Author's Note: Here's another chapter. I've gotten over my writers block at least for the meantime so I was able to continue writing. Also this might be the last chapter for awhile since I'll be going back to college next week. I'll still try and type as much as possible but with classes, a job, and homework I don't know how much time I'll find to work on this story. I'm sorry for that and I promise that I'll update as soon as possible. Ok so Trunks has just discovered Yamako's brand and everyone has witnessed Yamako's most recent nightmare. Pan has managed to save Trunks from getting torn to shreds by his daughter but how will her intervention turn out? How will the battle between them play out and what will the others' reactions be to fight? Read and find out. Anyways hope you like this chapter! REVIEW!

"talking"

thinking

dream or something happening within a dream or vision

"talking within a dream or vision"

something written/read like a sign or a note

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Chapter 24: Feral Saiyan Duel

Pan and Yamako rolled on the ground for a few feet before roughly coming to a halt and being forcibly thrown apart. They both instantly sprang into a crouched standing position opposite of each other. Their arms were bent and out to their sides with their hands open and posed to strike. Their claws gleamed in the sun and their red feral eyes pierced the very depths of each other's souls although in Yamako's eyes it was clear she was still in a dreaming state. The 2 bared their teeth and hissed like a pair of lionesses at each other as their golden auras flashed around them. The almost peaceful standoff went on for a moment as everyone watched with suspense.

SCENE CHANGE

The girls gasped in horror as they saw Yamako attack Trunks and then Pan tackle Yamako just as quickly. They brought up 1 of their hands to cover their mouths in dread as they witnessed this and their other hands were gently placed on their husband's shoulders. Bulma, Chichi, and Videl pleadingly looked at Vegeta, Goku, and Gohan.

"Goku do something!" Chichi worriedly yet forcibly declared.

Goku turned to look at Chichi with a questioning and regretful look on his face. He sorrowfully shook his head.

"I can't Chichi!" Goku said remorsefully.

"Gohan that's our daughter out there we can't just stand here and do nothing!" Videl frantically declared.

"What do you want me to do Videl?! I'm not strong enough to help! Vegeta is the only 1 that has anywhere near the kind of power required to do that and even he would need moonlight to make a difference!" Gohan desperately stated in a hurried voice.

At this everyone turns to look at Vegeta in desperation and gave him pleading stares. Bulma anxiously began trying to push him towards the 2 fighting female Saiyans as Vegeta simply looked over his shoulder at her with an amused smirk plastered on his face when he didn't even budge an inch.

"Don't just stand there Vegeta! Go out there and stop them!" Bulma ordered as she continued to try and push him towards the pair.

With arms crossed firmly over chest Vegeta took a small step forward before shifting so his left shoulder was turned towards Bulma and the right was turned towards Yamako and Pan. Vegeta raised an eyebrow at Bulma and looked at her with a contemplative and unbelieving expression (the look you give someone when you're clearly thinking 'you must be joking' or 'you can't be serious') plastered on his face.

"You want me to try and stop that!" Vegeta emphasized as he swiveled his head to nod at Pan and Yamako as he finished his statement.

At that moment the standoff was quickly and suddenly broken as Yamako sadistically sprang forward with a vengeance. Vegeta briefly glanced back at Bulma to give her a smug and questioning look and upon seeing Bulma stunned by the kind of fighting going on before her he took that as his answer and went back to watching the scene. On top of him not being insane or suicidal enough to try and break up 2 fighting female Saiyans, especially 2 Feral Saiyans (1 of them being his own granddaughter that he had trained), he wanted to see what both were truly capable of when put into the situation that required neither of them to hold back, or at least not Pan. He was actually interested and even looking forward to seeing this fight play out. Vegeta secretly smirked as he watched.

SCENE CHANGE

When Yamako viciously sprang forward she slashed at Pan's face but miraculously Pan managed to jump back just in time to dodge the attack and then blocked the next slash that was aimed at her chest. Pan continued to scarcely dodge or block each of Yamako's attacks as they were thrown at her for a few moments before deciding to stand her ground. She was tired and out of breath and had a few cuts on her body from where she wasn't quite fast enough to dodge an attack completely. Although she herself was also a Feral Super Saiyan 3 she was still not as strong as Yamako was in this form so she was drained of energy and Pan decided it was time for Yamako to really wake up. Springing back once more to evade Yamako's swipe that was aimed directly at her face she ducked and maneuvered to her right as Yamako's right hand moved past her in an attempt to swipe her face again. As she did so she came up to Yamako's eye level again and then swatted Yamako across the face with her right hand. Pan's claws create 4 thin and shallow cuts along the side of Yamako's face as her head was turned sideways and she was thrown a few feet away. Pan stood there for a moment with her guard up as she watched Yamako raise a hand to her head and shake it before looking around. She saw Trunks sitting on the ground and looking at her with an amazed yet a somewhat disturbed and distraught look on his face, as well as everyone else off in the distance with equally amazed and distraught looks (besides Vegeta). She then noticed that Pan was in Feral Super Saiyan 3 mode and was in a 'battle ready' posture. She quickly scanned her own ki and glanced herself over. She groaned as she noticed that she was in Feral Super Saiyan 3 mode and instantly knew exactly what happened. She stood up, dropping out of Feral Super Saiyan 3 as she did so and gave Trunks a slightly apologetic look once she was standing.

