The Earthling woman, Bulma was odd, a bit too odd. Val followed after her to a tiny, nearby house, watched her knock on the door, and confidently convince the old couple to let the tow of them in and use their phone. Val stood near Bulma, cautious, as she called her father. Val looked around the tiny house, seeing sparse few assorted knickknacks decorated along the walls that made her curious as to what Earthlings were like. She cleared her throat a few times, studying the older couple as well. She heard Bulma making plans for her father to bring a plane big enough to carry all of them over to a place called Capsule Corp.
"Finished," Bulma announced. "Thanks so much!" she cheered to the old couple. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a tiny capsule, and tossed it to them. "Keep the change," she said before rushing out the door.
"Wow, thank you so much," the old woman said, looking amazed down at the capsule in her hand like it was a priceless treasure instead of a tiny trinket.
Val watched her go, looking from her to the old couple, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable to have being left alone with them. She waved pitifully before rushing out the door after Bulma. She caught up with her easily, asking, "what did you give them?"
Bulma looked over at her. "Hmm? Oh, that. A spar capsule of cash I happened to have on hand. I can get more at the bank later. I think it had a couple thousand or so in there... Had to give them something for letting us use their phone. It's the polite thing to do." They kept walking, slower than when they originally ran over her. "Anyway, I've got to know. What's the deal with you and Vegeta?"
Val blinked at her, puzzled. "I don't understand the question..."
Bulma groaned, "ugh. I hope you're not a case like Goku."
Val shrugged, "the two of us were more or less slaves, stuck there, working for Frieza. Even when he and Napa came here after the Earth's dragon balls, he was still one of Frieza's men. But once he left, he left," she finished with a mixed, almost melancholy tone.
Bulma rolled her eyes. "Like, how did he, you know, save you from Frieza?"
Val hummed, "um. I was chained up in the med bay, watching over him in the healing tank. He blew it up," she gritted her teeth at the memory. "And then saw me struggling to get free of the chain, so he shot it and broke it. I escaped while Frieza and Zarbon were chasing after him because back then he was hiding the remaining dragon ball they needed to find."
"That's not romantic at all," Bulma complained. "What I imagined in my head was way better."
Val grimaced and shook her head at the thought. "I was still a child physically, and he's Saiyan," she explained in disgust. She shook her head at the very idea.
Bulma frowned, asking, "how does that work?"
Val explained, "I'm an anthromorph. We don't grow until triggered by someone to do so. The Great Elder drew it out of me because..." she stopped, not sure how much she wanted to share. She thought quickly. "It was because it would be better for me to taller and stronger." She pursed her lips afterwards, reaching up to the base of her neck. She ended up just resting her hand on the collar of her battle armor.
"So you could fight and protect yourself, huh?" Bulma asked, sound a bit more disappointed. Val nodded, unsure how much else to share with this woman, who, while likeable, was practically a stranger. "Guess you were really, really bored then."
Val bit her lip. "I knew how to fight before hand. My father and then guardian trained me. One the Namekian warriors, Freight sparred with me and was impressed. So was Nail..." she added, fiddling with the edge of her collar.
"Another fighter?" Bulma asked, sounding almost exasperated. "Well, there goes our chance at a spa day." She looked down at her nails. "And I'm really in need of manicure," she griped.
"A what?" Val asked, studying her own fingernails.
"Ugh, hopefully you're a quicker study than Goku who was a wild little cave boy when I found him," Bulma shared. "Had to teach him all the manners." She shook her head and laughed, but then grew suddenly somber and quiet.
Val puzzled over that as they reached the others and waited for Bulma's father to come get them. Val felt a pang of jealousy when Bulma rushed over and greeted her father. Val sunk back to stand near Moori and Freight, eyes flickering over just a little bit at the strange Namekian Nail fused with. She saw Freight watch her and then throw a nervous look over at Moori. She pretended not to see Moori shake and then nod his head. She puzzled over that as well.
