us. You could live out the rest of your mortal life in peace. Why put yourself out there to be targeted?" Leira asked with a hint of tears forming in her eyes.
The man sighed, "To atone for my sins. You have to realize that I made a terrible mistake by releasing the dormant powers of every single Saiyan. I accelerated their evolution as a warrior race by teaching them how to become Super Saiyans. And then I took them further, releasing the extreme power they're all capable of. I myself invited the trouble that followed, foolishly believing that they couldn't be touched, and so many of them died because of it."
Leira's face darkened, "Are you saying that it was a mistake for us to be together too?"
The man paled, "That's not what I meant, you weren't even here at the time. Anyway, I may have given up my power to restore them to their natural states, but I unlocked the idea. Now they'll try to achieve it on their own. Can you imagine the chaos that could occur if they get off this planet and travel space? Think of how many civilizations they'll wipe out."
Leira backed away from him, "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you of all people. The one person who has had undying faith in the Saiyans since I can remember!"
"Hey, I'm just trying to think realistically. I seem to recall you having choice words about ever setting foot again on a planet with a bunch of monkeys," he countered.
Leira's head drooped as her eyes closed and she smiled, "Okay, I deserved that. Back to the point before I kill you myself. What do you think you can do about our people, hit them on the head at a young age and hope their personalities change?"
The man put a finger to his chin, "You think it would be that easy?"
Leira shook her head, "Don't mock me brother. If it means saving you, I will cripple you before you can blink. Now get to the point."
"I want you to give that to our father and tell him to select a descendant to inherit a portion of my powers. It'll be up to the two of you after that," he said.
Leira's fist tightened, "You really want me to cripple you right now? You and I can make a descendant, unless it was more than just your powers you lost."
The man put his hands up defensively, "That wasn't what I meant Leira. And any child we could have would inherit Vang's shadow poison that could weaken both you and the child. We can't risk that. Here's my request, I want the two of you to wait. The Saiyan people are going to have dark times ahead of them eventually, even if they think they are in their own golden age. And if that one cursed Saiyan comes back from the great beyond to finish what he started, who knows what may occur? When their very existence is on the line is the time for you two to act. You find a suitable person in all of the realms out there and give them a taste of my power. If that particular person shows promise and can save our people, give him or her the rest of that energy I just gave you. Just be sure it isn't a complete and utter pacifist that has no guts, otherwise I might have to wander out of whatever hell I end up going to just to kill it. Father can use his powers to fashion a new body for that person to use, all you would have to do then is transfer the soul."
Leira looked flustered, "And what then? Your great descendant will just rise up and defeat every demon out there that wants to come after you? With your energy, this descendant would be a magnet for every bit of trouble that comes around, just like you!"
"There's not just demons out there, all evil, even if it's from the lowest form of mortal. Even those Changelings could pose a galactic threat one day if they ever get off that ice block they call a planet. All it would take is one test for them to realize that they can breathe in space," the man scolded.
"Okay, now I know you're mocking me. How many broken ribs would you like?" Leira asked as she slammed her fist into her opposite palm.
"Laugh all you want, but it's possible. I may not be one for dimensional travel like you are, but I'm sure there's a place out there where even a human could control the masses of his own people with just his own words and conquer his own world before moving into the stars. He would probably have a weird square mustache too," the man pointed out.
"I think I should just give you a few dozen concussions until you're in a vegetable state. Then at least I wouldn't get all this crazy talk," Leira muttered.
The man sighed, "Well alright, if you think that will help. But can I ask you something? Has there been any word about that time-jumping demon that Etarb encountered?"
Leira looked at him strange, "Why are you asking me? Etarb is your friend, not mine."
"Except that he isn't allowed to contact me, that's why I asked you. I've given it a lot of thought, and I've realized that if I could easily affect the entire evolution of a species the way I did, imagine what someone could do if they saw into the future and chose to alter events," he said.
Leira relaxed slightly and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his head, "I think you've been listening to your own voice for far too long. Time travel isn't possible, and you know that."
"Maybe not yet for mortals, but for the Guardians it's already been attempted. I can't imagine it's much different for the demon lords since they're basically locked in a cold war while trying to out-do the other," the man said.
Leira looked flustered, "Well, I don't think the demon lords can do anything like that. And being an agent for the Guardians, I think they would inform me about such recklessness and why never to consider it."
The man's eyes shifted at her words, "So what you're really saying is that you've experienced it?"
Leira looked down, "I really hate how you read me so fast, even without the ability to connect with my mind anymore."
"You always back yourself into a corner where either you lie or tell the truth. Passion is your favorite tool to avoid a subject," he replied.
