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NOTE: No updates until around the 28th of August because I'm going to Italy for two weeks. So, you're gonna have to wait for the last chapter!
Last Time:
She shook her head, trying to block out his voice but he kept talking.
"You first came to the palace to kill Trunks in revenge for your Father's and Grandfather's death but you fell for him. You loved him but you still killed him. You were happy when he died and then to escape death at the hands of King, you killed yourself. Interesting things happened in hell. You broke Trunks' heart. But by murdering Trunks, you stopped Sheik from connecting herself fully to him and therefore, our Mother couldn't destroy the saiyan race. You're just lucky that your Grandfather used the Dragonballs to wish you all back to life with good memories."
"Stop it…"
"No. I'm not finished. We knew that Trunks would turn like us if he knew the truth and your deceased family told him the truth as we had planned. He knows you killed him and that's why he doesn't love you…"
"LIAR!" cried Pan, "I know it's not true. I'm not a bad person. It's all a lie. If you made us see those visions then you could have easily made them up. It's not true. I love Trunks…he's my mate and I know that he still loves me…he does…"
----
Pan felt unexplainably weak and her mind felt swamped under the pain in their bond. She willed herself to speak, her voice kind of like a child's singsong voice from her drained strength, "What happened to the kind Trunks I knew? The one who cared and loved everyone affectionately without ever wanting anything back; the brave and courageous Trunks that fought for me and his family and would let nothing ever harm us…is he in you somewhere?"
He paused at the cell door, "That Trunks is long gone."
She spoke again, the last of her strength being put into her words, "You promised me…you said to me: 'I love you so much, Pan…nothing will ever take me away from you…nothing…I promise…'"
He stopped once more at the threshold of the cell and turned to stare perplexed at her, "What…what did you say?"
Pan's breath stopped as she lifted her head to look at him. Thanks to her saiyan eyes, she could see his facial expression. His eyes were wavering and not as cold as before. For a flash of a moment, she saw the Trunks that she knew, "Trunks…you promised me…do you remember?"
He seemed to be battling with himself, his breathing rate increasing and his eyes darting around dangerously, changing from the cold colour to the warm colour she knew so well. But then it was shattered when he shook his head and the coldness returned indefinitely. He smiled a cruel smile and left without a word, the door slamming shut with a heavy thud.
"It is nearly done," she said.
"Yes," he replied, "only a couple of hours before we begin the transfer process."
Keira smiled, "And then our plan truly begins."
Ariek nodded, "Nothing can stop us now…"
Pan felt undeniably thirsty, but that wasn't her problem. She had to try again with Trunks. She had too. After seeing what had happened to Trunks when she had mentioned something special to them, that his demeanour had started to change, Pan felt willed to push it as far as she could go to make him see the truth. He had to see past the barrier of darkness that the twins had placed on him.
She closed her eyes and felt through their bond again. At the beginning, of something she could only describe as a tunnel that connected two minds, there were vibrant colours and images from her own mind, but the further she pushed on towards Trunks, the more twisted the tunnel became; shards of black and red replacing the bright colours until she could only stop as she hit a blank wall.
Gritting her teeth, Pan tried to push past this wall. It was hard considering that it was a mental action instead of a physical one, but it was the same kind of process. She felt the veins in her forehead constrict, pain seeping into her eyes as she pushed as hard as she could.
She stopped when she had reached her threshold. But she didn't break the connection.
Breathing heavily, Pan called to him through their bond, sending her mental voice deep within his soul where she hoped he could hear it.
:Trunks: she mentally screamed into his mind:Trunks! I know that you can hear me within your soul…Trunks! Answer me:
All she needed was for him to open his mind completely to her and then she could unexpectedly and swiftly push all of her thoughts, feelings and memories into his mind and effectively blocking the hold that Sheik's twins had on him.
There was no answer, just a resounding echo that sent a chill down her spine. Once more, she tried to push her way through the barrier that he had put up to cut off their bond.
She growled. She would not give up. Ever. She would not give in to bond withdrawal. Just one falter on his part and she would be in.
"Where are you going?" asked Keira as Trunks sat up and got off the chair that he had been lying on with her.
He turned to her and stroked her cheek with his fingers, "I'll be back soon."
She smiled a seductive smile, "I'll be waiting."
Trunks kissed her briefly on her lips before walking out of the room. He walked quite quickly to his destination, his boots making a thudding sound that echoed in the corridor. And then he opened the doors and was outside in the night air.
