Okay... do any of you remember when I said I would try to post my last chapter by the first of June? Well, no guarantees here, but I'll try my hardest! I'm going to have to crack down and post more frequently to meet the deadline, but that's probably good news for you, isn't it? Practically a new chapter every 2 or 3 days!!! Please don't sue me if I slack, because this is going to mean a whole lot of work on my part. Okay then... while I sit here and type my brains out, you can read and review!

Chapter 20: Perceptions

Pan was in deep thought as she emotionlessly blasted her way through hoards of enemy soldiers at a time.

(How could Bra do this to me? How could she do this to all of us? It doesn't make any sense!) So Trunks wasn't the only one who wasn't entirely who she thought. It seemed now that lying and keeping secrets was a natural Saiyan instinct as well as fighting. The only person in Pan's mind who had been totally honest with her was her brother. Her brother...

... The brother she never knew she had until about four months ago.

(Bra betrayed all of us for the last person I would have expected...) Pan thought. But as she tried to wear herself out there on the battlefield, she began seeing things from a different perspective. (She wanted to stay with her father... She said he really did care... and he's only here because he wants his children back...)

(But Bra had to deceive me and Trunks like that...)

(But she did it in hopes that this battle wouldn't have to ensue...)

(That's no excuse! She has been lying to us ever since she came here!) Pan's mind had split in two, trying to decide what to believe. Finally, it seemed she reached a decision.

(I have misjudged King Vegeta. Though he doesn't act like it, he really does care for his children... even if they're not really his...) A flashback of that first day training with Trunks came back to her.

"I did it! I did it! I..."

"Watch out!!!"

"YAAAAH!!! Trunks, what happened?!?"

For a moment, Pan stared at the huge ki blast, growing bigger by the second in her palm. Then Trunks dove into her, and everything had gone black.

(So it was King Vegeta who found us there unconscious. He cared for us, and I took no notice. Then when he just wanted to name his son, I ruined that for him as well. He's just doing what any father would for his children...)

"Since you didn't surrender, he'll just have to take his sons back by force!!!" Bra's voice shouted in her head.

(Then this whole battle is partially my fault... Well, I'll just have to finish what I started then!) Sweat beginning to trickle down the back of her neck, Pan summoned up even more ki, and charged through the enemy's ranks, fists aflame.

While his troops held off Kakarot and his pathetic excuse for an army, King Vegeta and Prince Vegeta slipped quietly within the walls of the village unnoticed. The king had specifically notified his army that if Trunks was seen fighting, he was to be detained and brought to him alive and unharmed, unconscious only if necessary.

The king and his son were on a mission of their own; to find where Kakarot had hidden the baby prince. He had instructed Bra to find the baby, and stay near him. That way when Vegeta found Bra, he would find baby Goku as well. He had already pinpointed his daughter's location, and now all that was left was to follow her energy signal to wherever she and the baby were.

King Vegeta was still disgusted that his son had been named after his greatest rival, Kakarot. But it was now too late to rename him, since he was already seven months old. No matter... just as long as his son was safely back in his arms again. That was all he cared about right now...

He was getting closer... His ki sensors were pointing to a white house just ahead. The king smirked, and motioned for Prince Vegeta to follow.

Zamuri was staring out of his bedroom window when he heard yelling from the next room. Eventually, the yelling abruptly stopped, a door slammed, and all was quiet. A moment later, he spotted Pan zooming out her bedroom window toward the battlefield.

"There she goes again..." He sighed. "Otou-san is going to be so mad at her." He decided it was best if he went after her and tried to spare her another one of their father's lectures about reckless behavior. However, he could not yet fly, though he was close. Just two days ago he had hovered a couple inches off the ground for a few seconds. But he knew very well that wasn't enough to catch his sister, who could already fly at the speed of sound.

Zamuri looked around at his messy room. He knew that if his mother were to come in here, he would be ordered to clean it. He decided to pretend to sleep if she came in, to avoid cleaning. The truth was that all night he hadn't slept a wink. Then again, how could anyone sleep at a time like this? The previous night, everyone had been bustling about ranting on about some big battle coming. All Zamuri knew was that he and Pan had been ordered to remain indoors unless instructed otherwise. Bra had been told to stay with them as well. Though Zamuri felt a small urge to follow his parents' instructions and let Pan learn the hard way, his urge to follow her into battle was much stronger.

He suddenly heard his mother's footsteps coming up the hall. Quickly taking off his shirt, he dove into his pillow and closed his eyes. He could hear the creak of his door as his mother opened it. All was quiet for a few seconds, and then he heard the door shut softly. One eye slowly fluttered open to make sure she was gone. Then he sprang out of bed, pulled his shirt back over his head, and opened his window. He hopped over the sill and landed on the lush green grass in the backyard. He shut his window as best he could from the outside, and then hurried off after his sister.

After Bra had stormed out of Pan's room, Videl noticed the house was unusually quiet. To busy herself, she went to check on Zamuri. Upon entering her son's room, she discovered he was fast asleep on his bed. She suspected he had been up late the previous night, for he was lying in a sporadic position on the bed, as if he had just fallen face down into his pillow. The sheets were kicked down to the edge of the bed, and clothes were sprawled out here and there. The red shirt he had worn yesterday was lying in a heap near the edge of the bed. Zamuri himself appeared to have taken that off, and nothing else. He wore a pair of wrinkled baggy jean pants, and a pair of white socks. His red cloth headband was still strapped around his head. His eyes were closed lightly, making him look ever so peaceful and innocent. Videl decided against disturbing him, and closed his bedroom door. She would tell him to clean his room after he woke up. She then went to go check on the baby, whom Paris was supposed to be in charge of. But the young woman seemed so worn and tired; Videl had decided to take over for a while. She hadn't been able to find Paris for the last few hours anyway.

