Chapter Text
Goku knew he was going to die. He expected it, although he truly wasn't accepting it. Tears burned his eyes and a sob choked through his throat. He was leaving his family again. Something he had promised and prayed he wouldn't have to do. He didn't want to leave them. He wanted to see Gohan continue to grow. He wanted to see his youngest son be born, and he wanted to be there for Pan when she arrived as well. And Chi-Chi... His Chi. He wanted all the time in the world he could have with her.
It wasn't often that Goku thought the world cruel, but he did now. He slumped on the cold ground of the charred ruins of what used to be the old Namek planet as Cell, bigger than ever was a literal ticking time bomb. At least here, there was nothing more Cell could damage. Here, he was too far away to cause harm to the ones Goku loved and the Earth.
The air was tingling from the deadly aura emitting from Cell. The wind was hot and burning, but Goku didn't care. He was going to die soon anyway. He should have eaten a senzu bean when he had a chance. He should have eaten two and flew down there to help Gohan kill Cell when the opportunity was open and clear.
"Papa!"
Goku's eyes widen and he tilted his head to the side. His chest tightened in a cry. Would Pan's cries for him really be echoed all the way across the universe, and be the last thing he heard like some haunting lullaby?
"Papa!"
Her voice was closer, and Goku's head shot up. Surprise and horror flashed through his burning eyes as he saw her. His daughter. She was walking toward him. Her arms were braced over her face to shield herself from the harsh winds of Cell's bomb. Her hair had come completely out of the bun Chi-Chi had fixed for her this morning, and the black strands were wild and free behind her.
Goku stood up so fast he nearly tumbled over again. "PANNY?!" He screamed, his voice raw from terror. "GET OUT OF HERE!"
Pan stopped only a few yards away and she pulled her arms down as she frowned at him. "You promised, Papa!" She cried. "You promised we would all survive! That includes you!"
"Panny -" he choked.
"I came to the past to save you," she squared her shoulders and looked at him, her dark eyes - his dark eyes, full of tears. "I came back to the past to save everyone, but especially you, Papa."
"HEY!" Cell roared behind Goku. "What about me?! You can't take one of us and leave the other!"
Pan didn't even look at Cell as she held Goku's gaze. Her frown softened into a smile as she held out one of her hands. "Let's go home, Papa."
Goku ran to her and clasped his hands around hers tightly. Pan beamed at him, and Goku could have sworn the night sky around them seemed to sparkle a little more. They disappeared to the sound of Cell's scream of rage as his body finally exploded.
Pan gasped as she inhaled fresh air as her and Goku landed back on Earth with a thud. Her entire body was tingling from Instant Transmission. She honestly hadn't known if she could do it. If she could not only find her Papa but bring him back. She had done both, and her knees shook.
Strong hand grabbed her shoulders and she let out sigh at the familiar touch before Trunks crashed her into his chest. Pan wrapped her arms around him tightly as she hugged him.
"I did it, Un," she choked out.
"Dad!" Gohan screamed as he ran into Goku's arms.
Trunks was shaking as he held Pan, his fingers fisting around her hair. For a moment, he just held her before he pulled her back and looked at her with a glare. "Don't you ever do something like that again," he said tightly.
Pan narrowed her eyes at him, "I had to save Papa!"
She could feel his fists tightening in her hair. The pull of it sent a small shiver down her back, and Pan fought to keep a blush from anything other than aggravation from rising up on her cheeks.
"I'm not telling you cant do something or go somewhere , Panna," Trunks finally said, his grip loosening until his fingers combed through her hair. That gentle action had Pan melting against him. "Just let me go with you when you go, okay?"
"Okay," she smiled at him with a nod.
Trunks leaned down and kissed her forehead before they pulled back. Pan couldn't stop her grin as she leaned against Trunks' side and saw the other Z-Fighters happy faces. Cell was gone, and they were all alive. Her eyes scanned the area, and she saw that they had grabbed Lapis and Lazuli's bodies and moved them closer. Both of the Androids were still unconscious but leaning against a boulder as they rested.
"Did you really have to scare us like that, Goku?" Krillin choked out.
"Sorry," Goku's voice was hoarse as he gave a laugh. "I thought I wouldn't be back." His eyes met Pan's and he smiled. "Thank you."
"Is it really over?" Gohan sniffed as he wiped his eyes.
Trunks stepped forward and ruffled Gohan's hair. "I think so, kid."
