Disclaimer: DBZ and DBGT are not mine.

Only the Good Die Young

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Training. Everyone was always training now-a-days. Why couldn't they have at least a decade of peace? Was that too much to ask? Apparently it was because a new evil, an alien by the name of Telax, was three days away and the two who said the Earth's Special Forces could sit this one out were nowhere to be found. Well technically everyone knew where the partial Saiyans were but it was impossible to reach them. All the earth warriors could do were relax and train as much as possible and pray that Pan and Dragon made it back in time.

Currently lunch was on the counter and Chichi was at the door calling everyone in to eat. The non-warriors were already seated at the dining room table eating their fill before the Saiyan vacuums arrived. "Thanks mom!" Goten and Gohan both kissed Chichi's cheek before grabbing a plate and calmly dishing up their food. They had learned as children that Chichi would not tolerate a lack of manners. Everyone was in the house and seated, except for Vegeta when they heard it.

The explosion rocked the dome and stopped everyone in their tracks. "What was that?" Videl looked frightened.

"I swear if Vegeta blew up the Gravity Room again I am going to kill him!" Bulma grumbled as she stomped outside to see just what was going on. Curiosity winning over hunger, the rest of the group followed wondering what Vegeta had done now.

The grass outside was charred black and piece of metal littered the ground. From the looks of it, Vegeta had indeed blown up the Gravity Room. Where the room had used to stand there was a large crater emitting little plumes of smoke. "Vegeta!" Bulma screamed as her eyes scanned the debris for her reckless husband. The sound of metal scraping together announced the location of the fallen Prince. Immediately all the guys rushed over to help him out of the rubble."Vegeta! I told you the GR can only take so much! Why you keep pushing it beyond its limits… I don't know! It's not a Saiyan you can train! You really-"

"I didn't blow it up you infernal beast! I was on my way in when the room just disintegrated." That seemed to take away Bulma's voice. Why would the machine just self destruct? Maybe it was a problem with the wiring. The room did have a self destruct feature so that enemies could never use it. She would have to crawl into the underground tunnel and check later. Right now her husband was hurt.

She put her arms around his shoulders to help him into the house. "I'm sorry Vegeta." That was a first. Bulma rarely apologized. As a genius she was hardly ever wrong so there was no need to say sorry. Slowly the group made their way back into the kitchen.

"This food is subpar. I demand something of quality." Every head in the group turned to look at the red head holding up a turkey leg like it was crawling with maggots.

"Who do you think you are coming into my home and talking to us like that?" Bulma ducked out from under Vegeta's arm and stepped closer to the man with the flowing red mane.

"Are you finished?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Shocked, Bulma nodded. "Well… Yeah."

"Good!" Before anyone could react, the man flung a flaming red ki blast towards Bulma. The blast hit her in the stomach burning her shirt and ripping open the delicate human flesh. "That is what you get for defiance in my court. Now will someone bring me something edible or must I deal with business on an empty stomach?" The girls were pushed behind the guys with the Saiyans and Tink at the front protecting them should this man decide to fire another blast.

"We'll never feed you!" Chichi shook her frying pan in a threatening manner.

With little more than the flick of his fingers, the man sent out another blast that melted the pan in her hands. Chichi let out a loud yelp before dropping the molten metal to the ground and cradling her severely burnt hand. "Fine. If you will not feed me, I demand you hand over the Saiyan female called Pan or be destroyed." It dawned on them. This was the big bad that was heading towards the earth. This was Telax.

"Pan's not here. Even if she was we would never hand her over to you!" Gohan growled, crouching into a fighting stance.

Gohan's actions only served to make Telax laugh. "Not here you say? Where might I find her?" He scanned their minds looking for any trace of where the girl might be. To his knowledge she was the last Saiyan in the universe and he would kill her for what was done to him and his people. He caught a glimpse in the mind's eye of a black haired man with dark chocolate skin. "On a quest for more power is she? Fine. For everyday that I must wait, one of you will die. For now you will serve me. Harpy, cook my food! And you!" Chichi cowered when he commanded her to cook and began to shake when he called on Marron.

Pushing Trunks out of the way, Telax paced around Marron, his hands gliding along her shoulders, waist and hips. "You look pleasurable but you are also weak. We'll see if you last the night in my bed or if you will be the first to pay for the Saiyan's crimes."

