I’ve been reading the first three chapters...and they’re really bad...so I think I’ll redo them sometime (not redo the plot, just the words and stuff...) Anyways, this one is not as sad as the last chapter, but you still may need to sniffle a couple times. Sorry, but it’s kinda short.

Oh yes, I forgot the disclaimer...I don’t own DB/Z/GT or the rights to it, unfortunately. Oh, yes, we are nearing the end of this fic! Not in this chapter, though. There will probably be three to four more chapters, okay? I’m thinking of doing a sequel...

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Trunks continued to run, stumbling. He found himself strangely weaker, and going slow. Well, not drastically. The blows were minimal, but they were painful, none-the-less.

He noticed that he couldn’t hear the crowd anymore, and the many kis were more scattered now. ‘Oh no...what if was too slow and missed it? Pan! No!’

As he got closer, he searched for her ki. He was unable to find it, to his dismay. Running as fast as he could, he could see the stage in the distance. He saw a body lying in a heap on the ground, and went over to it.

He stopped and leaned down, caught in shock and sadness as he saw the small pool of blood that the body was lying in. The black hair of the young woman fell in her face. How old was she? 18? 19? Too young to die like this...too young...

“Pan...” he whispered, still searching for her ki. He couldn’t find it, not even sitting right next to her. He reached down and rolled her on her back, brushing the hair out of her face. “No...Pan...” A lonely tear slid down his face. He couldn’t hold it back. “It’s just like my dream...you’re...you’re...” He couldn’t bring himself to say it.

He traced his hand over her face, another tear falling. Her face just stayed in the same position; quiet, peaceful...sad.

“Why?” he whispered to himself. His fingers traced around the gash on her face. It wasn’t bleeding anymore. Then, something clicked. ‘Wait a minute, I have a mark there, too. Is she...bonded to me? Are we...mates? Is that why I was wounded? Because she was?’ He inspected her body, and then compared it to his own. He had scars where she had wounds. He had scrapes where she had gashes. ‘No...why didn’t I see this before? Pan...my own...my mate...’ (and for all you Lord of the Rings fans, he is NOT going to say ‘...my precious...’ Sorry, had to say that...)

“Pan...” He picked up her limp body and held it close to him, rocking her gently, crying softly. “You can’t die...I love you...” he whispered quietly. He kissed her forehead and continued to cry.

Suddenly, he heard her moan very softly, almost inaudible. He stared at her. “Pan?!” laying her down, he leaned his head near her chest, hearing a very faint, slow heartbeat. “You’re alive!” he cried, hugging her tightly.

Picking her up gently, he found the strength inside him to fly again. He took off for the palace, getting there much quicker.

Leaning his head down to look at her face, now contorted with pain, concern and anger washed over him. How could someone do this? “Don’t worry Pan, I will save you, I’ll make sure of it. I can’t live if you aren’t there with me...”

He got to the castle in half the time, and bolted through the doors. Bra was there in the halls, with a tear streaked face. She looked up. “Trunks? I thought something horrible happened to you!” she said, looking at all the scrapes and bruises on his body. Then, she moved her gaze to the body in his arms. “Pan?! But...she was executed!”

Trunks began to walk to medical room. “Not now, Bra, she’s not going to make it if you keep stalling me by asking questions!”

Pan groaned from his arms, obviously in pain. “Trunks...” she mumbled. Trunks looked down at her, suprised that he was saying his name. “Trunks...I can’t let you...can’t let you die...” she mumbled, rolling around in his arms, her eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

Trunks was confused. Was she dreaming? He shook it off and continued to scurry towards the medical room, Bra hot on his heels.

He flung the door open, Pan in his arms. The doctors all turned and stared at the body he held. They knew who she was, and they were confused by why he was carrying her here. “Prince Trunks, why is she here?”

“Don’t ask questions. Just put her in a regeneration tank.” he said, walking into the room.

“You’re lucky, sire, we have just fixed one of the tanks. They had all been destroyed by something...but we fixed one of them. Should His Majesty go first?” he asked, opening the only available one.

“No! Put her in first, she is closer to death than I will ever be.” he said, handing the doctor the body.

Trunks turned away as the doctor nonchalantly stripped the pheasant girl of her garnets and put her in the tank. Putting the mask on her face and closing the hatch, he pressed a blue button on the side. Immediately, the tank began to fill up with water. “She is in. Are you going to stay and wait for her to heal?”

“Yes, I am.” he said, watching through the small hole as her hair blew about her body.

“Then you should know the stages of the healing process. The stages are red, yellow, green, blue, and white. Red is when it is a 75% chance that she will die in the tank. In yellow, it is 52%. Green is 19% and Blue is lower than 2%. When it flashes white, she is fully healed and ready to come out. Press this button to drain the tank. She is currently at stage red. I must say, I have never seen someone in stage red before. Yellow is the lowest I’ve seen. You will be lucky if she makes it through, Your Majesty.” he said.

Trunks stared at the tank, sad that he couldn’t have found her sooner. He sat down on a cot nearby and contiued to watch her. “Thank you. That will be all. Could you leave us, please?”

The doctor bowed. “Of course, Your Highness.” He slowly walked out the door, motioning for the others to follow.

Bra walked over and sat by her brother, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, oni-chan. Would you like me to leave as well?”

Trunks looked up at his sister. “No. Please stay.” he said, looking back at the tank. Bra rested her head on his shoulder, holding his hand in her own. Silently, they watched the tank, the health meter slowly going up.

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Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha! Cliffhanger! Again! Don’t worry...the next chapter will come out soon. Probably today! (yay!) I know...I am just in the typing mood today! Sorry about the slow, short chapter, but at least it wasn’t horrible, right?

There is only one way to find out...REVIEW! ^.^