Chapter 32: The F-Word

Hi guys. This is not a new chapter- you may have read it in the Facebook group. Or this may be your first time reading it.
I didn't even realize it wasn't posted up here.
The next one, Chapter 33 has been kicking my ass for a few years now. I have it half completed, and no one has seen it yet. But I was just feeling so down today, and I thought to myself... what if something happens to me and no one ever gets to read that chapter? Why am I waiting forever to try to make it perfect, when I know that's not possible? All these chapters are so long- two or three of them basically make a full novel. Maybe I can just post the half-written chapter and you guys can forgive me. It's better than being stuck like this, and never moving forward.

Trust me, I've tried to complete it. I've tried so hard. Many times. I keep getting stuck.

I'm so spent. For the past few years, I've been writing under the pen name Loretta Lost. I have finally been able to earn a living from my writing. But Thirty Minutes has never left my heart, I just haven't had any energy at all. After writing all day, every day, to the point you need a chiropractor, you try finding it in you to write a little more. And life just gets me down so much sometimes.

If you enjoy this story, whether you're a silent lurker or we've spoken a million times, please, please take a few seconds to leave a kind review for me. I really need the pick-me-up right now. I miss you guys. I miss you so much, and every single one of your reviews made me into the writer I am. And the person I am.

Meanwhile, at Bra's house…

"Please tell me some good news," Bulma begged her daughter.

Bra drew her eyebrows together in concentration. The men had flown away a few minutes ago, and she was holding her breath as she scanned everyone's thoughts. "That's not possible, Mom. If Pan goes with him… it's bad news. If she doesn't… then it's really bad news. Those are our only options."

Videl's chin lowered, and a few locks of dark hair fell into her eyes. "Just fabulous," she muttered.

"Don't worry," Marron told Videl softly. "Your daughter is one of the smartest women I know. The others are all sitting around this table. But none of us have that sort of expertise. This is her field—the battlefield."

"They stopped Pan from leaving," Bra said quietly, closing her eyes. "I don't know whether to be relieved or terrified."

"Why not both?" Bulma asked with a smile. "What else is happening?"

"Now…" Bra exhaled. "Zvarin is beating the crap out of Gohan and my dad."

"I can sense that," Videl said, concentrating. "And I can also sense that Gohan's losing."

"And Vegeta?" Bulma inquired hopefully.

Videl and Bra shook their heads to indicate undesirable information.

Bulma reached for a bottle of scotch. "Well, ladies. I guess it's going to be a long day."

Marron held her baby against her chest, stroking his back in a soothing manner. She looked at Bra sternly. "I'm going to need ears and eyes on this fight," she informed her friend.

"I don't know if I can keep listening," Bra said, squeezing her knees under the table. "He's hurting my daddy."

"It's a tradition, sweetie," Bulma told her. "Chi-Chi and I used to watch the men fight on Baba's crystal ball, back in the day." She paused, biting her lip in grief as she struggled with missing her friend. Her threatening tears soon gave way to a smile. "Why, I do believe that was the first time I saw your father—on that crystal ball. He and Goku were fighting to the death, and we were all close to soiling our pants in fear." Bulma laughed softly. "It doesn't matter what you tell us about this fight, Bra. We've all seen the worst possible things happen to our men. I've seen Vegeta wounded beyond belief—I've seen him die. It's just another day."

"It's better to know," Marron said softly, urging Bra with her eyes. "Tell us, please."

"Okay, but it isn't going to be pretty," Bra warned. Her eyes narrowed. "My dad's already been knocked out. And Gohan… ow!" The blue-haired woman visibly winced. "This isn't good."

"Give me some of that scotch," Videl demanded of Bulma.

"Help yourself, dear," Bulma said, handing over the bottle.

Just then, Krillen returned to the table. "I left the girls inside watching cartoons," he told his daughter. Then, upon noticing Videl's heavy drinking, his eyes widened. "Whoa! You ladies broke out the hard liquor."

"We're going to need it," Bulma said, pouring a glass of whiskey for Krillen. "Here, join us."

"I'd better not," Krillen said, waving it off. He blushed as he gave his reason. "I figure they might need me in the fight if things go really badly. So, I shouldn't drink. It throws my reflexes off."

"Oh, Dad," Marron said softly. She knew that her elderly father was in no condition to fight.

Bulma, however, giggled. "Krillen, they're more likely to need me than you. I do have some new prototypes of advanced blutz waves amplifiers which I could try to use to help increase the power of the saiyans," she mused. "It could definitely restore Vegeta's strength…"

"But Pan has her tail," Bra reminded her mother. "If she gets hit with too many rays, won't she transform?"

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Bulma said with a smile. "A well-timed transformation has often been instrumental in a fight."

"Bra," Videl said, choking on her liquor. "Is Gohan alive? I can't sense him. And Vegeta…?"

"I…" Bra blinked. Surely nothing could have happened that quickly? She tried to listen for Gohan and her father's thoughts, but she was greeted with only silence. She didn't know whether to be confused or afraid. She heard the thoughts of the others on the battlefield, and everyone was panicking over what had happened. Her mind instantly went to Goten:

Not my brother. Please. Not Gohan. I can't bear to lose anyone else. Mom and Dad are gone… not Gohan too! Goten was so afraid that he could not move. If Gohan was defeated so easily, what can I do? I know I can go Super Saiyan 3 now, but he's so much more experienced than me. What should I do? I'm useless. Gohan, please. I'm not ready to be the head of this family…

Bra's eyes darted to Videl nervously. She scanned for Gohan's thoughts, and felt rather like she was turning the dial on an old car radio in an abandoned wasteland. There was only static coming over the airwaves. Then, a blip. She held her breath. She could just barely hear Gohan's mind registering the pain of his wounds. She could also hear Pan's relief as she held her father.

"Gohan's alive," Bra croaked. But she still had not heard anything from her own father. She listened to Trunks' thoughts, and she heard her brother freaking out in a similar way to Goten. She closed her eyes and could see Trunks shaking her father's lifeless body. Trunks' mind was in such turmoil that she could not make out a coherent thought.

No. Not so soon. I have so much to learn from you, Father. Medea did say that you were going to die in the coming battle. Race in too soon. Get yourself killed. Team player. You're not—you need to be… a team player. I can't… DAMMIT, FATHER! Don't leave us. How will mom go on without you? She'll die, like Chi-Chi did. I can't… Please, Father. I CAN'T DO THIS! How many times am I going to watch you die?

"No," Bra gasped, clutching her chest. She felt for her father's energy, but there was only a cold chill of nothingness. Panny! she screamed telepathically. Is my dad alive? I can't feel him… I can't feel him!

Silence. The delay before the response felt like hours, but it couldn't have been more than a moment. Finally, the comforting sound of her friend's telepathic voice:

Yes, Bra. Our dads are badly beaten—and it happened in seconds. But they're alive.

Bra took several calming breaths before responding. Kami, Pan. She looked around at the women who were eagerly awaiting her news. She felt a gentle tug of obligation, like an itch at the center of her back she couldn't quite reach. She knew that she was the only saiyan who wasn't on the battlefield, and she felt guilty for this. Do you need me there? she asked hesitantly. She hoped that Pan would not agree. She was asking to be nice, but in truth, she was far too terrified to go near that place. Should I come? Do we need… to fuse?

This time, the response came sooner: No. Don't say the f-word. We can't use Para. We're addicted to her. Besides, I need to keep you out of danger and away from the battlefield. Let me try one last thing.

What are you going to do, Pan?

I'm going to beg.

Bra wrinkled her nose in bewilderment. Her proud friend, Pan Son, was going to beg? Now, she had surely seen it all. Such a thing did not seem possible.

"What's happening, sweetie?" Bulma asked softly.

"Dad's okay," Bra said quietly. "He's beat up—unconscious—but he's okay."

"Thank Dende," Bulma said.

"God, I can't take it," Videl said, hugging her middle. "I'm getting too old for this. It's easier for them, being out there, and fighting the good fight. It's the waiting that sucks ass."

"Hear hear," Krillen agreed emphatically.

"What's going on now, Bra?" Marron demanded.

"Pan is…" Bra could not tell the others that her friend was begging. Videl would surely think the world was coming to an end. And after all, maybe it was. "She has a plan. She's… trying something new. It should be fine."

"Uh huh," Marron said skeptically, squinting as she recognized her friend's lying-voice. "What's happening now? Stop making me ask. I need minute-by-minute updates."

Bra nodded. She tried to focus on what was happening in the distance.

"They're fools," Pan said, lifting Gohan's body from her lap and placing it on the ground. She rose to her feet, and walked around him to stand before Zvarin. She craned her neck upward to gaze into his face, overwhelmed by the man's great height. "They have no idea who you are. They're complete and utter fools. But they are important to me. They raised me and took care of me. I beg you to take pity on me by sparing them." As she said this, she reached out to take his hand. She allowed the tears that were forming in her eyes to brim over naturally, as she exploited the feminine wiles she never knew she had.

"I… I don't know," Zvarin said, hesitating. "I did not build an empire as vast as mine by allowing insubordination."

"Oh my god," Bra said with a little laugh. "She's seducing him."

"Seducing him?" Videl asked with a perplexed expression. "My daughter?"

"Yes. And she's doing a great job," Bra added, impressed. Then she realized that Pan was not acting like herself. She was acting like Bra. It must have been some of Bra's psyche that had worn off on Pan from their time as Para. Bra swallowed. Whatever happened next… it was her fault. It was her influence. It was her responsibility.

"Let's just go home," Pan pleaded with the monster. "I have a technique—you've seen me use it. I can take your entire ship and all your men back to Metamora in an instant. It will save you years of traveling. Wouldn't that be convenient? Then we can get married. We could be together as soon as possible."

"That does sound pleasant," Zvarin agreed, glancing at his ship. "Maybe that would be the best course of action."

Bra stared down at one spot on the table. "She's convinced him… to go away. To go away with her, and get married. So he won't kill Dad and Gohan, and the others."

"Back to her initial plan?" Marron asked softly.

Bra nodded. But it's not right. I should be helping. I'm responsible. I'm responsible.

"You know, I always dreamed of being at my little girl's wedding," Videl told them all softly. "I imagined her happy. She was such a happy child; do you all remember?" There were nods all around, especially from Krillen and Bulma, as Videl kept speaking. "She was so strong and sharp. I can still see her big, bright smile and those shining brown eyes. She was an energetic little ball of sunshine. And… heaven help me, for saying this, but I always imagined it would be Trunks. Even when they had their problems. Even when he was dating that Medea girl. Even when Panny disappeared for the last few years. I just always pictured it being alright in the end."

"I did too, darling," Bulma said, reaching out to take Videl's hand. "They're just meant to be together, aren't they? Our poor, foolish kids."

Videl shook her head in frustration. "Gohan and I knew from the moment we met. We got married right after college. Pan and Trunks have known even longer than that. It was awkward because of their age, but we could all see it, couldn't we? They were never apart. They shared those long, lingering looks. She blushed around him a little too much." Videl looked at Bulma sadly. "Did you see it too?"

"Of course, dear. Since the Grand Tour, I think." Bulma sighed, moving over to sit beside Videl, and putting an arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "I've always hoped they would end up together, but imagine my surprise when we learned that they'd been together all along, keeping it a secret right under our noses! They didn't need to, but I bet it made things more exciting for them. Trunks and Pan. It just makes sense. They're more complete when they're together. More alive."

"But they're different than us," Marron added, trying to reassure both of the older women. "They're saiyans, and they have a lot more time to goof around and throw sticks and stones at each other. What do we really know about saiyan courtship, anyway?"

"She has a point," Krillen agreed. "Everything happens at the right time. Who knows when it will be their time? But I have a feeling they will have a time…"

"No. Pan's going away," Bra said, testing the way the words sounded as they left her mouth. She felt tears prick the back of her eyes, as the loneliness began to set in prematurely. "Pan's going away."

"No, she's not," Bulma told her daughter with a gentle smile. "Don't have any fear, love. You won't lose your friend. Trunks wouldn't let that happen."

Bra stared at her mother nervously. "He has no choice. Dad's an inch from death. Trunks wouldn't…"

I hope that my erection isn't visible through my armor, Zvarin thought to himself. The way she touched me like that, in front of all her friends and family! My blood is racing. Ye gods, I want her. I want her now. Yes, let's get the hell away from this planet so I can bend her over my treasure armoire, and shove my manhood inside her warm flesh. I'll pound her raw. I'll fuck her so hard that my riches and jewels will clang together musically, mixing with the sound of her screams. Ah, yes. That sounds divine. I can imagine her screams already. I will put my hand over her mouth, and catch them in the palm of my hand. The screams of a powerful woman are worth more than any treasure I could ever own.

Bra's face became very pale as her telepathy intercepted Zvarin's thoughts. "Oh, Kami," she whispered. "We can't let Pan do this. He's going to hurt her. Someone needs to do something! How can we let her? Isn't there any way? You have to do something, Mom. Maybe the super high-powered blutz waves…"

"I… I have to get the lab technicians to set up the machine for optimal distribution," Bulma said, pulling out her phone. "It will take about thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes!" Bra said, half-laughing hysterically, half screaming. "We don't have thirty minutes!"

