Val felt the pitch blackness snap away from her senses in an instant. She looked around the area, seeing familiar building and familiar faces. They brought a smile easily to her face. Goku brought them in the middle of a Namekian village, surrounded by a bunch of her brothers, most of whom were staring hard at the three of them who just appeared out of thin air. "Wow, there are a lot of Piccolos here..." Goku commented.
"Who are you?" a familiar but guarded voice called out to the opposite side Goku was on from Val. She stepped forwarded from him, peering around him. "Val!" Moori cheered her name when he saw her. His eyes flicked up above her. "Piccolo?" he said, half asking. "Whose is that with you?"
"Greetings, Elder," Val said, bowing towards Moori. She nodded towards Goku. "This Goku. He is the Saiyan who grew up on Earth." Val noticed more and more Namekians drawing closer to see us. She smiled, beaming at the on the familiar faces happily. She saw Dende, Cargo, Hull, Freight, and Loader close by.
"Oh!" Moori cheered. "You're the one who fought Frieza on the old planet Namek! You saved us!"
Goku scraped the back of his head. "I'm sorry your old planet blew up..." he hummed out sheepishly.
Moori raised his hands up chest level. "No need to worry. We're perfectly content on this planet. No one has darkened our doors until you three came along. And we're very welcome to have you. Tell us, what brings you all here?"
"Well, it's a long story..." Goku started, before sitting himself down. Moori did as well, with Val, Piccolo, and the rest of the Namekians doing the same. He explained about his time with the Yadrat, Frieza coming to Earth, Trunk's warnings, the androids, and finally Cell. Val helped fill in where she could to help out as well when discussing what happened on Earth after the Namekians left and then later Kami's death and her interim taking over as guardian. Val did noticed Moori flicking his eyes back and forth a few times between herself and Piccolo, whom she leaned against now a bit drowsy and stiff from sitting so long. "... and that's what happened," Goku finished up for them. "So, with all that said, would one of you please come to Earth and become Earth's permanent guardian?"
"The Earth?" Hull gasped, loud enough for the rest of them to hear him. Val felt a small smile grace her lips at that comment.
Moori hummed, "I think I can think of a candidate or two, but I think I should discuss it privately with Earth's current guardian. To ensure of her approval." He stood up nodding over to Val. "One who can do what it takes, whatever and however it takes to stop Cell if the warriors protecting the Earth fail."
Val blinked up at him, considering his suggestion. She stood up, thinking, but then said, "I'm only filling the gap left by Kami. I have no idea who or what to look for in a candidate for guardian." She looked down at Piccolo, nodding down at him. He rose up to his feet, standing at an informal distance from her. "It's Piccolo you should have that discussion with. He'll know who Kami would chose at a proper successor amongst your ranks. That's why he came with us."
Moori nodded up at her and then over to Piccolo. "That's the only reason he came?" Moori asked almost playfully. "Come, brother, will have our discussions in private."
Val watched the pair of them go some distance, noticing she was not the only one watching the pair of them go off. She noticed Cargo looked nervous, almost pale, shaking his head slightly at his own thoughts. Dende on the other hand watched them on bated breath, hardly blinking. His fidgeted with his fingers.
Freight rose up next in their ranks. Hull and Loader stood up not long after he did. "Beyond battles, how else have you tried to stop this Cell monster?" Loader asked.
Goku just leaned back on his hands. "How else could we stop him?" he asked.
Loader nodded over at Val. "I know you truly feared you cursing ability at one point, but should these Saiyans and other fighters fail, couldn't you curse him as a plan b as it were to protect your planet?"
Val gaped at him, thinking over his suggestion. "I never thought of that. I've been stuck up at the Lookout since right before we found out about him." She looked down at her wrists, studying her bracelets. "It would be quite dangerous to try." Her mind started to wonder such an act could be possible so long as the tournament would not be halted of course.
"Or why don't you just try your luck fighting him, bracelets or no bracelets," Hull challenged.
She shrugged nervously. "I'm not that strong. Vegeta struggled quite a lot against Cell's perfect form. Could have been killed."
"You've gotten stronger though, sister. Since the last time we met," Freight complimented, cracking his knuckles. "While the elder and our Earthling brother talk, what say you show us, eh?" he challenged.
"You mean like a fight?" Goku asked, sitting up in excitement.
"Just with her," Freight rushed out, raising his hands up. Goku groaned, frowning. "Someone who is on level with the three of us," he explained, nodding over at Loader and Hull.
"Well, okay then," Goku pouted. "Try to be entertaining at least."
