Once again... sacrificing my lunch hour for you people... Thus, the title of this chapter!!! JK, the title has more to do with the story than my meaningless free time at school. Anyway... forget the deadline... I only set myself that deadline so I would hopefully have the whole summer to work on a few of my other fics that I plan to start posting. Enough about that, now it's time to get back to the story! I know I'm a bit redundant, but... ENJOY!!!

Chapter 24: Sacrifice

An emotionless feeling swept through Pan's body as she soared high above the battlefield, transfixed on the base of the looming mountain just ahead. So transfixed, that she didn't notice a rising ki signal coming up fast behind her. It wasn't until she heard her name being called that she turned around to see who it was.

"Pan!!! Hey sis, wait up!!!"

"Zamuri!!! You're... you're flying!" Pan gaped.

"I know! Cool, huh? I did it all by myself just now! It was awesome! I just-"

"... Zam, there's no time for that now." Pan interrupted. "Listen, you shouldn't have followed me."

"You aren't impressed...?" Zamuri's eyes drifted to the ground below, the good feeling draining out of him.

"No, no!!! I'm amazed, Zam, really I am! It's just..." She placed her hands on her brother's shoulders. "... This is really dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"What?!? Now that's not the Pan I know! You're starting to sound like Okaa-san!" Zamuri laughed, shaking himself free from her grasp.

"I'm not joking around, Zamuri. This is dead serious stuff here. And if you're not careful, you could find yourself in a situation you can't handle."

"Yeah right!" Zamuri chuckled again. "Like what?"

Pan didn't dare answer. She had been referring to her constant dreams about him, and feared that if he were to follow her, the worst should happen.

"Just... just go back to Okaa-san and the others..."

"No way, Pan! I'm going to fight alongside you!"

"NOW, Zamuri!!!" Pan shouted. Zamuri backed up a bit, startled by her outburst.

"... Why are you so upset, Pan? You've never gotten mad at me before..."

"I just... don't want anything bad to happen to you..." She mumbled softly. Her wild bangs shadowed her eyes, so all her brother could see was a single tear grazing her cheek. Then before he could stop her, she shoved him back swiftly, and flew off at top speed.

"PAN!!! WAIT UP! PLEASE WAIT, SIS!!!"

Try as he might, Zamuri could not keep up with her speed. His desperate cries grew fainter as Pan soared to her destination ever faster. The tears she could no longer hold back were whipped off her face an instant after they were shed. One of them even landed on Zamuri's cheek as he frantically tried to keep up. Out of breath, he slowed to a stop in midair. Slowly, he dabbed a finger on the tiny droplet, wiped it off, and he stared at the little wet spot on his hand.

Looking back at the disappearing speck from which the tear had sprung, he whispered, "...Pan..."

As Goku quickly blasted a soldier that was attacking Kuririn, he suddenly sensed happenings to the east. It seemed Trunks' ki level was abnormally high, and made the other energy signals around him pale in comparison. He also sensed one fast-moving signal approaching Trunks and the others that felt like Pan. Something was about to happen; he had that familiar churn in his gut that had never failed him before. Son-san felt he may be needed before this ordeal was finished. He decided it was best if he joined in the action.

"Hey, Goten! Do you think you guys can handle things here?" He called to his son.

"What... Otou-san?!? What do you mean? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah... but I'll be back soon. I just have to take care of something first." Without waiting for a reply, Goku soared off, leaving his son and friends in his dust.

"Where's he off to?" Kuririn asked. "Doesn't he know we need him here?"

"Yeah, that's my dad for you..." Goten sighed.

"Trunks, stop this foolishness, and let's go back home." King Vegeta reached for his son's arm, but the boy stepped back so as to avoid his father's touch.

"No, father. I'm not leaving this place." He said confidently.

"It's a shame you feel that way." Vegeta smirked. Then with a swift snap of his fingers, ten soldiers were on Trunks. He tried his best to fight them off, but more kept coming. He felt that trying to knock them out would not help him now. These soldiers threatened everything he and his friends had worked so hard for. He couldn't let them live...

One by one, the men fell at Trunks' feet, as he blasted and punched the life out of each of them.

