Val flew after Raditz's brother, barely able to keep him in sight by the time he landed where Frieza and their other allies were. She landed almost a minute after him, right behind Krillin. She noticed his armor was damaged, but he was fine. She looked at the others in the area. Gohan looked a bit beat up. A Namekian she had not seen before stood near them, looking worse for wear than Krillin. The dead body of Dende behind her made her stomach flip. Raditz's brother stood in front of Krillin. She looked forward seeing Vegeta on the ground by Frieza in heightened form, looking nearly dead. He did not look immortal. The sight of him made her feel enraged. "Vegeta," she whimpered softly, moving to rush towards him.
Only to have a hand on her left shoulder grab her from behind and force her to halt. She yanked herself away, turning to see who grabbed her. It was the unknown Namekian. "Stay back," was all he said, looking down at her and then over to Raditz's brother.
"Freight?" she asked, knowing it was not him, but unable to place him otherwise.
Krillin turned his head back, explaining, "that's Piccolo. He's the Namekian from Earth. We wished him back to life and then here." He pointed his thumb over at her and looked at the strange Namekian. "That's Val. Escaped from Frieza as a kid a few days ago. Also, grew up a fewer day ago."
She looked from Krillin to Piccolo and back again. "He's too young to be Katas's child," she ruled, taking an immediate distrust to him.
"Uh, it's a long story. Maybe I can explain it all to you over dinner some time?" Krillin suggested. "When we're not about to die at the hands of a monster of course..." he added.
"I'm not hungry," she answered shortly, confused at how he would want something to eat at a time like this. She turned her attention to Vegeta, hating how gravely injured he looked. "Looks like you didn't give him his wish after all," she accused.
She turned her attention to Raditz's brother as he kicked Frieza back and away, but only for him to land easy on his feet. A chill went up her neck just before Frieza aimed five short shots at Raditz's brother and the rest of them. She and the others dodge unnecessarily considering Raditz's brother knocked them all away.
Frieza looked dumbstruck at the sight. "He just knocked them all back with one hand," he observed.
Vegeta was on the ground, half groaning and half laughing. "Frieza... don't take him lightly..." he jeered. "He's the one... you've been afraid of... He's... the Super Saiyan! The one the... Anthromorph... cursed you to die... at the hands of..." Val drew her ears back to hear the mention of her curse. Slowly she drew her hands behind her back and balled them up. "You... heard me! The legendary warrior... The most powerful... in the universe!" He coughed out a weak laugh. "Frieza, you're through! I'm only... glad I lived to see it!"
Frieza shot another small blast at him, shooting him through the chest. "Didn't I tell you?! I hate jokes!"
Val screwed her hands up behind her back so tight her fingernails pricked her palms. She felt like she herself was breathing too heavy now in an effort to keep herself from charging recklessly forward. Both her face and hands felt hot. She bit back both reactions.
"Vegeta!" Raditz's brother gasped. "He couldn't fight you! He couldn't even move! You didn't have to do this!"
Frieza seemed not bothered by the sentimentality. "I told him to shut up about his ridiculous Super Saiyan legend. I detest people who repeat themselves."
Vegeta was somehow still alive, barely clinging on. "Kakarot... y-you fool... that's what limits you... be merciless! Lose your... stupid sentiment... and you could truly be... the Super Saiyan!"
Raditz's brother shook his head. "I could never be merciless like you. I don't even know what this 'Super Saiyan' is supposed to be!" he countered.
Vegeta struggled out, "the... the Super..." he sputtered.
Raditz's brother shook his head. "Don't talk anymore. You're just killing yourself."
"Kakarot... how do you think... Planet Vegeta... the world where you and I were born... was destroyed? Not... because of some meteor impact..." Vegeta kept talking.
Frieza scoffed, "not even having your heart run through can shut you up! How long is this going to go on?"
Vegeta kept going on. "It was... Frieza! We Saiyans... did just as he commanded... we were his hands... his muscles... and yet... he killed them all... your parents... my father... the king... he killed them all because he feared that a Super Saiyan would arise from among them!"
Frieza laughed, "so you say."
Vegeta still kept going. "P-please... Frieza... Frieza must... die... by a Saiyan's hands..."
