Never Lose Hope

By: Saiyan Serpent

A/N Alright everyone, this is all I have of the next chapter right now. I don't know when I'll be inspired to write more, but I figured it's the least I can do for leaving everyone with that unintentional but terrible cliffhanger. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own db, dbz, dbgt, or any of its characters, so please don't sue me.

Last Time:

The poor woman was on the floor begging Kirja to spare her life, but the woman's pleas only seemed to further unhinge the man. Pan could see there was no point in trying to rationalize with Kirja because he was clearly beyond reason at the moment. She had to find a way to diffuse the situation before someone got hurt. With her decision made, Pan made a grab for the gun in an effort to disarm Kirja but he would not give up so easily. Soon the two were wrestling on the floor and the terrified woman scrambled towards the front door. Wes and Kel stood frozen in place as the scene played out in its entirety. Without warning, a gunshot echoed throughout the penthouse and everyone stared in shock as a body slumped lifelessly to the floor.

Chapter Twelve: Come Clean

The moment played over in her mind as a whirlwind of images and emotions. She could hear the harsh sounds of breathing as her pulse thrummed loudly in her ears. Everything was a blur of light and sound and she could faintly hear someone yelling something in the background. Her thoughts circled around her wildly and she was helpless to gain control over them. The world slammed back into focus when a sharp pain shot through her jaw.

"Pan! Snap out of it!"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she took in the scene around her. She was sitting on the bathtub at home, Cal looming over her with a dark yet frightened look in his eyes.

"Cal?" She cringed at the helpless little squeak that posed as her voice.

"What the hell happened to you!"

She shook her head weakly and brought a hand to her face to shield her eyes from the brightness of the room. Her hand froze entirely as her mind registered what covered it. Dazed eyes widened at the sight and quickly scanned for further signs of the offending substance. Everywhere. Blood. It was everywhere!

Pan began to thrash violently just as Cal grabbed her. Her mind didn't understand what was happening and all she knew was that she wanted to get away . . . fast.

"Calm down damn it!"

Before Cal could stop her, Pan wrenched free from his grasp and shot out of his sight.

"Shit!"

Caleb cradled his battered face in one hand as he used the other to carefully guide him down the stairs towards the icebox. The noise from the incident apparently had awakened the other occupants in the house, because seconds later he was surrounded by two curious adults and two sleepy-eyed teens.

Caleb sighed wearily as he held the cold pack over his bruised flesh and prepared to answer everyone's questions without revealing the entire truth.

"What in the world was all that commotion about?"

"Oh honey what happened to your face?"

Caleb knew he could answer both questions with one word. No need to elaborate, so he didn't. "Pan", was all he said. His answer was deemed satisfactory to all parties involved.

"You said nobody was supposed to be here!"
Pan flew blindly through the night. Though she had little awareness of where her body carried her, she couldn't summon the energy to care. All her confused mind knew was that she had to escape . . . but from what she didn't know. An array of images swirled through her mind threatening to consume her sanity. They pulled and tugged at what was left of her rational mind.
"You said nobody was supposed to be here!"

"Well, how the hell was I supposed to know the old man had a woman around here!"

In the vast chaos that was her consciousness, one memory bubbled to the surface and continued to taunt her with its vivid and horrifying image. The image was that of a body, a woman's body, lying in a river of crimson. Her face, the picture of surprised horror, was contorted into an odd position, mouth gaping in a silent scream with hollow eyes that stared out into a vast nothingness.
"You said nobody was supposed to be here!"

"Well, how the hell was I supposed to know the old man had a woman around here!"

Pan nearly screamed in her frustration at Kirja's inadequate planning.

'Stupid Kirja! Stupid stupid stupid!'

Struggling to stomach the horrid sight of the woman lying face down in a growing pool of her own blood, Pan clinched her eyes shut.

Taking a deep breath, she attempted to focus and clear her mind long enough to find a way out of the mess they were in.

Pan rubbed her eyes furiously trying to rid her mind of the terrible image but the sickening sight remained. She began to choke on the sobs that poured from her soul, unable to maintain any steady pattern of breathing. Losing her focus, she began to descend erratically from the night sky. She stumbled as her feet touched the ground, crashing to the cool grass below. Heart wrenching sobs continued to echo throughout the emptiness of the night.

To be continued . . .