Chapter 102 – Return to Earth
When she came too again, she was in a different place from where she'd passed out of. From the looks of things she hadn't been out for long at all, or Goku and Buu had been struggling for a long time to out-do the other. She could see in the corner of her eye that Buu and Goku were still struggling with the Genki Dama. Corset now rested on her back, unable to move and just about able to make out the fight.
"We hadn't counted on this! Kakarrot doesn't have the strength to unleash the Genki Dama!" Vegeta was heard grunting, being supported by Mr Satan. The two men were somewhere to her left from the sounds of it.
Buu's ki was surging, Goku's weakening. The ground below her continued to shudder though the tremors became progressively violent; it felt as if the whole planet was being ripped apart from underneath her and there was nothing she could do to stop it or escape from it. She couldn't even get her body to react and stand up! Too bad neither Dende nor a senzu bean was on hand – as much as she hated the taste of the latter – it would have done her and the others some good...
"Goku! We used the third wish to restore your power!"
'Dende's voice...' Corset tried to sit up but to no avail. Her attempts did not go unnoticed, although neither of the men looked at her.
"Stay down and conserve your energy," Vegeta barked. Corset was in no condition to argue back, she wasn't even sure she could get words to come out of her mouth! Her throat felt dry and her limbs felt like led keeping her to the floor.
Goku's ki had returned. It surged and burned brightly; the Genki Dama suddenly began to shift towards Buu. A couple of seconds later, the Genki Dama struck the ground. The explosion numbed all of her senses (or what was left of them) and left her confused and in the dark about what was happening. Corset – nor Vegeta and Mr Satan for that matter – had no idea of Goku's last words before he finally threw the Genki Dama down to Buu. The monster was left unable to stop him, screaming as his body was reduced to nothing. The pure power of the Genki Dama was more than enough to destroy Buu even at a sub-molecular level. The final burst of power was unlike anything Corset'd ever been conscious of and she was sure she was losing her grip on the ground, attempting to clasp to nothing but grass which was easily ripped from the ground along with her.
Amidst it all she sensed the monster's ki vanish.
When Corset's eyes finally opened once again, she could feel energy flowing gracefully through her body. She felt rejuvenated and alive once more and was greeted by a cheerful looking Dende who rose to his feet with a small nod. "That's two of you done."
Mr Satan was peering over the short Namekian's shoulder and was almost screaming as Corset sat herself up, clearly freaked out seeing a near-dead person suddenly rise as if nothing had ever happened. Ignoring him, Corset frantically looked around as a panic overtook her, almost instinctive behaviour kicking in.
"Kakarrot beat him," Vegeta muttered knowing full-well what his daughter was thinking. "Buu is dead."
"... Right," Corset sighed out a heavy breath and relaxed her muscles, watching as Dende made his way over to Goku who was sitting nearby on a rock, body looking battered. Near to him were both the Kaioshin; elderly and younger. Both of them seemed to be observing the damage to their planet which had also taken quite a beating during the whole fight. All in all things had turned out pretty well; at least Buu hadn't managed to destroy this planet in the process,
Getting to her feet proved to be no issue for her now, much to her relief. Her brain on the other hand still felt frazzled. Corset was finding it difficult to make sense of it all. A monster which had survived her father self-destructing, had absorbed her friends, transformed into more and more powerful fighters, had survived a planet exploding and still been capable of coming back from it... Was he really gone?
She couldn't sense his distinct ki.
"It's Buu!"
Mr Satan's words couldn't have come at a worse time. Corset spun around heart thumping in her throat almost chocking off the breath in her lungs.
Indeed Buu lay before Mr Satan and the puppy. However it was fat Buu, not the Buu they feared the man had meant. Hearts stopped choking them of air though there was still tension in the air. Corset felt a little sympathetic towards the human martial artist. Somehow he had made friends with this chubby Buu; this Buu and indeed the Buu after him had both refused to kill the man. Surely Mr Satan would have shared feelings for Buu too through getting to know him; he'd seemed concerned each and every time the fat Buu had found himself in a difficult situation. Personally she wasn't sure whether she felt the same way about this Buu, regardless of Mr Satan insisting he was the good version. This Buu had been the one her father'd died against. That memory was still painful, as were the events leading up to it. She pushed these to the back of her mind for the time being.
