Loud Silence ch.29

Happy Holidays! Here's my present to you. :)

~PanHopeNvs~


As Pan's fingers clasped comfortably around her favourite goblet, filled with dark red wine, the laughter and chatter of the eating hall disappeared around her. The goblet had a pewter caved dragon for its stem, reminding her of Shenlong, and a little amber stone for its eye. Inside the dragon's coiled body rested the glass in which the wine had been poured. Pan had loved this unusual chalice since she was a child… it had been her grandfather's, and when he saw her innocent fascination he used to allow her to drink milk out of it.

For a moment as she stared at it she could see her chubby baby fingers closed around it… both hands gripping it with excitement, and the wine became milk… but she blinked and her adult fingers returned to view—complete with adult wedding ring and adult liquids. She smiled at her own foolish fantasy and imagination.

She was lifting the goblet to sip from it when she noticed her fingers beginning to brighten in a soft glow from a strange light that shone somewhere behind her. Now, this wasn't fantasy! She turned her head to seek the source.

The whole doorway behind her was flooded by a brilliant light. A dark form moved forward until Gohan's face was illuminated.

Pan burst forth from her chair, a smile transforming her face. She saw him smile back, and she wanted to run to him. I have to tell him I lost his sword at the bottom of the ocean, she thought humorously. She took a step forward, but paused, hesitating. There was pain in his face… was something wrong? Was he displeased with her marriage to Trunks?

"Daddy?" she asked in confusion. Was he even supposed to be revived so soon? She was quite certain that Bra should return first.

His smile disappeared, and a look of great sadness filled his eyes.

"Pan-chan."

His expression then went blank, and Pan felt her heart palpitate—there was only one time that she had seen her father look like that.

Gohan took a trembling step toward Pan before he sunk to his knees.

Pan froze. This was exactly what had happened before… no!

She moved toward her father, but the air was stirred beside her by something moving faster.

In an instant Trunks was before Gohan, and had plunged a sword right through him.

"DADDY!" Pan screamed, and she felt bile rise in her throat. She looked at Trunks' vicious eyes and stepped backwards. Trunks! It was not her Trunks, her husband… but it was…

Moving back, she collided with the table and sent her wine glass toppling over, rolling off the edge and smashing on the floor. She gripped the table, feeling asphyxiated by the air itself.

"Trunks…"

"Yes, Pan-chan?"

"My father…" her stomach sunk down into her feet and she gasped for breath.

"He's dead, my love."

Pan's eyes had fallen to the floor, and she saw the smashed goblet. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, but she could still see right through her eyelids. The smashed glass. Her dead father. The wine spilt gracelessly across the floor, the same color as Gohan's blood. The wine became white as milk again as her emotion burnt holes through her eyelids. Pan decided that she didn't need to breathe.

She dove toward the smashed glass and grabbed one of the larger shards, positioning it between her thumb and forefinger before lunging at Trunks—lunging at his throat. She let out a bloodcurdling scream and knew she must kill him.

"Pan-chan?" he easily fended off her attacks, batting her swinging arms away as though they were origami butterflies.

She grew more frantic when she saw that her fiercest assault gave him hardly the threat of a paper cut. Why was she not even a viable challenge to him?

She knew he was strong, and he had defeated her many times before… but now she was unable to hold her own for even a second! It must be the after effects of the coma—she would have to try harder to mortally wound the bastard!

"Pan, just listen..."

"LISTEN!" she shrieked like a banshee, the glass in her hand ripping through the air like a razor only millimeters away from his throat.

"My father must be doing this…"

"I just saw you. YOU, Trunks!" she screamed in futility, for she could not hurt him to avenge her father. She threw the glass aside and decided that she would use her bare hands at the first opportunity, but her chest was heaving from the violence surging through her, "Why? In Dende's name, why?"

"Why, what?"

The innocence of his voice but the murder in his face perplexed her and she placed her hands over her ears, trying to keep her skull together, for it felt like it was about to shatter or liquefy, "Why? Trunks. Why?"

"Pan-chan. Listen to me carefully. Whatever you're seeing isn't happening."

Only then did she see that Trunks' lips really hadn't moved… but his voice! What the hell was going on?

"Pan, I'm right here, calm down."

This time she knew for sure—the voice was coming directly from her own head, which she held between her hands, and not from the apparition before her. She must be dreaming! She closed her eyes and concentrated on what was real… on her body, trying to find a rope or thread to follow back to reality.

"Panny…" came the softest of whispers, and she allowed her consciousness to be guided by his voice until she could open her eyes and behold his true figure in dim candlelight.

