Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball.
It was as though time had slowed to a fraction of its former self.
The words that no-one wanted to hear dripped effortlessly from Trunks' lips, reaching disbelieving ears, refreshing Pan's mindset that she was the lowest of the low.
An echoing crack sounded around the garden, causing many of the group further ahead to turn back and see Bra with the hand still raised and Pan's stunned, reddening face. Videl was sobbing into her husband's shoulder, who himself looked as though he had seen a ghost.
Pan stood, awaiting the reactions of the others. There was no point in backing down now, what's done is done after all. She was a proud Saiya-jin warrior, she had to act like it in this situation – after all, what's life if you don't take risks?
Risks… At least I'm not a mistake…
The dark-haired girl gasped; the commotion around her fading into the background as she turned her back on them to see Vegeta stood in all his resplendent glory. The noise around them stopped as their glares of hatred turned to the other individual.
"Vegeta-sama…" she whispered as she took a step towards him, only to be blocked by her father.
"Don't you dare go near that disgusting man."
Pan shot Vegeta a helpless glance. She couldn't help it, with him so close it seemed so wrong to not be near him. She knew that the proceeding events were out of their control now – Saiya-jin instinct as he put it – had taken over. She knew that it wasn't meant to be, but it just happened to be.
"You can't deprive me of him, father," Pan replied, her voice steely cold, void of any emotion. "What's done is done, I'm afraid you'll have to learn to accept that."
She pushed past the older warrior and walked to meet her Prince. When she stood before him, she hesitated, not knowing how to greet the source of all her pain, but yet the source of all her pleasures at the same time.
Their eyes met as they had done so many times before, searching deep into the depths of each others soul, trying to find what the other truly wanted. It really was 'do or die'.
Her hand shook as she reached for his face, only for him to bat it away angrily. Her mouth hung upon in shock at his blatant disregard for her affection.
Why? Why, Vegeta-sama?
He shot her a glare that made her knees go week to signal the end of their silent exchange and walked around her to face the rest of the Z-Fighters that had assembled around the couple as an audience would watch a circus.
"Why Vegeta? Why my daughter?" Gohan took a deep breath and readied himself. "You had everything for you here; a loving wife, beautiful children. Why did you need to have my daughter as well?"
The cocky Saiya-jin Prince only smirked as he watched the warrior-turned-scholar discard his shirt jacket and remove his tie. He remained stood still, posture straight and defined, his arms still crossed in that unmistakable manner.
"Do you have nothing to say? You have no explanation for me?" Gohan's anger was building steadily, seeping into every pore, clouding his brain, his judgement.
Without thinking, he lunged towards the more experienced, up-to-date warrior, fist at the ready. He aimed for the Prince's face only to be blocked with the swift movement of one arm. Undeterred, the scholar leapt forward again, and again, and again; each movement promptly dismissed by the older warrior.
At the blink of an eye, Vegeta phased out behind Gohan and brought his elbow down on the back of his head, causing him to crash to the floor.
"Little training has made you weak," he literally spat at Gohan. "You're a disgrace."
Pan stood back and watched the exchange between her father and the man she thought was her lover. She was too distraught to move. Vegeta's actions previously had wounded her further. She felt sick, the revolting fluid was working its way up her throat, and she could feel it. Breathing seemed to be the hardest thing in the world. She was repulsed, not only by herself, but the scene unfolding in front of her.
Her mother crouched by her father's side, trying to nurse him back into a fit state of consciousness, Bra wept loudly into her brother's side, the other acquaintances made throughout the years stood rooted to the spot, not quite comprehending what exactly was going on.
Trunks' eyes bore into her throughout. The vivacious blue seemed to burn each layer of her skin away until he could see into the very depth of her being. Could he see her longing for his father? The distress and self-loathing she felt, not because of her actions, but because of him shunning her touch.
Her father still hadn't stirred, Vegeta must have knocked him out good and proper, but for some reason she didn't feel anger towards the Saiya-no-Ouji. In fact, it excited her, which also scared her. She wasn't some sort of sadistic freak who got off on other peoples hurt… Was she?
You are a Saiya-jin, are you not?
His husky voice echoed throughout her mind once more, almost acting like a soothing lullaby. As soon as he invaded her thoughts, the events unfolding around them didn't seem as bad anymore.
Calm yourself… You are not doing either of us any favours…
She found herself the subject of father and son's attention, two complete opposites boring into one. Trunks removed Bra from his side, whispering something unheard to the others. She nodded sadly, and stood back with Goten, grasping on to his hand quickly, startling the other Son boy.
Trunks stepped up to his father, his aura flaring around his, sparking in random directions. His lavender hair swayed in the wind he was creating through his energy. His eyes were flashing a brilliant turquoise, his tanned skin taking on the subtlest hint of the yellow energy surrounding him.
"You have not only betrayed my mother and her memory, but you have betrayed your children," his voice was low and foreboding. "You have brought shame on yourself and all for what? A quick rendezvous with a girl who is barely a woman." His ki sparked again and his energy crashed around him, revealing him as a Super Saiya-jin once the light show had died down.
"You took my desired mate away from me; you took my mother away from me… Now you shall pay!"
The son of Vegeta raised his hands, forming a small but concentrated ki blast in between his palms. Vegeta readied himself, knowing that a 'Saiya-jin scorned' was not something to take slightly. Trunks raised his hands, sending the small ball of ki into the air above his head and looked dead into his father's eyes.
"I want you to hurt as you have hurt me."
An ear-splitting scream shot from Trunks' mouth as his aura combined with the small ki ball, adding more and more energy into it, engulfing some of the wildlife around them. The warrior stood tall and proud, his concentration focused on the cause of so much hurt in front of him. The one, who had ripped his heart out, stood on it and spat on it repeatedly. The one who had tipped him over the edge, who had tore his last shred of sanity from him.
"Never forget this, never forget how much this pains you," Trunks pulled his arms backwards, ready to throw his lethal attack.
"This is for you, Son Pan!" The ball of ki came hurtling out of Trunks' hands, headed straight towards the unsuspecting girl.
She lifted her head in time to see the white ball of light begin to disintegrate as it reached its target, she put her arms up, summoning whatever power she could in such a short space of time to try and soften the blow before the opacity enveloped her.
She could hear the screams of her mother, the distressed calls of Bra, the numerous gasps and groans from the other member of the Z-Gang.
But she couldn't hear Vegeta.
The vibrant light started to fade into non-descript grey. In her mind she was screaming for Vegeta-sama, screaming for him to come and save her from the colourless abyss she could feel herself falling into.
This wasn't how it was meant to end, was it?
Two chapters in two days… Ohhhh yeah! And before The F Word is on, wicked,I love Gordon Ramsay. He's freakin' awesome. (Yes, I did just use that phrase.)
Hope you enjoyed and thanks to the consistent reviewers; would love to hear from more of you. That was also my first attempt at some sort of fight scene, so criticisms and ideas would be so helpful!!
Happy Tuesday!
-listenserendipity