Zangya was desperately trying to ignore the power she felt behind her. Just follow the blinking lights on the screen, she chanted in her head. But the more she tried to ignore it, the more it made itself known. It was like those creatures called gnats that lived on this planet that she had quickly learned to be annoyed by.

Although, gnats needed wings to fly.

Mirai did not.

"Trunks, I would appreciate it if you left me alone," she finally snapped.

The time traveler flew up to her, and his face showed that he had no remorse for his actions, which only irritated her further. "Hey, Gohan and Kat are my friends, too," he replied. "I want to see them; it's been a little more than a month since they left, after all."

"Oh please," Zangya huffed. "Even though that is a reason, it is not your main reason for tailing me after I had flown for treinta minutos."

"Uh, I don't-"

"Just consider it a short amount of time!" the Hera snapped.

He grunted, and Zangya's eye twitched, wondering why he was the one annoyed in this situation. "Look, I just want to make sure the three of them are okay," Mirai stated.

"Why, because you think I am going to hurt them?" she accused, glaring.

"You said it, not me," the Saiyan muttered.

"Do not act like I am wrong, Trunks!" Zangya retorted. "I have done nothing wrong since Bojack was killed, and yet you treat me like a criminal. And do not try that 'I was a villain' line on me, you have made nice with 18 despite what I have heard what she could have become!"

"Well you're not doing a good job of defending yourself by shouting," Mirai retorted, finally dropping his façade.

Stopping mid-flight, Zangya's glare harshened and she crossed her arms. "This coming from the man whose father constantly shouts, specifically at you," she spat. "I am serious when I say I have never heard someone bark as many orders at one person as him."

"And he doesn't bark at you?" the purple haired man shot back, stopping as well.

"That is not the issue here, I was only making a point!"

Mirai snorted. "What, that because you and my dad both shout that somehow makes you good?"

Unfortunately, he had a point there, and Zangya ground her teeth together in frustration. "Can you just trust me?" she growled.

"I never said I didn't!" Mirai argued.

"You do not need to when your actions speak for you!"

"No, they don't!"

"Yes, they do!"

"No, they don't!"

"Yes, they do!"

"Wow, that really is annoying."

The two young adults stopped arguing with each other to find Kat had joined them. She looked very drained but still had enough energy to appear quite irked at the shouting between the two. Seeing the girl look so down made Zangya rope in her temper a bit.

Then Kat shrugged. "Still gonna argue like that when I need to," she continued. Zangya heard Mirai huff lightly. "So, why are you guys here? Is it about the Radar?"

"That is actually the case," the Hera reported. She showed the other ilusionista the repaired device, and Kat sighed in relief. "However, before I give it to you, I want to know why you look so troubled."

Kat frowned. "We went to find the Dragon Ball two days ago," she explained. "And when we got there, we got it, but Gohan got bitten about 80 times by a bunch of snakes. Eastern brown snakes, to be exact, which means that all of their bites were venomous."

"So he's been poisoned?!" Mirai gasped.

"Dr. Anderson should have gotten most of the poison out by now," Kat stated, easing the time traveler a tad. "He woke up for a few minutes, and even then he was really out of it. The doctor was surprised he's even alive, until I told him he's half Saiyan...and explained what a Saiyan is. One of the nurses asked how they broke the skin if we're that tough, and I told her to cut me with my guard down. Needless to say, this scar on the bridge of my nose is deeper than it already was."

"But if he is doing well, you should not look so glum," Zangya pointed out.

"It's just..." After a couple of seconds, Kat sighed. "Maybe you're right."

Zangya smiled. "Well then, may you lead the way? I would like to see him."

"Me too! I want to make sure Gohan's alright," Mirai cut in.

The Hera glared at him, though Kat seemed to ignore it as she said, "Sure", and began to fly away. Mirai ignored her as well and followed after the girl. Zangya continued to glare at the spot he had been for a couple of seconds before she sighed.

"Me doy por vencido. I give up," she muttered, and then - after putting on an illusion of being a pale skinned, silver haired woman - she turned to fly after the Saiyans.

