Author's Note: Hey here's another chapter. I got another chapter written over Thanksgiving break. It's the last chapter of Pan's training. I still haven't completely recovered from my injury and with finals being only 3 weeks away I might not be able to update until afterwards. Anyways hope you like this chapter! Don't forget to review! REVIEW!

"talking"

thinking

dream or something happening within a dream or vision

"talking within a dream or vision"

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Chapter 13: Understanding
23 months later

Pan reached over and slammed her fist down on the alarm clock by her bed before sitting up. The force at which her fist came down on the device completely shattered the thing. Pan arched her back and yawned as she stretched her arms out wide. Smacking her lips a few times she looked around lazily as the last remnants of sleep faded from her body. Once she was fully awake she walked into the adjoining bathroom for a quick shower before going out to train with Yamako. She came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and another on her head as she furiously tried drying it. After a minute or 2 of furiously rubbing the towel through her hair she wrapped it around her head and went to her closet to get clothes. She reached in and found 1 of the uniforms that she had been training in for the past 3 and a half years. It was a navy gi (gee) with a red sash belt and a red t-shirt under the navy top (similar to the 1 Gohan wears while training for the World Martial Arts Tournament when he's 18 only with the shirt under the top). She had on white Saiyan style boots and white Saiyan gloves. She quickly changed into it and moved to the other side of the bed in order to do her hair in front of the mirror. Just before she sat down at the dresser she noticed the pile of debris that was once her alarm clock.

"Ah damn! I broke another 1! You'd think after 13 months I'd have better control over my Super Saiyan 3 strength first thing in the morning but no…" Pan complained to herself.

Letting out a sigh and deciding that she'd have to go out and buy another month's supply of alarm clocks later that day she sat down in front of the dresser. She quickly leaned her head down and unwrapped the towel from her head. Once it was off she quickly threw her head back in order to get her hair out of her face. Her bangs were just as long as the rest of her hair now and her hair went down half an inch past her shoulders. She had done a fairly decent job of drying her hair for now it was only damp and only a few wisps still clung to her face. Pushing most of her hair behind her ears Pan concentrated on straightening and smoothing out the 2 red locks in front that framed her face. It was only another month until Pan's 18th birthday when she would finally be considered an adult and to mark that occasion Pan decided to do something different with her hair. As much as she loved her natural silky black raven hair she thought it was time for a change. Yamako had told her that they would be going back soon because Rizaado would soon reappear and Pan thought that she should have a new look to match her new personality and especially her new power.

When Pan was 'kidnapped' almost 4 years ago she was just the somewhat immature spunky little quarter Saiyan kid granddaughter of the great Goku. Although by human standards she was incredibly powerful she was the only Saiyan that actually had any real training that couldn't go Super Saiyan. The only other Saiyan that couldn't go Super Saiyan was Bra but she never trained at all. Pan may have been trained by Goku since she was 4 and then trained by Vegeta since she was 10 but she was still considered weak in comparison to the Saiyan males. However, that was no longer true. She was not only coming back as an 18 year-old adult but also as an extremely powerful Saiyan. She had become the legendary warrior of female Saiyans and was now stronger than all of the other Saiyans including her former masters, Goku and Vegeta. The only Saiyan that was more powerful than her was Yamako and she had had 18 years of death and fighting for her life on top of Vegeta's rigorous training to get her that strong. Pan wasn't just a Super Saiyan or even a Super Saiyan 2 she was a Feral Super Saiyan 2 and a Super Saiyan 3. Although she hadn't yet achieved Feral Super Saiyan 3 she had been working on accomplishing that for the last 13 months and was getting closer every day.

