Peaceful Earth Saga

The Peaceful Earth Saga covers the first five chapters of Pan's Ascent.

A Day in the Life! Z-Fighter Reunion!
Sweat dripped from her forehead down her face. A few drops from her shoulder landed on her sweatpants. She wiped her face with her wrist to keep the sweat from her eyes. This sparring session was going as planned so far.

"Keep your guard up, Pan!"

After hearing these words, Pan saw her grandmother's knee approaching her fast. She blocked it with her wrists, then ducked quickly to avoid a downward chop from Chi-Chi's hand. She had to move her wrists quickly from there to stop the ensuing onslaught of pointed jabs.

Even at 60, her grandmother fought with the same ferocity as she had in the the 23rd World Martial Artist Tournament in her younger days. Pan flipped backward out of her range, then leapt high into the air. Chi-Chi was quick to catch up and the two traded kicks in midair, the two almost seeming to stand in place while doing so.

"You're got to get back on the offensive!"

In mid-sentence, a powerful kick struck Pan's guarding arms, the sheer force knocking her back down to the ground on her feet. Her shoes dragged across the grass, causing clumps of it to tear from the ground into the air around her. Pan almost began to wonder why she wasn't entering tomorrow's tournament herself with the strength she was packing.

She then barely jumped out of the way of Chi-Chi's downward kick, which sent soil flying and left an indent in the ground.

"You can't just hope to tire out your opponent. You need to defend yourself."

Pan threw a punch only to see Chi-Chi catch it and throw her behind her.

"But you need to strike smart."

Upon landing on her feet, Pan was met by a barrage of kicks, each vying to slip past her guard. Her grandmother's kicks were swift and struck hard, just as she knew they would. Chi-Chi began to wonder why her granddaughter wasn't making any efforts to move away from or counter her current combo.

"That does it!"

She stopped the attack and jumped backward, awaiting Pan's next move.

"Either hit me or I'll ring you out!"

Pan noted the painted white square around the grass that was meant to mimic the size of the World Martial Art Tournament's ring. She could tell from her grandmother's tone that she would carry out that promise if need be.

"Okay..."

She flew in at Chi-Chi, her punch knocking the guarding Chi-Chi back several feet. She then landed and intercepted her grandmother's fists, which were inches from striking her face and chest. Pan went for a sweep, but Chi-Chi leapt off the ground, then span in midair, loosening herself from Pan's grip. She landed a kick to Pan's cheek, then a jab to her stomach that forced her backward towards the painted line.

Pan could barely stand as she saw Chi-Chi charging with all haste towards her: her grandmother was ready to end it then and there. She alternated between punches and kicks with the intent of forcing Pan to slip up and end up struck out of bounds. Pan knew the spot she was in and didn't want that happening. She moved her wrists as quickly as she could, catching or redirecting the punches and kicks, as well as lifting her legs to avoid being sweeped.

After blocking her grandmother's knee with her own, she then ducked to avoid a swinging chop, then realized Chi-Chi was going for a two-handed palm strike. With her anticipation serving her well, Pan caught Chi-Chi's wrists, then kneed her before she could jump out of the way. She then turned her in the other direction and with a single palm knocked Chi-Chi past the line on her back.

"...Grandma!"

With the spar concluded, she rushed over to help Chi-Chi.

"Are you okay?" She offered a hand to help her up, but saw that her grandmother had already started to get back onto her feet.

"Why were you holding back, Pan?"

"I didn't want to hurt you..."

"That's not the only reason why," Chi-Chi said sternly, her posture clearly indicating her intent. "You deliberately let me attack you when you could have very well stopped or avoided it. Why is that?"

"I... I have to test my limits. Deal with pressure..."

"Please don't tell me you're trying to become a Super Saiyan again."

Pan was silent for the longest time: she couldn't half-truth her way out of this one.

"I'm sorry, Grandma. I've trained so hard for so long to reach it. Even now at 18, I can't do it."

"And you think all your training and skill is all for naught without it, is that it?"

Her expression and body language slowly began to morph from strict to nurturing as she placed her hand on her granddaughter's shoulder.

"You've worked so hard becoming the fighter you are. You should be proud of how far you've come as a child. You don't need it to be a great martial artist."

"But I could be so much better with it. Why can't I do it? Why could Grandpa Goku do it and not me too?"

She then realized she had brought up a touchy subject: her grandfather Son Goku, who was no longer with them. She was expecting her grandmother to either lose her temper or tear up from the mention of his name, but instead Chi-Chi kept the same temperament.

"Your grandfather Goku... he was one-of-a-kind in so many ways... but it wasn't just because of going Super Saiyan. He had it all long before he ever used it. But that wasn't what made him great: it was his character."

Chi-Chi looked over at her granddaughter, a smile on her face.

"And I know that somewhere, he's out there watching over you, so very proud of the young woman you've become. No matter what happens tomorrow, he'll always be proud of what you are."

She used her other hand to nudge Pan's chin upward so they could look each other in the eye.

"Do you understand, Pan?"

"Yeah... I do. Thanks for everything, Grandma."

Chi-Chi was about to repay the thanks, but before a word could leave her mouth, she noticed a small cut on Pan's right cheek, no doubt from earlier. Pan placed her fingers over it, then saw a tiny smear of blood on her fingertips.

"Now come on. Let's get that cleaned up."

After Chi-Chi had applied the proper ointments to the cut, Pan placed a band-aid over her cheek.

"That takes care of that. Now you'd better get changed before..."

They could hear a knock from across the hall: company had arrived. Pan could only grin and raise both her hands to her sides.

"Well, guess it's a little late for that."

"Your mother's not going to be thrilled, but just put on your jacket and dry off that hair."

Chi-Chi headed for the front door as Pan zipped up her fitness jacket to cover her sweated shirt, then proceeded to dry off her hair quickly with a towel. Even then, her hair had looked better, so she decided to put on her orange bandanna.

By the time she had entered the living room, the gang was all there, chatting about the days of old, as well as their latest misadventures.

"I've just been asked to become become the new chief of police..."

Krillin's grey mustache partially hid his grin. Despite having hair for most of Pan's life, it had began to bald once again. His wife Lazuli was next to him along with their 26 year old daughter Marron.

"That's great, Krillin. Me? Just been helping Tien with his classes."

Yamcha was even older than Chi-Chi, his long hair having gone a grey hue. He hadn't been shaving as much, smirking with a five-o-clock shadow. He had the look of a man who hadn't accomplished much in life, but being around old friends again was more than worth it.

"Ah, seems like yesterday I was babysitting Kani for him and Launch."

In the kitchen, Launch, whose blue hair had streaks of white, as well as her daughter Kani, who had the blonde hair of her other personality, were helping Gohan, Videl, and Chi-Chi prepare the upcoming meal. Tien walked over to Yamcha and lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

"She definitely picked up a few habits from you, that's for sure."

Tien had grown a grey goatee, as well as a small head of hair for the first time in years.

"It's too bad Chiaotzu couldn't make it today," Krillin said upon realizing Chaiotzu wasn't with Tien.

"He offered to take over my classes for the day while I'm here. The dojo can't pay for itself, you know."

Krillin then couldn't help but notice Tien wasn't balding nearly as much as he was. Pan finally approached the group, who turned and greeted her.

"Pan, long time no see. How's my old pupil doing?" Yamcha inquired.

"Doing alright. Almost done with school and... well..."

"Training for the World Martial Arts Tournament, right?" Krillin asked.

"Yeah, what gave it away?"

The group chuckled as Pan felt a cane tap her on her shoulder. She turned and saw...

"Master Roshi!"

His face and beard looked about the same as it always had, though he was dressed in a beige suit and had swapped out his sunglasses for reading glasses.

"Great to see four of my pupils again."

From the earliest days of her youth, Pan had been told the sprawling tales of her grandfather Goku, whom always served as an idol for her. From the moment she began to practice martial arts, she not only trained with her parents, but also everyone who had known Goku, including Roshi.

"That's right. You did train with Master Roshi as well. So Pan, you didn't have to swim from sharks, did you?"

"Oh heavens no. I couldn't do that to the Champ's granddaughter."

"Speaking of the Champ..."

Pan suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground with a hug.

"Grandpa Hercule!"

"How's my little champion doing?"

"Little? But I'm not that little..."

"Whoops. Don't wanna crush ya before the big tournament."

He finally let Pan go, who then turned around and hugged him back.

"I've just gotta say that I'll be rooting for you all the way."

Just then, another knock on the door.

"Uh, don't you all worry. I'll get it."

He lightly broke off his hug with Pan, then went over to the door, where his eyes shot up at who he saw.

"Hey, there, uh... how goes... um, please, please come on in, Vegeta."

The room almost went silent as Vegeta walked into the room, donned in a white buttoned shirt and jeans, his hair partially slicked back, and with a mustache to everyone's surprise.

"Hey Vegeta. It's been a while. Uh... nice mustache," Krillin stated, attempting to strike up a conversation with him.

Vegeta let off a small grin at the remark, then continued on until he sat on a couch. Everyone looked over at him, watching to see what he'd do next when more footsteps walked through the doorway.

"Long time no see, everyone," Bulma shouted with glee, waving her hand at all her old friends. As she stepped forward, her son Trunks was right behind her, wearing a dark blue business suit and with a light purple stubble on his face.

"Hey everyone. Finally got to take a sick day so I could see you all."