"It's not like I had much warning," Bulma mumbled as she furiously typed a text message to her lab coordinator.

"She's leaving now," Bra said, gripping the edge of the table. "Mom! Pan's walking onto the ship. No one's stopping her. They're just letting her go. Isn't there anything anyone can do?"

"You tell me," Videl said, glaring at Bra. "Is there?"

Bra lowered her eyes. She knew that she was the strongest person sitting at the table. But why did she feel so powerless? She could see pictures dancing in her mind of what Zvarin intended to do to Pan. It made her feel sick to her stomach.

I did it, Bra, Pan said from across the distance. I saved our dads. I pleaded with Zvarin, and he took pity. There's not a scratch on Trunks, Goten, Uub, or Eighteen. We got off scot-free.

Are you insane, Pan? she asked angrily. This is what you consider a victory?

Yes.

Bra did not know how to respond to her friend's declaration of triumph. Everything about it felt wrong. She looked down at the new watch that her parents had given her for her birthday. She suddenly became aware of the fact that she was, without a doubt, an extremely spoiled brat. She might be the most spoiled brat who had ever lived.

Please say something, Bra. Say you hate me, or say goodbye. I just need to hear your voice in my head right now. I'm freaking out.

I just feel awful, Panny. This isn't just your mess to clean up. I heard you thinking earlier how you put everyone in danger by drawing Zvarin's attention to us—but it wasn't just you. It was us. Why should I get to live happily-ever-after when you have to go to freaking the other side of the universe and let a gross alien bang you every night?

Pan's mental voice hesitated. It's not so bad. I think he needs someone. I think—he's lonely.

Great Kami, do you hear yourself? Bra knew that Pan could not hear Zvarin's thoughts, like she could. She did not know what was in store for her—probably within minutes. Bra shivered. Pan! You're in love with my brother! You always have been! What about Trunks?

Don't say his name, Bra. I can feel him looking at me. I need to keep it together for just a minute longer. I can't look back.

It's Trunks, Panny! Isn't he worth fighting for? Isn't he worth dying for?

I'm not going to cause unnecessary risk to EVERYONE just so I can be with the man I prefer. A man who took me for granted when he had me. So, no. No. I'm going with Zvarin.

Panny, please. Don't say that. What about me? I'll miss you so much. Let's try to find another way. Bra was still afraid, but she knew that she had to offer her help. She also knew that Pan would refuse. Para has so many cool tricks… if only you'll let me come there and fuse with you, maybe we'd stand a chance.

I'd rather go with Zvarin than suffer the embarrassment of everyone knowing Para is us. Goodbye, Bra. With that, Pan shut off the mental channel in her brain.

Bra could no longer access her friend, and she felt empty. Pan! she called out, trying to break through the mental barrier. Her mind was filled with the mental image of a brick wall. Pan, please! It was hopeless. In a few seconds, Pan would touch her forehead, and then all was lost. Bra turned to the weakest link on the battlefield. The one person she knew she could goad into acting for her. Her brother.

Trunks, Bra told him telepathically. Please don't let her go.

I can't do anything, little sis. This guy… I've never seen anyone so strong. Father's hurt really badly. I have to be careful. We're all walking on eggshells here.

She's my best friend, Bra told him desperately. She paused and bit her lip. She's my only friend. She's… she's part of me. I can't lose her! Please do something, Trunks.

I know how you feel, Bra. Trust me. If anyone knows how you feel, I do. She's the love of my life. But this is a lose-lose situation. I used to be a CEO of a multinational corporation, remember? This is about risk management. Either I accept the loss of Pan… or risk losing a whole lot more.

Bra clenched her fists, and felt an aura of warmth and electricity crackling around her skin. How can you say that? How could we possibly lose anything worth more than Pan? I hate this! I hate the way you two are! You act like such fucking children! How can she walk away from you? How can you just watch her walk away?

Shut the hell up, now, Bra. His mental voice was fierce. I'm your brother, and I'm older than you, so listen to me for once. This is what needs to be done.

No! Trunks, you can't…

I said SHUT UP! If you think this is easy, you don't know me at all. It's taking every ounce of willpower I have to watch her walk away and not call out her name. Stop fucking making this harder on me. Sometimes the wisest thing to do is not the easiest. Sometimes doing the right thing goes against everything you believe in.

This isn't the right thing, Bra told him.

"Are you okay, Bra?" Marron asked her friend gently. She turned to glance at her father with worry, and held her sleeping baby closer against her chest.

"Maybe you should calm down there, kiddo," Krillen said lightly. "Tell us what's happening."

Bra did not realize that she was gripping the table so hard that it was splintering under her fingers. Her anger caused her eyes to flash from blue to teal, briefly. He's going to hurt her, Trunks. I can hear his thoughts. He's thinking about how badly he wants to fuck her until she screams. He's getting off on the idea of dominating her. If you let her go… this will happen within minutes. You have to protect her. Please, protect her. Not from Zvarin… but from herself.

There was no response. Bra put her head into her hands. She could not speak. She could only hold her breath and hope that someone did something. Surely Trunks could not let those things happen to Pan? He wouldn't. He was her big brother after all. And for all his immature ways, and silly screw-ups, he was still one of her favorite people in the world. She still trusted him with her life. She knew that he would listen to his heart. She waited. She waited, hoping for a miracle.

"Panny!" Trunks finally yelled. "Panny, stop! I won't let you!"

She released the breath that she was holding. She lifted her head and smiled at those around the table. "He did it. He's stopping her from leaving. He saved Pan."

"Who did?" Videl asked.

"Trunks," Bra said happily. "Just like Mom said."

"I can't believe you ever doubted me," Bulma said as her fingers flew over her phone. "I think I know my own son!"

"Are we sure this is a good thing?" Marron asked.

"Oh, boy. I can feel his energy surging," Krillen said, wincing. "How can this guy raise his power level? It's already so intense. I think Trunks made him mad."

Bra returned her focus to the battlefield, listening for Zvarin's thoughts. She could feel and hear his fury and sexual jealousy at Trunks' interference. One hundred young, testosterone-filled males were enraged and planning their next course of action. They were all gunning for her brother. Bra saw various visuals in Zvarin's mind of what he intended to do to Trunks—and to all the other Z-fighters. She gasped. "He wouldn't…" she whispered.

"Do you know that I could kill all of them by snapping my fingers?" Zvarin was asking Pan. "Do you know that?"

Pan shuddered.

"Do you?" he asked her again. "Answer the question."

"Yes, Lord Zvarin," Pan muttered.

"Good girl," he said smugly. "I could kill them, but I won't. Because I'm nice. What kind of a husband would I be if I went around murdering everyone you loved? However, there is that adorable little concept you mentioned—hurting someone worse than death? I'm very fond of the tradition, myself."

Bra could not even bear to look at the images in Zvarin's mind. She swallowed down a lump of saliva. The alien was trying to convince Pan to kill Trunks. Oh, Dende. What have I done? Did I put my brother in harm's way by convincing him to save Pan? Did I make a mistake? She could see Zvarin imagining Trunks' dismembered body, and taking pleasure in the sight of his corpse. She knew that not only could the monster easily make all those thoughts reality; but that he was about to do so. Unless she did something. Could she do something? She took a deep breath.

This guy is creeping me out, Panny, Bra told her friend from across the distance. I can't let you be alone in this. It's driving me crazy not being able to help. Do you want to do… the f-word?

Pan took a moment to respond as she assessed the situation. I don't want to, but we might have to. We're running out of options.

Say the word and I'm there, Bra vowed.

The F-word? It's a last resort, Bra. It probably wouldn't make a huge difference anyway. What can Para do that Vegeta can't? That my dad, or Trunks and Goten can't?

You know that she has firsthand experience with Zvarin. She spent almost an entire year meditating to create special defenses and offenses against him. You can't use most of those techniques on your own.

Bra. I can't put you in the line of fire. You could die.

I'm willing to risk it, Pan. Isn't everyone else risking it?

Everyone else is a fighter by trade; they've dedicated their entire lives to martial arts. You're not ready for this kind of thing.

Okay, so maybe I'm not. On my own, I don't stand a chance. But I won't be on my own. I'll only be there to back you up—to help you be stronger, as Para.

Bra, think of the repercussions. If Goten finds out that we're Medea—what if he gets angry and decides not to marry you after all? This can ruin your life in more ways than death.

I don't care. I just want there to be a Goten to marry. Like, at all.

I understa—

Pan was cut off by being slapped across the face. Bra gasped as though she, herself had been slapped. She lifted a hand to her cheek, feeling Pan's pain through their mental connection. She felt her face stinging, and looked down at her hand in surprise, almost expecting to see blood. She suddenly realized that her friend's fate—and her very biology—was too deeply interwoven with hers to not be a part of this fight. If only in spirit, Bra was already out there on the battlefield with Pan. And even that much exposure was an excruciating burden, the like of which she had never felt before. Hearing the thoughts and feelings of all her loved ones in pain and fear… it was unbearable.

"I should be there," she said out loud, looking around the table. "I should be helping."

"Heavens, no," Bulma responded, her face horrified at this suggestion. "Since when does my little girl fight? That's never been you, Bra."

"Well, maybe who I am should change," Bra said quietly. "Maybe who I am isn't good enough, and I need to be someone better." She grasped a handful of her hair and pulled her fingers through it, closing her eyes in distress. She remembered Para's dark indigo locks, which extended down to her knees. She remembered the comfortable weight of that hair, each strand infused with her incredible energy. "I need to be better… stronger…"

"Bra," Marron said sharply, with a keen warning in her voice. The blonde woman sent her friend a harsh, knowing glare. "You can't go out there. And don't even think of… taking those performance-enhancing drugs. They won't make a difference to this fight, and you know it. You just got over your addiction, and you can't backslide now."

"But Marron," Bra whispered. "What if I could do something?"

Marron shook her head. "I won't let you hurt yourself like that. You only just got better."

Krillen nodded nervously. "I hate to say it, Bra, but you're not a fighter. It's not something you can do willy-nilly. Training needs to be your life, if you're going to enter a fight like this. Excuse my language, but you can't half-ass this—you need to be fully committed, or you'll die."

"Maybe you're right," Bra said in disappointment. And then she froze. "Oh my god. Oh, Dende, no."

"What's wrong?" Videl asked.

"It's… it's my brother…" Bra stared forward in horror, unable to see anything but the grotesque visual in her mind. "Zvarin's burning him alive."

"No!" Bulma cried out in shock, dropping her phone. "My baby! My little boy!"

Bra closed her eyes. She shut them tightly, but she could still see.

"Dende," Marron whispered, pressing her face against her son's tiny head. "Oh, Dende."

Videl shook her head in horror. "Trunks…"

Bra watched her brother's skin bubble and steam in her mind. She watched the fire consume his body. She knew she was witnessing Pan's thoughts, and feeling Pan's heartache, even across the miles. They might as well have been fused, for she could not breathe. Trunks. She felt like her chest was going to explode. Tears filled her eyes, and she felt dizzy with anguish. She did not know how Pan remained standing and strong with all that emotion bottled up inside of her. Bra's shoulders began to shake. She felt like she might vomit.

"What's happening?" Bulma asked, moving over to stand over her daughter. She grabbed Bra's arms and looked into the young girl's eyes. "Tell me what's happening."

Bra began to cry, falling forward until her head rested against her mother's stomach. "Mom!" she sobbed. "Don't make me watch this."

"I need to know," Bulma urged, placing a hand on her daughter's hair. "Please."

"No!" Bra sobbed, hugging her mother's waist. She buried her face in Bulma's shirt, feeling like she was five years old again. "I can't!"

"He's still alive," Videl informed the worried mother. "I can feel his energy. It's fading fast, but… it's still there. Bra, please tell us any details you know. We can't read minds. We can't teleport over there, or we would. That's our children dying out there. Please."

"N-no," Bra said, through her tears. "Stop asking me to broadcast the battle. This isn't a sports event. It's a massacre. I can't do this."

"Tell us!" Bulma screamed, shaking her daughter. "Tell me now, or I'm un-capsulating a plane and flying over there."

Bra nodded. "He's… he's not dead. Pan just managed to put out the fire…"

"Thank Dende," Bulma breathed.

"But…" Bra whispered. "But…"

Pan tried to ignore the sickening stench of burned muscle as she reached out to gingerly touch his arms. "Trunks," she whispered, fighting back nausea and tears. "These are fourth degree burns. Your legs are charred—they need to be amputated. You need medical attention…"

"Can you please stop being a doctor for five seconds and hold me?" he croaked.

She nodded and levitated up to gently circle her arms around his neck. She wondered to herself if this would be the last time she got to embrace him.