Val felt both hot and cold, hands trembling behind her back. Her palms felt wet where her nails pierced her own thick skin. Her breaths came in and out shallowly, not sure what to do or even try to say. She clenched her jaw so hard her teeth hurt.
"Vegeta..." Raditz's brother said, word and tone expressing what she wanted to.
"Finally!" Frieza complained. "Now, let's start the game over."
Raditz's brother kept his attention on Vegeta. "I never thought I'd see you cry or beg for anything. You really must have hated it," he thought aloud. He blasted a hole in the ground near the side of the cliff face nearby. "But it wasn't just the Saiyans getting murdered, was it? It was the fact that he used you! You were heartless. But you had the pride of a Saiyan. Now, I want you to give some of that pride to me. I was raised on Earth, but I'm Saiyan, too!" He buried him. He turned back, eyes trained on Val, which she was not expecting. His gaze was harsh, but none of the malice was thrown her way when he asked, "Frieza destroyed your home planet, too," he guessed correctly. "What was it called?" he asked.
She unclenched her jaw. "Aviary," she stated loud and clear enough for him to hear her. She tightened her jaw right back up afterwards.
He nodded once at her and turned back to face Frieza. He threw all his malice Frieza's way, swearing, "for all the Saiyans you killed, all the Namekians, and inhabitants of Aviary, I'm going to destroy you!"
"Yes, yes," Frieza responded, feigning boredom before squaring himself up to fight.
Val felt another chill travel up her spine when Raditz's brother squared himself to fight as well. "Get out of here! All of you!" she heard strange Namekian say behind her. "We'll just be collateral damage!"
She turned around to look him, watching him take off. "Hurry up! Gohan!" Krillin said as he jumped into the air. Val turned and launched herself in the air, following after the strange Namekian.
"Dad! Don't get killed! Beat Frieza!" Gohan urged before he took off as well to follow after the three of them.
They landed at a safer distance, watching the fighting from a distance. The fighting looked the most intense Val had ever seen, blast after blast reeking havoc on the land and water around them. The strange Namekian was right. Had the four of them stayed put, it would have been the death of them.
At one point, Raditz's brother went into the water and did not come back up. "What happened?" Krillin voiced. "Goku still hasn't come up."
"It's okay. His chi didn't get any weaker!" Gohan pointed.
"Chi?" Val asked, puzzled.
"Energy signature," Krillin explained.
"Ah," Val hummed. She sensed for it, finding it under the water, feeling relieved herself.
"Still can't sense chi?" Krillin asked her.
"Hmm," she hummed looking down at him. "No, I figured it out finally. Your explanation was helpful, unlike Nail's. I found Frieza's and bridged off of it to find you all close by," she answered.
Krillin raised his eye brows up. "Well, I guess that Frieza's would be like a spot light in a room full of candles," he considered. "Were you able to find mine not long after?"
"Hmm, yeah. I still can't sense Nail anywhere though. Too far away I guess. But my scouter showed he was alive before its battery ran dry," she added in, feeling vulnerable at voicing those thoughts. The strange Namekian growled nearby, drawing her attention briefly to him even though he did not say anything. She blinked away from him and towards the fighting.
No one said anything after not one, but three blasts came out of the water and at Frieza. Two were energy blasts and the third was Raditz's brother, kicking Frieza across the landscape explosively.
"Whoa!" Krillin cheered.
"Eek!" Gohan squeaked.
Val looked back down at her palms, wiping the few drops of residual blood from her nails digging into them off on her pants. She found herself hoping that maybe Vegeta was right after all. Frieza got up from that, much to her disappointment, and sent a wave of boulders at Raditz's brother. Then followed it up with an up close and direct blast against him. The blast was so strong, the winds from it whipped against the four of them. Val cowered down to brace for impact instinctively.
When the blast petered out, the four of them stood up straighter slowly and cautiously. "Goku?" Krillin said the name like a question. "I can't believe it." He sounded like he thought Raditz's brother was dead.
Val zeroed in on the newest crater, unblinking, try to sense or see something from it. The strange Namekian spoke up, "Frieza's only toying with him. If he wanted to, he could blow up this entire planet."
Gohan was just as focused on the newest crater as she was. "Where's Dad?" he asked.
