CHAPTER 31:
Two Down

Pan smiled as broadly as her mouth permitted as she shot like a bullet through the air, following her grandpa as they neared her family's house in the 394 mountain area. Laughing, she closed her eyes as the cool breeze whipped her hair behind her, thinking of how much she was looking forward to this upcoming Friday, wishing more than ever that today were a Thursday and she could train with Vegeta tomorrow and later see a movie with Trunks… and the rest of the gang…

That last thought knotted her brow as her smile vanished. Her stupid, stupid grandpa had to go and volunteer himself and everyone else to go along with her. It's not like she needed chaperones!!! Her grandpa really found ways of getting to her sometimes.

Most of the time, though, she adored him. It might be fun seeing a movie with him. She had never been anywhere on Earth with her grandpa before. Well, not in her memory. She was so young when he left, she barely had any memories of going places with him. Most of her memories were of her papa's and her grandma's… and Trunks' and her Uncle Goten's and everyone else's memories of him. When they would tell her stories, she would picture it in her mind as if she were there. She would have loved to have been there, to actually see him do battle. Real battle. As in, Saving-the-Earth kind of battle. She didn't know if she'd ever get the chance to see that, and she envied everyone's stories of the old days when training actually paid off.

It was still hard for her to look at her grandpa and imagine him as Earth's hero. She smiled, thinking of how lucky she was to get to know him for a year in space. Just him, her and Trunks. She wondered if she'd ever get any opportunity like that again. She really enjoyed her trip. She could feel a change in her, of a more optimistic outlook on life. For the first time, she had real friends. And, in her own way, she loved them very much. She loved her grandpa. And, she loved Trunks. He meant a great deal to her.

Trunks had truly become her best friend. Around him, she felt alive. She could be herself and not have to worry about what he would think because he had experienced it all – her good side, her bad side, and every other side she had possibly ever shown during the span of a year – and he still was sweet and kind to her. Things had really changed since she first knew him. Now, if anything were to ever go wrong, she knew she'd be able to run to him, and he'd help her feel better. It really made her feel so loved, to know she had a friend there who would always be there, as he promised. It was still a strange experience for her, to feel so accepted, so trusting.

Now all they would have to do is find out what was wrong with him, that was causing him to go insane when severely angered. Pan believed that there was a very high probability that Baby's effect on his body caused him to become somewhat schizophrenic. But, after they would find out what was causing his alter ego, things would run smoothly. She was glad they were finally home. All the answers to every problem lay here.

Speaking of problems… She still had a problem, and she needed to settle this once and for all. Clearing her mind, she watched her grandpa ahead of her, his gi flapping in the breeze. After a moment of thought, contemplating her next words, she finally worked up the courage to let him know what was on her mind.

"Grandpa!" Pan shouted over the wind, cupping her hands to her mouth, "Grandpa!"

"Yeah Pan?!" Goku slowed up slightly so his granddaughter could catch up to him.

Reaching his side, Pan smiled and gave a hug to Goku in mid-air, still flying forward. "I just wanted to tell you I love you, Grandpa."

Goku smiled and hugged her tight, speeding up his flight as he held her. She had never told that to him before, and it felt so wonderful to hear it from her – that she loved him for being him versus just being her grandfather. That year in space really helped her get to know him. It was something she had missed out on all her life, and it made him feel so special knowing that they could become such good friends. He closed his eyes and hugged her tighter. "I love you too, Pan."

Pan tensed in his grip and squirmed a little bit as if there was something else she had been meaning to say. "Yes, I know you do. I love you…" Goku could sense that she was taking time to think of the right wording.

Humored greatly, he laughed at her break in speech and smiled, "Pan, what are you trying to tell me?"

Pan shifted again and said, "I love you, Grandpa but… I really don't want you to come with me and Trunks to the movie on Friday."

"Huh?" Goku frowned as he felt the slight tinges of rejection in her voice. "Why not?"

"It's just for him and me, got it? I would love to do something with you, Grandpa… just… not that." Pan broke free of his grasp and flew alongside him again, looking over to speak to him, "So please don't invite everyone to come with us? Okay?"

"But I thought you would like…" Goku formed a pout as he tried to work out why she wouldn't want him to come along.

For an entire year, she did everything with him. All that time, it was always the three of them – Trunks, Pan, and himself. There was never a third wheel. Goku just couldn't understand why he wouldn't be included this time around, when he expressed he wanted to go. Pan was just being mean without realizing it. It hurt his feelings a great deal to know he wasn't wanted. But… why would she do that? Why would she say…?

