Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Princess of the Saiyans ❯ The Good Life ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Princess of the Saiyans
Chapter 6: The Good Life

Note: Please keep in mind that this isn't in normal continuity.


<...> are thoughts.


Feeling returned to Pan's body, and she tried to sit up, only to find her limbs were pretty much useless. Suddenly, an arm curled around her back, moving her to a sitting position against something cold and hard.

"Trunks?" Pan whispered hopefully.

"You wish," a familiar voice growled quietly.

Her eyes slowly opened. "Sensei?"

Vegeta was seated next to her, examining his arm. He studied it for a moment longer, then grabbed his wrist and jerked one of the bones back into place with a loud crack. Pain flashed through him, and it showed on his face for an instant, but then he leaned back against the cold wall and closed his eyes.

"Is it getting colder in here?" Pan asked.

"Yes. Since you destroyed Cell, the temperature's been dropping." It was so cold that Vegeta could see his breath, but he barely noticed it at all. He glanced over at Pan and said, "I'm proud of you."

Pan stared back at him. "Thank you, Sensei," she said slowly. Her gaze moved to his arm. "Does it hurt much?"

"Only when I try to use it."

"Do you want me to-"

Vegeta cut her off with a look.

"Sorry, but I have a problem with watching the people I care about suffer."

"Too bad. I can handle pain."

Pan looked away, then rubbed her arms. "We're going to freeze at this rate."

"Probably. Trunks will notice we're gone a minute too late, and all they'll find is our frozen bodies."

Pan glared at him.

"What?"

"Never mind," she sighed. "I don't suppose you'd consider keeping each other warm? I think I can still generate some heat."

Vegeta convinced himself that he only agreed for the sake of his injured arm. "Go ahead."

Pan closed her eyes, and gradually, flames sprouted up all over her body. Once done, she crawled over to Vegeta and sat in his lap. Before he could protest, she pressed a finger to his lips. "It's the best way for us to keep warm, and you're in no condition to do anymore fighting."

"Neither are you."

"Which is EXACTLY why you should focus on trying to get warm." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Anyway, I figured out how my healing stuff works. It's like a Senzu bean. You have to stay still and close to me long enough for it to work. In your case, you made me stop before I was done, and all your wounds opened up again."

Vegeta didn't say anything.

"You should probably put your arms around me, Sensei. Well, one of them, anyway."

"I'm not THAT cold."

"And you won't get that cold if you listen to me," she shot back. "Frostbite can't be good for a broken arm...or a good one."

Finally, Vegeta gave up and draped his good arm around her back. With her help, he was able to get the injured one in her lap.

Pan leaned closer to him, resting her head on his chest. "I remember this."

"What?" Vegeta asked.

She closed her eyes. "When I was really little...you used to hold me like this, sometimes...when no one was around, anyway."

"What's your point?" Vegeta muttered, looking uncomfortable.

Pan smiled. "You like me."

Vegeta didn't say anything. And for once, he didn't need to. Teacher and student had a silent understanding, and words were truly pointless. Each would die for the other, and almost had. If anything, their bond was stronger than ever.

And so was Pan.

* * * * *

Shenlong growled softly, and the dragon's red eyes glowed as he looked upon the small group. "Make your wish, and I shall grant it, if it is within my power."

Gohan stepped forward. "Bring Pan and Vegeta out of the vortex they're in."

Shenlong was silent for a moment. "Impossible. I cannot manipulate beings more powerful than I."

There were a few startled gasps, and then silence as everyone tried to figure out which of the two the dragon was referring to.

Finally, Bulma spoke up. "Well, instead of moving them yourself...can you create a way for them to escape the vortex so that they end up here, at the Capsule Corporation?"

"Yes," Shenlong replied. "Is that your wish?"

"Yes," Bulma agreed.

The dragon's eyes glowed briefly, and then he spoke. "Your wish is granted. What is your next wish?"

"That's easy," Krillin said. "After they're out, close the vortex for good."

Shenlong was silent for a few moments, and everyone was afraid that the wish was beyond his power. However, the dragon finally growled, "Your wish is now granted. My work here is done. Farewell."

As the Dragonballs flew off into the distance, everyone waited.

