Once Goten and Trunks were sure that everyone was accounted for and the danger was now behind them, they took the immediate opportunity to grab Pan and excitedly spin her around, happy to see their niece/little sister-figure once again. Giru, who was hiding in Trunks' backpack during the entire ordeal, was beyond ecstatic seeing his old friend again and hugged her tightly, cuddling his metal head against her cheek.

"Pan found! Pan found!" Giru chimed, "Giru missed Pan! Giru love Pan very very much!"

"I missed you too, Giru," said Pan, hugging back, "I'm surprised to see you're here too!"

"Giru was our official power level seeker," said Trunks, "I upgrade his systems so he'd be able to detect you from even millions of miles away!"

"Wow," Pan smiled, "I can't believe you all went through so much trouble just to find me…"

"Well, what can we say, Pan?" said Goten, "We all missed you. We love you."

"And we want you to come home," Trunks added.

A warm, fuzzy feeling started brewing deep inside Pan. After over three years, it was the first time she felt respected and wanted…

"PAN!"

Hoo boy… Speaking of which…

"Danger! DANGER!" Giru cried as he jumped into the air and ducked behind Trunks' head, "Angry alien woman approaching!"

Pan didn't seem worried one bit. If anything, she seemed ecstatic despite Yamura angrily stomping towards her. "Yamura!" she cried, running to the half-Saiyan/half-Ryujian with arms wide open, "You saved us! I should've known you wouldn't break your promise! Thank y-"

*SLAP!*

Trunks and Goten gasped in shock as Yamura whacked her palm hard against Pan's face. Pan, however, merely blinked before rubbing the side of her cheek in annoyance. "Ow…"

"Who the hell do you think you are putting yourself in danger like that, AND making me risk my life AND my ship to save your stupid butt?" She raised her fist in the air, "I have the right of mind to just-"

"It was my father, Yamura!" Pan suddenly shouted, causing the older woman to freeze, "I couldn't just leave him OR my friends behind. I had to check on them! Try to understand, won't you?"

Yamura glared upwards at Goten and Trunks, who were staring coldly back, unappreciative at how she was treating Pan. She then gave a low sigh. "Okay, fine," she muttered, "I get it, I guess…"

She then suddenly whacked Pan's face back and forth in a rapid motion. "Don't you ever do that again, you understand me? Otherwise, if you do, I swear to god, I'll make you regret the day you were born!"

*SNATCH!*

Yamura suddenly found herself paused mid-slap and looked up to see Goten standing right above her with a firm hold on her wrist. "Back off, lady," he hissed.

Unimpressed and unamused, Yamura simply grabbed his arm with her other hand, and effortlessly threw him over her shoulder, slamming him into the wall. "Don't touch me," she said cooly.

Goten seemed bewildered, and even a bit out of it. "Whatta woman…" he muttered.

Having enough of this nonsense, Yamura gave a final sneer before turning off and heading down the corridor.

Pan let out a deep sigh. "Great," she mumbled, "I'm in a nasty training session later…"

"Pan, does she treat you like that all the time?" Trunks asked as he approached her.

Pan gave a simple shrug. "Actually, she's being kinda nice today."

"Pan, that's abuse!" Trunks cried, "You shouldn't have to go through that!"

"Hey, I can handle it, okay?" Pan snapped, "I've been through worse with her."

"Oh, I'm glad we came when we did then," said Trunks, "If you think this is okay, we're getting you off this ship and home with us ASAP!"

"Ugh… you're starting to sound like my father!" At that last word, Pan suddenly remembered… "My dad!" She quickly turned to see both Gohan and Akira unconscious and slumped up against the wall. She rushed over to her father. "Dad! Are you okay?" she cried, checking his breathing. It was there, but slow and weak. "We've gotta get him to a medical machine. Trunks, can you grab Akira and follow me?"

"Uh yea, sure," said Trunks as he turned to Goten, still implanted in the wall. He grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out. "Goten, come on!" he said, "Snap out of it. Pan needs your help to carry Gohan to-"

He stopped mid-sentence upon noticing that Pan was easily carrying her father down the corridor hallway with no issues. "Um… Never mind. Apparently, she can carry Gohan herself."

Having spent many times in the Medical Machine, Pan knew exactly how to program it and had already set up both her father and Akira in two of them, across from each other.

"Uh, Pan… Are you sure it's a good idea to heal that other Saiyan that almost blew us all up?" asked Goten, "I mean… What if he loses control again?"

"Don't worry, he'll be okay," said Pan as she pressed a button on Akira's machine, "Once he's aware of his surroundings, he's actually a pretty decent guy. I promise."