"But there's no point in worrying. Goku's not give his all either," the strange Namekian said in a non-reply.
"What?" Val questioned, raising her eyebrows up at him.
"Look behind you," the strange Namekian smirked down at her in an oddly familiar way.
"Oh!" Gohan gasped, turning to look behind himself first.
The other three of them followed his gaze, seeing Raditz's brother no more worse for wear than was before. "Phew, that was a close one! I'll have to watch out for that from now on," he preempted before blasting and nearly knocking Krillin over.
"Saiyans," Val said, shaking her head as she watched him fly right back over to Frieza like his near death experience was nothing.
"How did Goku...?" Krillin asked, sounding confused as well.
The strange Namekian explained, "he broke out of the paralyzing light with super speed the instant it exploded."
"He did that so fast!" Gohan commented dumb founded.
"He's like a god, but then so is Frieza," the strange Namekian admitted, starting to sweat a bit.
Val trained her eyes back over to the fighting, seeing the two of them land on the ground. Raditz's brother took off his outer shirt before the fighting on land resumed. A kick from Frieza knocked him back, but only to follow with him throwing Frieza into a small cliffside by the tail. Frieza had not stayed down either. The two collided, fighting up close and knocking each other around. Then they just stopped, making Val wonder at what they could possibly be pausing to discuss.
"What's going on? They're just staring at each other," Krillin complained.
The strange Namekian furrowed his brow, commenting, "They're probing for the right moment to attack. It feels like their power alone is enough to crush me."
"Dad can win, right?" Gohan questioned nervously.
The strange Namekian shook his head. "There's no way to tell. Their powers are beyond our realms of comprehension," he inferred.
"Ho boy," Krillin breathed out.
Val took another look at her hand, wringing them together thinking how both what the curse she said about Napa and the one about the dragon balls for Frieza had worked, but with an unexpected twist. Napa died unexpectedly at Vegeta's hand. Frieza got all seven dragon balls at one point in time, but had not gotten his wish because he did not know the password. She worried that Raditz's brother might kill Frieza after all, but die trying. She glanced down at Gohan. Or he would die trying and Gohan would have to be the one to finish him off. If that even worked liked the other ones technically had. He had not been in the room with her like Napa had been when she said it. Even then if it set, what if it took years to happen as well, or it was not the fear of dying at the hands of Saiyan after all, but something or someone much, much worse-
Val flinched out of her anxious thoughts, seeing Frieza fly at Raditz's brother and the two resumed fighting. Raditz's brother seemed ablaze in whitish red flames, yet barely able to keep himself on his feet and land his own hits. He was getting half pummeled, hardly able to dodge much if any strikes, even one that split a rock face down the middle like it was nothing and then flowed out across the water and land at an immeasurably long depth and distance.
"Oh no," Krillin mumbled, voicing her own reaction.
"What did he do?" Gohan asked.
"He sliced up the planet," Val realized, suddenly wishing Raditz's brother would hurry up and finish Frieza off.
"I just hope Goku's got some kind of plan. If this is as bad as it looks," Krillin grumbled.
The strange Namekian shook his head, warning, "he has none. Frieza's power was greater than he or I ever imagine."
Val balled up her fists, wishing they would warm up again so she could try something, anything. She watched Raditz's brother bathe himself in flames again and charge Frieza recklessly.
"Whoa!" Krillin shouted when the aftershocks hit them.
Val blocked the wind against her face, but looked up as soon as she could to see Frieza look beat up, but still very much alive. She swore under her breath. Gohan was making a small choking noise near her.
"How could this be?" Krillin asked out loud. "That Kamehameha should've have packed a huge punch. Why doesn't Frieza show more damage?"
"What is that?" Val asked, looking down at him.
The strange Namekian answered her, "one of Goku's most powerful moves."
"Dad's chi. It shrank," Gohan noticed.
Val looked over and sensed over at Raditz's brother, picking up on the same thought.
The strange Namekian sighed, "like Kaio said. We shouldn't have tangled with Frieza, no matter what."
Val felt a chill flit over her. She reached up for the vial around her neck, realizing she forgot for a second time it was no longer there. She looked over at the others, fearing that if Frieza did win, he would kill all but her and she would be taken captive all over again. "There's got to be something he can still do," she murmured hopefully.
