Chapter 031 - Resisting the Call of Death
The small group trembled in fear as they finally realised the situation they'd been put in. The Great Elder had passed away and thus the Dragonballs were useless. One wish had gone un-granted. Vegeta was not immortal - nor were any of the others immortal. And now Freeza had finally appeared.
Everyone knew the danger they were now in, especially since the tyrant now had no chance of getting his wish granted. It wasn't the worst senario so-to-speak but with Piccolo lost somewhere on the planet and Goku healing, it was more-or-less up to Vegeta to stand a chance against Freeza. None of the Earthlings liked their chances.
"Well well, what do we have here? A group of rugrats and a burnt out Saiyan..." Freeza muttered nonchalantly.
The cold, evil stare in Freeza's eyes didn't fool Corset despite his cool exterior. He was literally packed full of bloodlust. She didn't want to be here; just looking at him sent waves of anxiety through her body and made her freeze; she felt as if she'd been encased inside ice. Every fibre of her brain screamed for her to run yet her body wouldn't respond.
"I see no trace left of the Ginyu Force." Freeza continued, "Did you destroy them? Aren't you all industrious little tykes? Now the Dragonballs are worthless... my one chance to gain immortality is gone..."
The exterior melted away, Corset began to quietly whimper. She couldn't bear it, she couldn't bear the pressure she felt! He was going to kill her!
Freeza jumped off the raised rock and landed level with them. "Never has anyone made such a fool of me."
Corset felt Dende's arm grab onto her glove. She gently pushed him back behind her, terrified of what was to come.
Freeza's smile had faded to an icy grimace. Venom was in his eyes as he bared his teeth. "I never thought I would face such a day..." The indifference was finally gone, fury embedded across his face as his voice rose. "You despicable maggots! I'll torture you to death inch by bloody inch!" He screamed.
Krillin's cue reached both Corset and Gohan; all three warriors dashed backwards leaving the fight open to Freeza and her father. Corset had grabbed hold of Dende, "Go and hide!" She ordered.
"R-Right," Dende nodded, running towards what were the Dragonballs.
"Looks like we've got no choice!" Vegeta snarled. "Don't get to confident Freeza – If you think I can be beaten so easily then think again!"
Freeza chuckled back, "Of all the things to say..."
Corset began to grow concerned over her father's wellbeing. It looked like Freeza was taking a particular interest in him! Then again her father and Freeza had history; it shouldn't have been so surprising to her. Was her father really strong enough to hold his own?
"It seems you've forgotten who I am! Let me remind you!"
The words sent shockwaves of ice through her body. She hated this. Corset couldn't believe she was so unlucky to be stuck here against this terrifying fighter. Piccolo was nowhere to be seen, the Great Elder had died and worst of all, Freeza had found them!
Freeza's ki began to rise. The rate increased rapidly, quickly rising above what Corset'd ever thought was possible – even then it still kept rising! The ground trembled below her feet, her hair floating above her as the pressure around them changed. Each second felt like a month; she knew it was over already. There was no one who even came close to touching his power! It continued to rise higher and higher; Corset trembling in horror and despair; this wasn't fair! She was going to die, she knew she was going to die. There was no plan. There was no way she could escape. She would die right here, right now...
"H-His power's too high... There's no way we can beat him!" Krillin stammered.
"Sure you can..." Freeza smiled, "... Just like ants can beat a dinosaur!"
'I don't wanna be here! I want my mama! I can't stay here!' Corset was frozen with fear. Freeza couldn't have put it any better; she felt like an ant having to face a dinosaur! That was just how big the difference in their powers felt. She was puny, weak, insignificant, a speck of dust in the atmosphere. There was nothing any of them could do to even try to hurt this behemoth!
"We can beat him! With all four of us – I know we can!"
The sheer bafflement of that sentence summoned her from her petrified state and she looked at her father. He wasn't trembling, he seemed to be his usual confident self! How could he say that?
Freeza chuckled, "You've become quite the dreamer, Vegeta!"
"None of you seem to have realised just how much the Earthling's powers keep growing!" Vegeta retaliated confidently. "Mop-top has powers in him he can't even dream of! I've slowly become what you've always feared..."
