Retaliation/Betrayal
Note: This was based on a dream I recently had about Pan and
Trunks. Oddly enough, it morphed into
some strange diabolical thing that puts Trunks in an OOC role. However, it is not Trunks/Pan though it might
seem to be. My apologies for what I am
about to put them through though. It is
just an experiment. It is based on GT,
but I do not fully accept Goku turning into a kid permanently and all. In this tale, Goku found a way to turn back
into his original age with one of Bulma’s inventions.
By StarbearerTM, beta’d by Sarah Slutz
Pan drew in great breaths, and then let herself touch down
on the beach. She had flown to the
extent of her abilities but still could not shake her pursuer. Just why someone who was a childhood friend had
turned alarmingly possessive from one second to the next, she could not
tell. Angry with herself for being weak,
Pan martialled her last bit of strength to stagger up the shoreline.
She had now landed on a quasi-familiar island. Though she had not been here for years, the
one who knew it best was her grandfather.
She had just turned seventeen, and it seemed like that earned every
available bachelor around a crack at her.
Few men paralleled her strength or held her interest.
Except for the man who hotly chased her across the world and
halfway again in his mad desire. For at
least a week he had gazed at her lustfully, something she both enjoyed and
worried about. Granted, it was the same
look Goten gave Bra, but there was a difference. She was not interested in Trunks in 'that
way'. Meaning a sexual
relationship. After all, he was
'taken'. All the outward signs indicated
he favored Marron. Considering all the
time they spent with each other and the fact he had invited Marron to many
social functions, his current behavior towards herself baffled her.
They had attempted a sparring session earlier that day. Something about Trunks' behavior had struck
her as odd. What had begun as an
innocent spar had morphed into a serious fight.
Soon, all she could do was keep him from pushing her to the floor,
whispering things into her ear about how much she 'stirred his blood'. She had retaliated with a hard punch to his
face, and blasted off. However, what was
far more disturbing was the odd, evil cackle he gave, licking blood off his
lips like a hungry tiger.
Was it he in that azure stare or a man possessed? A cold shiver crossed down her spine when she
remembered the last time he had given her such a look. When Baby had ensnared him body and
soul. Yet Baby was destroyed, decimated
by her Grandfather's times ten kamehameha.
No way could any of the Tuffles have survived such a catastrophe.
"Dammit, Trunks what the HELL has come over you?” Pan gasped.
If Marron found out what he was up to, there would be hell
to pay. Specifically from 18 who was
convinced that Trunks and her daughter were well on their way to going
steady. Not to mention the fury it would
cause Pan's father when he found out what Trunks had tried to do.
"It's not him, it's just not him," she coughed.
Striding along the shore, she glanced into the jungles that
rimmed the sizable island. It was off
the coast of the mid-continent, thousands of miles from her home province, but
she hoped someone there could help her shake some sense into Trunks. Someone close to her age, only a two-year age
gap separating them.
Ki probes extended, telling her that a varying spark was
further up the strip of sand. Pan
dropped within mere feet of the source itself.
Tanned skin blistered with a sheen of oily sweat. A dark Mohawk of hair fluttered in the breeze
while its owner practiced a series of warm-ups.
Orange gi clad his slender and hard muscular body. As he turned the sigil of Son swiveled into
Pan's view. She emitted a choked gasp.
"Help me," she croaked, ashamed of herself for
uttering such words. She was the
granddaughter of Goku and Hercule, champions of the world. Even Hercule had trained her, alongside of
her father for many years. All moves she
had used on her pursuer amounted to naught when he transformed. She cursed her lack of ability to
ascend. Bra had the potential locked
away. She had achieved it when pushed to
the wall in a duel with Marron at a martial arts championship.
"You're only one quarter blood, Panny," Trunks had
rasped. "So sorry you can't
ascend."
"Dammit what's gotten into you, Trunks?" she
retaliated, blocking his hand that shot out.
