CHAPTER 50:
This One… is Personal

It was white, or at least, it looked like it could have been white, though the darkness made everything a shade of gray. It really was more of a beige, but the more he looked at it, the more it seemed to be white. There wasn't much else there except a fan revolving slowly on the lowest setting. It was completely silent in the room as Trunks looked up at the ceiling with his arms propped behind his pillow. The only other sound was Goten shifting in the bed about three yards from his own. Even the usual droning hum was gone, since they had docked several hours before, and everything on the planet Tuffle underwent a veil of darkness.

But Trunks wasn't tired. Back home at Capsule Corporation it would have been the early evening, and his body never had the chance to adjust to Tuffle time. So, instead of sleeping, he found himself staring beyond the white ceiling and reflecting about his life until languor would eventually overcome him.

His eyes unfocused as he felt a usual surge of anger course through him. Thinking of his life usually led to rage. His life had been terrible before Baby came along. He was never able to think straight. His thoughts had always been jarred with too many emotions. He could never make decisions, he procrastinated, he never even took his duties seriously, and he was the epitome of the worst type of Saiyan. Augh, the thought of that gave him a sour taste in his mouth. He hated everything from his past, especially, especially that Saiyan brat that almost ruined him several months before.

Great Lord Baby, what was I THINKING? Trunks snarled slightly, trying not to picture himself kissing her distorted ugly Saiyan face. He hated her face. He hated even remembering her face because it brought back so much anger from his past, from before Lord Baby freed him. It wasn't too hard nowadays to get her out of his mind, however. He usually visited a common whore if he found his mind wandering to the wrong bitch, and it usually eased his suffering for a while. But something earlier that day triggered a new swarm of memories, and Trunks couldn't place what that catalyst was. Now, he kept seeing the Saiyan in his mind, blown to bits through a final energy wave move, and instead of feeling joy, he continued to feel sick.

Just the thought of the girl dying brought another wave of nausea to him. Trunks closed his eyes and tried to breathe more deeply to relax, but something was deeply disturbing him. His legs tensed with anxiety and his hands clutched the pillow from underneath with such great force, he knew if he lingered on that bed any longer, he'd end up burning the sheets with his rising ki.

Trunks sat up and brought his hands to the covers over his knees. He breathed slowly and tried to clear his mind of thoughts as he brought his right hand to his forehead. He frowned slightly as he realized he was hot. With a slight sigh, he tossed the covers off of him and turned so his legs were propped off the bed, as if he were about to stand up. With an inaudible groan he bent forward and brushed both hands through his lengthening hair.

Great Lord of Tuffles, I hate her. He took a deep breath and let it out as he felt another wave of anger flow through him. I hate her.

A cold voice pierced the darkness from the other side of the room, "Lord Baby said we had to sleep. What are you doing up?"

Trunks brought his hands out of his hair and propped them on his knees as he looked up to Goten. He narrowed his eyes and hissed, "You haven't been sleeping either."

Goten snarled and dug his face partially into his pillow, "At least I'm trying, asshole."

Trunks snorted as he adjusted his seating position, "Stop taking out your sexual frustration on me, you dick."

"Son of a bitch!" Goten suddenly sat up and growled, "Get back to bed NOW, or else I'm going to report you to Lord Baby."

"You'd never do that," Trunks faked a yawn, "you hypocrite."

There was a brief silence that hit the room as Goten's shoulders began to shake. Slowly, his voice became audible as he chuckled aloud, "Heheheheh... Heheheheh!" He grinned darkly and nodded once to Trunks. He then brought his left hand up and gave a little thumbs-up in the dark, "Touché."

Another silence then hit the room as both Tuffles sat looking down at their hands. Trunks cleared his throat slightly as he observed his left hand. He always wore his gloves nowadays, even in bed. The last thing he needed was a question about that stupid irremovable ring that cursed his life with constant memories of the Saiyan bitch. Even looking at his glove nowadays triggered memories of her. There just was no escape. Trunks sighed audibly as he once again felt antsy. He needed a change of subject, and fast.

