Chapter 020 - Dende the Survivor
As she flew with her eyes shut, Corset tried to sense out the whereabouts of the others. She had barely any idea what was going on but Gohan was beside her along with the Namekian child, whilst Krillin and the pink monster chasing them were a little further back...
"TAIOKEN!"
A strange swell of Krillin's ki threw Corset off; she'd never sensed anything so bizarre! She could have sworn she'd seen a flash through her closed eyes.
What had just happened?
"Follow me!" Krillin's voice called from just behind them; Corset assuming it was now ok for her to open her eyes. Unsure of what had happened she did as she was told and descended to the ground alongside Gohan and Krillin, landing on one of the many small rocky islands. This particular island was small but heavily concealed; a decent hiding place.
"Keep close to the wall so he doesn't spot us," Krillin ordered as he pressed his back up against the rocky wall.
Gohan and Corset did as instructed, yet the Namekian child seemed a little unsure.
"You too, kiddo," he added to the perplexed-looking Namekian. "That monster won't be in his condition forever."
The Namekian reluctantly did as he was told and crouched down beside Corset.
"... One question though Krillin," Gohan whispered quietly, "What did you do?"
"I just blinded him for a moment," Krillin replied.
"Blinded him?" Corset gawked in amazement. "H-How?"
"With a little trick I picked up from Tenshinhan," Krillin smiled amused by the look of awe on all three kid's faces.
The feeling was short-lived as the man above began to move around again.
"Looks like it's worn off..." Krillin mumbled in a hushed voice. "Everyone be as still and quiet as you can."
Corset quietly watched the blob of a fighter as he floated around above them, scanning the area. She was glad he didn't seem to have spotted them but wondered how long it would take for him to find them. He no longer had his scouter after all so maybe they'd get lucky...
"Looks like he's having a hard time finding us without his scouter," Krillin muttered. "We really do owe that old Namekian one for trashing them all!" He quickly turned to Gohan and Corset, "By the way, great flying you guys."
The pursuer's actions quickly changed and he shot further up into the sky.
Gohan smiled, "I think he's giving up."
"I hope so," Corset gulped. "We're in too good a hiding place for him to find us!"
Krillin gasped as the man's arms rose, his ki swelling. With little warning he fired off an attack directly towards the ground; Corset's heart rate bolting as she realised what was about to happen!
"NOW!" Krillin yelled jumping up; Gohan and Corset following as fast as they could, Corset snatching the Namekian boy from the ground-
The explosion rocked the atmosphere, tossing Corset further up into the sky almost uncontrollably; she struggled to keep control of her flight and her head, desperately trying to keep hold on the mini-Namekian. Wind and rubble scattered across the air in a blinding sea of light. She knew Krillin and Gohan were close by but she couldn't work out how close they were.
Control returned as did her ability to see her surroundings. As the dust and smoke from the detonation cleared, she realised just how high up they were. Thankfully she hadn't taken any physical damage although her heart and breathing was rapid, adrenaline pumping through her small frame.
There he was; the monster who'd set off the explosion was a below them, examining the area from the looks of it. Corset's throat felt as if it would close up; they weren't exactly hidden well anymore; he could just turn around and spot them at any moment!
He turned and left, flying off in the direction he'd come from.
The young girl breathed a sigh of relief, hand placed where her heart was trying to calm herself down. That had been terrifyingly close!
"We're alive... I thought we were done for!" Gohan sighed.
"So did I," Krillin nodded in agreement, attention turning to the Namekian boy in Corset's grasp. "... Hey kid, can you fly?"
"Yes."
Corset let go as she felt his ki fluctuate, watching in relief as he began to float before them. "That's the way," She smiled encouragingly.
"Thank you for saving me," the boy bowed his head down in gratitude.
"Don't thank me," Krillin smiled sadly, "Gohan's the one who took the risk for you. I was too much of a nervous wreck to even consider saving you I'm afraid so the thanks should go to him."
Gohan smiled, "but if it hadn't been for you Krillin blinding that guy, we'd all be dead."
"Yeah, I guess that is true," Krillin blushed. "I guess I ought to be thanking Corset as well for getting me outta that pinch!"
"You're welcome," Corset blushed bashfully, averting their gaze in shyness. She loved the praise and it felt good to know she'd actually done something useful, although it was embarrassing to hear it!
"Hey listen, it's not really safe anywhere on this planet; those monsters will no doubt be hanging around for a while. In the meantime, why don't you come with us?" Krillin suggested to the Namekian.
Corset felt like this was the best choice and smiled, nodding at him. He seemed nice enough and it meant she'd have someone to talk to and play with other than Gohan! On a more serious note, the safest place for him to be right now was probably with the three of them; he didn't look like a fighter after all.
The young Namekian nodded his head and smiled.
