Chapter 17: Baby's Conquest of Earth, Part I
As Trunks and co. were about to be acquainted with the inhabitants of New Namek, Baby's stolen spaceship, OctoPUS 9000, was on its way to the planet nearest to Planet Reito that had a teleportation circle connected to a planet inside the Milky Way installed.
Baby, resolute on getting revenge on the four remaining Saiyans at all costs, was meditating inside Piccolo's body, committing himself to fighting illusions of Gohan based on Piccolo's memories of the half-Saiyan.
"This body I have acquired possesses ample knowledge of that low-class Saiyan's son, and the process of training through mental simulations is well ingrained into its muscle memory. The only thing it lacks is… the power it takes to match the mightiest half-breed. It is probably best that I avoid conducting my ambush of him on Earth, for the Saiyan mongrel could grow desperate and end me along with the Namekian if pressured with his Earthling mother's home planet's fate."
Baby continued meditating until the central computer of OctoPUS 9000 that he hacked to respond directly to his verbal command announced that they were within 800,000 kilometers of the destination.
"Good. Not only is this planet perfect for gaining quick access to Planet Earth through the teleportation circle that I had Machine Mutants install, but it is also very lush with wildlife and clean, pure water… The kind of environment I want future generations of Tsufurians to live and prosper under. I will refuel this primitive Earth spaceship with the water that can be found here, and replenish my host's stamina. The pristine water that can be found here will do wonders to ensure I can conserve energy for fighting this 'Gohan' Saiyan."
Upon landing in his destination, Baby exited Piccolo's body after laying an egg inside him and basked in the lush and refreshing air in the vast wilderness that stretched as far as the eye could see before him, muttering, "Yes, this feeling… It is the feeling of Mother Nature, the force that gave birth to all lifeforms… the feeling that was so profoundly present in my homeland of Planet Tsufuru before it was ravaged by the barbaric Saiyan army. Feeling it directly through my own skin, down to my bones… It makes me more resolute yet to bring true Utopia to all intelligent life in the multiverse, to create a world with no fear, no strife… where all creation can remain under the flag of the Great King Tsufuru!"
Just then, Baby's emotional monologue was interrupted by a distress signal coming from OctoPUS 9000, with a voice message from Gohan being relayed through the central computer.
"Piccolo-san! It is nice to be able to speak to you again! I thank you again for taking good care of my brother and my daughter Pan, I hope they haven't been too much of a burden on you?"
"G-Gohan…" muttered Piccolo's half-conscious body as it tried and failed to break Baby's control through the egg implanted within him, urging Baby to step on the back of his hand as Piccolo struggled in complete futility to reach out to his disciple.
"Hmph. It takes a uniquely persistent type of iconoclast to still linger to one's individuality when my egg has hatched within them, I suppose the bond you have with your disciple is one that surpasses reason and logic… But it is one forged through nothing but barbaric conflicts waged between fellow monkeys! As easy as it would be for me to simply mimic your voice and inflection through my control over your central computer, it appears that leaving your body unattended presents unnecessary risk! The next egg I implant will simply rob you of all bodily freedom until after I've made my wish with the Ultimate Dragon Balls, but the two eggs will keep your consciousness linked to mine! The demise of your teammates, the acquisition of your disciple's body under the command of the Mightiest King of them all, myself, shall be etched into each nook and cranny of your very skull!"
Baby then liquefied himself and entered Piccolo's body proper once more before using super speed to appear before the central command chair of OctoPUS 9000, at which point he used his control over its systems to create false images of Trunks, Goten, Future Trunks and Pan in the background. He then initiated a call with Gohan at Satan City, prompting Gohan to pick up the call.
"Piccolo-san! I am glad to be in touch with you again! The two Kaioshin-sama told us who were waiting here on Earth that Vegeta-san had gone to Planet Reito to assist Trunks, and that my father was going with him as backup! Since you five seem to be safe and sound, am I right to presume that you took care of the Machine Mutant threat?"
"Yes, Gohan. He was a tough one, but even when taking and moving on from host to host he was no match for the power of Potara Fusion. I believe Son and Vegeta should be at the Kaioshin-kai discussing how to undo the Fusion, as I presume they told you sometime that it is ordinarily permanent."
"I-I see… What of the seventh Dragon Ball? Bulma-san built a device that links a supercomputer she built at Dende-kun's palace to the Super Radar that Kaiba built through a special cog that Goten brought on the way from Kaio-sama's planet, so we are aware you've only acquired the sixth."