"Two can play at that game brother. What you're saying is that even though you've been condemned to a mortal life, you believe that there will be some sort of interference far into the future that will require a power like you once had? And you want me and our father to put your power in the hands of a mortal that can end that threat? A mortal who wouldn't even be capable of half of the things you could do easily. Sounds like utter nonsense to me. Why not give your power to someone you trust instead?" she asked.
"People aren't always what you believe them to be, even in their highest and lowest moments. And I am trusting you and father, the only two I could ever trust with something like this. Etarb could probably fit into that role if he didn't work closely with the Guardians and hadn't been a student of Lord Razil. I've learned that those who you think you can trust can quite possibly be your greatest foe. Remember that the one Saiyan that could match me in battle was also the same one I personally trained because he did such a good job in fooling me completely. And I believe that he or his descendants will appear again at some point because of interference from somebody who has an agenda. The universe will need my power to keep him at bay and allow anyone that isn't already corrupted to see what a lie their cold war really is. Either that or they'll decide that both are too dangerous to live and away they go into some dark hole until the demons find them both. I don't think I really need to explain…" the man was suddenly cut off when Leira pulled him close and locked lips.
They kissed with intense passion for nearly ten seconds before she allowed him to breathe again, "Brother, do me a favor, shut up. I'll do your little deed if you give me silence for at least this moment." Her brother paused in surprise before bowing his head slightly, allowing her to capture his mouth with hers again. Verto wasn't completely sure what he was seeing, but at the rate it was flying through his mind, he didn't have time to stop and analyze it. A bright flash from the nearest opening in the hut drew their attention, and both Leira and her brother stood up.
"What was that?" Leira asked.
Her brother had a knowing look in his eye, "It's him. I hate being right all the time."
"Let me take care of this then, I'll show that monster who he's dealing with," Leira boasted.
Her brother held back by the arm, "No, he's come for me, and me alone. He will kill you, no matter how well you fight. Do as I asked Leira, please." The front of the hut exploded into splinters as a great wind blew into the remaining house. Verto squinted slightly and spotted a bald figure floating in the ruby sky. Leira and her brother were holding each other, but it appeared to be an embrace reserved for goodbyes.
"You know you were the greatest life partner I could ask for," the man said. Leira then turned on her heel and looked almost directly at Verto before closing her eyes and bowing slightly.
As the scene brightened from a blinding light, only her voice could be heard, "You know brother, you always were a pain in the ass."
"Kid, you're a pain in the ass!" Laysh shouted. Verto jumped up from the bed, completely startled as the Saiyan woman came towards him like she was out for blood.
"What did I do?" Verto asked as he glanced around. Man, what the hell kind of dream was that? I've had visions before, but nothing like that.
Laysh's eyes filled with venom as she realized that he was barely aware of her, "You slept for nearly seven hours! I said you should rest, not go into a coma! They've already started the final round, and once it's over, the captain is going to kill you and everyone here! Or would you prefer that I just let you sleep through your own death?"
"No, I'm coming," Verto said uneasily as he searched for the armor plate he had used in the fight against Ranot. In the process, he spotted a pile of green and blue sitting on the couch. He quickly walked over and saw that it was a set of his preferred clothes that had been left out, but it wasn't a torn up set.
"Where'd these come from?" Verto asked Laysh.
"I found them in that weird storage device, it was the only thing left in there. I figured you'd probably prefer those clothes over Saiyan armor since yours was all torn up. Maybe you should remember your own supplies," Laysh said, annoyed.
Verto glanced down at the red bodysuit that had seen better days, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Wouldn't want to meet the afterlife judge in crappy clothes." Laysh turned her nose up slightly and muttered something Verto couldn't quite catch. He began to take off the jumpsuit, but stopped after a moment and stared at Laysh.
"What?" she asked.
"Some privacy please," he said.
"Like you have anything I haven't seen before. Besides, I'm sure you got more than an eyeful when I was lying in the woods," Laysh said with a smirk. Verto bit his lip and turned around to change clothes, ignoring the snicker that came with the remark.
Once he tied the belt of his green gi, he made for the broken window and floated up, "Alright, let's go see what happens. Have they gotten through any of the matches yet?"
Laysh followed him, "Yeah, that big oaf in blue actually pulled one out of his ass. He had some sort of weird energy sword and ripped open that pale demon. He pulled himself back together a lot and seemed to be able to heal through any injury. The human still managed to beat him with some sort of modified attack that allowed him to hit every part of that freak at the same time. As usual, pathetically weak."
Verto rolled his eyes a bit as they flew over the forests towards the stadium. Just before they arrived, he spotted something strange on the ground and dropped down to investigate. There he found a human male lying dead up against a tree. The victim of an apparent accident had a blue and gray color to his skin, as if he had been struck enough to be bruised all over. There were no obvious signs of violence however, and Verto's eyes narrowed.
