Chapter 5

"So.. Tired.." A soft, breathy voice whines. If one looks closely unto the path that suddenly turned vertical, you could see a thin, feminine figure slowly climbing towards the top.

"And.. hungry.." Melon continues softly, frowning when her stomach growls in agreement.

"No. I can't think about that right now." I tell myself firmly, reaching up to grab another spike. "I'm almost to King Kai's. I can feel it."

'But then why do I feel like something else is going to happen as well?' The worrisome thought returned again, and I nearly groaned in frustration. 'Ever since I passed Ms. Snake's house -undetected, thankfully, that stupid feeling hasn't left me. Why is it? My intuition hasn't led me astray before, but what could be out here that would do me harm?' I sigh aloud, knowing that I wasn't going to get my answer anytime soon.

'Oh is that the top?' My eyes slightly widen, and I slowly increase my climbing.

After a few more pulls and grunts, I pull myself on top of the path, and pause to regain my breath.

"Oh, thank god I made it. Phew." I carefully maneuver myself so I was straddling the path, before I look down at the slightly horizontal fall before me. "Oh, wow. I'm pretty high up here.." I say, gulping down my weariness. I let my gaze follow the path before tilting my head in confusion as the path suddenly disappears.

"Where did..? Wait, what is that…." I say, frowning and leaning forward to look at the disappearing path. Suddenly, a loud gasp escapes my throat.

"IS THAT A TAIL?!" I screech excitedly, unconsciously leaning forward some more- which in hindsight wasn't a smart idea. I suddenly feel my balance shift, and I fall forward. Instinctively, I yelp and try to find a good hold on the well-rounded cement, only for me to slip.

"Oh- SHIT!" I yell, as gravity takes a hold on my body and sends me rolling- painfully, down the pathway. I grunt, and curse as I roll onwards, and in desperation, I straighten my body out, trying to grab anything to either slow down my rolling, or stop me completely. Luckily, my improved plan worked, and I slowed myself down to a stop- a few feet from falling to my untimely doom. Breathing heavily was the only thing I could do at the time, and I waited patiently for the world to stop spinning. When that stopped, I slowly sat up in a kneeling position, before attempting to stand completely. Unfortunately, that wasn't the smartest course of action, as doing so made me dizzy again. I fell backwards and landed right on my tailbone, which had already been sensitive for awhile.

"OW! Fruk-ing damnit!" I shout in pain, moving my hand back to rub my sore toosh. Right as my hand neared though, a sudden shooting pain erupted from above my butt, and along my spine. Instinctually, I tensed, and straightened, arching my back at the sudden pain. I grit my teeth, and squint my eyes closed, trying desperately not to scream.

'W-why is it…. fuck, it HURTS..' I inwardly shout, and the pain increased even more. A pained screech erupts from my mouth, as I feel the flesh above my butt rip. The pain warped my mind into a jumbled mess of incoherence, and eventually, I officially blacked out, the pain being too much for me to handle.

~Dream~

The world was still black, and my pain had dulled into a throb, yet I refused to move from my face down position, fearing that the slightest move will bring back the pain. As I laid there, I didn't think about anything. My mind was completely blank and empty, but it did register my surroundings. There was a small wind caressing my back, and I could hear the grass swishing. 'Wait… Wasn't I on a stone pathway? Why am I surrounded by grass?' I slowly opened my eyes, and the first thing that met my vision was wild and long, dark green grass, and a sunset that had more darkness that light. I furrowed my brows in confusion, but didn't move my body. 'Am I near Gohan?' were my next thoughts. Thinking of my little friend, I opened my mouth and let out a feeble and scratchy "Help.." before a small cough followed through. 'Ow, my throat hurts too.. Why does it hurt if I am only dreaming though?' I immediately shook off the thought as I heard a 'whooshing' sound in the distance, quickly coming my way. 'Its coming from behind me.. Is that Gohan? He DID say he could fly..' I thought, twitching my fingers subconsciously. I didn't have to wait for long, before a pair of feet heavily thudded on the ground. 'That's too heavy to be Gohan..' I thought worriedly, before a deep, commanding voice cut me off from my thoughts.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" The voice commanded, sending a small bout of shivers down my spine. In any other situation, I wouldn't be afraid, but since I'm paralyzed, I can't defend myself, and I'm worried. A small, pathetic whimper was my only response, and the stranger only growled silently.

"Do not think that I won't hurt you just because your female. Answer my question or face the consequences." The voice said again. 'Maybe I can move my legs and stand up?' I thought, twitching the muscles in my legs, only for them to freeze in pain. I grunt as my pants restricted the movement of my legs. Suddenly remembering my stranger, I slowly move my head to the other side, and look at his feet. He was wearing dark purple training pants, and weird brown shoes that looked like it was made from bamboo. I licked my lips, and slowly opened my mouth to reply.

