“So, you’re finally getting your wish,” Libra said, her tone snide. The pair of combatants stood across from each other, gauging their opponent.

  Libra seemed diminished since her fight with Buu. She’d pushed herself to the limits to defeat the cunning trickster. Yet, her ki burned like a supernova, with no end to her power in sight.

  Her grandfathers seemed weaker since he’d fought Broly, unable to recover completely from their contest. She knew how much trouble he had keeping his energy up without senzu beans to replenish him. And since they’d all gotten used up in the Majin Crisis, he hadn’t eaten one in almost two days.

  Despite this, however, Vegito seemed utterly indomitable. While weakened from hunger, his power remained absolute, like trying to fight a raging torrent with your bare hands.

  “You think I wanted this, Bra?!” her grandfathers snapped. “That I wanted to kill my own flesh and blood!?”

  “You didn’t seem so broken up when you threatened to kill me all those years ago,” was Libra’s icy response.

  Her grandfathers’ face twisted in pain and grief. “I don’t want this. But you just destroy and destroy. You’ve killed every opponent in the tournament, shown no mercy to good men. You’re out of control, Bra.”

  “I’m just doing what you taught me.” Libra’s smile was cruel. “Destroy anyone who gets in your way, and now that person is you, Father.”

  “Ugh! You won’t listen!” Her grandfathers began pacing like a nervous animal. “You never could! I should have taught you better. Master Roshi warned me about this.”

  “That old fool? What could he have taught you?” Libra said.

  “He said I might not be ready to raise someone with such power. But I ignored him, like a fool,” her grandfathers replied. “Buu said I was a child, a newborn in an adult body. Master Roshi must have seen that too. I wasn’t ready. I see that now.”

  “Grandpas…” Pan had never seen anyone so distraught, like he was getting ripped apart from the inside.

  Her grandfathers sucked in a deep breath. “But you’re right. It is too late. I must fix my mistake. Forgive me, Bra.”

  “Libra! And finally, you’ve stopped your pointless rambling. I was getting antsy.” Libra wasn’t in the mood for excuses.

  “Don’t be so cocky.” The ground rumbled as her grandfathers’ ki spiked, enough to cause the audience stands to shriek from the strain. Pan feared he might tear the planet apart just by powering up. The confidence on Libra’s face wavered, realizing the power of her opponent.

  Vegito, the multiverse’s greatest warrior, entered a fighting stance. “You’re facing a real opponent now.”

  But Libra’s fear turned to rage, her eyes flaring in anticipation. “Then come on! Bring it!”

  The universe rumbled as the two collided, fist matching fist. Since they were both worn out, it seemed like they planned to end their opponent quickly with overwhelming might. Every blow, every block, seemed to shake the foundations of creation.

  “Woah.” Pan stared, blinking as she kept losing sight of each combatant. It made her own efforts seem sad in comparison.

  The Namekian Libra had found was trembling, disturbed. “What monsters. Never in my wildest dreams, I ever imagined such beings.”

  “Yeah,” Pan replied. And Libra kept getting stronger too. If her grandfathers didn’t stop her here, likely nothing could. What a nightmare.

  How had it come to this? Pan had always sensed the antipathy between Bra and her father, but she never imagined she’d fall onto such a dark path. And her poor grandfathers—while he put up a tough front, Pan sensed the sorrow behind every punch. Pan had always sensed fragility behind her grandfathers’ tough exterior, but Libra had pushed him almost to the breaking point.

  Ugh, this shouldn’t be happening! What happened to their happy family? Or had that only been an illusion?

  “Dad, what should we do?” But he wasn’t here to help. Libra had killed him. Her own brother. Goten, Trunks—everyone dead because of her. But Pan found she wasn’t angry exactly, just sorrowful. It felt like she’d failed somehow, that she should have done something different, so Bra never traveled down this dark path. But it was too late now. Either Libra would kill her father, or he would kill her.

  Despite his reluctance to fight his daughter, Vegito held nothing back. Libra coughed blood as a fist connected with her ribs. A returning kick drove into his side hard enough to shatter a planet. The pair wailed at each other, unleashing pain they’d bottled up for years.

  “Quite the battle. These two are certainly something else.”

