Chapter 030 - Summon the Dragon
Corset watched nervously as Goku was wired up, some strange mask placed on his mouth and nose. Vegeta closed the chamber up and pressed another button. The sound of water gushing in made her feel even more nervous. Was Goku about to drown or was that what the mask was for?
"The medical machines in here are the older models, they won't work as quickly but they'll have to do." Vegeta muttered.
"Older models?" Krillin repeated. "What happened to the new ones?"
"I broke them," Vegeta answered bluntly.
"He won't drown in there, will he?" Krillin asked.
"I was thinking the same thing..." Corset mumbled, watching as the water level passed the glass panel. She looked at Goku for the briefest of moments before turning her attention to her father; he was walking back towards the door.
"Now then, you three are gonna need some battle clothes," the Saiyan muttered, "They'll provide some form of protection - unlike those pitiful things!"
"Battle clothes?" Krillin repeated. "You mean like the ones you're wearing?"
"That's gonna feel weird," Gohan mused.
Vegeta walked out of the room and led the trio down the corridor a little. Corset was relieved to see there weren't any corpses around this area!
"Wow, would you look at all the technology down here." Krillin seemed impressed. "This is far more advanced than anything I've seen on Earth!"
"Yeah, it looks nothing like the things Mama and Grandpa make at home," Corset nodded.
"You watch them make things, Corset?" Krillin asked with a smile.
"Not much; I haven't been home a lot!" Corset grinned. "I saw them changing that spaceship we used to get here. Mama even let me help out a little. I got to carry her to the other places she couldn't reach like on the top."
The sound of something slapping the floor caught the group's attention; clothes were being thrown towards them.
"Hurry up and put these on," Vegeta ordered. "Make it quick – Freeza could be back any minute."
Corset took what she assumed were her clothes and wandered a little way away from Gohan and Krillin. She didn't want to get changed around three boys! Once she'd put her undersuit on she became stuck. How was she meant to put on the armour? She nervously turned back around, feeling a little afraid she'd catch sight of someone indecent!
"How do we put these on?" Krillin didn't seem to be able to figure it out either!
"Slide them over your heads," Vegeta barked. "They'll stretch enough if you force them on. They didn't rip when I transformed on Earth. They'll expand to almost any size and withstand most impacts."
Corset remembered seeing the big monkey still had clothes. It had been a thankful sight when he'd transformed back to his normal human-height-self after that fat samurai man had cut his tail cut off.
"Hey, it stretches like elastic!" Gohan smiled, pulling his arms away and stretching the armour.
Corset managed to do the same and smiled proudly. She wasted no more time and pulled it over her head. It felt surprisingly light.
"Are the shirts and gloves made out of the same material?" Krillin asked.
"I guess," Vegeta muttered.
"It's so light!" Krillin exclaimed. "I'd rather have one like yours though; it looks like yours makes it easier to move the shoulders."
"This is an older model; I couldn't find a standard one in my size," Vegeta replied.
"It's alright Krillin, I can still move my arms easily. It doesn't get in the way at all!" Gohan smiled, raising and lowering his arm.
Corset looked down at her new clothes. She felt happy to have them considering who they'd come from. She felt as if these were the first presents from her dad... as warped an idea as it may have been realistically! It made her happy so she stuck to it. "They're really easy to move in. Now I look like a Saiyan fighter - except I'm a good-girl Saiyan fighter!" She beamed.
"So how long until Goku's better?" Krillin asked, not sharing the child's excitement.
"In his condition it shouldn't take more than fifty minutes," Vegeta answered.
"Right, there's no time to waste then," Krillin muttered. "Gohan, Corset; I'm going to the Great Elder's. Freeza might be there but we can't do anything without the password. We've gotta get it so we can call Shenron."
"You're leaving?" Corset frowned anxiously.
"We'll come with you," Gohan suggested.
"No, stay here and guard Goku and the Dragonballs," Krillin ordered, "It would be better for me to go alone anyway. Wait here."
"... Alright, we'll stay." Gohan sighed. "Be careful Krillin."
With that, Krillin left the ship and took off towards the Great Elders.
"I hope he gets to the Great Elder's safely," Corset mumbled.
"Yeah." Gohan agreed. "... Hey, we should probably keep guard of the Dragonballs like Krillin said."
It felt like an eternity had passed. Both children sat outside the ship with the Dragonballs, bored out of their minds... or at least Corset was! Having the time to wait around seemed like a good time to rest up; she had no idea how long she'd been awake for... What made her feel strange was ever since she'd eaten that senzu bean thing, she'd felt rejuvenated and energetic. She didn't feel tired at all!
"... Hey Gohan?" she mumbled, "Do you think my mama's alright? Shouldn't one of us go find her and let her know what's going on?"
