Co-written by SuperSaiyan2Link.
Ever since Pan's very first mission, Chronoa had always watched over and listened in on Pan's thoughts, mid-fight and otherwise. There had been moments of frustration, setbacks, close calls, and where all appeared to be lost, but this...
"I'm... I'm drained..."
This was the worst case yet for the Supreme Kai of Time. Due to Yajirobe and Bora being launched into the far distance with tremendous strength by the newly revived Lord Slug, she had to dispatch Trunks to save them rather than have him assist the now drained Pan.
"I couldn't have stopped them if I wanted to, Pan. If I were on Earth, I could've... but that would've left the events on Namek to continue."
And now Pan was left with no one to help her as the gigantic Lord Slug began to close his hands around her, his desire to crush her now about to be fulfilled. Chronoa heard Pan turning to her friends and family on Namek, as well as...
"Trunks... Grandpa... everyone..."
...and then...
"I'm sorry."
...silence.
"No..."
There had only been a few instances where Chronoa lost Pan on their comms: when Towa found a way to cloak her signal to hide herself and Pan, and when Captain Ginyu swapped bodies with Pan, leaving Pan without any means of contacting them.
"She can't be..."
But more and more seconds counted down and she heard absolutely nothing back.
"Pan, no..."
Trunks had seen Chronoa become upset by events before and Pan heard her remorseful regarding her treatment of Towa that turned their former friend into an enemy, but even then, the Supreme Kai of Time had always remained composed.
But now that she was completely alone, a tear came down her right cheek.
"I... I failed you, Pan..."
She didn't cease her work to keep time stopped on Namek for even a moment, but now the Supreme Kai of Time openly mourned.
"If I had just done things differently, you'd still be here... just like..."
She simply looked back at Pan's killer, waiting to see what he would do next now that no one on the planet could stop him, at least until Trunks returned.
"We can't have Lord Slug kill anyone else. I may have no choice but to send Trunks and the two to the library just so he can make it in time to..."
Her thought was interrupted by seeing a golden glow between Lord Slug's hands.
"Pan?"
She saw Lord Slug's hands, which were just crushing the drained Pan, being forced back open by this seeming last ditch effort of hers.
"Pan, you're... you're alive?"
Lord Slug, seeing this gold-glowing, partially red-haired, and white-eyed Pan, still alive even when her demise at his hands appeared inevitable, didn't know what to make of this new state she was in.
"Y-you were beaten! You had n-nothing le...!"
Pan then gave off a snarl and separated his hands enough to finally release herself, dropping below before he could catch her. Instead of landing standing up, she was crouched over, keeping steady with her right hand.
"Pan, do you read me?"
An orange boot tried stepping on Pan, but she, on all fours, moved to the side. Another stomp from the opposite foot followed, Pan propelled herself forward, narrowly avoiding it.
Just as she turned around, Lord Slug span, crouching down and going for a swing with his left hand. Instead of moving with her hands, feet, or on all fours, Pan stood up, then swerved backward, his gloved knuckle just missing her. His right then swung not for a punch, but an attempted slash with his fingernails.
"Pan, it's me."
Lord Slug caught her attempting to jump upward, but neither saw Pan go past his right hand as it completed its arc nor did he feel any of his nails slash at her.
"Where'd you slink off t...?!"
Just then, he felt and saw Pan had crawled her way to his index fingertip, then, before he could act, slammed both her feet into the middle of his fingernail.
**CRACK!**
It was split in two, one half falling straight off, while Pan then crouched down, grabbing hold of the remaining half. Lord Slug raised his left hand to slam it down onto her...
"Just try that, you little...!"
With a pull, she yanked the remains of that fingernail right off.
"AGH!"
His left hand came crashing right down over his right.
"MOTHER...!"
He then saw Pan slipping past where his left pinky once was. Had it not been cut off earlier, Lord Slug would've caught her right then and there.
As Lord Slug loudly exclaimed, stepping backward, Pan landed back on the ground, still battle-ready...
"Please, Pan. Tell me if you can hear me."
...but the Supreme Kai of Time found that Pan had not responded even once so far.
"How can this be? Pan is still fighting and yet... I can't hear a single thought from her. Not even now, as she's waiting on her opponent."
Chronoa then realized she needed to check on Trunks, as well as give him the latest news.
Elsewhere over a body of water, Yajirobe and Bora found themselves saved by a mysterious man, now being held by their belt and pants respectively as Trunks was flying back in the direction they came.
"So, uh, what are you supposed to be?"
All Yajirobe could make out was the man's trenchcoat and the sole face-covering item protecting his identity:
"And do you really wear that helmet all the time?"
