Disclaimer...I own none of the characters, etc. except the plot.

With a decent sized meal in his stomach, Trunks quickly found his energy reserves recharging and his brain beginning to fire on all fronts. But with increased thoughts came increased awareness of himself. He was hardly behaving in a manner most knew him as. The quiet, reserved gentleman was gone. In its place was a savage, calculating predator. Was this Trunks' other side? He wondered if what he was now living as was his supressed 'wild blood.'

*What in Kami's name am I doing!? Is this right? Why am I thinking that? Have I lost my sanity? No. That can't be. I wouldn't be able to rationalize like this. Who am I? Yeah, that's the main question. It's why I left Earth to begin with. Is this beast of a man who I really am? It's not the prim and proper corporate man my mother makes me be. That's for sure. But, my heart and conscious tell me this creature I am now isn't me either. So am I back to square one? Who am I? Fuck, I just want my ship so I can do what I want to do! That's the first priority. I don't care about anything or anyone else. If something is in my way, it's gonna be sorry for its own stupidty.*

Elsewhere...

"Geesh Pan, leave it to you to pick the coldest, most inhospitable part of this planet." Marron complained as she felt the first whisp of air when the ship's doorhatch opened.

"Hey, at least there's no saiyans here. Because if they were Marron, they'd make short work of you. You're no fighter."

"So why do you fear me as competition for Trunks then eh?" Marron shot back, slightly offended.

"Oh you two, don't start fighting over my brother again. We need to stay focused on the mission we have. And furthermore----SHIT! This cold is gonna freeze and crack my eyeliner!"

Both Pan and Marron had no choice but to laugh at Bra. To think she was half saiyan and that half was the blood of the mighty Vegeta and hear her yield due to potential makeup failure was just too much!

Pan threw both of them a winter jacket from the closet. "Let's go. We can't stay put. Nothing will be accomplished by sitting here." she said as she launched herself into the bitter cold outside. The other two reluctantly followed suit.

"Let's see..." Pan muttered as she used one of Bulma's scanning devices. It was designed for search and rescue. "Hey, there's faint life signs over there." Pan said as she pointed towards a bunch of upwards ice chunks.

"You think there's someone over there?" Bra asked as she looked at the seemingly impossible wall of ice.

"Well probably not now. Something WAS though." Pan said as she was already hovering over the crevasse hidden by the ice wall.

"Was...do you mean people-like or animal-like?" Marron asked with a slight hint of fear in her voice.

"Hard to say. Something ate here though. There's bits of fur , dried blood, and bone and---hey wait! There's footprints!"

"Footprints? That means more people like then right?" Bra stammered.

Pan didn't reply. Instead, she dove into the crevasse for a closer look leaving Bra and Marron to wonder whether that was stupid or ingenious.

Looking about Pan noticed tattered bits of animal skins, shards of what could be arrows or spears, and a sign that the previous occupant may have been a very powerful creature.

*Trunks? Were you here? Saiyans are strong, but this tunnel could've only been blasted and carved by the strength and power of a super saiyan.* Pan thought as she studied the strange moldings of the crevasse. *If this was you, were you hurt? Or was that an animal you were feasting off of? Now you have me very worried. If you are alive, I'm gonna pelt you for making me worry like this!*

"Well Pan?" Bra yelled below. She had her father's patience...or lack thereof.

Pan lifted herself out of the crevasse. "There's dug out caverns down there. Not nature-made. Their depth, length, and size could've only been dug by a super saiyan...or a group of saiyans digging for a very long time. But, the evidence of food and so forth would be greater if there was more than one, over a length of time."

"Trunks?"

"Maybe."

The trio stared in silence as they tried to contemplate their next move.

Back in the woodlands...

Trunks was napping lightly when he suddenly lurched awake to the sounds of crunching. It was still day and he wasn't ready to raise hell at the saiyan base yet. His nocturnally adjusted eyes squinted terribly at the bright sunlight. He was nearly blind in daylight. Cursing lightly to himself, he closed his eyes tightly and concentrated with his other senses. Smell and hearing began to reveal what his eyes couldn't. They were saiyans but they weren't looking for him. From the few utterances Trunks could make out, they were an all-female hunting party searching for meat to feast upon. Normally a strike by day wouldn't be a possiblity, but Trunks couldn't resist the opportunity to terrorize the small group of saiyans. A few less would benefit Trunks anyway and a predator never resists an easy hunt. He remained still and continued to use smell and sound while he allowed his eyes to slowly adjust to the intense light. After a few minutes Trunks' eyes could make out better detail in the daylight. Like the stealth of a panther, Trunks quietly stalked the hunters and awaited the right moment for an ambush. The hunters had become the hunted. Saiyans weren't accustomed to being on the defensive. They were mainly offensive creatures. Vegeta had taught Trunks that. Yet another bit of knowledge Trunks could thank a parent for.

