Val kept watching the others, seeing Vegeta fly off in his temperamental state. She almost went to watch him, but could sense even up here he wanted to be alone. He mentioned wanting to surpass Super Saiyan, which sound half mad and half impossible, but with how stubbornly determined he was, reachable.
She heard Krillin start talking, drawing her attention back to him. He said, "you said it wouldn't really solve anything if you went into the past and destroyed #17." Val cocked her head, having missed a prior conversation between the two of them.
Trunks responded, "that's right. It would probably save that dimension's future but that wouldn't do anything for this dimension."
Krillin sighed, "so it probably wouldn't do any good to go to Dr. Gero's lab and destroy Cell there." Val perked up at that. She tightened her grip on the staff. They could not destroy the lab, not until she got there and got his research and data.
Trunks shrugged, saying, "we might as well do it. That way we wouldn't have to worry about Cell in this future."
Piccolo clicked his teeth, commenting, "you two go to the lab and destroy Cell. Tien and I will stay here and continue to search." Val tightened her grip, twisting her hands. The two of them, together, alone.
"Okay," Trunks said, nodding.
"Well, if you're not able to find Cell, come back to Kame House. You might be able to figure out where is by watching the news," Tien figured.
Val felt herself panting. She was unsure which pair to watch. She needed to get that data from Dr. Gero's, but could not leave the Lookout. Yet Tien and Piccolo were about to be alone together, which made her cringe. She watched Krillin and Trunks fly off, getting closer and closer to Dr. Gero's laboratory. They could not be allowed to destroy the data.
She wringed her hands around the staff, closed her eyes, and concentrated. "Krillin. Trunks," she said out loud. She heard Krillin hum and look around. As did Trunks. She sighed, glad both of them could hear her. "Don't destroy the lab," she blurted out.
"Huh?" Krillin said, both of them still flying.
Trunks hummed, "we need to destroy Cell. In this timeline."
"I know," Val rushed out, "but only him. Don't destroy anything else."
"Why not?" Krillin asked, genuinely confused.
She hummed, readying herself to explain, "I want Dr. Gero's research and data."
"Why...?" Trunks asked cautiously.
"I... I need it... for my research," she added. "But I can't leave the Lookout."
Trunks sighed, asking tensely, "aren't you Earth's guardian now? Are you going to keep researching while doing that, too?"
Val bit her lip, feeling a headache forming. "I'm just guardian for the interim. And I want to expand my research. And to do that, I need his data," she rushed desperately.
"If that data fell into the wrong hands-" Trunks started.
"It won't," she interrupted. "Because I'll have it. Safe and secure in my Capsule Corp account. No one was able to ever hack that, except your mother. She would trust me with it, she would help me get it, surely. Your father even brought data for me back from the Imperial Army and I've never done anything awful with it. I used that research to help the Earth." She looked at Trunks, seeming to mull it over. "You even let me take medicine right out of Frieza's ship. You trusted me with that even."
"Fixed points in time," Trunks murmured to himself.
Krillin looked up at the sky and then over at Trunks. "You know, if you're worried about his data falling into the wrong hands, Val's the last person. It's not like she's going to make her own monster or something." He looked up at the sky. "Are you?"
She felt her ears draw back. "No," she rushed out, feeling like she was lying. She winced, feeling a wave of heat burn her from the staff. She did not let it go lest she loose her communication with them. "You can trust me, I swear," she said neutrally.
"We can't just leave it sitting for days. Anyone can find it," Trunks said.
"Well, we could just look around the lab. I'm sure he has flash drives or something somewhere," Krillin suggested.
"Do that," Val pleaded. "Please."
Trunks sighed and nodded. "Then we destroy it right afterwards. Today."
"That's fine," Val agreed, feel a wave of both relief and tiredness.
She watched them intently fly off to the lab, her head still aching a bit, but not enough to make her let go of the remote viewing. It would take them some time to get there though. She checked again on Vegeta, seeing he was still in his own temperamental feelings. She swallowed thickly and turned to remote view Piccolo with Tien.
She watched cautiously and quietly, not wanting to be caught watching. She drew a deep, calming breath, relaxing and smoothing her emotions so not to be sensed spying by Piccolo. The two of them were hovering here and there midair, looking and sensing for Cell. She felt a pang of regret that she was busy spying on the others rather than doing the same from her vantage point up at the Lookout.
She watched them, seeing Tien look and sense around the ground, but threw a few covert glances over at Piccolo. Without connecting to the emotions of it, she could pick up on the tension between the two of them. "Ask," Piccolo stated, breaking the tense silence.
Tien looked over at him once more, holding the gaze between of them this time. "Ask what?" he said unconvincingly.
"Val wants Dr. Gero's data badly. If she's remote viewing from the Lookout, likely she's asked Trunks and Krillin to get it for her and will watching them intently to make sure they're getting it for her," Piccolo guessed almost correctly. There was no tension rolling off of him. Whatever was rolling off of him, he was too far to be sensed because the emotion was too weak.