With his prior disguise destroyed by Piccolo, Trunks went with the first thing he could find: an almost exact replica of the Great Saiyaman's helmet worn by his Gohan's counterpart.
"It wasn't my first choice," Trunks confessed.
"Are you perhaps from Jingle Village?" Bora inquired.
"No. What makes you say that?"
"It would seem you are dressed for a much... colder climate."
He focused on the remaining flight time.
"A few minutes at best. But by that point, Pan may..."
"Pan's okay, Trunks."
He tried to keep his movements other than flying minimal, but was happy with the good news given.
"T-that's great! Earlier, it looked really..."
"But there's something up with her."
"What do you mean 'something up wi...'"
"She's not responding to me. I see her fighting, but hear nothing from her. And the way she's fighting... it's less like a martial artist and more like..."
Pan actually seemed to be moving backwards on all fours, anticipating Lord Slug's approach. He then charged right at her, passing by the spear Bora left behind, his right foot going for a punt. Her expression was less one of focus, all the more noteworthy as she showed her teeth, silently snarling.
"...like a wild animal."
Pan appeared, to the untrained eye, to have hopped backward. Instead of using her feet, she pushed herself off the ground with her hands. The second she landed, she found the bottom of his orange boot coming down onto her.
She caught it with both hands, her feet beginning to sink into the dirt from the force.
"You're gonna be a pancake!"
All of his focus was on eradicating the one remaining person who could still do harm to him. Pan was forced to one knee, unable to get away from him.
"Or better yet, a crepe!"
He was determined for this to be the finishing blow, about to push down on his right knee with both hands to make it so...
...when a sharp pain in the back of his left ankle, not unlike when a sharp instrument was thrown at his wrist earlier, took his attention.
"Who has the gall to...?!"
As he said this, he looked behind him at the one who backstabbed his leg:
Upa, having retrieved his father's spear and driving it into Lord Slug up close.
"Why you...!"
But then Lord Slug felt his right foot being lifted up.
"Distracted me...!"
Even as he immediately pushed down on his right knee, Pan then lifted him up further, now back on her feet. With a massive final thrust with her hands, Lord Slug fell straight backward, not even able to attempt catching himself.
Upa, retrieving the spear during the brief struggle, looked over at Pan climbing out of where she was, seeing less a warrior watching over an ally and more a beast deciding if he was a predator about to strike.
"Those eyes... that look..."
Realizing he had his father's spear out with two hands, unintentionally coming off as preparing to attack, he put it aside.
"Wait, wait. I am no enemy of yours."
She slowly circled around him, Upa putting out both hands to try dissuading her from attacking.
"You helped us. Against that giant."
Seeing that Lord Slug had started getting back up in the distance, he tried pointing in his direction.
"He's right there. He's getting up right behind you. We have to focus."
But still, Pan would not be deterred, the faintest growl escaping her clenched teeth.
"Pan, Upa is a friend!"
Now Chronoa was left completely uncertain as to what Pan was about to do and shouting to get her to listen.
"Don't attack him! Please!"
"I don't know what this giant will do, but I can't stop him alone. I need your help. We all do."
As a precaution, as his left hand was still out to attempt avoiding conflict, his right reached behind him for the only other weapon on his person.
While from a short distance away, Launch, scratches on her exposed arms and legs, as well as dried blood from her forehead to her right eye, slowly walked over, seeing Pan's almost feral-like behavior towards Upa.
"What are you...?"
Her hair was blue and her demeanor clearly showed a stark difference from before.
Upa saw and heard Launch, swinging his left arm to get her to stay back, but then positioning it back as Pan appeared to step forward.
"Please. I do not wish to harm you..."
Both Launch and Pan caught a sliver of the Power Pole coming into view and being drawn.
"Pan, whoever she is, is not... she's not herself right now."'
But as she feared, upon seeing the polearm, Pan took it as an impending attack and crouched down, her left arm raised as if to swipe while her right was ready to launch her forward.
"I won't fight you, miss."
Bora put the Power Pole out in front of him, not to jab like a spear or swing like a sword, but to cover himself for what was to come.
Launch, now seeing Pan all but ready to lunge, looked around her for anything she could use, finding various pebbles at her feet.
"I can't let you hurt him, Pan. Won't let you kill him."
Now Pan's right hand was digging downward, standing on her tiptoes, and practically roared at Upa, a small trail of spit resulting from it.
"I don't want to hurt...!"
Pan was ready to go through with the attack...
...when a rock struck the side of her head. It distracted Pan enough to hop backward away from Upa, then peered to her left at Launch, already holding another rock to throw if she had to. Even without the gruffness and aggression that drove her blonde-haired personality, Launch was determined to protect Upa and snap Pan out of her state even if she had to be put in danger to do so.