"Hurt…" I mumble, unconsciously twitching my lower back muscles. I quickly squeeze my eyes shut, and held my breathe, before letting it out shakily a second later, when the pain once again dulled. I heard another growl, only this one was louder than his last, and I look back at his feet.

"That doesn't answer my question, girl, who are you?"

"M-melon." I murmur. I hear a huff, and him mumble something about the weirdness of my name- which causes me to scowl and growl quietly. 'Since when can I growl like that?' The thought was quickly disregarded when he asked me another question.

"Why are you here?" My scowl melted into a confused frown.

"That.. should be my.. question." I say rebelliously, slowly rising up on my forearms, biting my cheek at the pain.

"What do you mean?" He said cautiously. I ignored him and slowly rose and sat on my knees, which left me breathless for a moment. The pain so far had originated above my tailbone, and I felt like something furry was stuck inside one of my pant legs. I frowned and slowly stretched out my leg a bit, looking at it in curiosity. I was about to reach and roll up my pant leg, when the stranger demanded my attention.

"Don't try my patience. What do you mean?" He demanded gruffly. I blink, and look up at him swiftly, jumping in shock as I took in his appearance. The stranger was wearing a white turban hat, and a purple tank top-style top, and he had a white cape over his shoulders and draping down his back. But that's not what froze me up. What made me freeze was that his skin was green. I blinked and stared at him, my mouth opening and closing for a minute, before I coughed lightly into my hand.

"Your green." I point out in disbelief. The man blinked before growling lowly and taking a threatening step towards me. I lean back a bit, but don't move any farther.

"Yes. Now answer my question." He growled out, his voice promising a painful future should I not answer.

"Erm, right, heh heh. Uh.. what was the question again?" I ask sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head in a very Goku-like way. The man sighs before crossing his arms, glaring at me in annoyance.

"I asked why you were here, then you said 'that should be my question.' I want to know what you meant by that." He said, as if talking to a child. I blink, before nodding, remembering my question.

"Right! Well, I just wanted to know why you were in my dream." The man paused, before tilting his head at me confused.

"Dream?" I nod happily.

"Yeah. Your in my dream." The man huffs exasperated.

"Woman, you are not dreaming." I stare at him, before giggling and shaking my head.

"Naah, I'm pretty sure I am." The man scowls once again, before biting out forcefully.

"Trust me. You are NOT dreaming." I frown, and was about to bite back a remark, before I hear a small voice yell.

"Piccolo!" My eyes immediately go to that direction, and a small smile appears on my face. I notice the man also looking back, but I'm pretty sure his face has annoyance all over it. I giggle slightly, before raising my hands to my mouth and taking a deep breath.

"GOHAN! OVER HERE!" I shout, causing the man to jump the tiniest bit. The man, Piccolo, turns towards me and growls, his face looking to be a mix between threatening and cautious.

"How do you know the runt?" I stare at him for a minute, pondering about telling him the truth or not, before deciding the truth would be best.

"He visits me whenever I'm dreaming." I state nonchalantly, looking back at the small hill. Gohan quickly jumps over the hill, and when he sees us, he charges. I blink as I watch him disappear, and reappear next to Piccolo. "MISS MELON!" He yells, quickly leaping into my arms, causing me to involuntarily hiss. He gasps, and backs off.

"Miss Melon, are you hurt? What happened?! Who hurt you!?" He says, barely giving me time to address his questions. I roll my eyes and plop my hand onto his shoulder. "Gohan." I say, causing him to stop mid-question. "Yes I did get hurt, but I'm fine. I just tripped and fell, nothing to worry about." I say, watching as he took in the information. He opened his mouth but I cut him off from anymore questions he might have had.

"So Gohan, how have you been since my last visit? Have you gotten stronger?" I asked, smiling. He opened his mouth again, a smile on his face, when Piccolo decided to intervene.

"Why do you want to know?" I blink in confusion, and tilted my upper body so I could look around Gohan.

"General curiosity?" I suggest innocently, frowning at Piccolo interrupting our reunion. Piccolo scowled, before directing his gaze towards Gohan.

"Gohan, get away from her. Were leaving." With that said, he halfway turned around, before I shout at him angrily.

"Hey! Who are you to boss Gohan around? Just let him hang out with me for a minute and let us catch up!" I say, glaring at Piccolo. He turns his head and stares at me, his face emotionless.

"And why should I listen to a wounded, human girl?" He says condescendingly. I couldn't think of a good reason to why he should listen to me, so I huff.

"Well.. maybe cause he might of missed having a human to talk to?" I prompt, tilting my head slightly. Piccolo watched me for a moment, before he turned his back to us.

