Potara walked through the portal and left Earth, a sigh of relief passing by her lips as she did so. Out of that place. It was too painful to be there right now. She didn't even know if she really wanted to ever go back. One one hand, she felt drawn to her famil-
She closed her eyes painfully. She felt drawn to PAN'S family. There were years of memories she had inherited from Pan that took an active very conscious effort to disregard. Her encounter with Grand-.
She ground her teeth. Her encounter with Son Goku was extraordinarily painful to her. She had forced herself to act almost on pure, raw, angry instinct. Now that she was alone to think, to try and calm down and sort herself out, it chilled her to realize how violent she'd been with the man. She had grabbed him by his throat for Kami's sake...
She rubbed her eyes and moved to set down on the edge of a row of portals, letting her legs swing to and fro. Son Goku had been honest in his efforts, he had wanted to help her, she did realize that. Though, he wasn't very good at it in her opinion. Taking a moment sifting through Pan's memories, it was very painfully obvious just how bad Son Goku, and by extent the others, were at handling situations outside of fighting. An emotionally super charged Pan had been a wrecking ball to them in Potara's honest opinion. The best thing Goku ever really did for the girl was to listen to her memories, but, he had never done anything afterwords.
She faintly smiled at that. Odianna, as much of a psychotic bitch as she was, had been right in one regard...
Odianna swore. "That fucking idiot."
Pan winced and grew confused. "Grandpa didn't do anything... why are you yelling at him."
"Because of exactly that! Big whoop, he listened to your memories, where the hell was the TALK?! He listened, said he didn't hate or blame you, bought you an icecream and CALLED IT A DAY AT THAT?!" said Odianna, livid beyond belief.
Pan hesitated, looking uncertain. "But... it meant so much to me, Grandpa usually doesn't do that sort of thing... he's kind of all fight-fight, not talk-talk."
Odianna snorted. "No shit. Expecting any kind of in-depth emotional support from a Saiyan, I can't believe I got my hopes up. Forget the respect I was starting to build for him. He lost it. You don't leave things like this half done.
Still, A for effort she supposed. At least he tried. He had done more than...
Potara grimaced and shook her head. Forget it. She had not left the dimension only to think about it. She'd do that when she wasn't going on an emotional roller-coaster ride. She needed a distraction...
Potara sighed and leapt down off the edge of the portal row she was on to the main floor and headed for a hallway. She was half way down it when, to her surprise, she saw a gathering of people in the next portal room. She was mildly stunned to see it before she remembered the Dimensional Tournament. The Omni-Kings, by inviting warriors and spectators, had made it some-what common knowledge that other dimensions existed. That gave Potara pause, and a worrying one at that. She didn't recall Pan or any of the other Z-Fighters thinking the other dimensions would be a problem so soon. In fact, she vaguely recalled Pan overhearing talk during her three year training period that they Z-Fighter's weren't really expecting any kind of situation for at least a decade or two as knowledge of other dimension's spread. That knowledge was now most likely becoming more wide-spread by the moment. Dimensional travel was most likely going to be picking up soon if it hadn't already. It would only be a matter of time before some kind of conflict occurred and escalated.
Potara narrowed her eyes. She had wanted a distraction, she had one. She needed to investigate and keep an eye on what was happening in these portal rooms. She wasn't sure if she wanted to return to her home dimension, but under no circumstance would she want anyone in it hurt or killed. Aside from the gods of-course. Potara started down the hallway again and got a better look at the group of people. She raised an eyebrow, noting that it was FAR more than just a group. It almost looked like a... farmer's market? There were stands of different shapes and sizes of aliens offering what looked like cloths, food, toys, books, and even weapons and armor...
"Ah, I see we have another interested viewer," came a cardinal voice.
Potara gave a start and turned to see an Arcosian leaning against the wall next to the hallway's exit, studying her. He seemed vaguely familiar... hadn't he been at the Dimensional Tournament? He was bulky, brown and gray. He was also in his final form and seemed relatively comfortable in it. Strange, she had remembered that the competitors from that dimension had all been in their restricted forms. Perhaps he had trained since the end of the tournament to control it.
The Arcosian studied her briefly. "Hmm, ah, you are the child from Dimension 1 at the tournament. Pan wasn't it? You are a rather impressive and viscous fighter if I must say."
Potara frowned intently. "My name is Potara."
The Arcosian tilted his head. "Hmm. My memory is rather impeccable, I was sure it was Pan. My mistake."
Potara shook her head slightly. "Pan and I... we're related, I guess. I can forgive the slight."
The Arcosian raised an eyebrow. "Twins mayhaps?"
Potara merely stared at him.
The Arcosian smirked. "I did not intend to 'slight' you, but I understand the competitive nature of siblings. I'm not that fond of my brother Granite either."
