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

Trunks quickly darted through the thick underbrush. Having spent many a day within it, he felt as though it was a 'home' of sorts. In the distance he could hear the sounds of a deep ram horn bugle. Taree was summoning the warriors for an offensive, most likely against him.

*Ahh, let them come, we'll be long gone before then.* Trunks thought as he retraced his steps to the area he had last encountered his sister and friends. Upon reaching it, he used his saiyan sense of smell to pick up the faint trace of scent left by them.

*How foolish. If I can track this, so can they.* Trunks thought as he easily followed the whiff of perfume his sister had probably dabbed on herself in effort to make herself ever always presentable. He wanted to transform in to a super saiyan badly, but he didn't want to alarm the ladies. If they read his ki and panicked, they'd no doubt do something stupid and reckless. Afterall, not a single one of them had enough experience with tactics or deceit...not even Pan. So, he emulated a stag, swift and fleet of foot through the dense foilage.

He reached the location of their ship very quickly. Too quickly for his own liking. The saiyan posse would reach them quickly as well. And so, his plan of action was simple. He'd burst in, overpower the ladies, shut them up, and take control of the ship. They wouldn't like it, but they'd likely thank him for it later...at least he hoped.

Trunks' hands began to glow as he focused ki energy into them. One quick blast and...wait! Trunks quickly retracted his ki. A blast to the door or ship would make it useless in space. The ship could not sustain damage and still be spaceworthy. They'd be dead in minutes by the leakage of their air inside. Muttering a flurry of curse words to himself, Trunks opted for another way inside. Quickly and quietly, Trunks maneuvered under the ship towards and emergency hatch. If the girls decided to ignite the ship's engines at this moment, Trunks would be fried instantly. But his keen saiyan hearing told him otherwise. The trio was busy bickering about something or another...otherwise, he shouldn't be able to hear them through the ship's protective walls. It was a good thing in another way too...they wouldn't hear him prying open the hatch either.

The hatch gave way with a reluctant 'pop'. Before Trunks entered, he hung from it and looked out from underneath the ship in the direction of the woodlands. Sure enough he could hear the crunching of branches and shouts of fury in the distance. So far, however, he was one step ahead of them. With a patented smirk across his lips, Trunks hoisted himself into the ship and slammed the hatch back into place.

Pan instantly fired a ki blast without hesitation. Luckily for her, Trunks intercepted and disentegrated it before it could damage the ship. Bra and Marron were locked frozen in stunned surprise. Pan launched herself at the intruder still unsure if it was Trunks or a rabid beast that slightly resembled the once handsome corporate saiyan. Trunks knew there was no time for some futile, reckless match with the quarter saiyan. With the speed of a cheetah and the strength of a lion Trunks dodged her attack, turned, and realigned himself to take the offensive. It was over in the blink of an eye. Trunks pinned her to the ground and hovered a ki blast over her throat.

"ENOUGH PAN! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" he yelled angrily as Pan gulped,uncertain if 'this' Trunks would actually use the ki blast on her or not. As her father always told her...when in a bind, play along and bide time. She powered down and relaxed...showing through her body language that she was not going to challenge him any further...at least for now.

Trunks pulled himself off her but not before roughly shoving her shoulders into the floor as a way of indicating that he meant business and was dead serious in his actions.

As he stood, he walked by Marron and his sister, both of which wanted to say something but were rendered speechless by his show of hostility and dominance over Pan.

He reached the cockpit in silence and seated himself in the pilot's seat while pushing buttons and twisting dials. The whine of the engines grew louder as Trunks activated the afterburners and pushed the throttle to its limit.

"SIT AND STRAP IN NOW!!!" Trunks yelled to the still stunned trio of ladies. They didn't hesitate. The shuddering of the ship as it fought against its own landing mechanisms. They had just enough time to click their belts as they were slammed against the backs of their seats from the intense g-forces of a launch using maximum thrust. Trunks himself felt every wound and ex-wound pulse as he nearly blacked out from the gravitational forces that tugged at his body. The launch was painful, but had to be done this way. He didn't know whether or not these saiyans had ships. If they did, they'd catch them quickly. Capsule Corporation space ships were still a long way from alien intergalactic technologies.