"What is it, you find something…oh," Laysh paused with surprised concern when she landed. Verto tested the man's vitals, but there were none at all, although his skin still felt warm to the touch.
"This happened recently. If I were to guess, I'd say that his energy was drained somehow. There's some residual energy here that isn't his, but I can't quite identify it," Verto said.
Laysh recovered from her surprise and looked away, "You sure it isn't just some random demon around here. They eat humans you know."
"Note the word eat. This guy's body has hardly been touched, his energy was the only thing taken. I've seen something similar to this a few times before, but the effects seem to be different, well depending on the attacker that is," Verto pointed out.
"As much as I enjoy a mystery, don't we have more important business than some weird killer on the loose?" Laysh asked.
Verto's piercing stare turned to her for a moment before it softened, "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
Laysh snorted lightly, "You get distracted too easily. Maybe next time we fight I'll just expose myself before putting you on ice."
Verto smirked a bit, "I'll be sure to strike accordingly then."
The pair of Saiyans flew arrived at the stadium just as a large purple burst of energy shot out, darkening the entire area in its light. Verto sensed Toguro's power at the source of it, and knew he had to be using every bit of his power to fight Yusuke. Speaking of Yusuke, his power had also gone up by a fair amount compared to before, but with what Verto was sensing from Toguro, it wasn't enough. His assumption was proven correct when they landed on the arena floor among shattered ring shards. Yusuke was busily defending himself against a ranged attack from Toguro, a kind of barely visible bullet that he was shooting from the pressure created by just his thumb flicking the air. Verto felt a need to stare at Toguro now though, as his body had changed significantly.
"What the hell is that?" Laysh asked. Verto didn't answer as he took in Toguro's appearance. His skin had changed to a green color, and his size had doubled. His muscle structure had also increased by a fair amount from head to toe, highlighted by his oversized upper body. His neck line featured a few of the more bizarre changes, which were two small appendages that stuck up and bent towards his enlarged head. Verto couldn't even guess what those were for, but it was obvious that this was definitely Toguro's full blown demon form.
"Is that the big guy you were working with? Just what the hell is he?" Laysh asked.
"I'd say calling him a demon is a bit too obvious at this point. I'll go with freak," Verto replied. Verto then scanned the rest of the area, spotting Koenma standing with Yusuke's team on the opposite side, all of them in a state of shock and despair. To his left was Ranot, who had his arms folded and was grinning ear to ear. Verto quickly took note of the fact that Ranot's body was no longer blemished or bruised like it had been before, though his armor was still peeling off in places.
"How did he heal?" Verto asked Laysh.
Her eyes widened a bit when she realized the same thing, "I'm not sure, maybe he visited the ship and used one of the medical capsules."
Verto's eyes narrowed, "And didn't replace his armor?"
"I don't know!"
Toguro stopped his assault at the sudden shouting and glanced over, "What do you think of my full power now kid?"
Verto snorted slightly, "The only thing special is that you ripped off the Incredible Hulk. I suggest you concentrate on your fight."
Yusuke leapt towards him with his fist cranked back and glowing bright, "Take this!" Toguro turned in annoyance and blocked the attempted blow with only his thumb. Yusuke could barely realize the futility of his attack before Toguro's other huge fist slammed into his arm, breaking it on contact. Yusuke was flung backwards and landed on the same arm, clutching it in agony as Toguro stepped towards him. Toguro spoke softly enough that no one but Yusuke could hear him, but whatever he said seemed to entice his enemy. Yusuke began charging his Spirit Gun one-handed and aimed it right at Toguro's body. Verto sensed a great deal of Yusuke's energy go into the shot before he fired, striking Toguro dead on. The only problem was that it did almost nothing except evaporate as Toguro laughed evilly. Yusuke back stepped nervously just before Toguro grabbed him up by the throat and savagely laid into him, sending Yusuke flying into the upper levels with one blow. Verto gritted his teeth and took a single step forward. A quick shot of purple and gold ki flashed in front of him before barreling into the stadium wall, leaving only a smoking hole.
Ranot wagged his finger a bit as Verto gave him a vicious glare, "Naughty boy, you know they have to fight one on one. It's their world, so don't interfere. Wasn't that what Leira told you?"
Verto's fists shook in anger, "Yeah, she also said to do whatever it took to kill you."
"She sure dreams big doesn't she? Take this lesson to heart child, revenge will only blind you, much like it has blinded her. Then again, she knows she can't kill me herself, so she's trying to find the most reliable beings to do it for her. Frost was first, and I admit that he is a challenge. You however are not," Ranot said.
"So why all this then? If you're so damned powerful, why bother with this? Can't you get whatever you're after on your own?" Verto asked.
