Chapter 029 - The Body Switch
Luckily for Krillin, the strike hadn't been enough to push him off his feet. Instead he stumbled backwards a couple of steps before regaining his balance, staring in disbelief and baffled by Goku's behaviour. A small line of blood fell from his lip.
"Darn it, there was another one waiting behind that rock..." Goku sneered menacingly. "There was no reading on the scouter either; he must be able to suppress his power all the way down to zero."
"G-Goku, what are you doing?" Krillin demanded bewildered.
"Krillin, that's not my dad!" Gohan cried frantically.
The monk made a quick glance to Gohan before studying his old friend's face more closely. "He looks just like him..." he mumbled.
"I know he does but somehow I just know that's not him!" Gohan replied, gaze kept closely on his father watching for any sudden movements.
Corset was still hidden behind the rock, unsure as to whether to come out from behind it now was a wise idea or not. Maybe she could surprise the Goku-imposter and that Jeice guy?
"You're right kid..." Goku suddenly began to perform some wacky poses identical to that of the other Ginyu Force members, (It took all of Corset's strength and more to stop her from laughing out loud!) "We switched bodies – this one is much more powerful! I am Ginyu – Leader of the Ginyu Force!"
"S-Say what?" Krillin gasped.
'Switched bodies...?' Corset was lost. How was that even possible? First a fighter who could stop time, then a man who could dash around in the blink of an eye at amazing speed, then a monster who just wouldn't give into his pain... and now a body-switcher? It was too much for her brain to comprehend!
"Now, it's time to test this body," the Goku-lookalike smiled, "A body capable of a power over one-hundred-and-eighty-thousand!"
Corset gawked in awe. That was by far the biggest number she'd ever heard! No wonder Gohan's dad was so strong!
"Stop it Goku – you're being manipulated or hypnotised!" Krillin begged.
Goku charged forwards and began to attack Krillin and Gohan, Corset doing her best to stay hidden. If she could surprise attack him then maybe... maybe it would give them a little longer to live! There was no way she could face off against Goku – he was way, way, way too powerful for her!
Gohan and Krillin were dodging; they were dodging and blocking Goku's attacks, yet Goku wasn't letting up.
Corset's brow fell as she watched, maybe now while his back was turned –
"Captain, he's found us!" Jeice's voice startled Corset and she hid a little more. Looking up she spotted a purple dot – it was Ginyu… Or rather it was Ginyu's body.
The purple man was holding one side of his chest, blue blood dripping down his hand. Corset gulped; it looked like a deep wound as Ginyu looked like he was struggling. The mere thought made her cringe a little and a small feeling of fear began to dwell inside of her.
He landed before them.
"So you made it?" Goku sniggered, a strange smirk on his face. "I should have wounded myself some more deeply!"
Ginyu looked up at the fighters. "Krillin, Gohan! That guy isn't me – that guy's Ginyu! He made us switch bodies! Fight back! Whale on him! You can't lose!"
Corset gawked in shock; so that Goku-lookalike really had been Ginyu! Gohan had been right after all! She felt bad for Goku; how strange it must be to have been inside someone else's body and see your own body.
Goku cackled in amusement, catching the young girl's attention.
"They can't lose you say? That's absurd! This body has a power of one-hundred-and-eighty-thousand!"
"So you say..." Ginyu smiled, "You're forgetting that's my body. You won't be able to control my ki. I bet you couldn't even use half of my power!"
Corset listened curiously. Was what Goku was saying true... or was that Ginyu now?
"You can bluff all you want," Goku jeered, "Just watch this!"
Goku began to power up, the ground beginning to tremble below Corset's feet. She watched nervously, sensing his power rising higher and higher...
"Jeice – give me a reading on the scouter!" Goku demanded.
"Y-Yes sir!" Jeice pressed the device on his face, his smile disappearing. "... Uh..."
"Jeice – what does it say?!" Goku yelled loudly down at his comrade.
"Um... twenty-three-thousand sir," Jeice reported nervously.
Goku stopped powering up, the confident smirk vanishing quickly and replaced with a more solemn glance. "... Just twenty-three-thousand?" He repeated.
Krillin caught Goku off-guard with a double-fisted clout to the head, Goku almost falling out of the sky completely.
'Krillin made that look easy!' Corset watched from her hiding place. She wasn't sensing nearly as much power from Goku as she'd expected. Something did seem wrong with his ki...
"Jeice! Don't just stand there - fight!" Goku bellowed.
"Not so fast, you're going to be fighting me."
Corset gasped to see Vegeta had appeared and stood right behind Jeice! 'Since when was he...?'
Had he been here all this time?
Krillin and Gohan charged in and began to attack Goku; Goku now finding he was the one dodging or blocking their attacks. Corset eagerly watched from her vantage point – she spotted an opening as Krillin decked Goku into the hull of the ship. Her feet pushed off the grass.