He breathed in the cool air as the breeze pushed it around him. The twins' spaceship was hidden in the largest desert on the planet. A transparent barrier that reflected the sky so that no one could see it, concealed it. Also, it was a type of ki barrier so that their ki's couldn't be felt at all by anyone. That way, no one would find them and disturb them.
He shook his head, trying to get the niggling feeling out of his head that had been bothering him for the last half an hour or so. It was as if someone was trying to access his brain with little pushes that sent pain into his mind. He growled as he sat down on the floor, his head in his hands as he tried to locate the source of it all.
Trunksgrowled as he found out where he was coming from. His mental image was at the barrier that he had put up to cut off the bond from Pan and on the other side was her. She was quite blurry, but he knew it was she.
She had not noticed him as she tried to push the barrier away. Her lithe form was enshrouded in a golden hue that contrasted with the blackness of the tunnel. He thought hat he heard her voice calling to him, but he shook his head. It was impossible. No sound could penetrate it.
And that was when she saw him.
"Trunks," she whispered as she concentrated on her mental image.
He was on the other side watching her closely. He was quite blurry, but she knew it was he.
How could he have known she was there? Pan concluded that he must also feel the constriction in the mind that she was feeling by doing this. She made her mental image walk up to the barrier and she put her hands on it, spreading her fingers against an invisible wall as if she was a mime.
And as he walked closer to her and his image became clearer, her eyes widened.
His eyes were still the same coldness and his smile was cruel, but the lines on his face were gone. He put his fingers up against the barrier, covering hers as if they were two lovers trapped.
The irony.
Pan knew that he was mocking her. But she couldn't keep her eyes off the fact that the black lines had gone.
'He's weaker,' she thought, 'in his mind where his soul is, the dark form is weaker.'
Trunks smirked at her as he mocked her though the transparent barrier.
She looked desperate and suddenly he felt winded as she tried once again to push herself through the barrier. He stumbled back slightly as he watched her grit her teeth and try to push something through the barrier.
'What does she want?' he thought, the niggling feeling increasing as the pressure increased on his side, 'Why does she look so desperate?'
Her eyes were lit up as flames, her teeth were gritted and her hands were sparking with her ki. He knew the barrier would hold and he knew that Pan knew this too. So why…
'Doesn't she know that it won't work; that I won't give?'
He felt energy spark into his hands as he tried to push her out. His eyes widened once more as he thought he hear her voice. He shook his head, but then he heard it again.
It was faint, but she was calling his name.
His eyes widened as he thought, 'It's impossible! No sound can penetrate the barrier.'
It was as if she heard him because suddenly her facial expression changed. She still held her strength against the barrier, but her eyes were more open and clear: a rich ebony that shone like an endless whirlpool. Her cheeks were red and her lips were slightly parted and inviting.
'What…'
His mind was immediately cast back to when he was about to leave her cell: when she had spoken those words that had struck a chord within him:
"You promised me…you said to me: 'I love you so much, Pan…nothing will ever take me away from you…nothing…I promise…'"
In the real world, where he was on the floor with his head in his hands, he grit his teeth and shook his head, as the words seemed to reverberate inside of him. He felt the bubblings of adrenaline pumping through his veins as she pushed harder and harder, the sentence she had uttered causing a frenzy of unknown emotions to push to the surface.
Trunks' face felt hot as if it was burning along the dark lines on his face. He growled as he tried to push her back, but she would not budge, her desperation shining through.
And he withdrew his mental image and his adrenaline broke to the surface, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
His shout echoed around the desert and he could hear it for seconds to come.
And then, the pushing in his head stopped. He breathed heavily and then smiled. There was no way she'd try that again.
He got up a little shakily, smiled to himself once more as he knew that he had pushed her back by overpowering her, and returned inside.
Sparks were flying everywhere. Pan felt them move up her arms, tingling her skin, but she would not let go. She smiled to herself, tears of joy and relief coming to her eyes as she looked at the barrier in front of her.
There was a burnt hold, its edges crisp where his voice had burnt through. She was holding it open, afraid it would close up.
It had worked. For one split second, when he had pushed all his anger towards her and had shouted directly to her, his voice had unknowingly penetrated the barrier, causing an opening. Just one falter on his part and she was in.
Back in her cell, Pan lifted her head back and gave a small laugh of relief. She kept her mental image in the tunnel of their bond so that the opening wouldn't close. She had done it.
"Trunks…I'm going to help you…"
She bit her lips and closed her eyes as she concentrated. She immediately began to feed in all of the memories that she had of Trunks: all of the times they had spent together in each other's company; all the times he had been loving and caring to her; all the times they had enjoyed family feasts. She began to push back everything.
