PART SIX: PAN'S FIRST FIGHT TO THE DEATH!

Chapter 26

Translated by Jake Devaro

Cell walked off to rejoin his space in the Universe 17 balcony. Since Dabra would not be able to make it back to his universe, two Namekians were sent to carry him. He was obviously unconscious and bleeding profusely from the gaping hole in the middle of his chest, yet still alive to the amazement of the Namekians. They rushed him over to the universe 11 balcony and laid him at the feet of Babidi and Majin Buu.

“Don’t worry,” said one of the Namekians, “we will treat you now”.

“Not so fast!” cried Babidi before the Namekians could begin their healing. “I have not yet decided if I want him to be cured!”

“But… He’s dying!” gasped the Namekian, astonished at Babidi’s refusal of treatment.

“This is his punishment for losing,” continued the sorcerer, “we don’t want your healing, we will deal with this situation ourselves. Now if you would leave us…”.

The Namekians looked at him incredulously, unsure at first if they should do as they were told, but finally, reluctantly, turned and left the balcony.

“So… be it…” sighed Dabra.

“I wonder how long you’ll survive without treatment!” squealed Babidi with a sadistic grin on his face. He was thrilled over the little game he had found to make him forget the humiliating defeat of his subordinate.

While Universes 16 and 18 were animatedly discussing the power levels of the previous fighters, the MC came on over the loud speakers:

“What an amazing fight! Next up is Pan of universe 16 fighting against Bojack from

universe 6!”

“Cool, it’s my turn!” thought Pan, excited that she would finally get a chance to fight.

She looked over and saw her Universe 18 counterpart who was experiencing a mixture of happiness for her and jealousy because she wanted to participate so badly!

“Good luck!” yelled the Pan from Universe 18 with a smile on her face.

“Thank you! I’ll see you after I win!” Universe 16 Pan shouted back with the same smile.

After receiving encouragement from her Universe 18 counterpart, this Pan passed by her mother who kissed her before she headed out to the ring. She had one foot up on the low balcony wall when her father stopped her:

"Pan?"

"Yes father?"

Her father picked her up by her shoulders so she was at eye level and said:

“My darling, I know Bojack. He’s incredibly mean, and much stronger than you are”.

“I won’t forfeit!” cried the girl.

She knew who Bojack was of course, her father had told the stories of him many times… but she refused to give up without a fight, to do so would be such a shame! She was certain that her counterpart from universe 18 would feel the same way.

“I’m not asking you to,” replied Gohan, “just… be very careful”.

“I will, don’t worry!” she said more calmly, smiling at her father.

With that she finally took off toward the arena, ready for her fight. When she landed, Bojack was already standing there, arms crossed.

“Dad…” said Universe 18 Pan to her father, “do you think she has a chance of winning?”

Gohan did not answer immediately. Goku, who was standing with them, turned and met the gaze of his granddaughter. He didn't smile, but he didn't look defeated either.

“I don’t know Pan.” Gohan finally answered. “It depends how much training your counterpart may have done… She may be on his level…”

“But… what about me?”

Gohan knew what she was asking. After a few more seconds he turned and faced his daughter:

“No, you’re not strong enough to beat Bojack.”

Suddenly, Pan felt her legs start to tremble. What would happen to her? She crossed her fingers and silently hoped that she would one day be as strong as her Universe 16 counterpart, that would mean she had a fighting chance.

“The fighters are ready! The fight can begin!” shouted the announcer.

"It will end quickly.” Said the space pirate quietly. He knew he would be victorious in less than a minute.

Pan attacked immediately. She quickly dashed in front of her opponent and struck him violently in the belly… but it had no effect! It felt as if she had punched a piece of metal, he felt unbreakable, and his abs absorbed the shock of the blow without so much as a flinch. The granddaughter of Vegetto retreated quickly, but Bojack pursued her instantly with a shout.

Pan clearly saw the punch coming, and was able to dodge it as she leapt into the sky. The pirate's fist crashed into the ring causing an earthquake that disfigured the small gray sphere. His raw power took the small girl by surprise.

“Father was right, he’s very strong. I have to push it right from the start.”

“You’re small, and fast” complimented Bojack as he looked up at Pan.

In response the girl clenched her fists as she focused her strength. Gritting her teeth she let the power consume her. Her hair stood on end, slowly taking on a golden color. Her ki multiplied rapidly as a bright light enveloped her. Her eyes turned from a deep black to a vibrant blue-green. As her muscles expanded well beyond normal proportions she finished her transformation with a cry.

The fighters and spectators from Universe 18 were clearly impressed. Uub instantly wondered if the Pan from his universe was hiding the same power, while Pan, who can definitely not transform yet wondered to herself how her counterpart had done it. Goku, who had been smiling throughout the entire transformation knew that his own Pan was not far away from the same transformation, she just has to be pushed a bit farther.

Pan from 18 was clearly the most awestruck of the group. She could barely move because she was so stunned. Her counterpart was so obviously stronger than her… a super saiyan! She had often dreamed of what it would be like to transform, but to see her counterpart do it for real… She looked down at her hands. She realized then that her grandfather was right, this power laid dormant inside her as well! She didn’t need kaioken, she would transform one day… and surprise everybody!

Bojack was also surprised. He knew this transformation… he had seen it before somewhere… but where? He couldn’t remember, but he could sense that the girl’s power had definitely risen.

