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 100: Alt-Gohan's Strength
Laysh clutched at Alt-Vegeta's arm in an attempt to free herself, but he didn't budge.
"Let go of me!" she demanded.
Vegeta smirked, "You're not the one that can order me around. It's your own fault for attempting to attack me from behind. If you can't take care of yourself, you won't survive here!" Laysh trembled as she looked him in the eye, as if there was an eerie presence there. Even for a Saiyan, they had an incredibly disturbing look to them with the blackened corneas and teal pupils.
"Better call for help, I don't know how long I can restrain myself from choking the life out of you," Vegeta warned as his fingers flinched slightly. Laysh felt his grip tighten just a bit and a rush of panic filled her. She knew by the sounds of battle around her that Verto would be far too busy with Gohan to be able to assist her. The Bardock Iceberg she had created was threatening to break at anytime, which would not be good for either of them. She closed her eyes momentarily and concentrated. Vegeta's smirk faded as her aura erupted and began to sparkle with blue. His hand and arm quickly froze over before rapidly spreading through his body. Laysh took the chance and kicked forward into Vegeta's stomach to break the hold. She carefully backed away and floated cautiously. Barely three seconds passed before the ice around Vegeta was blown off easily by his golden aura.
"Hmph, you're out of your mind if you think that will hold any Super Saiyan for long, certainly not me. Your little freezing tricks with Psionic energy are pitiful!" Vegeta claimed. Laysh frowned and stared him down, unsure of what to do next. Bardock promptly broke out of his cold confines and looked around anxiously. Once he spotted Verto he took off in that direction. Laysh moved to go after him, but stopped dead in her tracks when a large, golden blast cut her off.
"Don't interfere girl, otherwise you will die immediately!" Vegeta warned.
"But you promised it would be one on one!" Laysh shouted back as she pointed out the golden aura streaking towards the battle.
Vegeta snorted lightly and crossed his arms, "I made no such agreement. I only agreed that I would not attack you, provided you didn't attempt to act. Since you're basically harmless, I won't have to. And I have no intention of stopping Bardock or Gohan's right of vengeance. Surely as a Saiyan you would understand that."
"But they're out of control aren't they? That black stuff is in you too," Laysh pointed out.
Vegeta smiled and closed his eyes, "It isn't a problem, if you know how to use it. And it will be a cold day in hell before the prince of all Saiyans is controlled by anybody or anything!"
"That's not reassuring, it's not exactly warm here. And are you saying that they're not being influenced like the kid said?" Laysh asked.
Vegeta scowled at her, "Of course they are you fool. They're not the type of warriors that can handle a taste of evil. If the brat had half a brain he would kill them at the first opportunity. Pity he won't, will he?"
Laysh grimaced, "Probably not. But there's got to be a way to at least fight them on even terms, not as mindless beasts! I've seen my fair share of warriors that are overly affected by something they can't control, and it's not honorable to sit by and do nothing while they can't control their own actions!"
"Ha, what would you know about mindless beasts? You probably don't even know what the Zerg are yet," Vegeta said.
"No, I'm not familiar with that species. But I have dealt with Saiyans whose own powers have caused them to go crazy. And I've seen the kid handle it before, so there must be a way," Laysh declared.
Vegeta shut his eyes again and grinned, "Oh there is. All he has to do is injure them enough that pain will restore their senses. No minor scratch will do, but he wouldn't have to completely disable them either. However…"
Laysh felt a nervous chill crawl up her spine at Vegeta's sudden pause, "What?"
Vegeta chuckled, "Let's just say he may not want to do that. The effects will be quite…damaging. You never know what an angered Saiyan may consider resorting to, even one as complacent as Gohan."
Laysh's eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Vegeta huffed slightly, "You'll figure it out…but you will make no move to help the boy. If you do, I will kill you where you stand!" Laysh shifted her stance from the threat alone, but Vegeta turned away. He stared at the frenzy in the distance, while Laysh tried to figure out a way out of her mess.
Verto didn't dare stop moving once the battle had begun. He initially traded blows with the beast-like Gohan before changing tactics and simply playing defense. Dodging and only blocking when he had to allowed him to keep an eye on Laysh, as well as not use up any energy. When Vegeta counter-attacked her, he prepared to intervene, but stopped himself when Vegeta didn't go the expected kill. Verto knew that allowing his only ally to die would be a costly mistake, but so would turning his back on Gohan, no matter the condition. When he saw Bardock coming, Verto changed tactics again. He forced Gohan away with a quick burst of energy before focusing on his Chi Shield technique. He extended it outward by several feet before stopping and strengthening it. Bardock attempted to punch through, but was stopped short rather easily. A barrage of green blasts collided with the shield a moment later, courtesy of Gohan from the air. Enraged, Bardock punched the shield over and over again from the other side. Verto shifted his gaze between the two as he kept both arms up to help channel his energy.
