“I’m looking forward to this,” Android 18 said, her eyes wide with violent exaltation. “You think you’re so pretty and loved? But soon you’ll be nothing but a rotting corpse!”
This earned a shocked gasp from her brother, Android 17. “You can’t mean that! To do that to someone as marvelous as Mary Sue is beyond monstrous!”
“So uncool,” Goten said, seething. “What a monster!”
“You bastard!” Trunks seemed almost incapable of controlling himself. Pan feared he might jump into the ring to defend his crush, despite it being a flagrant breaking of the rules.
18 rubbed her temple. “We’ve killed millions of people, 17! You can’t be serious. What makes her special?”
“She’s a living angel,” 17 replied, like this answer was obvious.
“You know, killing me isn’t that big of a threat,” Mary Sue said absently. “Won’t I just get wished back?” This earned an angry scowl from 18, who seemed about ready to explode.
“Seems 18 has met her match,” Yamcha from Universe 9 said, amused. “Maybe she can learn something.”
“Brought back, huh? Then I’ll just kill you again and again! And heck…” Android 18’s expression turned devilish. “Why not wish back our other victims? Then I can kill them all a second time! Then we can wish them back again. My brother and I can have an endless parade of slaughter.”
“You can’t be serious,” Yamcha’s breath caught, shocked. He’d surrendered in his fight against 18 because he believed there was some good in the android to redeem. He realized he might be mistaken.
“That’s not nice.” Mary Sue put her hands on her hips. “Besides, I have my own wish I want granted.”
“Too bad you’re not getting it!” 18 launched herself at Mary Sue with vicious fury. But her opponent only deflected each blow with casual ease. Beyond incensed, 18 only fought harder, but Mary Sue countered her every attack without even breaking a sweat.
“You’re not very strong, are you?” Mary Sue said, somewhat disappointed. “Of course not. All you do is slaughter people. You’ve never had a good fight in your life. So how strong could you really be?”
“Shut up!” 18 snarled, unleashing a barrage of ki blasts at point-blank range. It created an explosion of dust. The android smirked, pleased with herself. Her eyes widened as the dust cleared, and Mary Sue didn’t seem even ruffled by her attack. It hadn’t even singed her clothes.
“How strong is Mary Sue?” Pan wondered. Her friend was keeping her ki remarkably guarded. It was impossible to tell how powerful she was.
“You!” But Mary Sue’s survival only enraged 18 further, a vein bulging in her forehead.
Mary Sue sighed. “I suppose I’m not one to talk. I’ve never really had a good fight, either. It’s like I live in a glass world. Everyone and everything around me is fragile and brittle.”
“Damn you!” Android 18 unleashed another barrage of ki blasts, but Mary Sue only swatted them aside. “No!”
A sad look overcame Mary Sue, forlorn and longing. “It’s like, what’s the point of fighting if you can’t lose?”
“Mary Sue is so amazing!” Trunks said, completely missing the point of Mary Sue’s melancholic speech. He found her power awe-inspiring. Goten seemed similarly impressed.
“I suppose I could surrender like Yamcha did. There might be something redeemable in you.” Mary Sue said, considering. “Naw. I don’t like you. You’re a jerk!”
“Ugh.” Android 18 collapsed to the arena floor, unmoving. Pan gasped. She hadn’t even seen her friend move.
“What an elegant attack! Was that a sudden burst of kaioken or something else? Even I can’t tell!” Buu of Universe 4 said, intrigued.
Goku seemed similarly impressed, bouncing on his feet. “Seems we got another serious contender. I can’t wait to face her in the ring!”
But Vegeta tensed, unnerved. “I didn’t even feel her attack. What is she?”
“8… 9… 10! Android 18 from Universe 14 has fallen. The amazing, marvelous Mary Sue of Universe 2 is victorious!” This earned an impressive fanfare from the crowd. It was so exuberant, Pan feared they might start a riot.
“Sorry, Yamcha. But I couldn’t allow her to win. I don’t think she’s going to redeem herself. People don’t change unless they want to change,” Mary Sue said as she leaped away from the arena. Yamcha didn’t reply, giving her a grim nod of acknowledgment.
“My love! Congratulations!” Trunks said, but Mary Sue ignored him.
“Impressive fight, Mary Sue. I’m not looking forward to facing you in the ring,” Pan said, half-jokingly.
“I wasn’t being completely truthful,” Mary Sue replied. “There is one I could never defeat.”
“Oh?” Pan said, surprised.
“Though this kind of thing doesn’t interest him.” With that cryptic comment, Mary Sue walked back to her apartment. Pan asked why, but her friend only gave a half-hearted excuse.