Trunks had been the president of Capsule Corp since around the time Pan was just becoming a teenager. As a result of his work, Pan often didn't see him for long stretches of time, sometimes even years. But Pan's eyes lit up at the sound of a familiar set of heels.

"Hello," waved Bulla, who donned a semi-formal red dress for the occasion.

"Bulla!"

Pan ran up to Bulla, who was also excited to see her.

"Pan!"

The two best friends hugged, then stood in place hopping for joy.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"The tournament! Oh, I can't wait to see you in action!"

"Got you a front row seat."

"To Beatdown City... for everyone else!"

The two laughed at Bulla's remark when a green arm tried squeezing past them. The two then realized they were blocking the doorway and moved to the side.

"Thank you," stated Piccolo, who donned a purple long sleeve shirt and blue slacks instead of his usual gi.

"Mr. Piccolo!"

Gohan knew his voice from anywhere. The two walked over to each other as Piccolo put a hand over Gohan's shoulder.

"It's good to see you, Gohan."

"You as well, Mr. Piccolo."

Piccolo looked over at Gohan's mother and wife in the kitchen, as well as over at his daughter Pan, whom Piccolo had fond memories of babysitting. He then felt something massive behind him.

"What's wrong?"

"That power..."

He turned around and everyone looked and saw a shadow silhouetted against the wall: it was in the shape of Goku.

When the man finally entered, they saw that he was wearing a tan suit, though the tie wasn't on perfectly. He had almost the exact same hairstyle as Goku. Chi-Chi left the kitchen to see who it was.

"Goten!"

Chi-Chi went to hug Goten and lift him off the ground, but Goten's feet were still firmly on the ground. He smiled at his mother and hugged her back with his left while waving to everyone with his right.

"Hey there."

He turned to Gohan.

"Hey, bro."

He then turned to Pan, who briefly turned her attention away from Bulla to greet him.

"Hi, Uncle Goten."

With everyone finally there, Piccolo stretched his arm to close the front door.

"Now that everyone's here..."

Everyone looked over at Videl, who was pointing at the dining room table.

"Let's all get ready to eat."

Slowly, but surely, the 19 of them picked their spots around the table, with Pan between Bulla and Kani, and her parents on the other side of the table. All of the seats were filled... except one.

"If you don't me starting off," Krillin began, "Today's the 23rd anniversary of, well..."

"It was the last time we ever saw Kakarot", Vegeta bluntly stated. His expression changed from nearly emotionless to somewhat saddened after he had stated it.

"Oh, and it's also the 30th of another historic occasion," Yamcha replied, trying to bring up the mood.

"You mean when Hercule saved mankind from Cell, right?" Bulla blurted out.

She then looked over at Gohan and Chi-Chi and realized then that it was same the day Goku had died. She also saw her father trying to hide his facial expressions even more so. Bulla was almost tempted to tear up.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright, Bulla," Gohan said comfortingly to her. "We all miss my father. But we will always have the memories we had with him to cherish. And I know for sure that he'll always be there with us in spirit."

"And we all know that if he were here," Chi-Chi began with a smile, "That he would have eaten half the food on the table by now."

This warranted several chuckles from Goku's oldest friends, who remembered the copious amounts of food he could down in a single sitting.

"Let's have a toast to my dad," Goten stated as he raised a glass.

Everyone raised a glass, one of wine for the grown-ups and one of water for those under 21, as they prepared.

"To Goku."

Everyone clanged their glass with the person next to them, then finally began eating. Yamcha couldn't help but notice Piccolo wasn't eating anything in front of him.

"You not gonna eat? Stomach problems?"

"No thanks. I'm fine."

He simply drank a glass of water, then filled it up with a pitcher before drinking it once again.

With dinner concluded, some had to take off right away while others stuck around to socialize further. Pan stood looking out at the moonlight on a balcony as she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"What's up?"

"Oh, not much, Bulla."

The two stood looking over at the moon, which was partially covered by four small clouds in almost perfect rows of two.

"Have you been training much, Bulla?"

"Not as much. My dad hasn't really been making me. Plus, there's no tournaments near my school."

"Speaking of your dad..."

Pan pointed out that Vegeta was standing in the yard by himself, a glass of wine in hand. They couldn't hear him, but it looked like he was talking to the memorial of Goku. Finished with whatever conversation he had with it, he poured the wine onto the ground nearby it before turning away.

"Is he okay?"

"He always gets torn up around this time of year. My mom, too."

"What for?"

"Well don't you remember? My dad and Goku were the biggest rivals. I think he still misses him even after all this time."

"Makes you wonder all the stuff they did before we were born, huh?"

"Yeah, Trunks was just a baby during the Cell games. Though weird thing, I noticed a picture my mom kept in her desk."

"Oh, of what?"

"It's weird... it's a picture of Trunks as a teenager, but my mom looked about the same age as when she had Trunks."

"Yeah, that is weird."

The two stopped for just a moment, taking in the calm night breeze, when Bulla noticed Pan looking somewhat down.

"What's the matter, Pan?"

"It's nothing."

"Come on, you can tell me anything. Promise I won't make fun of you."

Pan gave off a sigh, then looked over at Bulla.

"I keep training and training, working my butt off and everything, but even now..."

"You can't go Super Saiyan?"

Pan turned away.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just not good enough to pull it off."

Bulla could tell Pan wasn't in the best state of mind, so she leaned over towards her direction.

"Pan, you're my best friend and you're the most awesome person I know. You will go Super Saiyan some day."

"You really think so?"

"Think so? Why I know it."

"Bulla..." Vegeta called from across the room.

"Oh shoot, it's late. We've gotta get back home."

Bulla gave Pan a hug from behind.

"I'll see you at the tournament, Pan."

She walked past Vegeta to head downstairs as Pan continued looking forward, her mind swimming in thought.

"Pan."

She turned and saw that Vegeta was still standing there looking over at her.

"Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks, uh, Mr. Vegeta."

She watched him head out, then watched Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and Bulla heading back home in a Capsule Corp car. Not wanting to stay up and risk sleep deprivation the next day, Pan got into her pajamas and got under the covers.

"I really hope you're right, Bulla," Pan mused to herself as she closed her eyes.

32nd Tournament! Unexpected Opponents!
Pan stood waiting, donned in a dark blue gi with an orange undershirt and wristbands, as well as her bandanna. The dark blue and orange color scheme was meant to differentiate from her masters, as well as to stand out. She also donned boots based on the pair her grandfather Hercule wore out of respect for his legacy.

For years, she had watched the World Martial Arts Tournament take place, but finally, she would be able to fight among the best. She could hardly contain her excitement: Pan had dreamed of this moment since she first trained in martial arts and now she was finally living her dream.

"I'm not dreaming it: I'm really here."

She stood in a large waiting room alongside the massive number of fighters until it was their turn to be tested. She heard that in the past, there were preliminaries where the fighters would be broken up into groups and the finalist would face each other in the tournament. But now to save time, they relied on the punching machine. While earlier models were susceptible to being destroyed, these models built by Capsule Corp were designed to survive much more punishment, allowing for even higher numbers from fighters capable of them.

"Miss Pan, you're up."

She stepped into the next room towards the machine, swinging her arm to ready it. She then stood before the machine, trying to channel as much power as she could. With a mighty shout, she struck it dead-on, the force nearly causing it to shake. She caught a glimpse of the number being calculated: it rocketed past the first four hundreds.

"Five hundred and two! That's the second-highest score we've had here today. Proceed. Next!"

The easy part was over: now it was time to prepare for the actual fighting. She knew someone there had a higher score on the machine, but she didn't worry about it.

The final sixteen for the tournament had been decided and the last one standing would face off against the champion from last year. As Hercule had retired from fighting some time ago, there was a much greater variety of victors over the years. She peered across at the various characters before her: ranging from short and small, tall and bulky, and everything in between. One caught her attention:

"I can't see his face," she thought as she saw a man in an orange gi with his head covered in bandages and wearing sunglasses over his eyes.

He sat on a bench, keeping to himself, his arms covered by a white cape of sorts wrapped around them. Maybe he was covering something on his arms, but Pan couldn't tell from that distance.

Just then, another face... a familiar one.

"Kani?"

Pan approached Tien and Launch's daughter, who donned a green fitness jacket, not unlike the one Pan had worn the day before, as well as green pants similar to the type her father wore. On her hands were orange fingerless gloves and on her feet were red shoes, both similar to what her mother wore.

"I didn't expect to see you here."

Kani turned, her expression seeming out of place in a room with serious martial artists.

"Oh, well I just wanted to see how the results of my training would fare here."

"All the years I've known you, I never knew you trained."

"Well most of the time you were visiting, I was helping my mom. But I do train with my dad."

Pan was still trying to work the concept of Kani training in martial arts. As far as she knew, Kani was much like Krillin's daughter Marron, with both knowing enough for self-defense, but not really going out of their way to follow in their parent's footsteps. As far as she knew, Bulla had trained the most out of the three, and Bulla mainly stopped as a result of her father not forcing it on her like he had with Trunks.

"Kani and Nam, please report to the arena."

The two looked over at her opponent: a man in an orange and maroon robe with a white turban on his head and a dark grey beard.

"Good luck, Kani."

"Thank you, Pan."

"Welcome one and all to the 32nd World Martial Arts Tournament! We have a very special treat for you all today. Joining me today is our special guest commentator, a man who needs no introduction... our beloved hero... Hercule Satan!"