Ranot closed his eyes, "Touché kid. If only it were that simple to find what I'm after. What I'm looking for is many parts to the same puzzle, and these parts can literally be anywhere. Inside a volcano, on a dead planet, in a creature's stomach perhaps."
Verto's eyebrow went up, Is he after the Dragonballs, or something like them? He elected to play ignorant, "And what does this puzzle do when you get all the parts?"
Ranot smiled, "Well I'm not sure what will happen. It's a very old legend, older than any of us and the Saiyan race. But I promise you this, the gods themselves will tremble in fear when I find them all. I will be able to transcend their power and break free of this miserable, mortal existence."
"And you said Leira dreamt big. Maybe you should just focus on staying alive long enough to do it, you're so good at that after all," Verto snickered.
Ranot took it in stride, "There's that bravado again. I've seen it many times, on fools that don't know when to quit even when they see the real me. I'll show you soon enough what I mean. For now, watch this human die. Then I will show you and everyone else here what full power really is."
Verto turned his head towards the battle, Come on Yusuke.
"You're not doing your job Urameshi! I did not decide to use my full power just to beat you, I can do that easily right now with one punch. The skills of Genkai combined with your unnatural talent makes for the ultimate fight opponent for me. I've waited years for someone like that who could push me to my limits. Now get down here or I will take this further!" Toguro shouted towards the rafters.
"So this guy just wants a good fight, just like any Saiyan would," Laysh claimed.
"It's probably natural demon instinct and his own choices that follow through with it. Similar to a Saiyan I guess though, no matter how he acts upon it," Verto added. Toguro chose to act further when Yusuke didn't come down, and Verto sensed a dramatic shift in the way the energy flowed around the stadium. It suddenly felt as if there was a vacuum of spiritual energy, pulling towards where Toguro was. It wasn't strong enough to affect either him or Laysh, but the weaker demons in the crowd quickly noticed. Small balls of energy flew out of their bodies, as did larger swaths that were ghost like. This energy fed into Toguro through the appendages on his shoulders, answering the question of what they were for.
"Remaining at full power is quite demanding and my body requires nourishment. Needless to say, it gives me the urge to devour souls. In twenty minutes, everyone here will be gone, unless you stop me Urameshi!" Toguro claimed. His vacuum grew stronger, and more demons were sucked in. The stands began to clear out quickly as the crowds attempted escape. Verto eyed Sakyo when he pulled out a small device and activated it. The ground shook as a large and very thick wall sprang up around the arena, closing it off from anyone that couldn't fly over it. Some of the demons felt brave enough to charge Toguro once they were boxed in, and he responded by destroying them with the same thumb bullets that he attacked Yusuke with before. Their souls were quickly sucked into the large demon once they died. Yusuke jumped down from the upper deck in anger, charging Toguro and landing a powerful punch to his forehead. The ground beneath them scattered upon the energy release, but Toguro was unfazed. Yusuke began punching rapidly, striking Toguro's head over and over again. Toguro allowed the assault to continue while the crowd reversed their opinion and began to cheer for Yusuke instead.
"I thought all these things hated that kid?" Laysh asked.
"Funny what happens when their lives are threatened," Verto replied. Even with his broken arm, Yusuke found the strength to punch with all his might, though it really didn't do much good. Toguro sent him away with one blow, only to see him land on his feet and come back for more. His next attack was easily caught and Toguro hoisted him up, blasting him in the stomach. Many more blows followed, and blood flew out of Yusuke's mouth in random directions.
"He's not gonna win this you know," Laysh pointed out.
Verto grimaced, "We'll see." Yusuke was leveled by the last attack and left face down in the dirt. Toguro stepped over and stomped down hard with his boot, taunting him further. When Yusuke didn't respond, he fired a shot into the stands, landing very near where Yusuke's other friends were. Verto sensed a sudden eruption of energy out of Yusuke just before he jumped up and walloped Toguro's face. The burst lasted about that long before Toguro backhanded Yusuke and sent him crashing into the wall.
"He isn't going to last much longer," Laysh cut in again.
Verto didn't answer as he realized what was about to happen. So that's what he's going to end up doing. He's so hard up for a fight that he's going to awaken whatever power is hidden in Yusuke through his anger, just like a Super Saiyan. Well pick your target well Toguro, I have a feeling you're going to regret that decision. Toguro soon began weighing over this when he stared over at Yusuke's team, specifically towards Kuwabara. Toguro began walking towards him, completely ignoring Yusuke when he attacked from behind out of desperation. Toguro swatted him like a fly and continued his march. Yusuke attempted to charge up his Spirit Gun again when Toguro phased out and buried Yusuke's head in the dirt. He then walked forward again while Yusuke struggled to get to his feet. His target, Kuwabara, was coming closer with his Spirit Sword ready.
