A/N: Hey I'm back with the next chapter. I'm so sorry it took a whole month for me to update. The thing is my laptop broke down a few weeks ago and I was already half way with this story when it did. I've only just got it back so had to rush around finding time to complete the chapter. You guys made me so happy with all the lovely reviews from the last chapter. I had eight reviews. That's the most I've ever had for one chapter.
I want to specially thank KarinKurosakiHitsugaya913, Manazmama1, Ayaka86, Moonserenity82, Sailor Saiyan007, NeoB and the two anonymous people who spared their precious time and reviewed. This chapter's dedicated to you lovely people. Please continue to show me your appreciation. On with the story then...
Journey to Planet Vegeta – Chapter 14
Pan walked into the throne room with Trunks in front of her. She took a look around the room, impressed by its layout. From what she had seen so far of the castle each room had a colour theme of blue and white. Her gaze fell on the couple sat at the front of the room. Almost instantly her heart started to pound faster. From the outside she looked completely at ease but only she knew how she felt from the inside.
Trunks paused in front of his parents and looked at them. They were both staring at Pan who had come to a stop right next to him.
"Pan...I would like to introduce you to my parents. King Vegeta and Queen Bulma" he said. Pan smiled. The king was wearing a body hugging blue suit, which was topped with white armour and a cape hanging down his back. His hair stood firmly upwards and he looked about 5.5 in height. Bulma was looking beautiful in a long blue dress which fitted her body nicely. She knew now where Trunks got most of his looks from. Bulma had the exact style of hair, although hers was turquoise but their eye colour was the same. The only thing Trunks had in common with his father was the skin colour and the facial features.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you" she said. King Vegeta stared back at her looking intrigued but the biggest surprise was Bulma's reaction. She had been staring intently at Pan, the moment she had laid eyes on here. Suddenly she got up off the throne and headed towards Pan.
"You look like someone I know..." she started to say but stopped abruptly looking unsure. Pan smiled. She had been expecting this.
"And who may that be?" asked Pan. Bulma bit her lip wondering whether or not she should say anything. Vegeta observed the exchange with surprise.
"Well...I have this really close friend of mine back on Earth. I don't know why but you kind of remind me of him" Bulma answered finally.
"You're not talking about Goku by any chance?" asked Pan with a grin. Bulma's eyes opened wide in shock. She nodded.
"Well I'm his granddaughter. It's nice to finally meet you Bulma Briefs. I've heard so much about you" Pan replied moving forward to give her a hug. The expression on Bulma's face was priceless. She returned the hug but the astonishment was still showing on her face. Trunks looked on, trying hard not to burst out laughing.
"What the hell is going on here?" cried Vegeta from where he had gotten up from his seat. They quickly turned to face him.
"I can't believe this...It's not possible. Goku's granddaughter here, on Planet Vegeta...now what are the chances of that happening!" Bulma cried out, slightly coming out of shock. Trunks couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Pan couldn't help it either and joined in with Trunks. Bulma must have seen the funny side of it and started to laugh too. Only Vegeta didn't find anything funny and looked on in annoyance.
"Well if you're done laughing... can you please explain to me what the hell is going on here? Who's this Goku?" he demanded to know.
"Oh I'm so sorry darling. The thing is that Goku is my childhood friend and this is his granddaughter. I'm still in shock. I mean I never would have imagined this..." said Bulma looking at Pan with a smile.
"Childhood friend eh? So Pan...I'm sure Trunks must have told you about his mother. I'll bet you anything that you two were aware of this from the very start" Vegeta pointed out. Pan and Trunks looked sheepishly at each other.
"I'm sorry father. I would have told you about this from the very start but we weren't sure if mother would notice the resemblance so we kept quiet about it. We thought we'll tell you both together in person" Trunks answered.
"Trunks how could you? You should have told me something this important from the very start" scolded Bulma.
"I'm sorry. It was my idea. We just wanted to surprise you" said Pan looking apologetic. Bulma shook her head with a smile.
"That's okay sweetie. Don't you worry about it. You did a great job of shocking me, forget surprising me" answered Bulma teasingly.
