Dragon Ball GT: Piccolo's Counterattack

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

One of the biggest issues I have with GT is how they handled Piccolo, most notably what they did with him in the Baby Saga. So thus I ask this: What if Piccolo actually did take part in the struggle to free the populace of Earth from Baby's control? Baby saga only, no Super 17, no Shadow Dragons.

8. Heroes' Last Stand, the Nightmare Ends

(Heroes' Last Stand, the Nightmare Ends)

Drewhutchison00: Well the chapter is out now, so I hope it satisfies you.

Drewhutchison00: I know this chapter is ridiculously overdue, but it's here now, so better late than never right? I don't know about Piccolo coming up with the plan to cut off the tail, but I can assure you that this isn't going to another Goku solo act.

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The situation was turning more and more grim by the second.

"Dammit, this isn't good." Piccolo gritted his teeth as he and the others watched Goku collapse to the ground, seemingly unconscious "He's running out of Ki and fast, it's amazing he's still able to maintain his Super Saiyan 4 form."

"We can't just sit around and do nothing, we have to help him!" Pan flashed into her Super Saiyan form as she prepared to charge, only to be grabbed by the back of her gi by Piccolo "What are you doing?"

"At the moment, stopping you from getting yourself killed. If you go up there now then you're going to get blasted right out of the sky, and more than likely out of this plain of existence."

"But we can't just-"

"I never said we weren't going to do anything, because we are, but charging at him in a blind rage isn't the way to do this. Especially not when there are innocent bystanders in the area."

"Baby, finish that Saiyan once and for all!" the normal earthlings (still being controlled by Baby keep in mind) started cheering in the distance, drawing a few sweatdrops in response "Pound his face into the ground and use his fur as a pelt, then throw what's left of him into the sun!"

"...Then again, I doubt we'd really be able to call them innocent."

"To be fair, they're just being controlled by Baby and most of them are normal humans, so none of them have really done anything wrong." Majuub pointed out.

"The normal ones, no. People like Bulma on the other hand, that's another story." Piccolo then shot a glance over at Goku, and his gaze hardened "Looks like he's not done yet."

"So are we going to help him?"

"The way Baby is right now, if we try to join in then whatever energy Goku has left is going to wasted worrying about us. If it looks like he's about to get killed, then we'll jump in but not until that happens. Understood?" he was met with two uncertain nods "Good."

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Meanwhile, with the Saiyan in question…

'Dammit, what the hell is taking so long? Those last few Kamehameha waves should've kicked in by now.' Goku gritted his teeth as he lay sprawled out on the ground amongs the rubble 'Don't tell me I'm really going to die like this, after everything…'

"Your time has come Saiyan, far too long overdue if you ask me!' Baby let out a mental snarl from where he was continuing to charge his Galick Gun "Do you have any last words that you would like to share?" he received no reply, and as such he moved in to launch the Super Galick Gun and finish Goku off once and for all, only to stop when crimson-colored electricity began to surge around his body, and he the Super Galick Gun began spraying Ki all over the city, resulting in a series of smaller explosions scattered throughout the area (knocking Bulma unconscious in her tower in the process) and leaving Baby himself to hit the ground with a loud crash, his mind racing as he lay among the debris "I don't understand, who in the hell could've attacked me? It could never have been the Saiyan, he was lying face down in the dirt this whole time. It must have been that worthless Namekian and his group, they're the only other ones on this planet that would dare to oppose my plans! No that's not it, I would've detected their presence closing in on me when I was preparing that attack, unless… Of course! Dammit that cursed Saiyan, it figures that he would have a delayed effect on his attacks. With or without his friends here, I suppose he would need his dirty tricks to have any hand against me and the power I possess."

"Yeah I'm the one using dirty tricks, just like how you turning all of my friends and family into your followers and controlling Vegeta's body is totally okay." Goku floated up to meet Baby at eye level, a confident smirk spreading across his face "Looks to me like you weren't expecting that last attack now were you? Apparently the Kamehameha 10x has a pretty big effect on you, so it's too bad that you're nowhere near as perceptive as Vegeta. You should try to work on that."

"There's only thing I'm going to do Saiyan scum, and that's make sure that I slaughter you as quickly and painfully as I possibly can, so let's just cut to the chase and do what it is we came here to do in the first place!"

"I've heard more than enough out of you already, and right now I can tell that you're having a lot of trouble managing to stand on your own two feet, much less fighting me."

"You're living in your own delusional fantasy then, there's more than enough fight remaining in this body to last me for weeks on end!"

"If that's what you really think, then why don't you go ahead and give it a shot."

"Fine by me, now die Saiyan filth!" Baby let out a primal roar as he pounced forward and tried to grab Goku in his oversized hands.

Thinking quick, Goku blitzed out of the attempted grab and to the side of Baby's head, where he landed a brutal punch to the jaw, only to be met with a Mouth Energy Wave at the same time, resulting in both of them being sent hurtling to the ground with a loud crash and leaving the two of them sprawled out on the ground in simultaneous heaps.

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Meanwhile, on the sidelines…

"This is unbelievable…" Majuub and the others looked on in awe from their place on the sidelines as the battle appeared to reach a stalemate "To think that the two of them would knock each other out like that, and this is what it's like when Goku goes all out in a fight?"

"This isn't like Goku's other fights in the past, for a number of reasons." Piccolo told him, his tone flat, but then he gave a smirk "But in any case it's a good thing he knocked Baby out, even if it won't last, because now is the chance for us to make our move."

"How do you figure? I take it you have a plan then?"

"One thing that I've learned over the years is that you don't go into a situation like this without having a plan, or else you'll end up playing volleyball with a fused Super Saiyan 3 in one of the most humiliating moments in your life." he cringed internally at the memory.

"...What are you talking about?"

"I'll tell you about it later, maybe, but in any case we have to focus."

"Yes, you're right about that." Majuub suddenly gave a grin "Focusing is the most essential key to channeling enough of our power to revive Goku at his full power, so that way we can combine all of our powers and finish off Baby once and for all!"

"That's not what I'm talking about." Piccolo wiped the grin from his face "The fact is that you don't have anywhere near enough power to revive Goku on your own, not since he's a Super Saiyan 4. If we wanted to do that, or even attempt to do that, then we would have to match his power, and even with our combined power the three of us don't have enough energy to pull that off."

"So what do we do then?" asked Pan "The way things are going, Grandpa is gonna need all the help he can get!"

"Which is why right now, we're going to focus on reviving Gohan and the others, and making sure that they're on our side."

"But Piccolo, we already used the Sacred Water on them so they shouldn't be under Baby's control anymore right?"

"Yes but that's only half the problem, the other half being what we had to do in order to break them of Baby's mind control in the first place."

"Yeah, we had to fight them." Majuub looked down at his new attire "Though it didn't come without at least a few sacrifices, like with Buu…"

"Take it from a voice of experience, they're still part of you, and one thing we've all learned over the years is that death isn't the end. But in any case, we don't have time to dwell on what we've lost right now. We've still got two other problems to deal with, one of which is what I was actually referring to before."

"What's the other one?"

"It's mainly about the Black Star Dragon Balls, but I talked to Goku telepathically a little while ago and he told me that he has Kibito Kai searching the galaxy for them right now. Then there's our other and more immediate problem."

"I'm still not following you." Pan told him.

"I'm saying that all of us, on our side or on Baby's, were left injured and exhausted by the fights we had to take part in up until now. None of us are at full strength right now, and we're going to need to be if we want to have any chance of bringing him down for good. That's why I'm going to head back to Earth, grab Dende and bring him back here to help us. With his abilities forhealing and restoration, all of us will be restored, including Gohan and the others, to our full strength, and then we're going to step in, help Goku and end this once and for all."

"Right, so what do we have to do?" asked Majuub.

"For the time being, just keep an eye on the others in case any of them wake up. I'll be heading back to Earth myself to pick up Dende, mainly because I'm the only one of us with the means to get us there without a ship." and on that note, Piccolo promptly disappeared in a flash through his Instantaneous Movement.

"Right, he has the ability to teleport like Goku does. I wonder if he would be willing to teach me that when this is over."

"I don't care if he can teleport or not, if he can get Dende to heal Papa and the others then that's all fine with me." Pan on the other hand, she knelt down next to the unconscious forms of Gohan and the others "Papa, Mama, please be okay…"

"They will be Pan, I assure you that Piccolo is going to see to it." Majuub gave her a reassuring smile, though it quickly fell once his back was turned to her 'The only thing is, that's only about half the problem. We're going to have to pull out all the stops to finish Baby for good. This isn't going to be easy.'

