PART THIRTY: BABIDI’S TRAP

Chapter 145

Translated by npberryhill

Son Gohan and Piccolo continued above the Universe 14 patio, where #17 had joined with the rest of Babidi’s ranks and was slaughtering innocent bystanders left and right. Lifeless bodies littered the grandstands in his wake while the murderous twin enjoyed every cry of pain, every plea for mercy.

Piccolo grimaced in disgust, but they didn’t have time to stop and deal with him. Stopping Babidi was the top priority, and the only way to actually end the disaster. The spectators were keeping everyone’s attention for the time being, which would hopefully allow them an opportunity to act. Still, it felt bitter leaving them. He could easily recall the day when he had suggested that Buu kill the remaining Earthlings, hoping to buy just a few more precious moments. The Namek still cursed himself for that cowardice, and found this dilemma nearly as disturbing.

A powerful aura suddenly drew their attention — Ginyu, back in Cold’s body and fully healed, had joined with the Frost Demon forces in the air. Freeza appeared disgusted at the pretender, but made no comment. Rather, he continued scrutinizing the spectators in the fight below.

“Foot-soldiers, deal with what’s left of the audience! We three will handle any universe daring to rebell...”

“It looks like Dabra is in trouble,” Coola remarked while the soldiers dispersed. “Those nano-warriors are becoming quite the thorn in our side.”

“Let’s go,” Cold said, staring at the Kaioshins. “The gods are top priority, we can’t afford the slightest mistake.”

As they began their descent, the Frost Demon soldiers swarmed the bleachers. Even more screams of terror were heard throughout the arena. Piccolo glanced back distractedly, seeing his double along with Videl of the 16th. They were mopping the floor with Freeza’s men, he was sure they’d be fine. On the other hand, the Kaioshin were once again at a disadvantage — Dabra having been joined by Cold and his two sons. Piccolo knew the deities were mostly spent and wouldn’t last, he would have to intervene.

“I’ll join the Kaioshin against Freeza and the others, you handle Babidi!”

“Alright!” Gohan agreed, descending near the opening of Universe 11’s apartments.

Piccolo of the 18th broke away from his old pupil and rushed the Frost Demons. Cold had outsped his sons on the way to Universe 1, leaving the Namek to confront the two princes first.

“On behalf of all Namekian people, I have an old score to settle!” he apostrophized.

Immediately, before the ice tyrant had even turned, Piccolo dealt him a violent kick to the back of the head. Freeza spat from the shock, while Coola rushed the Namek furiously. But he was vastly outclassed and Piccolo maneuvered around him easily, grabbing his head, then spinning a powerful knee into his face. Freeza recovered quickly, enraged, forming a dark Ki ball in his hand and staring at his foe.

“Why you worm, I’ll vaporize you!” he screamed.

Piccolo turned, his strong left hand still gripping Coola’s neck, and fired two eye-beams into Freeza’s chest — causing the Frost Demon’s attack to evaporate out of shock. He immediately lost his balance in midair, falling, while the Namek turned back to the other struggling prince. That’s when a hand suddenly grabbed Piccolo by the leg and yanked hard, freeing Coola from his clutches.

“What...?”

Freeza grinned sadistically, in spite of the blood pouring out of his chest. He’d fooled the Namek, who knew full well of the Frost Demon biology and their exceptional resistance to injury. Even so, he’d expected that attack to be fatal and hadn’t considered Babidi’s magic would be so powerful. Quickly, he stretched his other leg and struck Freeza, freeing himself while Coola prepared an attack behind his back. But Piccolo made a quick U-turn and prevented that with a quick elbow to the face.

The two brothers were at a clear disadvantage, causing Cold to pause. Who needed his assistance more? Would Freeza and Coola be killed, or did Dabra need his help immediately? No, Babidi’s number-two man wasn’t so weak that he needed to be rescued. The Namekian, on the other hand, could be a problem.

