Chapter 096 – Buu's Plan
The group had retreated to a greener, leafier spot; a hill overlooking a farmer's fields was close enough to keep the damaged area on the horizon for them to observe.
"...You don't think he's gone?" Piccolo asked after a while.
"Not a chance," Gohan shook his head.
"B-But we saw him blow up!" Trunks cried baffled. "He was trying to take you with him."
"No, if that's what he was trying to do then he'd have destroyed the whole Earth," Gohan answered.
Corset frowned and glanced over to the lowly spot they'd been standing in seconds ago. "...I agree; I don't think he's dead but I can't see what he'll gain from all this. Blowing himself up just to escape fighting you? What else can he do?"
"Let's use our heads; could Buu have escaped? I can't sense his ki." Piccolo spoke.
"He's masking it," Gohan replied.
"Is he going to ambush us?" Goten gasped, glancing around vigilantly.
"I'm not sure... but he's gotta be plotting something," Gohan took a step forward and continued to look over to the smoke on the horizon.
'What would Buu gain? He's not gonna change anything...' Corset pondered, folding her arms and glancing down. He could be out there anywhere, suppressing his ki and moving about. Maybe Goten was right, perhaps he would ambush them. Corset wasn't so sure; it didn't seem like something Buu would do from all the fights she'd had with him. He had to be hiding his ki for a reason; perhaps he was trying to come up with a plan.
"Who cares anyway?" Trunks grinned confidently. "Gohan can beat him. I'll bet he's as strong as our Super Gotenks!"
"Stronger!" Goten exclaimed.
"... Maybe a little..."
Corset stepped forwards until she was level with Gohan, glancing up at him with a look of interest and slight sorrow.
"What's up?" Gohan asked, catching the look upon her face.
Corset wasn't entirely sure what to say to him; all she'd wanted to do was just to look at him, to confirm this really was Gohan and that he really was alive. It had torn her apart seeing him be thrown into the reaches of space on the receiving end of that ki blast. The memory was as painful as ever and she winced a little. "... It's like you're back from the dead." She mumbled. "I thought Buu had killed you when I saw you disappear."
"... I thought I was dead," Gohan nodded frowning. "Sorry about that. Kaioshin and Kibito saved me; they said I was hanging on by a thread. Buu must have really done a number on me..."
Corset saw the memory play back in her mind, attempting to shake it from her mind she clamped her eyes shut. Now was not the time. Her best friend had not died; he was alive and well and standing next to her. "... At least you're here now." She attempted a smile and perked up a little. "By the way, the strength and speed you have is incredible. You look different too. I can see slight changes around your face and you look so much more buffed up... what's up with that?"
"Yes, what actually happened?" Piccolo butted in stepping forward alongside the two teenagers, Goten and Trunks joining them.
Gohan began to explain to her and the others the training he'd gone through on Kaioshin's planet through mastering the Z-sword and the release of the Elder Kaioshin who had released his full potential.
"... So this elder Kaioshin was able to give you all this power?" Piccolo mumbled intrigued. "What an amazing old guy."
"This is all your hidden power unleashed?" Corset gawked. "... Wow... You're pretty badass, you know? If you had this kind of power inside of you all along it would have been so easy to beat Babidi and Buu a couple of days ago!"
"Who's got the Dragonball Radar?" Gohan asked changing the subject whilst the thought was still fresh in his mind.
"Well I had it but I gave it to Piccolo," Trunks replied glancing up to the towering warrior.
"I have it with me..." Piccolo muttered grimly, "... but what does it matter? Without Dende the Dragonballs are gone."
"Dende's not dead," Corset answered nonchalantly. "He's alive; I left him somewhere because I wanted to help you guys."
"H-He's what?" Piccolo gasped.
"I knew I could sense his ki," Gohan smiled. "Let's go track him down."
The group took to the skies, Corset leading them back to where she and Dende had been hiding, not that she really needed to but having to because of how faint Dende's life force was. Goten and Trunks had been ordered to fly behind the group in case of an attack and were muttering to themselves; the three older warriors not paying too much attention to their griping. As they flew over the barren wasteland, Gohan spotted something small moving below.
"Hey look."
"At what?" Corset asked, glancing down at the scenery below scanning as quickly as she could. "... I can't see anything..."
"A human," Piccolo had spotted it.
"... Isn't that Mr Satan?" Trunks asked.
"Oh, I see him now!" Corset gasped spotting the two mounds moving slowly across the desert. "... I still don't get why he's still alive? I thought Buu killed everyone with that attack – except for him and apparently Tenshinhan and Chaozu... I just don't get what's so great about him?"
"He's the only human who was ever kind to Buu, I suspect that maybe the reasoning," Piccolo suggested.