Mr Satan had rushed over to the pudgy fighter and leaned against the spot Corset could only assume his heart was. After a moment a shocked look appeared on the martial artist's face. "He's still alive!" Mr Satan cried, turning on the spot to face Dende. "Please, help him! Can't you heal him with your magic?"
"What are you, mad?" Vegeta spat raising one arm out before him, "Move, I'll finish him off!"
"P-Please don't!" Mr Satan begged panicked. "This Buu's not so bad, he only did those bad things because of those other bad guys! He stopped killing those people once I told him to! He won't harm anyone ever again, I promise!"
"What if he sprouts another one of those Buu's?" Vegeta snapped unconvinced. "Then what?" He was in no mood to change his mind and seemed uncharacteristically concerned about this Majin being kept alive. It was a first as far as Corset could recall – never before had he been concerned like this before. Normally he'd deliberately keep them around to challenge them again just to satisfy his pride. Had he finally changed his ways or was this a one-off?
Mr Satan looked down at his unconscious buddy defeated, contemplating the thought of him releasing another Buu like the one before. "I... I don't know..." He responded sadly.
"Well I do - it'll be the end of the universe!" Vegeta retaliated. "Step aside!"
"B-But the only reason he released that bad Buu was because some human shot his puppy!" The human perked up again pointing towards the tiny puppy sniffing the pink Majin. "Please, I'm begging you! He can stay at my house and live with me! I'll make sure he doesn't do anything bad!"
"'Make sure?' Don't make me laugh!" Vegeta snorted. "What could you do? Step aside or I'll kill you as well!" Judging by the tone of his voice, Corset was guessing this was the last warning her father was going to give. To her dismay Mr Satan did not budge; he further shielded Buu with his own body flinching. The tension was growing and Corset watched her father with concern though to her surprise and relief Vegeta seemed to be hesitating to kill him. Corset glanced over to Goku, surprised to see a smile on his face.
"... Dende, go ahead and heal him." Goku decided.
"What?" Corset gasped stunned.
Vegeta too was surprised, although his facial expression quickly changed. "...Are you insane?"
"Look, this Buu and Mr Satan tried to help us," Goku explained, "If it weren't for these two, you know as well as I do that we'd have been finished by Buu, right? We'll fight again if we have to. Let's train hard so we can't lose next time."
"Train hard so we can't lose... Like that's ever going to happen... The guy can regenerate from practically nothing!" Corset snorted under her breath, folding her arms. She wasn't entirely sure whether keeping this Buu alive was a good thing or not but for now that was what had been decided. Indeed she would need to train a lot more to be able to obliterate anything the fat Buu would throw out at them. She could probably now give this Buu a fairly decent fight but even so he could regenerate and regular attacks did nothing... No, she still was not convinced! Goku was insane! 'I really hope he doesn't plan to die any time soon...' She gulped.
"But Buu living on Earth could be a problem," Kibitoshin pointed out interrupting her thoughts. "Everyone knows what he looks like and will be afraid of him."
"Yeah, I get what you mean," Goku nodded. "If he's willing to hide indoors for six months then we can use the second wish of the Earth's Dragonballs to wish away everyone's memories of Buu."
"Oh dear, misusing Dragonballs again..." Old Kaioshin sighed to himself.
"Then it's settled, right?" Goku smiled looking to the others for approval though not quite finding it.
"Yes, it's a brilliant idea," Vegeta sneered, "... If you don't have a brain! Don't say I didn't warn you!"
"Th-Thank you so much," Mr Satan beamed tearfully. "I'll never forget this!"
"Then let's heal him and go home," Goku decided, "I want a big meal and a long nap."
Their return to the lookout was an eventful one at that. Everyone seemed to be waiting for them; those who'd lost their lives on the lookout along with those who'd lost their lives elsewhere. It blew her mind to think she'd been one of the few survivors of the entire ordeal.