"Great," Krillin beamed. "I say we head back to where Bulma is. Does anyone remember where we left her?"
"It's over there," Corset pointed, "I can kinda sense my mama over there."
"You can?" Krillin blinked in surprise. "... You can actually sense her small ki from all the way out here?"
"Not her ki..." Corset shook her head not really sure how to explain herself, "... I just know she's over there somewhere."
"I think she's right," Gohan agreed, "I'm sure we were chased by that villain from that direction... and before that we headed to this guy's village from that direction..."
"If you guys say so, let's go then!" Krillin shrugged his shoulders.
The group began to head back- or at least they assumed they were going in the right direction.
"By the way kid, what's your name?" Krillin asked.
"... My name is Dende," The small boy replied.
"Dende... that's a nice name," Corset smiled. "I like it!"
"It's nice to meet you Dende," Gohan beamed, "My name is Gohan. That's Krillin and that's Corset."
Dende seemed a little perplexed. "It's nice to meet you all. You have very unusual names from what I'm used to."
"That figures," Krillin mumbled. "... Changing the subject a little, I'm sorry about what happened back there Dende, I mean what happened to your family. I can assure you Gohan, Corset and I aren't with those barbarians!"
"That was horrible..." Corset frowned. "They're really horrible people."
It didn't take too long before the trio were closing in on Bulma.
"Hey, we're not too far from the cave that Bulma's hiding in," Gohan smiled.
"I know," Corset nodded anxiously and fidgeting as she flew; she wanted to fly faster so she could get to her mother quicker.
"How come you two are so good at these things; I have no idea where we are," Krillin scratched his head.
Gohan's head bolted around, Corset and Krillin quickly sensing it.
"S-Something's coming! Everyone hide!" Krillin stammered, grabbing the young alien by the hand and leading the other two down to an island, backs up against a cliff face once again.
Gohan gulped, "K-Krillin, I don't think this is a good hiding place." He mumbled.
"Suppress your ki, both of you!" Krillin hissed. "Leave the rest of it to luck." He held the quivering alien closer to him and gulped nervously. "I'll bet it's that big monster again... How did he find us without that gadget on his face?"
Corset's eyes were sweeping over the vast green skies above to see if she could spot where that powerful ki was coming from. She'd located it to an area to her left and her eyes focused on one particular spot. She could have sworn she'd seen several dots moving but they'd all turned out to be tricks her eyes were playing on her...
Something just to the right of where her eyes focused appeared; pupils falling upon the dot and studying it. Her jaw dropped, heart began to thump wildly in her chest. She couldn't move. "... K... Kri...K-Krillin..." she barely squeaked. "U-Up there..."
Krillin looked to where the seemingly scared child was looking, spotting it pretty quickly.
"... Th-that's... Vegeta!" Gohan gasped.
Sure enough about two-hundred yards in the air to their left was Vegeta; he didn't look as if he'd spotted them but he did seem to be searching for something...
She couldn't believe how much bad luck they'd had today! First she'd let their ship be destroyed, then she'd had to watch some Namekians be killed, then she had to flee from a murderer and now her father was here! The amount of times her life had been threatened today was disturbing.
The Saiyan's head turned in their direction; Krillin, Gohan and Corset all reflexively ducking behind the cover of the small rock wall they were hiding behind.
He seemed to be searching them out yet Corset was baffled she couldn't even see one of those devices on his face! What was going on?
"... I think he's still searching..." Gohan quietly mumbled, only just peering over a ledge.
"Krillin, how is he able to find us?" Corset asked quietly, knees shaking like jelly. "I thought he and that other Saiyan used those things on their faces..."
Vegeta glanced back over towards where the Earthlings were hiding.
Krillin gasped. "Don't tell me he's sussed out how to sense ki!"
The Saiyan turned and slowly began to descend towards them.
"He's coming this way!" Gohan scurried back down below the small boulder fearfully.
"Oh that's just great, it does get worse!" Krillin whined. "If it really is the case he's learnt how to sense ki then it's over. Even if we suppress our ki, there's still this kid's tiny energy!"
He grew closer and closer.
Corset clamped her eyes shut, she was sure her legs were going to melt off, they were shaking so much! She wanted him to leave! All she could see happening was him finding them and slaughtering them all!
"We have got to fight him."
"Wha?" Gohan turned around in shock; Corset's eyes popped open in disbelief.
"... Even if we don't stand a chance..." Krillin mumbled looking at the two for some back-up. Without further hesitation Krillin rose to his feet and took in a deep breath-
With no prior warning, something burst out of the water beside their island with a loud roar, startling Krillin and the three kids but also catching Vegeta's attention. It was one huge fish! Indifferent to the apparent danger looming over the area it swam in, the fish fell back down into the waters kicking up spray as its tail slammed the surface, Krillin getting the brunt of the water dumped on him.