"Hah hah... I could expect nothing less... You certainly have improved..." Vegeta chuckled. "But I'm afraid that was only the pretest... Let's see if you're ready for the final exam!!!"

Before Trunks could comprehend what was said, his father nodded to Prince Vegeta, and the boy attacked with all the rage that had been building up inside.

Trunks had never actually fought his younger brother before, but knew ever since he had seen the power of his Burning Aura technique that it would not be an easy battle. And he couldn't have been more right. The boy's speed was incredible, and hard to keep up with. Not to mention his fists could easily shatter large boulders as if they were thin sheets of glass.

Not knowing how else to react, Trunks flew backward, using the side of his blade as a shield against his brother's thrashing fists. He finally pushed away from Vegeta long enough to sheath his sword, and launch back at him, fists at the ready, battle cries piercing the ears of their witnesses.

Pan had long since regained control of her rebellious emotions, and had wiped every last tear off her face. She was now nearing the cave where she sensed Trunks and her father, and was not about to show up looking like a total weakling.

But something seemed more important to Pan right now, and that was the incredible increase in two power levels just ahead of her.

(... A battle must have started...) She thought. She decided it would be better if she hid her ki so as to remain invisible to the fighters. That way, she had the element of surprise on her side.

Once her own ki could not be sensed, she started noticing two others further away from her. One was directly behind her, and the other was somewhat to the north a bit. She guessed that Zamuri was still in pursuit of her, while the other felt like her grandfather. It seemed just about everyone was gathering for this one clash of rivals she felt would be the final deciding battle.

The cave was now in her sight. She could make out several figures standing around the entrance, and one looked like her father. She could also sense Trunks and Prince Vegeta fighting, though they were moving too quickly for her to see. Pan searched her surroundings and began forming a plan of action. She glided above the cloud cover until she was sure she was directly over the cave. Then she slowly dove down, and landed gently on a ledge just above the cavern entrance. She was extra careful not to knock over any loose rocks that would draw attention to her.

A yelp from down below suddenly caught her attention. She looked to the ground beneath her, and saw Trunks had appeared once again, sprawled out in the grass. He was groaning and nursing his arm, which was badly bruised, and hanging limply at his side.

(I have no choice...) His eyes seemed to say, as he once again stood up, and fingered the hilt of his sword. But before he could draw it out, an unseen force knocked his hand away from it, and attempted to fully disarm him by yanking the sword out of its sheath for use against its owner. Prince Vegeta appeared once more a ways in front of Trunks, the sword resting successfully in his right hand. Trunks grimaced in frustration. Without warning, the blue-eyed warrior launched himself at his brother, and disappeared before reaching him. Vegeta looked around warily, not able to sense Trunks anywhere. A split second later, a powerful ki blast shot Vegeta from behind, causing him to fly forward, the sword knocked out of his hand. Trunks caught the weapon just before it hit the ground, and smirked at his short-lived victory.

"You shouldn't handle a weapon you don't know how to use." Trunks gloated.

"Hmm..." The king muttered from his observation point just under the cave's entrance. (He has improved much more than I previously thought...) But before he could debate the matter any further, his sensitive Saiyan ears picked up something from directly above him. Without breaking his gaze from the battle raging in front of him, he snapped at two of his soldiers, and silently pointed to the ceiling of the cave. The men nodded in understanding, and quietly slipped away toward the source of their king's suspicion.

Bra had been looking on at her brothers' quarrel with terror-stricken eyes. Only the abrupt snapping sound of one of her father's hands awoke her from her trance. She noticed the soldiers he had snapped at were quietly moving away. Something else was going on besides what she saw in front of her. An uneasy feeling in her gut was telling her that as it churned restlessly.

Back on top of the tiny ledge she had chosen to sit upon, Pan thought she heard a soft rustling behind her. Before she could look over her shoulder to check and make sure she was safe, a large gloved hand grabbed her by the right forearm, and another wrapped around her mouth and nose to keep her from screaming. The strong grip on her arm loosened, and tightened again, this time around her waist. Her body was trapped against this unknown figure, and another right behind him. She tried to scream and kick at him, but the hand on her face tightened so she could barely breathe. Pan thought it best to conserve her oxygen to keep from passing out. The tall stranger carried her off of the ledge, and down to the base of the cave. She allowed her legs to dangle off the ground limply, awaiting whatever fate she had gotten herself into this time.