"Aren't the wishes usually...instant?" Trunks asked.

"Yeah," Gohan said. "Usually."

* * * * *

Pan was almost asleep when Vegeta's gloved hand squeezed her shoulder. She looked up, and saw the bright green portal in front of them. "What is it?"

"The most welcome thing I've seen in the last hour," Vegeta replied. "Let's get out of here."

Pan stood up, and then noticed Vegeta hadn't moved. "Your legs, too?"

"Again, only one."

Pan helped him up, carrying most of his weight, which wasn't too much. "We have no idea where that thing goes. It could be dangerous."

"What's your point?"

"Just that we should be prepared."

Vegeta frowned. "Half my limbs are useless. YOU be prepared."

Pan smiled. "Yes, Sensei." Her flames extended outward a bit, and she tensed her legs. "Ready?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

Pan tightened her grip on him, and they entered the portal.

* * * * *

"It's been ten minutes," Trunks muttered, starting to get irritated.

"Well, we don't know what happened in the vortex," Eighteen said. "They might be hurt or-"

Bulma and Videl shot her evil looks.

"Or perfectly fine..."

"LOOK OUT!" Krillin shouted.

Everyone turned in time to see the huge shape in the sky. It was a huge bird, made entirely out of flames.

Trunks blinked, and then...he just knew. "It's them! They're back!"

The bird slowly died down to a large fireball, which landed in front of them. Then the flames died away, and Pan and Vegeta emerged. They'd obviously been through a fight. Though neither of them had a scratch on them, Vegeta's arm hung at an odd angle, and one of his legs seemed to drag. Pan looked completely exhausted, but somehow managed to smile. "Hey, guys! Miss us?"

Everyone looked at each other, and then swarmed the pair.

"Where were you?!"

"What happened?!"

"What was that bird thing?!"

"Where you on fire?!"

"SHUT UP!" Vegeta roared.

Everyone got quiet.

Vegeta looked at Krillin. "Get me a Senzu bean."

Krillin ran off.

Vegeta looked at Bulma. "Get me some food, woman."

Bulma glared at him, though underneath it, she was glad to have her husband back. She headed for the kitchen.

Vegeta looked at Trunks. "Help me back to my room. Pan, get some rest. We're training tomorrow."

Pan ran off to her room, and Trunks took her place at his father's side.

Vegeta looked at Eighteen, Gohan, Videl, and Goten. "And the rest of you..."

"What?" Goten asked.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Everyone got out of the way as Trunks and Vegeta flew towards the house.

* * * * *

Bardock wasn't sure where he was at first. But after all, he was dead...again. There were only a few places he could be, and he would know if it was Hell...again. It wasn't. So that meant...

"Bardock! There you are!"

He looked up to see Turles flying over to him. "Turles? What are you doing here?"

"We got pardoned, I think," the younger Saiyan replied. "Anyway, you'll never guess who I ran into!"

Bardock frowned. He'd never seen Turles excited about anything except battle. And here the warrior stood before him, acting like a child that had just been told he won a lifetime supply of ice cream. "Who?"

"I said you'd never believe it! Come on, you have to see it for yourself!"

As they walked through the mysterious garden, Bardock heard some familiar voices.

"Wow! It's really him!"

"I never thought I'd see the day!"

"Whoa! Look at it!"

"Do it again! Do it again!"

Bardock emerged from the garden...and froze.

In front of him were his old teammates: Fasha, Tora, Shugesh, and Borgos. But that wasn't what shocked him.

Near them was his oldest son, Radditz. But that wasn't what made his jaw drop, either.

Standing in the middle of the group, framed in a golden glow, was Goku.

"My son," Bardock whispered, blinking. "The Super Saiyan."

As if on cue, Goku turned around. "Hello, Father. It's good to finally meet you."

Bardock blinked again. "You're not...angry?"

Goku gave him a lopsided grin. "How could I be angry? Thanks to you, Pan and Vegeta are still alive. I'm just glad you agreed to help. I didn't think you would, at first. Vegeta gave me the impression that Saiyan soldiers weren't too big on family."

"Well, they aren't," Bardock admitted, "and I was no exception. But if I'd only had the vision earlier...maybe I could've stopped you before they sent you to Earth."

