Chapter 4 - Exile
Pan gasped for air; whoever had her was really strong. She knew she was powerful for her age, but there was no escape. She started to cry again; if her daddy was here she would be safe -
"Gohan! Put her down! That's your daughter, dammit!" Pan was astonished to see Trunks running at them. He was powered up to Super Saiyan, and he looked furious. Pan was really scared. Usually when they went Super Saiyan, it was pretty serious. She was also puzzled; did Trunks just say Gohan?
"Now, why would I want to put this brat down?"
Pan gasped. The voice was her father's - he was the one hurting her!
"Gohan, this is serious," Trunks' eyes were wide, "She's just a little girl. You can't let yourself be controlled like this!"
"I will do as I please, idiot," Gohan spat at Trunks, "This child is nothing but a cancer to my plans. She must die!"
"Daddy! Why are you doing this?" Pan screamed.
"Shut up brat!" Gohan tightened his grip and Pan gasped.
Trunks lunged at Pan and Gohan, but before he could reach them, a searing pain began in his neck. He could feel a slimy body tring to wind itself around his neck. Gasping, he reached up and grabbed the thing. He pulled at the beast, and his nerves screamed in protest and agony. The more he tugged, the more it hurt. Gohan was laughing, Pan was screaming.
Trunks closed his eyes and concentrated on the pain, remembering his training. He liked pain - he enjoyed it. With all his might, Trunks pulled on the parasitic Reaver, willing it to release its grip. The creature shrieked, sending even more pain through Trunks' body. He smiled; the blasted thing WOULD let go.
He dug his fingernails into the Reaver's slimy skin, and with every ounce of his might, yanked the throbbing body off of him. The creature had inserted many circular probes into Trunks' neck and face, and as the creature was forced from his body, much of his flesh went as well. Screaming in agony, Trunks reached up to his face and gently prodded the several bloody holes that had been left behind.
Clenching his fists, he tried to focus on Gohan and Pan. Gohan was staring at him in shock. Taking advantage of this momentary lapse, Trunks leapt to his feet and tackled Gohan. This infuriated the older Saiyan, but before he could regain his feet, Trunks scooped a sobbing Pan into his arms and took to the air.
***
'Damn it all!'
It was the best he could do - a lousy cave in the middle of nowhere. Trunks had no idea if he and Pan were safe, but he was too tired to go on. He had been flying for hours. Pan had finally stopped crying, but Trunks knew it would not take much to set her off again. Her father had just tried to kill her, after all.
Trunks sighed and held his shirt up to the wounds on his face. He really wished they would stop bleeding - he was starting to feel a bit dizzy. Trunks noticed that Pan was watching him. Her eyes broke his heart. She had been so innocent just a few hours before, and now here she was, sitting in a damp cave, watching one of her friends mop blood from his face.
Trunks was so infuriated he could hardly breathe. How could something like this happen? What were these Reaver things anyway? Trunks closed his eyes and applied more pressure to the bloody cloth.
'And why, for Dende's sake, was I the only one who could resist that damn things?' he thought. 'Why not dad, or Goku? They wouldn't be cowering in a cave right now; they would be kicking the crap out of whoever sent those fucking parasites,' Trunks took a deep breath. This was not constructive. Questioning life had never gotten him anywhere before, and now was not the time.
"Trunks?" Pan's voice sounded so tiny and frail. Trunks shivered.
"Yes, Pan?" He asked hesitantly.
"Are you gonna be ok? You're bleeding a lot."
"I'll be fine, don't worry. I heal fast." Trunks smiled, doing his best to look sincere.
"Can I...can I help you?" Pan crawled over to Trunks and took the cloth from his hands. "I'll be careful, I promise. I read books about doctor stuff all the time." Pan then gently placed the cloth against one of Trunks' bloody wounds. It was the one closest to his eyes - he could not get it to stop bleeding.
"Careful Pan...that's probabaly the worst one of all of them."
"Just hold still..." Trunks was astonished at her tenderness. He could barely get the cloth near that wound without intense pain, but somehow she had found a way past it.
"There," she said happily, "No more bleeding."
"What??" Trunks could not beleive it. "How? It's been bleeding for hours!"
"You just didn't do it right, dummy. Sheesh, I figured you would've inherited SOME of your mom's smarts." Pan laughed and placed the cloth on another of Trunks' circular wounds. He did not know how she was doing it, but one by one, each of his wounds stopped bleeding.