Pan's personality had changed too. Although she was still what everyone would consider a tomboy she was less negative about wearing things that clung to her body. She was perfectly comfortable wearing things that showed off her figure. That didn't mean she was going to be prancing around in skirts or dresses when she got back but she was still much more open when it came to her wardrobe. She definitely had the tomboy personality still. She was very independent and held herself in a high degree of class. She didn't turn into a bubbling idiot at the sight of a cute guy and was very much a 'rough-and-tumble' kind of girl. She'd rather get into a good fight than go shopping at the mall. But she still managed to have this feminine quality about her that made her stand out. She may have grown into a strong, hardcore, intense, and highly focused and centered warrior but she still had this gentleness to her that made a person feel welcome and safe around her. She wasn't the spoiled cry baby everyone thought she was anymore. It seemed that Pan was never allowed to mature because everyone wanted her to continue being the giddy little girl that had no worries or concerns because it gave them perspective on life and lifted their spirits. She was shielded from so much by her overprotective father, uncle, and Trunks that she was never able to experience anything. Yamako allowed her to actually grow up and drop the worry free mask everyone wanted her to wear. By training with Yamako away from anybody to influence her actions Pan was able to discover herself and find out who she really was. Pan realized a long time ago that the reason she was never able to go Super Saiyan until recently was because nobody would let her train to her full potential and actually get to that barrier let alone break past it. Vegeta had been the only 1 that had been willing to let her do that but she never could because of her 3 diligent overprotective guardians…namely Gohan, Goten, and Trunks. Yamako allowed her to become the mature, responsible, and powerful person she always could have been even when she was younger but was never given the chance to because of her family.

In order to commemorate this self discovery of hers she had taken the 2 locks of hair that framed her face and dyed them red. It was meant to signify her stasis as a warrior and mark her entrance into the world of adulthood. It also showed how much her personality had indeed changed. She was more confident about herself and more outgoing and adventurous. She wasn't afraid or controlled by other people's opinions or expectations anymore. She was going to be herself no matter how much the people around her didn't like it.

Pan soon finished straightening all her hair and then seeing that she was running late for her training session with Yamako she quickly used her ki to dry her hair. Satisfied she grabbed her orange bandana from the drawer of her nightstand and tied it around her head in order to keep her hair out of her eyes. Looking out the window Pan saw Yamako furiously punching at an invisible opponent. Pan watched for a while and was surprised to see Yamako slow down after a few minutes. Yamako eventually stopped and after looking at her left pocket she reached in and pulled out an orange bandana. Pan gasped and quickly looked at herself in the mirror. She was sure that the 2 were the exact same bandana. Even looking out of a second story window she could see the corner where the letter 'P' was sewn in black fancy lettering. It was the same as the 1 that was sewn into the corner of her bandana. Her mother had sewn it on when she was about 8 after she went to a sleep over and nearly lost it when it got mixed up with 1 of her friend's bandana collection. She'd recognize it anywhere and that bandana was definitely hers and she'd never have given it up, even to Yamako. She wondered why Yamako had it. She quickly left the room and went downstairs to meet Yamako with the intension of asking her about that bandana.

She walked outside and noticed that Yamako was already stuffing the bandana back into her pocket before turning to face her. Yamako instantly dropped into a battle stance but Pan simply stood there for a second looking at her. Yamako raised an eyebrow in confusion and straightened. She looked at Pan with a bewildered look. Pan sighed, dropped her eyes and thought about how she was going to approach this. After a couple minutes of deliberation, she looked up to see Yamako standing in front of her with his arms crossed in front of her chest and giving her an expecting and wondering look.

"I saw the bandana Yamako… It's mine isn't it…?"

Yamako froze for a second in panic but her expression didn't show her alarm enough to alert Pan that anything was wrong. Once Yamako had regained herself she answered.

"Yes…"

"Why do you have it…? I'm pretty sure my future self wouldn't have given it away… It means too much to me."

Yamako sighed and thought quickly so she could answer as best she could.

"After…Dad died you and I became really close…so…when Gohan found your bandana at the battlefield the day after you died…he gave it to me…"

"I guess I understand… Were your mother and I good friends…?"

Yamako hesitated. "I…guess you could say that…"

Pan was a little perplexed by Yamako's answer but let it go and accepted her answer. With her curiosity satisfied Pan went back into the Capsule house to get some breakfast before she started her training with Yamako. Yamako followed a moment later after breathing a sigh of relief. Yamako spent about an hour making enough food to satisfy their Saiyan appetites. Once they had completely finished cleaning up the kitchen they went outside to go to the training cavern.

