Chapter 10
Broken Trust
Gohan woke up in the morning, and immediately knew that something was wrong. He scratched his head and looked out his window in his own room. What he saw was not comforting.
Saiyans on Planet Vegeta rarely lost their cool, and when they did, it meant something was wrong with the entire planet. The saiyans he saw running a riot around the streets frightened him greatly. Not the same kind of fear when you wonder if you're going to live or not, but the fear when you know that something is deathly wrong.
Quickly he dressed, wanting to know what was up and what he had missed as he slept in the early hours of the morning. He barged down the steps, grabbed something quick to eat, and was instantly out the door.
He grabbed a passing saiyan he knew by sight but not by name by the arm. "What happened?" he asked, his tail shuddering in alarm.
"You didn't hear?" the other saiyan asked. Gohan merely shook his head. "There has been an attempted assassination on Prince Trunks and King Vegeta! The healers aren't sure if they'll come through it or not."
Gohan stared at the saiyan, dumbstruck. This was worse then even he had planned. "Wha?"
The other saiyan's eyes narrowed in loathing. "That bitch. Think she can kill our King," he snarled, and was gone.
Gohan went dead cold. The only female in the palace that he knew of was-… was Pan. There was only one thing left to do-go to the palace.
Gohan sat at a desk, his head in his hands. A commander had explained the facts to him, and what had happened. All the facts pointed to Pan. Every single one of them; not even one was in her favor. But… how? Why? His mind raced, trying to think of why, how, or any answer he could come up with.
He could come up with none.
But… my little Panny! She wouldn't… she couldn't! but another part of his mind thought differently. I didn't think she could-or would-train, either…
"Son Gohan?" the commander said, breaking him from his thoughts.
"Yes?" he asked, looking up.
"We're going to have to… torture Son Pan… perhaps you would want to be there, to talk to her to get the answers out of her so we would not have to," the commander said.
Gohan nodded shakily. "When?"
The commander looked at his watch. "Soon."
"Sir, a question?" Gohan asked.
"Yes, Mr. Son?" the commander said.
"How are Prince Trunks and King Vegeta?" Gohan asked.
"Well, Mr. Son," the commander said grimly. "It is not certain yet. There condition is not stable enough to say."
Gohan's hope crashed into icy waters. "O..k… where should I wait?"
"Follow me."
Pan woke up to the slamming of a door-her door-the door to the room she was in. Light from the hall flooded in, and she squinted, looking at the figures blocking some of the light. She sat up, cradling her wounded arm. When her eyes adjusted to the light, there was only one face she could see.
Her father's.
"Tousan!" she wailed.
But, strangely, her father said nothing, standing stiff with his shoulders straight back.
She seemed puzzled, and her pain filled mind could not comprehend his posture. "Tousan?"
Two guards walked past Gohan, who would not meet his daughter's eyes. They slammed her against the wall, and her cry of pain echoed off the steel walls.
"Pan," he said in a soft voice. "You better tell them what they want to know, or you're going to hurt even more."
Pan stared at her father, utterly shocked. "But Tousan, I didn't do it!"
"Pan, tell them."
"I didn't do it!" she shouted, tears making fresh trails down her cheeks.
"Pan, please don't do this to yourself. Make it easier-just tell them that you did it."
"I didn't do it!" she shouted fiercely. She abruptly choked up a puddle of blood as a guard slammed his fist into her stomach.
"Still think you didn't do it?" the guard sneered.
A look of pure fear passed Pan's eyes as she saw the second guard pull something out of his pocket-a knife.
"Yes," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I still know that I didn't do it."
"Pan, please. You always were stubborn, Pan, but can't you just admit you've done something wrong?"
Pan's scared, frightened eyes caught her fathers, and held his gaze with one look Gohan would never forget-betrayal.
She glanced away, and did not even make a sound when the guard shoved the knife into her gut. What did it matter now? Her heart was broken. No, not broken.
Gone.
The commander, who was standing behind Gohan, put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. "You might not want to see this," he said as he led him out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
The old King of Vegeta sat in a chair in a balcony, looking at the garden below. A guard stood behind him, awaiting his answer.
"Five hours? And she has not uttered a word?" the old king repeated.
"Yes sir. She hasn't said a word, though her blood covers the floor," the guard replied promptly.
"Hmm… that will be all for today. Let her rest, or you will kill her, and we will never know. Tomorrow find someone else for the job, perhaps the other two are not doing a good job," he said.
The guard nodded and bowed, his right hand over his heart. "For the glory of Vegeta."
"For the glory of Vegeta," the old King said, and then dismissed the soldier with a flick of his hand-he needed some time to think.
He was the last male left in his bloodline-or so it seemed. He was not sure if his son and grandson would live or not. Someone was needed to rule, and he was the most logical choice. He would, of course, rule his planet-but that girl needed to be dealt with.
Ebony eyes opened, confused and bewildered. They were slightly misted by the blood that leaked into them, befuddling the environment around her. They darted about the dark room they had only just been accustomed to, trying to give the mind enough information to tell it where she was. One thought broke the peace of her mind-
Where am I?
She tried to sit up, but failed miserably. Having to be content to stay on the floor, she waited until some force other then her own would decide what she would do, for she had no strength to decide-or care.
Then, suddenly, one memory appeared in her mind. She could not remember where she lived, where she was, or even who she was, but she could remember his eyes-defeated, sullen.
Betrayal.
Her mind lost its grasp of this thought and it faded back with the others, unnoticed and forgotten.
Author's Note: I know, I know, this is REALLY late. I'm so so so so sooo sorry! After vacation I came home and went straight to sleep (I got home late) and then on Monday I had Track Championships and when I got home it was like seven o'clock, and I was really tired because I didn't eat since last Sunday evening. (I had to be under 105 pounds to run the 75 meter sprint… I did it, though! Yippie!) But now that it's over, Chapters should be up faster. Hopefully I can get two up today ^-^. Well, Chow!
Oh and another note on the chapter- I know you're all thinking that Gohan would have never doubted his daughter, but look at all of the evidence on Pan. Also, He is beginning to doubt his ability to know his daughter the moment he found out she had been caught training. All right?