"You just need to put pressure in the right place. These ARE pretty nasty holes, though. That filty worm tried to kill you!"
"I don't think it was trying to kill me, Pan. It was trying to take over my body - enslave me for its own purposes. I found Piccolo before one of them took over his body..." Pan gasped at this bit of news. Trunks sighed and contined.
"Yes, they got Piccolo, and my parents, and from what I could tell, your whole family as well. Piccolo told me before he succumbed that the parasites were called Reavers, though where they came from I have no idea. He said that we have to hide our ki's...the creatures can sense people who are strong. I guess they feed on power."
Pan had tears in her eyes. Trunks felt horrible for making her cry again.
"But...but, why?" She stammered, "Why would my dad give in to those things? And Grampa? I mean, YOU beat them - Why couldn't anyone else?"
"That's a really good question, Pan, and I wish I had an answer. My father is a whole lot stronger than me - heck, except for Goten, they're ALL stronger than me. It just makes no sense."
Pan shook her head and continued administering to Trunks' ugly wounds. He really was impressed with her courage. It's not everyday that your entire world crashes down on top of you.
"What're we gonna do, Trunks? We can't stay here forever."
Trunks had just been wondering the same thing. What COULD they do? If they ventured out, those things were sure to find them, and he did not know if he could resist another attack. That thing almost had him today - and to think they might do the same to Pan! The thought of those probes burrowing into Pan's body made his flesh crawl.
"I don't know..." He said shamefully, "You're right, we can't stay here forever, but we can't just up and fly anywhere either. We HAVE to keep our ki's hidden."
"But....are we gonna try to beat these Reaver thingies? Or maybe try to find some help?"
"I don't know if there is anyone left who CAN help, and I know we can't beat those things. They're just too strong. Hell, I could barely handle ONE!"
Trunks knew that this statement would make Pan cry again - he felt like crying. Never had he faced a problem like this before. Sure, he had fought plenty of enemies in his life, but at least then, there was something he could DO about the problem. Now he was helpless. He and Pan were the only ones left, and they were just kids! Trunks hated to admit that; 17 was a proud age for him. That may not have been a kid in his OLD life, but now, being on his own, with seemingly nothing ahead of him, he felt very much like a kid.
Pan gasped for air; whoever had her was really strong. She knew she was powerful for her age, but there was no escape. She started to cry again; if her daddy was here she would be safe -
"Gohan! Put her down! That's your daughter, dammit!" Pan was astonished to see Trunks running at them. He was powered up to Super Saiyan, and he looked furious. Pan was really scared. Usually when they went Super Saiyan, it was pretty serious. She was also puzzled; did Trunks just say Gohan?
"Now, why would I want to put this brat down?"
Pan gasped. The voice was her father's - he was the one hurting her!
"Gohan, this is serious," Trunks' eyes were wide, "She's just a little girl. You can't let yourself be controlled like this!"
"I will do as I please, idiot," Gohan spat at Trunks, "This child is nothing but a cancer to my plans. She must die!"
"Daddy! Why are you doing this?" Pan screamed.
"Shut up brat!" Gohan tightened his grip and Pan gasped.
Trunks lunged at Pan and Gohan, but before he could reach them, a searing pain began in his neck. He could feel a slimy body tring to wind itself around his neck. Gasping, he reached up and grabbed the thing. He pulled at the beast, and his nerves screamed in protest and agony. The more he tugged, the more it hurt. Gohan was laughing, Pan was screaming.
Trunks closed his eyes and concentrated on the pain, remembering his training. He liked pain - he enjoyed it. With all his might, Trunks pulled on the parasitic Reaver, willing it to release its grip. The creature shrieked, sending even more pain through Trunks' body. He smiled; the blasted thing WOULD let go.
He dug his fingernails into the Reaver's slimy skin, and with every ounce of his might, yanked the throbbing body off of him. The creature had inserted many circular probes into Trunks' neck and face, and as the creature was forced from his body, much of his flesh went as well. Screaming in agony, Trunks reached up to his face and gently prodded the several bloody holes that had been left behind.
Clenching his fists, he tried to focus on Gohan and Pan. Gohan was staring at him in shock. Taking advantage of this momentary lapse, Trunks leapt to his feet and tackled Gohan. This infuriated the older Saiyan, but before he could regain his feet, Trunks scooped a sobbing Pan into his arms and took to the air.
***
'Damn it all!'