Goku nodded his head. "Cell blew up just as Panny and I left." He stood up and his legs wobbled. Trunks quickly helped steady him on one side, and Gohan on the other.
Pan's lips stretched into a happy smile at the sight of the three of them. The three men she loved most in the world. She was so focused on watching them and their smiles that she didn't even notice the shift in the air. Not until Vegeta let out a curse. Pan turned just as an electric current ran through the air and a vortex of red and green and black formed. In the same second, a white beam shot out of it. Pan's eyes widened as it came straight to her.
"PANNA!" Trunks screamed as the air around her shook.
Trunks couldn't breathe. The blast might as well had hit him straight through the heart, because the world seemed to stop in that instant. He had just felt the vortex when he turned around in time to see Pan get blasted with that beam. She made no sound. Her beautiful dark eyes only widened, and her mouth opened as the beam shot under her sternum.
A rush of blood whooshed through Trunks' ears and his heart stopped before thumped painfully as Pan reached down and touched her chest.
"PANNA!" He screamed in an exhale as he ran to her. He reached her just as she stumbled and he fell to the ground on his knees with her in his arms. The blood was staining the front of her shirt. She was growing paler by the second. Her mouth was open, like she was trying to breathe but only a rasp would come out.
Trunks could feel their bond going haywire. Every nerve in his body was on fire. He could feel the shock rushing through Pan, and he reached out through the bond and wrapped around her as tightly as he could in his mind as his arms held her body just as tight.
"Panna!" His voice was nearly a sob.
"PAN!" Goku and Gohan ran up. Their eyes were wide and full of terror.
Trunks didn't spare them a glance. His insides were burning. He could feel something dark stirring low in his gut. His Ki felt like lightning running through his veins that made his body tick.
"My aim is as good as ever," a slithering voice said, and the burning anger inside Trunks began to boil. "That's for leaving me behind, Pan."
"CELL!" Goku roared.
"He's in his perfect form again!" Gohan yelled in anger.
Trunks could feel both of them powering up. They were both still weak from their fights with Cell earlier, and neither one had taken a senzu bean. Before Goku or Gohan could make a move toward Cell, another Ki soared as a scream shook the air. Trunks glanced away from Pan in shock as he saw his father ascend into a Super Saiyan before flying right at Cell. Was that anger Trunks felt coming from Vegeta for Pan? Or maybe because Vegeta could sense how distraught Trunks was? Or maybe it was just because Cell was back, and Vegeta hadn't had a chance to fight him yet.
"Un," a small rasp, and Trunks immediately shot his eyes back down to Pan. Her beautiful dark eyes looked so dull and unfocused, and Trunks' throat tightened dangerously. He could feel the phantom pains of her wound right under his chest. He just prayed that she was in too much shock to feel the pain herself.
"Panna," he leaned closer to her. His ki was still wrapped around hers through their bond and he trembled. He could feel each slow breath she took. She would not leave him. He refused to let her.
Gently, Trunks laid Pan down and began tearing strips of his shirt off. He worked quickly, even though his body jerked with how pent up his ki was. He wrapped a strip of his shirt around Pan's sternum as tightly as he could. She let out a rasp of pain at the tightness.
"I'm sorry, baby," he said hoarsely. "I want to stop the bleeding. Hold on, okay?"
Pan was so quiet in his mind. From the moment he first felt her through their bond over 18 years ago, she had never been this quiet. It was like the constant, gentle humming that was always there was gone. Trunks' fingers shook as he tore off another strip of his shirt. She had told him she had a bad feeling about the fight, that something horrible was going to happen and he had promised her that they would survive it. He had promised her.
"Panna," Trunks gritted out between his teeth so he didn't lose his composure as he tied the second strip around her. "You listen to me," he said seriously. "You and I still have unfinished business. We have to go home to our moms. We have to save our timeline, and you have to marry me," he choked out. "You promised you would. Then you and I, were going to live long, happy lives and have as many children as you want."
He finished securing the second knot and reached up to hold her face. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was nothing but a rasp. Her pulse was slow. So damn slow and he gritted his teeth. "Dammit, Panna! Don't you fucking leave me!" He snarled. "You gather whatever energy is inside of you and fucking fight to come back to me!"