…

"He's stable," the human doctor - Anderson - reported while Mirai and Zangya observed the sleeping boy. "And I've made sure to get as much of the poison out as I could. There's only a little bit left now, so his kidneys should be able to take care of the rest without serious damage. If I had to guess, he should be up in a couple of days." He chuckled slightly and shook his head. "I've never seen anything like this. Saiyans, huh? Wouldn't every human wish to be this tenacious."

Mirai sighed in relief. "He'll be okay," he stated.

"That's the short answer."

"Then let us address another issue," Zangya brought up. "These eastern brown snakes... They are not from here, yes?"

Dr. Anderson nodded. "I'm no animal specialist, but Kat insists that they aren't," he replied.

"'Cause Gohan told us, and he's super smart!" Trunks exclaimed.

"We can find an animal specialist," Kat offered.

The doctor shook his head. "No, I believe you," he insisted. "And I do agree we need to find a way to relocate them safely, not to mention we should figure out who put them there and why."

"I can go," Zangya offered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mirai flinch. She did everything in her power to not react. "My people have an immunity to poison."

Everyone fell silent, and then - after a few seconds - Dr. Anderson chuckled. "I am learning about all sorts of interesting people today," he muttered humorously. "I mean that in the best way possible, just in case you believe otherwise."

The three older aliens shrugged, and Trunks proclaimed, "I'm awesome and I know it!"

"Okay, hold on, we're getting off topic," Kat brought up. "Zangya, do you want someone to go with you?"

"No," she replied. "I would like no one else to get hurt."

"But maybe it's not a good idea for you to go alone?" Mirai suggested.

Zangya whipped her head towards him. "Excuse me?" she retorted.

"It's not a bad idea," the time traveler tried to defend.

"Yes, if it were coming from anyone else," the Hera snorted. "But from you, it just means you do not trust me, like always."

Mirai glared. "I didn't say I don't trust you," he countered.

"This is the same exact conversation we had on the way here, and you had admitted to this!"

"No, you accused me for not trusting you, and the only evidence you had were my 'actions'."

"I am sorry, did you just use sarcasm when you clearly know what actions I am talking about?"

"Or maybe you're just paranoid!"

"Oh no, I am not paranoid; you, however, look over your shoulder so often I am surprised it is not stuck that way!"

"Well I'm sorry for being paranoid about a destroyer of worlds!"

Zangya's slap was so sudden not even she registered she did it until Mirai slammed onto the floor.

"I will investigate these snakes," the Hera declared coldly while Mirai gaped at her, a hand tenderly on his cheek. "I will help save these people, and you will be SORRY."

Without another word from anyone, Zangya dashed out of the building and zoomed off through the skies, searching for the white dome Kat had described.

…

"Parry and thrust," Mirai instructed. Kat did as she was told, and the time traveler blocked her strike. "Good, but still a bit clumsy. A few weeks without practice will do that, slacker." The girl stuck out her tongue good-naturedly, and Mirai smirked. "Remember that you're in control of your sword, not the other way around. It's like your ki."

"Even though this is ki," Kat giggled.

Mirai smirked wider and rushed forward with his sword, which Kat almost didn't block with her own illusionary one. "Cheeky. As if that's new, though," he teased. She grinned, and the two backed off. Then Mirai sheathed his sword. "Why don't we take a break? We've been going for a good twenty minutes."

Kat dissolved her weapon. "Sure, a break sounds good," she agreed. "Hey though, quick question that I've been thinking about for a while: what if I don't use a sword as my weapon?"

"The guy who gave and trained me with my first sword said sword basics are weapon basics," Mirai replied. "Just do whatever feels comfortable. Besides, your weapon isn't real; you'll probably do whatever with it, anyway."

"Right."

The two Saiyans flew back to the village, and they decided to land on one of the flatter rooftops. Kat stretched and then laid back on the smooth wood. Mirai, meanwhile, took in a deep breath of the fresh pine-filled air and watched as the villagers went about the day. Having lived in what was essentially the apocalypse, he was used to seeing people busy, whether it was shelter-building or food-scavenging or just staying alive. And staying at Capsule Corp. in the past got him used to busy streets that - while he felt it was mostly busy work - were full.