She felt her limbs in a hold which was three fourths restraining and one fourth comforting. She saw a look of anxiety on Trunks' face—she glanced around.

They were in her old room in the Palace of Chikyuu, in her bed.

"Dende," she said, wiping sweat from her forehead and sinking against him.

Before Trunks could speak the door to Pan's room burst open and Goten appeared holding a sword withdrawn, glinting in the night. He rapidly advanced on them, and Pan pulled herself upright and away from Trunks quickly.

"Goten, I'm alright…"

"Did he hurt you?" said Goten, and though his face wasn't visible in the darkness, the silhouette of his battle stance was. Pan quickly stood up from bed and raised her palms, placing one to lower Goten's sword arm and another to soothe him.

"It was only another nightmare, Goten… nothing happened, put the sword away."

"You were screaming…"

"So you just walk into anyone's bedchamber unannounced in this country?" this was from Trunks, who had also risen from the bed and was displeased about the sword pointed at him.

"When your niece is sleeping with the man who killed you and a large percentage of your country, yes. You're allowed to do such things! Are you sure you're fine, Pan?" Goten hadn't even realized the extent of his own paranoia about Trunks until he had heard Pan's screams.

"She's my wife! How dare you insinuate that I would hurt her?" Trunks had coldness in aggression in his voice.

"Trunks! Goten! Please do not argue. It was just a nightmare. Sorry to wake you, Goten… and sorry to scare you like that, Trunks." Pan hadn't realized she had raised her hands to either side of her head just as she had done in the dream.

"Was it my father again?" asked Trunks angrily—not sure if he was angry at Goten or his father.

"No, you ignoramus, it was you! Pan has nightmares about the things you've done to our family almost every single night," Goten seethed at Trunks in the darkness.

"Goten please!" Pan implored.

"I've done some Kami-awful shit—but I would never hurt Pan! Guess there's no excuse to avenge yourself tonight, brother," Trunks advanced on Goten until the two were standing inches apart.

Pan felt the horror from her dream rush back into her stomach.

"If you two are going to kill each other, I am not going to watch."

To assuage the piercing headache she held between her hands which they were only amplifying, she ran from the room.

There was a moment of silence as Trunks and Goten stood across from each other, the tension in the air thick between them. Trunks warily watched Goten as he moved to go after Pan.

Goten groaned and there was a metallic clatter as his sword dropped to the ground. He raised his palms, "Forgive me, Trunks. I didn't mean to be so aggressive..."

"It's alright. I understand your concern for her."

"No, I need to explain myself. I'm just so used to being the one that takes care of her… I forget that it's your job now. Since you… well, since Gohan died I have been looking out for Pan as though I were her father… I guess I am still very overprotective of her. Forgive me for being distrustful."

"I understand, Goten. I am also sorry that I was so rude… just please know that I really do care for her," Trunks answered.

"I know you do. I know, it's just new to me. I have loved Pan since my brother made her, and yet I have never been able to keep her from harm regardless of how hard I tried…" Goten cleared his throat, "Trunks, I just want to remind you that Pan… and Bra too, they're both much younger than we are, and they lost their parents at a much earlier age than we did. They may seem much more mature than we are sometimes… or, rather, most of the time… but we have the responsibility to take care of them, and help them heal in every capacity that we can. I just want life to be smooth sailing for them from now on. "

Trunks felt the honesty and passion in Goten's words and felt the need to reassure him, "The past is gone; it's a new era now, and the war is over. Of course I will do all I can to be there for Pan every single day of my life. I meant all of my wedding vows. For you and I: we will need to get the old suspicions out of our systems. It won't be easy: we have been enemies our entire lives."

"We probably could have been better friends than enemies," said Goten, with an undertone of nostalgia for lost years.

"Well, now we can be," Trunks answered seriously. He did admire the other saiyan. Cocking his head to the side he noticed something on the wall and asked, "Goten, it really was common for Pan to have nightmares?"

"Yes. She used to have them very often."

"I bet it's this goddamned room—it feels like a mausoleum. All her clothes (male clothes, I might add) are black, her bedclothes are black, the tapestries are positively ominous… and what of this portrait?"

The painting in question was one of the Son family gathered. Pan was just a child on her father's shoulders, smiling broadly as only an infant could while her mother looked on with lovingly. Goten was a teenager standing between his own mother and father and also smiling sheepishly.

The dim moonlight which filtered through the window caught the oils and pigments in an eerie fashion, which turned what could have been a beautiful memory into an ominous catalogue of ghosts. The two men stared at the painting for a moment until the flickering candlelight illuminated the faces in a manner which was too lifelike, too real.