Goku looked thoughtful. "What would you have done then?"

"I don't really know. It just seems wrong to me now."

"It's not wrong. If I hadn't come to Earth, I never would've become a Super Saiyan, and I probably wouldn't have a family at all. Well, except for you and Radditz. I didn't expect him to help, either."

"There's not a Saiyan alive that wouldn't take a shot at Frieza," Radditz pointed out. "Besides, it can't be too smart to get on a Super Saiyan's bad side."

Goku turned back to Bardock. "I can't thank you enough for rescuing Pan. I always regretted not training her, but I guess Vegeta's done well enough."

"Don't thank me," Bardock said. "I just wanted to meet my great-granddaughter. I wanted to see if she was anything like you."

"And?" Goku asked.

"I think it's safe to say you could both destroy me in a fight."

Bardock's team members all stared at him in shock. Even Radditz stiffened noticeably. Bardock wasn't known for admitting when someone else was better.

"You don't have to worry about that," Goku chuckled. "But you might have to watch out for her hugs. They're addictive."

"Hugs?" Bardock asked. "But she can't-"

Goku grinned mysteriously. "I'll explain on the way. Follow me."

* * * * *

Vegeta was in the middle of a training session when there was a loud knock on the door. With an angry growl, he threw open the door, only to find Trunks standing there. "What?!"

Trunks was used to his "Can't-you-see-I'm-training?!" voice, and it didn't startle him anymore. "Father, you should be resting. Just because we pumped that medicine out of your system doesn't mean your heart isn't in danger."

"Go away." Vegeta turned away from him.

"No, Father. Either you're coming out or I'm coming in."

He stopped and turned around. "WHAT?"

"Well, someone's got to make sure you don't blast yourself into the next century. It might as well be me."

He stared at his son for a long moment. "Fine. Just stay out of my way."

Trunks nodded and stepped to the side.

Vegeta started to reset the gravity setting, then smiled. "On second thought, why don't you join me? I could use a sparring partner."

Trunks could sense the true message behind his father's words: "Let's see if you can beat your father, boy. Only then will you be a true Saiyan warrior."

"Well? Are you afraid?"

Trunks narrowed his eyes. "No." He fell into a crouch. "Let's go."

Vegeta smiled evilly. When he was angry, Trunks looked more and more like himself around that age. Not that he'd ever actually say that, but it was a comforting thought. "No holding back."

Now it was Trunks who smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * * * *

Pan was staring at a family photo when a hand touched her shoulder. She gasped and spun around.

"Hey, it's just me!" Bulma cried, backing up.

"Oh." Pan looked sheepish. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little jumpy."

"I shouldn't have snuck up on you. I just wanted to see if I could be as quiet as Trunks is."

Pan nodded in agreement. Trunks had spent many days sneaking up on her, and he'd laughed his head off each time she spun around and screamed. Of course, that was when they'd been kids. Mostly.

"So...what happened in that vortex?" Bulma asked.

"Long story. You'd better sit down."

Bulma sat down on Pan's bed. "Now, how did you two get sucked in there?"

"Well...I don't know how Vegeta-sama got in there," Pan admitted. "But when I went to check on him, I found the vortex, and I knew it was evil. So I touched it and got sucked in."

"THAT was smart," Bulma muttered.

Pan ignored the comment. "When I got there, I found Cell, Frieza, Dr. Gero, and Dr. Willow. They were...torturing him."

The color drained from Bulma's face.

"I tried to help, but Cell captured me. Then they made me watch."

"Oh, Pan..." Bulma stood up and wrapped her arms around the teen. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

Pan blinked away tears. "Then Frieza hit him...and I couldn't feel his ki anymore. I thought he was dead. I KNEW he was dead. And...I just snapped."

Bulma looked down at her. "You became a Super Saiyan?"

"Not really. Something close enough, though. I destroyed Willow, then went after Frieza. I couldn't beat him, but I caught him off guard. Then he hit me, and I thought he would kill me."

"Then what?" Bulma asked, gently stroking her hair.

"Vegeta-sama...I don't know how, but...he woke up and saved me."

Bulma smirked, but didn't say anything.

