Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Majik ❯ The Dream ( Chapter 1 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters from it.

A/N - This is a complete and utter re-write of my old fic. It's still a Goku/Bulma fic, but its been changed quite dramatically. I mean, I've kept the basic plot line intact, but I've also added in some new scenes and explained some stuff better. Trust me, if you liked the old Dark Majik, then you're going to love the 2003 version!

~*~ Chapter One ~*~

The hot sun beat down on Bulma as she ran, sweat glistening on her heaving chest and her breath sobbing in her throat. She sprinted across the yard, her hair hanging around her face in ratty tangles, dampened with sweat and grime.

A towering brick wall seemed to almost spring from the earth ahead of her and Bulma let out a moan of fear as she crashed up against it, beating her fists against the sun-warmed bricks in a futile attempted to knock it down.

"Somebody help! He's after me! Please!" Bulma sobbed in terror as she heard a noise behind her and turned around swiftly. She backed up until her back hit the wall, clutching at it as she panted, her eyes darting around in search of a hiding place, in search of an escape route, in search of anything!

But she had finally run out of hiding places.

"Help! Somebody!" Tears trailed down her face as darkness slithered into the yard.

The snake was glistening wetly in the sun, its red scales giving the illusion that it was coated thickly in blood. It fixed evil black eyes upon her, watching her with a steady gaze, then it began to inch its way forward.

Bulma could only stare at it, mesmerized by her death as it slowly began to slither forward, the gravel crunching under it as the giant serpent approached her.

"Somebody…" Bulma sank down against the wall, tears continuing to slowly fall down her face as the snake wound itself around her ankle and slithered up her leg. She choked on bile as it wound itself around her thigh and squeezed it in an almost sexual way. Its tongue darted out near her crotch, as though tasting her sex, and Bulma let out a small wail.

Slowly, the snake made its way up her stomach, over her heaving breasts, and raised itself up until it was looking eye to eye with her.

I see you…

"Please…go away…" Bulma whispered as the snake's eyes bored into hers.

I've found you…

The snake wavered hypnotically in front of her, swaying from side to side, then it reared back and hissed, showing wicked fangs. Bulma only had time to let out a blood-curdling scream as the snake struck at her throat, sinking those fangs into her neck an marking her…

~*~*~*~

"NO!" Bulma sat up in bed, her heart pounding. For moment she sat in her sweat-drenched sheets, shaking with fear and listening to her heart pound. Then, with a weak cry, she flopped back down and wiped the tears from her face. "It was just a dream…Just a dream."

The curtains flapped noisily around the window and Bulma stood up. She padded quietly over to the window, breathing in a deep breath of the sweet night air before closing it.

For the briefest of seconds Bulma had the strangest feeling that she had forgotten something important, then the feeling faded and she was left only with a great feeling of loneliness as she gazed out at the star-filled sky.

Something was coming…

~*~*~*~

"Shit! Look out!" Yamcha tried to stifle an almost girlish squeal as he ducked down in his seat, digging his nails into the arm rests as Vegeta drove them towards Bulma's house.

"Fun, isn't it!" Vegeta voice was filled with exhilaration.

"Dude! Slow Down!" Yamcha yelled above the noise of the growling car engine and whistling wind. Vegeta merely changed gears and accelerated even more, an evil smirk on his face.

"Do you like the car?" He changed lanes without looking and glanced at Yamcha, who was staring straight ahead, his lips moving as he silently prayed. "Hey!" He waved a hand in front of Yamcha's face, the car veering out of its lane again as he did so. "I asked if you liked the car. I got it yesterday."

"It's...Oh, dear Jesus! It's very fast…and noisy…and fast! Oh, God! Vegeta! Please watch the road!" Yamcha pointed at the oncoming traffic as Vegeta accidentally veered onto the wrong side of the road.

"Sorry about that, complete accident," Vegeta murmured as he watched Yamcha's reaction with glee.

Yamcha, meanwhile, tried to calm his beating heart as Vegeta narrowly missed sideswiping a Semitrailer. "What kind of car did you say it was again?"

"A Lotus. You need to listen better." Vegeta turned onto Bulma's driveway without braking, and with a squeal of the tires he slammed on the brakes suddenly, spraying gravel all over her front lawn. "Come on, dude, our ladies are waiting." Vegeta vaulted out of the car and sauntered inside.

Yamcha shakily stood up and followed him in. "Maniac…"

~*~*~*~

Bulma, Marron, and Yamcha sat outside on the deck of Bulma's pool, apparently deeply engrossed in conversation…

"And then he asked me out! I mean, the nerve!" Marron sipped a little more of her drink and then giggled brainlessly. "Isn't that silly? Don't you think so? Yamcha? Yamcha? Isn't that silly?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure, the nerve, right." Yamcha closed his eyes and swallowed another pull of beer, trying to concentrate on looking cool - which wasn't easy when he was still white as a sheet after hitching a ride with Vegeta.

"So, Bulma, are you coming to the club with us tonight?" Vegeta was floating in the pool on a giant inflatable crocodile, dark sunglasses shielding his eyes as he watched the blue-haired beauty twirl her hair around her finger nervously.

Something was up, he could feel it.

"I don't know, I mean, I have to get some sleep. I've been up these past few nights trying to figure out how to reroute the power through the alternate coup links without causing any molecular damage of the inner core of the simulator." Marron, Yamcha, and Vegeta gave her blank stares and Bulma sighed. "I'm trying to figure out how to make the computer work." They still stared at her blankly and Bulma gave up trying to explain to them.

