CHAPTER 41:
Training Begins

They had been traveling all night, whipping by town and city, heading farther south – or it could have been south, but there really was no way to tell, since Piccolo made all kinds of turns and deviations from his normal path. The only thing of which Pan was aware was that the weather was becoming increasingly warmer; however, before she could really place where she was, she fell asleep on Piccolo's shoulder, drained of all energy, especially after several hours of kicking and screaming for him to let her go, to no avail.

Pan had several restless dreams which she couldn't remember, but when she finally awoke, she felt alone and distanced. When she opened her eyes fully, she realized that she was alone. It wasn't just her imagination.

Pan sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily. Her stomach was churning from her lack of sleep, or perhaps it was from her hunger. The thought of food made her stomach pang even more, but it was difficult to tell if it was from the wrenching emptiness inside or the sickness she had been feeling ever since she realized her world had ended.

Yawning somewhat, she looked around and noticed stone walls around her. The humidity practically clung to her skin like a thick blanket, and her hair itched her from being so oily. She needed a bath, and the more she realized this, the more dirty and grimy she felt.

Reaching up, she felt that she still had her bandana on, and removed it somewhat to scratch her head. What she was experiencing was far worse than hat hair. The humidity really got to her, and practically confirmed that they were farther south. She would probably give her best guess assuming she was in the southern hemisphere, experiencing summer at the moment.

She stood up and felt along the walls, supporting herself as she stood. Her stomach lurched again, and she leaned her body against the stone to keep her balance. Looking down, she saw that her left foot was by a bowl of what appeared to be nuts, and beside that, a cracked coconut. Cursing herself for wasting energy trying to stand, Pan leaned over and picked up the coconut, eyeing it thoughtfully before forming a miniscule ki ball to poke a hole through the inner shell.

After she was done with her drink, she threw the coconut aside and gave a somewhat disgusted look to the bowl of nuts. Seeing them brought back a memory of when she was in space. It seemed so long ago to her, now… She remembered one time when she made it quite clear to Tr…a friend and her – another relative – that she would die before ever eating nuts. She'd have to give a similar talk to Piccolo when she saw him.

Piccolo. She growled to herself and tied her bandana tight against her head. The thought of him made her so mad!! How dare he do this to her! To take her out here and then abandon her with only a coconut and a bowl of nuts! Where was that baka anyway?! She'd make sure he regretted ever messing with her! She was going to give him a piece of her own mind!

Rolling up her sleeves, Pan huffed to herself and reared her right leg back. With a giant SMACK she kicked the bowl of nuts across the cave, causing a hundred high-pitched pangs as all they clattered to the ground. She looked at the cracked bowl for a moment as it lay against the stone, and realized that just that one kick didn't really vent enough of her anger. She'd have to find Piccolo and knock the sense out of him.

Seething inside, Pan clenched her fists and slowly made her way to the mouth of the cave. She emerged to a warm yet dim morning light, with the last shadows of evening slowly waning on the horizon. A light breeze passed, cooling her skin as she looked around and turned slightly to the right, where an endless forest seemed to stretch on forever.

Her first reaction was to wonder where in the world she was. She was unfamiliar with the territory, and it unnerved her that Piccolo took her to some foreign land just to nab her away from her Gramps. What was that baka thinking anyway? It just made her even more upset to think about how he stole her away without her consent.

Whatever slight sliver of respect she may have had for Piccolo through her father's stories vanished completely as her eyes wandered to her left and saw the green Namek sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, meditating.

With a growl, Pan clenched her jaw and stomped over to him as loud as she could possibly muster, causing dirt clouds to erupt around her as she made her way to Piccolo. Reaching out a hand and pointing to him accusingly, she knotted her brow and yelled, "You monster! You kidnapped me!!"

Piccolo opened his left eye a sliver and then closed it again with a grunt, "Good. You seem to have some energy this morning." His eye slipped open again, "I got you some breakfast."

