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 112: Rift Battle 4: Cosmic
Verto gritted his teeth in anger initially, but his mood changed as he quickly searched for a solution. Gokuu's agonizing screams made him a bit panicked, in addition to the obvious lack of time at this point. The Obliteration Orb was doing its work of not only keeping Gokuu down, but also taking his energy.
He used this move before to cancel out my Spirit bomb. I'll bet the same will apply in reverse! Verto's palm lit up with white and blue as he gathered a suitable amount of Chi and refocused his mind. His hair faded to black during this, signaling just how much energy he actually had left.
"It's no use boy! Accept defeat!" Vang called down from above. Verto panted slightly and ignored the demon as he finished the technique. It was barely finished when he thrust his palm into Gokuu's chest, plunging the small Spirit Bomb into the fused Super Saiyan. There was an immediate burst of white energy that surged into the unstable swaths of black and gold. Gokuu's screams eased, but he began to convulse as if he was going into a seizure. The energy around him shifted into a random display of color, much like Verto's had earlier in the battle. Gokuu seemed to stabilize a moment later, but he remained motionless on the ground while this new energy continued to surge around him.
"Damn it, why didn't it work?" Verto whispered.
Etarb suddenly landed next to him, "It's because you only neutralized the negative aspect of Vang's attack. The Cosmic energy is still there and because Gokuu cannot use it himself, it will rapidly consume his energy until he can no longer resist it. Then the shear weight of it will crush him from the inside. It must be removed, but I'm afraid that's beyond my ability."
Verto's Psi Sword flashed to life, "But not beyond mine."
Etarb's eyes widened, "No, you mustn't! You can't handle that kind of power!"
Verto glared at him, "It doesn't matter if I can or not. He took the bullet for me a moment ago and I will return the favor. I don't care what it does to me because without Gokuu we're done! Toast! Ka-boom! If you can't understand that at this point, then go crawl back to wherever you Guardian people live and study it for a few years. I'll take my destiny into my own hands, not yours, or Leira's, or Vang's, or anyone else's! It's my life, let me live it!"
Etarb paused slightly before backing off, "So be it."
Verto knelt down to Gokuu's side, "Gokuu, I'm going to remove that energy ball with my sword. Keep your thoughts clear and positive and it won't hurt you. Nod if you understand." Gokuu managed a painful nod and Verto waited no longer. He stood up and dropped his blue Psi blade right through Gokuu's stomach. Verto immediately began to pull in some of the golden energy from Gokuu, but couldn't detect the Cosmic portion yet.
"Damn, where is it?" he muttered. His sword turned gold from Gokuu's Chi and he was forced to absorb that power into his body to maintain control. When he did, a multi-colored burst shot out of Gokuu and into Verto directly. Verto's jerked slightly and his face became blank from apparent shock as his sword faded. His body glowed white with multi-colored sparks coming off him initially while his skin felt as if he were on fire. Blood leaked out of his mouth and nose shortly before he collapsed into a fetal positioned heap. He wasn't even able to scream out in pain as he appeared to struggle for air while he squirmed on the ground like a fish out of water. Gokuu quickly recovered and came to his aid, though he wasn't sure what to do.
"Don't bother trying to help, it won't do any good. He chose this path," Etarb said.
"But there must be something we can do. Can't you remove this power?" Gokuu asked.
"As I told him, no. Not without very advanced tools. The best thing anyone can do is hope for a quick end. I might be able to help him, but I can't actually remove this power from him like he did for you. He must do that himself and it's doubtful that he will be able to at this point. The Cosmic energy will burn right through anyone not strong enough to wield it. Go and defeat Vang, while you still can. I'll stay with him," Etarb replied. Verto had stopped moving at this point and lay prone while his body continued to glow with multi-colored energy. Gokuu took one last look at him before balling his fists and staring up at Vang in anger.
