Chapter 039 - Mysterious Ki

The sound of feet slapping the ground had caught the group's attention. Corset turned to see a couple of familiar faces arrive alongside them.

"Tenshinhan and Chaozu!" Yamcha greeted the duo. Corset noticed both the fighter's ki had changed and was now a lot higher than when they'd wished them back to life. It made her smile to know there were other fighters still training.

A small gasp came from Chaozu's throat as both he and Tenshinhan noticed the short Saiyan standing amongst their friends.

"Vegeta..." Tenshinhan muttered annoyed, "I didn't realise you was still on Earth!"

"Got something to say?" Vegeta smirked.

Corset gulped, she could sense the tension between the fighters was rising once again. Why did her father always have to be at the centre of it?

"There are plenty of things I'd like to say!" Tenshinhan snarled. "I still haven't forgotten what happened the last time we met... You disgust me! I don't know how Yamcha can stomach living with you!"

"Weakling," Vegeta jeered.

"What?" Tenshinhan took a step forward clenching his fists.

"C-Come on you guys, now's not the time to fight," Yamcha intervened much to Corset's relief. She didn't want a fight to break out between people she considered to be on the same side. She knew it would be hard for the others to accept her dad but she'd done it; Gohan, Krillin and Goku had done it. Surely everyone else could give him a chance?

Vegeta gave a devious smile and turned away. Silence fell upon the group for a brief moment.

"We're in a mess," Tenshinhan mumbled quietly, "It's Freeza isn't it?"

"Yeah," Yamcha nodded. "Both Vegeta and Corset confirmed it."

"... To think you had to fight such a monster," Tenshinhan looked down on Corset who just frowned and looked down at her feet.

"Be quiet!" Vegeta spat. "Suppress your powers before you small-talk you idiots! I'd rather Freeza and his men didn't detect us on their scouters!"

'There's no need to shout at us!' Corset flinched at her father's loud voice.

"... The Namekian's done it already," Vegeta added, "Now there's a warrior!"

Corset blinked surprised and looked around, gasping when she spotted Piccolo standing a little ways away from them with his back turned.

"Piccolo, when did you get here?" Yamcha asked.

"Long enough to hear your ridiculous arguing," Piccolo muttered, eyes turning immediately to Corset who was making her way towards him.

From that look Corset now felt a little ashamed; she'd had to cut back on her training because of her schooling and Piccolo hadn't been happy with it! She'd felt nervous around him recently in case he was angry with her; it wasn't her fault she had to go to school!

"So kid, you feel like taking on Freeza again?" The mentor asked.

Corset frowned and looked at the ground, "... To be honest no but I'll try. He's stronger than he was before, Mr Piccolo!"

"Yeah, he's a lot stronger," Piccolo nodded. "It's not looking good. The one man who was supposed to have beaten him isn't here and Freeza's now got someone else just as strong with him."

A couple of approaching power levels stopped the conversation as Krillin and Gohan touched down. Corset walked back to join the group. The young half-Saiyan half-Earthling couldn't help but feel scared and anxious about the imminent fight. Piccolo was right; she thought Goku had beaten Freeza and thought Freeza would have died when Namek blew up. What had gone on while she'd been revived and sent to Earth? Maybe Gohan's dad wasn't as strong as she thought he was.

"So no sign of Goku?" She heard Yamcha ask.

Gohan shook his head; Corset felt her heart sink a little further. She'd been afraid of that answer even if she'd already known it.

"THEY'RE HERE!" Piccolo cried.

A small dot emerged beneath the clouds. It grew larger rapidly as it grew closer, flying overhead and covering the stunned group with its gigantic and cold shadow. The wind had picked up, dust dragged along by the force of the ship's motors as it loomed over the desolate plains. It quickly passed them and landed behind a long wall of rock a couple of miles away.

It had only lasted a few seconds but it felt far longer. It was as if all the hope and courage had been sucked out of her the moment she'd seen their ship. Corset's legs trembled; this was the man who'd killed her. She'd trained since then but it would make no difference. They would be lucky to survive this battle and she knew it, unless some miracle happened.

"T-There's no doubt about it..." Gohan growled, "It's Freeza – he survived!"

"Who's that with him?" Krillin demanded confused.

"Listen – Don't any of you fly!" Vegeta barked. "We're going to walk over there so they don't sense us with their scouters!"

Corset nodded more to herself than her father; she had to prepare herself. It was now or never. She had to be brave and prove to herself she could go into battle without having her fear holding her back. She wanted to be able to fight!

"T-That's Freeza's ki?" Yamcha stammered. "He's that powerful?"

"This is nothing," Gohan replied, "he gets way stronger than this."

"You guys actually fought with a monster like that?" Tenshinhan seemed shaken up too. Corset felt bad for those who hadn't fought Freeza before; at least she knew what she was up against.

"... You have got to be kidding," Yamcha chuckled nervously. "What good will it do to get closer to them? They're behemoths and there are two of them. It's hopeless!"