To her amazement, Vegeta turned away and flew off.
Krillin sighed heavily and fell onto his back, "That was too close... We're lucky to be alive!"
"I thought for sure we were goners," Gohan exclaimed.
"We didn't even fight and I'm still exhausted!" Krillin chuckled. "Anyway, let's get back to Bulma..." He glanced over towards Corset who'd seemed quite quiet. Curious he sat up and waved one hand in front of her face. "You alright?"
Corset jolted in shock and bolted upright in panic, calming down when she realised it was Krillin. "You scared me..." she sighed.
"Sorry," Krillin laughed. "We're gonna head back to where your mum is."
"We're not gonna fly there, are we?" Corset asked anxiously.
"That's a point," Gohan got to his feet brushing off the small drops of water that had hit him when that fish had appeared. "If we fly then Vegeta would pick us up again."
"Yeah, I guess you've got a point there," Krillin mumbled. "... In that case we're gonna keep our ki suppressed and run the rest of the way there."
As they ran, Corset couldn't help but worry they'd be spotted again. Something else bothered her though; something about herself. She felt perhaps she was beginning to let the others down; everything was scaring her and would leave her frozen in her tracks. How was she meant to stay alive if whenever she got scared, she stopped moving? Piccolo wouldn't be happy with her. Krillin and Gohan wouldn't be happy with her. She didn't want to let them down. She hated letting people down and dreaded it with a passion. Corset began to grow ashamed of her earlier behaviour; she'd been too scared to jump in when her friends needed her earlier. She wanted to work harder to make sure they managed to get their wish.
"It's gotta be around here somewhere..." Gohan mumbled.
"... You know what, guys?" Krillin sighed dismally. "I'm beginning to regret coming to this planet... I feel bad for Yamcha and the others who all died and I do wanna wish them back but... it just feels as if we're more likely to be adding more corpses to the list rather than wishing them all back to life..."
"... So you don't think we'll be able to make our wish?" Corset asked holding onto the Namekian's hand.
Krillin shook his head reluctantly.
The Namekian child was taken back as Corset suddenly flared up beside him. "Don't say that!" She cried, fists clenched up either side of her. "We have to get the Dragonballs. We have to bring everyone back to life. I don't want Mr Piccolo to be dead! They're all waiting for us to wish them back, Krillin!"
"Look I want them all back too but we can't ignore the fact that the people we're competing with are completely out of our league!" Krillin replied slightly shocked; from what he'd seen so far he'd assumed Corset was quiet and relatively timid! Then again Bulma was her mother; naturally she would have picked up some of her quirky traits.
"I-I don't care how s-strong they are," Corset glared down at the grass in front of her feet with a pout. "... I don't wanna give up, even if they are all stronger than us. We have to get our wish otherwise what was the point in coming here?"
Gohan took a step forward to the others with a nervous smile, "It'll be ok, Corset. We'll find a way to get the Dragonballs, right Krillin?"
"... Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to try..." Krillin sighed in defeat.
Corset pouted angrily; of course they needed to try! She couldn't be weak anymore; she wouldn't just sit back while her friends were in danger. Piccolo had taught her better than that and she wanted to bring him back to life! She didn't want to see any more deaths, she didn't want to hear any more bad things, she just wanted good news!
"Hey, look." Gohan's exclamation brought Corset out of her thoughts. "There's the cave we left Bulma in!"
"Hey you're right, good eye Gohan," Krillin smiled.
Corset ran past the others, desperate to see her mother again. She blinked in confusion when all she was greeted with was the darkened silence of the cave. "... I can't see her in here..." she mumbled. "Mama!"
"She must be deeper inside of the cave," Krillin mumbled as he walked past her. "Bulma! Are you in here?" He cautiously stepped into the darkness, the others following him.
"Mama?"
"Bulma!"
Krillin stopped, Corset looking on curiously. There was a Capsule House tucked inside the cave! "Hey, that's my mama's!" She exclaimed happily. "Mama, we're back!" She knocked on the door eagerly. "Mama!"
"Take it easy Corset, she'll get cross at us," Krillin pulled her a little ways back from the door.
The door flew open almost striking Corset in the face! The girl squeaked and stepped backwards making Bulma scream and back away.
"Hey, it's ok! It's just us!" Krillin waved his hands out trying to calm them both down!
The screaming had terrified the young Namekian and he'd gone behind part of the cave wall for cover, cautiously peeking back at them!
"Oh there you all are!" Bulma grabbed her daughter and began to crush her in her tight grip. "I was so worried about you!"
"Mama that hurts," Corset flinched somehow managing to squirm out of her mother's arms.
"What the heck took you all so long? I thought you were just going to check out something you could all sense!" Bulma folded her arms angrily. "A frail girl like me could get hurt by herself you know!"