Goku's eyes lit when he realized exactly what was on Pan's mind. There was something special between her and Trunks all along! And there Trunks was, telling him to stop teasing them. Now, he finally understood why they couldn't handle it anymore. Everything he kidded them about… it all came true right under his nose!

Goku covered his mouth and chuckled into his hands, turning his head away from Pan so she couldn't see. Pan saw this and knotted her brow, cocking her head slightly while observing him. "What's so funny?"

Goku turned his head to face her, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You like Trunks, don't you?!!"

Pan faltered in the air and dropped a few meters as she almost lost control of her ki. Goku slowed down to wait for her, laughing at how she was taken by surprise by such a simple comment.

Pan glared and bared her teeth at her grandpa, "No I don't!"

Goku laughed and felt a teasing spell come over him. "It's okay to like him, Pan. I mean, he is your husband after all!" He began to laugh hard and couldn't even see Pan's enraged face turn purple from embarrassment.

"Don't you go and start telling people that! That wedding was a joke!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Goku grinned widely, "But you still like him."

"I like him as a friend, Grandpa." Pan huffed and looked ahead, avoiding his gaze. "He's my best friend. And, I want to be able to do things with my best friend alone. Got that?"

Goku frowned again, suddenly unsure of his theory. "But why not with me?"

"Because… you're…" Pan had a hard time finding the right wording to put to her emotions. Now that she thought about it, why didn't she want her grandpa along? There was no real excuse to give him. Even by saying 'You're too old to come with us' would make no sense, since he was younger than her.

It wasn't that she liked Trunks in that way. Sure, he was cute, he had ways of being funny and unpredictable, and he could get her to smile by just being there. But she couldn't imagine ever dating him.

It wasn't that he was too old… But rather… he was a little too mature for her. Sometimes, she got the feeling that he viewed her as a little girl, even though he insisted otherwise. Although she could act herself around him, it still made her self-conscious if she said something that would betray her age. She wanted so much to sound older, like him, but it was hard. And her grandpa wasn't a very good role model in that regard.

Goku repeated his question, noticing that Pan was lost in her thoughts, "Why can't I come along?"

"Because…" Pan tried to quickly wrack her brain for a reason… any reason, no matter how stupid it may be, "Because… Because your hair is too long!"

"My hair?" Goku pulled forward a lock of his hair, observing it in the breeze. "But it's always been this long!"

"Yes, and how often have you been to the movie theaters?" Pan put her hands on her hips while flying.

Goku looked down in shame, blushing slightly as he saw her point.

It was sad. Goku was really looking forward to seeing his first real movie in the theaters. It never really crossed his mind to go to a cinema before, and he almost was excited… but if they required haircuts, he wasn't so sure if he wanted to go. He knew that movies had an effect on people, but never realized exactly how much until right now.

Goku blinked as a thought came to him – something he had been pondering for some time after his youngest son became a teenager. "I get it, now, Pan. I finally understand why Goten cut his hair when he began to date people…" He looked up to the skies above him and smiled, as everything seemed to make sense. "I get it, now. It was all because of movie theaters."

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They landed softly on the grass outside of Pan's house. Whispering amongst themselves, they decided to surprise everyone, so they kept their kis masked as they snuck in through one of the open windows.

The smell of freshly cooked food – of garlics and meats – were intoxicating to Goku as they both crept up to the kitchen and stood at the doorway. Over the sink, washing dishes while the pot boiled on the stove, were both Chi Chi and Videl, looking just as beautiful as ever.

Nudging him in the side, Pan signaled the countdown. 3… 2… 1…

Coming in slightly before her Grandpa's shout, Pan screamed out "SURPRISE!" before they both jumped into the room and hopped about in excitement.

They stopped when they realized that Chi Chi and Videl didn't respond. They must not have heard them or something. Was it possible to get so caught up in thoughts, you can't hear someone shout like that?

If anyone could daydream like her grandpa could nightdream, then it was very possible. It was impossible to wake him when he was out, and perhaps her mama and grandma had similar problems? They had to… unless they went deaf. And that would be a bad thing.

Pan walked up to her mother and hugged her around the waist. "Hi Mama! I'm home."

Videl shrugged her off and continued to wash dishes, completely ignoring her daughter. Pan stood back, frowning, not understanding why they wouldn't be happy at her return. She looked to her grandpa and saw he was equally confused.