"Not to worry, Gohan. Through torturing Baby we found a simple and easy way to gain access to the location of the seventh Dragon Ball, a trinket known as the teleportation circle system! My clone will simply use the system to gain easy and simple access to the planet the seventh Dragon Ball found its way in, reconvene with Vegetto through Shunkan Idou, and deliver the final Dragon Ball long before the six-month time limit."
"Wow! You really have everything figured out! Bulma-san and Dr. Briefs built an Attack Ball from the remains of the one Nappa flew here to Earth with, so as soon as you give me the coordinates to the place closest to Earth that you guys can perform a landing in, I can come to meet you! I can't wait to see how Goten and Pan have grown and changed, I even hear she's a Super Saiyan now! Blood really is thicker than water, she reminds me too much of myself when I was young! Hahahaha!"
"Y-Yes, that she does, indeed. I will give you the coordinates now, we will convene there within… How about, six days?"
"No need, Piccolo-san! This one can make it there within two with the enhancements Dr. Briefs made, but if I really speed on it I should be able to make it in 18 hours! Once there, we'll just encapsulate the tiny Attack Ball and make it back to Earth together! I really can't miss such a momentous occasion in my daughter's life! My mother always wanted me to be a great father as well as a model citizen!"
"Y-Yes, if you insist. I've sent the coordinates, we will meet in twenty hours."
"Roger that, Piccolo-san! Say hi to everyone else on board, for me! I can't wait to meet the other Trunks-san from the future, his warning to us really saved my life!"
"Don't worry, he's exactly as you knew him. Pure and untainted, resolute in bringing peace to all timelines at all costs. I'll be heading toward the place I designated now," said Baby through Piccolo's mouth as he cut contact. He then thought, "It almost seems as though he's in a hurry to meet me… Even considering that this 'Piccolo' Namekian has been around for him longer than his failure father, I can't shake the feeling that he knows more than he's letting on! I'd better program the Machine Mutants in Milky Way remotely to build exact replicas of the mongrel Saiyans to aid in my deception of him, growing complacent in a situation where the element of surprise is as paramount as in this case is suicide!"
Baby did just that remotely before spending the next seventeen hours practicing mock battles against Gohan in his head, at which point he encapsulated OctoPUS 9000, had his Machine Mutant agents place the dummies of the others adjacent to the teleportation circle placed on the Milky Way planet, and swallowed the six Ultimate Dragon Balls to lessen the odds of Gohan managing to steal them away in a worst-case scenario. Piccolo-Baby then entered the teleportation field, where he was greeted by four Machine Mutant dummies that looked exactly identical to the four Saiyans he defeated on Planet Reito. They greeted their master, saying, "It is nice to finally meet you, our master. We swear complete and undying allegiance to your grand plan of expanding the Tsufurian Empire!" in a completely monotone voice. Baby snapped at them saying, "Fools! Even with the detailed files I sent them remotely, the Machine Mutants I tasked with building these decoys only ended up creating generic replicas of their own subdued minds! Oh well, the distraction I need to acquire Gohan's body need only be momentary. Even if he arrives here an hour or two earlier or later than the projected time, that still gives us a one-hour window to prepare a trap to ensure his permanent enslavement! Until then, you four shall keep your mouths shut and only speak when the action is given command! Is that clear?!"
"Yes, Baby-sama! Sir!"
"And for the last time, for now it's Piccolo-san! It is surprisingly frustrating that leaving this Namekian's body to install eggs in all of you might give the other mongrel headed here a split second's opening to sense his Ki! You will either speak when spoken to, or you will not speak!"
For the next three hours, the decoys of Trunks and Pan set up a fire and hunted a large pack of deer to cook their meat, upon which they began ingesting the meat as the Future Trunks decoy engaged in analyzing Baby's data profile of the original Future Trunks to the letter to ensure that their true identities wouldn't be given away upon interaction. Minutes after the 20-hour deadline elapsed, an Attack Ball neared the atmosphere of the Milky Way planet, upon which Gohan exited the spacecraft before raising his Ki. Baby then split his body into two and placed one of his halves inside the Pan decoy, having it pilot OctoPUS 9000 to convene with Gohan faster than the others.
"T-The spaceship?! A-And is that Pan-chan I see at the helm?! Holy crud, she really has changed over the past few months I haven't seen her! Piccolo-san really is a strict master, teaching my nine-year old to pilot the spaceship! I sure am proud of her!" said Gohan as he walked toward OctoPUS 9000, at which point he greeted the Pan decoy, but didn't take any steps toward its direction.
"Papa? Papa! Why are you acting so strange, all of a sudden? It's me, we brought the first six Dragon Balls here, don't you see?" said the Pan decoy as she took out a fake Dragon Radar from inside her pocket, at which point Gohan removed his reading glasses and sped toward the Pan decoy immediately, punching her head off within the moment of contact before snatching the fake radar and destroying the body.