Bra shook her head, wishing that she had never woken up this morning. And her day had started so well. Her birthday. She did not want to believe that this was happening. It had been a long time since she had felt such pain in her soul that she could not stand to be herself. She felt lightheaded and weak. She needed her friend. She needed her friend's strength to save her from the shameful futility of her own being. I can't… I can't watch this, Panny. That monster… why did he hurt my brother like that? I can't…

Then don't! Pan snapped. Stop reading my mind. This isn't a place for useless women! This is the battlefield. If it's too painful to watch, change the fucking channel and find something with more fashion and gossip.

Pan's words were worse than a punch to the gut.

"What's going on?" Bulma demanded.

"Trunks's legs… were burned off. They're charred and blackened. He's… he…." Bra's head felt suddenly very heavy. The effort of staying awake was too great, for far too little reward. She felt her eyes roll back in her head, as her body slumped the ground. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the windswept remnants of smoky letters in the sky, spelling her name.

"I can't believe Grandpa expects us to watch cartoons while there's a big fight going on!" Olive said with a pout.

"Yeah. We're not children!" Nyssa shouted, crossing her arms. "Besides, I've seen this episode before."

"Me too," Olive said grumpily. "It's not fair. They think we're too weak to fight the big monster."

Nyssa grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. She looked at her big sister with sparkling eyes. "Do you wanna go there and help? Help Grandma and Daddy and Auntie Panny fight the big monster?"

"Yeah!" Olive shouted in excitement. Then she frowned. "But how are we gonna sneak away? Won't they sense our energy leaving?"

"Maybe they're too focused on the fight," Nyssa said thoughtfully. "Maybe if we're real careful, and real quiet, we can fly there and nobody will notice!"

"I'm game if you are," Olive said, grinning at her sister.

"Yay!" Nyssa said, jumping three feet into the air. "We're going to fight the big monster! We'll show him how grown up we are!"

"Hey." Videl slapped Bra across the face. Hard. "Wake up." She slapped her again. "This is no time for beauty sleep. We need your help."

"Take it easy on her," Bulma said, frowning. She had retrieved her cell phone and was typing furiously on it. "She's not used to this sort of thing. She's been kind of… sheltered."

"It's true," Marron added. "Even I've seen more real death and suffering than she has."

Krillen nodded in agreement. "I was worried that the fight with Buu would scar Marron for life! She was only three, and she watched pretty much everyone die—and then died herself. But she was a little champ!"

"Don't forget when I saw Super Android 17 kill you, Dad," Marron reminded him, with a grimace. "And I thought Mom was dead too."

"Yeah," Bulma said, as she sent orders to her lab assistants. "Bra has never seen that sort of thing, and if it's up to me—she never will."

"Oh, please," Videl said with a groan. "You all need to stop treating her like fragile glass. In case you haven't noticed, she's a super saiyan. A telepathic super saiyan who can use instant transmission."

"It's not about her physical strength," Bulma explained gently, placing her phone down on the table. "She is delicate on the inside. This type of danger and drama—it takes a serious emotional toll on a person. Vegeta and I have always tried to keep her away from the fighting. During the battle with Omega Shenron, we made Bra stay in a secure bunker that doubled as a spaceship. Even if the planet had been destroyed, along with all of us, my daughter would have been able to live out a full and complete life on a distant planet. And after the fight, we never talked about what happened in the household. She didn't need to know how close her father and brother came to dying—and even me, when that bastard blew up my blutz wave machine. Knowing would have hurt her, and I didn't want to hurt her. This is the type of thing we're supposed do for our children."

"No," Videl said, shaking her head in amazement. "That's not right! How could you not even tell her?"

"That's a bit strange," Marron said thoughtfully. "Uub and I have discussed this too. We always said that if anything happened, it was better for our girls to grow up right in the middle of things. I'm not saying I'm going to send Nyssa and Olive to fight this guy right now, but I'm certainly not going to shelter them from the knowledge of what's going on. The only reason they're inside watching cartoons is so that we can curse freely. Someday, they might need to be the ones out there, defending us. I don't want my girls to be thirty-year-old infants."

"Hey!" Bulma said sharply. "That's not fair. Look, we saw what it did to Trunks—growing up with such a huge burden on his shoulders. The fate of the planet? Why should any young man have to deal with that? We saw how miserable his counterpart from the future was. Simply put; my son is not happy. He has a dark side. It's hard for him to relax, and he gets depressed often. He can't stand to be alone. We didn't want Bra to be the same way. We were just trying to be good parents."

Videl rolled her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, I have a daughter, too. But I raised mine to be a fighter, and she's currently going head to head with our enemy, and trying to save the world... while yours is taking a nap. So, I don't think this is a good time to lecture us on parenting strategies." Videl crouched down to one knee and slapped Bra across the face again, harder than before. "Wake the FUCK up, NOW!"

Bra stirred. "Mmm?" She looked around in confusion and lifted a hand to touch her cheek. "Mom?"

"There's a very important fight going on," Videl said in a deathly quiet whisper. "And you're going to tell us what's happening, so that we can step in and help the men if they need it. You're also going to avoid fainting again, because super saiyans don't faint. You need to stay awake, so that if the shit hits the fan, you can teleport us over there. Do you understand me?"

Bra nodded, suddenly much more afraid of Videl than Zvarin. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good," Videl said softly, standing up and giving Bra a hand to help her to her feet. "Now, please turn your attention back to the battlefield."

Bra nodded again. She squinted in effort, trying to fight her dizziness. She could feel a slight blush in her cheeks from her embarrassment at passing out, but that was not important. "Oh, Kami," she said finally, when she could hone in on Pan's thoughts. "Zvarin is… attacking my dad."

"Vegeta will be fine," Bulma said, reassuring herself more than anyone else. "He's been through worse than this."

"Mom," Bra whispered, turning to stare at Bulma. "Zvarin is… he's ripping out Daddy's tongue."

Bulma's eyes widened slightly. "That's impossible… Vegeta wouldn't just let that happen…"

"He's paralyzed in a force field," Bra said. "Oh, Dende. I don't want to watch this."

"You have to," Videl demanded. "You're the only one who can."

Bra clenched her fists. Pan, please do something. He's hurting my daddy.

I'm trying! Pan snapped. She was stuck in the force field too, and trying to break free.

Concentrating, Bra tried to mentally assist Pan in breaking free from the force field. She knew she was much too far away to make a real difference, but Pan's body still felt like a familiar home. It still felt like it was her own to control and protect. She almost felt like she could play Pan's character from afar like this was a virtual reality game. Which is why she wasn't surprised when Pan broke free. Which is why she also wasn't surprised when Pan launched herself at Zvarin in full-blown attack mode. She's almost Para, Bra told herself, as she focused on Pan's every motion. She tried to channel her own energy into Pan's attacks, but she did not know if any of her actual ki could be there, or only her hopes and wishes.

"Pan freed herself from the force field and she's attacking Zvarin at full power," Bra narrated. She felt a strong urge to help with the attack, but she knew that doing so would also open her up to being injured. That was the part that scared her. She blinked. "Pan's attack didn't make a scratch. And she's already exhausted. Now she's trying to help Uub get free so that he can try."

"I hope he can do something," Marron said quietly, rocking her baby against her chest.

"There!" Zvarin said, holding up the small, bloody triangle of flesh between his thumb and forefinger. "Now we won't have to listen to his nattering anymore." He tossed the tongue to the ground, and it disappeared into the field of poppies.

All of the Z-fighters, frozen in their force fields, stared at Zvarin in astonishment. Many mouths had dropped open, and some faces were screwed up in disgust and outrage.

Trunks, whose head was hanging forward limply as his own injuries caused him unbearable pain, felt tears slide from his eyes. "Father," he whispered.

A furious Vegeta tried to speak, resulting in only muffled and unintelligible sounds. A cascade of blood poured down his chin.

"Ah…" Bra lifted a hand to her mouth to conceal her shocked expression. A little whimper still escaped her lips. "It's too late," she said. "Zvarin ripped out my dad's tongue."

Everyone sitting around the table became quiet for a moment as they processed this information.

"Well," Krillen said. "I'm actually surprised that this is only the first time that's happened. Vegeta does say the darndest things."

"A little injury like that would never slow him down," Bulma told the others defiantly. "If anything, Zvarin just made my husband mad. Now, he better watch himself."

"If Chi-Chi were here, she'd probably make a joke about this," Videl said sadly. "But I can't think of anything appropriate, or perfectly inappropriate."

"I can," Bra said. "Mom will probably like Dad better this way."

Bulma smiled. "Oh, no, honey. I very much loved your father's tongue."

"Eugh!" Bra said, screwing up her face. "Too much information, Mom!"

Marron laughed. "Well. As long as he's alive, there's still hope. We shouldn't let this upset us too much."

"I agree," Krillen said. "It's not serious yet. I'll let you guys know when you can start getting worried."

Meanwhile, Bra listened in on the conversations between the men in the distance:

"We need fusion," Goten said with a frown. "Trunks, are you up for it?"

"That would have been a great idea a few minutes ago, bro…"

"Come on! Gotenks will cream this guy," Goten assured his friend cheerfully.

"Dude, I don't know if you noticed, but my legs are burned to ashes. I can't do the fusion dance, or any other dance, anytime soon."

"Oh." Goten's face fell in disappointment.

Bra frowned. Pan! We'd better not be like them, she warned. We better not wait until it's too late before we bring out the big guns. You might lose a limb too, and then we couldn't fuse!

He won't hurt me on the outside. He wants me. He just wants to torture my insides a little first. This isn't looking good, Bra.

Bra sighed, sitting back down beside her mother. Suddenly, she sat upright. "Uub freed himself!" she said with wonder. "He's trying to turn Zvarin into candy. He's got him on the run!"

"Yes!" Krillen shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "That's my son-in-law! Finally, someone manages to gain some ground here."

Marron smiled kissing her sleeping son's little tuft of hair. "Hear that? Your daddy's a hero," she whispered to her baby proudly.

"Wow," Bra said in admiration. "Uub is doing really great. Everyone is really impressed."

"Of course, he's doing great," Videl said with a grin. "He was Goku's student after all!"

"Thank heavens that things are finally turning around," Bulma said with a nod as she continued texting. "Maybe I won't need the blutz waves machine after all. I hope not. The technicians seem to be having some difficulty setting it up."

"Uub could really win this!" Bra said happily. "All the other fighters are feeling really hopeful and excited about his attacks. Zvarin is fast, but Uub is fast too. Wow, he's just rockin' it!"

"Awesome!" Krillen said, patting his daughter on the back. "You sure know how to pick 'em, kiddo. I always knew that Uub was a keeper."

Marron blushed in embarrassment. "Now I feel guilty for criticizing how much time he spent training…"

"He knows that you love him, and that you were only thinking of the children growing up without their father," Videl assured Marron. "Don't worry."

"Wow!" Bra said with excitement. "This fight is awesome! I wish I was there to watch firsthand—or participate! Kami, that looks like fun!" The saiyan woman stood up and began pacing restlessly. "I don't get it," she said in frustration. "Why does Pan get to be out there, but not me?"

"She's not like us," Marron said.

"Like us?" Bra asked.

"Yeah. Girly girls."

"I beg to differ!" Krillen said.

"I didn't mean you, Dad," Marron said with a smile.

"Me neither," Videl said. "If I thought I could make a difference in this fight, I'd be there. It drives me crazy. Somehow, somewhere along the way, I became a wife and a mother to two people who are far more powerful than I could ever be. I'm just a glorified cheerleader now."

Bra tried to imagine the rest of her life. She imagined being a cheerleader to Goten. A cheerleader to Trunks and Pan, and the kids she would someday have. She knew she could fill that role, because it was the role she had always accepted. But now, somehow, things were different. After being Para—after knowing what it felt like to be the person who deserved to be cheered on—she saw herself differently. She struggled with this dissatisfaction for a moment. "I want to be more than just a cheerleader to Goten," Bra said softly.

"Well! It sounds like someone's getting the itch," Krillen said with a friendly grin. "The itch to fight!"

"A little," Bra admitted.

"Don't be foolish, dear," Bulma said gently to her enthusiastic daughter. "You're getting the same vicarious thrill that someone does from watching a sports game. It's all great fun from this side of the television screen, but you'll be singing a different tune once you're actually out there, getting beaten and injured."

"Maybe I wouldn't, Mom. Maybe… wait. Wait!" Bra said sharply. "Something's wrong…"

"You're a pain in the dick, you know that?" Zvarin hollered as he scowled at Uub. "A fucking pain in the dick. Speaking of which… Didn't I hear that you had children? I guess you won't be needing this, then…"

It happened so fast that no one realized what was occurring until it was over. Zvarin withdrew a knife with a black blade from a sheath at his side, and in another instant, he was holding a bloody bundle in his hand. There was dark skin, pink flesh, and messy gore collected in a clump of teal fabric within Zvarin's palm. When he opened his hand, laughing to himself in delight, he revealed Uub's severed genitalia.

Uub stumbled back and fell, looking down at the spot where his manhood had been. He sat on the ground, his chest heaving with short, quick breaths, as a pool of blood gathered between his legs, soaking his gi. "I… I…" He turned to look at Pan with horror and humiliation on his face. "I'm sorry. I failed."

