Val was starting to get bored and hungry at the Kame House, waiting for Krillin to come back with the fish he boasted he would catch for his girlfriend. Val picked through the snacks they had on hand, but the thought of grilled fish made other foods just unappetizing. The thought made her feel a twinge of homesickness for Old Namek, where she had a lot of fresh caught fish to eat. She checked her phone, she the messages she sent had not be received yet. Bulma had said the service on the island had been lacking before. She got up and poked her head out the front door, asking, "he catch anything yet?"
Yamcha looked over at her, shaking his head. "The fish are laughing at him though," he added, sounding amused.
She gave him a sour look, stomach rumbling. "I'll catch my own," she decided.
He gave her an intrigued look, asking, "do you have a swimsuit here, too, or are you going to see if you can just borrow one of the ones Master Roshi's has stashed away somewhere?" he asked, looking her over, but then checking over his shoulder to see if Bulma noticed.
She cringed at the thought and shook her head. "I'll just go to another island and be back in a bit," she shared out loud. She did not share the plan to strip down on that island where no one could see her. She took her phone in hand, seeing no received messages. She turned it off. "Since I'll be in and around the water, can you watch my phone?"
"Hm, sure," he agreed, taking it as she passed it to him. "Well if you catch any extra fish, feel free to share," he added, pocketing her phone without so much as a glance down on it.
She flew off, finding another island at a bit of a distance with no one else there. She glanced around and then sensed around, seeing and sensing no one else near enough to her that she would be seen. She stripped down completely to keep her clothes dry on a patch of grass on the island by the shore, and dove into the water.
The saltiness of Earth's oceans was unlike the fresh water on Old Namek. She sunk in the water, enjoying it nevertheless. The fish on this planet were rather small compared to the fish on Namek, but she managed to catch two and cook them with a short energy blast to avoid overcooking them. She ate, feeling partly satisfied, but a bit thirsty yet. She debated jumping back into the water to catch some more when she froze, looking up at the sky. Something about how the way the set of birds were flying up there was not right. She could barely hear them at the distance they were, but they were too loud, impossibly loud with their cawing for how far away they were from her. A purplish haze seemed to trail them, the color unnatural.
She threw the remains of the two fish out into the water for another animal to enjoy, and then threw on her clothes quickly. She took a second to brush the sand off her clothes and in her hair before taking off into the sky herself. The birds noticed her in turn, turning in their v formation to attack her. She loosed a shout of sheer panic when they surrounded her, ramming her. She through a blast of energy around her to fry them before they could get their beaks or claws into her. One managed to claw her across her right upper arm, right under her short sleeve before it died.
She winced, looking down at the three scratches, noticing it was shallow and hardly bleeding. Yet with her thick skin, it should not have even been possible unless that bird had been all out, recklessly out, for blood. She hummed, bringing the underside of the hem of her shirt to wipe it off, thinking when she got back to the Kame House, she would need to clean the scratches.
Val flew back to Kame House, arriving just in time to see Gohan had arrived. Strangely enough, he was on the roof with his mother pursuing him. She launched herself at him, only to have him knock her off the roof.
Val blinked in confusion at the sight, something feeling way off in the pit of her stomach. She heard shrill screaming. She flew towards the sound, seeing Master Roshi creeping towards Marron in an unnatural way, with her pointlessly throwing things at him. Right before she kicked him out of the way and into the shallow water, she noticed he had somehow grown a pair of fangs and violently purple eyes in the time it took for her to get back.
Marron was still shout talking, the sound so loud it nearly drove Val to cover her ears. Somewhere in there might have a thank you, but she was not sure. Krillin came over to her, getting her to quiet down. "What's going on?" Val asked over the ringing in her ears. She tugged at the sleeve over the scratches, thinking that her shirt could staunch the bleeding since she was not sure when she would get a moment to clean the wound. She swallowed dryly.
"I don't know," Krillin answered. "We came back up from the water and they just started attacking us."
She looked over, at the others as Gohan joined them. "What's wrong with their teeth? And their eyes?"
Before any of the three of them could answer, the sounds of laughter came from the sky. She looked up in time with the others, seeing four fighters who were clearly not human land on the island. The others knelt down and bowed to them. Val took a second to wonder how the plane they stood on and around had gotten there, but now was not the time to ask after it. She studied the four fighters, feeling a quick flush of relief that their outfits did not indicate they were from the Imperial Army. A second thought flashed in her mind that she wished Vegeta were here, wondering at where in the universe he was now.
The four fighters were talking, sharing that the others had inhaled the black water mist, whatever that was, and served them now. Gohan seemed more than ready to fight finding out his mother has been messed with. The shortest of the four fighters revealed the only way the others could be restored back to their normal selves was the sacred water kept at the Lookout. Worse yet, the tallest one revealed Garlic Jr. was back, had deposed Kami, and took over as Earth's guardian. Val felt her stomach sink at the thought, the temptation to ditch Krillin, Gohan, and Marron then and there and make a break for the Lookout almost overwhelmed her. The only thing that made her pause was watching Gohan charge the four of them recklessly, only to be held in place by the four of them.
An unexpected blast from the roof threw off the four fighters' concentration, making them drop their hold on Gohan. She felt a wave of relief shoot through her when she looked up to see where the blast came from. It was Piccolo. If Vegeta could not be there, at least Piccolo was. A smile came to her face, but was scrubbed off when even he sounded worried that Kami and the Lookout were taken over by Garlic Jr. Her relief did lessen when the four fighters and the others surrounded him on the roof. She still felt the itch to get to the Lookout grow even more tempting, in spite of that.
She listened in as the lead fighter shared about how Garlic Jr. escaped the Dead Zone thanks to the power of the Makyo Star, hating the news that he not only took over the Lookout, but the Earth as well by using the blackwater mist, that would permanently change those on Earth unless the sacred water was used in the next 24 hours.
Piccolo engaged them in a fight above the Kame House, with Yamcha under the influence of the black water mist interfering. Piccolo fought him off, with Gohan hovering around, trying to keep them from fighting. Meanwhile Krillin was attacked by Master Roshi and Bulma and Chichi going after the screaming Marron, only to be rescued by Gohan's dragon friend Icarus.
Val felt her ears draw back, losing track of the four fighters in the confusion. She launched herself in the air, getting out of the way, tempted to head for the Lookout. She sensed for the four fighters, trying to find them. The lead one appeared behind her as if from nowhere. She turned around, debating if and how to engage in this fight. "You're new. How did you get passed the black water mist?"
She stared him down, not blinking nor answering. She tugged at her sleeve to hide the bird's scratches, so insignificantly unimportant now. She looked behind her at the others, grimacing. She heard Piccolo yell at Krillin and Gohan to get to the Lookout and get the sacred water. It was the last straw for her to go. She took off away from the fighter, ignoring the shout she heard from Krillin to wait up.