Versus 3: Eclipse

--But the Sun Is Eclipsed By the Moon--

Pan stared at Bra strangely. "Tell me you're joking. Do you have any idea how psychotic that sounds?"

Bra had told her everything, just like she'd promised. And by this time it was a little after 11:00pm. It probably wasn't the best thing to do, considering Goten was a family member of hers. Pan was crazy about Goten.

"And you left him here?" Pan asked. She shook her head. "You left him here while you went out and had fun?"

Bra closed her eyes to fight back the tears. "You have to understand. I didn't want to cause any trouble--"

"Hold it right there. You tried to kill my uncle and left him where no one could find him. But you didn't want to cause any trouble?" Pan questioned. She laughed sarcastically. "That's rich." She looked at Bra out of the corner of her eye. "I can't believe you would do something like that. I won't believe it. Not you. Not to him."

Bra put her head down. "I know it doesn't sound like something I would do. I couldn't believe it myself." Tears escaped her eyelids, but she kept her head lowered so Pan wouldn't see her cry. "I didn't even feel like myself when I did it. I mean, it was like something inside of me took over."

"No! You said that about when you fought him! If I remember correctly, you consciously left him there!" Pan shouted.

Bra didn't want to be yelled at. It made her very angry when people yelled at her. "Only because he'd been lying to me for so long." She made sure to hide the tears which now flowed like a river from her eyes.

"Hmph," Pan said. "That's no reason to try to end his life."

"It's what my father would have done! Okay!" Bra yelled shakily.

"You are NOT your father! I don't care how much you want to be! You're not him! You'll never be him!" Pan almost screamed at the top of her lungs.

Virtually soundproof rooms came in handy when things like this were going on.

Bra growled. "DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT! I DON'T NEED FOR YOU TO TELL ME THAT!"

"THEN STOP TRYING TO ACT LIKE HIM ALL THE TIME!" Pan yelled right back.

"You don't know what it's like," Bra said quietly. She finally looked up.

Pan looked a little surprised to see the tears on her face.

"You don't know what it's like to go through life trying to be a fighter when no one thinks you've got it in you," Bra continued. "People encouraged you to fight. Your mother. Your father. Your grandfathers. Your uncle. Only one person ever really thought I had what it took to be a fighter. And the one person who did believe in me wouldn't allow me to grow as much as I..." She looked away. "I know I took it to the extreme. I know that." She hugged herself. "But I..." She couldn't seem to find the words for what she wanted to say.

Pan sighed and looked at Bra for a long time.

Bra couldn't be sure what was going on in Pan's head. She most likely hated her now. She wouldn't want to be friends with her anymore and she'd never want to see her again. Had she been in Pan's shoes, she would hate herself too. Bra hated herself enough already.

"Take me to him. I want to see him," was all Pan had to say after that.

Bra nodded. She led Pan out of the house and to the back of the building. They were both quiet as they traveled, which made Bra kind of nervous, seeing how Pan loved to run her mouth all the time. The silence was beginning to get to her.

Once they made it down the long camera-filled hallway, Bra opened the door to the room which contained the regeneration tank. Goten was still inside. Thank goodness. She didn't want him to disappear like last time. But to her surprise...

Vegeta sat in a chair on the other side of the room.

Bra heard someone gasp, but she couldn't be too sure whether it was herself or Pan. "Papa. What are you doing up at this time of night?" Bra asked innocently.

Pan was speechless.

Vegeta, with his arms folded across his chest, stood from his seat. "I knew that you used my rejuvination chamber when you pushed yourself too hard. But when I came here and found the brat inside, well, I was a bit surprised to say the least." He looked at Bra for a long time. "What happened?"

Bra sighed. "I kinda went overboard when we were sparring, that's all."

Vegeta smirked. "That's what I thought. You've come a long way, child."

Bra just looked at her father strangely.

"She tried to kill him," Pan interrupted. "She even left him there to die."

Vegeta looked at Pan. "Really?" He looked back at Bra. "It seems you've become a true Saiyan. Unlike some of the others of our race." He looked back at Goten in the chamber.

"But that's not something I'm supposed to do. I'm not supposed to try to kill someone I love," Bra said before she even knew what she was saying.

Pan looked surprised.

