Again, thanks for the lovely reviews. I hope this fic has been enjoyable thus far.

I remember someone asked me if there were no Dragon Balls, then why were they in Namek. The answer to that question is: The Dragon Balls will not appear here... in Fight to Survive.

Who knows, perhaps the sequel does? *looks away, whistling* Okay, I don't know if there will be a sequel, it's too early to decide. :p

Now... on with the fic!

| ImaginaryInk |


Bulma gasped and her eyes shot open wide, startled by his gentle ministrations. He had even pushed away the wet hair that matted on her face and that left her even more confused than ever. Wasn't he about to strike her?

He traced his fingers ever so lightly down her jaw line and felt her tensed under his touch. He frowned although his fingers continued their journey towards her chin, and he lifted her head up so he could look intensely into those ocean orbs. Eventually, she relaxed a little and for the first time, he studied her face – her eyes, her lashes, her slender nose... her lips. He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip and gently pulled on them to reveal her tiny set of teeth. His lips – slightly parted – and he held his breath, greatly entranced by the powerful allure before him.

Then, Bulma took a terrified step back, away from him.

She bit her inner bottom lip to stop it from quivering as she stared at the man who had just caressed the exact same tender spot. She gave him a calculative gaze while her legs shifted absent-mindedly to the side, heading for the bedroom. Then, throwing all thoughts out of her mind, she tore her eyes away from his intense gaze and dashed into the room, locking the door behind her. Leaning against the door, she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort as she felt violated and harassed. She didn't know why, though he hadn't done anything to her yet.

Yet...

That word alone brought hot tears to roll down her cheeks. She hugged herself tighter and ran into the bathroom. Turning full blast on the showerhead, she washed and scrubbed every lingering touch of his as she drowned her tears with the falling waters. She hated the feeling of his fingers caressing her like that and she hated what that little gesture had almost evoked. Who was he to do that?

She emerged from the bathroom and felt slightly better, refreshing being the last thing on her mind. She plopped onto the mattress and stared at the ceiling, not caring that her body and hair were dry-dripping on the bed. Her tears have ceased but her mind was filled with what would have possibly transpired if she had not stopped him. He frightened her, and he had proved it once more just now. She sighed heavily and turned on her side, pulling the blanket along with her as she tightened her grip on it. Curling into a foetal position, her arms wounded tightly across her body once more.

"... Yamcha..." she whispered sadly at the name of her dead boyfriend. She squeezed her eyes shut as she forced her mind to bring back familiar memories to ease the pain. Her body shaking with grief, sobbing quietly into the night until sleep engulfed her.


Everything seemed to be a game to Vegeta. This was no different.

Though he had to admit, had Bulma not retrieved, he would have kissed her just to know what she tastes like. But he'd like to think he has more self control than that. He knew his body was reacting harshly to hers, but how controlled was his mind?

If neither his body nor his mind could stop the things he wanted to do to her, then he'd want – no – need her to decide that for him. If she consent, good for them both. He would have his way with her until she ceases to be of use to him, or at least until he finds a way to leave the planet. But since she didn't agree to it, then at the very least he knew the idea of sleeping with him is repulsive to her, and it will be easier for him to control himself from now on.

Vegeta didn't exactly grow up in an ethical environment. To him, it was all about instincts. Then only logic comes into play.

The moment she closed the door, Vegeta sobered and swiftly turned to lounge on the couch, all lingering hormonal urges forgotten. Bulma had made the decision-making easy for him and it made him think that he had it all figured out. He assumed his previous position of hands behind his head and lying on his back, his mind already planning his time on Planet Namek and how he was going to have to use it. For the most part, he already had a huge chunk of his period to stay occupied with training. He only had to worry with what he was to do when he wasn't training, eating or sleeping.


Bulma awoke the next day with really sore eyes and puffy cheeks. She hadn't realised she had cried so much until she winced in pain whenever she blinked. Bulma Briefs was never one to cry so frivolously but when your boyfriend died, you encounter life endangering situations, your friends are missing, you're stuck on a distant planet with a sadistic alien and you have no knowledge if you'll ever return home, it's kind of hard not to bawl your eyes out.