Trunks couldn't help himself as he launched forward to land a hit on Telax's cheek. The alien's face moved only slightly, the anger evident in his eyes. "You are strong." Trunks was unnerved when, instead of striking back, Telax moved to sniff Trunk's neck. "You smell like her, like the Saiyan. Could it be that you are another of the bastard race that destroyed my home? I can't take the chance." Running on more of a monologue, Telax raised his hand another glowing red ki ball at the ready. Trunks closed his eyes and waited for the impact that would surely end his life.

Instead of fiery pain, Trunks felt cool air rushing around him and heard the screams of his fiancé and friends. When he opened his eyes he saw that he and the group were no longer at Capsule Corp. Judging from the cool marble and the clear blue sky, they were on Dende's look out.

"You idiot boy! You've ruined everything!" His cheek stung with the force of King Vegeta's blow. While it hurt, it was much better than the alternative.

Trunks licked his lips free of blood before asking, "What do you mean?"

"If you had just stood your ground, he would have never known you were a Saiyan and we would have been able to switch Marron with Tink when he wasn't paying attention. Because of your actions Telax is more than likely going on a rampage around the globe as we speak. We'll be lucky if there is an earth left when Pan and Dragon return!" King Vegeta had to resist the urge to kick the boy in the jaw and pummel his face until it looked like lasagna with teeth. But that would get him nowhere. Maybe later.

"But they told me I wasn't a Saiyan!"

Bulma stepped forward with a sheepish look on her face. "Actually, that was a lie. You are Vegeta's son and Bra is not my clone but my daughter with Vegeta. We just wanted to keep you safe and if Telax read your mind he would see that you weren't a Saiyan because you thought you weren't. We just wanted to keep you safe."

"Why weren't Gohan and Goten told the same thing?"

"Because they look Saiyan. And could you imagine what you would get if you tried to read either of their minds? Telax wouldn't understand Gohan's thoughts because he is a fighter, not a scholar. And Goten… Well Goten is special. No one would get his thoughts."

It took Goten a minute to process. "Hey!" He yelled after he had thought over what Bulma had said.

Trunks had to admit, Bulma had a point. But it still stung to think that they had tried to hide his heritage just to save his life. Painful but touching too.

"What do we do now?" Marron's meek voice tang loudly in the silence.

"We gather the others and we wait for Pan and Dragon to return. That's our only choice. Without them we cannot beat Telax." This time it was Tink who spoke, her words grim for the group. It would be three more days before the promised return date of Pan and Dragon. They hoped the world could hang on for that long.

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"I find it hard to believe that this city is abandoned." Pan growled as she and Dragon flew over the deserted streets. They had woken up and immediately began the search for the next oracle. So far they had been searching for three hours with no sign of life. At all. Even the rodents that usually infested large cities like this were nowhere to be found.

"Well we're not separating. That's what got us into trouble last time." While most of her wounds had healed overnight, Pan was still bruised and sported the long gash on her leg.

Pan huffed and flew faster. As time passed she began to tap her fingers against her leg and hum. "What song is that?" Dragon asked after a while.

"I'm not really sure." In the silence it became clear. Pan was mimicking the beat of music coming from the west. "Come on!" She shouted when she realized that music meant life.

As they flew closer, the latin beat became more prominent. The trembling walls of a large concrete building seemed to be the source. Carefully searching the exterior, Pan and Dragon nodded that it was clear before landing by the door.

It was a plain metal door with a silver toned handle. Pan and Dragon shared a look, her hand resting on the shaking handle. In their eyes was all that need to be said. Be careful, I've got your back, and I love you. She turned the handle and pulled.

Immediately the beat overwhelmed their hearing. Inside they saw what seemed to be everyone who lived in the city. They were all dancing, never stopping. Grabbing Pan's hand, Dragon led her deeper into the writhing bodies in search of the oracle. Music was a dead giveaway for the location of an oracle. Each one could be found near an overwhelming source of music. This definitely qualified as overwhelming. Now all they had to do was find the oracle who was controlling these people and answer the question.