She watched Bulma guide everyone onto the plane, but curiously, the strange Namekian and Gohan hung back, with the later citing that he the former told him to go home sooner rather later. The two of them flew off, Val frowning because it meant the talk with the strange Namekian would have to wait. She climbed aboard the ship, Bulma pulling her into the cockpit where he father flew the plane. She noticed Vegeta came with the three of them and away from the Namekians. Bulma gave him questioning look, but neither of them said anything else.
They flew away, Val watching out the window at how green and blue everything was, like a swirling marble. Grey was added when they passed cities and towns. Her stomach felt almost dizzy as they flew, listening to Bulma point out different landmarks and places, names too foreign sounding to remember. When they finally landed at the Capsule Corps campus, she was grateful to get out in the fresh air.
Bulma and her father lead the way through the maze of round white buildings, pointing out where the Namekians could stay in one unused dormitory style building next to the main lab, whatever that was. Her mother and house staff apparently set it all up while her father flew out to get them. Moori thanked the three family members, astonished by the amount of space the dormitory gave all of them, 93 in all.
For Val and Vegeta, however, Bulma guided them into the main house, showing them to their own separate rooms next to each others and down the hall from Bulma's own. Val went into her new room, looking around the room that could have easily fit three of the rooms she and Asa had shared on Frieza's spaceship. She reached up for the vial, wishing there was something there to grab at. She paced the room, looking over at the grand bed, tempted by it. She went to the bathroom, tempted more by the idea of having a proper shower for the first time in days.
The water felt hot, cleansing, and refreshing. She enjoyed it, feeling a rush of sleepiness wash over her, but with a mix of dread at the idea of falling asleep after having died earlier that day. She felt a flood of the memory of Frieza aiming the blast at her throat. She shook her head, chasing the thought away as she stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the large, fluffy towel hanging up by the door around her and stepped out into the bedroom. She shuffled to the wardrobe where clothes were laid out for her, unfamiliar and soft to the touch. She looked from the alien clothes to the battle armor abandoned by the bed. She dressed in the simplest of clothes from the wardrobe, liking the soft, gentle caress of them against her skin. She then shivered, finding them not as warm as the battle armor had been. She looked over at the bed, climbing into it. It was larger, fluffier, and more comfortable than the futon she laid down next to Nail on a few days ago.
The thought of him, made her hum, missing him and desiring him. She hummed louder against one of the overly stuffed pillows, felling warmer under the blankets and wishing he was there next to her. She grabbed the other pillow, pulling it over to her, and wrapping around it. She tried not to think about Frieza, but of Nail as she fell asleep.
She awoke with a start. Sensing before seeing someone loom over her. She raised her hands up, beginning to cry out. A hand clamped down over her mouth. She pulled away, looking up in the semi darkness to see the strange Namekian standing over her, free hand with a finger pressed to his lips. She pulled herself back and away, on the bed, wriggling free from him. She kept silent, but stared up at him ruefully, not wanting him to touch her. She pulled herself off the bed to the opposite side of the bed, watching him carefully. She glanced back at the door behind her quickly just in case. She relaxed a little bit when she turned back and saw him stand there with his arms dangling down by his sides.
"What do you want?" she asked, trying to remember his name. She felt her stomach squirm at the idea of him having assimilated Nail. The idea just sounded completely foreign to her, so very odd. She felt other questions she wanted to ask hanging on the back of her tongue. She swallowed dryly.
He looked back over at her in the semi-dark room. She felt the weight of his gaze, but did not let herself flinch back from it. "It's later," he stated. He stiff, stoic stance reminded her of Nail.
She blinked up at him for a second, and then realized what he was talking about. She stood up taller, opening her mouth. "What happened on Namek? With Nail?" she managed out.
He kind of stared at her, not blinking for a second. "He wanted Frieza gone and defeated more than anything else. He sacrificed himself in hopes of that I could do it. We're different, but similar enough at least that it worked."
