Dark Fire: Chapter 2.
((Author's note: Sorry for the long wait, I haven't had much chance to write. I am going to attempt to make updates every other day from now on.))
Jazz: Well, thanks.
Jess: …. I'm not sure how to respond to this one.
Awesomeness127: Sadly, no, Bra died.
AnimeGirl DBZRules Firegirl: Thanks. I wasn't sure how well I had written that scene.
Anon: I get the feeling you don't like Pan that much….
Abbieouji: 'OMD'? I'm not sure how long it took me to find that, lol. But anyways, thanks.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters from the show. I do, however, own 'The monster' (Still a temporary name)
Chapter 2: Crash Site.
West City, one of the, if not the, largest cities in the world. It's known for its wealth, its giant, floating amusement park, and most of all, being the home of Capsule Corp.
And approximately twenty miles from this city, in a wide, open field, two figures stood, staring into the sky. One short and bald, wearing an orange Gi, the other tall, and green.
"How long have they been going at it now?" Krillin asked, glancing up at Piccolo.
"About three hours."
"Wow! They sure are determined aren't they?" The short monk said, turning his head back to the sky, where two other figures, each with glowing, golden hair, were fighting. They moved so quickly Krillin could only catch glimpses of them, and even then he couldn't tell what was going on.
"Well, one of them is…" The tall Namekian said, almost like he was thinking to himself. Before Krillin could ask what he meant, Piccolo had grabbed his arm, and pulled him into the sky, just as the spot he had been standing at exploded.
"Hey! No blowing up the bystanders ok?" The short man yelled, both figures stopped moving, and the shorter one flew over to him. He was a young boy, wearing a purple Gi.
"Sorry Krillin, I lost control of that blast…" The boy said, rubbing the back of his head and looking a little sheepish. Krillin couldn't help but smile, the boy reminded him so much of Goku.
"Brat! Unless you're giving up we are still fighting! So get over here!" The other fighter yelled at Gohan. The boy sighed, wiping some sweat off his brow.
"Vegeta's giving you quite the workout huh?" Krillin asked. Gohan just nodded his head, and grinned.
"I actually kind of enjoy it. Anyway it's more fun that studying…" Gohan said, before flying back to Vegeta, and continuing the fight.
Krillin landed on the other side of Piccolo, as his previous spot was now a smoldering crater, and sighed.
"I feel sorry for the kid."
Piccolo looked at him, inquisitively.
"I mean, it's obvious he's a born fighter, just like Goku. But all Chi-chi lets him do is study…" Krillin said, watching the fight in the sky.
"I'm just glad Bulma convinced her to allow him to come visit for the day."
"Which reminds me, what are you doing out here?" Piccolo asked him, his eyes were also turned back to the fight.
"I came to watch them, what else? It's not everyday you get to watch two Super Saiyans go head to head, even if it is just a sparring match."
Piccolo just nodded, his eyes still focused on the two fighters. Krillin began wondering what exactly was on the Namekian's mind, but he decided against asking. He wouldn't get a straight answer, even if he got one at all. So he simply turned back to the fight, and tried to figure out who was winning.
"Come on, stop holding back! You're just wasting my time!"
Vegeta threw another punch at the boy, which was easily blocked. He then quickly pressed forward, commencing a barrage of punches as he pushed Gohan backwards. Suddenly, the boy disappeared, only to reappear the next instant behind Vegeta, and threw a punch that struck Vegeta square in the back, sending the Saiyan prince flying down towards the ground.
"Wow, Gohan completely blind-sided Vegeta!" Krillin said, amazed at what had happened. It wasn't like the Saiyan to let his guard down like that.
"He feels it too…" Was all Piccolo said.
Krillin glanced up at Piccolo. The Namekian's face was contorted into a scowl, but his eyes were closed.
Krillin quickly looked back into the sky, to see that both of the fighters had stopped, and were staring off into the distance. Then, the feeling hit him too, an immense amount of power, that seemed to be coming from every where around him. The short man gulped.
"Wha… What is it?" He asked, looking around nervously. Suddenly, a loud whirring noise filled the air, and was followed a second later by a deafening explosion.
Gohan was the first to land in the large crater that now stretched over fifty feet in all directions. Right behind him were Piccolo and Vegeta, with Krillin hovering twenty feet above them.
Gohan was slightly surprised by what they found, pieces of charred metal were scattered around the crater, as well as fragments of shattered glass.
"It must have been some kind of ship…" He said, leaning over to examine a particularly large chunk of metal, which was almost completely blackened.