Vang laughed as he folded his arms, "What's wrong Gokuu? Has it finally dawned on you that you can't win? With that runt out of the way, you should be happy. It's finally one on one, just the way you monkeys like it!" Gokuu didn't answer as he shot off the ground and flew up to Vang's altitude, seething in rage. Etarb watched him go before kneeling down to Verto's side. He molded his hands together before extending his index fingers together and concentrating.
"I'm sorry my friend, but I must help this boy, this descendent of yours before it's too late. I know it will prevent him from reaching any of your goals, but against this opponent there may not be another option. If I don't, he and the future will die together and all your work will be for nothing. All he needs is just a little bit of your power to stabilize him," Etarb whispered. His right hand flowed with white Chi before he slapped Verto's stomach with it. A white fire took over Verto's body for a moment as Etarb stepped away.
"I pray that will be enough," Etarb mumbled as he turned his attention to the battle above.
Gokuu's power erupted, making his bright golden aura spark with increased intensity.
"Is that your answer? Typical. Let's finish this Saiyan, I have other places I'd rather be," Vang claimed.
Gokuu's eyes narrowed, "You make it sound like this is going to be easy."
"Oh it will be. After taking the full hit from my Obliteration ball, your energy has dropped off considerably. The boy saved your life at the cost of his own, but you're still weakened. With my energy pool, I can outlast your pathetic fusion easily. At this point, it won't be very difficult," Vang boasted.
A very small smirk appeared on Gokuu's face, "Is that right? I guess I shouldn't hold back any longer!"
Vang's eyebrow went up, "Holding back? That's pretty funny, tell me another one. Actually, no need, you would just waste your remaining intelligence repeating the words I used towards you before. Too bad you don't have another trick up your sleeve."
Gokuu crouched down a bit in his power up stance, "Oh I think you already know how the next one goes." Gokuu's power exploded outwards as it increased rapidly, generating an absurd wind field.
Vang himself had to block against it, "Damn, he really is crazy enough to use that." The ground shook so violently that it was as it the Earth itself was trembling in fear. Gokuu's battle cry filled the area for several miles before he settled down.
Can you take away every single day?
That we have given to another false prophet
Can you give us all a reason not to fall?
Before you take away another broken promise
Once in Super Saiyan Three form, Gokuu paused long enough to look himself over and then set his sights on Vang. The demon looked nervous as most villains would be at this point. That didn't keep him from putting on a brave front though.
"So, you're willing to risk losing your fusion quickly now. All the easier it is for me," Vang claimed.
Gokuu's fists balled up tight, "You should know by now not to underestimate a man protecting his home!" Gokuu phased out suddenly and Vang doubled over as Gokuu pulled his fist back from the demon's stomach.
Vang's shocked expression took a few seconds to really set in, So fast.
Gokuu smashed Vang's surprised face with a power kick like none seen before. Vang was sent flying only to be cutoff and kicked again, this time higher into the air. There, Gokuu bashed him back to where he originally started, and then the cycle continued. It was unclear if Gokuu was using Instant Transmission to move or if it was his ridiculous speed at this point. About the only thing anyone could make out was a black figure being bounced around between three golden points like the inside of a pinball machine.
Show your pretty face
Hide the bitter taste
You're still the rapist of an entire nation
You wanna be the man you gotta be a man
But you were nothing but a sad insinuation
How can we ever live this down?
How can we ever live this down?
From the distance, Krillin rubbed his eyes, "Geez, I think they're moving fast enough. A double Goku fusion and a Super Saiyan Three, that's a bit much."
"It's necessary for this type of opponent. Now where are those damn boys! They've been gone for too long, we need the Dragon Balls!" Piccolo said in a tone just under a shout.
Gohan sighed next to him, "At their level, it's not that far to West City and back, but it's still going to take a few minutes."
"Where's Verto in all of this? I saw him save Goku from that strange black energy and now I can't even sense him," Tien pointed out.
