Chapter 050 - The Rebellion
It hadn't been long since Corset had left the company of the others and once again her nerves were starting to get the better of her. She felt on edge which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, although any strange noise she heard made her jump and turn on the spot! The two senzu beans she'd been given were tucked away in her belt; she hoped what Piccolo'd said would come to pass and she wouldn't need to use them!
Corset had decided to land and walk a little, wandering along a relatively rocky path situated a fair ways up one of the mountains, which incidentally gave her a decent view of the surrounding mountains. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going but at this moment in time any direction was good! In the back of her mind she kept an eye on Piccolo, Tenshinhan and Krillin's ki, wary if any of them were suddenly to jolt up.
She quickly came to a ridge; her path ending. Corset glanced over the edge and gulped nervously; it looked like a pretty high drop to the forest below. It was almost impossible to tell how far down the ground actually was and she couldn't see through the thick greenery below. Corset took a couple of steps back and contemplated what to do; either climb down the cliff edge to a lower level or just fly.
Flying was the obvious choice.
With that decided she continued her search in the sky. It felt like the minutes passed by like hours and she was growing incredibly frustrated and bored! She wanted to find Gero or the lab so she could get this over and done with and go back home! Searching for something you couldn't sense or even have a clue where to look for was always annoying and it drained her patience.
Krillin's ki shot up.
Corset gasped and turned; she could actually see him from her current location and he seemed to be alone! Did that mean he'd found it? Corset hurriedly shot towards him reaching him in seconds, "Krillin!"
"Hey, that was fast!" Krillin exclaimed surprised he'd been joined so soon. "Look, down there," He pointed, Corset's eyes following his directions and gasping when she spotted it. There it was; there was a cave!
Two more energies converged on them as Piccolo and Tenshinhan arrived.
"Yes! Good work Krillin," Tenshinhan smiled.
"Yeah, now let's shut down these androids!" Piccolo nodded.
"W-Wait! I hadn't mentioned it yet but... Dr. Gero's already in there," Krillin frowned. "He got here just before me and slipped into the lab…"
"What? Oh no!" Corset gulped, "I didn't realise he'd gotten here before you!" So she'd been that close to Dr. Gero too...
"You should have told us before, Krillin!" Piccolo scolded infuriated, rearing his ki and heading off towards the cave, Krillin, Tenshinhan and Corset following. The small group were instantly at the mouth of the hole in the ground, peering into the shadowy depths. Through the shadows Corset was certain she could see something that did not appear to be rock...
Inside the cave looked dark and dank, much like any normal cave Corset'd ever been in! What was different was the steel wall not too deep into it; it was blaringly obvious that it was supposed to hide whatever was behind it, Corset snorted and rolled her eyes. 'Exactly how is this a secret lab when he's got a gigantic metal door barely hidden away in here? He might as well put up a sign with flashing lights!'
The group made their way towards the steel wall which on closer inspection looked like doors.
"They're probably really thick," Corset mumbled to herself, "He's a scientist; they're a little picky about access to their workshop! I'll bet he's even got some sort of code or scanner which only he knows how to activate..." She could speak out of personal experience in living with a family of scientists; she'd dared not incur the wrath of her mother by letting her curiosity get the better of her and try to crack the codes of her's and Dr Brief's lab! "How are we gonna open this door if we don't know what it is? It could be anything!"
"Simple; we'll break it down," Piccolo decided.
Tenshinhan and Krillin charged and began to push yet despite their best efforts and much to Corset's amazement, the door didn't budge. Of course they'd suggest using brute force.
"This thing weighs a tonne!" Krillin groaned after once again slamming himself into the door. "It's not even moving!"
"Alright, out of the way," Piccolo muttered extending one arm. "I'll break us through."
Corset took a couple of steps back as her mentor began to gather ki into his outstretched palm, a little startled when she heard feet hit the ground behind her. Panicked her black hair whirled through the air as she pivoted around, surprised to see who it was.
"I see you found it," Vegeta smirked standing behind the group, Trunks behind him and looking almost like his father when serious.
'I couldn't even sense them coming,' Corset mumbled to herself in her mind.
"Hurry up so I can deal with these androids!" Vegeta barked already sounding like he was out of patience.
"Don't listen to him Piccolo," Trunks warily spoke.