Well this is turning out great, so much for strategy. Guess I should count myself as lucky that all three of them aren't fighting at once. Vegeta must be more resistant to Chemical Z than the others, makes sense I suppose. Alright, I have to make this a one on one fight before I can end this. Bardock's weaker, so I have to knock him out at least before I deal with Gohan. I'd rather go for the strongest first, but it'll take too long and use too much energy. Best to go with the weakest link…or at least as weak as an ascended Super Saiyan can be. Verto's shield began to spin rapidly, stalling Bardock's next assault. Verto quickly empowered his shield and fired a minor blast from it, knocking Bardock backwards for a moment. He quickly gathered a huge amount of Chi into his right hand and aimed for Gohan just as he dropped the shield.
"Final Shine!" The blast fired was smaller than usual and barely expanded, thus Gohan could avoid it easily. Verto kept the beam going though and adjusted his aim to chase Gohan through the skies, but kept his senses on Bardock. Once Bardock recovered and saw Verto fire with his shield down, he charged in like a crazed animal that was ready to rip off the head of his prey. Verto's beam ceased once Bardock moved and began charging up again, even though his palm was still open. Verto braced his arm with his left hand and turned just as he released the energy. A strong, violent burst of lightning sprang from his open hand and slammed into Bardock. The attack stopped the elder Saiyan completely and the lightning overwhelmed him in the same instant. He screamed and shouted in pain, but Verto didn't ease up. Bardock's body tore open all over, leaving bloodied and burnt gashes throughout. His hair faded to black and his energy level plummeted before Verto finally let up. He was left on his back, gasping for breath as his eyes also shifted back to normal.
"Wha-What happened?" Bardock asked.
Verto stood up straight and relaxed his arms, He's back under control, it must wear off if the body is damaged enough. The only question is if the chemical Z burns off, or does it simply stay quiet for awhile? Probably the latter.
Verto grimaced at this thought, "Stay down, otherwise the next one kills you. Understand?" Bardock didn't reply to this, but Verto sensed it was due to passing out. He wiped a small trickle of sweat from his brow and shifted towards Gohan, who was coming towards him quickly from above.
Alright, his turn now. I'll use a diversion tactic so I have a clean shot at him. Verto charge more energy into his hand and fired another Final Shine at the charging Gohan. Gohan phased out and instantly appeared behind Verto. A short green blade found the side of his left shoulder and he cried out in pain. Verto held the blade with both hands and saw the chance to go for the kill. Instead, he dove to the side and swung at Gohan's right leg, grazing it but still leaving a sizable gash. Gohan winced and dropped to his knees, holding his shoulder painfully. His expression of rage didn't change a bit and he stood back up despite his injury and ran towards Verto just as he landed. Verto's sword vanished as he refocused the energy into another Chi Storm burst and fired. Gohan dropped immediately and put up no real fight against the technique. He grunted painfully as the whites of his eyes returned to normal a few seconds later while he gasped for breath. Verto considered coming closer to get a better look, but stayed away to give Gohan time to get his bearings.
"So that was enough to bring you to your senses?" Verto asked.
Gohan finished catching his breath and the air seemed to become eerily still, "Yes, but it seems you didn't listen. You always were stubborn that way. We don't want you here, I thought I made that clear."
Verto felt that the anger coming from Gohan had not diminished at all, "The only thing clear is that you need help. Now will you cooperate, or do you feel the need to continue this pointless fight?"
Gohan smirked slightly, "No fight is ever pointless, and no, I don't think I'm ready to end it yet. Not before you suffer!"
"You know it'll be mutually beneficial to help each other, I can show you another way to purge the Overmind's blood from you and others. You know that I'm not a threat to you," Verto suggested.
Gohan stood up as his face shifted back to anger, "I remember you saying something like that, right before you killed my whole family!" A powerful burst of energy followed Gohan's statement, knocking Verto backwards and tearing the ground around them apart. Gohan's minor wounds soothed as his full power came out, and any bleeding stopped. Verto's jaw slipped a bit when he sensed Gohan's full power, as it was considerable more powerful than his own. Oh shit, this isn't going to be good.
