Forbidden

What You're Fighting For

59- What You're Fighting For

The skeletons were transparent, but Pan could still see the rotting flesh on their bones. Their dark eyes glared at her, their jaws of discolored teeth, clenched.

It took everything inside of Pan not to turn and run back outside where Kalamity was waiting for her. She felt like she was in the middle of some nightmare.

The skeleton in front of Pan rattled his jaw, and a dark, ghostly voice drifted through the air. "The reaper died centuries ago," the voice hissed. "You cannot possibly be her."

"I am!" Pan declared. "I am her descendent!" She could hear her voice shaking, and she knew she didn't sound that convincing.

The hissed grew louder, and Pan's body was trembling. They didn't believe her.

"Death," a voice hissed. "Death. Death. Death," the ghostly chants filled the cave. All of the skeletons had their jaws rattling. Their eye sockets were dark, yet Pan could see the glares they are giving her.

A cold sweat gathered on the back of Pan's neck. Her stomach twisted nervously. She closed her eyes tightly as she searched for her Ki. If the ghost didn't believe her, then she would have just have to show them.

A warm breeze drifted across Pan, and she opened her eyes in surprise. She was on the top of the Dragons Den where she had left Kalamity, but he was nowhere in sight. The suns were high in the sky, and Pan's gut twisted. Had it been that long?! What about the battle?!

Pan turned around quickly, and she came to a sudden halt at the sight of a woman standing in front of her. The woman wasn't much taller than Pan. Her short hair was wild around her shoulders, and slowly she turned to face away from the ledge and towards Pan. She had the same dark eyes, and her features were strikingly similar to Pan's.

"You're-"

"My name is Alina," she smiled. "It's nice to officially meet you, Pan."

Pan swallowed hard and tried to calm herself. "I'm scared," she admitted.

"I know," Alina said softly. "It's okay to be scared. It's sometimes what fuels your fight. Those guys are pretty bitter about their curse, so don't mind them too much. Just prove it to them that you're my descendent. They'll follow you then," she promised.

Pan's gut was still twisted. "I'm scared," she repeated. "I don't want to die," she whispered. She didn't want to leave her family behind.

Alina let out a heavy breath. "I have a confession to make," she said. "Truth is, I wasn't as selfless and pure as Shenron thought I was. My motives for helping him were for my own gain, in hopes of forming an alliance with the dragons, not because it was the right thing to do. I fought for myself so that I could be labeled as the best. In the end, I was never able to harness the power of the Dragons fully."

"Is that why you couldn't beat Nahum?" Pan asked. "Because you couldn't harness the power?"

Alina nodded slowly. "I was able to weaken him into a centuries-long coma, though. I'm afraid he's regained most of his strength back now."

"If you couldn't harness it, then how can I?!" Pan cried. She had never been more anxious about anything before.

"Didn't you hear me?" Alina raised an eyebrow. "I was fighting for all the wrong reasons! Ask yourself, Pan- what are you fighting for?!"

What was she fighting for?

Trunks' face flashes through her mind, followed by Takehiko and Takara. Kalamity. Her parents, her brothers, her friends, and everyone else she held near and dear to her heart. Her home! Her planet!