"He's still alive, but I can't be sure what kind of state he's in. The sooner Trunks and Goten get back here the better," Piccolo stated. On cue, two small golden forms appeared on the horizon, allowing a collective sigh of relief from most of the group.
"It's about time!" Piccolo yelled.
Trunks landed nearly out of breath, "Hey, don't blame us! You try flying against this headwind! We just got knocked out of the sky a minute ago when we sensed Goku go Super Saiyan Three." He set down three Dragon Balls as did Goten.
"Wait, where's the one star?" Gohan asked before anyone else could.
Trunks threw up his hands, "I dunno. We looked all through the house and didn't find it. Mom said all seven were together when we left this morning."
Goten nodded, "Yeah, we looked everywhere for it!"
Piccolo bared his teeth, "Obviously not!" Both boys recoiled slightly, but no attack followed.
After the air settled, Trunks looked thoughtful, "I wonder if that one lady took it like before?"
Piccolo stared at him, "What?!"
Gohan came to the quick conclusion, "That's right. Leira admitted to Verto that she hid the Dragon Ball in the other timeline. That's what led Trunks to finding the rift in the first place, right?" Trunks nodded, though he stayed wary of Piccolo's response to this.
"She must have a good reason for this, but I can only guess what that might be," Piccolo surmised.
Their discussion was cut short when the pinballed Vang suddenly went flying with a massive Kamehameha chasing him into the atmosphere. Vang cringed painfully as he twisted out of the way just in time to avoid the blast. In the moment following, he had a chance to visually see the damage Gokuu's newest assault had done. Most of the demon's body was cut up with minor scratches and larger bruises. Black blood oozed out of several different places on his head, including the temples, nose and mouth.
Keep your fingers crossed
The truth is at a loss
Big decision for an ordinary coward
The only problem is your fucking rhetoric
We're more in danger than before you took power
I've weathered the initial storm, I should be able to keep up from… Vang's thought hadn't even finished when Gokuu instantly appeared and hammered him back down with a double axe handle smash. As Vang's body was falling out of the sky, Gokuu phased out and landed near where the demon was poised to land.
Gokuu pulled back one hand, charged with blue Chi, "This ends now!" Vang's eyes snapped open as he became aware of what was awaiting him. Everything seemed to slow to a crawl as the demon neared the ground. Vang saw Gokuu's arm come forward and quickly sent out a burst of purple Chi. The ground darkened just before Vang hit it, causing him to sink right through as Gokuu fired his next blast that wiped out another large portion of terrain. Gokuu scowled slightly and pulled his blue beam upwards a bit to send it into space. He then looked for Vang, but didn't see him at first. His energy signal was still quite present, so Gokuu knew the demon was still around nearby. His sense pinged suddenly as a black hold opened behind him. Gokuu turned and glided backwards just in case. Out of the vortex, a pulsing black orb shot out with Gokuu's name on it. Gokuu merely moved his head aside to dodge it, and it flew off to the horizon. The area below his feet suddenly glowed before a shadowy pair of hands yanked him down by the legs. Gokuu was pulled into the dirt about halfway before the dark hands vanished, trapping him in the ground. Vang emerged from the first vortex with an evil grin and another Obliteration Orb charged and ready. Gokuu burst out of the ground with such force that Vang was blown backwards. As he was pushed back, Vang launched his attack. Gokuu phased out, causing it to miss and sail up into the air. Gokuu cut off Vang from behind and planted him into the ground with one strong axe kick. He then grabbed Vang by the leg and threw the demon high into the air. A rapidly charged Kamehameha followed, one that looked to be dead on target.