"I told you to leave, and if you didn't that you would die. I meant what I said, so put away any belief that my brief dose of compassion meant anything for you. Rest assured, I'm going to put you down once and for all!" Gohan proclaimed. Bright, silver energy continued to pour out of Gohan, more than enough to make Verto reconsider his options.
Geez, I thought I had all the potential. He's on par with Frost's power and damn near Ranot's. Makes me wonder why Vang or the Overmind didn't go after him. Either way, this isn't going to be easy.
Gohan smirked when Verto backed up a step, "You're afraid of me aren't you?"
"No, I had a cramp in my leg. You know how those can be sometimes. Besides, it isn't my first time sensing this much power," Verto replied.
"Then you know that you don't have a chance," Gohan suggested.
Verto backed up another step, "I've also beaten that kind of power before, so just keep that in mind."
"Bluffing won't do you much good. Tell you what, I might stop once you agree to leave, but I might not be so accommodating once we get started. You'd better decide when to run quickly," Gohan said.
Verto smiled lightly as he stood his ground, When to use Kaio-ken is more like it.
Gohan's finished his power-up, blowing away any dust and loose rocks that remained. He vanished the moment he was done, blasting Verto in the jaw with a single right hook. Verto had almost felt the blow before dozens more followed. The assault was over just as fast as it started, but the effect on Verto's body was devastating. The feeling of broken bones overwhelmed any sensation of cuts and bruises, which were numerous all over his body. Verto shook painfully as he staggered down to his knees, stunned at how fast he was beaten to a pulp.
Gohan touched down a few feet away with his arms crossed, "I held back so you could grasp the situation. I could have ended this just as fast." Verto stood up painfully as blood leaked from his open mouth in tune with his exhales before he spit the bulk of it out.
"You should know by now not to hold back," Verto warned.
"I see I didn't hit you hard enough to knock your stubborn pride away. Very well, I'll try not to kill you with the next one," Gohan said as he stepped forward again. Verto's fists glowed green as he stood his ground and resumed his stance, eyeing Gohan with all seriousness. Gohan vanished again, but Verto caught the kick aimed for his side. Another assault of punches and kicks followed, but this time none of them connected as Verto dodged and blocked each one.
Gohan stopped the attack and backed off, "How?"
Verto shook off the pain in his injured limbs and closed his eyes momentarily, "You underestimated the amount of energy you were sensing and didn't attack with your full speed and strength. I took your first barrage on purpose to estimate your power, but I could have avoided it. I'm not sure that I can match your full effort as I am now. Add to that I'm better with ranged combat and energy techniques than I am melee, which is more of your thing."
Gohan frowned, "At least you know now that you can't win, even if you would've lasted a bit longer than I thought. Are you giving up then?"
Verto smirked as he stared up at Gohan, "I don't give up." He then reached into his armor and pulled out one of Leira's candies, eating it quickly.
"What was that, a Senzu bean?" Gohan asked.
"Something like that."
Verto's energy surged as his injuries faded, Alright, time to take his power down a few notches. That way I can reduce this to an even fight and win with ranged skills instead of brute strength. I have to use Kaio-ken conservatively and only use large amounts of energy as needed. Hopefully I won't need more than one of these.
Gohan snorted slightly, "Regaining your full power isn't going to make that much of a difference you know. It might make you last another couple of minutes, that's about it. You said it yourself, you can't match me."
Verto's eyes narrowed, I've never seen Gohan so arrogant, well not when he's himself. Either the years here have been that bad, or he's still got Chemical Z in his system, or both. Doesn't matter I guess, I'll still need to deal with him and probably Vegeta afterwards. If I can defeat him and have time to concentrate, I may be able to cure them just like the sacred water would. First things first though.
Gohan folded his arms again for the moment, "Enough stalling. Let's finish this pointless fight. I'm getting anxious to bury you."
Verto spread his arms and legs evenly apart to steady himself, "We'll see who buries who! Kaio-ken!"
Gohan's eyes widened as Verto's aura became a bright green, "No, you can't!" The powerful breeze struck Gohan and nearly pushed him back, but he managed to hold position. Verto's battle cry filled the air as his power level increased quickly. Random bursts of energy shot out and bombarded the lifeless ground nearby, lighting up the skies with small explosions that reflected off the clouds. Verto's aura remained its vivid green color as it rapidly condensed around him.
Gohan was amazed, "Impressive, your counterpart was never able to withstand that kind of power. Still, I doubt you can do this for long."
