A Daughter's Difference Chapter 9: Training for a Tournament, a dragon ball z fanfic

Chapter 9: Training for a Tournament and the Ultimate Fate of Pan's Parents

AN: Remember how I said that because the last chapter was so late, this one was suppose to be done early, yeah... that didn't happen. Sure it is a few days early, but no where near where I estimated. Though I should take into consideration the little holiday we had in between (Hopefully those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving had a good time, everyone else I hope you had a wonderful dinner that night.). A couple things I wanted to update, Ace, unfortunately, will not be able to Beta anymore for me, at least for now. He has a few personal problem's and I understand the real world, and personal problems, come before my little silly story. Thankfully, and quite unexpectedly, DarkVoid116 contacted me the same day or the day after Ace told me he could no longer Beta. DarkVoid began to revise this chapter, and let me tell you there were quite a bit of mistakes, and thanks to him I was able to fix most, if not all of them. If you have time, be sure to thank DarkVoid116 for taking the time to fix all of my mistakes and making the story flow better ;)

Three days before the Tournament

Knock—Knock—Knock

"Father, may I come in?" Trunks asked outside of Vegeta's room.

He didn't hear any other sound except the TV, but he knew by his father's Ki that he was inside, so he knocked once again.

"Come on Father, I just want a minute of your time," Trunks tried again.

Trunks listened as the TV was turned off, and heard a grunt from inside. He took it as his cue to enter. Inside he could see his father just resting on his bed. Vegeta didn't even bother looking in Trunk's direction; he just stared at the wall in front.

Trunks walked in with his signature jacket on, which he got back from Gohan a few days ago, and his sword strapped to his back.

"Hello Father, I apologize I hadn't come to speak to you since I arrived." Trunks bowed before continuing, "Everything went well and the future is finally at peace. I was able to take care of all three threats, both of the androids and Cell."

"Hmph about time, I was wondering what was taking you so long to beat a couple of kitchen appliances," Vegeta gruffly responded.

Trunks smiled, knowing this was a close to a compliment as he would get from his father. Spending a year with his father helped him better translate his responses; though most sounded brash, he essentially said he was worried about him. However he would never come out and say it. "There are some problems with the Time Machine, and that is why I had some issues coming back, but I'm here.

"I have been training these last few days. I'm sure you heard from Mother about the tournament this weekend." He walked over to the dresser and leaned against it. "I heard from her that you're not interested in joining. Gohan and I will be entering, so there should be some challenge. Plus I heard Piccolo might even join."

Vegeta turned towards the wall. "Not interested."

Trunks stared at his father for a few minutes. "*Sigh* I just don't understand Father. You spent an entire year drilling into me that training is the utmost important thing in life, and yet here you are. I heard from Mother that you barely leave this room. Why? Why try to drill into me that I have to train, when you just turn around and just stop training?"

Vegeta remained silent, giving Trunks his back.

"Is this because of Goku, because he died? I know it hit us all—"

Vegeta snorted, without turning around, "You think this is because of that clown?"

Trunks let out a choked laugh, "I don't know what to think to be honest with you, Father. All I know is what I hear, and since you're not so forthcoming on the reasons for stopping I have to rely on the information from the others. If it's not because of Goku, then why are you here? Why aren't you out there?"

Vegeta frowned as he turned to glare at his son. He sat up and said, "You would never understand, no one on this god-forsaken rock would understand! I was—" He stopped before he could continue.

"You were what Father?" Trunks inquired.

'I was supposed to be the strongest. I was told that only a person of royal descent could ever claim the right of Legendary Super Saiyan, yet that clown did it before me. But to add insult to injury, his half-breed son surpassed him and I, Vegeta, the one of royal blood!

I had to live all my life under the rule of genocidal maniac, who was responsible for the murder of my planet, my people, and my family. Half-breed were looked down upon, for they would never be able to reach the power that only a full Saiyan could achieve, that was I was taught. But this brat is not only strong, but he is stronger than me, than his father, than an over grown grasshopper with the fetish for a couple of buckets of bolts! I lived my entire childhood bidding my time because I was never strong enough to beat Frieza, but this brat at the age of 11 has already beaten a being that was many times stronger than Frieza. I had to endure numerous amounts of humiliations at the hands of Frieza and his men, and this child, a half-breed at that, has more power in his pinky than I had in my entire body when I was his age!' As Vegeta finished his internal rant, he saw that Trunks was still waiting for an answer.

"It's none of your business," He growled. "I already gave you my answer. I see no point to fighting, and your minute is up." Vegeta settled back down and turned his back on Trunks once again.

"Fine," Trunks didn't push any further. Even he knew when it was time to back down, and by his father's body language, Vegeta was done with this conversation. "I'm going to leave my sword here. I'm going to train; I see no point to bringing it along since the tournament doesn't allow weapons. You're more than welcome to join us if you want."

A grunt was all he got in return from Vegeta. Trunks released the buckle in front of his chest, and pulled the sword off of him. He placed it alongside his father's bed. Once it was stable, he made his way out.

'I wonder what Gohan is up to?'

Her fist made contact with Gohan's open palm a few centimeters to the side of his head. Gohan smiled briefly at the fire in her eyes. He closed his fingers around her fist; once he had a good grip he pulled on it and began to spin on his axis. After three revolutions he released Pan's fist.

"Ahhhhh!" Pan screamed while she flailed through the air.

"Come on Pan, concentrate! Use your Ki to slow down your flight," he said while he flew alongside her. Pan just kept screaming while flapping her arms back and forth.

Gohan looked ahead and saw yet again the mountainside they were approaching. He sighed when he saw that she was not slowing down in the least bit; in fact, she was speeding up. She was using her Ki in the wrong direction. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his torso. He slowed their speed until his feet touched the mountain side.

