Chapter 051 - Terror of the Androids

The flight towards Goku's wasn't too long though it was full of suspense and worry. It wasn't like any of them had a clue where the androids could be since they had no ki to detect. Thankfully Vegeta's ki was detectable so they could keep an eye on him and track him if need-be. Even with the gap between them Corset could sense her father's ki clearly, especially since he was now a Super Saiyan. It almost made his ki impossible not to notice! She flew alongside Trunks and Piccolo, itching to find either her dad or the androids. She had calmed down since Vegeta and Trunks' conflict and had begun to worry about him; his ki told her he was still healthy yet from what she could sense, it was fluctuating every-so-often.

He was fighting.

"He's found them..." Piccolo muttered. "I can't sense his opponent's ki."

"Crap, why'd he have to find them?" Krillin cursed. "Still, at least we know they haven't reached Goku's house. That should be able to buy us some time."

"Maybe but we don't know how much time Vegeta may have..." Piccolo replied.

Corset gulped and averted her eyes down to the land whizzing by below them. She was concerned for her father's wellbeing, especially since Trunks was certain not even the Super Saiyan form would be enough to last against these androids. It was strange how Dr Gero had eventually decided that he (as Android Twenty) and Nineteen would be sufficient enough to beat her and her friends rather than send these other powerful androids. Then again it had been made more than clear to them he'd had little to no control over Seventeen and Eighteen. She wondered why he'd chosen to make something so powerful and risk being disobeyed...

"We have to stop him. He's such a fool but we'll need him for the fight too!" Trunks growled. "Why does he think he can beat them alone?"

Corset looked at her brother curious; he seemed a little angry yet anxious. "... Hey, don't take it to heart, Trunks." she spoke sympathetically, "Dad's a jerk to everyone!"

"He's always fought by himself, relying on his own strength. He's a true warrior," Piccolo explained. "He upholds the pride and honour of a warrior which is probably amplified by him being the Saiyan Prince... I just hope his confidence is backed up by his strength. He managed to beat one of the androids with relative ease... Maybe he can beat these others too."

"... But when he fought the other androids, it was a one-on-one fight," Corset frowned. "He's all by himself and there are three of them... What if they've all ganged up on him?"

"Well judging by his power level still being so high, I'm not sure that's what's happened," Krillin answered. "... Look, Vegeta's probably stronger than Goku right now – he's the best fighter we've got! I'd say it's safe to place our bets that he'll win."

"... No... You're all underestimating these androids." Trunks spoke sombrely. "None of us can face them alone. In my time these androids killed you all, remember? We have to wait for Goku to recover no matter what!"

Corset looked back ahead feeling tense, they were now closing in on her father's ki. Her brother was right; he'd come to the past to save Goku from his heart virus and to warn them about these androids. If there were to be any major differences between the two times, surely Goku was the one to make them. Her thoughts trailed to Gohan and her mother, wondering if they'd arrived home safely yet...

"We're here," Tenshinhan cried. "I can see them down below!"

There! Her father's ki was located down below them. The area was treacherous and covered with mountains and outcrops; below a small road snaked its way through the mountains, parts of it inches from the edge of the plateau that had been carved away. Below was a small stream and a grassy field littered with hedges and trees. Indeed she could see the androids standing in the middle of the road metres away from a large gaping hole in the road, as if a large chunk of the mountain road had collapsed or been destroyed. She couldn't see any sign of her dad but there was dust billowing out of a small hole in the side of the mountain face. The group all descended down to the ground, landing inches behind Eighteen. Corset felt on-edge as the group had landed between the fight and where Sixteen and Seventeen stood, though none of them decided to make a move.

"Hey, are you alright in there, Vegeta?" Trunks called out.

'Why don't you just call him dad?' Corset wondered, forgetting Vegeta had not been there to find out from Piccolo of Trunks' origins, though she was unaware he already knew.

"Of course I am!"Vegeta's voice came from around the corner of the hole. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Corset peered around Krillin, eager not to get too close to these androids. To her relief her father emerged more-or-less in good health, save for a couple of scratches and a few areas where he was bleeding. He was still a Super Saiyan which was the biggest relief; at least his ki was still plentiful.

"Little pests..." He sneered. "Why have you come? I told you I don't need your help – and I don't want it either!"

"H-Hey," Tenshinhan stuttered, "Seventeen's coming this way!"

Corset whirled around, almost taking a nervous step forward when she spotted Seventeen making his way towards them, Sixteen standing quite a way back from them.

They were surrounded.

"Vegeta, we have to get out of here!" Trunks cried. "Pride is nothing if you get yourself killed! Please, listen to me."

"Shut up!" Vegeta spat. "Do you want me to hit you again? Just get out of my sight!"

"You can run away if you want," Eighteen butted in. "We're not interested in those who run or who are weak..."