"Okay if we're done talking about your little shock, can we concentrate on why we are here today" said Vegeta sarcastically.
"I think I need to talk to Pan alone before we get to that. There are a few things which I need to clear first" said Bulma looking serious. Vegeta let out a frustrated sigh.
"Fine...be quick" he muttered.
"Come with me Pan" said Bulma and Pan nodded. She took a quick glance at Trunks who was staring back at her, before turning to follow Bulma out of the throne room.
"So you must be Gohan's daughter right?" Bulma asked as they made their way upstairs.
"That's right. I have an uncle too. His name is Goten" Pan replied with a smile. Bulma sighed.
"It's amazing how time goes by so quickly. It seems like only yesterday when I met your granddad" she said sadly.
"Everyone misses you so much. Granddad still talks about you even now. Your parents really miss you like crazy. They were worried sick about you and still haven't given up hope. I can understand why you couldn't let them know though. Trunks told me what happened" Pan told her as she followed.
"I miss everyone too. Every second of the day...It's been eating at me all these years, not been able to tell them that I'm okay, that I've married and have two lovely children. I'm so glad that you came Pan. It's like whatever happened to me, happened to you too" she replied. They had reached their destination, which was Bulma's bedroom. She opened the door and they walked inside.
"Make yourself comfortable Pan" she said. Pan took a seat on the sofa and Bulma sat next to her.
"I wanted to talk to you about something important. I'm sure you have realised what this means...if you and Trunks get married that is" she started to say. Pan nodded.
"Are you prepared to leave everything on Earth and settle here completely? To lead a life like I have all these years?" she continued with a serious tone of voice. Pan looked away from the eyes of the older woman. She felt awkward at the direct questions. It wasn't something she had been expecting.
"Talk to me Pan. I'm giving you a choice here. No one's going to force you to stay here. If you want to go back home then you can. It's entirely up to you" Bulma told her gently. Pan found her eyes drawn back to Bulma's. When she saw the understanding and love in her eyes Pan couldn't hold it in any longer. The tears appeared out of nowhere.
"I don't know what to do" she moaned as the tears fell down her cheeks. She felt arms envelope her in a hug and let herself be held.
"Don't cry Pan...it's okay sweetie" Bulma said soothingly.
"No it's not Bulma. I can't live without Trunks and I can't stay away from my family. I don't know how you put up with it all these years but I can't do it. I love Trunks so much and even the thought of been away from him scares me. But I love my family too...oh I don't know what to do..." she moaned.
"This is exactly what I've been afraid of ever since Trunks told me about you. I knew it was going to be extremely difficult for you to make this decision. That's why I thought it was important to talk to you first. Have you talked to Trunks about this?" Bulma asked. Pan shook her head.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Pan quickly moved away and wiped the tears.
"Who is it?" Bulma called out.
"It's me...Bra" a voice answered back.
"Come in darling" Bulma yelled with a smile on her face. The door opened to reveal a gorgeous looking girl about Pan's age. She was almost the spitting image of Bulma.
"Hey" she said looking at Pan.
"Hey" Pan replied back with a smile.
"Hey mother. This must be Pan, the woman dumb enough to fall for my stupid brother" she said with a teasing laugh. Bulma and Pan started to laugh.
"So how did he pull someone as gorgeous as you?" she asked.
"Now Bra you don't need to talk so badly about your brother" Bulma scolded.
"You see...Trunks is my mother's favourite. She can never hear anything bad about him. It doesn't matter though because I'm father's favourite and we all know who runs the show" said Bra with a Vegeta like smirk. Pan found herself liking her instantly. She just had this strange calm atmosphere around her. It was enough to cheer Pan up.
"This is what I have to put up with" said Bulma shaking her head laughing.
"Trunks only just came and told me about you. He's such a sneaky little rat. I can't believe he hid such a thing from me. As soon as he told me I rushed over here, leaving him standing there. I'll bet you anything, he's on his way over here" Bra explained. Sure enough as if on cue there was a knock on the door. Bra rushed forward and pulled the door open.
"See...I told you so...Hello Trunks. I can't believe that you would show me your face so quickly after committing such a big sin" she said glaring at Trunks who stood outside looking nervous.
