Chapter 9
Instinct
Pan woke abruptly, her body shaking. She had the same feeling she had earlier that morning-the fear, the wrongness. She stood up, one arm swiftly aiding the injured one so she wouldn't have to let it hang uselessly by her side. In one, blinding flash, the answer came to her. The rebels! Her mind screamed. The rebels we took care of earlier- they were only a distraction, a joke! Their real objective was to make us think we got rid of the problem, when in reality, we didn't! They've come back to finish the job! Pan's dark eyes surveyed the dungeon. Was it, her mind reasoned, possible to escape? She looked to the sleeping form of Niomi, and she had to warn her.
"Niomi," she whispered urgently, nudging her with her foot. "Niomi, wake up!"
"Huh-what?" Niomi muttered, her eyes fluttering open.
"Niomi, I have to go," Pan said in a hushed voice.
"What?! How?" Niomi questioned, her eyes wide.
"I'm going to have to break out. Something's wrong. For your sake, don't leave, or you'll get in more trouble."
"Pan, what are you talking about? The walls and bars are made of steel! You can't break them!" Niomi exclaimed.
But Pan wasn't exactly paying attention to Niomi any more, as her eyes were hard and cold. "Watch me," she hissed, and her yellow aura burst out around her.
Niomi yelped and scrambled back, getting out of the way. In the present state that Pan was in, no one could talk to her.
Pan's power swirled around her, and she grabbed the urgency of this act and fed her power on it. She needed to get out-and there was only one way to do it.
The bars of the doors burst back, slamming into the opposite wall, surprising the guards. Pan strode out of the dungeon, her need controlling her actions. The guards rushed to stop her, but she stopped them merely by the flick of her hand, throwing them up against the wall.
As soon as they were covered, she masked her power, not wanting to be found. At least, not just yet. Masking herself as an anonymous slave, she made her way towards the feeling, knowing she had to help.
As she watched from the privacy of the shadows, she saw people running about frantically, being awoken by her blast from the dungeons. Slinking past them, she made her way to the only place she could think of-the throne room. The rebels were either going to try and finish the job, or make a direct attack on King Vegeta himself-and she could not let that happen. King Vegeta may have mistaken her as an assassin, but he was still her lord, her king, and always would be-
Unless he was dead.
She forced that though out of her mind, continuing on down the hallway.
No one noticed the slave in the shadows. No one ever noticed slaves, even if they were female. Since Pan was wearing the traditional slave's garments, she was no exception. Keeping her tail wrapped around her waist so as not to draw eyes to her, she continued on.
Her mind was only thinking about one thing-the protection of her King.
She walked into the room she knew as King Vegeta's, floating just above the ground so she would minimize the noise risk. Her eyes surveyed the room for the rebels, for anything.
So we meet again, Young Rebel, a voice said. No, it was not said, Pan could not hear it, but she could… feel it.
She whirled around, looking for someone, anyone, but her searching eyes found nothing. "What do you want?!" she snapped.
But the voice did not answer her question, and instead said something else. You're blast in the dungeons distracted us. We did not know you would do something like that-we did not know you were capable of something like that-but it has come with unexpected surprises.
"We?!" Pan said into the darkness. "Who is 'we'? What surprises?" She felt helpless, not being able to know or feel where this dangerous stranger was, and being so clueless on a subject she had to know to save her people's King.
The voice only chuckled in her mind, and called her by a name it had created itself for her. Young Rebel, is said, it's voice now a whisper. You ask too many questions. Don't worry, you'll know soon enough.
You've made my job soooo much easier. Thank you. And then, suddenly, it was gone.
What was he talking about? Pan questioned herself. She feared the worse as she made her way to the King's bed-this time, she had no knife in her hand, and could not be accused-or could she?
She walked up to the bed tentatively, and she could see a form of a body on the bed. Well, at least he's still there, she thought wryly. She hesitantly touched the form on the bed, and was terrified to find out that it was cool, cold. …dead? Her mind questioned, but she pushed the thought out of her mind. "Sir, wake up," she said, shaking his muscular arm. "Wake up," she said more urgently then before. "Please."
Getting no response, she shook harder, almost wishing that if she shook him hard enough he'd wake.
But, of course, that wasn't going to happen.
A cool blast of wind hit her face, blowing her hair about. She realized that the window was open, and for one brief second she thought about flying through the window into the night sky. The sky wouldn't care what she was accused of, would nurture her from her fears, and let her be free.
However tempting that idea was, she could not-would not-abandon her planet like that-even if the blame could be shoved on her shoulders.
Instinct alone guided Pan's good hand to King Vegeta's chest, and instinct alone made her begin to power up. Spreading her hand on his sculptured chest, she absently closed her eyes as she began to feed her power into her Lord, her King, reviving him.
It was as if she pushed an 'on' button in him. Wakening his lungs, they took a large, tentative breath, grasping the air that they had so recently lacked. With joy she could feel his heart beat again, and knew-hoped-he'd now be all right. She stood up, now dizzy from her lack of power and swayed on her feet. She turned to leave, to return back to the dungeons; Now that he was breathing, he would hopefully be all right, and soon the guards would find him.
The guards-where were they?
"Son Pan, if you want to keep you life for just a shred longer, you will remain motionless," a voice growled.
She did not have to be told-the voice froze her in her tracks as the lights slowly came on as more guards piled into the room. No… not again, not again! He mind shrieked, but she could do nothing as the guards grabbed her, pulling her away from King Vegeta.
"So, I see, Son Pan, you've come back to finish the job," a voice sneered, and her insides churned with hatred. Doshen. "Oh, you have nothing to say, eh? You will when we torture you for answers."
Torture? She turned to ice. No, not torture. Despite her fear she lifted her chin proudly, pride gleaming in her eyes. "Go ahead and try," she hissed at him.
Doshen fell back a step, surprised that she actually said something, and in the manner she said it.
Pan felt a blinding pain, and it took her a moment to realize that he had punched her in the gut. She doubled-over his fist, falling as far to her knees as the guards holding her would allow.
Wrenching her broken arm back, Pan cried in more pain as the started to drag her out of the room, and she was dimly aware that they weren't dragging her back to the dungeons.
Trying to keep her vision straight, she looked at her feet as she dangled uselessly behind the guards. Her arm was now numb with pain, and she couldn't even feel it-but she knew that eventually, she would. But now she could only be dragged around like a rag doll, at the mercy of the guards.
*******
She was thrown into a dark room, the door being shut on her with a loud clank. She didn't even bother to situate herself from the crumpled heap she was in and fell asleep.
*******
Pan awoke from the searing pain in her arm, but didn't open her eyes. Her face paled and she began to sweat, the pain spreading to her body, not even being able to think straight. Get yourself together! She scolded herself. Keeping her eyes shut, she focused her mind about a place she had been with her father, a peaceful place. Slowly, the pain diminished until it became only a dull throb in her arm, and she could finally open her eyes.
Reality came flooded back at her, as if a dam had broke and the water cascaded over everything in sight. What's going to happen? She thought. If King Vegeta is alive, he will be seriously hurt. And Trunks… they'll need a new leader, for the time being-but who is next for the line of the throne? She dropped her head into her good hand, tears coursing down her cheeks. And what is going to happen to me?
Author's Note: Well, there's the second chapter for the day-hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to be away this weekend, but I'll post an extra chapter on Friday, deal? Great!
Once again, THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!!!!!!
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