“No, let her go.” Pan’s heart beat a mile per minute, fearful of what Bojack might do to her defenseless alternate self. The young girl howled as the space pirate squeezed her head tight, almost hard enough to pop it. She struggled to free herself, but Bojack’s grip was an unbreakable vice.
Little Pan’s desperate pleas only earned a cruel smile from the villain. “I shall, provided you don’t resist what comes next.”
“Don’t! Run away!” But her alternate self howled as Bojack’s nails dug into her scalp. Blood leaked from the wound, stopping any attempt at brave self-sacrifice.
“Oh, this is going to be fun. You heard him. Resist, and we kill the brat!” Pan grunted as Zangya launched a ki blast into her exposed chest.
“You!” But she gasped as she found her movements restricted, like a spider had caught her in an invisible web. “What the?”
“You aren’t going anywhere,” the larger of the pirates said, Bido, hands extended. On the other side stood the short one, Bujin, his pose mirroring his fellow pirate. Both grinned in triumph, convinced they had their prey dead to rights.
“Better,” Bojack said. Pan jerked back as a powerful blow struck her hard in the chest. Trapped as she was, she hadn’t the space to move with the punch to lessen the blow. Pan grimaced. The punch had cracked something for sure.
“Told you we’d give you what’s coming to you!” Zangya said, patting Pan’s cheek before striking her with a nasty jab where her boss wounded her. Now Pan was certain she’d heard something crack.
Seething, Pan gathered her ki but stopped as her counterpart howled when Bojack applied pressure to his captive. He smirked, promising worse punishments if she defied him again.
“Hurry up and destroy her,” the turban-wearing pirate said. “They’re sure to sense the disturbance and send someone.”
But the pirate leader didn’t seem too concerned. “Let them. I’ve sensed their guards’ power. They’re no match for us. Besides, by the time serious reinforcements arrive, we’ll have hijacked a ship and be long gone.”
“He’s got a point, Bujin. We can afford to play a little,” Zangya said, shooting a consecutive blast of ki blasts into Pan’s already ruined chest.
“Pan.” Tears leaked from little Pan’s eyelids, fearful for her friend’s safety. These gentle tears only sparked the cruelty of the space pirates as they savaged their helpless captives. For once, Pan was grateful for her zombie nature, not feeling anything from their attempts to brutalize her. She played possum, waiting for the right moment to strike back. Pan guessed it might be possible to blow apart the strings of ki binding her. Eventually, the pirates would drop their guard, then she’d strike.
But it wasn’t easy hearing her counterpart’s frantic, teary-eyed pleas as they continued to hurt her, rage bubbling inside her, ready to burst. She grunted as a blow shattered her left arm to uselessness. While they’d gained ultimate victory over their victim, her lack of reaction didn’t satisfy their cruel sadism. From Bojack’s last half-hearted blow, he was losing interest.
“You really can’t feel any pain, can you?” the pirate leader said, annoyed.
“Ugh.” Zangya tossed back her wavy red hair in disgust. “She’s nothing but a corpse. There’s something not fun about beating a cold, dead body.”
“We’re done here,” Bojack said, disgusted. This hadn’t come close to sating the pirate leader’s thirst for violence. But then Pan’s blood chilled as his expression turned cruel.
“I think I know how I might get a proper reaction out of her,” Bojack said, his smile showing too many teeth. “How about…” But a ki blast threw the space pirate back. He glared up at who’d interrupted him, more annoyed than hurt.
“Stop this right now!” a namek said, ki gathering in his palm. Beside him stood three other namekians, each poised to fight. The cavalry had finally arrived.
“Pest,” Bojack grunted in annoyance. “Take care of them.”
Pan collapsed as Bujin and Bido ceased their web trap to face the interlopers. While Bojack had called them pests, these four nameks possessed formidable power.
“Good, it was getting dull,” the swordsman Kogu said, flexing his fingers. With a glint of light, the blade had already left its sheath, and a namekian warrior howled as he clutched the bloody stump that remained of his arm.
