Gohan and Videl turned back, looking surprised to see Chayote catching up with them. Had they not slowed down their pace to even up with the incoming Saiyan, it would have taken Chayote a lot longer. It was because she was suppressing her Ki the entire time to prevent Goku and Chi-Chi from giving chase to her or any of the other infected members of the Dragon Team from attacking her.
"Suppress your Ki. Now," Chayote said bluntly. The two teens followed her request with no pointless bickering or objections, even if it would make them fly much slower and dampen their battle powers.
"What's going on? Why did Gohan's parents attack us and why are we hiding our Ki?" Videl finally mustered up the courage to ask.
"An artificial lifeform from space named Baby infected Bulma and the party riding along her spaceship to rescue Vegeta with some sort of parasite. It passes along from person to person and brainwashes them. I'm working to fix it, but right now we can't know whom we can trust. It's safest to assume that we can trust no one. Because Kakarot and Chi-Chi attacked you two, I'll just include you two into my circle of trust for now," Chayote let the two in on the know as briefly as she could.
"So, Vegeta-san failed and Baby has awakened. It's surprising to see it infecting people. It's not at all what Dr. Lychee told us about it," Gohan became about as grim as the situation demanded him to be. If it weren't for the Super Holy Water, his parents would've been brainwashed for good, as far as they knew.
"Things have gotten extremely dangerous. I need to get to the God Temple to retrieve the Super Holy Water and hand it to Dr. Puri. She's equipped the Luud Star with the Dark Planet's filtration system, which will let her disperse the Super Holy Water throughout the Earth's atmosphere and undo Baby's brainwashing," Chayote gritted her teeth in desperation. Her goal was right in front of her, but the fact that Goku knew about that plan made her worry. If Goku managed to figure it out, that meant that the rest of the infected Dragon Team members could too.
Right now, Chayote didn't know how well they could coordinate their plans or work together. Goku and Chi-Chi appeared to work in tandem, as well as their clear-minded versions. It was possible that if all of them came together, they'd be just as troublesome to stop as the genuine Dragon Team.
"My dad…" Videl mumbled out with melancholic sadness in her tone.
"Don't worry, Mark is okay. He was actually speeding your way, so we should catch up to him soon enough. I'll have to ask you two to rush home and move Navy somewhere safe. The infected threatened him and I'm a bit worried they might hold him hostage for leverage," Chayote turned to Videl. The teen didn't look too excited about being put on bodyguard duty, but she reluctantly nodded.
"Will this Super Holy Water really free them? Maybe some sort of chemical or electronic device could eliminate them from the inside more effectively?" Gohan wondered.
"What about the Dragon Balls? I'm not entirely sure, but it's almost been a year since we restored you back from your petrified state, right, Chayote-san?" Videl turned to Chayote. "We've befriended this Machine Mutant scout named Giru, he's got a Dragon Radar functionality ingrained in him. It works even on petrified Dragon Balls, so we can collect them and just wait it out in a safe location for them to return to normal, then ask the Divine Dragon to destroy the parasite and free everyone's minds."
"Just like we did with the Artificial Human cybernetic conversion!" Gohan cheered up so much that he couldn't contain himself from pumping his fists.
"Shit, we're so short on time!" Chayote cursed, feeling her heart rate picking up which meant that she might lose precise Ki control unless she regulated her breathing or lit up a smoke like Bulma taught her back when the two of them were working together. "Bulma's about to complete fixing the Capsule Corps Star, meaning she could beam Baby from wherever in the universe right here to Earth, then there are the Dragon Balls… Not to mention, now that brainwashed Kakarot knows we suspect something, they might bolster their ranks even more! We can't waste time, we need to act now and get rid of the brainwashing as fast as possible. The Dragon Balls might work, but we don't have the time to look for them or to wait for them to activate again. The Super Holy Water is risky, but it's the quickest solution."
"Bolster their ranks? How does that parasite even work? How does it spread, what exactly does it do, besides brainwashing?" Gohan asked.
"We don't know for sure. However, I've figured some things out watching Kakarot trying to infect you. For some reason, he didn't immediately just spring the trap for you. It was as if Kakarot was setting up for something. There must be some conditions that he needs to meet to infect others, which is good for us. It gives you time to escape if you're ever cornered," Chayote looked back in the direction she just fled from.
"Us? What about you?" Videl asked.
"They don't seem to like me at all. Since this Baby is, apparently, some sort of Tsufurian super-organism, it isn't overly fond of Saiyans, because Saiyans caused the Tsufurian genocide long ago. Baby seems to be able to step over its pride and infect Saiyans if it's absolutely necessary, but the parasites must draw the line at the Legendary Super Saiyan–the fabled figure of Saiyan legends. It wouldn't team up with me under any circumstances, Kakarot made it abundantly clear," Chayote pointed out. "There, it's Mark's hover car."
The trio shot straight down, approaching Mark's hover car from the side, and signaling for him to stop. Mark fumbled out of the car and wrapped his arms around Videl, pressing her so close to him it didn't look like he was willing to ever let her go again. Videl looked stunned at first, with her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly ajar, but then she seemed to get how lucky she was that Baby didn't infect her father.