Considering the strange behavior of her uncles and the others, Pan thought it might be best. They’d hang out later. Still, this fight only sparked Pan’s curiosity. What was Mary Sue exactly? Sometimes, Pan thought she was so perfect, her friend couldn’t be real.
---
“Huh?” Bra blinked as her father disappeared. She placed her finger to her forehead to scope him out across the universe, but came up blank. She glanced around frantically, hoping to catch sight of him.
“What the heck? Did XXI completely disintegrate him?” Her father, the most impossible, invincible being in the multiverse, was dead? Bra stared at the empty spot where her father had stood, unsure how she felt. Was she happy? Sad? Both? Unexpected tears were threatening to burst. This was so stupid! She knew he’d get wished back soon enough. So why was she getting so emotional? Why would she ever care about her father being dead? This was so stupid!
“Relax, child,” Bra overheard the wizened XXI say. “I only sent him into another dimension. He’ll break out of it soon enough with an exertion of ki.”
Bra sighed in relief. Her father wasn’t dead. Her sudden burst of emotion was her hormones causing havoc. She didn’t really care about what happened to him. Truly, her father was a fool to be ensnared by such a simple spell! She bubbled with excitement for her father’s return, so she could rub this embarrassing failure in his face.
“What a fool. What a fool,” Bra said, laughing to herself. No way she’d fall for such an easy trick! She listened as the monster girl argued with the Vargas about the fairness of XXI’s trick. Personally, Bra didn’t care. A win was a win in her book.
“Still, that XXI guy is dangerous.” It was impossible to read anything about his wrinkly ass.
When the announcer called Gotenks of Universe 18 and Nekomajin were the next combatants, Bra wandered away, caring less.
“Come on. Hurry up with my next fight already.” While her hangover had died down, it left Bra eager for some carnage.
Unfortunately, her next opponent was some lame guy in tech armor. What was he even doing here? This was a freaking martial arts tournament! Bra smiled to herself, eager to show this warrior the folly of picking a fight with Vegito’s daughter.
“Victory for Buu! As the new ring is being created... I now call Son Bra from Universe 16 and Eleim of Universe 19!”
“Finally!” Bra stretched, ready for some action. The intense gravity struck her as she landed on the arena. But to someone who trained with her father in the harshest gravity levels, it was nothing. She smirked at her opponent, whose armor fought against him in this intense gravity.
“Want to take it off? You might stand a better chance.” Bra said.
But her opponent’s expression stayed serious, like the entire multiverse would literally die if he lost this fight. What was this guy’s deal?
Her family watched in the background, but they didn’t offer her any encouragement, much to Bra’s annoyance. What? Did they only cheer on the monster girl and not her? Her face twisted into a scowl, her good mood ruined.
Her mood worsened as the slowest moving energy ball flew towards her. “Are you even taking this seriously?” Bra said, deflecting the ball with a simple stroke of her arm. Her opponent said nothing, entering a battle position.
“Let’s hope you can keep me entertained!” Bra allowed the battle to fill her veins, giving her a rush of euphoria as she entered combat.
Her opponent gasped as his barrier barely deflected her blow, and she hadn’t even used full strength. Still, it held, somewhat impressing Bra. She smirked, eager to test his limits.
“How about this, then?” Energy gathered in Bra’s palms as she unleashed a barrage of beams at her opponent, holding nothing back. Eleim swore as he desperately tried to fend off the barrage. An explosion of dust filled the arena as it devastated the area.
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“Seems they’ll need to fix this arena too,” Bra said, amused. She waited impatiently as the dust cleared, curious about how badly her opponent had defended himself against her attack. Since her opponent’s ki was so weak, it was difficult to tell how much she’d hurt him.
“Come on. Don’t tell me you’re finished already!” Bra said, her voice sickeningly sweet. Then a sudden weight overcame her, almost immobilizing her. A gravity attack? How? “What?!”
“Tsk. Still alive? You Saiyans are monsters. That gravity well should have killed you,” Eleim said from behind her. “This should finish you.”
“Whoa!” Fear spiked in Bra’s heart as she just avoided a sudden flash from her opponent’s finger. She gaped as it sliced through the arena like a knife. Someone in the stands screamed as a limb got sliced off, frantically clutching their wound to stanch the bleeding. Impossible. His attack even cut through the barrier protecting the audience?
Bra leaped back as a dozen more beams threatened to slice her to ribbons. More people howled in fear and pain as they got caught in the crossfire. Her opponent gritted his teeth, frustrated by her agility despite the overwhelming gravity he’d used to contain her.