"Well, the idiot has guts at least. This should be a worthy death for him at least," Laysh commented.
"Shut up," Verto replied in a vicious tone.
Laysh's eyes widened when she saw bolts of Psionic lightning dancing around his body, and could clearly see that he was struggling to maintain control. She kept silent as they watched Kuwabara run in to get massacred. Yusuke screamed for him to stop, but it was far too late. Toguro struck with one hand into Kuwabara's chest and pulled out a vat of blood. Kuwabara collapsed in a heap as Kurama ran up to try and help him. Toguro turned back to Yusuke and taunted him some more. Verto abruptly sensed two things then. First of all, he felt Kuwabara's energy threatening to fade completely, but it didn't quite make it, which showed that he was still alive. Secondly though, was Yusuke's energy skyrocketing. He stood up as his body glowed from the increase, and began releasing his power in slow, rhythmic bursts. His new energy nullified Toguro's spirit vacuum, and the crowd had a collective sigh of relief. Yusuke looked miserable though, as if the supposed death of his friend had overwhelmed him emotionally and he could do nothing at the moment. Toguro seemed unimpressed, and turned to pick another target. Yusuke suddenly stood in his way as his power increased further. Toguro noticeably hesitated, as if he was fearful of what was standing before him. It didn't last though as he quickly prepared to fight again, this time against a stronger Yusuke than before. He charged in and leveled Yusuke with a single punch, sending him into the wall. Yusuke was up quickly, missing only his shirt.
Verto nodded slightly, Their power is nearly equal now, a punch like that one would have done more damage earlier.
"Where is this kid's power coming from?" Laysh asked.
"It's dormant, or at least it was. This is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," Verto suggested.
Laysh snorted slightly and turned away, "Hmph, he's still a weakling."
Yusuke's power took fuller form as his focus came back, and he promptly knocked Toguro off his feet with one blow. Toguro barreled across the ground, leaving a trail of craters in his wake as he bounced. Yusuke didn't waste a moment and fired another Spirit Gun blast that arrived just as Toguro stopped. The blast ripped a large hole in the stadium and the reinforcing wall behind it before spiraling into the sky. Toguro was down in the midst of the rubble left behind, with his unnatural head tilted sideways from Yusuke's previous attack. Verto stole a glance at Ranot, who was no longer smiling about what was going on.
"Hey asshole, see what happens when you assume?" Verto taunted him.
Ranot gave him a truly evil expression and replied telepathically, "Choose your words carefully boy, they may be your last!"
"Get on your feet! I'm firing one last shot with all I've got and it's going to end this fight one way or another! So no more stupid surprises Toguro! You show me everything you've got right now! If I win this time, I don't ever want to see you back up!" Yusuke shouted as he challenged the larger man.
Toguro's response was to stand up and realign his head before hunching over slightly. His body shook as it strengthened again, and it began to transform further. His already absurd size increased as his body changed shape, with most of the change coming around his shoulders and neck. His muscles around this area bulged up and outward, creating three odd wing-like shoulder blades on each side that stuck out at least a foot or two off his body. The appendages on his neck expanded as well and soon his whole head was surrounded by their strange design. The transformation ended quickly, but its impact struck everyone who saw it.
"What the hell…" Verto muttered.
"Is that normal for a demon?" Laysh asked.
Verto stared at her, "How should I know?"
Yusuke probably had the best response of everyone, and that was to begin throwing all his power into his final attack. The arena brightened from his Spirit Gun blast as Toguro prepared to block against it. Yusuke's blast swelled just before he fired with a mighty shout. Toguro ran right at the blast and braced his legs as he caught the blast with his hands, but he struggled to hold it back. Yusuke's energy quickly died away as the last of it fed into the blast and he dropped to the ground. Toguro was forced to back up from the blast, and he literally bear hugged the immense energy, trying to cancel it out with his pure brute strength. He quickly crushed the blast as it literally vanished between his tree trunk arms. Verto grimaced for a moment as it seemed that the fight had been decided. It had been, but not in the way that he thought. Toguro managed to take a step or two forward before his body began to crack. His demonic body suddenly shattered, leaving a deformed mass of paler flesh underneath as he collapsed. Juri the referee came out of hiding and looked the situation over nervously as Toguro stopped moving. Yusuke stood up and sighed with relief as Toguro's energy completely faded out.
"Wow, he did it," Laysh exclaimed.
"Don't act so surprised," Verto said smugly.
Koto joined her counterpart on the ground as they announced the final required statement together, "Winners of the tournament, Team Urameshi!"
