Eyes slowly fluttered open. Pain. Nothing but pain. Eyes opened fully but the world was a blurred mess. The owner slowly placed herself on her elbows for support. Big mistake. Her side stung and she fell back down. The collision with the ground didn't hurt as much as she had anticipated. In fact…the ground was a lot softer than she expected it to be. In fact it was softer than anything she had laid on in a while! Her eyes finally adjusted and she looked up. A ceiling stared back at her. But not just any ceiling. This ceiling did not seem to be crumbling in anyway.

The girl turned her head to her side. Green eyes stared back at her. Was that her? Was she in a bed? She used a bit of energy to lean herself up on the head of the bed. The first thing she noticed was a chill across her body. She gazed down and noticed she had slithered out from under the blanket that covered her. Her face reddened as she noticed that her body was covered in bandages. And nothing else. She reached down and covered herself in the blanket again, the quick motion bringing a slurry of protest from her side.

She winced a bit and looked around. She was not in a rundown store any more. It seemed to be a well-managed house. Though the room was not really the cleanest, it was a lot more organized than the many buildings she had taken refuge in. She glanced around the room seeing a chair besides the bed and a bucket of water. Did someone bathe her? Looking under her covers she noticed she wasn't dirty or covered in blood. She did look like a mummy from all the wrapping and bandages covering her body. Her hair was now pulled back so some of the wrappings could fit on her head. She moved and wiggled under the blanket to see what all hurt, and aside from her side and her hand if she clenched it too tightly she was pretty good. Whoever treated her did well. Wait a second…

Did Majin Buu treat her? That idea was preposterous, but he was the last one she remembered being near her. But that would mean he bathed her too! Did that disgusting monster actually see her naked? She scanned the room again and noticed that her cloths were folded up next to the mirror, all clean and tidy. She removed her blanket and winced again from both the cold and her lack of clothing. She would just put her cloths on and attempt a quiet sneak away. She stepped off from the bed and stumbled from her legs still being partially asleep. She looked up and once again caught a glimpse of a pair of green eyes. She looked like crap.

First off she looked a lot skinnier than she remembered being. It may have been how tight the bandages were on her body but she just seemed tiny. She was also still covered with the remains of a few bruises here and there. She was positive the bandages were hiding a lot more of the bluish purple wounds than what was currently visible. Her hair was messy and everywhere, leaving a disheveled river of red flowing down to her shoulders. Her eyes went down to her hips and she poked her sides. Her stomach let out a loud rumble. She closed her eyes and groaned. That rumble was so strong it hurt! She was really hungry. She returned her focus to the task of dressing herself. Food would come when she was decent. She reached for her cloths when something rustled.

By the time she realized which direction it was coming from, the door had already begun to open. She froze like a deer in headlights. Was this the person who cleaned her up? Was this the person who tended to her wounds? Was this person Majin Buu? She prayed it wasn't Majin Buu. Her prayers were answered when an older woman stepped through the doorway. The woman gave a surprised look at the young girl standing in bandages before her. Her face lowered as she brought her hands to her chest along with the towel she clasped between them. She smiled.

"Well guys. What're we going to do today?" A man in an orange jumpsuit said to his comrades. They all leaned on the inside of a cave wall simply talking to each other.

"It's not that easy to just say what we're gonna do. Heck a lot of things we can't do," One of his friends said. This particular comrade was a bit short and had six incense marked dots on his head sporting the same outfit as the one before.

"He's right. Not that it'll help but training would give off our position," A blonde woman states keeping her eyes closed.

"So what? We're just going to continue hiding for the rest of our lives?" A man with a third eye states a little put off.

"Well to be completely honest that may not be too long from now," the short one said. His head was met with a hard slap from the blonde woman. "What? I'm only telling the truth," He said rubbing the burning spot. "I mean first Gotenks couldn't beat him, then Gohan couldn't beat him, and then Vegito couldn't beat him. VEGITO! And that is literally a fusion of two of the strongest guys I know!" He continued.

"Keep your voice down," The blonde woman scolded. "There may be something we can do," The small group all kept their eyes on her. "We can use what we always use when we're in a predicament,"

"You mean the dragonballs?" A small pale child-like figure asked looking up at her.