“Hey! He’s attacking the audience!” Bra cried out, crossing her arms. “He should be disqualified!”
But a Vargas put the kibosh on her protests, smirking at her. “Again, with the constant whining from you, Bra. He’s not intentionally attacking the audience, so it’s fair game. Besides, they’ll get wished back soon, anyway! Stop complaining and fight already! This is getting good!” Unfortunately for him, this was the last thing the bird creature said, his body sliding sideways in a bloody chunk as a beam accidentally sliced him to pieces as Eleim resumed his attack.
“Hey, just because you can wish people back doesn’t mean you can just let us die!” Her monster niece complained. But she lost focus on what was happening in the audience as she fought to keep ahead of Eleim’s barrage of death.
“You’re really ticking me off!” Bra was done with this. If the Vargas wanted a show, she’d give them one. The entire arena shook as she turned Super Saiyan, her eyes glowing a malevolent green like emeralds. She smirked as she saw the panic in her opponent’s eyes.
“Such power for someone so young!” Goku marveled. “She’s on a whole other level.”
“So, this is Vegito’s daughter. Monstrous.” Vegeta said, scowling.
“Whoa,” her monster niece gaped, impressed by her aunt Bra’s might. She smirked, pleased. Bra had spent the last few months training hard. She’d show them all why they should fear the daughter of Vegito.
“No! I can’t lose yet. Too much is counting on my victory!” Eleim said, clearly planning another dirty trick. But Bra didn’t give him the chance. He gasped as she suddenly disappeared, his eyes darting around in a desperate, hopeless attempt to find her.
“Up here,” Bra said playfully. She enjoyed the look of shock in her opponent’s eyes as he saw the massive ball of ki she’d gathered in her extended palm. He didn’t even get a chance to scream as she unleashed her attack.
“Big Bang Attack!” Eleim tried to gather his barrier to protect himself, but it flickered before dying under her onslaught. The entire arena exploded, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust. Nothing remained of her opponent’s ki—obliterated into nothing.
“Eleim of Universe 19 is defeated. Son Bra of Universe 16 is the victor! Please wait as we replace the arena.” The announcer released a deep sigh. “Again.”
“No. We lost.” Devastation filled each of the Heliorians’ faces as they faced the gravity of their defeat.
“Hey, you didn’t have to go that far, Bra!” her monster niece said. “You didn’t have to kill him!”
“Pan’s right. You went too far,” her brother Gohan said.
Bra scowled, pointing at the mangled bodies of the audience members who’d gotten caught in Eleim’s crossfire. One woman was cradling the bloody remains of her son, wailing uncontrollably. “Too far? Look what he did. More people would’ve gotten hurt if I hadn’t stopped that maniac. Besides, who cares if he dies? He’ll just be wished back!”
To this, the self-righteous Gohan and Pan had no answer. “That’s what I thought.”
“Why was he fighting so hard?” Goku asked. While hidden, Bra could tell he hadn’t like her methods either.
One of the Heliorians, Phipsil, looked down in shame, gathering her thoughts before answering. “On our homeworld, Helior, there was an accident. A substance called Carbonite leaked into the planet and infected it. Nothing survived. It destroys anything it touches, organic or inorganic. We were able to evacuate the planet, but the threat still remains. Our scientists fear the calamity if an asteroid collides with Helior’s remains. The resulting explosion would spread Carbonite across the galaxy, devastating life wherever it touched.”
“Oh,” Pan said, speechless.
“Sorry for Eleim’s behavior.” Tears gathered at Phipsil’s eyelids before bowing to everyone. “He desperately wanted to save our planet, but he went too far. Innocents shouldn’t have suffered for our sake.”
“So that’s his reason,” Bra said, snorting. “He should have just asked. If it matters that much, I’ll use one of my wishes to save your planet.” And who said Son Bra couldn’t be benevolent?
“Yeah! Me too!” Pan said, waving her remaining arm. What a copycat.
“Yeah, it’s not a problem,” Goku said. “I wasn’t really going to use my wishes for anything, anyway.”
“You mean it?” Phipsil was crying now, tears of relief and joy.
“Sure. This gives me an even better reason to win this tournament!” Goku said, full of determination. The members of his universe offered their support and promises.
Bra only rolled her eyes at their overdramatic reactions. Didn’t she already say she’d fix everything? It made her even more determined to win the tournament to show everyone Son Bra was just as mighty a hero as Goku. No, better!
“Good work,” Lila said. From her friend’s smile, she seemed most pleased. “You fought well.”
“Glad someone’s saying it!” It irked Bra that no one celebrated her victory. They cheered on the monster girl, but not her?