"Pan would not part with that painting…" said Goten, "She used to stare at it in silence for hours when she was a teenager, after she lost her father…"

"It's an excellent painting, but the memories associated with it are all so heavy. It might help her heal if she had some new surroundings. The air of this room is so thick with bad energy and misery that it can't be healthy: we should move her into a different section of the castle. In my new capacity as her husband I'm going to make some changes in the décor."

Goten smiled to hear Trunks use the word "décor," but he nodded, "That's a good idea, Trunks. By all means, you should."

"Do you have any idea where Pan might have gone?"

"Yes."


Pan stood with her bare feet wide apart on a cool smooth rock. Her eyes were closed as she inhaled the fresh night air.

Dinner had been lovely—they had told the stories of their adventures to Krillen and Juuhachi who had reacted with appropriately shocked and amused expressions. Juuhachi had finally conceded that Pan had not made such a terrible mistake in agreeing to marry the king.

"Well, Pan. He is wealthy, handsome, and powerful…" she had sipped her wine thoughtfully, "But he is also a dick."

Pan had laughed as Trunks colored and complained, "I'm right here!"

The vivacity in Goten's eyes had been heartwarming. Pan had stared at every motion of his hands, every crease in his face. Goten had smiled hard, in the way that only he knew how to: in the way that seemed to employ every facial muscle and his very soul: all this while eating enough to make up for the past months of being deceased.

The thought of losing either Trunks or Goten was too much to bear.

After leaving the men in her room her room, she had run through the halls of the castle feeling more like the child with the chubby fingers from her dream than the adult with the long slim digits and wedding ring. Her legs had carried her with their own initiative as her mind swam. She felt her feet pounding familiar carpets, running down familiar staircases and navigating the old castle as though she had never left it. Without even pausing to grab a torch, she found herself climbing down into the secret passages of the castle. She had kept running, feeling the splash of cool water between her toes and around her ankles.

Immersed in complete darkness she relied on her muscle memory and instinct to take her through the damp tunnels she had traversed countless times. Occasionally she would reach out to touch an earthen wall for reassurance, but before long she had reached the exit up to the outside world.

Moving the boulder which blocked the entryway, she had crawled up into the night, which was lit by stars and a gibbons moon. It was immensely brighter than the pitch black tunnels and her eyes needed to adjust. It was also extremely windy in contrast to the windless tunnels.

She had then continued running through the forest, feeling the wind whip her black woolen trousers and tunic against her skin. She ran and ran until she reached the edge of a tall cliff. Barely winded, she had widened her stance and planted herself on a certain rock—her rock. The rock where her father had taught her to meditate.

Her head cleared as she looked out at the reflection of the moon in the lake.

Her stomach contorted as she gazed at the water: the silvery reflection of the moon had always been so tranquil and soothing to her. When she was younger she would have dived into the lake to be cured of all her troubles with the surge of adrenaline. She had been practically amphibious, but now… After her ordeal on the high seas, even this peaceful milieu brought tension to her every muscle and fear to her core.

She didn't know how long she stood like that, transfixed by the image and its pseudo-serenity, before she heard a rustling behind her along with footsteps. Two sets of footsteps. So the boys had sorted out their squabble! She knew what she had to do. She had to, for a terrifying moment, become a hybrid of their mothers. I need to channel Bulma-san and Grandma Chi-Chi…

Turning around she vehemently pointed her finger at them.

"You two are forbidden from fighting ever again. If I catch you fighting I will kill you both. Understood?"

"Yes… Pan…"

"Promise it! Promise you will be nice and behave yourselves. I'm serious."

"We promise."

Pan observed their faces, and felt satisfaction when she saw the embarrassment of little boys being scolded by their mothers.

"Good." And deciding to face her fears, she turned back around and dived into the lake which lay dozens of meters below.

Trunks was startled, and ran to the edge of the rock, not knowing the layout of the land as well as Goten.

"I guess she won't be needing these," said Goten smiling and tossing the extra pair of shoes he had brought aside. He quickly pulled off his own shirt and before Trunks knew what was happening, Goten too went flying off the rocks and into the water below.

"They're both insane," he muttered to himself, "It's far too cold for swimming, and it's the middle of the godforsaken night."

As he spoke he was pulling his own tunic off, and a small smile was beginning to take over his face.


They were fighting again by the time the sun rose.

Physically fighting, and exchanging formidable blows.

It had begun with teasing on the part of both men as to who was truly the stronger warrior. Trunks delivered boasts which often included evidence of previous victories, but Goten had beaten Trunks to a pulp on many previous occasions as well, and insisted that he had just been too nice to deliver the final blow once Trunks was down.

