Chapter 097 – Gohan's Desperate Fight
The wind howled as it travelled across the barren rocky wasteland, dragging loose fragments of dust along with it. The silence was eerie as the revelation which had just played out began to sink in. Piccolo and Gotenks had both been lost, both been taken against their will by the newly transformed Majin monster. His reasoning sounded reasonably logical of such a degree neither Gohan nor Corset thought Buu was capable of. Even his deliberate avoidance of taking Gohan along with the other two made sense considering his persona; what use was newly acquired power if there was no one to use it against? He was determined to destroy the planet but first he would destroy his opponents. Now only Dende, Mr Satan, Gohan and Corset remained to fight him; they – alongside Tenshinhan, Chaozu and Mr Satan's puppy – were the only native souls left on the planet and it was unlikely they would be able to protect it.
"Unfortunately I'll have to be quick," Buu smiled as he gathered himself into a defensive stance, "The Super Gotenks in me is temporary."
"Smart thinking; I guess that's the Piccolo in you," Gohan put up his guard mimicking his enemy's actions.
Corset jumped down the small ledge she'd been perched on and stood in front of Dende and Mr Satan protectively though if it came to it, she knew there was little she could do against Buu.
"Wh-What happened to that little runt and the big, green guy? Where'd they go?" Mr Satan spluttered bewildered and freaked out.
"Buu absorbed them," Corset answered exasperated, already annoyed by the man's presence. "Keep quiet so Gohan can concentrate."
Gohan's leg twitched; he shot for Buu ready to attack. The rematch was on.
Things weren't going well for Gohan. Buu's speed and power had greatly increased thanks to Piccolo and Gotenks' being absorbed. Gohan had lost the advantage he'd held and seemed to be more on the defensive than ever. Corset watched from the sidelines, anxious to join in and help Gohan but smart enough to know she was of no use now. Buu was just too strong for Gohan, let alone her. With every attempt Gohan made, Buu out-did him, stopping every attack Gohan had. Wrapping his antenna around Gohan's neck, he pulled him in, smashing one fist clean into Gohan's face and sending him shooting off uncontrollably. Buu's free hand was stretched out as he fired off an energy attack.
Gohan's feet slammed heavily into a bolder somehow managing to land rather than collide with it. The fighter was too busy reeling from the pain in his cheek to notice the oncoming attack.
"GOHAN!" Dende bellowed desperately.
The teenage boy barely avoided Buu's attack as the blast exploded as it hit the boulder, rocking the ground violently. Corset dug her fingers into the rocky walls surrounding her, Dende and Mr Satan in an attempt to stay anchored, the winds howling loudly around them as the deafening roar echoed and reverberated off the closely cut rocks. The entire canyon was filled with rubble and dust.
Both Buu and Gohan temporarily vanished from sight; Corset finally caught sight of Gohan as he bolted up into the air... or had he been kicked into the air? Several hollow energy discs followed him up; Corset had never seen anything like them. They levelled with Gohan who now seemed to be caught in the middle of each hoop of energy...
Suddenly Gohan was trapped; the three hoops suddenly compressing around his arms and legs, unable to move his limbs.
"That's bad!" Corset gasped. "Gohan, break free! You can do it!"
Buu appeared before the struggling fighter and started to charge up a Kamehameha.
'He can't survive that!' Corset clenched her fists in frustration.
Then Gohan screamed, his ki fluctuating as Buu fired off the Kamehameha straight for the trapped warrior. In a desperate burst of ki, Gohan suddenly broke loose from his confinements, barely dodging the Kamehameha as it shot past him, scooting down towards the ground.
Corset breathed a small sigh of relief, although in retrospect there wasn't much to be relieved about. Buu was still alive and far superior to this new Gohan who now seemed to be taking a small breather. The fighting quickly continued, Buu dodging everything Gohan dished out and providing him a beating of his own. One strike to his waist sent Gohan crashing into the rocky rubble below with a large thud, causing the ground to shudder at their feet.
"... Dende," Corset mumbled eyes fixed on the spot where Gohan'd disappeared under the rocks obscuring her view. She sounded almost as if she were in a trance. "... You're gonna need to jump in and help Gohan in a minute. Heal him, ok?"
"What are you planning?" Dende asked anxiously, afraid he already knew the answer to the question but needing to confirm it. "You know Buu will be expecting you to rush in, right? He's absorbed Piccolo; he's already playing mind-games with Gohan and taunting him. He'll do exactly the same to you if you rush in."
"... Wait... how do you know what Buu's saying to Gohan?" Corset asked baffled.
"Namekians have an acute sense of hearing," Dende replied nonchalantly as if the fact was something he'd expected her to know.