"I-I'm sorry Daddy I-I-I tried but-ut I only went faster," Pan cried while rubbing her eyes with her balled fists.

Gohan slowly took them both back to the center of the field once again. Once he got there, he dropped down to the ground. "Hey, there is nothing to be sorry about," he soothed her.

"But I didn't do it and you had to save me." She looked up with tears in her eyes. Gohan wiped her cheeks with his thumb.

Gohan with a serene look responded, "When I was your age, I also felt like I would never learn, like I was destined to never succeed." He placed her on her feet and sat down. "Mr. Piccolo would then pick me up by my hair and launch me at the closest mountain, and you know what?"

"What?" Pan muttered sadly.

"I would come back from my little vacation to Face-plant Mountain," he could hear her sniffle and let out a small giggle at the name, "and try once again. Now I'm not saying I will do the same, but the moral of the story is that we don't always succeed on the first try. It's not about the amount of times we fall, but the amount of times we are willing to get back up and try again.

"You have been getting a lot better, and really the only issue is not your flying, but your lost sense of direction in the middle of a fight. Combat flying is a little different and slightly more difficult than regular flying, so it makes sense that it will take some time to get used to it.

"I want you to also remember that I will always be there to save you. I made a vow that day to be there for you, always." He pulled her into a hug. Pan allowed her father's warmth to flow through her.

"Now how about we try again, huh?" He looked into her eyes once again.

Pan nodded and grinned before jumping from his embrace to enter her personal fighting stance, awaiting her father to get up and restart. Father and daughter would continue practicing for a couple more hours.

Trunks landed next to a sitting and exhausted Pan. "What happened to you?" He laughed at her glare.

"I have been training all morning and only stopped right now," she said proudly.

"Wow that must be a record for you, usually you just practice your stances, but it seems Gohan is taking you through the whole nine yards," Trunks summarized.

They both looked up at the fighter flying above. Gohan was shadow sparring. He was in the middle of a couple jabs combo attacking the torso area, before sweeping his feet under where his opponent's feet would be and ended with an upper cut. He flew to follow his invisible opponent.

"He is so cool and strong, just like you told me Trunks," Pan stated with a twinkle of admiration in her eyes.

He stopped with a spinning kick before beginning a combination of kicks ranging from knee caps to head level, even including a double knee to the chin area. He grabbed his opponent's invisible hand and kept pulling it to his side while delivering knees to the sternum area. He finished it up with a tornado spin, and in the final spin he pulled his right hand and charged a decent sized Ki ball before releasing his 'opponent' to the sky above, and also releasing the Ki in his right hand after his 'opponent.'

"Yeah, that's my Master for you," Trunks acknowledged while beaming when he noticed a couple combos very similar to the ones he saw his Master use often. 'I guess he is still working on them here. It's nice to have seen the finished product, and then come back here to see how he made them in the first place. It makes him seem almost mortal, unlike the image of perfection I have in my mind of Master.'

"Did you see that Trunks, he just sent that blast into space and then it went BOOM!" Pan squeaked.

"Yeah…" Trunks squinted to get a look closer, and saw something was starting to disintegrate while coming down after the explosion. 'Oh, well there goes cable for a couple people. Hopefully it's no one we know.'

"It's just that I'm so confused. I want to tell you, I really do, but—"

"But what, Ari? You know you can tell me anything."

"Oh come on, it's not that hard. Just say the bloody words, Woman!" Vegeta clenched his fist.

"I know, but what if this changes the way you see me."

The male protagonist walks up and cups the female protagonist Ari's chin and lifts it so she looks him in the eye. "Nothing will change the way I see you."

"This … is … infuriating. I swear if she doesn't say the words in the next ten seconds, I will find this studio and start blowing up people!" Vegeta pounded his fist on his bed.

"Fine," she said, "I – I" Vegeta leaned in.

"I really lo—," suddenly the transmission was cut off and only static could be seen.

Vegeta's left eye twitched and his mouth was left gaping like a fish out of water.

"WHAT?!" was the roar heard and that shook West City, followed by many more feminine shouts of fury from housewives throughout the city, like aftershock of a big earthquake.

'Yep, hopefully it's no one we know,' Trunks thought from his locations many miles away from West City.

"Well I think that's enough shadow sparring for me," Gohan surmised while scratching the back of his neck. "Hey Trunks," he said, but Trunks didn't respond. He was still looking at the sky.

He caught Pan when she jumped into his arms. "Wow Daddy! That was so cool! You-you-you went wham and then bam" she imitated with her small fist. "And then you sent your Ki and it when swoosh and then boom!"

Gohan just laughed at Pan's retelling. He looked at Trunks once again and this time he followed his eyesight line. He then noticed something was falling. "Is that a satellite?"

"Ah-huh, wait you didn't know you hit one?" Trunks looked at Gohan with raised eyebrow.

Gohan just shook his head as he looked at the falling debris falling, making calculations. He set Pan down, "No, I thought I had just detonated my Ki when I stopped feeding it my energy."

Gohan took a couple steps forward. "Well it seems that all pieces, even the big ones, will burn up before they land, and they are heading out to sea, but to be on the safe side."

Gohan pulled both open hands to his side. Small yellow balls of Ki formed on each of his fingertips, and a slightly larger one appeared in his palm. He pushed one arm out and rows of five small Ki balls and a centered larger flew out, before pulling it back and sending his other hand out. "Time to erase the evidence. Pan honey, do as Daddy says not as he does," he quipped. He continued to interchanging both arms, and sending out his Ki until he didn't see anything more.

"I'll be right back," he promised, before taking off at almost supersonic speeds to make sure everything was taken out.