"Shut up!" Vegeta spat at the lavender-haired boy; Corset now seeing her grandfather's hair colour had been passed onto him. He clearly resembled their mother far more than Corset did, though she could see he had their father's face.
Before Piccolo could generate enough energy, a fuming Dr. Gero's voice came quite audibly through the thick steel doors:
"Seventeen stop kidding around and defeat the enemies outside the door!"
Corset gasped in horror, a small bead of sweat running down her cheek. Seventeen had been activated! They were too late!
"T-The androids... have been activated already?" Krillin shivered looking like he'd seen a ghost, taking a weary step back.
"Damn it, we're too late!" Piccolo growled withdrawing his hand and clenching it by his side.
"Now what do we do?" Corset asked nervously.
"We fight!" Vegeta snorted extending one arm out. "You cowards get the hell out of my way, I'll blast the door down myself!"
"No!" Trunks yelled urgently, stepping forward a couple of paces. "We can't face them until Goku gets better! Stop it - you have no idea what you're dealing with! Let's wait for Goku!"
"Unnecessary!" Vegeta bellowed.
A bright blue ki attack shot from his hand narrowly missing Piccolo, Tenshinhan and Krillin as it hit home, pushing the thick steel doors in on themselves and sending them to the floor with a loud thump. The force sent the metre-thick slabs of metal crashing slightly through the ground. Corset lowered her guard and peered past the others and into the smoky room, eyes peeled for any signs of androids. It didn't take long for the dust to clear.
Android Twenty - Dr Gero - stood facing them alongside a taller, dark haired boy who almost had his back turned to them; both androids had almost been hit by the doors as they'd collapsed. Behind the two androids was a blonde girl; she looked quite pretty from what Corset could see. Around the lab were several strange-looking machines lined up against the dank, rocky walls, although one was placed horizontal; the girl standing next to it. The smell of damp hit her nostrils; it seemed like this place wasn't very well ventilated and obviously didn't see daylight; artificial lighting was lined up across the ceiling.
Her attention turned back to the three androids, heart thumping in her ribs as she laid eyes on them.
"A black-haired boy with a red bandana, and a pretty girl... Trunks, are these the right androids this time?" Vegeta muttered.
"... That's them..." Trunks growled.
"So that's Seventeen and Eighteen?" Krillin gawked. "Funny... they don't seem all that menacing..."
Corset agreed with Krillin; sure their stares were unnerving yet neither of them seemed the fighting-type. Both looked pretty normal just like any other person.
"Don't let their looks fool you," Trunks warned," They're both deadly!"
Dr Gero spoke out to the androids, "These are the friends of Son Goku I told you about. Don't let them catch you off-guard! They destroyed Nineteen and nearly killed me!"
"Nineteen?" The dark-haired android spoke up. "So you made him after all? You caused another one of us to die? Did you talk him into making you an android? What make was he, an energy absorption model?"
"... Yes..." Dr Gero grumbled.
"Why did you go back to your old energy absorption design?" The blonde girl asked. "Was it because we infinite energy models were too difficult to control?"
Corset raised an eyebrow; these androids didn't seem to know much about their counterparts from what she was hearing. What struck her even more was that they seemed to be showing little interest in her and the others! They didn't seem like the fighting type at all; they seemed so laid back...
Were they really a threat to them? Were they really the monsters Trunks had claimed they were?
The idle chatter seemed to keep on going and Corset was beginning to think perhaps these androids were far more interested in asking Gero questions than following his orders. Neither of them had taken the initiative to come at the intruders. What was going on here? Gero was barking orders at them yet neither listened, they even answered back! The blonde seemed to be taking an interest to the strange machine she stood by.
"Sixteen? Is he another infinite model?" She asked.
'Sixteen?' Corset asked herself. 'Is that another android? I thought there were only supposed to be two... Trunks' information really was was a little off!'
"Don't touch that, Eighteen!" Dr. Gero barked. "Just back off!"
"Sixteen?" Trunks stammered. "There was another one I didn't know about?"
"Interesting," the dark haired android smiled, "start him up, Eighteen."
"Stop!" Dr. Gero cried frantically, "Do you want to destroy the world? Sixteen was an experimental model! He was a failure! Don't touch him!"
The warning sent chills through Corset's spine. Was this supposed other android really that dangerous? What on earth did Dr. Gero mean by destroying the world? Would the android malfunction and create an explosion so big and powerful, it would have dire consequences for the entire planet, or was it he was so insanely powerful and difficult to control? Corset was already getting the impression Dr. Gero had no control over these androids.