  “Yeah, it makes you wonder if anyone can beat someone fused. It’s so unfair.” How could Pan ever match this?

  Huh? Pan blinked and turned toward the person who’d spoken. She stared wide-eyed, her mouth agape. “You!”

  “Hiya!” Goku said, waving.

  “What? B-but how are you alive?” Pan said, utterly baffled.

  “It was a close one, but I somehow survived,” Goku replied, scratching the back of his neck. Pan only shook her head, amazed by the development.

  Their conversation caught the attention of the two combatants, who seemed just as stunned by Goku’s sudden appearance.

  “Really? What does it take to kill you?” Libra said, exasperated. “Are you just too stupid to die?” Goku only gave a self-deprecating laugh.

  “So I’m not the only one resourceful enough to survive Bra’s explosion,” her grandfathers said. “But how did you survive, Goku?”

  “That’d be thanks to me!” a familiar, cheery voice said, giving a friendly wave.

  “M-Mary Sue?” Pan said, astonished.

  Her friend seemed a little ruffled, yet this only made her seem more beautiful. The flaws somehow made her more glamorous.

  “It was a lucky thing I survived that explosion!” Mary Sue said. “It was really touch and go!”

  “What?” was Libra’s flat response, utterly befuddled.

  “Luckily, since I have Frost Demon DNA, I can survive in space!” Mary Sue said.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “That’s awfully convenient,” was Libra’s snide response.

  “The explosion blasted me far away,” Goku said. “I thought I was a goner, trapped in space with no air. But I noticed Mary Sue’s ki, and Instant Transmissioned to her, since I remembered she could teleport anywhere.”

  “Yeah, when he just appeared in front of me, I realized what was happening,” Mary Sue continued. “So I sensed the nearest place with breathable air and teleported us there!”

  “Unbelievable,” her grandfathers said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

  “There’s lucky, and then there’s that,” Libra muttered.

  “I thought you’d gone, Mary Sue,” Pan said, fighting back unexpected tears.

  “I know, but I didn’t have the heart to leave,” Mary Sue replied. “Good thing I didn’t. Things have gotten crazy!”

  “And the others?” Pan asked hopefully.

  “Sorry, Pan. They didn’t make it,” Goku said, shaking his head sadly. “All gone.”

  “Oh.” Pan deflated. Goku placed a comforting hand on her head, and she leaned into him gratefully.

  Goku clenched his fists, glaring at Libra. “That was unnecessary, Libra. You didn’t need to resort to that to beat Buu.”

  “Whatever. You’d better not interfere, Goku,” her grandfathers said. “This fight is between me and Bra!”

  “I won’t dream of it,” Goku replied. “But if Vegito loses, I’m taking you down. You can’t just kill people, Libra.”

  “More interference,” Libra said, scowling. “No matter. I will be victorious regardless. I won’t let any of you stop me.”

  “Is that right?” Pan said, her hackles raised. She hadn’t forgotten Libra’s plan to wish everyone into thinking Buu destroyed the solar system instead of her. She’d fight if Libra tried that again.

  “None of you will stop me!” Libra’s ki spiked, startling even Vegito. She rushed forward, delivering a sudden jab into her father’s chest. Pan gasped as ice formed around the point of contact, spreading quickly across her grandfathers’ body. This was bad—Libra’s freezing technique could kill in a single hit.

  But her grandfathers only smirked. Pan watched in astonishment as he pushed the ice aside, his body unharmed. Libra stared in total shock as her technique failed.

  “How?” Pan asked.

  “Bra, do you really think I’d fall for a technique I’ve already seen a dozen times?” her grandfathers said, rather pleased with himself.

  “He used ki to raise his body heat to resist Libra’s freezing technique,” Goku said. “I had a hunch that might work, but it’s obviously not very comfortable.”

  Pan noticed the strain in her grandfathers’ expression, the skin blistered painfully where he’d raised his temperature to keep his chest unfrozen.

  “You’ve grown too dependent on it, Bra.” Her grandfathers said. “Now, let me show you real power. I don’t need cheap tricks to win.”