'That's good to know!' Corset sighed in relief, gulping down a lump in her throat.

"You must be joking!" Vegeta snorted in disgust. "You want me to leave when I was just about to finish you off? Don't associate me with them. They're all a bunch of snivelling cowards! I'd rather die fighting alone than join hands with any Earthling or Namekian – and especially with Kakarrot!"

Corset crossed her brow in frustration. 'It didn't stop you from joining up with us against Freeza…' She noted to herself annoyed. Had her father's Super Saiyan status gone to his head?

The sound of clapping caught her and everyone else's ears and all turned to see Seventeen had reached them.

"Nice speech," he casually smiled, "... that and those fighting skills. You truly are a Saiyan Prince."

Vegeta spat on the ground and smiled, "I don't need a puppet's praise; you're just a brat under all that armour."

Corset warily stared at Seventeen unsure of why he'd come over to them. Was he planning to jump them or something? He didn't seem as if he would yet she hadn't forgotten what he'd done earlier to Dr Gero; the memory still made her feel sick! This android was definitely not to be underestimated.

"Listen, all of you," he spoke. "I know you all respect the code of the warrior, so I don't expect any of you to interfere between Vegeta and Eighteen's match... but if you do then I'll be forced to step in."

The tense girl gulped; that was bad. If it looked like her father was in trouble at any point, she wouldn't be able to jump in without Seventeen joining the fight? She was pretty confident she'd be taken out easily by these androids and didn't favour her chances, but would she be able to hold herself back if her dad was in danger? She doubted it; as much as he didn't care about anyone but himself and as much of a jerk he was, he was still her father and Corset didn't want him to die. She'd already lost him once, she didn't want it to happen again.

"You don't have to worry about them; they're all a bunch of cowards! They won't risk their lives to save me." Vegeta had responded.

"Then shall we continue?" Eighteen asked.

"Bring it on," Vegeta answered.

"That's the spirit!" Eighteen charged forwards, her movement taking Corset by surprise as she almost lost sight of the blonde android.

The fight that pursued was an amazement to watch; it seemed that the two fighters were evenly matched. Corset watched eagerly as her father and the android exchanged blows, their fight leading down to the gorge below them. Vegeta knocked Eighteen to the ground and fired off the attack he'd used earlier against Nineteen, catching the off-guard android by surprise.

The explosion rocked the ground below her feet but Corset withstood it, eyes alert to any signs of the android within the rubble. She emerged standing, clothes slightly tattered. It didn't look like she'd taken any damage which worried Corset slightly. Had she absorbed the attack through her palms? No, she was sure she'd heard both Trunks and the androids say they didn't have that capability.

The battle continued, Vegeta continued to dominate over Eighteen as the two fought in hand-to-had combat below the mountainside.

"He's got her on the ropes!" Tenshinhan smiled.

"Yeah... Maybe he can win this after all," Krillin nodded.

Corset glanced at Trunks, a little surprised to see the amazed look on his face. "What is it? What's wrong?" She asked.

The question seemed to knock the boy from the future out of his thoughts. "Oh... It's alright, I just didn't realise that Fa- I mean Vegeta – was so strong!"

Corset smiled, "It's ok, I know you're my brother but from the future. Our dad is strong, isn't he?"

"I didn't realise he was so strong," Trunks nodded and went back to watching the fight, Corset doing the same for a short time before looking at the other's reactions. Both Tenshinhan and Krillin had small smiles on their faces, Trunks watching eagerly.

"He's going to be killed..."

Corset turned to Piccolo alerted and horrified at his words. "What?" She exclaimed panicked. "What makes you say that, Piccolo?"

Normally, Piccolo was right in his predictions. That just made it harder to swallow for her.

"Look, the android is slowly wearing him down," Piccolo explained. "Vegeta's stamina is reduced with every attack yet the android doesn't lose any energy. She's making him use up his energy and then she'll attack him."

Corset looked back down at the fight, slightly agape and worried. She could see the dominance slowly changing sides, Eighteen now getting more strikes in and her father seemingly growing less and less capable of defending himself. Where he'd been pushing Eighteen back, he was now being pushed back himself. Each blow took his energy down further; she could see her dad was growing tired and yet the android didn't share this same limit, the fight just becoming more and more one-sided now. "... Dad..." She mumbled growing anxious.

She couldn't jump in. Seventeen would then join the fight if she did, but she didn't want her dad to die. Trunks had said these androids would kill everyone today; he'd travelled into the past to try and prevent it from happening. She wouldn't just let herself stand and watch this anymore; she'd been doing that her whole life. Her emotions were increasingly taking hold of her; her fists clenched and began to tremble as the android tossed her father around.

Vegeta's scream pierced through her thoughts as he crashed into an elevated rock, slumping down to a sitting position. The android was making her way towards him, she seemed unharmed despite all the damage she'd been dealt.