"Yeah, some breakfast!" Pan crossed her arms and frowned angrily, "Just so you know, MISTER Piccolo, I HATE nuts." She huffed and spun her body away, but turned her face to look at him.

Piccolo opened both his eyes and raised his brow in a frustrated glare, "Well sorry I couldn't whip out the eggs and bacon, but out here in the wilderness, those are slightly harder to come by." He lowered his brow, "But I wouldn't suspect you would know that."

"I want to go back to Gramps." With her arms still crossed, she turned her body to face him and gave him a death glare, "Take me back to him."

"Sorry kid, that isn't an option." Piccolo stood slowly and wiped his cape off, "Eat your breakfast. You're going to need some strength for training today."

"I disposed of breakfast already." Pan snuffed and looked away, "And I'm not hungry."

"You might regret not eating anything."

Pan glared at him and reached out her right fist, clenched tightly with anger, "I said I'm not hungry!"

Piccolo snarled and grabbed his cap, "FINE! Don't eat!" He tossed his hat aside and gestured for her to come closer, "Come here and get into a battle stance."

"Why?" Pan crossed her arms again and challenged him.

"Because we're going to train. Now get over here."

"No!"

Piccolo could feel his anger rise like boiling acid, "Get over here NOW, or else you will regret it!!!"

"Nuh-uh."

Piccolo could feel his body tremble from anger as steam almost rose from his head. His heart was racing as his blood pumped violently with surging rage, "Come here… and get into… a battle stance… or else I'll FORCE YOU TO!!!"

Pan narrowed her eyes to him as he stood there panting, and then began to walk as casually and nonchalantly as possible toward him, carelessly adjusting her bandana as if she were the freest girl in the world. When she got to be a few meters away from him, she gave him a glance and then brought her hands up to look at her nails, pretending she actually had a manicure she was tending.

Piccolo could feel sweat form on his forehead as he watched the stubborn girl act as if she were somehow superior to him. He narrowed his own eyes as she brought a flashback to his mind, of another cocky pupil of his who thought he was somehow better than Piccolo. Fortunately, this time around, he had more than thirty minutes at a time to knock some sense into the brat.

Pan spread her feet apart and brought one hand before her and one to her side, in a basic starting battle stance. "Is this better?"

Piccolo felt his temple throb and snarled slightly, holding back the sudden urge for violence, "Yes…"

"Okay now what?"

Piccolo tilted his head slightly, "Are you ready to train?"

Pan rolled her eyes, "Sure."

"Alright." Piccolo stood up straight and removed his shoulder pads, throwing them beside his cap. Rubbing his shoulders, he turned to her and nodded as he spoke, "Today we're going to start with the basics: Ground Fighting, since we can't take to the air yet." He paused to see if she had any complaints, then continued, "Your main goal is to keep your power level as low as possible, but invoke the greatest amount of damage." Piccolo moved into a fighting stance and nodded again, "Now, show me what you've got."

Pan sighed and stood straight, "This is stupid. I don't see why I have to do this."

Piccolo grunted, "Just fight me, and I'll show you why."

She flicked her hair and shook her head, "I don't want to fight."

The Namek growled as he felt his temper threaten to rise again. He pointed his left hand to his chin and bared his teeth, "Punch me, NOW."

Pan rolled her eyes again and took two steps, throwing a light punch that Piccolo easily dodged.

"Again, but this time, step into it more."

The girl sighed and reared back to throw another punch, making sure to step into it more. As her fist swung, Pan's eyes went wide as she felt a leg whip out and trip her, causing her to fall flat on her face in the dirt.

"You stepped too far into it. Don't let your enemy take advantage of sloppy footwork. Again!"

Pan frowned and rolled up her sleeves again, "Why can't I just kick you, then?"

"We'll do kicks later. Right now, punch me."

Pan stepped backward and threw her hands up, shaking her head, "This is stupid."

Piccolo bared his fangs, "Are you going to punch me or what?!?!"

The girl turned her body away and left only her face toward him as she stuck out her tongue rudely, "NO!"

