59- What You're Fighting For

Late Spring

The skeletons were transparent, but Pan could still see the rotting flesh on their bones. Their dark eyes glared at her, their jaws of discolored teeth, clenched.

It took everything inside of Pan not to turn and run back outside where Kalamity was waiting for her. She felt like she was in the middle of some nightmare.

The skeleton in front of Pan rattled his jaw, and a dark, ghostly voice drifted through the air. "The reaper died centuries ago," the voice hissed. "You cannot possibly be her."

"I am!" Pan declared. "I am her descendent!" She could hear her voice shaking, and she knew she didn't sound that convincing.

The hissed grew louder, and Pan's body was trembling. They didn't believe her.

"Death," a voice hissed. "Death. Death. Death," the ghostly chants filled the cave. All of the skeletons had their jaws rattling. Their eye sockets were dark, yet Pan could see the glares they are giving her.

A cold sweat gathered on the back of Pan's neck. Her stomach twisted nervously. She closed her eyes tightly as she searched for her Ki. If the ghost didn't believe her, then she would have just have to show them.

A warm breeze drifted across Pan, and she opened her eyes in surprise. She was on the top of the Dragons Den where she had left Kalamity, but he was nowhere in sight. The suns were high in the sky, and Pan's gut twisted. Had it been that long?! What about the battle?!

Pan turned around quickly, and she came to a sudden halt at the sight of a woman standing in front of her. The woman wasn't much taller than Pan. Her short hair was wild around her shoulders, and slowly she turned to face away from the ledge and towards Pan. She had the same dark eyes, and her features were strikingly similar to Pan's.

"You're-"

"My name is Alina," she smiled. "It's nice to officially meet you, Pan."

Pan swallowed hard and tried to calm herself. "I'm scared," she admitted.

"I know," Alina said softly. "It's okay to be scared. It's sometimes what fuels your fight. Those guys are pretty bitter about their curse, so don't mind them too much. Just prove it to them that you're my descendent. They'll follow you then," she promised.

Pan's gut was still twisted. "I'm scared," she repeated. "I don't want to die," she whispered. She didn't want to leave her family behind.

Alina let out a heavy breath. "I have a confession to make," she said. "Truth is, I wasn't as selfless and pure as Shenron thought I was. My motives for helping him were for my own gain, in hopes of forming an alliance with the dragons, not because it was the right thing to do. I fought for myself so that I could be labeled as the best. In the end, I was never able to harness the power of the Dragons fully."

"Is that why you couldn't beat Nahum?" Pan asked. "Because you couldn't harness the power?"

Alina nodded slowly. "I was able to weaken him into a centuries-long coma, though. I'm afraid he's regained most of his strength back now."

"If you couldn't harness it, then how can I?!" Pan cried. She had never been more anxious about anything before.

"Didn't you hear me?" Alina raised an eyebrow. "I was fighting for all the wrong reasons! Ask yourself, Pan- what are you fighting for?!"

What was she fighting for?

Trunks' face flashes through her mind, followed by Takehiko and Takara. Kalamity. Her parents, her brothers, her friends, and everyone else she held near and dear to her heart. Her home! Her planet!

"See," Alina smiled. "You're reasons are completely different than what mine was. Maybe if I had a family like yours, things would have turned out differently for me."

Pan's brows furrowed. "You didn't have a family? But-"

"Not a mate or children," Alina explained. "My little brother is your many greats, grandpa. Your Papa has the same wild hair like him," she grinned.

Pan's lips twitched. She felt better, but her nerves were still making her body shake. She had people to fight for, so the power had to come to her, right?

"Pan," Alina called, and she glanced up at her. "It's okay to be scared, but don't you dare let it hold you back. Think of why you're fighting, and let that power flow. Now, go- be great!" She grinned.

Pan let out a breath and opened her eyes slowly. She was back in the cave with the skeletons. They were still rattling, their voices chanting for her death.

Something warm was growing in the pit of Pan's stomach. She would not let fear consume her!

Pan raised her Ki and let the warmth embrace her. The rattling of the skeletons stopped as the mountain began to shake. Pan's hair blew around her frantically, and she could feel Kalamity coming.

"My name is Pan!" She declared in a loud, firm voice. "I am the descendent of Alina, and I am the Dragon Queen! If you wish to be free from this curse and find peace- then you will follow me!"

Kalamity landed behind Pan with a thunderous thud that shook the ground. His roar made the air shake. Pan stood tall as she glared at the skeletons. She dared them to challenge her now.