The crowd cheered in thunderous applause as Hercule approached the balding announcer, whom handed him a microphone of his own.

"Happy to be here. Can't wait to see what everyone's bringing... though if I had to predict today's winner, I'd put my money on my granddaughter Pan. You'd all better get ready out there because she's gonna take this thing by storm!"

"A bold prediction out of the gate, Mr. Satan. And now let us begin with our first match-up: between Kani and Nam."

Both entered the ring, one after the other.

"For our oldest members of the audience, Nam was last seen in this ring 47 years ago, where he fought against Son Goku in the 21st tournament. And now he's here with the child of Tien Shinhan, Kani."

Nam remembered Tien Shinhan and the brutality with which Tien defeated him in the preliminaries of the 22nd tournament long ago. Even then, Nam and Tien had reconciled over that event and part of him anticipated what the new generation of fighters would bring. Kani looked over at the crowd for her parents. Sure enough, she saw them, and neither Tien or Launch showed any signs of worrying about her. She then kept her eye on Nam, who took on a fighting stance.


 * GONG*

The match commenced and Nam charged right for Kani, who hardly moved an inch as he got closer to her.

Pan sat down on a bench, looking over at the names of the contestants on the board. She scrolled through for names of importance, starting with Kani and Nam, whose match had just begun, then peered across. As she looked over at her name and was about to read her opponent's name...

"The winner by ring out... Kani!"

She stood at her feet as Kani came back into the room, looking as unblemished as before.

"You won that match in no time at all. What did you do?"

"I got in a good hit."

Pan mused over the various ways a battle could be won in one hit as Kani then walked behind her to where she was before. After her thought concluded, Pan finally read the name of her opponent:

"Wild Tiger."

She looked across as the remaining twelve people. Wild Tiger didn't seem like the kind of name for the bandaged man and none of the smaller fighters looked or screamed "wild tiger" to her.

"Well Pan, if you win your next match, we'll be up against each other," informed Kani.

Pan looked over at the board to confirm this and sure enough, Kani was correct.

"Right. Well, don't wanna jinx it."

"Looks like you're up next. Good luck."

Pan looked over and saw Nam approaching her.

"Are you the granddaughter of Goku?"

Pan was surprised: aside from her family, most associated her more with being the granddaughter of Hercule.

"Yes. The name's Pan."

The man placed his hand out to shake.

"I am Nam. I fought your grandfather long ago. It is an honor to meet you."

Just as she shook his hand...

"Pan and Wild Tiger, please report to the arena."

"Looks like I'm up. Can't keep 'em waiting, y'know?" Pan winked.

"Good luck to you, Pan. May your future be bright," nodded Nam, who exited the room.

After Nam left, Pan watched all of the competitors to see who was leaving with her: one stood up.

"You're Hercule's grandkid?"

She looked over at a massive man, one who was nearly two feet taller than her with a dark grey braided ponytail and mustache.

"Well don't expect any special treatment from me."

He stepped forward, his mere footsteps sounding like the stomps of a giant. Pan didn't let it intimidate her, but also didn't want to underestimate him either: someone of that size had to pack some serious power at the minimum. She slowly made her way out of the room, the sunlight getting in her eyes.

"...and his opponent, the granddaughter of Mr. Satan... Pan!"

She could finally make out the arena and crowd in front of her and saw Hercule waving right at her.

"There she is! My granddaughter!"

Pan knew her grandpa Hercule couldn't help it, but blushed as she put her hand behind her head.

"Aww, Grandpa Hercule."

Wild Tiger was getting irritated waiting for her to enter the ring, as well as from all the appraisals she had already gotten from both the crowd and Hercule.

"So what if she's his granddaughter...", he thought to himself with a look of anger on his face. "She's just a competitor to me. I'm gonna knock that smirk off her face and Mr. Satan's."

Pan could see the large crowd sitting in attendance. Among them were plenty of familiar faces: her parents, Chi-Chi, and just about everyone from the party yesterday, save for the Briefs family. The four empty seats towards the entrance, which her parents had saved for them, hadn't been filled just yet.

She knew she had to focus and looked back over at her opponent, who finally began composing himself just enough to get into a fighting stance.

"I hope yer ready because I'm not holdin' back on ya!"

She took on her own and kept a close eye on him as the gong was about to be struck. From the corner of her eye...


 * GONG*

Pan noticed Vegeta and Bulla walking towards their seats with Bulma right behind them. Just then, Bulla stopped in her tracks, catching Vegeta's attention, and looked back at her.

"Pan!"

Just then, Pan realized the match had started and saw Wild Tiger's fist heading right for her. She barely blocked it in time, but was still sent back across the ground as a result of the force of the punch. She finally came to a stop, then crouched over, frustrated that she distracted herself.

"What am I doing?" she thought to herself. "He could've knocked me out of the ring! Is that how I want to go out: letting my mind wander? Pay attention, stupid!"

"Wild Tiger threw the first punch and while blocked, Pan was sent back several feet," said the Announcer.

As Pan tried to recompose herself, Wild Tiger's expression has began to shift.

"Heh, that'll teach her to think she's better than me," Wild Tiger thought to himself.

"Well, it seems to me that Pan gave him a free shot. To, uh, gauge his strength," explained Hercule.

Just then, that remark removed any semblance of achievement from his strike, as it seemed the audience bought what Hercule was saying.

"Undermine me, will you?" snarled Wild Tiger, who ran towards Pan with all haste.

"Okay, calm down," Pan thought to herself. "Just get back in the match."

She finally got back into her stance as she saw Wild Tiger lunging towards her.

He struck only air, seeing no trace of Pan, who had stepped to the side of him.

"And a swift dodge by Pan."

Just as Wild Tiger swung his arm at her, it was like it phased right through her. By the time he looked down below him and saw the real Pan ducking, she had already hopped upward with a flying knee to his face.

He stepped backward, his feet nearing the arena's edge, then as he began to regain his balance, he saw Pan running right for him. Realizing his nose was bleeding from the hit prior, he readied both his hands for a swing.

"Don't underestimate me, brat!"

Pan saw the move being choreographed a mile away as she hopped upwards towards the two-handed swing.

"I don't underestimate anyone..."

In mid-jump, she grabbed onto both of his hands, moving with them before continuing to move with their momentum along with her own. Suddenly, Wild Tiger realized he was being turned around by his opponent and despite trying to stop it, he was already spinning in place.

"Look at them go, spinning like cyclones!"

Finally, Pan stepped onto the ground as Wild Tiger was being lifted off his feet.

"I just fight them!"

Pan tossed Wild Tiger and he went hurdling out of the ring, trying to land on his feet. Instead, he saw them and his legs being embedded into the grass by the sheer force of the throw. Before his upper body could be driven underground as well, his back struck the wall, leaving an indent.

"What a throw! The winner by ring out... Pan!"

With the match concluded, Pan looked over at the crowd and saw Bulla cheering for her.

"You're the best, Pan!"

Pan waved back to her, then over at her parents and grandmother. She finally took her leave back to the room from before.

"Good job, but that's just one match so far," Pan thought to herself. "Can't get cocky."

Several matches flew by as Pan waited for her next battle. Kani was right nearby, the two knowing that they would be against each other in the ring soon.

"She didn't take that long to beat Nam, a veteran contender," Pan pondered to herself. "Just what is her secret?"

"Kani and Pan, please report to the arena."

Kani placed her shoulder over Pan.

"That's us."

Pan nodded back to her and the two made their way outside to the cheers of the crowd and their families.

"Two years in a row, Tien and Goku fought on another and each of them went on to be champion. Now we have Tien's daughter Kani against Goku's granddaughter Pan."

Pan watched Kani carefully, waiting to see her get into a fighting stance of some kind. Instead, Kani just stood regularly, as if she wasn't even in a fighting tournament.


 * GONG*

Pan continued waiting, eyeing her idle stature for any movements whatsoever. She caught a grin forming over Kani's face.

"Okay, Pan, you got me."

Kani closed her eyes and inhaled, then as she exhaled...


 * POOF*

Pan couldn't believe her eyes: Kani's hair had turned blue and her eyes green. From there, Kani took on a stance similar to Tien's with her own twist.

"Pretty smart waiting on me. But now you'd best get ready."

Her voice was still hers, but changed, as if more gruff and a little cocky.

Pan didn't think on this for long as she saw Kani having covered the distance quickly and unleashing a barrage of jabs. Pan recognized this technique from her time training with Tien: the Machine Gun Fist.

With that knowledge, Pan began guarding against it despite Kani's impressive speed. Neither could completely overtake the other, with Kani unable to get around Pan's defense and Pan unable to slip past Kani's offensive to counter-attack.

That was until Kani stopped her attack, which Pan took advantage of with a swinging kick. But as she threw it, she saw Kani sliding on the ground beneath it with her fist poised, though it looked less like an offensive attack and more like she was about to hit...

"You're up!"

Pan felt herself knocked upward off her foot.

"One!"

Then Pan was struck higher into the air with a two-handed shove.

"Two!"

Just as Kani leaped above her with the finish, Pan had intercepted her slamming fist with a palm strike.

"Would you look at that, folks! After Kani used her father's Volleyball Fist technique, her and Pan are now trading blows in midair!"

Tien watched his daughter trading punches and kicks with Pan high above the arena, hearkening back to his battle with Goku in the 23rd tournament.