Now it's just a game
God you'll never change
You'd sell us out if you could only find a buyer
You don't give a shit
As long as idiots
Are in your corner you could set us all on fire
Vang grimaced slightly, Come on, let this be just in time. Gokuu's massive beam closed in on Vang and detonated. The skies lit up as Gokuu filled with cautious optimism. When it cleared however, a familiar dim shield was revealed behind the smoke, covering for a heavily panting demon. That was too close. He's far too strong to fight head on. I have to wait out the fusion for at least a few more minutes. I certainly can't fight at his pace even if I only evade. I'll have to lure him into a drawn out battle to buy time.
Gokuu shot off the ground suddenly, making Vang's eyes pop open at his speed. Fortunately for Vang, his shield was still up, and it stopped Gokuu's next physical attack cold. Gokuu pulled back just a bit as his palms charged with golden Chi.
Vang quickly realized what was coming as a nervous bead of sweat came down his face, I can't drop the shield yet. All at once, a huge barrage of blasts swarmed in from Gokuu, covering Vang's Cosmic Shadow Shield in small but potent explosions. Vang channeled more power into his defenses, but his black aura suddenly cut off as his time ran out.
Damn, I can't maintain it. I'm almost to my limit in this form! Small cracks in his shield formed quickly and Vang began searching for an escape. The shield faded a moment later and Gokuu's blasts stormed through unabated. Vang was able to dodge a few of them before getting out of the way by diving downwards. Gokuu cut him off almost instantly, kicking him across the sky.
You never wanted to be
They only wanted a parody
You want the world to be free
What the hell is free about it?!
Gokuu was quick to follow that up, "Ka….me…ha…me…" Vang sensed the attack coming and flipped around with his own potent purple blast to counter.
"Let's see what you've got Saiyan!" Vang challenged.
"HAAA!" Blue and purple Chi collided in the skies, sending strong energy waves out in every direction. For the first few seconds, Gokuu's beam was clearly winning the struggle. When the collision point was nearly into Vang's face, his black power erupted and pushed it back to the midpoint between them. This didn't last long before the cosmic fuel stopped and the struggled returned to Gokuu's favor. Seven seconds later, Vang pushed it right back. The demon grinned at this turn of events, This is perfect! I can outlast him like this as long as I keep to the seven second interval and don't overextend. I never thought he could push me so far, but now victory is mine!
On the ground, Verto's eyes snapped open as he took in a deep, gasping breath while sitting up. The burning sensation of the absorbed energy had faded somewhat, but he still found it difficult to move. It feels like I'm in more than five hundred times gravity. How the hell does Vang move like this?
Etarb was quick to answer, "It's a little different for him, after all he can use it efficiently, you can't." Verto scowled at the telepathic intrusion but said nothing while he strained nearly every muscle just to get to his feet. Once he was up, he saw the beam battle taking place above him and noticed how Vang was keeping up. He also sensed a slow and subtle energy drain coming from Gokuu, one that was steadily increasing over time.
"So what did you do to me?" Verto asked.
Etarb's eyes widened, "In your condition, how could you possibly tell?"
Verto gave him a glare that made him very uneasy, "I wasn't completely out of it you know. Out with it!"
Etarb sighed, "Well, I stabilized you, nothing more. You won't die now but that hardly matters considering the situation."
Verto's glare didn't subside but he chose instead to look up into the skies to watch the beam battle, "He's going to lose if we don't do something."
"Very true, but I'm afraid that we can't do much to change that. My power is depleted and with you disabled from taking in Cosmic energy to save Gokuu, we're pretty much useless," Etarb said. Verto's eyes narrowed and shifted towards Etarb, though mostly at the change of tone and inherent lack of optimism. He carefully let the previous conversation replay through his mind before he pulled Etarb's sword hilt from his pocket. Nothing happened at first, but then Verto gathered what energy he could into his palm. There was a nearly instant reaction as it began to pull in his power and produced an energy blade. It too was multi-colored and Verto felt much lighter all of a sudden.