Piccolo began concentrating energy in both his hands, putting a small distance between himself and the two ice titans. Freeza’s face paled as he realized what was coming.

“Disappear!”

The Namekian’s attack was more than enough to obliterate them, but suddenly the asteroid began to shake. The three fighters were briefly distracted, but Piccolo quickly launched his attack regardless. From below, out of nowhere Cold’s leg struck his arms, deflecting the aim of his blast upwards into the heavens. Reactively, Piccolo shot back to a safe distance — but Cold pursued, unwilling to give him even a moment’s respite.

“Transform yourself, ‘son’!” the King yelled, even as he chased the Namek.

Obediently, Coola concentrated his Ki and began powering up into his fifth form, while Cold provided him a few uninterrupted moments. He threw an impetuous punch at the Namek, the blow hitting nothing but the white weighted cloth garbed by the green-skinned fighter. Piccolo had skillfully escaped the blow while simultaneously shedding his training gi, resulting in quite a significant speed increase. Below, his cape and shoulder weights came crashing down on a few unsuspecting Majinized Frost Demon soldiers, crushing them instantly. As for Freeza, it had not escaped his notice that Piccolo was getting down to business. As Cold began to take Piccolo’s first physical assault, Freeza began firing a swarm of death beams into the Namek’s back. He then yelled to his brother, now finally transformed.

“Keep him occupied for me! I need time to power up, as does Papa...ehem Ginyu... well, both of us!”

Coola obeyed without question, rushing the Namekian while Cold got some distance and began focusing his energy.

“I don’t think so!” Piccolo replied.

The Super Namek rushed past Coola without any effort whatsoever, sending a powerful Kikoha at a panicked Cold. He was unable to make even the slightest gesture to counter it, left completely exposed — when suddenly the blast was deflected by a much more powerful Majin.

“Nice try,” Cell laughed, a chain of light hanging in his hand, the other end planted into the ground below. The bio-android disappeared instantly and resumed his battle with Gohan. Although he’d been mid-fight with one of the strongest warriors at the tournament, the perfect warrior had managed to escape their confrontation briefly in order to intervene. It was terrifyingly impressive.

Distraught, Piccolo glared down at Gero’s creation before turning back to his own foes. Cell was by far the bigger threat. Even against someone like Gohan, he was still able to pay attention to other fights and even help his fellow converts at just the right moment. Babidi had achieved a real tour de force by managing to enlist him in the Majin ranks.

Freeza and Cold’s power levels were shooting way up, and without wasting another moment Piccolo punched Coola again then rushed at Cold. He had to take advantage of the opening during his transformation! Once complete, Piccolo knew full well he would be outmatched by the Frost Demon Emperor — and that wasn’t even considering his second augmentation form.

A hissing sound rattled in his eardrums, forcing him to stop suddenly. Coola had recovered and had employed a sharp whistle, having learned of the Namekian weakness. Piccolo reactively opened his mouth wide and fired an energy wave at the demon — he dodged it, but the noise of the explosion was far louder than his whistle. Still, the damage had been done. About fifteen Frost Demon soldiers had been summoned and now encircled Piccolo. They charged the Namekian simultaneously, grabbing hold of him in an attempt to immobilize the struggling fighter. Impatient, the Super Namek repulsed them all with a powerful explosion wave, disintegrating the pawns without remorse.

The light of his blast faded, revealing the Frost Demons around him, their transformations now complete. Piccolo was shocked, not so much at the two brothers — whose power levels were still leagues below his own — but by Cold. He’d already seen the monster’s strength on display in the fight with Son Bra, and a mere glimpse at his fifth form alone confirmed he surpassed Piccolo. But now that his energy had been boosted by Babidi, he was far more terrible than the Namek ever imagined.

Cold, his face masked like his sons, lowered his voice threateningly.

“We’ll take him together, carefully. This form is well suited for a drawn-out fight. He won’t be able to wear us down.”

