*Unaltered timeline, May 11th, day before the androids' attack*
Val landed on the Lookout late in the afternoon, annoyed with having not only yet another argument with Vegeta, but also one with Tien. Both of them were so frustrated with each other and frustrating her. She tried not to think about it to huffily as she walked over to where she sensed Kami was. As she stomped over, she sensed someone else with him. She quickened her steps, seeing she would have to walk passed Piccolo to get to Kami.
As she went to pass him, he stopped her, catching her by the wrist. She felt her heart flutter when he did that. She matched his grip when he did that. She looked up at him, eyes hesitantly on his lips before flicking up to his eyes. "Start taking the guardianship training seriously," he said disgruntledly.
She did not let go of him, but half honestly answered, "I am."
She waited for him to let go first. "That's not his impression," he answered.
When he let go, she felt suddenly colder. She looked after him as he walked off and then flew off. She stroked her wrist softly before turning back and going over to Kami. "Kami," she greeted, bowing her head slightly.
"Kiri," he answered back. "You're a bit late," he said, sounding slightly annoyed.
"I'm sorry, got a bit distracted at Capsule Corps," she explained, not adding in that it was another argument with Vegeta.
"It's alright, but eats into our time," he answered. She nodded. "Come," he said, leading her to the edge of the Lookout. He held up his staff towards her. "Time to learn about remote viewing."
She stared at the staff, hesitating to take it from him. She felt her face was a bit sour, but tried to swallow it back. She went to take the staff from his hand, but felt a surge of white hot energy blaze up from it. She gasped and flinched her hands back. "It's hot."
"Take it with conviction," he instructed. She huffed and reached out again, annoyed by how much he was pressuring her. She took it from him, hardly holding onto it. It was hot and surging with energy. "Tightly. Make it submit to you." She tightened her grip, feeling the surge of power within it. She gasped, feeling the heat blaze and then calm down. "That's it," he said. "Now, step over to the edge," he said, guiding her to the edge.
"What am I doing?" she asked.
"Remote viewing," he answered. "Close your eyes and just focus on somewhere. Watch someone," he suggested.
"Like who?" she asked, noticing they were looking towards the mountains in the South.
"Anyone is fine, someone you know or a stranger is fine. Just be sure to pull away if they are doing something private," he explained.
She huffed and closed her eyes, trying to sense for someone, anyone. Since she was annoyed with Vegeta, Tien, and a little bit with Piccolo when he accosted her, she settled to find a stranger. It felt like it took too many minutes. "It's too hard. There's no one around."
"Keep trying," he encouraged.
She wanted to stop, but kept trying, kept looking. She sighed. She made an effort for a few more minutes, on the verge of giving up before she found someone. An old man with bushy white hair and a bushy white mustache. His clothing was an array of black, orange, yellow, and brown. He had a backpack on his back. She watched him flying. He seemed far too old and frail to do that.
He flew from the Southern Capital to a cave up in the mountains. She heard him muttering to himself. "They are out of control... Not like #19... However, they're may be of use... a great risk, but I can improve them... we can attack tomorrow... I have no other choice..."
Val kept watching, seeing him land in the mountains and go into the caves. She watched him enter a laboratory with a massive computer. She watched him step up to a sleeping pod with the label #19. He woke the... person... in the pod. A round and very pale person. "Wake up, #19. We have work to do now. And tomorrow morning."
She watched the other person, #19 step silently out of the pod. She watched the two of them start to work in the laboratory, working on two other pods, labeled #17 and #18. She wondered what they were planning exactly.
"Kiri!" she heard Kami's voice cut through her intense focus.
She dropped the staff, nearly dropping it off the edge of the Lookout. Kami caught swiftly. "You need to be more careful. You know the guardian can't leave the Lookout, so I would have lost the staff if you dropped it."
She stepped back him, breathing deeply and feeling her hands shake from having held the staff and used it. "I know. I'm sorry," she answered, trying to keep her temper at bay.
He drew an impatient sigh. He was annoyed with her yet again. He was studying her face. "What did you see?" he asked.
She shook her head, annoyed at him being annoyed at her. "Nothing!" she lied. "I saw nothing!" She looked at the staff in his hands. "It must have been rejecting me. I must not be pure enough in heart to use it," she lied.
"Kiri," he said her name patiently, but in how keyed up she was, she did not like the sound of it.
"I can't do this. I shouldn't do this," she insisted.
"Then what else do you want to do with your life on this planet?" he asked, his patience sounding like it was coming to the end. "You said you felt your research at Capsule Corps is pointless now that you managed to make an anti viral medicine that could have saved Goku. You won't even try at that anymore."
"Too little, too late," she grumbled, feeling an old pang of grief shoot through her.
He shook his head. "Try again," he said, holding the staff out.
"No," she said childishly. She shook her head. "I'm tired, I need to rest more."
"You just got here," he pointed out.
She groaned. "Then just tell Piccolo to scold me again," she muttered. She felt her face flush excitedly, even for that connection with him. Ever since she started to train as guardian, he had stopped training her to fight. She felt half guilty feeling such a rush from the thought of how he touched her wrist. There was some kind of connection there.
"Kiri," he said her name again.
She huffed, not saying anything more. She jumped from the Lookout and took off, flying back home to Capsule Corps. She grabbed food to eat for dinner so could avoid dealing with Vegeta anymore today. She saw Bulma, who asked if she was alright. Val just grumbled at her and went to her room. She plopped on her bed, huffing in her annoyance and eating half heartedly. She heard a buzzing sound on her nightstand. She went over to it, seeing it was her phone. Tien had texted her. She turned the phone off, not wanting to talk to him since he was asking her yet again to come to his village and stay a few days. She groaned, not wanting to go back there with how bothersome his friend Aiko had been the last time she visited.
Val threw away the food wrappers and took a shower, deciding she would just sleep and call it a night. However, she tossed and turned, thinking about the old man she saw in the laboratory, wondering who he was and what he was up to. How he could fly. What he and that other person where doing and talking about in the laboratory. Come sunrise, she gave up trying to sleep and decided to just go to the cave and see what they were up to.