They had begged Pan for the permission to spar, and finally she had reluctantly conceded, in part due to her own curiosity. The two men spent most of the morning sparring without weapons, under "controlled" conditions, and Pan sat at a small distance away, watching them.

It was an amazing fight: both men were at their physical peak, and were able to deliver the utmost in technique and speed. Goten was driven by the pure delight of being flesh and blood again, and the fight was to him an expression of being alive. While Trunks had fought Pan many times in the past months, he had been deprived of her physical challenge while she had been unconscious and recovering. Even when they had fought, Trunks had often felt cocky and secure simply because of Pan's smaller size and gender, even though he had been uncertain of her bloodline. He knew that she would have to be more concentrated, more alert, and giving a greater percentage of herself to the fight in order to keep up with him.

Not so with Goten. He was almost exactly the same height and weight, and even almost the same age as Trunks—they had the same amount of experience on the battlefield. He even had the same bloodline, being a full half saiya-jin.

The two men were almost equally matched, dead even, in the battle.

Pan watched as they sparred, riveted and enthralled, and occasionally even felt a twitch in her own muscles as someone landed an attack or deftly dodged one. She didn't know who to cheer for, so she just observed quietly until she could see the weaknesses and strengths in both their techniques. She made careful note of these so that she could use these later against them.

This was much more intense than the last time they had fought—then it had been in the middle of a war and both men had been exhausted from fighting for days and travelling hundreds of miles away from home. It had also been under several pounds of cumbersome armor, and with heavy weaponry on terrain consisting of dozens of dead bodies. That fight had been clumsy and desperate. Pan had not even been able to watch or to fully help out because she had also been engaged in fighting.

This fight was gorgeous to watch for any warrior, and although both men were sweating and panting, Pan could see the brief smiles that lit their faces and the fire in their eyes.

This was what they had both spent most of their lives doing, it was all they knew and lived for. It was a crucial part of their identity, and Pan knew that this was a type of bonding for them. As she watched she slowly pushed her fears away and enjoyed the sport.

As much as she enjoyed it, part of her felt excluded. She knew that both Trunks and Goten were in a completely different league than she was. They were both, without a doubt, stronger than her. Neither of them could gain the same amount of challenge from fighting with her as they could from each other.

Now that they have each other, now that the war is over and that there is no need for me to train as a boy… what will my place be? Will I become a docile wife? Will I become weak and so out of practice that I won't even understand such battle if I observe it?

Pan squinted as she saw Trunks make a familiar motion with his hands and something registered in her brain immediately as a trick. She had seen him do this motion before, and whatever came next was not what was expected… it was a clever deception which had allowed him to get the upper hand before…

It was the move which had allowed him to kill Goten.

Pan gritted her teeth and did not notice that she had risen to her feet and clenched her fists, ready to run to Goten's side if he needed her.

At the second before Trunks was about to land a massive blow to Goten's solar plexus, the son of Goku quickly sidestepped and countered it, and Trunks was instantly facedown.

"Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!" said Goten with a victorious burst of laughter, "You're going to have to be more creative than that, brother!"

Trunks groaned and rolled over, but he was also laughing. He accepted the hand that Goten gave him to help him rise and he clapped him on the back, "You win fair and square! I guess you saw that one coming from a mile away."

Goten nodded gleefully but then noticed Pan's tensed up body position as she watched from a few meters away.

He understood what had been going through her mind, because he too had remembered that fateful moment not long ago when Trunks had gotten the upper hand and had defeated him. Pan had been unable to help as she had been engaged in her own fight, and she had probably thought that Goten was not mortally injured, and that he could turn the tables around. Perhaps he could have, hours before, but at that point Goten had known otherwise. Trunks had continued to pummel him until his body felt like mush, and only when death seemed like a blissful release from the pain had Trunks stopped.

It had been merciless. It had been as heartless as a man could possibly be.

The look in Pan's eyes then had been both one of utter despair and love for her uncle and hatred and desperation for vengeance against Trunks. Now as Goten beheld Pan's eyes he saw many of the same emotions there, but many new ones as well. So much had changed so quickly, and he could see that she was afraid of losing both of them. He wanted to take her into his arms and reassure her, he wanted to tell her that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

However, Pan had already thrust away the painful memories and she was advancing on the tired men with a wicked smile.

"Now who wants to take me on?"


"This is great! Who knew you Sons were so civilized."

Pan opened one eye to glare at Trunks but Goten laughed, "I agree, Trunks, the massages are amazing."

"I need to hire some of your masseuses to teach the ones in my castle. This really helps to relax sore muscles after a good fight."