A violent shudder of the ground interrupted the conversation, Dende and Mr Satan squatting down close to the ground as they both cowered under Buu's immense strength. Corset's head spun around to see Buu slap an oncoming energy beam back down to the ground from the hole it had emerged from.
It felt as if the whole planet was being ripped apart under her feet as the attack erupted below the surface! A large chunk of Gohan's ki was eliminated in the same instant the attack exploded; no doubt he'd been caught in the explosion. The Majin vanished below ground...
Several shockwaves then shook the planet; Corset sensing Gohan's ki plummet with every strike. '... Hang in there Gohan...' She pleaded in her mind despite sensing every attack whittling down his ki.
"H-Hey... that kid's getting pummelled," Mr Satan spoke out to no one in particular.
"Mr Satan, take the dog and run," Dende advised. "You'll be much safer if you leave."
"He's right, you'd better get somewhere safe," Corset agreed – anything to get rid of this lug of hot air!
Mr Satan smirked confidently which only unnerved the two beside him. "Don't worry about me..." He reached into his shirt and retrieved a gun, cocking it and pointing it down towards the hole Buu had vanished into. "I've got protection and as soon as Majin Buu pops his rear outta that hole, I'm gonna fill him with lead!"
Corset stared disheartened at the man. "... You seriously have no clue..." She sighed. So be it, if the man was going to die then there was not much else she could do. Rather she felt it too tiring to have to deal with saving the fool from his own impending doom; he'd only serve to get in the way.
The feel of energy caught her attention; her head whirled around to see Gohan shoot out from amongst a pile of rocks, falling towards the ground. "Dende!" She yelled urgently.
"Got it!" Dende bolted over towards Gohan; Corset starting to gather up energy into the palm of her hand, waiting for Buu to emerge from the hole or anywhere else.
The Majin shot free from the ground.
With a bellow, Corset fired off a ki blast aimed straight for the monster. The beam shot up towards Buu who spotted it and easily dodged the attack, attention turning to Corset. With the great distance between the two of them, Corset couldn't make out what Buu was saying despite seeing his mouth move. She didn't really care; as long as she could buy enough time for Dende to heal Gohan! Unfortunately Buu's attention quickly turned over to the others; Dende dashing back over towards Corset and Mr Satan.
"H-Hey, go hide!" Corset shoed the Namekian away from her half frantic about him being discovered, the other half worried she was now in the line of fire if the Namekian had indeed been spotted! "Don't let Buu see you!" She hissed flinching at the sound of a large crack as a kiai from Buu suddenly burst free, striking Gohan who was a lot closer to the villain than any of the others. He'd been forced to defend himself, arms covering his face as he withstood the shockwave.
Opening her eyes and fixing them back on Buu sent a chill down Corset's spine as she realised he was staring dead-on at them. Hurriedly she rushed away from Dende and Mr Satan, "Stay there!" She ordered, hopping over to an area relatively far from the others. She didn't want to get the other two involved if Buu was turning his attention back to her. To her confusion Buu wasn't aiming his now outstretched arm for her; he seemed indifferent to her movement and instead pointed a finger down for the others.
'... He was going for Dende!' Corset realised. It was the battle on Namek all over again. "Dende MOVE!"
The beam was fired; Corset bolted forwards horrified she wouldn't make it in time. Dende seemed paralysed with fear whilst Mr Satan had started to fire off futile rounds at the attack-
The beam disintegrated metres from its target. The culprit of the negating attack went unknown for the moment as Corset was far too concerned with reaching Dende and Mr Satan before Buu could try it again. She landed with a heavy landing on her feet inches from Dende anxious to make sure he was alright. "You ok?" She asked glancing him over.
"Y-Yeah," Dende nodded shaken. "Wh-what just happened?"
Corset finally paid mind to the cause of the stop of Buu's attack and glanced over, suddenly sensing another energy source amongst them. She gasped in shock when she realised who had just saved Dende and the unknowing Mr Satan.
"T-Tenshinhan!" Gohan cried in disbelief.
"It's Tenshinhan," Corset was surprised to see him too! She hadn't seen nor heard from the veteran fighter since the Cell Games seven years ago. The veteran warrior looked the same as ever though his clothing had changed much since the last she saw him. Instead of the trademark green uniform he'd bore ever since she'd first laid eyes on him, he wore a large white cloth tossed over one arm with blue training clothes underneath not too dissimilar to Goku's. A white sleeved shirt was hidden underneath the blue and cloak.
"So... you are Son Gohan? I can't believe my eyes..." Tenshinhan smiled at the now teenaged Gohan, "... You've changed, though not as much as Buu I'm afraid."
Corset was pleased to see the warrior though she couldn't help but feel he'd had a lucky shot. Now that Buu knew of his existence he would not be providing them with much support, despite the large power-up he'd clearly had. It was a bitter-sweet moment but at least she knew they were all in this together.