"What then?" Piccolo had appeared behind Yamcha. "Should we just lie down and die? It's no more hopeless than if we fight."

Corset listened to the adults talk, not really sure what to say so choosing to stay quiet. What was there to say? Yamcha was right; they were going to die. Piccolo also had a point; fighting was better than giving up... wasn't it?

"It's not only hopeless for us..." Vegeta smirked, "This is the end of Earth."

The gang had begun their walk towards where Freeza's ship had landed. Corset walked alongside her mother and Yamcha, trying to keep herself calm on the outside. Her heart thumped inside her ribs, just sensing Freeza's power made her want to cry. She couldn't cry. She had to stay strong if she wanted to prove to herself she could stop herself freezing up.

Her father's words had made it all clear to them. This was indeed the end of Earth.

"I can't believe..." Yamcha mumbled, "... I was brought back to life only to be killed again..."

Corset'd looked back and frowned; apparently it had taken a bit of a toll on Yamcha's confidence. From what she'd seen of him around the house, Yamcha was usually confident and pepped up about almost everything. Seeing him so drained and beaten down was a first!

The walk led them to the bottom of a large cliff. Corset found she had the job of helping her mother climb the steep rocky face! Even if she was strong for her age, Corset still found her mother was quite heavy and hard to push.

"Sorry about all this," Bulma apologised.

"It's ok," Corset grunted managing to get her mother onto a small ledge. It wasn't that much further on to the top...

"... Vegeta's really rallied the troops, hasn't he?"

Corset looked at her mother surprised she was even mentioning him! "I guess he is," she mumbled, "I don't think Yamcha and Tenshinhan trust him."

"Yeah, that's understandable considering it was by his hand they died at," Bulma nodded.

"They got killed by the other Saiyan," Corset pouted annoyed and needing to set the facts straight, "Daddy only killed the other Saiyan and a green monster thing!"

"... I think it's because he was part of the other side rather than because he was the one who actually killed them," Bulma suggested. "It's tough but at times like these, we should appreciate the help we have, even if it is from a former enemy. I'm just impressed that Vegeta's seems so level-headed. Didn't Freeza kill him?"

Corset frowned; just remembering that memory was still so painful to her. "... Yeah."

"Hmm... And yet he still shows little sign of being scared," Bulma mumbled more to herself than her daughter.

Corset left her mother to her own thoughts as they finally reached the top of the cliff. She was about to speak again when something suddenly caught her attention.

It was a gigantic ki… An unknown, unrecognisable one. Who was it? Their power level was just as high as Freeza's but lacked the coldness to it – a good soul. What was even more confusing was how it had just appeared out of nowhere! Corset didn't recognise the ki at all...

It went without saying that everyone else had sensed it. What was even stranger was that several tiny energies near to Freeza had vanished! Corset had barely noticed them there until the moment they'd vanished.

"What is it?" Bulma asked, antsy about the look on her daughter's face. "What's wrong?"

"A huge ki just suddenly appeared," Krillin answered, "...and several small ki just suddenly disappeared!"

"What's going on...?" Yamcha was baffled.

"What's happening over that mountain?" Krillin mumbled. "It doesn't make any sense..."

Vegeta continued to walk forwards, Piccolo following and setting the others off behind him. Corset followed the adults, catching up to Gohan. "This is weird, isn't it?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"I know," Gohan answered in an equally hushed voice, "I don't recognise that huge power – plus there's that other evil power with Freeza! I wonder who they all are..."

"Yeah," Corset nodded thoughtful. "... I wonder if that huge ki that just appeared is on the same side as Freeza or not. I wonder why all those small ki suddenly vanished. You don't think the big ki beat them all?"

"I'm not sure," Gohan shrugged his shoulders. "If so then I don't think they're with Freeza; why would they attack their own side?"

Corset pondered this, "... Maybe they're like my daddy. He attacked his own side!"

"Hey you guys, try and keep the noise down," Krillin hushed the two children, "remember, we're trying not to be seen or heard."

The walk continued in silence. It wasn't too long before something kicked off.

The power she felt almost knocked her senses completely out of sync and all she could do was stare in awe. The mysterious person's ki had suddenly burst up to a higher, seemingly crushing power! It was now far higher than both Freeza and that other evil ki! The power increase had sent a tremendous shudder through the ground.

"What is this ki I'm sensing?" Krillin stuttered.

"It's ginormous!" Corset choked, looking quickly to her father and then Piccolo. Both seemed speechless.

"What's happening?" Bulma cried falling to her knees unable to stand the shaking ground. "This is just what happened back on Planet Namek!"

"...It's my dad!" Gohan exclaimed, "That's the same ki he had that time he transformed!"

Corset's glanced over to him. "Y-Your daddy?" She repeated. She had to admit she had been able to sense something quite similar to this on Namek just before she'd been teleported to Earth.