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Meanwhile, on Earth…

With a flash, Piccolo appeared on the floor of the Lookout, startling both Dende and Popo to the point where they fell flat on their asses, and he couldn't help but smirk 'Well that's a promising sign if there ever was one, looks to me like they're definitely free of Baby's control. Sorry to scare the two of you like that, the Instantaneous Movement takes some getting used to, for me and for just about everyone else. Never mind that right now though, Dende I need you to-"

"Actually Piccolo, if I may." Dende pulled himself back to his feet, his expression downcast and full of guilt "I have something that I need to say before anything else. Something that can't wait any longer than it already has."

"Dende-"

"Piccolo please." he then bowed to him "I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry. I let myself get taken over and controlled by Baby, and I willingly handed over the Black Star Dragon Balls to Baby. Now the world that I was supposed to be guarding is in danger of being destroyed. Look at me, I failed as the Guardian of the Earth, and I don't deserve the title anymore!"

"...This is really eating you up inside isn't it?" Piccolo's gaze softened as he motioned for Dende to stand upright in front of him "We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves or anymore hijinks, not when we still have work to do."

"But how?"

"I need you to contribute in the way that only you can, by using your gifts to turn the tide of this battle in our favor, so that we can end it for good. We're going to be taking a little trip to the new Planet Plant so you can heal the others, starting with Gohan." on that note, Piccolo grabbed Dende by the shoulder, and the two of them disappeared via Instananeous Movement, leaving Popo alone on the Lookout.

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One teleportation later, on Planet Plant…

"Well that was easy enough." Piccolo materialized back on Planet Plant with Dende by his side, and he gestured to where Gohan and the others lay unconscious "They're not in any immediate danger, we made sure to avoid anything like that, but they do need help, especially if they're going to be of any use to the rest of us right now."

"You don't have to worry, I promise you that I'm going to do everything I can to help them, and to help all of you. It's the least I can do for helping to cause all of this." Dende's expression hardened with determination as he knelt down next to Gohan, then he glanced up at Pan and gave her a small but reassuring smile "It's going to be alright Pan, your father and everyone else is going to be just fine. I'll make sure of it." and on that note, he placed his hands on Gohan's chest and let a wave of healing energy wash over him, and he gave a small smile when it subsided "There, he should be alright now, so all we have to do is wait for him to wake up to be sure."

A moment passed before Gohan slowly opened his eyes and looked around, and then his gaze finally settled on his daughter "Pan… I'm sorry…"

"Papa!" Pan didn't waste any time in throwing her arms around him "You're really back to normal now?"

"Yeah, yeah you don't have to worry about me anymore. I saw that you've grown up a lot too since the last time we saw each other… on good terms at least. I can't tell you how proud I am to see how much you've grown."

"She has grown a lot, but we can't worry about that right now." Piccolo gestured to where Trunks and the others lay unconscious a few feet away "Dende you'd better get to work, we're going to need all the help we can get if we're going to finish this."

"Right." Dende gave a simple nod and placed a hand down on both Trunks and Goten, and then he got to work on healing them.

'In the meantime Goku, you'd better make sure you don't get yourself killed out there, or else none of us are ever going to let you live it down. The only other problem is… You know Pan, as much as you have grown, you still pale in comparison to the likes of Baby. To put it bluntly, if you go in there with the rest of us as you are now, you probably won't last very long."

"But I can't just sit around and do nothing!" Pan was quick to protest "I thought you said that I had to be willing to do whatever it takes to get stronger and help all of you!"

"I did and you are, but you're not going to do it alone. Once Bulla is revived, I'm going to show the two of you something that can help you stand with the rest of us."

"Wait Piccolo, what are you…" Gohan trailed off, but then the realization dawned on him, and he gave a grin "You're talking about that aren't you?"

"If you have another way to contribute then by all means go ahead, otherwise we're going with my set of plans."

"...Fair enough. Speaking of which, while you're planning to teach Pan and Bulla how to do that, assuming that you can in such a short timeframe."

"I'm going to try at least, and if I can't then that means they'll have to sit this out, because it's too much of a risk to have them go in without it. In the meantime, I want you to take Trunks and Goten and go stall Baby, at least keep him busy for the time being."

"I think we should be able to manage that, so how much time do you need?"

"As much as you can buy us, at least about 10 minutes or so, and while you're doing that, I'll be teaching Pan and Bulla here how to use that technique in order to help us even the playing field any further."

"Right, it sounds like a plan to me. I'm gonna go on ahead, you guys have Trunks and Goten join me when they wake up. Best of luck to the rest of you." and on that note, he activated his Ultimate form and blasted off into the skies of Planet Plant.

"I have faith in you Gohan, and in the others." Piccolo glanced down to see Bulla and the others regaining consciousness "Good you're awake, and that means that the rest of us are gonna have a lot of work to do."

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A heavy amount of rain began falling over the ruins of the city.

"Oh god, what happened?" Bulma let out a loud groan as she regained consciousness, only for her to be fully alert and panicking when she saw Baby lying on the ground out cold "Lord Baby wake up, you have to pull yourself together! I don't understand, how could this have happened? Well I guess there's no use in fretting over that right now, the only chance that we have to revive him will be with the Blutz Wave Amplifier, though I can only hope it works as well as it did before, or else this might be the end… No don't think like that, it has to work and it will! Lord Baby hasn't let us down before, and he won't let us down now!' so she quickly got to work on her computer and aimed her satellites in the direction of Baby 'Okay that's good, the antenna are in place, and we should be ready to go! Now is your chance Lord Baby, you have to stand back up and keep on fighting! This may be the last time I'm able to get the amplifier running, and the moment of truth is at hand in 3… 2… 1!' and then she pushed the button and fired the rays from the satellites directly at Baby, enveloping him in a green-colored light "Okay good, I think it's working. Please just stand up Lord Baby, you have to get up!" she was met with a loud growling noise, and she gave a wicked grin in response.

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Meanwhile, on the battlefield…

"What… What is this?" Baby let out a primal roar as his body began glowing green "I don't understand, how can this be? I can feel this body overflowing with energy! I have to give you more credit Bulma, you truly have outdone yourself!"

"Everything I do in this life is in service to you Lord Baby!" the voice of Bulma filtered through the loudspeakers of the tower "What's filling your body right now is pure Blutz Waves, and you will be receiving all of the energy while the Saiyan doesn't get a single drop of it!"

"Yes, yes I can feel the power surging through me!" Baby gave a feral grin as he pulled himself back to his feet and unleashed an enormous wave of Ki that blew away a sizable chunk of the surrounding area "Excellent work on your part my dear, even now I feel so much stronger than I ever have before!"

'Not the sort of thing you wanna wake up to…' Goku let out a mental groan as he finally regained consciousness, and he quickly picked himself up and glanced up at Baby with a smirk spreading across his face "Gotta admit Baby, it took you long enough to finally come around. I was starting to get tired of waiting for it too."

"So you still have enough strength left to run that mouth of yours do you?"

"Yeah well thething is, while you were lying sprawled out on the ground in that coma of yours, I decided to take the chance to take a little nap until you woke up, and I have to admit that this has been one of my most rewarding battles ever, which makes the fact that I achieved Super Saiyan 4 all the more worth it in my eyes."

"Oh is that a fact? This must be your sense of inner peace taking over to make your inevitable transition into death that much easier, and I can assure you now that I'm definitely going to enjoy what comes next."

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Meanwhile, with the newly revived Half-Saiyans…

'What the heck is that?' Gohan continued flying towards the battlefield, only to be forced to stop in mid air when he felt the shockwave pushing him back slightly 'I'd really like to hope that dad is the one unleashing all of that power, but with our luck it's never really on our side, not at this stage in the game at least.'

"Hey bro!"

Gohan glanced back to see Goten and Trunks, both of them now fully healed and free, flying up next to him "I was wondering when the two of you were going to join me."

"Yeah well, Dende took his time healing us, and apparently we had to give Pan and Bulla a little demonstration of that, mainly because Piccolo asked us to, so we got a little held up. So how are things going with your father?" asked Trunks.

"Well if that giant spike in power is any indication, Baby is at his max and I think dad is about at his own limit, but not in a good way."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Goten "Dad has that Super Saiyan 4 power going for him now right? The way things are going he should be able to hold out for ages right?"