Verto grimaced as he changed his stance, Five minutes is all I'm good for like this. I doubt he'll let me have a rest period unless I earn it, so I'll have to make every move count.
"Well, am I right?" Gohan asked, as if expecting an answer.
Verto's eyebrow went up, "I think it was you that said the time for talk was over."
Gohan's smirk reappeared as he shifted into his own stance, "You're right I did. Let's do this."
Gohan's silver aura rose back up to match the intensity of Verto's teal-green shroud. Both balls of light brightened enough to obscure the two generating them. Verto remained focused on his own, but he was clearly sensing something about Gohan that didn't feel right.
His energy is growing darker with each passing moment, what's causing that? Oh hell I can't worry about that now. In a flash the action began as they shot towards each other, forcing Laysh and Alt-Vegeta to protect themselves. Gohan connected early with a hard punch to Verto's face. He received an equally fierce kick to his side, forcing him away. Gohan fired a blast in return, which Verto deflected barehanded. The distraction was enough for Gohan to phase out and catch Verto in the back with a crushing overhand blow to his shoulder. Gohan smirked at this, but frowned when he saw Verto spinning out of the impact. Gohan bent over backwards, narrowly missing Verto's Chi sword when it passed just in front of his nose. Verto floated back up and discarded his sword as he refocused the energy back into his fist quickly.
Gohan straightened out just as Verto punched forward, "Super Galic Fist!" From the ground, the light from the explosion blinded everyone. The result was Gohan buried in rubble a mile or so away as Verto held steady in the skies.
Not a bad start, a few more shots like that one should take him down a few notches. Although I got lucky on the way he chose to dodge my sword, doubt that happens again. He should have used instant transmission, that's very unlike him to screw up like that. The ground exploded a moment later as Gohan scattered the rubble with merely a shout. He pulled his arms back and charged up a strong blast, indicating his eagerness to finish. Verto sensed that he wasn't going all out with this beam however and elected not to reply in kind. Gohan fired a Kamehameha without the words, aiming right for Verto. He waited for it to get close before he phased out, dodging fairly easily to a safer spot on the ground nearby. When he didn't see Gohan, he spun and blocked the sudden punch aimed for his head, wincing painfully as his left forearm throbbed from the impact. Gohan spun backwards, aiming a knife hand strike to Verto's ear. Verto reacted fast enough to block it with the same arm, feeling one of the bones break almost immediately. He cringed in pain and blasted off into the sky, to which Gohan gave chase. Verto turned his head slightly as he examined his arm mid-flight and then sensed some of the intensity coming from Gohan.
Looks like he knows how to focus his energy into his physical attacks to break through his opponent's defenses. It would take a much stronger physical being like Frost or Ranot to stand up to that, and I'm neither. I can't risk blocking any more blows unless absolutely necessary, at least not until he's weakened. Dodging will be rough too with his speed and teleportation to boot. Looks like I'll have to maintain my distance and fight him at mid to long range earlier than I thought. Anything close is a disadvantage for me. Verto's sword appeared in his right hand, making Gohan slow down just a bit in caution. Verto turned and glided to a halt as Gohan also stopped a few dozen feet away in the air. Neither fighter made a move initially, making both wonder what the other was doing. Gohan eyed Verto's green sword, which told Verto that he clearly had no desire to be hit by it again. That gave Verto a little more assurance that he could dictate the battle, but not much.
Gohan suddenly chuckled, "I hope you don't think you're safe at a distance just because I would prefer not to get hit by that sword technique again. I'll admit that you are more skilled than I thought you would be, but a tiny little blade isn't going to save you."
Verto replied by slashing at the air a few times with practice swings, "Oh I don't think you'll be the last one wanting to avoid getting cut in half. Although that does tell me that you might be familiar with this technique."
Gohan closed his eyes for a moment, "I admit that the other Verto didn't have much time to develop his power before everything went to hell. However I have." Gohan pulled back his right hand and charged a pulsing blast of green light.
Verto's eyes narrowed, Final Shine? No wait, this feels different.
Gohan's attack finished quickly and he launched it forward, "Masenko Comet!" The blast came at Verto normally, to which Verto grasped his sword with both hands and swung downwards, pushing the blast towards the ground.
He snorted as he stared back at Gohan, "You can't be serious, that was nothing."
Gohan crossed his arms and smirked, "Oh yeah?" Verto's senses went wild as the blast turned and arced back towards him from a different angle. He flew out of its way, only to see it hook in pursuit.
