Disclaimer: Bakosel Briefs and the Capsule Corp. doctor are mine. Everyone and everything else belongs to Akira Toriyama.


"I never thought I'd be able to do it."

Pan's encapsulated supplies had included a small plane. Once they had made it outside again (and Piccolo had confirmed with Korin that Dende was safe), they had loaded in Android 18's body and Pan had flown them back to Capsule Corp. No sooner had they landed on the lawn than the adrenaline ran out and Pan had all but collapsed from exhaustion and the multiple injuries she'd sustained.

Now, she was in the Capsule Corp. infirmary. Uncle Goten was sitting on one side of her bed, while Piccolo (who'd refused treatment, claiming that he was already well on his way to healing) leaned against the wall on the other. Android 18 was in the lab where her great-grandson, who also happened to be the youngest Briefs heir, was trying to determine whether she could be revived.

"Grandpa Goku kept wondering when I was going to go Super Saiyan," she continued when no one answered. "He never did figure out why I couldn't. I always thought that it was because I was more human than Saiyan, that I just didn't have the capability."

"Your father thought differently." She turned towards her uncle, who looked pensive – which was quite unusual for him.

"My father and brother always said that the transformation had to arise from a need," he continued. "You always had the potential, but you were born in times of peace, and the Earth has been at peace for most of your life. You've never needed to transform before, and so you didn't.

"The need required… is usually dire." Uncle Goten's eyes went out of focus, as if he were looking at something far in the distance, and his face took on a hard expression that she had never seen before. "The first time your grandfather transformed," he said quietly, "was right after Frieza murdered his best friend. Seeing Piccolo almost die – twice – was what set Gohan off."

"I see." She looked down at her hands. "And you?" she asked quietly, not sure whether the question was too personal but needing to know all the same.

To her surprise, however, Uncle Goten looked sheepish. "I was… um… training with my mom…"

Pan gave him a look, dearly hoping that this wasn't his idea of a joke.

"What?" he asked, spreading his hands in a defensive gesture as Pan continued to stare in disbelief and Piccolo snorted. "Did you ever spar with your grandmother? She was a scary lady."

"…and Uncle Trunks?" she asked, still unsure whether to laugh or facepalm.

"He trained with his dad."

"…never mind." That she had no trouble believing; she had met Mr. Briefs, after all.

They were interrupted when the door opened, and Android 18's great-grandson entered the infirmary. Bakosel Briefs was a slender young man with a face like Yamcha's, dark blue hair that he wore in a long ponytail, and Android 18's icy blue eyes. Currently, those eyes were downcast.

Immediately, Uncle Goten's face took on a more serious look, and Pan sat up straighter in bed. "Is she—?"

Slowly, the youth shook his head. "Her mechanical and biological systems were too interdependent after all the upgrades," he said dully. He looked as if he were about to cry. "She can only live if both of them are functioning. And her mechanical side – it wasn't just suspended, it was completely shut down. I can't fix her." With that he sat down, hard, on the nearest available bed, and buried his face in his hands.

"Bakosel…" Pan had her mouth open, but realized that she could think of absolutely nothing to say. Bakosel was the only living person who'd been in any way close to Android 18. "I'm sorry," she said, finding it wholly inadequate. "We tried." He nodded his understanding, face still in his hands. "The Dragon Balls—"

Don't you dare.

With the exception of Piccolo, they all jumped in surprise. "#18?" Pan and Uncle Goten said simultaneously, at the same time as Bakosel blurted, "Great-grandmother?"

Don't you dare use the Dragon Balls to wish me back to life, she continued as though they hadn't spoken at all. I've just gotten to see Krillin for the first time in over fifty years, and you are not going to take him away from me again.

In spite of the situation, Pan found herself smiling. Android 18 really had loved Uncle Krillin – even if she hadn't always shown it.

"Are… are you sure?" Bakosel still looked ready to burst into tears.

Of course I'm sure. Her voice softened marginally. Kai, let me talk to just him.

The rest of them heard no more of the conversation, but Bakosel's eyes went out of focus and he occasionally nodded or shook his head, his shoulders still slumped. The rest of them all attempted to focus on something else, anything else, but the Capsule Corp. infirmary had a very boring interior, and speaking out loud seemed like it would be out of place during this strangely solemn moment.

Finally, though, Bakosel's eyes came back into focus, and he let out a sigh. Though he still looked pained, his face now held resignation – and acceptance.