The crowd roared with approval at the announcement, and almost everyone was smiling. Yusuke was treated to his own delight when he saw that Kuwabara wasn't dead and stood up long enough to punch him in the face. Other than that it was a sign of good things to come, if they weren't about to come crashing to a halt. Verto glanced back over at Ranot and felt a distinct cold shiver crawl up his spine. The elder Saiyan was seething in anger and his power was quickly building up to a boiling point. Anyone that was still celebrating Yusuke's victory quickly stopped in awe of this new threat. Beams of purple and gold shot into the sky as the ground began to shake, and Verto felt the true depths of Ranot's power this time. Oh shit. This is really gonna suck.
The remaining arena continued to tremble, slowly shaking apart the rooftop and walls as Ranot's fury erupted.
"What the heck is he going on about? We won, so doesn't that mean he did too?" Kuwabara asked as he held his wounded chest.
"It didn't happen the way he wanted it, and since Sakyo bet his life on Toguro's victory, there's no one left to grant his request," Kurama replied.
"He's going to kill everyone, get out of here. Get as far as possible!" Verto shouted.
"But you said he was holding back before, you can't defeat him alone now that you're weakened!" Kurama pointed out.
Verto glared over at him, "Let me worry about that." Ranot finished his power up and stepped towards Yusuke, who seemed to be frozen in place.
Verto rapidly released his energy to grab Ranot's attention, "Where do you think you're going?"
Ranot paused long enough to stare back, "Just a minute boy. I'm cleaning up the trash!"
Verto hunched down as he concentrated hard, "Kaio-ken times three!" His dense blue aura shot up first before quickly shifting to bright silver and white along with his hair. Verto gritted his teeth a bit with signs of struggle, but managed to hold the Super Mystic form.
Ranot grinned lightly at this, "Well, since you're so eager to continue, I'll oblige and make this quick!" Ranot aimed his palm at Verto and began charging his potent finishing move while Verto prepared his Chi sword.
Ranot didn't wait much longer and fired, "Bane Blaster!" Verto's eyes narrowed as he felt that the blast was a diversion, but he knew he'd have to deal with it. Verto held his sword low so he could watch his opponent's movement until the blast was too close. He slashed upwards, slicing the blast in half. As it was dissipating, Ranot phased out in full attack mode. Verto's blue eyes widened when he realized that he wasn't the target though. Time seemed to slow to a halt as Yusuke was struck hard in the head, which turned enough to its side to be considered out of place. Yusuke fell to the ground, where Ranot smashed his ribcage with the next blow.
Yusuke slumped completely as Verto felt his life force fading rapidly, No.
"Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted. He and the others ran in once Ranot phased out to confront Verto. Just as they reached him however, Verto felt the distinct energy disruption hit the air, and he knew it was too late. Yusuke died in that brief moment, and Verto knew his mission had failed, despite everything that had happened.
He clenched his fists as his aura swelled with an angry renewal of power, "Alright you son of a bitch, let's go!" Ranot was amused by this, and waved Verto on with obvious confidence. Verto rushed in, recklessly punching towards Ranot's face.
Ranot caught the blow with one hand as he chuckled, "As I told you before, once I've had my fill, I'll end it. And I've had my fill!" Ranot yanked Verto forward and smashed his knee into Verto's smaller body. Verto was stunned by the sheer power of the blow and became unresponsive before the pain could even set in. Ranot dragged him into the air and punched hard enough into Verto's abdomen for the fist's imprint to strike next to his spine. Blood erupted from Verto's mouth, dripping steadily like a faucet.
"You take a punch well, but I'm afraid you don't possess nearly enough power to stand up to me. That little demonstration you put on was impressive, but it's obvious you can't keep up that effort for very long. Pity, you would've made a valuable soldier, but in the long run, you would have also been a hindrance. And I despise those," Ranot said. Verto coughed painfully, which sent a generous splatter of blood across Ranot's face.
He scowled, "Say goodbye!" Ranot's other hand filled with purple ki shortly before a blue blast struck it. As it did, Ranot's attack died out and his forearm became covered in ice instead. He flexed his arm a bit and the ice broke apart before glaring over to his left. Laysh stood there with her palm outstretched, slightly flustered at the ineffectiveness of her technique.
"I see you've come to terms with your fate my dear. After all, I wouldn't want to kill you before you lose your regrets," Ranot said with a sadistic grin.
Laysh's hands filled with sparkling blue, "Shut up! You put him down now, captain!" Ranot released Verto, who fell to the ground in a painful heap.
He stepped towards Laysh with his hands up, "Alright, now what?"
"Leave, or feel my wrath!"
Ranot feigned fear, "Oh, so scary! Must I point out that your chances of beating me fall into the negative percentile?" Laysh cringed slightly as his mere presence made her step back.
"You are one of our more gifted fighters in terms of technique and energy control, but that won't matter against me and you know it!" Ranot reminded her.