Verto scowled in disgust as the blast caught up with him, It's a homing attack, great. I just love these things. Verto turned and smashed his sword into the blazing Comet again to buy time, but it only provided a few seconds.
Gohan laughed, "You're wasting your time, that attack will continue to go after you until I focus on something or it detonates!" Verto took note of the statement as he bashed the homing ball away again. As soon as he did, he quickly gathered a strong charge of Chi lightning in his non-sword hand and fired at the Masenko Comet. Gohan frowned as his attack exploded at a safe distance from the target.
Verto stopped and turned as he pulled his sword back to a defensive position, "You'll have to do better than that. I've encountered my share of techniques that aren't what we would call normal, and most of them I can't do, but I can counter them. A homing attack barely scratches that surface."
"Is that right? How about we up the ante then?" Gohan suggested. His palms filled with pulsing green again before he fired two Masenko Comets straight up in the air, far from Verto. It didn't stop there though as soon several more followed until the skies were filled with these blasts, each equally as intense as they surrounded Verto while Gohan held them in place from the ground.
Verto recognized the attack immediately, "You're using Piccolo's Scattershot technique?"
Gohan's eyes filled with rage, "Shut up! You don't have the right to even say his name! And this is the new version, it's much more effective. I don't recommend hiding behind that shield of yours this time!"
Verto turned his head at this, Shield? I haven't used it since I knocked out Bardock. That means he was at least somewhat aware of his actions earlier and he's been playing me from the start. His energy keeps fluctuating so it's hard to tell, and it's still getting darker. I'll have to get through to him somehow, even if it means nearly killing him first. But he is right, there's too much concentrated energy for me to risk using the Chi Shield technique to fend this off, there's too many. Although…his power hasn't dropped yet. Why is that? Verto kept pondering this as his green Kaio-ken aura surged up again while he held position. Gohan's barrage began to circle before zeroing in on him within a few seconds and the explosions began. Gohan smirked initially until he saw Verto speeding out of the smoke cloud.
"You're not getting away!" he shouted as he cast his arm out, causing his volley of Masenko Comets to change course. Verto stayed ahead of the barrage fairly easily, but he knew he had to do something about them.
Charging at him wouldn't do any good, especially with the teleportation factor. I can't absorb them all through my sword either, not unless they were combined into a single blast…and that's too dangerous with Kaio-ken anyway. And I really don't want him to know I can do that yet, I need to bring his power down first and it hasn't budged. I'll have to risk getting closer and cause them to crash into each other as I go through. Here goes. Verto's sword shined with extra energy as he turned around and sped back into the oncoming swarm of Chi blasts.
Gohan chuckled, "Fool!" He closed his fist and pulled back, causing every Comet to change course just as Verto reached the center point between them. Verto didn't stop to watch though and held his sword ahead of him just as the first few went off. A bright and constantly shifting set of explosions covered the skies, repeating its previous epicenter in a direct line following Verto's flight path. Gohan seemed satisfied for a moment before he saw Verto fly out ahead of his remaining barrage, outrunning each detonation by a few feet. Gohan phased out and reappeared a short distance ahead of Verto with another blast ready. Verto saw this in time and checked behind him, seeing only four potent Comet blasts remaining on his tail. Gohan reared back and launched a much larger Masenko Comet. Verto slowed before realizing he was caught in the middle. He carefully flipped backwards just as the smaller four blasts zoomed by underneath, singeing a few hair strands as they did. He quickly braced himself as all of the blasts collided together. The explosion that followed dwarfed the previous ones by a noticeable amount. Gohan frowned as he looked up from his own block as darkness settled back in. He barely had time to sense the attack coming before Verto phased in from his left, Chi sword aimed for his side. Another bright and potentially explosive clash filled the dead lands, but this time it was Verto who was surprised. Along Gohan's left side was a perfectly rounded blue energy shield nearly three inches thick. It was buzzing with intensity and protected him from head to toe in a wide berth. Verto's sword had been stopped easily, though a few sparks flew off from the impact as he continued to lean into it.
Gohan unusual smirk appeared again, "Nice try, but as you can see, I've had plenty of training with this Mystic power."
Verto nodded knowingly, "I figured you had, from my perspective it's only been about a year or so since the Zerg invaded. It's been quite a bit longer here so it's only natural."