Vegeta looked back at Bra and smirked again. "Oh, but it is. One fighter to another. It is the way of the Saiyan warrior. Today you will be acknowledged as the last true Saiyan." And with that, he was gone.

Her father was notorious for leaving with ambiguous statements like that. She wasn't sure of the meaning. Of course, he was just a mystery to her altogether sometimes.

Pan looked confused. "What is he talking about? The last true Saiyan?"

Bra wouldn't contemplate her father's comment. Right now, she wanted to free Goten from the regeneration tank. His bruises and scratches were gone, but he still looked to be unconscious. Or maybe he was sleeping. As she started letting the water out of the tank, she could feel Pan watching her every move. Once that was done, she opened up the chamber and removed Goten's mask.

Pan studied Goten. "Is he okay?"

"He should be," Bra told her. She picked him up in her arms and took him over to an examining table on the other side of the room.

"Bra," Goten muttered.

Bra gasped. "Goten?" She smiled.

Goten's eyes popped open and he quickly hopped off of the table. "I remember." He looked at his clothes and felt around for the injuries he'd once had. Then he looked at Bra with his eyes narrowed.

Bra frowned.

"Oh, Uncle Goten! I was so worried," Pan said. She dashed over and hugged him tight.

Goten moved Pan behind him and kept his eyes on Bra. "So, how's it gonna be, Bra? Are you going to try to kill me again? Are you going to try to kill Pan?"

Bra sighed. "Goten..."

He looked away a little. "I heard what you all were saying before you got me out of the chamber." Then he looked at Bra angrily. "But that doesn't change the fact that you tried to put an end to my existance."

The backs of Bra's eyes began to sting again. "Goten... Goten, I'm so sorry."

Goten's expression softened a little.

Pan just looked from one to the other as they stood in silence.

And a long silence it was...

Bra knew that Goten would hate her for the rest of her life. This was nothing small. She had indeed tried to snuff out his life. She had left him in the barren land to waste away. And with the way she'd treated Goten, Pan would hate her as well. The only real friends she'd ever had in the world would disappear from her life. What would she do without them. Pan had always been her solid foundation when nothing in her life seemed to be going right. She was someone Bra could go to when times got so hard that not even she could handle it. And Goten was the love of her life. He was the only reason she'd become who she was today, regardless of how many fights he'd thrown in the past. He was still that wonderful, lovable, incredible guy she'd always loved. The only man she ever wanted. The only man she ever felt she needed.

"I wonder what your dad meant," Pan finally said.

Both Bra and Goten looked at her strangely.

"I mean, he said something about Bra being the last true Saiyan. I wonder what he could have meant by that," Pan continued. "We're all part Saiyan, aren't we?"

Right now, Bra didn't care what her father had been talking about. All she cared about was the fact that these two would be lost to her forever.

"Yeah. But I don't know... I don't know," Goten said, sounding very confused. "Come on, Pan. It's getting pretty late. I'll fly you home." He looked back at Bra.

Bra's tears began to fall like rain. "Please...don't go," she murmured.

Goten looked like he was about to reach over and wipe away her tears, but changed his mind. He sighed and looked back at Pan. "Let's go."

The look of sadness on that man's face pierced a hole in Bra's heart. And she watched the only two friends she'd ever had leave without even saying good-bye.

--End But the Sun Is Eclipsed By the Moon--

--Ouch...

--Well, that's the end of Versus 3: Eclipse. I apologize. I know this episode was a real downer. It depressed the hell out of me, that's for sure. And I have to apologize for the fact that it's not very well written. It stopped writing itself at some point and let me take over again for a while. That's probably the reason it turned out the way it did.

--Sorry it took so long to get this very sad episode out. Let me know what you think. And let's have a little vote. Should this series continue? I think it can, but there may be some people out there thinking, 'This fic's been going downhill since the second day it started. Why is this SludgeMetal666 person still writing?' I know there are a few of you out there who think that. Well, let me know about it. If you hated it, bring on the flames. If you liked it, let me know. I know I hated it. It's a bummer. I want to see some better things happen for this couple. And that's why I'm starting off the votes by saying, 'Yes, I want a Versus 4'.

--Thanks for suffering through this fic. It may not be great, but you gotta admit, it's original. Or at least I think it is. Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews. And maybe I'll see you again.