She peppered him with a rapid series of punches. Pan would not meekly surrender. She would go down fighting hard. Yet bruised and battered, she knew she was at
the end of her rope.
Instantly, the martial artist spun around, his eyes landing
on the stumbling figure. "What
the... Pan!" he exclaimed, shooting
forwards. She pitched into his
outstretched arms, laying her head against his chest.
"I... made it," she whispered.
"Pan, you are hurt, what happened? Tell me!”
Uub demanded, voice thick with concern and surprise.
Just what was she doing here of all places? He had taken an extended break from training
with Goku, so his mentor could spend much needed time with his family. Besides, Uub's own family needed him to
return and help support them with the prize money he had recently earned. Mr. Satan had given him the financial backing
to promote him as a fighter. He had
opened his own dojo in his home village, drawing interested students for miles
around.
Despite the fact they had not seen each other in the
better part of the year, his protectiveness, and concern wrapped her as
securely as his strong arms. She leaned
heavily on him, trying to find the words to express her experience. "It's... he's gone crazy, Uub. I could not stop him. He's not himself... he's chased me halfway
around Chikyuu!"
"Who, Pan?” Uub
queried, lightly rubbing her back.
"You're a mess!"
"I fought him as hard as I could. But I can’t... trans... form," she started. The next moment she went limp from
exhaustion.
Uub gently bent at the waist, swinging his other arm to
slide beneath her knees. Straightening
up, he carried Pan love-cradle style towards his village. She would heal quickly, but the medicines of
his tribal elders would assist this process greatly. There was no telling how severe things were. Nevertheless, his own ki sense told him that
she was badly damaged. At least he could
tell no bones were broken from his senses flooding over hers.
Another spark of ki flashed across his perceptions like a
beacon. He received the echoes, forming
an image of its owner. The signature was
rocketing through at subsonic speeds towards the island, Uub realized. The ki was not human or Saiyan. Demi Saiyan, more like. Its ki was a blue
tinge increasing in magnitude on the far horizon. His already dark eyes blackened to midnight
depths as they watched the star increase to the size of a tiny figure, and then
blow up to human size. Finally, it came
to a dead stop, hovering just above the beach at an altitude of twenty
feet. Blue eyes intently stared at Uub
standing there, one foot planted in the direction of the village but his body
still half-turned to the second unexpected, though this time unwelcome,
visitor.
“Trunks,” he gritted.
“Pan there you are!
Uub, what a surprise! You found
her!” he answered, drifting down to touch his sneakered feet to the sand,
ruffling in waves from his energy signature.
To Uub it felt malevolent; overtop was a sense of arrogant pride that
Trunks normally kept under wraps.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but if you did this to
her, you’ll answer to ME!” were the first words out of Goku’s young protégée's
mouth.
“Now why would I want to hurt Panny? I was trying to help her! She struck out at me, going crazy… I’m worried sick, as is her father and mother…” Trunks began.
“Why don't I believe you, Trunks?" Uub responded, stepping backwards, one hand
raised with the flattened palm pointed towards Trunks. His entire body curled forwards, minimizing
the profile yet still holding Pan close with his other arm.
“She’s very disturbed.
Not been acting herself lately.
It’s all I can do not to have her attack me whenever I’m around
her…” Trunks continued, not listening to
Uub completely , and cutting over his words with an increase in his vocal
volume.
“I wonder why THAT is?
You think I’m stupid, Trunks? Pan
wouldn’t run scared from you unless YOU were the problem, not her!” Uub accused.
“Something’s wrong with you, and I don’t know what, but you’d better
stay away till I know!”
“Is that any way to treat a friend who only…”
“Save it,” Uub cut him off.
"You're not acting yourself!
Something's WRONG… you're… just crawling with evil!"
“I see she’s somehow convinced YOU that I’m the
problem. But since you want to act all
macho about this, I guess I will have to take you on. Too bad.
For your sake you’d better set the girl down,” the lavender-haired demi-Saiyan threatened.
“No way, Trunks. I’m
not letting her out of my sight.”