Pan gawked for a moment, unresponsive and numb. She blinked. "It's okay," she said, once she was able to think again. She moved to Uub's side and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. She could hear her own heart beating in her ears, and taste the bitterness of how much she loathed Zvarin.

The whole battlefield was silent; everyone was unable to speak.

Bra was snapped away from the gruesome reality-show that was playing in her mind by the sound of a baby crying. Little Oren had woken up and was beating his tiny little fists against Marron's collarbone.

Marron was unable to calm the upset child, and after a moment, she looked up at Bra. She had the distinct impression that Oren was responding to something awful happening to his father. Her pale blue eyes were filled with trepidation as she awaited the news.

"Uhhh," Bra said, unsure of how to relate the events that had just transpired.

"Is he okay?" Marron asked softly, reaching out to grab Bra's arm. "Just tell me if he's alive."

Bra nodded slowly. "Uh… he's alive… but he's… wounded…"

"What happened?" Marron demanded. "Please. He's my husband."

Bra shuddered violently. "It seems like… Uub has received some injuries to his… uhh… Zvarin cut off… and destroyed his… man-parts."

"Ouch," Krillen said, cringing and covering his groin in empathy.

Marron raised an eyebrow. "You're… joking right?"

"Thank Dende that Vegeta only lost his tongue!" Bulma said with relief.

"Yeah," Videl said, nodding rapidly. "I'm glad Gohan's still in one piece too."

"There must be a bright side to this. At least I won't have to wear earplugs when I'm visiting my daughter anymore!" Krillen said, trying to force a smile.

"I can't believe…" Marron stared at them all. "My husband got seriously injured, and you're all joking about it?"

"Sorry, Marron," Krillen said quietly. "I don't know what else to do."

The baby in Marron's arms began to wail louder. "Wahhh!" he screamed. "Dada! Dada!" He pounded his fists against Marron's shoulder until her skin was bruised and red.

She hardly noticed as she stared forward blankly, still trying to process this information.

"Here, let me take the little slugger," Krillen told her, reaching out to pick up his grandson. "He's getting way too strong."

"Thanks, Dad," Marron said softly. She leaned forward and pressed both of her hands against her forehead.

"Hey, Oren!" Krillen said to the child. "You have to take it easy on your mom, kiddo. Shhh. Grandpa's here. It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine…" When the little boy finally started to quiet down, Krillen hugged him tightly and sighed. "Guys. You can start getting worried now."

"No shit," Videl said dryly.

"Hold on a sec," Bra said, standing up. "I just heard something… I'll be right back." She raised two fingers to her forehead, and instantly disappeared.

"Kami," Bulma said. "She didn't just… go there… did she?"

"I can't tell," Krillen said, concentrating. "Bra's energy is too low for me to sense her… she could be anywhere."

"Please let her not be in danger," Bulma silently begged. "Please let her not do anything crazy."

"Are we there yet?" Nyssa asked as they flew. "I can sense that we're getting close!"

"Yeah. Real close. Maybe we should stop flying and run the rest of the way so the grown-ups don't sense us," Olive suggested.

"That's a great idea," Nyssa said cheerfully. Then her face flushed red. "And also, I need to pee."

"Aw, really, N? At a time like this?" Olive asked in exasperation. "We could miss the action!"

"But I had soooooo much juice at the party," Nyssa said, grabbing her stomach in discomfort. She flew down to the ground and proceeded to crouch behind a bush.

"Dende, you can be such a baby!" Olive complained as she landed on the ground near her sister. Then, she thought better of it, and found her own bush. "I guess I had a lot of juice too. When you gotta go!"

Nyssa giggled as she finished up. "It's better to pee before fighting a big monster anyway!"

"I think you're right," Olive said with a sage nod. She grinned, and the two girls began running the rest of the way to the fight. They were only a few hundred miles away now, having covered half the circumference of the Earth in about ten minutes. A few seconds of running, and they would surely be within striking distance of the new enemy!

Nyssa could feel how vast the monster's power was. As they got closer, she got more and more nervous. "Are you scared?" she asked her sister.

Olive gulped. "I don't know. Are you?"

"A little," Nyssa admitted. "But I'm excited too! It's our first bad guy!"

"Yeah. I'm glad we finally got one. I'm so sick and tired of hearing everyone else's awesome stories about Freiza, and Cell, and Buu, and Baby, and Super Android 17…"

"Super Uncle Android 17," Nyssa corrected.

"Yeah, that guy," Olive said. "I just want to be part of the story for once. I want to have a story that we can tell everybody."

"That would be the coolest!" Nyssa said. As she spoke, a bright flash of light illuminated the sky. "Whoa. What's that?!"

"I think it's…" Olive's sentence was cut off by the deafening sound of the explosion, and debris flying past the girls.

Nyssa jumped toward her sister and hugged Olive in fear. The two little girls shielded each other from the debris until the explosion had died down.

"That was scary," Nyssa whispered.

"I felt Daddy's energy," Olive said with a frown. "And Uncle Gohan, and Uncle Vegeta. They're starting the fight without us!"

"We better hurry!" Nyssa said, tugging her sister's arm. "Let's go!"

The two little girls took to the air, and began to fly toward the battlefield. They both squealed when their flight was interrupted by a blue-haired demi-saiyan.

"You two were supposed to be watching cartoons in my house!" Bra said, a stricken look on her face.

"But we already saw that episode!" Nyssa whined. "It was sooo boring, Auntie Bra."

"What are you doing out here? Do you know how angry your mother will be?" Bra asked, putting her hands on her hips. "This is no place for little girls!"

"But we wanted to help!" Olive insisted. "We're strong too. We can help Daddy."

Just then, another giant explosion started behind Bra. Turning around, Bra gasped as the skies were lit up by an array of multicolored explosions. "Hold hands!" she shouted to the girls, who immediately complied. She touched Nyssa's arm, then touched her forehead with her other hand. In an instant, she was back on her patio, and the girls were safe and sound. The thundering sound of detonating ki blasts had been instantly switched off, like a car engine.

"Girls!" Marron said, noticing the debris and bruises on her daughters. She rushed to their side. "Where have you been? Kami, are you hurt?"

"We just wanted to see the big monster," Nyssa said, fighting back tears. "Don't get mad, Mommy."

"We wanted to help Daddy," Olive added. "We're strong enough. Promise!"

"Oh, Dende," Marron said, hugging both of her daughters fiercely. "Don't ever scare me like that again. What if something happened to you? This isn't a game, girls. This is real."

"Trunks and Goten did something similar when they were that age," Videl said fondly. "Don't be upset, Marron. At least they were trying to help. That's more than I can say for some of the young women around here."

Bra lowered her eyes in shame. It was true. Nyssa and Olive had tried to do more than she herself had done. It was beginning to drive her crazy. She knew that her place was no longer here amongst the women—but she couldn't just take off and leave. They needed her, too.

"Thanks for saving my girls," Marron told Bra. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Bra told her friend. "Don't thank me. I should be doing more…"

"I'm feeling some crazy energy blasts," Krillen said nervously. "Bra, you want to fill us in on what's going on here?"

Bra nodded. "They're launching a coordinated attack. I was distracted for a minute by Nyssa and Olive… but I think I heard Gohan tell Pan to prepare the Exploding Dragon Fist."

"Goku's attack?" Videl said with interest. "That could work."

"Yes, but Pan is too weak," Bra said with a frown. "The others… Uub, Gohan, my dad, Android 18, Trunks, Goten… they're all doing attacks to distract Zvarin while Pan powers up the dragon fist. But she doesn't have enough energy…"

"Kami, please let this work," Marron said as she continued hugging Nyssa and Olive tightly. "I can't bear this. Knowing my husband and my mother are in danger. And you girls running off, nearly giving me a heart attack. I just can't bear it."

"I'm sorry, Mommy," Nyssa said. "I didn't mean to be bad."

In the meantime, Bra was sitting down cross-legged on the floor. She closed her eyes, and a small white aura of energy surrounded her. The other adults stared at her with interest.

"What are you doing?" Krillen asked.

Bra took a moment before responding. "Panny needs just a little more energy to reach Super Saiyan 3. I'm not sure if this is working… but I'm trying to send her some ki through our mental link. It may be stupid, but I might as well try."

Videl moved over to Bra's side and held out her hands. "Take my energy too," she said softly. "If we can help Pan in any way… that's what we should be doing."

"Mine too," Krillen said, moving over. He put Oren to sit on the ground and held his hands out to the saiyan woman.

Bra nodded, simultaneously sucking away most of Videl's energy and then most of Krillen's. She left them each with only 10% of their body's fuel, which was just enough for them to keep breathing and stay awake. Even after she sucked them dry, she was surprised at how little energy she was able to find in both of their bodies. Between their advanced age, and both of them being human beings—she was startled to find that their energies combined could not equal a fraction of her own.

Videl put a hand on the ground to support herself, to keep from collapsing. "You can take more," she urged Bra. "I have a little more."

"If I take any more, you'll both die," Bra told them. "Besides, I don't know if this is even working…"

"It doesn't matter," Videl said sharply. "We have to try."

Bra suddenly perked up. "Oh! She did it! Pan finally reached Super Saiyan 3! She's preparing the dragon fist now! Oh!" Bra could feel Pan's power humming from across the miles, as though she were so close that she could touch her friend. She closed her eyes and smiled, concentrating on her friend's emotions and thoughts. "You can do it, Panny!" she shouted out loud. "I believe in you. I'm here for you. I'm right here. You've got this, Panny!"

"Who are you people?" Zvarin shouted as he struggled to defend himself.

"We're the Earth's Special Forces!" Pan shouted, lifting her fist to the sky. "And if my grandpa were here, he'd want to give you this special parting gift…" Flying toward her opponent, Pan slammed her fist into the man's chest harder than she ever had in her life. "DRAAGGGOOOONNNN FIIIIIIREEEEEEEE!" She closed her eyes and screamed as the power coursed through her entire body and concentrated at the end of her arm, exploding around her wrist and hand. She was shocked when she was not stopped by the impact, but instead found herself flying directly through Zvarin.

She immediately fell out of Super Saiyan, her hair turning black as she landed flat on her face, but she tried to turn to see the damage she'd done. "Oh my god!" Pan exclaimed, seeing that there was a gaping hole in Zvarin's side. Some of his ribcage and organs were missing, along with pieces of his arm. The bottom half of his arm was hanging on a few tendons, and dangling in the wind. She couldn't believe that she had managed to mutilate him whatsoever.

Bra felt like she had been struck by a train. She had fallen back against the grass, and was staring up at the spinning sky in a daze. Her head ached. She fought to stay conscious, to keep from having Videl make fun of her for fainting again. "Owwww," she said softly, lifting a hand to touch her head, where a throbbing headache was beginning. But once her hand touched her temple, she discovered that her hand was hurting a whole lot more than her head was. She looked down at her fist, and was shocked to find that her hand was covered in blood from all of her knuckles, which had somehow busted open. She also had difficulty moving her fingers, many of which seemed to be broken.

"Kami, what is this?" she whispered. She knew it must be some lingering physiological side effect of the fusion. Her body so keenly remembered being one with Pan's, and so desperately yearned to be so again, that it was responding to stimuli almost as though she were Para.

"You must have found a way to help her," Videl said happily, moving to Bra's side and helping her sit up. "Some cool mental connection, some special saiyan powers or something. I'm so thankful, Bra. Thanks for helping my daughter."

Bra smiled at Videl for making up this excuse for her. She saw Marron send her a suspicious and skeptical look, but she turned away. Then she gasped. "Oh! Goten and Gohan just launched a gigantic brothers' Kamehameha wave in unison. The other fighters are all joining in. This attack is the biggest one they've managed so far. Zvarin called his guards to help protect him… but I'm pretty sure they all disintegrated. Oh! This is it. This is it! I can feel Zvarin's energy fading. They've got him!" Bra said this and threw her head back and laughed. "We won! And now Goten's eating cake!"

"Yayyyy!" said Nyssa and Olive, jumping around and dancing. "We beat the bad guy, we beat the bad guy!"

"Shucks," Krillen said. "Thanks to you, Bra, I even feel like I helped a little."

"You did," Bra assured him.

"I guess I'll tell my lab technicians to stop messing around with technology they don't understand," Bulma said with a smile. "It's too bad. I was hoping to try that new prototype out, but it's a pain in the ass to mount the machine into fighter jet."

"That sounds really cool, Mom," Bra said with a grin. "Maybe we can use it next time."

"They already got the jet all fuelled up, too," Bulma said in disappointment. "It would be a shame not to fly it. Maybe your dad and I will take it for a spin later. Just for fun."

"Oh la la," Marron teased. "The enemy hasn't been defeated for five minutes, and you're already thinking of creative ways to celebrate with your husband, that involve equipment that my husband no longer has. That's not fair."

"Honey," Bulma said with a wink. "Uub still has his tongue. And I'm sure he knows how to use it. You'll be fine."