When they got there Yamako went Feral Super Saiyan and dropped into a battle stance. Pan quickly followed suit by also transforming into a Feral Super Saiyan and getting into a battle stance. The 2 charged at each other and traded blows for an hour before deciding to get serious. Both jumped back from each other and powered up to Feral Super Saiyan 2. The battle between them raged on till 5 in the afternoon. Yamako sensed that Pan was at the brink of becoming a Feral Super Saiyan 3 and just needed a push to break through the barrier. Yamako wanted to do everything she could to get her to ascend. Yamako then remembered Bulma working on a virtual reality device before she died. Yamako also remembered that it was 1 of the things she and Vegeta salvaged when Capsule Corp. was destroyed and that Bulma had been pretty close to finishing it when she was killed. The device probably only needed a little work and some tweaking in order for it to function. All she would have to do is find or create a scene to program into the device. Thinking of the perfect thing Yamako decided to get started on working on it so she leapt away from Pan and held up her hand signaling Pan to stop as she straightened. Pan looked at her in question as she too straightened.

"What's up Yamako?"

"That's enough for today. I've got to work on something else. Go ahead and get some sleep. It looks like the last 4 years of sleep deprivation are building up on ya and wearing you out."

Pan smirked. "You're 1 to talk…"

Yamako scowled and sighed. "It's not that simple… You've seen me when I sleep…it's not pretty. I'm used to it. I've been staying up 24-7 since I was 13. I'm immune to it. Besides you're younger and need more sleep than me."

"Not to mention having Vegeta's endurance training and focus under your belt right…?"

Yamako smirked. "Right… Go get some sleep while I'm feeling generous. I won't be letting you off easy again."

Pan sighed and nodded. She dropped completely out of Super Saiyan and Feral Saiyan all together. Yamako also did this and the 2 headed back to the Capsule house. When Pan got there she took a shower before fixing herself dinner. After cleaning away the dishes she realized how right Yamako was. Now that she wasn't doing anything she felt exhausted. Trudging up to her room she quickly changed into a baggy t-shirt and some boxer shorts before climbing into bed. It was only a matter of minutes before she was sound asleep.

SCENE CHANGE

Yamako went back into the Capsule house and immediately went up to her room. Going into her closet she pulled out an old faded blue backpack. She looked at it for a moment. She had not opened it since right after Bulma died. Everything that she and Vegeta had salvaged from the Capsule Corp. wreckage was stored inside. She had encapsulated it along with all her other stuff and she carried it around in her pocket. She had never opened the actual bag though. She had put all the things salvaged in there but never had the courage to face the memories the bag contained and open it after that day. But now she had too. Yamako had baited Pan with hurtful words so many times that Pan didn't fall for them anymore. Yamako had to find a new way to make Pan upset enough to ascend to Feral Super Saiyan 3 and the only thing that Yamako could think of that would accomplish that was inside this bag. Letting out a sigh as she gathered her courage again she slowly opened the bag and looked inside. Yamako felt a twinge of pain as she looked upon Bulma's inventions. She felt her eyes glaze with tears but she quickly blinked them away. Taking a deep breath, she began digging through the various items in the bag until she found what she was looking for. It was a plastic bag containing 2 half sphere blue gems with a metal ring around the bottom edge and a metal layer on the flat surface. The flat surfaces of each were meant to attach to the sides of the temple, even with the eyes. Small microchips inside the gems tapped into the brain and overshadowed the signals from the person's eyes. The microchips would then directly download the scene programmed into them into the person's brain and cause the person to see the images programmed into the microchips.

