(A/N: This chapter will reflect on the past, mostly dealing with Baby and the role he played in everything up until now. And there's a surprise at the end.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 54: Memories
Baby stepped up to the semi-conscious Gohan after his father carelessly tossed him at the machine mutant's feet. With a smirk, he instantly liquefied and flowed over the boy, slipping into his body through the various cuts, scraps, and any other orifices. Normally, Baby liked to wait until his victims were the peak of their strength so he knew that once he was inside of them they wouldn't be able to fight his control by surprising him by suddenly powering up. He'd already gone through a situation like that before, and it nearly cost him his life, but he had been saved by his quick thinking. But the boy was too weakened to resist him at all, so that wasn't an issue.
As he entered the boy completely, his liquid form soaked into the boy's body, seizing control over it. Once he spread to the boy's brain, he took over his mind. If he wanted to, he could have stayed inside him and controlled the boy completely, but the thought of staying inside a saiyan body any longer than what was necessary sickened him to no end.
Instead, he laid an egg that attached itself to the boy's brain. After a few seconds, the egg hatched and began unleashing a substance that turned the boy into his willing slave, just like all the others. With that done, he exited the boy's body and reformed again, feeling in desperate need of a shower after having been inside a saiyan.
Gohan's eyes snapped open, glowing red for a few moments before returning to their normal color. He had become another one of Baby's followers. The Tuffle smirked at the thought, though he was disappointed that the boy didn't know where his grandfather had run off to. It had been a safety measure on his part. The boy knew that if Baby had ever gotten inside his head that he would be able to read his mind, so any plans his grandfather had of where to hide were kept hidden from the boy.
No matter, he would find the elusive psychic saiyan soon enough. He still had a few months before Bardock succumbed to the Destron Gas. Surely he could find a single saiyan before then. He wanted that psychic power; it would be very useful to him.
So far, things had been going according to plan. Not exactly as he had intended before he had fully developed, but the end result was turning out to be the same. He nearly had control over the entire saiyan race, and soon he would spread to the rest of the universe. He was in no real hurry; he had plenty of time since he would live forever, one of the many benefits of being a Machine Mutant.
Not even his Tuffle ancestors had dreamed that their plan for revenge would be so successful. And it was all thanks to Dr. Myuu. The mad scientist, with his insane dream to turn everyone in the galaxy into cybernetics organisms, had made him so much greater than what the Tuffles thought he could be.
It had been so easy to use the doctor. After he had discovered Baby while he was merely a parasitic organism and began to develop him, Baby had used the doctor's dream and intelligence against him. He fed him information and gave him ideas on how to expand his dream to be so much more than what he intended, unknowingly becoming a pawn in Baby's plans.
But all that had nearly been ruined a few months ago when the invasion of Planet M-2 occurred. He still remembered what happened back then, even though he had been little more than a fetus at the time.
Even in his incubation state, he was aware of what was going on around him. Being plugged into the main computer gave him access of all data that flowed through the machine city that covered most of the planet. But in his current fetus state, there was little to nothing he could do.
The invasion had happened quickly and with no warning. An elite team of some of Frieza's best men had come to conquer the planet. At the time, the planet was inhabited almost completely by worker robots. While some had certain combat abilities, they were not fighters and were overpowered by the invaders. General Rildo and the Sigma Force, who were meant to be the planet's warriors, had not yet been completed and were easily defeated by Frieza's men.
Dr. Myuu was all brains and no brawn. When he realized that the planet was lost to him, he attempted to flee with his top-secret project. Since Lord Luud had also been defeated several years ago, also by one of Frieza's men, and a saiyan no less, before he gained enough energy, his precious Baby was all he had left for his hope for galactic domination.
He hadn't been fast enough. As he was flying away, Frieza's men shot his ship out of the sky. The invaders then went onboard the ship and killed the doctor, leaving Baby defenseless.
While on board, one of the men came across Baby's capsule. He had been shocked and fascinated by the robot-like fetus he found, but that wouldn't have stopped him from killing him once his astonishment had worn off.