Marron chuckled. "I guess now that it's over, I can laugh about it, too."

"My dad just told Pan something," Bra said with a deep frown. "He said that if I had been there, they would have lost the fight. Because I would have panicked."

"It's probably true, dear," Bulma said, moving over to Bra and patting her daughter's leg. "You don't have the experience they do."

"That's hogwash," Krillen said.

"Yeah. Forget him," Videl said with a roll of her eyes. "You were there. You did help. Whether they know and appreciate it or not. You came through for them."

"Thanks, Videl," Bra said happily. "That means a lot coming from… NO! Oh my god!"

"What?" Videl asked.

"Gohan's arm!" Bra shouted. "He sliced off Gohan's arm with a sword!"

Videl exhaled slowly. "I thought he was dead?"

"He's not," Bra said in a terrified whisper. "Everyone thought he was gone, but he was just faking them out to get time to regenerate. He's at full power again."

"But of course," Krillen said glumly, "we're not."

"He kicked Uub in the ribs, hard," Bra told them. "Uub's badly wounded. And now he's going to… no," Bra said, hugging her middle. She began to cry softly. "No! No. No, no, no, no. Goten! Goten!"

Bulma wrapped her arms around Bra's shoulders and hugged her daughter tightly. "Shhh. Whatever's happening, it's going to be okay. Goten's a strong boy. He's going to be fine."

"Mom," Bra sobbed. "That monster! He's threatening to kill Gohan… unless Goten eats his own stomach. He carved it out of his chest with his sword. He's making Goten eat his own stomach."

"Oh, dear," Bulma said, sitting back with a shocked look on her face. "That can't be true."

"No," Bra cried mournfully. "No, no, no, no, no. Goten! Somebody help him… please."

Everyone stared at Bra in silence.

"Maybe you should stop watching the fight," Videl suggested grimly. "It sounds like things are about to get intense."

"You don't think this has been intense yet?" Bra shouted.

"There's intense… and then there's intense," Videl said softly.

"I have to keep watching," Bra said with determination. "Maybe there's something more that we can do…" She trailed off as she observed the scene on the battlefield.

"Hmm. You're a lovely little thing, aren't you?" Zvarin said to Android 18, as he walked toward her. He slowly circled her, examining her figure.

"Bite me," she spat.

"Mmm, there's something different about your body. Something special." He ran his hands over her in a vulgar and insolent way. He allowed his hands to rest on her breasts, and he smiled at her. "You're not entirely organic! How fascinating."

"Set me free and fight me like a real man!" she hissed at him. "You're the most appalling thing I ever laid eyes on. You want to know what I'm made of? I'll show you! I'll…"

Zvarin reached out and snapped Android 18's neck, killing her instantly.

Gasps and cries were heard around the field.

"Anyone else?" Zvarin asked.

"NO!" Bra screamed. She looked around at the innocent faces of the children. Nyssa and Olive, and little Oren. She turned to Marron with horror on her face. "Oh, no. No. Mar…"

"What is it?" Marron asked quickly. "Is it Uub? Is he okay?"

Bra's eyes then went to Krillen. Her mouth felt very, very dry. "I… I…"

"Tell us what happened," Krillen demanded. "Please."

"It's Android 18. He killed her."

Krillen stared at Bra blankly. "But…"

"Mama," Marron said softly, her voice wavering. She pressed both hands against her chest, where she was sure that her heart was failing. "No."

Nyssa sat down and began to cry. "Grandma's gone? But she's the strongest!"

"How did she die?" Bulma asked Bra.

"She… she…" Bra put both of her hands in her hair. "I don't want to look at the fight anymore, Mom. It's too brutal. I can't watch."

"Bra Briefs!" Bulma barked. "I asked you a question, young lady. How was Android 18 killed?"

"He snapped her neck."

"Oh. Is that all?" Bulma asked with a chuckle. "No problem. I can fix her."

"You can?" Krillen asked.

"Sure. I fixed Android 16 from worse," Bulma informed them. Then she became thoughtful. "Well, it will be trickier since he was entirely synthetic, while Eighteen is a cybernetic human, so their technology is a bit different…" Seeing the hopeful and terrified looks on Marron and Krillen's faces, Bulma clamped her mouth shut. She knew it wasn't a time for science-speak. Bulma moved over to them, and reached out and to take one of Krillen's hands, and one of Marron's, squeezing them tightly. "Look," she said firmly. "I know it's bleak, but Android 18 has a brilliant design with some gorgeous mechanical implants. All I'm saying is not to give up on her until I declare it's officially over, okay?"

"Thanks, Bulma," Marron whispered. "I can't lose my mom."

Krillen ripped his hand away. Without a word, he abruptly stood up and blasted off into the sky.

"Dad!" Marron called after him, but Krillen had already flown away. Her hands were shaking as she touched her trembling lips. "Dad! Kami, he better not be going to the battlefield. I can't lose both of my parents today."

Bra was frozen.

Her insides were knotted as her mind was glued to the combat. She had never really believed in the concept of "evil" as something real. As a scientist, she had difficulty seeing life in terms of black and white, or good and evil. Surely everything was a mixture and gradation of these different concepts? And with so many men in Zvarin's being, surely all of them could not be cruel and merciless? But as she listened to Zvarin's dark thoughts as he smiled and advanced on a wounded Pan, she knew that she was witnessing the closest thing to pure evil that she had ever seen.

"I just wanted you to understand—to truly understand how powerless you are against me," Zvarin said. "And I am going to take you. Right now. Right here. In front of them."

Pan's eyes snapped open, and she stared at him in bewilderment. "You don't mean…"

"I do mean exactly that, sweetheart," Zvarin said, coming to a halt in front of her. He stared down at her with a ghastly smile painted on his features. "Just think of what a powerful lesson in humility you'll learn when I fuck your brains out while your father and uncle watch. While your tongue-less mentor, and cock-less friend… and oh, yes… your poor, legless lover, all watch in disgust."

Bra stared down at the palms of her hands. They were small and pale, and did not look capable of any great feats. Yet, she had fashioned many new inventions with these selfsame tiny hands. She had set lofty goals for herself, and she had conquered all of them. Why should this be any different? This was her birthright. It was already inside of her, and it always had been.

Pan sat on the floor for a moment, looking around at all her loved ones. She had no energy to fight. She didn't even have energy to teleport away—not that she would have done such a thing, possibly leaving her men open to a far worse fate. She wasn't that type of woman; the type to run and hide and save her own skin. She lifted her hand to finger the headband she wore, made from Goku's gi.

Many of the men, being the closest people to her in the world, recognized this nervous tick from her childhood. They looked at each other in speechless understanding and fear.

Zvarin reached out and grabbed Pan's hair, lifting her off the ground and glaring at her. "How would you like that, little Panny? How would you like to help me put on a show for them?"

"I think I'd rather die," she said quietly.

"Look on the bright side," he whispered. "Maybe you will."

Bra turned over her hands, staring at her perfectly manicured nails, and the bloody knuckles that were courtesy of her other half. Can I do this? she asked herself. Much of the energy that she had transferred to Pan for the Dragon Fist had come from herself, in addition to Videl and Krillen's contributions. She was personally weakened. But even so, she felt more alive and sure of herself than she had all day.

Her saiyan blood began to pump rhythmically through her veins, and she could feel the throbbing of the ancient war drums. She could feel the shivers running up her neck as her body entered a heightened state of sensitivity and readiness. Her skin, her hair follicles, her muscles, and her senses all knew, long before she did, that they should prepare. Her mind became suddenly, and eerily calm. She could feel every infinitesimal drop of sweat on her skin, and every loose thread on her clothing.

Her body was begging for battle. It knew, even if she didn't, that she could not resist the lust for war for much longer. She had been pushed far past her breaking point, and it was just a petty matter of how and when she would break. But she would break.

Zvarin tossed Pan to a patch of ground that had been stripped bare of poppies from the many explosions. He twisted his fingers, bringing all the men closer in their force fields to watch as if from spectator-seats in a coliseum.

Only Uub was free. In a final, last ditch effort, he lunged for Zvarin's katchin sword and tried to hack at the alien with it. Zvarin caught the blade with a small pillow of energy in the palm of his hand.

"Oh, do you like my sword?" he asked politely. "Here, you can have it—since you need one so badly." Zvarin grabbed the hilt and twisted the sword around, slamming it into Uub's gut, before kicking the hilt of the sword to drive it in deeper. Uub cried out and fell to the ground.

"They never learn, do they, my dear Pan?" Zvarin asked, stroking the side of her face. "But you're about to learn, sweet girl." He lowered his face to hers, pressing his lips against her mouth.

Even though she had experienced the awful sensation before, it still filled her with hurt and humiliation. Tears gathered in her eyes. After so much fighting, it was devastating to know that Zvarin had not a scratch on him. Only his clothes were a little torn. Five saiyans, plus Uub and Android 18—and they hadn't made a dent.

She really had given it everything she had.

"Not everything you have," Bra said out loud, a smirk beginning to appear on her face. "Not yet."

Oren began to cry and scream again, beating his little fists on the ground. This time, he pounded his legs on the patio as well, flailing about in an irate temper tantrum.

"What's happening now?" Videl asked.

"Zvarin just mortally wounded Uub," Bra said. "He will probably die within seconds."

"Oh," Marron said weakly.

"Daddy?" Olive asked. "For real?"

"How can you say that so calmly, Bra?" Bulma asked with concern. "Are you okay?"

"She's snapped," Marron explained. "I think I've snapped too."

Zvarin ripped at the bodice of Pan's orange dress, exposing her bra, he grabbed her breast roughly, squeezing and kneading until she cried out in pain.

"Get your hands off my daughter!" Gohan shouted.

"Does this bother you?" Zvarin asked him gleefully. "Are you wishing you had that arm right about now? Ha! You're all worthless. You're all powerless to stop me from doing as I please."

"Panny," Trunks said weakly. "Panny, I'm sorry."

But Pan could not hear them anymore. She found herself staring at the sky deliriously and hoping for a miracle. She tried to imagine a form floating in the sky, the figure of the man she most wanted to see. She tried to imagine him until he was real—fiercely believing him into life. Her eyes filled with tears of happiness, for she could almost see his smile as he flew down to the battlefield—way too late, as usual, but just in the nick of time. Just before things went so far that there was no coming back. Just before all hope was lost.

Bra frowned. "Now Zvarin is proceeding to rape Pan in front of Gohan and Trunks and the others. Just to exert his power."

The others gasped.

"What's rape?" Nyssa asked, putting her thumb in her mouth shyly.

"It's a very vindictive and vicious attack," Marron explained, gazing at Bra with concern. "It's usually done by very bad people, and it hurts a whole lot."

Videl gritted her teeth together. "If there's any way you can think of, Bra. If there's anything at all that you can do. Please, save my little girl. Save my husband from having his heart broken. Gohan's soft. He'll never get over something like this. Please."

"I will," Bra said, finally. "I know a way. A surefire way. But it's going to change everything. You're all going to hate me. But it doesn't matter. You'll all be alive to hate me, and that's the main thing."

"Don't!" Marron shouted. "Bra! Don't you dare. This is not the time for foolish bravado!"

"I need the contents of the safety deposit box, Marron. Just tell me where it is."

"No. You made me promise that I would keep it forever. I'm not going to lose my mom, my dad, my husband AND you, all in one day."

"You're right. You're not going to lose them. Because I'm going to fix this," Bra vowed. "This has gone too far."

Zvarin nibbled on Pan's neck. "I love taking things that belong to other people."

Pan looked at Uub. Her friend was lying on the ground, with a sword stuck in his abdomen, bleeding out all over the ground. "Don't worry," Pan whispered to Uub. "He's coming to save us. He always does."

"I hope you're right," Uub told her. "I need a miracle if I'm ever going to see my family again. I hope he comes."

"Who the fuck is she talking about?" Zvarin asked the men.

"Her grandfather was a great fighter," Gohan explained coldly. "He's dead."

"Ahhh," Zvarin said, smiling. "So her mind has snapped. Good." Zvarin grabbed Pan's shoulder and roughly rolled her over onto her stomach. He put his face into Pan's hair and inhaled deeply. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he yanked her head back. "The things I'm going to do to you," he whispered. "I'm going to make you scream my name. I'm going to make you bleed."

Pan continued to stare at Uub. "He's not dead," she pleaded. "He's here. He would never let me get hurt. He's here. Don't you see him?"

"I see him every day, Pan," Uub said through his tears. "I see him everywhere." He turned his face to the sky and stared at it for a moment before releasing a deafening scream. "GOKU! GOKUUUUUUU! Please, Goku! We need you! GOKU! Don't you care about us anymore?" Uub pressed his hand to his wound, gasping in pain. "I can't… Goku… please…" Uub suddenly fell limp against the ground, no longer moving or breathing.

"And down goes another one of your poor little animals," Zvarin whispered in Pan's ear. He moved his hand down her back, cupping her bottom, and squeezing her until it hurt. "Are you ready for me, peaches?"