Kani broke off the clash and fired off a one-handed beam, which Pan swerved in midair to avoid. Pan then flew in with two kicks, each sending Kani upward before Pan rose above her with both fists. As she went to deliver a double axe handle down onto Kani, she saw her blow blocked by one hand and didn't see the other hand until it was too late.

A chop struck the back of Pan's neck, sending her flying downward toward the ground rapidly.

"A thunderous blow by Kani and Pan is coming down fast!"

Hercule ducked behind the podium, barely able to watch Pan's descent. Just then, Pan flipped like a top on its side and landed on her feet, leaving only a few cracks on the tile floor.

"What a recovery!"

Hercule changed his demeanor the second right after Pan landed safely.

"Uh, yeah! I knew she would do that! Why, landing from that high up is like second nature to my Pan!"

Pan heard the comment, but put her mind off it and instead watched as Kani flew downwards towards her, her arms crossed and her head in front. First Pan stepped to the side, but as Kani flew back around for her, she ducked underneath it. Kani turned once more for a third pass, but this time, Pan timed it up until the final moment to avoid it.

"Look out!," shouted Hercule in worry.

Pan hopped over, placing her hand on Kani's head to help propel her further upward, as she then unleashed a two-handed palm strike to Kani's back. Pan landed to the ground as she saw Kani rolling across the ground.

"Wait, were you warning Pan to avoid Kani's attack?" inquired the announcer.

"What? No, no, no. I, uh, warned her opponent to get ready for a big hit... because Pan's got a ton of power, you see..."

With Kani taking her time getting back up, Pan was starting to find Hercule's comments a bit embarrassing.

"Oh... grandpa Hercule..."

She then drew her attention back to Kani, who got back onto her feet, then began unzipping her jacket.

"My dad told me all about how your grandfather caught him off-guard..."

Beneath her jacket was a short light green top, not unlike what Launch wore in her younger days.

"...to make sure history didn't repeat itself."

She threw her jacket to the ground, which made a loud thunk upon touching the tile ground.

"It seems Kani had been wearing a weighted jacket the entire time. Now she's bound to be even faster than before."

"Uh, sure... we'll have to see about that."

Pan wasn't expecting this: an opponent who wore weighted clothing. As far as she knew, it was a dying breed that was rarely used anymore. Even then, she didn't let Kani see any signs of panic.

"You're not the only one here with weighted clothes."

She took off her wristbands and undid her boots, all of which struck the ground hard.

"And now..."

Pan reached downward, ready to pull up her undershirt, then realized what she was doing.

"Crap!" Pan said in her head. "There's no way I can take off my weighted shirt out here!"

She let go and simply tried to wipe off her shock and get back into her stance.

"Still have something weighing you down, I see..." said Kani, who took on an even cockier grin as her stance seemed to change slightly.

"Not a problem," Pan replied back, a grin on her face as well.

"Both contestants have taken off weights, but neither's made a move just yet."

"Ah, well it's the ones that don't move that you gotta worry about," Hercule stated. "Take it from me: if they aren't moving, they've anticipating your every move."

Both suddenly broke off the standoff and charged into each other. Before either could collide, they were stopped by each other's hands, which gripped each other tight to keep their opponent from moving forward or backward.

"Now it looks like we're in the middle of a power struggle with neither able to overtake the other."

Hercule might've made another comment explaining how Pan was actually just making it seem to be the case to catch Kani off-guard, but Pan had filtered out all the noise around her, only focusing on her opponent in front of her. The two gritted their teeth at each other, each vying to break it off, but also not wanting to exposed themselves to a strike.

"Too bad you're not wearing your boots..."

Pan just realized her bare feet could be vulnerable to a stomp from Kani's shoes and saw her raising a foot. Pan moved her feet backward, then saw Kani's foot stamping nowhere near her: Kani had duped her. Just then, Kani fell downward, lifting Pan off her feet, as she booted Pan in the stomach upward.

As Kani saw Pan descending towards her, she placed her hands towards her face, her fingers spread towards her eyes. Just as Kani did this, Pan had performed the same gesture.

"SOLAR FLARE!", shouted both of them.

The crowd around them were blinded by a flash of light. The Z-Fighters, who recognized the technique immediately, had already shielded their eyes and were the only ones that could see what was going on besides the sunglasses-wearing announcer.

"I knew we should've gotten a sun shade for the arena," shouted Hercule. "I can't see nothin'! What's happening?!"

"It would seem that both Pan and Kani unleashed the blinding Solar Flare technique."

"Agh, are you sure it's not just the sun getting in our eyes?!"

Pan landed and blocked a strike from Kani with her wrist and her knee.

"You had the same idea as me," Kani grinned to Pan. "Clever, I'll give you that. But let's see you do this..."

Kani pushed Pan back with a burst of air, then began channeling ki for a technique her father recognized at first glance.

"Wait a minute, folks. Kani has..."

Pan went to strike, but saw her hands caught by Kani's, then saw two more hands right behind her shoulders, which then punched her in the face.

"Uh, no, that's just a trick of the eye," explained Hercule. "Pan's opponent is just moving her arms so fast it looks like there's two more of 'em."

But Pan knew otherwise: Kani had used her father's Four Witches technique to grow another pair of arms. She found herself backing up as she swerved side-to-side to avoid Kani's four-armed onslaught.

"All you've shown me so far are your dad's techniques..." exclaimed Pan. "What else do you have?"

She realized her back was at the very edge of the arena as she stopped a blow from Kani's hand that almost felt claw-like.

"WOLF...!"

Pan knew the technique all too well, catching the next claw strike.

"FANG...!"

But then Pan saw two more palms coming right at her: she'd never faced the technique with four hands before.

"FIST!"

Kani's extra arms forced Pan to cover her face, which left her upper body exposed. A flurry struck Pan's chest and stomach as she struggled to keep her guarding arms up. Finally, she gave out as a final four-armed palm strike sent her flying backward.

"The four-armed Wolf Fang Fist has Pan on the ropes and now she's flying out of the ring HEADING STRAIGHT FOR US!"

Hercule and and the announcer saw Pan flying right at them as they ducked for cover. Pan saw she was heading right for the crowd, just one impact away from being rung out. She tried to stop herself...

And with her ki, managed to float entirely still in place, her feet inches from touching her grandfather's balding head. If he still had his full afro like in his younger days, Pan likely would've been out right then and there.

"From behind our podiums, it looks like Pan is floating in midair, just in time to avoid a ring out."

"Yeah, that's my grand..."

Pan flew forward before Hercule could finish his sentence, blowing his hair back with the gust of air. Kani saw Pan flying overhead and was ready to knock her to the ground. Instead, Kani heard a familiar technique from Pan as she came closer.

"Kamehame..."

Pan and Kani had both been told by their families before the match to watch it with the beam attacks: only use them when no one in the crowd was in their path. As it was, Pan's kamehameha would definitely hit the spectators behind her. Was Pan really about to risk it just to win?

"You're not fooling me..."

Kani simply side-stepped and went for a four-armed slam, only to see Pan fly underneath between her legs, then right above her.

"HAAAA!"

Kani couldn't avoid it in time and swiftly covered herself with all four arms, managing to shield herself against it. It pushed back hard, threatening to make Kani lose her footing and fall out of the arena. Sure enough, the attack dissipated.

"Kani has successfully blocked the Kamehameha, but it certainly looks like it took a lot out of her."

Pan flew right in for a kick to Kani's head, but saw all four limbs caught by Kani's hands. She turned the two around and was raising Pan upward, a prelude to throwing her out of the ring. Before Kani could toss her downward with all her might, Pan aimed one of her hands and fired off a ki blast at Kani's face, forcing her to let go.

"Pan has eluded Kani's grip, but can she get back into the ring?"

She saw the ground coming for her and as her hands were about to touch the ground first, a kamehameha fired, stopping her from touching it, then propelling her backward towards Kani. With an opening, Pan slammed into her head-first, causing Kani to flip before landing on her four arms, then running over to Pan, who was still lying on her back after the hit.

"Get up, Pan!" cried Bulla.

Kani stood above her and began throwing punches at a rapid pace, then saw Pan was either guarding them or moving her head to avoid them, with her only striking the tile below. Pan then blasted the ground beneath her, pushing her backward, then swept at Kani's legs. Even as Kani was sent off her feet, she still managed to catch Pan's oncoming assault, guarding against her punches and kicks with all four arms.

"Getting tired yet, Pan?"

"How about you?"

In mid-sentence, Pan redirected two of Kani's arms, allowing her an opening to land a crucial punch. This sent Kani toppling across the ground, then slowly getting back to her feet. But even then, Pan was panting heavily.

"The match is still going and both Pan and Kani seem to be reaching their limits."

Kani gave off one more grin before starting to channel her ki once more.

"What's it gonna be this time? Eight arms?"

"Just you wait and see..." said Kani, whose tone was still as confident as before.

Pan watched as it seemed like Kani was... splitting apart... no, multiplying...

"Folks, it looks like Kani has mastered her father's multi-form technique and each one of her has four arms: sixteen in total!"

Pan knew about the multi-form technique, but never combined with the Four Witches. Each Kani almost seemed to take on a slightly different stance than the one next to her.

"Sixteen arms are better than two," stated Kani before gesturing the arms of one of her clones in a "come on" fashion.