Upon seeing Yamako calm down Pan sighed and relaxed. She dropped out of Feral Super Saiyan 3 mode and took a few steps towards Yamako as Trunks rose to his feet. Yamako quickly turned her attention towards Pan and looked her over for injuries. She secretly sighed with relief when she saw that Pan had no serious injuries but only a few small cuts and scratches aside from appearing a little worn out. As Pan reached Yamako's side Trunks hesitantly approached.

"You alright Yamako…?" Pan asked quietly.

Yamako discreetly nodded. "And you…?" Yamako almost inaudibly asked.

"A little worse for wear but I'm fine." Pan answered casually.

Yamako nodded in satisfaction and turned to focus on Trunks as he came up next to Pan. Trunks looked concerned and he quickly looked Pan over.

"Are you alright Pan?" Trunks asked as he put a hand on Pan's shoulder and studied the cuts on her face.

"I'm fine Trunks. Believe me I've taken a lot worse from Yamako…especially when in her waking nightmare state." Pan answered calmly as she gently removed his hand from her shoulder. "But are you ok? I know from experience that her first attack can be the most damaging if you're not prepared for it." Pan asked in concern.

"Yeah I'm alright." Trunks casually laughed as he answered.

Vegeta smirked at the scene. Things seemed to be unraveling exactly as he predicted. Yamako also smirked and let out a tiny chuckle at the scene before her. It was obvious that the 2 cared very deeply for 1 another whether or not they were aware of exactly how much. At Yamako's slight chuckle Trunks turned to look at her. He scanned her over with worry filled eyes.

"What about you Yamako?" Trunks asked.

Yamako scoffed. "Never better." Yamako said impassively as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"But why were you lying on the ground unconscious?"

Yamako looked away slightly with distressed and somewhat hurtful look on her face. She had hoped to go the entire 2 years without letting anyone aside from Pan see her after or during 1 of her nightmares; especially the affect that they had on her. She had hoped to avoid even Pan finding out but when she did she wanted to keep it from everyone else, especially Vegeta. She didn't want them to know exactly how terrified of Rizaado she had been and how much she still feared him. Pan knew about her desire to never show fear or look weak in Vegeta's eyes and knew that telling Trunks about her dreams would be like admitting to that if it was she herself that said it. At least if it was Pan that explained everything it was possible for Yamako to deny it later and claim that that wasn't true for the sake of protecting her pride. Pan sighed and cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. Trunks and everyone else turned around to look at her.

"I told you 8 months ago that Yamako hardly ever sleeps and when she does it's only when she collapses from exhaustion. That's probably what happened early this morning. She was probably training and then she just collapsed from exhaustion. That's why she was unconscious even though she doesn't have any serious injuries. And I've told you all about what she does when she wakes up from the nightmares she has. She doesn't mean to attack anyone it just happens and the only way to snap her out of these dream rages is to hit her back." Pan explained.

Trunks nodded in understanding before turning back to look at Yamako and smiling at her slightly. Yamako glanced back at him with the same distressed and hurtful look as before only now self loathing was mixed in as well. But the look quickly faded and her usual emotionless scowl replaced it. Yamako snorted and quickly turned away from them even more.

"Whatever." Yamako stated emotionlessly as she started walking away.

Trunks sighed and bowed his head in disappointment. He was hoping that Yamako wasn't going to deny the effect her dream had on her and pretend like her dream never happened. He wanted Yamako to know she could tell him and feel comfortable enough to tell him about it. Not to simply ignore it and suppress the memories and feelings linked to those memories. Yamako however, wasn't into sharing and simply disregarded his sigh as she continued to walk away. As she did this Trunks suddenly remembered the brand on her shoulder.

"Oh Yamako wait!" Trunks called.

Yamako paused for a moment but didn't turn back to look at him. Trunks let out a sigh after a moment.