Bra let loose a scream of rage, at the top of her lungs, unable to keep the power from flushing her body until she turned Super Saiyan. Everyone took a few steps away from her. I have one question for you, Panny, Bra demanded of her friend. Would you rather be raped while our fathers and Trunks and Goten are forced to watch… or would you rather let me come over there and fuse with you so we can kick ass as Para?

Pan took a moment to respond. Of course, this is humiliating, and I would almost rather fuse in front of the guys than let this happen. No, I would definitely rather fuse. But Bra—if you teleport here, he could kill you in a split second, without lifting a finger. Look at what he did to Android 18, and she is much, much stronger than you. Look at what he did to Uub. To all of us. Plus, most of us have no energy left, including me. Even if, by some miracle, we were able to fuse… with me being this weak to begin with… Para would be useless.

So, what are you saying? Bra asked.

Pan gritted her teeth as Zvarin ripped the bottom of her dress, exposing her new half-heart-shaped tattoo. Tears gathered in her eyes. Bra, don't even think of coming here. We're all going to die.

"This has gone too far," Bra said. "I don't need her permission anymore."

Just then, Krillen returned to Bra's patio, holding a small brown satchel. "I went to Korin's and got some senzu beans," he told Bra, in a voice that wasn't messing around. "If you have a plan, I'm ready."

"Good," Bra said. "How many did you get?"

"Only three."

She nodded thoughtfully. "That's all I need. Now shoot a ki blast through my heart."

Krillen paused, lifting an eyebrow. "Well, this seems familiar. Okay." He released a beam from his fingertips, piercing Bra directly through the chest.

"What the hell!" Bulma screamed as her daughter fell. "Krillen, have you gone mad?"

Krillen ignored Bulma, and moved over to give Bra a senzu bean. "That better not have been a wasted bean," he warned her, as she regained consciousness.

"Agh," she said, spitting out blood. "Well, that's invigorating."

"I've only got two beans left," Krillen told her. "I'm thinking Gohan and Vegeta?"

"No," Bra responded firmly, tapping on her chest to confirm that it had healed. "I have information that you don't. I have a trump card. A secret weapon. And I'm going to stop being a pussy, and use it."

Pan gritted her teeth as Zvarin ripped the bottom of her dress, exposing her new half-heart-shaped tattoo. Tears gathered in her eyes. Bra, don't even think of coming here. We're all going to die. She had been in many hopeless situations in her lifetime, but never anything like this. She had never felt such desperation and despair. Sobbing softly, Pan's lips parted and she tasted granules of the fresh red dirt against which her face was pressed. Somehow, she treasured the taste on her tongue. Not knowing whether she had much time left to be alive, much less alive on the Planet Earth, made her feel fiercely loyal to her homeland. She was overcome by an anticipatory sense of homesickness. When Zvarin's hand on the back of her head shoved her face further into her native dirt, she tried to blink it out of her eyes as she coughed on the mouthful of precious soil.

"Please don't hurt my daughter," Gohan begged as he watched Zvarin exerting his power over Pan. "Please. Do you know what it's like to have a child? How would you feel if someone did this to your daughter?"

Zvarin turned to grin at Gohan gleefully. "Silly man. Don't you know that this is how daughters are made? With any luck, I'll contribute my glorious genetic material to the continuation of your pathetic bloodline. You should be thanking me."

"I'd rather eat my uterus," Pan muttered, spitting out the particles of sand and saliva.

"Still so feisty?" Zvarin asked, dragging his fingernails over Pan's buttocks. "That will be rectified soon."

Pan gasped when Zvarin's hand dug painfully into her flesh. She bit down on her lip, feeling a low growl in her chest. "I'm going to find a way to defeat you," Pan promised. "There must be a way. I must have something—something left, somewhere. Some magical energy I didn't know about. Some otherworldly burst of motivation. A saiyan always has more, if they can only force their body to reach for more. I just need to find it. I must have something left inside me."

"Wrong! You have nothing inside of you," Zvarin said with a throaty laugh. "But that's about to change. And you're going to like it. Do you think you can handle me ripping you apart for a few hours? I suppose we'll find out." The green-haired monster undid the buckle of his belt and began to tug the front of his trousers down. He was positioning himself to force entry into Pan's body when a gust of air made him pause and look up.

"Hey, Zvarin," said a sensual female voice. "Remember me?"

The man gazed upon the speaker curiously. Bra was standing a few feet away from Pan's head. She was wearing her classic outfit, with a few modifications for battle. On her left side, stood Krillen, with a murderous look on his face. On her right side, stood Dende, with a serene smile on his green features. Bra placed her hands on her hips.

"You're the weaker one," Zvarin said in acknowledgement. "Why do you disturb me, now? What business could I possibly have with you?"

"I may be the weaker one, but I'm also the prettier one," Bra said with a grin. "I'd advise that you step away from my friend right now. Or things are about to get very messy."

"You dare to give me commands?" Zvarin asked incredulously. "You dare to threaten me? How ignorant could you possibly be? Don't you see what I've done to your friends and family?"

"Get away from here, Bra!" Goten told her in a broken voice. "Please. Get as far away from here as you can!"

Vegeta grumbled a sound that sounded much like agreement. His eyes had widened in terror, for he had begun to imagine Bra suffering the same fate as Pan or Android 18. He began to struggle violently against the force field and made several loud, hysterical grunting noises.

"Amusing. He's like a wounded animal in a trap," Zvarin remarked in delight. "This is fun." He lifted his fingers, effectively ensnaring Bra, Krillen, and Dende in individual force fields. "Looks like we have a bigger audience, Panny," Zvarin whispered to the girl on the ground. "That only makes this sweeter, doesn't it? Now your dearest friend can enjoy the spectacle from front-row seats."

"Bra, what are you doing?!" Pan shrieked, tears trickling out of her eyes. "I can't protect you. I'm useless! You can't be here."

"Hey, Dende!" Trunks shouted. "Please do something. Get her out of here," he begged the little green god. "Take her away now! Panny's going to be okay, no matter what. My sister won't be."

Dende only smiled in response. "There is so much that you do not know, young man. Maybe it's time for all of you to meet the real Bra Briefs."

Stepping forward, Bra demonstrated that Zvarin's force field had no power over her. She smiled at the monster menacingly. "Are you going to leave her alone? Or do you wanna rumble?"

"Rumble?" Zvarin repeated. "I hardly think so. I intend to 'rumble' with your friend's female organs. Why don't you shut up and stop ruining the mood? I need a particular sort of atmosphere to relax and fully enjoy raping someone. Don't be jealous. You'll get your turn soon enough."

"Unfortunately, I'm going to ruin your mood completely," Bra said with a mock pout. "But as a consolation gift, why don't you try this classic on for size?" She sent all the Z-fighters a quick mental message: Close your eyes! Lifting two hands up to her head at lightning speeds, she screamed, "SOLAR FLARE!"

Zvarin bellowed and recoiled backward, his hands clamped over his burning irises. "You witch! What have you done to me?!"

Bra giggled manically. "And that's how we do it here on Earth, suckaaa!" She immediately thrust a hand into the air and fired a ki blast into the sky. "Engage operation Saiyan Salvage!" She turned to Dende and Krillen with a serious look on her face. "Remember my instructions? Go!"

"Right," said Krillen and Dende, moving to follow out their orders. Dende immediately moved over to Android 18 and began to try healing her.

"A solar flare? Why didn't we think of doing that?" Trunks asked in surprise.

"So simple, yet so effective," Gohan commented.

"I'm going to marry a genius!" Goten sang proudly.

Ignoring the men, Bra had fallen to her knees and fished a senzu bean out of her bra. She hastily shoved it into Pan's mouth. "Chew, chew, chew!" she urged.

"No!" Pan said, spitting it back into Bra's hand. "Uub needs it more!"

Bra rolled her eyes. "Duh, girlfriend. I have Krillen giving him one right now. Have a little faith, and fucking chew!"

"Trunks and Goten," Pan whispered.

"Pffft," Bra said. "They'll be fine. I need you. Now. Do you understand what we need to do?"

Pan looked up into Bra's blue eyes, with a stricken expression on her face. "Bra…"

"CHEW!" Bra screamed, slapping the bean into her friend's mouth.

Pan finally complied. As the magic bean restored the strength to her body, along with an additional boost of zenkai, she felt something akin to the warm rays of the sun on her back and legs, and exposed bottom. She hastily tugged her dress down as she turned over to view the source of the warmth. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a huge light in the sky that was neither the sun nor the moon. It made her feel dizzy with a new and exhilarating influx of power. She reached down to touch her tail, worried for a moment that she would transform, but she realized that there weren't enough blutz waves to create this effect. She looked around, and saw that the other saiyans were being similarly affected.

"What is that?" Pan asked.

"My mom flying a fighter jet which also acts as a saiyan battery," Bra said with a sly smile. "Your mom is on board, helping out. Marron and her kids, too."

Pan gasped. "It's too dangerous for them here!"

"Android 18's circuitry is too damaged. I can't heal that!" Dende shouted.

"Move on to Goten!" Bra commanded. "Then Trunks, then Gohan, then my father."

"Right," Dende said, moving over to the most critically wounded saiyan.

"Aghhh," Uub muttered, as he regained consciousness. He noticed that Krillen was holding him. "Pa?" he whispered.

"Glad to have you back with us, kid," Krillen said, ruffling Uub's mowhawk. "We thought we lost you there."

"Ma's gone," Uub said, his face contorting in rage. "I tried…"

"Shhh," Krillen said, with a smile. "Bulma's going to fix her right up. What's important is that you're restored to full health. I gave you a bean—and now you've got your bean back, if you know what I mean."

Uub immediately moved his hand down to grope below his waist. "YES!" he shouted in joy, leaping to his feet and pumping his fist in the air. "Thank you, Krillen!"

"Just keep my daughter smiling," Krillen said with a wink.

"Our first line of offence is back in action!" Bra shouted. "Uub and Pan are revived! Dende and my mom's machine are going to help the other saiyans!"

"Not so fast," Zvarin sneered, grabbing Bra's throat. He opened his eyes, and while they were red and bloodshot, it was obvious that he could see out of them. "I have incredibly fast regenerative powers. And you are going to die, bitch. But first, I'm going to kill your mother in her little airplane."

Bra! Vegeta told his daughter mentally. Teleport away at the first chance you get! Take your mother! I'll have Pan and Uub distract him, and you'll have a moment soon. Take Dende too!

"I don't think so," Bra said cheerfully. "I don't think you can kill my mother, Zvarin. I think you're just bullshitting me."

"Bullshitting you?" the alien hissed into her face. "Do you need to see a demonstration? Do you need to see an encore presentation of the show I put on for little Panny?"

"Just try it," Bra challenged. "Try and give it a shot. Show me what you're made of, big man."

Zvarin did try. He tried to close his fingers and crush her neck. He tried to look up at the airplane in the sky, and extend his arm to explode the vehicle. He really did try. But to his surprise, he found that he was frozen.

"Oh, Zvarin, honey," Bra said sweetly. She reached up and carefully pried the alien's fingers away from her neck. "Do you find that you're having some difficulty moving, pumpkin?"

Snarling and sputtering in rage, Zvarin locked eyes with her ominously. "What is this sorcery, you infuriating she-demon?"

"It's a taste of your own medicine," Bra said, as she casually turned and walked away from him. She actually stood with her back to the monster for a moment, before turning to casually glance over her shoulder. "Obviously, my force field uses a different, more advanced mechanism than yours. That's what I do, you know. I innovate things. How does it feel to be rendered so… impotent? I guess you can't get it up anymore, stud."

"You infernal, vexing, meddling little insect!" Zvarin roared. "When I get free, I will rip you limb from limb, and do things to you that will make your worst nightmares look like…"

"Bored now." Bra made a zipping motion across her mouth and mimed throwing away the key. "I don't like the sound of your voice. Why don't you shut your trap? There. That's better." She had managed to use her force field to silence him completely.

Krillen had moved over to Android 18, and was holding his unconscious wife in his arms. He pressed a kiss against her cheek, which was still as soft and smooth as when he'd first met her. "You're going to be fine, love," he promised her. "Just hang on for me."

Meanwhile, Dende had just finished healing Trunks's legs, and was moving on to Gohan. Trunks rubbed both of his legs thankfully, while Gohan smiled at the sight of his returning arm.

"You have perfect timing, old friend," Gohan told the little green guardian.

"Don't thank me," Dende said cheerfully. "It was all Bra's idea."

"Speaking of which," Bra said gravely, "I have some other ideas."

"When did you even learn the solar flare, sis?" Trunks asked in amazement.

"You think we just drank martinis and gossiped about boys for a year in the time chamber?" Bra snapped at her brother. "Look, I doubt my force field can hold him for very long. He's smart. We need a plan. Now." She turned to look at Pan expectantly. We might not get another opportunity. We need to use our trump card. It's time to break out the F-word.