Villages were never something he got to experience; he kind of liked how relaxed it was.

"Mirai," Kat eventually piped up. He looked at her and noticed the concerned look on her face. "Do you think Zangya's okay?"

Not sure what to say, Mirai turned his attention back to the villagers, who were smiling and being familiar with each other or leisurely working or-

"Hey, jackass son of a jackass, don't ignore me," the girl snapped, though Mirai couldn't tell if she was joking, serious, or both.

"Um, well," the older halfing cleared his throat, "I'm pretty sure she's...fine."

"You sound convinced," Kat jabbed. Mirai nodded slowly, and for a few seconds it was quiet again. "Maybe you should back her up."

...He really should have seen that coming.

"Uh, I don't think- OW!" Mirai rubbed his arm and glared at her. "You know, I don't need your 'affection' right now."

Kat raised an eyebrow. "And you know I can punch people for non-affectionate reasons, right?"

...No comment.

"Why don't you go, Kat?" Mirai offered.

"Because I'm not the one who needs to apologize, Mirai," she huffed. "Seriously, is the Vegeta bloodline just never allowed to apologize? Is it, like, written in your DNA or something?"

Mirai blushed and looked away again. "But I do apologize," he mumbled.

"Clearly not when it's important," Kat retorted as she sat up. "Mirai, you really hurt her feelings. I know you've always been cautious of her, but that..."

"Well, I mean, I didn't lie," he countered.

"So what, Mirai, she's trying!" the girl shouted. "Yeah, 'sorry' isn't going to bring back the people she's killed. But it won't bring back all those Vegeta, Piccolo, and 18 killed, either. And yet, I don't blink an eye at them. Even you gave 18 a pass after you learned how happy she and Krillin are."

"But-"

"You. Trust. 18," Kat interrupted with force, getting in his face so he was staring at her fiery blue eyes. "I don't care what Zangya has done; 18 has had a far more personal impact, and you trust her."

She brought up a good point. "Look, I can't help being paranoid, okay?"

"I get that, but there's such a thing as being too paranoid," she pointed out. "So just go, please? Besides, it'll also be two people instead of one trying to deal with the snake problem."

"Maybe-"

"Mirai, go apologize," Kat demanded with a stern glare.

Yep, that was his father's student, alright.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," the time traveler conceded. Without another word, he took off to the north.

Finding the giant white dome wasn't hard, since it stuck out like a sore thumb. He circled around it and a little bit of the area, trying to figure out where Zangya was. After about six times, Mirai deduced the Hera was inside. So he opened his mouth to call out to her, only for a paper to suddenly appear in front of him. Confused, he read what was on it.

Slowly and silently fly down the hole in the roof. I will signal where I am.

Then it disappeared.

Mirai blinked and then sighed lightly. "Ah, right. Illusions," he muttered.

He gently floated down into the dark structure, and from behind him, he felt someone's ki flash. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, he turned to find Zangya - who was no longer disguised - perched on the exposed scaffolding.

"I'm surprised you let me join you," Mirai whispered as he flew next to her.

Zangya glanced at him before looking back down. "Figured Kat forced you," she replied. "I will thank her later for her thoughtfulness."

Even though I'm the one here, Mirai huffed, smartly deciding against saying it out loud. He then looked at the ground below as well, noticing the snake pit. "So, what did you figure out?" he inquired.

"Well, I realized after I left, I should have probably studied up on these snakes," Zangya explained. "So while you and Kat were training, I came back to the village and read about them in the library. Eastern browns are interesting in of themselves, but this group is something else."

"How so?"

Suddenly, a group of animals appeared on the ground. A mouse, a small rabbit, a bird, a frog, and even a human were lined up a few feet away from the pit. Mirai was confused.

"Watch," Zangya instructed.

The mouse scurried towards the pile, but the snakes didn't lift their heads or anything. Same thing with the rabbit, and the bird, and the frog. The time traveler was sure that once the human began to move, the snakes would surely respond.

Yet once again, they didn't so much as flinch.

"That's bizarre," Mirai commented, extremely confused.