"The war has been over for a few days and we're already participating in commerce and sharing technologies. You move quickly, husband," Pan remarked with amusement. Really though, the fingers kneading her shoulders were amazing, and the room was steamed. It was a small paradise. Of course, having Goten alive was already paradise, but being pampered with a massage after a sparring session with him! Watching Trunks and Goten make jokes and get along! It was paradise with cherries on top.

Goten mumbled something softly, muffled into his massage table. The masseuses couldn't make it out, but Trunks and Pan heard "I miss Bra" and they looked at each other.

"I can't wait to see my little sister again, either," said Trunks gently.

"Well, she'll be back anytime now," said Pan, "and she'll be ready to give birth to my little cousin. We should get the castle doctors ready to take care of her. Maybe we can even throw her a little celebration before the baby arrives; she'd like that. We must fetch Marron and Uub, they are both such dear friends of Bra's and must be there for her baby's birth!"

"Yes, let's do that," agreed Trunks, "I need to have a talk with Uub about how he's been running my kingdom in my absence."

"I need to have a talk him about his trickery," added Pan.

"You two go," said Goten, "I will wait here for Bra. I wouldn't want her to show up and find all of us gone to Vegeta. I'll wait."

"Then we should leave as soon as we can, Pan-chan."

"Yes, but I think we should plan a little surprise for Marron and Uub. A little revenge for the trick they played on us."


Marron stared at her distorted reflection in her wine glass. For some reason she remembered the blood on the dagger after she had killed a man on her way to Vegeta. She shook the thought from her mind.

"I am really beginning to worry, Uub. What if they didn't get along as much as we hoped? What if Pan isn't safe?"

"If there's a girl in the world who can take care of herself, it's Pan. Don't worry about her. I'm sure good news will be arriving any day. "

"It has been months." Marron looked down at the untouched food on her plate. Pan had left her with an awfully large responsibility and she couldn't help but feel that she had failed.

"Marron-chan. Please don't look so downhearted. Together, you and I put an end to a war! At least we know that much. It's a wonderful accomplishment…"

"Yes, it is. I just hope it isn't temporary. I feel so guilty that we lied to Pan, and I wish we knew a little more about what's going on outside these fortified walls."

"Excuse me, my lord."

A young man dressed in messenger clothes had come to the table and bowed.

"Randolph! Just the man we were thinking of. Is there any word?" asked Uub.

"Yes, Sir Uub. I bring letters from General Argus, from the Mayor of the Township of Sycamore, from Lady Juuhachigou of Chestnut…"

"THAT ONE!" shouted Marron, standing up, "That's my mother, read that one!"

"Oh, why, yes, of course, Lady Marron." The young messenger (who had a very obvious crush on Marron) began to blush furiously, cleared his throat and stuttered as he read the letter, "My d… dear…dearest Mar… Marron…"

"Give me that!" said Marron, snatching the letter away. Her eyes widened as she scanned the words, "My dearest Marron, beloved daughter. Please get the fuck home immediately. Love, Mum."

Uub coughed on the mashed potatoes he had just began to swallow, "That's from your mother?"

Marron clutched the letter to her chest happily and gave the messenger a kiss on the cheek. She promptly sat down on Uub's lap and threw her arms around his neck.

"Did you hear that Uub? My mom's alive and well!"

Uub's face registered no small amount of terror on it as he cleared his throat, "Marron… so what you gathered from that letter was that your mother was alive and well? Maybe Chikyuu-jins speak differently than Vegetans…"

"Oh, my mother is a bit of a character! She's very direct, she always goes straight to the point. You'd have to know her to understand, but really this letter gives me the impression that she's in rather high spirits."

Uub exchanged a fearful look with the messenger.

"There's one other important message, for you Sir Uub."

"From whom, Randolph?"

"The King of Vegeta."

Uub began to cough violently. Marron patted him on the back tenderly, "What does the letter say, Randolph? Is there anything urgent?"

"Y… yes, milady. He writes to inform Sir Uub that he will be arriving home in a few hours. He commands that all courtiers be gathered to greet him and to witness a grand spectacle."

"Grand spectacle?" Uub asked, while Marron simultaneously exclaimed in surprise, "Hours!"

"Yes. It says he's identified and captured his greatest enemy, and at sunset she will be hung."

"Hung!" shouted Marron, snatching the letter away. She skimmed the words, "Prisoner… deception… Princess Pan... 6 PM… hung as public spectacle…oh, Uub!"

Marron had buried her face into his shoulder and it was his turn to move his hand over her back soothingly.

"Don't worry, Mar, no one is hanging Pan while I'm still breathing."


They had gathered a few select men from Uub's personal guard, strong and skilled warriors who could be trusted. The "welcoming party" waited outside the castle, stationed at the main gates shortly before the time of arrival: sunset.

