Disclaimer: I still don't own Dragon Ball Z. :(

Chapter 12

Trunks cursed loudly as he ran to the window ledge, careful not to touch any of the shattered glass that was scattered about. Of course Jeremiah was nowhere to be seen for he had used his special form of transmission to get himself out of sight without as much as a tiny ki trail.

Trunks didn't know where to begin. His best friend lay bleeding and wounded on the ground while simultaneously the love of his life was secured roughly in a chair with seemingly unbreakable chains.

His mind raced back and forth before he finally decided to let Pan out of her unpleasant wrap first.

"Suck in Panny," Trunks spoke through clenched teeth as he tried to slip his fingers through the small cracks of the chain. He pulled with all his strength, his hair still glowing a bright gold. With a little more effort the metal crushed into dust between his fingers. Again and again he repeated the process until Pan's half limp body fell into his arms and he held her tight.

"Are you okay? How bad are you hurt?" He was speaking so fast Pan could barely understand what he was saying. He wiped stray black hairs from her face and looked deeply into her eyes, his moving rapidly searching for something within hers, possibly reassurance.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Check on Goten!" It felt good for her lungs to be able to completely fill with air.

Trunks nodded his head and ran to his best friend's side, picking him up tenderly in his arms. Goten's body was noticeably chillier and Trunks waved Pan over as he readied himself to take off through the broken window.

"Do you think you can fly to my mother's house?" Pan's answer was a simple nod and with that they quickly took off in the air, Goten's large form buried in the older boy's arms.

Trunks' look was solemn as his mother watched with wide eyes, mouth hanging towards the floor.

"What happened!" Bulma screamed and just as she had spoken Bra came walking in from the kitchen, drink in hand.

"Why are you screaming mom!" And as Bra's eyes met the figure of the limp man in Trunks' arms, her hands flew to her open lips, leaving her drink abandoned to fall to the ground. The spilled refreshment was forgotten as Bra made her way hastily to Goten's side.

"Omg omg omg." Bra whispered to herself, trying to shoo away the big, salty tears in her eyes. Her heavy, worried breathing slowed in relief as she saw the small rise and fall of the young man's chest.

"We have to get him in the tank mom, his pulse is slowing." Trunks said calmly, trying not to shock the women any further. Every person in the room looked as if they were on pins and needles.

"Hurry before Chi-Chi gets back!" Bulma whispered as the five made their way down the stairs and into Bulma's lab for the second time in the last couple of hours.

Goten's mother had gone for a walk to try and process the happenings of the day and the whole room knew what it would be like if Chi-Chi saw her surviving son in such a state. No one could bear the idea of seeing her in that kind of pain again.

Trunks undressed Goten so the other women with blushes spread deep across their faces wouldn't have to. His mother worked hard to get the regeneration chamber ready, putting in numbers and pressing buttons on the complicated computer in front of her. Trunks felt the blood soaking into his shirt and silently begged his mother to hurry her procedure.

"I think it's ready Trunks, you can place him inside now." Bulma called over her shoulder, pressing a key every now and then to finish up the final touches of the process.

As soon as Trunks had Goten secured and the breathing mask over the hurt boy's mouth and nose, the door began to close seemingly automatically and Trunks stepped out of the way as it sealed itself. The blue liquid raised rapidly in the giant tube.

Goten's body floated lifelessly in the thick goo and all four had to look away as the anger, hurt, and sadness suffocated everyone that was located in the room.

Trunks turned to Pan, eyeing the disheveled girl whose expression was frantic. She couldn't help but think that this was all of her fault. If she hadn't been with that psycho of a thing Jeremiah, Goten would never have been placed in such a devastating situation.

"Pan," He held her warm cheeks in his hands, "I'm going to find him. I'm going to stop this." Trunks knew as soon as he felt the stream of water grazing across the tips of his thumbs that she was crying.

"I'll find him," he whispered to her reassuringly, "I promise you."

He kissed her softly on the forehead as she nodded into his palms. Trunks had never seen her so hurt before and it felt like a tiny jackhammer was placing deep cracks in his heart as he watched the girl in front of him break down into his arms.

"Pan you have to listen to me, do you have any idea where he could be?" Trunks asked softly as Pan's sobs turned into small sniffles. She clung so tightly to him he could barely feel anything below his biceps where she was holding him.