"So anything new happen today?" Trunks groaned at his lack of creativity with the question. Cliché phrases like that really did seem to get old, and they never really seemed to work as conversation starters.

"Nah," Goten drummed his fingers on his knees and shook his head, "the usual. Well…" Goten opened his mouth to say something, but a quick glance to Trunks made him think again, "No, it doesn't matter." Goten looked away to the farthest wall, and then looked up to the fan on the ceiling, "Oh yeah!"

Trunks tilted his head slightly as he watched Goten, his eyebrows frowning somewhat in anticipation.

"There was one bitch, yeah…" Goten shook his head, "I had to put her down today."

"Put her down, huh?" Trunks raised his right brow, "Was there a trial?"

"No, no." Goten continued to shake his head, "It didn't need a trial, according to Lord Baby's new law."

Trunks blinked and frowned, "Which one?"

"Oh pah," Goten scrunched his nose, "Does it really matter? She was just asking for it."

A brief silence hung on a thread as Trunks tilted his head even more and leaned forward in curiosity, "So what'd she do?"

Another silence fell on them as Goten looked down and then brought his eyes to the nightstand beside his bed. With quick hands, he grabbed his cigarette pack and hit it against his arm a few times, "She said she was pregnant with my kid."

"Ouch." Trunks grimaced.

"Yeah, seriously." Goten unpacked a cigarette and brought it to his mouth, "What's that, like, the second girl this month?"

Trunks shook his head, "Well, you'd better thank Baby for the new jurisdiction against Tuffle elite offspring, or else you'd have multiple kids around the world."

"Don't remind me." Goten lit the cigarette with a shaking hand and exhaled quickly. "As it is, there's one too many alive right now."

Trunks froze as a foreign emotion suddenly swarmed through him. It was almost… warm, as if he were happy about hearing such pessimistic news. That thought horrified him and his eyes widened with a resurge of sickness.

I hate her. Trunks hung his head in his hands, realizing with dismay there was no way to get her out of his mind. I hate her!

"Yeah, I hate her too." Goten inhaled slowly, "But it'll all be over soon."

"Huh?" Trunks looked up, not realizing he had said his thoughts aloud.

"Want one? It might calm you down." Goten offered his pack in Trunks' direction.

"No," Trunks grimaced, "I don't know why you even started those in the first place."

"Reasons." Goten brought his left hand to the ashtray and flicked the base of the cigarette downward.

Trunks shook his head with a scowl, "It only detracts from your battle technique. How are you to remain an elite if you destroy your stamina like that?"

Goten snorted and brought the cigarette back to his mouth, "I don't do it that often."

Trunks narrowed his eyes, "I thought your dream was to be as strong as Gohan."

"HAH!" Goten coughed out a laugh and cackled slightly, "Gohan's a pussy. No," Goten flicked his ashes again and smirked to Trunks, "There's more to a fighter than just brute strength."

"Like what?"

"Character." Goten shook the cigarette toward Trunks, "Like Gohan… he's a sissy. He holds back. He never shows his true nature until one of his toys decides to bite him. But I…." Goten's face suddenly turned into a sneer, a dark glint flashing in his eye, "I'd love to tear the limbs off of her one by one." Goten laughed under his breath, "And I'd start with her fingers. I'd break them, each one with a SNAP." He held up his right hand and balled it into a fist, "Can you hear it, Trunks. Can't you just hear it?"

Trunks tried not to hear it. God, he wanted to, but the thought of her suffering made him angry. He just wanted to kill her and get it over with, but something screamed inside him to let that thought go. He hated her. "I hate her!"

"I hate her too, GOD!" Goten hit his knees and then brought his left hand up to take another shaky inhalation, "I wish I could be there right now."

Trunks frowned and leaned back on his bed, breathing deeply and doing his best to keep his hands from trembling, "Do you think it's still going on?"