“Don’t underestimate them. Protect the girl. I’ll handle the boss.” Their rescuer’s leader was a behemoth of a Namek, dwarfing even the massive Bojack by almost half a meter. While outmatched, he was prepared to sacrifice his life to protect both Pans.
“You sure you want to do that?” Bojack said, tangling the struggling girl in his massive palm. “One twist and I’ll snap her little neck. Her blood will be on your hands, namekian.”
Little Pan whimpered as the space pirate jerked her head hard, causing a terrible jolt of pain.
“You!” The namekian leader’s hand trembled in outrage.
“So easy,” Bojack said in contempt.
“We can’t afford to play around much longer!” Zangya said, dodging the punch of a namek warrior. From her expression, her attacker was stronger than she’d expected. “We need to finish the job quickly!”
Her boss gave her a furious glare, disliking being told what to do. Pan caught a hint of murder in Bojack’s eyes.
“Can you fight, little one?” the lead namekian whispered to her.
“My arm’s broken, but I’ll manage,” Pan whispered.
“Tsumuri.” Unlike other namekians she’d met, this namek didn’t seem bothered by her undead nature. Instead, he eyed her with respect for her courage.
“Pan. How do you want to do this?” They needed to free her counterpart from the cruel pirate’s clutches. But how?
“Follow my lead. Play dead for now,” Tsumuri whispered back.
Bido coughed blood as a namek surprised him from behind, piercing him with a ki blast. The namek’s victory cost him his life, his head bursting to pieces from a massive uppercut from the brute of a pirate. The damage had been done, however. Bido clutched at his wounded side, face constricting in pain.
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While they’d defeated the Namek forces except for their leader, the pirates had paid a terrible price. Bujin lay on the paved floor, motionless. Kogu was wobbly, concussed, guessing from his bloody head wound. Zangya clutched at her arm, moving it with obvious pain. Despite the dire state of his men, Bojack didn’t seem to care at all. In fact, he stared at them with obvious contempt that they’d even gotten so badly hurt.
What a leader! Pan thought. How could he not care at all?
Tsumuri watched the fate of his men with obvious dismay, but he kept his eye on the pirate leader, daring him to try something. Despite the odds against him, the namekian’s resolve remained firm.
Energy gathered in Bojack’s palm, pointing it at the remaining namek. “Even attempt to dodge this, and the girl dies.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Zangya said, urgency entering her voice. “If reinforcements come, we’ll…” She never got to finish, howling in pain as her body disintegrated. Bojack had turned his gathering ki towards his subordinate instead. Pan gaped in shock that the pirate would do something so needlessly cruel. Worse, Bojack only smirked, pleased with himself.
Rage boiled Pan’s undead blood, her veins bulging at her temple. The hell with any ambush. She wanted to kick this guy’s ass. Enough was enough.
“Pan.” Her counterpart said, ignoring her pain to stare at her in amazement.
“What?” Bojack recoiled as dark energy gathered around Pan as she concentrated her fury. A voice inside her laughed, encouraging her to burn hotter and embrace her boiling hatred.
Before Pan realized what she was doing, she was launching at Bojack, her hair blazing golden as she unleashed her fury.
“Gah!” Blood gushed from the space pirate’s mouth. Pan guessed the blow must have stabbed a rib or two into his lungs. Little Pan slipped from Bojack’s grip, and Tsumuri snatched her, darting away before Bojack or his gang could retaliate.
“What the?” Bojack stared at her, fear behind his eyes. Much to Pan’s puzzlement, even her counterpart stared at her with fear. Huh? What was going on? Dark energy crackled around her before dissipating. What was that? What was that strangle dark power?
Bojack trembled but shook his head, composing himself. “So what? You got a lucky hit. It won’t happen again. In your pitiful state? You can’t fight me.”
And it was true. Pan’s arm hung limp at her side, her body beyond bruised and battered. But it didn’t matter. She’d kick this jerk’s butt into next week.