"How did he make so many balls of Ki Trunks; I can only make two?" Pan questioned Trunks while holding two small balls of Ki in her hands, after seeing her father take off.

"Lots and lots of practice Pan. You'll get there someday, just don't be like you father and always try to keep control over the Ki you are expending." Trunks stated almost wearily. 'Yep, definitely makes him appear to be mortal, with mistakes and all.'

"So, are you okay with the fact that you won't be in the tournament?" Trunks asked.

"Wellll, I'm not happy but Daddy told me that those were the adult's rules and that maybe next time I will enter. He did promise me to train so I guess it's not so bad," Pan quickly replied. She could see in the distance a couple of small explosions taking place.

"Yeah, well the tournament officials had a hard time taking your father's registration, and only did it because my Mom's name was attached, so I can only imagine what would have happened if we submitted yours. I'm sure they would have a heart attack at seeing your age." Trunks chuckled.

"It's not fair; I know I am strong enough to fight. I can fight Daddy and he is the strongest in the world so why can't I fight. I would show them in a 1…2…pow!" Pan emphasized.

Trunks snorted amusedly, "True, but he takes it easy on you; you know that right? Still you're lucky to be trained by him. How I wish I could go back to training with my Master," Trunks lamented.

Pan looked tilted her head and looked at him weirdly, "I can fight, even if he does not fight at full power because he would be super duper strong, and then I wouldn't be able to hit him."

"Be sure to treasure this time Pan." He patted and ruffled her hair.

"Heeey!" she glared.

"Oh Pan, when will you learn that glare has no affect on me. Remember who took care of you since you were this size." He made a rough estimate with his hands at her length when she was a baby.

Pan blushed and tried to intensify her glare, but the combination of her red cheeks and narrowed eyes only made Trunks chuckle even more, until he fell on the floor.

"Stop laughing!" She kept punching the rolling-on-the-floor form of Trunks.

"Okay, okay, okay, just stop tickling me," Trunks roared.

When Trunks sat up he saw Pan sticking her tongue out at him. Without thinking further, he quickly reached out and clipped her tongue with his thumb and pointer.

"Aluh," Pan gave a surprised sound when noticed her tongue was not going in, and it was being held by Trunks. She tried even harder to pull it back; going as far hitting Trunks' forearm.

"Tsks tsks tsks, Pan don't know you know that sticking your tongue out at people is rude. Imagine what Aunt Chichi would say if she could see you." Trunks waited until there was another hard pull, and then left go of her tongue. This action made Pan fall back.

She got right back and began spitting. "Ew, Trunks you didn't even wash your hands. Now I can taste dirt."

"Good, maybe that will teach you a lesson," Trunks smirked.

"I'm going to tell my Daddy," Pan threatened.

Trunks' color drained when he thought about Gohan, and he was as pale as snow when he heard a voice behind him.

"You're going to tell me what, Pan?" Gohan asked.

"Daddy!" She ran over to him and tugged at his Gi pants, "Trunks is being mean to me. Kick his butt."

Gohan fixed his icy stare at Trunks. Trunks could feel sweat rolling down the back of his neck.

"Hey Gohan," Trunks began, elongating the syllables in the first word. "I didn't even hear when you got back. Did you get all the pieces?" Trunks asked, attempting to distract Gohan.

Gohan just snorted. "They were just small pieces. Hardly worth my time, but still now there is no trace left. Panny how about you go practice that new kata I was teaching you, while I have a nice chat with Trunks here, but stay where I can see you," Gohan looked down at Pan briefly and ruffled her hair before returning to stare at Trunks.

"Okay Daddy," she said and took a couple steps back before sticking her tongue out at Trunks and pulling down on her lower eyelid.

Trunks caught sight of Pan's taunt before she turned tail and ran off. He barred his teeth, but quickly corrected when he caught sight of Gohan tilting his head into his vision with an eyebrow raised.

"Look Gohan, buddy, we don't have to get physical. It was a simple misunderstanding," Trunks contested.

Gohan snorted, and tried to keep it inside before he began to laugh loudly. "I'm not going to beat you up Trunks. You think I didn't see her sticking her tongue out at you; in fact I wouldn't be surprised if she did it one more time behind my back before she left. I've lived with her for four days now, and one of the few things I have learned about her is that she is very respectful of all adults, except you."

"You can say that again," Trunks let out the air he didn't even know he was holding. "So why did you send Pan away, if it wasn't so you could beat me up," Trunks jeered.

"Well I wanted to talk to you in private without Pan overhearing. You two seem to have a very close relationship. My guess is that like a little sister, she is doing everything in her power to always one-up you. Though my brother or sister isn't alive yet, I have read many books about the psychology behind siblings, and their interactions. Fascinating information if I do say so myself, but I guess after years of living in the future, you all have formed a family of sorts." Gohan waved his hand, and they made their way to a small hill where Gohan could see Pan and have a seat.

"I think it's more than that. This may be weird to be talking about it with you, and I want to say I care about my Father, but I guess in a sense my Master was my Father or at least my father-figure. He was a constant, aside from my Mom, throughout my childhood and my idol. Whenever I needed anything he was there, and though for a couple years he was focusing more on his training and defeating the androids, he always made a little time to see me.

"When I saw him in that ruined city, and I asked him to train me seriously, a huge part of it was so I could be protector like all the Z-fighters I heard from his stories, but I won't lie; a small selfish part of me had done so I could be closer to him. I know like I said, it's weird to be talking about it with you." Trunks scratched his cheek.

Gohan shook his head. "It's not weird. Your Master, or my future self in that timeline, is his own person, and I'm my own. Though we may share name, features, and partly our early years, we are very different and will be very different in the future. Just like I can't be him, he can't be me. So you can talk about him as if he was a different person to me, because that is what he was."

