When Pan was born, she was the only real Saiyjin of her kind. The only real Saiyjin woman.

There was another, the Princess of all Saiyjins, but she wasn't a real warrior, the defining characteristic of their race. She was more human than anything. She didn't care about martial arts or ascending to the level of Super Saiyjin. The princess' only concerns were herself and living as a normal human woman would.

But Pan, she was a true Saiyjin. She had the spirit of a warrior. She had the will and the desire. The desire that courses through all Saiyjin warriors. The desire to fight, to win, to challenge themselves against any enemy that crossed them. It had been part of her soul from the day she was born. The undeniable want—no, need—to fight. And since then, her grandfather, Goku, the strongest of all the Saiyjins, had trained her in the ways of martial arts and harnessing her powers. The ways of the Saiyjin race.

She was the only woman that had taken on the ways of their heritage. She had dedicated herself fully to her blood, to becoming something more than a mixed breed. Pan knew just how important it was to continue this legacy in the face of peace and the dwindling regard for being part of the Saiyjin race.

The only Saiyjin woman.

And so, she had a certain duty to uphold. She hadn't realized it till her grandfather was swept out of her life, when he left them to go on another adventure. She had realized that with the loss of her beloved grandfather, she was the last warrior of the Son line. With her father, Gohan, and uncle, Goten, having retired their hard won skills in favor of other pursuits, there was no one else capable of taking on that mantle. So, she felt it was her duty to continue on the Son-Saiyjin traditions, to carry them on for the sake of her grandfather. His fighting style had been ingrained in her since she was two years of age and since she was the last that still practiced them, she wanted to carry them on as his tribute, to keep them alive in honor of all his greatness.

Her heritage had always been important to her. She took immense pride in the fact that she was descended from greatness, from Goku, the savior of the planet. It was only natural because of it that she knew she was meant to be something great. It was in her blood. She was destined for great things. To be one of the legendary fighters of her race. She knew that she had the potential for all the wonders that her family had achieved.

But there was a problem.

She wasn't a super Saiyjin. For some reason, after years of intense training, she had been unable to achieve that sentient state of being. The reason had eluded her for years, and no matter how hard she'd tried, she couldn't push through that last barrier, despite intense and grueling training.

According to her family, she didn't have enough blood. She wasn't Saiyjin enough. With only being a quarter Saiyjin, there wasn't enough to push her that last inch into being a Super Saiyjin. The blood, the tradition, that she had dedicated her entire life to didn't flow through her strongly enough to give her the one thing she'd desired. Her blood wasn't pure enough and that idea made her mindless with rage and anger. Even her current Sensei, Vegeta, believed that maybe there was something wrong with her. And that tore her apart.

Pan sighed, staring at the ceiling of a her modest bedroom, the glow in the dark stars blinking back at her, as if mocking her inability. Pan knew sulking didn't change anything, but after having her ass handing to her again by her Sensei just that morning, Pan felt she'd earned some quality pity time.

Everyday, she would walk out to the gravity machine Bulma had given her for her tenth birthday and spend every waking moment engrossed in her training. She never gave up. It wasn't in her to just quit. And because of this, she gained power similar to the other Saiyjin in her family, but never that last step. She was strong enough that she gave her Sensei a run for his money and he was proud of her for it. There was hardly anyone on Earth who could compete with her, but it just wasn't enough.

That golden aura still eluded her.

This fact was especially annoying to her. If she could beat her father, Bra, Goten, and even her Sensei that one time, then why hadn't she been able to ascend yet? Pan grumbled to herself as she blew a piece of her hair from her face. Goten and her father, Gohan, were both Super Saiyjins. They had ascended beyond that of a Super Saiyjin. They were the strongest on the planet, next to Vegeta, Trunks and Goku. This all made sense. Ugh. If she could take them down, then why couldn't she ascend?

Pan grumble again and turned over onto her stomach. It wasn't a question of power. She had that in spades. It was something else, she knew it. But that "something" was unattainable. Kami, she couldn't even figure out what that "something" was. Vegeta had explained it as a burning need not a desire, the same words of her grandfather. It came in response to a need.

But didn't she have the need? She needed to be strong for the sake of the dwindling traditions in her family. It was their legacy on the line. The world wouldn't always have Vegeta ad Goku to protect the world, so the next generation had to step up. Wasn't that a need enough?