'Piccolo's right! At this rate he's gonna be killed!' Corset panicked. 'What do I do?'

Vegeta shot forwards to attack, the android striking him in the jaw sending the Saiyan stumbling a couple of feet. She chased him, Vegeta turned.

There was a terrifying, teeth-grinding crack as bone was displaced in the Saiyan's arm.

Corset gasped and started horrified and furious; her father's arm hung unnaturally, twisted and limp, her father taking a few steps forwards before crashing to his knees and screaming out in agony.

That was it! She didn't care anymore about the androids!

"DAD!"

The sudden movement to her right startled her and kept her in her place, terrified perhaps Seventeen was about to strike her! It wasn't Seventeen who now dashed down – it was Trunks – and a Super Saiyan Trunks no less!

"That idiot!" Piccolo cried.

Corset wasn't sure whether to follow or not – he was a Super Saiyan in his own right and she wasn't! The anger had been replaced by confusion and the adrenaline was still pumping through her body.

Trunks grabbed his sword and swung down, striking Eighteen in the arm. She couldn't tell from where she was standing but the strike seemed to have had no effect on her at all!

A dark blur dashed forwards from her left. It took a second before she realised who it was and panic quickly gripped her. Before she knew it she'd cried out her brother's name and had dashed forwards after the android. "Trunks move!" She bellowed.

Seventeen struck Trunks down, the boy crashing straight onto his face.

Corset closed in on the android despite Piccolo's calls for her to come back; she was determined to help her dad and brother out even if it put her own life at risk. With a sudden rush of fearlessness she held both hands above her head and went to slam Seventeen in the head just as he had her brother.

The android turned and dodged gracefully.

The next thing Corset knew she was crashing into the ground hard, pushing loose fragments of rock out of her way before she zoned out...

When she finally came to the first thing she felt was the sharp pain in her left cheek. She thought she remembered Seventeen kicking her clean in the jaw just before she could strike him. She now lay embedded in the rocky ground. Slowly she sat herself up, looking around with blurred vision.

Piccolo was down, as was Tenshinhan. Trunks had lost his Super Saiyan form and seemed to be out cold judging by the feel of his ki. Vegeta was also down but still had his aura. She couldn't see Krillin which sent panic through her body. Was he dead?

Suddenly her father rose, blasting out at Eighteen who easily dodged the close-range beam, much to Corset's shock and amazement. She was incredibly fast! Eighteen struck her father down in the face, Vegeta crashing to his knees once again.

The sight brought her to her feet almost in auto-pilot and she began to gather ki in her palms. Eighteen continued to attack the Saiyan Prince much to Corset's fear and fury; she needed just a little more time! She was tired of being too afraid to help others and was determined not to let anyone down ever again! Her ki soared higher and higher as her energy charged up, readying her Kentoka Flash.

Eighteen stood over Vegeta who by now seemed to be down for good, "I'd better disable your other arm." She muttered, pressing one foot against his other arm. Her father's screams were too much for her to hear: that was enough!

Corset screamed out as she tossed her hands forwards, the blue Kentoka Flash shooting straight for Eighteen. The android turned just as the beam hit, embedding her and Vegeta in a billowing cloud of smoke and dust completely blocking them both from Corset's sight. She cautiously watched, suddenly remembering Seventeen was around somewhere and glancing up; he still hovered up in the sky yet for some reason he made no move towards her which baffled Corset.

"Don't worry, it's a one-on-one match again...I'd keep your eyes on the smoke," he smiled coolly as if he knew what she was thinking.

Corset turned back even more unnerved than before; she was the only one left again? Her thoughts quickly stopped as Eighteen emerged from the dust looking a little ruffled; her clothes tattered and ripped.

"Not bad for such a little kid," she muttered indifferent, though there was a small hint of annoyance in her voice.

Corset couldn't believe her eyes! 'Yikes... That was my strongest attack! Darn it! Now what?'

"I think I wanna finish up playing around Eighteen and find Goku's place," Seventeen announced from up above.

"Right," Eighteen nodded.

Corset clenched her fists; she couldn't let them find Goku especially since Chichi and Yamcha would also be in danger! Knowing it wasn't in her best interests as far as living went, she ignored her brain and charged forward towards Eighteen, drawing a fist back to attack.

Eighteen turned into a blur for the briefest of moments leaving Corset alert to her movement.

A sharp blow to the back of her head sent Corset shooting forwards uncontrollably straight for the cliff-face they'd stood on earlier. Despite the pain and dizziness she felt, Corset attempted to control her flight before she hit the wall. Her movement only sped up as she found herself being propelled forwards by a ki attack which had been fired off by the android! The rocks moved closer at a faster pace Corset screamed and braced herself for impact. She violently made contact and was thrown through the mountainside. Rocks caved in on top of her and Corset felt her mind slip, closing her eyes and giving into the pain.