None of them were in good cheer, and they all bore rather unwelcoming looks on their faces. They were not pleased by the thought that their tyrant King would be returning to harm an innocent girl. The mood was very grave and somber.

When the black dot of a carriage became visible on the horizon, jaws began to clench, teeth began to grind, and fingers wrapped more tightly around hilts. They waited for the approach, and soon two horse-led vehicles were visible: a stately carriage and a wagon for transporting prisoners.

Not surprisingly, when the carriage stopped, King Trunks descended from the open door. All who were gathered bowed or curtsied to him. Marron stood close to Uub but hidden in the crowd of warriors to avoid recognition.

"Greetings, Uub! At long last, my friend, I have returned," said the King, and gesturing to the prisoner's wagon he exclaimed, "And I have returned victorious!"

The wagon came to an awkward halting stop. A few guards immediately unlocked and swung open a metal grate. One of them grabbed the dark haired girl inside and led her out of the wagon. Her eyes were cast down on the floor and her hair was grown long—she was hardly recognizable! Pan had heavy chains around her wrists which were tied to a wooden plank laid across her shoulders. Her ankles were also chained. Marron placed a hand on her heart to think of what tortures Pan had suffered through.

"All along she deceived me!" declared the King, walking forward, "And she played me for a fool! Could you believe it Uub, if I were to tell you that this girl was actually Princess Pan of Chikyuu?"

"I… can't believe it, your majesty! All along, Pan was a woman?" Uub answered, staring at Pan in shock. How did she get captured? How did this happen? It's all wrong! She won't even raise her eyes to make eye contact with me. What has she been through?

The villain has broken her spirit! Uub felt a geyser of bile raise within him. He felt Marron's gentle but firm touch on his elbow, and heard her barely audible but reassuring voice.

"You take him."

Marron whispered discreetly and softly, "Destroy him. I'll free Pan."

"Let's do it," he responded as softly as possible, focusing on the element of surprise. (He wanted to gulp, it was a crazy idea, but it just could work… if Marron could free Pan then Pan could almost hold her own against Trunks and Uub was certainly in their class enough to make a difference. It could work. Nonetheless, he was a knight and his lady had called him to arms—he would dutifully fight at her side. Whatever the odds.)

"Well, King Trunks! I am so glad you captured her and I cannot wait to see her hung," Uub advanced on Trunks, smiling.

Uub bowed again and said seriously, "I will be cheering loudly for the death of our enemy!"

With that final phrase, Uub dived at Trunks, launching a well timed and quick and precise assault. Marron ran out of the crowd and sunk both fist and knee into the guards holding Pan, knocking them unconscious in a few moves. Pan's mouth dropped open as Marron grabbed the keys from the guards and struggled to untangle and unlock her chains.

"My lady, help me!"

Pan snapped out of her shock at Marron's strength and bravery, and complied, quickly pulling off the mass of chains. She turned to look at Uub attacking Trunks at full force. Trunks looked baffled and perplexed and tried to defend himself, but Uub was landing many hits. Pan felt the corner of her lip twitch in a smile. Trunks didn't fight back, but he looked over at Pan helplessly. Uub followed his gaze.

"Pan, help me kill the bastard!"

Pan restrained the laughter that was building up. She studied the faces of Uub and Marron. They were concentrated and completely serious and devoted to rescuing her and defeating Trunks… even at the cost of their own lives. What wonderful friends… so valiant! I almost feel bad for tricking them like this. Almost.

Pan stayed in character and glared at Trunks, contorting her face into as angry and menacing a look as possible. (They had smudged some dirt on her face so she truly looked like she had been captive for some time.)

"Thank you, Uub, I'll take it from here," said Pan, advancing on Trunks and dropping into a fighting stance, "Son of Vegeta, prepare to die!"

"Aw, Pan, do I have to? This stopped being fun when I got a bloody nose."

Although she wanted to keep the game up, Trunks had already spent hours sparring with Goten and herself that morning, and now he had taken a beating from a very serious and angry Uub. Pan's wifely instincts kicked in and she straightened out of her battle stance.

Pan smiled, "Alright, Trunks, I won't kill you after all."

"Why not?" asked Uub in anger, "He was going to HANG you, Pan! We have to stop him before he gets the upper hand. Together we can defeat him!"

Marron moved up to Pan's right side so that Pan was flanked by both Marron and Uub in fighting stances.

"I'll help too, my lady," said Marron, who was terrified but determined, "Let's obliterate this asshole!"

That was the last straw for Pan who doubled over in laughter. Marron was willing to fight Trunks for her? The idea was comical, but the most unbelievably sweet gesture anyone had ever made.