"Probably." Goten stared down at his cigarette. "I can't imagine the Namek would let her go down without a fight."

"Stupid Namek." Trunks growled as he stared back up at the ceiling, remembering a situation that happened months before, "He always gets in the way."

"Don't worry," Goten smirked at Trunks' form as he snuffed out the cigarette, "He'll be dead soon."

"Yeah." Trunks growled, "And I hope he spends the rest of his days in Hell."

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He snickered again as his teal eyes flashed coldly. His mouth twisted as it grew to dangerous grin. He looked insane as the flames rose behind him, the smoke blanketing the sky. Clouds formed from the condensation of the ash, and the whole world was cast into a dancing array of shadows.

A cool wind sifted a few bangs as Gohan stepped forward, his eyes wild with madness and locked on the Namekian warrior in a sadistic death glare. His grin twisted even further as his voice rose to his throat. He opened his mouth and cackled heavily, his body shaking from laughter as his eyes remained cold and devoid of emotion. He could have been a machine, his body an empty shell of a tool. He was just a thing, a pawn, a toy being manipulated by Baby – thrown to the dogs as a sacrifice. It didn't matter if he came back successful or not. Either way, the real Gohan was dead, and the impostor continued to laugh, his voice ringing like nails scratching a blackboard.

"Hehehehahaha!" Gohan's eyes flashed again as he wiped soot off his cheek with his right hand. "Funny."

Piccolo continued to snarl and clenched his fists tighter as he dropped into a battle stance.

"Ironic, actually." Gohan's grin turned to a sneer as his lips attempted a smile, "My former sensei… This should be good." Gohan followed Piccolo by dropping into a stance as well, his right hand slightly ahead of his left as his body faced the Namek at a slight angle.

"I don't remember ever training a Tuffle," Piccolo snapped with bared fangs, "You were never my pupil!"

"Hehehehehahah!" Gohan sneered, "And you were never the master," he tilted his head with a dark smirk, "now were you?"

"Papa! Stop this!" Pan pushed herself up on shaky legs and stepped back several feet as she watched Gohan and Piccolo staring each other down, "Just leave use alone. Just go!"

"Heheheheh," Gohan snickered as he glanced at the weakened Saiyan, "Isn't that cute." His eyes returned to Piccolo as his smile widened, "She doesn't want you to die."

Piccolo's eyes narrowed as he released a flow of power from his body and rose his level slightly, preparing to push it up at great speed, like a runner before a mad dash. His eyes flicked to Pan and back to the Super Saiyan Gohan as he felt a bead of sweat form on his brow, "Pan!" His eyes flicked back to her, "Get out of here."

Pan stepped back and blinked, "What?"

"You heard me! Get out of here NOW!" His voice boomed across the fields and forest, fire and mountains as Pan was blown back from both shock and from a sudden burst of air as his ki flared.

"But!" Pan shook her head and frowned confusedly, "I don't understand. P-Picco–"

"–I can't let her do that." Gohan interrupted, his eyes glowing red for a split second as he narrowed his eyes to Piccolo. "She is my mission."

"Yeah, and your mission just changed."

Gohan suddenly scowled as his lips bared his teeth in rage, "Maybe you don't understand, Namek!" His blonde hair suddenly moved to an invisible wind as his mouth snapped, "You are not my mission!"

"Times change!" Piccolo brought his hands before him as his aura began to glow gold around him, "You mess with Pan…" Suddenly, a large blue ball of ki began to form in his hands, pumped with a tremendous amount of energy, "… You mess with ME!" The ball continued to grow, charging as Piccolo took a deep breath and then shouted at the top of his lungs, "LIGHT GRENADE!"

What started as a small ball suddenly surged with power and instantaneously grew to a giant beam that burst forth from his hands at top speed. The air sizzled and crackled under the heat of the cannon beam as it shot right toward Gohan at point-blanc range.