"Yeah, but wouldn't we have seen it falling out of the sky if it was?" Piccolo asked.
"What I'm wondering is what the heck was that power we sensed just before the explosion? And why did it suddenly disappear?" Vegeta responded, not showing any interest in the wreckage.
Krillin landed beside Gohan, and sighed.
"Never a dull moment huh?"
When Krillin didn't get an answer, he turned to face his friend. The boy's face was furrowed in concentration, and his eyes were closed.
"Um… Earth to Gohan. You there kid?" Krillin asked. Gohan's eyes suddenly sprung open.
"You sense that?"
"Sense what? I can only feel the energy from us four." Krillin said, Gohan turned his gaze to Piccolo, who nodded.
"Yes, I can. It's faint, but there is definitely a power level among all this debris."
"What are you talking about Namekian?" Vegeta demanded, turning to glare at Piccolo. "I can't sense anything! You said the same thing a few minutes ago!"
Piccolo nodded.
"Before I couldn't, but now that we're closer I can feel a slight power emanating from somewhere."
Gohan meanwhile had wandered over to a particularly large bit of metal, and was standing next to it. He lightly tapped it, and listened.
"Hollow."
Then, in one quick motion, he reached down, grabbed the bottom of the metal, and flipped it over. The next moment, he found himself staring down at the body of a girl.
She looked to be about his age, maybe a little younger. Her black hair was cut short and hung down just above her eyes. She was wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans, both of which were torn up pretty badly; and wrapped around her waist was what appeared to be a brown belt. He gulped slightly, and turned to look at the others. Krillin was trying to break up Piccolo and Vegeta, who had started arguing over something.
"Um… Guys," He called, causing them all to turn at look at him. "I think I just found a Saiyan."
'Bra, Bulma, Both of them dead. And I didn't do anything to help…'
'Why didn't I move? Why didn't I try to save them? Why did I just sit there, and watch it happen?'
'Was it because I was afraid? I'm not a coward, am I?'
'Yes, I am a coward. What else do you call someone who ran while their family died? What else do you call someone who has spent almost four years hiding from something?'
'I'm a coward. But if I wasn't, would they still be alive? Or would I just be dead as well?'
'I would be dead. That thing's too strong for me. It was too strong for grandpa, it was too strong for my dad; it was too strong for everyone. I would be no different.'
'But I still could have tried, instead of just sitting back and watching them die! I could have helped, so why didn't I? Why didn't I help them? Why?'
Pan awoke suddenly, her whole body shaking. For a second her vision was completely blurred, and as it cleared, she realized she had no idea where she was.
Above her she could see blue sky, and she was laying on some kind of grey tile floor. And standing right beside her was a small, green thing.
She yelled in surprise when she saw it, instinctively rolling away from it, and pushing herself to her knees. To her further surprise, the thing acted a lot like her, running a few steps away as its eyes widened in fear. She just stared at it for a second, before she suddenly realized it looked really familiar. She didn't have time to think about it though, as a much larger green thing suddenly appeared, walking up next to the smaller one. She was about to scream and run, when she looked at the thing's face, and realized who it was.
"Mr.… Mr. Piccolo?"
Piccolo was taken aback; he had never even seen a female Saiyan, much less told one his name. And there was only one person who had ever called him Mr. Piccolo…
"How do you know my name?" Piccolo asked, regaining his usual glare.
"You…. You don't know who I am?" The girl asked, her face suddenly gaining an excited expression.
"Should I?"
That was it, the girl's face broke into a grin, and she got to her feet.
"No! You shouldn't! I can't believe it, it actually worked!"
Piccolo could honestly say he was confused, but before he could say anything else, Dende spoke up.
"Who are you?" The young guardian asked, still hiding behind Piccolo.
The girl blushed slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Pan. You're Dende right?"
Piccolo just stared at her now, while Dende let out a gasp. Deciding that this girl wasn't going to attack them, Piccolo took a step towards her.
"Yes, he's Dende. Now, I want to know; how do you know our names?"
Pan rubbed the back of her head and looked into the sky, sighing.
"That's a really long story…" She said, trying to think of what she was going to say.
"You have time; the craft you arrived here in is nothing but a pile of wreckage now, so you're not going anywhere soon."
Pan's eyes grew wide at this.
"But… But how? What destroyed it?" She asked, growing anxious. If the time machine really was destroyed, there was no way for her to get back.
'Of course, why would I want to go back? Wasn't the whole point to get away from my time?'
"I don't know, we found you under a large piece of wreckage, and brought you back here so Dende could heal you. Since you know who he is you must know about his healing abilities." Piccolo said, interrupting her thoughts. Pan nodded, and the Namekian continued.