"You left him around for quite a while considering he was a failure..." Eighteen folded her arms. "You disposed of all the others..."
"I was planning to repair him one day," Dr Gero responded through a rasping voice. "Just don't activate him or you'll kill us all!"
"... Hey..." Krillin spoke out, "Do you think we should make a run for it while they're still arguing?"
"Do you really think we should?" Corset asked. "I kinda get the impression they're more interested in Dr. Gero than us..."
"Which is why it's the perfect time to leave!" Krillin hissed.
"Go if you want," Vegeta answered confidently, "I'm the only one who can handle these things anyway!"
'Must you be so over-confident all the time?' Corset rolled her eyes before focusing back on the small verbal fight.
"Do you have to defy everything I say?" Dr Gero snarled. "You're both just like Sixteen – failures! I'll deactivate you all!"
"I destroyed the controller," Seventeen casually answered.
"I'll build another one!"
Android Eighteen leaned down to the machine; Dr. Gero turned on his heels. "For the last time, Eighteen - don't press that switch!"
The atmosphere changed. In a flash Dr. Gero had been impaled by Seventeen's hand which was now lodged through his chest.
Corset gawked in shock, dumbstruck by the sudden display of aggression on the android's part. She'd never seen it coming; she'd been so convinced these new androids were easy-going!
Seventeen yanked his hand free; blood and oil dripping from Gero's wound. The impaled android turned to the dark haired boy,
"Seventeen, what are you doing?" He barked.
In what felt like slow motion, Seventeen swung his leg out. It made contact with the doctor's neck and kept on going until it sliced through, decapitating Dr. Gero. His head bounced a couple of times and rolled towards the entrance of the lab, stopping right before the group.
Corset's eyes were wide with horror, totally taken back by this display of violence and still struggling to comprehend it all!
"... Lousy... piece of... junk...!" Dr. Gero's head spoke, startling and creeping her out even more!
With one leap Seventeen jumped and landed, completely crushing his creator's head under his foot.
The bloody mess almost made her feel sick, even after all her conditioning and training. Corset had to look away before she threw up, it was just too horrible to look at!
Seventeen rose to his feet, now standing inches from Krillin. For a moment he looked at those before him with a smile; Corset nervously waiting for him to suddenly attack any of them.
To her surprise the android turned on his heels and walked back into the lab.
"H-He killed his own creator..." Krillin gagged.
"So what?" Vegeta snorted. "If you don't like someone, you kill them! It's the Saiyan way too... You humans have the strangest inhibitions."
Corset watched cautiously, almost ignoring what the others had said and keeping a close eye on the two androids; both had congregated around that strange machine and were now standing around Sixteen. Were they planning to activate him?
"No... I won't let there be any more androids!" Trunks bellowed, ki suddenly skyrocketing as he transformed into a Super Saiyan, catching everyone off-guard with his sudden energy attack! Corset almost screamed as she dashed towards the exit, knowing full well if she stayed she'd be caught up in the explosion!
"Idiot!" Krillin screamed just as the attack erupted.
Fragments and large shards of rock were tossed everywhere, Corset knocked forwards by the explosion into the open air, quickly managing to regain her control and riding the attack out. The roar was deafening as the entire lab was completely destroyed. She finally managed to stop and floated a couple of hundred metres from where the cave had once stood, unable to see any of its remains due to the thick smoke.
"Hey, how about a little more warning before you do that?" Krillin protested towards Trunks, floating over to Corset, "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm ok, just a bit shocked." Corset nodded resting a hand on her chest feeling her heart racing. She couldn't believe her brother had done something so reckless, putting them all in danger! She'd come this close to either being obliterated by the attack or being crushed under rocks, neither of which she fancied!
"You idiot!" Vegeta snapped agitated. "That was pointless!"
'Pointless?' Corset repeated, unintentionally mimicking Trunks' speech.
"Take a look down there!"
Corset peered down to where the cave had once been, eyes widening when she spotted them. Both androids looked unscathed; Eighteen holding what Corset assumed to be Sixteen's strange container with one hand; cords severed and dangling.
"Like I said: pointless." Vegeta muttered.