Upa, seeing Lord Slug lying on his side and aiming his right hand in their direction, then saw it glow.
"Get back!"
Launch was ready to step to the side from Pan, but then the two turned towards Upa, who ran towards them.
"GET BACK!"
Despite Pan outwardly wanting to attack him just moments ago and not knowing how she'd react, Upa rammed into her and Launch with the Power Pole, pushing the two into the small hole from when Lord Slug tried to step on her. The moment he jumped downward to cover them, the beam went just over them, just shy of hitting the feather on Upa's head.
While Upa was relieved to have saved them both, he then saw Pan look back at him furiously.
"She's still..."
He was immediately lifted upward, his back slammed against the hole's edge, the red polearm his friend once wielded as his only means of defense. She gripped it tightly, Upa now knowing it was only a matter of time before she pushed back with all her might and drove him through the Earth. Just then, she let go with her right hand, her left still gripping the pole arm. Upa saw her ready to practically slash or gouge at his face, unable to stop this with his arms pinned, and closed his eyes.
Launch blinked, then when she opened her eyes...
"Pan, NO!"
...she saw that Pan's right hand stopped. Upa opened his eyes, feeling Pan's fingers against his eyelashes. He peered at Pan's eyes, which were looking over at the Power Pole. Her teeth were slowly relaxing, her lips coming down over them.
"Supreme Kai of Time?"
Chronoa nearly stumbled over.
"Pan, is that you?"
Upa felt himself released from her, Pan stepping backwards. And for a moment, he thought he saw the black of her eyes once more.
"It's me."
"Pan, when Lord Slug closed his hands and I thought I lost you, I..."
She heard the Supreme Kai of Time sniffle, then heard her clear her throat.
"You got out and kept fighting him, but I couldn't... I didn't hear a thing from you. It's like your mind wasn't there anymore."
Launch could see this change in Pan as well, slowly making her way up as Pan backed up to give them both space.
"I can't explain it. It's like something else is behind the wheel. I see and feel everything I'm doing, but I'm just spectating."
"You aren't attacking Upa now and you're talking to me now. What changed?"
Pan looked up to the sky, as if Chronoa could see the Power Pole in her hands.
"It really is more than just your grandfather's keepsake..."
But then Lord Slug's face peered into the hole.
"EYE...!"
He fired at her with eye beams...
"...see...!"
...then found Pan had deflected it with a swing.
"Y-YOU!"
She then hopped upward, the Power Pole back in its case, then grabbed hold of the evil Namekian by his nose. Tugging on it, she actually pulled Lord Slug's entire head downward, then went for a double-kneed strike. The force struck him straight upward, nearly onto his feet. Upa and Launch saw Pan land atop the edge of the hole, then looked back at them. Her eyes were still all white like before when she almost attacked them, but they could tell she was closer to herself again, at least in regards to protecting them.
"Still giving me the silent treatment?!"
She saw Lord Slug creating orbs in his massive hands.
"Aww, that's no fun. I always enjoy some repartee."
"Supreme Kai of Time, I see the shore up ahead. Still a full minute before we can reach Korin's Tower, but..."
"Trunks, I need to send you back to the library as soon as possible!"
After the Supreme Kai of Time said this, Bora and Yajirobe saw Trunks coming to a stop and lowering them onto the ground.
"The village is just ahead."
"Yeah, and that's a long ass walk from here!"
"I'm sorry, but I have to go!"
Trunks then left them to fly far into the distance he just flew them back from.
"Coat-wearin'...! Helmet-wearin'...! Ah, you jerk!"
"He saved our lives just now, swordsman."
"Yeah, I know, but did he really have to leave us hangin' here?"
"We are standing."
"He could've at least given us a ride a little closer."
"Perhaps, but I am certain he had his reasons."
"Reasons to leave us here?"
"No. A purpose back where he came."
A flashing light in the distance seemed to confirm this for Bora.
"Well if your boy and those two ladies are going to need our help, then we'd better leg it over there."
Yajirobe took off in a blur as Bora soon followed.
"He forgot to mention someone."
Upon Trunks' return to the library, Beetro met with him and the Supreme Kai of Time.
"Here it is."
He handed it to Trunks.
"This is the only senzu bean we have?"
"I'm afraid so. After this, we will be out once more for some time."
"And Pan will need this after the battle is won."
Chronoa, looking around, realized there was one person present who wasn't overlooking the battle:
"Kami! Kami took that hit from Lord Slug head on! His survival is key! Otherwise Piccolo dies too and the events on Namek change even if Pan returns to help them."
Trunks, who was hoping to use it to heal Pan once the battle was over, knew that to be the case.
