Wow... so many reviews... You guys are spoiling me!!! And by the way, I changed the rating to PG-13 due to very minor gore. Ok, if you thought the last chapter was good; feast your eyes upon this little number! Oh, this is my favorite chapter!

Chapter 8: Trunks' Decision

Pan was afraid to face Trunks that morning, so she stayed in her room until she thought she would die of hunger.

It was now past 10:00, so Pan thought for sure Trunks had long since gotten breakfast, and it was now safe. But before eating, Pan had to know something...

"Bra, are you awake?"

"Pan! I'm so sorry! I swear, I didn't squeal! You know I would never..." Bra rushed up to hug her sister. Her eyes were tear-stained. There were dark circles under them, indicating she had been up all night wondering if Pan was furious at her.

"I'm not mad. Actually, I'm very glad to know you didn't rat me out. But now, I wonder how Trunks found out?"

"I don't know, but he came barging in my room last night, pinned me to the floor, and said he wouldn't let me go until I told him where you were. I told him you couldn't sleep so you were out walking in the garden, but he didn't buy it. He eventually just left, and found you. I was scared; I had never seen him like that before..." Bra suddenly burst into tears. When she buried her face in her hands, Pan could see red marks on her wrists where Trunks had held her down.

"That's funny... he didn't do anything last time I went out..." Bra looked up, and dried her tears.

"You mean you've done that before? And he knew?!?" Pan nodded silently.

"Maybe he was just worried that Otou-san would find out. He said himself; he was worried what Otou-san would do if he did find out."

Bra thought about this, and then Pan's stomach growled loudly. Bra laughed.

"I guess you're hungry then?"

"Yeah, I was just too afraid that Trunks would be down there."

"Tell you what. To make it up to you, I'll go down there, and you can follow me. That way, I'll see Trunks before he sees you. You'll never get caught."

"Really? Thanks a lot, Onee-chan!"

And so, Bra headed down to the kitchens, rounding the corners to make sure Trunks was not around, then motioning for Pan to follow. They made it to the kitchens safely, and Pan began hungrily scarfing down five bowls of cereal, and three pieces of toast. Bra got herself a piece of toast while they were down there. It was rare to see Bra actually eating breakfast anymore.

It seemed their luck was holding out... until Trunks stepped in for his breakfast just as the girls were planning to make their way back upstairs.

"Oh, good morning, girls. Uh... Bra, I'm... sorry about last night. Are you... okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Onii-san. You just... scared me is all." Bra rubbed her wrists a little. She backed nervously away. Trunks turned to Pan.

"Pan, could I please speak to you alone?"

(Here it comes...) Pan thought.

Bra sympathetically looked back at Pan, before making her way back to her room. Once she was gone, Trunks began to speak.

"Listen, Pan. I want to apologize for last night. I was overreacting, and I'm sorry. And I'm not going to punish you." Pan could hardly believe what she was hearing. It was the last thing she had come to expect to come out of his mouth. "Just promise me you'll never go out there again, at least without my knowing first." He winked, and smiled.

"You got it, Onii-san!" Pan beamed from ear to ear as she hugged him, and made her way back to her room to get dressed.

On the way, she met Bra.

"Well, how did it go?" She breathed anxiously.

"He didn't punish me at all. In fact, he apologized to me." Bra's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Wow, Pan. Your luck never seems to run out!" Pan smiled, and walked into her room to dress.

Everything else that day didn't seem too far from perfectly normal. Trunks acted as if nothing had happened. However, today was a special training day for Trunks and Vegeta Jr. King Vegeta was testing them to see if they were fit to rule after him. There were two tests; one to see if they could solve problems within their kingdom, and one to see if they were physically strong enough to take on anyone who may threaten to overtake the throne.

Pan had decided to watch from behind a large pillar in the corner of the room, covered in dark shadow. No one knew she was there, and she planned to keep it that way.

Both had done fine on the first test, and as expected, Trunks passed the physical test with flying colors.

"That's enough, return to your posts." King Vegeta ordered the five guards that were taking Trunks on all at once. Trunks easily pushed them all aside, and succeeded in knocking two unconscious.

King Vegeta, however, was not at all pleased with the fact that his son was rendering them helpless, and then not finishing them off.

"No, Trunks! As a Saiyan Prince, you should be totally merciless! You're showing those fools mercy!"

"Nonetheless, Otou-san. I have proved to you I am strong enough." Trunks panted, straightening himself up.

"No, my son, you can never be strong enough. There is not set limit to how strong a Saiyan can become. There are those out there that are stronger than my best guards, and almost a perfect match to my own strength. Now go and sit down. Vegeta, it is now your turn. Show your brother the meaning of merciless!"

"Yes, Otou-san." Vegeta Jr. stood up, and walked to the middle of the floor. King Vegeta snapped his fingers, and three guards were already on him. The young prince fought as hard as he could, but he was at a height disadvantage. The tall guards punched and kicked at him, but he seemed barely able to defend. Trunks thought this was getting a bit too out of hand.