“You’re going to regret that arrogance from before, Namekian,” Freeza spat, lowering himself into position. “Each of us has had our power level increased dramatically by Master Babidi. You may have held an edge before, but you can’t hope to defeat all three of us, especially not now!”

Piccolo had to admit, this wasn’t going to be pleasant. But he still held out hope. Freeza and Coola, in spite of their transformation and the wizard’s boost, were still insignificant in this fight. If he focused on taking them out quickly, perhaps he could turn all his attention to defending against Cold. Additionally, with what he knew of Babidi’s magic, his slaves still retained their own personalities and character flaws. With luck, the Frost Demons would be disorganized and unable to properly coordinate their combined assault — unlike with Raichi and his ghost warriors.

While he continued thinking, Freeza began a provocative series of taunts.

“What’s wrong, dear Namekian? Don’t tell me only now you’ve decided to surrender and beg us to spare your miserable wretched life? Surely you still want to settle things, no?”

“I guarantee it!” Piccolo answered, speeding in front of him.

Freeza wasn’t even able to process the movement. The Namek delivered a fierce uppercut into his abdomen, causing the fifth-form Freeza to spew a wad of blood through his mask. Grabbing his tail, Piccolo then hurled him into his brother who had charged as well. He punctuated the collision by launching both sons towards their father — who parted them sharply with a quick strike of his tail. Freeza groaned in pain.

“How!?” he grumbled angrily. “A mere Namekian has no business standing up to the likes of me!”

“And yet, he’s completely out of your league,” Cold interrupted harshly. “Both of you, stay back. Your best chance to help will be to annoy him from a distance. The master charged us with the task of eliminating these fools, so you’d best set aside your pride and find a way to be of assistance.”

“Fine... ‘Father’,” Coola replied, forming two kikoha in his hands.

King Cold rushed the Namek, who raised his defenses quickly. At the last instant, the demon straightened up just short, surprising the Namek who instead blocked Coola’s blasts. Cold took the opening to stagger Piccolo with a quick headshot, but with great agility the Super Namek dodged the next few blows. That destabilized the Ice Titan’s pace before the two engaged in a frenzied flurry of body blows, parries, and counters. Their fight went on at great speed for well over a minute, during which time Piccolo gradually lost his ability to keep up.

Gifted as he was in battle, his opponent Captain Ginyu was a fighting genius of equal prowess, having proven himself against the likes of Son Bra. His attacks were brutal, but compact and precise, not wasting energy or time — meaning even if Piccolo saw them in time he wasn’t always able to deflect. He would catch the first and second, but as the flurry continued more and more fists and knees slipped through his guard. He tried to give as good as he got, managing to slam Cold in the face full force a few times — but the difference in stamina between them was undeniable. Bit by bit, Cold was revealing glimpses of his strength, though he was still far from exerting himself.

Additionally, Piccolo had the annoyance of dealing with Coola’s ranged harassment. Freeza, meanwhile, was more reluctant to help. It perplexed him how his brother didn’t seem to mind following the orders of a body thief. His hesitancy, however, drew the attention of Babidi. A shrill voice suddenly entered his mind.

“What are you doing, fool!? Help them, eliminate this worm and support the others!”

Pain flooded his mind along with the voice, causing Freeza’s limbs to tremble.

“If you insist, master...”

As Cold continued pushing back Piccolo, deploying overwhelming strength, he suddenly swept the Namek’s legs and grabbed him low. The green-skinned warrior wore a nervous expression, one that did not improve when he turned to see both Freeza and Coola firing dozens of purple death beams at him point-blank. With the two brothers working together, this would be harder than ever.

Cold twisted his arms, holding the former guardian of Earth prostrate in front of the incoming blasts, then suddenly swinging a hard right into his cheek. Piccolo coughed up blood as he was launched away, finding it exhausting just to recover his balance in midair. Before he could even catch a breath, the two lizard brothers were upon him, pressing their offensive with close combat while Cold played a role reversal of ranged support. Piccolo focused hard, managing to stall their clumsy attempts at a synchronous assault. Then, at the first opening, he expelled a kaia explosion that repelled both foes away.