“You really want to risk Panny’s life in a fight? You’re the one who’s endangering her, and
you’ve got the balls to accuse me?”
Trunks laughed. The peculiar peel
of mirth had that suspicious tinge.
Apparently, Trunks was wasting no time because the golden aura exploded
around him flaring his hair up to twin points.
Uub easily glided out of the way of the blue blast trained
right at him. He was glad Pan was still
so small because it made it easier to protect her and fight
simultaneously. He could not risk
setting her aside, and fighting while carrying her was a dire decision. Yet he had faced greater challenges and
Goku’s training automatically overrode any doubts. Trunks becoming Super Saiyan also told him
how desperate the Saiyan seemed to get his hands on Pan.
“You’re possessed by Baby!
Or someone else! That has to be
it! The Trunks I know wouldn’t just
power up to attack me,” the dark-skinned warrior panted.
Several spheres of energy pelted Trunks, and then Uub suddenly zipped
out of the next blast headed his way. He
quickly slammed Trunks in the back with a kick, and dodged the resulting hand
that reached out to snatch Pan.
“How could I be that monster? Goku destroyed him. You were there yourself fighting my
father. Or are you blind?” Trunks taunted. Fending him off with his feet and one hand,
he returned the volley of rapid-fire punches.
Instinct told him that Trunks was trying to find the exact moment of
opportunity to force him to drop Pan, or reach out and grab her. He did not want her dead, but Uub shuddered
to think just WHY he was acting like this.
A solid punch slammed into Uub’s jaw, sending him
backwards. His arms still hugged Pan tightly,
and his feet shot out as he angled his body to impact with the beach. At the last second before hitting the ground,
he somersaulted in midair, and then rocketed headlong towards Trunks. Quickly, the demi-Saiyan slashed his hands
before his face, and then generated a burning ball of yellow energy tinged with
crimson.
“Burning attack!” he shouted. Uub moved just a hair to the side, letting
the sphere shoot past him. Still he kept
his eyes glued to Trunks, wondering what his opponent was trying to pull with
such an obvious attack.
“He wants me to drop Pan.
I know it,” Goku's protégée mumbled.
Quickly he flipped Pan up in the air, and saw Trunks eyes widen. It only took a moment for Trunks to phase out
and then close the gap to within ten feet.
“HYAAAH!” he shouted, ki crackling around his fist. It slammed into Trunks solar plexus with a
sickening thud. He continued with a
sharp fist to Trunks back, knocking him down.
The Super Saiyan recovered only inches from crashing into the
ocean. By that time, Uub had snatched
Pan from a deadly fall. Twisting her
around he locked her body to his, so her back was facing out and her legs
dangled. His arm wrapped around her waist,
cradling her close. Pink tinged blasts
fired in rapid succession, some hitting and others knocked away by Trunks.
“Enough of this!”
Trunks growled. Appearing close,
he suddenly curled into a fetal position, and a blue wave of fire exploded from
his body into a thin sphere outwards.
Uub twisted himself around, feeling the impact slamming into him and
knocking him forwards. His body spasmed
a bit, but he kept a death grip on Pan.
Fortunately, his body absorbed the worst of it, leaving her barely harmed.
Then another blast of energy impacted his shoulder,
subsequently his leg. Each time he
shifted his position, plastering himself around Pan instead of fighting
back. Trunks frowned, wondering what the
enhanced human had on his mind.
Protecting Pan was foremost and he could not understand why the idiot
would not just surrender.
“Give it up! You
cannot dodge me and save pan at the same time!
Do you want her dead?” Trunks
yelled.
“I won’t let you hurt her!”
Uub replied, just managing to pull out of a fall and land feet first on
the beach. The blasts had not hit any
parts of the village so far, but he felt torn between luring Trunks away and
settling it here. His next blast
answered Trunks and he phased away, materializing at a safe distance. Soon he dwindled to a small pink spark. He prayed that Trunks was more intent on
following him then taking out his wrath on a town. Luckily, he sensed Trunks in hot pursuit, and
gave himself a small smile. While he
could hold Trunks off, he knew it was only a matter of time before Pan got hurt
in the process. He needed someone who
could protect her while he settled this, or find someone who could knock some
sense into Trunks. His streaking pink
trail carried him towards Goku’s home.