"I'm going to hold a funeral for her," he said, looking at them again. His gaze was just as intense as Android 18's. "I'll notify you when the arrangements are made."

Pan nodded. She had the thought that she should say something – but to her surprise, it was Piccolo who spoke.

"She died a good death, and she lived longer than most. Do not begrudge her this decision if it is what's best for her."

To Pan's surprise, Bakosel stood, straightening his shoulders. "I'll try to remember that, sir." He began to leave the infirmary, but right as he reached the door he paused and looked back. "And… thank you."

Piccolo only nodded. But as the door swung shut behind Bakosel, Pan managed to pick up another one of his stray thoughts.

I only wish I had the same option.


Bakosel must have sent the Capsule Corp. doctor back in, for he returned almost immediately after the youth had left. Aside from the severe fatigue, he informed them, Pan had also suffered several fractures, in addition to multiple strains on her muscles and joints which she was no longer of an age to ignore. She was, however, expected to make a full recovery with plenty of rest and proper treatment.

When the doctor pulled out a needle Uncle Goten flinched violently and quickly looked away, and Pan's broken ribs were the only thing that kept her from bursting out laughing – he was so much like Grandpa Goku. Pan, for her part, didn't even flinch when the doctor injected her with something he said would help her sleep – compared to the other injuries she had endured over the past few days, she could barely even feel the tiny pinprick.

Uncle Goten – once Piccolo acidly informed him that it was safe to look – stayed by her side until she drifted off. To her surprise, Piccolo did as well, though he claimed he was only waiting until he regained the strength to fly.

Still, she was glad he was there.

It didn't take long for the drug to take effect, and shortly after she drifted off, Pan dreamed. It was a memory, an old one. She couldn't have been much over the age of three, and later on she would never be sure how much had really happened and what her mind had added in of its own accord.

It was late at night. She'd spent the day training with Grandpa Goku, and he'd kept her sparring until she was ready to collapse from exhaustion. After he'd brought her home she'd stayed awake just long enough to eat dinner, shoveling in plate after plate of food while Mommy watched in disbelief and Daddy laughed. Halfway through her fifth plate, however, her eyes had begun to drift closed and Mommy had picked her up, chiding Grandpa Goku for pushing her so hard. Grandpa Goku had only laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. She'd managed a sleepy "goodnight" to him and Daddy before Mommy had carried her upstairs and tucked her into bed.

Now, however, she was awake again. She'd woken up thirsty, as she often did after a long day of training, and she wouldn't be able to sleep again until the dryness in her mouth was gone. So she crept downstairs and back to the kitchen, being careful not to wake Mommy on the way. Daddy would still be up, and he was used to this; he wouldn't mind. He'd get her a glass of water, tell her a story about his adventures with Mr. Piccolo or Uncle Krillin while she drank it, pat her on the head when she was finished and carry her back to bed, where he'd tuck her in and sit beside her until she fell asleep again. It was becoming a ritual of theirs.

When she reached the kitchen, however, she heard voices: Grandpa Goku was still there, and he was talking with Daddy. She hesitated, hiding behind the doorframe, wondering whether she should wait for him to leave. She liked Grandpa Goku, but this was their ritual. She didn't want to share it with anyone but Daddy.

Then, she realized they were talking about her.

"…turning out to be quite the little warrior, isn't she?" Daddy was saying. She peered around the doorframe to see them both sitting at the kitchen table. He laughed. "I'm glad she's enjoying it."

Grandpa Goku smiled, but then he looked down and away from Daddy, rubbing the back of his neck. "Gohan," he started, "I'm sorry things couldn't have been different for you—"

Daddy cut him off before he could get any further. "Father," he said, holding up a hand, "don't. I might not have had the childhood I would have chosen for myself, but… I'm glad things happened the way they did. I'm strong enough to protect the people I love, now." He smiled faintly. "And… I never would have met Piccolo, otherwise."

"Yeah, I suppose if not for you Piccolo would still be out there trying to take over the world. Who would have thought?" Grandpa Goku smiled as well, but his expression grew concerned when he saw the wistful look in Daddy's eyes. "Speaking of Piccolo, I haven't seen him around in a while. Would you like me to stop by the Lookout before I go home?" he offered. "I could tell him you'd like it if he came to visit…"

Daddy, however, shook his head. "Piccolo isn't really the visiting type, Dad. He'll see me again when he's ready." Grandpa Goku sighed, but didn't push the matter. "Anyway," Daddy continued, "how's Pan doing?"