The inside of Akira's tank started filling up with the healing liquid, covering him completely. "There," Pan sighed, "Give 'em both about an hour, and they'll be as good as new."

"An hour, huh?" Goten mused, "Good… That gives us plenty of time to chat."

"Chat? About what?"

Trunks step up to the young teen. "Hmm… How about we start with… what the hell are you doing all the way out here in space with that psychotic alien woman?!"

Pan groaned. "Oh jeez… Here we go."

"Pan, do you have ANY idea what you put us all through?" said Goten, equally upset, "First you had us think you were dead, then when you're found, you go out into space without even a word to us!"

"Well, I wouldn't have had to disappear to begin with if even one of you guys had the balls to train me!" Pan snapped.

"So what is this, then? Are you punishing us?" said Trunks.

"No, of course not!" said Pan, "I was desperate for training! Nobody back on Earth wanted anything to do with me, but Yamura was the only one who gave me a chance."

"And what does SHE get from you in return?" Trunks asked, "No offense, Pan, but she doesn't seem like the type to take you under her wing out of the goodness of her heart… You sure she isn't using you in some way?"

"She gets a free punching bag!" said Pan.

"Wait, so you just let her beat you up just to get stronger?" asked Goten.

"And it worked."

"Pan, that's so wrong!" said Trunks, "You deserve better than that! You shouldn't allow anyone to beat you up just so you can try to grow from it."

"Oh, you're one to talk, Trunks!" Pan fired back, "Don't tell me Vegeta was easy on you! Doesn't HE beat you to a pulp whenever you guys train?"

Trunks was caught off guard with that remark but then shook his head. "That's completely different!"

"How so?"

"At least I know my father cares about me!"

"Yamura cares about me too! Just… in her own sadistic way."

"Pan, this level of training isn't right for you," Goten cut in, "We can't let it continue."

"It's the only way for me to catch up to you guys!" Pan said, "You're so obsessed with babying me and protecting me, I didn't stand a chance in a real battle! I had to take drastic measures!"

"Did it occur to you we're just looking out for your well-being, Pan?" said Goten.

"To the point where I can't handle a single punch to the face?" Pan shot back.

The two went quiet for a bit. There was just no reasoning with her…

"Here's a better question," Pan continued, "If I were a boy, would you still feel this way? Or is it because I'm a girl that you guys are so overprotective?"

Goten and Trunks looked at each other, then both let out a sigh. "Pan…" Goten started, "We would protect you and look after you regardless…"

"Would you really?" said Pan, "It feels like the moment I decided to take training seriously, you all went out of their way to prevent it from happening. Meanwhile, everyone roots for you guys to do your best and become even stronger than ever. It's like you get to reach the skies and the heavens, but I keep hitting this glass ceiling… and no one wants to help me break through it."

Trunks and Goten took in her words for a moment. "Pan… we had no idea how much you felt about all this," said Trunks.

"I tried telling you," said Pan, "But it feels like when you look at me, you see that weak little kid who only pretends she's strong but really needs protecting…"

"Well, I'm looking at you now," said Goten, "And it looks like you've grown a lot. Maybe it is time you do get training for real, and not just because I want to impress my girlfriend."

Pan brightened at this. "Really?"

Goten nodded. "I still need to talk it over with your father, but I promise this time, I'll be more assertive about it, like I should've been from the start."

"Count me in too," said Trunks with a smile.

"Ohh, you guys are the best!" Pan cheered, "Thank you so-"

She suddenly gasped as everyone in the room felt a powerful spike in one of the Medical Machines.

"Danger! DANGER!" Giru cried, hiding behind Trunks' head once again, "Maximum power level overload!"

"Oh no, Akira!" she cried, "He must be panicking!" She tried to reach for him, but Goten held her back.

"Pan, don't!" he cried, "It's gonna blow!"

"I have to calm him down!" she argued, "Before he-"

*BLAM!*

The whole ship rattled as the Medical Machine burst into flames, wrecking Gohan's tank as well and causing the glass to break and the fluid to spill out. A glowing Akira stepped out of his tank, the same deranged look on his face as back on Space Colony Androiss. "What are you doing to me?!" he screamed.

"Akira-!" Pan cried, but Goten continued holding her back as Trunks rushed in front of her.

"You better calm down or else!" he threatened.

"I've been a test product for too long!" Akira growled, "I'm no longer Meio's experiment, and I will NOT be yours either!"

"No one's experimenting on you, buddy!" Trunks shouted, "Now cool it before I knock your lights out!"

Akira grit his teeth, and in his palms, two energy balls began to form. Trunks narrowed his eyes and formed ki balls of his own. "Don't do it," he warned, "I WILL destroy you if I have to!"

