Chapter 32: Saiyan Pride
Gohan and Trunks stood side by side, their golden auras flaring to the maximum as they lunged toward the powered up Baby. The Half-Saiyan student and mentor duo unleashed a fury of attacks upon the Tuffle, but to no avail. Each punch and kick thrown was effortlessly swatted away or dodged like they had been thrown by a toddler.
Baby Vegeta chuckled throughout the entire exchange, even with their combined effort the two Half-Saiyans weren't leaving a scratch on the Tuffle controlled Saiyan. With minimal effort, Baby grabbed the next blow thrown by Gohan and smashed him into his former student, sending both Super Saiyans careening across the ground. "Face it, you've lost this fight. Lay down and die!"
In what appeared to be a dark room…
Vegeta could feel all that had been going on outside his body, but he couldn't control any of it. His consciousness was locked away in this dark corner of his mind. The Saiyan Prince felt embarrassed, ridiculed, it was absolutely pathetic that a weakling like this Tuffle could control him and he couldn't do anything about it. His anger rose and rose but it didn't appear to help anything at all. Trunks, Bulma, and everyone else was doomed, and it was all his fault. The Saiyan Prince roared in rage as he was desperate to break free of his mind's prison.
As his anger burst forth, Vegeta heard a familiar voice echo throughout his head, "Forget it Vegeta..I'm in control. And when I'm done you will kill what's left of your race." A cackle echoed through the chambers of Vegeta's mind as Baby ridiculed the Saiyan Prince.
Back on the outside..
Gohan was back on the offensive but it didn't matter much, his every move was being deflected like he was a mosquito trying desperately to land on its next victim. Trunks was just getting back into the fray, matching his mentor's blows and trying to get their attacks in sync.
Baby was effortlessly brushing off the combined assault of the two Super Saiyans, eager to flex the muscles of his newfound power the Tuffle controlled Saiyan let out a large kiai to send his enemies once again flying across the landscape.
This time however, Baby wasn't content to just watch them recover, he burst into the air after them, unleashing a bone shattering blow into the stomach of Gohan that caused the older Half-Saiyan to cough up a small puddle of blood as he crashed into the ground. Baby cackled and kept up on the assault, slamming his fists repeatedly into the Super Saiyan's torso. Gohan's screams of pain pierced the air as Baby continued crushing his ribs, blood spurting from his mouth.
Back in the dark room of Vegeta's mind..
"GOD DAMN IT! If my body is going to kill Kakarot's son, it should be me in control!" Vegeta screamed internally as Baby inflicted tremendous pain outside. "You bastard!"
"Give it up Vegeta, your body is mine now." Baby's voice echoed throughout the Saiyan Prince's mind, "This power is all mine."
"People like you are pathetic! You didn't earn this power, you stole it! You have no sense of honor or pride!"
"Pride? Who needs pride or honor, all that matters is the power one has!" Baby's cackle echoed through the dark room of Vegeta's mind, encompassing the Saiyans whole head.
Vegeta screamed with all his might, trying to block out the noise of Baby's ridiculing laughter.
"Shut up and give up already!" Baby shouted internally.
Back on the battlefield…
Suddenly, Baby's strikes on Gohan had stopped, it's as if he was distracted. Trunks was back on his feet ready to jump in and defend his mentor, but he was perplexed by the sudden pause in hostility. As he was observing, Trunks noticed a flicker in Baby's energy...his aura had blinked gold..it was just a miniscule moment, but it was definitely there.
Trunks wasn't content to observe any longer and took this opportunity to strike Baby while he seemed otherwise occupied. The Half Saiyan put as much strength as he could into a ferocious punch to the side of Baby Vegeta's head, causing a thunderous boom on impact that shook the landscape. Trunks was bewildered as he saw his fist still indented in the side of his father's controlled body. Baby Vegeta had taken the strongest blow Trunks could muster, with his defenses completely down, and was standing there like it was nothing.
Chuckling lightly, the Tuffle turned his head back, pushing Trunks' hand off his face causing the Half Saiyan to pull his arm back. Baby continued laughing as he saw the panic enter Trunks' face after the Super Saiyan had realized his efforts were futile. "Do you see now? I will have my revenge!" Baby unloaded a devastating right hand into the gut of his golden haired opponent, crushing the ribs and dropping him to the ground like a paperweight.
Baby hopped backwards and held out his hands, "This is it! This is my vengeance personified!" A dark ball of energy and lightning started to swirl in front of the Tuffle's hands at an alarming rate.
In Baby/Vegeta's head…
Vegeta could see all that was in Baby's eyes..and it only made him angrier. His son was going to die in front of him and he could do nothing. For a brief second while he was trying to drown out Baby he could feel his energy again, like he was gaining ground. It was exhausting..this wasn't the physical fighting style that a battle hardened Saiyan was used to, this was a battle of the mind. Focusing all his anger, the Saiyan Prince tried hard to drown out the cackling voice of Baby by screaming with all his might, his pride, and even his love. This was his son, he may not have done much for him but he was his heir, a Saiyan Prince in his own right. His Son is still fighting, there was no way in hell Vegeta was going to give up now.
Back on the battlefield…
Trunks had barely made his way back to his feet, his now purple hair draped past his shoulders, his Super Saiyan energy all but depleted. The Half-Saiyan would be damned if he would go out lying down though, especially not in his father's eyes. Trunks could only watch as Baby continued to gather energy, powerless to stop him.
A moment later, he was joined by Gohan, the now black haired Half-Saiyan stood next to Trunks, "If we go out, we go out together."
Trunks chuckled, "Yeah, you won't have to wait for me this time."
Baby suddenly started laughing as he stopped gathering energy, "Damn it! You're still trying? This is my body!" Baby's laughter turned into screams of frustration as his aura flashed between Silver and Gold, "My control is ABSOLUUUTE!"
Trunks and Gohan watched perplexed, they each wondered why Baby was hesitating to kill them. A silent moment provided their answer in the form of a blip of energy..Super Saiyan Energy..not coming from them, but from where Baby was standing.
The Tuffle Controlled Saiyan was screaming in what appeared to be monstrous pain, howling only one long, echoing word as a golden aura exploded out of Vegeta's body, "NO!"
An absolutely devastating explosion of energy erupted from where Vegeta's body had been standing, blinding anyone and anything that was within miles. Trunks and Gohan could see nothing for more than a few moments, but when their eyes cleared, they couldn't believe them.
There stood what appeared to be Vegeta, with a form and power neither of them recognized. His golden hair fell beyond his waist and lightning swirled around his person like a tropical storm. Vegeta was staring at a smaller, blue figure in front of him, with a look of stone cold death.
With the flick of a wrist, an explosion incinerated every molecule of Baby's form, ceasing the Tuffle's existence in this world. Vegeta's eyes rolled back as he started falling to the ground. Before his body hit the dirt, his hair was black and his aura had dissipated.
"FATHER!"
Authors Note: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this short chapter with an epic Vegeta moment. (I hope it feels as epic reading as I thought it was writing) This is indeed a short chapter, but it was devoted solely to the Baby part of this Saga. I will follow it up with this next chapter devoted solely to the fight with Babidi and his minions in the appropriately named Chapter 33: Babidi's Minions.