Tien seemed to be bristling a bit. "She's stealing more," he bit out. "Vegeta's influence," he swore. Val frowned at his words, but kept her emotions suppressed about those words. "At least..." he sighed out, not finishing his thought. "When...?" he added on bated breath.
"After you two broke up," Piccolo answered. "She wanted distance from Vegeta, so she trained and stayed with us. She initiated each time-"
"Except last night," Tien finished, guessing correctly. Tien looked at him in that explanation, brow furrowed, but nodded. "Could be worse," he muttered, heard by both of them. "I kind of panicked when I saw her holding Trunks." He sighed, mumbling, "Aiko... the village... ugh," Val felt her jaw set at that name.
"What about them?" he asked, sounding a hint curiously and maybe just a hint hopeful if Val was not imagining it.
Tien stumbled out an admission, "my... I'm not sure... but last night... we did as well..." He shook his head. "The village, some of the villagers... I didn't know..."
"Don't know what?" he asked.
He gritted his teeth, admitting, "Val's not listening, but I thought she was just not understanding the village way of life since she came from space and spent some time closed off in Capsule Corps with hardly any interaction with anyone else besides Vegeta. Chiaotzu and I, didn't know just how unwelcoming some of the older villagers, some leaders, were about Val. It was kept swept under the rug. We didn't know how bad it was. Like to the point where they thought because she was a 'space witch' or something, that anything she touched was contaminated. No one was supposed to touch her if they could help it. Dishes she used were washed twice. Aiko said she didn't know either, and I believe her since she's not that popular with some of them either. After Val came and gave us the antiviral medicine, Aiko says she happened by when she caught those leaders take the medicine Val gave the village and destroy it. Aiko went off on them, raging and tell anyone who would listen just how wrong they were," He shook his head at the memory. "She was spitting angry like she bear when she told me. But after that day... Aiko and I... for me that's when... whatever it is started," he finished his reminiscing with a sigh.
"We should focus on finding and stopping Cell," Piccolo advised after taking in his words. "We can figure out how to set the future back on track afterwards." Val perked up at that, wanting him to either explain more or try to catch Trunks on his own and try to get him to explain more. "If you can't focus on that, then go home," he insisted.
Tien crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. His eyes suddenly flicked wide and he looked around the area. "Over there!" he rushed out in an unrelated comment. "I feel a slight ki disturbance." He took off towards it. Piccolo flew off after him.
Val watched them take off and check out another town ravaged by Cell. She felt herself want to sink into herself thinking about what they both had said, but pushed it down, wanting to focus on the task at hand. She searched the area for them as well, not finding Cell either.
She shook her dozy head and gave up, gnawing at her lip. "Focus," she told herself quietly. She turned her gaze back to Trunks and Krillin, seeing they were at Dr. Gero's lab now. That was the mission she wanted completed now, pushing away thoughts about what she had heard for later.
She saw them find the lab down below the area Trunks had destroyed earlier when he tried to destroy the androids when they had first encountered them. Val felt herself pause at the sight of just how big the computer was. A flash drive was not about to cut it. "Damn," Krillin swore. "Is that the computer?"
Trunks went up to a tube in the air, tapping the glass that contain the tiniest life form. "Look at this! I'm sure this is what's going to become Cell."
"Ok," Krillin huffed. "How do we get data off that thing before we destroy it all?"
Trunks paused, standing stiffer. "Are you sure we can trust her?" he asked softly, flicking his eyes up towards the ceiling.
Krillin hummed and thought out loud, "well, your dad did. He stole a bunch of data from Frieza's army for her and all she's used it for is good." Trunks grunted, his brow furrowing not unlike how Bulma's did when she was thinking. "You did, too. When you let her go and take stuff from Frieza's ship instead of outright destroying it."
Trunks clicked his teeth, saying, "that... those were supposed to happen..."
"Well, maybe because the future is changing, now this was supposed to happen to?" Krillin asked.
"It seems to have changed more than just saving Goku from the heart virus," Trunks admitted.
Val tightened her grip on the staff, listening to that, wanting him to reveal more. He did not. He started looking around the computer. He picked up a large, dense cuboid in hand with a short wire at the end. Val smiled, watching him intently. "Use it," she willed just to herself.
"What's that?" Krillin asked.
"An external hard drive," Trunks explained, stepping over to the computer. He plugged in the external hard drive, copying over the files. "It's going to take a few minutes... It's actually moving faster than expected..." He stepped away from the computer and over to the desk. "What a second. These are blue prints."
"What are they blueprints for? Cell?" Krillin asked.
Trunk shook his head, explaining, "No! It says '#17.' right here. I better let Mom have a look at this. She might be able to figure out their weaknesses." He sounded quite trusting when he said that. He stepped over to the external hard drive. "Whoa, that copied over fast," he commented. He unplugged and picked up the external hard drive, staring at it for a moment before tucking into his pocket. He tapped it, making sure it was securely in there. "Okay. Let's destroy the lab," he preempted before conjuring up his own blast.
"Right," Krillin said, nodding. Val watched the two of them destroy the lab, relieved that Trunks still had the external hard drive in hand when they were said and done. "And to finish the whole thing off," Krillin preempted, throwing one more blast at the lab before they flew off. "This turned out pretty well, don't you think?" Krillin asked optimistically.