Val flicked her gaze on Freight, holding it steady. She felt a thrill go through her. "You're on, brother," she preempted before launching herself up and back into the sky. She landed herself a bit of a distance from the others, on a flatter, more open area of the new planet. She looked around, admiring it. It looked so much like Old Namek, and so primitive. Freight landed nearby with Hull and Loader not far behind him. Goku and the others came up to watch them as well, at a safe distance. She looked back over at Freight. "You all like it here?"
He nodded and answered, "yes, very much so. Some days I don't remember this planet being much different from our old home world."
"Still rather primitive," she commented with a sad smile. "I guess I wouldn't have liked it here as Moori thought after all."
"It does lack a lot of technology that allows the Earth to thrive," he answered.
"The Earth is still rather primitive," she reminded. "In its own right." She sank down into a fighting stance, seeing Freight do the same.
He charged at her with a growl that would have probably given Aiko a fright, but Val gave her own battle cry and charged towards him as well, smile ghosting her lips. She cleared the middle of the area they fought in first, invading his side by the time they met. He had his fist up and ready to take the offensive first. He brought it down on her, with her crossing her arms over her face in the last second to take yet block the blow. Her forearms stung, letting her know this was not going to be as easy a fight as the one with Aiko was. She pushed her arms apart, shoving him in the chest to create a little distance between the two of them and throw him off guard. She pushed her way towards him to close the gap between them before he could get his attention back. He was taller than she was and it had been quite some time since they last fought. It was not like with Piccolo who knew her usual tactics. She could lean back on instincts and fight small.
Freight grunted, half dancing, half stumbling back to get himself at a distance from her. Keeping herself at such a close distance meant her strikes were weaker in power, but made it more difficult for him to block as she strove to overwhelm him. She stomped on the instep of his foot, making him stumble back and fall. She surged forward, falling on top of him in a tangle of limbs and claws. She felt his claws rake sharply across the side of her face, making her flinch at the unexpected blow. He took advantage of her pause, shoving her off and kicking his way away from her and to his feet.
She was up in a rush, too, a trained response after training with Piccolo. Staying down with him did not mean the fight was over. She was ready to defend herself when she saw Freight pausing, watching her warily. She brought her hand up to her wet and sticky face, eyes still on him. She brought her hand in view so she could see it without taking her eyes off him. "I thought head shots were discouraged among us Namekians?" she said bantering.
He looked slightly ashamed, countering with a mix of playfulness, "you can't heal non head wounds anyway. Besides, I was aiming for your chest. You got too damn close."
She raised her eyebrows up at him, seeing a sight of victory at hand. She charged him with the intention to get even closer, shoving her shoulder in his chest. It knocked him back, making him stumble. She saw Hull out of the corner of her eye give Loader a back handed tap on his shoulder. Loader paused, cocking his head to the side, and then nodding. Val turned her attention back to Freight, aiming to knock him down again, even as he aimed to scratch her now in his frenzy. She brought one of her legs between his two feet, twisting it and tripping him up. He went down, starting to pull her down with him as her foot was still caught behind one of his ankles.
That was until she felt Hull, bent down, slam into her chest with the force of a bull. It drove her back and away from Freight. She huffed, keeping on her feet. She saw Hull let her go, backing up a few steps from her. She took a steeling breath, ready to charge him next then if he wanted to join in the fight. She hardly felt one foot come off the ground when she felt two arms come under her shoulders and the hands locking together behind her neck. She gnashed her teeth, sensing but not seeing it was Loader who had her in his grip. She kipped and yanked from her chest, hearing him grunt and feeling him struggle to maintain his hold on her. She felt a punch come to her stomach, realizing she took her gaze off Hull. She saw him pull his arm back for another punch. She tried to scramble her leg up to block herself, but could not get her leg up higher. She gasped as the blow struck, feeling it drive herself back into Loader who stumble back and huffed. She felt an idea come to mind, keeping it off her face. She gave her feet down by Loader's a quick look.
Hull struck again, driving the two of them back. As Loader was on uneasy footing, she snaked her foot and ankle around his unsteady lower legs and yanked her chest forwarded, making the two of them fall in a tangle, him crying out in shock at the move and her groaning as his full weight fell on top of her. She kept moving though, feeling his grip around her shoulders weaken and not forgetting about Hull this time. She shoved Loader off of her and kicked her way up to go after Hull.
He threw another punch at her, with her catching his oversized fist in hand with a determined grunt. She felt her heels dig in and drag into the dirt behind her. He yanked his fist out of her grip, launching himself towards her with both hands outstretched. She grabbed his, feeling her push him back. She spared a quick glance, seeing Freight was just sitting now with the other spectators, meaning he gave up. Loader was up though, watching. He was moving towards her and Hull, no doubt trying to get behind her again. She turned her gaze only on Hull, grunting as she drove to shove him back with all her might so he could not think of what her next move was actually going to be. He shoved harder, almost making her knee buckle too soon for her next plan to work.