Etarb grinned slightly, "As always, you catch on quickly. However, if you are to use that, you should probably hurry. If you run out of your own power before using up that Cosmic energy, it could burn away any ability to wield energy again. Again, that sword will not work in the same manner as your normal one, understand?" Verto nodded intently before shifting his focus to the beam battle and taking off. He quickly flew under Vang's position before coming up from the lower left side with the sword brandished. Vang saw him coming and conjured his Cosmic Shield when Verto swung the energy blade at him. A violent clash occurred and Vang's beam began to cut off as his attention was diverted.
"You little pest! Why won't you just stay down?!" Vang growled. He phased out and kicked Verto in the back, pushing him straight into the path of Gokuu's giant beam. Gokuu panicked and stopped channeling, but even he knew it was far too late. Verto quickly turned and swung the blade into the beam instinctively to hold it at bay, but it still pushed him through the skies. Verto cringed at how powerful the Kamehameha was and knew what he had to do to survive. He stabbed the sword end into the very front of the beam and began pulling the massive Chi into himself. Something immediately felt off, but he knew he couldn't stop.
Now we reached the end
Just get it over with
But this is building to an adamant conclusion
Come what ever may
There's gonna be a day
When we have figured out a possible solution!
Etarb's eyes widened, "No! That sword is not designed for that purpose!" Verto gritted his teeth as he struggled with his predicament. He already felt the Cosmic-Chi overwhelming him and there was plenty of energy left to deal with. He quickly used what he had already taken in to power up, turning his hair bright white almost instantly. This vastly increased the amount of incoming energy he could withstand, but the Cosmic portion was very different. The Kamehameha energy eventually ran out and Verto plummeted to the ground once he was done. He landed a little hard, and the ground dented from the sheer weight of the energy within him. In his right hand, Etarb's sword hilt had cracked and split apart. When Verto dropped it, both halves crumbled and blew away like dust.
Verto grimaced, Well shit, there goes that solution. What I get for not listening. His Super Mystic power was almost up to full again, but he could feel it wearing away little by little as his insides felt as if they were on fire. Up in the sky, Vang had watched with great interest, looking hesitant to act upon this new development. Gokuu on the other hand, had been forced to power back down to Super Saiyan Two. Verto figured this to be a way to save some fusion time, but knew that he still didn't have long.
Even at full power, I won't keep up with Vang, not unless I… He stopped and glanced at Etarb briefly before shifting back to Vang. Well screw it, you only live once, except here. If it worked somewhat before, even by accident, it should work again. I'll have to act fast.
Vang floated down and folded his arms, "So, back to this form? That shouldn't be possible but I'm not surprised at this point. You really are a frightening child."
Verto shifted his stance, "Don't worry, it gets worse! Super Kaio-ken!" Vang's expression shifted to surprise as an abnormally strong, white and electric aura surrounded Verto, giving off sparks that ripped up the ground nearby. The multi-colored Cosmic energy followed, sending his hair into a whipping frenzy along with the wind being created. His eyes had completely turned white with no visual pupils. It was almost as if he had taken on another transformation, unlike what he had previously displayed using Kaio-ken.
Everything you've done
Is killing everyone
A little smile on a homicidal bastard
You wanna be a man
You gotta have a plan
Another failure is a guaranteed disaster!
Vang backed up with caution, The speed of his kid's progression is astounding. Still, I doubt he can maintain this power for very long, not without risk. I have nothing to fear. His senses then detected an attack from behind and he turned in time to block Gokuu's incoming punch with one hand. It was a very shaky block for Vang, but something was off about it.