Buu's ki began to rise. Corset turned away from Tenshinhan as soon as she'd become aware of the pink tint to the rocks in front of her, horrified to see and sense the large mass of energy he held above his head.
None of them could fend off that attack.
"I think I'll just destroy the whole planet!" Buu declared. "Try to stop this!"
"What kind of taunt is that? None of us can damn well stop that!" Corset snapped frustrated. The taunt had been uncalled for; nothing she could do would stop that energy ball from detonating once it hit the ground; she wouldn't be able to deflect it back from whence it came. Gohan's abilities was a little more uncertain, perhaps he could stall for time but it'd already been made clear to them he could only last so long against this Buu.
"I'm sorry Buu, I'll have to kill you! Forgive me!" Mr Satan had once again pointed his gun at the monster and started to fire off shots.
"Everyone say so long!" Buu jeered.
Corset clenched her fists in anticipation, starting to gather energy into her hands despite knowing how futile it would be. She wouldn't give up, she refused to stay standing and let this happen. She was a fighter until the end, that was how she saw herself and she wouldn't go to the otherworld once again disappointed in herself.
Buu suddenly split in half. The energy he'd been gathering was pushed from his control, sent through the sky and up towards space. Amongst all the confusion Corset noticed a Kienzan-type disc shooting ahead of Buu's body, baffling her. Krillin? No, it couldn't have been. She did not expect to see the man responsible for the attack, jaw dropping in disbelief, heart leaping with hope.
"D-Dad!" Gohan cried startled.
Buu's lower half crashed to the ground inches behind where Tenshinhan stood.
Corset stared up into the sky, shocked at whom she saw behind Buu's upper-half.
It was Goku!
"H-How?" Gohan asked baffled.
A loud and urgent gasp from her side caught Corset's ear; Mr Satan trembled as he stared up into the sky, gun still pointing for Buu. "I-I shot him in two? I'm sorry Buu, you made me!"
"Idiot; Goku chopped Buu in half with his attack," Corset grunted. "Your measly little gun couldn't reach Buu from here and even if it could, you wouldn't damage him!"
"You wanna talk about infinitely more? Wait until you see what I've got in store for you!" Goku's voice drifted across the wind; from what Corset could see Goku seemed confident and at ease. Several unanswered questions littered her mind. Why had Goku suddenly appeared? Where had his halo gone? What was he even talking about? Movement and a drop in ki drove her questions away; Tenshinhan had just been kicked by Buu's lower half! The topless body floated into the sky, Buu joining his two halves back together again. From what she could sense, Tenshinhan was down for the count.
Buu and Goku continued talking for a minute until finally Goku seemed to peer down towards them.
"Gohan! Catch!"
Goku suddenly tossed something tiny down to Gohan, Corset barely able to see it let alone make out what it was! Gohan didn't catch it; the tiny object shot past him and vanished into the rocky pile behind him.
"Q-Quick!" Goku shouted. "Pick it up! Put it on your right ear! You've gotta fuse with me!"
"R-Right but... where'd it go?" Gohan scrambled around trying to search for the tiny object.
'Fuse?' Corset repeated to herself. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on but it seemed Gohan needed to find this thing fast! Hurriedly she rushed over to where Gohan was searching and started to look for anything out of the ordinary. "... What exactly are we looking for?" She asked.
"I think it was an earring," Gohan replied, tossing rocks over his head. "Darn it, I can't find it! It's gone!"
"I'm sure I saw it land around here." Corset mused uncertain as to what an earring had to do with fusing.
The sudden surge in Goku's ki temporarily stunned the girl; she looked up to see he had indeed transformed into a Super Saiyan Three. Yet almost at the same time, something strange happened to Buu's ki.
Buu had gone to attack but had stopped...
"I found it!" Gohan cheered, reaching amongst a small crag between some rocks and retrieving the small earring. "This is Kaioshin's earring, isn't it? What was I supposed to do with it again?" His words fell on deaf ears; everyone else's attention was focused on Buu. Buu's ki dramatically fell; clothes suddenly changing from the Metamorian vest to Piccolo's cape!
"What the...?" Corset gawked in astonishment.
"Feeling weaker?" Goku chuckled, "The kids' fusion must have worn off. I'll bet Piccolo's in there, slowing you down!"
'I get it... Gotenks' fusion time expired... Lucky break!' Corset breathed a small sigh of relief. Perhaps now with her, Goku, and Gohan they could do something about Buu, especially since Goku was planning to fuse with his son! She did wonder how he was planning to fuse without using the fusion technique and was intrigued to find out.
Goku powered down to his base form. "... It's disappointing. Gohan can handle you now..."
Buu did not seem too concerned, in fact a small smile crept across his face. "... It's fortunate that I planned ahead..." He retorted.
