Chapter 099 – World of the Kaioshin
The world around her spun as the blinding pink light consumed all of that around them. For what must have been only a brief moment in time, it felt as if everything around her had stopped. Nothing existed, nothing was real and she was stuck within a void with those she clung onto. Gohan, Piccolo, Goten, and Trunks – her little brother – were all there before suddenly they vanished within the blurred world.
Suddenly she was crashing onto the green grass, no sign of an energy attack in sight. The pink light had completely vanished as she blinked several times, brain numb for a while.
"You made it!" An elderly man cheered; he bore a striking resemblance to Kaioshin.
Confused but still pumped full of adrenaline, she scrambled to her feet rather quickly, almost knocking Dende back over! Corset looked around. The green grass below her feet made her feel she was still on Earth, yet the purple skies and many moons dotted across the bright skies were a clear indicator this was not her home planet. Confused and scared she already knew what had just happened, she turned to Goku. "Where are we?"
Goku was slumped on his knees, fists rolled into balls as he grasped onto the ground, head hung low. He didn't answer.
"... What about Trunks? What about Gohan?" Corset asked, breathing becoming louder as she did her best to control her gathering emotions. She couldn't sense the Earth – or rather she couldn't sense anyone she knew had still been left on the planet the moment it had exploded. Was it because they were too far away... or was it because the Earth was gone?
Of course it was the latter. She knew it in her heart and in her mind but her love screamed at her to deny it for as long as possible. Everything she'd known, the people she'd ever dared to love had finally all been torn away at the hands of a monster and she had been powerless to stop it.
"... I'm sorry..." Goku mumbled remorseful, not even raising his head to look up at her. "Gohan and the boys... and the Earth..."
Disheartened and struggling to keep herself calm, Corset looked around at her surroundings. She, Dende, Goku, her father, Mr Satan and the puppy he'd been carrying around were all here, along with two men dressed in clothes resembling that of Kaioshin and Kibito. No one seemed to know what to do or say until finally the Saiyan Prince had enough, his temper flaring when his eyes fell upon those who'd been rescued.
"Well what do we have here?" Vegeta growled through gritted teeth, eyes burning. He marched over to Goku, grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt and dragging him up off the ground. "Idiot, how could you save these two and a puppy before your own sons! Are you out of your mind?" He spat indifferent to the Saiyan who now knelt on his knees.
Corset frowned, lip quivering. Had she kept her head she could have easily grabbed Mr Satan, Dende and the puppy whilst Goku could have gone after Piccolo and the boys. Why was it all the ideas would come to her after the event had taken place? Goku still did not respond and the awkward uncomfortable silence was driving her mad. "I'm sorry, Dad," she apologised, "I froze... If I hadn't had done, Goku could have gone to save the others..."
Vegeta glanced over at his daughter before tossing Goku back down to the floor. He folded his arms and turned away.
"What happened to the Earth?" Kibitoshin asked the aged man standing off to one side.
"It's gone," The elderly man replied. "Buu blew it to bits."
"The Earth is gone you say?" Mr Satan asked with a smirk, cracking up with laughter. "Where are we then? What do you think this is we're standing on? Senile old coot!" The foolish human man clearly had no grasp on the concept though no one could really blame him: even as a champion he was still just as clued up as any other human. None of the majority of Earthlings even knew aliens existed so it was no doubt going to be a culture shock to him to learn that his home planet had been destroyed and he was the last pure-blooded human alive.
'Come to think of it... Who are these two?' Corset wondered staring at Kaioshin and the elder Kaioshin and ignoring Mr Satan's insult.
"H-How rude! You should bow down and show some respect!" Dende stuttered nervously towards Mr Satan who didn't look any more convinced. "These two are both Kaioshin! Above Kami stand the Kaio; the lord of worlds. Above them stands the Daikaio; their grand leader. Above him stands the lord of lords; the Kaioshin! Where we stand right now must be their sacred ground; this is their own planet."
"... So they're both Kaioshin?" Corset asked raising a confused eyebrow. "Where's the other Kaioshin we met at the tournament?"
