Chapter 24, part 5 - Echoes of Past Lives

Vegeta's sharp gaze locked onto her, his tail flicking behind him as he caught the hesitation in her tone. "Why not?" he demanded, his voice low but firm.

Pan's teal eyes met his, the faintest flicker of pain flashing across her features. "Because… dark ki is running through my veins." Her voice was steady, but the weight of her confession hung heavy in the air.

Goku stiffened, his fists clenching at his sides. "Dark ki?" he repeated, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Pan, how—?"

She cut him off, her gaze dropping briefly before meeting his again. "The rift… and my tail." She reached behind her, her fingers brushing against the golden fur coiled tightly around her waist. "It injected me with dark ki."

Vegeta's fists clenched, his sharp eyes narrowing further. His mind raced with the implications. Dark ki… in Pan? The very idea churned his stomach, his protective instincts flaring as his aura flickered faintly. "You've known this… how long?" he asked, his tone controlled but carrying an unmistakable edge.

Pan frowned, her shoulders stiffening as she pocketed the green orb. She hesitated, her gaze briefly flicking toward him before dropping to the ground. "Since I came out of the rift," she admitted, her voice subdued.

Vegeta's jaw tightened further, his tail flicking sharply behind him. The rift. Everything traces back to that cursed rift. His mind replayed the chaotic energy Pan had first displayed after emerging from it, the unbridled power that had felt too foreign, too unnatural.

Pan quickly turned away from them, her hands clenched into small fists at her sides. "It just means…" She exhaled sharply, her voice trembling with a mix of frustration and resignation. "It means I'm even more connected to Vala."

Goku's eyes widened slightly, his chest tightening at the weight of her words. "Pan," he said softly, taking a step toward her, "connected how?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line, her head shaking slightly as she continued, her voice strained. "Her and I share the same Super Saiyan God form. We share the same ability to travel through rifts. Hell…" She hesitated, her voice dropping to barely a whisper. "We share the same genetic code."

Vegeta's breath hitched imperceptibly, his sharp eyes narrowing further as her words sank in. "Genetic code?" he echoed, his voice low and dangerous. "Explain."

Pan turned to face them, her black eyes shimmering with a mixture of guilt and defiance. "Because… we're the same person," she said, the words falling heavily between them. "But… not. Kind of like how Trunks and Future Trunks are the same but different."

Goku's brows furrowed deeply, his mind struggling to process the revelation. "You're saying she's… an alternate version of you?" he asked carefully, his tone a blend of confusion and concern.

"Yes… and no," Pan replied, her voice steady but carrying the weight of something ancient and distant. "Four thousand years ago, she was supposed to die. She and her Dragon King were training with Universe Zero's version of Whis. He stripped them of their celestial ki, forcing them to fight without their elevated powers." She shook her head, her eyes narrowing as the weight of the memory pressed on her. "But Universe Zero wasn't always Universe Zero. It used to be an early version of Universe Seven."

Vegeta's sharp eyes snapped to her, his arms folding tightly across his chest. "What do you mean, 'an early version of Universe Seven'?" he asked, his tone laced with suspicion.

"When it collapsed, it became Universe Zero," Pan explained, glancing between them. "Kind of like… ground zero. It was the foundation, but when it fell, it became something else entirely. They—Vala and the Dragon King—should have died, but they didn't."

Vegeta's jaw tightened as he processed her words, his mind racing through the implications. A collapsed universe tied to Pan's power? And she's connected to it through this… rift? He clenched his fists. "And that's why the rift connects you to her," he said slowly, his voice low and tense. "Because it's tied to Universe Zero."

Pan nodded, her expression darkening as she continued. "The rift connects me to my past lives—that's how I'm able to learn so fast. It's like… memory storage, but the energy operating it is ancient—Dark ki."

Goku's face tightened at the mention of Dark ki, his protective instincts flaring. "Dark ki again," he muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with frustration. "It's always that cursed energy."

Pan's gaze dropped briefly, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. "Vala is supposed to be my past life," she said quietly, the words heavy with both disbelief and resignation.

Vegeta's brows furrowed deeply, his sharp gaze fixed on her. "Your past life?" he repeated, the skepticism clear in his tone. "And yet she's here now—alive and a threat. How is that possible?"

"I don't know," Pan admitted, her voice trembling slightly. "But she's not my only past life. I have… multiple past lives. Hundreds. And the very first past life is where my Super Saiyan God form comes from."

Goku blinked, his mouth opening slightly as he tried to grasp the enormity of her words. "Your Super Saiyan God form…" he echoed softly, his voice trailing off.

"It's not even mine," Pan said bitterly, her teal eyes shimmering with a mix of anger and frustration. "I've… inherited it."

Vegeta's expression darkened, his mind piecing together her revelation. "Inherited," he muttered, his voice cold but reflective. Her strength, her transformations—they're all tied to something ancient. Something not entirely hers. He clenched his fists tighter, his energy flickering faintly. "That doesn't matter," he said finally, his voice sharp. "Whatever you've inherited, it's yours now. What you do with it is what defines you—not the past lives tied to it."

Goku nodded in agreement, his tone gentler. "Vegeta's right, Pan," he said, his eyes softening. "It doesn't matter where it came from. What matters is how you use it—and you've already shown us you can use it to protect, not destroy."

Pan exhaled slowly, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she absorbed their words. "Then help me make sure that's true," she said quietly, her voice filled with both determination and vulnerability. "Because if I'm not careful, I'll end up becoming her."

Vegeta's gaze didn't waver, his voice steady and commanding. "Then we'll train until there's no doubt. You're not Vala—and you never will be."