"Planned ahead? What do you mean?" Goku asked.
Buu shifted his antenna – which Corset now noticed looked more like a stump! "Why do you think I didn't restore this tip?" He asked.
"Where is it?" Corset gasped, frantically looking around, on edge.
Then suddenly Gohan was engorged by the large mass of pink. Before she could do anything, the pink slime had captured him, ripping him from the ground and up towards Buu.
"GOHAN!" Corset screamed.
Goku dived down, trying to snatch the sludge from the sky but missed, feet slamming to the ground as he picked the earring from the floor, standing inches from Corset.
Buu had absorbed Gohan and was once again changing. The cloak vanished, now replaced with a replica of the top half of Goku's gi. His ki surged higher and higher, quickly surpassing that of when Gotenks was fused.
"No... Gohan!" Goku cried. "Gohan!"
Buu had finally transformed.
"Fantastic! I have much more power than before and with no time limit!" The Majin cheered ecstatic with his newfound power.
"What do we do?" Corset asked nervously out of ideas. She'd thought before they were doomed once Gotenks and Piccolo had been absorbed... and how little she'd known at the time! "Goku what do we do?" She asked desperately.
"I... I don't know..." Goku spoke. "... I can't combine with Gohan anymore." He looked over at Corset. "... I can't fuse with you, I don't think I'd like what we'd turn in to no matter what the danger to the planet... Tenshinhan's out cold and Dende's no fighter!"
"Too bad," Buu jeered. "You tried to fuse with Gohan but I took him for myself! What now, Son Goku? Now you have no one left to fuse with!"
"Damn it! What am I supposed to do?" Goku growled. "I can't fuse with Corset! I don't wanna be like the old Kaioshin and fuse with a girl! Who knows what'll happen!"
"W-What? I don't wanna fuse with a man!" Corset cried horrified. "... No offense but I'd rather not if I don't have to!"
"... That means my only other possibility is that idiot..." Goku groaned, glancing over towards Mr Satan and Dende.
"You and I both know that winning is everything!" Buu chuckled from above. "I'll give you one last chance. You have five seconds to choose another partner!"
"Five seconds?" Corset chocked.
"Four... Three..."
"I've got no other choice!" Goku cried turning on his heels to face the current world champion. "Mr Satan- CATCH!" The Saiyan turned and brought back his hand though at the instant he was ready to throw, Goku stopped for some reason, attention drawn away from the imminent threat. He hadn't been the only one to notice the difference as nearby Corset's eyes widened in disbelief.
There was a new ki somewhere on the planet, quite far away from them.
She couldn't believe what she was sensing. There was no doubt about it who this ki belonged to and yet Corset did doubt it! How could he still be here? Piccolo had assured them all that once he died, he could never return to his normal form; his spirit would be cleansed of memories and used to form a new life…
"V-Vegeta!" Goku gasped.
"H-How can it be?" Corset gawked amazed. "Piccolo said he was gone for good…"
"What luck!" Goku grinned, suddenly snatching Corset by her wrist.
"Give up and die!" Buu bellowed, suddenly charging down towards them.
"G-Goku!" Corset gasped, noticing they were being attacked. In a whir of light and movement, Corset suddenly found herself in a different location, floating high in the air.
"V-Vegeta! It is you!" Goku's voice called.
Corset's head turned, spotting her father and Baba hovering half a metre away from them. Her jaw dropped as her suspicions were confirmed to her. Whilst Goku and Vegeta mutually showed their shock at seeing the other, Corset couldn't help but stare at her father. He seemed more or less alright, although the halo was a dead giveaway of his death. She couldn't believe it; Piccolo had been so adamant about his knowledge. She'd had to say goodbye to her father forever, had to prepare herself for a potential life of never seeing him again. Piccolo couldn't have been more wrong!
Corset duly noted the lack of the M signature on his forehead and sighed with relief. At least that thing hadn't been permanent...
"... I thought I'd never see you again..." She mumbled quietly.
"I don't understand!" Baba croaked. "Your halo's gone, you've come back to life!"
"Talk later! Baba, you need to get outta here!" Goku warned. "Buu's coming fast!"
"Yikes! G-Good luck!" Baba yelped, shooting off into the distance.
Corset glanced around; sure enough she could sense Buu was closing in on them. "We're gonna need to be quick."
"Looks like King Yama kept your body just in case; smart thinking on his part." Goku extended his hand. "Vegeta, put this on your right ear."
"Why?" Vegeta asked.
"So we can fuse; we'll be unbeatable."
Vegeta snorted and laughed. "You think I'd want to fuse with you? Don't make me laugh!"
"I knew you'd say that! Vegeta, we don't have time for this. It's the only way to beat Buu!"
"In that case I'd rather die."