"We're not gonna help him, are we? He's such a liar! We should leave him; he'll die soon enough." Trunks whined unimpressed and unsympathetic towards the overheating man.
"... We'll help him," Piccolo decided, "amongst all that showboating and gloating there is a decent man inside. He tried to save the Earth in his own way..."
"Let's bring him with us then," Gohan agreed.
'I dunno... How much help is he really gonna be?' Corset crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as Piccolo shot down towards the human, not entirely sure on how taking this man along for the ride was going to make much of a difference. At the very least Dende could heal him up if he needed it. The human was given quite a start as he stopped and looked up in their direction, suddenly flippantly screaming and throwing his limbs out as Piccolo snatched him up and took to the skies; Goten following suit and grabbing the puppy into his arms.
"... Corset?"
Corset's attention was snatched away as Gohan's voice interrupted, causing her to fluster a little, "Huh? W-What?" She spluttered.
"Where's Dende?" Gohan asked. "Is he far from here?"
"Oh. He's not too far." Corset shook her head.
The group continued to fly on, Mr Satan and a puppy now in tow. Corset glanced over her shoulder, still unconvinced bringing Mr Satan along was a good idea. If Buu found them surely he'd get in the way or get himself killed? The 'Earth's greatest hero' seemed intrigued by both her and Gohan; Corset quickly turning to face ahead again so he didn't get a full glimpse of her face. Even if there were no cameras around, she wondered if he'd somehow recognise her from the tournament despite her disguise.
"H-Hey, it's you! You're Videl's friends!" Mr Satan spluttered recognising Gohan at the very least.
"Hi," Gohan responded with a wave.
"I don't understand..." Piccolo spoke out cutting short the greetings. "... How did you and Dende manage to escape?"
"Um... Well Krillin and I tried to fight Buu," Corset replied, "It didn't go so well. Buu managed to turn Krillin into chocolate. I thought I was doing ok against him but he still beat me and sent me down towards Earth. I thought I was gonna die; I had one of his candy-chocolate turning beams inches from me! My guess is I managed to get a barrier up before the attack hit me... and somehow I survived."
"What about Dende? Surely Buu would have killed you both?" Piccolo grumbled.
"No, Dende's fine," Corset replied. "I should know; he healed me! I'm not sure how he escaped though; I wasn't with him."
"Surely Buu had enough time to escape from the chamber and hunt you both down? It doesn't make sense!" Piccolo was perplexed.
"Dad said you were fighting inside the Room of Spirit and Time. A year in there is a day outside right?" Gohan asked. "Surely what could have felt like hours to you and Gotenks would have been a couple of minutes outside?"
"You weren't in there for very long," Corset nodded in agreement. "I give it half a minute..."
"Of course!" Piccolo cried, clenching his fists in realisation and dropping Mr Satan in the process! "I was too frustrated to think straight! We must have followed Buu by only seconds!"
"Felt more like forever," Corset mumbled quietly, hearing a rapidly quieting scream as Mr Satan plummeted down towards the ground; Trunks bolting down after the falling human and catching him. She struggled to stifle a snort of laughter at Piccolo's lack of awareness. Her attention to her brother down below brought her mind to another matter at hand as the scenery changed from a desolate wasteland to a rocky plain with slight more greenery.
The area they were now in looked very familiar; she was sure she'd flown over this patch on her way towards the others. Her eyes closely scanned the rocky landscape below; he was around here somewhere...
"Dende!" Corset gasped overjoyed as the young Namekian appeared behind a couple of boulders waving up to them. The group landed surrounding the guardian of Earth, Piccolo rushing up and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.
"You escaped, well done!" He praised the young Namekian.
"Mr Popo saved me," Dende frowned, "He said I couldn't die because of the Dragonballs, so he threw me off the edge of the lookout when Buu was turning everyone to chocolate."
"That was good thinking on Mr Popo's part," Piccolo nodded, "The Dragonballs would be void without you and the Earth would remain a ghost planet. Mr Popo thought fast."
"Sorry I took off on you like that," Corset apologised as she approached the smaller Namekian sheepishly, "Look who showed up!" She nudged a thumb over to Gohan.
"Gohan!" Dende gasped smiling. "What a relief. We thought you'd been killed! I wasn't sure who else that was I could sense. It's good to see you're alive."
"Same to you," Gohan smiled back.
"H-Hey... who's the weird-looking kid?"
Corset glanced over her shoulder at Mr Satan.
"Don't call him a kid!" Trunks protested irked. "He's a god!"
Corset smirked as the wacky man struggled to make sense of what her brother had said.
Now that everyone was reunited it was time to formulate a plan, but not before the hard task of having to tell Mr Satan the fate of his daughter at the hands of Majin Buu. Naturally he did not take the news of his daughter's death well.
