Chapter 094 – Faded Hope

The cool air slowly drifted across her cheeks brushing strands of hair lightly across her skin. She lay amongst the rubble of whatever she'd last hit – or what she assumed she'd last hit; who knew what else she'd struck after she'd lost consciousness. Her senses came and went; from all the confusion and cluelessness she soon came to the conclusion she was alone. It was quiet around her... too quiet.

Where were the others? Were they alright? Had Buu hurt them?

Corset's eyes gradually opened, she struggled to widen them enough to see properly but her consciousness broke through the bouts of uncertainty and exhaustion. She was battered and bruised but still felt very much alive. Her body throbbed, limbs felt as if they were made of stone and almost impossible to move. Maybe reluctant was a better word for it. Rubble sat on top of her weighing down on her heavily, adding to the lessening chance of her being able to break free. For a while she lay there drifting back and forth into thoughts and reality. Her senses were out of touch with the real world enough for her not to be able to sense anyone properly; it all felt blurry and indistinguishable.

The boys.

She had to get up and fight to buy her little brother and Goten some time. The two were hurriedly training inside the Room of Spirit and Time and would not be ready for Buu! Her mind willed her body onwards. She wasn't sure how she managed it but somehow Corset rose to her feet, stumbling due to lack of energy and balance as well as the unstable rubble under her feet. It felt like a dream as her body twisted and turned through the rubble, somehow finding its second wind and finding its way free. She had to give herself credit; she'd assumed she'd be stuck to the floor but apparently not.

"Corset!"

The cry had come from somewhere up ahead and was muffled to her ears. Corset began to wander forwards, tripping over her own feet. Her arms reacted on instinct as she threw them before her, landing on her hands and knees in a determined bid to stay mobile and conscious. The sound of several footsteps started to echo closer and closer to her. She couldn't tell what direction they were coming from, her thoughts were starting to take over from her senses once more and she was struck with another bout of uncertainty of what was real and what was her thoughts.

"There she is!"

Corset couldn't find the energy to look up; it took more or less everything to keep herself this far off the ground! She saw some feet out of the corner of her eye.

"Try to relax; I'll heal you right up." Dende knelt down beside her. Corset resigned herself to her body's wishes; her arms buckled from underneath her, she hit the ground and lay there unmoving save to breathe. Her body was exhausted.

"Corset!" She recognised this voice. It was her mother.

"... Mama... it's ok..." Corset mumbled; she had to relax and let Dende do his job. She was in no position to protest and felt as if she was going to pass out. The strange feeling began to wash over her, filling her with a vitalising energy and refreshing her body in a pale green light. After a moment the feeling vanished. The pain vanished. The need to rest vanished. Corset rose to her feet and wiped her brow, "Thanks Dende; I dunno what I'd do without yo..." Her head spun around worried as she scanned the scene before her. "Where's Buu?" She asked alarmed to see the Majin was not present. The palace around her lay in a heap of rubble; one of the side walls had collapsed from her fight and now lay amongst her, the cause of all the rubble that had fallen upon her.

"Piccolo took him to the boys," Dende answered frowning slightly. "He took the long route to give them more time to prepare."

Corset growled in annoyance and shame. She hadn't been able to do what she'd wanted, she hadn't been able to hold Buu off. She hadn't even been able to last the full half an hour as she'd tried so hard to do. What's more she'd suffered a defeat in front of people who were depending on her. Feeling she'd let them down and scared them made her feel ashamed, especially since her mother had been watching. One of their hopes had been defeated; now it was up to Gotenks to restore confidence. That was a thought that did not sit well with Corset. The boy was far too unpredictable and overconfident.

"Are you sure you're alright? Dende did finish healing you properly, didn't he?" Bulma asked dotingly, closely examining her daughter.

"Dende did an awesome job as usual; I feel fine, Mama," Corset replied trying to calm her mother down, feeling a little uncomfortable with her checking her over.

"How could you fight that monster? I was worried about you!" Bulma protested, a small glint of moisture forming in her eyes. "You should have stopped when you were down; you gave the boys more time than they were going to be given anyway! You're so stubborn!"

Corset couldn't help but smile, "Sorry about that... I wasn't just doing it for Trunks and Goten though. I wanted to see how I compared to him; we'd both changed since the last time we fought. I guess I got carried away in the moment."

Bulma looked at her daughter, smiling and closing her eyes in a small shake of her head. "... I know you have a lot of influence from your dad, Piccolo and Goku but just remember there are people who'd rather you stayed alive."

"Sorry Mama," Corset apologised. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

As the trio wandered down the halls back to the courtyard, Corset consumed herself in her thoughts once more. Piccolo had taken Buu into the Room of Spirit and Time from the feel of things; she couldn't sense the boys, Piccolo, or Buu's ki signals. That didn't sit too well in her either but hopefully that meant Piccolo had a plan.

Suddenly there was a terrific shudder, shaking the whole lookout.

"What was that?" Bulma screamed startled. They were quickly joined by most of the others who came rushing into the main entrance despite the tremors shaking the floor below them.

"The room has been sealed off!" Mr Popo cried.