Frieza launched himself at Raditz's brother in a cold fury. He knocked him about again and again, throwing another strike across the land so powerfully, it dug yet another hold deep into the planet.
Gohan snapped, "I can't stand this anymore! I'm going in!"
The strange Namekian held him back. "Wait! Goku's doing something!" he pointed out hopefully.
"What?" Krillin asked, perking up.
"What is he doing? What could he do with so little strength left?" Val asked, frowning at the sight of Raditz's brother just holding his hands up in the air, almost in surrender... but that did not seem quite right...
"That's the Genki Dama!" Krillin exclaimed, him realizing what it was.
"The Genki Dama?" the strange Namekian knew nothing about it as well.
"Yeah! The special attack that one of the Kaios taught him!" Krillin cheered. "He gets all the living things, all the plants and animals on the planet, even us, even micro organisms to give him a little bit of energy. And he combines them all into an energy ball!"
"What?" the strange Namekian scowled out. "Curse that Kaio. He never said anything about that to me..."
Val looked over the three of them and then over at Raditz's brother. "Who all trained you all?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "A Kaio...?" she voiced the unfamiliar title.
Krillin looked up at her, answering, "well, there's one old man on Earth who trained the two of us. If we ever make it back there, maybe he can train you as well?" he suggested, but then added, "if we can ever get back there..."
Val heard the strange Namekian near her grunt. She looked up at him, shaking his head. "Focus on what's happening now," he insisted.
Gohan voiced something differently, "but will it work here? This planet doesn't have as much life as Earth."
"Goku knows that!" Krillin added in. "There's nothing he can about it! What choice has he got? He's got to risk it!"
Val clicked her teeth, watching Raditz's brother just stand there with his hands raised high. He looked half likely to pass out any second now. The others flicked their eyes up high in the sky. Val felt her jaw drop at the sight of it. "What is this?" the strange Namekian voiced the question in her own mind.
"Oh, you mean, that huge thing!" Gohan gasped.
"It's huge and it's getting huger!" Krillin gasped.
"Is that it?" the strange Namekian asked.
"It's like a fourth sun," Val commented.
Gohan nodded, saying, "it was only this big when he did it on Earth."
"That thing's got to be 150 feet across!" Krillin cheered. "No way this planet has that much living energy. He's got to be gathering chi from other planets, too."
The strange Namekian clicked his teeth. "Frieza hasn't noticed yet. Why doesn't Goku just attack with it?"
Krillin answered, "he has to gather even more chi, or it won't be enough to stop Frieza. That's what he's thinking."
"Hurry, Dad, hurry!" Gohan pressed.
Frieza launched himself at Raditz's brother, kicking him down.
"He figured it out!" Krillin panicked.
"No, not yet!" the strange Namekian inferred. Val trained her eyes on Raditz's brother, seeing him struggle to his feet and raise his hands right back up. "You three, give me your remaining chi!" the strange Namekian requested, holding his hands out at his side.
"What?" Val asked," throwing him a side glance.
"Do it now!" he demanded. Val watched Gohan and grabbed one hand with his, sending his energy, his chi into him. Then Krillin did the same. Val held back, unsure. She watched Frieza shove Raditz's brother to the ground and into the water. "Don't think of anything else! Concentrate!"
Krillin let go first, huffing, "I'm near tapped out." He let go.
"K- come on!" the strange Namekian urged her, holding his hand out to her.
She wiped her hands off on her pants once more, and then reached up and grabbed his with both of hers, mirroring how Krillin had. She felt her chi flow into him, making her hands feel warm in his cold one. She was cautious about it, eking out a little bit at a time. She was careful not to say anything. She keep her eyes trained on Raditz's brother, trying not to think of anything else. She watched Frieza waltz over to Raditz's brother hanging on the edge of the water. Then he looked up and noticed the Genki Dama. A blaze of panic went through her. She tightened her grip with all her might. She channeled her energy into the strange Namekian with abandoned quickness, even as she felt herself start to grow cold.
"All right! That's enough! Leave some for yourself!" the strange Namekian yanked his hand away from both Gohan and her. "Looks like he finally caught on. You three, stay here! Don't come over, no matter what happens!" Then he took off, charging straight towards Frieza recklessly. He kicked Frieza in the head and away from Raditz's brother.