Once she sensed Loader was right behind her, lightning fast, she dropped and dove towards Hull's legs. He kept moving forward with the momentum he had already built up. He tripped on her, losing his footing, but still moving too quickly forward. He fell forward on top of Loader, head slamming hard into the end of Loader's shoulder. She looked back from a crouched position. Loader shoved Hull off of him, who looked dazed as he sluffed on his back on the ground. She stood up tiredly, watching Loader pull himself up with a grunt. She moved towards him with an intent to end the three on one fight then and there before she got too worn out to fight.
"Yield," Loader rushed out with his hand up in line with his chest. Val dropped her stance, feeling relieved. She wiped at her face, wondering just how bloody it had gotten. He looked down at Hull. "It was his idea," he explained, smiling a bit. He raised a hand up, rubbing at his shoulder. "He hit his head pretty hard." He turned to the crowd, calling out, "hey Dende- oh, Great Elder."
Val turned, seeing Moori standing in the crowd with Piccolo next to him, a curious and almost amused look on his face. Dende stepped up, pulling on her hand. "Kneel down," he said, reaching up towards her face.
She turned her gaze down to him. "Hull first," she requested. Dende nodded up at her, shuffling over to him to heal his head. She stepped away from the group and over to Piccolo. "How long have you been watching?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Long enough to know that wasn't a fair fight," he answered. "For them."
She smiled at his comment, going to say something, but was interrupted by Goku. "That was great! How come you don't fight like that on Earth?"
She shrugged, commenting, "because I'm not Saiyan." She felt another tug on her hand. She turned and saw Dende was next to her now, hand held up. She knelt down, allowing him to run a healing hand over her face and then her torso. "Thank you, brother," she said, beaming down at him. She stood up, noticing her face still felt sticky. "If you all will excuse me for a moment, I need to go wash this blood off my face."
She stepped away from the others, having to cover a bit of distance to get to a lazily flowing river. She brush and clumsily tied her hair behind her head. Then she bent down as low as she could do to the water, splashing her face and neck to wash the blood off while trying to as little water as possible on her clothes.
"Sister?" she heard a voice behind her.
She looked up and saw Moori approaching her. "Great Elder," she greeted, nodding her head respectfully towards him. She stayed kneeling, wiping at her face a bit more before rising back up. "Did you and Piccolo decide who to pick?" she asked.
He nodded up at her. "We haven't asked him yet, but I would recommend Dende. He's a healer and he seems to have missed you and the other Earthlings." He paused. "While you're here, all here, anything else we can do for you? Anything at all?" he pressed. "Piccolo and I had a bit of time to discuss more than just that. Before he was drawn to watching your fight."
She looked down at him curiously, trying to figure out what he was hinting. She glanced over a way at Piccolo, trying to think what else the two of them could have discussed. She blushed a bit. "He told you we're together as it were now...?"
He nodded, shifting a bit uncomfortable but intrigued. "I think he's got himself convinced that while your actions right now aren't completely honorable, you'll not be wanting to give him up for anything or anyone now. Quite a change from when he wanted to keep his distance from you when myself and the other brothers left the Earth."
She narrowed his eyes over at Piccolo, tracking a bit more what he was hinting at. "You'll do it, of course?" she asked Moori. "If he agrees to it?"
Moori raised his fists up excitedly. "Of course. Right away if need be." He stood up a little taller, adding, "but he's assimilated two others. You'll take on so many memories from that. More than just his own."
"I'm alright with that," she said nervously, hands trembling and feeling a warm. "Let's ask him."
"Say your goodbyes first," he suggested. She nodded, agreeing to his suggestion.
She felt her hands heat up and shake a bit as they walked back over to the others. Moori spoke, "after conferring with Piccolo, we think we know who will be the perfect candidate for Earth's Guardian." He scan the area. Val noticed Dende fidgeting with his hands some more, watching Moori. His eyes landed on Dende. "Dende, come here."
"Yes, sir!" Dende said, walking over to stand before Moori briskly.
Moori presented him to Goku. "He's been in love with the Earth since we were there. He missed his elder brother and sister terribly. He'd also like to see Gohan and Krillin again."
"Ok," Goku said, nodding in agreement. "But can he make Dragon Balls?"
"No problem. Dende is a fine example of the Dragon Clan. I'm sure he'll make an excellent guardian!"
"I see! Thanks! Glad to meet you, Dende!" Goku greeted. "We'll take good care of Dende for you," Goku promised Moori and the others.
"We will pray for peace on your planet," Moori said.