"Cell attacked, and Vegeta-sama wanted me to leave. But I couldn't just abandon him. He knew Cell would kill him. He had to know that."

Bulma listened in silence as Pan told her of Bardock, the other Saiyans, and her unusual transformation. All she could think to say afterwards was, "Wow."

"Yeah. That's what I said."

Bulma smiled and brushed the hair from her face. "Your grandfather's very proud of you, Pan. You know that, don't you?"

Pan sighed. "Yes. But sometimes, I just wish he was here to tell me..."

* * * * *

Trunks was fairly certain that his crotch was the only area that didn't ache. That was probably because Vegeta secretly wanted grandchildren. Or maybe he was just being somewhat merciful. Or maybe he just happened to miss it this time, and was planning to focus on it next time.

There would be a next time, of course. Trunks won, and Vegeta would never let him boast about that for too long. But knowing he'd been more skilled than his father for one day was an incredible feeling. Of course, Vegeta had been beaten within an inch of his life shortly before, and wasn't 100%, but he'd wanted to spar. There was no real excuse for losing.

He was just passing Pan's room when he spotted something...interesting. Pan was standing in front of her mirror, performing a kata she'd most likely learned from Vegeta. He watched as she moved gracefully but powerfully, punching and kicking the air. It was easy to imagine bodies flying left and right, especially when he caught how high her power level was.

Trunks slowly walked into the room and closed the door, wanting to wait until she was done. But she went on for nearly twenty minutes, and he finally cleared his throat. That was his first mistake.

Pan's foot suddenly whipped out.

Trunks saw it coming, and assumed he could block it. That was his second mistake.

The foot suddenly changed its path and hit him in the midsection, instead of his face.

Trunks' eyes bulged, and he crumpled to his knees, gasping for air.

Pan turned around and gasped. "Trunks!" She ran to him and helped him up. "I'm sorry! I thought you were Vegeta-sama!"

Trunks gave her a curious look. "What? Why?"

"Well, that's how he tests me sometimes. He'll suppress his ki, then attack while I'm doing a kata. It teaches me to focus and be ready for anything."

Trunks rubbed his ribs. "I know I'm not 100%, but when did you get so strong?"

Pan smiled playfully. "My little secret."

"Were you really that firebird I saw?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. It's part of my new powers. Cool, huh?"

Trunks tried to find the right word. "It was definitely...hot."

"That was a bad one, Trunks. A really, really bad one. It was a FIREBIRD!"

Trunks looked her in the eye. "I wasn't talking about the bird."

Pan felt herself blushing and quickly looked at the floor.

Trunks lifted her head up. "I'm glad you're okay, Pan. I was really worried about losing you."

As his hands gently cupped her face, Pan thought she might melt into a puddle. Then she made the mistake of looking into his blue eyes.

Trunks gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "If you weren't my father's student, I probably would've asked you this sooner. But now I'm just afraid you might blast me through the wall."

"W-What?" Pan stammered, feeling weaker by the second.

He stepped closer to her, staring directly into her eyes. "Do you love me?"

"Yes," Pan whispered, not even having to think about it.

"Good. I love you, too." Trunks smiled. "Can I kiss you now?"

Pan's eyes darkened. "If you want to live, you'd better."

"Guess that's a yes." He wrapped his arms around her waist and lowered his head.

Pan closed her eyes as their lips met. She felt warm and safe in his arms...so very warm...

Trunks suddenly broke the kiss. "Um...does that mean I'm doing it right?"

Pan looked down to see that she was in flames again. "Um...maybe?"

He smiled. "Should I go Super Saiyan just in case?"

"No, Vegeta-sama will know and think we're fighting. We have to be...quiet."

His smile grew even wider. "And what is it that we'll be doing that might make so much noise?"

Pan blushed again. "You KNOW that's not what I meant!"

"Then what DID you mean?" he asked, grinning.

"I was hoping...you could stay here for the night...and just hold me?"

Trunks looked thoughtful. "I guess I could. As long as you don't try to 'startle' me again."

"Oooh! You...you...!"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Baka," she muttered.

Trunks laughed. "You really ARE spending too much time with my father."

Continued in Chapter 7: One Too Many Sons