Across the bright blue sky, Vegeta moved with incredible speed toward his destination of Kami's lookout. The Saiyan was completely surrounded by an encompassing aura of ki that trailed behind him like a tail, streaking the clouds with a visible path of where he had travelled.

It wasn't long before the Prince of Saiyans dropped from the sky above the Lookout. He fell like a rock from the atmosphere, yet landed on a single knee with the astonishing grace of a well seasoned warrior. Immediately standing up from his knelt position, he strode in a determined fashion toward the entrance to Kami's establishment, bypassing the Namekian's darkened genie friend and ignoring the other visitors occupying the lookout.

Kami was there to greet him within, standing before the great door of the Pendulum Room. he nodded his head in greeting, his body hunched over with age.

"Welcome Vegeta, Pendulum Room has been prepared for you. Though, I have to warn you, what you see beyond these doors is not the whole truth of things. Keep that in mind as you continue your training inside."

And with his warning said, Kami pounded his staff against the ground and the solid doors slowly began to open. Vegeta leaned slightly to the side to see past the tall Namekian elder, yet past the opened doors was nothing but complete darkness. It was hard to believe that there was anything within the chamber for the Prince to train with but that old fool Roshi ensured him that he would definitely benefit from it.

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of the way, old man. I've got a lot of training to do."

He grabbed Kami by the shoulder and pushed him out of the way, not hard enough to knock the Ancient over but enough to move him aside. Vegeta pressed forward and stood within the gigantic doorway, now only waiting to see if Bulma would show up like he told her to.

A tiny one person Capsule ship landed on the edge of Kami's look out. It sat there rumbling happily to itself as it began to shut down. Once all was switched off and cooling down, the hatch opened and Bulma hopped out. She was once again the vision of perfection she had always been before the mishap of the Wastelands and she was looking to stay that way from now on. Pulling a small bag from the Capsule ship, she checked it a few times before fixing it securely to her shoulders and walking towards the large building, humming happily to herself.

"Kami-Sama? Hello? Is anyone here?"

Mr Popo looked out from the large doors and gave her a friendly wave and a smile.

"Hello, Miss Bulma. Kami is through here with Vegeta, come with me."

Bulma grinned and followed Mr Popo into the large, lush looking building, taking in her surroundings as she did so. She had been here many times before, but it always amazed her to be in a house bigger than her own. She had decided long ago that when she took over Capsule Corp, the house would most definitely have to be upgraded. Maybe she could ask Kami if she could speak to his architect.
Seeing the elder Namekian, she grinned happily and gave him a little bow, despite his strange nature and cryptic ways; she rather liked the guardian of Earth, and intended to show him the respect he deserved.

"Good Morning Kami-Sama!"

Turning to see Vegeta, she scowled a little at the memory of their little adventure, but then managed a small smile.

"Hullo Vegeta. So, are you going to tell me what all this is about, or do you intend to keep me in the dark for a little while longer? You didn't give me much of a clue what exactly we were doing, so I didn't know what to bring!"

Bulma approached Kami and Vegeta from behind, to which the Saiyan warranted her with a momentary look before gazing back into the emptiness beyond the gate before him. He thought it was best not to tell Bulma about the fine details of the Pendulum Room and let her believe that everything that happened to them behind its closed doors was one hundred percent real.

He didn't want her to know that it was simply an illusion. He wanted her to be scared and believe her actual life was on the line. Vegeta wanted to test Bulma and make her aware of serious dangers. The Saiyan Prince could tell a lot about a person by observing their actions when under pressure; although he was already certain that she would have the hell scared out of her by the war within.

"You're going to war. Now, get in."

Having the feeling that for some reason Bulma would resist him, he turned to her and closed the distance between them with a few steps. Vegeta stooped down for a moment and tucked his shoulder into her abdomen, in the same moment lifting her from the ground and carrying her into the abyss of the Pendulum Room.

