Hey everybody! HAPPY ANDROID DAY!!! For those of you who are confused, (which is probably all of you) this is May 12... The day that Mirai Trunks predicted the androids would arrive! Since Trunks is my all-time favorite character, I thought I'd post this chapter in his honor and memory! ...Plus, you've all been waiting for me to find the time to post anyway, right? Well, I hope you enjoy this update, and be sure to remember how Trunks-sama risked damaging space and time for the good of the earth!

Chapter 26: Casualties

"Mission accomplished highness." The commander bowed aside to present his royal leader with their capture. The boy struggled pointlessly against the strong hold of his captors.

"... And who is this, may I ask, commander?" King Vegeta asked, crossing his arms.

"Why... this is the grandchild of Son Goku... the one his highness asked I capture and bring back to him..." The commander stuttered.

"This is not the child I asked for, commander. You have failed me..." Vegeta growled to the cowering man with his best intimidating scowl.

"For-... forgive me, highness... I merely thought... I..."

"Hmph..." The king said. "Bra..." He called.

"Yes, Otou-san?" Bra replied, stepping forward. She had been sitting against the wall of the cavern playing with the whining baby Goku, and hadn't even noticed the commander's arrival.

"Tell me truthfully, Bra... Do you know this boy?" He nodded to Zamuri, who had finally given up on resistance.

Bra hesitated as she saw who her father referred to. "I... I have never seen this boy before in my life..."

Seeing the sheepish doubt in her eyes as they lowered to the ground, Vegeta frowned and turned back to the guards.

"Well then... you'll just have to go back and try again, commander. And as for this boy..." He turned back to his daughter. "You're positive you've never met him before...?"

Bra nodded, still looking at the ground. "Yes, sir." She said faintly.

"Very well then..." He started back toward the other end of the cave.

"What should we do with him, Majesty?" The commander asked.

"Since he's of no use to us..." Vegeta turned to smirk at the officer. "... Kill him."

"Father, no!!!" Bra gasped suddenly at his words.

Vegeta whirled around in pretense surprise, as if he had not expected it.

"You disagree, Bra?" He asked calmly. "Give me reason to spare this peasant's life."

"I... I have met him before..."

"Oh...?" Vegeta leaned in closer to her, internally knowing he was going to get exactly what he wanted.

"His name is... Son Zamuri."

"A Son?!?" Vegeta exclaimed. He turned around to examine the boy. He leaned in close to his face, as if studying every minor detail of his appearance. "Well I'll be..." He muttered finally. Regaining his composure, he laughed heartedly. "Commander, it seems you have done your job after all. I asked you to capture the rat, and instead you bring me something much more interesting... the rat's brother; and if I'm not mistaken... her twin!"

He laughed again. Zamuri jerked his head away from the king in disgust.

"So it wasn't me you were after... It was Pan!" He cried, trying to show some sign of courage.

"Good. I'm glad to see at least one Son has some grasp of common sense." The king spat. "Commander, I think our guest is tired. Why don't you put him to sleep?"

"With pleasure." The commander responded, once again pulling out his stunner. With a slight yelp of pain, Zamuri's body fell uselessly to the ground.

Bra fell to her knees at the horrible sight of Zamuri collapsing, as if dead. Her mouth hung slightly open.

(I'm so sorry, Zamuri-chan...) She thought to herself. (Please understand... I did it to save your life...)

One soldier scooped up the immobile figure, and took off for what would be the boy's home for the next five years; the king's castle dungeon.

Pan awoke to the warmth of her mother's arms. She had a hard time taking in her new surroundings as her eyes fluttered open.

"Where... am I...?" She asked weakly. Then a painful throbbing in her head reminded her of what had happened. She grimaced as she clasped the dark bruise with both hands. She didn't recognize where she was right away. The heavy sheath that had been strapped to her back was lying right beside her. As she looked around, several worried pairs of eyes met hers.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Someone said. Though her vision was still blurry, Pan recognized the person the voice belonged to.

"Otou-san... what happened...?" She sat up quickly, more memories returning to her. "Zamuri!!! He was taken! We have to save him!!!" Then the throbbing worsened and dizziness kept her from standing up.

"Take it easy, Pan. Don't try to get up just yet." Her father's voice coaxed from over her head. She blinked several times until she could clearly see all that stood around her. Besides her parents, Goku, Goten, Paris, and Dende were anxiously trying to see if she was okay. "You had a pretty nasty fall back there." Her father continued.

"What happened?" Pan asked again impatiently.

"It seems you blacked out after you hit your head on that rock." Dende informed her. "Other than that big bump on your head, you seem to be fine." He gently laid his healing hands on Pan's bruise, and it disappeared almost instantly, along with the pain.

Free from the dizzy feeling that had kept her down, Pan sprang to her feet and looked around frantically. She was no longer anywhere near the entrance to the cave where she had last seen Trunks and Zamuri. Evening had fallen, and the stars were now visible in the partially cloudy sky. The battle had ceased, and the remaining soldiers had retreated on both sides. A thick cloud of black smoke could be seen rising from what had once been their home.

"Did we beat them...?" Pan asked urgently. Her father merely closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

"They burned the whole city... There's nothing left... So many people were lost in the fire... Those who survived are all here..."