"WH-WHAT? NO, IT CAN'T BE TRUE! MY SWEET LITTLE VIDEL? MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL CAN'T BE DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE!"
The news hadn't been easy to break and for the first time in her life Corset felt empathetic and terrible for Mr Satan. At the end of the day, regardless of his lying and posing attitude, he'd just lost his daughter. Videl had become a friend over the past month or so despite hers and Corset's rocky start. She knew far more about her and Gohan than any other friend she'd ever made at Orange Star High School so to lose her had been a shock and blow to Corset's wellbeing.
"You!" Mr Satan grabbed hold of Gohan by his shirt much to the fighter's surprise, "Why didn't you save her? What kind of boyfriend are you?"
"I-I wasn't there!" Gohan stuttered stunned ignoring the boyfriend quip or not hearing it.
Corset frowned as it dawned on her. She'd been there when Videl and the others had died. She'd tried to stop Buu but had failed... Wasn't it her that Satan should be asking? She'd tried... Hell, she always tried but it never worked out.
She shook herself. This was no time for such thoughts. She had to stay positive.
"Don't worry sir, she can be revived," Goten smiled.
"What?" Mr Satan grabbed Goten by his shoulders and started violently shaking him back and forth spitting loudly in his face. "What are you talking about? She's gone you little imp! Quit joking around!"
"I-I'm n-n-not j-jok-king!"
"Don't worry Mr Satan, there's a way to bring back Videl and everyone else Buu's killed," Corset stepped forward. "You'll see."
Several audible grunts amongst them along with her own senses kicking in sent a wave of adrenaline through her body. She stared off into the distance, heart pounding in her throat. Buu.
"Buu, he's coming back!" Trunks cried.
"That didn't take very long," Gohan muttered getting to his feet.
"... But why?" Piccolo grunted. "It's only been an hour! What could have possibly changed?"
"I don't like the feeling I'm getting," Corset gulped. "He wouldn't come back unless he had something up his sleeve, right? Gohan totally outclassed him!"
"I'll finish him off this time. You guys stay back so you don't get hurt," Gohan instructed. In a flash he shot forwards, landing on some nearby rocks.
Buu appeared on the horizon, quickly face-to-face with Gohan. The smile on his face unnerved Corset as she watched from the small distance between them. Something about that smile scared her. Surely he had something planned if he was showing his face.
"He's bluffing," Trunks snorted with confidence, placing his fists on his hips. "I'll bet he'll just run away again."
Buu glanced past Gohan over towards those behind him.
"Get over here, runts! You're the ones I want to fight!"
'Goten and Trunks?' Corset gulped nervously. Against Gotenks, this Buu seemed to be able to hold on. Was he planning to lower their numbers? What would that matter; Gohan would still beat him! What was he thinking?
"What's he thinking?" Piccolo uttered worried.
"Fight with us?" Goten repeated shocked.
"Forget it, you're facing me!" Gohan protested.
"First I'll settle my fight with them, then I fight you!" Buu jeered back.
"What's the point in that? Try going through me first!" Gohan put up his guard determined to fight Buu. He wasn't going to let the monster brush him aside so easily.
'Stand your ground, Gohan,' Corset muttered in her mind, taking a couple of steps forwards and ushering her brother behind her.
"What are you doing?" Trunks protested.
"Stay behind me," Corset ordered. "Neither of you intervene in Gohan's fight."
"Why? We could have beaten him as Gotenks," Trunks pouted. "We were this close to obliterating him!"
Buu glanced over towards the boys again, grinning. "What's wrong midgets? You scared? I knew it all along!"
'Stop it,' Corset bared her teeth. Why was he so intent on taunting the boys into fighting him? There was something bizarre about all of this but she had no clue what it was Buu was getting at. Was it simply because he stood a chance against Gotenks or was there something more intelligent behind the thoughts?
"Us, scared?" Goten growled annoyed and insulted.
"Boys." Corset growled.
"You don't get it do you Buu?" Trunks smirked confidently, "We would have slaughtered you if we hadn't turned back!"
"Then why do you look so nervous?" Buu sniggered.
"Wha? Nervous!" Goten took in a deep breath hunching his shoulders up.
"Ignore him," Corset ordered. "He's trying to provoke you into fighting him but I don't know why."
"He's not smart enough to come up with something like that," Trunks snorted.
"This guy's a nutcase!" Goten smirked. "Come on Trunks, let's straighten him out!"
"Yeah, that's the last load of crap he'll talk!" Trunks sniggered sounding a little like his father once again.
"Wait!" Piccolo barked, sounding sterner than Corset had. "Something's up... Why would he want to fight you and not Gohan?"