"I dunno; won't she just yell at us for not having our wish granted yet?" Gohan asked.
"Yeah, she would be mad at us..." Corset now felt discouraged! She didn't want to go back to have her mother yell at her!
Gohan rose to his feet and smiled, "Hey, you know what?"
"What?" Corset asked.
"I feel like a super hero wearing these!" Gohan grinned, punching the air a couple of times and kicking out. "Yeah, I could be the strongest super hero out there with clothes like these!"
"Maybe you could," Corset nodded. "Too bad most of the people who wear these are bad guys."
"That's true; I wouldn't wanna get confused with one of those guys." Gohan giggled. "Hey, maybe we could be super heroes together? We could fight bad guys and beat them all! No one would be able to beat us because good always overcomes evil!"
"That sounds like fun," Corset smiled. "We should do that."
"What are you two idiots doing?"
Both Gohan and Corset turned startled; Vegeta was right behind them.
"So, is your bald-headed friend back with the password yet? What's taking him so long?" Vegeta demanded.
"He'll be here!" Gohan growled.
"It'll take him a couple of hours for him to fly there and back you know!" Corset pouted. "You should be more patient! My mama would tell me off if I was as impatient as you!"
Vegeta snorted and narrowed his eyes; Corset became nervous. Had she said too much?
"Keep an eye on the Dragonballs; I'm going to take a nap inside the ship."
Gohan blinked in surprise, "You're taking a nap?"
"Sure," Vegeta began to walk away, "With you two in your new suits, I feel safe!" He burst out laughing as he hovered back up into the ship.
Gohan pouted, "... Is he making fun of us?"
"I think so," Corset muttered. "Why'd my dad have to be such a mean person? Why can't he be nice like your dad, Gohan?"
It had been a while since Krillin had left. Vegeta was still asleep somewhere inside the spaceship, Goku was still recovering. Outside, Corset and Gohan were guarding the Dragonballs.
"Funny how this planet ended up having three suns..." Gohan mumbled, "I wonder what its orbit is like. That would be strange!"
"It's what?" Corset raised an eyebrow.
"Its orbit; the pathway it takes going around the sun," Gohan explained. "It's where we get our years from; one year is the time it takes for the Earth to complete an orbit around the sun."
"You're really smart," Corset sighed cupping her chin in her hands. "Your mama really makes you study hard."
The conversation stopped abruptly as a couple of tiny energies were spotted.
"... Who is that?" Gohan asked. "Someone's coming for us."
"Maybe we should check it out?" Corset suggested. "Maybe it's Krillin?"
"Maybe, but who does the other ki belong to?" Gohan levitated up into the air, Corset close behind.
Corset shrugged her shoulders, blinking in surprise when she suddenly lost contact with the two ki! "Hey... it must be Krillin; they suppressed their power."
"... The other one... that looks like Dende." Gohan smiled. "Hey! Over here!"
The two approached the inbound duo; Krillin and Dende looking perfect in every way.
"That was really fast!" Gohan beamed. "How did you do that?"
"Dende was already on his way here," Krillin replied.
"He was?" Corset asked. "Oh! Does that mean you came to tell us the password, Dende?"
Dende smiled and nodded.
"Where's Vegeta?" Krillin asked.
"He's inside the spaceship sleeping," Corset answered. "Dad said he hadn't slept much."
"Good, that's a good stroke of luck!" Krillin smiled. "We suppressed our ki so he wouldn't sense us. This is perfect! We've gotta get all seven Dragonballs out here without Vegeta noticing. He can't know what's happening until after Shenron comes out."
"How are we gonna do that?" Gohan asked.
"By suppressing our powers and being as quiet as possible," Krillin answered.
Corset looked back at the ship nervously. She had several scenarios of this plan going wrong and Vegeta finding them out. Obediently she followed Krillin and the others, landing back outside the ship in front of the Dragonballs. Her heart was racing madly; she hoped he wouldn't wake up and that none of her thoughts would come to life. Cautiously she picked up two of the Dragonballs and held them under her arms. On Krillin's signal the group slowly backed away from the ship and took the Dragonballs to a relatively near island.
"We did it!" Krillin cheered.
Corset exhaled deeply and sat down, trying to calm herself. "That was too scary!"
As if on cue, the strongest power Corset'd ever sensed made itself present in her mind. Her heart suddenly shot up into the throat, almost choking her of air.
"K-Krillin, Something's coming really fast!" Gohan cried.
"... It's Freeza!" Krillin gasped. "D-Dende, we need to hurry and call Shenron!"
"This is bad! This is bad! This is bad!" Corset trembled. "Do you think we can make all our wishes in time, Krillin?"
"We'll have to wait and see." Krillin replied. "Dende, what's the password?"
"It's in Namekian so you wouldn't understand it even if I told it to you," Dende answered. "Here, stand back."