"No, nothing is coming to mind. He's an idiot so he's probably in some really obvious place." Pan wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand thoroughly, her face only drying slightly.

"Think Pan, I need some kind of lead."

"Well sometimes, he took me to this place. It was gorgeous. Green grass, beautiful trees, no civilization for miles. It's a place that feels like what the world should be, you know without all the big corporate buildings and stuff," She thought dreamily for a second, "He told me: 'Not even this place could compare to your beauty.' What a load of BS! I could punch myself in-"

"Pan focus! Do you remember where it was?"

"Far away. On the way outskirts of Tokyo. It's a long shot but I think that's your best bet. Knowing how dumb he is, his ki will lead you right to him." She rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Pan." he mouthed, giving her a final kiss on her frontal lobe, this one lasting slightly longer than the rest.

"Trunks, wait!"

His determination deafened his ears to the woman's pleas as he made his way up the stairs and out the door of Capsule Corps, feeling a wave of déjà vu. Before Pan could reason with him any further he disappeared into the baby blue sky, just a blur of smoky trail to her tear stained eyes.

Trunks jetted in the direction of Tokyo and in less than thirty minutes he was searching through vast lands of country. He felt out kis left and right, sifting through the low ones and finding the exceptionally high until one stuck out to him. As he ventured further and further from the outskirts of the large city, he felt the ki's true power, greater than a human though not greater than himself.

As Trunks lowered his ki to almost unreadable, a smirk worked its way across his features as his very target stood clueless in the abundant field in front of him.

Jeremiah

Again, Jeremiah felt he was safe for now. The rolling green hills and tall bright oaks clouding his vision provided him with the comfort he needed to feel secure. There were no houses or even roads within miles of him as he flew into the air to get a better look of his surroundings. Trunks would never be able to find him here for only he and Pan knew where this place was.

The purple-haired freak had ruined his plans again and frankly, Jeremiah was getting pretty sick of it. He had to find a way to get rid of this man before he took Pan away from him forever.

Slowly descending back down into the tall grass, he laid himself flat on the dirt, hands resting behind his head as he wondered how things were going back in West City with Pan.

Had they saved the man Pan claimed to be her uncle? Was the strange haired man trying to devise a plan to get revenge on him?

The prince chuckled to himself loudly, knowing there was no way that the other would be able to find him, not with his oh so secret form of transportation.

In the midst of Jeremiah's rejoicing, Trunks crystallized in the air in front of him like some sort of black magic. Jeremiah was in shock, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

'There's no way-' and in a split second Jeremiah's thoughts were interrupted by a fist to his delicate face.

He didn't have time to speak as he recovered, face in hand as he could feel his mouth swell with metallic wetness. Jeremiah looked around in shock and noted that he was feet away from where he had previously been resting.

How could Trunks have found him already?

"That was for Pan." Trunks spat at the man cowered a little distance away.

Trunks' steps were menacing as he began to finish the space between them and Jeremiah didn't even have time to feel the warmth in his hand from the energy ball he was trying to form before Trunks' hands were around his throat.

His face was murderous as he looked the distressed man up and down. The muscles in his hands tried to resist against the constant tightening of them around Jeremiah's throat and with a quick kick to the chest, Trunks sent the younger boy flying across the field once more.

He took the next few minutes to beat Jeremiah senseless, the energy admitting from his body alone was deadly.

Jeremiah didn't even have time to put a protective shield around himself as Trunks took every opportunity available to give him a left hook to his eye or right hook to the butt of his chin. The final punch glowed the surface of Trunks' hand as he used it to again to admit the bleeding man another couple yards away.

Taking a large jump over to the heap of being that lay crumpled on the ground, Trunks promptly landed on his stomach, hearing the man scream in agony.

"I honestly thought you would be a better fight than this. You were all talk just like I knew you would be."

Trunks' hair again flashed bright gold and his blue eyes turned icier as his aura blared to life. Jeremiah didn't know what he had gotten himself into.

He leaped off of the man's stomach, feeling the air rush out of him, and flipped to levitate in the air. His hands began to move at lightning speed, forming energy so large that Jeremiah was too blinded to even look in that direction.