Their question was soon answered by coming into view of a large throne that occupied the back wall of the room. On the golden chair sat a bare chested man in leather pants. His hair was short and black, his skin pale as moonlight, and eyes the color of obsidian. Even Pan had to admit that this guy was attractive. His eyes scanned over the nervous pair, noticing that they were not dancing. Standing from his relaxed position, the man made his way over to where Pan and Dragon had frozen.

"Hello. I am the oracle Ryker. How may I be of service?" He lifted Pan's hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She had to consciously stop her knees from buckling. His voice was so warm and smooth, like liquid chocolate.

Seeing that Pan was a little distracted, Dragon took matters into his own hands. "We've come to answer the oracle's question to be granted access to the next realm."

"Is that so?" Ryker's eyes never left Pan's. "Then I suppose I shall ask, would you give me the honor of a dance?" Pan nodded and let Ryker pull her to the dance floor. Dragon suppressed his rage knowing that after Pan danced with the man, their time here would be complete and she would never see this Ryker again. He also knew that she couldn't help herself. These oracles had a pull that one couldn't resist. So he watched as his girl was led to the center of the dance floor by the shirtless oracle.

Once Ryker had the girl far enough into the crowd, he spun her out and back in. "How?" Pan asked when she noticed that mid-spin her clothes had changed. She now wore a super short neon green skirt with black tulle under layers and a lace tube top that barely covered her breasts. Even then the material was thin and partially see through giving the man a good look at Pan's nipples.

Pan was caught between wanting to cover herself up and thrusting out her chest to give him a better view. Instead she compromised and pressed herself against him. There was something about his eyes that made them impossible to look away from. Try as she might, Pan couldn't fight the pull and was soon lost in the man's control.

Dragon watched the light fade from Pan's eyes until they were blank. Her red lips parted for air as Ryker dipped her backwards, bending the Saiyan hybrid's back in half. If Pan weren't so flexible, that move would have broken her spine. Surely the song would be over soon and he would have Pan back in his arms. They would leave this realm for the next and never think on it again. But the beat never stopped and the song never ended.

They had been dancing for nearly ten minutes when Dragon finally lost his cool. Angry strides took him face to face with the handsome man, Dragon's hand closing around Ryker's bare bicep. "Yes?" Ryker smiled.

"You've had your dance. Let her go and open the portal." Dragon's blue eyes were flashing with energy, his anger a hairs breadth from being released.

"We're just having a bit of fun, leave us alone Dragon." Pan's voice was heavy as if she had just woken up. Ryker laughed and pulled Pan farther into the crowd away from Dragon.

"You may go on, but she stays with me." Ryker called out over the crowd. Back by the throne a golden portal opened. If he wanted Dragon could take the portal and never look back. But he wouldn't leave Pan like that. She hadn't left him and he wouldn't leave her.

Struggling against the crowd, Dragon made his way back to the pair. Ryker's face was leaned down into the crook of Pan's neck, her head thrown back in ecstasy. "Get your hands off of her!" Dragon growled pulling Ryker's hands away from Pan.

When the dark haired man lifted his head, Dragon was both shocked and appalled. His mouth was covered in blood. Looking to Pan's neck, Dragon saw the tell tale sign of fang marks still seeping blood in large drops. Ryker was a vampire. No wonder Pan had been unable to resist him. They had never come across this type of creature before because they didn't exist. At least not in the humanoid realms. "Back away from her or I'll kill you." Dragon tried to pull Pan away from him with little success.

"You can't kill what is already dead." Ryker laughed, not releasing Pan no matter how hard Dragon pulled. The poor girl would be bruised from their fingertips, but Ryker didn't care. He would not relinquish his newest conquest.

"Ever heard of a Solar Flare?"

Ryker was full out laughing like Dragon had just told the funniest joke ever. "You cannot kill what is already dead."

"I bet you glitter too." He didn't like yelling out the names of his attacks, especially the more potent ones so instead Dragon thought the activation phase that put blades of energy on his wrists. Before Ryker knew what was going on, Dragon had used the energy blades to slice off the vampire's forearms. The cut was far enough away that Pan was only sprinkled with blood drops instead of being cut.

Ryker let out a blood curdling scream as he tried to cradle his arms to his chest. "Gotta go!" Dragon scooped Pan into his arms and ran toward the portal. He didn't even pause as he jumped through the golden glitter, fearing that the vampire would regain his wits and close the way.