It was silent for a few breathless moments until one-by-one, the skeletons knelt in a bow to Pan. "We are under your command."

Pan fought back her sigh of relief, and instead, she nodded her head firmly. She climbed onto Kalamity. "Let's go!" She ordered.

The battlefield was covered with mud and rocks from Nahum's soldiers. Among it was bodies of Saiyans, humans, Thurieans, and those from Josen. No one was spared when it came to war.

The dark grey clouds from the west had made its way over, covering the sky and the suns. No one knew how long they had been fighting.

The rock soldiers from Nahum's army were easy to take down, but they seemed endless in their numbers. One would go down, and three more seemed to appear in the place of the fallen.

Trunks grunted as he crushed through three rock soldiers. He felt as if they had been fighting for hours, and they weren't anywhere close to Nahum. Trunks didn't even know where he was because Nahum hadn't shown himself at all!

With a huff, Trunks glanced around to check on things. Most of his family was on the frontline, pushing through the rock soldiers as fast as they could. Goten and Bulla were working with Tremor and Whirlwind to take down the smaller ships. Tremor dug trenches around the ships that were already on the ground, and Goten blasted them, causing them to fall. Bulla and Whirlwind worked on the air-bound ships, sending a gust of wind and blasts to knock them out of the sky. Crescent was Trunks' eyes. She flew around the battlefield, helping those who started to get outnumbered by the rock soldiers. Her paws could stomp on several of them at a time, and her tail crushed them.

Truthfully, if it weren't for the never-ending rock soldiers, Trunks would say they were making good progress. Something moved in the corner of his eye, and Trunks turned to see Poe walking up. He recognized her instantly. She looked almost normal, other than her pink eyes and the markings around her body.

Ta'lah had warned everyone to be careful of her. The darkness of the Dragons Stone gave her monster-like abilities of soul-snatching. Trunks felt his stomach twist. No one should have that kind of inhuman power.

Suddenly, two soldiers from earth ran up to Peo. Their swords were drawn as they charged. Trunks opened his mouth to stop them, but it was too late. He watched wide eyes as Poe dodged their attack and tapped their soldiers. She smirked as the bodies fell to the ground limply, and her markings glowed.

"Have you come to play, Little Saiyan?" Poe asked as she met Trunks' glare.

His jaw clenched in aggravation. He'd make sure his soul was stubborn enough for her not to take and end her.

Trunks held up his sword. "Bring it, Wrench," he growled.

Bulla panted as she fought to catch her breath. Her chest was hurting with each breath she took, but she ignored it as she wiped her brow. She glanced up and hissed in annoyance. She had taken down half a dozen ships in the air with Whirlwind, and they were still coming.

Screams filled the ground below Bulla, and she gritted her teeth as she turned around to climb the ledge behind her. She needed higher ground so she could get a better angle.

"Whinny, go help Crescent!" She called to her dragon.

Whirlwind gave a small screech before she took off.

Bulla squatted down at the top of the ledge as she pulled off her bag and dumped the contents out. She worked quickly as she assembled her bow and made sure the arrows still had the flammable gel on them.

Bulla dug a lighter out of her boot and set the tip of the arrow she was holding on fire. She connected it to her bow and quickly fired it at some rock soldiers who were ganging up on some men from Josen. Bulla smirked as the arrow hit her target and exploded two rock soldiers.

Quickly, Bulla set off arrow after arrow. Her eyes searched through the madness to find her family and friends. Relief flooded her each time she spotted one of them and saw that they were okay. Her eyes spotted Trunks, and she gasped as her arms trembled. No! He was fighting Poe! He was holding his own, but Poe was blocking every hit by his sword.

Bulla shot an arrow towards Poe, but she managed to avoid it. With shaky fingers, Bulla reached down to grab another arrow and screamed when she realized she had no more left. She glanced up to see Poe kick Trunks' sword out of his hand. Poe grabbed Trunks' free wrist as her other hand grabbed the front of his armor.

"OPPA!" Bulla shrieked. She jumped down from the ledge and pumped her legs as quickly as she could to reach Trunks.

Bulla was almost there when a roar above made the field grow quiet. She glanced up and heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of Kalamity. He was back with Pan!

Just as Bulla stepped up to Trunks, so did Pan. She pushed Poe away from him with such force that it had the Miran stumbling back. Pan quickly moved forward and grabbed the front of Poe's armor before she threw her.