"I'm he," Kibitoshin raised a hand, "The Kaioshin you're referring to and Kibito both fused with the potara earrings; I'm the result of that fusion."
"... Wait..." Mr Satan butted in still none the wiser. "If these Kaioshin guys are so great, why didn't they stop Buu?" His question caught both Kaioshin by surprise and both awkwardly shunned away as Mr Satan dismissed Dende's explanation. "Nice try kid; it's bad enough telling me you're a god!"
"Dende is a god!" Corset protested.
"I get what's going on now, yeah, it has to be…" Mr Satan loudly spoke. "…This is all a dream! I thought it was bizarre… Nobody's stronger than me, the champion of the world. Buu doesn't even exist and all you guys are dream people. I must have fallen asleep at the Tenkaichi Budokai. I bet I can fly in my dream too!"
The human rushed over towards a nearby ledge, his puppy chasing him along. He stopped and threw one fist into the air, shouting loudly:
"Hey you, Majin Buu! How dare you kill Videl and blow up the Earth in my private dream! I'm gonna fly through the galaxy and punish you!" With one leap, Mr Satan jumped up into the air... falling and crashing to the ground with a thud.
Corset struggled to contain her laughter but failed miserably and collapsed to the floor in hysterics despite the gloomy mood. She couldn't help it; the absurdity of this man's behaviour was very entertaining even if this was supposed to be a more sombre time.
"Kakarrot... After all we did to save the others you let them die to save that fool?" Vegeta spat not amused by the human's antics. "The Earth and the dead will be gone forever. The Dragonballs were destroyed along with the Earth."
"W-What?" The elderly Kaioshin's eyes widened almost to the point where it looked as if they'd fall from their sockets! "D-Dragonballs!" He spluttered, "What are Dragonballs doing on Earth? Only Namekians are supposed to have them! They're like... like cosmic cheat codes!"
"Of course!" Dende cried with realisation. "The Namekian Dragonballs! Go to Planet Namek! Surely the new elder would have made new Dragonballs by now; the Earth and all those killed can still be resurrected!"
"He's right!" Corset gasped ecstatically, grabbing hold of Dende's hands and jumping on the spot. "You're a genius, Dende!"
"There's just one problem you guys," Goku wasn't so enthusiastic. "Planet Namek is so far away; I can't even sense any Namekians from here so I wouldn't be able to teleport us there. We'd need a spaceship of some sort to get there."
"...Which we don't have..." Dende frowned.
"Um... I don't really know what these Dragonballs are but I can teleport from here to any other planet..." Kibitoshin spoke up, "...It's Kibito's ability. Just tell me where you wanna get to and I'll get you there."
"...Yeah, that just might work!" Goku grinned growing more and more hopeful that Dende's plan could actually be possible to do.
"No! You mustn't overuse the Dragonballs!" The elder Kaioshin yelled. "They'll hurl the cosmic order into chaos! Long ago I warned the Namekians to use them only on their planet! They never interfered in other planet's fates!"
"Aww come on, don't be so stingy..." Goku edged closer to the old Kaioshin. "I'll get you a naughty picture of that girl I know."
Corset's eyes narrowed, interested in what Goku was talking about as well as being a little grossed out. He was sounding a little too much like Master Roshi to her!
"You know you want it! She's not that young anymore but she's still hot!" Goku slyly added.
"... But she's dead," the old Kaioshin muttered.
'Good, it's not me!' Corset wiped the sweat from her brow and exhaled with relief.
"Not if the Dragonballs bring her back to life!" Goku pointed out to the Kaioshin who now seemed to be lulling it over.
"... Hey, Kakarrot..." Vegeta butted in. "You'd better not be talking about Bulma."
Goku's face lit up like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. The look did not go unnoticed by either Vegeta or Corset and Corset's mouth dropped open with horror and disbelief. "You idiot!"
"You bastard!" Vegeta bellowed furiously. "Go behind people's backs when they're dead and steal someone else's woman? Why don't you give him a picture of your own woman!"