The plastic bag containing the half spheres was attached to a set of strange looking metal bands. They were meant to go around the wrists and ankles in order to allow for them to have actual movement in the virtual reality world. Yamako wasn't going to use those however. She wanted to adjust the half spheres to just show Pan what happened to her family. She was basically going to force Pan to watch her family die and not be able to do anything about it. Yamako knew that that seemed harsh but it was the only way to get Pan to go Feral Super Saiyan 3. Letting out a sigh Yamako took out a set of small tools and then put the bag with the remaining inventions back into the back of her closet. Taking things to the desk by the door she began working on making the device work without being connected to the bands that were supposed to go around the subject's wrists and ankles and programming the scene she desired into the half spheres. Once she did this she looked at the clock and noticed that it was about dinner time. Focusing her senses, she detected Pan moving to the kitchen to prepare the food. Pocketing the Holo-Crystals Yamako headed downstairs after her.

Yamako helped Pan finish preparing the food and once the food was finished and set on the table Yamako waited until Pan was sitting in front of the table with her meal before Yamako walked past her. While doing so Yamako discretely attached the Holo-Crystals to Pan's temple before sitting down. Pan was too engrossed in her food to notice and Yamako was moving too fast for Pan to see her movements. Yamako sat in her seat before Pan could notice anything suspicious and secretly smirked to herself upon seeing the Holo-Crystals flashing on Pan's temple. Yamako had the activator in her pocket and was going to wait until after dinner to activate the crystals. Yamako was going to take Pan outside for a meditation session before letting her go off to sleep. During that time, she'd activate the crystals. When they had finished eating Yamako did indeed convince Pan to come outside for some meditation before going off to bed. Pan positioned herself against a rock about 50ft away from the Capsule house and sat down with her legs and arms crossed. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Yamako watched for a minute and once she was sure she was in a relaxed stated she pulled out the controller and activated the Holo-Crystals. A jolt of pain seared through Pan's head as the crystals activated and she instantly gripped her head as the pain subsided and images started to surface in her mind.

SCENE CHANGE

Pan was running through what looked like a tunnel towards a distant light. The light drew closer and soon she was enshrouded in a blinding brightness that left her temporarily disoriented. When she was able to see again she gasped in horror at the sight before her. Ahead of her was a city that was in burning ruins and she could hear the sounds of fighting coming from nearby. She looked around then looked up and then to her right as she spotted a reptilian like creature fighting with Vegeta. Vegeta was in Super Saiyan 2 form and was pretty beat up. The reptilian like creature smirked evilly before pulling his right fist back and infusing it with his ki. It glowed a vivid black and giving a slight roar the reptile like creature punched Vegeta in his upper stomach. His fist went through the clothes Vegeta wore and then straight through his body. A look of shock and pain spread across Vegeta's face as he coughed up some blood. The blood from his injury soaked his shirt and dripped down his body, dropping down to the ground a 100ft below him. Vegeta had his hands gently wrapped around the monster's arm he had embedded in Vegeta's body. The creature's fist was stained with Vegeta's blood as it gruesomely came out of Vegeta's back. Giving another evil smirk the creature retracted his fist from Vegeta's body as Vegeta's hair changed back to normal and he dropped towards the ground.

"VEGETA!" Pan cried out as she desperately tried to move towards his falling form but found herself incapable of movement.

"VEGETA NO! RIZAADO!" a voice called from Pan's left.

Pan turned to see her grandfather, father, and uncle flying towards the creature that was now revealed to be Rizaado. Pan watched as her father and uncle powered up to Super Saiyan 2 while her grandfather went Super Saiyan 3 as they closed in on Rizaado. Goku reached him first and aimed a kick to his skull. Rizaado dodged and blasted him in the back before turning and catching Gohan's foot as he tried to kick him in the back he spun around with him for a moment before sending him crashing into Goten. He turned back as Goku came back for a second attack. Easily catching Goku's fist in his hand he squeezed his fist and crushed Goku's hand while bending his wrist back and breaking it. Giving a cry of pain Goku grabbed his wrist and cradled his wrist against him as he watched Rizaado through his bangs. Giving a smirk Rizaado phased over to Goku and kneed him in the chin. Goku flew back as Rizaado thrust his hands out in front of him with all his claws aimed at Goku. On the ends on his claws 10 small orbs of black colored energy appeared. The ki beams shot out and struck Goku all over his body as he sailed towards the ground causing him to cry out in agony as they hit him. Rizaado raised his hands above his head and formed a large black ki ball in his hands. He launched it towards Goku with a roar of anger and triumph. Goku gave a cry of pain as the large beam connected with his body. He dropped out of Super Saiyan 3 just before he roughly struck the ground. He bounced then resettled on the ground as his life force slipped away.

