Into the Void

Into the Ring

6- Into the Ring

Pan sighed and closed her eyes as the planet's sun warmed her skin. She held out her arms, basking in the light. The fresh air and natural light were such a mood booster.

"What are you doing?" Trunks' voice was nearby.

"I'm sucking in all the nutrients this sun will give me," Pan answered. "If only I could use them to grow a little."

Trunks snorted. "You're no flower, and I think you're done growing."

Pan opened her eyes to glare at him, but she was surprised to see that he was standing next to her. His face tilted towards the sun with his eyes closed as well. There was a small smile on his face.

"The sun sure does feel nice," Goku commented as he walked up. "I feel as if it has been forever since I last saw sunlight."

"Yeah," Trunks straightened his head and opened his eyes.

"This place feels like home, just a little," Pan said.

"Yeah, if you don't think about the pink and purple sky," Trunks said.

"It's like a sunset on earth," Pan retorted.

"Or the brown grass," he glanced down.

"It could be a little dry," she said.

Goku chuckled and shook his head. "It does have a few similar qualities. Which way is the market? Do you think they'll have food places? 'Cause I don't know about you two, but I'm getting hungry," he said as he rubbed his stomach.

"Papa, you're always hungry," Pan reminded him with a fond smile.

"I'm sure there will be food," Trunks commented. "It's a supply planet. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff here." Trunks pulled out the Dragon Radar and turned it on.

"I thought the Dragon Ball was on the other planet?" Pan asked curiously.

"It is, but I programmed the Dragon Radar to pick up heat signals. That way we'll know which way to go to the city. Look -" Trunks held out the Dragon Radar towards her.

Pan reached for it carefully. The last time she had taken the Radar from him, she had landed on her butt. Her bottom had been sore for hours afterward! Trunks didn't hold on this time, and the Dragon Radar slipped right out of his palms. Pan looked at the screen, which was laid out in a map format. It must have been connected to the ship's database somehow. In the northern part of the planet, several tiny red dots were clustered together.

"Is that it?" She asked.

"It would be safe to assume so," Trunks nodded.

"And you programmed the Dragon Radar to do this?"

"Yeah," Trunks said with a shrug as if it were nothing.

"That's amazing, Trunks," Pan awed as she looked at the Radar again.

Pan had always been amazed at how Bulma could work her inventions and put things back together in a matter of minutes. She had seen Trunks tinkering with stuff on the ship, but it had never occurred to her that he was like Bulma in that sense.

Pan glanced up and was surprised to see that Trunks was looking at her like he had never seen her before. She held out the Dragon Radar, and he it took it wordlessly before walking away. Pan blinked after him in confusion.

"Panny," Goku called from behind Trunks. "Come on."

"Coming!" Pan smiled as she ran to catch up to them.

The supply planet, labeled as Yoi in the ship's database, was very different from the last planet they had been on. This planet seemed open and friendly. Stores laid out across the strips, their doors wide open as aliens shopped and chattered about happily. Most of the aliens were humanoid in appearance, but some weren't. Some had long snouts and others tails! They didn't give the Saiyans any second looks, because they were probably used to having strange visitors around.