With her counterpart no longer a hostage, Pan glowed golden as she held nothing back. Despite having only one usable arm, she surprised Bojack with the pure ferocity of her attack. The space pirate had underestimated how powerful Pan had gotten since their last encounter. Pan’s Saiyan blood rang like a war drum as she engaged her hated enemy.
A hiss escaped Bojack’s lips as he deflected one of her punches, rubbing his stinging hand as he leaped back. It’d been a good hit, but her ravaged arm hindered her ability to fight properly. Openings that would have been easy to exploit passed as Pan struggled to use her remaining arm effectively. Still, she was giving the space pirate a run for his money, keeping pace with him. Bojack hollowed as she landed a devastating kick to his wounded ribs, his face twisting in agony.
Not liking his change in fortune, Bojack gave his surviving men a significant look. Pan cursed as she barely dodged a sword slash that would have sliced her in half. A fist drove right into her sternum, driving her back. The two pirate goons smirked at her, pleased with their ambush. From every angle, Bojack and his minions assaulted her.
With impressive skill, Bido and Kogu fought as a deadly unit. When Kogu’s blade missed, Bido was ready to demolish her with a fist Pan struggled to dodge. While lacking in killing power, the pair made up for it with teamwork. Only Bojack was the odd man out, hindering his team’s efforts rather than helping. It gave her an idea.
“You’re getting in the way of our fight, Bojack,” Pan taunted, waving a dismissive hand. “How about you sit this out while we fight?”
“You little—” Bojack seethed, his power flaring to life. Heedless of his men, he gathered ki into his palm and unleashed a destructive blast. At this range, Pan had little chance of dodging. In desperation, she fired off a makeshift Kamehameha. She sighed in relief as it barely deflected Bojack’s beam, devastating a nearby patch of stadium stands.
“Hey, watch it!” Bido said, hair raised in fear at how close he’d come to a quick and sudden death. If Pan had been a second slower, it would have blown him to pieces. Kogu seemed similarly rattled. But Bojack only glared at them, daring them to defy him again. Given what happened to Zangya, they knew he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy them on a whim. The pair gulped and prepared for battle.
“Why put up with him?” Pan said, angry on their behalf.
The pair only shrugged. “He’s the boss. He makes us strong. We’ve gotten through hell because of him,” Bido said.
“I’m sure Zangya agrees with you there,” Pan replied, her tone wry. While uncomfortable, the pair still didn’t dare defy their boss.
“Enough,” Bojack said, seething. Ki gathered within him, done playing any games. “Either she dies in the next two minutes, or you’re dead.”
“Got it,” Bido replied, knowing this wasn’t an idle threat.
“Woah!” Pan ducked and weaved as thousands of ki blasts fired in her direction. Bido joined the assault, attacking her from another angle. With so many ki balls flying at her, Pan punched them to pieces, just keeping ahead of them. She ducked as Kogu appeared from nowhere, his blade gleaming.
She winced as a stray blast struck her in the chest. Try as she might, they were just too numerous. This wasn’t working. She needed to try something else. From behind, she sensed Kogu ready to attack. Gathering energy into her palms, she copied Vegeta and exploded with power. The blast blew apart the ki balls, and the pirate swordsman unluckily got caught in the explosion.
Pan heaved, more from instinct than needing to breathe. Dang it, she’d used too much of her ki. Blackness was already creeping into her vision, a reminder Pan had pushed herself too far. But she made nasty work of Kogu, the swordsman heaving in pain in a pile of rubble. From the angle of his spine, Pan doubted he’d rise any time soon.
With a contemptuous snort, Bojack crushed his wounded man’s neck. “Weak.”
“What’s with you, seriously?!” Pan exclaimed, shocked at the pirate leader’s heartlessness.
“The weak have no place in this universe,” Bojack replied, his smile turning cruel. “And you’re next.”
“Got her,” Bido said, grabbing her from behind. Dang it, she’d allowed her guard to drop. With an injured arm, she failed to tear herself free.