Baby had to work quickly. Using whatever energy he had managed to gather, he forced his growth development along, growing into his infant stage and escaping the tank. He immediately possessed the warrior that had stood before. Access to his memories told him everything he needed to know.
His first order of business was to get his hands on Frieza. Had the warrior he possessed been one of the individuals that knew of King Cold, he would have gone for the head honcho himself. Instead, he went after the son, believing him to be the strongest in the universe, as everyone else seemed to believe.
The warrior's companions were unaware of their comrade's possession and didn't suspect anything. Using his body, Baby went on board their ship and contacted Frieza. He told the Icejinn that they had discovered something that required his immediate attention. Assuring the tyrant that it would be worth his while, he convinced Frieza to make the journey to the newly conquered M-2.
Once Frieza arrived, Baby immediately entered his body… making a very big mistake. As an infant, his possession ability hadn't fully developed. He managed to be in control of Frieza for a few seconds before the tyrant began fighting back furiously. Baby had overestimated his own strength. As the Icejinn's power spiked drastically, Baby felt his control over him slipping more and more. Soon he would be forced out of his body, and be left wide open for attack.
Giving up on his attempt to regain control, he played Frieza's desires against him. Having been in Frieza's head, he saw that what the brute craved above all else was eternal life. He wanted immortality, and Baby knew how he could get it.
When the Tuffles had created him, they gave him great knowledge, including the many of the secrets of the universe. Among them was the Namekian's and the seven magic Dragon Balls they possessed. Baby presented this idea to Frieza before the Icejinn could expel him from his body, assuring him that he could use these magic spheres to have any wish granted, including his desire to be immortal.
Frieza took the bait. He listened to Baby's proposal. He told him that he needed a host to live in, and in return for being that host, he would show Frieza how to use these mysterious Dragon Balls to become immortal.
Frieza debated the pros and cons of this deal. Although he hated the thought of having a parasite inside him, the possibility of obtaining immortality was far too tempting. Believing that he could remain in control of his body since he took control already, he decided to let Baby stay in case he needed him… for now.
Baby knew exactly what Frieza was planning, and not just because he read his mind. The Icejinn was planning on expelling him from his body and destroying him the second he achieved immortality. But what Frieza didn't know was that Baby matured very quickly, and once he matured fully, he would be able to take control easily. But he avoided any attempts to control Frieza again to avoid making the Icejin suspicious.
As for the men that took over Planet M-2, Frieza killed them, not wanting any witnesses to what had just happened. Then the hunt for the Dragon Balls was on; after a quick detour. There was one other condition that Baby requested from Frieza in return for information on the Dragon Balls. After having looked into Frieza's head, Baby saw that the Icejin hated the saiyans almost as much as he did, though it was more out of an unspoken fear for the Super Saiyan legend than anything else. Baby used this to his advantage, requesting for Frieza to destroy the entire saiyan planet to wipe them all out.
Frieza didn't even question Baby's reason for such a request. He had been entertaining the idea himself for a while. Simply having Baby ask him to do this was more than enough of a reason to actually destroy the planet. And that had been his first order of business, followed immediately by sending Cui to kill Prince Tarble and his new mate, since they were away from the planet for their honeymoon.
Then it was straight on towards Planet Namek. Baby simply sat back, so to speak, and let Frieza and his men go about things in their own way. There were a few problems along the way, but eventually all seven Dragon Balls had been gathered.
As Frieza prepared to summon the eternal dragon, Baby had been ready to make his move. He had become strong enough to take control of Frieza now, and he planned on doing just that once the dragon appeared. He never intended to let Frieza have his wish for immortality granted. He had his own wish he wanted to make.
If there was one thing that Baby had a fondness for, it was his home planet. Not the tainted place it had become after the saiyans took it over, but the pure world, back when it was called Planet Plant. He planned on having the dragon restore the planet back to the way it was before the saiyans ever invaded. Unlike Frieza, he had no need to wish for immortality. He was already the strongest being in the universe, so no one could defeat him, his regeneration abilities were so great that the possibility of dying from injuries was non existent, and his lifespan was eternal. What need did he have for immortality when he was already as close to immortal as one could get?
