Chapter 010 - Stepping Up
Corset barely had time to blink before a large force of power barely shot past her. She looked to her left, horrified when she saw Nappa's foot extended and Gohan flying backwards from the hit. He slammed hard into a nearby boulder, falling onto his face.
Corset looked on terrified, eyes transfixed over towards him, "... Go-"
Her world spun stopping the rest of the word from coming out. Something hard hit her cheek. Her balance vanished as did her sense of direction until she struck something solid.
For a moment she had no idea what had happened; all she felt was searing pain in her cheek and shoulder.
Then came the tears. She couldn't help it; it hurt so much. As she rose to a sitting position she noticed Krillin was fighting the Saiyan. Looking to her right she saw Gohan was still face-down. Was he?
Corset almost choked on a sob. She was tired from crying so much, tired from worrying so much, tired from being scared so much...
Gohan had become her best friend over the last year; they'd had to learn how to survive together. They'd both been trained by Piccolo. Corset looked over to where Piccolo lay. Her teacher was down too.
Seeing the people she cared about down didn't sit too well in her stomach. She remembered seeing her mother sprawled out on the sand. She'd never stood a chance and yet she'd defied the odds and tried to protect her daughter. There had been the other fighters; Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaozu; they'd never stood a chance and yet they still tried.
Piccolo'd said you had to have a heart and courage... all four of those people had that.
Corset could have that too.
Defying her want to stay on the ground and cry, she got to her feet, wiping the loose tears from her eyes and attempting to calm herself down. Krillin was charging up what looked like a disc. That would be a good enough distraction; neither of the two Saiyans were looking in her direction. She took in a deep breath, trying to suppress the nagging pain in her body and began to focus her ki, just like Piccolo had taught her to do. She held each hand level with her hip, palm spread and facing forwards.
Krillin fired off his attack to the large Saiyan - who seemed to just be standing there!
"Nappa – Dodge it!" Vegeta yelled at his comrade.
Corset watched as she continued to power up; she saw Nappa just barely dodge the small disc; it flew a good hundred yards past her and behind. She had no idea what happened to the large rock stack it sliced through!
She had no time to be distracted, she was almost ready...
Nappa tossed a blast towards Krillin. The worn fighter was barely able to dodge but was caught up in the explosion. His ki began to dwindle as he endured searing heat and debris.
Corset had no idea she'd been spotted by the shorter Saiyan. He'd gone to reach for his scouter and began to take her reading.
"Almost there..." Corset groaned; two blue balls of ki appearing in both of her hands. The power-up was beginning to put pressure on the ground below her feet, cracks appearing where she stood. The wind began to pick up slightly, her hair dancing in the gust.
"NAPPA – DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!" Vegeta's voice hit her ears and she looked over to him quickly. She'd been spotted! "She's got a reading of over two-thousand!"
The taller Saiyan, who had been charging towards Krillin, turned and spotted her. He snorted and began to approach her. "Let's see what you've got, kiddo!"
Corset gulped down the lump in her throat, determined not to bail out now. She had to do it for Piccolo, her mama, everyone who'd died for her. She couldn't let them down anymore.
"Interesting... the kid hasn't done anything up until now and yet she's got a power level that I never would have expected from a human." Vegeta folded his arms. "... Wait a minute..." He began to study her carefully.
"Bring all you've got!" Nappa jeered.
Corset gritted her teeth; it was all or nothing:
"KENTOKA FLASH!"
With a mighty yell she threw her hands forwards, firing off the blue attack straight for Nappa.
The Saiyan sniggered.
Corset felt her attack hit... shocked when she saw it fly off to the side. Her blast crashed into a nearby boulder, obliterating it in an instant. The wind from the strike was terrific but for once she found she was able to stay on her feet. Not that it mattered.
Nappa stood unfazed by the display of power. "Not bad for a runt!"
Corset took a step back, the ominous feeling rising in the pit of her stomach leaking across her body. Now what? That attack had taken her power from her. She couldn't do anything else.