"B-But she'll kill me... and she's flat-chested!" Goku protested nervously. "Bulma's got far more bounce left in her!"
"Goku!" Corset snapped in disgust and embarrassment. "That's my mama you're talking about!" She couldn't believe he could be so insensitive to even put her mother up to something as disrespectful and embarrassing as that! Where was he even going to get these pictures from and just how perverted were they supposed to be? No, she did not want to find out or even imagine it! That was her mother of all people and she wouldn't let Goku take advantage of the situation!
It was only then she realised Goku was looking directly at her. She could see the light going off in his head. Aggression and fury quickly filled her body and she tensed up, fists shaking by her sides.
"Hey Corset," Goku smiled, "could I ask a-"
"Finish that sentence and I guarantee you Majin Buu will be the least of your problems!" Corset snarled quickly and venomously, eyebrows creasing the centre of her face as she clenched her jaw and the muscles in her arms. She was not going to be subjected to this!
"Look!" Kibitoshin's cry cut through the tension. "Majin Buu's regenerating!"
The group gathered around the tiny crystal ball sat on the grass. Sure enough the pink monster was starting to form again in the vastness of space. Corset clenched her teeth; that spot in space had been where her home planet had once been...
"Quick, give them your potara!" The old Kaioshin ordered.
"Right," Kibitoshin removed both his earrings and threw one each to both Saiyans. "Take these before anymore planets are destroyed."
Both Goku and Vegeta seemed to hesitate.
"... What's wrong?" Corset asked looking at the two uncertain to what they were thinking.
"... No thanks," Goku smiled, "We'll do without them. Sorry but it's not our style. We like to rely on ourselves and besides, Buu's on his own now."
"What? You fool! Who cares about that?" The old Kaioshin yelled. "This isn't a tournament match! The fate of the entire universe is riding on this!"
"Well said Kakarrot," Vegeta smirked. "Allow me to put an end to this discussion." With that the Saiyan prince crushed his earring. "Spoken like a true Saiyan."
"... Well I guess that sorts out that dilemma," Corset sighed with a nervous smile. She was relieved to know her dad would be staying the way he was rather than merging with Goku. It had seemed strange to have to think of Gohan as her brother rather than her best friend.
"Don't worry, we'll think of a plan. Buu can't come here," Goku reassured the two stunned Kaioshin. "If he blows up anymore planets, we'll bring them back with the Dragonballs."
The conversation was abruptly cut short as Buu suddenly appeared before them, temporarily snatching the breath and speaking-ability of the group.
"B-BUU!"
"How did he get here?" Vegeta growled, instinctively lowering into a battle stance.
"He must have seen Kibitoshin use Instantaneous Movement and learned it instantly." Goku realised.
"What do we do now?" Corset asked, almost expecting to hear Buu scream again as he had done on Earth.
"We'll settle it here," Vegeta smirked, slapping one fist into his cupped hand. He seemed eager for battle.
"Kibitoshin, you and the others should take safety on another planet," Goku warned.
"Y-Yes, right!" Kibitokai nodded obediently and ushered Dende and the elder Kaioshin towards him.
"You're hopeless!" the elderly Kaioshin yelled. "Fine, do what you want! This planet won't break so easily!"
"Good luck Goku, you too Vegeta and Corset!" Dende begrudgingly wandered over to the two Kaioshin. In a flash the trio had vanished.
Corset sucked in a deep breath of air and turned her attention to the older Saiyans. "Anyone got a plan?" She asked nervously, fresh out of bright ideas herself.
"... Yeah, I think I know how we can settle this," Goku nodded.
"Who goes first?" Vegeta asked seeming to know what his rival was getting at.
"Let's find out," Goku smiled.
"Alright Kakarrot, you're asking for it!"
"What are you...?" Corset raised an eyebrow, eyes widening in disbelief as her father and Goku got into a familiar stance.
"Ro-sham-bo!" The two Saiyans chanted several times, each time throwing their hand out in a game of rock-paper-scissors. Corset did not participate, she was far too shocked and paralysed with disbelief to see the fate of the universe being decided on such a game. Sure they'd done it during the battles against Babidi's soldiers in his spaceship but this was different – this battle would be vital to the fate of the universe!