"I'm sorry Bra. I was going to tell you but everything happened so fast I didn't get a chance to" he explained. Pan looked on with a grin on her face. This looked so familiar. It reminded her of the fights she and uncle Goten always had, nearly every day.
Bulma looked on lovingly at her two grown children fighting. She suddenly felt that it was worth it. All these years...separated from her family and friends. Pan noticed the way Bulma stared fondly at her children and smiled.
"Okay calm down both of you" Bulma ordered. Bra started to complain but the words wouldn't register with Pan's ears. Her eyes had found their way to the eyes of the man she loved with all her heart and that's all it took for everything else to simply disappear. All she could see were the love filled eyes staring back at her and suddenly she made the decision, which had been eating at her for a long time now.
*I'll never leave you Trunks* she thought to herself. It all became crystal clear to her. She couldn't live without him. Even if she returned home, she was as good as dead. She wouldn't be able to live a second without him. She didn't know how she ended up in his arms a few seconds later, but she did. It was like her body unconsciously felt the need to be near him and she hadn't even realised. Closing her eyes, she let the feeling of being held by him cloak her.
It was only when they heard someone coughing that they moved away from each other quickly.
"Just look at the lovebirds. They're acting like we're not even here mother" said Bra disbelievingly. Pan blushed.
"Oh stop teasing them Bra. When you're in love nothing else matters. These things happen. One day when it will happen to you then you'll understand" explained Bulma. She winked at Pan slyly, embarrassing her further.
"Whatever mother...I'll have him worshipping the very ground I walk on, don't you worry. He'll be wrapped around my little finger" she said almost arrogantly. Trunks burst out laughing. Bra glared evilly at him.
"Just you wait. I'm going to go and tell father right this very instance. You're in big trouble" she warned before stalking off.
"Why did you have to laugh like that Trunks? That was not very nice" said Bulma.
"I can't help it mother. She just says the funniest things" he said in between laughing. Bulma sighed shaking her head.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with you two" she said before turning to look at Pan.
"Pan...have you decided what you're going to do then?" she asked seriously. Pan nodded.
"Yes Bulma. I'm going to stay" she said with a smile on her face.
"Are you sure?" Bulma asked.
"I'm sure" Pan answered. They locked eyes for a good few minutes and Bulma must have been convinced by what she saw, because she smiled. Trunks watched the exchange between the love of his life and his mother. Slightly confused he was going to question them but then didn't. It was most likely a woman thing.
"We better head back to the throne room. Don't want to keep your father waiting Trunks" said Bulma. Trunks nodded and they hurried back to the throne room...
On a spaceship near Planet Vegeta...
He sat on his throne staring out into space, through the window wall. In his hand was a wine glass, which he took a sip from. He had been thinking a lot over the past few hours. It made him glad that he had, otherwise he wouldn't have come out with the brilliant plan that he had. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Come in..." he ordered. The door opened to reveal the same guard who had been informing him of their mission over the past few days. He quickly bowed down in respect.
"Master we are closing in on Planet Vegeta. We have only 30 minutes to travel before we land. What are your orders?" asked the guard. He smirked and placed the wine glass down before standing up.
"Prepare to land. I'm in a hurry to meet king Vegeta so don't make me wait. Leave" he ordered. The guard swallowed nervously.
"Yes master. As you wish" he said before making a quick exit.
"Get ready to die Vegeta" he yelled before he burst out laughing wickedly.
Back at the castle Bulma, Pan and Trunks had returned to the throne room where Vegeta sat waiting impatiently. Bra was sat next to him.
"About time... You made me wait long enough" he complained in irritation.
"I'm sorry darling but it was important. We came as soon as we could" said Bulma giving him one of her special looks only for him. He melted instantly.
"Oh okay don't do it again...So Pan are you prepared to spend the rest of your life here with us. There will be no going back to Earth once you have agreed" Vegeta said turning his eyes on Pan.
"What? But why father? It was a different situation for you and mother. Why can't Pan visit her family once in a while" Trunks argued when he heard his father's words.