Trunks burned hotter with golden energies. With a loud “HAHH!” he chanced firing an
energy beam when he saw Uub drop out of subsonic speed. It caught him off guard, and the demi Saiyan
watched him twist in agony. As he phased
towards Uub, he punched him in the jaw and grabbed hold of Pan with one hand.
“Sorry, but this is gone on far enough!”
Pan writhed, blinking slowly as she looked up at
Trunks. Her whole body convulsed in fear
and she saw Uub plummeting towards the forest below. Angrily she squirmed and managed to muster
enough energy to slam Trunks in the gut and then kick herself free.
“Dammit!” Trunks cursed.
“Get AWAY from me whoever you are! You’d better get the hell out of Trunks, you
parasite or else you’ll be sorry!” she yelled, and then felt her energy
petering out.
“Pan you can’t escape from me!” he bellowed. Pan was barely able to maintain her altitude,
secretly watching as Uub managed to stop himself from crashing into a nasty
crater. He hovered low in the trees,
holding a finger to his lips.
“Trunks, I don’t know WHAT or who’s gotten into you, but I’m
SICK of this! You won’t hurt me
again! What is WRONG with you?” again
she yelled.
“I need to have you Pan.
You’re in my blood…” he gasped, his hands extended like a man possessed.
“You’re wrong! This
isn’t you! The Trunks I know would never
force himself on ANYONE! Besides, you’re
in love with Marron!”
“She doesn’t have what I need. You’re a Saiyan. One of the last females on Earth,” he panted.
“You’re not going to come anywhere NEAR her till I find out
what the hell’s going on, Trunks!” shouted someone from behind. Trunks barely managed to look before he
noticed Pan's father blurring into view behind him. A fast punch to the face followed another to
the chest. Trunks turned his attention
to an enraged Gohan who glistened with identical super Saiyan energy.
A pitiful moan sounded. “Gohan, don’t fight me…”
“You're not yourself!
I heard from Goten and Bra how insane you've been acting! Pushing people away, scaring your own sister
and your best friend! And hurting
Marron's feelings. However, when Pan
first told me you tried to attack her...
I didn't believe her. Now I felt
her ki and yours close together, flaring!
Care to explain that?" Gohan
heaved.
"I was trying to stop her from hurting
herself!" the younger Saiyan
protested, swinging a wild punch at Gohan.
He easily deflected it, his own teal eyes burning with hurt and
betrayal.
"He hurt Pan! He
must have! And he was chasing her like
a… a wild beast!" came Uub's voice from below. Gracefully, the young hero drifted up as he
held a semi-conscious Pan in his arms.
“Gohan… we’re friends…
I would never…” Trunks coughed up
blood as he peered up into Gohan’s stern frown.
“Then explain WHY she’s terrified to go near you? Why you’re attacking Uub like a crazed maniac
and WHY I felt her ki and yours flaring?
Who are you REALLY?” shouted Gohan.
Instinct told him to keep his friend off balance, and only bluff, but he
fought against his own outrage as a father and loyalty to a lifelong
friend. The Trunks he knew would never
do this, so what could have possibly possessed him?
Fortunately, they were not alone, for Goten materialized
nearby, along with Bra who had been hanging around his neck. She had difficulty flying and she let out a
shriek to see what Gohan was doing.
“Trunks!”
“Stay away from them, Bra!”
Goten warned, grabbing her arm.
“He’s not himself!”
“I can’t believe…
Trunks! Gohan don’t hurt
him! Something's possessed him! My brother would never… he's gone
crazy!" Bra yelled, reaching out
towards him.
"Even you turn against me, dear sister!" Trunks shot her a hurt glare.
"Trunks, you need help!