Gohan's feet shifted slightly as his shield began to glow, "Allow me to show you another one then. Masenko-Shredder!" Gohan's shield suddenly dispersed into hundreds of concentrated bullet-like blasts. Verto barely had time to be surprised before he was overwhelmed quickly as many of the small blasts struck from point-blank range. He fell to the ground as his body smoked and bled randomly all over. Gohan stood up straight and landed nearby as Verto's added Kaio-ken energy faded.
"Like you said, I've had more time than you, but you can handle more power in short bursts than I. You've always had that trait. Now, stay still and I'll make this quick!"
Verto panted slightly as he sat up, wiping blood from around his face, "Fat chance. I've got to beat you back into your own senses first!"
Gohan crossed his arms, "You already did and I am a bit grateful for it. At least now I can finish you off properly and not behave like a rabid animal looking for his next meal." Gohan stepped closer as he spoke, giving Verto time to consider his options.
His energy still hasn't dropped and it feels even darker. But he's close enough for me to end this quickly with a Chi storm, as long as he doesn't get that shield up in time. I'll have to risk it at almost melee range. Gohan's palm lit up with green as he neared Verto, who was still catching his breath.
Gohan stood over him as he prepped the deciding blast, "Time to end this, prepare yourself!"
Verto closed his eyes and concentrated, careful not to reveal his intentions too soon, "Fine I'm ready." Gohan reared back and Verto sensed his chance and threw his palm forward. Lightning arched out and overwhelmed the surprised Gohan as he fell back and lost any hope of counter attack. Verto scrambled to his feet and braced his arm as he continued to channel the attack which swarmed Gohan's body as he cried out in distress. Verto didn't focus on Gohan's body as much as he did his energy in hopes that he could burn it away quickly.
All I've got to do is reduce his power down to a reasonable point, then I'll finish this and see if I can purge this crap from his system. Gohan thrashed against the streams of continuous lightning, as if trying to brush off the attempt. Gohan's aura came up around him as this occurred, and Verto's lightning began to misdirect off him. The energy became thicker and Verto's lightning soon stopped working completely.
Verto's eyes widened, That's impossible! Within seconds Gohan was up and looking unaffected by the Chi storm, to which Verto stopped channeling in utter shock. The attack did have the impact of making Gohan a lot angrier, and his fist buried in Verto's face before he knew what happened. Verto felt the facial bones under his left eye shatter from the impact as he sailed backwards, carving a short path into the dirt. A slightly dirty and bloodied Gohan quickly phased out and kicked hard into Verto's gut, sending him flailing in another direction. He stayed on the attack and vanished again, this time dropping his boot onto Verto's crushed face and applying pressure. Verto cried out in severe pain as a river of red came down across his face from the temple area.
"Now you die!" Gohan roared. Verto grabbed onto Gohan's foot and tried to force him off in desperation, but was unable to. Gohan lifted it momentarily, only to stomp down hard on Verto's hand, which then moved out of the way so he could continue applying pressure to the head. Verto cringed as he felt his face being utterly crushed and attempted to turn. He managed it enough to free his other arm and lay on his back, to which his nose broke almost instantly as all he could see was the bloody and dirty bottom of Gohan's boot. He shut his eyes and charged energy into his right palm just as he grabbed onto Gohan's ankle and released some of it. The other end of his sword skewered through Gohan's leg easily, causing Gohan to cry out instead as he lost balance and fell backwards. As soon as the pressure on his head was off, Verto jumped up and counterattacked with his sword gripped in both bloody hands, aiming for Gohan's head. Gohan barely saw him coming and lifted his hands. Verto's sword stopped just short of Gohan's hair, pressing against another green blade coming from Gohan's right hand and being braced with his left to protect his head. Gohan pressed back and forced Verto away before grasping his own Chi sword with both hands and assuming a ready position despite his injured leg. Verto breathed heavily as he took the chance to wipe a generous amount of blood off his face.
He even grinned a little as he eyed Gohan's bright blade, "So you too eh?"
Gohan cringed as he lost some of the feeling in his foot but was still undeterred, "Naturally after seeing our Verto use this, I knew I could learn it. After all, it's fairly simple to use. You're probably even better with it than he was, but it still won't save you!" Gohan pulled one hand away and fired a quick spray of energy blasts. Verto turned his sword to his left and channeled his energy outwards, forming his Chi Shield again in time to deflect the attack easily. Gohan watched his blasts fly off harmlessly and his tone shifted back to cocky in a heartbeat.
"You're making this too easy! But at least it's fun enough for me to try out this technique!" Gohan declared as he grabbed his sword with both hands and held it over his head. It brightened and seethed with added energy as the dust and loose rock rose up around him.