"I understand that snakes can go for days without food," the Hera stated, "but I also noted they are territorial creatures. Walking this close to the pit should cause the snakes to attack, and yet they are not. Even more strange is that the animals can walk into the pit and they will be ignored."

"That's impossible," he countered.

"I will show you."

It only just then hit the half Saiyan that the animals and human were illusions as Zangya guided them towards the pit. They took a step in, and still the snakes ignored them.

"However, this does not add up since Gohan was bitten," Zangya continued. "So I tried attacking them." The animals disappeared except the human, and it raised its hand to strike some of the eastern browns.

And even though the snakes finally responded with a few bites to the hand, they soon went back to their own business.

"That wouldn't have been nearly enough strength to pierce Gohan, even if his guard was down," Mirai stated.

"Even then, he received around 80 bites, yet the snakes just now did no more than twelve," Zangya added.

Mirai brought his hand to his chin in thought. "So then, what would cause them to go berserk like that on Gohan?" he wondered. "He did everything your illusion did- well, except for the Dragon Ball, buuuuuu oh shit it probably has to do with the Dragon Ball!"

Zangya whipped her head to look at him with wide eyes, and then glanced back down at the pit. "The Dragon Ball... Do you believe it would have been in the center?" she asked.

"No doubt."

With a new plan, Zangya directed her illusion towards the center, and once it was there that was when the snakes flew into a frenzy.

And that revealed another thing.

Mirai let out a pained grunt. "How did they not hear that?" he hissed as his hands shot up to his ears.

"Hear what?" the Hera questioned.

"It's like...like a dog whistle or something," Mirai reported. "Usually only animals that hear at high decibels can hear, but you know... Saiyans."

"Right." Realizing Mirai was starting to become uncomfortable, Zangya made the illusion human disappear, and after a second the Saiyan sighed in relief. Meanwhile, the snakes calmed down and went back to circling their pit. "There must be some sort of device that is down there, most likely training them to keep an eye on the Dragon Ball," she deduced.

"Gohan and Kat might have been too focused on getting the Ball and avoiding the snakes in order to pay it any mind," the purple haired man thought. "And Trunks probably hasn't developed his stronger hearing yet."

"Let us investigate it, then," Zangya suggested. "I will try using my illusions to block out the sound, but if that does not work, then let me handle this."

Mirai nodded his head, and then the two descended. Once they touched the ground, she set up two barriers, one around the both of them and a layer specifically for Mirai. He had to admit that it was impressive how she didn't even need to wave a hand to do it. In fact, there seemed to be no effort from her end; the barrier was up, and she just walked towards the snake pit like it was perfectly normal. And she continued to show off her powers as she then proceeded to create a barrier around the snakes, forcing them to slither into small groups that allowed for a path that led to the now cleared-out center with no trouble at all.

"Amazing," Mirai muttered.

Either the barrier prevented Zangya from hearing him or she was ignoring him, because she kept walking towards the center without pause. Thanks to the path she had created, they made it to the center quickly and easily. Mirai immediately noticed the silver peg-like object sticking out of the ground.

"That must be the device," he said aloud.

Zangya nodded (disproving that she couldn't hear him) and knelt down to examine it further. "Hmm, there seems to be an insignia," she noted, pointing to the gold JB that was inscribed with a flourish. "And this light is blinking; I wonder if that means the noise you said it makes is going off right now."

Mirai gulped before offering, "Lower the barrier."

"Mirai, are you sure?" Zangya asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," he replied, placing his hands over his ears. "Do it."

Giving him one last questioning look, the Hera nodded and then dissolved the extra layer. Immediately, the shrill sound reached Mirai's ears, even with his hands blocking most of it.

"Barrier up! Barrier up!" Mirai begged.

Instantly, it was back, and the half Saiyan sighed in relief, though he could still hear it lingering. "It's louder than before," Zangya observed. "Last time, you only grunted."

"Maybe it's because we're standing in the center, touching the device," Mirai guessed. "Wait, that doesn't seem right. Gohan stood in the center, too."

"Unless he short-circuited the power for a small amount of time somehow," the Hera pointed out. "A surge of his ki, perhaps."