"A-Are you sure Gohan?" Krillin asked.

"I'm positive," Gohan nodded.

Several explosions suddenly rocked the ground further, a large cloud of dust rising over the other side of the mountain ridge.

"Whatever's going on over there sure is incredible..." Tenshinhan muttered in disbelief.

Corset stayed silent as she saw flashes of colour scatter across the skies; the gang all standing unable to move, too mesmerised by the fight. The ground never seemed to stop shaking beneath her feet although this was lost on the small girl; she was too busy watching the endless plumes of dust rise into the air. Freeza was on the attack and this mysterious ki seemed to be countering everything he tried.

Another terrifying explosion covered the tops of the mountains in its outbreak of dust and dirt; by now Corset could barely see anything beyond the immediate mountain range.

"Look!" Gohan cried pointing up.

Her eyes diverted to the skies, quickly spotting three figures whilst Krillin let out a cry of realisation. She didn't recognise any of them but knew one of them had to be him! One of them was Freeza. Her heart suddenly froze and dropped into her stomach as she realised one of them was the monster who'd killed her.

With one swoop one of the figures seemed to hit another with what looked like a sword. Almost simultaneously Freeza's ki plummeted. The mysterious' ki shot up as the attacker dealt several more swings of his sword cutting the other into several pieces before he fired off an energy attack. The blast completely wiped out whoever the victim had been... Frieza's ki vanished.

Corset stared unable to even conjure up the thought of how shocked and amazed she was. It had been so easy.

"...That was Freeza!" Vegeta managed to spit out shocked.

"He cut Freeza into bits!" Krillin choked.

"What kind of eyes do you guys have?" Bulma seemed indifferent about what had happened. "How can you see so far? It's Goku right? He's just showed up in time and gotten really strong, right? He's saved the Earth again?"

"He's a Super Saiyan but he's not Goku," Yamcha shook his head.

Corset couldn't convince her body to turn around and look at her mother; she was too lost in watching the mysterious ki as he approached the other figure. She didn't recognise him at all but noticed how similar he looked to Freeza when he'd made his first transformation. Maybe he was someone of the same race...

The sudden wind blasting in her face from Vegeta's take-off startled her and she began to pay attention to her immediate surroundings. Piccolo took off immediately after Vegeta, closely followed by Krillin. Not wanting to be left behind she took to the skies alongside Gohan pouting to herself. She was getting tired of having to continuously stop and start and on top of that, she had almost no idea of what was really happening! Who were these two mysterious fighters? If it was true one was a Super Saiyan then where had he come from? Her dad and several of the other Saiyans had said there had only been four surviving Saiyans – why was there this one other?

She had a much better view from up here. Yet as the gang finally flew over the mountain range, the guy who'd killed Freeza suddenly shot another beam through the other guy! It had looked as if the mysterious Freeza-lookalike had managed to grab the Super Saiyan's sword yet had failed to do what the Saiyan had done to Freeza. The taller monstrous man crashed into a rock face and landed heavily; his ki almost depleted. In another display of power the Super Saiyan ended him with another energy beam, destroying the monster before turning to blow up the ship with yet another energy attack.

The display had left many of the fighters hanging in mid-air, too wary to approach the area. They all watched as the dust slid to the side carried by the wind. The ship was gone, as were Freeza and his accomplice.

The Super Saiyan's appearance suddenly changed as his ki plummeted down to resting rate. Corset noticed the mysterious man's hair was short and purple. He didn't look like any Saiyan she'd ever seen...

Her heart almost stopped when he turned in their direction; she was sure they'd all just been spotted! Would he come after them thinking they were with Freeza?

"Hey! I'm going to meet Son Goku now!" The man yelled. "Would you all like to come?"

"What?" Piccolo exclaimed shocked.

Corset's jaw dropped in disbelief. How did this man know Gohan's dad? None of this made any sense to her!

"How does he know my dad?" Gohan mimicked her thoughts.

On closer inspection, it looked like the man was smiling. He pointed over to his right, "He'll be landing right over there! Follow me!"

With that he took off.

For a moment no one spoke. Corset wasn't sure whether to listen to him or not. She was confused with all that had gone on. She didn't know this man and he was telling them to follow him? He'd taken down Freeza and that other guy, maybe he was on their side?

"...I'm going," Gohan declared.

"Hold on, we don't know anything about him," Krillin pointed out.

"Well if Gohan's going then I'll go too," Corset gulped. She didn't want to let Gohan go by himself even if she was a little scared of this man's power!

"I'm going too," Tenshinhan agreed, "He knows Goku and he beat Freeza. I'm sure he can't be all that bad... and I'm curious."

The other adults seem to give their own verdict on the situation but Corset knew she'd made her mind up.

"Let's go," Vegeta smiled, "We'll expose the truth about him."

Corset smiled pleased her father had given the thumbs up and seemed just as eager to go. With that the group headed after the mysterious Super Saiyan.