Pan charged at one of them, finding that this clone's defenses weren't as strong as her standard self: of course, the multi-form splits power between the four of them. After getting through that clone's guard and kicking it away, she saw herself grabbed by another from behind with another closing in to attack. She quickly elbowed the clone holding her thrice to break free, then grabbed hold of the attacking clone before swinging it into the one behind her.

The fourth clone unleashed the four-armed Wolf Fang Fist on her, which this time, she was prepared for. However, she then saw the other three circling her in, also intending to unleash the same technique.

"The four Kani's are boxing Pan in and each are unleashing dual Wolf Fang Fists. It looks like Pan has nowhere to go."

Like four wolves ready to strike, the four Kani's were set to strike at once. Pan could only try covering herself up as the strikes came in.

The eight Wolf Fang Fist's struck as planned, as the crowd couldn't see Pan through the surrounding Kani's. After the final blow, the four Kani's stepped back to see their downed opponent...

"Wait... that glow..."

They saw that Pan's entire body was covered in ki and she seemed unharmed from their attack.

"Little technique of my own. Now try this..."

The ki around her glowed even brighter before an explosive burst went off, knocking the four Kani's backward.

"Pan was entirely untouched by that devastating attack and Kani's multi-form technique appears to be tiring her out."

Not bothering to take the announcer's comment to heart, the four Kani's made their way to the four corners of the ring, where they began grasping their right arm with their left as they charged ki in their palms. One of them formed a ball of ki.

"The Spirit Ball?" exclaimed Pan.

But that was just one of the clones. The other three followed suit, creating Spirit Balls of their own. Yamcha was quite surprised.

"I can hardly believe it, Tien. She not only figured out my Spirit Ball, but she combined it with your multi-form technique."

"Yes, it is impressive..." Tien stated, but paused with a tone of concern. "...but Kani's using up a large amount of ki doing all of that along with the Four Witches technique. If she's not careful, she'll be too drained to fight."

The four Kani's finally began tossing their Spirit Balls one by one as Pan swerved to avoid them. Just then, the four Kani's redirected them, forcing them back towards Pan's position. She began hopping across the ground, having to keep up with their changing movements. Each time Pan tried to approach one of the Kani's, a Spirit Ball would intervene, forcing her back once again.

"When this fight started, I did not have dodging four Spirit Ball's in mind," Pan thought to herself.

The Kani's then directed the Spirit Balls underground, giving Pan a window of opportunity. She fired off a ki blast towards one of them, but then saw it caught by a Spirit Ball firing up from below. After that, she realized the other three weren't far behind and rolled out of the way as each pierced through the tile floor. As she made it to her knees, she realized the Kani's other two arms began forming Spirit Ball's of their own.

"Oh that's just great... eight Spirit Balls?!"

They were completed and all eight were aimed right for her. Pan simply jumped high up into the air, the eight balls in pursuit. The crowd watched as Pan and the Spirit Balls flew high above them, then disappeared into the clouds above.

"Don't think you're safe up there..." said Kani, who then had the sixteen arms working in unison to direct the Spirit Balls to their intended target.

As Pan floated high above the arena, she had to swerve side-to-side avoiding the Spirit Ball barrage. At points, she had to kick them back or even strike them away with her palms, but she also found herself being knocked back and forth by them before being knocked further into the air.

"We've got her!"

She saw all eight Spirit Balls spinning around her, each in circles of two spinning rapidly. She could tell Kani didn't want her slipping past.

The Spirit Ball's stopped spinning for a split-second, then flew right at each other with all fury.

"A massive explosion just went off in the air above us! And is that...?"

The crowd could see Pan falling towards the ground, her eyes closed and not even moving.

"Pan is falling down rapidly and isn't showing any signs of slowing down! Could she be down for the count?"

The Kani's could barely stand, one falling onto her knees, the other holding herself up with her front arms.

"At least... I pulled it off", Kani thought to herself, brushing off sweat from her forehead.

Just then, Kani's eyes shot up: Pan opened her eyes and winked at her.

"A trick! She's still in it! Now we've got to...!"

The four Kani's tried mustering the strength to fire off a ki attack, but saw that they were simply too drained to do so. From there, she saw the Four Witches technique dissipating, with the four only having two arms each now.

"Down to eight arms now, huh?"

Pan charged her hands with ki and fired off two projectiles. Two of the Kani's ducked to avoid them, but seemed slow to get right back up as Pan came right for them. The other two Kani's tried getting in a punch, but Pan caught both their fists, then swung them into each other, where they fell onto the floor. Another Kani went for a kick, then saw herself being grabbed, punched, and slammed into the two from before. The last Kani stood her ground, forming a diamond shape with her hands.

"Oh no..." said Tien.

Pan was charging for her, then stopped once she noticed the move she was about to pull: the Tri-Beam.

"Shoot..." went Pan.

As she said this, she saw the other three Kani's she had floored earlier also taking aim with the same intended technique.

"This... could be really bad..."

The crowd watched in shock as the four Kani's readied the devastating Tri-Beam technique, each charging with ki.

"No, Kani!" Yamcha cried out. "You'll use up your life energy! It's not worth it!"

"Kani, listen to me..." shouted Tien. "You'll kill someone and yourself in the process!"

"Please, Kani..." cried Launch. "Don't do this!"

Kani heard the pleas from her family and realized that as much as she wanted to win, she didn't want to mortally wound or kill Pan.

"Alright."

Pan, who didn't want to get a free shot during Kani's crisis, watched as Kani lowered her arms and the three clones of her dissipated, their echoes flying back to her. Kani inhaled, then exhaled...


 * POOF*

her hair turning blonde and her eyes blue again.

"I can no longer continue the match. I give up."

"The winner by forfeit... is Pan!"

The crowd cheered once more as Kani tried stepping forward, only to slip. Before she could fall forward, Pan ran up to her, helping her up as the two walked out of the arena together.

"You definitely gave me a run there, Kani. You combining all those techniques... you've gotta teach me some time."

"Sure thing... if you tell me how you got past the Spirit Balls earlier."

"Oh that?"

Pan managed to place Kani onto a bench as Tien and Launch entered.

"Just me thinking fast and using my ki shield again."

"A ki shield? You have to show me how you do that."

"Next time we meet, we'll do that."

Tien placed his hands over both of them.

"Kani... Pan... you both fought well."

"I'm sorry about earlier, Dad."

"I know, Kani. That other personality of yours really wanted to win. But you got it under control before it could cause any real harm."

Launch walked over to her daughter and hugged her.

"You did so well, Kani. You may not have won, but we're both so proud of you."

"Need a hand up, Kani?" offered Pan.

"Thanks for offering, but I'll be alright."

Kani found that she was able to get up on her own, though Tien and Launch took her hands just in case she needed support.

"Good luck with the rest of the tournament, Pan. We'll be rooting for you."

Pan nodded back to her as she watched Kani and her parents leaving. With two matches completed, Pan just had to wait for her third.

"Pan and Noget, please report to the arena."

It seemed to go so fast for Pan as she waited to see who would be fighting her...

The caped fighter with the bandages and sunglasses to cover his face.

"So the mystery man's name is Noget, huh?" she pondered.

After the last match, Pan made sure to remove her weighted undershirt in the changing room: she now had maximum mobility. But of course as the last match taught her especially, she had to remain ready for anything.

"And now we begin the quarter-finals, starting with Pan against Noget!"

"My Pan's already got two in the bag, so I don't think we're in for much of a surprise with this one."

"Well now, we'll have to see once the match starts, Mr. Satan."

As Pan made her way out of the arena, she couldn't help but notice something peculiar: her father wasn't in the crowd. As far as she knew, her dad had no intention of entering the tournament.

"It wouldn't really be like him to do that... then again..."

She knew that her father was particularly focused on his scholarly work, but he still took the time to train most days. Plus, there was that one time she found a caped costume in his closet, as well as a pair of sunglasses quite similar...

No, it had the exact inscription on the side as the ones her father had.

"I'd know those sunglasses from anywhere!"

She pointed over at Noget, who hardly nudged as she questioned him.

"Is that you, Dad?"

Just as she shouted this, she saw her father back in the crowd: he couldn't be in two places at once. Just realizing it couldn't be her father, she was still curious about why he had his father's sunglasses.

"Okay, just who are you and what are you doing with my dad's sunglasses?"

The man took them off, though it was still hard to tell who he was. He then began undoing the bandages, starting from below with his mouth.

"I must say, Pan..."

That voice...

"I'm really impressed that you made it this far."

Gohan and Chi-Chi were shocked at the face underneath.

"That's..."

The man then took off the cape which had covered his arms, which revealed his blue long-sleeved undershirt.

"Uncle Goten..."

Uncle Goten's Power! Pan Struggles!
The crowd watched as Goten, whose hair was nearly identical to Goku's, placed his cape onto the ground outside the arena, then tossed the sunglasses over to Gohan.

"Wait a minute, folks... it appears an error was made with the writing down of Noget's name. Not Nos Noget... Son Goten... Son Goten! The son of Goku!"

"Piccolo... did you know it was Goten this whole time?" inquired Gohan.

Piccolo nodded, then looked back at the ring, where Pan was shaken by the realization of her opponent.

Goten, however, was entirely relaxed. For him, the ring brought him a sense of clarity, almost like it was a home away from home. It brought back memories of 23 years ago...

When he was seven years old, getting to meet his father for the first time.

"Hey Chi-Chi, I think that's a little me behind your leg."