Potara gave Pan's memories another go before she finally hit it. "You're the one who fought Aideen. Tremor wasn't it?"
Tremor nodded. "Correct. So then Potara, interested in browsing the Extra-Dimensional Market?"
She blinked a few times. "Extra-Dimensional Market?"
Tremor's lips curled into a smug smile. "Set up by the my very own Earth Clan. My father was quick to jump at the limitless business potential other dimensions offered and started a trade market within days of the tournament. The partnerships we've made have turned a staggering profit already."
Greed. If there's one thing she did understand about their race from her limited knowledge of what Vegeta had told Pan of the Planet Trade Organization, was that Freeza was one hell of a greedy bastard. That obviously spreed to their race as a whole, maybe, that might be a bit racist to so blindly judge them, but she wouldn't put it past being right on the money. At least they seemed more greedy than bloodthirsty.
"Anything in particular you might be interested in purchasing?" inquired Tremor.
Potara frowned. "I have no money... actually... how does that even work? I doubt any dimension uses the same money as another."
Tremor smirked. "We have a currency conversion system in place. It... favors us slightly, but puts all parties on an even footing. Before long we'll have all dimensions using our currency as a base, so it will be a much smoother process."
Potara resisted the urge to snort. Fucking greedy ass manipulative bastards. Getting all dimensions on THEIR currency system? As much as she found it humoring, she also recognized it was smart. It was a strange thought to be honest, most of the time Pan and the other's were just muscle heads who fought their problems head on or came up with some strategy. Always battle related though. Dealing with other dimensions was going to take more finesse then simply 'punching the problem away'. The Arcosian's were looking to influence other dimensions through money. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to learn a few new skills.
"As for your 'money' troubles, I suggest the food section of the market. Free samples are often given out to encourage return purchasers," offered Tremor.
Potara nodded. "I'll go check it out."
Tremor nodded back. "If you have any further questions, seek me out. I am currently on rotation for another week until Granite comes back."
Potara cocked her head. "Rotation?"
Tremor grinned. "My clan set up the market, as such, we are responsible for maintaining, organizing, and running it. I prefer a more hands off approach, letting the market run itself and offering my expertise and advice to potential buyers when needed."
Potara nodded and walked off, following her nose to the food section of the market. She stared at isles and isles of stands with assortments of fruits and meats on them. More was being brought from portals in the room or down the hallways. She raised an eyebrow at the sight. If Grandpa... if Son Goku was here, he'd devour everything in sight within minutes. She frowned at the thought. Pan would have helped devouring the food to. Strangely though, Potara didn't feel that hungry, just a slight twang in the pit of her stomach. She ought to have been starving now that she thought about it. She had been fighting gods and angles and flying around since she had been born less than... what, two or so hours ago? That ought to have worked up an apatite. She was quarter Saiyan after all, while she didn't need to eat as much as Goku or Gohan, she...
Wait...
No, no she wasn't a quarter Saiyan. Pan had been, but the Doll was not. Actually... what the hell was the Doll to be honest? A Human-Saiyan Kaioshin God Construct. That... left a lot for Potara to consider, and she brought up a hand to rub her chin thoughtfully before deciding to indulge in food. She eyed the food part of the market, pausing on one stand in particular that people seemed to freely take out of. She hesitated briefly before walking over and doing the same. A piece of fruit she grabbed looked like a purple apple. She slowly bit into it and blanked for a moment.
Why the hell did an apple look-alike taste like a mix between a banana and a carrot? An its texture... an onion? She hesitated briefly before finishing it off. What a strange thing, the dimensions really were an odd place, full of new experiences.
She shook her head slowly and began to slowly walk through the food section, turning her thoughts inward, studying herself. Her thought's reverted back to the Doll, and the fact that she was a Potara Fusion. She actually had no real idea how her body was supposed to function. She started going through the Doll's side of her memories, not that they amounted to much experience. Her memories mostly consisted of spars with Pan, or being trapped in Whis's staff dimension for months on end to brood and think to herself...
Her eyes went wide. The Doll never ate or slept in Whis's staff dimensions. Pan had barely taken notice of how little the Doll had to rest in the Time Chamber, but Potara was. Humans and Saiyans both had to eat and sleep. She knew little of the eating or sleeping habits of a Kaioshin, but she knew they at least did. So then, perhaps it was the God Construct side of things that gave the Doll its immunity to natural fatigue. So the question was, how much of that immunity did she inherit from the fusion? And was it a good thing or not? She obviously needed to eat, the fact that she had felt any hunger at all proved it. But, she probably didn't need to eat much at all, and that kind of made her anxious. She had memories of Pan eating good food, and Potara couldn't help but want to do the same. Gorging herself on tasty treats would be something she would have liked to be able to do, but a single 'apple' had near filled her up.