"Yes I win!" Goku finally cheered happily; his fist rolled into a ball as he threw it to the air. Vegeta resentfully looked down at his parted fingers, grunting and folding his arms in annoyance as he dropped out of his Super Saiyan form.
"... Hey, hold on a minute!" Corset pouted suddenly coming back to life and realising she'd just missed out! "That's not fair! I didn't even know we were doing ro-sham-bo to determine who fought Buu!"
"Alright, then let's see which one of us wins?" Goku smiled.
Corset paused for a moment, contemplating what was about to happen. If she won then this would be how many times she'd tried to battle Majin Buu in his different forms...? Up to now she made it about five or six: all of which she'd lost. Her mind whizzed around as alarm bells rang loudly. "... Maybe it's better if you fight," She suggested. "It's not like I haven't already had about five chances to beat him! You go first, Goku."
"Coward," Vegeta mumbled quietly pouting about his loss.
"If you insist," Goku nodded, turning to glance at Buu and bringing clenched fists to his side. "I'd better go full throttle. The entire universe will be doomed if we lose!"
"I want to see this Super Saiyan Three form for myself!" Vegeta demanded softly, starting to walk away from the other Saiyan. Corset followed her father, taking a quick glance back as she heard Goku training off talking to himself. Were they supposed to be listening to him? Corset wasn't sure and so followed her father as the duo launched themselves into the air and took refuge on a nearby cliff, overseeing the immediate area. Now she had a better view of their surroundings Corset realised just how similar this place was to Earth. The planet was covered in patches of green grass with several mesas reaching up into the air. There were hills and mountains as a backdrop but apart from that the land was relatively flat.
Goku's ki began to surge, climbing at that unbelievable rate she'd felt the last time he'd fought the fat version of Buu. The wind howled past the warriors on the cliff as the Saiyan opposing Buu transformed into a Super Saiyan Three. She felt the planet shuddering under the pressure, managing to stick her feet firmly to the ground. Even if it was the third or fourth time she'd seen him transform into this form it still left her speechless and shaking from the sheer power.
Buu shrieked and started to pound his fists into his chest.
"... What is he? A monkey?" Corset snorted in amusement. She knew in monkeys this kind of behaviour was a display of aggression; what the pink monster would have in store for the Saiyan was unknown. He didn't seem to be as strong as the previous Buu had been once he'd absorbed Gohan, Gotenks and Piccolo but right now it was difficult to tell what to expect. His behaviour seemed even more bizarre and wild compared to the two previous Buu forms she'd seen; both of whom had seemed to have better linguistic skills and were a little more restrained though by no means less deadly.
"This is it," Vegeta muttered, "This battle will decide the fate of the galaxy."
Her father's words left a sobering feeling over Corset as she looked over to Goku, heart starting to pound in her ribcage. There was no denying it; the entire universe's fate now rested in Goku's hands.
The battle ensued.
Goku was fast, his hits powerful. Buu was just as fast, just as powerful. His nimble and malleable body prevented Goku's regular attacks from doing much in the way of physical damage. Even the Kamehameha left Buu with more than enough body to regenerate in an instant. Both fighters dealt terrifyingly powerful moves against their opponent, recovering and retaliating back.
Every strike reverberated through her body; Corset kept keen eyes on the fighters as they continued to battle. Her heart was now racing, attempting to break free from her ribcage. The pressure on Goku must have been fantastic; as of now he was the only one out of the three who stood a chance. Corset felt honoured and humble to be able to see such an incredible and important battle unfold before her very eyes...
The ground shuddered violently as Buu fired off a Kamehameha straight for the Saiyan, shrouding the warrior in a thick cloud of smoke. Another Kamehameha shot from the dusty cloud, engulfing Buu's body. Corset could barely make out Buu's body disintegrating in the bright light.
It didn't last for long. Buu quickly began to regenerate.
"... It's not enough..." Vegeta frowned.
"Yeah, Goku's ki isn't big enough to take Buu out," Corset nodded.