"Wait, wait! Don't do this!" Jeremiah coughed as he felt his insides swirling in terror. The blood pouring from his mouth made it hard for him to speak without gurgling.

"Why shouldn't I?" Trunks could feel his fingers itching to release the ball in his grasp; this could all be over in a matter of seconds with just a flick of his wrist.

"Because killing me would be a very, very bad thing."

"And from whose point of view are we looking at again?"

"My father's and my people's I'm sure."

"Well from what I can tell," Trunks said, taking a quick glance around the area, "neither Daddy nor your people are here right now. Time to fight your own battles."

"But I'm a prince!"

"Funny, that's two things we have in common," Trunks' smirk was broad as Jeremiah's eyes grew, "Prince Trunks Vegeta Briefs of Planet Vegeta-sei at your service."

"Blasphemy!"

"I never tell lies." Trunks' face held no expression. The ball's energy glowed bright again as Trunks' focus was put back into it.

"Can't we make a deal?" Jeremiah's arm was held out straight in front him as if that would stop the deadly blast to come to him.

"I don't make deals with enemies."

"I'll give her up." Though he had been ready to fight for Pan he had never imagined in a million years it would lead him to be begging for his life. He loved her but in no way was she more important than him.

"You're lying!"

"I promise! I promise! I give my word as a prince!"

"You've shown me nothing to believe anything you say!"

"Listen to me! For a second!"

Trunks' hands were shaking as he lowered them and the ball disappeared abruptly.

"You have one minute and after that not one thing is going to stop me from killing you." Trunks' words were venomous to Jeremiah's ears.

"As a prince you must understand the need for a strong mate," Jeremiah looked to Trunks for conformation and wasn't surprised when he found none, "Pan, well she's outstanding. Beautiful. Strong. Intelligent. Everything I need in a mate…everything anybody needs in a mate. You can't blame me for going a little crazy over her!"

"You tied her to a chair like an animal and almost killed my best friend!"

"I didn't know what to do! I didn't know how else to make her stay! Your friend, he was trying to take her away from me! Everything I had worked so hard for these past two years!"

"That's no excuse."

"Oh please spare me with the honorable man bullshit! You're standing over me right now about to kill me for the same reason I shot your friend!" Trunks' aura boomed fiercely again and Jeremiah backed off some.

"And what do you expect me to do for you in the end? Let you go on your word that you'll never come back again? I don't think so. I feel no sympathy for you." And again Trunks' hands grew a bright, almost translucent yellow.

"Didn't I tell you to wait dammit!" This voice wasn't very manly at all. It was way too soft, way too low and the owner of it now had her arm placed on his firmly.

Where had Pan come from? From the looks of her windblown hair she had been flying at her top speeds again and even though it was hard to get a Saiyan in such a state, she was breathing heavily.

"Get out of here," Trunks told her calmly, "This is something you shouldn't have to see."

"Just hold on a second," She spoke hastily, hoping she could stop him before his hand let go of the mass, "I've known him for a while. Maybe he's capable of telling some kind of truth." Her eyes rolled in an uncontrollable manner.

"Are you seriously trying to save his life?" Trunks was in awe, she couldn't be serious right now, not when he was so close to ending this all.

"I've had death and hurt too many times on my hands for me not to stop it when I have some kind of chance."

She glanced over at Jeremiah, seemingly broken on the ground. When she knew he wouldn't try anything by the down look upon his face, she floated hesitantly to him, kneeling in front of him. Pan had no clue why she was being so compassionate towards him after everything he had put her through in the last week.

"Please give me some kind of promise that you'll leave forever. You have to understand that I don't want to be what you want from me…that I don't want to be a part of you or even with you." Jeremiah's head was down, listening as she spoke the bittersweet words of his definite defeat.

"I know you're the one for me though," He said finally meeting his blue eyes with her chocolate, "You just haven't realized it yet. We're perfect and I know I've been acting crazy but it's because I love you!"

"But I love Trunks." The sounds of breaths hitching over the plains mingled with the wind and swirled around them. There was a long silence as Jeremiah stood, his knees buckling before he could finally hold himself up properly.

The grotesqueness of his beaten face was enough to make Pan want to puke. She had seen enough blood today to last her a whole lifetime.