"I want to believe that too Goten, but it couldn't be further from the truth right now. The fact is that right now, any kind of bravado or confidence that dad is showing right now is pretty much nothing but a bluff. Right now he's probably completely drained of his power at this point, so frankly it's a miracle he's able to maintain this Super Saiyan 4 transformation to begin with."

"...So to sum up, that means he's screwed right now?"

"That depends on whether or not we can get there fast enough to help him." and on the note, the three of them decided to pick up the pace and continued flying towards the battlefield.

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Meanwhile, on the battlefield…

"I've heard more than enough of your prattling, now shut up and die!" Baby let out a primal roar as he let a fist fly, only for Goku to blitz out of the way of it with ease "It's clear to me now that I had more than enough chances to kill you earlier, but each time you slipped through my fingers because I underestimated you. Now the only thing fueling me is my hatred, and there is nothing left that can stop me from dropping you at death's door!"

"Hey take it easy Baby, there's no need to blame me for your own screwups." Goku let out a chuckle, earning a low growl in response 'Okay take it easy Goku, I don't think you can afford to bluff anymore. I barely have enough energy left to keep me in this form as it is, and my legs feel like they're made of jelly. If my body doesn't have the strength left to do what I need to do, then I guess the only chance I have left is to force him to make his own mistakes. That may be my only option at this point. Granted there is Piccolo and the others, but the fact is that even as strong as all of them have gotten, they won't be able to put up much of a fight when he's in this form.'

"Well how about it Saiyan, are you finally ready to finish this battle once and for all, and for me to finally end your miserable existence?"

"Far from it actually, I'm looking forward to keeping this going. Allow me to demonstrate some more of the power of a Super Saiyan 4 to you." Goku gave a smirk, but it was quickly wiped away by Baby unleashing a primal roar and a powerful shockwave, the force of which sending him hurtling back into a nearby building, though he eventually managed to stop himself and gave another confident smirk "Is that all?"

"Your bravado continues to irritate me more than anything Saiyan, so tell me, why aren't you attacking me?"

"No reason really, I guess I'm just savoring the moment, painting a picture in my head, and I can't help but notice that you actually look a lot bigger than before."

"Is that so? Well in that case…" Baby promptly struck Goku with one of his massive fists before he was able to react, sending him crashing through several buildings and into the side of a large boulder and leaving him embedded in the side of it "Now what do we have here? Come on now you primal fool, there's no chance I'm going to fall for something like that." and so he promptly breathed out a powerful blast of flames that hit Goku dead on and sent him hurtling through the boulder, and then he followed up with a continuous barrage of Ki blasts, leaving Goku sprawled out on the ground in a small puddle of his own blood "So it looks to me like you were bluffing after all, and you really don't have enough energy to put up any sort of fight now. The power of the supposedly almighty Super Saiyan 4, lying there as helpless as a little infant. But it doesn't matter now, because this is where it ends!" and so he smashed a fist into the ground in order to try and crush Goku, only for him to roll out of the way, but he managed to get Goku with the second fist, causing him to cough up a small amount of blood and scream in pain as he continued smashing his fists down upon him "Yes that's right you filthy Saiyan trash, go ahead and try and writhe your way out of this, I want to hear your anguished screams and your agonizing dying breaths as they're snuffed out of you, just like your wretched kind did to the proud people of the Tuffles!"

"D-Dammit…" Goku gritted his teeth as he finally managed to pull himself back to his feet and wipe some of the blood from his face "You should know by now… that I'm definitely not scared of you… so I say go right ahead and… do whatever it is you have to do… Dammit, it's going to take a mircale to pull this off.'

"Your death was due a long time ago Saiyan trash, and now the proud people of the Tuffles will finally be avenged!" with a snarl full of rage, Baby let another giant fist fly, only for a set of green arms to catch it in mid air.

"What the…" Goku's eyes widened when he saw the figure in front of him "What the hell are you doing Piccolo?"

Sure enough, Piccolo was the one floating in front of him, his eyes burning with resolve "I'm doing what has to be done, and what you've been doing for decades. I'm putting my life on the line and giving everything I've got to protect our world and the people that live there, even if they want our heads on a platter."

"Piccolo he's too strong for you to take on by yourself, go and get the hell out of here while you still can!"

"Not going to happen Goku, we're not just going to rely on you to save the day, not this time, and definitely not after everything all of us have been through." then he let out a chuckle "Besides, it's not like this is the first time I've had to pull you out of one of your messes. It's kind of ironic when you think about it. I'm the son of the Demon King, one of the greatest threats the Earth has ever seen that it actually knows about, and I was literally born with the sole purpose of killing you, yet look how much things have changed since then." Piccolo's body started surging with Ki, and then his body started growing "The paths that we travelled have crossed far too many times over the years. From the very beginning, I was literally born for the sole purpose of killing you. As a young fighter, those battles against you were all that I had, all that really kept me going, that gave me a reason to live. I lived for the chance to bring about your demise, and to see just how far I could push myself. Even after all these years, I haven't forgotten about our fight at the World Martial Arts Tournament. With the powers that I had inherited from my father, I thought that was going to be the end of it, my chance to kill you and avenge the death of my father. But even despite all of that, you managed to find a way to beat me. The power you displayed, I had never seen anything like it, and even after all this time, you're still unique in my eyes, for a lot of reasons. It was on that day that I learned something, that there was something different about you, and I've kept that in the back of my mind ever since then. Then came the fight with your brother Raditz, and I can't say that I didn't relish getting the chance to destroy you. After all, it's what I had spent my entire life waiting for, but as you lay there lifeless, it wasn't what I had imagined. I couldn't bring myself to hate someone that had made such an honorable sacrifice? I think that was where whatever hate I held for you vanished entirely. Then I took your son under my wing, and he showed me that he didn't think of me as a monster. The two of you showed me a different way to power, the right way to get it. Watching you and the others grow over the years, it's helped me to grow as well, and it's why I'm here now. It's part of what's made me into who I am today, and that's why I'm not going to back down." and on that note, his transformation was complete, leaving him towering over the area at almost the exact same size as Baby "Listen up Tuffle, because I only intend to say this once. I know exactly what's going through your mind, because I was like you once. I was self-righteous and misguided, but they earned my trust, my respect and my friendship, and they were able to put me on a new path. The Earth is my home, these Saiyans that you hate so much are my friends, and I'm not going to let you hurt them any further!"

"Is that right?" Baby merely burst out laughing at Piccolo's heartfelt speech "And how exactly do you intend to stop me Namekian?"

"That's actually pretty simple, by having you take on someone your own size, the prime example of which is me!"

"I think we'll see about that you worm, I'll be sure to dispatch you quickly and then I'll kill that worthless Saiyan!" on that note, Baby let out a primal roar as he let a fist fly.

Piccolo didn't waste any time as he leapt into the air to dodge the fist, and then he subsequently dealt Baby a roundhouse kick to the face that sent him stumbling backwards while Piccolo himself landed back on the ground "One thing I learned over the years about fighting bigger opponents is that added weight and bulk doesn't necessarily mean they slow down, and most of the time I had learned that the hard way, especially since that used to be the weakness of this form. I've spent years training in secret to perfect this form, and now you're going to be the first one I've actually used it on in a fight since Goku."

"Am I supposed to be honored? Spare me your prattling you worthless slug, and just die already like the rest of your miserable kind will for standing in my way!" Baby let out a snarl as he fired a large Super Galick Gun blast.

"Explosive Demon WAVE!" Piccolo managed to duck underneath the Super Galick Gun, leaving a nearby mountain to be destroyed as a result, and promptly hit Baby at nearly point blank range with an enormous Explosive Demon Wave, the force of the blast and the shockwave sending both of them hurtling back a fair distance.

"You little…" Baby gave another growl as he pulled himself back to his feet, and he gave a smirk full of malice "You're going to pay for your insolence in trying to defy me, and I already know exactly how to go about it. I'm going to kill you first, then the Saiyan, and then I'll make sure that his offspring follow suit, starting with his oldest son Gohan. That's right, he was your student at one point wasn't he?"

"Leave him and the others out of this, right now your fight was with me!"

"So you claim Namekian, but I'll bet that you're using almost all of the energy that you have just to maintain this new form of yours, and even with this new size you won't be able to match the level of power that I now command!"