Ever since Goten was young, he had heard tales about his dad, but knew that he wasn't there. But even then, the two were ecstatic to see each other. Goku taking him up into his arms and playing airplane were among Goten's most cherished moments in his life.

"Listen well, Goku. Remember, I can only give you 24 hours. No more, no less."

He recalled those words from Fortuneteller Baba now as an adult, though at 7, he thought nothing of them. By the time he was fighting his best friend Trunks in the Junior League final, he had probably forgotten all about it.

Then he recalled participating in the tournament with Trunks, using the guise of Mighty Mask. It was working well until they went up against Videl, who got in a kick that went through their disguise, exposing the two.

"Gohan's brother, and...?"

After being disqualified, he watched the rest of the tournament with his mother in the crowd. He remembered the highlights: "Great Saiyaman" fighting Videl and the two leaving the ring happy for each other, his father fighting Vegeta in the ring, and then the final match between Goku and Hercule.

He had seen his dad get this far and was certain he'd become the new world champion. Instead...

"Can you believe it, folks? Hercule managed to ring out Son Goku with just a single punch!"

Goten couldn't believe it: he had seen his father go the distance against Vegeta, so to see him lose against Hercule like that. At first, he was about to get upset...

Then he saw Goku shaking hands with Hercule, chuckling happily despite his loss. By the time Goku was in the stands hugging him, Gohan, and Chi-Chi, Goten had moved on from it.

"So, guys... now that the tournament's over, what do you wanna do now?"

Goten's day was even better after that. They went to an amusement park, where they traveled hand-in-hand like a family. Though Goten was too small for most rides, Goku still tagged along with him on the smaller kiddie coasters.

They were eating frozen treats soon afterward when he saw Gohan sitting next to Videl, ice cream cones in hand. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he could see them laughing with each other. Just then, Gohan stomped the ground so hard he accidentally caused a small shake in the ground.

"Uh, is it an earthquake?"

Videl, panicked from the shake, lost control of her hand, which sent her ice cream cone into Gohan's face.

"Gohan?"

Videl saw the ice cream still stuck on his nose, almost like a clown nose. The entire table laughed in joy, Gohan and Videl especially, who couldn't hide their blushes. Goten could barely sit in his seat, pointing at Gohan.

"Gohan looks like a clown!"

Their laughter was interrupted when Goku felt a hand striking his shoulder. Everyone turned to see who it was. Goten saw Vegeta standing before Goku with Bulma and Trunks between them.

"Hey, Vegeta! Bulma! Wanna join us?"

Goten jumped onto the ground to see Trunks as the two families ended up coming together.

A favorite moment of his and Trunks was talking Goku and Vegeta into going on a roller coaster. The two of them watched their dads going up the ramp, Goku noticing Vegeta's arms crossed. They couldn't hear what they said, but they figured Goku was telling Vegeta to put up his hands on the way down.

Sure enough, the two went down and Goku had his hands in the air and chuckling away. Vegeta saw this and decided to follow suit. After they had gone through a loop-de-loop, the two could see Vegeta with the smallest grin, trying in vain to hide it.

"I thought you said your dad didn't like roller coasters."

Once Goku and Vegeta got off the coaster, Goten saw Trunks run over to his dad.

"Was that ride fun, Dad?"

Everyone was surprised to see Vegeta in rare form: he patted Trunks on the head and smiled at him.

"Are you having fun, Trunks?"

Of course Vegeta wasn't the type to admit he was having fun, but even he wasn't immune to the infectious cheer of that day.

They had a big dinner that night, where the Saiyans especially ate copious amounts of food to Videl and Hercule's surprise, who thankfully had the money with which to pay for all of it.

At the end of the day, they all got ready to go their separate ways. Goten and Trunks traded prizes from games between them as Goku and Vegeta shook hands, wishing each other well. Afterward, Trunks saw Goku crouching down in front of him.

"Hey, Trunks. It was nice seeing you again. Keep an eye on Vegeta for me."

Before, Trunks didn't think much of Goku from what he had heard, but his view of him had changed. He shook Goku's hand like his father had before.

"You got it."

Goku then went over to Videl, who was getting ready to leave.

"It was really nice meeting you, Videl. I hope you and Gohan continue to be good friends."

He was still utterly clueless in regards to romantic relationships, but Videl shook his hand happily all the same.

"We will."

That night, Goten recalled falling asleep on his parent's bed, between Chi-Chi and Goku. It was the best day of Goten's life.

Then, the next day came.

"Why are we back at the tournament, Dad?"

Goten had enjoyed one day with his father and soon saw Fortuneteller Baba appearing before them.

"Goku, it is time."

Goten could see his mother and Gohan tearing up a little.

"What does she mean 'it's time'?"

Chi-Chi hugged Goku tightly as Goku pat her back reassuringly.

"It's okay, Chi-Chi."

He then looked over at his eldest son.

"I'm proud of you, Gohan."

"Goku, we mustn't keep them waiting."

Goten was finally starting to piece together everything: his father had to leave for good. The realization hit him so hard he couldn't control himself.

"No! Dad!"

He ran over, grabbing onto Goku's leg as tightly as he could, not wanting to let go.

"You can't go, Dad! You can't!"

Goku looked over at Goten, whose tears were running down his gi.

"You're going to be alright, Goten."

"No! Not if you go!"

Goku gently grabbed hold of Goten and lifted him up, allowing his youngest son to hug him.

"I love you, Dad."

His father hugged him back.

"Take care of Chi-Chi for me."

Goten, tears running down his cheeks, looked his father in the eyes and nodded. And as Goku placed Goten back onto the ground, he saw Goten's sadness had left his face.

"I'll grow up to be as strong as you, Dad. I promise."

Goku nodded, then joined Fortuneteller Baba as Goten watched his father leave his sight, never to be seen again.

Since that day, Goten had trained hard to become the man he had met. To become Goku. And now that he was at this tournament, he would see that come to pass. But now there he was against his niece Pan, who he could tell was panicked.

"Uncle Goten has trained with everyone I have... longer than I have. Even if I'm younger, he knows everything I do."

But even then, Pan had fought hard to get to where she was now. She couldn't back out now. The shock was out of her system, replaced with determination.

"Alright, Uncle Goten. I'm ready."

"Let's both give it our very best, Pan."

Both finally took on their stances.

"With that error corrected, let the quarter finals begin!"


 * GONG!*

Goten saw Pan rushing at him, swerving to avoid her strike. Before he could attack back, she threw a swerving kick, forcing him backward. He found himself standing in place, moving his upper body side-to-side to avoid Pan's punches towards his head.

After Goten grabbed hold of Pan's left wrist with his right hand, Goten threw his own left-handed strikes, each of which Pan redirected with her right arm.

He went for a sweep to Pan's legs, only for her to hop over it, then fire off a ki blast. Goten moved his arm to block it, then saw Pan squeezing her wrist out of his grasp.

In both their heads, it seemed like eternity had passed with the two simply avoiding or blocking each other's blows without either getting in any successful hits.

"It has been a full minute into the match so far and both remain at a standstill."

Pan and Goten paused for a moment, eyeing each other's subtle movements.

"I've stopped Goten from getting me so far, but I can't land anything on him either."

"Pan can't hit me, but she's quick enough that I can't hit her."

Goten could see Pan slowly moving her feet: she was about to charge at him. He saw her flying forward and readying her fist, as he began taking on a defensive stance. As her feet touched the ground before the impending strike, Goten went for a block with his right and a counter with his left.

"This is too predictable for Pan."

Just then, Goten looked and saw Pan wasn't there. The ground she was standing on just now had a few cracks: she had jumped upward. He heard something firing above him and moved to the side, avoiding a ki projectile. From there, he saw her flying above him, raining down several in his direction.

He jumped up after her, moving to avoid some ki blasts while firing some of his own to counter them. Finally catching up to her, Goten charged up ki in one hand before unleashing it in a burst. Pan guarded in time, but this powerful explosion of ki sent her far upward: it was nothing like the ones she dealt with in training.

"Okay, there went that plan. Let's see..."

Pan began cupping her hands for a trademark technique Goten knew just as well as her. He proceeded to do the same as the two began the familiar chant.

"Ka..."

"Ka..."

"Me..."

"Me..."

Their cupped hands were flowing with ki.

"Ha..."

"Ka..."

"Me..."

"Me..."

Pan paused for a moment upon catching her uncle's mispronunciation.

"Wait a second... Kamekame? Uncle Goten should know better."

But she realized Goten was counting on her catching that.

"Haaa!"

She wasn't in a position to fire back her Kamehameha in time as Goten's left his hands rapidly towards her.

"I should've stayed focused! Rookie mistake, Pan!"

Even in her frustration, she still managed to move out of the way of it, the kamehameha firing farther into the sky. Pan saw Goten flying right at her afterward as the two clashed in midair.

"Pan and Goten are so high up I can barely describe what they're doing!"

"Yeah, they look like little ants up there!"

With a bubble of ki bursting around Pan, Goten was pushed downward as he then defended against her own onslaught. The crowd watched as Pan and Goten switched places between the attacker and defender constantly while slowly hovering lower back towards the arena.

Finally, they were on the ground once again as Pan saw Goten clearly choreographing a left punch and stopped it with a right of her own.

"Rock!"

Pan was puzzled by this.

"Rock? As in rock, paper, scissors?"