Trunks' guard was up as Jeremiah stood high.

"So…I guess the battle is over then." Pan was still kneeled as she listened to him speak, feeling bad for being somewhat blunt with him earlier.

"You know I heard this quote once: 'It doesn't make sense to let go of something you have wanted for so long, but it also doesn't make sense to hold on when there is nothing there'," He said offering her a hand and though she felt she shouldn't have she taken it, she let him bring her to a standing position with what little energy he had.

"I'll let you live your life Pan. I'll let you have what you want." His voice was sad as he spoke to her lightly. This man had all the signs of a bipolar, his mood switching from absolutely nuts to sweet and innocent within a matter of hours.

"Promise me though, even when I do find a new mate, if you need anything you'll come to me." He looked into her eyes, hope lingering that maybe she might change her mind.

"I'll think about it," She looked at him sincerely and even after all that had happened she cracked a smile at him. It was all she could do but to break down again.

"I love you and I did everything I did because of that. We would have been perfect." He whispered as he leaned down to plant a genuine kiss on her cheek, probably the last he would be able to. That thought alone made him wild again and the grasp he had on her hands tightened, his body all too willing to transport away with her again, to try and escape from the man only a few feet above them.

Jeremiah's heart broke as he let go of her hands, the pain blinding his eyesight with small tears. He vanished into the air, only his scent lasting as Pan and Trunks stood alone in the open field.

It would be the hardest thing he could ever imagine to stay away from this girl but he had to move on. His planet couldn't wait forever.

Goten had recovered completely much to everyone's relief. Though Chi-Chi had seen her son in the regeneration tank, the worst had already passed and the gaping hole that tore through his side had repaired itself. She was spared the gory details.

When Goten had awoken, he immediately tried to seek revenge on the man that had cut a natural chunk out of his body. Learning of Trunks and Pan's dilemma, he was grateful yet sad of his unfortunate missing of the event.

It wouldn't be Chi-Chi if she hadn't run around screaming about never letting her 'baby' out of the house ever again. In just a few short hours everything had calmed down and for the time being everything felt surreally normal.

Now Trunks and Pan stood outside of Capsule Corps staring off into the dusky sky, replaying the events of the past couple of days noiselessly in their heads.

"Well that was dramatic," Pan joked sheepishly after the long silence. She wiped an involuntary tear away as she dared to look up at Trunks. His form was back to its normal state as he turned to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"You love me?" He smiled into her hair as she melted into his embrace. He held her close as if he could lose her again at any moment. Even after such a short time with this girl, she had become a bigger part of his life than anything had dared come close to. Jeremiah was underestimating her. She was soo much more than anything he had described.

"We better get back inside to check on Goten." Pan said, unwillingly pulling her weight from his arms. Before she could even take two steps back, he was grabbing a hold to the tips of her fingers, rotating her around to face him.

"I love you too." He kissed her long and hard on the lips, feverish yet sweet, needing yet patiently. His hands found her cheeks, still slightly moist from tears, and he held on tenderly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head down to rest on his chest. His arms made their way to encircle her waist, pulling her closer to his natural heat. She listened to his heartbeat, the leaves rustling in the trees, and the wind as it whistled through the buildings that surrounded them.

She couldn't help but feel like this was undeniably perfect, exactly where she was supposed to be.

Her heartbeats were different, slower and disconnected, almost as if she were missing pieces. His were loud and energetic, like something had pump started it with a great force. Though it had been broken nearly twice in the last two years, she could feel in the canals of her ears, her heart had mended itself to beat to a harmonized rhythm the same as Trunks' drum.

Finally, though she didn't believe it possible, she had found the perfect person to mend her broken heart.

A/N: It's only been a short while since I started this. Two years, no big deal. I truly am sorry for the wait! My grammar and sentence structure probably isn't the best either so I also apologize for that. Don't yell at me too much please.

I would just like to thank all of my readers and reviewers over these past couple of years. You guys are amazing and I wouldn't be half as inspired if it wasn't for you. You, along with rereading some of my older stories, are things that have made me realize that writing is something that I truly love. So I just want to say that I love you all!

I'll be back with a new story soon hopefully that I will completely write before posting so you guys don't have to worry about me not updating for years. But for now, bye and thank you again :)