"Why don't you see for yourself!" Piccolo suddenly blitzed forward and landed a punch on Baby's face directly in between the eyes, causing him to howl in pain, and then he followed up with a knife-hand attack to the top of the head that caused him to hunch over, while Piccolo launched himself into the air and subsequently avoided the series of Mouth Energy Waves that followed, and he swooped in to land a counterattack, only to suddenly find himself being grabbed by the throat, and then he felt Baby squeezing 'Dammit! Well, I didn't want to do it this close, but I don't think I have much of a choice.' and so in a very subtle manner, he put his hands together in front of him and summoned a small yellow sphere of Ki that began steadily growing larger.

"Come on now Piccolo, it seems to me that you're looking quite green, sickly even." Baby's grin grew wider as his grip tightened.

"Baby!" Goku drew Baby's attention towards him, and he let out a snarl as he prepared to charge another Kamehameha "You make one more move on Piccolo and I'm gonna blast you so hard that my last attack will feel like a tickle! Leave him out of this, right now I'm the only opponent you have to worry about!"

"First of all, your Namekian friend is the one that chose to jump in and throw his life away by attacking me. Second of all, I know when you're bluffing Saiyan. I bet you're using all of the energy you have left just to stand on your own two feet! Go ahead Saiyan, I dare you to try and do your worst!"

"Baby this is your last warning, let go of Piccolo and back the hell away or I won't hesitate to blast your head off! Let him go!" Baby gripped Piccolo's neck with his other hand, and he prepared to squeeze it, when…

"LIGHT GRENADE!" Piccolo thrusted both of his hands forward and unleashed an enormous Light Grenade that hit Baby in the face at point blank range, sending him hurtling backwards a fair distance and crashing to the ground, and he breathed a sigh "Let's just hope that was enough to make him shut up for at least a moment."

"Glad to see you still have plenty of fight left in you." Goku breathed a sigh of relief as he exited his stance "Because truth be told, I really don't right now."

"I figured as much, that's why I broke off from teaching Pan and Bulla how to do that and left it up to Dende and Mr Satan, which probably isn't going to end well now that I think about it, and came out here to help you before backup showed up, though they should be here soon."

"Not soon enough to prevent your demise, especially with attacks like that!" Baby pounced back onto the scene, his expression twisted further into one of murderous rage "If that's all the power that you're capable of putting out, this is going to be so much of a bore from here on out."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I think I've established by now that the Namekin race shouldn't be underestimated."

"So I've heard time and again, but it doesn't even matter. I hold in this body the greatest power the universe has ever seen, and because of it you can't even scratch me, let alone dream of defeating me!"

"Yeah well, even if I can't defeat you on my own, I have something you don't. Backup."

"What the hell does that even mean-"

"Masenko/ Kamehameha! Buster Cannon!" a series of combined attacks suddenly slammed directly into Baby's side, sending him crashing into the remains of a nearby ruined building.

"To answer your question, that's what that means." Piccolo glanced over to the size and gave a smirk "I was wondering when the three of you were going to show up, or rather I should say the six of you."

Sure enough, Gohan was floating above the battlefield, with Goten and Trunks floating beside him just as Majuub, Pan and Bulla appeared behind them "Normally I don't condone violence or fighting like this, especially when I'm trying to set a proper example for my daughter, but I'd be lying if I said that didn't feel extremely cathartic. That was for making me attack my daughter and Piccolo, and everything else that you had me do while you were using me like some kind of puppet."

"You wretched worms…" Baby let out a snarl as he pulled himself to his feet and levelled his fury filled glare at Gohan and the others "I'm your master, what in the hell do you think you're doing attacking me like this?!"

"You're not my master, you're not a master to any of us, and as far as I'm concerned you never truly were. I only have one true master, and that's him right over there." he pointed a thumb over in the direction of Piccolo "You controlled us like puppets, used us to do your bidding… made us do all sorts of terrible things, like attacking those we love." he glanced back at Pan and pushed down the feelings of guilt as he turned his glare back on Baby "Now you're going to pay for it."

"For what, my ambition? My desire to avenge my people? We were going to bring the universe into a new age of unity! No more individuals fighting amongst one another over pointless and petty squabbles, everyone would be of one mind!"

"It doesn't mean anything unless people make that choice on their own, you can't just achieve it by taking away their free will!" and on that note, Gohan spiked his aura as his Ultimate Form roared into life, and then he charged at Baby at full speed.

"Gohan wait, that's not going to be enough!" Goku tried to call out to him "You can't beat him in that state, just grab Pan and the others and get out of here!"

"Funny thing dad, I was about to say the same thing to you. Just get out of here and recover as much of your strength as you can, I'll buy you as much time as you need!" and so Gohan launched a barrage of punches and kicks straight at Baby's face, eventually landing a vicious uppercut to the jaw that sent him staggering back a short distance.

"Come now Gohan, here I thought you would have respect for Vegeta's body. But then again, it's not like any of you filthy primates had any sense of loyalty." Baby promptly unleashed a large Mouth Energy Wave that sent Gohan crashing to the ground, and then he attempted to stomp on him to death "Yes that's right, what you're looking at now is the body of the so-called prince of your miserable race. Now you see our full potential transformed, what you could've achieved if you hadn't defected and become a worthless traitor!" he prepared to stomp on Gohan again, only for a powerful Ki blast to send him staggering backwards "Who did that?!"

"That would be the master he was talking about earlier." Piccolo took a few steps forward and gave a reassuring smile in Gohan's direction "I give you points for spirit, but for the time being just leave this to me."

"Dammit, you were the one that's responsible for their betrayal aren't you?"

"You only have yourself to blame for what's coming Tuffle, it was only a matter of time before they were freed from your control. You took their bodies and their free will and used them like a pack of slaves, and now they have them back. It was only a matter of time before your actions caught up to you. In the end, you couldn't do anything on your own without having to borrow strength from others. The fact of the matter is simple. You're so weak that you can't do anything on your own." with that in mind, Piccolo turned to Gohan and the others "Grab Goku and move him to somewhere safe, I'll buy you as much time as you need to."

"Right." Gohan let out a loud groan as he pulled himself to his feet, then glanced over to see Goku and the others flying towards him "Glad to see that you're still on your feet dad."

"And I'm glad to see that you and the others are back to your old selves." Goku glanced over at the giant form of Piccolo and gave a smile "Thanks for that Piccolo, I had a feeling you were the one that would be behind something like this. You kept the fight going while I was gone, you kept my granddaughter safe, and you even managed to get my family back."

"Truth be told I'm not the one you should be thanking." Piccolo breathed a sigh "If it wasn't for the way that Kibito Kai and Old Kai swooped in and saved me, I probably wouldn't even be here right now."

"Maybe, but I still owe you a ton for this."

"In any case you've been through enough already, but you don't have to fight alone. Not this time anyway."

"He's got that right." Trunks shot a quick glance over at Goten "What do you say we even the odds a little bit by using some Fusion?"

"That's one of the only chances we have, make sure you don't screw around though. None of us need or want a repeat of the last time you two fused."

"We know we know, no screwing around and trying to drag it out, no sealing him in a ball and using it to play volleyball. Get it done fast and get it done right."

"Exactly, now get to it. Gohan, make sure you power up as high as you can go, and don't you screw around either."

"Forget it, it's not going to work." Goku limped his way forward and breathed a sigh "Fusing isn't going to be enough."

"Goku you can't just fight him by yourself this time, we're fighting him together."

"You of all people should understand by now Piccolo, you and Majuub both fought him with me before and you saw how strong he was, now he's almost a dozen times more powerful than he was then. There's no guarantee that we'd be able to defeat him even if we combined all of our powers, we might not even be able to-" he was cut off by a subsequent smack upside the head, courtesy of the last person he'd expect, that anyone would expect for that matter.

As it turns out, it was Pan responsible for doing this, and she levelled a glare at Goku "Stop acting like you need to do this alone grandpa! We've all been fighting this whole time, taking the same risks that you have, and we committed ourselves to seeing this through to the end! We didn't give up before, and we're not gonna give up now!"

"Pan…"

"Besides I just spent the last half hour with Bulla learning how to do that weird Fusion dance like how Trunks and Uncle Goten do, and we're putting it to good use."

"...Piccolo taught you how to do the Fusion Dance?"

"Yes, but we might have had a hand in that ourselves." this was when Kibito Kai showed up on the scene, along with Dende and Mr Satan, through Instananeous Movement "Good news Goku, I was able to find all 7 of the Black Star Dragon Balls, so we don't have to worry about the Earth being destroyed." he even held up a small bundle to prove his point.