It was the best he could do - a lousy cave in the middle of nowhere. Trunks had no idea if he and Pan were safe, but he was too tired to go on. He had been flying for hours. Pan had finally stopped crying, but Trunks knew it would not take much to set her off again. Her father had just tried to kill her, after all.
Trunks sighed and held his shirt up to the wounds on his face. He really wished they would stop bleeding - he was starting to feel a bit dizzy. Trunks noticed that Pan was watching him. Her eyes broke his heart. She had been so innocent just a few hours before, and now here she was, sitting in a damp cave, watching one of her friends mop blood from his face.
Trunks was so infuriated he could hardly breathe. How could something like this happen? What were these Reaver things anyway? Trunks closed his eyes and applied more pressure to the bloody cloth.
'And why, for Dende's sake, was I the only one who could resist that damn things?' he thought. 'Why not dad, or Goku? They wouldn't be cowering in a cave right now; they would be kicking the crap out of whoever sent those fucking parasites,' Trunks took a deep breath. This was not constructive. Questioning life had never gotten him anywhere before, and now was not the time.
"Trunks?" Pan's voice sounded so tiny and frail. Trunks shivered.
"Yes, Pan?" He asked hesitantly.
"Are you gonna be ok? You're bleeding a lot."
"I'll be fine, don't worry. I heal fast." Trunks smiled, doing his best to look sincere.
"Can I...can I help you?" Pan crawled over to Trunks and took the cloth from his hands. "I'll be careful, I promise. I read books about doctor stuff all the time." Pan then gently placed the cloth against one of Trunks' bloody wounds. It was the one closest to his eyes - he could not get it to stop bleeding.
"Careful Pan...that's probabaly the worst one of all of them."
"Just hold still..." Trunks was astonished at her tenderness. He could barely get the cloth near that wound without intense pain, but somehow she had found a way past it.
"There," she said happily, "No more bleeding."
"What??" Trunks could not beleive it. "How? It's been bleeding for hours!"
"You just didn't do it right, dummy. Sheesh, I figured you would've inherited SOME of your mom's smarts." Pan laughed and placed the cloth on another of Trunks' circular wounds. He did not know how she was doing it, but one by one, each of his wounds stopped bleeding.
"You just need to put pressure in the right place. These ARE pretty nasty holes, though. That filty worm tried to kill you!"
"I don't think it was trying to kill me, Pan. It was trying to take over my body - enslave me for its own purposes. I found Piccolo before one of them took over his body..." Pan gasped at this bit of news. Trunks sighed and contined.
"Yes, they got Piccolo, and my parents, and from what I could tell, your whole family as well. Piccolo told me before he succumbed that the parasites were called Reavers, though where they came from I have no idea. He said that we have to hide our ki's...the creatures can sense people who are strong. I guess they feed on power."
Pan had tears in her eyes. Trunks felt horrible for making her cry again.
"But...but, why?" She stammered, "Why would my dad give in to those things? And Grampa? I mean, YOU beat them - Why couldn't anyone else?"
"That's a really good question, Pan, and I wish I had an answer. My father is a whole lot stronger than me - heck, except for Goten, they're ALL stronger than me. It just makes no sense."
Pan shook her head and continued administering to Trunks' ugly wounds. He really was impressed with her courage. It's not everyday that your entire world crashes down on top of you.
"What're we gonna do, Trunks? We can't stay here forever."
Trunks had just been wondering the same thing. What COULD they do? If they ventured out, those things were sure to find them, and he did not know if he could resist another attack. That thing almost had him today - and to think they might do the same to Pan! The thought of those probes burrowing into Pan's body made his flesh crawl.
"I don't know..." He said shamefully, "You're right, we can't stay here forever, but we can't just up and fly anywhere either. We HAVE to keep our ki's hidden."
"But....are we gonna try to beat these Reaver thingies? Or maybe try to find some help?"
"I don't know if there is anyone left who CAN help, and I know we can't beat those things. They're just too strong. Hell, I could barely handle ONE!"
Trunks knew that this statement would make Pan cry again - he felt like crying. Never had he faced a problem like this before. Sure, he had fought plenty of enemies in his life, but at least then, there was something he could DO about the problem. Now he was helpless. He and Pan were the only ones left, and they were just kids! Trunks hated to admit that; 17 was a proud age for him. That may not have been a kid in his OLD life, but now, being on his own, with seemingly nothing ahead of him, he felt very much like a kid.