Laysh swallowed hard and began to quickly prepare her energy orb, "I don't care if I die, but you're not going to kill him! I'll stop you even if it's the last thing I do!"
Ranot crossed his arms, "Oh don't worry, it will be. Take your best shot woman."
"Kyuutai Tougetsu!" Ranot stood still as Laysh's Frozen Orb technique soared through the air before heading towards his position. His body became covered in his white-gold energy barrier just before Laysh's attack began to spin. Numerous Psionic needles flew at him, stabbing into everything they touched. Unfortunately for Laysh, the only part of Ranot they could touch was his barrier, and it stopped every single one dead in their tracks. Despite being surrounded by deadly energy spikes that were barely two inches from his body, Ranot grinned evilly. His energy barrier flashed with a quick burst and Laysh's attack literally evaporated. Ranot walked forward, very relaxed despite the sheer bloodlust that was coming off his ki signal. Laysh crouched down and crossed both arms as she prepared a different technique.
Ranot paused, but was still unwavering in his approach, "Pointless, and you know it."
Laysh released her stored energy regardless, "Shinsei Toukan!" The cold sphere of blue expanded out from her quickly until it reached its maximum radius and vanished. Laysh remained still with uncertainty as she stared at the large block of blue ice surrounding where Ranot had been. The ice quickly broke apart as Ranot freed himself easily before continuing his slow approach. Laysh glided back another dozen feet and crossed her arms again in the same pose. Ranot's palm went up as he gathered ki for his Bane Blaster attack. Laysh stood up and refocused her energy for her Ice Comet technique to counter.
Ranot smirked, "If you think your pathetic little ice ball is going to do anything to block my attack, you're sadly mistaken. But you're welcome to try!" Laysh fired anyway, and Ranot responded in kind. The two attacks collided briefly before Laysh's Ice Comet was literally brushed aside easily. It had managed to hold off the Bane Blaster long enough to trigger its special attribute though, which quickly raced towards her. She froze in surprised fear as bright purple filled her field of vision. She was painfully hit from the side just as the blast arrived and was driven into the dirt by something else. Once the blast cleared, Laysh's eyes opened in surprise as she moved to get up. She blushed when she felt someone holding onto her body rather tightly. She was about to throw that person off when she saw it was Verto, collapsed on top of her with his whole back smoldering. He had flown in front of the blast at the very last second and had saved her life.
"Hey! Why'd you do that?" Laysh asked angrily. Verto's silver hair barely even flinched as he couldn't even respond.
Laysh heard Ranot laughing from a short distance away, "Hahaha, so the brat went and saved me the trouble of killing him. How sporting."
Laysh felt a rush of panic, "Verto, wake up! You can't be dead already!" She heard him mumble something back, but gritted her teeth in anger when the vibration of his voice went straight into her chest. She roughly pulled him up for air, ready to deck him when she stopped and saw how out of it he appeared to be.
Laysh shook his body furiously, "Snap out of it kid! You can't leave me like this!"
Verto's eyes slowly opened as he grinned, "Well, nice to see you care after all, but I thought you and I would never happen?" Laysh threw him off in disgust, causing him to land painfully next to her.
"Easy, that hurts you know," he said in a weak voice.
"Hmph, like I give a shit. If you're just going to sit there and keel over, get it over with! I'm sick of babysitting!" she shouted in his ear. Verto smiled lightly as he tried to get to his feet, but his aching back prevented him from reaching past his knees. His uniform had melted to his sides, adding to the pain when he stripped the shirt off as best he could. He shivered a bit from the cold feeling of his back, but he knew it certainly wasn't due to wind chill.
Man, I can't take another hit like that one and expect to live. Laysh found herself staring at Verto's back now that she had a better look at it. Multiple layers of skin had been seared off, leaving a red and burnt fleshy surface behind from just above his waist to his shoulders. Laysh was amazed that he was even alive, never mind conscious. He winced sharply as the pain seemed to increase with each heartbeat.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Laysh asked.
Verto stared at her like she was crazy, "What gave you the first clue, the blood or the burnt skin? But if you must know it's not that bad, because he torched the nerve endings. It'll hurt more later, if we get out of this that is."
"If we get out of this? You've got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met! Face it, this is hopeless!"
Verto made it to his feet, though his legs shook slightly before his aura flashed on, "Listen to yourself. You seem to have this idea that Saiyans are allowed to give up and come back another day, where's your pride? I'm not giving up until either he kills me or I kill him! If there's something you don't understand about that, too bad!" Laysh's eyes widened as she backed off a few steps, slightly in awe. Verto's aura intensified as he turned towards Ranot, who was rather amused by the whole thing.
"Good speech kid. Now come here so I can put an end to this misplaced bravery that you have!" Ranot declared. Verto's response was to drop back a step and pull his arms together as green Chi sparked between his hands.