"I'll give you two one minute to 'catch up' but I'm going to stay nearby. I don't want the runt telling you too much." I blink at him, shocked at him allowing us to talk, before a huge smile broke out on my face.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan says happily, before turning to me. In his excitement, he bounced up and down for a few seconds, and I laughed at his happiness. I pat the grass in front of me, and he immediately sat down. "So Gohan, why don't you tell me you've been?" I ask curiously. Gohan immediately began divulging into his story about how he survived the last few weeks, about how he got stranded on an island, then made a boat all by himself, before he got shipwrecked on another island. I listened, amused as he felt the need to put in a lot of hand motions to tell his story, while also impressed that he was smart enough to strategize during those trying times. After awhile, I started subtly pulling my leg closer, and I started to roll up my pant leg, while Gohan was still enthralled in his own story. I pulled it up to my mid calf, when the mysterious object was revealed, and I froze in shock. There, in all its glory, was the end of a brown tail. I stared at it, eyes wide, when suddenly, Gohan made a noise of amazement.

"Woah! Ms. Melon, You have a tail too?" Gohan asked amazed. I blinked at Gohan, and looked up at him.

"I-I guess so..? I didn't realize I even HAD one.." I murmured, looking back at the tail. I saw it twitch, and realized that I was the one who made it move. I had a tail attached to me. 'This is so freaking weird..' Suddenly, my whole world flipped, as my leg was suddenly lifted into the air, and I was halfway hanging upside down.

"N-nani?!" I yelp, before another voice spoke over my own.

"You're a saiyan? What are you doing on earth so early? Don't lie, for I'll know if you do." Piccolo threatened, his hand tightening around my calf, causing me to yelp again.

"Hey hey hey! Calm down! I didn't realize I had a freaking tail until just now! I probably got it when I fell on snake way.. And like I said before, this is just a dream!" I shout, rambling as I tried to hold my shirt down. When I looked at Piccolo's face, I could read the doubt and confusion on it.

"And like I told YOU before. Your not dreaming. This is all real, though your body isn't completely here.. Where were you when you 'fell asleep'?" Piccolo questioned in his oh-so-serious voice.

"Let me down, all this blood flowing to my head isn't healthy." I bite out. He then dropped me on my head, and I growled lowly, before sitting up, patting Gohan's shoulder to let him know I was fine.

"Smartass. When I 'passed out', I was at the end of snake way." I say factually.

"And where is that?"

"Uhm.. It's somewhere in the afterworld, or something. I don't really remember.." I say confused, scratching the side of my head. Piccolo's eyes widened again.

"You mean your dead?" Piccolo said, highly confused. I quickly shake my head.

"No, I'm not dead."

"But I thought you sa-"

"No. Even though I am in the land of the dead, I didn't get there through death."

"Then how'd you get there?" Piccolo questioned, confused and a bit irked.

"Ah. That's a story for another time. I think my time here is about up.." I mumble, noticing how everything around me was beating to my own heartbeat.

"Wait, but were not done yet!" Piccolo shouted. I ignored him and gave Gohan a one-sided hug, and a kiss on his forehead.

"Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that. Don't worry, I'll be back soon, Gohan." I say ruffling his hair and awkwardly standing up. "Piccolo. It's been... interesting. Don't worry, I mean no harm towards Gohan, or you. Unless, you hurt Gohan that is." I wink playfully in Piccolo's direction, before waving happily at them both.

"Bye!" I say, before blackness covers my vision again.

~End 'dream'~

My eyes instantly opened up and I gasp, trying to sit up, but I lacked the ability to do so. 'What… is with.. this.. gravity!?' I think amazed, as I try to move my limbs. 'Ugh.. my arms feel like they're filled with lead.. did I turn into Wolverine or something?' I think sarcastically, grunting as I tried to raise myself onto my forearms. Once I succesfully sat upon the,,I blink, and try to look around on my wobbly arms, before suddenly, I collapse back onto the bed. I breathe heavily for a moment, and frown, looking around again. I realize I was lying on a cream-colored bed, with a white, dome-shaped roof looming over me. "Where.. Where am I?" I question aloud, curious despite myself. I suddenly hear a door creaking, and slowly turn my head towards the sound.

"Ah, my dear, it seems your finally awake."

My eyes widen in disbelief.

"No way.."

A/N: Omigosh! I'm late! I'm sorry everyone! I was planning on posting this on the weekend, but I got distracted by sly cooper, and then I remembered I had to post this. Raagh, I'm sorry! I don't know how long it will take for me to write the next chapter, but I'll try to finish it soon! And thanks to everyone who reviewed, it literally made my day!

~Jewlz