Within a few short minutes the ship suddenly felt weightless and their bodies like feathers. Not entirely conscious, Trunks let off on the throttle and activated the main engine by natural instinct. While not the greatest space pilot, Trunks knew the basics of flight as well as he knew the back of his own hand.

In the seat at the left side of the pilot's, Pan noticed the faltering condition of the half saiyan man.

"Trunks?" she inquired with a hint of worry obvious in her voice. When Trunks didn't answer, Pan released her safety harness and made her way to the pilot's chair. Trunks was slumped forward on the controls and now unconscious.

"Trunks!?" Pan said louder and even more worried. Marron and Bra now joined her. Bra's screech of surprise gave indication to the problem. Beneath her foot was a stream of blood. Her eyes followed it from the floor to its source...a large gaping wound from Trunks' side. Sure enough the high g-forces and pressure forced open some not-quite-healed wounds on Trunks' battered body. Marron spotted two more wounds that had also reopened and flowed blood freely. They had no idea if there were any more...Trunks' body was so filthy with mud, dirt, dried blood, and other debris, that it was difficult to even know if he had skin under all of it.

Pan ran for the kitchen for some water and the medical kit while Marron and Bra found some towels and a spare sheet which they began tearing into bandages.

With some team effort, the three ladies managed to carefully drag him out of the chair and onto a mat at the back of the cockpit. Their first task was to clean him up so they could see which wounds needed immediate attention. Each picked an area on Trunks' body and washed it up. Only one area remained and while they felt an immediate need to deal with his wounds...all three hesitated on the final zone...the groin area.

"Uh Bra, you're his sister, perhaps you should do it." Marron suggested.

"Hey, no way! I'm not touching my brother there! That's just perverse! One of you should do it...you both wanted in his pants anyway." Bra shot back.

"UGH! We don't have time for this!" Pan said as she began cleansing that final area without thinking about it.

Once cleaned, they doctored up and sterilized the open wounds then bandaged others.

"Many of these are infected." Pan mentioned.

Bra felt his forehead. "He's feverish too."

"If the infection set in through his entire body, he'll lose his life regardless of what we do." Marron added.

Before the other two could contemplate it a high pitched warning beacon went off in the cockpit.

"NOW WHAT!?" Pan yelled as she dashed over to the console. "AW, CRAP!"

"WHAT?!" Marron and Bra replied in unison.

"We're being followed."

"EH?!"

"Those saiyan bitches apparently have ships."

"So, we can outrun them right?" Marron asked.

"Doubtful. I remember mom and Trunks talking about this type of ship. It sucks compared to saiyan space capsules."

"Swell. They went all the way back to camp, prepared their ships, launched, and have already caught up to us. We're in deep shit now." Pan said as she fumbled with the ship's controls in effort to do something to evade the oncoming pursuers.

"Can we out-fly them?" Marron asked.

"You know a good pilot?" Pan chimed back.

For some reason all three looked at the unconscious man laying on the floor.

"Oh, that's going to do us a lot of good." Pan sarcastically commented. Trunks was indeed a skilled pilot, but in his condition, he'd be as good a pilot as a drunk, oversexed frat boy on drugs.

"We're doomed." Marron said as she flung up her hands in frustration.

"Bra, if any of your mother's genius intellect is in that brain of yours, now would be a good time to show it."

"Me!? What about you...daughter of the scholar, GOHAN!"

"Oh geeze...Dende, if you can hear us...PLEASE GET US OUT OF THIS MESS!!!" Marron exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Taree's and two other saiyan capsules loomed ever closer.

Taree smirked evilly as she saw the pursued ship grow ever larger in her view screen. The poor excuses for saiyans would pay soon enough...especially the half saiyan male who claimed himself to be the son of Vegeta.

to be continued...