‘I may have been a little too optimistic, thinking I could take them all on at once,’ the Namek thought. ‘If it was just the two sons, sure, but I can't win this on my own.’

Meanwhile, over on Universe 18’s designated balcony...

The fight between Nedwook and Kakarotto was raging. Babidi’s magic hadn’t just allowed the mad Saiyan to survive a mortal wound — he’s somehow managed to reach Super Saiyan 2 as well! Pushing beyond his limits, the fiend had turned the tables on the Heloite, who now found Kakarotto’s attacks almost overwhelming. Nedwook was managing to get in a few hits here and there, but he’d begun to wonder just what kind of attack it would take to bring his opponent down for good. If a laser through the heart didn’t work, some kind of full body detonation might be the only solution. At the rate it was going, he would soon be forced to resort to his ultimate weapons — which came with the added risk of annihilating spectators and bystanders.

Kakarotto landed a powerful punch that broke through the Heloite’s guard, causing him to stagger. Relentlessly, the shrewd Saiyan followed up by rushing him and swinging even harder — but the Heloite slid his leg to the side and bent low, ducking beneath the outstretched arm of his enemy. That gave Nedwook the perfect opening to plant a devastating punch directly in the murderer’s chest that caused him to hack up a stream of saliva. Kakarotto took a step backward, but maintained his animalistic grin.

“Not bad, for a wimp hiding behind his armor!” he chuckled. “But your power is laughable compared to a Saiyan as strong as me. You’re nothing!”

With a malicious booming laughter, Kakarotto began firing a spread of continuous Kikohas at the nano-warrior — who desperately activated his shield. He longed for even a moment of respite, but the tireless attacks continued without any sign of letting up. It was clear the Saiyan revelled in creating such a sense of helplessness. Nearby, Son Goten had managed to recover somewhat, having caught his breath but still struggling to move. The scene unfolding before him was turning for the worse; he knew if things continued at this rate they would both be killed. He had to act, but as he racked his brain for a way to stop this alternate version of his father he kept drawing a blank. Now that Kakarotto was at level 2, the gulf between them was far too immense...

He wondered what his Dad or brother would do in his situation. They’d faced foe after foe that were out of their league yet they always found the will to keep fighting. Vegeta had sacrificed his own life against Buu, as had Goku against Cell and his uncle. Maybe those weren’t the best examples, but the situation was urgent and that’s all that came to mind. Goten’s strength was spent, Gohan and Piccolo were busy elsewhere, the Kaioshins were fighting for their lives, and Bra and Videl were still fleeing from the bald brazen brute. He didn’t have the luxury of waiting for help, and he knew it.

Resolute, he painfully straightened himself up, finding the nearby wall to help him stand. His legs trembled beneath him, and he only made it a few steps before staggering forward. He faltered, but didn’t give up. Quite the contrary, as he began drawing on his inner strength, resolute with willpower. He even used the momentum of his fall to jumpstart his legs with ki. Goku’s youngest son then launched himself forward, taking Kakarotto from behind and grabbing onto him with his arms and legs. The corrupted Saiyan began hurling curses, having been interrupted right before a kill.

“You again? Let go you brat bastard!”

“I told you to get out of here!” Nedwook exclaimed, irritated by the young Saiyan’s persistence. “Let me handle him, you go find shelter!”

“No thanks,” Son Goten said, managing a smile. “I guess running’s just not in my blood. Hurry and charge your Alpha Waver, I’ll hold him as long as I can!” the boy instructed, tightening his grip. “Do it!!”

“Like hell!” Kakarotto snarled. “I’ll rip you to shreds, boy!”

The murderous Saiyan ignited his aura and began raising it to dangerous levels. The crackles of thin azure lightning scored Goten’s skin and caused his muscles to spasm, while the pressure of the golden aura and the heat were like a furnace against his body. Nedwook hesitated, amazed at the youth’s determination, and decided to honor the brave sacrifice he’d proposed.

