I know what you're all thinking... 'Oh Kami, she updated faster!' Yes, that's right. It's only been four days since my last update. Well, I've made a goal for myself to finish posting this story by the 1st of June. Then I plan to start working on a new story, but I've sworn not to reveal anything! I'll tell you more in the final chapter of this story so you can keep your eyes open for it. But until then, here's a chapter that's undergone several revisions. Hope you like the final product!
Chapter 16: Explanations
Pan could not feel anything. She tried to move, but her body seemed a hundred times heavier than it really was. She could, however, open her eyes. There was darkness on all sides of her. Sheer blackness engulfed everything around her. She tried to sense someone... anyone... just so she had the reassuring feeling she was not entirely alone. But there was no one... no one at all...
Suddenly, a brilliant blaze of golden light illuminated before her. She felt an incredible surge of power coming from the center of the light. She looked upon the dark figure surrounded by the awesome light. She could only see the figure's backside, but it was enough to see who stood before her.
"Trunks..." She whispered, except no sound came out. She couldn't even open her mouth. It was as if her lips were fused together. There was something different about him. His muscles seemed bigger, and his hair seemed to defy gravity as it stood up on end. But the weirdest part was... his hair was bright gold.
He suddenly seemed to sense her presence. His head jerked toward her. He looked upon her with an intimidating glare. His eyes were no longer their regular soft blue color. They had turned aqua green. His glower pierced right through her, into her soul. Slowly, a soothing smile crossed his expression, and he turned back to face the utter darkness in front of him. His hand glided across the hilt of his sword. Suddenly, he charged forward into the darkness, drawing his blade.
"Trunks, no!!! Don't leave me here!!!" Pan wanted to shout. Once again, no sound was made. Then whatever had hold of her body seemed to let go, and she stood up. A blinding white light flashed out of nowhere, causing Pan to wince and shield her eyes. When she grew used to the brightness, Pan noticed someone running toward her, waving and calling her name.
"Zamuri..." Pan breathed. She started running toward him as well, wanting nothing more than to feel his comforting brotherly embrace. But once again, dark shapeless shadows arose from nothing and grabbed him. Frantic, Pan sprinted toward her brother, who was struggling with all he had to free himself. The shadows hovered above the ground, dragging him away. Pan screamed after them, but they were too fast, and her brother disappeared into the distance. Then she fell, and all went black once again.
Pan returned to the feeling of being cold, wet, tired, and in pain. She felt the cold wind against her face. She was freezing all over. She slowly opened her eyes to see she was no longer lying in the cold mud. In fact, she couldn't see anything through the thick fog. She could feel a pair of strong arms holding her, one beneath her head, and the other below her knees. Then, the fog seemed to clear, and Pan could no longer feel the rain. She could see the distant glow of the late sunset behind the towering peak of a mountain in front of her. Below her were the dark rain clouds that hid the terrible sight of a fierce battle. It was all behind her now...
"I see you're feeling better."
Pan jerked her head toward the man who had liberated her from the battle scene, and was now flying her back to her mother and brother on the other side of the looming mountains just ahead.
"Trunks..." Trunks broke out into a relieved grin. "What happened...? Where's Grandpa?"
"Son-san agreed to fight my father, but only if I could get you to safety first. I guess you must have blacked out." Pan nodded in understanding, and turned back to look upon the beautiful sunset in front of them.
"Trunks, I remember you told me to inform you of any dreams I had while you were away."
"Yes?" Trunks eyed her suspiciously. "... And?"
"Last night, I dreamt about today. I saw the smoke coming from the battle. I saw the path through the cave, and the tunnel underwater. And I had another dream just now as well. You were in it, and..." Her voice trailed off.
"And what, Pan?"
Pan gazed at the magnificent sunset.
"... And you were... different. You were surrounded by gold light... your hair was gold as well, and standing on end... and your eyes... were green... Then you grabbed your sword and ran off. And then I had that same dream about Zamuri again..."
Trunks nodded, as if he completely understood.
"Pan, let me ask you something..." Trunks said, his voice taking a dead serious tone. "Have you ever heard of a Super Saiyan?"
Pan thought for a moment. "Of course. I remember you and Otou-sa-... I mean... King Vegeta... telling me stories about a Saiyan possessing a legendary power that was unmatched even by the greatest of Saiyan warriors. He possessed an unbelievable strength and power that has no limitations, no boundaries. And no one has achieved that power in 1000 years."
"Actually, Pan... That power has been achieved, and surpassed many times just in the past couple of decades. My father is one of the few who attained the power of the Super Saiyan... I have also attained this awesome power."
Pan suddenly felt angry at him. Once again, he had succeeded in keeping a big secret from her for years. This time, however, she could not hold back her feelings.