They landed in a heap, Dragon turning to take the brunt of the fall. All around them were fruit bearing trees and large Grecian columns. Dende knew what they would find here.

Dragon kept a wary eye as he sat up, still cradling Pan to his chest. "Ugh! I feel like I just blew up a million balloons."

"I don't know how much blood he took but if you're light headed it must have been a substantial amount." He let her gently down onto the ground and moved her hair aside to look at the bite mark. Already the skin was bruised and the blood was crusting. "Come on." She needed to walk and shake off the effects of the vampire's compulsion. In the distance they could hear the soft bubbling of a river. Together they walked at a slow pace.

They reached the bank of the small river and sat down on the sandy shore. He tore a strip from his shirt and wet it in the water before taking the cloth and cleaning her neck of the blood that had spilled.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist him and I'm sorry." Pan finally spoke, tears filling her eyes. "I feel so dirty." Her arms crossed over her chest covering the see through top. The cloth kept running over the sore spot on her neck, Dragon's eyes focused on the wound.

"You couldn't help it just like I couldn't help it. We knew this would be a difficult quest that would test our strength of mind and body. We're alive and we're together. That's all that matters." He ran the cloth over her neck one last time before dropping it to the ground. "I'm not mad." He kissed her carefully.

"Thank you." Pan whispered against his lips. With his help, they both stood up and strained their ears. Aside from the sound of running water, there was only the chirping of the birds. Everything was eerily still, no wind no breeze, no clouds. It was a perfect sunny day. "What should we do?"

Electric blue eyes searched the surrounding area, looking for any sign of where they were supposed to go. "I guess we just pick a direction and walk. Sooner or later we'll find the oracle." So that is what they did. In a moment of sheer childishness, Pan closed her eyes while Dragon spun her around. Where she was pointing when they stopped was the direction they would take. Since this was another wilderness realm, they stuck to the ground just in case there were more living trees or creatures who would swat them from the sky.

For over an hour they kept walking with only the sounds of birds chirping and their feet on the lush green grass filling the silence. "We've been walking for forever! I am sick of this!" Pan sat down on a fallen column and looked up at Dragon with an expression of helplessness on her face. She was tired, the episode with the vampire had taken a lot out of her.

"Hey!" Dragon used his fingers to caress her cheek. "Come on, this isn't you. The Pan I know would never give up just because things look hopeless or just because she had a bad experience. Guess what Pan, bad things happen. All we can do is move on to the best of our abilities and learn from our mistakes. Now get up off your ass and act like the girl I fell in love with!" His caress turned into a firm grasp on her chin. Before him, her eyes took on a new resolve. Sometimes Pan needed some sense knocked into her.

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks." As she was standing up with Dragon's help, a dark shadow covered the ground. "What?" Pan asked as she looked first at the ground then up at the sky. There was nothing there.

They shared a confused look right before something large and dark plowed into them knocking both bodies to the ground. Looking around they couldn't see what it was that had flew into them. The sound of the birds grew louder and the shadow once more cloaked the ground. Pan and Dragon searched for the source but found nothing.

A screech was all the warning they got before the large dark creature was on them again, this time pecking and scratching at them with its razor sharp claws and abnormally large beak. Pan managed to charge up a ki blast and singe the glowing skyblue feathers on the bird's belly. With an angry squawk the bird flew a few feet away and landed.

It stood taller than Dragon, it's wings flapping at its side agitating the grass. The beak was large and black, the underside the same glowing blue as its stomach. It was no wonder they hadn't seen it in the air, it's underside blended in perfectly with the sky. Large green eyes just stared at them, only blinking when absolutely necessary. The large bird-man opened its mouth and the sound of birds chirping came out.

This was the oracle? Was the first thought that crossed their minds before realization dawned on them. They had been hearing birds chirping since they had first arrived in the realm but when the creature attacked they were silent. There were no birds here, the creature had been stalking them the whole time!

"Do you speak bird?" Pan asked when the creature shut its beak thus ending the musical sound of birds chirping.

Dragon leaned in closer to her and whispered through the blood covering his split lip, "No. Do you?"

