Chapter 079 - Energy Thieves
The half-dozen group of warriors stood amongst themselves in shock, all eyes fallen on the small, lean stature of the pale man whom they now knew to be incredibly important. This stranger known to those at the tournament as Shin was in reality the Kaioshin?
"...I've heard stories about you from Kaio!" Goku gawked in amazement. "Sounds like you're really something special!"
Something apparently was going to happen to Gohan during his match against the Kaioshin's friend known as Kibito. What it was that was meant to occur had not yet been revealed but it appeared Piccolo had seemed to have an idea of who these two men really were. The appearance of someone so important in the order of the universe concerned Corset especially since his plan seemed to involve her best friend.
"Is something going to happen to Gohan when he becomes a Super Saiyan?" Krillin asked worried.
"Spopovich and Yamu will no doubt attack Son Gohan when he transforms," Kaioshin replied calmly, "but as I said, you must do nothing."
Corset snorted at his remark, "You want me to stand here while they attack my friend? Well for the record Gohan can take care of himself!" There was little doubt in her mind that if anyone was foolish enough to try and take on Gohan, they would quickly learn how terrifying a fighter he could be. Still the fact that Kaioshin didn't seem particularly bothered about stopping this apparent attack was worrying.
"Why will they attack Gohan?" Goku asked.
"Do not worry. They won't take his life; only his energy," Kaioshin answered.
"Why his energy?" Corset asked suspiciously. She didn't like how much this Shin guy seemed to know about Spopovich and Yamu and their alleged attack on Gohan. If he knew they were going to take his energy then why was he about to let them? Something wasn't right about this.
"You'll see..." Kaioshin muttered, eyes fixed back on the ring before them. Still Gohan hadn't quite given into his opponent's demands and seemed to be lulling it over.
"Hey!"
Corset blinked in surprise, head whirling around. She smiled in relief as Videl rushed through the group, knocking past her disgruntled father in the process before leaping up and leaning over the board. Her wounds had healed and she had a fresh set of clothes. "Glad to see you're alright." Corset smiled.
"... You mean it hasn't started yet? Good," Videl's eyes stayed on the ring. Corset looked forwards; Gohan gave a yelp and began to raise his ki.
The transformation had started.
With a loud yell Gohan's ki soared to those familiar staggering heights. The tiles of the arena floor began to crack and break at his feet as Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan 2, his ki so blinding it temporarily made it impossible to see him standing in the centre of the ring. The dust settled and the tiles began to fall back into place. The crowds were shocked, a quiet murmur coming from them. No one seemed to know what to make of Gohan's new appearance.
'It's impressive but it's not him at his best...' Corset noted to herself. If this was just a taste of his power or his full power Corset wasn't sure; if it was the latter than she feared his lack of training had cost him.
"He was better when he fought Cell!" Vegeta muttered from his place against the wall, a tone of disgust in his voice. "He's slacked off in his training! Peace isn't good for a warrior."
"It's still more than we imagined..." Kaioshin spoke, "I don't know if I'll be able to restrain his power."
"Restrain it?" Goku repeated worried.
"G... Gohan's the Great Saiyaman and the Gold Fighter too?" Videl spluttered in disbelief, eyes fixated on the ring and the glowing boy before her.
"Lucky there aren't any cameras around..." Corset muttered under her breath, eyes glancing all over the place trying to find Spopovich and Yamu. She could see Kibito seemed shocked with Gohan's power but that didn't matter right now. There were far more pressing matters at hand.
"Here they come!" Kaioshin cried.
Corset saw it out of the corner of her eye; Spopovich and Yamu made a dash to the ring with impressive speed, some strange object held in the smaller, leaner fighter's hand which closely resembled a watering can.
Sensing the approaching threat, Gohan turned and put up his guard sensing them with little difficulty. He'd be more than a match for these two.
Then his ki suddenly stopped flowing through his body. The sudden disturbance in Gohan's ki output and the flash from the corner of her eye caused Corset's glance to dart over quickly at Kaioshin, seeing his arms held out before him, aimed directly for Gohan.
"What are you doing?" She demanded. "Is that you doing that to him?"
Gohan seemed to be as still as a statue. He was easy prey for Spopovich who wrapped his arms around him in a lock, pinning Gohan's arms to the sides of his body. Yamu pushed the strange-looking device towards Gohan's waist-
Gohan cried out as the point pierced his body. The scream reached Corset's ears, her jaw gaped open as she watched in horror. His screams were horrible to have to endure or even listen to. She could sense the energy slowly leaving him. There was nothing he could physically do, he was unable to move because of the hold Kaioshin's power had on him as well as Spopovich's grasp.
"They're killing him!" Goku cried.
"Trust me, he'll be fine!" Kaioshin barked.
Corset's stomach turned and knotted itself several times, heat rushing to her head as she watched with distain. She couldn't stand this, she couldn't stand to see anyone suffer. His screams were torture for her to listen to, every fibre in her body wanted it to stop, it was too upsetting to hear. She could sense Gohan's ki was dropping fast and didn't understand why she was being forced to stay rooted to the floor and not help.