"Yeah," Trunks said, sounding more agreeable. He stopped, making Krillin stop as well. "Krillin, can you please take these to my mother?" He passed over the external hard drive and blue prints. Before he let go of the external hard drive, he ruled, "let her decide what to do with this."
"Aren't you coming with me?" Krillin asked, taking the things.
"I want to train with my father," Trunks said, taking a steeling breath. "If he can pass Super Saiyan, then I want to also."
"Sure, but do you think Vegeta will let you?" Krillin asked.
"I don't want to work with a father like that, but even Father knows that having a training partner lets you improve faster than on your own," Trunks reasoned.
"Okay, do your best!" Krillin cheered.
"Sure!" Trunks said, flying in different directions.
Val watched them both fly off, following Krillin intently, seeing he was heading in the direction of Capsule Corps. It was a bit of a distance for him to get to, but she felt an overwhelming sense of relief when he handing everything over to Bulma and her father. When he explained about Val being guardian now and the external hard drive, Val felt an overwhelming sense of relief when Bulma quite easily took in the information and commented she would need to get up to the Lookout sooner rather than later with both the external hard drive and laptop since Val was probably quite bored.
Val felt a shake on her arm. "Miss. Val," she heard a voice, Mr. Popo's voice say. She blinked, slipping out of the remote viewing and looking down at him. Her eyes stung, feeling strained. "You ought to rest. Too much remote viewing is bad for you." She looked down at the world below, over at the staff in her hands, and nodded meekly. Her head did hurt and her stomach loosed a growl. "Come, you should eat," he beckoned.
She gave the world below one last look before following after him and into the kitchen. There she watched him start to grill up some fish and vegetables that smelled an awful lot like the ones she remembered eating on Namek. Her mouth watered and her stomach started to turn from hunger. She could not even begin to fathom how long ago the meal she ate in her room while Bulma did her hair was. When he served her the meal with a glass of cold hydrangea tea, it hardly took her anytime to devour it after a quick thank you.
When she finished, she watched him take the plate and glass from her before she could even think to take them herself. She hummed to herself, not liking being dotted on so much like this. "You should also rest," he said after he set her dishes in the nearby sink.
"Yes," she agreed, rising up and following him as he led her down the hall. She followed him to an ornate door that opened into a room she had never seen before. He opened the door before her and beckoned her to go inside. She looked in it, but did not cross the threshold. It was a living quarters, a large one at that. "What room is this?" she asked, taking a step back.
"The guardian's," he answered simply. "Yours now."
She peered into the room again, tempted to go in there and explore it. She took a hesitant step forward, but then shook her head. "No, it's not mine. It can't be for me."
He looked up at her thoroughly confused. "You're the Earth's guardian. It was Kami's room, but now it is yours," he explained.
She shook her head again, stepping back and away from the room. "I'm only doing this until we find someone else suited for it. Then I'm going back to Capsule Corps," she decided. She gave the room another tempted look though.
"Are you sure, my lady?" he asked her. She took a second before nodding. "Where would you like to stay then? While you are up here?" She could hear the disappointment in his voice, making her want to claim the room anyway.
"The room I was in before," she thought out loud. When I was recovering from the Shinsenkai," she suggested.
He nodded, shutting the guardian's room's door behind him. She felt tempted turn around and go back, but knew she could not, should not claim that room as just an interim guardian. When they reached the room she had in before, she suppressed a frown, realizing not only was it smaller than the unoccupied guardian's room, but smaller than she had remembered as well. She looked inside of it disappointedly before stepping into the room. "Thank you. This is better suited for me," she said.
She reached over to him to take the door and close it before he could do it for her. He caught up her hand with no force. "Your hand," he commented, looking at palm and seeing it was slightly burned. Val had not noticed it before. "Have you lied or anything like that since you became guardian?" he asked her, letting her hand go.
She blinked down at her, feeling her ears draw back. She set the staff down to lean against the wall by the door frame. "Not that I know of..." she answered slowly. She swallowed thickly, thinking of when the staff had burned her when Krillin asked if she was thinking of making a monster. "What would happen if I did?"
He explained, "to be guardian, you have to be pure of heart. If you commit an act which is impure, then the staff will burn you, reject you."
She stood up a little taller. "Oh," was all she said in response, pulling her hands behind her back.
He nodded, bowing slightly. "Miss Val, you should rest. You may be insisting you will be guardian only in the interim, but there is still a lot you will need to learn while you are fulfilling the role. Have a good rest."
"Thanks," she said. "You should, too," she rushed out.
When he finally shut the door between the two of them, she sighed heavily. She looked down at her hands, seeing both palms had been burned, but not bad enough to warrant even the thought of getting a senzu bean. She opened and closed them, feeling the stiffened skin resist the movement. She brought one hand to her forehead, head reeling over what had happened since she left Capsule Corps, this morning today. She looked over at the staff leaning so innocently on the wall, no longer desiring to touch it ever again.
"Damn it all," she swore in frustration.