"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT ALL THIS TIME, YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TRANSFORM INTO THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN, AND YOU JUST THOUGHT YOU WOULD KEEP THAT LITTLE SECRET FROM ME TOO?!?" Pan felt enraged. She struggled to free herself from his tight grasp. Once free, she let herself fall out of his arms, and flew just below him, unwilling to look upon his face.
"Pan, listen to me! It's not a very common gift, to be able to acquire a power so intense... I'm really sorry, but if word got out, my reputation would have been ruined."
"Is that all you care about?" Pan shot back. "Who cares about your stupid reputation?!? You lied to me, Trunks! And not just once, either! It seems like my whole life is made up of well-kept secrets, unkept promises, and... and... constant LIES!!!" In a fit of rage, Pan smacked him hard across the face, and zoomed off toward the mountain; trying to get as far away as possible from the man she could no longer call her brother.
Trunks tried to follow her as best he could, but her sporadic pattern of weaving over and under the cloud cover was too hard to follow. He then began to rely on her distinct energy signal, which led him right back to the cave entrance. Tears streaming down her cheeks, Pan raced through the tunnels and passageways, barely paying any attention to which paths she was taking. It was only when a strong hand grabbed her by the wrist that she stopped.
"NO!!! LET ME GO!!!" She wailed through her tears.
"Calm down, Pan." A voice said softly. Pan stopped struggling, and whirled around to see that she was not held back by Trunks, but by Gohan. Behind him were Goten, Piccolo, and Juuhachi-gou.
"Otou-san..." Pan flung herself into his arms, and sobbed in his shirt.
"What's wrong, honey?" Gohan rubbed her back to try to comfort her. His tone was so calm and patient.
"T-... Trunks said... he can... become a Su-... Super Saiya..." Pan stuttered through sobs.
"Oh, is that so?"
"I... I hit him..." She confessed.
"Well Pan, now just because someone is stronger than you doesn't give you the right to go and hit them." Gohan scolded gently.
"No... I didn't hit him because of that... I did it because he was keeping that secret from me all this time... and he's only worried about his reputation!"
"I'm sure he didn't mean it that way, Pan. I think you just misunderstood a bit. Trunks was afraid that if other people knew he could become a Super Saiyan, they would be afraid of his power. You see, Trunks never wanted to rule his father's kingdom because his people would live in fear of him."
"I know... I heard..."
"Oh... Well did you also hear about who else can go Super Saiyan?"
"Yeah, King Vegeta." Pan stuck her tongue out at the direction of the entrance.
"Well yes. But do you know of anyone else?"
Pan eyed her father curiously. "No, Otou-san. Trunks must have forgotten that little detail........." She said through grit teeth.
"Then let me tell you. My father can become a Super Saiyan, and so can my brother and I."
Pan's eyes gazed into her father's, sparkling in great admiration and envy. "YOU? And GRANDPA? And... GOTEN?!?" She looked behind her father at her uncle, who grinned and waved childishly.
"Yes. In fact, that's the reason why my father is hated so much by King Vegeta. He became a Super Saiyan before him, and King Vegeta wanted to get him back. He wanted to prove that the king was more powerful than any 'low-born peasant', as he calls us."
"Oh..." A feeling of understanding appeared in Pan, and slowly grew. She dried her eyes. "So if you, Goten, and Grandpa can go Super Saiyan... That means I should too!!!"
Gohan smiled and nodded, and then continued with his story. "When I first became a Super Saiyan at age 11, King Vegeta got even angrier, and started training Trunks to become one. But of course, Trunks was only a year old at the time, so that didn't go too well. Then seven years later, Trunks finally did become a Super Saiyan at age eight, but then shortly after, Goten did too, at age seven. So then to match us again, he started training his second child, Vegeta Jr." Gohan sighed.
"So the only reason Trunks is a Super Saiyan... is because his father forced him to be?" Pan could no longer stay angry at Trunks. She now felt sorry for him, but at the same time, still envied him for his strength.
"Yes, that's right. Goten and I became Super Saiyans because we wanted to be as strong as Otou-san and make a difference in this bleak world. But Vegeta did because he wanted to be stronger than Otou-san. Do you see the difference?"
Pan nodded.
"Pan!!!" A voice called from behind her father. Trunks came running into the cavern, breathing heavily.
"Trunks..." Pan mumbled under her breath.
"What were you thinking, running off like that?!?"
"I'm sorry, Trunks... And I'm also sorry for hitting you earlier..."
"Huh? Oh, that. Don't worry. You're not strong enough to seriously hurt me... yet, anyway." He winked. Pan smiled back.
"Yeah... not yet..."
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE
Rocks from the ceiling came crashing down all around the alarmed Z fighters.
"This cave is about to collapse!" Piccolo hollered over the noise. "We have to get out of here!"
