20- Ghosts of the Past

"It's okay, Panny, you're doing great!"

Pan smiled as she looked at the young man sitting in front of her. He was handsome, with dark hair that seemed to stand straight up. He wore dark glasses, but that didn't take away from his attractive features.

"Gohan," her voice called him. "It's easy for you. You're smart."

"And Panny and I are not," commented a voice as the seat beside Pan skidded backward loudly. Pan turned to see another young man. He looked a lot like Gohan, perhaps a few years younger. Strangely, Pan could see a few similar features between the two of them. They both had wide eyes and small noses, though his nose was slightly sharper. His dark hair was pulled up into a stubborn cowlick. Goten - her mind placed his name for her.

Gohan laughed; his grin was bright and warm. "You two are smart in your own ways," he said. "Mom just made me study like mad when I was younger. You two got to have fun growing up."

"Hey," a soft voice huffed, and Pan glanced up as a middle-aged woman walked into the dining room with a frown.

Something in Pan's chest felt tight as she stared at the beautiful woman. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun, a few grey hairs were shining through, but she looked beautiful. Pan felt the urge to jump out of her seat and squeeze her, but her body wouldn't move.

"I did it for your own good," the woman said with a nod. "If I hadn't, then your father would have had you doing nothing but training all day. Isn't that right, Goku?" Her eyes found someone behind Pan.

Pan turned around to see a tall man standing behind her. He was handsome too, and she could see that Gohan and Goten favored him, but the older man's hair was wilder. It seemed to stick out everywhere, defying gravity. Pan felt the urge to tackle him in a hug as well.

"Oh, come on, Chi-Chi," he smiled at the woman. "Training isn't bad."

The woman's lips twitched. "Not in moderation, but you Saiyans never get tired of it."

Pan blinked in surprise. Saiyans? Were they Saiyans? The very ones that had kidnapped her when she was young? Axel had always talked as if the Saiyans had locked Pan up and done awful things to her, but she didn't feel scared. She felt - she felt whole.

Goku laughed and walked over to Chi-Chi and swooped her up into his arms. Chi-Chi laughed, and the gaze they shared was full of such love that Pan felt her heart throbbing.

"Panny, are you crying? What's wrong?" Goten asked.

Pan reached up to touch her cheeks and gasped in surprise to see that they were wet.

"Honey, are you okay?" Chi-Chi asked as Goku sat her down. Both of them were looking at her with a gentle expression full of worry.

Pan blinked her eyes and could feel the tears now. "I miss you," she whispered.

Pan woke up with a gasp. She sat up in her bed, her head spinning. She clutched it and could feel the dampness on her cheeks. She had been crying, even asleep. She remembered the dream so vividly.

Gohan. Goten. Goku. Chi-Chi.

The names tugged at her heart and made her chest squeeze painfully. She could feel them, deep in her bones. They were a part of her in a way that Axel had never been. Yet he had said the Saiyans kidnapped her, and deep down, Pan knew that wasn't right. She could feel it in her gut - she was supposed to be with them.

Pan jumped off her bed and almost fell. Her legs were wobbly, and she gasped, and she steadied herself against the bed. That's right - the last thing she remembered was that horrible meditation idea Axel had suggested. He had chained her to a chair and thrown her into a pool. She had been drowning. She would have died if not for magic -

Not magic, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. Super Saiyan.

Pan felt a rush of memories flood through her mind. She stumbled back onto the bed as she gasped.

Images of warriors with golden hair and auras stood in front of Pan. Their power was ground-shaking. She saw flashes of the ones she dreamed about - Gohan, Goten, Chi-Chi, and Goku. She saw their loving smiles and warm embraces. She saw Gohan teaching her to tie her shoes and being so proud when she got it right. She saw Goten holding her hand and running with her in a field of flowers, both of them laughing as warm wind surrounded them. She saw Goku carrying her on his shoulders as they walked a trail together. She saw Chi-Chi brushing her hair as she sang her a lullaby.

Family. Her family. Her brothers and parents. Han. Ten. Papa. Mama.

Pan slid off her bed and fell onto her floor. She was sobbing as her shoulders shook. What had happened? Why had Axel lied? Saiyans hadn't kidnapped her! They were her family! Why had he told such lies?

"Pan?" The door creaked open. And she tensed. It was Axel. His footsteps were gentle as he walked over to her, and when he placed an arm on her shoulder, she flinched away from him. "Pan!" He gasped in alarm.