"Oh man, you wouldn't believe her!" Grandpa Goku said happily, and Pan felt herself swell under the praise. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's the next World Champion! Still…" He tapped his chin pensively, black hair sticking up in all directions. Grandpa Goku always looked so funny when he tried to think. "At the rate she's coming along, I'm surprised she hasn't gone Super Saiyan yet."

Daddy, who had been smiling a moment before, suddenly clenched his fist, and his eyes grew hard. It was the closest she had ever seen him come to a glare, and the first time she had seen him look at Grandpa Goku with anything other than love and respect.

"I hope she never does," he stated fiercely.


He waited until Pan's breathing evened out, and then until her eyes started moving about beneath their lids. Taking the time to surreptitiously study her face, Piccolo noted that her lips were curved in a faint smile: this wasn't a nightmare. Good.

Then, and only then, did he move from his place by the wall. He had nearly reached the door when Goten spoke.

"You've been able to fly for a while now." Looking back, he saw that his former student now wore a mischievous grin that was reminiscent of his father's. "Haven't you."

He scowled. Goten's grin only widened, and Piccolo wished dearly for the days when the aggravating brat could be properly intimidated by a good slap upside the head.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Goten probably knew that the presence of his sleeping niece was the only thing that kept him from being blasted straight to Otherworld – he just didn't care. Before Piccolo could decide whether to punch him or strangle him, however, Goten's face grew solemn as his gaze drifted back to Pan. "But I think you should at least tell her."

Piccolo only grunted, turning back to the door. "If she wakes before I get back, tell her that I've gone to check on Dende. I'll return sometime tomorrow."

She knew.

Didn't she?


Once again, Piccolo arrived at the Tower only to find Korin already standing outside.

"Now just what did I tell you about those senzu?" he asked just as soon as Piccolo reached the level of the balcony.

Piccolo snarled, wondering whether the cat was making it his life's mission to aggravate him. "If I told you we had no choice, would that even penetrate your thick skull?"

"Probably not." Korin turned and walked back into the Tower, motioning with his free hand for Piccolo to follow. "Well don't just hover there, come in."

He obeyed with a scowl. His annoyance began to fade, however, when Korin led him to a small room off the main part of the Tower, where Dende had been laid out on a pallet on the floor. The younger Namekian had obviously been treated with care; he wore fresh clothes, now, the dirt and grime were gone from his body, his wounds had been carefully cleaned, and there was a glass of water within easy reach.

"The fever should break on its own," Korin said quietly as Piccolo settled down cross-legged next to him. "But I must admit I don't know what to do about his antennae. Namekian regenerative abilities are outside my realm of expertise."

"I'll see if Kami or Nail knows anything. If that doesn't work, I'll ask King Kai to put me in touch with someone on New Namek."

"I suppose that's as good a plan as any." Korin stretched. "Look, would you do me a favor and stay here tonight? Dende's been getting really jumpy whenever he wakes up, and he's still not lucid most of the time. I think he'd appreciate it."

Piccolo nodded. "That was my intention."

"Oh, so you just came up here planning to invite yourself into my home? Well, don't let me stop you."

He gritted his teeth. This was going to be a long night.


"P-Piccolo?"

He cracked one eye. Dende was awake and looking right at him, with eyes that were no longer clouded by fever.

"Yeah. I'm here."

"Where—"

"Korin's Tower. I had Nimbus bring you here after we got you out."

Slowly, Dende reached a hand up to his forehead, wincing when his fingers came in contact with the raw sores where his antennae used to be. "I was hoping it was just a nightmare I had while I was sick," he said quietly.

Piccolo said nothing. There was nothing to say.

"Is Pan…?"

"Injured, but she'll recover. You ought to be worrying about yourself." He gestured to the glass of water. "Drink something."

Seeing the water, Dende used one hand to push himself into a sitting position and grabbed the glass with the other. He then brought it to his lips and downed the contents, not stopping until the glass was empty. When he finished he let out a gasp; he had not stopped drinking even long enough to breathe.

Wordlessly, Piccolo picked up the glass and left the room to refill it. When he returned, it was to find Dende still sitting up, staring at the opposite wall.