Ranot snorted lightly and crossed his arms, "Well at least you have enough guts to make this entertaining. I would hate for you to die without giving your all first." Verto's blast swelled and shimmered, darkening all other light with its power.
"If it's my time to go, then fine, it'll happen. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna roll over for the likes of you! Super Galic Gun!" Verto's great green blast shot out of his hands and barreled towards Ranot, who put his hands out to catch it. The blast smashed into its target and pushed him back initially before he was able to drive his feet into place. A brief struggle ensued as Verto put forth any remaining energy he had to defeat Ranot once and for all. His beam increased in size and potency as it ripped up the surface of the ground while the remnant stadium started to crumble from the clash. The few demons that were left scampered away as fast as they could, though several were crushed by falling debris. Yusuke's friends had gathered around his corpse, though they were far enough out of the way to stay safe at the moment. As Verto's Galic Gun topped out, Ranot began to step forward against the current.
Verto's eyes widened in shock, That's impossible! Ranot grinned with evil intent as his energy barrier came to life and he literally grabbed the beam of destructive light. With a mighty surge of power, he literally flung Verto's most powerful attack into the sky, where it tore a path into space and vanished. Verto dropped to the ground, panting hard as his hair faded to black. Each breath brought waves of pain from his wounds, and he soon felt extremely heavy from exhaustion. Ranot brushed his hands off like nothing had happened, though they were noticeably burnt and blemished from the struggle.
"I suppose that's that. You made a decent effort and I honor you for that. But you're still years away from being able to stand on equal ground with me!" Ranot declared. Verto didn't answer as he felt very feint, closing in on the point of passing out quickly. Ranot phased out abruptly and planted a fierce knee into Verto's stomach. More blood poured out of Verto's mouth as he dropped to his hands and knees. He was forced into a prone position by Ranot's boot coming down hard on his scorched back. Verto screamed in pain as Ranot's boot left a large imprint on his horrible burns.
Laysh dared to step closer until Ranot eyed her with threatening eyes, "You really don't want to do that my dear. Otherwise who will I turn to for personal pleasure?" Laysh didn't answer as her nervous legs kept her from advancing out of fear. Ranot drilled Verto in the back several times in succession, getting a few more painful whimpers out of the weaker Saiyan for his efforts. From the side of the ruined arena, Kurama and the others looked on, horrified at the scene.
"He's killing him slowly, what a cruel monster," Kurama said. Yusuke's girlfriend Keiko was frozen as she couldn't take her eyes off the dead body before her.
"Someone has to do something!" Botan shouted.
Hiei scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, we can't get anywhere near someone like that and expect to survive. If you want to go and kill yourself, be my guest!"
"Hiei, he's going to come after us next and you know it," Kurama reminded.
"Maybe you've forgotten your past Kurama, but I haven't forgotten mine. Only the lords of Demon World can generate power like that, and I suspect that they would have significant trouble with this one. In fact I seriously doubt they would defeat him now that we've seen his power," Hiei suggested.
Kuwabara stood up and stepped forward, "I'll go."
"Don't be crazy, you won't last ten seconds!" Kurama argued.
"Then I'll try and last nine! That kid has risked his life to help us when he didn't have to. As a man, I will not stand by and do nothing!" Kuwabara proclaimed.
Hiei snorted, "You truly are a hopeless fool."
"Well at least I'm keeping my death nice and manly!" Kuwabara said as he started forward. He didn't make it far before they all sensed something coming.
Hiei's three eyes widened as he stared up into the sky, "What is that power I sense?"
Kurama was just as confused, "It's very strong, whatever it is, and it's coming straight here!"
Kuwabara looked dumbfounded, "Hey Koenma, is this one of your guys?"
The young judge of the afterlife looked just as surprised as the rest of them, "I have no idea!" A bright white flash went off above before a silver ball of light raced down towards them. The silver light bore down on Ranot, who didn't turn in time to notice it. Ranot was thrown back as the light landed next to Verto before fading.
"Get away from my friend!" Ranot picked himself off the ground and eyed the newcomer, who wore an red-orange gi with a blue undershirt.
Ranot scowled at the interference, "And just who the hell are you?"
Verto's eyes slowly opened and spotted the thick weighted boots in front of him. He strained to painfully look up, only to stutter in realization, "G-Gohan?"
Power levels
Verto (weakened): 225,000; Super Mystic (from Kaio-kenx3): 625,000
Ranot (full power): 900,000
Toguro (full power): 29,000
Yusuke (full power): 24,000; awakened: 32,000
A/n: I'd give you a preview of the next one, but ya'll have had enough treats this go around. You probably have a general idea anyway.
WDG: Preview: copious amounts of pain and suffering.
VB: Quite possibly, but for who?