Videl quietly opened the white door and entered the dimly lit room. She tiptoed softly to the crib under the shaded window to see the small child was awake. He had rolled over onto his stomach, and his tiny head lifted up to the sound of company. Videl knelt down to his level, smiling at him through the crib bars.

"Hi there, big guy! Did you have a nice sleep?" She cooed. The baby smiled and giggled with delight at the attention. He bounced his head up and down and kicked his legs. Videl grinned, and stood up to take him out of his crib. She sat down in a nearby rocking chair and began bouncing the child on her knee. He waved his arms around and laughed. Videl suddenly looked up when a figure stepped through the open doorway.

"Oh... I hope I'm not disturbing you at all or..." Bra began.

"No, you're not disturbing anyone, Bra. Please, come in." Bra sat down on the floor next to the chair and caressed the baby's short black hair. His blue eyes goggled curiously at her, and then he burst out laughing once again. Bra smiled a little. "Do you need something?" Videl asked, sensing distress in the young princess.

"No, no..." She sighed.

"...Do you want to talk about it?" Videl caught Bra's eye, a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Talk about what, Videl-san?" Bra asked innocently, trying to look puzzled.

"You know very well what. What were you and Pan fighting about?"

"I... I don't really want to talk about that..."

"Oh, alright. Well, if you ever want to, I'm here to listen."

"Thank you..." Bra turned her attention to the baby once again. Suddenly she began sensing two very strong and familiar ki signals.

"Oh no..." Bra turned her attention to the doorway. She quickly stood up.

"What?" Videl asked with growing fear and alarm. She also began to sense the ki, but didn't recognize it.

"He's here..." She broke her gaze from the doorway, and turned to face Videl. "Quickly! You must get out of here! Flee from the back door."

"Wait... Who's here? Why do I have to run away?"

"There's no time! Just go!!! I don't want you getting hurt!"

"All... right..." She stammered. Videl hurriedly stood up, but Bra stopped her.

"Give me the baby."

"What?!? Is this some kind of..."

"Look, there's no time, Videl-san! Trust me, if you don't, this war will continue until your whole village is burned to the ground and everyone who lives here will be dead!" Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, Videl quickly dropped the baby into her arms, and ran to get Zamuri. But to her horror, he wasn't there. She ran to Pan's room in hopes that they were both in there, but neither could be found.

"Zamuri and Pan are missing!!!" Videl cried running back to Bra.

"Don't worry about them. It's a good thing if they're not here. Just get yourself out!"

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine! Just GO!!!" Bra hollered. Videl took heed, and scrambled out the back door. She jumped over the fence, trying desperately to sense her children, but had no luck. She decided to find Gohan and warn him something was going on within the village.

(So this is where Kakarot hid him...) King Vegeta stopped in front of the small house his ki sensors had led him to. He motioned for his son to follow him as he casually strutted up the front steps and onto the porch. He looked around, disgusted, and opened the door. All was too quiet for his liking inside that little house. He motioned for Vegeta Jr. to look in one room off to the right, while he made his way down the hallway to the left. Vegeta Jr. nodded in understanding, and walked briskly but silently into the other room. The king did the same down the white hallway. It wasn't long before he reached the dimly lit room where Bra sat calmly, the baby in her lap.

"Excellent..." Vegeta breathed smiling slightly at his daughter. "But I'm a bit surprised it was so easy. Is there anyone else in the house?" He asked suspiciously, looking around the room.

"No, Otou-san. I am the only one here."

"Now I doubt that even Kakarot or his sons are stupid enough to leave an infant in the care of a young girl."

Bra said nothing.

"Otou-san?" Prince Vegeta entered the room, and grinned upon sight of the curious little baby in his sister's lap. "Oh, good. You've found him."

"Now that we have what we came for, can't we go back home?" Bra suggested.

"And call back this entire siege? Of course not!" King Vegeta laughed. "We're easily overwhelming their pitiful defenses, and soon the entire village will be destroyed! This will teach those deserting fools a lesson they'll never forget! Besides, I have yet to receive word of Trunks' location. Do you know where he is?"

"Not exactly, Otou-san. All I know is he's out fighting." Bra stroked the baby's hair nervously. She had hoped that the battling would end after she returned the baby to him. But it seemed his Saiyan love of battle had taken over him once again.

"Then I'll head back over to the front lines to see if anyone has captured him yet. Vegeta, see to it that these two get to the cavern safely."

"Yes Otou-san." Vegeta said, bowing slightly to his father, who then strutted out of the house and flew off toward the battlefield. "Well, come on Bra. You heard what Otou-san said." Vegeta urged, helping her to her feet, smiling gently.

"Right..." Bra replied softly, following him out the door. He took the baby from her arms, and allowed her to climb onto his back. He raised his ki and pushed off from the ground toward the mountains where they had come. Bra suddenly felt torn between her family and these people that had treated her like family. She had betrayed these wonderful people... No! She had to, so their lives would be spared. At least that was what she had previously thought. But now her father wanted to continue the attack. She thought he didn't care about Kakarot anymore, but now she suspected she had been wrong. She had been wrong about everything.