"Nice try Saiyan, too bad your power has dropped off too much to be a threat. I guess Super Saiyan Three has its drawbacks when it comes to fusion," Vang said. Gokuu's responding grin alerted Vang to his huge mistake and he quickly kicked his opponent away before turning to summon his dim Cosmic Shadow Shield. He barely got it up in time before Verto's Galic Fist smashed into it. The younger Saiyan's aura had became a nearly solid blaze of flames as he pushed into Vang's barrier. The shield cracked very quickly this time and Vang had to fly up to avoid being hit by Verto when he broke through. Vang spat in distaste when he saw the ease of how it was broken this time. A distinct whoosh sounded above, where Gokuu phased in and smashed Vang hard in the back and sent him right back down, stunned. Verto's energy sword burst to life in anticipation, matching the colorful swirl that had come out of Etarb's sword before, and that woke Vang up as he quickly phased out to get away. Verto gave chase through the skies, but Vang increased his flight speed and maintained a safe distance.
Verto lagged behind a bit as his breath became short and exhaustion started to hit hard, "Damn it, I have to finish this. Gokuu!" Gokuu promptly teleported in on Vang in his Kamehameha pose, forcing the demon to stop cold and summon his shield again. Gokuu kept charging and didn't fire, bewildering Vang. Verto's aura brightened as he put everything into his flight speed and slashed into Vang's shield. Vang flew up again quickly when it shattered, only to have Gokuu suddenly teleport and drop an elbow into his skull.
Verto came up fast from beneath with his sword held high, "Go to Hell!" Vang couldn't avoid it this time and was stabbed straight in the chest. Verto's expression changed from anger to frustration as the blade had barely gone in an inch and threatened to fade on him as they began to sink down through the air.
Vang grinned painfully, "What's wrong worm? Can't quite finish the job? Once again, the worthless monkey child can't follow through with his threats!" A storm of rage overwhelmed Verto as his power surged and his hand positioning changed. Vang's eyes filled with fear as the sword became a narrow but fierce and concentrated beam. With a loud battle cry, Verto fired every bit of energy he had left, which shot up through Vang like a laser. Vang groaned painfully as an eruption of blood came out of this throat. This was dwarfed by the amount of black that spilled out of his split chest.
"Damn you, little Saiyan brat! You're going to pay for that!" Vang managed to shout down. Verto's hair faded as he fell backwards to the ground, but he grinned painfully as he held up a middle finger salute to the demon. Vang was incensed by this and aimed his claw towards the ground as he charged a vivid blast at the free-falling Verto. He never got a chance to fire when he sensed the presence appear behind him.
"Oh…"
"HAAA!" Gokuu shouted as he fired.
"SHIIITTTTTT!" Vang cried out. Gokuu scored a direct hit with his Kamehameha this time, washing over Vang as he disappeared in the blast's light with a surprised expression plastered on his dark face. Almost as soon as the blast was away, Gokuu's body separated back to the two originals, both of them exhausted. The giant Kamehameha Wave struck a mountain nearby and detonated, giving everyone another blinding light display to put up with. Both Goku and Alt-Goku descended as they caught their breath, landing near a prone Verto who was dealing with more than normal fatigue.
Verto didn't show it though as he had a slight smile on his face, We got him. That thought alone gave him plenty of strength to stand up and greet his allies. As soon as he did, he felt something very wrong with him. His equilibrium felt off from battle, but that wasn't the problem. He couldn't sense any presences around him, not even both versions of Goku standing right there. His right hand tingled with residual energy for a moment and he stared at it only to realize that he could see right through it. His hand seemed to be fading from existence, but soon it came back and the tingling feeling was gone. Something else was gone however, or at least by Verto's perspective.
What the hell was that? And why can't I feel any energy? He didn't' have much time to dwell on this before a bright flash erupted in the distance, in the opposite direction of Vang's apparent demise.
This pulled everyone's attention, especially Goku's, "The rift!"
Alt-Goku nodded grimly, "It's about to collapse!"
"Come Whatever May" by Stone Sour.
PL
Vang: 1 Billion; weakened: 850 million
Super Saiyan 3 Gokuu: 1.2 Billion; weakened SS2: 900 million.
Super Mystic Verto (Cosmic Energy Mode via Kaioken): 950 million (drops quickly).
A/n: Now THAT, is a moonhanger!