"Namekian, huh?" Gohan repeated. "Figures."
"They have their own language?" Corset asked in awe. "I didn't know Piccolo could speak two different languages!"
Dende held out his hands and spoke something the others could only assume was Namekian...
Corset watched in awe as the Dragonballs began to glow; almost simultaneously the sky turned to black. It looked like everything was happening just like her mama had always said it would.
She nearly screamed and shielded her eyes as a bright flash burst upwards from the centre of the Dragonballs, not sure what was going on or whether this was supposed to also happen!
"Whoa..."
Gohan's voice made Corset open her eyes out of curiosity. What had he seen?
Looking up made her eyes widen and jaw drop. She wasn't sure if she felt more in awe or terrified over what towered over the group.
This Dragon was gigantic!
"He's way bigger than the one we have on Earth," Krillin squawked. "He looks different too."
"It's my first time seeing him..." Dende mumbled. "His name is Porunga; in Namek it means the god of dreams."
"You who have summoned me – state your three wishes!" Porunga roared in a terrifyingly loud voice. Corset felt the vibrations of his vocals shake her entire body and spread to the ground below her feet.
"Wow, he's really loud!" Corset flinched and held her hands over her ears. 'Loud and scary!'
"I still can't believe we get three wishes," Krillin grinned. "This guy's much more generous than the one we have on Earth."
"Hurry, we'd better get this done before Vegeta or Freeza shows up." Dende cried anxiously.
"Right..." Krillin gulped. "First, bring the people who were killed by the Saiyans on Earth back to life."
Dende once again spoke in a language Corset did not recognise. She eagerly watched Porunga. Finally they were going to bring back Piccolo and the others! It had all turned out well in the end; it hadn't been a wasted trip.
"That I cannot do!" Porunga answered.
Corset's face, hopes and dreams dropped.
"It is beyond my power to bring more than one being back to life at a time."
"What?!" Krillin gasped.
"Oh no!" Gohan gulped. "That's bad!"
"We can only bring one back at a time and we've got three wishes so someone's gonna be left behind!" Corset wailed. "This isn't fair! Why won't he grant our wish?"
"We need to hurry guys!" Dende warned.
"Gohan! Can you hear me?"
Corset's eyes widened, her breath hitched in her throat. That sounded exactly like Piccolo…
"P-Piccolo? Is that you?" Gohan asked looking around.
"Where is he?" Krillin was baffled.
"I'm talking directly into your minds through Kaio's telepathy. I know you don't have a lot of time so I'll be blunt! Wish me back with your first wish. When I come back to life so will Kami. The Dragonballs on Earth will be restored. Then you could use those to wish the others back."
"Y-Yeah, that might work!" Krillin grinned.
"If you say so..." Gohan wasn't really sure. Corset chose to stay quiet; she was too caught up being happy to hear Piccolo's voice again!
"Onto the second wish! I want you to wish me to Planet Namek!" Piccolo added. "Those are my people Freeza has slaughtered. I've grown far stronger in the underworld so wish me back. I will defeat him!"
Corset smiled. She was relieved to hear Piccolo felt confident and happy to know he would be joining them.
"Do what you want with the third wish. I'm counting on you guys!"
"Right, you heard him," Krillin turned to Dende. "Dende, for our first wish we'd like the Namekian on Earth called Piccolo to be brought back to life."
"Right, bring Piccolo back." Dende nodded. He turned and spoke the wish out in Namekian.
"Please work this time... please?" Corset mumbled to herself.
Porunga's eyes shimmered red. "... Your first wish is granted. State your second wish."
"Alright!" Gohan cheered turning to Corset and grabbing her hands. "We brought Piccolo back to life!" The two began to jump around happily.
"The second wish? Guys, what's the second wish?" Dende demanded.
"Bring the Namekian on Earth to planet Namek," Krillin answered; Gohan and Corset standing still again.
Dende turned and was about to speak when something made him turn back around.
Corset gasped and turned; there was a bright light heading towards them with a ki she recognised. "K-Krillin – Dad's coming!"
"Aww crap, he's awake - and I'll bet he'll be mad!" Krillin shuddered. "Dende, hurry!"
Dende turned and began to speak Namekian albeit it sounded more rushed and frantic than before.
Her eyes fixated on the large dragon, brain keeping an eye on her father's ki. He'd be here any moment! 'Please hurry Mr Porunga! Please!' She begged...
"Your second wish has been granted."
"...What? Where is he?" Gohan asked frantically.
Corset looked around frenetically; she couldn't see Piccolo anywhere.
"Dende, are you sure he brought Piccolo here?" Krillin spluttered nervously.
Dende gasped, "Oh! I only brought him to this planet like you said! You mean you wanted him here with us?"