Goku coughed and looked at the boiling pot. His eyes wandered to the kitchen table where a meal had been prepared and set out. He adjusted his gi awkwardly and said, "Hey Chi Chi…?" There was a long silence as the two women continued to ignore them. Goku looked to his granddaughter and cleared his throat, thinking perhaps Chi Chi didn't realize who it was. "So… what's for dinner?"

Pan hissed into his ear, "Grandpa! That's so rude of you. They haven't even said hello and now you're inviting yourself to dinner."

"But it looks so good. Of course they'd let us have some. I'm so hungry…"

"You just had ten hot dogs!"

"I know… but that was over an hour ago…" Goku looked down, rubbing his stomach, and made his way to the table, taking a seat before a large rotisseried chicken. "Oh wow! This looks delicious!"

Goku began to reach over for a corn-on-the-cob, but was stopped short when his hand was smacked with a ladle, sounding out a loud CRACK! Goku withdrew his hand in more shock than pain and confusedly looked up to see who hit him.

Chi Chi stood over him with a scowl and wild eyes. "That food is not for you!"

"But Chi Chi… There's more than enough for four people here…"

Chi Chi smacked him on the head with the ladle, issuing another large crack that almost shook the entire room. Goku reeled back of the chair, grabbing his head with a cry. "What'd you do that for?!"

"Get out of this house! GET OUT!"

Pan moved to stand beside her grandpa. "What's going on?"

Goku looked to her in confusion, "I don't know?!"

Pan stepped forward, biting her lip nervously, "Grandma…? It's me… It's Pan. Don't you recognize me?"

"GET.OUT.!!!!!!" Chi Chi threw her ladle at Pan, who jumped back in surprise, narrowly avoiding the flying object.

A low voice interjected calmly, "What's going on here?"

Pan turned to see her father standing sternly in the doorway. With a great wave of joy, she leapt forward toward him crying out "Papa!" Grabbing him and holding tight, Pan knew that her papa would help her. He always was there for her.

Gohan grabbed his daughter's hair and violently yanked her off of him, throwing her screaming into Goku, and knocking them both down.

Pan looked up, sniffling, trying to hold in a sob as she tenderly touched the part of her head he had yanked so hard. "W…Wh… -hic- … Why, Papa? Why?"

"Don't you ever dare touch me again, you dirty Saiyan!"

Another form appeared from the stairs and stood next to her father. Goten glared menacingly at both Goku and Pan, and then looked to his brother, smirking, "Would you like for me to take care of them?"

"No," Gohan smirked darkly, "Let me have the honors."

Goku sat up sharply, "Gohan!"

"Papa…"

Gohan brought his hands above his head and screamed out "MA…SEN…KO…" As he brought his hands before him, Goku grabbed Pan and bolted for the window, "HAAAAA!!!!!!"

The orange blast shook the entire complex and blew an entire side of the house away. Goku shielded Pan with his body, taking the blow head on as he tried to protect her. The blow knocked the wind out of him as he shot away from the house, toward the sky.

When they were a safe distance away from the remains of the house, Goku released Pan and panted heavily, still recovering from the blast. It was completely unexpected and he was taken by surprise. He didn't even have time to power up.

Goku frowned as Pan hovered, shaken and in shock before him. What was wrong with everyone? This didn't make any sense to him.

"You can't get away that easily!"

Goku turned just in time to see Gohan smack him square in the jaw, sending him flying backwards in the air. Goku caught himself and glared angrily at his son. "I don't understand, Gohan! What did we do?"

Gohan turned slightly to face his father with a dangerous smirk that wrinkled his face into an ugly grimace. He said, almost too calmly, "Death to all Saiyans," and, before Goku could react, he threw his left hand out toward Pan and emitted a huge wave of ki in her direction, "DIE!!!!"

Goku gasped and realized Pan would never be able to survive that. As fast as his body could take him, he raced to beat the blast and arrived just in time to grab Pan before being swallowed by the blast.

When Goku opened his eyes, he saw Pan was badly burnt and bleeding from her father's attack. With his heart wrenching in his chest, Goku turned his head to his son and screamed, "Gohan!!! Stop it right this instant, you could seriously injure your daughter!"

Pan choked in tears as he lowered her to the ground. Burnt and heartbroken, she breathed heavily, hiccupping in sobs as her body trembled from the pain of the blast. "Did I… Did I do something wrong?" Her eyes fluttered closed as she sobbed. "Why… Why does my dad… -sniffle- hate…me…?"