Raditz's brother was quick to get right back up, hands in the air. The strange Namekian stood near Raditz's brother, watching Frieza loom over them in the air with the Genki Dama right behind him. "He's going to notice!" she swore, feeling her hands warm up even though she was cold. She aimed a blast at Frieza, seeing right afterwards Krillin and Gohan sent their own blasts right along with her. She smirked when the three hit home, making Frieza turn his attention right on them. It bought time. So did catching his eye, even if doing so sent a chill down her spine. She forced herself to hold the gaze, the way Asa had taught her never to do. She kept it up to keep him focused on her. Frieza raised his own hand in the air, forming an energy blast above his head.
Raditz's brother got the time he needed. He brought the Genki Dama down over Frieza. "Get down!" she shouted, throwing herself down to the ground, and covered her hands over her head and neck.
It was not enough to keep her safe. She felt the aftermath of the blast throw her around. Thrashing waves reached up and engulfed her. She fought against them, kicking her way to the surface of the raging seas. Her head broke the over the water, making her cough and sputter as she caught her breath. She heard a rushing, hissing sound nearby. She saw Gohan and Krillin on a rock a few feet away. She swam over to them, joining them on their rock. "Where are the other two?" she asked, tiredly trying to sense for them. She brought her hand to her forehead, rubbing at it.
"They were right by it. Did they get sucked into the explosion?" Gohan asked. "I don't feel their chi."
Krillin shrugged. "Maybe that's because we're too weak. Piccolo was with him. They're too though to die," he said with less confidence than Val wanted to hear.
"Krillin, look," Gohan pointed over to another out cove of rock. Val strained to see where he pointed. "Piccolo!"
"It's Goku!" Krillin cheered.
"They're alive!" Gohan said in equal excitement.
Val heaved a heavy sigh, watching the strange Namekian haul Raditz's brother out of the water and onto the land. Gohan took off towards them cheering, with Krillin and her following after him exhaustedly. She felt shaky as she moved.
"Argh, I can hardly fly with this wimpy chi," Krillin complained.
"Dad! Piccolo!" Gohan called out.
The three of them landed on the ground near them. Val landed nearest the strange Namekian, wobbling as she rolled her ankle on a loose rock. She stumbled a bit closer to him to regain her balance. She saw him raise a hand hand up, but she gave him a quick shake of the head before maintaining her balance on her own. Gohan meanwhile was hugging Raditz's brother followed by the strange Namekian patting his head affectionately. She felt a pang of jealousy go through her at a memory of seeing one of her own father's victories before. She allowed herself a small smile at the sight, thinking perhaps this Saiyan was a bit better than the other three she had come in contact with in the past considering she could no longer sense Frieza.
"Let's go home," the strange Namekian ruled, hands on his hips.
She felt her smile fade away, realizing that she did not have a place to call home herself, not anymore. She looked off in the distance, trying to sense for Nail again in time with studying the wrecked landscape.
Raditz's brother was talking, drawing her attention back to him. "We can get home to Earth in five days with my spaceship," he suggested. He caught her eye. "All of us," he added, nodding at her. She blinked up at him, not expecting the invitation and not sure how to respond.
"Oh," Krillin gasped, starring off into the distance.
"What is it, Krillin?" Raditz's brother asked in a serious tone.
"I totally forgot! We left Bulma!" he remembered.
"Who?" Val asked, trying to sense out in the distance again, but the pounding in her head made her give up.
"A friend of ours," Gohan explained. "Really, really smart, but kind of a slob." She blinked down at him, nodding at the explanation she was given. She did remember sensing another person, a weak one at that out on the planet somewhere. She remembered Dende briefly mentioning the third Earthling he met as well a few days ago as well. She figured it must be this woman.
"Don't scare me like that," Raditz's brother groaned. "I though Frieza had popped out again." He laughed a little, but she did not find his joke funny at all.
Krillin hummed, "in the wrong mood, she's scarier than Frieza."
That got Raditz's brother laughing harder, groaning, "don't make me laugh! It hurts too much!"
The strange Namekian spoke next to her, "Planet Namek has suffered greatly. But now I'm sure the Great Elder and the read of the dead will be able to rest in peace..."