"It doesn't really matter, I guess," he stated. "Point is, the closer you are to the center, the more agitated the snakes are supposed to become. And maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

The time traveler thought about what that "maybe" even was. "I don't know," he finally admitted. He pulled his phone that Bulma had given him so he could give her an update on the group's health. I should probably do that soon, he reminded himself. "Let's take a picture of that insignia. We can send it to Mom so she can find a match, and hopefully that'll lead us to the responsible party."

"It should," Zangya agreed. She held the device up towards Mirai. "This should be a good vantage point, ye…"

She fell silent, making Mirai look from the screen in confusion. "Something wrong-"

Without a word, Zangya materialized a dagger and pounced for Mirai. He took a step back in shock, but when he did, he bumped into something. At the same time, the Hera struck with her weapon, and that was when Mirai realized she had been aiming for whatever was behind him. It was stunned by the dagger and then forced back with a small burst of ki, and Mirai whipped around to see it. But Zangya had flung her target into one of the darker parts of the dome, preventing him from seeing whatever it was.

"What was that?" Mirai asked.

"I do not know, and I do not care," the woman replied. "Let's take that picture and get out of here."

Mirai agreed with a quick nod and turned on the camera with a quick swipe. With a flash, the picture was taken, and Zangya put the device back where it had been. This time, though, the snakes didn't stop their frenzied patterns.

"If I had to guess, we triggered something that is not letting that noise stop," Zangya commented.

"Then we definitely need to move," Mirai stated. She nodded, and the two quickly made their way to the entrance.

Unfortunately, the strange entity from before zipped in front of them just as swifty.

Almost on instinct, Mirai leapt for the thing and punched it away. Though, in his haste, he hadn't thought about the barriers. But once he landed on his feet, the sharp screeching hit his ears, and he howled in pain. And whatever he was fighting didn't let him recover, because - despite the minimal light - Mirai saw enough movement to know it was coming for him. With no choice but to fight despite the ringing in his ears, Mirai unsheathed his sword and clashed with the thing. Whatever it was, it was surprisingly strong; Mirai found he was having a difficult time throwing the thing back.

And what made it even more surprising was that he was fairly certain he was seeing beady yellow eyes and two ivory fangs.

A...snake? Mirai deduced with confusion. But… It's way too big, how-

The creature knocked him off his feet with what felt to be a tail, and Mirai hit the ground with a grunt. He saw the fangs lunge for him just a split second before they would have bitten into him had he not gathered the strength to push himself out of the way. Mirai once again saw a flash of ivory come towards him, and he barely blocked his adversary with sword.

"ZANGYA, GET OUT OF HERE!" he ordered at the top of his lungs, not sure how loud he was actually being over the device. "SEND THAT PICTURE TO MY MOTHER! KAT CAN HELP YOU! DON'T ARGUE WITH ME, JUST RUN!"

Of course, he had no way of knowing if the Hera was arguing with him in the first place, but Mirai watched out of the corner of his eye as she began to sprint for the entrance. But the creature didn't like the sudden movement, because it ended its clash with Mirai - sending him stumbling forward a bit - and charged at her with blinding speeds. The impact surprised the woman so much, her barrier shattered. The ki sent the creature skidding back, but it immediately attacked again.

Mirai reacted instantly.

He flew in front of Zangya, only remembering her immunity to poison right as the creature took a huge chomp into his back. The burning pain that had him roaring only lasted for a split second before the world around him began to spin and become fuzzy. Mirai could acknowledge that he hit the floor when the light of the entrance tipped, but he barely felt the rubble under his face, and he could hardly hear Zangya saying whatever she was. Something plopped on his cheek, maybe, and there was wind rushing, possibly, and he may have said something before everything grew dark.

…

Kat watched Gohan sleep, the little moonlight there was shining on his face. His complexion still pale, but at least he wasn't ghostly white like he had been all day. The bed next to his - separated by a curtain - was occupied by Mirai, who was said to recover around the same time as Gohan despite the much bigger bite. Zangya was the one watching over him- well, more like sleeping; she seemed emotionally exhausted ever since she had barged back into the clinic.