"Oh good, that's a relief. Now there's only one giant problem to deal with."

It was at this moment that Baby finally lost his patience with their conversation "What the hell are all of you whispering about over there? Stop gossiping over there like a pack of cowards, get over here and fight me like the battle-hungry beasts that you are! You know what, it doesn't even matter whatever plan you might have! All of you are going to die a series of slow, painful and agonizing deaths!" and so he started spiking his aura.

"They're not wrong about what they're saying Goku, and I think you know that for a fact just as well as I do." Piccolo shot a glance over at him "They're not going to just sit around doing nothing at a time like this. Even with the power of a Super Saiyan 4, you might not be able to beat him on your own, and I know for a fact that none of the rest of us can either. There's only one way for us to guarantee that we can bring him down once and for all. We have to push ourselves to the absolute limit and combine our powers in a single coordinated assault, and then we bring him down for good."

"...Alright, so be it. I still think that Super Saiyan 4 is the strongest bet we have right now, but after everything that's happened I'll trust you Piccolo. But if this doesn't work then we're gonna go with my plan, okay?"

"Agreed. Now in the meantime the rest of you had better get ready, he's coming."

"You know the pathetic slug man has a point." Baby shot a glare at the group as he stepped towards them, his expression one of malice and bloodlust "But allow me to put a damper in that little plan of yours. It's not going to happen, you're dreaming if you think that I'd let all of you have any sort of advantage like that over me!" and so he unleashed a powerful Mouth Energy Wave aimed at the group.

"Get down!" Piccolo blitzed in front of the others and used his giant form to block the blast and shield the others from it, taking a few burns from it in the process, and he shot a glance back at the others "Gohan take the others and get out here, find a safe location so Dende can heal Goku and restore his energy!"

"Right!" so on that note, Gohan slung Goku's arm over his shoulder and started carrying him away from the scene, with Dende, Kibito Kai and everyone else following right behind him, just as they saw Baby preparing to fire another Mouth Energy Wave at them.

Thinking quick, Piccolo used a quick Explosive Demon Wave to counter the Mouth Energy Wave, the two attacks cancelling each other out, and he levelled a hard glare in Baby's direction "Not a chance in hell, the only way you get to them is by going through me.

"Fine, you'll die first you filthy slug!" Baby pounced at Piccolo in a rage while subsequently pointing a Ki blast in the direction that Goku and the others were retreating.

'Gohan, make sure that all of you aren't looking directly at me for this.' with that telepathic message sent out, Piccolo made his move "Solare Flre!" he held his hands up to his face and unleashed a blinding light that stopped Baby in his tracks and caused him to let out a howl of agony.

"I can't see, what the hell have you done?!"

"It's called the Solar Flare, and it's just one of the many techniques that Goku has stolen over the years, but I and a few others learned it, and it's actually pretty handy." Piccolo promptly followed up with a quick Explosive Demon Wave that sent Baby crashing to the ground inside of a large crevice, then shot a glance back in the direction of the others 'You'd better do what you have to do fast, that little stunt did buy us some time but not much.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, where the others are hiding…

"Looks like Piccolo bought us some time, but not much." Majuub glanced down at where Baby had fallen into the crevice, then glanced back at the others "Whatever you guys have to do, you had better make sure to do it fast."

"Right." so Dende knelt down next to both Goku and Gohan, placed a hand on each of them and subsequently started healing the two of them.

"Okay, next up is Fusion. Trunks and Goten, Pan and Bulla, you know what to do."

"Right!" so the four of them got into the necessary positions, Pan and Bulla mirroring each other, the same with Trunks and Goten, only to stop when they noticed something that made them freeze in their tracks "Aw crapbaskets."

"What is it?"

"Filthy Saiyan scum, you're going to pay for that little trick, and I'll see to it that you pay for it with your miserable lives!" Baby pounced into the air and began charging a Super Galick Gun in order to kill all of them in a single shot.

"Oh, that's what you were talking about. This isn't good, we won't be able to stop an attack like that, not when Goku isn't at full strength yet.'

"Now behold, the time has come for all of you to bear witness to the glorious extinction of the scourge that is the Saiyan race!"

"That's where you're wrong, there's only one race that's going extinct to day, and that's going to be the Tuffles!" this was when Piccolo suddenly blitzed in front of Baby and unleashed a fully powered Hyper Explosive Demon Wave, the force of the attack sending Baby hurtling high into the air while Piccolo himself 'You and I are the same, but the difference is that even when I held similar goals to you, to avenge my creators and unite the world under my rule, at least I wanted to do it with my own power! Goku stop wasting time, I don't know how long I'll be able to hold him off, so do what you have to do and make it fast!" he promptly placed two fingers to his forehead and began concentrating his Ki "And just throwing this out there Goku, when this is over, I think the two of us should do something that we should've done a long time ago."

"You'll pay for that Namekian slug!" once Baby recovered from the Solar Flare, he burst upright and unleashed a series of Ki blasts.

Thinking quick, Piccolo unleashed a barrage of Ki blasts of his own, albeit with one hand due to the other one being occupied, and managed to counter most of Baby's Ki blasts, with two of them being enough to blow off his free arm and leaving him panting slightly 'Dammit, this isn't turning out as well as I would've hoped. At this rate I'm gonna have to pour all I have left into this next attack, but then that'll be it for me.'

"Dammit, how could this be?" Baby was left snarling from the onslaught, practically foaming at the mouth from his rage "How could I be pushed so far by a mere Namekian and a pack of filthy Saiyans? No I won't accept this, I won't let you interfere with my plans any further! First you, then the Saiyans, then the rest of the universe will bend to my will! This ends now! SUPER GALICK GUN!" and so he fired a Super Galick Gun directly at Piccolo.

"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!" with a mighty roar, Piccolo unleashed a fully-powered Special Beam Cannon aimed directly at the Super Galick Gun, the two attacks clashing for a moment before cancelling each other out in the enormous explosion that followed, with Piccolo being sent flying backwards as a result.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes earlier, with the others…

'Piccolo, so he watns to… I'll remember that." Goku gave a smirk as he watched Piccolo fighting for his life, then glanced over at the others "You heard him guys, go ahead and do what you have to do, and make it fast!"

"Righ!"." so the others lined up once again, Trunks and Goten mirroring each other, the same with Pan and Bulla, and they went through the movements "Fu-Sion HA!" and then the four of them were engulfed in two simultaneous bright lights.

It was just as this happened that Piccolo was sent crashing to the ground in a heap, and quickly returned to his normal size "Dammit… I'm sorry Goku, Gohan… I bought you and the others as much time as I could, so whatever you have to do… you better have done it already…"

"Yes that's right you filth, stay still and die like the worthless trash you are! SUPER GALICK GUN!" with a primal roar, Baby unleashed another Super Galick Gun aimed at Piccolo and the others, resulting in a blinding explosion that covered the area.

"What the hell?!" once the explosion subsided, Mr Satan poked his head out of the sand and took a look around the area, only to find that the others were nowhere in sight "Pan where did you, Pan where the heck are you?!"

"I can't believe how foolish Saiyans can be!" Baby could only burst out laughing at the sight before him "They couldn't have made this any easier for me if they tried! All of them just lying or standing there just waiting for me to slaughter them like the animals they were! How could they persist in a fight like they did only to make complete asses out of themselves in the grand scheme of things?!"

"No please, not my Pan, anyone but her!" Mr Satan scrambled around the area in search of Pan, only to find no sign of her, and so he fell to his knees in grief 'How could things have turned out like this? Pan, you… you know that I can't live without you… You were my everything you, meant the world to me… Without you, I have nothing to lose…' his grief soon turned into rage, and then he set his sights on Baby as he stomped towards him "You got a hell of a lot of nerve you giant furry son of a bitch! How dare you lay a hand on my granddaughter! I'm not scared of you, get the hell over here and I'll show you what an Earthling is really made of!"

"Giving you points for spirit champ, but you'd better let us take care of this one." came a new yet familiar voice that stopped both Baby and Mr Satan in their tracks, and the former to start growling in anger.

"What the- Goku was that really you?"

