Heys, I'm back. Thanks for the lovely reviews!

I apologise if there are/were errors in my fics. I didn't mean it! Hehe. Anyway, my stories are just for fun, so any error is mine and mine alone. :D But I can promise to minimise them as much as I can! Other than that, enjoy this chapter!

Cheers!

| ImaginaryInk |

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.'

'I'm going to die, I'm going to die' were the words that Bulma was chanting over and over again in her pretty little blue head. Well, it wouldn't be pretty any longer when the reptiles finally get a chunk out of her.

Whether to be able to sink into the ground beneath or to just melt into the rocks behind, Bulma wished she had a way out of this. She hadn't even realise her tears were still flowing freely down her cheeks, though she wasn't crying. She didn't even bother wiping them away. Nothing really mattered anymore at this point.

Bulma turned to look up behind her. From her point of view, the hill dragged upwards beyond the skies, indicating that there was, indeed, no way out. Down on the ground, the reptiles inched closer every few seconds and she grew more desperate. If she was lucky, they'll take her upper body first and save her the agony of torn limbs.

The dinos took their time in closing the gap between them. This gave Bulma another chance to survey her surroundings, in hopes to find a way out. Her eyes darted aimlessly, searching for a port, any port, in this sandy storm. She turned back to the reptiles. They were edging closer. Bulma hastily surveyed some more, her back now completely flat on the rocks behind her.

And as if some freak miracle was bestowed upon her, Bulma spotted a small rock shelter just a little on her left. The words 'rejoice' and 'delight' were an understatement compared to the explosive joy mixed with eagerness which churned in her stomach. The only problem was that the rock shelter... is at least twenty feet high from ground level.

But then again, any port in a storm.

It will definitely be a difficult climb. The boulders adjoining the shelter are steep and narrow. Bulma took a last glance at the dinos and couldn't thank God enough when the reptiles were caught in a fight over who gets the meal. For once, she was utterly grateful for territorial tendencies.

While her feeders were being occupied, Bulma made a run for it. A shade of blue dashed by in a blur in front of the reptiles and they hadn't noticed her until Bulma were up on two boulders. Immediately, they stopped their territorial bicker and turned to chase and stomp after their human dish.

When Bulma reached the fourth rock, a dinosaur jumped high on its bulging thighs, nearly capturing Bulma's legs with its razor-blade jaws. Lucky for her, the narrow boulders were only wide enough for someone like her size to be able to mount. Therefore no matter how many times the reptiles tried to leap onto the steep rocks, they'll fail each time. They'd always manage to step on the lowest stone surface, only to fall onto the ground below again.

Bulma didn't care if her fingers bled from dragging her body upwards. Safety was top priority. She didn't know how she managed to climb all the way up there but when she was nearly fifteen feet high, she stopped to rest for a minute.

Big mistake.

Without a harness or any kind of protection, it was only God's will that she is able to reach such heights without falling backwards. Bulma nearly wet her pants when she realised how high she has climbed. And she inhaled sharply, cursing herself when she finds herself looking down.

"Bulma... don't look down," she clenched her eyes shut, her bloody fingers grasped tightly on the rocks.

"Just don't look down..." with a deep breath, she pursed her lips and continued her difficult journey of gravity defiance.

Within minutes and relentless determination, Bulma finally made it to the cliff of the shelter. She couldn't possibly drag herself up anymore, so upon reaching the edge, she merely rolled inwards. Lying on her back with closed eyes, Bulma wheezed and took in gulpful of breaths. Her face scrunched up in pain as she filled her lungs with much needed oxygen.

This was the first time she had climbed a mountain so vigorously ever since she and Goku parted ways after their first Dragon Ball expedition. The fleeting memory made her smile a little, but the aching in her numb muscles instantly reminded her that she has yet to resolve her current situation. In anything, she had only worsened it despite being out of harm's way.

She was stuck.

Just as stuck as her predators were down below as they snarled, growled and roared in frustration at their escaped meal. Bulma rolled on her side towards the edge of the cliff and looked down at her killers. How glad she was to be up here, after making sure that the beasts had no means of climbing up after her. And with the afternoon suns glaring fiercely, Bulma could even see the heat waves radiating in the air. She frowned hard and plopped on her back onto the hard surface. Her eyes were droopy as sleep slowly consumed her exhausted body. The only thing she can do now is to wait.