"You-" she glared up at him through blurry eyes. "What happened to my family?"

Axel opened his mouth to speak-

"I know I'm a Saiyan!" Pan nearly screamed as she stood up. "I got most of my memories back! I know they were family! They didn't kidnap me! I was happy! WHAT HAPPENED?!" She demanded, her throat feeling raw from screaming.

Axel straightened his shoulders, so he towered over Pan. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you. You have no idea how to control your emotions."

Axel turned on his heel; he was walking away from her! Pan felt her blood boiling. She was tired of being lied to. She gritted her teeth and screamed. She could feel the energy from earlier surrounding her, and she shot forward towards Axel. She didn't know what she would do once she reached him, but she wanted to hurt him.

Faster than Pan expected, Axel turned around and threw out his leg. His foot hit her stomach, knocking the air out of her as she flew back. She landed against the side of her bed with a heavy thud. The room was swaying, but Pan jumped back, her lips pulled back into a snarl. She went for Axel again, but an invisible wall stopped her, and she bumped back against the bed.

Axel looked mildly amused as he smirked at her, and Pan felt herself glowering. She wanted to wipe that smirk off of his face.

"Do you see that?" He motioned towards the floor.

Pan looked down and gasped. A glowing ring was around her. She tried to escape it, but no matter which way she ran, it bumped her back to the center.

"It's no ordinary circle," Axel said. "It's a magic circle that binds whoever I want to it. You won't be able to harm me while in it," he said smugly. "And you're lucky there's not four of me, or else I would call on the four corners to judge you," his voice grew dark, and Pan held her breath. Axel huffed and composed himself, "you will stay there until you calm down."

"What about my family?!" Pan yelled as he started to walk away.

"That-" he said with a hiss, "is something I will tell you when you're ready, and not a moment more."

Axel slammed the door with such force that the walls shook. Pan let out a shaky breath as she gathered her legs up and held them against her chest. She folded her head down as she cried and wished for her family.

Fifteen-year-old Pan tipped-toed down the mansion hallways quietly. Over the last several years, she had become an expert at being quiet and going wherever she wanted without being seen or heard.

Pan reached an old wooden door and glanced around. A suit of armor at the end of the hallway stood proudly, and Pan narrowed her eyes at it. It wasn't long after she remembered her family and stopped trusting Axel that she saw through the facade around her. There were no butlers or maids, not really. They weren't real, just illusions Axel had created.

For the last three years, the only real person Pan had spoken with was Axel. It wasn't for lack of trying. She had tried escaping countless times. A magic barrier was laid out around the property. It alerted Axel anytime she got near it. She had spent many days in the magic circle he loved placing her in, mainly because it was there she couldn't retaliate. She was no longer the little girl that trusted him blindly, and he couldn't stand it.

At least he had stopped trying to get her to call her magic since every time he did, Pan would just go Super instead. She didn't care if she ever became an enchantress, especially if it meant she had one more thing in common with Axel.

Pan slipped inside the old room and flipped on the switch. She smiled at the weaponry room. Swords lined up across the walls with spears and other sharp objects. Pan walked over and plucked a saber off the wall.

The grip was a dark blackish grey with blue specks across it. The guard curved around in delicate swirls. The blade was thin and shinny. The weight in Pan's palm made her instantly relax. She couldn't train her strengths like she wanted to, so she had spent countless hours in the library, and that's when she stumbled upon a book about sword fighting. She then taught herself how to use one, though she suspected she wasn't that good.

With a quiet breath, Pan squared her shoulders and spaced out her legs. She got into stances just as the book had told her and began her practice. It was quick movements, flicks of her wrist as she cut invisible enemies and sliced them up.

By the time she was finished, she was sweating, and her long dark hair clung to her, and Pan huffed as she tossed it back. Axel liked her hair long, so she wasn't allowed to cut it. She had done it one night to spite him; she had chopped it until it was nothing but tufts of hair. He had been so mad at her that he had slapped her, locked her in the circle, and the following day when Pan woke up, her dark hair was longer than it had ever been.

Pan let out a sigh and sat down on the floor of the weapon room. The dark tile was cool, and she laid back and let it cool her as she closed her eyes.

She let her memories flow across her mind. Every day she seemed to remember more and more. She could see her family clearly.