Gohan's eyes widened in the brief moment it took to hit him, and he screamed in surprise as his body took it head-on, falling back under the pounding heat and force of the blast. His white shirt was singed and charred as he fell backward, but before he hit the ground, he rolled out of his fall in a backward somersault. With a cry of defiance, he landed on both feet and stood upright in a battle position, his face red from a sudden rage that emerged from within him.

"You FOOL!" Gohan snarled, "You just declared war, Namek!" He shot his hands before him and screamed, "Now DIE!"

Red energy balls formed in his hands at a blinding pace and sped toward Piccolo in a rapid succession of blasts, each tearing through the air at such a speed, the wind whistled from the surge of power. Piccolo spun out of the way and countered with his own blasts before flying upward and dodging in the air. Gohan still followed suit, throwing red blasts in a machine-gun style, cackling over the sizzling heat, throwing his head back like a madman as his body shook from laughter.

"Tuffle TRASH!" Piccolo stopped his dodges in mid-air and with a loud grunt, started deflecting Gohan's blasts back to him. Gohan continued to laugh as he dodged his own attacks and in a sweeping motion, suddenly burst from the ground and flew toward Piccolo at top speed. Piccolo stood fast as Gohan's fist whooshed by his face, and delivered several punches of his own as they only struck air. They both kicked and dodged in the air, throwing punches and curses as they made blow after blow and spit at each other in hate and detest.

"You should have stayed dead!" Gohan threw his fists toward Piccolo and spun around with a kick that landed a hard blow in Piccolo's side, knocking him away a few meters before Gohan flew at him again with rage in his eyes, "God damn me for letting you live!"

"Are you talking about the time you almost killed your brother?" Piccolo punched Gohan in the stomach and elbowed him in the ribs, "He–"

"–Who gives a damn about my brother!" Gohan punched toward his face and at the last moment delivered a blast which Piccolo blocked and countered as he threw an unsuccessful hit at Gohan's gut, "He's as much of a weakling as you!"

"WEAKLING?" Piccolo smashed Gohan backward and breathed heavily as he snarled.

"Yes, you are a weakling. You were never any good to any of us!" Gohan spit blood and sneered, "You reached your maximum years ago, and since then you've been as feeble as an OLD DOG!"

"I'll show you 'OLD DOG'!" Piccolo dove toward Gohan with a violent scream that shattered the heavens.

They fought fist-on-fist again, each screaming louder than before, charging up with every blast, releasing their hatred in every blow, each seething with rage. Gohan delivered several quick blows to Piccolo's side but was matched by Piccolo pounding him in the jaw, and as Gohan flew upward, Piccolo phased out and reappeared above Gohan, smashing him down toward the fire.

The clouds overhead had grown even thicker by this point. Everything seemed to be a shade of gray in the world as a sudden crash sounded above the battle and lightning began to dance in the sky.

Gohan flew up toward Piccolo with his fists bared, his teeth grinding in temper. His golden aura continued to flicker to red as he vanished and reappeared behind Piccolo, nailing him in the back and ripping one sleeve from Piccolo's gi.

Piccolo flew forward but stopped himself in time to turn around and glare at Gohan who was suddenly just levitating there, snickering under his breath as he held up the cloth from Piccolo's uniform.

"The only things you were ever good for were the dragonballs."

"What?" Piccolo snapped.

"Don't you get it, Namek?" Gohan sneered, "You never had any friends. Nobody cared about you! The only good use you ever made of your life was creating the dragonballs, but we don't need those anymore." He brought his fists back to a fighting position and added with a triumphant smirk, "We don't need you."

"Good!" Lightning crashed above them as Piccolo snarled in response, "I don't need Baby, either."

"Nobody is going to miss you when you die." Gohan sneered as he clenched his fists victoriously, "Especially me."

The thunderclouds that had formed from the condensation of ash suddenly burst forth a torrent of rain. Water poured down in thickets, drowning the air in icy wetness. It hit Gohan's and Piccolo's shoulders as they stared each other down, ignoring the world around them as their auras flickered in the downpour.