"Are you okay?" Pan turned back to look at Trunks.

"Ha," Trunks let out a breath. He sounded winded, but other than that and a few scratches, he looked fine. "You know I'm too stubborn to let her take my soul," he said.

"Here," Bulla reached down and picked up Trunks' sword to hand it back to him. She caught Pan's eyes. "Can you take her?"

Pan shook her head. "No, I won't take her." She raised her head and looked behind them. "DESTROY THEM!" She roared.

Bulla didn't have time to look back before there was a cold gust of wind. She gasped as ghost-like skeletons ran past them with ghostly war cries. They rumbled through the field, going through the rock soldiers and turning them into nothing but dust.

Bulla's eyes caught Poe, who stood up with a scream. Her eyes narrowed as the skeletons, and she grabbed one. She must have expected to kill it by taking its soul because her eyes widened in surprise as the skeleton didn't tumble to the ground. She couldn't take the soul of something already dead. More skeletons surrounded Poe, and then they pounced. Her screams filled the air for only a few short moments before there was nothing.

The air was still thick. Someone moved across the field, and Bulla's stomach dropped as she spotted a dark figure walking across it. His skin was blue, and his eyes were red. The skeletons weren't nearing him.

"I've been waiting for this day," his deep voice echoed across the field. His gaze was set on Pan, and Bulla could feel Trunks tensing.

"Give me the stone," Nahum commanded.

Pan tilted her chin and scoffed. Then, she pounced.

STOMP.

CRUNCH.

STOMP.

CRUNCH.

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

Kalamity was in his happy place. He loved stomping on things and crunching them. The rock soldiers under his feet gave away quickly. The skeleton soldiers that ran past him averted his claws. Kalamity was careful not to step on anything that wasn't rock. He didn't want her to get angry.

Tremor was digging holes to bury the rocks in with Whirlwind's help. Crescent was stomping on soldiers like he was.

A noise whirled through the air, and Kalamity glanced up to see a ship coming quick. He jumped up and grabbed it with his teeth before he tossed it to the ground and burned it with his breath. He let out something like a snicker as he watched the fire. His human would be so proud of him.

Kalamity glanced around and spotted her in the air. She was fighting a blue man. He tilted his head, calculating if she needed his help. He would have been able to feel it if she did, but he didn't feel the pull. Kalamity let out a snort. His human could handle herself just fine, and she was. She was a little thing, but she was zooming around the sky and dodging everything that blue man was throwing at her.

Crescent whined, and Kalamity grunted. He could feel it too. Something dark and uneasy. It was the blue man his human was fighting. Kalamity was sure of it.

"CRESCENT! KALAMITY!"

They turned to see the King yelling at them. He was Crescent's human and his human's mate, so Kalamity put up with him. Even though the King liked to steal attention from Crescent and his human.

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

Crescent pushed Kalamity to the side. They had barely moved out of the way before his human came tumbling down into the earth with the blue man. Kalamity screeched loudly as he whipped around.

His human!

The King was beside him and Crescent in moments. Both of them were running to the hole when his human flew out and landed on the ground. She was smirking, and Kalamity shrieked at her.

She was okay!

Kalamity hopped on his paws in excitement. His human was by far his favorite human! She huffed at him a lot and groaned, but she was too fun to aggravate. The laughs she would give him, though, made it all worth it. Her dark eyes were always gentle when she looked at him, even when she was huffing. Her pets and kisses were the best.

Kalamity wouldn't share her with anyone. Well, anyone but the King and the little humans, but he liked them.

PUUUUUUUULL.

TUUUUUUUUUG.

Kalamity tensed. His scales stood as his claws came out. Beside him, Crescent whined loudly. Kalamity roared as he rushed forward. He reached his human, who gasped in surprise as he wound his body around her tightly just in time for the impact of the blue man's blast to hit.

"KALAMITY!" His human yelled.

He staggered to the ground as his vision faded. She fell with him as she screamed. She was yelling at him. That was good. She was safe, then. He had protected her.

"KALAMITY!" His human shrieked as everything faded.

"Out there may be monsters, but in you, there is a dragon! If you know of monsters, and if you know of demons, then just remember they know of you too. And they fear you because you are the dragon that can overcome them."

-Nikita Gill

"The brave (wo)men did not kill dragons. The brave (wo)men rode them."

-Game of Thrones

"People who deny the existence of dragons are usually eaten by dragons from within."

-Ursula K. Le Guin

I just made myself really sad :(