"Then I'll punch YOU!" Piccolo charged her and threw his left fist at her face, knocking her square in the jaw and causing her body to twist and fly with a SWOOSH toward a mountain into which she crashed with a giant explosion of rocks and debris.

A moment passed of silence as Piccolo cracked his knuckles and huffed arrogantly toward the pile of boulders the girl helped him create.

Another moment passed, and a giant rock was thrown aside as Pan emerged, rubbing her chin and scowling, "OWWW!!!!" She pointed to Piccolo and yelled out, "What'd you do that for?!"

Piccolo brought his hands to his hips and cocked his head to the side, "For every time you don't listen to me, I'm going to attack you, got that?!" Piccolo got into a battle stance and gestured for her to come closer, "Now, punch me!"

Pan reared back angrily and broke into a run, readying her fist for a pummeling. "HYAAA!!!!" She burst forward, throwing her arm before her, in a wild punch, stepping into it with all the weight she could muster.

Piccolo smirked and tilted his head slightly to the side as the fist whooshed by him in a sonic shock wave.

"How… How did you dodge that?!" Pan's eyes went wide as she looked at her fist in disbelief.

"That was better." Piccolo nodded, "But not good enough." He gave a pleased grunt and gestured to his face a second time, "Again!"

Pan roared, "I'm going to make you pay for punching me!!!" She threw her whole body into the next punch, while issuing a frustrated scream that turned from bloody to surprised as her body suddenly failed to make contact. With a quick shriek, she lost her balance and fell face-forward as Piccolo easily dodged his entire body away in time.

"Again!"

Pan picked herself up and brushed loose strands of hair back. She lowered her brow and snarled with great contempt for the Namek. "You… You took me away from Gramps! I hate you!!" She ran forward and threw a punch forward, but missed him by a whole foot.

"Focus your anger. Again!"

"And… And I hate Grandpa! I HATE HIM!!!" With two fists, she threw a punch and when whipped around to throw her other fist where she thought Piccolo would dodge, but both times she missed.

"Again!"

"Just shut up and let me punch you!!!"

Piccolo kicked his knee out, smacking her in the gut as he brought his fist forward and with a loud CRACK, smacked Pan in the jaw, sending her into another mountain.

A giant cloud rose from the collapsing boulders and ash and debris scattering around like brown, dry rain.

Pan emerged, throwing several boulders to the side as she screamed and got into a battle defense position, "Why'd you do that?!"

Piccolo looked at her coldly, "You didn't punch me." He crossed his arms and waited for his pupil to come closer before looking to the sky and smirking slightly, "Okay, the rules have changed. For every time you miss a swing, I'm going to attack you."

Pan rubbed her jaw and narrowed her eyes, "You can't just change the rules like that!!"

"Oh yeah?" Piccolo took her lowered defenses as an opening and fazed out of vision, reappearing before her with a loud, "HNNF!!" and nailed her in the stomach before she even had a chance to cry out in surprise.

With a loud gasp, she was thrown backward into the boulders again, falling hard against the rocks. When Pan emerged again, her hands were squeezed against her stomach as she coughed up blood.

Piccolo stood over her with her arms crossed, "There ARE no rules on the battlefield. Even honor does not exist among those who have no morals. Baby has no honor. You have to accept that he will attack you even when you are down!"

Pan coughed up more blood and wiped her mouth as she looked up with red in her eyes, "I HATE YOU!" With surging energy, she screamed aloud, and with all her might, swung her fist around and landed a hard punch straight across Piccolo's jaw, sending him flying backwards into the dirt.

Pan stood up, smacking her fists against each other with a hard scowl across her features. "Take that you monster!"

"Heheheh…" Piccolo sat up and wiped some blood from his mouth. "Good." He stood up straight and dusted himself off, "But not good enough." He smirked, "I want you to be able to crack my jaw in the end." His smirk increased slightly, "You barely even got me to bite my tongue. Heh." He got into a battle stance and gestured her to attack, "Again!"