'Wow, Gohan has powers like that?' Corset looked over to her friend.
"... A Super Saiyan."
'What he's always feared?' Corset blinked perking up. She went back to the point her dad had made about Gohan. She knew there was something special about his powers but she'd never really seen much of them – apart from when Gohan had attacked Nappa! She was sure something funny had happened when the two of them had been trapped in Raditz's spaceship...
"Now you die!" Freeza's yell started Corset and she almost screamed; the tyrant was fist-to-fist with her father. Both fighters held the other's fist now stuck in a power struggle. The energy coming from the two made the ground tremble and tossed loose dirt and dust into the air. The strange device on Freeza's face began to blip, suddenly exploding.
In a flash it was finished. She had little idea of what had just happened. Her father looked as if he was catching his breath whilst Freeza... he didn't look the same way and seemed to have taken minimal effect from the mini struggle. That didn't look good.
"I see, so you weren't entirely bluffing," He muttered.
Did that mean not even Freeza had expected her father to be this strong? A small glimmer of hope began to rise in the young girl. He seemed a little surprised about her dad; did that mean they did stand a chance – just like her father insisted they did?
"Transform Freeza!" Vegeta barked. "You might as well show us your true form!"
"What?" Gohan gasped. "Transform?"
"... I'm surprised you knew about that," Freeza grumbled.
"Zarbon blurted it out before he died!" Vegeta replied. "The form you see before you is a ruse. Some beings have the power to alter their form in order to conserve energy!"
Corset's glimmer of hope died out. Why was her dad egging Freeza on like that? He was doing fine at the moment – why was he encouraging him to transform?
Freeza's smile made the young girl shudder. "In my case it's because I become so powerful I can't control myself!"
That wasn't something she wanted or needed to hear!
"It's a bluff; he won't be that different." Vegeta sneered.
"... Look closely, this is not something you get to see often," Freeza smirked, "When I attacked the Saiyan planet and fought the king, I won without the need to transform... Your father didn't take long to despatch of, Vegeta."
Corset gasped; had she heard that right? Her grandfather had once tried to fight Freeza?
"Don't get all high and mighty over that!" Vegeta snorted. "I'd surpassed him when I was a kid!"
"S-So the Saiyan planet was destroyed by him?" Krillin muttered.
She couldn't believe it! In those last few sentences Corset'd found out so much about her heritage... or at least the Saiyan half of it! First of all, this tyrant before them was the reason the Saiyans had all lost their planet and why only a few were still around. Second, her grandpa had been the king of the Saiyans, which would make her dad the prince, which would make her...
Freeza's bellow and the sudden disappearance of his battle jacket made Corset jump! Fragments of sharp material rained on the ground.
"... That's the transformation?" Vegeta chuckled. "The great Freeza just took off his battle jacket!"
Corset could feel it shifting. She watched as Freeza's ki began to rise once again, terrified and baffled he was still able to increase his power. They were back to square one now – Freeza's ki was rising and rising higher and higher. His body began to change shape, rapidly growing in size. It was as if all her fears were coming to life all at the same time; it was terrifying! Her knees shook violently, the emotions ravaging inside of her. She couldn't control it. She couldn't contain her terror.
He towered over them; transformation complete.
Aside from the obvious size difference, not a lot had changed apart from his horns now bending up at a point.
There was a massive, horrifying difference in his power level.
"He's gonna kill us..." Gohan shuddered.
"It's like a bad dream!" Krillin exclaimed.
Freeza smiled, "I won't be as gentle as before!"
'We're gonna die,' Corset tried desperately not to choke on the lump in her throat.
"I have so much power now I might not be able to control it!" Freeza jeered. "If any instrument could measure my power, it would surpass one million!"
Corset's jaw dropped. That was the biggest number she'd heard of ever!
Confusion struck as she found herself being tossed up into the sky! Her ears rang, she couldn't see anything but blinding light. Desperately she tried to control her movement, struggling to stop herself in the air.
She'd felt Freeza's ki fluctuate but hadn't had the time to react. Now she found herself looking down at what used to be a large island. All she saw was water and large fragments of rock splashing into it. Dust drifted below her, rising slowly through the wind.