"Come on, you little worms! Is that all you've got?" Vegeta taunted in mid-air as he dodged head-on attacks by two ferocious worm-like lake monsters.

He landed carelessly on the ground below only to leap swiftly once more into the air, darting away from another attack by the second monster. Vegeta hovered eye level with the beasts and sent series of solid blows and kicks at their faces and elongated scaly bodies. But they were relentless and returned the favour with powerful swings of their enormous tails.

Of course, the Saiyan prince easily dodged the bullets.

He landed gracefully a distance from them and lowered his stance, sick of playing anymore games.

"Have I ever told you guys that I despise worms?" he grinned and chuckled sadistically, eyes peering at the beasts.

Focusing on his energy, he formed a large ki ball in his hand and aimed at one lake monster, which was lunging fiercely towards him.

"Guess not."

He flashed his trademark smirk and released the attack fully, killing the monster via head shot and blowing its head into pieces. The headless beast fell with a loud thud and a splash – half body on land and the other half in the waters. Then he formed another ki ball intended for the other beast, just in time to see its tail submerging into the lake depths. Somehow, the first attack managed to scare it away.

"You can't escape me, you worm. I'll get you when I see you..." he said to himself as he dissipates the ki ball, turning to walk over to the carcass. With a pull on its large fins, Vegeta reeled the rest of the beast onto land. He smirked triumphantly even though his last kill wasn't something that he would be proud of. But it was the most happening event to occur since the day he was left stranded on the planet. Although this had initially been only a form of training for him, it might as well be in the storage just in case they ran out of food. And since the woman doesn't like rodent-like creatures, he wondered what she'll say about scaly beasts.

He hauled the tail of the beast over his shoulder with ease and flew it back to home base, the carcass dangling carelessly below him. The suns shone brightly over his head and he had perspired some, but not enough to get him a heat stroke.

He can't say the same for Bulma, though.

It has been – what? – hours when she ran out of the cave and Vegeta hasn't seen her since. He wondered if she had returned to the house. It wasn't like he cared about her whereabouts. He just thought that if the heat hasn't driven her back to the power-generated house's blissful air conditioner, her feeble physique would have.

Now that he thought about Bulma in the slightest, more images of her flooded his mind. She wasn't really that annoying, and despite her pathetic sobbing and crying every night, she hasn't really disturbed him as much as he expected. He had only wanted to portray himself as the frightening warrior, the terrifying antagonist, the fearsome enemy. And he's succeeded to say the least.

In fact, she probably hates him to death.

But then again, he would dare say she is quite the intelligent little female. He's never really met a woman inventor before and to be able to bring a house – an entire house – over to another planet is something else. He'd have to give her credit for that. Ah, enough of the musings.

He cut his thoughts short as he reached the cave and landed with grace. Without giving a second thought, he let the lake monster carcass slip down from his shoulder none too gently and discarded it at the rim of the cave.

Walking back to the premise where Bulma found him training earlier this morning, he continued his 'exercise' and began his series of Kata for the next several hours, right into dinner time.

Fast forward and another few more sequence of blows and kicks, Vegeta would have finished the third set of his personalised fighting patterns. Dinner time came too soon. The suns haven't even fully set yet and already his stomach growled nastily, indicating his Saiyan appetite needs to be quenched. After the final forceful punch to the air, seemingly killing his invisible opponent, Vegeta relaxed, stood with his back straightened and stretched his muscles till he popped nearly each and every joint in his lean body.

He needed a shower, badly. Though the suns were setting, the remaining heat that is radiating from the ground unease the heck out of Vegeta. He loves the rain, he really does. But when you train under the hot sun – three hot suns to be exact – tanned skin is the least problem for him. If Vegeta is anything, he is one to train in a well equipped environment. And that's including an air-conditioned arena. If he goes the other extreme, he'd train in the wild... in the rain. Not under hot suns on a barren land.

He emerged from the showers after a fifteen minute bath and went looking for food but there was none that he could see with his naked eyes. Of course, he's never forgotten about the capsules which Bulma was talking about. He just needs to find it. So, he ventured into the uncharted area – the room which the woman occupies every night ever since.

