Val flew with the others up towards the mountain, feeling colder and colder the farther they went, following after Piccolo's lead. "How much further is the Northern Capital?" Piccolo called back to ask.
"It's just over there," Tien said, nodding in the right direction.
"There it is," Krillin said, pointing it out.
They halted, Val looking down on the city. It was smaller than the Southern Capital. She frowned at the sight of a hospital, remembering the two nurses she had run into on the roof in the Southern Capital with a twinge of guilt. The people there had no idea what danger lay just beyond them in the mountains. "The lab is in a cave in these somewhere, isn't it?" she asked, shivering. The cold seemed to seep into her battle armor. It reminded her of Tien's village and how cold she had been on her visits there.
"Will we be able to find it in all these mountains?" Tien said, scouting the area.
"We'll have to split up and search. If you fid the cave, let the rest know," Piccolo ruled.
"The North sure is cold," Krillin complained, shivering worse than Val was. He was worsely outfitted for the cold than she was. "So how should we let the rest know?"
"Raise your ki fast," Piccolo decided.
"I see," Tien said.
"Tien, do you have any money? I'd like to buy a coat," Krillin chattered out.
"What? Just bear with it. I'm cold, too," Tien countered.
Piccolo sighed, "you Earthlings sure are inconvenient."
"It is quite cold," Val agreed, wondering why he was not so cold himself.
Piccolo grunted, "if we don't hurry, #17 and #18 will be reactivated."
They flew off, searching, for Dr. Gero and or his cave. Val gravitated towards the city to search, sensing Vegeta and Trunks were also in the area searching as well. After what felt like hours of searching, she heard and sensed Krillin calling for them. She joined the others as she rushed towards the area. Krillin lead them into a cave, which had a large metal door in the middle of it. Tien and Krillin tried and failed to bust their way into it. "This gate is tough!" Krillin complained.
"Get out of the way," Piccolo told them. "Ill destroy it." He took aim at the door.
"If you destroy the cyborgs, I'll kill you," Vegeta warned him.
He halted, with the lot of them being able Dr. Gero arguing with someone. They had gotten there too late, being able to Dr. Gero talking to the two androids who had already been activated. "#17, stop this stupid joke and kill the enemy on the other side of this door!"
"They cyborgs have been reactivated," Krillin groaned.
Piccolo growled, "ugh, we're too late!"
"Out of my way, asshole!" Vegeta said, shoving himself to the front and taking aim on the door.
"Don't do it!" Trunks shouted behind him. "Let's get out of here while we still can! We can wait until Goku gets better and then-"
"Unnecessary!" Vegeta shouted back, taking aim and shooting the door down.
Val flinched, covering her face and head with her hands to shield herself from the blast. As the dust settled, she peered into the room, seeing not much in the way of a research station that should be there, but she did noticed a stairwell in the back that lead down to something on the lower level. She did see Dr. Gero and two activated androids. He had been arguing with the black haired one. Both groups looked at each other.
Vegeta broke the silence between the two groups, asking Trunks, "are you sure it's them this time?"
"Yes," Trunks answered, voice sounding nervous.
"Is that #17 and #18?" Krillin asked.
Val looked at them, seeing how young, how human, and how attractive they looked. "Don't be fooled by their appearance. They're terrible monsters!" Trunks warned.
Dr. Gero pointed out, "it's them! Those are Goku's allies I was telling you about! Don't underestimate them. They destroyed #19! And they almost killed me!"
"#19?" the male android asked. Val blinked disbelievingly at the sound of his smooth voice. "You made that?! You have used him to turn yourself into a cyborg. So what kind was he? Energy absorption type?"
"Yes," Dr. Gero answered.
#18 spoke next, asking, "if he was the new model, why did you use an energy absorption type? Because he'd have too much power and be unable to control? That's why he was destroyed."
"Unable to control?" Krillin asked.
Dr. Gero snapped at the two of them, "that doesn't matter now! Take care of them now!"
#17 clicked his teeth, countering, "shut your yapping. When we want to do it, we will."
"What did you say!?" Dr. Gero shouted at him.
Val blinked, surprised by the insolence of the android to his creator. Meanwhile, #18 was walking toward an unopened pod. "#16? This is an eternal power source type as well?" she asked. "But he looked like a different model than us. He's pretty big. I wonder how he's different."
"Stay away from him, #18!" Dr. Gero shouted at her defensively.
"Did she say #16? I never heard of a #16!" Trunks said.
#17 spoke to her, "he looks interesting. Shall we start him up, #18?"
Dr. Gero spat, "don't do it! Do you want to destroy the entire world?! #16 was a failed experimental unit. Whatever you do, don't activate him!"