Goku bounced off the ship and regained control of his flight. "Dammit!" He drew one arm back and tossed out an energy attack towards Gohan. Gohan blocked the move with his own arms, the ki ball exploding yet doing little harm to its target.
"You think that piddly attack would hurt me?" The child jeered.
Distracted and not thinking clearly proved to be his problem. Goku was suddenly decked forwards as Corset elbowed him in the back. Goku rolled over baffled and glared back, spotting her. It certainly wasn't a look Corset'd ever seen from Goku before.
Corset smiled feeling a little more confident now despite the scary look the Goku-imposter was giving her. He hadn't even sensed her approaching and she'd actually been able to do more than she thought! "This isn't so tough after all!"
"Dammit, this body is supposed to be capable of a power of one-hundred-and-eighty-thousand!" Goku sneered frustrated.
"Jackass, it's just like Goku said..." Krillin was suddenly behind him. "You don't know how to use that body. Why don't you just give up?"
"G-Give up? You don't know Ginyu!"
Goku's body turned and fired a fist out at Krillin who effortlessly dodged yet again. Gohan and Corset charged back into the fight aiding their friend. Corset could see every weak-spot or unguarded spot Goku had; she couldn't believe how easy this seemed! Yet something strange began to happen. The more they fought, the tougher the fight seemed to become. Goku was beginning to move faster and get in some attacks, each growing more and more powerful. Corset's confidence began to fall as she was struck in the face. Gaining control of her flight, she was about to charge back in when a flash of blue light caught her attention.
Jeice's energy had vanished. Vegeta had his hand held out at full length.
He'd just killed Jeice.
Corset felt her body shudder as yet another person died.
"V-Vegeta! You didn't have to go that far!" Ginyu – or Goku in Ginyu's body – yelled up.
"That's it Kakarrot, just keep on being soft and leave that Super Saiyan status to me," Vegeta smiled.
Goku – or Ginyu – seemed shocked. "Vegeta killed Jeice? How is that possible?"
"Still haven't done away with Ginyu yet?" Vegeta jeered. "It's because he looks like Kakarrot, isn't it? Fine then, just leave it to me and get out of my way!"
Corset watched as her father charged into the fight; Goku tossing Gohan aside as he put up his guard. Her father was all over Goku, punching him about and completely in control of the fight. As much as she wanted Ginyu to lose, she couldn't help but feel bad for Goku since it was his body being beaten up!
"Are you both ok?" Krillin asked loudly.
"Y-yeah," Corset nodded, tending back to her bleeding nose. It stung but it didn't feel broken thankfully.
Goku collided with the ground hard, kicking up half a tonne of dust.
Corset began to grow distressed; the look on his face was horrible. He looked as if he was in so much pain...
"V-Vegeta, don't kill him!" Goku-in-Ginyu's-body yelled up frantically.
"Watch me!" Vegeta bellowed, lunging to the ground at full pelt with both fists out in front of him.
Corset didn't want to watch this, she didn't want to see another person die before her – enemy or not.
Then Goku shouted something.
"CHANGE!"
A strange bright light emerged from Goku's beaten body; Corset had no idea what it was but it was heading right for her dad!
Then Ginyu's body was caught between them. The light struck him-
"NO!" Corset screamed, scared that had been the final blow.
It hadn't.
Nothing seemed to have happened.
Ginyu's body landed on his feet. Goku's body was still on the ground. Vegeta looked more confused than anything.
"What was that light?" Gohan asked.
"I don't know..." Krillin mumbled. "I have no idea what just happened! Did Goku just go in to stop Vegeta's attack...?"
Corset was resigned to being clueless; it was a frame of mind she was very used to by now.
"Hey, it's Dad!" Gohan exclaimed. "You guys, my dad's back in his own body!"
"Really?" Krillin raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Gohan?"
"Yeah, I'm positive!" Gohan nodded.
"Oh no," Corset frowned to herself, "that means he's in pain now..."
"So that means that Ginyu's back in his own body too," Krillin muttered.
Corset looked back down at Ginyu; now they were in trouble. Although he'd been wounded, he'd be able to access and control the ki of his own body. Maybe they weren't so lucky now especially since Goku'd been beaten up so much by Vegeta!
Ginyu held out his arms peculiarly...
The same light suddenly shot out towards Vegeta!
'Move, Dad!' Corset cried inside.
Something small suddenly shot between Vegeta and the light.
The group up in the air all watched in confusion. "It's that light again..." Krillin mumbled. "Why does he keep doing that?"
Ginyu suddenly fell onto all fours. A baffled Corset watched in confusion as he began to hop along like a frog, hopping away from the group! What the heck was he doing? What had happened? What was that light?
Realising everyone else was heading towards the ground, she followed suite and joined the others around Goku. He looked awful.