"NO GRANDPA!" Pan shouted as tears sprang to her eyes.

Pan transformed into a Feral Super Saiyan 2 and tried to leap into battle but found that despite her efforts her feet wouldn't leave the spot they were planted on. She growled in aggravation but couldn't free herself.

"DAD!" Gohan and Goten chorused from the ground to Pan's left.

Pan's head whipped towards the sound and watched as both rose to their feet and charged Rizaado. Pan shook her head slowly in horror as she realized that they were severely outmatched.

"HANG ON GUYS!"

Pan turned to look off in front of her in the distance and her eyes widened in terror as she made out Trunks' figure in the distant horizon. Trunks was in Super Saiyan 2 form and was speeding towards Gohan and Goten at top speed. Pan felt panic well up in her body as she saw Rizaado glance at Trunks out of the corner of his eyes with an evil smirk. Rizaado caught Gohan's right wrist and Goten's left wrist and swinging his arms out to the side he pulled them in opposite directions and then quickly brought his arms back straight out in front of him causing Gohan and Goten's heads to smash together. The force of the blow dazed them and caused them to temporarily drop out of Super Saiyan all together. They fell towards the ground and he quickly shot 2 ki blasts at them. The ki blasts struck each in the chest and forced them crashing deep into the ground. When the ki blasts dissipated Gohan and Goten lay motionless with their life forces completely gone.

"DADDY! UNCLE GOTEN!" Pan wailed as the tears spilled freely from her eyes.

Pan ascended to Super Saiyan 3 and tried to take off to stop Rizaado from hurting Trunks who was rapidly speeding towards him. Pan started to feel her heels lift from the ground but she wasn't strong enough to actually move from her spot. She watched desperately as Trunks and Rizaado began trading blows. Suddenly Rizaado delivered a heavy blow to Trunks' face and sent him sailing through the air. Rizaado held his hand out in front of him and a black orb filled his palm and giving an evil chuckle he launched it towards him. It struck him squarely in the front and exploded around his body as he let out an agonizing scream.

"TRUNKS NOOOO!" Pan raged as he ki spiked around her.

Her aura flared around her as she transformed into a Feral Super Saiyan 3 with the rage and heartache she felt when she sensed Trunks' life force disappear. She reared back as she let out a blood curling scream and closed her eyes as her emotional pain became physical pain. Her aura became so bright that it encompassed everything around her and thus shielding everything from sight.

SCENE CHANGE

Pan's eyes snapped open and she looked around in panic as she panted heavily. She whipped her head from right to left trying to see where Rizaado and Trunks were. Upon seeing that she was only in the cave with Yamako she relaxed a bit. She let out a sigh and placed a hand over her raging heart. She glanced at Yamako and noticed the victorious smirk plastered across her face. She raised an eyebrow and gave Yamako a questioning look. Yamako's smirk widened slightly and she walked towards Pan.

"So…how does it feel to be a Feral Super Saiyan 3…?"

Pan gasped and quickly looked over her appearance. She raised her hands in front of her face and noticed the claws she had. She gently moved her hand over her face and felt the outcrop where her eyebrows used to be. She then ran her tongue over her teeth before feeling her lengthened canines with her finger in awe. She reached up with her other hand and felt the wild spikes of hair. She pulled a lock down in front of her eyes and examined the golden spike closely as if she had never seen the golden hair of a Super Saiyan before. She then looked over her shoulder to see the spiky mass go all the way down to below her butt with her tail swishing around from underneath. She looked back at Yamako in shock and was fairly surprised to see regret flash briefly in Yamako's eyes for a second. Yamako let out a sigh and walked over to Pan. When she was no more than a few inches away from her she reached up to either side of Pan's temple and grabbed something. There was a slight buzz as though something was being shut off. When Yamako moved away Pan saw that she was now holding 2 blue half sphere crystal-like things in her hands. She gazed at Yamako in confusion.

