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

Author's note: To a mention in one of the reviews...no, I don't update regularly. I don't have time to. I have a life outside of my writing/web creating. Good things come to those who wait however. Please be patient and enjoy the things that are offered. Life's too short to rush.

For a faint moment Trunks thought that he felt a familiar presence or rather a familiar ki. *Nah, no way, impossible!* Trunks thought as he shrugged off the possibility of running into someone he knew when he was nearly a universe away on some kamiforsaken planet loaded with a handful of full-blooded saiyans. He continued to flank the saiyan hunting party while remaining deep in the dark, dank shadows of the woodland flora.

Meanwhile...

Pan pushed the other two ladies along. They had to hurry! From the sounds of the crashing and crunching, Pan knew their pursurers were not on all on foot. Just as she thought she found a perfect hiding place, she froze. Bra and Marron slammed into her backside.

"WHY'D YOU STOP! THEY'RE RIGHT BEHIND US!" Bra shouted.

Marron tapped the aqua haired half saiyan on the shoulder and pointed in front of Pan.

"OH SHIT!" Bra yelled before raising her hands as the other two had already done. Before them stood some strange beast with a mouthful of fangs. But it wasn't the beast they were worried about...it was its rider. Armed with a poison-tipped spear, the warrior shoved it forward in threat. Before the trio knew it, the rest of the hunters had caught up and surrounded them on all sides. They were trapped.

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Trunks was amazed at the rapid speed of pursuit the hunting party put forth. With hardly any words spoken, the group had encircled whatever or whoever it was they were pursuing. From his hiding spot, Trunks could not see the captive or captives, but he knew that the pursuit was over and the prey surrounded. With a hiss of discontent and lack of patience, Trunks sought a better hiding place, one that would reveal more information to him.

Slinking and stalking, Trunks managed his goal, a better vantage point, but he couldn't see through the tight circle of the hunting party. Whatever or whomever they had, it wasn't taller than them...unless they were already bound and forced to sit on the ground? With his patience growing thin, Trunks pondered the possiblities. He could attack. He had the element of surprise afterall, but outnumbered and unsure of what it was the saiyan hunting party had, would this be wise? His father always said know what you were up against first before charging into battle. But Goku always charged into battle regardless and met with ample success with shear power. Trunks had power, but it would thwart his plans for the entire camp of saiyans and his chances of acquiring his ship. Trunks also knew of a moon that showed itself on occasion based on the angle of the strangely revolving planet he was on. That moon would rise in this region tonight. For the most part, these saiyans avoided the moonlight, not wanting to wreck their own home with their giant ape forms. But if forced into a fight, they would most certainly allow themselves to undergo the transformation. Then, they would have more power than even Trunks' super saiyan level two could handle. No, charging into this little hunting party wouldn't be worth it.

Suddenly he heard a screech...a very familiar screech followed by a slurry of swearing. BRA?! No way! Trunks desperately needed to see the captives now. He had to know who they were! But how? He couldn't compromise his plans and his position. Suddenly an idea. It was simple enough and would keep his future plans for the camp intact. Every member of this hunting party had to be killed...quickly and quietly. Eyeing each and every one, Trunks chose his order of slaying. Midori had to be first. She was the most skilled and the leader of the group. Within the chaos that would follow, Trunks could easily eliminate the rest.The second would be the beast then its rider. Intelligence ruled over brutal combat. Seeking out Midori, he noticed that she was busy in thought, perhaps pondering her decision in regards to her captives. She stood to the side, not directly in the circle. The beast and rider were beside her on the left. In anticipation, Trunks failed to realize that his formerly surpressed ki had gone up slightly. Midori was wearing a scouter device. It went off.

Trunks was about to curse himself then realized he just gave himself the distraction he needed. Midori barked some orders to her party then took a fellow guard with her and headed in Trunks' direction...away from the group and into the shadowy foilage. Trunks shrank deeper within the thick fern like plants and awaited his moment of ambush.