After they had entered, the doors slowly shut behind them and completely sealed them in darkness. A single red light appeared from what seemed like nowhere, casting a cryptic image on the ground that held no meaning to the Saiyan Prince. The only sound present within the chamber was that of a pendulum swinging back and forth, which faded into visibility in front of the two's eyes.

Vegeta dropped the young woman to the shadowy ground, yet wasn't particularly concerned if she landed on her feet or not. He knew, that in a matter of moments, they would be somewhere foreign to either of them and that there would surely be a battle for them to conquer. He was also fairly certain that he would have his ears filled with Bulma's objections and complaints too.

Bulma rolled her eyes at the brief glance the haughty Saiyan Prince gave her and continued to busy herself with admiring the interior of the building. She was about to ask Kami who is decorator was and if he knew when they'd next be available to give a quote, when Vegeta spoke.

"War? Oh, no no no! I think not Vegeta! Bulma Briefs does not go to war! Other people go to war for me! In fact, this little Princess is going straight back to her palace! So if you'll excuse me..."

She turned and bowed low to Kami, but as she straightened up again, she found Vegeta a lot closer than she wanted him to be.

"No! I said no Vegeta! Get away from me! Shoo!"

The spoilt woman took a few paces back, but resistance was futile as she was scooped up by the Saiyan Prince and carried over his shoulder into the dark room. Bulma beat her fists against his broad back and kicked her legs, screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs. Kami and Mr Popo winced as her shrill voice echoed around the building, but were soon cut off as the large doors slammed shut.

Bulma let out a surprised yelp as she was unceremoniously dumped on the ground. Gritting her teeth she winced in pain, sure that she had just jarred her tail bone. Another onslaught of insults was about to leave her lips, but the darkened room stole her voice. Staggering to her feet, she looked around with wide frightened eyes unsure of what was going to happen next. For a little while, she merely stared at the giant pendulum as it swung back and forth, then her eyes followed the eerie red light and began to study the strange markings. She had no idea what they meant, but she didn't like it one bit.

"Vegeta... where are we...?"

"Just shut up."

The Prince was looking at the swinging pendulum too, as it careened back and forth in long sweeping motions. He almost felt like he was undergoing some sort of hypnosis due to his eyes' prolonged exposure of the relic.

The sealed room once again began to darken until it was swallowed completely. Vegeta looked over his shoulder to glance at Bulma on the floor but he couldn't even see her through the shadows, despite her being only a foot or two away from him.

A thickness grew in the air. It felt like humidity was somehow forming within the desolate room, making it harder to breathe the previously stale air. Vegeta blinked a few times to adjust to the unnatural darkness but upon the last opening of his eyes, he came to see that they were no longer obscured by darkness.

All around the two were the remnants of what was once a civilization now reduced to war-torn and decimated rubble. Collapsed buildings, destroyed street signs, eroded and half gone cars littered the sides of the pot hole pocked street. The darkly clouded sky was the colour of blood and appeared rather ominous to one's who might care about that sort of thing.

Vegeta didn't. He was more concerned about the two shady looking, battle garbed men standing a bit further down the roadway. The two looked rather pleased with themselves as they destroyed what was left of a minivan, beating its exterior into something that resembled a compact car more than a family sized vehicle.

Their sinister laughter could be heard where they were standing. Vegeta came to the conclusion that these two were responsible for the destruction of the city around them. He went to reach for his scouter to scan their power levels but it seemed the Pendulum Room had swallowed it up in the transition to this mental projection.

"You said you wanted to be strong. I'm giving you a chance to show me what you're made of, Woman."

The stench of decay and stale blood assaulted her, along with a bitingly cold breeze. Shivering, Bulma cautiously opened one eye, but then quickly shut it again. They were no longer in the dark room. They were somewhere else entirely. Licking her lips nervously, she took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes again. Trying to stay calm, she took in her surroundings, clasping her hands in front of her in an attempt to stop them from shaking. Bright blue eyes eventually fell on the men destroying the minivan.