“They were wrong. You did the right thing.”
“Huh?”
“Killing Eleim,” the West Supreme Kai clarified. He was a dangerous threat that needed to be stopped. Your family means well, but in battle, hesitation against evil only gets you killed.”
“Just what I said!” Bra replied. Finally, someone understood!
“The righteous path isn’t an easy one. But someone needs to fight the good fight, even if the task gets unpleasant sometimes.”
Bra nodded in understanding, pleased. Why couldn’t her family understand this? Understand her?
“Are you okay?” Lila asked, her voice full of compassion.
Huh? Bra rubbed her eyes, embarrassed she’d almost cried. “I’m fine.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lila asked, motioning if they should move somewhere more private.
Bra thought about it, her pride refusing to show weakness, even to Lila. But Bra settled with a quick nod. Soon they found themselves in a nice sitting area reserved for the Kais and Vargas. Lila said nothing, allowing Bra to continue the conversation at her own pace.
Bra only slumped in a chair, refusing to show her face. “They’re all stupid. It’s like I’m not good enough for them. I try so hard, but it’s never enough! They never listen to me!”
“But Dad’s the worst. I hate him.” It felt good to admit that. Bra continued, “I hate him. I don’t think he’s ever respected me in his life. He always looks down at me, judging me. I try my best to live up to his expectations, but it’s never enough. And…”
Bra’s mind wandered back to that terrible day on the Jaykal home planet. She’d lost control. And instead of helping, her father labeled her a monster, told her he’d kill her himself if it happened again.
“Bra?” Lila said, putting a comforting hand on Bra’s shoulder.
Dammit, had she been crying? While she wanted to admit everything, Bra held back. Not yet. She feared if she spilled everything, Lila would hate her. Despise her like everyone else.
Much to her surprise, the Supreme Kai pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay. I’m here for you.” Bra said nothing, just cried into her friend’s shoulder.
They continued like this until Bra composed herself. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
“No need to apologize. You’ve been through a lot.” Lila gave Bra a dazzling smile.
“Thanks.” Bra turned away, hiding her blush. “Anyway. How about those lessons now?”
“Oh?” Lila tilted her head.
“For that freezing technique. I have a universe to save. I’ll need every edge I can get.” It’d be nice to have a sudden trick up her sleeve no one knew about.
“Sure. I’d love to help,” Lila said, her smile dazzling. Bra hid her blush again. She didn’t deserve a friend like this.
----
“Come on, Grampas, don’t sulk. There’s always next time,” Pan said, doing her best to comfort her grandfathers after his frustrating defeat.
“I’m fine. And I’m not sulking!” her grandfathers said petulantly. For someone with almost god-like power, he was rather childish sometimes.
“Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll make up for your loss,” Bra said, not hiding her smug amusement. Her insistence on rubbing her father’s defeat in his face hadn’t helped his sour mood. “Let your amazing daughter handle everything from here.”
“Tsk. Cheeky brat,” her grandfathers said, scowling and turning away.
While Pan only sighed at her aunt’s antics, she couldn’t help but notice Bra’s upturn in mood. Had something happened? She seemed to bounce on her feet, invigorated.
Pan hid a secret smile. “It must be that West Supreme Kai,” she thought. She’d seen them together earlier. It warmed Pan’s heart that her aunt had finally found a friend. Finally, Bra found someone to help soothe her turbulent heart. Her father wasn’t the most comforting and understanding soul in the multiverse.
“Yeah!” Pan cheered as Gast flicked Demon King Piccolo on the forehead, knocking him out cold. He’d pulled some dirty tricks with whistling and pulling off his own ears, but he wasn’t a match for Gast Corcolh’s grand power. She smiled as he offered the villain some consoling words, trying to guide him to a better path. While this seemed unlikely, both her universe’s Piccolo and Vegeta were both evil once. Pan supposed anything was possible.
“Gast Corcolh from Universe 7 wins!”
“That’s that,” Pan said. “Uncle Piccolo, are you ready to resume our training?”
This earned a pleased smile from the Namekian. “Fine by me.”
“Me too!” Little Pan said, waving an enthusiastic hand.
“What about supper?” Pan asked.
“That can wait. I’ll have Dad keep some leftovers. After your fight, I’m pumped! I’m ready to rise to the next level too!” Little Pan replied, all enthusiasm.
“Okay, okay,” Pan said, laughing.
“Now you can tell me how you became a Super Saiyan!” Little Pan said.
“Sure, it all started…” But the announcer interrupted her, making a startling announcement.