Damn...
What else was she going to lose out on from this fusion? She walked swiftly through the market and down another hall, wanting to get away from all the noise. Once she was far enough away, she leaned against a wall to began to think. She began to play Pan and the Doll's conversations over in her mind, of Pan and the Doll's observations, until...
Pan paused briefly. "Hey wait a second, if you've spent that much time in that umm... pocket dimension, why haven't you aged or anything?"
The Doll visibly paused and glanced down at itself. "Huh... that's a good question... strange. Maybe its because I'm a God Construct, or that the Angel infused me as a Kaioshin? I dunno."
Pan smirked. "I'm totally jealous. You get to stay a girl forever, I eventually have to get old and wriiiinklyyy."
The Doll gave her a perplexed look. "Wrinkly? Old?"
Pan paused briefly. "Oh, you... ummm... what does aging mean to you?"
"Getting a more stronger and refined body, losing the weakness of a child's body," answered the Doll.
Pan winced. "You know, I'm starting to think that the Gods and Angels are actually really cruel about making God Constructs. You really don't know much of anything outside of fighting and whatever else you picked up in my battle memories."
The Doll scowled. "You don't need to remind me about cruel Angels. Now answer the question, what does old and wrinkly mean?"
Oh gods, how was Pan supposed to answer that question to someone who had no concept of what it meant to grow old? This was kind of awkward.
"Umm... I'm not sure how to properly explain it," began Pan, trying to stall for time.
The Doll grew annoyed. "Were supposed to be sneaking into a time chamber, just answer the question and be done with... ugh, just put some images in your mind and I'll figure it out."
The Doll put a hand on Pan's forehead, and Pan obliged. She created an image of a baby, then a child, then a teenager, then a young woman, then a middle aged woman, then an aging woman, then an elderly woman.
The Doll visibly recoiled. "The last image was so frail, do we really grow so weak as we age?"
Pan shrugged. "Ahuh."
The Doll looked displeased. "Then I hope that being a God Construct fully stops me from aging then. Let's go."
Potara pondered the memory and toyed with it in her mind, uncertainty crossing her face. She thought briefly and did some calculations. Based off the time spent in Whis's staff dimension, it should have been several years total for the Doll. Assuming eight hours a night for a month straight. So every three nights would be one year in the staff. A months usually around thirty days. So... ten years total-ish, the Doll's body should have been twenty-two-ish years old. It wasn't even a case of aging slow like Trunks and Goten apparently had, she literally hadn't aged at all. Even Pan had grown maybe a little bit...
Potara glanced down at her body with unease, and then a bit of fear. No, hell no. She did not want to be trapped in a twelve year old's body for the rest of her life! She wanted to grow up into a full blown woman! Not be a kid forever. Grow up, maybe find a nice guy, have some kids, be an awesome kickass mom while fighting bad guys...
Wait...
Potara's face paled as the full implications hit her. Pan had had the talk, she had an understanding of 'the birds and the bee's'. Pan hadn't hit puberty yet, hadn't even had her first period, and Potara wasn't even sure the Doll was capable of it. If she had inherited that impossibility from the Doll... or if Potara didn't age... then... she'd be stuck in an immature body... she'd never be able to start a family. She didn't want to anytime soon now that she thought about it, but... she wanted the option. It wasn't fair...
"Damn you, damn you Pan and the Doll, you monsters have no idea what you robbed me of," said Potara bitterly.
She slid down on the wall and sat down, feeling miserable. It wasn't fully confirmed, but, she had little confidence in her body maturing. If she began to age it would be a very pleasant surprise, but, she wasn't counting on it. Just... what the hell, what the fuck was the point in her being born? What had Pan and the Doll wanted? The only thing they had actually gained from the Potara Fusion was power, and even then, it hadn't been enough, she had got to knock a few gods and Angel's around, and then lost it. Pan... why? Dammit...
"You had no idea what you truly had in your life Pan," muttered Potara bitterly, "You might have lost some things, but you still had so much left. Your family, your friends, your entire life ahead of you. Fucking twelve years old and you throw it all away, make me, and leave me with NOTHING. What can I honestly expect If I go back to your home? They'll welcome me in with open arms? Bullshit, and I can't even make my own family to replace them! What was the point? All this power I have? The hell can I do with it but smash someone's face in? There's no point in it; you chase power, you lose everything else..."
"It's bullshit," whispered Potara, bringing up her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, "Why do I exist? What is my purpose? Pan's promise? I... I don't want to do it anymore, that was her deal, not mine... it's not fair... I want my own life, my own purpose, my own family... its just not fair..."
She sat there, brooding in misery to herself as time passed her by...