“Good. I’ll blow off your head and finish this,” Bojack said, gathering energy in his palm.
Come on. It can’t end like this. Pan's foggy mind pushed forward for some solution. What about that dark power? Could she tap into that again? But the voice inside her only laughed at her, amused by her desperation.
“What?” But Pan didn’t have time to contemplate this betrayal, howling as a sudden kick from Bido drove her to her knees. In a flash, Bojack stood above her, a fully formed ki blast in his palm.
“Goodbye,” Bojack said, pleased with his final victory. “Gah!” But a sudden kick to the neck drove him off course, the beam lancing harmlessly past her head.
“You!” Pan said, shocked. What was her counterpart doing here? Didn’t she understand how dangerous the situation was? But Pan didn’t want to waste little Pan’s bravery, gathering ki within her slapped-together palms.
“Boss, look out!” Bido said in alarm, but his warning arrived too late.
“Kamehameha!” Pan threw every bit of her remaining ki into this final blast. The space pirate desperately tried to throw himself clear of the beam, but his decision to kill Pan up close had backfired, leaving him no room to dodge.
“Gah!” Bojack howled in pain as the beam tore into his waist, leaving a blackened ruin. The space pirate howled in agonized fury, palm-lashing out to kill the defenseless Pan. But a kick from her counterpart knocked it aside with ease.
“Leave her alone!” Little Pan said, thrusting a palm into his chest. Weakened as he was, the space pirate leader was as dainty as a lamb, incapable of fighting back.
“You little!” Bido said, fuming, but he backed away as dozens of namekians joined the fray, led by their old friend Tsumuri.
“That’s enough,” Tsumuri said.
“Sorry, we’re late,” her counterpart said, Bojack howling as she poked him in the eyes. He swung another wild punch at her, but little Pan only deflected it and punched him right in the nose.
“Are you going to surrender, or we will have to kick your sorry butts?” Little Pan said, taking charge.
“I’m good. I’m done!” Bido said, holding up his hands. This only earned a nasty scowl from his boss.
Unlike his underling, the great space pirate Bojack refused to surrender. With shaky legs, he rose to his feet. “If I’m going to die, it’s going to be on my feet. Do your worst!”
“This guy doesn’t know when to give up,” her counterpart said.
“Die, all of you!” Bojack rushed into the fray, hoping to take everyone else with him. But this only earned him a swift death as dozens of beams lanced through him. He collapsed in a pool of his own blood, squirming for some seconds before going still.
“What a monster,” Stubborn to the end, Pan wanted to rush forward to embrace her counterpart for the timely assist, but her knees buckled.
“Woah, there,” little Pan said, rushing over to stabilize her. “Let’s return you to your room. After the night’s excitement, you’ll need your rest.”
“Yeah, that’ll be nice, thanks.” Her limbs refused to listen to her. It was an odd sensation that parts of her body refused to listen to her.
“We’ll take the situation over from here,” Tsumuri said, giving the remaining space pirate a steely gaze. “Though we aren’t expecting any trouble, right?”
“Hey, none from me. I’ll come quietly,” Bido said.
“Good work.” Tsumuri showed her a rare smile. “Rest up. Good luck with your next match. We’re expecting great things from you, Pan of Universe 16.”
This earned a satisfied smile from Pan, allowing herself to be dragged back to her apartment. Hopefully, her dad wouldn’t freak out too much. After this ordeal, Pan deserved some peace. She only hoped she’d recover enough to fight her next opponent. Her arm was still a terrible mess. Unlike this battle, Pan had a real ordeal coming up. Cell was her next opponent, and he wouldn’t be a cakewalk like Bojack and his motley gang.
---
Author’s note.
Next time:
Little Pan comes to an honest conclusion. Son Bra suffers a massive, raging hangover. Vegito's humiliating defeat. And Mary Sue vs. Android 18.
Correction:
Little Pan comes to an honest conclusion. Son Bra suffers a massive, raging hangover. Pan faces off against Cell.