"Follow me!!!" Trunks yelled, and sprinted down the passageways toward the entrance. Juuhachi-gou scooped up Goten, who was still badly hurt in his stomach, and hurried after them. They were nearing the entrance... they could see the dim gray light from outside...
Trunks and Pan ran ahead with Gohan right behind them. Piccolo after him, and Juuhachi-gou, slowed by Goten's extra weight, brought up the rear.
Pan could see a large amount of loose rocks on the ceiling beginning to fall.
"We have to hurry!!!" She screamed. Trunks picked her up, and flew full speed right out of the cave entrance just as practically the entire archway collapsed behind them. Trunks crash landed into the ground, narrowly avoiding the ledge. He and Pan looked back to see Gohan was also lying on the ground about three feet from what was once the entrance. It was completely buried by boulders. But Piccolo, Juuhachi-gou and Goten were nowhere to be seen.
"Otôto-kun!!! Piccolo!!! Juuhachi-gou!!!" Gohan called. No answer.
"Are they all right?" Pan asked, her body still trembling madly.
The rumbling quieted, and then stopped. Trunks faced the direction he thought it had come from. The smoke was clearing from the battlefield, and the army had retreated, just as King Vegeta had promised.
"No doubt about it... That's where they're battling. That earthquake must have been caused by the aftershock of a very powerful attack."
"You mean Grandpa and King Vegeta?" Pan asked.
"Yes. It's incredible... Such power could never be felt unless... Oh man, this is getting way too out of hand..."
Pan looked back at her father, who was busy trying to move the huge pile of boulders as quickly as possible.
"Do you... need any help, Otou-san?"
"No, Pan. It's too dangerous for you." He breathed anxiously without looking up.
"Gohan-san... Can't you feel that?" Trunks asked, entranced by the distant flashes of multicolored ki blasts.
"Yes, Trunks... I can feel it, but I'm more concerned with those three in the cave right now!" Gohan declared, annoyed.
"They've both turned Super Saiyan, haven't they...?"
"Would you stop worrying about them?!? Otou-san can handle himself! Now can you please help me dig through these rocks?"
Angered, Trunks whirled around to defend. "You think Son-san is the only one I care about? My father is fighting too, you know!!!"
"Did you forget? Your father now refuses to accept the fact that you two share the same gene pool!!!"
Pan had had quite enough of the adults' bickering, so she ran around the corner of the ridge, sat down cross-legged against a boulder, put her fingers in her ears, and shut her eyes tightly. She tried to concentrate...
The first thing she felt was two enormous power levels off to the east. They were both exactly equal. She concentrated on that spot.
("Grandpa...")
("Pan?!? How did you reach me? Never mind... Ack!!! Look, I'm kind of busy right now... Ow!!! What's your situation?")
("Trunks, Otou-san and I are on the ledge in front of the cave. The entrance just collapsed; Piccolo-san, Goten-kun, and Juuhachi-gou are trapped inside, and we can't reach them!")
("Okay... Hold on, and let me try to talk to them...Gyaah!!!")
Pan sighed, and waited. She could hear nothing, save the loud quarrelling between her father and Trunks around the bend. She just hoped they wouldn't start physically fighting.
("Okay, Pan... Juuhachi-gou and Goten are fine, but Piccolo was knocked out by a falling rock. They are going to try and find their way through the cave and join the others.")
("Good...") Pan sighed with relief. ("How's your fight going?")
("It's great!!!") This was certainly an unexpected answer. ("I haven't faced anyone this powerful in a long time! I'm really enjoying it.")
("Do you need any help?")
("No, no Pan... You stay where you are. I can handle Vegeta alone. It'll take a while, but I promise I'll join you as soon as I'm done here. Ghh... I have to go now... I lost sight of him... Wait, there he is! KAAAAAA... MEEEEEE... HAAAAAA... MEEEEEEEEEEEE...")
Pan cut off her connection with him, and stood up, facing the battle field. An enormous blue light shot out of nowhere, and slammed into something, causing it to explode. The earth around the two was flattened. The aftershock came upon her, and she lost her balance, and fell over. The sudden explosion had also momentarily grabbed the attention of Trunks and Gohan. The bickering ceased, and the two began to apologize, and worked together to uncover the cave entrance. Pan soon joined them, despite her father's disinclination. With the three working together, the cave was uncovered in no time. Led by Trunks, they raced through the caverns, and dove through the submerged tunnel. When they emerged...
"Hey Pan!!!"
"Zam! Okaa-san! How did you know we were coming?" Pan looked curiously at her brother, who was standing over her with his hands on his knees, wearing a trademark Son grin. Pan pushed herself out of the pool, and proceeded to squeeze as much water out of her hair as possible. She caught a glimpse of Dende hovering over Goten and Piccolo, tending to their injuries.
"I guess I just knew..." Zamuri smiled.