"Can't we bring Kami here? Wipe his memory of here after?"
"Kami trusts me, but if we do that, we may lose that trust and he may try changing the course of his history and Earth's."
Putting the senzu bean in his coat's pocket, he accepted this, but knew one issue would occur.
"But to heal Pan here... how long will it take? Can you hold the time on Namek that long?"
"Give that to Kami first. I will find a solution to heal Pan later."
Lord Slug had the two golden orbs of energy circling around him like they were electrons and he was the nucleus of an atom.
"Try and get past these!"
Pan leapt right for him, at first using the Power Pole to seemingly shield herself.
"Pan, are you doing all that?" the Supreme Kai of Time asked.
"No. It's like I'm still on autopilot."
Instead, he found that Pan used it as cover to propel herself further upward.
"But earlier, you wouldn't have done anything like this."
"I'm still not in control, but however my body's doing this, it's trying to... I don't know... be more tactical."
Now seeing Lord Slug's right hand try to close around her, Pan then had the Power Pole positioned from the bottom of his palm to the top of his middle finger.
"Like a toothpick!"
He went to close his hand...
"Ow, ow, OW!"
Pan had not been crushed, hanging onto the Power Pole, as it appeared to dig partially into his skin. Despite pressing down on it with all his might, the Power Pole would not break.
"That little red thing... unbreakable? Even against my true form?!"
Pan then swung herself on the Power Pole, kicking his palm. This dislodged the Power Pole from the green hand and shoved not only the hand, but his entire wrist backward, causing Lord Slug to unintentionally backhand himself.
He then thrust his other hand forward, one of the golden orbs arced downward towards Pan. Seeing she couldn't avoid it, she held onto one end of the Power Pole so the other would strike it first. An explosion imminent upon impact, she kicked off that end and let go the exact moment it felt like the Power Pole had touched something.
The explosion was massive and she was far from the polearm now, but she managed to slow herself down by spinning like a top.
Lord Slug was baffled at Pan's new tactics, almost seeming like...
"Those were moves she could only do before I caught her."
He made his way over and swung with his left, but Pan, instead of trying to avoid it, timed it. She rotated herself in midair to take hold of his ring finger, then tugged it in the opposite direction.
**CRACK!**
"I'm gonna run out of fingers if I don't catch her now!"
His right fist went to strike her after she did this, but Pan did a small hop to avoid it, ran across his arm, then hopped over to see the back of his head exposed. With a double axe handle, she nearly grounded him, causing him to catch himself with both hands.
"I don't get it! She was a slobbering beast earlier! But now it's like... "
Another leap towards him, swerving her body to avoid the incoming golden orb before delivering a punch directly to his left top fang, knocking it straight out of his mouth.
"...like she's going off pure instinct."
He decided to hop away, Lord Slug actually trying to keep his distance.
"I can't fight her like this. She has my number. I hate to admit it, but Pan has the edge over me now. But how?"
Trunks returned away from the battle, but towards where Pan and Kami were knocked backward when Lord Slug sprang back to life. Following the trail, he found the Guardian of Earth before his time, but embedded into a boulder, his robes covered with...
"Namekian blood!"
He put a hand to Kami's neck, seeing that, fortunately, he still had a pulse, but...
"Kami's on Death's door. It's a miracle he's even alive right now."
As he tried gesturing Kami's mouth open to give him the senzu bean, the old Namekian seemed to wake up, seeing it in Trunks' hand.
"N-no... she needs it more than I..."
All but shoving the senzu bean into Kami's mouth...
"Sorry, but I can't stop to discuss this logically."
Kami then crunched the senzu bean and immediately upon gulping...
...he broke himself free from the boulder, a Kami-shaped indent left over. The purple blood remained on his robes, but he had been fully healed. Now that his vision had improved, Kami saw this coated man with a helmet that didn't match his look otherwise.
"Who are you, young man?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you."
He saw Kami extend a hand out for him to shake.
"You saved my life. For that, I will not pry as to your identity."
As he shook Kami's hand, Trunks let out a mental sigh of relief that this went the exact opposite way his encounter with Piccolo did. Once the shake concluded, Trunks began to hover off the ground.
"I must go."
"Understood."
But then both he and Kami heard an especially massive shake in the ground, which would've sent Kami off his feet had he not hovered upward as well, almost as if...
"That kind of explosion... it would've taken out an entire city. A big one."
He saw Kami flying off towards it.
"No! Wait!"
As Lord Slug ceased their combat, he scratched the opening in his helmet with his fingernails.
"After all that Kaio-whatever, her ki practically went dead the moment I had her in my hands. That fancy shield of hers went before I even squeezed that hard. Since then, she's been moving as fast and hitting as hard. But how? How could Pan do that if she has no ki?"