Above his head floated the Universe 16 Pan. She remembered her first time transforming into a super saiyan, how could she forget? The excitement of that instant was unparalleled. She didn’t have time for pleasant memories though, her opponent was strong, she had to focus!

“Here we go!” cried Pan as she streaked towards her opponent with new-found speed.

She threw a punch, which Bojack managed to parry with his right forearm. He was again surprised by the speed of his opponent, since she had become much quicker since obtaining that golden aura. Pan continued her assault, throwing punches and kicks at Bojack’s face and body. Her small size was an advantage, one that she knew very well how to use against her bigger, bulkier opponent. She was able to dodge his counter-attacks, to the point where it looked almost easy.

Pan managed to connect with small blows once in a while, especially after parrying one of Bojack’s blows. She blocked her opponent's punch with one leg, quickly lashing out with her other foot and connecting with Bojack’s face.

Despite her flexibility and responsiveness, Pan’s blows simply didn’t have enough power behind them to do much damage. Although Bojack barely felt her attacks, he was becoming increasingly annoyed by them. She was like a mosquito that he simply couldn't swat.

In the Universe 16 balcony, Gohan was starting to worry. He had faith in his daughter, but he was also intelligent enough to realize that her blows were having very little effect. Pan was strong, especially for her age, but she was simply not in the powerhouse league of Bojack. He hoped that Pan would be able to wear him down…

Bojack tried throwing another punch at his opponent's annoyingly small head, only to have it met by Pan’s forearm. This time though, Pan threw a bit more force into her counter attack, landing a violent blow on the pirate’s cheek. The force of the blow caused him to stumble backwards a bit. He winced slightly as he stared down the teenager, who noticed that even the force of this attack did very little damage. At this rate it would take hours to beat him… she would be exhausted by then!

She knew she has to speed up the fight. She had one very effective technique at her disposal, but was it the right time? She decided it is the only way, so she laid her trap. She waited for Bojack to throw a punch. Using his over-extended arm she flipped over his head, facing his back while suspended upside down in mid air.

"Kamehame... Ha!"

She unleashed her full-powered kamehameha wave point blank into Bojack’s unguarded back. The closeness of the attack increased the effectiveness dramatically. A great example of this was during the cell games 27 years ago. Goku charged his kamehameha to full power before transporting himself behind cell, completely blowing off his upper half! In contrast the same technique had been useless against Broly… How effective would it be against Bojack?

As Bojack was struck by the blue attack there was a huge explosion, followed by Bojack’s plummet to the ground. Still levitating, Pan slowly reoriented herself to the ring. After the taxing kamehameha wave it took her a bit to catch her breath. Beads of sweat dripped down her tiny forehead.

In Universes 16 and 18, both Videls continued to shout encouragement to their daughter. Both Gohans, on the other hand, were gritting their teeth. It would be very surprising for Bojack not to survive this attack and they both know it. They resisted to urge to shout to Pan, to tell her to stop the fight. Somehow, it subconsciously reminded them of Videl’s fight with Spopovich twenty years ago. Had Pan inherited Videl’s legendary stubbornness? That remained to be seen…

For now, Bojack remained on the ground, motionless, covered in dust and scratches. It was impossible to know if he was knocked out or if he was simply pretending. Pan, who was quite pleased with the power of her last attack, landed softly; not far from him. Her mother was ecstatic and cheering from the Universe 16 balcony:

"Bravo Pan! You won!"

“No…” said Gohan quietly. “The real fight is just getting started”.

Videl started to panic. “What is he saying?” she wondered. She turned to look at her husband; on his face was nothing but fear.

“Gohan! What is it… you’re scaring me!”

After a few seconds he answered:

“Bojack has not yet shown his full strength. There is not much more she can do… if he transforms… it’s over. She should give up now!”

Videl, more panicked than ever, turned back to the ring. She had encouraged Pan up to this point, but now she just wanted her daughter to give up and come back to her safely.

In the ring, Bojack had started to move again. He slammed his fist hard into the ground. He grabbed a piece of broken ring and shattered it in a fit of rage. He slowly started to get up. Once he had gotten to his knees he stared at the girl. His eyes were hard. He was clearly angry, and in his eyes Pan saw what can only be described as a sudden urge to kill… and she was the target!

In the Universe 6 balcony Zangya and Bujin, Bojack’s acolytes, stood there laughing, while Kat and her gang stood not far off watching them. They were finally starting to fear for the little one. She was just a child, and seeing Bojack’s cronies laughing like they were did not bode well.

“This little one will experience the fury of Bojack!” cried Zangya with Machiavellian glee.

"The poor little girl, I would not want to be in her place!” added Bujin with a smile.

“What a stupid idea to include such a young girl. They will soon regret that decision.”

“It’s really a good thing, their entire group will be demoralized, making them easier to defeat! All of universe 16 will suffer from the loss, ha ha ha!”

In the middle of the ring, Bojack seemsed to explode. As he stood there shouting, his strength started to skyrocket. His skin turned from blue to green, and his muscle mass increased significantly, so much so that his jacket was reduced to only so much tattered cloth and it was ripped to shreds by his hulking frame. A huge green aura enveloped his body, and the wind from his energy sent Pan flying. The tiny planet that served as the arena began to shake before suddenly shattering into three different pieces!

Pan quickly regained her footing on one of the large chunks of ring, then stood there starting to tremble. “His power has increased!” she thought. “It’s huge! Even the kamehameha wave was unable to damage him… what should I do father?”

As she wondered this, Bojack suddenly left his feet, dashing full speed straight at the confused and frightened girl…