Here? Pan asked nervously. Now? I don't know. You can still back out of this. I think it was brilliant that you came in and healed us all. All the saiyans are stronger now. Let us try again. We took a pretty good shot at him last time. You grab Dende, Krillen, Android 18, and your mom, and hightail it out of here...

No. I'm staying, Bra told her stubbornly. I need to be a part of this.

"I've got it!" Uub shouted. "Thanks to Bra, we've finally gotten him to hold still. Maybe I can use my candy beam!"

"You buffoon!" Vegeta grumbled, as soon as Dende had restored his tongue. "Give it a shot. But if one is truly powerful, being candy doesn't stop them from being invincible. Trust me, I know."

"Well said, old man." Zvarin smiled. "I am glad to see that you have chosen to use your tongue more wisely, now that you can speak again."

The girls jerked their heads to the side when they heard screaming. They saw that Zvarin had managed to put all of the men, except for Uub, back into force fields. This now included Dende and Krillen. Uub was held, suspended in what appeared to be a block of black metal that Zvarin had materialized.

Beneath each person was a tiny white-hot fire, licking at everyone's feet and ankles. It was the same magical flame that had burned Trunks' legs completely off. Dende's robes caught fire, and Pan flew forward instantly to put the flames out. She knew that they needed to protect the healer. There were no more senzu beans. She turned back to Zvarin angrily, shielding Dende with her own body.

"I may not be able to move my limbs, but I am far from incapacitated," Zvarin told the girls. "You would be wise to remember that before getting cocky. I know what you two Earthling women must be contemplating, and I would like to offer some encouragement."

Bra and Pan exchanged nervous looks, afraid that Zvarin would speak of Para out loud. However, he was discreet enough to communicate directly into both of their minds, instead.

I want her,he told them. If you fuse, I will refrain from burning your men alive. I want Para. If she comes with me to Metamora, as my wife—I will let your men go free.

Bra nodded. That sounds like a reasonable deal, Zvarin, she told him. I agree to your terms.

Are you crazy? Pan asked Bra mentally.

I think that it's our best shot, Bra told Pan.

This is the same deal I was getting earlier! In exchange for ONLY me. You must be stupid if you think I'm going to give him Para without a fight.

Para would never go without a fight, Bra agreed. But she stands a much better chance of actually winning a fight than we do.

"Time's a wasting, girls," Zvarin told them impatiently. "It doesn't sound to me like you're being very cooperative. Maybe you need some incentive." Zvarin blinked his eyes, and the flames under all the men grew larger, swallowing the men up to their knees. Even Vegeta and Gohan screamed in pain as the flesh bubbled and melted off their legs.

Pan and Bra immediately jumped into action, putting out the fires under their fathers and lovers, but they could not work fast enough. While they were attacking the flames around Trunks and Goten, the fires around Gohan and Vegeta would rise. The fires under Uub were particularly dangerous, for they heated up the metal within which his entire body was encased. Krillen and Dende were also vulnerable, and almost everyone was releasing screams of excruciating pain.

"STOP!" Bra yelled at Zvarin, as she tried to keep the flames from consuming Goten's body. "Stop this! How can you be so cruel?"

"If you agree to my terms, I will stop," Zvarin told her with a smile. "Until then? Why don't you try to decide between whether you prefer your father or fiancée to be burned alive."

Bra flew over to Vegeta to try and put out the flames around his legs, but then she was distracted by Goten's screams. She moved away from her father, only to discover that Vegeta's entire body was engulfed in flames. From head to toe. Bra gasped, moving back to Vegeta. Then, Goten's entire body was consumed by fire. Pan was having a similar problem, except she was extending her efforts between Gohan, Trunks, Uub, Dende, and Krillen.

"Panny!" Bra shouted, as tears flooded her eyes, clouding her vision and making her task even more difficult. "I can't do this! He's killing them. What do I do?"

Pan paused and turned to look at her friend, and then back to Zvarin. "He's trying to fuck with your concentration! He's trying to get you to release him from the force field. Just forget about the guys for a minute, and focus entirely on keeping Zvarin locked down. See if you can restrict his mind to stop the fires at their source!"

"Right," Bra said, sniffling and turning to stare at her enemy. She held out her hand toward Zvarin, her palm facing outward to aid her concentration. She closed her eyes, and visualized the barriers she had created in his nervous system. She strengthened them, and even tried to add a few more roadblocks. "There," Bra said triumphantly once the fires began to fade. "Nice try, Zvarin."

In the meanwhile, Pan flew around the men rapidly, putting out all the fires remaining in their clothing. They were all badly burned. All of their legs had been rendered useless, but some of them had sustained more life-threatening burns to their midsections, torsos, and even faces—but they were alive. Pan made sure that Dende was fine first, considering the fabric of his garments had subjected him to more burns than the others. She needed him to be well enough to heal the wounded fighters. If Dende was killed, or too hurt to be functional, they would have lost one of their greatest assets to this fight. The blutz waves would restore the saiyans' energy, but they couldn't heal limbs! And no one could fight successfully with their legs burned off. The only other healing options were the rejuvenation tanks, but those would take hours—time that they didn't have.

Zvarin made a growling noise as he struggled against Bra's psychic restraints. She glared back at him, twisting her hand in the air and flexing her fingers. The two remained fiercely deadlocked in their invisible battle of wills.

Dende moved over to Vegeta, and began to try to heal the serious burns on his chest and face. Vegeta grunted in thanks, but he could feel that Dende's ki had greatly lessened. His healing was slower, due to his own wounds, and much less effective.

"Damn him," Vegeta swore. "We were all restored to full power, and he was trapped—and he still managed to take us all down in a few seconds!" The oldest saiyan on the battlefield shook his head in rage and disbelief. "I've never seen anything like this. It's incredible. It's unbelievable. His power—it doesn't come from his body. He's beating us with psychological brilliance and spiritual mastery." Vegeta cracked a small smile of nostalgia. "If only Kakkarot were here. He would be celebrating this challenge with the joy of a toddler opening presents on his birthday."

"No kidding," Uub said, grimacing as he tried to peel the metal off his body, but ended up taking off a good chunk of his melted skin. "Only Goku could enjoy a day like this."

Pan moved over to Gohan, checking his wounds carefully. "Papa, are you okay?" she asked.

"I've seen better days," he told her with a smile. Gohan winced when she pushed his gi aside gently to view the burns on his chest. "You're doing really great, Panny. He's not able to keep you in his force field, so you have an advantage more than all of us. If you just keep trying, and keep your mind clear, you'll find a way to beat him."

"I will, Papa," she said, placing a kiss on her father's forehead, and hugging him gently while trying to avoid his burns. "I won't let you down."

"Panny!" Bra screamed as she struggled to keep Zvarin imprisoned in her mental lock. "I'm slipping! I'm getting a headache, and losing my precision of focus. We have to do something now. Please!"

Pan turned to look at her friend, her brow furrowing into a deep frown. She then looked back to Vegeta, Uub, and her father. "What's the plan, guys?" she asked them.

"If Dende can finish healing me, and I can find a way to break out of this force field, maybe I can jump into action," Vegeta said with a scowl.

"Um. Bad news, sir," Dende said as the dim light being emitted from his hands faded to almost nothing. "I think I'm running out of steam."

Vegeta released a string of profanities.

"It doesn't matter," Uub told them. "It would be impossible for Vegeta to break free from the force field quickly enough. It requires some really advanced meditation techniques, and Vegeta is more of a brute-force fighter. And even if he did get mobility—Zvarin's got this metal-encasing technique that's giving me some trouble over here. For some reason, he's taking it easy on Pan and Bra. They're our best shot."

"Yeah, and they're doing great!" Goten added.

Trunks stared at Pan so intently that everything around them seemed to disappear. "You need to take the lead in this one, Pan. It seems like we're out of ideas—you and Bra are the only ones who have made any real progress. Our fate's in your hands."

Pan nodded, feeling her stomach flip-flop due to the penetrating look on Trunks' features. It was his war-face, completely solemn and devoid of humor. She'd seen it only a few times before in her life. She remembered when Trunks expelled Baby from his body. She remembered when Trunks tried to take on Omega Shenron to protect his father. She felt chills running down her spine at the realization of her responsibility. But the warmth of the blutz waves shining down on her from above were reassuring and revitalizing. She was at full power, and she was ready to fight. She would find a way.

Zvarin roared, gritting his teeth and squinting his eyes as he engaged in mental combat with Bra. "For how many more seconds do you think you can hold me, little girl?" he sneered. "When I get free, I'm going to make you pay. I'm going to burn your precious father to a crisp. Then your lover. Then your brother. Then everyone else. Then this entire planet. I'll pay you back for interfering with my fun, and wasting my time. I'm going to break you."

"Pan!" Bra said, her lip quivering and her fingers trembling. She turned to look at her friend with fear shining in her eyes. I can't do this alone. And neither can you. We need to fuse. Now.

There's still another way, Pan told her. I can grab him and teleport away. As long as you're holding him still like that…

No, Bra said in horror. That won't work. It will just delay this fight. And the things he'll do to you, Panny… We need a permanent solution. We need to take care of him now.

Pan frowned. Maybe running is the best choice. I should take him away from here. I'll deal with the consequences. Look, you promised me that you would stay somewhere safe and not be a part of this…

"NO!" Bra shouted out loud, so angry that she forgot to use telepathy. "I don't care if you won't let me fight beside you, Pan! My dad, my brother, my fiancé, and everyone I care about just got seriously hurt, and I'm not going to sit on my ass and do nothing! Sure, that's what I did for most of my life, but you've given me the skills I need to do more—and I swear to Dende, I'm going to fucking do more!"

"Promise duly noted," Dende said with a nod.

Bra was so incensed that she did not notice the guardian's joke. "My whole life, I just stood on the sidelines and watched," she admitted shamefully, "and sometimes I wasn't even strong enough to do that. I can't be that person anymore. I hate her. I hate who I've been!" Her anger was so strong that it heightened her mental faculties, and restraining Zvarin was no issue.

"You don't need to do this," Pan said softly.

"Actually, I do." Bra moved forward and stood before her friend, glaring at her with conviction. "Pan, I'm your best friend! Do you even know what that means? It means I have to be strong for you, when you're weak, until you're strong again. I have to stand for you, when you fall, until you're standing again. I know that this doesn't happen often—that you need me. But that's why it's even more critical that I step up now. You would do, and always have done, the same thing for me."

"Bra…"

"Let me finish! And if some creep comes and messes with our family, I'm going to fight beside you. This isn't only your burden to bear. We got into this mess together. If he ends up abducting you successfully, then I'm going with you. I'm in this 100% with you. We said we'd stick it out till the end together, and I'm not backing down! Do you understand me, Pan?"

Pan stared at her friend silently for a moment.

"I'm already with you," Bra said, and it sounded like a plea. "I've been here all along in spirit, but that's not enough for me anymore. Pan, please say something!"

Bra was startled when, instead of responding, Pan moved forward and gave her friend a giant hug. Pan wrapped her arms around Bra's neck and hugged the blue-haired woman tightly. Bra was tense and worried for a moment, but when she finally felt the acquiescence in the embrace, she lifted her arms to hug back.

"You're finally ready," Pan told her, pulling away and smiling "Do you think the boys ever let me fight with them? Do you think they wanted me on the Grand Tour? Do you think they welcomed me to fight against Baby? Do you think they invited me to go up against Dr. Gero and Super 17? Do you think my grandpa encouraged me to help him fight the Shadow Dragons? No. I shoved my nose where it didn't belong, and forced them to accept it. I had to fight for the privilege to fight. I took it. I earned my right to be one of them. And now, you have too." Pan smiled and squeezed Bra's shoulders. "You're one of us."

"Oh, Panny," Bra said, as tears gathered in her eyes. She dove forward, returning her friend's hug with ten times the vivacity. "Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"That goes both ways," Pan said softly.

Goten and Trunks looked on in confusion as the girls shared a sentimental moment in the middle of the combat zone. They turned to look at each other in puzzlement. Even Zvarin had raised a green eyebrow in curiosity. He had the feeling that he was about to get exactly what he wanted—or rather, who he wanted.

So, you agree to fuse with me? Bra asked Pan mentally.

Yes, Pan responded. There's no point in having separate bodies, when we could do so much more together. Let's do it.

I'm glad. Bra told her. And you're willing to do the fusion dance in front of everyone?

What other options do we have? Pan asked. We could teleport away, and do the fusion dance, and then come back as Para… but that would be pretty ridiculous and obvious. If we're going to come clean… then let's come clean.

I guess it's the end of the line. Bra turned to everyone and raised her voice to make an announcement. "Attention, everyone! I want to introduce you all to the drug that Pan and I have been using for the past few years. The performance-enhancer that made us really sick when we stopped. Once you see, you'll understand."

"Bra," Pan said softly, as her cheeks and neck flushed with mortification. "We can't."

"Yeah," Bra agreed, nodding. "But we can't not."