Trunks assented, "He was in part my father, and as someone who partly identifies himself as his child, I see Pan, his real child, as my sister though we don't share blood; she will always be that to me. I guess that is why we are so close. We are linked through him. He raised me, and she is his blood. I guess I just wished she could have been raised by him like I was.

"When I arrived in this timeline with Pan, and I found you would were still eleven, I kind of freaked out. I wanted to bang my head with the closest wall; thinking that you were too young to be Pan's father, and that I had made a huge mistake, but that night, and more importantly when you guys met, I realized something. My Master or 'Father' or 'Father-figure,' I don't know, was only nine years older than me, and he took amazing care of me. As I see you with her, I can't help but feel a little jealous that she will get to be raised by you. I know you say that you are different from my Master, but there are so many glaring similarities," Trunks confided.

Gohan placed his hand on Trunks' shoulder, as a gesture of comfort, "And I will try my hardest to be every bit of the father my future self would have been. I know it must be difficult for you without him; I can see in your eyes that you still miss him very much, but for whatever it's worth know that I'm very proud of what you have done, and who you have become. If you say that I'm like him, then know that he is very proud of you as well."

"Thanks," Trunks dipped his head slightly. "You know for an eleven-year-old, you always seem so mature."

"Hey, I'm almost twelve," Gohan smiled. His smile faltered as he continued, "We are both children of rough childhoods. Children who were subjected to images that no child should ever have to see; that will make anyone grow up real fast. I may appear mature in your eyes, but that is only because I had to lose my innocence and naivety or die on the battlefield. I mean I'm sure you saw plenty when you were young, right?" Gohan tilted his head.

"My Mother and Master would always try to shield me of the truth of the world when I was young, but eventually I saw the reality. I remember my Master told me that you were only five when you saw someone die in front of you right?" Trunks asked.

He looked over when Gohan nodded, so Trunks added, "I was seven, so I guess I was spared a few more years of blissful ignorance. For the first few years I lived in Mount Paozu, so I was cut off from society, but eventually Mother wanted to go back to West City. Just our luck that those dread machines were also there as well; my Master fought them while we hid. Eventually they left, but during the battle 17 killed a woman and her child who was running from their hiding spot, and away from the battle. That woman and child didn't even know 17 had spotted them, but her scream was the last sound she made as she noticed the blast coming for them. It was quick and painless I guess, but for me I had nightmares for months afterwards.

"I know what you mean when you say those images stick with you; the survivors are the ones that are hit the most. They have to live on with the memories. My Master would often come to me when I awoke from a nightmare, and I was only able to get through those years because of his help and insight. He knew what I was feeling, and he helped find the right outlet. I still keep his words, here," Trunks pointed to his temple. "It's just sad that tragedy and destruction are the reasons we are who we are. I hope Pan never has to live through that. I've made sure to keep her away from the battlefield as much as I can up until now, even if she always says she can handle it."

"Believe me; I can see Pan has a fighter's spirit," Gohan recognized while looking as the small girl a few meters away, as she attempted once again the three combo kicks in the kata. "I'll train her because that is what she wants, and I want her to be able to protect herself. However, as long as I have a breath in my lungs, Pan will not join our cause. I will do everything in my power to protect her, and if someone pushes her into our battles, I will make sure to beat them within an inch of their life," Gohan growled; that was a promise he was going to keep no matter what. He didn't care who it was, he would hurt whoever put Pan at risk.

"I'm glad to hear that. It puts my worries at ease, and helps me go back to my time knowing she will be safe here," Trunks beamed.

"When will you be going back?" Gohan inquired.

"Trying to get rid of me already," Trunk laughed. "Here I'm pouring my heart out and you want to know when I'll be gone, I'm hurt," he jabbed.

"You know I don't mean it that way. I've just wanted to know how much longer I have to tolerate your presence," Gohan quipped while rolling his eyes.

Trunks cackled, "Well you won't have to 'tolerate my presence' for much longer. I've been working on the issues with the Time Machine with Mom. Just a couple defects in the central system and my Mom has already ordered the parts. With them in place I'll be able to take off, however I'm still staying for the tournament. So a few more days," Trunks finished with a wink.

"I didn't want to say anything to Pan yet. I hope you will keep this between us," Trunks mentioned with a shushing gesture.

Gohan gave a sharp nod, "No problem, but you will have to tell her soon."

"Trust me, if I could I would leave without saying anything, but I know that would do more harm than good." Trunks confessed.

"If you had done that and made her cry, then I really would have to beat you up," Gohan joked.

"I know, that is why I'm going to do things properly and give her a chance to see me off. It'll provide her closure, but I ask you to be there so you can hold her. I'm sure she will need all the support she can get," Trunks suggested.

"You know I'll be there; not only for Pan's sake, but to see off a good friend," Gohan affirmed.

"I heard that from Bulma that the Time Machine can only make one more trip, and you're going back to the future?" Gohan questioned.

Trunks assented, "Yeah. My last trip I guess. So much for my vacation plans."

"You're okay with not coming back here?" Gohan pressed.

"I have done everything I can for this timeline. At this point, I'm just overstaying my welcome. Plus it is time I get back to work if I hope to see the rise of humanity in my time. Pan's happiness was my final mission, and I have accomplished that. So yeah, I'm okay leaving this time because I know people like you are watching over it, and you will be taking care of her," Trunks answered.

A slight breeze blew through the field, blowing on all the grass leafs in its way.

"You know you're going to be missed right?"

"Good, it means that I have made an impact here and people will remember me. I will miss you all as well, but we have to do what we were destined to do. If it is the will of the Kais then we must move forward," Trunks replied.