"Yes. After all, Dende is still around, so why wouldn't the dragonballs work?" The woman finally opened her eyes, this sharp glare looking straightforward to the cave's entrance. The first man spoke up again.

"But how will you even find the dragonballs? Do you have a radar? I mean they are still scattered all over right? How would you even get to them? If we fly Buu will find us for sure!"

"Well I'm not staying like this any longer!" The woman yelled. "Either we wait here till Buu finds us and kills us or we wait until he's bored with the planet and blows it up. Either way I'm not just going to sit around and let it happen," The woman was standing up straight now. She glared the man into a corner as he looked up in actual fear. "You can stay here and die with your tail between your legs but I'm not going out that way," Her voice lowered and her fists clenched. "I'll be kicking and screaming until I drop."

The small man jumped from his seat of stone beside the woman. "I'll be coming with you," The woman looked down to the man slightly surprised. "You didn't think I'd let you go on a mission like that alone did you?" She smiled.

"You can count me in too,"

"If Tien's going I'm going!"

"But, you guys don't even have a dragon radar!" The first man was really beginning to get on the blonde woman's nerves. Did he not know when to shut up? She already told him he can stay here and die if he wanted to.

"I know where Bulma kept a spare. If we can make it to her house we can either find it, or scavenge it and some parts to repair its remains," She stated glaring at the wall too disgusted at the cowardly man.

"But, what will we wish for if we manage to summon Shenron?" The short man asked. "Power," was the simple reply. The woman turned towards him with a resolution that could make mountains move. "I'm going to wish for enough power to defeat Majin Buu,"

"As a backup we should probably wish for that container that Babidi had him sealed in. Better safe than sorry," The triclops known as Tien stated.

"Do what you want with the remaining wishes. I won't be satisfied until my fist makes contact with his face," The woman said glaring forward. Look out Majin Buu. This race isn't over yet.

She felt a bit better now, with the new bandages and all. She was still a bit uncomfortable being so underdressed near the woman, but she had only shown her kindness during her stay here. She was even brushing her hair. The girl was now sitting in a new outfit for god's sake. It was nothing special, just a white t-shirt with the Capsule Corp logo and some black cargo pants. They were a bit looser than her previous set of cloths but that was a good thing considering her injuries. The woman got to a knot in her hair and she winced.

"Sorry darling. Almost through," The girl nodded and became quiet once more. She enjoyed the feeling of an actual brush going through her hair instead of just her fingers in a vain attempt to untangle the red strands. "You have such beautiful hair," The lady stated bringing a hand up to her own hair. "Makes me jealous from my graying hair," She ran her fingers through her raven locks and continued brushing. The girl chuckled. Somehow this one was worried about graying hair instead of the monster terrorizing the world. The girl looked at the bandaged on her hand.

"So darling, what's your name?" The kind lady asked. The girl returned her hand to her lap and continued looking into the mirror in front of her. "My name is Liza," She quietly stated. She could see the woman smile over her shoulder.

"Well Liza, that's a beautiful name. And your hair's all done too!" The woman stood as Liza now had a river of red curls parading down to her shoulders. Liza smiled and stood to her feet, thanking the woman as she turned around to face her. "No problem darling. Anything to bring a little normality over the place," They both grew to a steady silence. As much as they both wished it were, sitting around calmly was not normal since Majin Buu made the world crumble. Small moments like these were needed to make life bearable. A low grumble interrupted the two.

"It seems someone is hungry," The lady smiled while Liza's face reddened a bit. "Come on downstairs darling. I'll see what Mama Ella can find for you to eat." Liza's smile grew a bit and she nodded. She followed the woman out of the door and down a set of wooden stairs that creaked under every step. At the bottom of the stairs was a kitchen littered with cans of food and small boxes of some type of vegetable. "Sit at the table dear," Ella stated walking over to one of the boxes. "I'm sure the boys will be back pretty soon now,"

"Boys?" Liza asked as she took a seat. "Oh yes. You didn't think I could bring you all the way back here with my strength did you?" Liza for the first time studied the woman. She was mostly covered up but one could see how pale she was in the face and hands. The girl for the first time noticed how shaky the older woman's hands were as she mixed together what looked like some kind of salad. "Yes my two boys brought you back here. Well, my older son brought you back. The other just ran his mouth about a mile a minute asking question after question," Ella laughed to herself. "Reminds me of his father that one does…" That somber feeling blanketed the area again as the only sound being made was from the utensils Ella stirred the food together with.