"It doesn't matter son. This is my decision" Vegeta replied back not fazed by his words.
"Mother?" Trunks turned to Bulma for help but she shook her head.
"I'm sorry Trunks but this is your father's decision. I already knew he was going to have this condition. That's why I had to talk to Pan earlier. I've already explained to her that once she's agreed there's no turning back. She's okay with it" Bulma said. Trunks quickly turned to face Pan, who stared back at him with a smile on her face.
"Yes I am. I understand that I won't be allowed to go back home after this and I'm happy with that" she announced looking in to his eyes
"No Pan this is not fair. I can't have you making such a big sacrifice in order to be with me. I'm sorry but I won't allow it" he said.
"It's okay Trunks. If this is what it takes to be with you then I have no problem" she explained.
"But Pan..." he started to say but was interrupted by an urgent knock on the door. The person didn't even bother waiting for a reply and barged in.
"My king, we have a major problem. We're under attack" he yelled.
"WHAT?" cried Vegeta hurrying forward. Trunks quickly followed his father.
"There's an unknown spaceship approaching fast. I have already ordered the entire army to stand ready in case they attack. All our strongest warriors are out there prepared for anything. The spaceship just appeared out of nowhere. We didn't even see it coming with our technology" he said looking worried.
"Good job. Don't worry it can't be anything that we can't handle. Son...let's go and change into our fighting gear quickly and all of you stay inside" Vegeta ordered before he rushed out of the room with the guard and Trunks right behind him. The door closed shut behind them leaving the three women staring worriedly at each other.
"Does this happen often?" asked Pan anxiously. Bulma shook her head looking concerned.
"In the time I have come here it's only happened three times but there's never been a time where they couldn't sense the enemy approaching. I don't know why but I have a very bad feeling about this" she replied.
"Don't worry mother. It should be okay. You know they can take care of themselves" said Bra trying to comfort her. Bulma just stared worriedly back at her.
"I hope so darling. I really do" she said...
Meanwhile Trunks and Vegeta had changed into their fighting gear. They didn't waste time rushing outside, where everyone waited looking anxious.
"How much longer do we have?" asked Vegeta staring off into the sky, where he could just make out the spaceship approaching.
"Less than ten minutes considering how fast they're travelling" came the reply back. Vegeta frowned and tried to get a reading on any power levels inside the spaceship but he couldn't.
"I can't sense anything" he said in annoyance.
"Did you try zooming closer with the satellite? The camera could give us a clear picture of the spaceship from up close" said Trunks to the guard standing next to him.
"I've already tried that my prince. We couldn't make out anything. Everything has been blocked off" he replied. Trunks frowned and watched the spaceship loom closer.
"Do you think it's wise to wait so close to the castle father? I mean we have an unknown enemy who has taken all the drastic measures to remain secretive. I think we should locate some distance away and leave half the guards here at the castle" said Trunks. Vegeta nodded in approval.
"You're right son. Let's do it and hurry" he said. Vegeta quickly ordered half the army to stay put at the castle while the rest went with them. Within five minutes they were standing ready, away from the castle. As the minutes ticked by the spaceship was getting closer and closer. They could see it thoroughly now. When it was only a small distance away from the ground it paused briefly before preparing to land. Trunks roughly estimated the space between them and the spaceship. It wasn't much.
They waited impatiently for the occupants to show themselves but nothing.
"Should we investigate, my king?" asked one of the guards.
"No let's wait and see who comes out first" replied Vegeta.
As the minutes ticked by and still nothing, some started to feel nervous while the rest kept their cool. Suddenly one of the doors started to open and everyone stood on edge.
There was smoke surrounding the door so they couldn't see who was coming out. After a while it started to thin out and they could make out the outlines of people.
When the smoke had cleared completely they could see who was standing there and that's when they were given the biggest shock of their life...
A/N: Well that's all for now...Sorry about it being so short but I couldn't resist the cliff-hanger. So any guesses on who the enemy is? I'm surprised no one's commented on it so far. Let's see who gets it right... Please remember to leave me your reviews and I'll have the next chapter up soon. I want at least ten reviews this time. Come on people, it's not too much to ask... ^_^