Both warriors sat there. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional grunt or yell as Pan went through her motions. On that clear day, both warriors relaxed.

"There is one other reason I had Pan let us be for a while," Gohan admitted.

"Oh yeah, what's on your mind?" Trunks looked over.

Gohan fidgeted where he sat, but eventually he sighed and just let it out, "It's …about Pan's mom. My future self's, wife was it or did they never get together that way?"

Trunks snickered, "With the world coming to end, I don't think they ever officially married, but then again what do I know. My Master was very secretive at times, and he and his girlfriend would be away for periods of time."

"So girlfriend, okay," Gohan nodded. "Well I was wondering if I could find out more about her, since Pan will grow up and eventually she will ask about her, and I don't want to tell her that I don't know anything. Who was she?"

Trunks shook his head, "I'm sorry Gohan, but I can't tell you her name. Though it seems highly unlikely you will ever meet her, if you do meet her I don't want you to feel obligated to get together with her so Pan will be born here as well.

"Just know that she was a strong woman. She held her ideals very close to her heart, and loved my Master dearly. She believed in him more than anyone else, and she was his motivation," Trunks finished.

"Fine, don't tell me her name, but at least give me more information on her than that. I need to know so I can talk about her if Pan asks. I don't want to only be able to give her two sentences for comfort," Gohan argued.

Trunks relented with a sigh, "No name okay, and I will give you all the information that I can, but you can't ask for more, is that clear? I have done enough damage to this timeline; I don't need my Mom pulling on my ear once again for irresponsibly tampering with time more than I should."

Gohan gave out an amused snort, "Fine."

"*sigh* Mom is going to kill when she finds out," Trunks mumbled in exasperation. "I guess I'll start at the beginning. My Master met her about year or two after the initial attack of the androids. You have to understand that my Master had just recently acquired his Super Saiyan transformation, and unlike you and I who had someone to guide us through the process, he had to learn through trial and error. He often fought against the androids, and even though he was left many times at death's door, he would rise once again like a phoenix.

"She was on route to fight the androids as well, not because she thought she would win, but rather in a last stand attempt. My Master said that she had lost her family to the androids not long before, and that this was her way of to get at least some vengeance against the androids before she was sent to meet up with them. I never knew much about her parents, since she rarely ever talked about them. This was to be her last act of defiance, since she didn't think there was anyone on the planet that would be able to stop them. She would rather go down in a blaze of glory than cowering under the rubble waiting for her demise."

"Sound foolish to act so brash with no plan," Gohan added.

Trunks laughed, "In a sense she was a little hard-headed and stubborn, but my Master said that was one of the things he liked so much about her. It was his motivation for push forward. Anyways, she was heading towards where the androids had been spotted, but in that battlefield she caught sight of my Master.

"I asked her once what was going through her mind in those moments, and she responded that, 'it looked like an angel that had descended from the heavens to liberate us, with his golden aura and powerful strikes.' It was a sight she said she would never forget and went on to add, '…and then the angel got his butt kicked, hard' with a laugh," Trunks stated with a cackle.

"There was something in that fight that gave her hope though. She had thought that everything was lost, and that the only options left were either fighting and dying, or cowering until you're caught and killed. For a while, everyone thought those were their only options; though most picked the second option. When she found my Master she said he was barely holding on to life by a thread; that he kept mumbling that he could keep going. That was the first time in a long list of times she patched him up," Trunks recalled

"She said that after seeing him fight and get back up, after he recovered of course, she could see the one who would be our savior one day, in my Master. She could see in his eyes that there was a fire that burned with a passion unlike any she had ever seen before," Trunks added. "It gave her hope that the option of a safe future was still on-hand, since my Master had been actually able to fight them toe-to-toe," affirmed Trunks with a hopeful look in his eyes as he looked towards the sky.

"That was their first meeting, and the spark that began their friendship. Over the years they grew closer, she moved in to Mount Paozu after my Master found out she had no home to return to. She kept motivating him to keep going forward, and shined a light in his life even in his darkest hour. My Master provided her with the hope of a better tomorrow. They didn't get together that quickly though. Both denied romantic feelings for many years, even though my Mother and Aunt Chichi had married them in their heads long ago.

"Balance, is the way my Mother often described their relationship. Both were relying on one another to keep moving forward and keeping their spirit up. However this dependency had its flaws. Both developed a hyper-protectiveness of one another. They couldn't bear to see the other in pain or hurt, and Kami help who ever got in between them in those times.

"Since my Master often got hurt, treating him became a challenge as time went on, since she would not leave his side. If my Mother or Aunt Chichi tried to treat Master, and he yelled in pain, she would all but claw their eyes out for putting him in pain, as Aunt Chichi found out many times. It was quite comical to be honest with you." Trunks snickered as he looked over and saw Gohan with a small smile.

"If she got hurt, my Mother and Aunt Chichi wouldn't even attempt to treat her. It is one thing to fend her off, but insane to go against my Master. Instead they would just provide the tools and knowledge from a small distance, as my Master would do it himself. My Mother and Aunt Chichi found it adorable that you two acted that way.

"After many years, they finally got together. I think the one thing that held them back was they were worried how their relationship would be affected if their romantic relationship failed. Like I said, they developed a strong co-dependency, so they thought that neither would be able to survive if they lost the other. They never went into detail what sparked the change, and I didn't want to ask to be honest, but I believe that eventually reached their limit, and just consummated their relationship," Trunks conceded with a small blush.

Gohan raised an eyebrow, "Consummated their relationship?"

"You know …take the next step? …the horizontal dance?" Trunks attempted to explain, but only got an even more confused Gohan in return.

"When two people really love one another, they go into a roo—" Trunks was interrupted by Gohan waving his hands.

