A/N: Surprise! Pan gets a few chapters of her own. I was fully intending to write this ENTIRE story only in Trunks POV, but I already screwed that up earlier, and my muse wouldn't talk to me until I did this.

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ/GT

Chapter 10
Pan stared at her trigonometry book blankly, not really caring how the measurement of two sides and an angle could determine the complete dimensions of a triangle. She absently gnawed on a fingernail as she tried to focus on her homework, and not on the issue that was bothering her.

It was ten o'clock on Monday morning, and while she should have been at school, Pan and her mom had quite an argument earlier that morning that left both of them shaking in anger. Her dad stepped in before the fight had become physical, and suggested that Pan take the day off. If anything, that made Videl more furious than before.

Pan needed the time, though. She'd spent all of the previous day at the Briefs', and Saturday had been devoted to chores. She hated school more than anything, but her parents were adamant that she at least finish high school and get a degree. The fiery-tempered teenager reluctantly agreed with them. She wasn't interested in being a professional fighter.

She stared out the window at the perfect conditions outside. A light breeze stirred the leaves of the tree that shaded her window. The sky was as blue as the southern ocean, and wispy clouds drifted lazily across the perfect dome. The bright sun was almost blinding, shattering into hundreds of rainbows as passed through her prismic glass ornaments.

She just couldn't concentrate. The situation with Trunks was like a demon in her mind. It wouldn't leave her alone, and the more she tried to ignore it, the more it bothered her.

"Damn you, Trunks!" She shouted as she picked up her textbook and threw it through the window above her desk. The glass shattered into long fragments, reluctantly giving way to the ridiculous amount of force Pan had invested into the thrown book.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Pan jumped at the sound of her father's voice. She had no idea how he'd entered without her noticing.

"I don't know, Dad." Pan said, her voice sounding empty in her own ears.

Gohan sat down in the newly vacant chair by her desk. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and there was an unusual seriousness in his demeanor. Pan was suddenly, forcefully, reminded that her dad was no pushover. He was a scholar, but he was also a fighter. It was Gohan the warrior that was speaking to her right now.

"This doesn't have anything to do with what your mom is worried about, does it?"

Pan felt a little better hearing that. At least I won't have to plow over that old ground with him. "You're right, it's not what she and I were arguing about."

Gohan stared at the now broken window. "I don't like seeing you this upset. Would it be easier for you to talk to someone else?"

Pan was amazed at his tact. It was like she was seeing a whole new side of her dad. Confident, analytical, and smooth as polished glass...no wonder Vegeta hated him.

"No dad, it's not you. I don't...I'm not sure...urrg!"

Words failed Pan. Her emotional side seemed to know something her logical half didn't. When she was younger, her emotions usually got her into trouble, especially her temper. She did her best to contain her feelings as she got older, but during her recent training Vegeta surprisingly told her to let them all out, all the time. She was certain now that in his bizarre way the Saiyan Prince had reached a deeper well of wisdom this way himself, and that this was the first flash of such a thing in her.

She took a deep breath, and tried to put into words the emotional turmoil she was in. "I'm angry with Trunks."

The words seemed so trite and insufficient when they left her mouth, but Gohan merely nodded rather than inquire beyond her obvious statement. His attentiveness relaxed her. She'd been worried that he wanted to grill her about the situation, but the look in his eyes seemed to say "Take your time, I'm right here."

"I don't know why I'm so angry with him, but I am."

Again, Gohan nodded. "Is it about the trip?" He asked quietly.

"YES!" Pan shouted angrily. She tried to put the pieces together, but they refused to form a cohesive picture in her mind. "I...I...can't put it into words! I'm furious at him! He's a stuck-up, irrational lunatic!"

Gohan seemed unfazed by her tirade. "Is this about Marron?" He asked with deceptive casualness.

Pan's anger abruptly faded. "No, it's not." She said with surprise. "I wasn't even thinking about her..." Her temper rose again. "It's all him! That stupid, wrong-headed excuse for a Saiyan!"