A choked gasp escaped Pan as her back arched. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment before they shut, but Trunks could feel it. Their bond! Her side of it was humming softly again. He glanced down and saw that her sternum was glowing faintly. He blinked his burning eyes as one of her ki butterflies appeared from the glow and fluttered its wings. It didn't move and Trunks let out a sob as he leaned over and pressed his forehead against Pan's.
"That's my girl," he said shakily. He kissed her gently and finally let himself feel what was happening around them.
Vegeta was still fighting Cell, along with Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, and Tien. Yamcha and Krillin had grabbed Lapis and Lazuli and brought them closer. Despite the fight being five to one, Cell was back and stronger than ever in his perfect form. Trunks heard a faint whisper in his mind telling him what Cell had told the others. His core hadn't been destroyed when he blew up, and his cells retained the memory of his perfection. He no longer needed Lapis or Lazuli to achieve it.
Trunks stared down at Pan as her breathing became more even. The rasp was gone and that butterfly still rested on her chest. She would be okay. He could feel it, and now that he knew she was fine, he was going to raise hell. Gently, he brushed her dark hair off her face.
"I'll make him pay, Panna," he promised.
Slowly, Trunks stood up. He could feel Yamcha and Krillin nearby, but they weren't getting too close. He stepped over Pan, his eyes on a smirking Cell as he fought of Goku and Vegeta. The ancient thing that had been roaring inside of Trunks from the moment Pan got hurt stilled, as if knowing it was about to be unleashed.
Trunks inhaled deeply and then screamed as his ki burned through him. He could feel the fire in his veins as he exploded.
Goku's head whipped around quickly at the shift. The air had instantly gotten hotter, like a wave of steam washed over the land. A pulse of power ran through the air, and in the light, Trunks appeared. He was glowing, looking like a shooting star. His skin looked tanned and flushed against the bright aura surrounding him, his lavender hair almost silver as it swayed from his ki.
A ragged breath beside Goku made him tilt his head, and he saw Vegeta, staring at Trunks with wide, wild eyes. Was he seeing what Goku was seeing? Was this an entirely new level of Super Saiyan?
A hiss escaped Cell and his eyes widened as he took in Trunks. "Yes," he nearly purred, his voice filled with excitement. "I was wondering if I would ever get a chance to see this!" He flared out his ki, sending the Saiyans, Tien, and Piccolo who had been in shock scattering through the air.
Goku quickly caught himself and grabbed the back of Gohan's gi before he zoomed by. Gohan was panting as Goku brought him to his chest protectively.
"Dad," Gohan whispered. "Look!" He pointed to the ground behind Trunks.
"Pan," he breathed out as he shoulders relaxed. He hadn't allowed himself to think of her injury as he attacked Cell. She would be okay, either by Dende's healing or by a wish on the Dragon Balls. It seemed, her ki was working on healing herself, and Trunks' shadows covered her like a protective blanket.
"That's more than Super Saiyan, isn't it, Dad?" Gohan whispered as he looked at a glowing Trunks with wide eyes.
"Maybe," Goku answered honestly. "Maybe it's why Trunks couldn't master Super Saiyan, because he could do this instead."
Cell flew closer to Trunks and stopped as he floated in the air nearly ten yards away. His green and black speckled head tilted from side to side. "Do you want to know something?" He asked, his voice sounding smug and cruel. "In the timeline I came from, I saw a small portion of this power from you, Trunks," he chuckled.
"I had just hatched from my larva form and was searching for Seventeen and Eighteen. To my surprise and aggravation, they were already dead," Cell huffed. "To say I was angry was an understatement. It didn't take me long to find out that you and Pan had killed them, and I knew what you two were. Saiyans," he hissed.
Cell continued, "I found you two on a sunny day, and it was just my luck that you seemed to be planning a trip back to the past. The time machine was in the backyard, buzzing as it waited to be used." He paused for a moment, and Goku didn't need to see him to know there was a nasty smirk on Cell's face. "Pan came out first with the children."
A cold shiver ran down Goku's back as Gohan gasped.
"They were boys. Twins, perhaps. No bigger than toddlers, and Pan's stomach was swollen, as if she was expecting another. She saw me, screamed, and then foolishly tried to protect the children from my blast, but it was too late!" Cell laughed in delight. "The children were killed instantly, and she was near death when you came, Trunks. The power coming from you then was just like now. It was maddening and wild! You were like a burning sun in human form. I'll be honest, I thought you would kill me, but then she died, and your light flickered out. You fell to the ground, clutching her and the children. Oh, the wailing you did was awful! You had the whole damn planet shaking from your grief. I had to end it. You didn't even turn around when I sent a blast straight through your head."