"Well anyway, that was five days ago. I'm sure when they get back from searching for food you can thank them yourself!"

"Wait, five days?!" Liza stood up as her mouth dropped at the news. She had been out for five days?

"Why yes. Your injuries were pretty serious. I'm not only surprised that my treatments were any help but the fact that you survived the trip here! You're a real tough nut to crack I'll give you that!" Liza slowly fell back down to her seat, eyes still wide and mouth hanging slack-jawed. Five whole days she had been out. No wonder she looked so thin. She took in a deep breath thinking of the events that led up to her coma. She shuddered as the night with Majin Buu took center stage in her mind. "Well, here's your soup darling," Ella said placing a bowl in front of her, thankfully snapping her out of the thoughts that would surely give her nightmares. The bowl held a reddish brown liquid with a variety of vegetables taking up the bulk of space with some meat sitting around randomly.

"Sorry it's not much, but we find what we can to make a decent meal," Liza looked up to see the woman with this sad smile looking down on her. She slowly returned her gaze to the bowl in front of her. Could she really eat this? Stores were either looted or destroyed so food was hard to come by now that she thought about it. This person was giving up a portion of her food, to a stranger she had found on the streets. Well, technically her son found her under a pile of rubble somehow but the case was the same. She couldn't really bring a burden on these people could she? She couldn't. She was going to politely refuse and have the woman eat her own well-earned meal.

"I…I"

"Now don't give me none of that darling," Ella interrupted with the same smile on her face. "What you're thinking is written clear as day on your face," The woman placed a calming hand on Liza's shoulders. "You haven't eaten in five days. Maybe more! I've at least had a little bit daily and we have some to last us a good while," Liza remained silent. "If you want to help pay me back you can always help with the garden downstairs," Liza looked up at her. No wonder they have some food. They're growing them themselves. "What do you say?" Liza smiled and took a spoonful of the soup in front of her. Though it was a bit bland and lukewarm, it felt warm going down her throat and gave a pretty pleasant after taste. She and Ella locked eyes and smiled at each other.

"Mom. Luke and I are home," The two sets of eyes turned towards the voice from around a corner. Ella clasped her hands together again and let out a very excited gasp. She rushed around the corner leaving Liza alone in the kitchen. She unlocked the door and flung it open before the chain lock even swung into place properly.

"Oh my boys I'm so glad you're both safe!" She said a bit louder than she had been talking, pulling both boys into a motherly hug. The younger one clasped onto his mother's waist while the older rolled his eyes and patted her back.

"Mom, I keep telling you, we'll be fine. We are just scouting on how far the safe zone is, maybe find us some food. We know which area thugs have overrun and we know where we can catch a few animals," He stated as expected of a teen to his parent.

"And I caught two rabbits today!" The younger boy said holding up the two animals for mother to see. The older woman released the two boys and looked down at her second son.

"That's great Luke! Did your brother help you any?" The small child puffed up his cheeks at the question.

"Well…Damion helped a little bit…" He said looking away slightly.

"Did he now? You said thank you right?" Damion, as the older boy was called, let out a deep sigh before placing two small bags near the entrance. He began walking away letting his blood have their little back and forth of questions. He closed his eyes as he placed his hand on his left shoulder and began wind-milling his arm to get the few kinks out. He was surprised to find a pair of green eyes staring up at him when he opened his. He froze in place as the two simply looked at each other. Liza closed her eyes and smiled at the boy.

"So I guess you are the one I should be thanking huh?"

Buu looked around at the scene. Well this was barely fun. Sure fire danced around his position and he was surrounded by corpses, but that was only a momentary buzz for him. He glanced around at what used to be a rebel base. The fools thought guns could possibly take him down. Those cheap toys weren't fun to play with when he was a fat infant! Now they all lay before him: blasted, burned, eaten. And just like he promised himself they all begged for their lives. Pitiful creatures they were.