"Otou-san, can't you see he can't fend them off? Call them back! He can't..." King Vegeta held up his hand in Trunks' face, and nodded to two other guards to start fighting as well.

"No! Otou-san, stop it! He can't take it!" Trunks continued to yell.

"Yes he can, baka! He will not fail me!"

Suddenly, the young boy's body began to glow a deep crimson red. A fairly large aura appeared around him. It seemed to burn the guards who were touching it. All of them quickly backed off, and stared in wonder.

Pan covered her mouth to suppress a gasp of fear and surprise from the shadows of her hiding place.

Prince Vegeta straightened his posture, and began to slowly walk toward them, his eyes showing death to the fool who dared to touch him again. The aura steadily grew larger, until it reached its full size. By now, the aura took the shape of blood-red flames reaching ten feet above the boy's head, and a ten foot radius all around him.

"Now, who still wants to take me on?" Vegeta Jr. shouted in a voice that was not his own. The voice sounded more mature, almost exactly like his father's.

By now the guards looked pleadingly at their king, wondering why he was not telling them to stop. Instead, he yelled at them to attack, or he would personally deal with them.

In an instant, Vegeta had jumped about fifteen feet into the air, and attempted to land near the closest guard. His pitiful attempt to escape was useless. Long before the boy had touched the ground, the red aura had engulfed him, and he fell to the ground in unexplainable pain. He cringed and wriggled as if he were on fire. Then all movement left him, and he just laid there. The boy just stood there triumphantly, and laughed. Then he kicked the guard so hard, he went flying against the stone wall of the chamber. The aura died down to almost nothing, and the other guards backed up in fear. It was no longer the aura that was the most feared; it was now the boy who had created it. He had now finished powering up. Vegeta was there one second, then gone the next. The guards looked around frantically, but to no avail. A couple seconds later, one of the guards fell to the ground dead, as if for no reason. But when the others looked at him, he had several small holes in his back, big enough for the prince's small fist to fit in. The prince suddenly appeared again, with a menacing grin displayed on his face. It appeared he had punched so fast, no one had seen. Also, there was no blood on his hands because it had been done so quickly. The prince raised his right index finger, and pointed to one of the three remaining guards. As quickly as he had come, he disappeared once again, and then reappeared a split second later about five feet behind the guard, still facing the same direction. His eyes were closed, his finger still pointing forward, and a smile crept up on to his face. The guard behind him dropped to his knees, and fell flat on his stomach, quite dead. He had killed him with one finger through his heart. The remaining two guards had had enough, and began to run away in opposite directions. The murderous prince extended both his palms in the directions of the frantic guards, and blasted two red, thin beams right through their hearts, ending his test.

Not being able to take any more, Pan quietly ran for her room, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"You see? You have underestimated the power of a true Saiyan warrior." King Vegeta smiled to Trunks as he clapped, and Trunks collapsed on his knees, gaping. He had just witnessed the true deadly power of a Saiyan.

However, Prince Vegeta also collapsed to the floor on all fours, and began to gasp for air.

Both had passed their tests, but now Trunks had a pretty good idea why Prince Vegeta was his father's favorite child. He had been born with an abnormally high power level, and he could easily show for it.

Trunks had had more than he could take. His father wouldn't accept him, his little brother was a full fledged killer, he had hurt his younger sister, and his adoptive sister now knew the truth, and was trying to find her real family, even if it meant disobeying Otou-san. And to top it all off, his mother was dead, and her request for the name of her youngest child would not be honored.

It was more than the young man could bear. His whole family, his whole world was falling apart.

Trunks felt he knew what he had to do.

"Pan, wake up! Pan! Open your window!" Pan was shaken out of yet another dream of Zamuri, to see Trunks tapping on her bedroom window.

"Wha... Trunks?!? What are you doing out there?" Pan sprang out of bed, and opened her window. Trunks flew in, and grabbed Pan by the shoulders.

"I don't have much time, but I had to come and see you first. I'm going away for a little while, but I'll be back."

"Wait, why? Why are you leaving, Onii-san?" Trunks covered her mouth.

"Shh! They'll hear you! And you know as well as I that I'm not your brother." He let go of Pan, who was close to shock. Yes, she knew she was not his sister, but he had never minded her calling him Onii-san before.

"Listen, with the naming ceremony in four days, Otou-san is going to need some serious convincing. Get Bra on your side; she's good at persuasion. It's up to you now."

"Wait, Trunks! Why are you leaving?"

"I need to... I can't tell you now. I have to go. Just promise me you won't sneak off again until I'm back. You may not be my sister, but I'll always love you like one... Pan... promise?"

"I promise... Onii-san..." She whispered. And with that, Trunks smiled, turned, and jumped out of the window.

Pan rushed to the windowsill to watch, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

Trunks pulled up a few inches from the ground, and took off for the sky. Higher... higher... higher... just like in her dream...

Pan watched him until he disappeared behind the cloud cover. Then she cried herself to sleep right there on the windowsill.