  “Gah!” Libra howled as a sudden fist slammed into her ribs. It was so fast, Pan only registered it as a flash of light. Libra staggered, her breathing ragged. She lashed out wildly in fury, missing completely and leaving herself open to a brutal elbow to the face.

  The fight deteriorated as Libra lost all battle sense, becoming more like a wild animal than a martial artist. She was easy prey for her father, who dismantled every attack she attempted. More than once, she tried freezing him, but her father effortlessly rebuffed each attempt.

  “What’s happening? What’s wrong with her?” Pan asked. What had happened to the superior, supremely confident god?

  “She’s lost all sense of herself. She’s lost in her rage and emotion,” Goku replied. “Libra has power, but not the maturity and training to master it.”

  Pan saw the wildness in Libra’s eyes as she lashed out at her father. Libra had been fooling herself. She hadn’t put the pain of the past behind her. Now it had resurfaced uglily as Libra lost herself in her anger, wanting to hurt her father for hurting her. Had Bra always hated grandfathers this much? What had happened exactly to drive her like this? Why did her grandfathers think of his own daughter as a monster?

  “Gah!” Libra howled in pain as Vegito appeared above her and drove his elbow into her skull. She went flying, landing hard in the destroyed arena. Her father floated above the struggling Libra, triumphant. The fight with Buu had weakened her more than they’d realized. Even without her shattered mental state, she wasn’t in any condition to fight Vegito.

  “Pity, I’d hoped for a real match.” her grandfathers said, eyes cold but regretful. “I’ve been impressed with how much you’ve grown, Bra, but I messed up. I should have been a better role model, taught you better. For that, I apologize.”

  “Save your apologies!” Libra snapped, spittle flying as she spoke. “You never cared about me. I was just a plaything to entertain you! A training dummy to keep you from getting bored. There was never anyone else who could challenge you!”

  “Bra.” Libra’s words had cut deep—there was some truth to them—but Pan’s grandfathers still shook his head. “I wanted you to be my successor, to protect the Earth in my stead when I passed. But I suppose you’ve never cared about that. In some ways, I envy Vegeta and his Bra. Despite not walking the path of a warrior, she seems so much happier. He was wiser than I.”

  “Grandfathers…” Pan had never heard such pain in his voice before, but now his regrets poured out like a broken dam. Like Bra, he’d repressed too much, and it had cost him.

  That moment’s distraction cost him dearly. Libra landed a devastating punch to his ribs, then followed it with a sudden ki blast so powerful it left a scorch mark behind. Even crazed, Libra was no less fearsome. She was a cornered animal. Experience had taught Pan that this was when the fused warrior was most dangerous.

  “I am not a failure!” Libra’s howl echoed through the empty stands, rattling them. Some even collapsed under the strain. “You won’t put that on me, Father!”

  Her grandfathers stared, disturbed. His mouth hardened into a firm line. “It’s time I finish this. I can’t bear seeing you like this. For whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

  The arena rumbled as her grandfathers’ hair extended wildly behind him. The entire universe seemed to waver under the strain of his Super Saiyan 3 form. Rocks lifted from the ground under the gravitational pull of his sheer might.

  “Woah.” Pan’s head wobbled as she nearly lost her balance—but Goku caught her, steadying her.

  “Careful now.” Goku’s smile hardened. “He talks about control, but he’s not so great at it himself.”

  Pan blinked. Did that mean Goku could channel such power without causing so much disruption? Mary Sue stood nearby, stoic, keeping a steadying arm on the Namekian.

  Pan gasped as she sensed the power her grandfathers was gathering in his cupped hands. Was he trying to destroy the entire solar system again? Libra stared back at him, eyes frightened and wild. Reflected in her irises, she saw her own death. Her father was ready to fulfill his promise.

  Libra howled like a banshee, hurling a punch at the spot she’d blinked to. But Vegito only grunted, taking the blow like a minor annoyance. Her last desperate ki blast had diminished already waning power. She screamed as her father smashed his head into her face, blood erupting from her nose. She stood stunned, confusion clouding her expression. The blow had likely concussed her. Another headbutt knocked her into semi-consciousness. She crashed into the broken arena and lay unmoving among the rubble.

  As mighty as Libra was, she was no match for her father’s Super Saiyan 3 form. This was it. Pan’s wayward aunt had lost.