"You've underestimated me, Baby. Goten has been periodically giving me transmissions and gave me ample knowledge that the backup radar that Trunks-kun brought on the trip was assimilated into a robot that Pan-chan befriended! Evidently you did not bother possessing my brother and missed your chance to catch me by surprise, that will be the start of your downfall!"
"Hehehehehehe… There are others to serve as great vessels in your pathetic brother's stead, I need not be so careful," said Piccolo-Baby as he appeared before Gohan and the destroyed Pan replica, at which point Piccolo-Baby took off his weighted clothing and recalled the portion of himself that he'd planted inside the Pan decoy back inside his mouth. He then enhanced his control over Piccolo's body until red markings appeared on his face and Piccolo's iris and pupils changed to snake-like slits as he let off a massive, orange-and pink aura that crackled with purple lightning.
"Didn't even use the other half of you to catch me by surprise, did you? You sure are confident," said Gohan as he, too, raised his power in turn, causing his power to shake the planet until its tectonic plates were completely out of sync, causing its dozen continental landmasses to all collide with other continental plates and envelop the entire planet in a planet-wide earthquake.
"Fufufufufufu… To think that the self-professed Champion of Justice would ravage an alien planet in this way. You should know to respect Mother Nature," said Piccolo-Baby as Gohan then blasted the heads of each of the other three decoys Baby brought with him, revealing them all to have been pale imitations of his friends.
"I admire your conviction in being able to behead the likenesses of your family and friends so relentlessly… You have changed compared to fifteen years ago, student."
"I am no student of yours! And you'll pay for what you've done to Piccolo-san! Your streak of causing nothing but pain and tragedy to all who oppose you ends tonight!"
Gohan landed an uppercut on Piccolo-Baby before the image of himself escaped Piccolo's retinas, at which point he crushed Piccolo's shoulder joints and then landed a kiai on Piccolo's head, causing multiple veins to rupture and spurting blood over the ground. However, Piccolo's possessed body had otherworldly stamina that was significantly greater than what Gohan had anticipated, and Baby simply remotely altered the platelet count of Piccolo's spilled blood and shot the dried blood as hydrokinetic blades, which tore up Gohan's necktie when he used it to trap them all. Gohan simply raised his power higher by 5%, dissipating the high-pressure blood blades.
"Raising your power higher still, eh? You've engaged in quite a bit of training even while the Namekian and your friends were away… I take it that having your mother and future wife eaten by Majin Boo was quite the wake-up call for you… Heheheheheheh."
"How about we drop the parlor tricks and finish this quickly, Tsufurian. I know all about your history with the Saiyans, but our generation is one that is far removed from the one that lived under King Vegeta's rule. I can't let any more lives be lost in your petty and personal vendetta, I won't allow it in the name of justice!"
"Petty?! What do you know of petty?! My forefathers inherited the land of Planet Plant from its original inhabitants, and treated them humanely even as the Saiyan pestilence kept slaughtering them in betrayal of their kindness to steal their habitats! Justice is on the side of he who stands in defense of the weak and defenseless, the savage and cannibal Saiyans must not be allowed to propagate their filthy blood!"
"All you are doing is clinging to a past that is no more, Baby! If you promise to leave Piccolo-san's body and never steal the bodies of innocents, I may be willing to negotiate with the two Kaioshin-sama to allow you a place to live out the rest of your days. I am not like Vegeta-san, I believe fully in second chances. Unlike Cell, you don't seem to be the type of person who can't be reasoned with. You've just taken a step in the wrong direction, your missteps can be remedied!"
"I will remedy your brain! And the Tsufurian Renaissance shall be completed at my hand!" yelled Piccolo-Baby as he enlarged his body and tried in futility to hit Gohan with his increased size and weight, at which point Gohan thought, "Good, I've succeeded in getting him worked up. I was under the impression that attacking his head might force him out with how much of his energy is concentrated there, but it appears there's a second part of his body that houses a second power source… If I had to guess, it's his heart! But since Piccolo-san's body is capable of regenerating, he must be deliberately suppressing the Ki signal of wherever he has moved Piccolo-san's heart, even if he has to sacrifice some of his combat prowess due to the strain that effort causes! In which case…"
Gohan then blasted Piccolo-Baby away with a kiai and then powered up to full power, causing his strength to be felt in the universe over. He was enveloped by an aura of pure white that neared the size of a large sports stadium, at which point he concentrated most of his power to his palms and muttered, "Ka… Me… Ha… Me…"
"A power that would be sufficient to be inducted a Hakaishin candidate in many of the other universes… Your power is second only to Vegeta's fused form! How I've longed to seize your body as my own!" said Baby as he then powered up Piccolo's body to the limit and generated an octagonal barrier formed of layers of repulsive Ki on the outside, which vibrated at such an incomprehensible frequency underneath that it sped up Baby's perception of time through massively surpassing the speed of light, giving Baby the perfect tactical advantage to defeat Gohan with. Gohan, however, thought to himself, "As I thought… I managed to bait him into revealing his full power. A significant amount of energy is concentrating itself into Piccolo-san's liver, I will simply break Baby's barrier with the first blast and armor myself with a barrier of my own in the instant it strikes him, so that I can force him out quickly! I mustn't allow this to drag out, Baby is as slick and meticulous as he is vengeful. Here goes!"