Akira reared back…

"NO! AKIRA STOP!"

Pan broke free of her uncle's grasp and rushed past Trunks before any attack could be thrown.

"Pan, no!" Trunks cried. But he was too late…

Pan had grabbed Akira… and hugged him tightly around his shoulders. Akira didn't move, his ki ball still reared back ready to throw, but his eyes were on the girl giving him affection. "Pan..?"

"Yeah, it's me…" said Pan.

"Pan… you said I'm free now…"

"You ARE free, Akira!" Pan replied, "You're not an experiment to anyone anymore. No one's going to hurt you. I promise. But I need you to calm down too, okay?"

The ki balls in Akira's hands slowly faded. Then, he raised both arms and wrapped them around Pan.

"You're okay…" she whispered, "It's gonna be okay. I told you I would take care of you, and I never break my promises."

"... Okay," Akira whispered back, finally calm.

Trunks and Goten just watched awkwardly.

"What the hell happened here?"

Everyone whipped around to see Yamura in the entranceway, staring quizzically at the destruction in the room. "I felt a huge ki skyrocket in here," she then narrowed her eyes, "Who did this?"

Pan stood in front of Akira and held her arms out defensively. "Yamura, don't get mad!" she cried, "I take full responsibility!"

Trunks and Goten got into defensive stances, but Yamura ignored them as she approached Pan and Akira. She effortlessly shoved Pan to the side, and sized up Akira, who narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yamura, please!" Pan pleaded, "Whatever you're going to do, take it out on me! Don't hurt Akira!"

"Relax," Yamura smirked, "I'm not mad. There's two other Medical Machines on the ship. I'm more impressed at the level of power that kid shows."

Akira didn't say anything.

"You've got some power there… Akira, was it?"

Akira nodded. "That's my name now…"

"Akira… I want to see just what you're capable of," Yamura continued, "But you need to learn how to control that power of yours. Why don't you let me teach you."

"And be YOUR experiment?" Akira hissed.

The Saiyan-Ryujian shrugged. "Eh, more or less."

"NO!" Akira screamed, powering up once again. Everyone took on defense stances once more. "I'm free now!" he cried. "I don't want to be your project or anyone's anymore! If you try to enslave me, then I'll-"

*BONK*

All it took was a bonk on the head to get Akira's senses under control. "Knock it off!" Yamura scolded, pulling back her fist. "I'm not enslaving you. I'm training you. Think of yourself as my student."

"Student…" Akira repeated. He wasn't too familiar with the word, but it definitely sounded more appealing than either slave, project, or experiment…

Yamura looked down at his tattered gown. "First, let's get you into something more battle appropriate. Follow me."

She headed out of the room. Akira looked over at Pan with an unsure look. The girl nodded. "It's okay, Akira," she told him, "You can trust her."

Akira gave a nod and then hurried to catch up to Yamura.

"Are, uh, you sure about that, Pan?" Goten asked.

"Of course," Pan replied, "I couldn't get where I am now if it wasn't for her. He'll be okay. I know it."

"Well, you're not exactly known to have the greatest judgment," Trunks sighed, "But seeing how there's no room for us to argue, guess we just gotta go along with it…"

"Oh, ye of little faith," Pan grumbled.

There was a sudden groaning from the other side of the room, coming from the other wrecked Medical Machine. Everyone turned to see a certain demi-Saiyan climb out of the broken door, then collapse to his hands and knees.

"Dad!" Pan cried, rushing to his side. She knelt by his side, taking him by the arm. "Are you okay?"

Gohan slowly lifted his head to look at his daughter… and immediately wrapped her up in his arms. "I'm better now that you're here with me, Pan."

Tears slowly started filling up Pan's eyes, and she tightly returned the hug. "Oh Dad..!" she sniffled, "I'm so sorry for running away! I'm sorry for all the trouble I put you through!"

"Pan… just…" Gohan pulled back slightly to face her, "No more running away! Please!" His face tightened, "Do you have any idea how worried we were? The heartache we endured. This entire nonsense is all going to stop RIGHT NOW!"

Pan suddenly went into a defensive mode. "Nonsense?!" she cried, "I'm the strongest I've ever been! That's not nonsense! And I'm not going to stop!"

"Pan, for once, will you stop being so selfish?!"

"YOU'RE selfish for trying to keep me from doing what's right for me! I take back everything I said! I'm NOT sorry, and I should've run away a long time ago!"

Gohan suddenly jumped up to his feet, staring down coldly at his daughter. Pan refused to back down and instead floated up to meet his eye-level.

Trunks and Goten sweated. "Hoo boy…" said Trunks, "This is about to get ugly…"