Verto took a step back in concern, He's focusing a lot of power into his sword, probably thinking of firing some sort of blast with it. I wonder if it's enough to…
His thoughts were cut off when Gohan slashed downwards towards him, "Shattering Slash!"
A strong, focused and dense beam rushed out of Gohan's sword, straight towards Verto. Verto strengthened his shield in preparation, but it cut right through the barrier like it wasn't even there. Verto narrowly dodged just before it would have hit, to which it then shredded the ground in a straight line that continued into the distance. He stared back at Gohan in amazement, only to see another attack charging into the sword. Verto flew upwards and away to give him both time and some distance to avoid the next one. He sensed what Gohan was doing and analyzed the attack quickly.
By focusing his energy into the compressed blade and releasing it that way, he can both boost his blasting power and increase its concentration to a point past even my Shield technique, that's why it broke so easily. The energy is so dense that it can easily shred energy barriers of equal or less power. Can't believe I never thought of that, or at least tried it more often. Gohan slashed at the air, firing another intense blast from the sword. Verto phased out just in time, moving aside a few dozen feet as the green blast tore through the clouds. Gohan's energy level remained almost the same according to Verto's senses even as he fired another one. This continued for several more moments, though Verto dodged each one fairly easily.
It hardly takes any power to perform? No, that can't be right. His power level has barely changed at all after all the big shots he's fired off including these, something is up for that to happen. Never mind the fact that his leg is holding on by strings and it doesn't even look like it's affecting him. He flew a bit closer to hear Gohan starting to laugh crazily. He fired another shot before stopping, to which Verto avoided and landed in front cautiously. Gohan held his blade down and continued a small chuckle, despite what seemed to be obvious pain from the large amount of blood spilling out from his ruined leg. He was grinning ear to ear as he looked upon Verto. That's when Verto noticed that his eyes had filled in with black again, prompting his concerned look.
What the hell? Gohan began to grunt and endure a heavy breath, but it appeared to be from struggling not to laugh even more, which failed a moment later.
"Hahahaha, it's finally time to put you away. Oh the irony of this Saiyan doing it!" Gohan shouted. Verto's eyes widened as he then sensed another presence driving Gohan's actions; it clearly hadn't been there before. It did however match the darkening energy that he had been sensing from the start of the battle.
"Whoever you are, get out of my friend's body! He doesn't want or need you!" Verto demanded.
Gohan laughed in a deeper tone that wasn't his own, "Oh how little you've realized what has happened here. Gohan, Vegeta, all your friends, they've all fallen to my will and never even knew it until it was far too late! Now I've dug deeper into their very souls. They thrive off my power and cannot live without it! I've made all these puny beings my new swarm, and I will not be denied!"
Verto held his sword at the ready, "You're the Overmind aren't you?"
"Very good. I wasn't sure if you would know my voice from earlier or not, after all your timeline was different than this one. Shall I divulge how I conquered this world from under their very noses?"
Verto's sword retracted into his palm and remained a ball of green, "No, I think I get the idea without hearing you babble your evil nonsense again. I heard enough of it the first time."
"Too bad, it's a story I feel like sharing. It's also quite amusing since you fell long before they did. There were complications of course, such as when you attempted to destroy the entire swarm by yourself and nearly succeeded. If you were as skilled with your powers as you are now, you probably would have done it. Oh my, I apologize. I shouldn't compare that weak-minded being to you, no you are far more talented than that Verto ever was. He had a side of him that he wouldn't embrace, a far darker side that was a true warrior. A side that you've obviously taken to heart or you wouldn't be able to attack and wound this body, I congratulate you for that."
Verto's glare deepened, "Careful what you wish for."
"Indeed, your doppelganger was more difficult to control than the others, but eventually I took him. These fools defeated him and destroyed my main body, but by that time I had already flooded the oceans with my essence. They believed they could reverse the process and make life sustainable again, but only where I allow it. Their sanctuary is a façade, for I was within them with every drink of water, every bite of food. After that it was a simple matter for the other Verto to return to them as if nothing happened, but what I didn't count on was the demon within to make an appearance. Him slaughtering your friends was a surprisingly fortunate turn of events, because it allowed me to take a hold of their anger and rage, bending them to my will with every ounce of power that I provided them. I then decided to continue testing them once I knew the secrets of Saiyan strength, and I revived the Zerg, but your alter-ego didn't want to allow it. Too bad he met his tragic end by falling into a vast pool of my essence in a battle with the Saiyan Goku. I believe that Gohan told you what happened after that, which was another one of my little tests. It's a pity I wasn't able to add Goku to my collection, as he has kept his distance all this time. It's possible that he knew about your supposed cure and was able to get to it before I had the lookout destroyed and your Dragon Balls eliminated. That doesn't matter though, I have all the Saiyan firepower I need. And with another world to conquer soon, one with the same potential, I will only add to my collection."