Midori and the other hunter walked cautiously, both sweeping and jabbing spears through the foilage. Her scouter couldn't have given too high of a reading if they were probing in the manner of animal hunting. If it had, they wouldn've known it could only be him and would have taken more members with them. Good. He still had the element of surprise. The longer time ticked by, the more distracted Trunks' mind became. He was still pondering whether or not his very own sister could be way out here! And if she was, who else was with her? Perhaps his father? No, shit would have hit the fan already as Vegeta would take control of the situation in loud, obvious fashion. His mother? Great Dende if his mother was out here, who was running the company?! Trunks smirked at himself, why did he even care about the damn company...wasn't he trying to escape that? Or did he care afterall? Did he actually like his work? Before he could answer that, he snapped back into focus. Midori and the other scout had entered Trunks' strike zone. As the scout drew in closer, Trunks threw a stick in another direction. As Midori looked away towards the direction of the flung stick, Trunks snagged the scout with lightening speed. He quickly snapped her neck, dropping her dead instantly. He then sank back into his hiding spot. It all took less than a second. Midori had reacted to the extra sounds nearby, but a half second too late. Her first glimpse was of her dead scount on the ground with neck twisted in a manner it coudln't normally go. For a brief moment, Trunks saw fear cross her eyes. It gave him a devillish smirk as his eyes flashed aqua-green and his hair wavered upward in anticipation of the super saiyan transformation. But he didn't go super saiyan. He fought to calm his body of the lust for battle and blood. To a saiyan, fighting was better than sex no matter how good they were at the latter. It aroused the saiyan senses in ways sex paled when compared. Trunks had to stay focused. He couldn't get caught up in the euphoria of combat. He quietly waited again. Midori had to make the first move.

Midori, extremely cautious now, looked about in all directions. She stared longingly in the direction of the rest of her hunting party. She regretted not bringing more hunters with her now. Still, she was a saiyan elite. Whatever it was, she'd deal with it. She gulped and sucked in some courage as she slowly took small steps, while sweeping her spear in a tight half circle before her.

The spear grazed the top of the foilage Trunks was crouched under, but he remained still. Since she was so focused on what was in front of her, she wouldn't expect an attack from behind. He would allow her to pass by him.

Once she was a few steps past him, Trunks grabbed her from behind. One hand firmly blocked her mouth and jaw while the other tightly grasped her throat. He allowed her to see him...his deep sapphire eyes burning into her fearful dark ones. She couldn't speak. She couldn't flail. With her windpipe nearly cut off by his grasp about her throat, she was totally helpless.

"A shame actually." Trunks muttered to her in a quiet, guttoral tone and in the rough saiyan language that he had learned from his father's teachings. If anyone were nearby and heard him, it would sound almost sexual. "I do respect you. A quick, painless death is the best I can give you. It's more than what you were giving me." Trunks finished as his hands readjusted on her head and contorted it into a quick popping snap. Midori dropped lifelessly to his feet.

With two down and main goal number one accomplished, Trunks stealthily returned to the fringes of the hunting party and captives. His first observance was that the hunting party was looking about, wondering when the other two, most importantly their leader, would return to them.

******************************************

Pan had picked up on the strange distractions of the group. While Bra and Marron seemed petrified of the situation, Pan's instinct and training had kicked in. She was a warrior afterall. The leader and another had left the group, apparently after something. The leader's scouter thing had gone off just prior to her departure. Pan immediately focused within herself and tried to seek any ki readings. For a brief moment, twice, she could've sworn she felt Trunks' ki. It was gone now, but she was almost certain now, that he was alive and perhaps even nearby. Her heart had felt this for a while now, but she kept it to herself. Only now did her ki senses confirm it. She didn't want to mention it to Bra or Marron yet. She wasn't entirely sure yet. No need in giving them false hope if her senses turned out to be wrong.

Marron, though scared, hoped that her "knight" would show and save her. Sure it was a more romantic, story-book type feeling than Pan's, but Marron lacked saiyan strength and power. She was only human. She could only hope and wish in human terms, that the super saiyan she loved would defend and save her.

Bra, however, well, Bra was reacting in much the same way her mother used to when she was her age. Bra was very loud, very demanding, and getting the group into more trouble than they needed. While Pan frowned at the fact that Bra was half-saiyan and acting worse than full-human Marron, Pan also knew that all this obnoxiousness was proving an annoying distraction to the hunting party. They were getting confused will Bra's bitching and the non-return of their leader and group member. Pan worked at her binds. She wanted action at the first opportunity.