Eighteen tossed the container down to the ground and pressed a button on the side. The machine seemed to come to life as the door slowly opened; an impatient Eighteen kicking it clean off its hinges! Seconds later a new android emerged. This one was far taller than the others and wore some sort of green body armour with a black jumpsuit. His red Mohican-style haircut stood out against his clothes.
"... Great... there's another one!" Krillin shuddered.
"We're in trouble..." Corset gulped clenching her fists, "Dr. Gero said this android would destroy the Earth!"
The trio seemed to talk amongst themselves, none of their words audible to the group. Corset's imagination ran riot; were they now planning to fight and kill them, were they planning to just destroy the planet? Would she and the others be forced to fend for their lives?
After a while the three androids rose to the skies, Corset taking in a deep breath and swallowing the lump in her throat.
With that they left, slowly flying away into the horizon.
It left everyone speechless.
"... They... took off!" Krillin smiled seemingly relieved.
"Where are they going?" Tenshinhan asked baffled.
"They're not going to North City; that's the other way…" Piccolo muttered.
'So they're heading south of here...' Corset deducted. A lot of places were south of here! What were they after, if anything? For all they know it could have just been a random direction.
"I've got it!" Krillin cried panicked. "They've gone after Goku - Dr Gero's goal was to get back at Goku for destroying the Red Ribbon Army!"
Corset looked wide-eyed and nervous at the bald fighter. So the androids were heading for Goku's house? Goku was sick and recovering from his heart virus; there was no way he'd recovered within the past couple of hours. That meant that Chichi and Yamcha were also in danger.
"How can we be sure that's where they're going?" Tenshinhan asked. "They rebelled against Dr. Gero... do you think they'd still carry out his orders?"
"Who cares where they went!"
Corset's glance turned to her obviously frustrated father.
"I was right here and they ignored me!" He spat, "Did they think I wasn't worth their time?" His ki jolted up as he transformed into a Super Saiyan.
Trunks dashed forwards and blocked Vegeta from taking off. "Y-You mustn't go after them! Be patient, please, just wait a little while!"
"H-He's right, Dad," Corset spoke up hovering forwards towards them, "We don't know what they're fully capable of! Maybe we ought to do as Trunks says and wait until all of us are here to fight."
"You mean until Kakarrot gets better?" Vegeta snorted.
"Yeah," Corset nodded.
"... Kakarrot?" Trunks raised a confused eyebrow.
"He means Goku," Corset explained.
"Right," Trunks nodded, "...then yes! We'll never win unless we all fight together, including Goku."
"You two have the wrong idea... It isn't the androids I hate the most – it's Kakarrot!" Vegeta smirked. "I will finish these androids by myself with no help from you or Kakarrot!"
"What is your problem with working with other people?" Corset bellowed, her frustration starting to get the better of her. "We're all in the same boat here; we're all trying to beat these androids and stop them from destroying the planet like they have in Trunks' time! What is so hard to understand about that?"
"Shut up and stay out of my way!" Vegeta barked back. "I fight alone! I don't need any of your help to beat these androids! What do you find so hard to understand about that?"
"You're insane!" Trunks cried. "You can't do it by yourself, you'll just be going to your death!"
Vegeta struck out, punching Trunks in the stomach and knocking all the breath from his lungs, Trunks clutching his stomach with both arms.
"Now stay of my way!" Vegeta yelled taking off.
"... Trunks!" It finally stuck her he'd been hit! Corset put a worried arm on her brother's shoulder, supporting him as best she could. "Are you ok?"
"Trunks!" Tenshinhan and Krillin had come to join them.
"...Please go after him," Trunks stammered through short breaths. "He can't beat them alone. We have to wait until Goku gets better or we're all doomed!"
Corset bared her teeth in frustration, "he never listens!" She growled. "Why's he gotta be so stupid?"
"Vegeta's long-gone now," Krillin muttered. "There's no way we can catch up to him now…"
"How does he expect to find the androids anyway, it's not like he'll be able to sense them!" Corset pouted.
"Let's waste no more time," Piccolo muttered. "We'll find Vegeta or the androids one way or another if we head over towards Goku's house."
"Right," Krillin agreed. "It shouldn't be too difficult since they looked like they were flying slowly."
"... At least we'd be able to sense Dad," Corset muttered, looking to her right as she felt Trunks lean away from her; he seemed to have recovered from his hit. "You ok now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Trunks nodded.
"Then let's go." Piccolo ordered.