She had never recalled learning any such technique, nor hearing of her grandfather using it. This was one move of Goten's she didn't know.

Pan tried to anticipate the next move: if rock was a punch, a fist, then paper would have to be a chop, or maybe a flat strike with the palm.

Yamcha could barely watch. Bulma turned to him for a moment.

"What's wrong, Yamcha?"

"A memory... just a memory is all."

Just as Pan moved her left hand to try to counter whatever paper was, she instead saw that Goten's right had snuck past her, the index and middle finger coming right for her eyes.

"Scissors!"

Pan cried out, her eyes poked, covering them with her hands. Obviously Goten wasn't trying to hurt her severely with the move, but it definitely didn't tickle. By the time she realized she was vulnerable, she felt a palm strike to her nose.

"Paper!"

She could barely tell where she was as she was sent backward.

"Pan!" Hercule cried out.

Even now, she had to try landing or else it would all be over for her. She tried touching the tile ground with her feet...

And she did. She began to slow down, but she had the feeling she was inches from leaving the square. Sure enough, her heels left and she was hanging on with her toes, struggling to keep her balance.

"Now wait a minute..." Hercules asked while turning to the announcer. "That couldn't have been a legal move..."

The announcer looked over at a paper with the rules to see if that was the case.

"Currently, poking the eyes is not recommended... but it is not an illegal move."

Goten looked over at Pan, who was standing upward, but her eyes still closed and her hands over her nose.

"He really got me there. Uncle Goten's probably ready to ring me out right this minute."

Finally, Goten floated upward, then flew at Pan for a two-legged kick.

"I can hear him. He's coming. I don't know if this'll work, but it's all I have right now."

Just as Goten closed in, he saw Pan creating two spheres of energy in her hands. He tried to hurry, but before his feet could hit their mark...

He felt something keeping him in place, almost like he was being pulled into a vacuum.

"What? How is she...?"

He could barely move as more and more ki generated in Pan's arms.

"What's this? Pan has stopped Goten in his tracks with a fantastic new technique!"

Goten suddenly felt himself being pushed backward as he then saw Pan combining the two spheres together. Even as he tried to shield himself with his wrists, a large pink sphere of energy emerged in front of him, threatening to break through his guard.

Just then, the sphere burst, causing Goten to grind across the tile floor back-first before coming to a stop by putting his hand into the floor, pinning him in place before he could fly back further.

"Yeah, that's the way, Pan!" shouted Hercule, his arm up in joy for her.

Pan could still barely see, but she knew an opportunity was in front of her and came right at Goten.

Goten was slow to get up, his long sleeves torn, practically made short-sleeved at this point, and his orange gi was partially singed.

"That power... I could've been sent out of the arena."

As he mused over this, he saw Pan about to attack. She still had her eyes closed, but Goten saw her duck under her swing and punch him in the stomach.

"Shoot... I'm still sluggish from that move."

This time, Pan was finally starting to land blows on Goten. He couldn't cover himself fast enough in the state he was in, and even the strikes he could land barely glanced her enough to throw her off.

"You can do it, Pan!" shouted Bulla from the crowd.

With the exceptions of her, Hercule, and Pan's parents, the rest of the Z-Fighters were torn on who to root for. Chi-Chi especially couldn't pick between her youngest son and her granddaughter.

As Goten was being forced further back, Pan's eye sight began to clear up, giving her an even better advantage.

"Pan has completely turned the tables on Goten. This match may just be over."

Pan saw Goten crossing his arms and aimed for the head to get around them. But then she heard Goten shouting...

A flash of golden light got into her eyes as she felt herself being pushed back by a surge of ki. As she began to get up, her vision was now clear of blurs.

"What was that?"

She didn't even have to look at Goten to realize he had powered up: ki was surging from his body.

"He couldn't..."

Her eyes shot up: Goten's hair was...

"Uncle Goten's gone... Super Saiyan."

The crowd was stunned, almost speechless.

"I think Goten must be wearing a special kind of hairspray. One that, uh, changes your hair color in direct sunlight."

"But wait, Mr. Satan. We've been in direct sunlight this entire time."

"Well, it needs a lot of sunlight. Plus, it takes time, y'know?"

Hercule's excuse for Goten's change in appearance weren't helping Pan's nerves. She knew how powerful Super Saiyan's sounded in the tales of her grandfather using the form. And here she was, faced against the first Super Saiyan she had ever seen in her life.

"What am I supposed to do now? Do I even have a chance?"

She looked down to her fists, whose fingernails dug into her palms.

"I don't have a choice. I have to try."

Goten watched as Pan tried taking on a similar stance he had before, charging with ki, shouting throughout.

Chi-Chi knew what Pan was trying to do in desperation.

"Oh no..."

Videl and Gohan watched as their daughter tried attaining the form in mid-battle.

"Gohan... she's..."

He couldn't even speak: he didn't know what was going to happen.

Bulla turned to her father in concern.

"Can she do it? Can Pan go Super Saiyan, Dad?"

vegeta looked back to his daughter, but didn't have an answer for her.

Hercule didn't know what to think.

"Please be okay, Pan."

Goten continued watching as Pan attempted a transformation, but saw no signs of any gold in her hair or her eyes turning green: all she was doing was burning through her own ki. With that in mind, he finally looked ready for combat.

Pan saw Goten getting ready to make a move and prepared for this while still trying to attain Super Saiyan as quickly as she could. She took a step forward, expecting him to fly straight for her...

Instead seeing only a streak of gold zooming past her. She turned around as quickly as she could, ready to block, but even then, Goten's punch slammed her into the tile floor, causing her to bounce up into the air.

"I couldn't barely keep up with his movement! I couldn't even block that!"

She flipped multiple times in midair, both to regain control and to get some distance, but Goten didn't even have to get near her: he thrusted his fist forward, pushing Pan back with a powerful gust of air.

"Oh, I can't look!" said Hercule, covering his eyes.

Pan's feet were about to hit the wall over the crowd, but she stopped herself in midair just before and flew right to her uncle, fists raised. She went on a barrage, trying as hard as she could to land just one hit on Goten, but seeing him continually disappearing and reappearing left to right to avoid everything she threw at him.

Realizing this wasn't working, Pan finally fired off two ki blasts, which Goten didn't try to avoid, then jumped backward, panting heavily and her expression of frustration and confusion plainly visible on her face.

"It seems that Goten has Pan on the ropes!"

"Oh, that? Uh, that's a classic technique of mine. You make your opponent think you're giving up and not fighting for real, then when they take the bait, it's all over. It's a highly advanced technique, mind you. Not one just anyone can pull off."

"You're not helping, Grandpa Hercule!" Pan practically shouted in her head.

She went for the first thing she could think of: she ran around Goten, various afterimages of her following suit. Would it work? She had no guarantee, but she didn't have time to think it through.

"It now looks like Pan is using the Afterimage Technique."

"See, look at that! Pan's moving around so fast he couldn't possibly keep up with her."

Goten closed his eyes, then threw a punch from his side. Pan managed to duck just in time, but the sheer force blew her back towards the edge of the ring, her ear ringing. She fell onto her knees for just a moment, slow to lift herself back up.

"I can still stand. I can still fight. I'm not giving up."

She finally got back onto her feet, her fists raised as Goten floated towards her. She then quickly shifted her hands to the sides of her face by her eyes.

"Solar FLARE!"

A flash flew towards the crowd, blinding most of the spectators. The announcer once more was unaffected thanks to his sunglasses while Hercule was not as fortunate.

"The sun's getting in my eyes again!"

Pan looked over to see if Goten was even affected, but she saw Goten nowhere in sight. She could hear him charging ki to her left and turned to strike him, only to see no sign of him once more.

"Can't give up. Can't stop now."

She then heard Goten to her right. Once more, nothing. She then saw Goten standing right before her, his back facing the edge of the arena. As much as Pan was tempted to jump backward or even stumble in terror, she grinded her teeth and punched him in the face.

"Wait...!"

Her fist had gone right through his head. Then afterward, his image disappeared entirely. She heard a flash behind her and even as she tried to turn around, she felt something strike the back of her neck.

After Goten's chop, Pan lost her footing, watching in slow motion as she fell towards the grassy ground outside the square.

"Is it... all over?"

Pan could see her hand twitching: she wasn't paralyzed. She could still move.

"No, it's not over..."

She span horizontally, reaching for the tile floor, but seeing only the side. But she had to try to stay in the fight.

"Come on!"

She struck the side with her hand, embedding into it with her fingers and stopping her fall.

"I've done it! I'm still in it! I can still..."

"We have ourselves a ring out!"

She looked down at her feet and saw one of her legs clearly raised off the ground, and the other...

Her toes touched the grass. She didn't even notice it because she was so caught up in the moment of trying to stop herself.

"Goten wins the match by ring out!"

Hercule was stunned.

"Are you sure? I couldn't see because of the sun."

The announcer pointed at his sunglasses, meaning he could see even when everyone else was blinded by the Solar Flare from earlier.

"Oh." Hercule sighed, finally accepting that Pan had lost. "Pan fought well up to the very end."

The match finally over, Goten's hair reverted back to normal and to the shape of Goku's as he walked over to Pan, who was still hanging onto the edge of the arena. He crouched over to look her in the eyes.

"You did well, Pan."

Goten put out his right hand to help her up. Time seemed to pause as Pan vented in her head.

"I couldn't do it. Nothing I did worked. I needed Super Saiyan to stand a chance... and I just can't."