"Yeah, but are you coming with us or not?" Yamcha sat up and watched Bulma intently. "We need you to even the numbers for our outing."

"I don't know..."

"Oh, come on, Bulma! Why not?" Marron watched her friend over the top of her dark glasses as she sipped juice, her eyes filled with the single-minded emptiness that only blondes and bimbos seem to have.

"Look, I haven't been sleeping well. I've been having these weird dreams..." Bulma shivered as she remembered the snake and the way it had looked at her.

She could even remember its voice, and how lustful it had sounded…

I see you…

"What kind of dreams?" Vegeta jolted her out of her thoughts by splashing water on her. "I asked you what kind of dreams you'd been having."

"Scary ones, okay?" Bulma crossed her arms defensively.

"Is that why you screamed this morning? I thought you'd just woken up with a stranger in bed again!" Marron giggled at her joke then returned to sipping juice.

"It's not funny! I don't know why I hang around with you guys!" Bulma crossed her legs and sulked. If they knew how these dreams felt…how real they seemed, they wouldn't be laughing at her.

"Oh, Bulma! We're your buddies! We have been since high school!" Vegeta pulled himself out of the pull and scooped Bulma up in his arms. "Besides, I'm not going to let anything hurt you." Hs eyes were surprisingly intense for once. "Nothing is going to hurt you while I'm around."

Bulma frowned up at him as the same feeling of having forgotten something returned to her and something inside of her twisted sharply.

I see you…

There was something she had to do…The club…she had to go there…He was waiting…

Bulma's eyes glazed over. "Okay," she murmured, "I'll come to the club"

~*~*~*~

"This is so awesome!" Yamcha yelled over the music, Marron nodding and giggling soundlessly as she began to gyrate wildly to the music. Bulma and Vegeta followed them slowly into the depths of the club.

"So, where did you hear about this club?" Bulma leant close to Vegeta, avoiding the groping hands of several drunken men who were staggering through the crowd and heading towards the bar.

"I found a flyer for it stuck under the windscreen wiper of my car…That, and a parking ticket." Vegeta scowled.

Bulma laughed and followed him closely, never noticing the dark-haired stranger whose eyes followed her as she made her way through the club.

The stranger swallowed as he forced himself to remain still. He couldn't go to her, not while she was with him.

"Hey? You want to dance?" Vegeta asked casually. Bulma shook her head.

"I'll just stay here for the moment, you go and enjoy yourself." Vegeta nodded and took off into the depths of the crowd. Bulma watched in amusement as several ladies detached themselves from their respective partners and headed over towards him.

Vegeta just had that effect on women.

"You know it isn't safe to be by yourself in a place like this." Bulma looked up as a spiky, raven-haired man sat down next to her. He slipped her an easy-going grin as his eyes travelled down her body in a way which was beyond sexual.

It was possessive.

"My name's Goku, by the way. I own this club." He watched her intently as though expecting her to know him.

Bulma stared back and frowned as she felt that something inside of her twist again. Goku was…gorgeous. She reached out a hand as if in a daze and Goku kissed it.

"And who might you be?" His voice was deep, rich, and…familiar?

"My name is…Bulma" She blushed against her will. "Bulma Briefs."

Goku settled back against the chair with a grin on his face. "That's a beautiful name, it suits you." He dragged his eyes away from her and looked around his club. "I can't believe I finally own my own club." He looked back at Bulma and his look intensified. "I've been dreaming of this moment for so long."

"Really?" Bulma blinked as he caught her eyes with his. She felt almost drunk from the look he was giving her. "Owning a club is your dream?"

Bulma smiled without knowing it; something about him seemed so…trustworthy. He seemed like the kind of person you could tell your deepest secrets too.

"Well, it has been as of late." He seemed amused by something. "I've found that the kinds of people who come to clubs are the ones who I can benefit from in my other line of work."

"What's your other line of work?" Bulma crossed her legs and began to twirl a strand of hair around her finger, unconsciously flirting.

"I deal in a… in an exchange business of sorts. I give people what they want in exchange for their…" Goku trailed off, his last word muffled by the music.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that?" Bulma leant closer to him and froze.

Tattooed on his right arm was a snake so red it was almost iridescent. It had black eyes so endless that they seemed to pull her in, just like the snake in her dream. Bulma jerked back as her heart began to pound harder and she realized she had been leaning closer to the snake.

"I should really be going. I'm here with friends and they…" Bulma started to stand up, but Goku put a restraining hand on hers and eased her back down into her seat.

"They don't care about you. Vegeta's busy sweet-talking a blonde and Marron and Yamcha are in one of the bathrooms at the back. I can assure you, they won't miss you."

Bulma's mouth dropped open. "How do you know that?" Time seemed to freeze as she stared suspiciously at the tall, dark stranger called Goku. His eyes were haunting; they were pulling her in, just like the snake's eyes…

Goku grinned again and life seemed to return to normal. "I make it my business to know what goes on in my club. Say, Bulma, would you like to dance?"

"I…guess so…but I can't really dance." Bulma allowed Goku to lead her to the dance floor.

"Sure you can, you just need to relax…" Goku wrapped his muscular arms around her, pulling her closer to his body. They began to move in time to the music, swaying together hypnotically.

I've found you…

Bulma's eyes grew heavier and the room seemed to spin, with a small sigh she sagged into Goku's arms and was oblivious as his grin melted away and he quietly left the room with her in his arms.

"I've found you."

~*~*~*~

A/N - Please review! Let me know what you think of this chapter! Oh, and thanks to Ane S. Thesia, my wonderful beta reader!