"You've been hanging around Vegeta too much, I think." Gohan said, chuckling slightly. "Ok, Trunks is stupid, wrongheaded and a lunatic, according to you. Why?"

"He…He's going to get himself killed!" She said in a rush, and then immediately paled when the words registered.

Gohan's eyes were hard, serious. Saiyan eyes, Her mother used to say. "You're sure?"

"NO I'M NOT!" She shouted at him. She worked hard to lower her voice. "That's the problem," she continued more quietly. "I can't be sure. But this plan of his...I get a bad feeling every time I think about it."

"What's really going on here?"

Pan covered her face with her hands. "Trunks thinks that Babidi and Majin Buu are going to be attacking Earth in the other dimension. I don't think he's ready to take Buu on alone!" To her surprise, she found herself shaking with the power of her emotions.

Gohan's eyes narrowed. "So that's why he pushed himself to the next level." He paused thoughtfully. "Trunks has the power he needs, and he's fought Buu before. Why don't you think he can win?"

"I don't KNOW!" She said in frustration. "But something's WRONG!"

"You want to go with him, don't you?"

Pan looked up at her father. "I do want to go, but I'll just get in the way...I'm not even a Super-Saiyan yet." The last words were a bitter admission for the young woman.

"It'll be hard," Gohan said in an offhand manner "but I'll show you how to do it, if you want."

Pan was stunned. "You're not going to stop me...?"

"Pan, you're old enough to make your own decisions." He suddenly smiled grimly. "Besides, it's not as if that stopped you before."

Pan colored at the mention of her unauthorized adventure with Goku and Trunks. "I don't know if I'm ready, but I want to try," Pan said with a hint of uncertainty.

"I know I wasn't ready when Cell showed up, but sometimes you have to step up and be what's needed." Gohan responded seriously. "Just keep in mind what you're fighting for, and the people you want to protect, and you'll do fine."

Gohan had changed into a fighting outfit that resembled the one Pan always saw Picollo wear, without the cape and the head adornment. Pan was wearing her red fighting Gi, and they'd both flown deep into the wilderness to train. It's a shame that the training area in the lookout was destroyed. She took a deep breath of the forest air, and decided that she preferred it out here anyway.

Pan and Gohan had sparred three separate times during the last hour, and at the end of the third sparring session her dad announced that she should be strong enough to transform. Now came the hard part.

"Ahhhh!" Pan shouted as she tried to push her power level up higher. It was exhausting, both mentally and physically for her to push herself to her limits, but she kept thoughts of Trunks firmly in her mind and tried to push harder with her strengthened resolve. She could feel her power radiating outward in a circle from her, but it was still her normal power, not the higher level of a Super-Saiyan.

"You can't just power up, Pan. You have to need that power, not just want it. If given a choice, your body won't change. It has to be forced to do so."

She felt her hair rising, as if by static electricity, and her skin tingled. I'm almost there! I can feel it!

Just as she felt like something was happening, her power slipped away like wet sand through her fingers. NO! She screamed mentally.

"Relax, Pan. You've reached your limit."

Pan sank to the ground in a shuddering heap. She was breathing rapidly, feeling as if she'd lifted a mountain. She saw that her dad was offering he water. She waved him away as she tried to calm her overstressed body down.

"In...in a minute, dad." She said, panting in exhaustion. She managed to roll onto her back. "That's...harder than it looks."

Gohan looked at her sympathetically. "I know, Pan. It wasn't any easier for me. Dad went easy on me, but he didn't really understand. He became a Super-Saiyan during a battle. It's harder to do deliberately."

Pan's felt the burn from her lungs fade, and her rapid breathing slowed. She still felt like someone had beaten her from head to toe, though. She held her hand out for the water bottle, and Gohan carefully handed it to her. She took small sips, and started feeling better imediately.

"You just rest for awhile. You shouldn't do that more than once per hour. You did well...I saw hints of the change." Gohan's words held a hint of false encouragement.