"You're okay… You're okay, Videl… Thank God!" Mark bawled his eyes out.
"I'm glad you're okay too, Dad," Videl smiled.
"I guess you bombing that election turned out for the better," Chayote cast a sharp stare at the tear-jerking scene of the family reunion she helped realize by putting her own family at risk. "If Mark became the King of the World, Baby surely would've seen him as a useful enough asset to brainwash when Baby inevitably comes to conquer Earth."
"Conquer the Earth?" Gohan gasped. "Why would he do that?"
"I can't tell you for certain, but it's clear that he's doing it. Why else infect Bulma and all our powerhouses? If I had to guess, he doesn't fancy the fact that Saiyans are still thriving and he'll most likely try wiping them out off of the face of the Earth," Chayote looked up at a blank point in the sky, imagining being able to see eye-to-eye with the parasitic life form. "Hey, Mark. I pulled Videl out for you, now you owe me one. Pick up Navy and get him to safety. Get him somewhere where neither Bulma nor anyone we know would think of looking for him. Videl, make sure you suppress your Ki at all times."
"R-Right!" Mark nodded with a snot hanging from his nostril and teary eyes.
"Wait, what are you planning to do? Will you try to sneak onto the God Temple with your Ki suppressed?" Gohan confronted Chayote.
"No, there's still a decent chance that even Upa and Dende might be infected. Upa will probably cook up some sort of magical do-hickey to trap me and alert the rest if that is the case. I can take down anyone one-on-one, but I won't last long against everyone all at once. There's a reason nobody took all of us down when we put our heads and swing our fists together. Shit, when I was a stupid brat and didn't know any better, I figured I'd need to eliminate every single one of those Earthlings one day, but I didn't think I'd be confronting them like this," Chayote slapped her ravaged by pulsating veins forehead and shook her head, trying to calm down her nerves before she bulked up and betrayed their position.
"You don't have to fight alone," Gohan put up his dukes.
"That's very kind of you, kid, but I won't put another mother's child in danger. Even if the fate of the Saiyans is at stake. The thing is, we've been kind of horrible throughout all of our history, so maybe we had all of this coming all along. I won't put you in harm's way to pay for something some old-timey Saiyans did centuries ago. It ain't right," Chayote patted Gohan's head with a bitter look on her face. "Just like it ain't right that Navy should have to pay for the way I was born, but Baby's goons made it clear that they would hurt him if it came to that."
"It doesn't matter!" Gohan argued passionately. "If I get hurt or if I get infected, as long as you get the Super Holy Water, nothing else matters. Can't you see? This is like a game of rugby. You need to work in a team and someone will get taken down, but it's all worth it if you can get the ball and bring it to the goalpost. It will restore anyone that will get infected!"
"Maybe… If Dr. Puri's right about this. Kakarot sure seemed to shake his knees about it, so at the very least the parasites are chickening out about it enough to defend the Super Holy Water," Chayote sighed.
"When I said that you don't have to fight alone, I didn't mean just me. There are many fighters that Baby might not immediately think of. Strong but often overlooked warriors that might not win, but they'll stand with you and help you get to the goalpost with the ball," Gohan argued his case.
"Maybe you're right…" Chayote stroked her chin. "Though collecting all of them will come at a price. We'll be risking running into parasites the entire time, and now that Kakarot knows about our intentions, Baby's infected squad will target Kami Upa and Dende for sure."
"They'll attack the God Temple whether or not we do something. All of them can suppress their Ki too, so we won't know what's happening until the last moment. They may be rushing the God Temple as we speak, so we should use this time to scout as many fighters as possible," Gohan hurried Chayote with bent knees and pumping knuckles.
"Alright, do whatever you want, I'm not your mom, kid," Chayote nodded, feeling embarrassed that she couldn't out-argue some snotty teen. She'll have a problem on her hands when Navy finally learns to argue and get himself into trouble.
"Gohan-kun, be careful," Videl turned to Gohan while Mark tried dragging her into his hover car, hurrying her to pick up Navy and find a safe place for all of them to sit this whole thing through.
"Right, you too," Gohan nodded with a hopeful grin on his face. Chayote and Gohan took off toward their first destination at around the same time as Mark and Videl took off in their hover car. The first pair had the fate of the world and the future of the Saiyan race resting in their hands, whereas the second was only responsible for the safety of Chayote's entire world. It was a grim thought that popped into the back of Chayote's mind, but she'd rather let all the Saiyans who came here from Planet Vegeta die out than lose her little boy.
Lapis sat on his knees, observing a pair of violet bull-like behemoths with thick eggplant-color fur and gorgeous golden horns munching grass from afar. Further still, there was another pair of Minotauruses. It was fascinating that something this massive would be satisfied with a single field of grass a day. Monster Island had countless fields and jungles untouched by the human hand, so it was just about the only place in the known world where magnificent animals like the Minotaurus could still survive and thrive.
