The days passed in a hazy blur, the feeling becoming a constant pulsation in the back of my mind. I hardly spoke, spending my time staring out of a porthole. The whole time I was fighting with myself. I had to get it… no, him… out of my mind, but I couldn't, every time I stopped to think, it would be there… he would be there.

"Quinn, we're here." Gohan's little voice snapped me out the constant flow of my thoughts. I looked around the cockpit for a dazed second. We've landed?

"Huh? Oh, yeah, okay." I looked at his face, staring at me anxiously. I smiled at him. "I'll just go get my things."

I wandered to my cabin and gathered my 'things'. The only thing I had to carry was my staff. I sighed as I fingered the long red ribbon. 'What am I going to do?' I thought, walking down the corridor towards the exit.

Bulma, Goku, and Gohan had already disembarked and were chatting with their friends and family outside. I squinted as I entered into the sunlight, a welcome breeze blowing the stale air from around me. The chatter ceased as they saw me. My eyes adjusted to the light to see a group of people staring at me.

"Guys, this is Quinn," said Goku, stepping up to me.

"Hello," I murmured.

Gohan piped up. "She's from another dimension, and she can shoot laser beams and stuff. She can fight good, too."

I smiled, and the others regarded me for a few seconds. A woman I recognized as Chi Chi. Goku's wife and Gohan's mother, walked up to me. "I'm Chi Chi," she said warmly, "You must be starving, eating the ship's food for so long."

I smiled nervously. I suddenly felt hungry, I hadn't eaten that much since I started thinking about it… about him. The thoughts were beginning to stir and I quickly answered before my mind had a chance to start rushing again. "Yes, I am actually."

"Yay, food!" Gohan yelled out.

Goku looked up. "Where?"

Chi Chi gathered up her skirts and rushed off, Bulma's mother hot on her heels. "In a minute," she yelled as she ran into the kitchen to start the food.

The rest of them returned to their talking, and I noticed an old man with glasses staring at me. He was saying something to a creature that looked like a pig. Bulma was standing behind them and she seemed shocked for a second, then she pulled a big hammer out of nowhere and hit them on their heads. I was surprised for a minute, but they weren't that hurt. It seemed like they got that a lot.

Bulma walked up to me. "I'll show you your room," she said, taking my hand. She glared at the old man and the pig as she passed them and they cringed.

She led me into a big dome shaped building. We walked through a living room and up a big flight of stairs, down a long corridor and into a very big room. "Here we are," she said, gesturing around the huge room.

"Whoa," was all I could manage. I managed to stumble forward to look around. "T-this is huge," I managed to stammer, turning to Bulma.

"You should see my room," grinned Bulma.

"Thank you," I mumbled, fiddling with my robe.

"Hmm," said Bulma, studying me with one squinted eye. "We'll have to get you a new wardrobe too."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah, but we can do that later. I'll let you rest. Lunch should be in an hour or so."

"Okay… thank you."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Bulma smiled and walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

'Maybe this isn't going to be so bad after all,' I thought, wandering over to sit on the bed, glancing round my huge room. 'But this isn't real!' my mind yelled. 'None of it is!' Then what was real? My head was beginning to hurt again. Sighing, I plopped back onto the bed, letting the staff fall from my hand.

"What am I going to do?" I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

I decided to take a walk. I needed to clear my mind. Clutching my staff, I made my way out of the building, almost getting lost on the way. 'Damn, Bulma has a big house,' I thought as I finally stepped out into the sun.

I wandered off into the nearby forests and ended up sitting by a small stream. The smooth sound of the water was comforting, soothing to my weary mind. I sighed, leaning over to look at my reflection, the flowing hair, the large eyes, the small nose… was I still the same person? My thoughts must have drifted off because the sun was casting longer shadows when I came out of my daze. At least an hour had passed. 'I'd better get going,' I thought, hastily getting up.

When I arrived back at Capsule Corporation, the smell of food was in the air. My stomach growled hungrily as I jogged over to the kitchen.

"Great, you're here!" Chi Chi came over and dragged me over to the table, set with steaming plates of tasty goodness. I sat down next to Bulma, looking eagerly at the plate of steamed dumplings in front of me.

Bulma leaned over to me and whispered. "If you want food, you'd better get what you can while you can get it, once Goku gets to work there won't be anything left to poke a fork at."

I smiled, but as soon as the meal began, I realized the truth of her words. Goku ate like an animal… a big animal, and Gohan was close behind. Chi Chi seemed pleased that her food was appreciated, and I realized that if I'd better grab quickly if I wanted to appreciate it at all.

I snatched two handfuls of dumplings before Goku grabbed the whole plate, quietly munching them as I watched the havoc in front of me. Chi Chi kept the food coming, plates of noodles, spring rolls, and other delicious dishes were brought to the table and devoured just as quickly. Somehow I managed to get my fill, composed mainly of snatches and grabs while avoiding the teeth and hands that moved too fast for my liking.