"Exactly," Corset agreed. "Use your heads-"
"Oh stop being so paranoid!" Trunks butted in agitated. "What could he be planning exactly? Buu's as dumb as a sponge!"
"No he's not!" Corset snapped. "Don't underestimate him!"
Their pleas were falling on deaf ears. "It's been enough time for us to fuse again!" Trunks muttered to his fusion partner.
"Yeah, let's turn into Super Gotenks right outta the gate!" Goten agreed.
The boys started the fusion dance, pulling it off perfectly and without any problems. Corset watched with her heart in her throat as Gotenks made an appearance, shocking her when she realised he was a Super Saiyan Three! It confirmed her suspicions when she'd sensed the fight between Gotenks and Buu earlier; how the heck had he managed to achieve it?
"Welcome back the grim reaper of justice – Super Gotenks!" The fused warrior showed the v-sign, grinning with an overabundance of confidence. In a jolt of light and a blast of air he now stood beside Gohan.
'He's fast... and powerful... but Buu doesn't seem bothered,' Corset turned her attention to the towering pink manifestation of evil. He seemed very pleased to see Gotenks for some reason. What was he planning?
"Let me take care of this Gohan; take a back seat or something!" Gotenks began to stretch his muscles.
Gohan seemed reluctant but a part of him was intrigued to see what Gotenks could do. He'd missed the fight his father had watched while he was forced to sit and wait for the elder Kaioshin to unlock his power, so the result of fusion was still something vague and unknown to him."Alright... but be careful..." He nodded.
"Come on!" Buu jeered.
"Enjoy that certainty while you can Buu," Gotenks gloated, "this time you're finished!"
A shadow darted over the unsuspecting fused warrior; Corset standing some ways back saw it just before Gotenks and Gohan were aware of it but it was already too late for her to even call out. A large pink blob suddenly jumped out through the cracks in the rocks behind Gotenks. She gasped in horror as the strange apparition engulfed the fused warrior. Another flash of pink to her right made her wince back with horror causing her to jump to the side, realising it had engulfed Piccolo instead; both warriors now struggling to free themselves.
"Piccolo!" Dende gasped.
"What is that?" Corset cried, frantically looking around in case one went for her.
"What are you doing?" Gohan demanded furiously of Buu who stood with an ecstatic grin on his face.
With a come-hither motion of one finger, Buu called the two large blobs forwards, each slapping into him and rejoining his body. Buu's entire body, now looking like a rough mould, began to change. His ki shot through the roof as both warriors were absorbed.
Corset watched alongside Gohan, Dende and Mr Satan, horrified as a new Buu finally formed.
Both her brother and mentor had been taken.
'I warned them!' Corset clenched her fists, biting her tongue. As much as she wanted to right now she knew if she charged in, Buu would crush her. He was far too strong. Way too strong for his own good. Whatever advantage Gohan held over the Majin was now in question.
"What do you think, Gohan?" The newly formed Buu's voice was a little more humane; he appeared a little more human-looking and had even grown a nose though he still retained his Majin physique. His clothes had changed; the Metamorian-style vest Gotenks wore was now worn by Buu. "... A splendid success for me, and an honour for you! For you witness the birth of the most powerful Majin of all time – past, present and future!"
"You monster!" Gohan snarled as the tall Majin jumped off his rock, now on level ground with the Saiyan-human hybrid. "You absorbed both of them!" Gohan spat disgusted and remorsefully.
"It's your fault... I was supposed to be the strongest!" Buu retorted. "I began to form this plan when I first sensed your presence far from Earth and realised you might prove to be stronger than I. I thought if I were to absorb Super Gotenks, I should surely be able to retain my title no matter who would appear! Fortunately the brat mentioned he had limited time. Not wanting him to change back the moment I absorbed him, I had to wait for the next opportunity. I had to stall for an hour until the brat would reappear."
"So that's what all that was about?" Gohan raised an eyebrow, a smile coming to his face. "Well you may have sucked up some speaking skills from Piccolo but you're still not that smart! If you wanted to be the strongest, why didn't you absorb me?"
Buu chuckled, "Think about it. What fun is being the strongest without anyone to fight? I kept you around to use as a means to test out my strength."
"... What about Corset?" Gohan asked taking a quick glance over to the fighter behind him. "Why didn't you absorb her?"
"H-Hey!" Corset spluttered nervously taking a step back. "Don't give him ideas!"
Buu snorted, glancing quickly at Corset which caused her to shudder, before turning back to Gohan, "I had no use for her. I wanted Piccolo's brains; it was a toss-up between her and Gotenks. Super Gotenks was stronger. I'll kill her when I'm done with you. As the former Buu declared; I'll kill you and enjoy it!"