He recalled all of the talk about Super Saiyan in her head, but while that didn't confirm any of it to her, it did lead Lord Slug to a theory of his own:
"What if it's like... emergency power? An inner backup generator? Break in case of emergency."
Then as he looked back at all their fighting since she had gone through this red-tinged white-eyed change, feral and instinct...
"She hasn't once fired at me or even so much as flown around..."
Then he pointed up into the air as his one antenna got out of his helmet.
"Aha!"
As he tucked it back in, he began to smile with his discovery.
"She's running on reserves! That's why she's staying on the ground and jumping! If Pan tried flying or firing at me now, her ki would drop like that!"
Yajirobe, running at full speed towards the battle, came to a dead stop when he crashed right into something head-first, then fell onto his back:
The Power Pole, sticking out of the ground. Bora saw this, then helped him to his feet, a red mark across the exact center of Yajirobe's forehead down to his chin.
"The heck is that doing here?! Did that green turd steal it or something?!"
"I do not know, but Upa and I found it earlier."
Having lacked a weapon since he and Yajirobe were sent away, it was the closest thing he had to his spear for the time being.
"And if it is still without its owner, I intend to give it to him."
"Well we better pick up the pace if we want to make it back before..."
They were both sent off their feet as the ground rocked violently. In the distance, they saw what looked almost like a mushroom cloud.
"Oh that can't be good."
"We can agree on that, swordsman."
Pan now saw Lord Slug walking almost calmly towards her, taking his left ring finger and snapping it back into place, then cracking his neck.
"Maybe that purple haired lad wasn't far off. I still don't think you're a Super Saiyan..."
She didn't move one bit, waiting on Lord Slug to make his move.
"...but now I'm really going to put it to the test."
Upa and Launch, who had witnessed this combat so far from within the hole, didn't like this new energy Lord Slug was bringing to the proceeding.
"The giant is being crafty."
"I just hope she sees through it."
Seeing the two looking over at them, he threw the last of his golden orbs in their direction.
"Body, move!"
But Pan didn't see herself move at all, instead watching as Launch and Upa climbed out of the hole. But as they ran away from the battlefield, they then saw the orb touch down. Upa covered Launch as the ensuing explosion left the two of them no longer visible to Pan.
"NO! If Lord Slug killed one or both just now...!"
Nearly beckoning her, his hands stretched outward, he then tried closing them around her, seeing her hop overhead.
"I've gotta end this now!"
"That's right."
He actually tried making an effort to avoid it, though still received a punch to his left cheek for his efforts. Landing atop his left shoulder, she then avoided a swatting hand, running across the back of his neck before jumping over his other hand.
"Get up close and personal."
Tugging on his right ear, she then kicked his forehead, all but shattering the gem atop his helmet. Bouncing off it, she then leapt out of his hands' reach, then struck the very top of the helmet, cracks leading up to the hole in it and causing pieces of it to fly upward...
"I can take all of this."
...until Pan saw the pieces didn't fall back down. Instead, she and Lord Slug's head went upward, the chips being struck and went up even further, including some brushing off her. Pan realized...
"Lord Slug's off the ground! He's been flying upward this whole time! He did this because..."
He swept at her from behind his head, forcing her forward.
"He knows my body's not using ki for anything other than moving and fighting. Not flying. Not firing."
While her body still acted without her input, Pan tried getting it to stay on the only higher ground remaining.
"If I fall now, Lord Slug will have total aerial advantage. Attack me from any angle without me flying away from his attacks."
She saw Lord Slug's right hand out and tried arcing herself towards it for a landing...
...then felt herself somehow stuck in place.
"I gotcha, Pan."
His left hand caught Pan by her yellow cape between his index and middle fingers.
"Try hopping around now."
A punch from his right hand came right for her, Pan left dangling and unable to do anything more than brace for it with guarding arms.
The sheer force caused the cape to be torn directly from its collar, Pan now lying between his left palm and his right fist. Lifting it back up, he saw that Pan was left with blood coming down her lip, her Time Patrol jacket tattered to the point of barely covering her blue shirt, and the shoulder piece Kami had constructed now made brittle. He waved his right hand, having struck with such force even Lord Slug felt it hurt.
"If you ain't dead now..."
His left then flicked her directly towards his mouth.
"I'll make you half the semi-Saiyan woman you were."
But Pan started to recover, seeing the top row of teeth above her and feeling herself on her right side on his bottom row, which rose up to meet them. She used her left hand to push back against a tooth on the top row, keeping her head and body from the impending bite...
"Mom didn't raise me to be dinner!"