Nappa jumped forward so fast, all Corset saw was a blur –
There was a bang and a cloud of dust heading straight for her, swallowing Nappa up in the process! Corset gasped and held her breath as she was engulfed, unsure of what had just happened.
"You stupid Namekian punk! You damaged my back!"
Corset could just about see through the smoke. A smile appeared on her face – Piccolo was getting to his feet - he was ok! She breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Don't underestimate us," Piccolo sneered raising one fist at the Saiyan. "We won't go down as easily as you-"
Something made him stop talking.
Then she felt it, something big was coming. Something with a huge ki signal was coming towards them.
"Who is that?" She asked.
"Looks like you two are in trouble," Piccolo jeered at the two Saiyans. "Son Goku is on his way here! I knew that lazy ass would keep us waiting!"
"Daddy's coming; I just know it's him!" Corset turned, smiling again when she saw Gohan was up on his feet.
"Hey Vegeta. What do you think?" Nappa asked. "It's gotta be some kind of a trick. There's no way these guys can sense power levels without some sort of device."
"Calm down Nappa, we'll find out if there is something coming or not," Vegeta snapped, pressing the thing he'd used earlier to get Corset's reading... He seemed to be shocked. "I don't know who it is but someone is coming, I can't see how this could be Kakarrot though; the power reading's too high!" He turned to face his partner. "You see whoever's coming has a power level of Four-thousand."
Nappa gasped, "F-Four-thousand? There's no way that can be right! No power level on this planet can reach four-thousand!"
"It looks like your partner is getting worried," Piccolo sneered at Nappa.
"Nappa, kill them all! If this power level does belong to Kakarrot then we can't allow him to team up with these guys when he arrives."
"What?!" Piccolo gasped in disbelief; the shorter Saiyan had changed his battle-plan quite dramatically.
"What about the Dragonballs?" Nappa asked confused. "Aren't we gonna make our wish?"
"Never mind them; we don't need these ones anyway to get our wish!" Vegeta smiled. "I'd always thought the magical spheres of the Namekians were just a myth but now I see it's more than that. Don't you find it strange that on our journey to locate these Dragonballs, we find a Namekian here? He must be the one who created the Dragonballs on this planet. If that's the case then I can safely conclude that this Namekian is disposable... We can always find another Namekian who can create Dragonballs and planet Namek is loaded with them!"
Nappa grinned as he cottoned onto what Vegeta was saying. "I get it. Yeah, this plan sounds like a lot more fun!" He took a glance back towards Earth's four fighters, resting his eyes upon Piccolo. "Too bad Namek, your use has just expired!"
Corset gasped – they were planning to kill Piccolo? She wouldn't let that happen, she couldn't, not with all the deaths that'd already happened today. Piccolo had pretty much looked after her and Gohan for the past year and despite his temper, despite his hard exterior and ruthless treatment, she kinda liked him.
"M-Mr Piccolo, you've got to get out of here!" Gohan cried, apparently of the same mind. "If you die then the Dragonballs on Earth will disappear as well! We need you to stay alive, so go!"
Corset turned to Gohan; so that's how Piccolo was connected to the Dragonballs? She was relieved to see Gohan was alright, just a couple of bruises and cuts but nothing serious.
She turned her attention to Piccolo, "H-He's right Mr Piccolo. You can't die; we need to use the Dragonballs to bring the others back to life."
Piccolo snorted and smirked, "I appreciate the concern but it's not going to happen! Besides, what would you two plan to do; Krillin's down for the count so it would just be you two against that Saiyan. You should both know as well as I do that none of us can escape this alive."
"We have to try!" Gohan retaliated. "No matter what, we have to make sure you stay alive."
"Yeah, we can't let them kill you," Corset protested.
Nappa burst into loud fits of laughter. "You fools! The Namek isn't going anywhere."
"Please, leave now." Gohan asked. "I'll hold him off somehow."
That seemed like a bad thing to say; Corset noticed the look Nappa was giving Gohan and grew anxious.