Entertaining, but pitiful.

The flames grew higher and higher in the forests near North City. Buu wandered if there were any more rebel bases hidden in the woods. He had never bothered using his ki tracking ability near a forest thinking all humans preferred the concrete jungle. That added with the ability that they were all so incredibly weak they flew under his senses when he was hopping from city to city. He should have known some would slink out into the woodwork. The fire now danced on his position. He didn't care. This fire couldn't harm him. It was time for him to make another slow sweep around the planet. He was going to go ahead and finish off the rest of the human race before the planet.

Oh what lovely fireworks that would make.

Damion and Liza were currently in the basement, the former sitting on a small wooden stool skinning a rabbit as Liza looked over his shoulder in mild disgust. Sure skinning the creature was essential to survival, but the cute thing was just running around a little while ago!

"So how old are you Liza?" Damion said not skipping a beat on the task at hand. Liza turned her head towards his slightly sunburned face.

"I'm 24," She said trying not to focus on the sound the knife made cutting through the woodland creature.

"24 eh?" Damion said standing up to hang the freshly skinned carcass. "Makes you four years older than me," He smirked at her as he removed the gloves from his hands to place on a small table under "The Dinner Wall" as Liza had dubbed it. Liza nodded and began playing with the edge of her shirt. This was all awkward to her now. It had been so long since she had any form of human contact. Let alone contact with a male. She wondered, if she got back with her bf, would she have a new found awkwardness around him? "So where were you?" Liza looked up to a very serious looking young man. She swallowed as he continued. "when Majin Buu first attacked?" Liza held her head down as a somber look over came her features.

"I was on my way to Satan City. I had a scholarship there and I was planning on working for Capsule Corp someday," Liza sat in the chair that had been given to her and brought her legs up to her chest. "Apparently about a day after I left my hometown of West City, it was already ransacked by the bastard." Damion was surprised how ice cold her voice suddenly turned on the last word, but it was completely understandable. "I want to go back and…maybe find my family…" Damion was silent.

"You know…that was the first place Majin Buu attacked right?" He finally spoke.

"That's what I've heard,"

"Then…you know the whole city was eaten…" Liza's head shot up. She stood to her feet, still on the chair so that she would be taller than the boy before her.

"I don't believe that! Maybe…They held out! Or found a good place to hide…" Her resolve was breaking. She didn't believe herself. She wanted to, but she didn't. Her eyes were watering but she wouldn't cry here. "They just have to be okay…" There was a slight tug on her pants leg as she looked down. A big pair of blue eyes looked up to her with fear and worry.

"Are you going to be okay miss?" came the innocent sound of little Luke, still lightly grasping on to her pants leg. She smiled and wiped her eyes with the back of her arm. She lowered herself down off the chair and kneeled to look the young boy in his eyes. She placed both her hands on his shoulders and let out a slow breath.

"Yes dear. I'm going to be okay," She smiled at the child. It was a small unsure smile but it was enough to make Luke's face brighten like Christmas Eve. The boy suddenly lunged on her, wrapping his small arms around her neck in a tiny hug. Liza was taken aback by the gesture but slowly wrapped her arms around the boy as well. After a few seconds the boy pulled back and gave a heartwarming smile.

"Mama said hugs make everything better!" He said proud of himself. Liza's eyes teared up again as she gave a genuine smile towards the boy. Such beautiful childlike innocent stood right in front of her and it made her so happy.

"Well I guess mama is always right," Liza said holding back a sniffle. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Damion giving a small smile of his own down on her.

"Come on," He said calmly. "Let's get ready for days to come,"

Hello again! A pretty calm chapter. Sort of kinda got some stuff set up and some stuff explained. So yeah, Liza miraculously survived all the crap Buu put her through with the help of a nice family just trying to survive the end of the world. But since Buu is going to start a slow sweep over the planet how long before their location gets found out? And will this plan to stop Buu's evil actually work?

I'm thinking of having some chapters be dedicated to one whole subplot, so let me know what you think of that idea. Until next time guys!

See you!