“Ultra...Waver!” he yelled, extending his arm.

The intense energy wave slammed directly into Kakarotto, who was unable to block against any of it. Goten’s grip on him remained true, the two Saiyans taking the full force of Nedook’s concentrated beam attack. Kakarotto yelled and screamed, his armor cracking, splitting, melting. He was knocked out of his transformation as he crashed against the ground, body burnt and eyes glassy.

This time, he’d be down for sure, Nedwook thought. No one could get back up after taking an attack like that head on. As for Goten, he was lying a bit further down, his left arm completely burned and bleeding. Much of his body had been shielded by Kakarotto, but Goten was seriously injured all the same — not to mention his mind was mush.

“Dammit, this is...just...the worst pain...” he moaned.

Goten had never fought to the death. He had taken several beatings as Gotenks, sure, but this was like no pain he had ever known.

Nedwook landed next to him, bending down on a knee to check his condition. Seeing that he was still alive, he offered a smile.

“I misjudged you, kid. You’re the real deal, braver than most. We’ve gotta get you treated quickly, you’ll die if we don’t.”

“My life’s not... important. We die... all the time... back home,” Goten grinned, coughing on blood.

He couldn’t speak properly. The situation, however, was still just as urgent and serious as ever — even without Kakarotto. Bra and Videl were still in danger, should he send the Heliote after them? No, Videl was clever, she would find a way to escape from Nappa. After all, the Saiyan couldn’t even sense energy without a scouter (which was actually untrue, though Goten didn’t know it).

Gohan needed time to find and stop Babidi for good, making Cell the greatest threat still on the playing field. Goten had seen earlier that he was fighting against Gohan of the 16th, but was utterly shell-shocked by how fiercely powerful the perfect warrior really was. Even his brother was struggling with all his might against Cell. If they could eliminate him, though, that would allow Gohan to save the girls from Nappa.

“Go, help my brother against Cell... he’s the strongest out of everyone! You’ve gotta take him out!”

Nedwook wasn’t unaware of the situation himself. But he was reluctant to abandon the young man who would undoubtedly die if left untreated. Seeing his hesitance, Son Goten raised his head through extreme effort, angry.

“Go now! What are you waiting for!?”

“Alright,” Nedwook nodded, flying off towards the direction of more violent impacts. He’d gone from looking down on the weaker Saiyan to really been impressed by the lad, who was now giving him orders.

Goten followed the nano-warrior with his eyes before closing them finally and praying that when he again opened them, his father and Vegeta would be back. They were his heroes, they always knew what to do, he was sure they would be able to solve everything. Sighing, he sank into unconsciousness.

In the Universe 11 apartments...

Gohan flung the door open, tearing it off its hinges. No sooner had it fallen to the ground that the half-Saiyan was already scanning the environment.

“Babidi!!! Show yourself, coward!”

There was nothing, no energy and no one. No one? No, there were traces of magic, he could sense it lingering. His affinity with the mystical power of the Kaioshins allowed him to be more attuned to things like this. Babidi was close, possibly even in the room, he could feel the harmful waves the more he focused on them. Gohan shut his eyes, releasing his ki in every direction.

“I can feel his aura... he’s shifted into another reality from our own, but it’s not that far off — proximity must be a factor in affecting his control over the majins. If I can synchronize myself with the abnormal vibrations I’m feeling... maybe I can find a way to break in!”

A powerful earthquake caught his attention, a resulting shockwave of the fight between Cell and his counterpart. It was terribly intense now.

He refocused on the distortions, trying to emulate them within himself. It would only take a moment to realign his ki pattern. He hoped Piccolo would be able to hold off the Frost Demons, and most of all that his father and the others would be back soon. If Cell proved superior to his alternate, everyone in the arena would be helpless against him. He had to hurry before it was too late.