"Oh that! Yeah I got it, I got it, I got it. You don't have to continue. Just say they had intercourse. You don't have to come up with all these fancy way to say the same thing," jeered an embarrassed Gohan.

"Right, anyways they were together for about six years before… well you know," Trunks fretted while twiddling his thumbs. His mind began to drift back to that day he arrived at Mount Paozu with a dead Gohan in his arms.

Flashback:

High above the ground, a fourteen year old demi-Saiyan by the name of Trunks flew. There was a lost look in his eyes as he looked at the face of the person that had been his support for so long. He didn't fly anywhere close to his max speed; in fact he slowed down to think. He couldn't bear to think how the two women in his Master's life would take his departure.

Tears began to well up; he quickly rubbed his face to his shoulder blades, since his hands were otherwise occupied. 'I've cried enough, I need to be strong for Aunt Chichi and Videl,' he thought.

"Kami, how am I going to tell Videl?" Trunks began to hiccup between words, "This is all my fault; I should have been stronger. Master had to fight on his own because he knew I would never be able help."

"I'm sorry Master, I'm sorry that I have always had to rely on you, I couldn't do a damn thing when it mattered. When you needed me," Trunks lowered to the ground. There was still a long way before making it to the Son household, but he needed to stop since his tears were clouding his vision, so he gently dropped Gohan on the soft grass. He rested his forearms on Gohan's still torso, and pushed his head into his forearms. He began to weep once again.

Trunks remained on that position for the next half hour. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand, "I promise you Master, I will not rest until you have been avenged."

'I may not be strong enough now, but I will train for the day the androids are no more. Those androids will rue the day they decided to play with people's lives, to kill for their amusement, to kill you!' Trunks clenched his fist.

'Please watch over me Master; guide me towards that better tomorrow you envisioned.' Trunks gently cradle Gohan's body in his arms and took off once again. It was time to face the music.

Trunks flew in silence the rest of the way. He looked up and noticed the sun was setting behind the mountains, and the small dome nestled around the forest. The house had seen better days, with part of the right side in shambles. Though it is a simple fix, Chichi had decided to keep the ruble in place, as a way to make the androids believe the house had been abandoned, and just sealed the hole from the inside. There was no telling if the androids had ever been in the Mount Paozu area, but she decided for now that was a good way to ward of the enemy.

Trunks landed and could hear from the inside the sounds of the Ox King's heartily chuckles. "Come now Chichi; give the poor girl a break. She is making her best impression of a tomato, and I don't think she wants to talk about this subject with her boyfriend's mother," Trunks heard the Ox King inform from inside.

Trunks then heard his Aunt Chichi giggling response, "It's just innocent prying Father. All I want to know is where and when they had the time. I mean I'm sure you're curious as well. Gohan isn't always around but when he is, we usually dedicated the time as family time, so I just want to know when these lovebirds managed to slip under our radars."

He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and maneuvered to give two short but loud enough knocks. He didn't have to wait long before the door was opened by none other than his Aunt Chichi.

"Trun- OH DEAR KAMI!" Chichi screamed when she saw who Trunks was holding in his hands. She could see her offspring in his hands, but what made her scream was how pale he looked. She then noticed his chest was not rising, and slowly it began to dawn on her why Trunks was here with Gohan instead of Capsule Corp trying to resuscitate him.

Chichi and Trunks had a second to turn before they noticed that her involuntary scream had attracted the attention of Videl. They noticed when she gasped and covered her mouth with both her hands. Videl's eyes then rolled back and promptly fainted right there.

Chichi just had enough time to catch her right before her upper body could slam into the ground. Chichi was still breathing heavily, somewhat hyperventilating, but she had to pull it together. "Dad! Come quick, I-I-I need you to clear the dining table," Chichi stated while heaving. "Trunks, honey, I need-you-to follow my dad." Chichi began to break down, but she rubbed her eyes, and picked Videl and walked over to the couches.

The Ox King didn't waste any time and just wiped his massive arm across the table to throw anything on top of it. He looked back and saw his daughter taking Videl back to the couch, and a grief-stricken Trunks trying desperately to maintain composure. It would be inhumane of him to not get a little misty eye in the face of seeing his grandson's state. He could hear Trunks mumbling behind him, while two trails of tears adorned his face.

Trunks placed Gohan's body on the white clothed table. Some of Gohan's blood began to smear the cloth under him. He noticed that immediately Chichi made her way to her first-born. He took a couple of steps back to allow her space.

"My baby… what have they done to you," Chichi rested her hand on his cold cheek. This only confirmed her earlier thought. She turned to her father who was sitting in the chair next to Gohan's head, as if asking for his help, but he looked just as lost as her.

Chichi turned to Trunks, who was squatting against the wall and had his arms wrapped around his knees. She walked over to him and rested her hand on his intertwine fingers. "Honey what happened out there?" she asked trying to keep her voice from cracking.

Trunks looked up with bloodshot eyes. "… A…" he barely got a simple syllable out before he choked up. He closed his mouth, swallowed and tried again, "…androids, it was the androids. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. I was powerless to help and Master knocked me out, so I wouldn't get in the way."

"There was an attack in a nearby city, so we were going to fight, but the next thing I saw was my vision darkened. Master must have knocked me out, because after all how could he go fight if he had to babysit me. When I awoke I couldn't feel him, and when I finally found him… *sniffle* I'm sorry Aunty, I'm so sorry." Trunks buried his face into his knees.

Chichi could see her father get up, walk over to the sink to fill a small container with tap water. Once he got the right amount, he began to make his way towards the living room on the other side of the entrance corridor. Before leaving she heard him say, "I'll go take care of Videl."