  Yet her grandfathers hesitated, finding it far harder to kill his daughter than he’d expected. The ki in his readied Kamehameha wavered. Libra lay helpless, barely able to rise, but he still couldn’t find the resolve to fulfill his commitment. His mouth moved, but no words came out.

  “I can’t lose… I won’t,” Libra said, her words slurred. Fire returned to her eyes, refusing to surrender to hopelessness. “I won’t. Ever.”

  She raised a shaking hand to her forehead—and vanished.

  Pan’s grandfathers snapped to attention, eyes darting around as he searched for his opponent. He kept his Kamehameha cupped and ready, prepared to blast Libra the moment she reappeared.

  “There’s nowhere to go, Bra. Everyone you can teleport to is here.” He scanned the arena and its occupants for any sign of her.

  Pan did the same—and then gasped.

  Behind him.

  Her grandfathers sensed it too, spinning around to fire—but Libra moved first, grabbing his arm. Frost exploded across the limb as Libra poured everything she had into freezing it.

  “That won’t work, Bra. I’ve already proven it won’t.”

  But her grandfathers overlooked one crucial detail. With so much power gathered for his Kamehameha, he had less energy to defend himself. Realizing his mistake, he tried to dismiss his Kamehameha and reabsorb his ki—but it was too late.

  Ice overtook his arm and spread across his torso, freezing him in place. He lashed out with his remaining limb, but Libra was faster. The shattering ice shattered from her kick cracked like thunderclap in the empty stadium.

  Pan stared in horror. “Grandfathers!”

  He hit the ground like a stone, his body convulsing from the shock of Libra’s deadly chilly technique. There was no blood, ice encasing his wounds. A good portion of his torso and shoulder were gone, somehow keeping in one piece. His Super Saiyan 3 form collapsed, his hair returning to black. He looked utterly defeated—not just physically, but spiritually.

  Libra stood over her fallen father, triumphant.

  “Do it,” her grandfathers said through chattering teeth, the frozen blood sticking to his mouth. “Finish me already.” The proud Vegito would not beg for mercy.

  “Grandfathers!” Pan rushed forward—but a hand stopped her.

  “Grandpa?” She stared at him in disbelief. Was he really going to let Libra commit cold-blooded murder?

  “Wait. Watch,” Goku said calmly.

  Wait for what? Pan thought wildly. Her grandfathers’ death?

  “Hmph. How I’ve waited for this. You’re not as mighty as you claim, Vegito,” Libra said.

  Vegito glared back, daring her to strike. Pan braced herself—but seconds passed, then minutes, and the killing blow never came.

  “Huh…?”

  “I’m not letting you off that easy, Father. I want everyone to see you defeated. Broken. The small man you really are.”

  Libra floated away, heading toward the Namekian she’d been with earlier.

  What? Why hadn’t she killed him? Hadn’t she promised to countless times?

  To Pan’s astonishment, Goku was smiling. “Thought so.”

  “Whelk, summon Porunga. We’ew wishing everyone back,” Libra said, crossing her arms. Bruised and battered, she still looked strangely content.

  “What’s going on?” Pan asked, completely baffled. “How did you know Libra wouldn’t kill grandfathers?”

  “A hunch,” Goku replied. “I don’t think Libra’s as bad as everyone says. She’s just lost. And I think you’re the one who can help her, Pan.”

  “What? But she hates me!” Pan couldn’t imagine any world where Libra would listen to her.

  “I’m not so convinced of that.” Goku smiled softly. “Believe in yourself, Pan. You can reach her.”

  “O-okay.” It sounded insane—but coming from him, it didn’t seem impossible. His faith in her was absolute, and it brought unexpected tears to Pan’s eyes. It reminded her of her father—kind, loving, never demanding anything of her except that she be herself, so unlike her grandfathers.

  Was that what Bra had never had?

  Pan’s eyes hardened with resolve. “Okay. I’ll do it!”

  She wasn’t optimistic about her chances, but she would fight regardless. Libra needed help—and somehow, Pan would find a way.

  ///

  Next time:

  The second wish! Vegito’s regret! Pan prepares for the final round. Little Pan has an idea. Anpan’s proposal.