I know... it's been a whole week... please don't kill me... if you do, you'll never get to find out how the story ends... actually, I'm not exactly sure how it's going to end anymore...;;;;;; So I'll just hold off on that, and you can busy your happy little selves with yet another action-packed chapter. And to answer the question I know you've all been asking... There IS going to be TP romance, but not for a while. I'm actually in the process of writing it out now, but it won't be posted for a while.

Chapter 15: Reunion of Rivals

Sweat was dripping all over Goku's tired body. Rain dripped down his exhausted body, soaking him through and through. He was trying to catch his breath, but it was hard to do when he was fighting off soldier after soldier. He had lost track of Goten, who had been with him until just a minute ago. Several soldiers had attacked at once, and the two were forced in opposite directions. Goku had lost sight of his son, and now he was trying to find him again.

"Goten?!? Goten?!?" He tried to call, but having no reply, tried to reach his mind as he had just done to Trunks. ("Goten, it's me! Can you hear me?")

There was a pause, and then, ("Otou-san! Yeah, I can hear you!")

("All right!!! Where are you, son?") Goku thought.

("Uh, well... Let's see... I'm in the middle of a dark cloud of smoke, surrounded by enemy soldiers attacking me from all directions!") Goten thought sarcastically.

("Aw, that doesn't help much!") Goku whined.

("I was being sarcastic, Dad. I don't know exactly where I am.")

("Well, are you hurt?") Goku asked.

("Apart from a few minor scratches and bruises, nothing serious.")

("Okay, good... Meet me at the cave entrance as soon as possible! I'll find Piccolo and Juuhachi-gou.")

("Right, Dad!")

Goku disconnected from his son's mind, and tried to focus on Piccolo's location.

(It's no use!) He thought. (He's not as close to me as Goten, so it's harder to find him!) Getting fed up with the annoying soldiers trying desperately to put even one scratch on him, Goku simply blasted a hole through the ranks. Usually he despised the very idea of killing anyone unless he absolutely had to. He sighed, and sat down on a nearby boulder. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on Piccolo or Juuhachi-gou's ki. Instead, he heard someone calling him.

"Grandpa?!? Goten-kun?!? Anybody?!?"

It was faint, but he could make out the voice coming closer from behind him. Goku opened his eyes, jumped off the boulder, and raced toward the voice.

"Pan? Is that you, Pan?!?"

"Grandpa?!?" The frantic voice responded.

"Pan, I'm right here!!! Follow my voice!!!"

Suddenly, Goku heard a small yelp come from the direction he was heading. Sensing danger, Goku sprinted through the thick smoke, screaming, "PAN!!!"

Not able to see what was right in front of him, Goku soon tripped over a limp figure on the ground, and fell flat on his face. He turned around to see he had tripped over a dead soldier's body. At the sight of the mangled corpse, Goku quickly picked himself up, screaming briefly, and continued in the direction he had been running. He soon became aware of a very low ki level right in front of him, as well as another stronger ki level right next to it. He tore through the smoke, and caught sight of a small limp figure lying on the ground, quite unconscious.

"Pan!!!" Goku rushed over to her, only to be showered with many small purple ki blasts. Goku quickly deflected them with his bare hands, and looked in the direction of the firing. There floating in the air was...

"Vegeta!!!" Goku scowled at the menacing figure above him.

"That's King Vegeta to you, Kakarot!!!" The king shouted back.

"What have you done to my granddaughter?!?"

"Your... what?!? That miserable little brat is related to YOU?!?" Vegeta threw his head back, and laughed uncontrollably. "Hah! I should have known! That little weakling definitely had some strong personality traits that reminded me of your kind. Her stubbornness, determination, and her biggest weakness; the love for her friends and family that will someday destroy her, and you!"

It turned out that Pan was not fully out. Though she could not move, she could easily hear every word being said. She kept her eyes shut tight, so as not to draw attention to herself.

Vegeta continued to laugh menacingly. Goku gritted his teeth, holding back his urge to charge and hurt Vegeta as much as possible.

"Hah! Anyway, I did nothing serious to her, merely knocked her unconscious." Vegeta smirked. "But I have come not only for revenge against you, but also for my son, who was taken from me during his naming ceremony." Vegeta lowered his ki, and landed softly on the ground. "Tell you what Kakarot; I'll make you a deal. If you give me back my son, and then fight me to prove who is stronger, I'll call off my troops, and let your pathetic friends go."

"And if I don't?" Goku grunted through grit teeth.

"If you don't..." Vegeta replied nastily, "then I'll let this battle continue, take my son back by force, and personally make sure that your whole family will pay dearly for your bad decision! And I'll start with your granddaughter!!!" He pointed at Pan, still lying in the mud, motionless.

Goku looked from Pan to Vegeta.

(What choice do I have?) He thought.

"Father!" Goku heard a voice call from behind him. He caught sight of Gohan flying toward him, his arm around the shoulder of Goten, who had been wounded badly in his abdomen. Trunks flew behind them. The three landed behind Goku, and Gohan rushed over to his father as Trunks helped Goten sit down on a nearby boulder.