"...Hold me off you say?" A muscle twitched in his cheek. "…Just for that, you die first."
She had no power left to help Gohan out. Krillin was nearby but he was down. Dread began to swim through her body.
Corset had no idea Nappa's attention had turned back to her. With one swift flex of his foot Nappa charged at Corset-
"NAPPA, DON'T KILL HER!"
Perplexed and taken back, the young girl's attention was turned to the shorter Saiyan; as was Nappa's. The tall Saiyan seemed baffled. Corset was of the same mind. Why had the shorter Saiyan called off his comrade's attack?
"What?" he demanded, glaring at the terrified girl in front of him, staring down into her horrified face, "Why?"
"... I think I know who she is now." Vegeta muttered. "We want her alive."
"Alive...?" Piccolo muttered suspiciously. Were they onto her? Was it true that one of these two really was her father?
"What's so important about letting her live?" Nappa demanded.
"Look I know it's difficult but try to use that brain of yours for once!" Vegeta rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Try to think back to when we conquered planet Paeli! While you and Raditz headed for Paeli, I headed off to another planet before joining you both."
Nappa seemed to recall what he was talking about and took one more look at the small girl. "I get it... Are you sure she's the one?"
"I find it rather difficult to believe that that brat is just a normal human when she appears to have the same type of power as Kakarrot's brat." Vegeta replied. "When she attacked you earlier she showed a rather impressive amount of power for someone her age. No human could be that powerful at such a young age."
Although none of them could hear him, Krillin could hear what was being said. "... So he's her dad?" he asked quietly, short of breath and struggling to stay conscious. "... Yeah...There is a resemblance... The hair..."
"Fine then, I won't kill the girl," Nappa sighed reluctantly, turning his attention to Gohan instead and grinning. "At least let me take care of Kakarrot's kid!"
Corset had no idea what either of them were talking about. She didn't even have time to register what was going on before Gohan was charged in on by Nappa.
"NO!" Piccolo cried, rushing after the Saiyan.
In a surprisingly bold move, Gohan leapt out and kicked his opponent square in the cheek. Piccolo barely dodged the soaring Saiyan as he shot backwards into a nearby boulder, which promptly collapsed upon him with a rumble, dispensing a thin spread of dust.
Corset was dumbstruck. First the shock she'd been spared for some reason and now Gohan had been able to knock the big bully back. "... Wow..." she gawked in awe. "Gohan's strong!"
The feeling was short-lived. Nappa appeared from the rubble landing before Gohan and Piccolo. He did not look happy. It was apparent that Gohan's single attack had even dealt some damage as small trickles of blood ran down Nappa's forehead. The sight sent shivers down Corset's spine, reigniting the fear she'd held for him.
"That's it... I'll kill you first, brat!" Nappa snarled, charging up power in one hand.
Gohan was petrified, as were Piccolo and Corset. None of the trio were able to move from their spots around the Saiyan.
In a flash of light, Nappa chucked his hand forward, sending a powerful blast straight for Gohan.
"No!" Corset screamed.
It all happened so fast. Piccolo was there one moment and gone the next, Corset barely saw him move and by the time she realised where he was, there was nothing anyone could do. Horrified she saw her mentor and best friend disappear into the light, enveloped by smoke and a deafening roar. The wind pushed her off her feet, sending her tumbling and crashing onto her face. She was dazed and dizzy for a moment, lungs choked on the thick smoke.
When she regained her balance and managed to get up, the dust was thinning out.
With terrified eyes she looked where the two had been standing. Piccolo was still on his feet; most of his clothing had disintegrated and he'd sustained a lot of wounds. Corset was sure she could smell his burnt flesh from where she stood, it made her feel nauseous and she struggled to keep it down. His arms were stretched out either side of him; he'd taken the brunt of the attack.
To her relief Gohan looked unscathed although he'd been knocked to a sitting position. Even from where she stood Corset could see the shock and horror on his face.
"P-Piccolo?" Gohan barely stammered.