"Where did you get that scar? The 1 on your right shoulder blade…?" Trunks asked loud enough for everyone else to hear the question.

Pan looked at Yamako in amazement and confusion. She was wondering what scar Trunks was talking about. Over their 4 years training together Pan had understandably become very familiar with Yamako's body (knowing about many of her scars-particularly her more remarkable scars) but this 1 seemed like it must be fairly unique and she wanted to know why Yamako had been so adamant about nobody ever seeing this scar. Everybody else just looked at Yamako in question. In response to Trunks' question Yamako gasped slightly and her left hand shot up to touch her right shoulder and she glanced over her shoulder but down towards where the scar was. Trunks noticed Yamako's response and instantly knew he had stumbled upon a scar of significant meaning and connected to important memories.

"It's not just a scar is it? Where did you get it?" Trunks asked; desperate for answers.

Yamako sighed and dropped her hand as she turned her bowed head forward again. She raised her head again after a moment.

"It's a brand." Yamako answered as she turned her head to look over her shoulder while she took the collar of her jacket on her right shoulder with her left hand and moved down enough to reveal the curly calligraphy 'R' shaped brand. "Rizaado's brand." Yamako declared after they got a look at the brand.

Everyone gasped and looked at the brand in shock. Trunks gulped as he thought about the circumstances that brought that brand about.

"Wh-…what happened…?" Trunks struggled out.

"It doesn't matter!" Yamako stated firmly as she pulled her jacket back over her shoulder. "It's the past and it's not important." Yamako declared.

"It's important to me. I want to know what happened to my daughter!" Trunks exclaimed almost hysterically.

Yamako growled. "Look just drop it! It's none of your concern or business! I don't need any of your protection! Just leave it alone! …" Yamako growled out at him angrily before turning and storming off.

Everyone just stood there with confused looks on their faces and stared after Yamako as she stomped off in an angry huff. They didn't really understand the reason for her anger or her sudden hostility but they now knew that the dreams and her brand were connected. Also that whatever circumstances surrounding Rizaado giving her that brand were obviously very traumatizing and affected Yamako so much that she couldn't even talk about it. Not only that but she couldn't bear to even remember it so she was obviously trying to suppress the memories and was unwilling to admit or acknowledge their occurrence to anyone else. Trunks and Pan felt their hearts swell with sorrow over what happened to Yamako in her past and the fact that she felt the overwhelming need to hide it from everyone, especially them. They both wished they could do something to erase her pain and despair.

SCENE CHANGE

Yamako stormed off to the backyard with a furious expression plastered on her face. She stopped and growled fiercely as she clamped her eyes shut. Her hands clenched tightly into fists and her arms bent slightly at her sides. Her ki flickered dangerously erratic and powerful around her. She threw her head back and let out another ferocious growl/howl of anger as her ki shot up. Instantly she was in Feral Super Saiyan 3 mode and her cry of anger turned into a roar. Her tail lashed violently behind her and the nearby trees were swaying back and forth in the wind her raging ki created. Dust and dirt swirled up around her as she continued to stand there in the midst of her physical release of her anger, frustration, and pain. A small dent in the ground was created beneath her as she rose into the air and ended up hovering just a few feet above. Her muscles expanded and suddenly her jacket exploded into shreds around her as parts of her tank top were torn because of the strain put on them. Her gloves were also reduced to a pile of shreds by not only her muscles expanding but also by her extremely sharp claws digging into her palms because of how tightly her fists were being clenched.

After a few moments Yamako calmed down and her tail wrapped back around her waist as her screams quieted. She lowered her ki back down to normal and calmed down as she unclenched her fists. She simply stood there as the blood from the wounds on her hands caused by her claws ran down her fingers and dripped down to the ground. She completely ignored the fact that she was bleeding or the fact that her jacket and the rest of her clothes looked ragged and at least twice as bad as they had a few minutes ago. She didn't care about any of that anymore. Her outburst had successfully vented all her feelings and emotions regarding everything, especially the recent situation, so she was completely numb to the point where she didn't feel anything for the time being, even physical pain. She stood still for a moment longer before turning and walking back towards everyone as though nothing had happened.

Author's Note: Well it looks like all of Yamako's pent up emotions and frustrations have finally become too much for her. Yamako is more upset with and affected by the recent events and her displayed vulnerability than it apparently seems. What will Yamako do now that she seems to have become completely numb to everything and how have the others responded to her raised ki? Also what will Yamako's behavior and personality be like when interacting with the others now that everyone knows about the brand? The answers will be given in the upcoming chapters. Anyways hope you all liked it and please remember to review!