Gohan- a book or two always in hand. Goten- playing his video games and annoying the mess out of her. Her Papa- wandering around the wilderness most of the time when he wasn't training. Her Mama- cooking giant meals or relaxing in her rocking chair as she sowed.

Pan could now remember a few other people as well. There were the Chestnuts. Krillin, who had been an old friend of her Papa's. Eighteen, Krillin's wife, who had been an Android once. Then, their daughter, Marron, had always been friendly towards Pan.

The Briefs were a foggier part of Pan's memory. She had the feeling that she hadn't known them long. She knew Vegeta had been a full-blooded Saiyan like her Papa. Bulma had been an old friend of her Papa's as well. They had gone on adventures together when they were children. Bulla was Bulma and Vegeta's daughter. She was shy, but she always smiled warmly at Pan. Then, there was Trunks, Bulla's older brother. Thinking about his blue eyes caused Pan's chest to pound painfully. He was the only guy Pan had ever had a crush on.

BANG!

Pan jumped up at the sudden noise; her saber clutched in her hands. She held her breath as she waited for Axel to barge into the room. Seconds passed, and Pan's worry faded into curiosity. It was late at night, and she had never heard Axel during her wandering before. Usually, he locked himself up in his bedroom at night and stayed there until morning.

Pan put her saber up before she turned off the lights to the weaponry room. She peeked the door open quietly and saw that the hallway was dim and clear, just as it had been when she left.

Quietly, she made her way down the hallway. The only bad thing about the weaponry room was that it was on the ground floor, and Pan would have to sneak up the staircases to go back upstairs to her room.

The entryway was quiet as Pan reached the grand stairs. Her eyes glanced over the portrait of her and Axel, and she felt herself shudder. That had been right after she almost drowned.

Pan ran up the stairs quickly and silently. She had just reached for the handle of her door when a glow down the hall caught her attention. Her lips parted slightly, and she let go of her handle and walked down the aisle.

The rooms down the hall were used for storage, so Pan never ventured into any of them. The last door down the hall on the left was ajar, and quietly, Pan peeked inside. A green glow was lighting up the room. In the center of it was a shining crystal. Pan felt her breath catch as she pushed the door open further.

The room was empty as Pan stepped inside of it. The green orb was calling to her, beckoning her to come further. She stopped in front of it and tilted her head down at it. Swirling inside of it were images playing out like strips of an old film. Pan blinked her eyes slowly. It took her a few seconds to realize that they were memories- they were Axel's memories!

Pan glanced around again quickly. He was nowhere in sight. She wondered what had happened earlier to cause the loud bang and why the door was left open. Still, her curiosity outgrew her worry of being caught. Those memories might show her what happened to her family.

Licking her dry lips, Pan picked the orb up carefully. It was cold to the touch as she lifted it to her line of sight.

Memories hit her like a splash of cold water.

Axel, as a child and being cruel to animals and setting things on fire. An older girl - Chi-Chi! Pan's mind recognized her - frowning at him. Next was adulthood, and Pan watched in horror as Axel murdered those in his clan to obtain their powers. Several years passed quickly, and Axel grew old, that is until he summoned the Dragon Balls.

Pan's own memories flashed then. She knew about the Dragon Balls! They were seven mystical orbs that granted a person wishes. She could find them and wish her family back!

In Axel's memories, Pan saw him wishing for the power of the stars. He then used that power to track down the Dragon Balls and destroy them, along with Dende and Piccolo on the look out. Pan felt her stomach churning as she gripped the orb. Somehow, she already knew what was coming next.

Axel landed in her backyard. Her Mama tried to stop him, as did everyone else, but he was ruthless and powerful. Pan choked as she dropped the orb back into his place, and she turned and fled to her bedroom.

It wasn't until her door locked behind her that she gagged and ran to her bathroom. Her stomach was heaving, and she gripped her trash can tightly. The man that had been looking after her for years was no hero. He was her kidnapper. He had murdered her parents just to get her!

Pan screamed as she threw her trash can down onto her bathroom floor. She could feel something raging inside of her and stalked towards her balcony windows. Outside, a storm had blown in. It was hailing, thundering, and lightning.

Pan gritted her teeth together painfully. Axel had been the one to ruin everything. He had been the one to take her family away from her, and she was going to make him pay.

Lightning flashed across the sky, and the glass on Pan's balcony door cracked as magic began to stir.