"Thanks Dad; there are towels nearby the staircase. I just washed those, but I hadn't had time to put them back yet," Chichi commented to her exiting father.

She slid down the same wall and wrapped Trunks into a sideways hug. At first Trunks tried to push away saying, 'I don't deserve your kindness,' but Chichi persisted. Finally Trunks succumbed to her demands and held onto her upper Kimono, while he cried into her shoulder.

Chichi just kept stroking his hair, trying to soothe him. She looked in front of her and had a perfect angle to see her deceased son facing her way. "There is nothing to be sorry about Trunks. This was not your fault, okay. I'm serious Trunks, this is not your fault so don't go blaming yourself."

Trunks looked up, "How can you say that? If only I had been stronger then I would have been more than just an eyesore and actually would have been able to fight alongside him. Instead I was nothing but a nuisance, and Master had to fight alone."

"I'm sure he had his reasons to knock you out, but they weren't because you were a nuisance. My boy was always intellectually superior, and I'm sure he saw something in you. He did it to protect you," Chichi attempted to reason with the distraught teenager.

"What are we going to tell Videl?" Trunks inquired.

"*sigh* That is going to be complicated, more than you can imagine. Especially now that she is…"Chichi didn't get a chance to finish her sentence.

"She is what?"Trunks asked.

Chichi opened her mouth, but then both heard a distinct yell of "Gohan!" from the next room.

Trunks stood up from his crouching position, as well did Chichi just when Videl stood by the door frame.

"Gohan," whispered the horrified Videl.

"No, no no no no. Please tell me it's not true," She turned to Trunks, he could only look away. "This…this can't be." She took small steps until she was by his side and she took his hand into her own.

"You can't, please Gohan open your eyes," she rubbed his cheek. "You can't die, you were suppose to be the one to bring us peace, isn't that what you promised me."Videl could feel the coldness of his hand and his cheek. That didn't stop her from bending down and pressing her lips onto his cold blue ones.

"Videl, honey, it's not safe in your condition—"Chichi had her hands on Videl's shoulders.

Videl roughly pulled away, "Let me go! I don't care! I want Gohan; he promised that he would come back to me, so Gohan please come back to me. You're supposed to be our savior." Videl rested her head on his chest.

Trunks could do nothing but stand there with a blank look on his face. He just watched as Videl fell apart in front of him, while his Aunt tried to console her but to no avail. This had been the first time Trunks had ever seen Videl this emotional. Usually she would be sarcastic when Gohan came back injured, or maybe twisted his arm as a way to make her point that he needed to take better care of himself, but right now she was showing a face he imagined only Gohan had the privilege of knowing in their private moments. What he heard next however, chilled his blood.

Videl raised her tear etched face and barely above a whisper she spoke, "I need you by my side Gohan."

"You're going to be a father." Videl murmured. "Please come back to me, to our child."

Trunks eyes widened. He could not hold it in any longer. He ran out of the kitchen and through the front door. The Ox King hot on his heels, both adults came to an understanding that neither of the younger two should be alone at this time. Chichi was still trying to console Videl, so Ox King decided to follow Trunks.

The Ox King may be old, but he still had a couple of years in him and quickly followed the running Trunks. He finally caught up with young Trunks at the edge of the forest entrance.

"A child?!" Trunks shouted. "Arrgh…now he or she going to be fatherless because of me!" He finished, slamming his fist through the bark.

The Ox King walked up to Trunks, he rested his hand on his shoulder, "I can't say I know how you feel, but believe me, we will get through this."

Trunks looked back at the dome house a few meters away. He could hear Videl's cries for Gohan. 'I'll make this right; I swear on my life I will make this right.'

That was a day Trunks hated to recall. It marked the beginning of the end.

"She really loved him. There is no doubt in my heart. When my Master passed away she took it the hardest.

"She was getting ready to tell him that she was pregnant with Pan. Unfortunately she never the chance to tell him because the same day she found out was also the day that he died. At least I think it was the same day, but the point is that she had just recently found out about it, and she was waiting because my Master had said he was going to be home in the following days," Trunks lamented.

"That sucks, he died without even knowing that he had a family now." Gohan frowned and felt sorry for his future counterpart.

Trunks nodded before continuing where he left off, "As I said before, having a co-dependency can be a good at times, like helping each other get through the tough moments, but it certainly has its flaws, and this is one place where the flaws became a real life danger.

"She was never the same after that day. We all tried to be there for her, but it was not the same for her. My Master had been her pillar of support since the death of her parents, and when he was not there…well… depression overtook her. She began to eat less, we would see her getting progressively paler, and she would lock herself in her room.

"We were all affected by my Master's passing, but we all had someone to turn to. I had my mother and vice-versa, Aunt Chichi had her father and vice-versa, and for her well, we all tried to be there, but I could tell that we did little to comfort, since her main support was gone. Aunt Chichi was able to slightly knock her out of her depression when she reminded her about the child she was carrying, but that was a double edged sword. It did put her back in a state where she began to eat and take care of herself, but it also served as a constant reminder of who she had lost.

"A couple months later, when she had to be about 7 to 8 months pregnant by Mom's estimates, it happened. My Mother said that it was from the lack of nutrients, and having a hybrid Saiyan baby couldn't have helped either, that she fell ill and didn't get back up again.

"I personally believe that her body finally gave out on her. The pressure of losing Master was too much for her. My Mom did everything in her power to bring her back, but it was all in vain. My Mom was faced with two options, to continue the resuscitation and run the risk of losing both her and the baby, or saving the baby. I have only high respect for my Mother to have sat there and made her choice. Aunt Chichi wasn't thrilled by the idea, but she also knew the risks, so they chose to save the baby, and that is how Pan came to the world," Trunks finally concluded his tale. A small tear ran down his cheek as he thought about Videl, and all the pain she had to go through those eight months.