"These are Holo-Crystals. They were something that Grandma Bulma was working on in my time before she was killed and I modified them to work better for this circumstance. I put them on you before dinner and then activated them just now. These things are responsible for what you saw just now…"

At first Pan was pissed and a look clearly portraying that came across her face. Yamako's eyes twitched ever-so-slightly in shame as she glanced away for a second before turning back and fixing her hard emotionless face on Pan once again.

"I regret deceiving you but I do not apologize for my actions. I had no choice. The only way I was going to be able to push you past the barrier that separated you from achieving Feral Super Saiyan 3 was by showing you exactly what's going to happen in about 2 and a half years if you don't get strong enough. I knew that nothing I said would push you to this point so I had to make you actually see it for yourself."

Pan sighed. "I understand Yamako. …But it still wasn't exactly right for you to do something that deceitful and hurtful to me. You know that right… But I can see why you did it and the necessity behind the action."

Yamako nodded. "I'm glad we understand each other then." Yamako stated as she turned to head for the larger training cavern. "We'll test out your new level tomorrow. Go get some sleep. Unless you want to test them now…?"

"No…tomorrow's good. See ya in the morning Yamako." Pan said with a small wave and a smile as she turned back towards the Capsule house.

Pan dropped out of Feral Super Saiyan 3 along the way and just as she got to the front door she stopped and looked over her shoulder towards Yamako. Yamako was about 3 steps away from the entrance to the tunnel that would take her to the other cavern when Pan did this.

"Oh and Yamako…" Yamako stopped and turned at the sound of her name. "Thanks… I may not agree with your methods but I know you did what you did in order to ensure the safety of the Earth and that you had no other choice. Sometimes you have to do things you don't necessarily like for the greater good. At times you have to be hard and cruel in order to survive because the world around you is the same way. Occasionally the only way to survive is to shut yourself off from anything and everything that could inevitably because you pain, especially emotions. Being the way you are might not necessarily be your choice but just a way to survive. A way that's simply been programmed into your brain as being the way things are meant to be. That's something both you and Vegeta have taught me… I won't forget it…" Pan says quietly before disappearing into the Capsule house.

Yamako smiled slightly to herself. She knew that Pan would be 1 of the few people to actually understand that no matter how coldhearted and dead to the world she may seem it didn't mean that she was a bad person just that she had learned how to behave in order to survive in her world. Yamako let out a small half chuckle.

Grandpa Vegeta always said she knew him better than everyone except Grandma Bulma because she was the only 1 willing to learn about what Grandpa Vegeta experienced in his past. He was right…

With 1 last smile she disappeared into the cavern. It was going to be a good training session the next day. Pan was finally a Feral Super Saiyan 3 and so they would be fairly evenly matched. Yamako just hoped that she would master the transformation before they returned to Capsule Corp. to explain the situation to them in 5 months. Yamako wanted to restore Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan's tails so that they could possibly achieve Super Saiyan 4 in the 2 years they were training with them. Pan had already mastered her Oozaru form about 10 months ago. So with the combined efforts of her, Yamako, and Vegeta they should be able to teach Goku and Gohan how to control themselves in their Oozaru forms and possibly get both of them and Vegeta and Pan to go level 4. Yamako doubted that Pan would be able to make it to Feral Super Saiyan 4 in just 2 years considering how long it took her to go Super Saiyan 3 and then Feral Super Saiyan 3; but hopefully she would at least go Super Saiyan 4 in the years of training with the other Saiyans. It was going to get hectic and intense from here especially when they go back in 5 months time. Yamako just hoped that the others had kept up with training and that all the training she and Pan were doing was going to be enough. It had to be or the Earth of this time was going to suffer the same fate as the Earth of her time did.

Author's Note: So Pan has a brand new look and has finally achieved Feral Super Saiyan 3. Now both her and Yamako are getting ready to go back. How will the others react when they return and how will they respond to Pan's new look and the information Yamako has to share with them? The answers will be revealed in the next chapter. Anyways hope you all liked it and please remember to review! Laters!