She pushed herself out of bed and padded straight into the washroom. Upon seeing her own distraught state, Bulma pursed her lips and scowled at her reflection. She hated how she looked and she hated herself for being so weak. She stared back at the once fiery and confident woman before her with spite, her face softened with weariness. How she had wound up being so frail and completely hopeless was beyond her.

"Bulma Briefs," she closed her eyes to relish in the whisper of her own name. Somehow it felt like it has been such a long time since she heard it.

"... You're going to die if you don't snap out of this," she reopened her crystal blues and pierced into the soul of her own reflection, her temper rising.

"... What happened to you?" her voice cracked as she questioned herself in a squeal and broke down in tears, sobbing and trembling – furious at herself.

"... Enough! This has got to stop. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Bulma and do something about it!" she yelled at herself in between sobs, her tiny hands smacking hard on the ceramic sink. Anger was an understatement, perhaps disappointment was a better choice of word. Yes, she was disappointed in herself. And she couldn't accept the fact that she never tried to resolve her current situation and knowing this only made her feel worse.

She wiped away her tears fiercely and splashed ice cold water to her face. She hissed at the freezing liquid but continued to splatter as much water until she was numb. That was as close to unfeeling as she could get. If her inner turmoil wouldn't quiet down, at least her physique would. Hair wet and face drenched, she stared at herself one last time in the mirror. She nodded to herself and turned around to wash herself up. Soon, she emerged from the bedroom – remembering to wear decently – and with newfound determination and strength, she was ready to do anything in order to survive and get home.


Training a few metres from the mouth of the cave, Vegeta was diligently practising the first part of his Kata. His body glistened with sweat under the glaring morning suns as he sent series of hits and endless roundhouse kicks to his invisible opponent. While his mind focused on calculating steps with every swing of his legs and jab of his fists, his train of thought never wavered – at least not until Bulma came out of the house and stood by the edge of the cave. He felt her presence the moment she awoke but ignored her like he planned to. He continued his stance for the next couple of minutes before getting irate with the woman behind, who was as still as a shrine. And he could feel her eyes on him watching intensely at his every move.

Bulma leaned on the rocks with her arms crossed loosely at her mid-drift as she watched Vegeta trained. She didn't want to barge in between his training so she stood by the cave opening but while waiting for the right time to speak to him, she found herself transfixed by the scene before her. She had to hand it to him and she'd admit that he was swift and meticulous in his steps, and it had stunned her into silent awe. But she soon realised she was spellbound by the way he moved – so stealthily, gracefully, elegantly like a prince and so very strong yet with so much finesse. And his body, oh, how it glowed under the suns.

She found herself swallowing a gulp and her musings were brought back to ground level when Vegeta stopped his training, stood with his back to her and hands clenched into fists at his sides. Slowly, he cocked his head to the sides to crack the sore muscles on his neck, shoulders and back. Bulma pushed herself upright from the wall and took the chance to call to him.

"Vegeta," as if he had expected her, the Saiyan Prince turned his head slightly to the side and lifted a brow in silent question.

"I made breakfast."

That sentence alone was enough to make any Saiyan run towards the kitchen table so Vegeta pivoted on his heel and headed straight for the house without a glance at the woman he passed. This left Bulma trailing quietly behind him towards the dinner table, and she had no qualms in sticking out her tongue as she glared at his back. She figured that was all the attack she could summon against him. Being the gentleman that he is, Vegeta didn't wait for her to be seated as he began to devour his mountain load of pancakes.

Breakfast was silent as one was busy gorging down food while the other was busy finding the right words to say. Although not completely oblivious to her troubled state, Vegeta had chosen to ignore her again and continued to enjoy his peaceful feast. Meanwhile, the gears in Bulma's head never stopped winding as she played with her food, taking small bites every now and then.

"I wonder if he could sense them..."

Bulma trailed off as she whispered her thought out loud, a distant and grim expression written on her face. But Vegeta caught it and he glanced at her from under his heavy brows as they furrowed towards the bridge of his nose. Then he blinked, swallowed his food and smirked, sitting upright from his plate of half-eaten food.