Marron and Uub then looked at each other questioningly.

"She must be delirious," said Marron, "He must be drugging her!"

Uub had turned to see Trunks chuckling as well which was rather shocking in itself… but then he noticed a strange glint on the King's hand.

Uub promptly fell awkwardly back onto his rump, pointing in horrified shock.

"You… you… married?"

Trunks rubbed his jaw where Uub had nailed him squarely, "Yes, I finally take your advice after all these years and I get clobbered for it."

"Oh… Gods above!" Uub threw his hands up to the sky and then promptly fell back on the grass with arms outstretched, laughing so hard his whole body shook, "My prayers have been answered! We are all saved!"

While Trunks frowned at this reaction (and frowning hurt his bruised face, so he immediately winced) Pan continued to laugh at the hilarious scene.

Marron however (who is much sharper than we all expect) promptly grabbed Pan's hand to inspect it. Her eyes widened and she screamed at Uub, "She's married too! They're married! TO EACH OTHER?"

After a moment, Uub's laughter had died down enough for him to speak between gulps of airs and guffaws, "Of course! This was all a trick! He never meant to hang her, they're in cahoots. Who else in all of creation could have tamed him?"

"Tamed?" Trunks objected, frowning again, but Marron was vigorously nodding at this wisdom from Uub.

In fact, it is worth mentioning that a few short months ago Marron would have been devastated by the news that her much younger friend had found a husband before she had… but unforeseen circumstances had instead made her elated.

"That was a terrible trick you played on us, my lady," said Marron softly, with a blush, "Perhaps we deserved it for tricking you to begin with. I am very happy for you. Perhaps I should tell you now that I am engaged to be married as well."

Pan's smile died and her head snapped around to look at Marron.

"Engaged? Your mother is going to murder me, Marron!" Pan's head then snapped back to Uub, "You! You're responsible for this, aren't you?"

Uub nodded proudly, "Of course, I was going to ask her family's permission first. As soon as we could travel to Chikyuu."

Pan felt warmth spread inside her with happiness for the couple—it was true that Marron was 32 years old and probably much more ready for marriage than Pan herself was. Marron had never looked at a man other than Goten and… Pan could not be more thrilled. Who more honourable than Uub? Uub had risked his life and his reputation to aid Pan with her mission. A large part of her success was due to his efforts. In addition to a large part of her misery!

Pan felt warmth spill through her insides with joy for her friends. This would be the happiest winter of her life. Nevertheless, she still felt she had unfinished business. She turned to Uub, her smile disappearing, crossing her arms across her chest in a very Trunks-like fashion.

"Sir Uub, please come here."

"Ah… yes, your majesty," Uub picked himself off the ground warily, having seen Pan's temper in the past. He stopped in front of her, and gave the Vegetan salute across his heart to the new Queen of Vegeta.

"Uub, do you know why Trunks and I played this trick on you?"

"Yes."

"Tell me why."

"I lied to you," he admitted, "To both of you. I sent the last Dragonball away on the Flying Nimbus so that you two would have to travel together to find it. Believe me, I did this with the best of intentions. I only wanted to bring you two closer together, and it obviously worked."

"I can't deny the wisdom of what you did, Uub," Pan said, "But you placed both myself and your King in most perilous danger."

Trunks moved close behind Pan and placed his hands on her shoulders, "But in the end we survived. We were able to make wishes on the Dragonballs, and everyone who has been killed will be presently brought back to life. I've already met King Goten. He is at the castle waiting for us to return with you two. "

"Oh my goodness!" whispered Marron, "How wonderful!"

"Yes. The difficulty we had in reaching that Dragonball was phenomenal, Uub. We will tell you all about it some other time. I have no right to chastise you, because I needed that time. I needed that time to understand myself, and to learn to know and love another person," Trunks smiled, "So although you nearly got me killed with your trickery, my friend, you have also given me back my life. In a more whole manner than I ever lived it before. Thank you, Uub."

Uub bowed deeply at receiving such gratitude and recognition from his King.

Trunks squeezed Pan's shoulders, "But you still have to answer to my wife—if she feels you need more punishment for your trickery, then I will let her deal with you as she sees fit."

Uub straightened from his bow and saluted Pan again, "My lady! These past few hours, thinking you were to be hung! These past months, not knowing whether you were dead or alive! I have been punished enough, Pan."

"Oh, Uub!" Pan stepped forward and embraced the warrior, "You fought so bravely for me against Trunks when you thought me in danger. You're the best friend that any princess could ever have!"

Uub smiled and hugged back, "I'm so glad you're safe, Pan."

