In a large room, a man with dark blue hair sat staring out the window, a frown upon his handsome face. He couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. This was supposed to have been an easy mission, with hardly any resistance. He had sent Shag start the invasion with a force of ghats, the little green men that his planet had especially made to attack and conquer planets. But somehow, instead of an easy victory, Shag had disappeared along with the ghats. At first he had suspected betrayal, but Shag, though not the strongest of his subjects was one of the most loyal. Only one thing would have stopped him from his objective, and that was what was troubling him.
"Shin!!" he yelled.
Within seconds a tall orange man was bowing in front of him. "Yes you highness?" he asked respectfully.
"I want you to find out what happened to Shag immediately." he commanded in the voice of someone that was used to getting what he wanted, which in fact, he was.
"Of course your majesty," he said quickly bowing again to the floor.
"You are dismissed," he said casually in a condescending manner. With that he turned back to the window. Soon, he thought to himself, as he looked at the earth blow him, soon this will all be mine.
********************************************* ****
Trunks stood back as everyone swarmed around Pan to welcome her back. He was happy to have her back, but at same time, though he would never admit it to anyone, he was intimidated. This girl, whom he had baby-sat when she was still a baby, was stronger than them all.
He felt guilty for feeling jealous at the thought of her getting all that power, which only made the whole thing worse. Added to that the feelings that had begun to grow in him for her, and it was safe to say that he was confused.
He glanced over and noticed his father was also separated from the crowd. That in its self wasn't so surprising. Vegita wasn't nor would ever be an overly social person. In fact, if you looked up antisocial in the dictionary, Trunks was certain that you would find a picture of his dad by the definition. But, that's how Vegita was, and you just had to accept it. Trunks still had trouble believing that his mom, a very social person, had gotten involved with him. He figured it must be true that opposites attract.
As these thoughts were running through his head, he was a little surprised to notice that Pan had broken away from the group and was walking towards him. He tensed, thinking about what he was going to say to her. But, to his surprise, she walked right past him and went to talk to his father.
From where he was standing, Trunks couldn't hear what she was saying, but he almost had a heart attack when she hugged Vegita. But, even more surprising was the fact that he was letting her. Trunks saw Pan whisper something to his father and saw the smile, yes a smile not the usual smirk, cross the prince's face.
By this time Trunks, and everyone else who had witnessed what could probably be classified as a miracle, was practically dying to know what she had said to Vegita. It even made him forget his own trepidation over the up coming reunion.
Pan turned away from Vegita and noticed that everyone was staring at her with a questioning look. With a blush on her cheeks, she gave a careless shrug that seemed to say 'What?'. She then turned her attention to Trunks.
Though she managed to hide her reaction to Trunks lack of greeting, she felt a pang of hurt in her chest. She had thought that they were closer than ever, maybe even more than friends. Instead his attitude seemed to be one of indifference. While she was training with Nagla, she had felt a connection with him where she could practically feel everything that he was feeling. But now, the connection was gone, or at least blocked.
She walked over to him hesitantly, not sure what his reaction would be. He held at his arms for her and gave her a hug, which she returned. As she pulled back, he patted her on the head and said, "Welcome back, Panny."
Pan barely suppressed a frown at that. He was treating her just like a little sister, something she discovered she really didn't enjoy.
"Thanks, Trunks-kun," she said pulling away and going to stand beside her parents. "So," she asked everyone in general, "are we ready to leave??"
"Yep," Bulma said, speaking for everyone. "I'm sure you want to go home and rest. We'll all meet back at our house later for a welcome back party." At everyone's nods of agreement, they all took off in their own directions.
When they arrived home, Pan was coddled by both her parents. They were so happy to see her again, that it was hard for her to get a moment of privacy. After being fed until she couldn't hold another bite and being hugged until she was sure she would have bruises for a week, they finally allowed her to go to her room and rest.
As Pan lay in bed resting, she was again trying to figure out Trunks strange behavior earlier. He had been so withdrawn and then his treating her just like a sister. She didn't understand what happened. She could tell that something was bothering him, but she had no idea what. As she drifted to sleep, she made a vow to find out what it was.
************************************
The door of Pan's room opened softly, not waking her up. Through the crack Gohan looked in, reassuring himself that she was back. He stiffened briefly as he felt someone come up behind him. He then relaxed when he recognized it as his wife.
"What are you doing?" She asked him softly looking over his shoulder at their sleeping daughter.
"Just checking to make sure she's really here." he said in the same soft tone, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm so glad that she's finally back. I missed her so much."
"So did I. It's hard to admit, isn't it? That are little girl is growing up."
He turned around and looked at her. "Yes, it is. But it's reassuring to know what a wonderful person she's becoming. I think we did a good job of raising her." Videl gave a silent nod of agreement. At that moment there was a soft groan from the bed and the sound of the sheets being turned as Pan rolled over in her sleep. "I think we had better let her sleep." she whispered, backing away from the door.
Gohan closed the door silently and the two of them walked down the hall, happy to once again be a family.
*************************************
Later that night, Pan heard a knock on the door. She looked in the mirror and saw her father entering the room.
"Hi, Daddy." She said with a smile on her face. She noticed the look in his eyes and turned to look at him. "What is it?"
"Nothing," he said gently. "I'm just so glad to have you home."
"I'm glad to be home," Pan said getting up and hugging him.