None of it mattered in the end though. It turned out that a password was needed to summon the dragon. This was something Baby had not known, neither had any of his ancestors since he was gifted with all their knowledge.
Things had gone downhill from there. When the Namekian elder died, the dragon died with it. But not before the saiyan prince of all people managed to resurrected the entire saiyan race and the planet, bringing Baby back to square one with his home world once again being tainted and infested with the saiyan race.
Frieza had been too furious about missing his chance at immortality to care that Baby was still inside him, even though he didn't need him anymore. All his thoughts centered on revenge. Deciding not to blow his cover for now, Baby had allowed Frieza and Vegeta to fight it out, content to witness the whole ordeal through Frieza's own eyes.
When Vegeta became a Super Saiyan, Baby had become somewhat concerned. His ancestors knew about the legend of the Super Saiyan, but they only had stories told by a barbaric race to go on, none had ever seen an actual transformation. So Baby studied Vegeta carefully in the new golden form, watching as he gained the upper hand on Frieza.
At this point, Baby had reached his adolescent state. He was certain he could have defeated Vegeta at base, but as a Super Saiyan, he wasn't so sure. So he decided to bid his time, letting Frieza test out the saiyan prince's newfound power.
When Frieza was cut down by his own attack, Baby realized that he may have to "abandon ship", but he was still hesitant about fighting a Super Saiyan. So instead, he had given Frieza enough energy to survive his injuries, and then some. But the stupid Icejin decided to use that energy to attack Vegeta, and it ended up blowing up in his face, literally, followed by the planet exploding.
Frieza had survived though, and Baby thought that he may still have use for the tyrant. So he stayed inside him, guiding the mutilated Icejin through space until he was found by King Cold.
He bidded his time after that, curious to see the final confrontation between the saiyans and the Cold Clan. When its leaders fell, the time to reveal himself finally came, although it wasn't exactly the reaction he had been expecting. How dare those miserable saiyan vermin belittle him and his people! Well, they got what they deserved. He was now in control of their entire race, and he'd had the pleasure of personally killing their king and crown prince. Now that had felt good.
But as he stared at the large crowd of his followers, he couldn't shake his disgust. He may be in control of them, and they may now be Tuffles at heart, but by blood they were still saiyans. The whole universe would be better off without them, whether under his control or not.
He suddenly had a change of mind. Originally, he had ordered that any children that were born in the future would be brought to him for possession. From now on, that rule would only apply to the other races he took control over. As for the saiyans, he would order them to reframe from reproducing. It would be better to simply have the saiyan race die out. He didn't need such disgusting creatures polluting his universe anyway. And he'd take great satisfaction in watching the monkeys slowly die out over time until their whole race was extinct. For now, he would just enjoy having them worship the ground he walked on. Even now they stood bowing at his feet, praising him.
"Hail, Baby! Hail, Baby! Hail, Baby!"
Those words brought a frown to his face. He really hated that name, and he never claimed it for his own. Dr. Myuu had taken some sick pleasure in calling him that, thinking he would soon be the father to the ultimate being. He needed a new name. A real name.
Turning to look at the progress his workers were doing, he approached the giant machine that was beginning to resemble a giant robot head. Running his hand along the metal surface, he wondered that, when the time came, if he should take the name his ancestors had given this beautiful machine back when it was nothing more than blueprints that had been imprinted in his brain.
"Soon nothing will stand in my way." he said to the machine. "Ultimate power shall be mine, Hatchiyack!"
(A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming. Baby is building Hatchiyack. I mentioned earlier that I would be adding things from The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. By the way, how did you like how Baby was manipulating everything to his benefit? This isn't to say that Frieza wasn't in control of his actions, he was. Baby was just hitching a ride inside him and making suggestions along the way. See what happens to our heroes next time.)