Pan smiled, "We will have to rush back to Chikyuu. Bra will be revived any day now, and she will be having a baby! She will need all her friends there to support her."

Uub and Marron looked at each other in surprise at this news—there were obviously a few parts of the story that they desperately needed to be filled in on.

Pan smiled at their reactions and then turned to Marron, and held out her hands. Marron placed her hands in Pan's and the girls stared at each other for a moment.

"Lady Marron… I thank you for saving the world, my friend," said Pan sincerely. She bowed her head slightly in deference to Marron's heroism, "I've always taken your friendship and loyalty for granted. I apologize for that—there was a moment on our journey when I didn't know if you were safe and I… I fell apart. I never realized how much you meant to me, and I didn't mean to neglect you all those years. You always had my back, Mar…"

Tears came into Marron's eyes to hear such high praise from Pan whom she so respected and admired and she threw her arms around the younger girl.

"Oh, Princess Pan! If ever I was brave or strong it was because you showed me it was possible. All I did was emulate you… and Pan! What a great change a few months can make in our lives."

Marron's stream of tears hit Pan's shoulder at precisely the point where an equal portion of them rolled down Pan's back as did over her collarbone and down her chest.

Pan considered tears—she hadn't shed any in longer than she could remember, but here was passionate, emotional Marron releasing all of her fears and frustrations in this action. Pan envied her a little bit. More than that, for the first time Pan imagined that she felt a bit motherly… she felt like she had a part in inspiring Marron, and she was genuinely proud and amazed by her friend's new techniques in combat. For the hundred, if not thousands of times Marron had watched Pan and Goten spar and never joined, Pan was pleased to see that when she needed it she had it in her.

Both Marron and Uub had impressed her far more than she could have believed possible.

Still, she felt the need to tease them, and looking at Marron and Uub mischievously Pan remarked, "It amazes me how two such intelligent friends are able to trick me so well… but cannot remember a single small detail of my heritage. I have an extremely strong neck—I couldn't possibly be hung!"


"No… you must be kidding… sharks?"

"I'll show you the scars, Mar."

The carriage door opened and Trunks entered.

"I left a message with the guards for my mother. We should get going now, it's a rather long trip," he climbed in and sat beside Uub, "I'm guessing by Pan's exposed stomach that she's telling the part about the sharks."

As the carriage rolled on, the two couples had plenty of stories to share with each other. Uub and Marron were able to impress Pan and Trunks with the story of how they were both imprisoned together in a dirty cell for weeks, and of the ridiculous uprising of Lady Paris. Marron shared her pride in re-discovering how to fight.

Pan and Trunks told a few of their pertinent highlights as well, especially including the details of communing with the dead and learning of Bra's pregnancy. They also shared the stories of Vegeta's interference with their safety, and the terrible trials he caused them. Marron was thrilled to learn of the glorious wedding. After several hours of the carriage rolling along, they all grew tired of the laughter and exclaimations and pleasantries. Listening to and retelling dangerous tales are almost as exhausting as experiencing them.

The girls, who sat on one side of the carriage bench, began to speak quietly among themselves, while the boys did the same. They first mentioned state business, for Marron was eager for news of home, but when that was out of the way they quietly drifted along to personal topics.

Eventually, Marron began to nod off, and her head fell against Pan's shoulder. When the carriage hit a bump she would get jostled awake and immediately apologize.

"I'm sorry, my lady."

"Mar, shh, go to sleep and rest." Pan smiled and pointed back at the shoulder Marron had been previously drooling on. Marron replaced her head on the shoulder gratefully.

"Pan…" she said in an extremely soft voice.

"Hmm?" Pan was surprised that Marron dropped the formalities, which she didn't often do.

"It's amazing how you can pine for something your whole life—then suddenly you're given ten times as much as you've ever hoped for."

"What do you mean, Mar?"

"Things were always so peaceful for me. Then all of a sudden, I was forced to be a fighter. I was nearly raped, I killed a man, I was thrown in prison, fought and ended a war, and I feel... alive for the very first time. I have found love."

'I understand," Pan smiled, stroking Marron's hair, "I've been a fighter for what feels like forever, Marron. I pushed all the pining and yearning somewhere secret, repressing it. Then suddenly I am discovered a female, forced into being a female, and the dam breaks—it floods. I realize the softer parts of myself which were missing all along. I've become whole."


I actually have had most of this chapter written since the summer, but I kept getting stuck at parts and needing to edit. I received a review on another story of mine which encouraged me to write this. I am going to push myself as hard as possible to finish the story. I have a few scenes written, it's just getting to the climactic parts which is tough.

Reviews are always so helpful and encouraging! Happy Holidays.