#18 hummed, "if he was a failure why did you keep him around? It looks like you go get rid of all of them up to #15."
"I was getting ready to rebuild him! Don't activate him! He might kill you and me!" Dr. Gero demanded.
"Hey," whispered Krillin, "let's get away now while they're arguing!"
"Go ahead," Vegeta said dismissively. "They're probably too strong for any of you to fight."
Meanwhile, Dr. Gero kept arguing with the androids. "You think he can kill us? Are you saying he's stronger than us?" #17 wondered. "I don't care. Activate him, #18."
"You dare disobey my commands?! You're the same as #16! Failures!" Dr. Gero shouted at the pair. I don't care what you do! I'll stop all of you myself!"
"But we destroyed the shutoff control," #17 pointed out.
"I'll build another! In the lab downstairs" he swore. "What do I have to do to make you understand?! Don't activate him!" Val gasped, seeing #17 strike Dr. Gero through the chest. "D-damn you! W-what a-are you..." #17 kicked him swiftly in the neck, decapitating him. Val watched the removed head bounce around the lab. #17 pursued it. "Damn you! You're trash!" the head still managed to speak. #17 stomped on it until it was no more than a pile of machine parts.
That brought him right up in front of Krillin who shrinked back. He hummed at him, and then turned and walked away from them. "What are they? They killed their own master!" Krillin gasped.
"That's not so unusual. You should always kill anyone you don't like. We Saiyans are the same. The unusual ones are you Earthlings," Vegeta commented.
#17 went over to the pod holding #16. "Push the switch," he bid.
"I won't let you! We can't let there be anymore cyborgs!" Trunks shouted. He powered up to Super Saiyan form so suddenly that Val felt a double wave of panic for him doing so so close to all of them in this enclosed space. He aimed a large blast at the two androids without thinking.
"You idiot!" Krillin shouted as the lot of them fled cave lest the blast kill them all.
Val panted as she got outside, looking back over at the smoking cave curiously. Dr. Gero had something about a lab below. She felt an unplace temptation rise up within her to go check on the lab to see what he was researching, especially about her, but it was hardly the time or situation-
"You brat!" Vegeta scolded Trunks. His voice broke Val out of her thoughts. "Why did you do something that stupid?"
"Stupid?" Trunks countered, sounding offended.
"You could have damaged the cyborgs," he pointed out. "That was just a waste of energy."
"There's another one now!" Krillin said, pointing at the ground with the three androids. "They've opened it." Val looked down, seeing the the third android rise up from the pod. "Is that #16?"
"He looks pretty strong!" Tien gasped.
"I don't know. I've never seen him before!" Trunks said, seething. He was truly terrified.
Val looked down, seeing the androids talking quietly amongst themselves. They rose up and then just flew off, but not towards the Northern Capital. "They... they're gone! Thank goodness," Krillin exhaled.
"What are they up too? Where did they go?" Tien questioned.
"It doesn't look like they're going to attack the Northern Capital," Piccolo surmised.
Val nodded. "They went the wrong way," sounding relieved.
Krillin gasped, "it's Goku! Are they planning on going to his house? Dr. Gero's goal was to kill Goku for crushing the Red Ribbon Army."
"But do you think they'd really do what Gero wanted?" Tien asked.
"That... That doesn't matter," Vegeta griped. "I was right here! They trying to say I wasn't worth noticing?! That pisses me off!" He went Super Saiyan in his rage, ready to go after them.
Trunks jumped in front of him, hands spread to keep him from going around him. "Don't chase them! Just, just wait a little!"
Vegeta scoffed, "until after Kakarot gets better?"
"Kakarot?" He fumbled at the unfamiliar name. "This is Goku's affair as well! We can't fight without Goku!"
Vegeta clicked his teeth, saying, "you don't understand. I hate Kakarot much worse than the cyborgs. I want to take care of them without his help. And then I'll care of Kakarot. If you understand, move."
"That's impossible!" Trunks shouted back. "You can't defeat them yourself! You'll be going to your death!"
Val winced as she saw Vegeta punch him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him, before taking off after the androids. Trunks panted, looking after him with a face half full of fury, half full of longing as he caught his breath. His eyes landed on Val. "My mother said you're his closest friend," he griped. "Why didn't you stop him?!"
She reared back, offended by that comment. "There's no need to lash out," Tien said in her defense.
Val looked over in the direction Vegeta had flown. "How did you expect me to stop him?" she asked simply.
He groaned in annoyance. He turned his back on them and flew off after Vegeta. "We still shouldn't let Vegeta face them alone," Piccolo said before he took after them.
Val followed after them right behind him, seeing Krillin and Tien flying right after her.