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Hours later, after several hundred runs of punches, it began to become evident that Pan was losing power and speed. Her punches lost the drive and her legs began to give way under her.

Piccolo felt it was stupid to let her rest. He knew she would never improve unless she was pushed, but he also knew that she had not eaten in several days, and would collapse from exhaustion if he didn't lighten up on the girl.

"Alright," he hated doing this, "Time for a break."

They made their way into the cave slowly, while Pan wiped her forehead with her bandana and took deep breaths to regain her stature. When inside the cave and relishing in its shade, Pan panted hard and dropped to her knees, "I need… water…"

Piccolo went to a corner of the cave and sat down patiently, "Well, I was just about to suggest you go out and find some."

"What? Me find some?" Pan stood straight and glared, "What do you think I am? Some slave girl?"

"Sure, why not." He yawned, "Why don't you fetch me some, too, while you're at it."

"Ohhh? And what are you going to do? Take a nap?"

"Now that you mention it…" he paused and leaned back, "it does sound very appealing." He looked at her for a moment before closing his eyes, "I suggest you find a bit of meat, too. And maybe stock up on some dinner for yourself. It's always good to plan ahead."

Pan put her hands on her fists, "And what are you going to eat?"

Piccolo huffed a slight chortle and smirked, "I don't eat food. I drink water." He opened his right eye a sliver, "And I expect you to bring me some. If you don't, I'm going to be extra hard on you."

Pan felt her temper about to burst, "First you kidnap me, then you beat me, then you starve me!!!"

"I offered you nuts. You just refused to eat them." Piccolo closed his eyes.

She growled, "I hate nuts."

Piccolo cracked open one eye, "Are you allergic?"

"No…"

"Then eat them." He lounged back and closed his eyes.

Pan stood over him and felt her stomach wrench inside. "I hate you."

Piccolo remained silent as Pan just stood there, watching him. Her fists clenched and relaxed as mixed emotions of pain, hate, hunger, and depression swarmed within her. Every part of her body was sore because of the kicks and punches he had delivered to her. Not even Vegeta had been this hard on her.

With a final glare, Pan spun around and marched out of the cave muttering curses under her breath, "I hate him. I hate him!!!" When she reached the edge of the cave, she stomped toward the forest with a surge of detest for the Namek. As she walked, her temper grew more and more, until she reached the trees, and in an explosion of anger, she screamed out at the top of her lungs, reaching her hands to the sky as if she could somehow bring back her Grandpa, "I HATE HIM!!!!!"

It didn't even matter who "He" was anymore. She just hated them. All of them. Everyone. She hated her Grandpa, she hated Trunks, she hated Piccolo, she hated Giru and Gramps and Majin Buu, and her Papa and Mama and everyone who turned their backs on her and wished her dead. She cursed them all. And most of all, more than anyone… She hated herself. She hated how she couldn't stand up to Piccolo. She hated how she was so weak, how she was cursed with so much worthless human blood and no tail.

She staggered through the forest without an aim, knocking into trees without a direction or purpose. Her body shook and trembled as she stumbled over roots and twigs, falling into the dirt, and picking herself up only to wander helplessly again.

She hated walking. She hated having no purpose. Her life had no meaning anymore. Baby stripped her of everything, of all those she loved, of everything that ever was significant in her life in any way. Even the dragonballs were torn from her. What use was she? She could never be anything great like her Grandpa. Her Grandpa… he was a hero. He saved the world over and over again and he always came back, no matter what. But this time… This time he wasn't coming back, and she needed him. She needed him more than anything in the world.

She stopped running and clutched herself, leaning against a tree. Sobbing hard, she slowly slid down the bark and rested on the ground, burying her face in her arms.

"Grandpa… Grandpa, why did you leave me…?" Her tears were cold and lifeless, "Trunks…. Trunks…. Why… Why…?" She cried harder, her body convulsing in tears, "Why did you do that to me, Trunks…? Why…?"