******************************************

Bra's ranting and raving gave Trunks a positive identification. He now knew that one of the captives was his sister. It was enough to spur him on eventhough his consciousness was eating at his mind over the guilt of murdering in cold blood.

Trunks eyed his next prey. The rider and beast were the most calm of the group at present. Kill them and the fidgety, getting confused hunting party would be thrown into a chaotic fear. Slinking back from his vantage point, Trunks reworked his way through the foilage to get nearer the beast. Suddenly he remembered the spears Midori and the other had. He had brought them back with him. He altered his route slightly to go back and get them.

The beast was standing beside a large rock which the captives sat bound in front of. The rest of the party was on the other sides. With its short neck, it had limited movement of its head. Trunks watched the beast's underside carefully. Seeing the thumping region, Trunks knew exactly where to place the two spears. Without notice, he slowly slid under the beast, slammed the two spears into its heart, and with super speed, backed out from under the thing before it collapsed. Trunks dove for the underbrush just as the beast gave its last yelping breath. The rider fell from the beast as it rolled sideways and slammed into the rock beside it. Immediately the group forgot about the captives and panicked. Trunks sank deeper into the underbrush. He had to wait for them to regroup. Though he had removed himself from under the beast quickly, its blood splattered his hands and upper body.

Trunks' plan was foiled however. Pan, released from her binds, launched upward and began flinging ki balls at the fleeing saiyans. Trunks now knew the identity of yet another captive. He slammed a bloody fist against his forehead. Pan's stupidity was going to ruin everything! He watched the fleeing hunting party. They were in all directions. He couldn't tell if Pan's blasts had killed the few laying on the ground or merely stunned them. With a bit of anguish for Pan's recklessness and lack of thought, Trunks launched upward, slammed himself into her and knocked her roughly to the ground. She was going to get herself, his sister, and perhaps himself killed if she continued on her foolish rampage.

Pan, surprised, flailed and tried to free herself from the grasp of whatever was holding her. What was holding her!? For a moment she sought a glimpse of her attacker. Humanoid, but unrecognizable...until...

Trunks' anguished blue eyes locked onto hers. "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE YOU FOOL!" he yelled coarsely as he shoved her further into the dirt before releasing himself from her. She froze in shock. If it was Trunks, something was seriously wrong with him.

Trunks' gaze locked onto the other captives. So, Marron was the third. Three foolish females. He had no time to interrogate them on their stupidity. He tore the binds of Bra and Marron, then launched back into the darkness of the forest.

Pan stood, still wide-eyed in shock and watched him depart.

Bra and Marron seemed surprised too, but it all happened so fast. They dusted themselves off and stared at Pan.

"Pan?" Bra asked.

"Was that Trunks?" Marron asked Bra.

"I think so. It was hard to tell. If it was, something isn't right. Did you see his eyes? They had a fury in them worse than I've ever seen in my dad." Bra commented.

"It was almost like he had gone wild." Marron continued.

"Or mad." Bra added.

Pan had snapped to by then, and she was busy dusting herself off. "Well, I never!" she yelled in disgust before pondering the same thing the others had thought.

"Pan, was that Trunks?"

"It it was, we're in trouble. Can saiyans get rabies?"

"He didn't act rabid Pan, just beastial." Marron corrected.

"Like his wild saiyan side has taken over." Bra added as the three looked back towards the wooded area that Trunks had departed into.

"Guess he's not glad to see us." Pan humphed as she began trudging in the opposite direction.

"Pan? Where're you going?"

"I don't know. We came here for Trunks, but obviously he's not ready to leave yet." Pan sarcastically shot back.

Elsewhere...

Trunks returned to his hidden living area. There he pulled meat off the carcass he had stolen and tore at it aggressively. Chunks of meat slid down his throat with hardly any chewing. At the same time, his brain was trying to make sense of everything. With Pan, Marron, and Bra on the planet, he could not continue with his plan without considering their safety now. He knew they wouldn't leave. Still, on the good side, they likely had a workable ship. His was an unknown. But now, he had to rethink everything!

to be continued...