"I thought I heard a rat." King Vegeta scoffed as he caught sight of the helpless little girl struggling against the strong grip of her captor. The man released her, allowing her to fall loosely to the ground, gasping for air. Without a second thought, Pan attempted to stand up and run, but two large hands once again reached for her, and held her back. Now that her mouth was free, she did not hesitate to scream at the top of her lungs.

"TRUNKS!!! HELP!!!!!" Her piercing high-pitched voice reached the ears of whom she called. Trunks had been winning the fight a second ago, but the tables had turned once again. Now he turned to see Pan desperately trying to free herself from the two armed soldiers holding her back.

"Pan!!!" He shouted back in perfect sync with Gohan. "Let her go!" Trunks grimaced to his father.

"I seem to have exposed your weakness." King Vegeta laughed. "I will let the rat go free, but only if you give yourself up now! Drop your sword!"

Trunks seemed to hesitate for a moment, and looked into Pan's frightened pleading eyes.

("Don't do it, Trunks! He's just trying to trick you! Don't believe him! Don't give yourself up!!!") Pan thought to him frantically.

("I can't risk losing you, Pan.") Trunks sighed into her mind. ("If I don't give up, Otou-san will surely kill you.")

("Trunks...")

A dull thud was heard as the sword hit the grass, closely followed by its sheath. Pan gasped quietly. Trunks closed his eyes, clenched his fists and took a deep breath. As he released it, his golden spikes of hair fell to the sides of his head, once again turning their usual soft lavender color. Trunks reopened his eyes; they were ocean blue once more.

"Now release her..." He muttered.

The king smirked in triumph. Then he nodded to the two men, and Pan was let go.

"TRUNKS!!!" Pan sprinted to him as fast as she could. The prince allowed her to tightly embrace him around the neck. "You didn't have to... You shouldn't have given up..." She sobbed into his shirt. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

"I'll be fine, Pan... Get out of here now... You've caused enough trouble..." He whispered firmly.

A cold sensation swept through Pan's body as those words reached her ears. She pulled her face away from him in utter shock. She gazed fearfully into his piercing icy glower that told her arguing was pointless.

"Don't give up, Trunks! You don't have to-"

"Pan..." He interrupted. "A promise is a promise, and I always keep mine..." He smiled weakly, trying to comfort her. "And I promise we'll see each other again." He winked. Pan let a small grin creep across her face.

"Let's go, Trunks." The king called.

"I'm coming." He replied. "Be strong for me, Pan... And whatever you do, don't come after me..." He pointed to the sword in the grass. "It's yours now... Use it well..."

Pan looked from the sword to its owner. She could no longer speak. Her legs seemed frozen in their place. Trunks took her hands and gave them a light squeeze. He smiled faintly, and walked around her toward the cave, where his family was waiting. Pan did not move a muscle. She could only listen to the fading footsteps against the stone floor of the cave behind her. She stared at the sword for what seemed like an eternity.

"PAN!!!" She did not respond. "Wake up! Hey, Pan!" Zamuri had flown after her the whole way, and had just now landed squarely in front of her. He waved his hand in front of her face, but still she showed no sign of movement. "What happened here, Pan?" He asked. When she still did not answer, he looked to where she stared. "Isn't that Trunks' sword? What's it doing here? And speaking of which, where is Trunks?" Pan cringed in internal pain at the mention of his name.

"Stop it... Stop saying that..." She muttered urgently.

"Saying what? Pan, are you feeling okay?" Zamuri felt her forehead, but Pan slapped his hand away. He backed away, not wanting to start a fight.

Pan bent down and picked up the heavy sword and sheath. She sheathed the sword, and buckled it across her chest as she had seen Trunks do many a time. She turned to face the cave where he and his family had gone.

"What's going on, sis?" Zamuri asked again.

"It's my fault... Because of me, Trunks gave himself up to save my life... I have to make things right again... somehow..."