Swallowing hard, she looked up at Vegeta. He had to be kidding, right? She couldn't fight them! Maybe if she ran away, she could find the door back to Kami's lookout, and forget all this ever happened. Instead, she found herself carefully slipping her bag from her shoulders and checking its contents once more. She took out a can of hairspray and a lighter with a nod of approval and tucked them into the pockets of her Capsule Corp jacket.

She then took another quick look around at her surroundings before moving slowly and carefully to a collapsed building to the right of her and began to tug at a bit of iron piping she had spied. Once she got it free, she was pleased to note that it was just about the right length for her and wasn't that heavy.
Keeping her eyes on the two men, she scurried back to Vegeta, but forced herself not to stand behind him. She held the pipe in both hands in a stance she had remembered Goku using when he had his staff, and spoke softly to the Saiyan beside her.

"So... which one do you want...cause erm... I'm not bothered either way..."

"Hmph."

He didn't really care either way which one he was dealing with. They both looked like punching bags to him. His fingers stretched out and flexed before snaking into his palms, letting his knuckles pop freely while enclosing his hands into tight fists.

Apparently, the sounds of Vegeta's knuckles alerted the two destroyers, who seemed to light up with excitement at the prospect of two more bodies to add to their pile. On closer inspection, they appeared to be a pair of aliens—one red skinned, the other was blue.

"I'll show you how it's done. Try not to die, Woman."

The moment the words left his mouth, the image of Vegeta distorted and split off into several different directions before disappearing completely. Both brutes looked about in confusion at first but soon centred their attention on the human woman who remained. They began to resume stalking down Bulma when the left one was suddenly sent blasting into a half standing wall of debris.

Vegeta had reappeared and rocketed the blue skinned foe into the pile of destruction with a single blow, which he approved of with a satisfied grin. Not a second had passed and he was already pursuing the fallen alien into the cloud of smoke that had risen.

Under the veil of swarming dust and dirt, the Prince of All Saiyans made short work of the underpowered fighter. With only a few solid punches, he had penetrated his strange armour and broken countless ribs. To provide the monster with a quick finish, Vegeta wrapped his palm to his opponent's face and began to gather a large amount of energy.

The alien attempted to shake his head free while a blinding light soon filled his vision, emanating from the hand securely gripping his face. Vegeta released the pent up energy and the produced beam ripped right through his victim's flesh, skull, and everything in between. Its shrill death cry echoed loudly in across the destroyed buildings and empty streets, alerting its red skinned ally that he was no more.

Bulma watched in wide eyed fear as Vegeta left her side and went to fight the blue skinned alien, leaving her staring into the laughing face of the red skinned man. The human woman gripped the iron pole so hard her knuckles turned white, and her body was shaking so badly her teeth were chattering. The red skinned alien smirked as he continued his predatory approach, chuckling low under his breath as the blue haired woman before him took a few steps backwards in fear. Briefly looking over to where Vegeta was busy pummelling his comrade, the red skinned warrior sneered, and reached out his hand to grab hold of Bulma by the hair.

"Looks like he's left you all alone... but don't worry... I'll take good care of y..."

His taunting speech was abruptly cut off as Bulma swiftly swung the iron pole into his face. It made the man's head move back abruptly, and Bulma smirked in triumph.

"I don't need to be taken care of thank you very much..."

Her victory was short lived however; as the brute's large meaty fist struck her hard in the stomach, sending her flying backwards into an old crumbled wall. Bulma lay on the dirty, dusty ground gasping for breath as the air had been knocked out of her. She got on her hands and knees and scrabbled for the iron pole she had dropped, but she was abruptly kicked back into the wall.

"Fucking bitch! That could have bruised me!"

Bulma began to crawl away whimpering softly, her head was swimming with the pain, but she managed to get the hairspray and lighter from her pocket. She was about to turn around, when the man's foot pressed into her back.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Grabbing the fragile woman by the hair, he dragged her to her feet and pressed her up against a collapsed building. The red skinned alien didn't get much further than that, as a wave of flame engulfed his chest. He howled in pain and quickly dropped the blue haired woman, who scrambled quickly away and grabbed the pole again.

"Damn... I was aiming for his face."