"Those bastards!" Krillin snarled making a move to charge – Piccolo grabbed hold of the short fighter much to Krillin's protests and his own reluctance.
"Do not interfere!" Kaioshin yelled.
Gohan's ki passed the threshold needed to maintain Super Saiyan two and he lost his transformation, ki still weakening, still falling. His life force felt like it was falling alongside it.
She had to clamp her eyes shut; she couldn't stand this! Her anger and concern was desperately telling her to jump forwards and make Gohan stop screaming and yet this Kaioshin guy wanted them to stay? Stay for what? She couldn't see this anymore!
Goku glanced over and gasped but it wasn't Corset who'd charged – he quickly grabbed hold of Videl's arm and held her back.
"Let me go! Gohan needs help!" She protested. "He's in trouble!"
"Gohan will be fine," Goku answered sternly. "Stay here, Videl."
"Why? How can you say that?" Videl glared at him pleadingly. "Why won't any of you help him?"
"...Don't worry, Gohan will be fine," Kaioshin muttered after a moment, though the calmness of his voice just grated on Corset's shortening patience.
"He doesn't look or sound fine to me!" Corset snarled through gritted teeth. Her fists trembled at her sides, knuckles as white as could be. She had to tense all of her muscles to even attempt to keep herself at bay. "...This is ridiculous! How the hell do you know what they're doing to him? If you don't answer me I swear I'll damn well rush in and attack those bastards!"
"Trust Kaioshin and stay here!" Goku yelled loudly.
"Forget it!" Corset snapped back. If no one could charge out there without being caught, she'd just attack from here! She was determined to help Gohan out, she needed to somehow stop not only the distress he was clearly in but the distress she was now in. One palm aimed for Yamu, ki gathering rapidly in her hand.
A combination of what felt like paralysis and being physically pushed into the wall caught Corset off-guard. She couldn't move her body or summon any of her energy to her outstretched palm. Furious, burning eyes glared as best as she could at Goku who had physically restrained her; just behind him she could see one of Kaioshin's hands pointing at her, the other still pointed out towards the ring. No doubt the strange thing he'd done to Gohan was now on her.
"Calm down Corset, now!" Goku barked.
She glanced back over to Gohan in frustration and angst as his ki dropped dangerously low. Yamu pulled back the strange object; Gohan's ki stabilised. He was far too weak to stand as he crashed onto his face once Spopovich released him.
The two brutes took off into the sky.
"None of you do anything yet!" Kaioshin ordered. "Kibito will restore Son Gohan's strength back to normal."
"So what is this all about?" Goku asked, releasing Corset who stumbled, barely able to keep her footing as she was suddenly released from both Goku's grasp and Kaioshin's restraint. She was still fuming from the incident and was gutted she hadn't been able to help Gohan.
"I will follow them and see where they are going," Kaioshin instructed. "If you wish to come with me then feel free to. It would be a great help."
With that the god took off and pursued the two thieves.
Assuming it was now ok and made little difference whether she stayed or moved, Corset bolted out of the waiting room and over to Gohan, horrified with what she saw. His skin was pale, deathly pale. His ki was at its minimal and he looked as if he couldn't move or speak. Just looking at him made her want to chase after the two brutes who'd done this to him, she wanted them to pay for the pain and suffering they'd put him under.
It infuriated her further. That Kaioshin guy knew this was going to happen and yet he let it happen anyway? What was his goal? Why did it have to be Gohan?
"Gohan!" Videl had reached them and knelt down beside him, shaking him by the back, "Gohan! Hey, someone get a stretcher over here!" She cried over towards some officials.
Corset looked up at the towering Kibito suspiciously. "... That Kaioshin guy said you'd fix Gohan up. Why are you just standing there?" She snapped, "Why aren't you restoring his ki like he said you would, or did he lie to us?"
Goku landed between Corset and Kibito. "So you'll take care of Gohan?" He asked.
"Yes," Kibito answered. "I will join you as soon as I've cured him and I'm sure he'll want to come too."
Corset stepped forward unconvinced, "... You trust him, Goku?"
"Yeah," Goku nodded. "There's something going on here and I wanna find out. I wanna know why Spopovich and Yamu took Gohan's energy; what they need it for. Kaioshin has gone on ahead to find out where they're going and has invited us to join him."
Corset contemplated this for a moment. So they were going to find out why this had all happened to Gohan?
"...Videl, stay with Gohan and let him know what's happened," Corset instructed. "Gohan, get better quickly! I trust this guy will heal you!" She made a quick glance to Kibito before turning to face Goku who merely nodded.
"Wait, you're leaving Gohan here?" Videl spluttered in disbelief.
"He's in good hands," Corset nodded. "Make sure you let him know where we've all gone when he comes to."
"Let's go," Goku smiled, feet pushing off the ground.
"See you guys soon," Corset waved as she followed him, passing overhead and out of the tournament arena and into the sky beyond. The two travelled across the island the Budokai was being held on and were quickly over open seas, soon catching up with Piccolo who'd taken off immediately after Kaioshin, and soon joined by Krillin and Vegeta.