"... Gohan..." Piccolo spluttered through heavy breaths, body almost buckling beneath him. "... Run away... Gohan..."
Piccolo fell forwards.
Corset choked. 'Not Piccolo... Not Piccolo!' She refused to believe it! She wouldn't believe it!
"Piccolo!" Gohan wailed, kneeling beside his mentor and rolling him over so he now lay on his back. "Piccolo you've got to get up! We need you Piccolo!"
Nappa snorted, "Darn it; the Namekian got in the way and messed up my killing order. Oh well, I guess in the end it didn't matter; they're all going to die anyway!"
"Oh the shame..." Piccolo exhaled, eyes half opened as he looked at the small boy beside him. "The great Piccolo reducing himself to saving a child..."
"No Piccolo, you can't leave!" Gohan wailed. "You have to hold on until my dad gets here! You have to stay alive, Piccolo!"
"G... Gohan... listen..." Piccolo smiled weakly, "I want to... thank you and Corset... The past year... I was harsh on you both... but neither of you... ever gave up... You suffered but you barely complained... You're the first two people... to ever really talk to me... Before I could even see it... you'd both sunk beneath my skin... and there was nothing I could... do to stop it..."
Tears welled up in Gohan's shimmering dark eyes, "...Piccolo..." he whimpered.
Streams of tears softly rolled down Piccolo's cheeks as he looked at the child. "... Thank you... for being my friends... Make sure neither... of you... die..."
The light vanished leaving an empty black void; Piccolo's ki vanishing from where it should have been.
He was gone.
"No! Piccolo, no!" Gohan wailed.
Corset couldn't hold it back anymore and burst into tears, trying her best to stop herself and wiping her soggy cheeks from the tears falling down them. "Not Mr Piccolo too!" She snivelled.
"RYAAAAAAAAAA!"
Gohan's scream caught the sobbing girl's attention and she opened one red eye, both opening in shock as she felt it. His ki had shot up! Wiping the tears in a daze, she watched as Gohan raised his hands above his head, the two facing out level with his forehead. What was he doing...?
"MASENKO!" Gohan bellowed.
Corset buckled backwards, watching in shock. Seeing Gohan like this had sent a strange feeling through her, one that filled her with fear and the need to run away. Whatever had happened to Gohan made her stomach hurt as if something was squeezing it. The sheer pressure of his swollen ki almost threatened to crush her! She'd never sensed anything like this from him!
A yellow bolt of ki flashed in Gohan's palms.
"Two-thousand-five-hundred – and it's still going up!" Vegeta cried in disbelief. The numbers finally stopped rising and settled, "Nappa! It's as we thought; these little brats are able to conceal their true power levels! This one is more powerful than he appears; he has a power level of Two-thousand-eight-hundred!"
"Two-thousand-eight-hundred eh?" Nappa repeated, readying himself for the brunt of the oncoming attack.
"HYAAAA!" Gohan threw his hands ahead of him, palms out, releasing the built-up ki in a powerful yellow jet, coating the entire area in its light.
Nappa smirked and roared, launching out a single punch. In one swing he managed to deflect the yellow beam of energy, knocking it to the side. The ground was reduced to a burning inferno as the Masenko struck, causing an earth-shaking explosion and knocking away several nearby boulders. The ground shook for a few seconds before settling down.
Corset stood shocked, once more stunned and unable to accept what she'd just seen. He'd knocked Gohan's attack away like it was nothing... he'd done that with everyone's attacks all day! Surely there had to be a limit?
"Hey, not bad kid. That made my arm go numb!" Nappa snorted, clutching to the arm he'd punched with.
Gohan seemed just as shocked as Corset was. He stood desperately trying to catch his breath as Nappa approached him.
She was terrified. "Oh no... Gohan... He's gonna hurt Gohan!" She wanted to go and help but once more fear had kept her to the spot she stood at. Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Yamcha and Chaozu had all died by this Saiyan and his comrade's hand; what could a young little girl like her do against a monster like that?