"Don't listen to him! Even if you do agree to fight with him, you know he could easily just go after us again another day! And don't worry about Mom and everyone else; they're all safe!"

Gohan suddenly turned his attention to the motionless figure next to Vegeta.

"Oh no... Pan!!!" He tried to run to her, but Vegeta thrusted his palm out toward him, and shot a small but fast purple ki blast. It missed Gohan's head by inches, and continued on toward the boulder Goten was sitting on. Thinking quickly, Trunks scooped Goten up, and flew up into the air just as the boulder shattered like glass below them.

Vegeta smirked, and lowered his hand. "That'll be you if you take one more step closer, boy!"

Gohan turned to look at the destruction caused by that single small blast, then turned back to his daughter. Slowly, he lowered his clenched and trembling fists, and backed away.

Trunks lowered Goten to the ground once again, and turned to face his father. "Otou-san, leave them alone! It's me you want, isn't it?!? I was the one who stole the baby! I was the one who told Pan she was adopted! I was even the one who planned this entire rebellion against my father's own kingdom!!!"

"You, boy?" Vegeta asked, a feeling of betrayal and hatred welling up inside him. "But... Why? This kingdom would have all been yours!"

"I never wanted to rule your kingdom, father!" Trunks shot back. Vegeta was quite taken aback. "Don't you see? I don't want to be the leader of a people that live their daily lives in fear that they, or those they love might get taken away. If I am to rule, I want to listen to the people and find out what it is they want. Not what I want! If I am to be king, I want my subjects to be loyal to me at their own whim! I don't want to force anyone to do anything they don't want to do!"

Vegeta stood silently for a moment, positively stunned. He was unable to move a single muscle. This was the last person he would ever expect to betray him...

His fists began to tremble. His nails dug into his palms, sending small trickles of blood slowly dripping to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Otou-san..." Trunks sighed.

"No... You're not my son..." He muttered.

Trunks' heart stopped for a split second. "Wha... F-Father..." He stuttered.

"... No... Get out of my sight... You are no longer my son."

Trunks didn't know what to say anymore. Ever since he was a young child, his only goal was to get his father to accept him, and understand him. Now the man he had once called his greatest hero stood there before him, rejecting him... tearing his dream apart right in front of his eyes...

Pan had also heard. Though temporarily paralyzed by Vegeta's earlier attack, she could still sense how Trunks felt. Silent tears rolled down her face, blending in with the raindrops drenching her cold skin.

("Gohan...") Goku thought to his son. (Take Goten and get out of here. Find Piccolo and Juuhachi-gou, and meet us at the cave entrance.)

("But Otou-san! What about Pan?") Gohan thought frantically.

("Trunks and I will take care of that. Go now!")

Gohan silently nodded once, and slowly backed up toward his brother. Vegeta seemed to be too preoccupied to notice. Then again, even if he were aware of Gohan's movement, he wouldn't care.

"Goten..." Gohan whispered as he neared his brother.

"Huh... Onii-san?" Goten mumbled, trying to stay conscious. He clutched his stomach, trying to endure the pain.

"Dad told me to get you out of here."

"Mmm... right." Goten allowed Gohan to hoist him on to his back, and noiselessly took off.

("Otou-san...") Gohan thought to his father, momentarily turning back to look upon the desperate scene. ("I hope you know what you're doing...")

There was no reply from Goku, but Gohan understood and flew toward the mountain once more.

Goku cracked a small smile. Everyone else was now safe and out of harm's way. Now the only one he was worried about was Pan. He tried to reach her telepathically.

("Pan... Can you hear me, Pan?")

No answer, and then...

("Grandpa... I can barely hear you...") her thoughts sounded weak, as though she was clinging desperately for her life.

("Pan, listen to me! You have to stay awake! Now... Can you move anything?")

There was a pause, as Goku sensed Pan's energy level attempting to rise, but no movement came.

("No good... I can't even open my eyes... uh...")

("Pan!!!") Goku tried frantically to reach her, but she was now fully unconscious.

As soon as they had emerged from the submerged tunnel, the group of rebels had found themselves in a huge, spacious grassy meadow surrounded by massive, jagged mountains bathed in fog in the distance. The rain seemed to be limited to only the opposite side of the mountain, for here it was completely dry. The sheer beauty of the sight that lay before them took everyone's breath away. The weary crowd of travelers trudged on through the grassy plains, searching for an ideal place to begin rebuilding their lives.

"Come on, Zamuri! Why did you stop?" Videl tugged her son's arm, but he didn't budge. A cold chill ran up his spine. An odd sensation swept through his stomach. He had stopped dead in his tracks, and stared at the ground, mouth hanging wide open. He turned back to the cave from which they and all the villagers had emerged from after swimming through the submerged passageway.

"Something's happened..." He breathed anxiously. "I can feel it..."

"What do you mean?" Videl questioned, also looking back at the cave.

"Something's happened to Pan..."