...which struck both her legs' shins and calves, and her right arm's wrist and upper arm.
Pan sounded less like someone screaming in agony and more like a feral animal having been caught in a bear trap: clearly in pain, but otherwise angered and vying to get out of it.
"Huh. Still rather tough."
Lord Slug intended to correct this, his right hand out to grab her by her head with his thumb and index finger. Pan saw this and pushed back with all her might...
...with enough force to successfully squeeze her legs and right arm out of his clenched teeth, as well as breaking off half of the tooth, which flew backward towards his throat. She was sent backward before Lord Slug could close his hand, then he caught himself almost choking, having to recover with both hands before he could retaliate.
But after coughing out the half tooth, he did clearly taste blood from the bite, as well as...
"What is that leathery...?"
He fished something out from between his teeth on the right and held them out so he could see:
"Boots?"
The two ki-resistant gray boots were left behind from the force Pan freed herself with.
"Let's see her land comfortably in socks... if her legs are even working now."
"I can't feel my legs! Right arm's done for! And my left arm can't help me land!"
Pan's descent was completely uncontrollable, destined to crash down hard. Try as her body did to swerve with her left arm alone, by the time Pan thought it was actually doing anything...
...she crash-landed hard onto her front, leaving what would've otherwise been a Pan-shaped dent magnified a few times over from the height of the fall. She had not been immune to feeling touches or the other senses, and this combined with the bite of her legs and right arm had her practically force tears out.
"Yoo-hoo!"
She looked up, seeing Lord Slug from high above calling to her, his thunderous voice covering the distance.
"I'm up here! And you're down there!"
Slowly crawling her way upward with just one arm, Pan tried thinking of anything her body could do now.
"Reserves are almost out and all I've got to work with is my left arm."
Then she caught a glow from both of Lord Slug's hands.
"Whatever he's going to do, I can't withstand it, even with ki. And I can't avoid it without ki either."
Thinking on how her body hadn't used any ki for flight or projectiles prior...
"Body... you've only been using ki to keep me going. Still know how to fire stuff?"
She tried to imagine her left hand's fingers moving, but couldn't get her hand to respond.
"Come on, body. I'm not even asking for the controller back. Just give me something to work with here. Anything."
"Do me one small favor:" went Lord Slug.
Now seeing her individual fingers move as she wanted them to...
"Cool. Now work with me here. Don't think I could normally pull this off, but if you could give me a hand here with keeping me balanced..."
"When you get to Hell..." he continued. "Keep my seat warm."
She lifted her left hand upward, ki surging through her palm.
"All or nothing."
"And if they won't let you in..."
Pan gestured her hand out like she was about to fire a blast...
"Use the side entrance!"
And as she saw the two-handed blast fire from Lord Slug's hands, no doubt intended to hit his immobile target dead-on, she slammed her left hand into the ground. The blast that ensued from her hand, almost akin to a one-handed Kamehameha, had Pan rapidly ascending, seeing the blast go just below her...
...the impact massive and almost pushing her even further upward, the ki-equivalent of a mushroom cloud left behind.
"And now..."
Her hand reached out in front of her, then closed into a fist.
"I'm gambling everything on this!"
All of Pan's ki appeared to be gathered in her fist, practically overflowing with it.
Lord Slug, now seeing Pan, caught what he thought was her hair flickering golden, then black repeatedly.
"N-no way!"
In fact, he not only saw her pupils again, but even saw her irises flicker between blue-green and black.
"Oh FUDGE me...!"
He couldn't ascend, descend, or move to the side fast enough, forcing him to guard with both his wrists. But Lord Slug then caught a golden glow, seeing something almost akin to a mirage behind her. Not just a random construct, but a shining golden totem. A colossal animal of massive size and power. He even swore that he heard it roar.
"A golden... ape..."
And once impact was made, despite his arms out to protect him, Lord Slug felt both wrists being pierced through entirely...
...followed soon by Pan tearing straight through his torso before flying out his back. Lord Slug fell straight down, unable to slow or stop himself in the state he was in.
"The techniques! The flashing hair! The ape! It can't be a coincidence! It just CAN'T BE!"
To put his mind off the pain from the hole in his chest and wrists, he thought back to the memories from Pan's mind:
"I know my Gohan's not yo..."
"...you will get through this. Not because of your lineage or your bloodline..."
Despite it being some time since he was going through Pan's memories, it was as if he could hear them as clearly as when he had his hand to her head.
"I know my Gohan's not your..."
"...your lineage or your bloodline..."
"My father..."
As if suddenly given one last piece to work with, the one memory that cut out before now seemed to play in its entirety in his head.
"I know my Gohan's not your father..."