"I'm sorry to hear about that Trunks. Though I knew the end result, I never imagined you guys had to go through so much," Gohan patted Trunks' back.

"It is why I beg you to take really good care of Pan. She is our pride and joy. Not just my Master and his girlfriend's, but all of our collective pride from the future. We all raised her the best we could, and provided her the little bit of family that we could.

"It is why she refers to my Mother as Aunt Bulma and I refer to my Master's Mother as Aunt Chichi or Grandma at times. I don't do that here, since that is something exclusively for the future, in my eyes, but I can see Pan is having a hard time differentiating. I know you will, but promise me you will always be there for her and help her along the way to integrate herself into this timeline."

Without missing a beat Gohan responded, "I promise. She is my daughter now, and I will fight tooth and nail for her."

"Thank you for sharing the information on Pan's mother. I'll be sure to remember all you have said me, in case she ever asks," Gohan stated while getting up and dusting his Gi pants.

"There is one more thing I want to give you Gohan," Trunks pulled from around his neck a chain with a single key in it. "This is something I want you to keep. It's very important so put it somewhere safe."

"What does it open?" Gohan enquired.

"That is not for you to know," Trunks teased with a sad smile, remembering that day always made him feel a great amount of sadness afterwards.

"Just keep it somewhere safe, and when Pan is of age, give it to her. Then just send her to my Mother, and she will take it from there. Don't even think about asking Mother because she has already been strictly warned to not reveal it to you."

"Always trying to be mysterious Trunks. Fine I won't ask," Gohan replied with a small smile. He placed the key around his neck. "Well I think my break is about over, and I can see Pan is getting a little impatient that her kata isn't coming out right."

"Yeah, she gets her impatience from her mother. It's something I have learned to live with, but maybe she will change if her father tells her to," Trunks suggested.

"I'll see what I can do," Gohan approved. He began to make his way down the hill; he turned his head to the side and said, "Up for a spar, before you leave?"

"As long as we don't include Ki; I don't want to be responsible for the downing of another satellite," Trunks joked with the blushing teenager ahead of him.

AN: The battlefield is almost set, the contestants are making the final preparations, and all that is left is for the whistle to blow. The next chapter is the beginning of the Bojack saga. Not sure how long it will be, but know that there will be fun and games, confrontations, and at the end a battle for the planet. Thanks to those that reviewed, and I can't wait to hear what you think of this one. Be sure to thank DarkVoid as well for a wonderful job.

Dear dapmitidp,

If I have to be honest, what woman doesn't have us (men) wrapped around their finger. Let's hope Gohan doesn't screw up ;)

Dear Aaron Leach,

Thanks

Dear palazard95,

I'm trying balance my schoolwork and writing as much as I can to leave much time for writing, but with finals coming I'm not sure how this next two weeks will be like for my writing time. I'm glad you liked the balance. Vegeta's doesn't know about Pan yet. Like I said he is so focused on what is going on inside of him, he doesn't even know of the existence of another Saiyan, but soon he will run into her. Chichi on the other hand, I had a plan in mind, but I'm seeing an alternate route now. We will see.

Dear Joshrobo,

Hopefully the wait wasn't too long :)

Dear Mustafa123,

You know I really wanted to add that scene so badly, but I had already written Pan out of the tournament. For the sake of the story, as well because I'm trying to keep things at least a little bit level-headed, I decided that Pan won't be participating. :'( But know that your comment (and mental image) made me laugh.

Dear Cjjansen95,

You'll have to wait and see what happens. Just don't get you hope up that this will be a huge scene.

Dear Belthezzor,

That is exactly my argument. How can kid Gohan see what is wrong with the Ginyu's but fail to see the problem when he is older. To me Gohan had to suffer from some kind of brain damage when he thought of Saiyaman. Or the writer's were the ones that suffered from it.

Dear dv,

Thanks for all the help. I hope things get better from here on out.

Dear whethermangohanssj4,

I'm not going to lie, I had to reread your review many times and still I couldn't exactly make sense of what you were talking about. What does Goten have to do with anything in chapter 4? Second, it is in my humble opinion that Gohan would train even if he doesn't like it. He is that kind of guy that puts the happiness of others before his own. He is smart enough to know that evil will never truly die, so he would train to protect his family at the very least. It is because of the Goku fanboys/fangirls that forced Mr. Toriyama's hand to nerf Gohan in favor of Goku. Because of this we are getting all these crappy movies with plot holes the size of Texas. I'm not making Gohan emo, but I'm not going to make him happy-go-lucky because at this point in time he was more calculative. That is the emotion I want Gohan to have.

Dear The King of Ranting,

You're half right. ;)

Dear Zyphrost,

Sometimes I write non-stop and after I'm done, I go back and reread what I wrote. Those were my thought after I reread that part, not at the end. Yeah he is becoming more and more protective.

Dear The Fantastic Altruist,

Did I say that? I don't remember. Anyways thanks for the encouragement.

Dear ,

Thank you

Dear Brii-Chan14,

I thought about that scene on the fly, but I'm glad you liked it.

Dear reader,

The next chapter has arrived.

Dear Squasher,

The confrontation is still a while from here. To give you a clue, we need to pass the Bojack saga before we arrive to the next confrontation between son and mother. I'm sorry if it is too far from now, but I'm waiting for something. You'll see soon. That's right no Saiyaman.

Dear A,

Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad people like it.

Dear ndesi62,

You mentioned that you would no longer read my story, so you might never get this message. I'm sorry you feel that way, but I will not make the change. With all these people saying that it's good, I'm hard-pressed to believe that I'm doing a horrible job like you allude to. Good luck in your future reads of other stories.