Sniffling hard and digging her face deeper into her arms, she continued to sob, "Poor…. Poor Giru…. Poor…. Poor Giru…"

It was a feeling she was being watched that drove her out of her fit. Sensing a shadow come over her, she slowed her sobs down and hesitantly held her breath, a swarm of fear threatening to come over her.

Daring herself to look up, she forced her eyes open and tilted her head to see the source of the shadow.

When she saw her captor, the sick feeling sunk into her stomach again. "Mr… Mr. Piccolo?"

"I knew you'd do this." He looked down on her and frowned solemly, "You need to stop thinking of them."

Pan looked down and felt her body tremble, "I…. I can't…." She sobbed lightly, "I miss them so much…. I miss… -hic- I-I miss Grandpa… -hic-" With that, the thought of her Grandpa brought an entirely new wave of loss to her as she poured everything out – every last feeling of desperation, of a release of every feeling she had been holding in for so long.

Piccolo watched over her and waited a long time for her cries to soften. After her tears let up, and her sniffling ceased, he nodded to her and put one hand on his hip, "Do you understand why we need to train, Pan?"

There was a pause as his words sunk into the girl. She looked down as she sucked in a sniff, "Y-yes…"

"Are you willing to cooperate with me?"

There was another pause. "I… I… I don't want to… I don't want to have to face them… to face them…."

"Pan…" Piccolo leaned down and took her shoulder in a gentle grasp, "Pan, look at me."

Sniffling softly, she looked to his face, her own red and flushed with tears.

"You are not alone. I don't want you thinking that you are alone in this battle." He nodded to her, "Goku is gone, yes, but you need to learn how to rely on your own strength. It is healthy to fight for people, to be inspired by people, and to, in some way, avenge people. It displays a great deal of honor to your character if you find motivation through the friendship of others. However…." He pointed a finger upward, "You have a problem of relying on others to fight for you, instead of you fighting for others. That's a big problem, Pan. Do you understand why?"

Pan looked at him and just sniffled, not saying anything.

Piccolo sighed and squeezed her shoulder gently, "It's a problem, because when your hero falls, you don't know how to stand on your own two feet." With his other hand, he pointed to her, "Like right now. Your hero fell, and all you are doing is crying." He released her shoulder and looked her hard in the eye, "So get up and fight me. If you aren't going to train yourself, then I'm going to train you for you." He reached out his hand toward her as if in an invitation to grasp it.

Pan just sat there, looking at him for a moment. Her eyes were thick with tears as she then looked down in shame. "Mr. Piccolo… I…" she sniffled, "I don't really hate you…"

"Yeah, kid," he smirked, "I know."

Pan knotted her brow and sucked in her sadness. With a final intake of air, Pan reached out and took Piccolo's hand as he hoisted her up. She looked down at her hand for a moment, and then looked up to Piccolo with determination in her face, "I…" She clenched her fists and felt a surge of courage within her, "I would be honored if you could train me, Mr. Piccolo. I want to put Baby in his place, for messing with my friends' lives." She wiped her tears away slowly, " I would love your help… if you could help me defeat Baby once and for all." Looking hard at him, she nodded in acknowledgement to him, "And I could use any advice I can get."

Piccolo stepped back and spread his arms wide, "Then punch me."

With a surge of energy and a new purpose to her existence, Pan reared up and put her entire being into the punch, her fist flying in a sonic wave that exploded all the trees around them in a giant firework of splinters. A loud CRACK!!! resonated across the entire forest as the hit smacked Piccolo straight in the face, sending him flying into one of the only remaining trees in the area, shattering it into microscopic shreds of existence.

A moment passed as Pan's eyes widened and she looked down at her fist in surprise.

Piccolo chuckled slightly and stood up from the rubble with a grin, brushing himself off and wiping drops of blood away from his nose. "Good! I see an improvement already!" He smirked and got into a battle stance, gesturing with her finger to come closer. "Again!"

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-1/18/04-