Piccolo growled angrily as he flashed his fangs, "You actually think I'd CARE?"

"You're pathetic." Gohan spit through the rain as it ran past his eyes, "You're better off dead."

Piccolo's wet gi clung to his skin as he made a fist and snarled, "And I'll take you down with me!" Then without a moment's hesitation, Piccolo sprung toward Gohan again and the battle erupted once more, with fists flying, shouts screaming, kicks thrusting, and energy blasting in sparks that triggered lightning flashes around them.

Steam then rose from the ground, causing a haunting mist in the air as the wildfire was drenched by the torrents. The air was filled with the sounds of thunder, hissing, pounding, screaming, and the crackling of lightning from both cloud and foe.

"It made me happier when you were dead the first time, Namek!" Gohan swung his fist and then stopped to kick out at him, missing by a hair as Piccolo jumped back and threw his legs forward, almost pounding Gohan in the stomach, except the Tuffle managed to grab the legs in time and spin Piccolo away from him as he cackled in the humor of it all. "Do you know why?"

"I don't give a damn!" Piccolo flew forward and threw an empty punch past Gohan's face, but was suddenly stopped short as Gohan's right fist rammed into Piccolo's gut, completely knocking the wind from him. Piccolo's eyes went wide as he tried to gasp in air, but Gohan's fist stayed planted in him as they flew back through the torrential rain, lightning exploding around them.

"Because I didn't have to deal with faking a friendship with you!" Gohan shrieked over the rain, blinking away the water, "I only did it because I wanted to be nice, and look where it got us in the end!" Gohan spit water from his mouth as steam came up in clouds, smelling of carbon and ash, sweat and decay. "You, training my bastard child and plotting to destroy my master! Shame on you, Namek! It's time you were taught a lesson!"

Suddenly, without warning, Gohan screamed in a rage. His ki rose to such a great extent, Piccolo was thrown back from the force as Gohan's ki spiked and all water evaporated within a hundred yards of the screaming Tuffle. Lightning crashed around them even more, closer and closer, as the winds picked up and spiraled around Gohan's form.

"Shit!" Piccolo flew back and tenderly probed his stomach. He brought his hands before his face and realized they were covered in his green blood. "Shit! Shit!" He panted and glared up to Gohan's golden form, but his jaw dropped as he saw what was happening.

Lightning was striking him over and over, and with each strike, his ki rose even further. Lightning was even emanating from him, growing from his body, sparking around him as if the air itself were crackling under such intense heat. One probe at his power, and Piccolo realized with dread that Gohan truly did transform.

Gohan had just transformed to Super Saiyan 2.

Piccolo had not felt such power from him in years. He didn't even know that Gohan could reach that stage anymore. Something about Gohan was not right. He should not have been able to do any of this, after so many years of giving up training. And this… this was going to be a challenge to him.

"Piccolo!"

Piccolo spun at the voice and with anxious eyes saw Pan flying toward them.

"Goddamnit, no!" Piccolo yelled over the rain, "Get out of here, you're going to get in my way!"

"Yes!" Gohan cackled maniacally, "YES! Yes! Hahahaha!" The sparks flew around him as his eyes narrowed gleefully, his body shaking in madness, "Yes, little girl, come to daddy and play!"

"Piccolo! Piccolo!" Pan flew to the Namek's side and panted heavily, "How badly are you hurt?"

"You IDIOT!" Piccolo suddenly smacked her back and punched her toward the ground, "This is MY FIGHT!"

Pan stopped herself in mid-air and scowled, "You're hurt!"

"Listen kid," Piccolo snarled, "This is my battle. You can take any other, but this one…" Piccolo growled up to Gohan, "… is personal."

"But Pic–!"

"–Get out of here!" Piccolo threw a blast toward her as a warning shot, but the rain and wind made it go off-course and it headed straight toward Pan.