"...but it's like you're my Gohan's daughter all the same."
"Aww, of all the rotten luck...!"'
He then crash-landed onto his back, seeing the barren wasteland that resulted from his missed attack before, writhing from the impact, the wounds, and the newfound knowledge.
"And where is that little spawn of Son Gohan?!"
He saw Pan falling downward, but once she left his sight, he had to turn his head just to see her impact with the ground.
"I got you."
Yajirobe, having arrived in time, caught Pan before that could happen. Bora followed soon after, pointing at him with the Power Pole.
"And that little red piece... it's not of this world, but hers. Gifted to her by her pops, I'll bet."
"I have a theory, Lord Slug:"
He couldn't believe who spoke to him just now.
"K-KAMI?! You should be long dead!"
"You can heal from wounds normally, but in your true form, such an exertion would practically drain you. And you do not attack us now because you are using your own power to keep yourself alive."
"W-Why you! When I get back up...!"
He then heard a bottle drop downward.
"You won't get that chance. Not ever again."
"N-Now, Kami. Hold your horses. Let's not be too hasty here..."
"Mafuba!"
This time, the Evil Containment Wave was not just visible, but took on a green hue. It struck dead-on, the massive Lord Slug being lifted off the ground and spinning around the group as if caught in a green tornado.
"You're gonna get yours, Kami! ONE DAY!"
But even with his imprisonment inevitable, having caught a glimpse of both Upa and the blonde-haired Launch joining the others, he grinned for the last time.
"I know what Pan really is!"
Upa and Bora, having not heard her name so far, didn't understand the significance at first.
"She's Gohan's daughter!"
Those two, but Yajirobe and Launch especially were struck by this.
"From the future!"
"...and with any luck, they'll change it and Pan will never be born. That will be victory enough for me... until I'm free."
But Kami never let up for a moment, even with these revelations, and once the evil Namekian appeared to shrink down and was forced into the bottle, he placed a cork atop it. The almighty Lord Slug was now sealed away.
Despite the state she was in, Pan had heard all of this, Lord Slug all but shouting at the top of his lungs as he was being captured.
"I knew something like this would happen! I don't know how we can come back from this..."
Pan, being lowered onto the ground, and not in a position to get to cover or so much as move, saw the five looking at her closely.
Kami, despite never having met Gohan, had encountered Chi-Chi at the 23rd World Martial Arts tournament and knew Goku since he made it to the Lookout from Korin's Tower.
Yajirobe knew Goku since he was a teenager and encountered Chi-Chi as well. He would get his chance to meet Gohan when the two joined forces with Krillin to save Goku from Great Ape Vegeta.
Launch, Bora, and Upa, despite keeping relatively distant and isolated, had chance encounters with Goku and Chi-Chi, whom showed them their young child some time before Goku had his son meet the rest of his closest friends at the Kame House.
Now certain that all five had deciphered her similarities to Goku, Gohan, and Chi-Chi were no longer just coincidental, Pan tried, futile as it was, to scooch backward.
"Supreme Kai of Time! Maybe they won't do a thing now, but after Namek, you have to clear their memories or they'll be...!"
"It's alright," went Kami, putting a hand to her shoulder.
Bora showed Upa the Power Pole's case on Pan's back, all the clearer now without the jacket or cape that initially hid it.
"We have no reason to jeopardize your very existence, Pan."
The Power Pole handed to him by his father, Upa then placed it back into its case.
"If you are the daughter of Gohan, the son of my friend Goku... then you are our friend. And we won't let that happen to you."
Launch, seeing the bruise from her other personality throwing a rock at Pan before, gently blew on it.
"We won't tell anyone. Your father or otherwise."
She then lightly flicked Pan's nose.
"It'll be our little secret."
Yajirobe, arms crossed, was then elbowed by Launch, after which he nodded his head at Pan.
"I mean it's the least we can do for you saving our bacon."
"There might be one more thing we can do, Yajirobe," went Kami, gesturing to him.
Trunks, witnessing all of this from a distance, was happy to see the battle was over, but with how long Pan had been there...
"How close are we cutting it with the events on Namek?"
"As luck would have it, her delaying the fight against Frieza has given us more time than we thought... but we probably shouldn't push it."
As he heard this answer from the Supreme Kai of Time, he caught...
"They're moving her... towards Korin's Tower."
"If I had to guess why, besides getting Yajirobe and Kami back where they need to be..."
The group having reached it, Yajirobe, whom held Pan over his shoulder, looked ready to grab a hold of Kami.
"You can fly us up there, right?"
"I must admit catching Lord Slug did drain me somewhat, but I can have you both up there in a few minutes."
They then caught Bora stepping forward.
"That will take too long. Pan needs help now."