Pan looked around her once again across the grassy hill overlooking the battlefield, and found herself surrounded by many huddled figures. She could hear children whining for food or warmth, babies crying, mothers weeping, and the wounded groaning as Dende hurried along to help them.

"If Goten hadn't come along and warned us that the enemy was penetrating the gates, we would have never escaped that warehouse in time!" Paris chimed, hugging her fiancé around the neck. Embarrassed by his heroism, Goten blushed and rubbed his head modestly.

"But... what about Zamuri...? He was taken... We have to save him!" Pan cried.

"Pan, think about what you're saying!!!" Gohan yelled. "Look at how many lives were lost just because of one battle! Going up against the entire empire would be suicide! You may not know it yet, but a lot of people we knew are dead..."

"...Tien... went down in the battle... and Yamucha shortly after that..." Kuririn lamented just loud enough so Pan could hear. "... And... Juuhachi-gou..." He cut himself off, digging his nails into the flesh of his palms so trickles of blood could be seen dripping to the ground. He shut his eyes tightly, tears welling up inside them. Pan caught sight of Marron sitting in the grass a few feet behind her father. She had drawn up her knees and was hugging them close to her chest, swaying back and forth, trembling madly. Not a tear could be seen on her face, but her eyes were wide open, staring out into space.

Pan was silent. Marron was one of her best friends. And she had lost her mother. Pan had known that terrible feeling, but even after experiencing it, she felt she could not help Marron very much. Everyone coped with death differently.

Piccolo was trying to meditate a few yards away, but seemed too disturbed to concentrate.

(And why shouldn't he be?) She asked herself. (He was right there in the middle of the fighting the whole time. How can he bear it?) Before she could stop herself, Pan had walked up to the Namek and sat down beside him, innocently staring up at the night sky.

Not able to ignore her presence, Piccolo opened one eye and looked at her.

"Can't a Namek get any peace in this world?" He grumbled.

"I know what you mean... It seems like the whole universe is crying 'war'." Pan sighed.

"No... I meant was there some reason why you wished to disturb my meditation?"

"Oh!" Pan flushed, embarrassed and angry with herself for her own stupidity. "I'm sorry." She stood up, and began to walk away.

"Hmph..." Piccolo laughed quietly. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Well, actually..." Pan whirled around. But before she could say another word, something stopped her. She stared at Piccolo's right arm... or rather, what had been his right arm. "Oh Kami!!! Piccolo, what happened?!?"

Piccolo chuckled. "Some baka blasted me from behind. But I made him pay for it..." He smirked, recalling how he had chopped off the enemy soldier's right arm with merely the sharp claws on his remaining hand, and then left him to suffer. "Heh... anyway, that was why I was meditating. I was building up my ki so my arm could regenerate."

Pan's eyes widened as Piccolo stood up, and squeezed his eyes shut. He concentrated hard on the arm that was not there, and suddenly it was there once more. It simply popped out of the stumped shoulder where it had been cut. When the process was finished, Piccolo opened his eyes once again, releasing a sigh of satisfaction.

"Uh... uh..." Was all Pan could say. She stared at the new limb, and then at its owner in utter amazement.

"So..." Piccolo said, cracking his neck. "Did you still want to talk to me about something?"

The girl quickly shut her gaping mouth, trying to remember why she had come in the first place.

"I... I just wanted some advice..." She mumbled.

"On what subject?"

"I... I want to know how it is you can tolerate witnessing, let alone causing, so much death and destruction..." She didn't mean to sound rude, but that was just the way it came out.

Piccolo chuckled softly. "I guess it was hard for you... this battle thing being new to you and all... I have to be honest when I say that I didn't think you were ready for it."

"Well, Trunks has been training me to..." The words left her and she found she could not speak. She lowered her head in shame for allowing herself to break down in front of the wise Namek.

"Ahh... I understand." He lowered himself onto one knee and placed a gentle green hand on her shoulder. "You know, Pan... Sometimes it's best not to fear letting our emotions show. I understand that the childhood you lived brought you up to be tough and not show any weakness, but crying can also be a beneficial thing. It relieves the stress that's been bottled up inside for so long, and allows you to clear your mind of all distractions, making it easier to concentrate on other things. Let it all out now, Pan... Don't be afraid..."

Pan couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had not only been taught not to cry, but she strongly believed in it as well. But what the veteran of so many bloody battles was now telling her to do seemed so right...

Without hesitating any longer, Pan allowed herself to completely break down into terrified sobs. Piccolo warmly embraced the trembling child in his arms, rubbing her back and coaxing softly.

"You know, Pan... you have the potential to become stronger than you have ever thought you could. And what with your mentor in captivity, you are in need of someone new to take you to that next level..."

Pan pulled away from his arms, glossy-eyed and surprised. "You mean..."

Piccolo nodded. "Yes, Pan. I want to train you to become more powerful than you have ever imagined. But the decision of whether you want to continue fighting or not... rests with you. Of course, it won't be easy."

"Yes... I'd like that..." Pan smiled through hot tears. She could say nothing else.

"Good. Training starts tomorrow."