"We'll find out." Pan took a step forward ignoring the stinging sensation in all the fresh wounds the bird had given her. "Ca-Caw?" Dragon almost fell to the floor in shock. Ca-Caw? Really? The bird took a step forward inching closer to Pan. There was a look in his eyes that told storied of endless amount of people who had been here before to try and reach the treasure at the top of the proverbial Kai ladder. They also told tale of the pain those people had inflicted and what the bird had done in retribution.

"It's alright." Pan held out her hand and stepped closer like she was approaching a wounded animal. "I won't hurt you." As she drew near the bird flinched, no doubt smelling the scent of death that clung to Pan like a second skin. It was a hazard of her job, one that she had knowingly accepted when she agreed to be an assassin. The fact that all animals were skittish around her barely phased her anymore. She lived her life taking out the scum of the universe and protecting the innocent. If that meant she could never have a pet, so be it. Seeing the bird flinch, Pan held still and decided to let it come the rest of the way.

Dragon looked back and forth between the two, caught between worrying about Pan and wondering what she was trying to do. "Pan?" He spoke quietly, unintentionally attracting the attention of the bird.

"I've got it." Pan whispered through clenched lips, trying not to scare the already on edge bird creature. "It's ok little fella." She said in her most innocent and soothing voice, the voice she would use when dealing with children.

It took a second but the bird resumed its slow creep toward the demi Saiyan until it's beak was touching Pan's palm. Both Pan and Dragon held their breath, unsure of what the bird would do next. Together they sighed in relief when the bird began to nuzzle it's head against her head in an attempt to get her to pet it. Happily, Pan obliged making sure to be careful and not hurt the poor guy.

Carefully Dragon approach the pair and joined Pan in scratching the large bird's head. It wasn't everyday that you could scratch the head of a bird who was bigger than yourself, so Dragon was taking full advantage. He was knuckles deep in the feathers scratching it's wing joint when the bird let out a fearful squawk and jumped back from the pair.

Pan and Dragon shared a confused look. What had they done? Looking down, Dragon found that there was a small trace of blood on his hand. "I think he's hurt." As if he understood what Dragon had said, the bird looked back toward the wing Dragon had been scratching. Those large green eyes went back and forth between the wing and the humanoids.

"Is he asking us for help?" Pan wondered aloud as she observed the behavior of the bird. Now that she thought about it, he looked like a kiwi only with wings and unique colorings. Dragon reached into his pocket and pulled out the med kit capsule from his leather bracelet. Digging through the supplies he found what he was looking for.

"Here you go little guy." The irony of calling the big bird little did not fall short between the pair, but from what they could tell this bird was young and warranted such a title. The bird eyed the little green bean in Dragon's palm before pecking at it like he hadn't been fed in years. Second after swallowing you could tell that the bird was feeling better. He started flapping his wings and running around like he was on fire. "I think he feels better." Dragon laughed, stating the obvious. He looked over at Pan who had a silly smile on her face. "Oh no, Pan! I know that look! We cannot keep him."

Pan turned her big midnight eyes on Dragon and pushed out her lower lips. "Please? I'll take really good care of him! And I've already named him Lime. Please Dragon!"

He couldn't resist the pout, Pan knew that. "We can't just take a Supreme Kai's oracle as a pet!" He tried to justify leaving the bird who by now was nuzzling Pan's side with its large beak.

"We're already pissing off the Kais by going on this quest. Please?"

He knew that he didn't have a chance against her but he had to at least try to convince her otherwise. "Fine. Put him in your room." He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers while he caved to Pan's wish.

She squealed in delight and hugged Dragon before turning to the bird. "Come on Lime! You're going to live with us from now on and I have the perfect place!" Pan crossed her arms in the air opening a portal to the Temple's training fields. "There is enough fruit and game to feed you while we are gone. I promise when this is all over we will play!" Pan hugged the giant bird before leading him into the portal. "No one will ever hurt you again!" Just before she closed the portal, the bird chirped and a golden veil appeared behind her. "Thank you!" The only response she got was a chirp and the sight of the bird's butt as it ran through the training fields.

"Come on bird girl." Dragon slung his arm around her waist and led her to the veil. "One more realm to go before we play with the big boys." Together they disappeared from the Grecian realm into the unknown eighth realm.