"He'd come up with a new technique for creating androids." Slowly, he turned his head to look at Piccolo. "Gero. But none of the humans he'd kidnapped could survive what he was doing to them." His face was hard. "They could only stay alive if they were constantly healed. And he… he made me…" Dende looked away, his hands clenching into fists.

There was nothing Piccolo could say to make the situation better. Instead, he laid a heavy hand on Dende's shoulder and tried to say through the contact what no amount of words could convey.

I'm here. As long as you need me, I'm here.


A/N: The real reason is that Akira Toriyama couldn't figure out how to make it work on a girl. I really don't see why not; I've seen some very good fanarts of SSJ Pan, Dragon Ball Multiverse probably being the best example.

One thing I really hated about the Buu saga was how much it cheapened the supposedly legendary Super Saiyan transformation. Okay, so it was pretty much a given that everyone of Saiyan blood would accomplish it before the series was over, and that there would be several higher levels. I can live with all of that, but what really bugs me is that after what Goku, Gohan, and Mirai Trunks had to go through just to get to that point - even Vegeta nearly killed himself - we suddenly see a couple of six- and seven-year-olds who basically saw the grownups do it, decided it was cool, and imitated them perfectly with no effort at all. Vegeta said it best: "When did the transformation of legend become a child's plaything?"

One in-universe justification I've heard is that Goten and Trunks's respective fathers were already Super Saiyans at the time they were conceived, which made it a lot easier for them to achieve it. I'm not sure whether that really is the case or it was just escalation, but at any rate, I wanted to go back to the original idea behind the transformation - that it has to come from a need rather than a desire. For a justification, I guess I could say that it's because Pan is mostly human, so she's going to have to put in that much more effort.

While I was working on the flashback scene with Gohan and Pan, I belatedly realized that it was the first time in my entire writing career that I've written a positive father/daughter relationship. Huh. How about that? I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed doing it, and would like to do it again sometime.

Bakosel Briefs: Call me a sap, but even though Bulma and Yamcha didn't make it I like the idea that their descendents got together somewhere down the line. Yes, I support B/V, but I also think Yamcha was a decent guy who made mistakes rather than an abusive cheater, that the series screwed him over in a lot of ways, and that he doesn't deserve the kind of treatment he gets from a lot of fan writers. Anyone who flames me for not bashing Yamcha will be summarily keelhauled.

Speaking of which, I was admittedly very reluctant to try writing Goku because of my no-character-bashing rule, but Goku surprised me by making it incredibly easy. Whereas I can work with Piccolo without much trouble because he's the character who's most like me, I find Goku easy to write just because Goku is easy to write. I almost feel bad now for calling him a Sue. Almost.

Contrary to the impression that I've probably given, I don't actually hate Goku. Rather, I find him an incredibly frustrating character, and not only because he completely took over the series at everyone else's expense. Goku, while likeable in many ways, also did a lot of things that made me want to beat him repeatedly over the head with the nearest available blunt object, and he was rarely if ever held accountable for his bad behavior. For comparison, take a look at the character development the other Z-fighters got: Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, and Chiaotzu all started out as rather dickish rivals, cheaters, and criminals, but by the end of Dragon Ball were True Companions. Piccolo and Vegeta went from feared supervillains to valuable allies and, eventually, loving fathers. Gohan was introduced as a whiny crybaby but became the strongest unfused being in the universe. Goku, on the other hand, never learned anything beyond how to tell the difference between boys and girls without actually feeling for balls, because Goku was never allowed to be wrong even when he was. Whenever Vegeta put innocent lives in danger just so he could have a good fight he was rightfully called out on it, but when Goku did the exact same thing his "fairness" to the enemy was held up as a noble example; at the very worst, it was obviously heroic to want to test his limits. Never mind the billions or trillions of innocent people who would die in agony if he failed; we can just wish them back with the Dragon Balls! Unless, of course, they'd already been killed by last year's omnicidal maniac and wished back, in which case they're S.O.L. And of course, it's completely irrelevant that whole populations would die a horrifying, painful death in the first place, just so long as Goku has his fun - and that's only one of my criticisms of him. It really is a shame, because I honestly do like him in a lot of ways, and I'm aware that his questionable decisions are due to thoughtlessness rather than malice, but if ever there was a character who desperately needed to be taken over someone's knee and given a good spanking, it's Goku.

...okay, I'm done now. Sorry about the rant, and the ridiculously long Author Notes. My point is, I would have liked Goku a whole lot more if he had been disciplined a bit more. That's all.