A/N: In case you didn't know yet, I extended chapter 8. If you haven't read that yet, please do so before continuing with this. Anyway, here it is--chapter 9.
Hostile Hospitality
The duo stood in silence. Every so often, echoing footsteps could be heard in the distance, but all too soon they would disappear. The noiselessness will once again endure, as though the interruption was never even there at all. The deafening quiet is so disturbingly persistent that each sound, even heartbeats, reverberated off the solid stone walls and floor. Chilly gusts of wind occasionally swept across the large, empty space. One with a wild, panicked imagination would surely claim the place as haunted.
Goku sighed. To sum up their current situation very briefly: they're stuck. "It's been a long afternoon," he remarked. "Let's call it a day, shall we?" However, Pan could only gape disbelievingly at her grandfather.
"You're just going to give up and let them deal with us as they like?! You, can sit around and wait, but don't expect me to accompany you. I, am going to attempt an escape whether you agree or not. These jail bars can't exactly keep us locked up, you know." Pan was growing increasingly irritated at Goku with every second. Wasn't he the one who taught her to never give up even when the odds are undeniably stacked against you?
"Please hear me out just this once, Pan," Goku said quietly and dejectedly.
Now Pan was growing worried. 'Why is Grandpa so low on confidence suddenly?' she mused.
"These saiyans are strong, Pan," Goku explained using the same volume and dishearten tone. "We have no chance of going anywhere without their consent. Now, please, just stay put and be patient."
Grandpa Goku ≠ patience, this Pan knew as a fact. So if he can wait, why not she? But let's consider the danger factors here. The pros and cons list of staying and do as the enemy commands; the cons undoubtedly outweighed the pros.
"Grandpa, it's far too risky to linger here. We should flee while we have the chance," she protested. Goku displayed no interest whatsoever in what she has to say. She raised her volume, causing the sound waves to bounce off the hard surfaces more evidently and echo each syllable articulately. "Grandpa, are you listening to me? If we don't move it, they are going to harm us. Did you hear me? They will kill us slowly and brutally! Are you even paying attention to---"
"That's enough!" Goku screamed out of the blue, making his granddaughter jump. He looked at her, images of fire dancing wildly in his dark, narrowed eyes. Immediately the blazing inferno vanished, and they once again held a vacant, distant look. It was rather haunting, actually. In the calmest, most even tone manageable, he declared in a voice of newly strengthened quality, "I won't let them hurt you, Pan." His voice wavered slightly with uncontained emotion. "Trust me. If you'd just put a little faith in me, I'll make sure that you're kept safe. Everything will be just fine, and that's a promise."
By now Goku's eyes bored deep into Pan's. In the pair, a faltering flame of energy fluctuated continuously, involved in an intense duel of strength and weakness. It held a soft, gentle spot which can melt anyone's heart, yet the fire of determination was unimaginable. Suddenly, as though a switch was flickered, Pan saw something in his grandfather, an insight that would change her view of Goku forever……
'People hide deeper than you may realize.'
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***Goku's POV***
My head hurts. It's similar to the pain and confusion I'd felt around the time Eyes was killed. That was definitely not a pleasant time. After I almost blew my best friend to pieces, I had a talk with Gohan. Being half human himself, I suppose he understands human emotions way better than I ever will. Talking with him really helped. It made me feel forgiven for never being there for my family. But I know that deep down, I never really will truly forgive myself for committing such a crime. What bothered me was that if I were granted a second chance to make my decision, I would have chosen the same path, knowing full well the consequences of my imperative decision…
I wish I could talk to Pan; I really wish I could! But she is still young, and Gohan was 18 when we had our first "profound" talk. And that was the last time. I am just not the type of person who likes to play it glum. I bottle up all my emotions somewhere remarkably deep inside, to the point where I often have trouble locating them myself. I started doing that on Namek, at an incredibly significant moment after my triumph over Freiza. I'd sincerely wanted to spare his life. I even went as far as sharing my precious energy! But in the end, I blasted him into smithereens, or so I thought. I'll never forget that moment when I just suspended motionlessly above the crater I formed with that furious attack, where everything was silent and immobile. In that moment, another rush of emotions flashed through me. This time, it was not uncontainable rage. It was sorrow; a sorrow so bottomless and indescribable it tore out my heart and left a hole the size of the crater I produced. That moment suspended in time induced a fear I'd never experienced before. I became afraid of who I was, and who I was capable of being: a pure-hearted, innocent soul who, in a flash, could become a ruthless, cold-hearted monster knowing and desiring to do none but kill. That fear tempted me to keep my emotions in check, thus depleting them altogether. I vowed to remain as the goofy, simple idiot everyone had always thought of me. My greatest fear of all, however, as weird as it might sound, was that Flying Nimbus would refuse to be my friend anymore.
In that extremely tense moment when Pan and I were staring at each other, she acquired the strangest expression all of a sudden. I'm not sure what it meant, but I don't like it.
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***Normal POV***
It's almost midnight now as Pan stared at her watch. She was lying on the stone cold floor of the cell, wrapped in an icy blanket of chilled air. The narrow passageway outside of her cell is dimly lit by flaming torches. The tiny bursts of light flickered and crackled continuously, unsteady, unstable…hypnotically. Soft footsteps padded rhythmically in front of her across the menacing row of pitch-black bars, somber and vexed; the usual limber weighted down by a heavy burden. It was anxious; it was subconscious; it was protective. When his face caught the light occasionally, Pan saw that it was two shades paler than usual. Before another thought could enter her head, her eyelids closed heavily and she fell into a deep slumber.
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It was dark when Pan reopened her eyes in the morning. At first she was confused by her situation. When her brain began to function again, she slowly recalled the misadventures of the previous day. Her heart sank, greatly saddened by her current circumstances.
Something was definitely different today; she couldn't quite figure out what. As she tried to stand up, her feet got tangled up in something and something slid down her shoulders. She shivered as the blast of frosty air hit her once again. Looking down, Pan found her feet nested in a blanket. It was a gloomy gray but very warm. She grabbed it and wrapped it securely back around her shoulders. Hmm…a real wool blanket… Her head snapped up suddenly as she realized that it was suspiciously quiet. Then she found out why. She was all alone in the jail cell. Grandpa Goku was gone.
A/N: I am so sorry for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out! It's been almost three whole months since my last update! It's late and EQAO starts tomorrow, and I am too lazy to edit. I am declaring right here, right now that the grammar is really screwed up. No complaints about that please. Thank you so much for putting up with me, and PLEASE review, as always.
I have taken this out of Action/Adventure, so for now it's just Angst. I am really not all that interested in writing action. If there's a secondary genre that you think this should go into, please let me know.