Pan's eyes widened as her body froze in the surprise, the blast coming at her full-force. But right as it was about to hit, a hand phased out of nowhere and knocked it out of the way. Pan blinked and looked up toward Gohan, looming over her menacingly with a triumphant scowl.

"You almost stole my kill, hehehehehahahah!" Gohan cackled as he looked down upon Pan, "Now that would have been funny! Hahahaha!"

"Get away from him!" Piccolo screamed toward Pan as he charged up and sprinted toward Gohan, but the Tuffle was too quick for him. In a sweeping movement, Gohan grabbed Pan's gi and spun around using her surprised form as a shield.

It was too late for Piccolo to stop. In a split second, his fist was in her gut and her eyes widened with a sudden shock of pain.

"Ahh!" Piccolo sprang back with wide eyes and grabbed his right fist in surprise. "Pan!"

"Hahehehahahahah!" Gohan threw back his head and cackled again, pinning Pan against his chest with his right hand as his left hand grabbed her hair, "Look, Namek! You're killing her!"

Pan screamed as Gohan pulled her head back and brought his head down to sniff her neck, and heard him whisper hoarsely in her ear, "Don't worry, Saiyan. If you stay still, it won't hurt… as long." Gohan cackled as his hot breath ran along her cheek, steamy just like the air around them.

"Unhand her." Piccolo raised his hands and narrowed his eyes, "Now."

"You forget, Namek," Gohan snickered and sneered up at him by angling his face downward, giving his eyes a more menacing look, "She is my mission."

Pan lowered her eyebrows as she looked up at him – the man who used to be her father. His teal eyes were still cold, even though all the heat surrounding him. He might as well have been living ice, his eyes glazed over as his heart stood frozen.

"No."

Gohan looked down at her and sneered, "What?"

"No!" Pan closed her eyes and focused her energy. "No!"

With a sudden burst of power, Gohan was suddenly thrown off her as she spiked her ki. In his surprise, he let go of her hair and in a split moment, Pan spun and nailed a hard punch to his jaw, sending him flying back.

As he soared through the air, Pan phased out and reappeared above him, and with both hands clasped above her head, she brought her arms down to nail a punch to Gohan stomach, sending him crashing toward the Earth.

He hit the ground with blinding speed, the shock of his impact causing a visible seismographic quake that sent the ground into waves around him. Dust, debris and wet ash flew up in a blinding cloud as Piccolo flew toward Pan with a scowl, "NO PAN!"

Pan panted and looked to Piccolo in confusion, "What?"

"BAD MOVE!" Piccolo screamed at her over the rain, "NEVER, NEVER let a more powerful enemy get more than several arms' reach from you!"

Pan squinted in the rain and frowned, "Why!"

The air suddenly shifted. Everything seemed to alter in a split second. The world stood still, the rain lingered on the air, and the lightning suddenly stopped as the sky suddenly turned a bright blue.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Piccolo dove into Pan and knocked them both at an angle from their position in the sky. Not even a brief microsecond later, a powerful Super Saiyan 2 Kamehameha wave tore through the space and time at which they had been just a brief moment before.

"What… What–!"

"That's why!" Piccolo frowned at her, "He has far more energy now! One of those blasts could take you out!"

"That doesn't scare me!" Pan spit toward the ground and bared her fists.

"Say that after he's dead!" Piccolo then shot toward the ground, leaving her in the air as several lightning bolts crashed around her.

Pan blinked a moment as his words settled into her mind. After he's dead.

"No…" Pan suddenly realized the meaning behind the words. It was something that never fully hit her until now. Gohan was going to die. Gohan, her father, was going to die. And more than that… She looked at her hands as they trembled… More than that, it was going to happen today… right now… "No… No!"

Pan felt her chest tighten as she found it suddenly hard to breathe, "Papa…"

There just had to be a way to save him. There just had to be. Because if she couldn't find a way…

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–5/14/05–