"What the hell kind of shenanigans are you two planning?" Vegeta roared. "Bra, you listen to me. Take your mother and the healer, and the short weakling and his dead wife, and get the hell away from this place!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Bra told him sincerely. She could not look at Goten. "We're both so sorry… for everything."

"I want you to know that you two girls have my full support," Dende told them. "You always have, and you always will."

"Thank you," Pan said softly. She turned to glance at Trunks. He was staring at her with such complete trust and love that her guilt threatened to suffocate her. She gulped. It occurred to her that once the fusion dance was performed, nothing would ever be the same. She knew that Bra could not restrain Zvarin for much longer, but she needed to steal a few seconds. They were important. She flew toward Trunks, and flung herself into his arms, grabbing the back of his head and mashing her lips against his. She tried to pour all of her apologies and regrets into that one kiss, while savoring the musky taste of his skin for one final time. When she finally pulled away, there were tears sitting on her cheeks.

"Whoa," he said with a chuckle. "What was that for?"

"Our last kiss," Pan told him, placing her hand on his cheek. She leaned forward, letting her forehead rest against his, so that their noses touched. "By this time tomorrow. I'll either be dead or gone forever."

"Pan…"

"I want you to forget me," she told him softly. "You'll never be able to forgive me—I know that. So, please. Just try your best to forget me."

"What on Earth are you talking about?" he asked her with alarm.

"Pan!" Bra yelled. "I can't hold him any longer. Get over here now!"

Turning away from Trunks, Pan flew back to her friend. "Okay. Good to go."

"This is like pulling teeth," Bra said curtly. "I can't draw it out any longer. Let's just get it over with." With a burst of power, she went Super Saiyan. She powered up a little more, trying to match Pan's power level.

Pan, on the other hand, exhaled very slowly and tried to lower her resting-state power level. The girls moved the precise amount of distance apart, and then glanced at each other.

"Ready?" Pan asked nervously.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Bra said with a shudder of dread. "This is so humiliating. I would rather ask my dad to buy me tampons."

Pan smiled at that visual. "I would rather ask your dad to help me pick out a vibrator," she added, extending both of her arms out to the right. "Enough fooling around. Let's do this."

Bra extended both of her arms out to the left. "Okay."

"Oh my god," Trunks said, as it dawned on him, before everyone else. He stared in disbelief as the girls began to move, swinging their arms toward the center with their hands outstretched. Their legs were bent slightly in the plié of dancers. They shouted, in unison, as though they had done it a hundred times before. A thousand times, even:

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…"

Goten blinked, recognizing the motions. "Hey, that's cool!" he said to his brother innocently. "I didn't know that they even knew how to do that!"

Gohan, however, was staring in slack-jawed horror as realization hit him. The girls jerked their arms back out to the other side as they straightened and pivoted, bringing their knees in to point toward the center.

"Siooooooooooooonnnnnnnn…"

"Oh, shit," Vegeta muttered. "Shit on crackers. How stupid could I be?! How fucking stupid…" He hit himself in the forehead, overcome with the memory of becoming Gogeta for the first time. "We're warriors, Kakkarot! Not ballerinas!" His stomach sank as he watched the girls swing their bent legs outward, and stretch their bodies inward in a perfect arc, allowing their fingers to touch.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A tiny burst of golden energy began at their fingertips. Then, sizzling with visible voltage, the energy blossomed until it encompassed their hands, their arms, and then their entire bodies. There was a blinding explosion of neon yellow light, almost as bright as the solar flare. Everyone was unable to see the result of the fusion for several seconds, as the girls remained shrouded in the dome of light.

Finally, she stepped forward.

First, her leg became visible as it broke through the light. A long and slender, yet finely muscled limb in a thigh-high, heeled boot. Second, her arm and shoulder became visible, along with her right breast, creating a perfect dark silhouette against the blinding light.

The men all squinted to see her. Some of them guessed or feared what they were about to see, but none of them truly knew. None except Dende, whose smile had grown considerably.

A tail broke through the yellow curtain, along with the curve of the woman's hip. There, in a small sliver of torn fabric, was an unbroken tattoo of a perfect filigree heart that had become whole. As the woman stepped completely out of the light with her head bowed down to the ground, the length of her hair became visible. And then, the color of her hair. Deep indigo locks stretched down to her knees, curling gently at the bottom. When she tilted her chin up to see her audience, they saw the same indigo in her eyes. Familiar eyes.

"Yes," she whispered, looking down at her hand. She opened her palm, and then clenched her fist. "Yes. Yes. Yes. YES! I'm back!"

All the warriors stared in speechless awe as they processed the new information. Of course, the most striking aspect of the woman was her energy signal. An immense energy signal that everyone knew. Some of the men, of course, knew her a bit more intimately than the others.

"This isn't happening," Trunks said. "This can't be true. Pan, you wouldn't have… Oh, god. Medea? It's you? You're them—she's you? And all along…?"

He felt like the world he knew was crashing down around him.

"And—and so you did this… why?" Trunks asked, as wrath and horror bubbled up inside him. "You did this… for revenge?"

The tender curve of a smile drew the corner of her lips upward. "Yeah."

Goten, similarly, was flabbergasted. The sound of her angelic voice tugged at his heartstrings. For a moment, his soul was so uplifted by the sight of the woman he had grown to love so dearly that he forgot everything else but the urge to go to her and kiss her, and tell her how much he'd missed her. She had broken his heart, and disappeared permanently. And now, here she was.

Goten found himself stepping forward in confusion and longing. "Para…?" he said, his eyebrows drawing together in bewilderment. "But I don't understand… you went back to the future. I missed you so much. Para, how could you be…"

"PARA?" Trunks shouted, turning to Goten in unbridled rage. "She told you her name was PARA? AND YOU COULDN'T FUCKING FIGURE OUT THAT CAME FROM PAN AND BRA?"

Goten blinked. "But she said she came from the future… and that she was related to Paragus."

"AGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Trunks screamed at the top of his lungs, grabbing large handfuls of his hair. "Why are you so fucking retarded, Goten? They played us! What the FUCK! It was her all along… it was them! They were her. They fucking played us!"

Goten stared at his friend for a moment, before turning to gaze at Para with a hurt look on his face. "Para…" he said quietly, listening to the sound of the word on his tongue. "You're a fusion of Pan and Bra?"

The saiyan woman smiled, her tail whipping against her thigh. "What was your first clue?"

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Trunks shouted, still grabbing his hair in revulsion. "MEDEA! Para! Whoever the fuck you are! YOU'RE MY FUCKING SISTER! WHAT THE FUCK?"

While this had been happening, Dende had pulled a small disposable camera out of his pocket and had begun discreetly snapping photos of the looks on Trunks and Goten's faces. He chuckled happily to himself as he imagined showing Mr. Popo the images later. Perhaps they could even spend warm evenings on the Lookout setting up a scrapbook of the pictures together in the garden. In fact, he was even looking forward to emailing the photos to Piccolo in hell, so that he could share the hilarity with the previous guardian. There was unlimited potential for… Dende gulped when he saw Vegeta glaring at him, and promptly hid the camera under his robes and began to whistle innocently.

"I should have known," Gohan was saying to himself. "I should have seen it. It's so obvious now. How could I not recognize my own daughter?"

"I am a greater fool than you," Vegeta grumbled. Now that he'd had time to think about it, he vividly remembered fusing with Goku to fight Omega Shenron. He could still picture the excited look in Pan's eyes as she stared up at them, thirstily absorbing the knowledge of his every motion as he performed the technique. Be careful what you do in front of young, impressionable minds, Vegeta, Bulma had warned him once. He remembered Pan bouncing around and being unable to sit still in her excitement at the concept of fusion. Of course—this was not simply hero worship. It was another way to satisfy her deep-seated need to follow in her grandfather's footsteps. Vegeta shook his head. "The thought crossed my mind—but I never believed the girls would truly do such a thing…"

"So this is what Marron was always so secretive about," Uub said, scratching his chin. "I see. Wowzas."

"Wowzas is right," Krillen said with a nod. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to Para. "NICE TRUMP CARD, BRA! YOU'RE RIGHT! THIS WAS A REALLY GOOD PLAN!"

"I am not the one you call Bra," said the indigo-haired woman as she stepped forward. "Nor am I the one you call Pan. I am they. We are one. My name is Para." She moved forward, placing a hand on her hip and using the other to adjust her hairstyle. "Now that you know who I am… you know why I am unstoppable! This is my true form—the most comfortable and natural state for my existence. I think I never stopped being Para. Not really, not deep down. I was torn apart for insignificant social functions, but now I am mended for war. And I'm going to defeat you, Lord Zvarin."

"Highly unlikely," the alien responded. But he was intrigued. He was so intrigued that he had released everyone from their force fields as he watched the woman fuse. She had also, of course, released him. The game had changed. Now, there were only two players. "Sweet Para," Zvarin breathed, and there was a note of satisfaction in his voice. "It's you at last."

Para smiled at the green-haired monster. "I trained specifically for the purpose of beating you, Zvarin. I had many years to hone my skills. You put me in that force field once, and humiliated me. I have strengthened my mind so that you can never do that to me again." She moved forward, holding her arms out in a gesture of challenge. "You wanted me, didn't you?! Now you've got me. I hope you can handle all of this!" The raw power coursing through her body blinded her to anything except the thrill of the fight. It was better than any drug high. It was better than the best sex that anyone had ever had. It was better than the best sex anyone had ever had while on the best drug high. It was better than skydiving, or rollercoasters, or the feeling of a really succulent warm steak touching your tongue.

She was Para again. It was all inside of her. A rainbow exploding into a kaleidoscope of colors filled her mind as the ecstasy took her. She was delirious for a moment. She was fierce and unapologetic. It did not matter that she had just fused in front of her family. Goten and Trunks, Vegeta and Gohan… they now all knew. But she didn't care. She was herself again. She was back home, in her own skin. She could do anything.

"Who needs Goku?" she said with derision, sticking her chin up into the air. "Who needs Gotenks, or Gogeta? You have me. I'm the next generation of awesome. Move over, boys. You're ancient history and you're all getting old. Just let me take care of business."

"Oh, please," Vegeta said with a roll of his eyes. "You can't hold a candle to Gogeta."

"I can hold an entire candelabra to him," Para promised. "You guys never really examined fusion. You did it for half an hour here and there. But I lived it. I stayed fused for over a year. I trained in this form for almost two years. What do you think Pan and Bra did in the time chamber? I am the most advanced fusion that ever lived."

Zvarin cleared his throat "While I have always found your arrogance scintillating, Para, you're being ridiculous. You are comprised of but two women, and I am one hundred superior male specimens. Do not flatter yourself."

"Sure," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder smugly. "But I have two things in my body that you will never understand. The pride and tenacity of a saiyan warrior, combined with the prudence and sagacity of a human scientist. I'm so far out of your league that it's pathetic, Zvarin. If you weren't a total asshat, and I weren't about to annihilate you, I'd buy you a membership to a dating website to help with your lady-trouble. Even evil psychopathic overlords deserve to be loved."

Zvarin had begun to smile, actually growing to enjoy the banter and teasing. "And I will be loved, Para. You will be mine, just like I always promised. It's inevitable. Now that I have you in my grasp, I will never let you go. You cannot win against me. Besides; you only have thirty minutes without your katchin jewelry. Much less now that you've wasted all this time on introductions."

"My dear Zvarin," she said sweetly. "If you don't think I can break a man's heart in thirty minutes, you don't know me at all."

"You're already broke my heart when you escaped me over a year ago," he said. "That's why I had to come after you and make you mine."

"No—I meant literally," Para explained. "I'm literally going to rip your heart out of your chest and stomp on it. The actual organ." She gave him a dazzling smile. "It's going to be so much fun! Don't worry. I'm a Super Surgeon. I'll wash my hands first."

It's that special moment we've all been waiting for. =)
I really want to write more soon, but I need your help. I literally just need you to say something, ANYTHING nice about this damn story, if you want me to pull the rest of it out of my brain where it's been gathering dust. I can dust it off. I know I can. I can bleed it out of my brain and into the virtual pages. I've just been so FRIGGING BLOCKED. I see the images so clearly. I see what happens next, and no one else knows. I need to get it out of my brain and share it with you. I need to let go.

Please help me. If you still care. You probably don't. I hope you do.
I do. I care a lot. That's why it hurts, and that's why it's hard.
I love this story SO much. It's my baby. I just want to know that if I keep writing, you'll keep reading. That it means something to you. That you're here, even after all these years. Tell me that you know it'll be worth the wait, and that you forgive me.
I gave so much to this story. I hope you could feel that. I gave it everything, until I was empty.

I just had to replenish some of that energy. And I tried my best, but I still haven't. But if you could just make the effort to write a few nice words... give me a little bit of your energy, in the form of a review...
Well, maybe I can take a little bit of everyone's energy and put it all together like a spirit bomb, except it's a story bomb. And it will be awesome, and epic... and maybe it will save the whole universe. Maybe it will just be really fun to read. But only if you help me.
PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS UP TO THE SKY (or fingers on that review button) and give me whatever energy you can spare. It's our last resort.