"Right up here big guy." up above them, the smoke cleared to reveal Goku (restored to his full power) floating above them, with Gohan (healed from Baby's assault), Majuub, Gotenks and a new fusion by the name of Palla (sporting Pan's front bangs, facial features and eye shape, as well as Bulla's hairstyle and blue eyes, clad in typical Fusion attire) floating right beside him, and he gave a smirk as he and the others returned to the ground "Hey Dende, you might wanna hurry up and heal Piccolo while you have the chance. I have a feeling we're gonna need his power for the fight ahead."

"Right, of course." Dende quickly rushed over to Piccolo's side and placed both hands on his chest as he let healing energy flow through him "Hang on Piccolo, I'll have you back at 100% in just a moment."

"In the meantime, we've got a giant parasite to deal with." Palla gave a smirk as she started spiking her crimson-colored aura "Oh yeah, this is gonna be cathartic as all hell."

"I figured as much." Goku gave a smirk, then glanced back at Mr Satan "Pan is fine just so you know, she and Bulla fused in order to help us with the fight ahead. The Fusion is only gonna last about 30 minutes though, so she'll be back with us soon enough."

"Oh thank the great above… or right in front of me." Mr Satan looked over at Dende, then let out a deep sigh of relief "I don't know what I would've done if I had lost her."

"I think you already showed us what you would do. You're a real hero now Mr Satan, you should be proud of yourself."

"I should, you really think so?"

"Yeah, you stood up to Baby without fear, without any regard for your own life, and that right there is what it's all about."

"I… I really did didn't I?"

"Yep, now stay here with Dende and Kibito Kai while we finish this." Goku shared a look with the others, and he gave a smirk 'I guess Piccolo was right after all. Baby is unlike any enemy we've ever faced before, but at the same time, Gohan and Majuub and the rest of them, they're nothing to scoff at either. They've gone so much further than I ever thought was possible for them to achieve. I don't think I'd be able to stand here right now without each and everyone one of you, there were so many sacrifices that you made, but you don't have to worry anymore, because now I'm here fighting by your sides, and we'll finish it together." then he shot a smirk at Baby "So what are you going to do now Baby? All of us are at our best, and I think it's about time for us to get really serious and give it everything we've got, so we can end this once and for all. Unless you don't think you can handle us."

"I don't care what techniques or transformations you use!" Baby let out a snarl "I'm done playing any of your ridiculous games, I'm going to kill every last one of you, and anyone else that would dare to stand with you!"

"Is that right? You know you seemed so giant earlier, but looking at you now, you don't seem like you're anything special to me."

"I've heard enough out of you to last a thousand lifetimes you insolent presumptuous Saiyan filth!"

"You know I don't even want to have to kill you, but your own desires for revenge and turning my home planet into your own personal kingdom are what make it necessary to bring you down for good."

"I'd like to see you try!" Baby let out an insane cackle as he brought down one of his gigantic hands, forcing Goku, Gohan, Majuub, Gotenks and Palla to scater into the air, his sheer energy alone being enough to rip through the surrounding ruined buildings like butter, leaving marks on the planet itself.

"Dammit, that thing is faster than I thought it would be." Gotenks muttered, but then he glanced over at Palla with a raised eyebrow "You guys managed to get that right after learning it less than an hour ago?"

"What can I say, you'd be surprised what you can get done in the heat of the moment. It can be one hell of a motivator." Palla gave a shrug.

"Huh. Fair enough."

"Yep. Anyway hold up a second, gotta blast a giant monkey in the eye. Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" Palla cupped her hands and unleashed a quick Kamehameha wave, the blast slamming straight into the side of Baby's head.

"Damn you!" Baby let out a howl of pain when the blast made contact, and he suddenly found himself being pushed back a short distance by the attack.

'So this is the kind of power that Fusion can put out, it's almost worth having to make myself look like a gogo dancer with those moves!'

"Final Shine ATTACK!" Baby took the chance to suddenly blitz in front of Palla and hit her with a green energy wave, sending her hurtling back into the distance, then let out a barking laugh as he unleashed a powerful shockwave that could be felt for miles around, leaving most of those present rather disoriented as a result.

Dende was one of the few not entirely affected by this shockwave, and he returned his focus to healing Piccolo's wounds 'Come on I have to focus, and I hate to say it Piccolo, but I have a feeling that they're going to need all the help you can give them once you're ready.'

"Die Saiyan trash!" Baby blitzed in front of Gotenks and unleashed another Final Shine Attack to send him hurtling to the ground and crashing through a few buildings in the process.

"KamehameHA!" two simultaneous Kamehameha waves shot forwardand ended up hitting Baby simultaneously, courtesy of Goku and Majuub as they floated up into the air, and subsequently shared a fist bump.

Baby let out a howl of pain and agony and unleashed a Mouth Energy Wave on Goku before he was able to react, sending him flying to the heavens.

"MASENKO!" Gohan took the chance to cross the distance in the blink of an eye and didn't waste even a second as he struck Baby with a fully-powered Masenko, blowing a hole through his left shoulder, causing him to roar in agony and clutching the wound with his free hand, leaving him open for what would come next.

"Buster CANNON!" Gotenks burst forward towards Janemba, his golden aura flaring as he flashed into Super Saiyan 3, and he promptly fired a Buster Cannon, the sheer force of it being enough to singe the fur along one of Baby's arms and leaving a significant amount of burns on his face, earning yet another howl of pain. Then Gotenks glanced over to the side and gave a cocky smirk "About freaking time you decided to join us Piccolo."

Sure enough, Piccolo was floating onto the scene, his milky white aura spiking and his gi having been shredded, but he was fully healed and ready to fight, complete with two fingers being held to his forehead "Yeah well sorry to keep you waiting for so long, I hope you're ready for what come's next. Special Beam CANNON!" he promptly fired a fully-powered Special Beam Cannon into the already gaping wound in Baby's shoulder, blowing clean through it and causing it to ooze a significant amount of blood, causing him to scream in pain "Now's our chance, hit him with another attack!"

"Way ahead of you! KamehameHA!" Majuub blitzed onto the scene and fired another powerful Kamehameha wave, the blast slamming directly into Baby's already heavily damaged left size, the power of the blast being enough to stain Baby's golden fur red with his blood.

Baby let out yet another roar of agony, but then his head suddenly whipped around and he fired a Mouth Energy Wave, blowing Majuub away and sending him flying across the horizon, and he let out a snarl "I've had more than enough of you pathetic insects, it's time for me to send you to join the rest of your miserable kind in the darkest depths of HELL!" and so he forced both of his arms above his head and began charging a Revenge Death Ball "Now you'll get a taste of the hatred that fuels me and drives me to end your worthless existence!"

"Dammit, this isn't good. Come on you guys,we've gotta hurry and finish this" Goku gritted his teeth as he saw the others gather around him, sporting a few minor wounds but still standing upright and appearing unwavering "How many of you guys are still able to fight?"

"Come on grandpa, who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Palla forced herself upright as she spiked her Super Saiyan aura.

"Asked and answered. What about the rest of you?"

"I think you already know the answer to that." Gotenks spiked his Super Saiyan 3 aura as high as he could.

"Looks to me like Baby is planning to take all of us down in a single shot, along with just about anything else he can. Kaioken!" Majuub spiked his own aura and activated the first level of the Kaioken, with Gohan and Piccolo flashing their own ultimate auras at the same time, the latter also placing two fingers to his forehead "That means we have to stop him before he can do that."

"Sounds to me like we agree on something."

"Yeah well, you're not gonna hear me object to that." Goku took a step forward as he spiked his own crimson Super Saiyan 4 aura "Alright everybody, let's make sure to give this last one all that we've got! Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" he cupped his hands at his side and fired forward a fully-powered Kamehameha 10x.

"MASENKO!" Gohan promptly slammed his hands together and unleashed a full power Super Masenko.

"Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" Majuub fired forward his own Super Kamehameha.

"BUSTER CANON!" Gotenks fired forward his own fully-powered Buster Cannon with all of the Ki he was able to muster.

"KamehameHA!" Palla fired forward her own Super Kamehameha wave, though this one was crimson in color.

"Special Beam CANNON!" Piccolo released the two fingers from his forehead and unleashed a fully-powerd Special Beam Cannon, topping off the assault with all six attacks as they combine into one.

"I'm sure that you're able to see it now Super Saiyan, the instrument of your death! THIS IS THE END NOW DIE REVENGE DEATH BALL!" using every ounce of power that he was able to muster, Baby fired forward an enormous Revenge Death Ball and slammed it straight into the combined blast, and he slowly began pushing all of them back.