Thoughts raced through her mind as she flew alongside the others. Just who were Spopovich and Yamu? What was Kaioshin planning? Why did Spopovich and Yamu take Gohan's energy? Why had Spopovich's power been far higher than what it was supposed to be?
Just what was going on?
"Kaioshin is just ahead of us," Piccolo muttered over the loud gusts of wind passing them by.
"Hey!" Goku called loudly as the group of five quickly caught up to Kaioshin. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled, seemingly pleased to see them.
"So you decided to join me after all? Thank you, we probably couldn't win without your powers," Kaioshin spoke.
"What? You mean against those two?" Goku raised an eyebrow.
"No; Spopovich and Yamu are just pawns being used," Kaioshin replied. "The real foe is a warlock."
"A warlock?" Piccolo repeated.
"Yes," Kaioshin nodded. He began to explain how during a time when Humans were just learning how to walk, a warlock named Bibidi had created a monster which had destroyed thousands upon thousands of worlds. This monster was known as Majin Buu. At the time there were four Kaioshin such as himself and their leader; each could fell Freeza with one blow.
Four of these Kaioshin had been killed by Buu.
The news had shaken Corset up slightly. Although back then she was far, far weaker, Freeza had killed her. To think there were people who could have felled her killer with one attack... and this Majin was meant to be far stronger still?
She knew currently she was capable of killing Freeza no problem. The question was how did she compare to these Kaioshin and the Majin?
"Buu's ferocity was so fierce that when Bibidi needed a respite, he would seal Buu in a shell," Kaioshin explained. "The sealed Majin Buu was brought to Earth which was intended to be its next target. Fortunately this gave us our chance and I managed to kill Bibidi before he could release Majin Buu. We thought it was all over; there was no need to attempt to destroy Buu in his seal because we feared an unnecessary shock could release him. He was left dormant where no human could ever find him.
"Recently we found out something terrible. We thought Bibidi was the only one who could break the seal but we were wrong; there is another. Bibidi had a son; his name is Babidi. He is a warlock just like his father!"
"So basically we need to stop this guy from resurrecting Majin Buu?" Goku clarified.
"Precisely," Kaioshin nodded, "which is why we need to defeat Babidi."
Corset flew alongside her friends, unaffected by the oncoming winds. She listened carefully as Kaioshin explained how dangerous Babidi's powers were and why Spopovich and Yamu had been at the tournament. Turned out those two had been sent by Babidi to find energy to be used to resurrect this Majin Buu person. Corset couldn't help but wonder who this Majin Buu guy was and what he'd look like. His name sounded quite silly to her nothing like how Kaioshin was making him out to sound! Still she knew better than to judge based on appearances... or in this case a name.
"Why'd you leave this guy around if you knew how dangerous he could be?" Goku asked baffled.
"We had no choice," Kaioshin answered. "We didn't know what could break the seal; an unnecessary shock could have woken the Majin. We felt it would be safe since the shell was left in a place where humans could not reach it."
"... It's been a long time since humans began to walk..." Corset mumbled to herself. 'I hope it's still in a place no human can find it in!'
It was a while before anyone dared to speak. For the most of the flight Corset'd listened to the conversations that were mainly darting between Goku and Piccolo asking questions and Kaioshin answering them, though the odd remark was made to her father despite him not speaking at all! Apparently Kaioshin could read minds which abruptly stopped Corset wanting to think things through in fear her privacy would be invaded! Instead her thoughts turned to Gohan's energy; she could sense Kibito and he were a little ways behind them alongside Videl, much to Corset's surprise and worry. Videl was the last person who should be tagging along wanting to fight alongside the gang; she wouldn't stand a chance against these villains! To her relief Videl seemed to separate from the other two and turned back on herself heading back for the tournament grounds. Gohan and Kibito's movement drastically increased once she'd left and soon they were fast approaching the group; Kaioshin had deliberately wanted to hold back so they could catch up.
"Heeeeey!"
Corset smiled immediately recognising the voice and glanced over her shoulder as Gohan and Kibito finally caught up with them. Just as promised it looked like Kibito had restored his power, Gohan looked incredibly healthy and surprisingly upbeat considering the ordeal he'd just been put through.
"It looks like we've got our work cut out for us again Gohan," Goku smiled at his son as he came up alongside his father.
"I know," Gohan nodded seemingly just as interested as his father.
"How're you feeling?" Corset asked, knowing the answer already but wanting to ask it anyway. She had to confirm he was mentally alright and not scarred or shaken by the experience he'd just gone through.
"I'm as good as new thanks to Kibito," Gohan responded goofily flexing both his arms and giving off a goofy grin.
Corset smiled and looked away, suddenly feeling a wave of concern and relief overwhelming her. Perhaps she'd been the one to take more mental scarring from the sight of seeing him in pain than he had. She forced her emotions to behave and reined herself in, simply muttering "thank goodness" quietly to herself.