And it made Kat sigh deeply.

Everything was just going all wrong, and none of it was fair. Why was everyone else getting hurt when she…

"Maybe I should go outside," Kat muttered aloud. "I think I've been thinking too much." The Saiyan stood up to leave the room.

"Glad… I haven't missed anything unusual," Gohan joked hoarsely.

Surprised, Kat gasped and whipped around to find Gohan slowly opening his eyes. She noticed they weren't as glossy or unfocused as before, so her hope began to rise.

"Wh-what's your name?" she blurted out.

Gohan eyed her teasingly. "Kat, I'm not concussed," he replied.

"Please just-"

"Okay, if it'll put your mind at ease," he interrupted soothingly. "Gohan."

"Where are you?"

"Chazke Village."

"What month and year is it?"

"July, Age 770."

Kat breathed out a sigh of relief before she sat down and hugged her friend. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.

Since he was too weak, Gohan couldn't hug her back, but Kat was happy that he was at least awake. "Of course," he stated. "I'm the guy who defeated Cell."

"You suck," Kat groaned but smiled at him nonetheless. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a limp noodle," the black haired teen reported. "And very hungry."

"And how is that different from any other day?" Kat teased.

"Now who's the one who sucks?" Gohan jabbed back.

Kat giggled a little, and he chuckled. But that led to him groaning a tad for his efforts, and Kat abruptly stopped to make sure he was okay. Gohan grinned slightly to ease her worries, but that didn't stop her from frowning.

"Gohan, I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm really, really sorry."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Gohan insisted. "We couldn't have known about what those snakes could do-"

"But we couldn't have known about the pterodactyl either," Kat countered. "Or whatever attacked Mirai. And it's all because of me."

"You?"

She slumped her shoulders. "If I didn't want these dumb wishes, no one would have gotten hurt," she clarified. "I mean, it's just my parents; it shouldn't matter."

"Kat, how could you say that?" Gohan questioned breathlessly. "You've always wanted to know who your dad is, and now you have a chance to find him and your mom."

"Okay, fine, but…" The girl huffed. "I'll just collect the rest of the Dragon Balls on my own in one day. No big deal."

Gohan huffed as well. "You know Trunks wouldn't like that," he pointed out. "And I don't like it, either. Kat, we want to help you find the Dragon Balls, and a couple of roadblocks won't stop us."

There wasn't a way Kat found she could really argue with that. "Then, just let me take care of the problem here," she declared. "S-snakes? Pssha! They're nothing to a Saiyan!"

Her friend chuckled lightly. "From where I'm lying, I can't really stop you," he stated. "Just promise me you'll be safe. Okay?"

"Okay," Kat agreed.

"I-" Zangya yawned, and Kat turned her head to find the Hera had joined them. "I will help as well," she offered. "It is the least I can do. And I will not fail this time, I promise."

"Zangya, you did all you could," the half-Saiyan girl pointed out. "From what it sounds, Mirai took the blow himself. I can't fault you for that."

The woman nodded. "Still, I wish to lend my services. I said I would save these people, and I intend to follow through on my words," she insisted.

Kat gave off a small smile and nodded as well. "We need to think of a plan first," she suggested.

"Well, actually, I think you two need to sleep first," Gohan piped up weakly. The two ladies looked at him, noticing his small yet cheeky grin. "I'm not the only one exhausted."

Kat rolled her eyes while Zangya laughed lightly. "Very well, we will do just that," she told him. "As long as you sleep as well." Gohan didn't even hesitate to close his eyes, and within moments he was out like a light. "Good. Rest is what he needs."

"And we need a plan," Kat insisted.

"Tomorrow," Zangya decided authoritatively. The girl huffed. But then Kat noticed Mirai's phone in Zangya's hand. "But first, would you mind teaching me how to send pictures? Bulma can help find out whoever is behind this."

The phone was given to her, and - with Zangya's instructions - Kat opened up the photos to find the one of a peg-like device. She noticed the insignia and instantly realized what the Hera meant. She smirked.

"Whoever this guy is," Kat promised, "they're not getting away with this. Not while I'm here."