These worries were cut short as a beep came from Pan's dresser, the annoying chirping loud and shrill. She tried to cover her sensitive ears from the noise with a fluffy pillow, but it still managed to find its way inside. She tried to ignore it, but with Saiyjin senses came the inability to block anything out for very long.

It was probably one of her girlfriends wanting her to go shopping again. Probably for shoes she would never wear and makeup she detested. They were a complete waste of time. Pan shook her head, clearing the fuzz from her thoughts. No, she didn't hate them. On occasion, like for a birthday party or a special occasion, she liked looking pretty. After all, she was a woman. It was only natural for her to want to look nice when the time presented itself.

No, she hated what those trivial things meant to her. They were failure. They represented all that she couldn't accomplish. The fact that she couldn't ascend. It was as if someone were saying to her, "Well, you failed with martial arts, so why don't you just sit there and look pretty?"

Disgusting.

Even Trunks, someone who used to always encourage her to reach the next level, would push her to go with them, to get these things, using money that she had earned teaching karate on such pointless things. She was saving up for college, so why would she waste her future on something that she refused to need? She didn't care that she smelled like her sweat. And she thought she looked presentable. She wasn't a beauty like Bra was, but she wasn't ugly! She was plainishly pleasant, she thought. And even Goten had said on more than one occasion that she looked pretty. And furthermore, why did she need to look good? She wasn't attracting a mate, so what was the point? Bra had a reason. She wanted to keep Goten under her manicured nail.

Pan sighed as an arrogant voice on the com disrupted her thoughts. The grating tone and anger laced voice immediately told her just who had decided to disturb her on one of her rare afternoons off.

"Brat, move your sorry ass!" She weakly lifted her head form her bed to looked over. It was a voice com. "Brat-onna!" Oh, yes, and her Sensei himself, Vegeta.

The man had taken her under his wing ever since her grandfather had "retired" and Trunks had decided to give up fighting to date that Marron girl, 18 and Krillin's child. Trunks had all but given up on training over four years ago. It was the subject of a lot of fights in the Briefs household. He had once lived for fighting and getting stronger. His pride lived on the notion that he would someday beat his father. He had once craved proving himself more than anything. Beating his father had been his one goal in life.

But the instant he had started dating Marron, he had announced to the entirety of their friends and family that he would never train again, because being with Marron outweighed everything. In the ensuing years, Trunks had gradually weakened beyond anything Pan had ever thought possible.

Pan had punched him not two days ago, just a joke punch, and, Kami preserve them, he'd flinched. The Prince of all Saiyjins, her prince, had flinched. How was that even right? She hadn't even hit him that hard! Hell, she could remember years ago when she could aim a Kamehameha wave in his face and he would outright laugh at her. He was the same person that used to use her as a human pinball machine inside the GR. His favorite pastime used to be seeing how long he could fight at 400Gs before he passed out. Now, he spent all his time with Marron or working in his new role as the CEO of Capsule Corp. There wasn't a shred of the man he'd once been left in the man he was now.

And it tore Pan apart. It was shameful to have Trunks, her best friend, reduced to an ornament for some girl's arm.

"Brat-onna, did you hear me?" came the voice again. She scowled at the com, considering her Sensei. Vegeta was pissed too. Marron was sucking the life out Trunks, by forcing him to renounce his Saiyjin blood, outright telling him, publicly, that she would be disappointed in him if he kept on with the "Saiyjin stuff."

They all saw what it was doing to Trunks. Marron just didn't know things about Trunks' Saiyjin side that she and his family did. For instance, during their earlier courtship, Trunks had attempted to follow his instincts with wooing Marron, just as his father had done with Bulma. It was something important to Saiyjin men, to give a gift that showed the man's strength, his willingness to take care of his mate. Trunks had shown up to a CC barbeque with a full stag he'd killed, a huge smile on his face, the glow of pride in Vegeta's eyes, even if the stag was meant for Marron. It was a gesture that spoke volumes to anyone with Saiyjin blood.

Marron had screamed, running in the opposite direction and refusing to rejoin the group till the "roadkill" was gone. She'd demanded it be put in the garbage immediately. The look of hurt and disappointment on Trunks' face had been cutting to watch. From glowing to gloom in an instant. He'd been so upset that he disposed of the stag and retreated for the rest of the party. The blow was bad enough that Vegeta had taken off after his son, glaring daggers at Marron the whole way.