"What? How?" Corset demanded frenetically, almost grabbing hold of the guardian aide. Her little brother was inside that room!

"Piccolo must have destroyed it," Master Roshi spoke diligently, a hint of graveness in his voice. "Buu must have been too much for the boys, giving Piccolo no choice but to destroy the only way back into this dimension."

"What about Goten and Trunks?" Bulma demanded.

Corset swallowed down a stubborn lump in her throat and looked down; she already knew the answer to that. Buu had either killed them or was going to. That was her little brother in there, now trapped with Buu. She hated it; the poor boy was only eight years old; Goten was seven. They shouldn't have been forced into this situation by Piccolo – she could have joined the fight with Gotenks and the two could have tried to have taken Buu on together!

"Are you even hearing what you're saying?" Bulma was yelling, "You're saying they'll either be murdered by their own mentor or by that monster? They're just children; death is terrifying to them! They shouldn't have been relied on to beat Buu! I hope you're all ashamed!" The fury was evident as she tutted and turned on her heels, tightly folding her arms in bitterness and sorrow.

"... We can still bring them back to life with the Dragonballs," Krillin spoke meekly, his suggestion did not make the blue-haired heiress turn back to face them. "...I'm sorry Bulma."

Corset placed a supportive hand on her mother's shoulder; Bulma breathing out a disheartened sigh and placing her hand on her daughter's.

"Trunks helped to save the world from Buu," Corset mumbled. "If we can hurry and gather the Dragonballs, maybe we can wish Trunks, Goten and Piccolo back to this dimension. I know it's a long shot but there's a chance they may still be alive; we can just wish them across the dimensions back to us."

"Be realistic; a minute outside is six hours inside," Master Roshi frowned grimly, "I doubt Buu will leave them alive for that long..."

Corset glanced down to the floor and clamped her eyes shut. It was slowly sinking in that her brother was most likely dead, stirring emotions within her. She didn't want to believe it, she couldn't! She was his big sister, she should have been the one to have died fighting Buu whilst he lived, not the other way around! What kind of big sister was she? She'd failed to protect her younger brother from that monster and now it was too late.

Suddenly the lookout shuddered again; Corset's eyes shooting open as she stood baffled by the strange energy she could feel.

"What was that sound?" Krillin asked wearily.

Unsure what was going on, she and Krillin dashed outside leaving the others to watch whilst keeping hidden. Neither warrior liked what they were sensing.

What was before them left the two of them speechless: a strange hole hovered in the air. It lay suspended in the air before them. Corset had never seen anything like it; whatever it was on the other side was pure white.

Something shot out; something long and pink.

"NO!" Corset gasped loudly; that easily recognisable ki bolting straight into her mind. 'Buu!'

His body spun and twisted, warped somehow. It struck the ground, forming into a puddle of goo, slowly moving across the ground as the hole closed.

"What is that?" Bulma asked nervously from the sidelines.

"It's Buu!" Yamcha gasped.

The puddle continued to crawl across the ground, spewing over and rippling as Buu started to form back into his physical self.

"Gross," Videl was heard groaning with disgust.

Buu's head popped out of the puddle. Slowly his body rose and grew, quickly towering before the shaken group. None of those remaining knew what to say or do as the Majin appeared before them, cricking his neck several times as his eyes fell upon them.

'Piccolo; what happened?' Corset glared at Buu, baffled as to why he was standing before them. 'How is it possible Buu got out alive? What happened in there?'

Buu smiled eagerly, seemingly amused by his foes' looks of shock.

"You bully! What have you done with Trunks and Goten?" Bulma bellowed.

"Mama, step back!" Corset ordered, taking a couple of steps forward. She was the only one left. Piccolo was gone; Trunks and Goten were gone. Yamcha didn't fight; Krillin and Eighteen were in no shape to fight a monster of this magnitude. Not even Corset could beat Buu; that had already been painfully proven.

"No more talk; I've heard too much of that!" Buu chuckled. "How about we eat? What shall it be... chocolate! What kind...?"

Corset took another step forwards about to futilely charge the Majin once again; something grabbed hold of the back of her shirt. Bewildered she glanced over her shoulder.

Krillin had grabbed her. The short warrior had a look of grave concern upon his face but a flicker of determination lay amongst the greater worry etched across his face. "...Hold on a minute, I might just have a plan." He whispered quietly so as Buu would not hear.

"Milk chocolate, filled with cherries... no... How about dark...?" Buu paid no mind to the others as he listed off the kinds of foods he could think of, uttering over which kind he was going to turn the group into.

"What are you thinking?" Corset asked quietly as Buu continued to ramble on. "We can't beat Buu."

"Yeah... I know," Krillin nodded. "... The only one who now has a chance is you, Corset."

Corset frowned unconvinced as the battle she'd just scraped out alive from popped back into her head. "... Even with Super Saiyan Two, I can't beat him. I know escaping that last battle would also have brought my power level up but even so, I don't think it'll be enough."

Krillin seemed a little infuriated by her lack of willingness. "Are you saying you're just gonna stand here and let Buu kill everyone we care about?"

"No." Corset hissed.