Naturally the first person Corset approached was Bulma. Seeing her mother set off all the emotion she could muster and like a child she rushed into her mother's arms. She didn't care if she was supposed to be eighteen years old; as far as she was concerned right now she needed a hug from her mother. To her surprise, she also received the biggest hug she'd ever gotten from her brother. Trunks seemed overjoyed to see his sister but quickly darted off to see their father, probably now embarrassed he'd even hugged her in the first place in front of the Saiyan Prince.
Corset stayed with her mother for quite some time, not wanting to let go. She'd failed in her attempts to protect her from harm. Ever since the encounter with Raditz, Corset's main goal in training was to protect her mother. She hadn't been strong enough and in the end it had cost Bulma and Trunks' lives. She couldn't bear to live though that ever again. "Don't you ever die again!" She sobbed through hiccups, letting herself have this one moment to cave in. She was so pleased to see her alive and well.
"I'm so proud of you!" Bulma wailed with a smile finally stepping back and wiping the tears from her eyes, noticing Vegeta was to one side and giving her daughter a small nudge of her head to signal she was about to approach the man. Corset nodded and watched as her mother joined her father and brother, Trunks was tugging on his arm cheerfully. Vegeta held his back to them even when her mother approached him, giving him a thumbs up. Her father, despite what he'd done a couple of days ago, seemed to be welcomed with open arms by her mother which surprised Corset at first. She wondered how it would turn out once they were back at home. No doubt her mother would have questions for the man concerning his behaviour when he and the others had momentarily returned to the stadium and he'd killed all those people.
Mr Satan emerged last, running up to Videl and pulling her into his arms pleased to see his daughter alive once again. He pointed to someone behind him: Buu emerged from around the side of the palace. The entire lookout screamed the others realised he was with them, many of the seasoned warriors and young fighters quickly putting up their guards to challenge the Majin. It took a lot of convincing to calm Trunks and Goten down and to not charge Buu, as well as convince everyone he wasn't here to kill them! Not everyone was pleased with Goku's decision to keep the pink fighter alive and Vegeta was quick to point out it was all Goku's idea! Quickly wanting to take the subject off of him being responsible for Buu being kept alive, Goku broke the news that he'd been restored to life thanks to the old Kaioshin and could live at home with his family again. The news brought tears to Chichi's eyes and the woman collapsed into his arms, sobbing her eyes out.
The journey home was sobering and refreshing as the cool breeze swept past them. Deciding not to take Goku's offer of using Instant Transmission to take themback home, Corset, Trunks and Bulma instead chose to fly it... minus Vegeta. The Saiyan warrior had quickly left after the news Goku was alive again was broke. It wasn't anything his family members paid particular mind to; Vegeta was always disappearing without saying anything. In the end Corset was the one carrying her mother on her back, Bulma quickly warning her daughter not to fly fast or high.
"I don't want to be killed since I've only just come back to life!" Bulma remarked nervously as her daughter had crouched down and offered her back. The comment may have been meant in a light-hearted manner but Corset took it to heart.
"Please don't say things like that," She'd protested giving her mother a sad glance over her shoulder. "I don't want to relive those moments thank you very much! It's too painful..."
"See ya later, Goten!" Trunks waved as he took off, Corset making sure her mother had a firm grip on her before following the lavender-haired boy. The lookout quickly vanished above them as they dove down towards the ground ahead of them, Corset could hear her mother squealing reluctantly behind gritted teeth as they fell. Quickly they passed the top of Korin Tower, Corset giving a quick wave to the old cat and a now more rugged Yajirobe who watched them vanish.
She began to pull out of the dive gradually and once they'd reached a fair distance from the ground they levelled out.
"You can open your eyes now, Mama," Corset called over the wind unsure if her mother even heard her or not. Her mother did not respond. Trunks was flying a little ways ahead seemingly pleased his sister had allowed him to lead the way back home. It would be a relief to see her grandparents once again and to be back at home, relaxing after a couple of intensely stressful days. Corset needed the rest!