And Trunks was still with this woman! She had refused his offer of courtship, blatantly insulted him and he was just happy-go-lucky about the whole thing. If someone had done that to Pan, they wouldn't have lived to be sorry.

It was a clear insult to his Saiyjin pride, but after two hours had passed, father and son had returned as if nothing had happened. Correction, Trunks returned like nothing had happened. Vegeta looked ready to kill something out of indignation. Granted, that ding-bat Marron didn't know anything about Saiyjin courtship, but she could have at least tried to understand before lobbing his hard earned prize into the trash. Pan recalled the story of when Vegeta had done the same for Bulma. She'd been a little freaked out to find a full grown bear carcass on her balcony.

But Bulma hadn't over-reacted at all. She'd let Vegeta explain the gesture and even barbecued the bear for them to enjoy together. Not exactly an ideal courtship, but Bulma was human. It was only natural that she didn't fully understand the way her husband thought. And, granted, it was about five years after they'd actually mated, but it was a special case, seeing as how they'd gotten together.

But Marron? No. She'd stopped listening to Trunks' explanation and dumped the gift, even after he'd explained its significance to her. She'd said it was weird and disgusting to think she'd ever want "a dead animal stinking up my house."

The nerve.

Trunks didn't even enjoy watching a good fight anymore, which was completely unheard of with their bloodline and had earned the prince a huge fight with his father. Pan recalled that when Vegeta and Goku had sparred a few years ago, Trunks had been sitting next to Marron and mumbled something about useless fighting. Good for brownie points with the girlfriend, bad for full Saiyjin fathers who didn't like said girlfriend. Pan could still hear Vegeta's enraged screams to this day. She'd never seen her Sensei so angry in all her life.

"Girl, if you don't answer me..." This time the threat from her com was coupled with a visual feed. Vegeta snarled at her and growled. She glared right back.

"Vegeta-sensei, go pound sand up your-"

"Pan, we need you to come over before Bra decides to destroy Trunks." It was Bulma. Something was very wrong. Usually, if there was something wrong, like, we're all going to die, wrong, her grandfather and father would have been called and she would have been called in as a last resort. She scowled at that thought. However, if it were something family-related, which she suspected it was, they would handle it in-family, which she wasn't technically a part of. So, why did they call her?

Pan cut the com link, promising to be over as soon as possible.

She didn't really want to go. She would have to see all of them, still have to feel everyone's disappointment, including her Sensei's, even if it were only her own belief and not their actual feelings. And she would have to see Trunks. Which she really didn't want to.

Pan paused at this thought, slightly perplexed at her own behavior. Why didn't she want to see Trunks? Sure, he'd turned into a trophy beau for that idiot Marron, and he was completely ignoring the fact that he carried Saiyjin blood, while simultaneously tearing his family apart. But in the end, he was still a friend, and he cared about her. He was always there to help her when she needed it. He'd always encouraged her when she was down about not ascending. He'd always looked after her. And he was an integral part of her life, despite anything that was going on with him. When it came down to it, he was still Trunks.

Her emotions began their usual tumult as she thought about him, as they always did. Things might have changed, but his personality was still the same – minus fighting. His image came into her mind's eye and she hummed lowly. He hadn't changed much over the years, still tall and proud, though not as much these days with the loss of his defining musculature. His hair had grown out to past his shoulders and was kept in a low ponytail, which Pan had to admit she liked. His eyes were still calm and calculating, still the same Trunks. However, now they didn't possess that sharp edge of arrogance and power they once had, which somehow made him lose a little of his appeal.

Her depressing thoughts seemed to get worse as she dwelled on her friend. Part of her screamed that there should have been something she could have done, but she was at a loss as to what it could have been. And that just left her feeling inadequate and useless.

Pan felt a surge of anger go through her. What had happened to her? Where had her strong will gone? She wouldn't be so down if she were acting like herself. She was a strong willed woman who took life by the horns! She could take down anything that stood in her way! She was Pan Son!

In that moment, she made a promise to herself. She wouldn't lose hope! She would find a way to knock some sense into her prince and best friend, she would find a way to ascend and claim her birthright and she would solve any problem that came at her along the way!

Her will reconstituted, Pan knew she could face the world and whatever it threw at her, nothing would stand in her way. With new energy, she jumped out of bed and assumed the pose for Instant Tranmission.

