Everything inside her ached, protesting her desire to get up. So she lay there, waiting impatiently as her senses slowly came back to life. She shivered against the cold ground as she struggled to open her eyes. Towering above her were large rock formations that had sparse amounts of grass topping their curved peaks. The trees stood tall as well but were closer to the ground. Deep orange sunlight shone from the horizon making her wonder if it was rising or setting. Judging from the echoing calls of birds filling her ears it was morning...wherever she was.

Her mind struggled to think back to what happened before waking up on the ground. She'd been walking home from the bus stop, mere feet from her house when a flash of golden light overwhelmed her. Something buffeted against her skin making her wince, her bones cracking and reforming. Then all she knew was darkness.

Cutting her gaze to the side allowed her to take in the grassy plain around her. There was a small pond a few yards away. Occasionally a fish would flip out of the surface. Somewhere in the distance, she could see the number of trees explode into a forest. Creatures she'd only ever read about walked about, hunting and hiding from one another.

Taking a deep breath, the girl dug her elbows into the ground and struggled to sit up. A groan of pain escaped her lips as she finally succeeded. Crawling pitifully to the nearest tree, she leaned against its trunk. Her head thumped against the bark as she tried to slow her labored breathing. Whatever or however she got here, she would need to survive.

It was a struggle to stay awake but the girl couldn't afford to sleep now. Finally breathing more steadily, her head dropped forward. Looking down at herself, the girl faintly realized her limbs and body were shorter. Then her eyes widened in shock. Her body was way too small to match her age!

As freaked out as she was, the girl knew that now was not the time to be panicking. The weird change could be dealt with later. Her first priority was finding cover. Sitting out in the open would make her an easy target for hungry predators.

She sighed as the ache in her limbs began to lessen. Deciding to wait a little longer for the pain to fade, shining onyx eyes fell became lidded with exhaustion.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain someone was flying overhead on a familiar golden cloud, watching warily as she struggled to move. He sensed an explosion of energy not far from his home while falling a tree. Concerned and curious, the young warrior set out to find it.

He was expecting something big, or at the very least somewhat intimidating. Instead, he was surprised to see a young girl struggling to wake up and move around. She seemed unaware of his presence even as she glanced around to observe her surroundings.

Finally sensing eyes on her, the young girl looked up. She gasped in shock to see a strangely familiar face staring down at her. There was no way she could be seeing things right. She blinked rapidly to try to clear the image but it stayed. Her brows furrowed, thoughts racing a mile a minute as she tried to process what his presence meant.

Seeing that he was caught, the cloud rider descended to the ground and hovered a few feet away. He was still confused about where the energy went but this girl needed help. He raised a hand and smiled at her, "Hiya!"

"Hi," she rasped in reply. Her fingers barely moved in a small wave.

The man blinked and his smile faded. Taking in her appearance, he realized she sounded as beaten as she looked. Bruises littered her arms and legs, the worst of it near her hands and feet. Her clothes were in tatters and barely hanging on to her body. Thankfully, there weren't any signs of blood.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up." He dropped down from the golden nimbus and crouched next to her. "My name's Goku."

"I..." She couldn't believe her eyes. The man before her really was a character from one of her favorite shows as a kid. Only in stories had she heard of this happening. And yet, here she was. She didn't know how she got to this world but if anyone could help her, it was Goku. "Where...are we...going?"

Strong, steel-like arms carefully slid behind her back and under her knees. He stood slowly to ensure he didn't jostle her. "My house."

Climbing back onto Nimbus, the two sped away. As they flew, the young girl struggled a bit longer to stay conscious. Having been in pain the entire time she was awake, it exhausted her quickly. Something she still didn't understand was why she was in so much pain.

Deciding to figure it out later, she allowed sleep to claim her.

~oOo~

The next time she was somewhat awake, someone was dabbing a wet cloth on her forehead. She grumbled and tried to turn over only to have stinging pain jolt her awake. Hissing, the girl rolled back onto her back and opened her eyes.

"Be careful. You're not ready to move around just yet." She found twin coals burning with concern staring back at her. A woman with straight black hair pinned up in a bun was hovering over her. "Has the pain gone down at all?"

"Chi...Chi?"

"Ah...yes." Said woman blinked. She hadn't told the girl her name yet. Goku hadn't mentioned it either. She would ask the girl later, when she wasn't in so much pain.

"Anyway, I have some tea here," Chi-Chi paused to reach for it, "it should help with speeding up the process."

"Thank you."

"Do you mind me asking your name?" The girl stopped. She...remembered her school, her friends, and her family; even the homework she'd been assigned for the weekend, she remembered.

"I...don't know."

But not her name.