She smiled. If the flow of memories were pushed continuously into him in one direction, he couldn't block them from his side.
It would soon all be over.
A couple of hours passed and Trunks began to feel weird.
He had retired from Keira's embrace into his own new living quarters where he was lying down on a chair. He breathed heavily as he tried to control his rate of intake of air, but he couldn't. H needed to breathe heavily to just stay awake. Trunks sat up, perspiration beading on his skin and dripping off the end of his nose. He felt hot and lethargic, his head spinning.
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on getting himself back to normal, but he couldn't. As he stood up, he swayed slightly before regaining stability. He felt off balance and his mind felt foggy.
"What's wrong with me?"
He managed to walk steadily to the wall where a mirror was hanging. He place his hands on either side of the mirror and looked into it.
His eyes widened at his state.
His eyes were bloodshot and the deep blue colour of them was changing from a cool shade to a cold shade of blue. He hastily wiped the perspiration from his forehead, but it seemed to materialise as soon as it was gone. But that was not the worst thing.
The black lines.
They were burning and with each burn, they seemed to disappear leaving his face normal and then reappear with another burning sensation. He made a low sound in his throat as his head was once again constricted with pain.
He closed his eyes, determined to find the source of the problems. He found himself once again back in the tunnel of their bond. But he couldn't even get close to the transparent barrier because there were images in the way. Images and sounds and feelings. He tried to push through, but he found himself enveloped in the foggy mist of the images and sounds and feelings.
He withdrew, anger on his face. He knew who was behind it all.
He used his strength to move and soon he was running through the ship to the lower decks where she was being held.
He opened the door, fury in his eyes as he walked up to her, took her by her long ebony hair and lifted her up.
Pan grit her teeth as she was hoisted up by her hair and she used her legs for extra support to ease the pain.
But she did not show the pain to him.
Trunks shook her slightly, "What are you doing to me?"
But she did not answer. He was silenced by her facial expression. Her eyes were calm and resolute, her mouth slightly parted, her gaze on him. He shook her again, but she did not wince.
And all the time she kept the flow of memories into his mind.
Trunks dropped her and pushed her head back against the concrete wall, blood seeping down her neck without a sound leaving from her mouth. He kept her face firmly in his hands, their faces close, their gazes locked.
"Stop," he said resolutely, "Stop it Pan or…"
"Or what?" she answered.
Trunks growled, "Don't mock me. I can hurt you and break you like no other."
Pan smiled slyly. It was working. She watched as his eyes changed from the dark Trunks to the Trunks she knew. The lines disappeared and reappeared every few seconds and she knew that he couldn't control the changes that were happening to him.
:Trunks:
She knew that he had heard it from the way his eye widened. She called through their bond again amidst the flow of images and memories and feelings.
:Trunks…it's me, Pan:
His grip on her increased, as he seemed to be battling within himself. He wouldn't let her win. But pan knew that if she kept calling and kept sending everything to his soul, eventually the blackness would leave him.
"Stop it Pan," he growled and squeezed her face harder, "Stop the images…stop the calling…"
:I love you, Trunks:
And suddenly, his steel grip loosened. The black lines did not reappear. His eyes were the sapphire blue she had always known and they were in shock, desperately searching her face.
"P…Panny?"
His voice was gentle and full of love, the cruel smile gone from his lips. Their eyes were locked and Pan forgot about the stream of images she had to feed to him. He was back…her Trunks was back…
Pan felt something hot well up in her throat, "Trunks…it's me…I…"
She didn't have a chance to finish as suddenly the grip of steel returned and the black lines reappeared on his face.
"Stop it!" he cried, his voice filled with vehemence.
Pan breathed deeply, her calm face gone, tears pricking her eyes. She thought he had changed, she thought that it had worked, but there was still more to go. She grit her teeth and began to once again feed him images and memories and feelings. He hadn't, thankfully, closed the hole in the time that he had been weak. He felt that she wasn't listening to his orders and his lips turned cruel.
Without a word, he had broken the shackles on her wrists with two ki blasts and the next thing she knew she was being dragged out of the cell by her arms, half walking, half stumbling along the dirty floor.
"Trunks…"
He didn't answer, just continued to pull her along the corridor and up the jagged stairs. Pan had hardly any energy so she kept stumbling. All of her energy was put into keeping the flow of the images and memories and feelings. She had no idea where he was going.