Much to his surprise, she has left the pack of Hoi-Pois on the dressing table. Vegeta be damned and he frowned really hard when he picked up a few and realised he couldn't read human scriptures. Should he chance it by clicking each and every capsule to find which one contains food?

His brows furrowed in indecisiveness and eyes narrowed, scowling hard at the infuriating objects in his hands.

His growling stomach helped him decide and he roughly tossed the capsules onto the vanity surface. He waltzed out of the room, out of the house and out of the cave fuming in hunger. He headed for his prize catch of the day and a ki ball formed on his index finger. He aimed for the last bit of its tail and blasted at it, snapping the tail off with ease.

Then, he bent over to grab his dinner, sinking his teeth into his meal raw as he strode straight back into the house.

Dinner was... invigorating for Vegeta. It's been more than a year now since he last ate raw meat. It must have been on the last planet which he and Nappa purged before they went to Planet Earth. Again, he must say it was indeed very... invigorating. Smacking appreciatively and licking the dripping blood off the corner of his lips, he opted to sleep.

He went to his couch – yes, he's claimed his spot – and lay down with his usual lazy boy style. Hands behind head, one leg pulled up and the other alternated between straightened or dangled. The woman wasn't back yet and he briefly wondered if she was still alive. What will happen if she had died? Is she in danger? Would he go after her?

Perhaps.

He needed to find a way out of this planet just as much as she does. But it would be his way or the flyway. He knew the woman has attempted to ask for his help, but he wasn't going to comply without getting in a bit of fun. And he wasn't a tactical warrior for nothing. Simply put, displaying the intimidating bastard wasn't the only 'fun' planned thing on his mind.

Sleep claimed the prince in a matter of moments before he slumbered peacefully on the couch and all thoughts of the woman were thrown from his conscious and into his subconscious mind.

"Vegeta..."

The Saiyan prince groaned softly and stirred lightly in his sleep.

"Vegeta..."

The feminine voice called softly to him again and he fluttered his eyes open.

"Vegeta, what are you doing here?"

He closed his eyes once more, brows furrowed and frowned.

"What do you mean by that?" his sleepy voice rasped.

"Okay, let's try this again. Why are you in my realm?"

His eyes snapped open fully at the peculiar question as they met with the cerulean headed woman who towered over his sleeping form. He sprang up and with a perplexed expression, glared at her and she backed away a little. Her tresses were at shoulders' length and she was wearing what humans would call a white sleeveless summer dress that fell to her knees. He frowned and grabbed the girl firmly by her arm, shaking her slightly. Though he didn't know why he'd do it since she could never hurt him, not even in reality.

"What is this place?" he asked in surprise, though anger slowly rose.

She looked at his hand on her arm, then at his surprised expression and frowned back at him.

"If you don't mind, unhand me please. I don't do well with strangers man-handling me like you do all the time, thank you."

Vegeta stared back at her dumbfounded but released his grip on her nevertheless. His eyes darted in confusion at his surroundings. It was pitch-black. But how does one explain how the hell is it that the image of the woman was as clear as day.

"Answer my question, Woman!" he demanded impatiently through gritted teeth and the woman rolled her eyes.

"You're in my subconscious now, Vegeta. This is my dream." He pulled a weird disorientated expression upon that information and she couldn't resist smiling.

"Your dream? Feh. If anything, I'd almost believe that this is MY dream since 'AAAYYYEEE' fell asleep."

Silence.

She ignored him and he crossed his arms, scowling in irritation.

"In here, anything that 'AAAYYYEEE' imagine will be painted on this black canvas around us. Anything at all!" she explained with glee, mimicking his emphasis on the word and showing a side of her that Vegeta has never been privy to see.

"Prove it," he simply challenged as his eyes narrowed with scepticism. The woman had to roll her eyes once more but humoured him anyway.

"Alright, what do you want to see?"

"Kakarott's pulverised body," he said carelessly.

"W-what? No! Not in a million years. Think of something else, you psycho!" Slightly offended, Vegeta glared at her for a second but proceeded to come up with something else.