Yajirobe, recalling a similar situation before, didn't act surprised in the least when Bora took hold of him.
"If memory serves correctly, it's eight thousand meters."
"Just do it!" exclaimed Yajirobe. "If it's over or under, I can get her there, no problem!"
"As you wish, swordsman. Now hold Pan carefully."
With a titanic toss by Bora, the two left their sight in less than a second.
"Incredible, Father. I think you've grown even stronger now."
"But if I may, Guardian..."
Upa pointed to the devastation behind him.
"What will we do about the land?"
"I can assure you and your father that the damage will be undone... shortly."
Kami began to float off the ground and, while not traveling as fast as the two Bora threw, did begin to build up speed.
"Aww shoot," went Launch. "I forgot to ask him if he could make ammo. Used up almost all the good stuff against that big green meanie."
"If I may," went Bora, extending a hand to her. "I wish to thank you for your help. It is most fortunate that you happened to be near our village."
She shook it, trying to hide the fact she had actually been there to look for goods to steal.
"Oh, it's nothin'."
She then gestured towards Upa for a handshake.
"And you helped me outta a few jams just now. Thanks."
"Of course. You're too kind."
She then tried to walk away discreetly, waving to them.
"Well, see ya."
"Good-bye."
"You are welcome to visit any time."
After Upa's words, Launch started to grin mischievously...
"Maybe now it'll be even easier to take..."
...but then shook her head, another smile entirely taking its place.
"Nah. They're nice folks. There's other marks out there."
Yajirobe and Pan continued ascending straight upwards...
"Hey, I can see Korin's from here..."
...and reaching the tower in record time.
"OH, I can really see it from HERE!"
Yajirobe managed to grab hold of the railing with one hand, using the other to keep Pan secure until two white paws lifted him over.
"Good to have you back."
Even with her vision blurring, Pan could make out that the white blur was Korin.
"Say, whose your friend?"
"She's G..."
Yajirobe covered his mouth to keep the secret he knew from Korin, then acted like he was covering a cough.
"Uh, so yeah, she's a friend."
"Uh huh. Well your friend's not looking too good."
"So we came up here and I was wonderin' if there were way you could spare..."
"You really don't need to ask..."
It was harder for her to decipher, but it looked like Korin was walking towards a round container, if not a barrel of sorts. Upon lifting a lid, Korin hopped upward, then reached for something.
"One of these..."
Korin returned, holding out the tiny green bean in front of her.
"...for one of your friends."
Trunks, making his way up Korin's Tower lowkey, peered to see Korin giving Pan a senzu bean.
"If we do this... we owe Korin one senzu bean."
"One time only," Chronoa added. "We can't afford to do this a second time."
Minutes later
Bora and Upa walked across the desolated land when...
"F-Father, look!"
He caught green plant life coming in from the distance, as well as trees either uprooted or destroyed back in place. Several of the craters and the like from the former battlefield were undone as well, as if the land had never been touched before.
"It is as the Guardian said."
Upa then caught that he was stepping on...
"My bow!"
The bow which had been broken by Lord Slug earlier was now as it was prior. As he crouched down to retrieve it...
...he couldn't help but spot something in the distance peering behind one of the trees.
"Is that...?"
For only that instant, Upa thought he saw a hooded man in brown robes who was otherwise indistinguishable to him from a total stranger...
"That face..."
...his face in question actually a white mask.
"I've seen it before..."
He then went behind the tree completely and Upa, breaking off from his father, ran to the other side to find him.
"Wait! Come back! Where are you?!"
"What is it, Upa?"
Once he realized this mysterious figure had gotten away, he looked back to his father.
"I thought I saw a man I met a long time ago. After you were gone... when I left the village with Goku... and he, his friends, and I went to visit that fortuneteller..."
Upa's father, having heard his son's recollection of events that transpired to return him to life, pondered...
"Was it the vampire? The invisible man? The bandaged one? Spike?"
The hooded man in brown robes, his hands put together, stood in the exact spot he was in before, but was now not only invisible to Upa and Bora, but completely intangible to them as well.
"No, Father. It was the last man. Her champion."
Upa's hands waved through his being entirely.
"Are you certain of this? I thought this man could never return."
"I-I'm certain it was him."
"Perhaps it was."
Bora put a hand to his shoulder.
"We may find him another time. We've both done much today. Let's head home."
"R-right."
After nodding to his father, Upa followed him into the distance as the hooded man took both his hands apart, becoming visible once more. He took out a white and yellow feather, then held it up towards his face...
...which was concealed by a fox mask.
Thank you for not just entertaining us, but inspiring us.
Rest in peace.
Akira Toriyama
1955-2024