"Come on you guys, we can't give up now!" Majuub put more power into his Super Kamehameha wave, with everyone else doing the same, though it didn't do much to stop them from being pushed back by the Revenge Death Ball Final.

It was around this time that Piccolo suddenly pulled back his Special Beam Cannon and flew direclty up to the Revenge Death Ball Final "I think I get it now!"

"Dammit Piccolo, what the hell are you doing?!" Gohan barked at him.

"You guys just hold it off as long as you can, I'll take care of things from here!" Piccolo began pushing the Revenge Death Ball Final back as much as he could, in order to make room for the others to finish it off, though the sheer energy began leaving a series of burns across his entire body as a result.

"PICCOLO!"

"All of you need to focus and get a hold of yourselves, he's making an opportunity for us so we can't afford to waste it!" Goku poured more power into his Kamehameha 10x, with everyone else pouring as much power as they could into their own attacks.

Spiking his aura as much as he could, Piccolo forced his way through the Revenge Death Ball Final until he was finally right in front of Baby's face 'There it is, one clean shot is all I need to finish this! LIGHT GRENADE!" placing his hands together and channeling his Ki, he unleashed a fully-powered Light Grenade that hurtled directly into Baby's face, though he was wounded by the Ki being put out by both attacks, causing Baby to scream in pain and forcing him to break off of his Light Grenade, as well as being sent flying backwards 'I did my part… the rest is up to all of you…' and then he hit the ground with a loud crash.

Baby could only scream and howl in agony as he felt the burns spread across his face from the Light Grenade, and his Revenge Death Ball Final decreased in size, which would allow the others to gain some leeway against him.

"Come on you guys, just one… more… PUSH!" Goku scraped together even more of his own strength and poured it into his Kamehameha 10x, with Gohan, Majuub, Palla and Gotenks all doing the same for their Super Masenko, Super Kamehameha waves and Buster Cannon respectively, giving their combined blast the boost that it needed.

Having been forced to give up on his Revenge Death Ball Final at this point, Baby raised his hands, or his good hand at least, in an attempt to catch or stop te combined blast, only for the sheer power and heat to begin burning away the fur on his arm as a result.

"This! Ends! NOW!" Goku let out a roar as he pushed every last ounce of his strength was able to dig up into the blast and pushed it further upwards towards Baby, until the point where it finally exploded like a star.

It was only after the explosion subsided and the dust settled that Dende, Mr Satan and Kibito Kai all rushed to the scene to check on Goku, Piccolo and the others "Is everyone alright?"

"I think we've… more or less had worse…" Gohan let out a groan as he sat up, and then glanced over to see Gotenks and Palla defuse "Well they probably haven't." then he looked over towards where Piccolo lay, covered in burns and one arm and leg having been incinerated "I think he's definitely having it worse right now than any of us, so you should probably get to him first."

"Right, just leave it to me." so on that note, Dende rushed over to Piccolo and knelt down next to him as he began healing him "Just relax Piccolo, I'll have this done in a second."

Within a moment, Piccolo's wounds disappeared and he was able to stand up, albeit lopsided, and with a loud growl he regenerated his missing limbs "Thank you Dende, I can't tell you glad I am that you're back on our side now."

"Only thanks to you freeing me from Baby's control." Dende then glanced over to where Baby lay a short distance away from the group, sprawled out on the ground and covered in a set of grievous wounds "It's… actually rather sad when you think about it."

"I don't think you'd be saying that if he got back up while you were here."

"Just imagine what this would be like if Vegeta was still like how he was back when he first landed on Earth." Goku let out a chuckle as he staggered back to his feet and ended up quickly being healed by Dende "I mean I think we all know how it went the last time you two fought."

"I think we don't because Vegeta and I have never once fought."

"Yeah well- Wait, really? But then how did you-"

"It was because of his dumbass frend."

"Oh. Huh."

"Yeah, pretty sure that Piccolo and Vegeta have never actually fought." Gohan forced himself upright, the same with Trunks and Goten, with Pan and Bulla still being unconscious from sheer exhaustion "Speaking of Vegeta, we have a problem right now. Baby is in Vegeta's body, and that means we can't kill him or else that would mean that Vegeta dies too. Aw crapbaskets."

"It's… It's gonna be okay." Trunks' tone didn't sound as reassuring as he would've liked "It has to be. This is the way my father would've wanted it, it's better than spending the rest of his life being used as a puppet by Baby. Besides, we can just wish him back with the Dragon Balls when this is all over right? We're prepared to do whatever we have to do."

"Trunks… if you're sure."

"Only if we have to." Goku then glanced over at Piccolo "What do you think, do you want to do the honors?"

"I figured you would want to do it yourself." Piccolo shot him a raised eyebrow.

"Hey come on, we probably wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you. Even when I wasn't here you picked up the slack, you rallied my student and my granddaughter together and kept the fight going. The fact is that this is just as much your win as it is mine. Besides, apparently unlike you I actually have fought Vegeta before."

"...Well if you're sure, then I might as well go ahead and do it." and on that note, Piccolo charged and fired a single Ki blast aimed at Baby's backside, engulfing him within the explosion that followed.

"It's okay guys, you can open your eyes now." once the blast subsided and the smoke cleared around the area, Gohan directed their attention down to where Baby lay, though only his tail had been burned off by the blast "Piccolo always knows exactly what he's doing. After all, without the tail to keep in the Great Ape form, I think any of us could hold our own against Baby. He's lost this fight, plain and simple."

This was when Baby started letting out a series of agonized growling and roaring noises as he was forced to revert back to his previous form 'Dammit it's no use, Vegeta's body is losing all of the power it had! What's worse is that when Vegeta transformed into a Great Ape, my body was made to evolve as well! Once Vegeta's body returns to normal, I won't be able to remain inside of him as I am now!' so once the transformation was complete, he burst out of Vegeta's body through his back and tried to flee the scene in the form of a small blob.

"There he is, you're sure as hell not getting away like this you coward!" Mr Satan was the first one to try and chase after Baby, only to stop in his tracks when he saw Baby in his adult form, but he quickly steeled himself 'No remember what Goku said, you gotta stand without fear, without any regard for your own life, and that's what it's all about. I ain't afraid of you ya overgrown blob, you're gonna pay for what you did to my family!"

"I gotta give you credit for the spirit Mr Satan, but leave this to us." Majuun and the others blitzed in front of him "It's over Baby, you're not walking away from this after everything you've done to our planet, to our friends and family."

"Get out of my way you filthy Saiyans!" Baby unleashed a powerful surge of light, blinding the others and allowing him to make a break for it, and he was out of their sight by the time the light subsided.

"Goku we have to hurry, Baby is getting away!"

"Forget about him for now, Vegeta is the one I'm more concerned about." Goku gestured towards where Vegeta was lying a short distance away, or to be more accurate, the charred, burned, heavily wounded and somewhat mangled form of Vegeta, who was now being healed by Dende.

"...Oh. That. Right."

"Father!" Trunks and Bulla were the first ones to rush to his side, with Goku and most of the others following after them "Dad are you okay? Try not to move around too much."

"Trunks… Bulla…" Vegeta slowly opened his eyes and looked at the two of them, then glanced over at Goku and the two of them shared a smirk "So is it over?"

"For the most part." Goku looked off in a certain direction "Piccolo is just about to tie up one last loose end, and then it's really gonna be over."

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Meanwhile, with the escaping Tuffle…

'I didn't expect things to turn out like this…' Baby found himself flying in the direction of Bulma's ship, his mind racing as he did so, and he found Bulma waiting for him in front of it 'Great, this woman again. Knowing what she's like, she'll probably insist that we fight to the end win or lose, and show them what the Tuffles are made of. That's how they originally went extinct to begin with, and I refuse to let that part of history repeat itself! Oddly enough, now that I'm free of Vegeta's body, any sort of affection I had for her is gone. Good riddance, it was just a distraction. One thing is for certain though, those fools haven't seen the last of me!'

"Did you really think you were going to let you get away?"

Baby screeched to a halt when he saw Piccolo floating in front of him in mid air, and he let out a snarl "You…"

"I can see it in your eyes." Piccolo studied Baby intently for a moment, and his gaze softened slightly as the two of them returned to the ground "You're afraid."

"Of you?"

"Of death. You know as well as I do that this is the end."

"It wasn't supposed to be the end. It was supposed to be the beginning of a glorious new age for the Tuffle people, with me leading them to greatness."