“We want to thank all the participants from the second round! Before dinner, we have a surprise for you…”
“Are those the Dragonballs? They’re huge!” Pan said, eyes boggling, as a ship descended from the air and deposited a collection of seven-starred balls.
“They must be their universe’s Namekian Dragonballs,” Uncle Piccolo said. “Our Namek Dragonballs were just as huge.”
“Oh!” Pan said, amazed. She’d heard plenty about Namek, but she’d never been there. When she returned home, she’d ask Aunt Bulma to let her borrow a spaceship so she could visit sometime.
The security around the mystical wish-granting balls was tight; even her grandfathers joined in the action. With so many villains around, it was a wise precaution.
Pan watched in awe as the Namekian elder spoke his native language to the glowing balls.
“You have collected all seven Dragonballs; you may state your wish,” Porunga, the Namekian dragon, said. While Pan had seen Earth’s dragon plenty of times, he didn’t match the majesty of this noble creature.
The elder spoke his wish in his native tongue. If Pan still had a beating heart, it’d be thumping a mile a minute. Would the wish restore her to life? Part of her doubted it’d be this easy, but Pan still hoped anyway.
“Is something the matter?” Pan asked, noticing the sudden frown on Uncle Piccolo’s face.
“That’s easy,” the great dragon said. His eyes flashed, granting their wish.
The crowd was exuberant as they reunited with loved ones who’d once been dead. Eleim was apologizing to his fellow Heliorians, bowing and asking for forgiveness for his actions. Others were bewildered yet happy as they celebrated their new lease on life. Cell, in particular, seemed pleased to return to life, his children overwhelmed with joy at his return.
Pan stared at her dull, faded skin tone and frowned. She felt her heart with her remaining arm and found no heartbeat. Oh, well. She’d known it’d be a long shot.
“Please restore the lives of everyone who died because of the tournament, except Bojack and his crew,” Uncle Piccolo said.
“Huh?” Pan blinked.
“That’s what he wished,” Uncle Piccolo confirmed.
“Huh?” Goku asked. “Why would he exclude them?” Pan had to agree. Many other evil people also participated in the tournament. Why exclude them?
“My request,” West Supreme Kai said to the revelers. “A punishment. Bojack and his crew broke our hospitality, so they received their just punished.” This earned confused and startled mutters from the tournament’s participants.
“Hold on. We never talked about this!” East Supreme Kai said, shocked.
“Yes, we didn’t discuss this beforehand.” North Supreme Kai’s mouth hardened into a hard frown.
“Please explain yourself, West Supreme Kai,” South Supreme Kai said, crossing his beefy arms.
“This wasn’t a decision of the gods’ council?” the elder Namek said, shocked at the West Supreme Kai’s deception.
“If we don’t punish transgressions, what’s stopping them from happening again?” West replied. “It needs to be understood that we won’t tolerate any defiance. Bojack and his crew attacked other tournament-goers and almost killed them. This was an unforgivable sin. If we don’t enforce the rules, chaos will reign!”
This earned a concerned frown from the crowd. It seemed a little extreme, in Pan’s opinion. But Bra was quick to offer her support.
“Damn right. The bastards got what they deserved. I hope this is a lesson for the rest of you.” Aunt Bra’s visage turned devilish. “Any funny business, and you’re dead, likely by my hand.” This sent a wave of unease through the crowd, even the good guys. Pan knew her aunt wasn’t joking.
“Still, it’s going too far!” East said.
“Um, what’s going on here?” a familiar voice said. Pan blinked and turned to find Little Pan standing next to her. Huh? But that couldn’t be right. Hadn’t the voice come in the opposite direction? Pan’s hair raised in fright as she turned that direction. It couldn’t be.
“I’m confused. What’s happening? I was fighting Bojack, then something happened. It’s all dark after that.” The girl that shared Pan’s face gaped as she spotted Pan, eyes wide in fright. “Who the heck is that?!”
---
Author’s Note:
Okay, I didn’t get to Pan’s training this chapter, but when you get to a natural ending point, I don’t argue against it. Also, ideas come and go, so it can mess things up. (Or the stupid author forgets the sequence of events in the tournament and has to retroactively change his plans when he realizes how much he’s screwed up!) Anyway, things are about to get interesting. This has been a plot point I've been messing around in my head since I started the story. Also, I am going to go back and next the ‘Next Time’ segments to better reflect what actually happened. So bear with me.
Next Time:
Another Pan? How it that possible? Who is the real Pan form Universe 16? A troubled Pan trains for her fight with Tapion. Buu investigates Pan! What is the darkness that lurks in her soul? Just what is she? The next round of fights begins. Pan vs. Tapion, a battle of inner demons!