"Goku, are you ok?" Krillin asked.
"Dad, hang on!" Gohan cried worried.
Corset felt bad to see Gohan's father beaten up like this and felt a little empathetic towards Gohan. It wasn't easy for him to see his dad like this.
Gohan and Krillin attempted to lift Goku onto his feet, his arms thrown over their shoulders as they tried to support him.
"You really... beat up my body... huh, Vegeta?" Goku smiled weakly.
"What happened to Ginyu?" Vegeta demanded.
"Yeah, he hopped away like a creepy frog!" Corset mumbled more to herself than anyone else. She wasn't about to admit she hated frogs to the others.
"Well, the one that ran away is a frog..." (Goku's words sent shivers all over Corset's body) "... and that frog-like thing over there... is Ginyu!"
"What?" Krillin gawked.
"... How?" Gohan asked.
Corset glared over at the frog-like thing close by. Goku was right – it did look like a frog! She didn't want it to hop closer to them. Yet how was it he'd become the frog thing in the first place? "... I don't get it..." she mumbled.
Vegeta seemed more interested in the frog. "... I don't understand this but I'm not leaving it alive!"
'Please get it away from me!' Corset begged, watching as her father walked towards the creepy amphibian. The frog hopped along seemingly desperate to escape.
"Drop it, Vegeta," Goku mumbled, "He can't do anything the way he is now..."
Vegeta stopped in his tracks. "... I'll let you live; the life you have ahead of you now is torture enough!"
'Aww, can't you squash it or blast it to smithereens?' Corset was disappointed. She felt cold and gross just looking at it and knowing it was there!
A groan from Goku made her turn back around; he looked like he was in pain.
"Hey Goku, don't you have any more senzu beans left?" Krillin asked.
"No..." Goku shook his head.
Corset semi-consciously remembered what those strange beans from earlier tasted like and spat her tongue out in disgust.
"It would be easy to crush you all right now."
Corset turned horrified and glared at her father. "How can you say such a thing?" She cried.
"You wouldn't!" Gohan snarled.
"I... I can't believe you'd stoop so low!" Krillin muttered.
"It's ok... he won't do anything," Goku mumbled. "He can't kill us now... He knows he's gonna need our help if he plans to fight Freeza..."
Corset pouted. So he was gonna stay friends until Freeza was beaten and then kill them? She didn't like that! Why was her father such a jerk? He was selfish. That's what her mother would have called him.
"You know me too well, Kakarrot," Vegeta folded his arms. "There's the matter of the Dragonballs... and I may need your help against Freeza..." He turned away slightly. "We'll need to heal Kakarrot's wounds and get him up to full power. Follow me."
He turned his back to them and began to walk towards the ship, levitating up into the air and over the top of it.
"... It's ok..." Goku mumbled, flinching from another shot of pain from the looks of it.
"Maybe we can trust him," Corset suggested. "He did save us earlier from those other guys and he fought on our side."
"I know you'd like your dad to be a decent guy Corset but we have to be careful," Krillin warned, "he's not gonna stay this way forever!"
"We have to try though Krillin, my dad needs help." Gohan pleaded. "If he says he's gonna get him healed up again then maybe it's ok...?"
Krillin sighed, "... Alright, have it your way. We've got no other choice anyway!"
The trio levitated to the top of the ship.
Vegeta'd been waiting for them. "Hurry up, there's not much time!" He jumped down into the large hole in the middle of the ship.
Corset looked down and gulped; it looked dark and scary! Reluctantly she followed her father down, Gohan and Krillin assisting Goku.
They landed in what looked like a corridor; doors running either side of them... That wasn't what stunned and scared Corset.
There were corpses everywhere.
As they were led down the corridor, the smell began to get to her. Corset didn't want to breathe, all she could smell was burnt, rotten flesh. It made her want to vomit, her stomach uncomfortably knotting so tightly inside of her. The sight almost brought tears to her eyes; this was such a dangerous place! She didn't like it here...
Vegeta stopped and turned back around startling Corset and the two boys.
"In here," Vegeta ordered.
"You first," Krillin ordered back.
Vegeta rolled his eyes and pressed a button on the wall; the doorway opened up from the centre and the group stepped into the room.
Corset curiously walked around. There were a couple of strange, big-looking machines in the centre of the room. Dotted around them were some tables and other fancy equipment. It certainly looked like something Corset would classify as a medical room; medicines of all forms seemed to be scattered around the place. She wondered if there would be anything in this alien spaceship that perhaps they'd use on Earth...
"This place smells like the doctors..." she mumbled, turning back to the others.
"Put him inside this chamber and make it snappy," Vegeta barked.
"What is this gonna do to him?" Krillin asked suspiciously.
"Just get him in otherwise he won't be healed!" Vegeta snapped.