Goku shook his head as he brushed her bloodied bangs back, "You did nothing wrong, Pan." He felt her grow limp in his arms and felt a wave of concern. "Pan?!" Suddenly seized by panic, he shook her violently, "Come on, wake up! Pan!"

Setting her form down on the ground, Goku spun angrily with his fists balled, "I will not let you get away with this!!!" He flew upward to face Gohan with an enraged passion inside of him. He stopped before the man and lowered his brow, looking Gohan square in the eye, remembering the time when Trunks had attacked her without meaning to. He asked his son the same question he asked Trunks back on the ship, thinking it to be very significant. "Are you the real Gohan?"

Gohan looked surprised for a moment, "Huh?" Raising his eyebrows, he looked down at his body, patting his chest. "Well, DAD, as far as I can tell, yes I am!!!"

"And don't forget about me, DAD," the voice came from behind Goku, causing the boy to whip around to face his second son, "I'm the real GOTEN." Taking his moment of surprise, Goten released a gigantic blast toward his father, who easily dodged it.

"Don't be such an amateur, Goten. I know you can fight better than that, sneaking up behind someone to deliver an attack. I thought I taught you better than that."

Gohan threw his hands before him and sneered, "How dare a barbaric Saiyan call my brother an amateur."

Goku narrowed his eyes at his eldest son, "And how dare you, Gohan, call me 'barbaric'."

"HYAAA!" Both Gohan and Goten lunged forward, attacking Goku from both sides. Goku dodged a great deal of their attacks, and the rest, easily blocked. He had trained both of them, and he knew their techniques. But something was different in these two impostors. They were slower. They made mistakes his real sons would never do, like leave their stomachs vulnerable or miss a swing.

Goku took their blows without retaliating. He needed to figure out what was wrong with them and he needed time to think. They weren't acting like themselves… It was almost as if they were possessed by something.

A giant blow to his head knocked all thought out of him as Gohan's knee hit his stomach. Caught off-guard, his sons began beating on him and he found himself unable to find the wind to recuperate in time to dodge any more attacks.

With a burst of energy that shook the surface of the planet, Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan and threw his impostor sons off of him. They both hovered, smirking at him with blank stares, as if there was nothing behind their eyes, not even a soul.

Gohan turned to Goten with his smirk, and nodded to him, "You kill off the girl. I'll handle Goku." He spiked his ki and transformed into a Super Saiyan as well, his hair going as blonde as his father's.

"Gohan!" Goku's eyes widened in surprise, "Your hair! You're a Super Saiyan! But how? I thought you were a Mystic Saiyan?!" Goku was so shocked, he didn't even realize Goten was heading for Pan until it was too late.

With his eyes widening, he realized he could never make it to Pan in time to save her. A sick feeling wrenched in his stomach. "No!! NOOO!!! Goten, stop it! Stop this!!!"

Goten hovered a foot above the unconscious girl, with his left hand extended out toward her face. He looked up with a triumphant grin and held his nose high, "Say goodbye to your precious Pan!" A ki ball formed before his fist as he let out a maniacal laugh while Goku could only stare helplessly from across the field.

"Get away from ma granddaughter!" Goten didn't even see the blow until it struck his head and sent him a good ten meters away.

When Goten stood up, his eyes were red from rage, his fists balled tightly at his side, "How dare you!!!" He reached his hands out and fired a large blast at the man who had taken him by surprise.

Before the blast could hit the man, it was smacked away by a pink form that phased in front of him. "You bad people! You no hurt friend!"

Goku blinked when he realized who the forms were that saved his granddaughter. "Mr. Satan! Majin Buu!!!" He dodged a swing to his head and kicked Gohan away from him, "Watch out! These two are not my sons!"

"Ah know!" Hercule cupped his hands to his mouth, calling out to Goku from behind the safety of Majin Buu, "Baby is controllin' Gohan and Goten! He got in their heads and jack'd up their minds! The entire human race is und'r Baby's control!"

Goku's eyes widened and, in his shock, his jaw dropped, but was soon knocked back into place from Gohan as he decided to catch his father off his guard. As he tried to fend off Gohan, Goku's mind was swarmed with realizations… Why the people in the park were so cold and suspicious… It all made perfect sense. Baby was the one behind all of this… And he should have known! The minute he found out that Trunks was affected by Baby like he was, it should have been clear that Baby was a threat to anyone he touched.