"The Dragon Balls... All seven of 'em," he described slowly with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Next thing he knew, all seven Dragon Balls popped out of nowhere and pooled around his figure. He smirked as he bent down to pick one up – mildly surprised that he could – and held it in front of him.

"Yeeesss," he chuckled to himself, entranced by the mystical orb, forgetting that he was in a dream within his dream for a minute there. And as quickly as it appeared, the woman willed the image away. His eyes widened with surprised when the Dragon Ball in his hand disappeared and he narrowed his eyes at her, scowling hard.

"Here, let me show you something cool," she suggested casually, ignoring the seething Saiyan.

The black canvas was instantaneously replaced with a background of velvety orange, pinkish and reddish hue with milky white puffy strokes across it, resembling the image of a beautiful sunset sky. Then an ocean so blue dragged from the horizon towards the shore where they stood sifting the white pearly sand beneath their toes. Then, palm trees appeared on the sides, its leaves swaying softly in the wind.

The most outstanding feature which astounded him most was her ability to bring the sounds of crashing waves and squawking sea birds from afar into the scene. Not only were the images before them so vivid, but also the detailed sounds of it all which added greatly to the ambience. At that moment, Vegeta couldn't help but to gape at her in utter wonder. He has never seen anything like it.

Finished with her little dream scene, she turned back to him with a bright smile, this time her face illuminated softly with the sunset rays.

'So... beautiful,' he thought mindlessly. One would be mistaken that his statement was referral to the landscape, but Vegeta knew better.

He was rendered speechless, stunned into silence, stupefied with awe. He even let her held him by the arm as she dragged him towards the waters, stopping a few inches short from the shore waves. Enchanted by the blue allure whose cerulean locks flowed gently with the wind, Vegeta watched her dip her feet into the waters and slowly waded towards a knee-high level. Then, she stopped and turned back to look at him, her beaming smile shining brightly back at him.

As if there was a magnetic pull, Vegeta absent-mindedly waded into the water after her and stopped a few inches short from her.

They stood in the waters for the longest time just staring into each others' eyes with warmth. Both minds were filled with nothing and everything, their beings breathing softly but not moving, not talking – until she turned to take a glance behind and then slowly back at him. Her lips parted as if she was about to speak, but thought better of it and clamped it shut, pursing it into a thin line.

"I have to go now, Vegeta," she said softly, bringing a hand up to caress his face gently.

Vegeta instinctively lean into her hand and closed his eyes, frowning a little as his momentary peace was cut short.

"Where are you going?" he asked innocently, his obsidian orbs reopened to stare into hers.

"It doesn't matter," she replied with a smile and took another backward glance, then back to him once more, retracting her hand.

"They're waiting for me. I have to go," and she turned to leave, towards the ocean depths. Vegeta reached a hand out and captured her wrist, slowly turned her back to him and pulled her into his arms, holding her securely. He doesn't want her to go. Or perhaps he just doesn't want her to leave his side.

"Who are they? And why are they taking you?" he pressed, a tinge of concern in his voice though his expression remained stoic. He dipped in to bury his head in her tresses, inhaling her scent. But there was none. She didn't dream that part up and he frowned.

"It doesn't matter now, Vegeta." She repeated softly with a sad but assuring smile as she gently released herself from his strong and protective grasp. She stroked his cheek tenderly once more before turning completely and waded further into the waters, leaving Vegeta standing there in silence, inwardly helplessly watching her as she went. Slowly but surely, the image of the blue headed woman faded into nothingness.

"... Who are you?" he whispered after a long while staring into the spot where she was last seen. He silently wondered how he could simply let her go...

Whoop-de-doop! Not much of a cliff hanger but it's a start of something between those two hotheads!

NOTE: The dream has nothing to do with whatever telepathy, connected dreams where they form an unknown bond thingy which you find in some typical B/V AU's. There is none of that here. So, if that was what you're hoping for, I am so sorry to disappoint because I don't do that shit.

It's merely a weird dream of Vegeta's but then again, this dream plays a big role in bringing him out of his selfish shell.

There, I gave a little spoiler, so keep a watch out for the next chapter! And please, review, review and review with 1 or 2 lines! That's all I want in return for typing 3K++ words for my beloved readers! Until then, cheers!