That evening Vegeta did not return until after Trunks had fallen asleep. Bulma had decided to stay up waiting in their bedroom but from what Corset could sense, she was certain that her mother's calm ki signal meant she'd fallen asleep. She herself was struggling to stay awake so had deliberately taken herself onto the roof where the chilly night air would at the very least keep her feeling fresh and ever-so-slightly cold.
The moon was a pale yellow, slowly falling back behind the Earth's shadow. The sky was pretty clear out tonight which added to the chill in the air. Before her lay the large lit up buildings of West City, its many lights glistening far, far brighter than any star filling the sky with an orange haze shutting out some of the natural light. She could hear the traffic rushing past the house even at this hour of the night, people going about their business just like any other night. She had no idea what time it was or how long she'd been sat out on top of the large domed building but even out in the fresh breeze she could feel herself slipping into slumber.
Judging by her father's ki he was still far away from home but didn't seem to be moving. Corset'd had half a mind to leave home and track him down but thought better of it, deciding right now her father probably wanted to be left alone. He'd vanished for a couple of nights after the fight with Cell so she only assumed he was doing the same now.
'I'll bet right now you're doing everything you can to avoid speaking to Mama alone,' she mused to herself unimpressed. Whether he wanted to or not, she was adamant her parents would both be discussing his actions. Bulma hadn't got much out of Corset when she'd asked because Corset'd been to upset and protective not to tell her everything. It was best to come from the man's mouth rather than the witnesses' mouth. She wasn't going to bail her dad out and save him from having to face up to his actions.
The moon was high above the city when he finally arrived home. Vegeta'd expected everyone to have been asleep in their rooms by the time he'd gotten back from his time alone. He'd gone to process his thoughts and collect his answers knowing full-well the conversation he'd be having with his brats' mother sooner or later. It wasn't avoidance, it was more for clarification as to why he'd done what he had. Sure he'd explained himself to Kakarrot before but the interaction with the kind-hearted Saiyan accusing him of still having feelings had shaken his certainties. Indeed he had dropped everything when he realised just how much danger everyone who dared to care for him would be in. Yes, he had to painfully acknowledge that living on this planet for so long had changed him to a man he never thought he'd become. He was no longer the cold heartless murderer he used to be. Even when he'd been possessed by Babidi he still found in some corner of his heart that he cared for them and could not rid himself of the feeling. That had been the decider; now Vegeta knew no matter what he did to try and regain his evil heart he would never fully be rid of these feelings.
Strolling across the garden path as quietly as a cat, he was surprised to see a crumpled figure up on the roof! 'Who...?' He didn't have to finish his thought; his daughter rolled over slightly almost falling off the side of the building! Vegeta sighed and leapt off against the ground over to where his daughter had chosen to sleep. Why she was up on the roof he did not know, probably waiting for him to return or something stupid like that. Then again she'd done that the last time he'd vanished and the time before that...
Here was no place for her to be sleeping. Her mother would be furious if she found out Corset'd been stupid enough to sleep here and shout at her for risking getting a 'cold' or something weak humans seemed to suffer from. Vegeta wasn't entirely sure how this 'cold' was going to affect his half-Saiyan half-Earthling daughter. He'd seen Bulma with one several times throughout the years but he'd just put that down to her inadequate Earthling immune system. His daughter was far too strong to come down with such an illness, she was part-Saiyan and so shared some of his Saiyan immune system's capabilities.
Gently he slid his arms underneath her and pulled her from the roof, a little taken back by his own actions; he hadn't just grabbed her by the ankle or wrist after all – he'd picked her up in his arms. What was wrong with him? Slightly irked he lugged her to her room, a grimace of irritation on his face. No, he owed it to her; she'd been in a furious state with him when he'd turned Majin. As quietly as he could Vegeta lowered himself down to the balcony; the door ajar slightly where she'd clearly left it open. He passed through into the living area and down into the living quarters corridor, reaching her room and gently placing her down on her bed, not bothering with any covers, he couldn't care less and was not going to embarrass himself further by showing outward affection – even if he was the only one who'd be aware it had happened. She could stay cold! Without a word he was about to leave the room and head to his own where he was certain the blue-haired woman of his would be waiting.