"If you're wondering if I can sense the third class clown, his offspring, chrome dome and the green goon, then no. I cannot sense them," he stated, his dark orbs bore into her widened sapphire eyes as his answer shook her out of her stupor.

"W-what do you mean you can't sense them?" she questioned, her voice shaking from anticipation and fear. And his smirk grew deeper.

"Because they're dead," he replied with a tinge of melody in his voice.

"N-no," she squeaked, her heart sank and she brought a hand to hold her aching chest – her body shaken by the casual way he brought on the brutal news. "They can't be."

"Don't believe me?" he questioned light-heartedly as he leaned slightly over the table with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, obviously looking forward to having a fun twisted conversation with the woman.

"There are ways to find that out for yourself but I will be perfectly honest with you. It will be a waste of your time. You will never find them." And he chuckled evilly in a low tone as he caught the reaction on her face. Somehow, Bulma knew he wasn't lying but she couldn't be any more shocked than she already was. Her face was twisted in agony and she slammed a heavy hand down on the table, sprang up from her seat and toppling the chair over in the process.

"How can you find this funny?" she bellowed at him in anger and a wicked glint flashed in his obsidian eyes.

"Like this..." and an evil grin pulled tightly on his face, revealing his sharp, pearly canines.

"Why are you doing this?" she pleaded desperately. Though it was more of a statement than a question Vegeta answered her nonetheless, his amused demeanour temporarily forgotten.

"You know nothing. If you want to find your idiotic friends so much, have it your way. Go ahead, and let me know if you ever do find them, I'll be sure to throw a party to congratulate you for bringing back the dead. But when I tell you that they will never be found, heed my words. You're not going to find any corpse lying around waiting for you to retrieve them,"

He explained in sheer coldness and all Bulma could do was shake her head in silent dissent, tears forming in her eyes.

"Aw, look at you, tsk, tsk," he mocked her, shaking his head as he forged a sympathetic pout just to spite her.

"They're never really gone, you know. As far as my memory serves me, their deaths were quick. You know, pellets of ki blasts did the trick. They were instantly engulfed in flames before they died, and slowly, I watched their burning bodies turned into ashes," if his smirk could go any deeper, this was it. "Who knows... at this very moment, you could be inhaling particles of their ashes... deep. into. your. lungs." He finished that sick presumption, cackling wickedly in sick amusement.

"You... you're despicable!"

Bulma spat furiously. Rage, hatred, sadness, grief, anguish, misery, sorrow – and whatever emotions you could find from the dictionary – were swarming in a violent whirl pool within her and she stormed out of the house in frightful tears, away from the laughing delusional psychopath. She ran out of the cave and continued to run till she could run no more, her tears never stopped flowing. Never in her life had she met anyone as sadistic and venomous as Vegeta and she almost regretted saving him on the first night! If he hadn't pulled her away from her possible death, she wouldn't feel as obligated as she was to shelter him in her house.

Her feet were weary from running and she dropped on all fours with her head hung low as she replayed the earlier conversation in her head. Her friends were gone, Vegeta had said so. And with every passing day without a sign or sound from any one of them, the truth in his speculations was only becoming clearer to her and she shuddered at that reality.

All these time, she really was alone with that mad Saiyan.

Bulma clenched her eyes tightly as she forced herself to swallow her fate. A fate that she wished was a situation depicted from her nightmares. She can't go on like this and she knew it. But she had come to a point where giving up was not an option anymore and at this moment all she ever hoped for was to just go home. And Vegeta was making that goal harder and harder to reach. Let's not mention that she didn't even had the chance to propose the first part of her plans to him and he had already almost successfully pulled her towards his life path – the other side of sanity.

(Meanwhile, back in the make-shift house...)

"More for me," Vegeta chuckled as he reached his arm across the table to collect Bulma's plate of unfinished food.


Bulma guessed she had been sitting on the dusty barren land of nowhere for a rough thirty minutes. She was moping and sulking once again as her mind was filled with unanswered questions, her hands inattentively tearing the weeds from their roots, throwing them to the side.

Poor little weeds.