Blocking a blast from Gohan, Goku trembled and felt incredible guilt for everything that happened… for what his sons had to endure while he was away… "How could I let this happen?!"

Goten levitated upward to watch Gohan's fight with his father, smirking widely. "We have been reborn under Lord Baby as Tuffles." Throwing his hands before him he let out a wave of energy to aid his brother in the fight against Goku.

Dodging it just in time, Goku phased out and reappeared behind Goten smacking him in the back and sending him crashing into Gohan. When the two Saiyans turned in seething rage, they both brought their hands back, and with a combined effort, they both poured their energy into one spot. Together, as one entity, they chanted "Ka…me….ha…me…"

"Stop this!"

Gohan and Goten dropped their hands and, both flustered, bowed in mid-air to a person that was behind Goku.

Turning around to another voice, Goku blinked when he saw who hovered before him. It was Vegeta. But not Vegeta… no… This Vegeta had silver hair and red lines across his forehead and chin. His smirk… it was so incredibly disturbing, not even the Saiyan during his days of glory could have ever come close to matching the evil on his face. This was not Vegeta. This… This was Baby…

"No…" Goku choked and clutched at his hair in terror, that even Vegeta could fall prey to the parasite. "No!!! No way! Not you too, Vegeta!"

A rock flew past him and almost hit Vegeta-Baby in the head, but a slight tilt of the chin, and the rock completely missed. Baby glared down to the source of the rock and bared his teeth angrily toward Mr. Satan.

The balding world champion cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Go back to where you came from, you mis'rable verm'n!"

"It's you!" Baby sneered at the elder man. "How did you escape my eggs? I thought I got every last pathetic human on this planet. I guess I must have missed one."

"Ah'll tell you how Ah escap'd you! Ah used the same strategy! Ah hid inside Buu!" Hercule shook a fist at Baby and growled, "It's time ye were told what's what 'round here! Ah'm the Champion of the World 'round here!"

"Well, you're going to be the 'Champion of the Next Dimension' after I'm through with you!" Baby smirked widely and brought his right hand in front of him.

"Nobody talks to the World Champ that way! Goku, ma faithful pupil! You show that there Baby what yer made of!"

Baby made a slightly mockingly impressed "Ooooh!" and raised his eyebrows, pretending to be impressed, "I see, I misjudged you. I thought you were an ordinary man. Now that I know you're Earth's 'Champion'… you're HISTORY!!!"

Baby formed a large blast and fired at Mr. Satan. Goku perked up and tried to block it, but Goten kicked him backward so he couldn't get in front of the blast.

Hercule watched the blast come with wide eyes, "Ah knew ma mouth would get me killed one day!" He raised his arms before his face and trembled, knowing his end was near.

"Buu save Mr. Satan!" Hercule was swept into large pink arms at the last minute, when the blast struck home. Majin Buu's body absorbed most of the blast that would have killed him.

"Buu!" Hercule grabbed and hugged Majin Buu. "Ya saved ma life!" He parted from Majin Buu and saw that Pan had taken part of the blast as well. Her skin was charred black and her clothes were torn. With his heart pounding, Hercule pointed to his granddaughter, "Buu! Get Pan to safety!" He watched as Buu quickly turned her into chocolate and swallowed her, so she would be safe in the pink indestructible body.

As Buu was working his magic, Hercule shook his fist up toward Goku, "Goku, don't hold back! Hit him with ev'rythin' Ah taught ya!" Laughing triumphantly, he put his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out. "Hey Baby, thought you could get away with this, eh? Hahahahah! HUH?!" Hercule was taken by surprise when Buu suddenly turned him into chocolate and ate him as quickly as he had eaten Pan.

Majin Buu zoomed off to the horizon, getting his friends to safety. Baby scowled as he watched the pink blob escape. Gohan noticed Baby's irritation at letting them escape, and smirked, nodding once, understanding completely. "He's all mine."

Gohan pulled his hands back to prepare a Kamehameha wave on the retreating Buu, but Baby put a hand to his chest, stopping him. "Enough! No need to waste your energy on them." Baby turned his head to face Goku, smirking widely, "This is the only prize worth winning." He shiftily looked toward Goten and Gohan, sensing two more of his followers on their way to assist him. This battle was going to be quick, and Goku would never have seen it coming. "When he falls, it's all over."

Baby laughed in a high-pitched series of cackles, "And then, kill the rest of the lot. Take no captives…" He brought his triumphant glare back to look Goku in the eye, "Especially this rat's granddaughter…"

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-12/5/04-