So, before you read this... I just want to say that I know the ending of the last chapter possibly hints at more mature content, more regularly, but I have to admit that was it. I don't have anything else planned right now, although I will admit there may be some more content that can be considered 'smutty' but let's just say it is not an area I will be overly comfortable writing about, at this moment in time. That's why I'm easing into that content. Maybe some of you will be disappointed to hear that, but this is my story and I know how best to write it. Thank you. Enjoy.

Chapter 17: Fracture

Sunday 8th November Age 795

The sun rose behind the dark clouds that loomed in the sky. A cool breeze swept through the window catching onto Noca's skin and waking him up. He slowly sat up out of the bed and looked to see that both the window and curtain had been left open, but only a little. It took him a minute to realise why he was laying in Pan's bed… naked. He looked next to him and saw that Pan was laying very close to him, asleep.

A small smile crept across his face as he brushed the hair away from hers. She started to move a little and stretched as her eyes slowly opened. She looked up at Noca and smiled.

"Good morning," She said, yawning. She sat up and gave Noca a quick kiss on the lips. The two of them stared at each other for a second, both smiling, but unsure of what should be said. The tension was soon broken by a soft giggle from the raven-haired girl. Noca's brow furrowed.

"What's funny?" He asked. Pan shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Nothing… just…" She paused, gripped the duvet tightly and looked back into Noca's eyes, "I can't quite believe we did it."

Noca chuckled, "I guess it's a lot to take in, but… you enjoyed it… right?"

Pan nodded, "Oh yeah, it was lovely. Everything I expected for my first time." She leant in a started to kiss him again, but quickly stopped it. "We didn't use any protection."

Both of them stared at each other again, but this time neither of them was smiling. They weren't exactly scared about anything, but it was a lot to think about.

"Well… uh, we're both Saiyans…" Noca started, trying to think of something, "I'm sure we're different, in some way?"

Pan shot Noca a look that told him she wasn't impressed. Noca just shrugged.

"I don't know… let's talk to Vegeta?" Noca suggested, still questioning that idea. Pan sighed, slowly getting out of bed, putting on some nightwear and heading to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and leant on the sink, looking into the mirror. Even though there was this new worry to think about, she couldn't help but smile.

Noca left her to do what she needed and went back to his own bedroom to get showered and dressed. He was ready much earlier than Pan and told her that he would talk to Vegeta alone. She was ok with this as she wasn't very fond on talking to Vegeta about her blossoming sex-life.

When Noca arrived at Capsule Corp. he immediately went to the GR, as he could sense that Vegeta was already down there, training as always. Noca entered, unannounced and cleared his throat to get the Prince's attention. Vegeta stopped and slowly turned around to face Noca.

"You better have a damn good reason for interrupting me," Vegeta stated, believing that Noca knew better. Noca smirked.

"I guess you could say it's important," Noca responded, "Actually, it's very important."

"Go on," Vegeta said as he grabbed his bottle and took a drink. Noca walked forward and stood next to Vegeta. Before speaking he thought about how someone would typically go to their father to talk about these things. Unfortunately, Noca's father was dead and not a Saiyan, so he wouldn't have the answers, but Vegeta was a good enough father figure for this conversation.

"I'm just gonna say it, Pan and I had sex last night," Noca said. He turned to look at Vegeta's reaction. There was a smirk on his face… a proud smirk. Vegeta patted Noca on the back and laughed.

"That's great, now you're becoming a man," Vegeta said, laughing some more. Noca chuckled and stepped back a little.

"Let's not go too far, I just need to ask a question," Noca said, Vegeta stopped laughing and motioned for him to go ahead. "We didn't protection… and we wanna know if Saiyans are… different, to humans in that regard?"

"Yes, but only slightly," Vegeta started, "You see, the first time a Saiyan couple mates will always be on the night of a full moon, and after that first time offspring can only be conceived when there is a full moon."

"Right… so, we're not gonna have a baby?" Noca asked.

"Correct."

"And… when will we know… there's a full moon?" Noca asked.

"You won't," Vegeta replied. Noca sighed, "You'll just have to keep an eye out."

Noca nodded and turned around, "That's all ok, I guess. I just need to get back and tell Pan."