"So," she said, stepping away. "How do I look?" She twirled around and the black dress she was wearing for the party flared out slightly. Her long hair hung straight, framing her delicate face. As he looked at her, Gohan pictured her as she had been when she was a child. Her hair had been short then, and she had been such an adorable tomboy, always fighting with people that were twice her size... and usually winning.
"You look beautiful," he told her truthfully. "Are you ready? Were going to be late if we don't hurry."
"K, I'm ready." With a last glance in the mirror they left the room.
****************************************
When they arrived at Capsule Corp. Pan was surprised to see a rather large crowd of people already there. A lot of them were people she didn't even know.
As she made her way inside she looked around, trying to spot Trunks. She saw him in a corner talking to some blonde that Pan new at a glance was an airhead. As she neared them, she heard a high pitch giggle that caused her to grimace. Pan saw Trunks glance up and see her, then went right back to his conversation with the blonde that Pan had termed 'The Slut'. She fought down a wave of annoyance and went to stand beside him.
"Trunks, could I please speak to you for a moment." She said. He turned around and nodded to "The Slut". After promising to dance with her later, he reluctantly walked with Pan out onto the balcony.
"What exactly is your problem?" Pan snapped, getting straight to the point.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Trunks said casually, but she saw the guilty look on his face.
"Don't give me that," she said, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Why the sudden change back to acting like I'm a little girl again. As if I'm your sister!" Though her tone was outraged, he could sense the pain in her voice.
"Look, Panny. It's well…" He trailed off, not really sure how to put it. It wasn't that he minded that she was so strong, just that she was stronger than he was. It was just a little weird. He had known her since she was a baby, and he had never stopped to question how powerful she was. It had just been her, and he had always known, well thought at least, that even though she was powerful, she was nowhere near as strong as he was.
Though he never spoke these thoughts out loud, she just seemed to know. And to say she was upset was to put it mildly.
"Oh, so that was what this was all about? You can't stand the thought that I'm stronger than you?" Trunks tried to cut in, but Pan was on a rampage now, and wouldn't be stopped. "Of all the egotistical, chauvinistic, pig-headed things! I had really thought better of you Trunks. Well, it won't be the first time that a boy has stopped liking me because I'm stronger than he is, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Then, with an explosive blast of ki, she took off blasting in the sky.
"Pan!!" Trunks yelled after her, but it was too late, she was gone. "Damn it!!" he cursed to himself, or what he thought was himself.
He swung around and noticed a figure standing in the background looking at him. "Hi, Otousan. How long have you been standing there?" "Long enough," Vegita said grimly. "You do realize you just made the biggest mistake of your life?'
"NANI?!" Trunks asked shocked. Vegita was the last one he expected to give him love advice. "What makes you say that?"
Vegita just snorted. "Don't give me that boy. I'm aware that you are in love with her." He ignored Trunks look of shock, and continued. "And I'm also aware that she loves you. You two have bonded after all." Once again his words shocked Trunks.
"Boy, why are you making up excuses? Why can't you just be with her?"
Trunks wasn't quite sure what to say. "Umm, it's not that simple. There's the age thing." Vegita just snorted. "And then there's the fact that I won't be able to protect her!"
That got Vegita's attention. "So you're saying that instead of making her your mate like you want to, you would rather stay away from her forever? Don't be so stupid boy. Saiyan's always marry strong women. Look at that idiot Kakarot and his mate. Do you think he would be happy with some weak, pitiful woman? And look at your mother and me. She may not be physically strong, but she fights more than any other human I've met."
Trunks wasn't sure what to say to that, and Vegita just left him standing there. Trunks thought about what his father had said. Did he love Pan? He was not sure. So, he missed her whenever she was gone, and was happy whenever she was gone. That did not mean he loved her, did it? So when she had died it felt like a part of him had died too. What did that mean? And there was that little bond thing they had going on…Suddenly he felt more confused then ever. He wasn't sure exactly what he should do, but he did know one thing… He had to go after Pan. · * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * * ·
Shin stood a distance away from where the small woman was crying. When he had felt the huge burst of power, he had immediately followed it. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it sure wasn't the young lady that he had found. He looked at her crying, and for the first time he felt bad for what they were going to do. This was a planet full of human beings, a world full of people that cared for things the same way they did. That felt pain the same way they did. And now, for the first time, he felt guilty about their plans.
So what if their planet had been destroyed? Did that give them the right to take over someone else's? The questions just came into his mind, and he did his best to shove them aside. Those weren't his decisions to make. He was loyal and he had his orders.
Pan looked up and felt the man coming up behind her. Before she had a chance to react she felt a metal bracelet being snapped onto her wrist. She tried to move, but found her body paralyzed. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Trunks flew to the spot where he felt Pan's ki. All of a sudden, it seemed to just disappear. He was so surprised, he halted in his tracks. But then he realized that he had to find out what had happened. Flying to where he had last felt her ki, he recognized the park that she liked to walk in.
As he neared the fountain, he noticed an unfamiliar ki. He headed in that direction, thinking that it might lead to Pan. He neared the bench where Pan liked to sit, and saw two figures. One was obviously Pan but he had never seen the other person before. He saw that Pan was trying to pull away from him, and immediately went to help. But before he had a chance, they both vanished right before his eyes.
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To be continued………
I know, not the greatest ending. It's taken me a long time, but I have all
these other stories that I plan to write, so hopefully the next one won't take
so long. Lots of thinks to all the people that have emailed me. Well, tell me
what you think. The address is lady_trunks@hotmail.com.
And you can visited my site at http://www.geocities.com/trunksandpan.