Val heard the others around her saying their goodbyes to the four of them as well. She saw Dende hug Cargo, who looked a mix of relieved and upset. She said her own goodbyes and hugs with Freight, Hull, and Loader. Goku stepped over to her after that, holding out his hand to her. "Ready to go? You ought to get cleaned up," he suggested.
Val looked at his hand, then over at Moori, who gave her an encouraging nod. "In a minute," she said. She brought one hand up to the hydrangea necklace, gripping it tightly. She turned and stepped over to Piccolo. He looked down at her curiously, almost challengingly. She steeled her nerves, meeting his challenging look. "You mentioned before wanting to be honorable between us at some point." She brought her hands up to his shirt, griping it with trembling, lukewarm hands. "Moori can make that happen, as great elder. Here and now. Just as Guru did between Nail and I once years ago," she fought to keep her voice steady.
"He tipped you off?" Piccolo asked.
"Does it matter?" she countered playfully. "Unless of course, I should go find someone else, like I threatened before? Can you think of anyone else whom I should pursue instead?" She leaned up taller on the balls of her feet.
He looked down at her, humming in a low voice, "Goku." She felt her nose wrinkle up at the thought. She let go of him and looked up at him in a mix of shock and disgust. Piccolo looked over Goku standing there by Dende patiently. "Do you mind getting Gohan and Vegeta real quick?"
"Huh? Why?" he asked. "Sure," he said before raising his two fingers to his forehead and disappearing.
Val smirked up at him, letting him go for a second. "Wait, what's going on?" Hull asked, drawing attention to himself in the group of them.
"These two are to be bonded," Moori said cheerfully. "A Dragon Clan custom, similar to ones on Earth. Unless anyone disagrees?"
Hull grumbled, "but he hardly liked her on Earth when we were there."
Val felt her smile at that comment. Freight explained, "that was years ago."
Val looked over at Hull, asking, "would you rather take his place?"
He looked taken aback by the comment. He turned to Loader, asking, "I would just have to kiss her like once or twice, right?"
Loader shook his head. "No, um, I'm afraid it's more detailed than that." He stepped closer to Hull, brought his hand up, and started whispering in his ear.
Hull listened and then gave a disgusted look and shook his head. "Never mind," he mumbled.
Goku came back a few seconds later with a confused look Gohan and an irate Vegeta. Gohan asked him, "Dad, where are we, New Namek-? Dende!" He saw Dende turning to greet his old friend.
"Kakarot, what is the meaning of this? I was in the middle of training!" Vegeta said, annoyed by the surprise abduction.
"I can tell. I can smell you from here," Val called over to him. He looked at her, still scowling, but then looked over at Piccolo and Moori. He threw her a questioning look. She winked at him, which was enough to clue him. He shrugged, but looked a little relieved.
Moori cleared his throat. "Now, with the height difference between myself and the two of you, sister, I'm going to ask you to sit down." Val did as she was bid. "And brother, kneel behind her." Val heard Piccolo do as he was bid. She looked back at him, blushing as both of his hands rested upon the outside of both of her shoulders. He was so close that she felt warmer from the heat of him. She drew strength from it. She sighed, leaning her upper back against him. Moori stepped over to them, a little to the left of Val.
"Wait, what's going on?" Goku asked. "Why do they need to sit down?"
"Dad, they're getting married. The Namekian way," Gohan explained.
"What?! Piccolo?! Married?!" Goku gasped comically.
"Be quiet, you clown. Before you ruin it!" Vegeta growled, arms across his chest.
"Ready?" Moori said softly down at Val. She nodded, feeling nervous. "Three sets of memories will be a lot, even if you have Nails from before," he warned her. "You'll need to rest your mind afterwards."
"Five," Piccolo corrected.
"What?" Moori asked.
"Five," he repeated. "The Unnamed Namekian that was Katsas's child, Kami, Piccolo Senior, Nail, and myself," he explained.
Moori looked a little nervous at that news. "You must rest your mind afterwards, sister," he repeated insisted.
"For how long?" she asked, hoping it would be just a few hours.
"Two or three Earth days, at least," he answered. She gasped at that, thinking about how it would have been possible that she could give Dende the guardian and then go help Bulma and her father work on #16 tomorrow. A whole two days of rest or more meant she would miss it. She felt a flare of disappointment and anger cut through her at the unfairness of it. She looked down at her hands, balling them into fists. "Sister, do you still want to go through with this?"
She looked up at Moori nodded curtly. She closed her eyes as she felt his hand come up to the top of her head and heard him begin to speak in ancient Namekian language. She more heard than felt herself cry out when the onslaught of so many memories began. She felt Piccolo tighten his grip on her and pull her in closer.