:Trunks:
He growled loudly and lifted her up as she stumbled once again, "Stop it! Stop invading my mind…"
Pan gave out a small sound of pain as she twisted her ankle agonizingly on the stairs. She still had the ki collar on and she didn't have the energy to break it, so she couldn't fight.
"Where are you taking me?"
"We're here," he spoke and she was roughly pushed onto the cold, hard floor. Pan rolled over and watched Trunks clutching his head, his fingers fisting in his hair as he tried to block out everything that she was forcing into him.
His head suddenly lifted, his eyes fuming, "Stop what she's doing to me!"
Pan swerved her eyes to the other side of the room where the blonde haired, red eyed twins were walking towards them. She grit her teeth, hatred for them welling up inside of her. She concentrated even harder and pushed even more images, memories and feelings into Trunks.
He cried out and Keira ran up to him, pulling his hands away from his face so that she could see what was wrong. Her eyes widened, her ki increasing in jagged spikes as she turned to Pan and held her up by the collar of her spandex in anger.
"Let go of him. Let go of the bond. Stop giving yourself to him…he's not yours anymore!" Keira cried, her frustration evident in her blood-red eyes.
Pan growled in her throat, completely unafraid because she knew that she was winning with Trunks. She knew that she could change him before they could do anything to stop her. She used one of the last reserves of strength she had to head butt Keira.
The daughter of Sheik cried out as green blood sprayed from her head from the impact. Ariek rushed to her side and took Pan from his sister's grasp, thumping Pan in the face.
Pan cried out, blood spraying into her eyes, struggling to keep the flow of herself into Trunks.
"What can we do?" Ariek asked his sister, desperation clear in his voice.
The twins looked over to Trunks, and Pan followed their gaze. He was on his hands and knees, sparks flying around him, his aura flickering from back to gold in time with the disappearance and reappearance of the black lines on his face. He was mumbling to himself:
"Stop…I can't take this…I want to be with the darkness…please stop…Pan…stop it…stop it…stop invading my mind…"
Pan heard everything and she pushed even more images and memories and feelings into her mate. She knew that she was hurting him and putting him through hell, but she was doing it all for him and their baby. She knew that he just had to let go.
Keira growled, "We have to stop her. He has resilience so it will take a long while before we'll lose our control over him. We have to stop Pan. We'll start the transfer of the baby from her womb into mine. In that way, she'll have to stop as she'll be like an empty shell."
Ariek smiled and immediately pushed Pan to the floor and held her down.
Pan had heard everything that they had said. Fear rose into her chest and she began to struggle against Arieks' hold on her, even though she was quite weak.
"No…" she whispered, "Trunks…"
"He won't help you. It's over," spoke Keira as she brought her hand down over Pan's stomach, her hand glowing a strange purple colour. Pan felt the heat from Keira's hand over her stomach and she tried with all her might to get away. But Ariek held her down in an unbreakable hold. She tried to inflict some sort of pain with her hands, but she couldn't reach the twins from where they held her elbows down.
"Trunks! Help…"
"It's no use. Give it up," said Keira.
Pan felt her mind begin to close up as the heat began to scorch her abdominal skin without cutting it. It was a weird but painful feeling and she struggled to move away.
"Trunks…"
She turned her gaze onto him. He was upright after somehow managing to stand. His hands were still holding his head and the lines were still changing back and forth. Pan gathered all of her thoughts, desperation, images, memories and feelings in her mind for one final push. She didn't have anything more to give him.
:I love you Trunks. I remember everything: she cried into his mind as she pushed everything she had into him.
Trunks' eyes widened as he felt the final barrage of images, memories and feelings enter his mind. It was like a knife finally cutting open the way and his vision disappeared from his eyes. He felt all his energy leave him like a brisk gust of wind.
Pan's eyes widened as Trunks slowly stumbled and fell onto his knees, his gold and black aura disappearing completely from around his form. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and then closed as he groaned and he fell down onto the floor, his head turned away from her. He didn't move.
:Trunks: Pan called to him, but there was no answer, only darkness. His ki was weak: very weak.
Pan felt hot tears erupt from her eyes as she tried calling to Trunks again and again, but he would not answer. Was he still sided with darkness? Or was he back to normal? She didn't know, as she couldn't see his face: couldn't see if the black lines were still there.
"Trunks!" she exclaimed as she began to feel Keira's hand reacting with her body and the final realisation that she might actually lose their baby after all.
There was no more time.
Trunks wasn't answering her. She didn't know what to do.
And on the twin's faces were smiles crueller than cruelty itself.
Rreview, you know you want to! Hope everyone's enjoying their summer!