Even then, she put a smile on her face and grabbed onto Goten's hand with hers.

"No, you did well, Uncle Goten."

As the two stood before each other post-match, she put her hands together and bowed her head to him as Goten did the same back to her. The crowd cheered at the respect the two paid to each other as the two finally left the arena.

Upon being eliminated, Pan sat in the crowd next to Bulla and in front of her parents as they watched the rest of the tournament to see how far Goten could go. Sure enough, they were at the final match.

"Here we are, at the grand finale! Goten, the son of Goku, against last year's champion, Nareg!"

They saw a blonde-haired man in a light purple and white martial arts top with a collar. He wasn't quite the pretty boy of his younger days, but his slicked hair and two bangs in the front still made him irresistible even now.

"That Nareg guy's pretty cute, huh Pan?"

Pan didn't answer, instead watching the match about to commence.


 * GONG!*

It didn't take long before Goten knocked Nareg out of the ring.

"It's all over, folks! Goten wins by ring out!"

She watched with her family and friends as Goten took his place before the announcer, whom raised Goten's fist into the air.

"Goten is the new martial arts champion of the world!"

Thunderous applause roared across the crowd as Pan applauded her uncle as well.

Soon after, the family was eating together, a massive table covered with food between them. Goten was eating up a storm, not unlike his father, to the chuckle of Goku's old friends.

Gohan and Videl noticed Pan, whose appetite sometimes neared that of her grandfather, was hardly eating.

"You okay, Pan?" inquired Videl.

"Yeah..." answered Pan. "Just don't want to get a stomach ache."

"Just let us know if there's anything you need," replied Gohan.

It was getting late and everyone was getting ready to go their separate ways. Pan sat by a bench by herself as she saw everyone else around Goten. She was approached by Yamcha, who sat next to her.

"It's a rough break, I know."

Pan hadn't looked over at him yet, still looking down at her feet.

"I made it to the quarter-finals three times... and each time, someone stopped me."

He wrapped his arm around her back to tap her on the shoulder.

"Always keep trying. I'll be rooting for you in next year's tournament."

Pan smiled at Yamcha as he began to get back up.

"Be seeing you, Pan."

From what she could hear, it sounded like Goten was about ready to leave. She got up from the bench and walked over to her uncle, her hand out to shake.

"Congratulations, Uncle Goten."

He took her hand and shook back with a genuine smile of appreciation.

"Thank you, Pan. Keep up your training and we're bound to face each other again."

He waved his hand to her and everyone around him as he flew off into the night sky.

"Hey, Pan..."

Bulla approached Pan, Bulma and Vegeta alongside her.

"We're turning in for the night. Call me up tomorrow, okay?"

"You got it."

Pan lied in her bed, trying as hard as she could to get to sleep. She obviously did a lot for one day and it was clearly the time for her to rest. She folded her pillow and turned her body.

She was still awake another hour later. A warm shower later, she tried to cool off in her bed to try again.

Even with her eyes shut as much as she could shut them, no dreams came to her: just the blackness of closed eyes.

"Maybe I should get in some exercise. Tire myself out."

Donning fitness attire, Pan tried various workout machines throughout the house. Weights. Pushing. Pulling. Her arms. Her legs.

Still nothing.

"I can do everything at the max weight. I can go past it, but I'll break the machines. All of this is just a warm-up."

She mused over what to do next.

"There's nothing else I can do... here."

She looked out a window, knowing that Bulla's house was just a flight away. Her family still had the gravity machine outside their place. Maybe if she trained with that...

"It'll just take a few minutes to fly there. I can use that for a while, then I'll be back and able to sleep."

Pan opened it, but then...

"What are you doing up at this hour?"

Her father walked over to her, dressed in striped sleepwear and rubbing his glasses with a cloth.

"Well?"

"I'm having trouble sleeping, so I'm going to go work out outside for a bit and..."

"You're going to Bulla's to use the gravity machine."

Pan couldn't talk her way out of this one: her dad practically read her mind.

"Look, Pan, I understand you're frustrated about the tournament because you lost to your uncle..."

She pointed right at her father, nearly poking him in the chest.

"You think that's what this is about?! Me losing to my uncle?!"

Gohan stepped back to give her space while trying to raise his hands in a "calm down" fashion.

"You told me grandpa was the only one who ever went Super Saiyan... and now so can Goten!"

"I didn't want you to think that..."

"That what?! That I can't do it?! That no matter how hard I work, no matter how much I sweat and bleed, that I can never go Super Saiyan?!"

"Pan, please listen..."

"All my training all of my life was for nothing because I couldn't even do it! Not even if my life depended on it!"

"But your life didn't depend on it. It was a fighting tournament. Nothing was at stake."

He took off his glasses, then put a hand on Pan's shoulder.

"I think it's time I showed you..."

With a burst of ki, Gohan's hair turned a golden hue.

"Your grandfather taught me..."

"You kept this from me?! All of this time?!"

Seeing her father go Super Saiyan had set off Pan even more.

"Pan, I..."

"You knew I had tried for so many years, yet you didn't help me?! You kept it to yourself!"

"I'm sorry, Pan. I..."

She brushed his hand off her shoulder, then turned toward the open window.

"Don't want to share it with me? Fine! Then I'll just find my own way!"

Despite Gohan putting out his hand telling her to stop, Pan flew into the night sky.

"Gohan, what happened?!"

Videl had just woken up, seeing Gohan with golden hair.

"And where is Pan?!"

He deactivated his Super Saiyan form, picked up a phone, and began dialing.

As she flew miles a minute, Pan was already regretting how she acted.

"Damn it... I was acting like a kid! I shouldn't have bolted like that!"

But even then, she saw Bulla's house just eyesight away, and with it, the gravity machine outside of it. The chance to train at her hardest was right in front of her.

"But if I use it..."

She remembered Bulla giving her the password for entering, which she recalled seeing her father use. A few taps and the stairway lowered. Pan checked to make sure no one else was around her and closed it shut.

Her parents didn't have a gravity machine like this at home and while Bulla trained from time to time, she had rarely used it due to her father not pushing it onto her. Even when Pan had asked to use it in the past, her parents made sure Vegeta and Bulma had it off-limits.

"With this, I can finally push myself far enough to go Super Saiyan."

She had never used it before, but she found it was simple enough to navigate: the default gravity setting was 300 times Earth's gravity.

"Okay, here goes..."

Pan had her hand over the large on switch.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..."

Vegeta was behind her, walking towards her.

"My parents...?"

"Called, yes, but I heard you flying in before that."

She could tell from Vegeta's facial expression that he wasn't in a gaming mood.

"You want to become the strongest in the universe, is that it?!"

"I just...I just want to be able to go Super Saiyan."

"And you won't rest until you do. You're willing to go to any length, is that right?!"

Pan couldn't answer.

"That's the Saiyan pride in you. A thirst for power. The desire to be superior to everyone around you."

"It's not... it's..."

She stumbled on her own tongue: Pan didn't know what to say.

"Call it what you will, Pan, listen well: obsessing over it to no end will only ruin yourself and cost you everyone you care about."

"What do you mean?"

Vegeta sighed, then turned his back to Pan.

"It was my pride that nearly destroyed this world. I was responsible for the Cell Games... and your grandfather's death."

Pan couldn't believe it: as far as she knew, Vegeta was one of the heroes who helped stop Cell.

"I could've stopped it from happening... stopped Cell when I had the chance... if I had just swallowed my Saiyan pride. But instead, I let it all happen. All because I wanted to prove how great I was. How much better I was than everyone else."

She could tell Vegeta was trying to hide his emotions from her.

"Cell killed my grandpa, not you."

Despite her words, Vegeta turned to her, a lone tear going down his face toward his mustache.

"If I had just stopped obsessing, stopped trying to best Kakarot at everything, he would still be with us. It's my fault... and mine alone. No one else's."

She knew that her grandfather and Vegeta had a rivalry in the past, but never did she think it was that fierce. And now she truly understood why this time of year, around the time Goku was seen for the last time, always got to Vegeta.

"23 years ago, we fought one last time before he left for good. Fought with everything we had. He won. Even in the afterlife, he's perhaps the most powerful warrior in all existence. But it was then that I finally accepted what I was: one of the strongest warriors besides him. I could stop obsessing. Live content with what I am. Be free of my pride."

He turned back to her, wiping the tear off his face with his hand.

"I only wish I had learned that while your grandfather was alive."

Pan saw what Vegeta was trying to tell her: that his pride, his quest to become the best, was destructive, and if she wasn't careful, she could go down the same path.

"Now go on home to your parents."

As Pan walked out of the gravity machine, she paused for a moment, trying to come up with a way of thanking him, or even reassuring him that he was still a good person. But at that moment, Pan couldn't convey it in words. So she left, Vegeta still standing in the gravity machine as the door closed and the room darkened to pitch-black.

Finally arriving home, morning fast approaching, Pan unlocked the front door, seeing her parents waiting for her.

"Mom, Dad... I'm sorry. I'm just so frustrated with myself. With what I can't do right now. I shouldn't have run off like that."

Her parents' eyes steered away from her.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is..."

Pan began to notice they were looking behind her, their expressions showing a sense of dread.

"What is it?"

She turned around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary...

Except for a massive round spaceship hovering over the city nearby. Pan grabbed onto her dad.

"What is that, Dad?!"

"...Frieza's men."