Val shot him a no nonsense look at his unexpected words. "How do you know about the Great Elder?" she asked, tone insisting he answer her. She rounded on him, facing him. He looked down at her with an unexpectedly familiar look in his eyes. She softened her gaze, but waited impatiently for him to answer her. All her attention was on him, even as she heard Krillin mumble something. "You didn't grow up here, you just got here. You don't know anything about this planet."
"I'll explain later," he said softly enough for only her to hear.
She gasped, her eyes growing wide. She was not sure what to do or say. She felt her hands and forearms begin to tremble. She shook her head. "Why can't you explain it now?" she demanded, not sure how far to trust him..
"It's Frieza!" Krillin shouted.
Unwilling, that diverted her attention to an outlying rock. Frieza was standing there, clearly wounded, but clearly alive. For some reason, his eyes locked on hers. He raised his finger up, aiming right at her. She saw the blast, but never felt it. Instead she felt the strange Namekian throw his shoulder down and into her chest with a determined grunt, knocking her out of the way, and taking the blast in his chest instead. She landed hard on the ground with him partly on top of her. She busily kicked her way from out from under him. He had felt like a dead weight on top of her. Once she drew away, she looked down at him and saw he was not moving. She feared him dying, barely seeing his chest still drawing in breath. She heard the other three shouting. She reached up to her vial on her chest, annoyed not to find it there. She trembled, moving her lips, but finding no words to voice. She felt only noisy gasps of confusion escape her lips.
"Even thought I was dead. I nearly was!" Frieza shouted down at them. "He nearly is now, trying to save the enchantress!" She heard the words, but kept her eyes trained on the strange Namekian dying before her, trying to figure out what was going on. He did not know her, he had no reason to do that. She heard Frieza grunt, then heard the blast that sounded different from the last one, and then finally felt the blast go through her voice box. She fell back to the ground beneath her, landing sideways near the strange Namekian. "Well, then, he can live, knowing his attempt to save her was in vain!" He took a deep breath, shouting louder, "if she dies, her curse dies with her!" He willed his words to be true with every fiber of his being.
She tried to breathe, finding it difficult. She clawed at her throat with her right hand, trying draw a deep breathe. Her hand felt wet and sticky. Her right leg felt something bump against it. She twitched it away. She blinked up, seeing Raditz's brother kneeling over her head. His hand pressed down on hers on the wound. "Put pressure on the wound!" he insisted down at her. He pressed harder, which hurt. She winced, but it was soundless. A wave of pain went through her throat in effect. She tried to speak or even squeak, but no sounds came out. Her head started to pound. Her chest kipped, trying to breathe. "Come on, just breathe! If you can breathe, you'll be okay. We can get you into one of those tanks or something!" he willed tightly. She felt his free hand stroke over her hair along the dip of her forehead gently. She could not have flinched away from his touch if she wanted to. It was a pointless gesture, one only of comfort.
She blinked up at him, vision going blurry. He forgot he destroyed the last working tank on Frieza's ship. She was dying, he had to realize that... The thought made her realize it... She wondered why he cared, hardly knowing her... She screwed her eyes up tight, not wanting to die. She balled up her left fist, willing it do something, to heat up. When it did, she willed more chi to channel into it. She forced her left hand up, clamping it down on his hand on hers on her throat and tried to channel whatever she could into it. She felt another blast hit her in the chest. She tried to scream, but the sound that came out was a painful, whiny gargle. The pain threatened to overwhelm her senses. She clung to his hand, scrambling to cling to life for at least a few more seconds. Her vision went black.
"Why?!" she heard Goku rage above her. "Why did you do that?! What did she ever do to you?!" His voice sounded quieter than his tone should have indicated.
"Something I should have done a long time ago," she barely heard Frieza's response. "Her guardian once convinced me to spare her, but I should not have spared her. The day she cursed me should have been the day she died."
She felt her left hand's grip grow slack. "No, come on, no," she heard Goku's voice, but it sounded like it whispered down to her from underwater. He sounded both upset and enraged.
'Father,' she mouthed, mental image of him in all his strength and glory coming to mind as her last thought. What happened next was quicker than falling asleep.