The teen started to head towards the door, but all of a sudden Vegeta threw a Ki blast towards the young man. Noca sensed it just in time and quickly flipped away to avoid being hit. He turned around and shot towards Vegeta, attempting to smash a fist against his head, but the Prince caught it. Vegeta chuckled to himself and pushed Noca back.

"You've been slacking a little, we'll spar now!" Vegeta told him. Noca sighed and flashed Super Saiyan.

"Fine…" Noca was serious, he would rather be spending time with Pan so he wasn't going to go easy on the Prince.

Tuesday 1st December Age 795

After the weekend fun, both Noca and Pan had to get back to their regular schedules. This meant Noca had to go in for work, while Pan had college with Bra and Dom. This wasn't ideal for either of them as they wanted to spend more time together, but it couldn't be helped. In fact, Noca and Pan hadn't spoken to each other properly since Sunday evening. Noca got back from Capsule Corp. and told her the good news about the full moon/ Saiyan breeding thing, but by then it was rather late and both of them went to their own bedrooms.

A couple of weeks passed by and they were no less busy than the previous ones. Both Noca and Pan had things to be doing. Noca, of course, had to work. Even though he didn't work too much and always made sure to make time for Pan, it wasn't always the same on her end. She was far too busy with College work and Noca didn't want to interrupt that. He knew the importance of her work, but he still sort of resented the fact that it took up too much of her time.

Although, there was one time where the two of them actually got to spend a little time together, but it was with the rest of their friends and some family. That was Bra's birthday. Her 17th birthday. They had a mini party, but nothing too extravagant. They had too much revision to do for Exams and even had assignments. So they agreed to have a bigger party when Pan's birthday rolled around.

All of this still meant that Noca and Pan hardly got any time together and it was beginning to frustrate Noca a lot of the time.

This meant Noca was not having the best of time at work. He was not in a good mood. In fact, he was pretty angry. This was shown when Noca decided to throw something across the warehouse, causing it to smash against the wall. It certainly drew the attentions of his co-workers, but none of them dared to say anything. Noca didn't even pay them any attention. He just took deep breaths to try and calm himself, but he couldn't quite explain where the anger was coming from.

He walked away from his duties and decided to take his break on his own terms. He sat in the staff room, alone, contemplating things that had been going on. But he wasn't alone for very long. After being told about Noca's outburst, Alice had come for her break and intended to speak with Noca.

She sat ahead of him and waited to say something, not knowing if she had a place to speak. Noca didn't acknowledge her presence for a few minutes and Alice considered leaving him to his thoughts. She started to move out of her chair.

"Don't," Noca said, softly. He still didn't look up at her.

"Are you ok?" She asked. It was a stupid question. Clearly he wasn't, but what else could she say.

"Things are just… difficult… with Pan," Noca said, finally looking up at Alice. "Nothing too big, or damaging… there's just a lack of time in our relationship."

Alice nodded along, just showing that she was understanding and listening.

"We're both very busy at the moment and we hardly see each other," Noca said. Alice knew about these thoughts Noca had after previous conversations, but she didn't know it got to him this much. Alice was about to say something, but Noca looked up at her again. "Sorry, I shouldn't keep telling you about my stupid problems."

"What? No, it's fine," Alice said, quickly, "It's good to have an outside opinion. I sort of had the same problem with a previous boyfriend… only, he just didn't make the time for me."

Noca nodded and smirked.

"Why don't you text or ring her now?" Alice suggested, "Ask if she wants to meet you for lunch or something…"

Noca raised an eyebrow and started to ponder that suggestion. It was a good idea. At least it would show he was thinking about her. Noca nodded to Alice and got out his phone. He quickly typed the text.

"Hey, wanna meet for lunch in a bit?" Noca asked in his text.

He sent it and awaited a reply. Luckily, he got one very quickly.

"Maybe. What time do you finish work?" Was Pan's reply.

"3pm today." Noca sent.

"Can we make it a late lunch then, meet us after you finish?" The reply came. Noca's brow furrowed.

"Us?" Noca replied.

"Yeah. We're having a study session after college, gonna have lunch first." Pan sent. Noca wasn't exactly happy about this but he sighed and replied.

"Fine. I wanted it to be just us two, but that's ok I guess." Noca sent back.

"Great! See ya later then. Love you." Pan replied. Noca just stared at his phone for a second, but he shook his head and sent his reply.

"Love you too."

He put his phone back in his pocket and stood up. Alice looked at him with a questioning expression.