Where was everyone? Corset frantically looked around, quickly spotting Gohan a little to her left. Krillin and Dende were just above him. Vegeta was beyond them and a little higher up...
Where was Freeza?
"You're all pretty good on your feet, as I expected!"
Corset groaned and looked down; Freeza was alive.
"... Of course that was nothing – even a Saiyan could do that! Now let's see... Who should I kill first?" The monster muttered, eyes slowly rolling from one side to the other.
Terror struck her once again. This was a nightmare. She was only a kid; she shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be in this kind of danger. Corset knew he'd come for her; she knew she'd be the first unlucky person to die.
"I CHOOSE YOU!"
Nothing happened. She felt no pain, nothing to suggest she'd been hit...
"KRILLIN!"
Gohan's scream pierced her ears. It couldn't be! Corset glanced over to her left, eyes widening and mouth gaping open. She tried to scream, nothing came out.
Freeza had gone for Krillin. One of his horns had pierced his torso. She could see blood dripping down Freeza's head, dripping down from where he'd punctured Krillin. The monster was smiling and talking too quietly for her to hear.
"Kr..." She mumbled unable to finish.
For what felt like an eternity, Freeza began to shift his head, the horn violently sliding through Krilllin's puncture wound, blood spurting out with every movement. It was disgusting to watch and terrifying but Corset could not turn away. She couldn't take her eyes off it no matter how much she wanted to. She couldn't believe this was happening to Krillin of all people.
Then Freeza tossed him to the side; Krillin violently sliding off the blood stained horn.
He crashed through the surface of the waters below...
"Kri.." She stuttered. "Kri... lin..."
She hadn't seen that. As much as she wanted to tell herself that, it didn't stop the truth from being true. She'd just seen her friend be tossed like an insignificant fly to his death. He'd looked out for her and Gohan. He'd saved them both. He'd been a responsible role-model but also had become a good friend; Corset had looked up to him. He was like an uncle. An uncle now gone.
"KRILLIN!"
Gohan had dashed down towards the sea. Corset almost followed yet seeing Freeza suddenly in front of Gohan made her stop in her tracks. She had to keep her head; there was no way she'd be able to get past him, his speed was terrifying!
"MOVE!"
Gohan was suddenly all over Freeza, striking the monster clean in the face before repeatedly pounding his fists into his stomach! Corset's jaw dropped as she watched Gohan go all out; one kick sent Freeza flying backwards. Gohan's ki rapidly increased as he threw out an energy ball, striking Freeza down to the ground with a heavy crash.
A terrifyingly large melee of ki attacks rained down on the tyrant blocking him from view. Despite the strong gusts of wind, Corset floated above the young boy as he threw down attack after attack after attack. The wind grew stronger and stronger, the noise from the explosions growing louder and louder.
Then the onslaught stopped.
Corset was speechless. Where had that power come from? She was aware he had hidden powers but she hadn't imagined they'd be that huge! His ki had just exploded to something terrifyingly powerful.
...Krillin!
Corset's eyes darted back down to the water. Something small had just broken the surface. It was Dende – and he'd managed to grab Krillin!
"It's ok; he's still breathing!" Dende called up.
"There's no time to worry about that!" Vegeta bellowed. "Did you really think that was enough to beat Freeza?"
Corset glanced down to where Freeza'd hit the ground. To her horror he was getting to his feet. He didn't seem to be struggling in any way. She could just about hear him talk now; the wind carrying his voice.
"You're not just any brat. That even that hurt me a little..." Freeza muttered, "You chose the wrong opponent; you've only made me angry."
His ki began to rise once more.
"No... No way... not again!" Corset cried trembling. She'd just seen Gohan give it everything he had and yet that hadn't even fazed Freeza! She felt like with every second that passed, she understood just how hopeless and futile their fight was! Her confidence, her hope, her belief in her friend's abilities; all were fading.
"He can control his battle strength!" Vegeta's realisation reached Corset's ears.
Those words just made her feel all the more helpless.
"Now..." The words slipped from Freeza's mouth, "I shall return the pain many times over."