She reached up to the nonexistent vial, hand settling on her collar of the soft shirt, her new shirt. "You didn't, but Raditz's brother did," she stated. "At least." She puzzled over his last words, risking to ask, "how are you different?"
He stared at her, debating before answering, "you heard Katas was my parent, and a scientist, bit of a mad scientist is the term used here on Earth. He was from the Demon Clan. He, not she, cloned himself but also spliced in genes from the Dragon Clan to create myself. I was not the worst thing he created, far from it. When the cataclysm was imminent, I was sent away and ended up on this planet. Once here, I split into two halves as the blending of the two clans hardly worked in one whole being. Too different on enough levels. The other being is hiding up in his tower, watching down on the this planet."
She stared up at him, not sure what to make of his explanation. "So you're different from Nail..." she reasoned, not wanting to press the question further. He was a stranger yet, his name still escaping her. He looked so much like him, reminded her so much of him though.
He nodded once. "Earth is a good planet, stay here, hide here," he advised out of the blue. "No one is going to come looking for the last living Anthromorph here. You'll be able to blend in and move on with your life here."
She looked up at him, not sure what to make of that. She gave him a puzzled look. "I don't understand..."
"Nail's gone," he deadpanned. She blinked up at him, perplexed. "The bond is no more. Move on."
She was moving the bed towards his side before she even realized it. "What do you mean?"
"It's like a natural death. Irreversible," he kept saying, but not moving.
She reached the foot of the bed, moving a little slower to gauge his reaction. "But the dragon balls...?" she started, thinking of her old plan to wish him back if he died.
He gave a slight shake of his head. She halted. He explained, "dragon balls won't work on natural deaths or assimilations."
She blinked up at him, feeling a sting in the back of her eyes, trying to not think of what to say or do. "So then..." She fought to keep her breathing steady.
"The bond between the two of you is broken. Move on," he repeated.
She looked up at him, hating the jealously bitter taste in the back of her mouth. "But..." she hummed out. She thought over the time she watched Goku battle with Frieza next to him. "You have his memories, his strength." She felt herself blush. "You have my memories." She was not sure how to feel about that fact.
"Nothing between the two of you will be shared by me," he guaranteed.
She stepped closer, but halted when she saw him take a few steps back towards the balcony door of which he let himself in. "Wait," she called, relieved he stopped at least. She thought over her memory from the shower a bit unwillingly. "You knocked me out of the way, when Frieza shot at me," she voiced. "Why?"
He looked down at her, seeming to stiffen a bit more the way Nail would. "He wasn't aiming at you that time," he lied.
She felt her temper rise exponentially. "That's a lie," she hissed out, stomping closer to him. She stood right in front of him, frowning up at him. He was taller than Nail, which was kind of annoying. It reminded of a time when everyone was taller than her with her stuck at a child's height. She felt the temptation to kick him in the shins. "Frieza was aiming at me. Because he wanted to kill me because of the curse he said I placed on him," she petered out.
"You did curse him," he corrected her.
"You do have my memories," she grumbled. "And you did knock me out of the way." She sized him up. "You don't know me, you had no reason to do that. Nail would have done that, which means some part of him still lives in you." She shook her head. "I should never have cursed you either to survive someone. Not like this. I didn't imagine it would be like this when I said it..." she hummed out.
"Move on," he stated so simply it grated on her nerves.
He turned away from her, but she reached out and wrapped her arms around his arm. He even smelled like Nail. She heard him growl under his breath, making her feel foolish. She saw his free hand move, landing on her hair by the dip in her forehead. She flinched back the instant she felt him touch her. She backed away from him, not sure how to respond to him. "Don't touch me," she grumbled.
"Move on," he repeated, turning and going off to the balcony.
She watched him go, irritated he left the doors wide open. She followed him out, watching him fly off, annoyed with how mixed up in emotions she was feeling over someone whose name she could not even recall.