Gohan fired off the Kamehameha at 70% of his maximum strength, cracking the barrier. He quickly stopped supplying energy to the blast as he enveloped a barrier around himself, at which point he broke the barrier with a roundhouse kick and thought, "You're mine!"
However, just as he entered Baby's barrier, he realized that he broke the barrier too fast for the distorted speed of time to return to normal, and the oxygen contained in his barrier was quickly depleted and replaced with hydrogen dioxide, forcing him to abruptly turn off his shield. Gohan's speed still exceeded Baby's, and he managed a simultaneous hit on Piccolo-Baby's head and liver, only for Piccolo's liver to explode and reveal the six Ultimate Dragon Balls that Baby placed next to it.
"W-What?!"
"Hahahahahaha! You fell for it after all! Evidently you'd thought everything out, other than the fact that the great Tsufurian King sets more than one or two traps when he engages his enemies!" yelled Baby triumphantly as he emerged from Piccolo's heart, which he'd placed behind his spine. He manipulated Piccolo's spinal column to wrap itself around the asphyxiated Gohan, before entering Gohan's own spinal column. In his last moment of defiance, Gohan ripped off Piccolo's head and donated what little Ki he still could exercise control over in his body to it, falling to the ground soon afterwards.
For the next five minutes, a furious struggle for control over Gohan's body ensued between the two minds fighting for dominance, prompting a growth that resembled Baby's face that emerged next to Gohan's left shoulder blade to remark, "Hehehehehe… You've put up the greatest struggle of anybody that I've subdued, even moreso than Prince Vegeta's little half-breed son! But you see, there is a difference that goes above and beyond species, and even power, between us! What you fight for are the safety of people already doomed to enter my grand empire as slaves, with the well-being of those already defeated at my hand as your motivator! I, on the other hand, live to see only the future! The future manifest when I, the great Tsufurian King, shall wish upon the Ultimate Dragon Balls to turn all intelligent life in the Multiverse into my Tsufurian subjects! It is you who shall submit in the face of true justice, for I am the bringer of an eternal peace that cannot be tainted by your Saiyan hands!"
"I-I won't let you… My understanding is that my death will be your death when we're merged to this level, I've studied parasites like you through Kaioshin-sama's help! The fact that you've filled this desolate planet with nothing but decoys will be your downfall!"
"Will it?" said a familiar voice as it descended down on the still-defiant Gohan, revealing his possessed master, now fully regenerated, to be standing right above him. This completely tamed Gohan's strong will to detonate himself, at which point the destroyed decoy bodies of the other teammates that had taken off with Pan on the intergalactic journey said through their broken voice boxes, "Gohan-san… It hurts, it hurts so much… How… How could you blow up our heads…"
Gohan, horrified, destroyed the decoy Machine Mutants with a kiai, only for the destroyed replica of Pan to crawl onto his back and say, "Papa… Papa… I hate you, how could you do this… I-It hurts…"
"Uwarrrrrrgh!" yelled Gohan as Baby took advantage of Gohan's torment and consternation to win the struggle handily, causing Gohan's suit to melt away and be replaced with a similar bodysuit to the one he donned in Future Trunks' body, as visors and red markings appeared over Gohan's eyes and forehead and chin, and Gohan's hairstyle changed to a mohawk. The fully realized Gohan-Baby released a power that shook the known universe, destroying the ravaged planet completely. He then had his possessed mind-slave Piccolo hand him the six Ultimate Dragon Balls, upon which they took off on OctoPUS 9000 toward Earth in triumphance.
"He gave me a bit more trouble than I'd anticipated, but at last the boundless power rivaling the twelve Hakaishin themselves is mine! I am Baby no longer, I shall henceforth be known as the Mightiest King! Hahahahahaha! The dawn of the Infinite Tsufurian Empire shines upon this world tonight!"
To be continued…