Smokey red waves slowly came off Verto's body as he seethed at the possessed Gohan, "And I suppose you and Vang are in cahoots together."
Zerg-Gohan frowned, "I'm afraid not, our objectives are different. However we did form a non-aggression pact while he trains the girl, with additional Zerg at their disposal I might add. Eventually he may be in my way, especially with Goku's body. But as you used to say, I will cross that road when I get there. Any questions?"
Verto twitched angrily but managed to remain as composed as possible before he answered, "Just one. How is it you've kept everyone under control? Even with your blood in their veins, they would have noticed and obviously have if they had time to warn me before, you're not in complete control. I can't believe that someone like Vegeta would simply go along quietly."
"Very astute of you to observe. I am not in control all of the time as you said. But you see, they are driven by their anger and rage towards both the Zerg and yourself. And I can enhance that by twisting their very thoughts and emotions with false images and other such tricks."
Verto looked at the ground in dismay, The same thing happened to me when I was struggling with that dark spirit. The Overmind used my rage against him and I was only lucky that I broke through after he went too far. I can't let that happen here.
Zerg-Gohan smiled lightly, "I see that you experienced something similar and that it pains you that your friends here are now your enemies. Join me and that will be resolved."
Verto's sadness faded, "Yeah, that'll happen."
"Then stop me boy! Every second that passes he becomes more my slave!" Verto began to see a dim stream of black funneling into Gohan, granting him continued power as he laughed again.
There's only one way I can do this. Verto's stationary blast in his hand flashed with sparks of blue as he concentrated. It began to flux rapidly with shades of white, blue, green and red while he appeared to struggle. He cringed as he felt his emotional control slipping, and the weight of the speech the Overmind had just given wasn't helping.
Laughter continued to fill the air, "Hahaha, there's nothing you can do boy! Nothing!" Verto attempted to shut him out as he remembered what the real Gohan was like, the gentle Gohan. His blast kept shifting in both color and polarity as he added energy to it.
I don't care if I'm never able to fully control my negative power or even use Feedback ever again! If there's one person I have to save, it's him! I have to save him! Verto cringed as he recalled every positive memory of Gohan that he could, anything that the monster before him was not. The possessed Gohan still laughed crazily, until Verto's blast grew a bit larger than his usual blast of this type and shifted completely to blue and white.
"What is that technique?"
Verto's eyes snapped open as he launched it, "Spirit Bomb!"
Due to his injuries, Gohan couldn't even try to dodge it before he was struck dead on. Blue and white energy surged through him quickly as he screamed. Verto ran at him and tackled him to the ground, as if to prevent him from finding a way out of his trap. As the blue-white energy produced a vivid amount of lightning, small ripples of black began to leak out and evaporate into the air. Gohan tried to throw Verto off, but was unsuccessful while the Spirit Bomb did its work.
"Y-You won't s-stop me! Everyone you ever loved here is your enemy now! They are all m-mine!" Zerg-Gohan stammered.
"I don't care! I'll drive you out of every single one of them if I have to! Now let him go!" Verto shouted. He charged another burst of Spirit Bomb energy and slammed it into Gohan's chest. The extra burst went through and caused the already volatile energy to accelerate around Gohan. A prompt explosion followed, accompanying the violent scream from its victim before it cleared. Once it did, Verto and Gohan lay in a small crater, both powered down to normal and seemingly unconscious. Several minutes passed before either of them moved. Gohan grunted as he sat up first and stared at his dirty and bloodied hands.
He's gone. I can't feel the Overmind in me anymore. He glanced down at Verto, who was still out of it from what had occurred. Gohan managed to get up to one knee, barely manageable considering how torn apart his other leg was from Verto's sword attack earlier. He then reached down and checked Verto's vitals, which appeared to be stable. He gave everything he had to purge that thing out of me, even after I tried to kill him. I don't deserve it.
He shifted his hand to Verto's head and left it there, as if in reassurance, "Thank you, my friend."
Powerlevels:
Super Mystic Alt-Gohan: 820,000,000
Super Mystic Verto: 620,000,000; Kaio-ken: 910,000,000