With a strangely pitched squeal, a stag bolted from its resting place as the saiyan hunting party flushed it out. They had flanked the area perfectly and surrounded the beast, preventing any sizable escape. Trunks smirked. He had to give the saiyans that much...they were decent warriors afterall. Perhaps he could benefit twofold from the situation? Trunks' smirk grew as he watched the hunt from the shadows. He'd wait. Let them kill the stag. It would feed him for the next couple of days. He'd steal their kill and not even have to work for it. Free was always a good thing.

It was a quick, clean kill. Two of the hunters were rather skilled. Trunks watched these two carefully. One spoke and Trunks soon realized who it was. Midori! With one of Taree's top warrioress' on the hunt, that would leave only two elite females to contend with at the base. One less of the elites was all the better for the battered son of Vegeta. He smirked evilly as he envisioned the looks on their faces when he pounced. But he had to wait, the time wasn't quite right yet. Patience in the heat of battle or a hunt wasn't in a saiyan's blood, but Trunks trained himself to maintain it. His blood rushed through his system in excitement and anticipation of combat.

With his deep blue eyes narrowed, Trunks scanned the details of the area where the hunting party and stag were. He had to know where every twig, stone, saiyan, etc. was. Otherwise, he could stumble during his attack and throw himself on the defensive in less than a second. That would be bad.

Meanwhile...

"Pan, where are you taking us!?"

"Bra, we're heading towards the saiyan base. Trunks wouldn't choose that icy crevasse as a place to stay. If he was there, he was forced there. That tells me Trunks may be in trouble and those saiyans may know something about it. Besides, his ship's signature is near their base too. Everything points to them so that's where we're going."

"Are you nuts!? We can't take out a whole clan of saiyans!" Marron exclaimed.

"We're not going to charge in there, stupid."

"Hey, I'm just going on what you usually do."

"Just trust me this time okay? Unless you wanna be dead really fast."

Bra and Marron exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders. Without a word they followed the spunky quarter saiyan towards the woodlands.

Back at the hunting scene...

Trunks was in position and just about ready to strike. He crouched lowly and watched his first two targets carefully. Just as he was about to leap some strange racket shook up his concentration and stole the attention of the hunting party. Quietly, Trunks slipped back down into the shadows and listened to the commotion.

A saiyan scout riding a fur-less beast came charging towards the hunting party. She stopped and barked out some alert. Trunks' limited knowledge of the saiyan language gave him only one word...intruders.

*Intruders? Huh? Who else is here? That scout had appeared from the direction of the ice region. But I know that region well now. There's nobody there!* Trunks thought as he watched the hunting party depart with the scout. Once they were out of sight he stole the stag carcass and slipped away. There was no chance of stalking that group now that they were on high alert. It was best to eat, sleep, and get back to the original plan...attacking the base by night. But Trunks' curiousity was perked. He decided to stowaway the carcass then follow the group from the shadows and at a safe distance. Who were these intruders? He was as curious as the saiyan hunting party. He wanted to know!

After a couple of hours plodding through the woodlands...

"Pan do you know where we're going?" Bra asked as she once again tripped over a fallen branch.

"Not really, but I'm sure we're going in the right direction."

"Uh Pan, we passed that scraped up tree twice now." Marron mentioned as she pointed to a unique tree.

"That's not the same one. We're not going in circles if that's what you're saying."

"But Pan, there's one of the fake fingernails that snapped off when my hand hit that rock there." Bra added as she noticed her bright red fake nail. "We are going in circles."

Pan stopped and felt the heat of fury rise in her face. Or was it embarrassement? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't liking the fact that she was being made a fool. Before she could react though, sounds of war yells and the crashing of foilage drew her attention.

"Uh, what's that?" Marron said shakily.

"It doesn't sound good." Bra added.

"Um, I think we should, uh yeah, HIDE!" Pan said as she darted for the nearest cover. The other two quickly follwed on her heels.

to be continued...