She arrived in the living room, surrounded by her second family, noting that Trunks and Marron seemed to standing off to the side from the rest. She saw their faces and could tell that there was a lot of anger and almost a sense of betrayal surrounding them. Most notably was Bra, who looked ready to kill something. There were sparks flying between her princess and prince. Bra was glaring daggers at the two love-birds, mostly at Trunks, who had put himself slightly in front of Marron.

"Briefs, Marron." She acknowledged, pointedly emphasizing the difference between Marron and the Saiyjin family. Pan honestly doubted that there would ever be a time that she would ever consider Marron as a part of her second family, even if she somehow managed to get Trunks to marry her.

Trunks smiled at her, Marron barely spared a glance for her, while the rest of the family grunted. Even Bra, who considered herself above such animalistic sounds, answered with a growl.

Seeing Pan's confusion, Marron smiled a sickly-sweet grin and flashed a ring on her left hand.

"Don't you mean the future Mrs. Briefs, Panny?" Pan ignored the knee-jerk anger at being called Panny.

Now, it wasn't that Pan hated Marron. Truthfully, she just very much didn't like anything about her; however, she usually gave her the benefit of the doubt, or at least tried to. She composed herself from the gut reaction of a snarl, knowing it would do her no good.

With a Herculean effort, she ignored the blond and turned to the Briefs and asked, "So, what's the big problem?" Bra was turning red in the face, a symptom passed down from one blue-haired she-devil to the next generation.

"He's going to marry that—that—slut!" Bra exclaimed, pointing a delicate finger at the culprit in question.

Pan tried to not to let her emotions show. The betrayal and hurt that coursed through her. And most notably, the disappointment. Part of her had hoped that one day Trunks would realize just how wrong Marron was for him. There couldn't have been a worse match in history. Marron didn't understand him at all and tried to make him into something that he wasn't. Instead she turned to Vegeta as she leaned against the sofa.

"Finally drove him to suicide, eh, Sensei? I knew those years of mental abuse wouldn't be good for him." Vegeta didn't let up on his glare at his son, but the corner of his mouth did twitch. Pan shook her head in disbelief. "So, why did you call me?"

Bulma responded. "We thought you might be able to talk some sense into him, since we've failed," she elaborated. Pan nodded. This wasn't the first time they'd asked her to speak to Trunks about Marron. He had always at least heard her out, whereas he tended to blot out his family.

She really didn't feel like putting up with it. It had already been a shitty day. However, she did have a duty to perform for her Sensei, and there was the fact that she had been practically a member of their family as long as she could remember. Out of respect for her second family, she turned to him.

"Trunks, why do you want to marry this—woman?" She asked, catching herself before she slipped up and called her one of the colorful names bouncing around in her head. Trunks smiled at Pan, obviously thinking he'd found a sympathetic ear.

"I knew you would understand, Panny. The reason I want to marry her is...I love her more than anything. She's beautiful and smart and brave, she's perfect in every—"

"Okay, Bra, you can kill him," she said simply, burying her rage behind a wall of apathy. She could feel the tell-tale signs of tears beginning to prick her eyes and knew she wouldn't last long if she stayed. She began to walk toward the door, hating herself for giving up, but unwilling to let them see her fragile emotions. Her foot touched the first stair when Trunks caught her arm; however she wrenched it free, unable to stand the familiar touch at that moment.

"Pan, why are you being like this? I thought you would have been happy. What's wrong with this?" He gestured to Marron.

"Trunks, four years ago, you were a very different person. And you used to actually care about things that you're throwing away now," she said sadly, not facing him. She couldn't look him in the eye after what he was doing. It just felt so alien and wrong to have him giving up what she herself had worked all her life to obtain. The one thing she'd dreamed of, being a true Saiyjin, and he was giving it up for a woman.

"Time changes lots of things," he replied. She nodded, trying to fight back the pain and the disappointment. She turned, her face as hard as granite, and fixed her hurt-filled eyes on her former best friend.

"True. But time can never change who you are. No matter how much you try to run from it." She broke his hold again easily and went outside. As she made her way toward the gravity room, she heard the other occupants leave, their last ditch effort having failed. Soon, the fiancées were left alone, the only sound lingering was the distant buzz of the gravity machine, a forgotten sound to the prince.