Corset couldn't believe this was happening. Her mentor could be anywhere on this planet – he could be all the way on the other side. What use was that? "There has to be a way we can bring him here – what about using our last w-"
A pair of boots slapping the ground stopped her dead in her tracks. She did just as the others did; she turned and felt all hope leave her body as soon as her eyes fell on him.
Her father did not look happy.
"I should have known..." Vegeta spat, malicious intentions written across his facial expression, "... this will be the end of your short lives!" The enraged Saiyan took a couple of steps forward. "You idiots! Don't you realise you've just ruined our only chance to beat Freeza? The only way to defeat him was to make me immortal!"
Corset quivered as she took a couple of steps back. The look on his face terrified her.
"You... dead... fools!" Vegeta bellowed.
"W-W-Wait! We've still got one wish left!" Gohan spluttered desperately.
"You idiot, don't tell him!" Krillin cried.
Corset gulped; she was glad she hadn't been the one to break but at the same time wish it hadn't happened at all. Now they were in even more trouble!
Thankfully Vegeta had started to smile; he seemed calmer now. "... I'm glad to hear it. Now hurry up and make me immortal, Freeza's almost here!"
Krillin clenched his fists in frustration, "If we let him get his wish, he'll... he'll eventually turn on us!"
"What else can we do?" Gohan grumbled. "Dad's still hurt and there's no one else who can help!"
Vegeta dashed forwards and snatched Dende off his feet, startling the others.
"Hey! Let him go!" Corset bellowed – the nasty look on Vegeta's face quickly shut her up. Dende was crying out seemingly in pain – she didn't want to stand by and let her father treat him that way but what could she do? She couldn't overpower him, not for long.
"What are you dawdling around for – just say it!" Vegeta bellowed. "Make me immortal!"
"Freeza's almost here!" Gohan spun around. "W-What do we do?"
"Maybe we should...?" Corset gulped.
"Damn it! Vegeta killed my friends and he could turn on us and kill us!" Krillin snarled frustrated. "... But he's a hell of a lot better than Freeza, right?"
"I guess..." Corset wasn't really sure how to answer that; from what she'd seen both her father and this Freeza guy were cruel murderers... but at least her dad had inadvertently saved her and the others, plus he was being nicer to them.
"Dende, do it!" Krillin ordered.
"... If I have to..." Dende frowned.
To Corset's relief, Vegeta let Dende go, albeit he tossed him down to the ground! Thankfully Dende got back up, dusting himself off before turning to face the Dragon. This was it. Her dad was getting his wish granted after all. Corset felt awful watching such a terrible person get a wish from the Dragonballs but they had no choice – whether they liked it or not they needed him! Vegeta was by far the best chance they had at the moment of fighting Freeza.
As Dende began to talk, the dragon began to flash mysteriously; Corset had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her mother had never said anything about the dragon flashing and fading every-so-often...
"What's happening?" Krillin spluttered baffled.
Corset looked at the bald fighter; his reaction reinforced the idea that this wasn't right. The only question was what was making the dragon do that?
Dende screamed as Porunga's eyes went dark, fading in a fantastic flash of light. The Dragonballs were tossed up high into the sky.
The sky turned back to normal.
Several large bangs went off, each as loud as cannon fire as the large spheres crashed to the ground. Corset didn't recognise them anymore; they were like huge round boulders! She stood speechless, mirroring the others' reactions.
"...What's going on here?" Vegeta demanded. "Where is the dragon? Where is the night? Wh-Why did the Dragonballs turn to stone?"
Corset didn't have a clue what was happening either and she looked around at the others, hoping one of them would be able to provide an answer.
Dende's gentle sobbing caught her ear and she looked over to him; he'd fallen to his knees.
"Am I immortal or not?" Vegeta bellowed flustered.
"... You're not immortal..." Dende hiccupped. "The Great Elder's gone..."
The news was hell to her ears; Corset couldn't believe it but at the same time it made sense. After all, the person who'd created the Dragonballs on Earth had died, meaning the Dragonballs there were useless. It seemed strange for the ones here to just suddenly do what they did for any other reason. Her heart sank as she walked over to Dende, putting a hand on his shoulder. Her own tears were rolling down; any news of a death was heartbreaking to her – especially since she knew the Great Elder was a wonderful person. He'd helped her unlock her hidden potential...
"So you mean to tell me because some old guy kicked the bucket, I don't get my wish granted?" Vegeta was fuming!
"Of course..." Dende nodded.
The Saiyan's eyes drifted to the others behind him. "You did this! You cheated me out of everything! You stupid fo..." Vegeta's voice trailed to a stop.
Corset turned around about to speak.
Her eyes widened in horror, heart jump-staring as an ice-cold wash of fear overcame her.
Gohan and Krillin also turned around to see him.
It was Freeza.