"Then let's give it one last shot, even if the result will end the same."

"... Right, I'm in," Corset nodded. Krillin was right. She would never forgive herself if she let everyone die without even trying. She was a warrior; her father had trained her to be a Saiyan warrior. She had her pride as a fighter but she also cared enough to want to sacrifice herself for her friends and mother if it meant she could buy them some time. No one else was here to help them; this monster had killed them all but at least they'd died fighting rather than fleeing. She wasn't about to let them down.

As Krillin instructed Eighteen to get everyone inside the palace, Corset psyched herself up. She had to do this; she had to somehow find a way to beat him! She was glad Krillin was here; even if he was one of the weaker fighters knowing she had help made her feel calmer. Krillin had been like an uncle to her; he'd fought and protected her during the fights with the Saiyans and on Namek. It had been a while since they'd gone into battle together so it felt nostalgic.

"Krillin!" Eighteen screamed.

"GO!"

Corset bolted forwards alongside the veteran warrior, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she transformed into a Super Saiyan Two, charging Buu head-on. This was it, this was potentially it and she was going to go down swinging. Both fighters closed in on Buu who'd noticed them but had chosen to stay standing. Krillin flipping over Buu, rebounding off the floor and diving forwards with one fist drawn back ready to be fired out.

The pink monster dodged Krillin with ease; Corset's eyes and reflexes far sharper than those of the human fighter's. Buu had lined both of them up before him. Antenna shot forwards; Corset dived to the side as a bolt of energy burst free. Krillin was swallowed up in the bright pink light.

"Krillin!" Corset shrieked.

Where Krillin had been was now a bar of dark chocolate, falling and hitting the ground with a light bounce. Buu landed metres from him, a grin on his face as he eyed the bar up feverishly.

Corset clenched her fists, nails digging into her flesh, her body trembling as she tried to remain composed and control herself. Buu's antenna extended down to the ground, picking the chocolate from the floor, an eager anticipation upon his face.

"Put him down!" Corset screamed furiously. She pushed off the tiled floor at Buu, desperate to get Krillin free. Krillin was the last main fighter; she didn't want to lose him! Her fist connected with Buu's cheek, knocking him back through the air. The chocolate was dropped; the antenna wrapping itself around Corset's wrist instead and dragging her along with him. Corset's body was under strain from the force of which she was being thrown, she held on for the right moment, determined to get it spot-on. For Piccolo, for her brother and Goten, for Krillin; she was going to give it her all against Buu.

Buu's tentacle unwrapped as he readied his toss – Corset's fingers clasped the end of the antenna as tightly as they could. With all her might she brought her hand down, nullifying the force on her own body and sending it straight back to Buu. The monster was thrown down in front of her, shooting towards the ground like a meteorite.

She wasn't finished yet. Corset brought both her hands above her head, charging her ki higher and higher. The fighter began an onslaught of energy blasts, continuing to fire off attack after attack. Her blasts were striking the ground far below, dust visible even from this height. She could sense Buu's ki falling and kept on going, determined to hurt him as much as she could.

She hadn't noticed the small clouds of smoke rising around her.

Up above, the cloud began to form, taking shape into an almost humanoid form. Slowly but surely Buu was coming back.

Corset was too busy to notice Buu; her rage had gotten to her; she was so determined to make Buu pay, to make him hurt for what he'd done to her little brother. Trunks was gone; her little brother was gone. She'd promised her father she'd protect him and her mother; she hadn't been able to keep her promise because of Buu! How had it come down to this? None of this was right. Everyone was dying.

A sharp blow to her head knocked everything out of her mind; Corset found herself tumbling forwards-

Pain shot through her stomach; Corset's scream cut off as the oxygen was forced from her lungs. Something was rapidly getting hotter. Her vision was filled with pink light, her voice loud as Buu's blast pushed her through the air; body burning and seared under the intense heat. The beam exploded, rocking all her senses. She was barely able to tell she was falling, unsure at times of what direction she was heading in or if she was even moving.

Buu wasn't finished. A tentacle wrapped around her throat, choking her of much needed air. Corset struggled but to no avail, barely able to make any noise as Buu reined her back in. A sharp strike to her face knocked her further back through the air, caught and reined back in. Buu continued to punch and kick the suffocating girl; Corset's vision fading with every second she was deprived of air, every hit Buu dealt whittled at her energy.

With a large swing, Buu tossed Corset clean out of the sky. She began to freefall, barely conscious. What was going on? How had it come down to this? Corset didn't understand... It never ended out like this. Every time a villain had appeared someone had come along to beat them. No one was here but her; she was losing. She was the last one, the only one left. Was it her? Was it because it was her here and not Goku or Gohan that the world was doomed?

She noticed a bolt of pink light shooting towards her, still falling through the sky.

No. It couldn't end this way.

It dawned on her what that light was. She couldn't let that beam hit her; if it did the entire universe was done for. She had to keep fighting, she had to survive; the universe needed her alive! The beam closed in on her; body not changing direction, not responding to her mind's urgent demands.

She couldn't dodge.

Corset's eyes widened and she screamed.