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"Triple Threat 3: Escape from Other World"
Chapter 8: "Emotion"

Pan threw a rock across the water, watching it skip three times before it sunk to the bottom. She sighed and stared out across the small pond. She gritted her teeth in frustration and hurled another small stone in front of her. This time, it soard across the water and disappeared into the group of trees behind the pond. Pan stood up and closed her eyes, blocking her tears.

"Why? Why me?" Her angry voice echoed back at her. "And..." She looked down at her clenched fists, a tear falling on her left. "Why Trunks? H-He... He's going to die... all because of me..."

-flashback-

"Are you OK now, Pan? She's going through a tough time right now. We all are..."

Pan nodded, half smiling. "I really don't understand, but I'll try..." But only for you sake, Trunks...

"And what do we have here?" A voice snarled and a small energy blast hit the ground in front of them, just at the edge of the pond.

Pan and Trunks both jumped back, watching the man defensively. "What do you want?" Trunks gritted his teeth, not taking his eyes off this intruder. "Who are you? You're a Saiyan, right? I can sense it."

Raditz moved his eyes from Trunks to Pan and his lips formed a thin line. "So, you're my brother's granddaughter. I can't beleive there's a female who thinks they're a Saiyan. Pathetic. Light Bomb!"

"Pan!" Trunks yelled and pushed her out of the way. The blast slammed his face into the ground, burning a hole through his jacket and onto his back.

"Now for the brat." Raditz stretched his right palm at Pan as she hung in the air, too scared to move.

"Pan, run! Get away while I deal with him. You can get the others while I hold him!" Trunks yelled as he lifted himself up, his teeth clenched in pain.

Pan creased her eyebrows in annoyance and concern. "Are you kidding me? I'm not leaving you here with this guy. We have no idea how strong he is. I can help you fight." She flew up closer to Raditz, throwing a yellow energy blast at him.

Raditz let the blast him in the left arm. He smiled. "That was one of your weaker attacks I hope, little girl." He charged at her, but she teleported behind him and threw a left kick at his neck. Raditz caught her leg and swung her into a tree, tearing the tree in half vertically.

"No, Pan!" Trunks shouted and immediately darted to the female saiyan. "Pan, are you OK?"

"I'm fine, Trunks." Pan said weakly, looking into Trunks' clouded eyes.

How strong is this guy? Goku would know. Trunks gritted his teeth and jerked his head at the enemy. "You'll pay for that!" He shot at him, his energy flaring.

The last thing Pan remembered seeing was Trunks being tossed aside like a dark piece of worn cloth.

-end of flashback-

Pan kept her eyes closed at the memory, forcing herself not to cry because she knew if she started, she wouldn't be able to stop. "Trunks... I'm sorry. I'm just too weak, even though I've trained all my life. I meant what I said, though... I love you. I just didn't want to admit it. I thought it would ruin our friendship." She lifted her head toward the cloudy sky and smiled half-heartedly, letting the wind toss her raven colored hair behind her.

----------

Kayla stepped away from the group, her back turned. Her brown ponytail whipped around her neck as she spoke quietly. "Why?"

"Why what, Kayla?" Videl ventured.

Kayla spun around, her eyes flashing with both anger and sorrow. She clenched her fists and looked directly at Eighteen, who was still floating a few feet above the grass. "Why'd you do that? Why'd you... save me?"

The former android gazed at her for a long minute in silence. Nobody spoke, the emotional tension between the two tangibly thick. Eighteen's sincere eyes never left Kayla's unwavering gaze as she lowed herself to the ground. "Because... you're the first friend who truly understands me."

Kayla involuntarily stepped back in awe. "Eighteen..." Looking at her calm gaze, she remembered something the woman has said 16 years ago.

-flashback-

Kayla stood up, waved her left arm around and smiled, Bulma. You made it even better than what it was before."

"No problem. I was able to repair you side so fast only because the work was so similar to Dr. Gero's work on androids."

Kayla's face paled as she looked into Bulma's smiling face. "Gero! Really, now?" She laughed nervously as she walked out of the lab and into the living room everyone else.

"Hm? What's wrong, Kayla? I know Gero was on the evil, but you can't ignore his genius." Bulma said behind her.

"He was more than evil, Bulma." Kayla said under his breath.

"So, I was right. He was the one?" Eighteen looked at Kayla sympathetically.

Kayla stared into Eighteen's eyes and then sighed mournfully. "Yeah... I should have known you'd figure it out, Eighteen."

"Well, sisters have to stick together." Eighteen walked up to her and held out her left hand, smiling slightly.

"Right." Kayla shook her hand and smiled.

-end of flashback-

Kayla looked down, not able to bring herself to look at Eighteen. The wind whistled in her ears as she searched for the right words to say.

"Would you rather have had me let Gero kill you?" Eighteen's cruel tone broke Kayla from her thoughts. Kayla jerked her head up defensively, but Eighteen's eyes were filled with remorse and sadness. "Would you rather die now? Would that be your way of getting rid of your past?"

Kayla didn't respond. She could only stare back at her, her mind struggling between the past and present. To Kayla, there wasn't a clear line separating the two.

When Kayla didn't speak, Eighteen continued, the harshness in her voice more forced this time. "Do you think Anna would be proud that you threw away your life just like that?"

Kayla flinched sharply as her mother's name reached her ears. To her right, she heard Videl's instinctive sharp intake of breath. Her eyes became unsteady as she looked at Eighteen. "H-How do you... know her n-"

"It doesn't matter how I know her name. The only thing that matters now is believing in yourself. Do you think I had it easy... after I became human?" Her eyes frowned slightly as she remembered the day she saw Shenron summoned. "I remember what I did as an android. Those memories of murdering countless innocent lives still haunt me every day of my life. Now,I live protecting who I can, as my way of apologizing to the world."

"But it wasn't your choice! Gero programmed you three-"

"Exactly." Kayla flinched as Eighteen spoke under her breath assertively. "Gero programmed us to find and kill one person, but to do that, we had to kill others along the way. Gero programmed you to find and kill Videl, Goku and Vegeta and anyone in association to them." She still didn't break her commanding gaze or voice as she spoke. "Sixteen broke through that programming. You did, also. It was just a different kind of programming... controlling a child's mind is the strongest kind of control there is."

She stepped toward Kayla with that same stare. "All I'm saying is this... you need to believe in yourself, Kayla. You're human now. Don't dwell in the past."

Kayla saw the slightest tears well up in Eighteen's eyes, but the woman immediately blinked them away. "Eighteen? Are you... crying?" Eighteen was supposed to be strong, after all.

She grimaced, changing back to her usual calm state in a flash. "Crying? Don't be ridiculous. I don't cry."

Still turned toward Kayla, Eighteen quickly wiped her eyes with her blue sleeve and disappeared without saying another word.