The table was finally calm. Goku was leaning back, licking his fingers happily while Gohan was sitting contentedly, a satisfied smile on his face.

"That was great, Chi Chi," said Goku, letting out a contented sigh.

"I'm glad you liked it, Goku." Chi Chi walked over and sat on his lap happily giving him a small peck on the cheek.

"Should we use the dragon balls now?" asked Bulma, putting down her napkin.

"Yeah, let's," agreed Gohan, eagerly hopping off his chair.

The group made their way outside onto the grassy lawn. Bulma quickly assembled the orange balls on the lawn and summoned the dragon. There was a bright flash of light as Shen Long appeared, his green scaly body shimmering. Wait a sec… green, shimmering? Was this the reason for my appearance in this reality? This… this, dragon? What did I do to make him do this? I had to know.

"I wish that all the fighters who were killed by Freeza and his men on Namek be brought back to life and return here to Chikyuu."

The dragon nodded at Bulma. "It shall be done."

"I wish that all the rest of the Namekians and all the homes on Namek destroyed by those who sought the dragon balls be restored on their planet."

The dragon nodded once again. "It shall be done."

"Hmm…" said Bulma, "What shall we wish for next?"

I stepped up quickly. "Shen Long, tell me why I am here."

There was a murmur through the crowd as I advanced towards the dragon.

The dragon looked at me and smiled, its long fangs glinting. "Ah, Quinn, how are you liking it here in this reality?"

"Why am I here?" I pleaded.

"You wished it so."

"But it was in my reality. How?"

"Yes, I suppose it was not an actual wish I had to grant, but you felt it strongly."

My mind raced as I thought on the dragon's words. "But I am not really here… I don't even have a ki!" I sputtered.

The dragon narrowed its eyes. "You are here," it boomed, and I shrank back slightly. Then it continued calmly. "You may not be like them, but you are here."

I stood silently, still trying to understand.

Seeing this, the dragon went on. "You are not like them because you are not of them." Its voice seemed almost fatherly. "You were not born into this existence, and so you do not have the same life-force they do. However…"

I held my breath as the dragon paused. "However," it repeated, and then it paused again before continuing, "You do possess power because power in this reality originates from the emotions. Anger, hatred, passion, raw determination… all these are what the warriors rely on to summon their strength.

"There are many strong emotions in you, Quinn, and because you were not of this reality, when your emotions became too strong they became expressed as power… a great power. I can sense that it's still not within your control to summon this power, but all it needs is a trigger." The dragon smirked at me, as if it knew something I didn't.

'Of course it does,' my mind grumbled, 'it's the Eternal Dragon.'

The thoughts rushed through my mind as I sought to make sense of what the dragon had just said. "But… but I didn't wish…" I stuttered, my voice breaking slightly.

"Very well," sighed Shen Long, "I shall retain this last wish for you. If you so wish I can return you to your world, but if you do not, then you shall remain here and I shall allow you to use that wish here in this reality."

Return to my world? I realized with a sinking heart that I wasn't as thrilled to return as I thought I'd be.

"How long do I have?" I murmured.

"I shall give you three days, Quinn, I will appear to you at the same time in three days. May you choose well."

With that, Shen Long disappeared. I stood there, unsure of what to do. I hated making decisions, and now this decision was going to affect the rest of my existence big time.

"You okay?" asked Bulma, walking over and putting an arm on my shoulder.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Hey, there's Piccolo," yelled Gohan, running over to his teacher. I turned around. There was a huge green man in a cape and turban walking out of the forest. With him were a longhaired dude with a scarred face and the bald guy I recognized as Krillin.

"Yamcha!" yelled Bulma, running over to greet the longhaired guy. I smiled a little as the crowd went to greet the newly arrived warriors, but I froze when I recognized a fourth warrior walking out of the woods. He was shorter than the rest of them and his armour looked familiar.

'Vegeta,' I thought. For a split second, I wanted to follow Bulma's example, but I caught myself in surprise. 'Something must be seriously wrong with me,' I thought, looking around.

"Vegeta," I heard Goku's voice drift over, "There's someone you should meet."

'Uh-oh,' I thought, looking around desperately. Moving as fast as I could, I dashed through the kitchen door.

As I disappeared into the building, I could hear Goku's puzzled voice. "Huh? Where'd she go?"

I didn't stop running until I reached my room. Slamming the door behind me, I walked over to the bed. Collapsing face down, I mumbled miserably into the sheets, "What am I going to do?"

I had three days to decide whether I was going to return to my world… or stay here with these people… as this person. What did I have to return to anyway? My family? Sure I would miss them, but what kind of life did I have there? Here I had real power and real ability. There all the power lay behind desks and machines, somewhere I didn't want to be. Here I could live a life where I had no need to impress or pretend. Here I could be with people with raw power and no pretences… here I could be with him…

'Stop it!' I yelled inwardly, thumping my head onto the bed.

"It's going to be a long three days," I groaned, "Long and painful…"
__________________________________________________________

Next chapter: Vegeta... again...