The story made Goku's heart tighten painfully. He didn't know that Trunks or Pan, but the thought of a version of them and their children being murdered by Cell had his eyes burning with rage. Vegeta let out a snarl from his right and moved forward as if to strike Cell again, but before he could, Trunks was gone. Cell whirled around quickly, his eye wide, but Trunks reappeared in front of him and grabbed him by his throat before he threw him into a nearby mountain.
The impact exploded through the air, and the ground shook as the mountain began to crumble. Cell came out with a loud roar, but he didn't make it but a few steps before Trunks was there again. Light formed around Trunks' palm before he shoved his fist right into Cell's stomach.
The monster's eyes widened, a gasp of shock and pain escaping him. Trunks stepped back and Cell tumbled to his hands and knees, his mouth open as a wet scream of agony escaped him. Purple blood drooled from his mouth and the wound on his stomach that he jerked to touch.
"What-" he could barely rasp out. "What did -" His body arched as he screamed in pain. He fell onto his back, his body arched as his hands grabbed his stomach.
"He's acting like he's on fire," Gohan whispered.
"I think he is," Piccolo said with a frown. His eyes were focused on Cell and Trunks, his antennas twitching. He was probably picking up on a lot more than any of them. He tilted his head. "I can feel it. Whatever Trunks did to him, it's like a chemical fire on his insides. It's burning him alive."
"No!" Cell screamed. Weakly, he managed to get up, and he stumbled before falling on his hands and knees. "I- I am perfection!" Cell screamed through bloody teeth. "ME!" He roared as he leaned up and fired a weak blast at Trunks, who easily swiped it away.
"No," the deep and calm timber of Trunks' voice surprised Goku. The man wasn't shouting. He didn't even look angry, though Goku knew he was beyond pissed. "You're not perfect, Cell. You never were. You were nothing but an abnormality that never should have been created."
Cell let out weak growl. His voice was gone, but it was obvious he was still in horrible pain. Cell tried to lift his head, but his body was in too much pain as his cracked nails dug into the hard ground.
Trunks moved toward him slowly. When he was just a few feet away from Cell, Trunks crouched down and tilted his head, as if he could see the burns inside Cell.
"You're lucky," Trunks said quietly.
Cell's head jerked toward his voice.
"If it were her power, you wouldn't feel any of this," Trunks continued. "No pain. No burning alive from the inside out. You'd just lose yourself, piece by piece." His mouth curved into a cold smile. He chuckled and poked a finger to the shell around Cell's forehead that was beginning to flake off as the monster screamed hoarsely. "You'd lose your senses, one by one, and only at the end would you understand what was happening. You wouldn't be in pain, but you would be terrified and numb. And isn't being in pain better than being terrified and numb? When you're in pain, at least you know you're alive, don't you, Cell?" Trunks asked.
Trunks waited for a second before he sighed, "Too bad you can't run your mouth anymore, huh? Your throat is completely burned. It's already ash," he laughed as he stood up and dusted himself off. "It's also too bad you'll never know if you really were lucky after all."
Trunks took a step back and Cell's entire body turned gray, like a frozen, flaky statue. Trunks turned around, and Cell's body collapsed, breaking apart into ashes where nothing remained, not even a cell for regeneration.
No one moved as they stared at the pile of ash that used to be Cell as a gentle wind blew past and began to brush it away. Goku blinked as the humidity that had been baking in the air seemed to lessen as Trunks powered down, his silver hair turning lavender again. The sun, shinned across the land normally again, and the gentle heat of it made Goku sigh softly.
Pan still laid on the ground, but her face was flushed and peaceful, as if she were sleeping. Trunks reached her and leaned down before he picked her up and secured her in his arms protectively. He turned around and glanced at the group still floating in the air.
"It would have been nice if I could have done that sooner, huh?" He asked with a small smirk.
Gohan let out a small laugh and then he flew down to the ground, landing beside Trunks. Goku let out a heavy sigh and glanced over at Tien who was breathing out a breath of relief. Vegeta had already disappeared.
Piccolo stared at Trunks, Gohan, and Pan. "Seriously," he said, his voice flat as he let out a heavy sigh. "What the hell are you Saiyans."
Goku just laughed, and his smile widened even more as he saw Pan beginning to stir in Trunks' arms.