"I was originally created to kill Goku and conquer the world, maybe beyond. Instead I ended up saving both of them from something worse. I guess that makes us both failures."

"Maybe it does."

"The people of Earth are pretty strange I haveto admit, and their actions do leave a lot to be desired from them, but Saiyans aren't really any different in that regard. They do have potential even in their failures. I was able to see that, but you were so engrossed in your own hatred that you ended up missing it."

"You do realize that they're doomed, all of them. Even if I don't kill them, someone else may come along and do it themselves."

"Probably, but something isn't beautiful because it lasts. If there's one thing I've learned in my time on Earth and surrounded by Saiyans and their allies, it's that it's a privilege to be among them and learn from them."

"...You're unbearably naive."

"Well what can I say? I'm just a Namekian, and we're a peaceful race." and with that, Piccolo stuck out a hand and unleashed a single Ki blast, obliterating Baby without giving him any time to scream, leaving not a single trace of him behind, and then he disappeared from the scene himself using Instantaneous Movement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the remaining Z Fighters…

'So that's it then…' Goku's gaze snapped in a certain direction as he felt something, and he gave a smile as he realized what it was 'Baby's Ki has completely disappeared… so that means it's finally over… Is it done?"

"You already sensed it." Piccolo blitzed onto the scene and gave a simple nod "It's over, I finished him off myself. I put enough power into that blast to obliterate every cell of him, so he won't be able to regenerate."

"Good, that's a relief." Goku breathed a sigh as he finally powered down from Super Saiyan 4, leaving him back in his original child form "Here I was beginning to worry I was gonna have to stay like that forever."

"Which raises another question. What are you going to do when your wife finds out you might be stuck like this?"

"...Aw crapbaskets, I didn't think of that."

"Yeah well, I doubt anyone will disagree when I say that having you as a little kid is better than not having you at all." Gohan gave a grin "But Piccolo isn't wrong, mom is probably gonna flip when she sees that you're still like this after we free her from Baby's control. But in all seriousness, we do have to focus on that right now."

"And that's not the only thing we have to deal with either. Baby used the Black Star Dragon Balls to bring this planet back, so they got scattered all over the galaxy again. Kibito Kai?"

"Rest assured Goku, I already have it covered." Kibito Kai held up a sack and opened it to reveal the Black Star Dragon Balls inside "Now you don't have to worry about the Earth being destroyed when the deadline comes."

"Good, that's one problem down."

"Now we should turn our attention towards dispsersing the Sacred Water to the rest of the Earth and to Planet Plant. A light mist should due the trick for Earth, and for everyone here they only need a few drops."

"What about all of the people, are they going to be okay afterwards?" asked Majuub.

"They'll be fine, though they probably won't remember anything that happened while they were under Baby's control."

"That's kind of a relief actually." Goku breathed a sigh and glanced back up at the Earth "Looks like things are finally turning out the way that they're supposed to."

"There's only one or two bits of unfinished business to take care of." Piccolo suddenly grabbed onto Goku by the shoulder, and the two of them shared a knowing look.

"You mean…?"

"No but that makes it three things, that being the first. The second is that once everyone has been cured and the Earth is no longer in any danger, I'm going to destroy the Black Star Dragon Balls so that nothing like this can ever happen again."

"Good. what's the third thing?"

"Well as everyone is getting cured with the Sacred Water I think the two of us will have to take a little trip to New Namek to make a wish to Porunga."

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About two weeks passed, and everything seemed to settle down.

Piccolo sat in front of a water fall meditating in his typical fashion, only for his eyes to open as he detected a certain presence, and he smirked at what he saw before him "So I take it things worked out then Goku?"

Sure enough, Goku stood before him, now back in his adult form, and he gave the classic Son grin as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand "Yeah you could say that. Freeing everyone was pretty easy to begin with, and the Namekians made the wish to Porunga to turn me back into this form. I can't tell you how relieved Chichi was when she found out about this, though she did say that it wasn't really that different with me being stuck as a kid."

"That makes sense, you haven't really changed in all of the time that I've known you, at least as far as personality goes."

"Fair enough. So how about you, how did things go on your end?"

"Pretty easy actually, just borrowed Bulma's spaceship myself and took the first chance that I could to hurl the Black Star Dragon Balls into the sun. Even if they did survive, no living creature in the universe will ever be able to get their hands on them again."

"Nice."

"Yeah. So it's really over then."

"Not quite, Bulma said that she and the others are hosting a big party at Capsule Corp a little bit later to celebrate Baby being taken down. Oh and Trunks fixed Giru, I can't tell you happy Pan was to hear about that."

"I can imagine." Piccolo exited his meditative stance and glanced up at the sun shining high above the two of them "You know looking back, Baby and I are somewhat alike. Back when I was first spat out as an egg, my very purpose for existing was to hunt you down, kill you and conquer this world."

"But now the two of us are friends."

"Yeah, I guess the difference was that I was able to look beyond my own hatred and become my own person."

"I can't believe that back then the only real goal that I had was to win the World Martial Arts Tournament, but then everything happened with the Saiyans, Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, now Baby and the Black Star Dragon Balls. So much has happened with us over the years, and things are so different now. I wonder what's going to come next."

"I don't know, but it is reassuring that we won't have to deal with it alone."

"Yeah. Whatever comes next, we can handle it. All of us, together."

"Exactly. Of course you know that the two of us aren't here just to reminisce." Piccolo gave a smirk as he removed his weighted cape and turban "The other day I went with Gohan to take our second year inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Right now the two of us might even be strong enough to hold our own against you as a Super Saiyan 4."

"Is that right?" Goku gave a grin as he flashed into Super Saiyan 2 "What do you say we work our way up to that before we get ahead of ourselves?"

"Sounds good to me. This is a rematch that I've been waiting more than 30 years for." the two of them dropped into their combat stances "Are you ready for this Goku?"

"You know I am Piccolo, now let's go!" and so the two of them charged at each other, beginning the rematch that's more than 30 years in the making, and bringing this story to a close.

At last, the time had come for celebrations and settling old scores. Baby's hellish reign over the Earth had all but faded from memory, and things for our heroes had faded back to normal once again. And whatever comes next, our heroes will be ready.

A/N:

And with this chapter, we see the struggle against Baby finally come to an end, and the overall story has ended with it. This is without a doubt the longest chapter of this entire story, and I thought that was only fitting since it's the last one. Not only has Baby finally been brought down once and for all, but he was brought down by the combined efforts of the remaining forces of the Dragon Team, co-led by the likes of both Goku and Piccolo. I know this story has taken a lot longer to get through than I would've liked (I mean about a freaking year and a half), so I'm sorry I made you guys wait for so long, and I want to thank all of you for sticking around with this story over the past year.

So yes, I had Piccolo be the one to save Goku from Baby instead of Pan, and be the one to stall for time for Goku and the instead of Majuub. The latter was pretty much necessary, seeing how Majuub didn't let himself get eated by Baby, and I need an acceptable substitute for that. As for the former, that was meant to accomplice two objectives I had in mind. One,

Even if Goku was the only one who could match Baby in terms of power, this time he didn't win the fight alone. He had help in the form of a combined effort that came from Piccolo, Majuub, Gohan, Gotenks, and Palla, the fusion of Bulla and Pan, which I had decided to include for a very simple reason. Pan & Bulla might be a lot stronger than before, but they're still leagues behind any of the others in terms of power and capability in battle, so without the Fusion Dance, they would never have been able to contribute to the final clash against Baby in any truly meaningful sort of way.

The ending scene was a little bit harder for me to figure out, but I did it in a way that I thought worked best for the story. Piccolo found a way to destroy the Black Star Dragon Balls, or at least keep anyone from ever getting their hands on them again, which means that he doesn't have to die. In addition, Goku uses the Namekian Dragon Balls to turn himself back into an adult, which solves another problem that GT never rectified. On a final note, the end itself. On one hand, the story is left somewhat open-ended, with Goku and Piccolo, and the others by extension, resolving to meet whatever new challenges will arise, and face them together without fear. On the other hand, Goku and Piccolo also engage in their long-awaited rematch, more than 30 years in the making. This is something we never got to see in any series, be it Z, GT or Super, and I can't tell you how pissed I am about that. But in any case, this is where I bring this story to a close.

Anyway that's all I have to say for the time being. Thank you all for reading, and please support my P ATREON at the link provided in my profile.