In a furious rage, the alien rushed her, and she only managed to get one or two good hits in, before the pole was wrenched from her hands and she was hoisted into the air by her throat. Bulma cried out as her body was repeatedly smashed into a wall, whilst the air was choked from her lungs. This was it, it was all over.

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

"Ve...geta....help...!"

As if out of thin air, a golden toed boot came flying into the side of the red skinned alien's head. The event seemed to play in slow motion beginning with the connection of the kick and how the alien's head snapped to the side due to the sheer force of the blow, managing to knock loose the hold it had on Bulma's throat.

The next moment, the alien was flopping to the ground and holding its skull, suffering from dizzying pain and confusion, and scrambling to his feet. Standing in his place was Vegeta, who quickly grabbed the opponent once he was back standing and delivered a powerful knee into his gut. The alien lurched over the Prince's leg before he was hoisted from the ground.

Vegeta had reached down to grab a hold upon one of the alien's ankles before knocking him onto his back again. It was from there that he began to revolve about on his heels, swinging the alien around while he gained sufficient momentum before throwing him high into the air.

While the being was airborne, the Saiyan royal thought it would be best to end this charade now before Bulma had a heart attack. He wasn't sure whether or not she'd be able to decipher the difference between this false reality and their true one.

A startled gasp escaped Bulma's throat as her alien tormenter was brutally assaulted by the swift movements of Vegeta. The world was a dizzy haze, but she realized suddenly that she was free. The crushing grip on her throat had gone. Somehow, the human woman managed to stagger to her feet with the aid of the wall behind her and watched wide eyed as the Saiyan Prince made short work of the creature that had given her so much trouble. Rubbing her throat she tried to breathe steadily and calmly before she passed out in an embarrassing heap on the floor.

Pistoning hands pumped back and forth as they shot a rapid volley of energy blasts at the descending alien. Vegeta's accuracy was dead on and soon his victim was engulfed in the fire fight, creating a mess of explosions and clouds of black smoke—no doubt the leftovers of burning flesh and bone.

Once he stopped firing, nothing was seen dropping from the hanging cloud. The alien had been completely disintegrated.

Again, everything around the Saiyan and woman was swallowed by heavy shadows, drowning out the chaotic scene around them before clearing and revealing the open doors of the Pendulum Room.

"Daddy wasn't there for you that time,"

The Prince grinned down at Bulma and chuckled as he thought back to the Wastelands. He had hovered just below the clouds to watch over Bulma and make sure she was alright, when he had seen her father approach.

Laughing to himself and rubbing his gloved hands together as if dusting off imaginary dirt, he exited the Pendulum Room and approached Kami. They exchanged a few quiet words and then without warning, Vegeta leapt into the air and blasted off from the Lookout. It seems he had some business to take care of.

Bulma let out a strangled cry as everything around them became dark once more. She bit her lip so hard she cut into the delicate skin and a thin trickle of blood ran down her chin. Not again. She didn't want to be sent somewhere else where horrible aliens would attack her. Her father was right, she wasn't a warrior, she was an inventor, what the hell was she doing? She closed her eyes tightly and tried to wish it all away. Praying that the next place they were going was her house, and the only battle she'd had to fight would be wrestling the lion's share of her mother's cooking from Goku.

Upon hearing Vegeta's mocking words, Bulma's eyes flew open and glared up at the arrogant Saiyan. Looking around she realised they were back in the Pendulum Room, and the doors were wide open. Bulma looked down at herself and realised she was fine, she was not hurt. Puzzled, she looked down at her hands and checked her neck. Nothing. She was absolutely fine.

And then it dawned on her. It had all been an illusion, the entire thing. She flushed bright crimson as she remembered pathetically asking Vegeta for help. Gritting her teeth, she glared at the Saiyan as he left the room. Right now she hated him.
Bulma stalked out of the room and walked right past Kami and Mt Popo, far too angry to trust herself to speak to anyone right now. In furious silence, she got into the small Capsule ship and set off home. Her desire to become stronger was raging inside her once more.