Looking a tad miffed, Lapis stood up and looked back to the right. His sensory technology picked up an incoming energy signature. It was one of the first that was added to his registry, so there was no chance for him to not recognize it, even though Chayote suppressed her Ki, for whatever reason. It wasn't long before the Saiyan, accompanied by Gohan, landed behind Lapis. The appearance of the unknown people and the influx of new smells made the closest Minotaur look up and growl while dragging its hoof across the ground while the rest still whiffed the air and desperately scanned their surroundings with their empty, cream-colored eyes for any potential threats to gore.
"Great, you've disturbed the Minotauruses," Lapis grumbled while scolding the pair with a harsh stare.
Bellowing its heart out, the noble beast charged at the trio, seeing red despite the presence of a Monster Island Ranger in Lapis. Resorting to stopping the beast, Lapis prepared to knock it out, but Gohan dashed in between the ranger and the charging beast, extending his hands and relaxing them. Strange grumbling and humming sounds began coming out from Gohan's lips as the teen waved his hands out in front of him. The sudden influx of Ki that picked up from Gohan's body made his eyes glow red, while the stunned beast saw nothing but Gohan's hypnotizing gaze and the alluring movement of his hands.
The Minotaurus flopped on the ground face-first and erupted into a fit of grungy snoring. The other beasts that hadn't yet turned berserk at the sight of unfamiliar people noticed Lapis and his Monster Island Ranger uniform and settled down, while some of them returned to the unimpressive task of munching on grass. Stunned by his own success, Gohan chuckled and began innocently stroking the back of his head.
"I always wanted to try that technique. Muten Roshi-san said it was exceptionally effective against my dad, but I wasn't sure it would work," Gohan said in high spirits. "We riled these Tauruses up, it's only right that I settle them down peacefully."
"Not bad, kid," Lapis shrugged it off, skipping past the stage where he flipped out on the unexpected pair of visitors but only because Gohan dealt with the dud he helped make. "Why are you here? Moreover, how did you find me?"
"Please," Chayote scoffed. "As if I would let a threat to world peace like the Artificial Humans just wander off after the Android Conflict while I'm in charge of the largest security company in the world. I never lost track of you two. You'd think that Lazuli would be easier to track but… You settling down with a stable job and starting a family actually made you the easier one to find."
"Okay, I'm sure my wife has a biscuit jar back in the cabin. I can give you one for all of your fine effort," Lapis replied with dry wit oozing from his tone. "If you want to start something here, I'd rather we found a more peaceful place. This is a natural reserve, one of its kind. 194 unique monster species live on this island, 325 unique kinds of insects, 291 unique types of plants, and 153 unique types of mushrooms all treat this island as its home."
"I'm not here to fight you," Chayote shook her hands out in front of her to defuse the situation. "In fact, I was kind of hoping to get you to help me out. I'm not sure how aware you are about what's going on in the rest of the world, you being isolated like this on this remote island is why I even tried coming here, but the entire world's at stake."
"Sorry, I've decided to not bother myself with any business that doesn't threaten this island. If I deem that something's an enemy of the wildlife, I'll put them down for good, but that's my call to make. I'm not dancing to any uptight lady's tune again," Lapis crossed his arms, still visibly irritated because Chayote and Gohan made his job more difficult and nearly made him knock out one of his protected animals.
"There's a space-born parasite ravaging the world. It brainwashes people and makes them serve this alien super-organism called Baby. It's got your sister too during Bulma's trip to rescue Vegeta," Chayote figured that mentioning Lazuli being in trouble would be the key factor of Lapis being onboard.
"Damn it, Lazuli… And here I was saving my off-days to take my wife out for a little hike. Now I guess I'll have to spend them saving the world again," Lapis put his hands on his hips and looked down, resisting the urge to spit by his shoe. "Fine, I'll help you but only to free Lazuli, and it will be the first thing I do. I'm not spending all three of my hard-earned off days in this mess. Let me tell this to my wife, she's my supervisor too. You can rule me in on everything on our way to Lazuli."
"It was a good idea to recruit Lapis-san," Gohan turned to Chayote with a cheerful look. "He's an amazingly powerful warrior, and he'll bolster our ranks tremendously!"
"That's not really why I recruited him," Chayote paced front and back erratically. "Lazuli is a problem for us. Her sensory technology detects life signatures rather than Ki. She'll be able to track us even when our Ki is suppressed, also, she can home in on the life signatures of ordinary, weak people like Mark with little problem where it would be harder for us martial artists. The only reason she's not blowing Navy's safe house or attacking us right now is because she must not yet be in on the know about what Kakarot's plan is. It doesn't look like these parasites operate on hive-mind intelligence. They still need to meet to share ideas and each one might have different ideas about how to do things."
"So you started with Lapis-san because he's built the same way as Lazuli-san, except he's stronger," Gohan snapped his fingers. "A good idea."
"Let's just hope he doesn't take all day. We've got some other people to hit up on the way before we throw ourselves at the God Temple," Chayote sighed, feeling the pressure of this hopeless situation where one mistake might cost her the one she holds the dearest and the innocent friends of hers that are working hard to protect him.