Then in the far distance, a deep growl tore through the rocky mountains a few feet behind her. It echoed faintly but Bulma hadn't captured nor sensed it as she was deep in thought. Then, another growl, this time slower and longer, echoed a few seconds after the first, and then again, and again and only then Bulma recovered from her daze and snapped her attention towards her surroundings. Her eyes bulged with fear and she inhaled sharply, holding her breath. The echoes were clear to her ears, but where were they coming from?

Bulma sprang to her feet and turned to the skies, twirling on her feet as the echoes rumbled louder and nearer. She could feel her heart pulsating through her chest, the beats rising rapidly. She gulped. Several seconds passed and she still couldn't determine the direction of which the growling was coming from. Panic arose, her breathing became short and haste, her body trembled with fear of the unknown.

The growl turned into snippets of roars as the source of it drew closer. It was definitely coming from behind the rocks and Bulma was prepared to turn on her heels, towards the direction of which she came from.

Then, she saw them.

She paled a ghostly white pastel colour at sight of it as the scene before her rendered her helpless. And as if all the muscles, joints and limbs in her had stopped functioning, as was her brain, she couldn't find the will to budge. All she could do was stare numbly at the horrifying scene unfolding slowly as two very large, very fierce Velociraptor-like dinosaurs appeared from behind the large boulders.

They spotted her from afar, perhaps they even smelled her from behind the mountain. The reptiles focused their attention on the delicious looking meat below and very skilfully, leaped from one rock to another, descending with grace on the ground which Bulma stood motionless, her feet nailed to the ground beneath. Her eyes widened in absolute terror as the two big reptiles snarled and bared their jaws of bladed teeth at her, drool dripping at their feet as they loom before her. They cocked their heads to the sides, analysing their dinner. They've never seen such food before and Bulma's scent of the human flesh had been very, very appealing to their noses.

Bulma almost choked on her heart. She felt her blood drained from her body and she was damn near to passing out. Tears of horror formed in her eyes, her mouth agape and twisted in silent terror, and her body shook violently as the dinosaurs slowly crept towards her, towering over her, preying over her. And for some reason, Bulma managed to find whatever little voice she had left in her vocal cords and moved the only muscle she could at this moment.

"... N-nice... b-boys..." she squeaked in terror, her eyes stuck on her predators. But the moment her lips moved, she could feel what little blood in her returning to her joints and limbs and slowly, she backed away. And as if her brain never left her body, it told her to do the only smartest thing at the moment.

Run.

And so, Bulma turned on her heel and ran, and ran, and ran for dear life. She didn't care how near the reptiles had been as they chased after her, growling and roaring as their dinner sprinted away at speeds it didn't even know it possessed. Screams were in the air, and roars trailed behind it. She didn't care where she was headed, she didn't care how worn out her feet was and she didn't care how breathless she had become. Because when two really terrifying, really hungry, really angry and really ugly reptiles are breathing down your neck, you had better run till you are out of their sight.

That was what Bulma was hoping for.

Everything went past her in a blur. She wasn't really looking at where she was headed though she silently rejoiced when another rocky hill appeared in front. She decided to run around it, hoping for the best. The moment she turned the corner, her hopes dwindled to a negative hundred. She was at a dead end as the hill bent inwards like a crescent. And she was stuck on the inside of it. She turned to glance quickly over her shoulders to see her prowlers were a mere fifty metres away and she continued to dash towards the end of the path, stopping at the foot of the hill.

Bulma gulped loudly and took in deep breaths as she panted heavily. She had overexerted herself as the blood in her calves and thighs drained from her, her legs became jelly. Turning around to face the reptiles, her mind managed to convince her into giving up. The overlarge lizards slowed down to a crawl, knowing full well that they had her cornered and they roared triumphantly. Bulma swallowed another gulp and she staggered backwards only to hit a wall of stones. Unable to pry her eyes away, Bulma inwardly accepted her impending doom as the predators stalked menacingly towards her at an excruciating slow pace.

'... I'm going to die.'


Besides Vegeta being an ass, I personally don't think this chapter was all that interesting. But it gets better, I promise! And yes, again, review, review, review! ... If you want the next chapter by this weekend. =D