Tell us what's going on!"
Goten shouted, using most of his strength to stop Bra from interposing
herself between her friend and her brother.
All The last thing they needed now was Bra sliding into the
conflict and getting hurt.
“I’m trying NOT to!
Are you going to stop bullshitting me and tell me whom you are? You’re NOT Trunks... and if you ARE, he's NOT
in control here!” Gohan repeatedly
hollered. Fists flew, and he could tell
from the pained look on Trunks' face that the punches flying towards him were
half-hearted. Gohan met him blow for
blow, not attacking, but blocking.
"Gohan… help me…
I can't fight it… I'm sorry… tell
Pan I didn't mean to! I…” Trunks groaned, pressing his hands to his
head. He uttered a loud scream, and shot
backwards, writhing.
Suddenly, Trunks energy seemed to drain from his body, and
his gold hair faded to his lavender self.
Gohan caught him around the waist as he dropped earthwards. His ki had dipped to a dangerously low level.
"Trunks!" a half-dozen voices chorused.
“Is he okay?” cried out Goten. Whirling around, Gohan drifted towards where
Bra and Goten hovered, along with Uub.
Pan rubbed her eyes, blinking at her uncle and best friends.
“Oh my Kami are you okay?”
Bra yelped, pushing away from Goten and managing to fly on her own. Seeing the nasty bruises on her friend’s
face, she bit her lip.
"B... Bra… I'll
live… but I feel like I've been smashed to bits," Pan confessed wearily. "He wouldn't stop. But it was like he was fighting… and the more
I fought back, the more HE fought back…"
"Dammit I wish I could have helped you! Why didn't you call your dad or uncle for
help?" Bra hissed at the
dark-haired girl.
"Because dad didn't believe me… and uncle Goten thought
I was just making something up because he supposed I was jealous of Trunks and
Marron."
"Enough all of you!
Listen to me! Tell me, what
happened leading up to this, and why didn’t anyone SAY anything?” Gohan demanded.
"I did Dad, but you wouldn't listen,
remember!" Pan cried out, tears
brimming in her eyes. Uub's own eyes
widened in surprise, and he felt the urge to embrace her shaking body. Carefully he did so, giving her reassurance
in his solid grip on her that he would not let her fall.
"Pan, I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Gohan
immediately apologized, flying towards them both. "Please, you must forgive me. I wish there were some way I could make it up
to you, sweetheart. Marron told me
everything… well Videl and me. And I
just knew once I felt your ki and his that I had to act!"
"It's my fault too, big brother," Goten confessed,
hanging his head in guilt. "If it
wasn't for what Bra told me I wouldn't have believed it either."
Bra put in, "I mean he tried to actually hit me that
one time, and I blocked it, and then let him have it with a full rant. And he backed off. He'd NEVER try to hit me. If he did, Daddy would knock him into next
week!"
"Where is your father, Bra?" Uub joined the
interrogation.
"He was training with Goku," explained Bra. "That's what he told me."
"For a whole two weeks in that ki chamber… that your
mom built… which is sealed from any outside ki flares," Goten sheepishly
contributed.
“Not a good time for it.
Bra, you had better call your mom.
I don’t know just what’s going on, but I want him as far from Pan as
possible,” Gohan grimly announced, shifting Trunks onto his shoulders in a
firefighter carry.
“His energy doesn’t feel weird anymore,” Uub uttered
quietly. Gohan nodded and said nothing
more.
"I don't know. I
only hope Mom can get hold of Dad, and he comes back soon," Bra agreed,
her face twisted with sorry.
“I’d better fly him back to Capsule. You two had better come along. Is she okay, Uub?” asked Gohan, staring over
his shoulder.
“Daddy,” murmured Pan, before passing out again.
“She’s all right.
Should I take her home?” inquired Uub.
“I’ll just go with you to Capsule,” Bra said, glancing
guiltily towards Pan.
Goten nodded, gently extending his hand to grasp hers. She allowed him to pull her along as Gohan
blasted off towards