He approached Gohan slowly, soon face-to-face with him. Gohan seemed just as scared and frozen as Corset.
"Run you fool!" Vegeta bellowed.
Gohan was struck down. The sound and sight of him slamming into the ground made Corset flinch; she couldn't bear to watch anymore of this but she had to know that Gohan was ok.
"Don't get yourself killed now," Freeza taunted, "I'm just starting to have fun!"
A yell caught the half-Saiyan and Freeza's attention – what appeared to be a rogue energy attack struck him clean in the back. In that instant the atmosphere trembled with deafening sound-waves as the monster vanished from view, first engulfed in light, then smoke.
Corset was stunned; her father had managed to hit him! The shockwaves suddenly reached her and she was pushed back a little, defending herself from the powerful gusts. That had been stronger than she'd first thought!
She could hear her father's jeers. "He took it head-on! He was so cocky he left his guard down!" His laughter made Corset glance back over.
The laughing stopped.
Freeza appeared looking a little dusty but unscathed. He glanced over to Vegeta, "Don't get ahead of yourself. You and I will have plenty of time to play, as will I and the other little brat." With that he descended down to Gohan.
"We're doomed..." Corset croaked.
Freeza wasted little time; Gohan had leapt up to attack but was quickly shut down when Freeza kneed him in the hip. Gohan's cries floated through the air. With every injury Freeza inflicted, another scream reached Corset's ears. It was such a chilling sound. She was scared of it, she was scared of what she was seeing. She'd seen this too much; too much of her friends being tortured and killed. First Yamcha, then Chaozu, then Tenshinhan, then Piccolo; they'd all been killed. Goku'd been beaten down to a bloody pulp on more than one occasion. She'd fought alongside Gohan and Krillin – and even her father – she'd seen them all be torn apart. She'd been torn up and brushed aside. What use would she be to the others? She knew she couldn't beat Freeza. She was aware she'd do little damage - if any!
Gohan was struck down once more; Freeza pinned him down with a foot, crushing his head. Gohan screamed out.
"No..." The words were barely audible from her mouth.
"What's the matter Vegeta?" Freeza bellowed. "Aren't you going to save him? He won't last much longer!"
"Stop it." Corset growled, the muscles all over her body starting to tighten rather than tremble.
Gohan's ki was plummeting. Freeza laughed as he put more pressure onto his skull.
"STOP IT!" Corset screamed.
With no real control over herself due to her rage, she flew down straight for Freeza who turned to face her. Strangely fearless and in what must have been a moment of luck, Corset's fist made contact with Freeza's cheek. The impact was strong enough to make him lose his grip on Gohan; it even sent him stumbling back a couple of steps.
In that split second Corset took a leaf out of Gohan's book and started to throw out blast after blast, swallowing Freeza up in a fiery mass of energy once again. All reason had left her; all she wanted to do was attack and hurt him, hurt the person hurting those she cared about! Each attack drained her own energy but she continued, screaming out furiously.
Freeza appeared through the smoke, catching Corset by surprise. In an instant he'd made contact with her somehow; Corset's nose stung and she found herself flying uncontrollably backwards, slamming into the water-
Something struck her back; Corset felt something crack and she screamed out, the scream choked as she was elbowed in the ribs. Her vision was gone and her fall stopped, an awfully painful tug of her hair left her hanging, mouth gaping open as she tried to catch her breath back, trying to register the pain she felt. Her legs were numb; she was sure her nose was bleeding.
One eye opened; Freeza's cold stare glared back at her.
"Apparently you wanted to help him... or did you want me to kill you next? Either way is fine by me; I'll get to you sooner or later."
One blow to her stomach pushed out all the breath inside her lungs. Corset coughed desperate for oxygen, body numb or aching profoundly. Her vision blurred, more areas of her body screamed out in pain as Freeza began to beat her like a punching bag. Out of the corner of her eye, Corset was sure she could just about make out her father hovering above... Wasn't he going to help her?
She suddenly felt the wind brush past her cold wounds, her hair floating around her cheek. Was she falling?
One eye weakly opened; she saw a yellow disc shoot underneath Freeza, slicing his tail.
The sudden cold shock of the water was the last thing she felt.