"... What, not even going to say anything?"
He was surprised to hear her voice, he'd been sure she was asleep! Vegeta glanced over his shoulder: sure enough his daughter was sat upright on her bed albeit wiping her eye half-asleep. He wasn't entirely sure what the cold stare was for but he could probably take a couple of wild stabs and hit the right answer. There were so many unresolved issues which he himself had been the cause of. Not only did he have his mate – the blue haired woman – to answer to, he also apparently had his daughter to answer to. She wasn't a fool; she wasn't as ignorant and blasé as the boy would surely be. She was smart enough to work the truth out for herself. She'd been around him in far too many battles not to know there was a deeper reasoning behind his actions, past his pride and his haughtiness. Hell she was probably one of the few people besides her mother who bothered to get to know the man, Kakarrot and possibly the Namekian being the other two.
"What would you expect me to say?" He muttered turning his back to her. "... It's late. Go to sleep and prepare yourself for tomorrow's training."
"Alright, have it your way then, ignore it," Corset pouted annoyed rising to her feet. "Just one thing before you go..."
Vegeta glanced over his shoulder again. There it was, that same look of ferocity and seriousness, one that showed aggression and yet complete control of her fury. That same look she'd given him when she'd realised the true reason for him turning to Babidi for help. The threat was clear in her tone, as was the promise and he heeded it knowing if push came to shove, she would no doubt follow through:
"If you ever, ever, ever turn your back on my family again and chuck us to the side as if we are nothing but objects, I will thoroughly beat the crap out of you."
Vegeta did not react, he simply left the room. His reaction came after he'd left, whilst he was walking down the hallway leading back to his and his mate's room. The smirk caught him off-guard; normally a threat like that would see the person begging for mercy before he killed them brutally and bloodily. Not this time. This time instead of anger at the threat, he'd felt proud at the brutality of it. She'd never admit it but he could see it plain and clear: his daughter definitely had the fury and pride of a Saiyan warrior, even if there were pathetic Earthling teachings at the root of it all...
Six months passed since the fight with Buu had been won. As was foretold by Goku, the Dragonballs of Earth were quickly gathered together and Shenron was summoned. As promised, Buu had been kept hidden away inside Mr Satan's home so as not to cause any alarm for the humans who still had vivid memories of him terrorising them and turning their people into candy or destroying their towns and cities. With the wish granted, he was finally free to wander the streets of his new home town of Satan City, venture off into the world and explore, so long as he didn't get angry or fight anyone! Naturally the child-like Buu agreed.
School for the past six months prior to the wish being made had been very invasive and stressful for Gohan, Corset and Videl. Gohan's secret about being the Great Saiyaman and the Golden Warrior had been spilled by a certain duo that preferred to go unnamed, though Corset was pretty certain she knew who the two were. Sharpner and Eresa had both been at the tournament after all and seen Gohan transform into a Super Saiyan Two at Kibito's request after all. Though she had gone unnoticed as one of the competitors of the Budokai, she had returned briefly during that little fiasco her father caused and Eresa was full of questions! Videl naturally was the main focus of attention from the entire school now that her father had once again defeated an enemy and saved the world. Thankfully she took it in her stride despite her embarrassment of knowing who the real hero was.
After the wish had been made, the attention quickly died off. By this point it was common knowledge why Gohan would disappear during lessons and reappear around the same time as Videl did when returning from fighting crime. No one could recall the monster that Mr Satan had defeated which worked out wonderfully for Corset – no one had any memories of the end of the Tournament, just that Mr Satan had won and then all the trouble had started. No one – not even Eresa – seemed to recall anyone they knew being present at the end of the Budokai. Corset liked this outcome very much as it allowed her to sink back into the shadows of school life and not stand out like her two close friends did.
Life seemed to return to normal on Earth.