Vegeta suddenly bolted from the spot he'd been standing on, heading straight for Goku.
"H-Hey, wait up!" Corset cried, leaping from the ground and chasing her father not wanting to be left behind. From a distance she could see the fatigue in Goku's posture; now a lot closer to him, she could hear his breathlessness and see the strain his body was under. His breath was short and shallow, body hunched over slightly as he hovered in the air.
"...You wanna switch already?" The Super Saiyan Three was talking to her father. "I've still got some fight left."
"Quit lying; I know you don't intend to switch, you can't fool me," Vegeta replied. "You know what would happen; Buu would tear me apart."
"W-What? No... You'd do fine..."
"Don't try to make me feel better," Vegeta butted in. "Buu is stronger than me at this level... and so, Kakarrot, are you."
"... Those are words I never thought I'd hear coming outta your mouth," Corset stared dumbfounded at her father. She'd never heard him speak in such a way about himself before. Her father was always the haughty, confident, fighter no matter who his opponent was; right now that part of him was gone. It shocked her to hear her father being so level-headed and calm about this; wasn't his pride hurting from admitting this?
"Don't mind us, finish Buu off!" Vegeta smiled. "You're a Super Saiyan Three; you should be able to generate more than enough power to obliterate Buu!"
"Y-Yeah, he's right, Corset nodded cheerfully, "Besides you're Goku; you always manage to beat the bad guy!"
"Well I'm flattered you have so much faith in me and all but I've been trying to do just that! I haven't had the chance!" Goku responded. "It would take me a minute to get all the power I need!"
"A minute?" Vegeta and Corset repeated in unison.
"The potara could have done it... Maybe I tried to act too cool but I thought this would work out better!" Goku cursed looking rather frustrated.
"... You're not... holding back for us?" Vegeta asked, Corset noticing her father's eye twitching. She drifted away from him slightly, sensing the annoyance radiating off him.
"He just keeps dragging this out," Goku growled looking over to Bu who was now doing some bizarre dance with his stomach! "He's having the time of his life!"
"You need a minute to charge your energy high enough?" Corset asked disheartened. "That's insane! How is Buu going to give you all that time? Even if dad or I fought him, I doubt we could last a minute against Buu!"
"... You have one minute."
Both Corset and Goku stared at the prince.
"Build up your ki," Vegeta ordered.
"V-Vegeta, you're planning to hold him off? It'll take a whole minute!" Goku cried.
"So hurry!" Vegeta barked, glancing at his daughter. "If either I or you fought him alone, maybe it wouldn't work but if we work together, maybe we can last a minute against this freak."
Corset gulped and clenched her fists in anticipation, burrowing her brow and giving a nod. "Right."
"Hey, hold on you two-"
"Goku, concentrate on gathering your energy," Corset interrupted.
"B-But right now Vegeta's already dead; he could die again; both of you could be killed!" Goku pointed out.
"If we can't last one lousy minute then perhaps we deserve to die," Vegeta snarled.
"We'll be alright. Both of us are aware of just how strong Buu is but don't you dare underestimate us," Corset growled. "We're not stupid. We know this'll be a losing battle for the both of us, which is why you need to hurry up and gather your ki!"
"... Fine..." With a roar Goku's ki burst around his body. "Be careful... especially you Vegeta. You're already dead; if you die again you'll be gone from this world and the other world... There will be nothing anyone can do to bring you back... So stay alive."
"... Thanks but I'm already dead," Vegeta smirked.
Alarm bells had gone off in Corset's head. Now she was concerned for her father's wellbeing. She'd almost forgotten he was dead; the halo had more or less been phased out from her vision. Going against Buu had a high, almost certain risk of death; knowing that if her father died again he would not exist made her nervous. She would do everything she could to make sure that didn't happen.
"You ready to go?" Vegeta asked, smirking as if he was almost enjoying the moment.
"Yeah," Corset nodded, a smile coming to her face.
With a loud scream both fighters transformed into their Super Saiyan Two form.
Behind them Goku began to rev up his ki.
They were off.