"You had extensive wounds. Strangely, it took Dende fifteen minutes to fully heal you, we're still not sure why. That and the fact you're a Saiyan is all I know, care to enlighten me?"
Pan just sighed, and nodded. As she did, she noticed she didn't feel the usual weight around her neck, her hand shot to where her necklace had been.
"Where's my…"
"Ki inhibitor? We have it. It had to be removed so we could tell how strong you're life force was."
Pan was about to ask how he knew what the device was, but then realized that it wasn't that hard to figure out. She just sighed again, and nodded.
"Ok, I guess I don't need it anymore anyway. Well, you guys did heal me, so I guess I owe you an explanation…" She started, but suddenly a new voice rang out.
"I'll say you do! Starting with how the heck you have a tail! It isn't possible that you're a Saiyan!"
Vegeta came marching out from the main building of the Lookout, his angry glare fixed on the small girl.
"And why isn't it Vegeta? You said the same thing about Trunks didn't you?" Piccolo said, not bothering to look at the Saiyan prince. His arrogant attitude always got on Piccolo's nerves.
"Shut up Namekian! He was a half-breed, and my son!"
He turned his glare back to Pan.
"But you knew that already didn't you?" He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"Believe it or not, I did." Pan said, a very satisfied smirk crossing her face. Vegeta was just as arrogant as the others had told her. He had calmed down after the battle with Buu and after Bra was born. Though the others had told her that he was downright unlikable at this time, she actually found him pretty amusing.
"In-fact, I pretty much know all about you." She continued, still smirking.
"Oh, do you? And how do you know so much?" Vegeta said, continuing to walk towards her, stopping only a few feet away from her.
Pan gulped quietly; maybe she should have kept her mouth shut. A quick glance at Vegeta's power level told her he easily out-matched her. Though she really didn't worry about him killing her, she really didn't want to get punched.
"Like I said… It's a long story." She said, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Well then, you better start telling it, because I'm not in a patient mood today."
'Since when were ever in a patient mood?' Pan thought, but decided against saying it out loud.
"Well? Are you going to start talking? Or do I have to force you too?" The Saiyan threatened.
"Vegeta…" Piccolo started, but Pan cut him off.
"Fine, I'll tell you. That is why I came here after all." Pan said, shrugging slightly. Vegeta's glare slipped a bit, changing into a look of confusion. Pan opened her mouth to speak again, but suddenly it hit her, a strangely familiar power level, but she couldn't identify it. The other's sensed it as well, and the all turned to look as glowing light appeared in the distance. The next moment, in an explosion of light, a figure landed on the Lookout floor.
"Sorry it took me so long. Bulma needed a little help with that necklace." Gohan said, smiling as he walked up to the group.
"Good to see you're awake, who ever you are." He said to the girl, who was just staring back at him.
"You made it just in-time, our visitor was just about to start telling us what she's doing here." Piccolo said, turning to look at Pan. Her gaze however was fixed on Gohan, and as she stared, Piccolo started to wonder if she was ever going to blink.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Vegeta yelled. But much to his annoyance, Pan ignored him.
Gohan meanwhile was really starting to feel uncomfortable, not exactly sure what to do. He started to shuffle back and forth on his feet, and took two steps towards Piccolo.
Pan was just as confused as everyone else; she could swear she knew this boy. His Ki was so familiar, yet something in her brain wasn't clicking. Then, a memory of a picture her grandmother had, sitting on the dining room table, came back to her; and she realized who it was she was looking at.
Gohan jumped when the girl suddenly gasped, and a huge smile covered her face. Then, before he could react, the girl jumped forward, and threw her arms around him.
"Dad!"
A couple of silent moments later…
Gohan still couldn't quite muster his ability of speech back, while the girl, who was almost as tall as he was, still had her arms around him, and was now crying with her head against him.
It was Piccolo who spoke first.
"What did she just say?" He said, trying his best to keep himself calm.
Pan immediately let go of Gohan and stepped backwards, blushing madly. She wiped a few stray tears off her face, and gave a small smile.
"Well, guess I better explain now, huh?"
((Ok, few things. One, sorry it too so long to update, but I was really busy this week and didn't have the time. Updates will be more regular from now on I promise.))
((If you're wondering where Krillin is, I'll tell you next chapter.))
((And for those of you who prefer dark stories over happy ones, don't worry, this will get dark, but I can't keep it dark the whole way through.))
((So, that's that. Please review and tell me what you think.))