Pan was unexpectedly crushed by her dad's statement. I'm nowhere near changing. I can't do this! What was I thinking? She tried to stifle it, but a sob escaped her. I've never been able to keep up with them! It's not fair!

Gohan heard her sob, and rushed to her side. "Shhh, it's ok, Pan." Pan tried to say something, but he interrupted her. "No, it really is." He had a faraway look in his eyes. "Becoming a Super-Saiyan isn't easy. You're going to see and feel things that you thought you had put behind you. It isn't really a process of toughening up your body, but more about understanding why you are who you are."

Pan looked at him in disbelief. "Vegeta and Grandpa don't know any of that! How did they do it?"

Gohan frowned at her. "You think they don't know themselves?"

"I know they aren't what they say they are."

"Rage in a calm mind. That's what Dad said triggered the transformation. You can't be calm if you aren't at peace with yourself. Vegeta and Dad may not be what everyone thinks they are, but they accept themselves and are at peace with their natures. That's a big step. It took Vegeta close to three years to get there."

"But what do I need to do?" Pan asked angrily. "I don't have three years to soul search!"

Gohan looked at her penetratingly. "Do you like being the weakest Saiyan?"

The question caught her off guard. "Of course I don't!" Pan shot back. "I work harder than Trunks or Goten, but they're stronger than me!"

A sly smile touched Gohan's lips. "Dad would have been happy with a power level of less than a thousand, if his brother Radditz hadn't come to Earth. You're probably two-thousand times stronger than he was at your age."

"It doesn't matter! It's not fair!"

"Would it surprise you to know that Vegeta said the same things?"

Pan flinched. While Vegeta was her teacher, he was hardly her role model. "What are you getting at?" She asked in cold anger.

"You're probably going to have the same problems as he did. I had a different set of problems. Dad had another. It's different for everyone, but you hate the position that you're in, as compared to what it 'should' be."

"And why shouldn't I have been a natural Super-Saiyan?" Pan spat at him. "Trunks and Goten are, and they're only second generation! I'm third! And on top of that, you were the strongest!"

Gohan frowned. "Who told you that?"

"What, that you were the strongest? Even Vegeta thinks you were. He thought you wasted perhaps the greatest potential strength he's ever seen. You were a subject of many of his rants, during our training."

"So he took you under his wing to make up for a lost link in the chain?"

Pan glared at him. "How should I know what 'The Prince of All Saiyans' is thinking? My guess is that he felt honor bound by Grandpa's last wish that he take care of us." Her eyes hadn't softened. "So why can't I do this?"

Gohan sat down beside her, ignoring her anger. "Pan, life isn't fair. Vegeta had the potential of a Super-Saiyan within him, but that never protected him against Frieza. My dad died fighting his brother. Trunks and Goten got eaten by Majin Buu. You just don't snap your fingers, and power appears. Trunks and Goten aren't as strong as Dad or Vegeta were because they didn't have a solid foundation for their power."

"It may be a blessing in disguise that you haven't been able to transform yet. You've mastered skills that you probably would have ignored if you had more power, and more importantly, you've had time to grow into your power, something I always hoped you'd have the luxury of doing."

"It's still not fair," Pan said more quietly than before.

"It is what it is." Gohan looked at her appraisingly. "You helped Dad beat one of the Shadow Dragons, right? Even without being a Super-Saiyan, you were able to do that."

"So I should give up?" Pan asked in a defeated voice.

Gohan sighed. "No. I'm sure you can do it, but it may take time."

"I don't have that."

Gohan got up and dusted himself off. "I'm heading back. You should stay here and meditate. The backpack has lunch and dinner in it. I'll tell your mom not to worry, and to lay off you about Trunks. Take all the time you need."

As Gohan started to fly off, Pan called to him. "Thank you, Daddy! I'm sorry that I'm being so much trouble!"

She saw Gohan shake his head. "You aren't being trouble. Do your best! That's all that anyone can ask of you!"