"We're meeting after I finish here," Noca told the girl.

"That's good," Alice said, standing up and smiling. Noca put a finger up to stop her there.

"Me, her… and the others," Noca elaborated. Clearly not feeling quite so happy about that. "But that's fine. At least I get to spend some time with her."

"Yeah, look at the positives," Alice said, again smiling. Noca looked to her and smiled, but he had to force it. He decided it would be best that he went back to work so he could get out on time and meet Pan straight away.

Noca finished his shift and went to meet Pan at Capsule Corp. He didn't bother to change into any different clothes as it would just be easier to do that once he got back to the compound. Having to fly from Satan City was a bit annoying, but Noca was happy to be spending some time with Pan and flew there at top speed, even powering up to his top base form to get there.

Noca touched down inside the compound and went straight through the door to the house. He knew that Pan would be sitting in the living room with the others, so that's where he went. When he entered the room though, he was surprised to see that Pan was with more than just Bra and Dom. There were three people that he hadn't met before. Noca stood there with half a raised eyebrow and tilted his head a little.

"Hey, Noca," Dom greeted, being the first to notice him enter. Pan turned to look at him and stood up smiling.

"Hi, sorry, didn't realise you would get here that quickly," Pan said, walking up to him, hugging him and placing a kiss on his cheek. Noca still didn't react properly.

"Yeah, who are these guys?" Noca asked, nicely. He didn't want to sound like a dick.

"Oh yeah, crap, you guys haven't met before," Pan said, pointing at her friends and introducing them to Noca one by one. She pointed at a brown haired guy sat next to Dom, "That's Tommy, he's on Bra's and Dom's course." She then pointed at the next guy, a fair haired guy, "That's James, and that's Lisa," Pan finished as she pointed at the girl next to James, she was a brunette.

Noca gave them a little wave, a smile, and a simple "Hello." They said hello back to him and then Noca turned to Pan. "So, are we going to lunch then?"

"I thought we could just have lunch here?" Pan suggested, Noca gave her a questioning look. "Well, we have lots of studying to do and it's just easier."

"But… I thought you said you would all be studying after lunch…" Noca said, getting a little bit annoyed, but trying to keep a lid on it.

"Well, we are, but we thought it best to get started right away," Pan replied. Noca could hear the defensive tone in her voice and knew that if he said the wrong thing then it might start an argument. He thought it best to just agree with what she was saying.

"Ok, fine," He said simply before sitting down on the armchair. He didn't even sit next to Pan. The girl didn't think anything of it as she returned to her work while the service-robots would prepare their lunch.

Noca felt like he lost his appetite and just sat there staring into the distance as Pan and her friends all talked to each other. Noca didn't really say anything, but he was nodding along. Only half an hour had passed before Vegeta was walking through to go to his GR and noticed that Noca didn't look as if he was having a particularly good time.

"You," Vegeta called out, grabbing everyone's attention. He then pointed at Noca, so everyone turned to look at him. "We're training… Now."

Noca looked at the group and back to Vegeta. He breathed a short sigh and nodded. He stood up, smiled at Pan as he walked by and followed Vegeta down to the GR.

"What's wrong with you?" Vegeta asked, but not in a caring tone.

"Nothing," Noca answered, bluntly. Vegeta smirked as he closed the GR door behind them.

"Good, no talking. We'll just train."

Vegeta flashed Super Saiyan and didn't waste time. He shot towards Noca and aimed a fist towards the teen's head. Noca didn't react quick enough and was smashed back towards the GR wall. He hit hard and slid down to the ground. Vegeta dropped in front of him and grabbed the teen by the leg. He swung Noca over towards the other side of the GR and threw a Ki blast at him. The blast exploded and filled the air around Noca with a little smoke.

From within the smoke there was a flash of golden night and Noca went Super Saiyan. The smoke dissipated as Noca shot forward at Vegeta. The teen dropped in and aimed his fist for Vegeta, but the Prince turned to away to the left to avoid Noca's attack. The teen landed on the ground and quickly spun around, kicking out at Vegeta and catching him in the gut. The Prince stumbled back as Noca sprung up and sent his head crashing into Vegeta's face. He was sent stumbling back again as Noca moved forward and sent a jab into the Prince's nose.

Vegeta stumbled once more and then fell to a knee, laughing.

"That's some angry fighting there," the Prince muttered, slowly standing up again. "Something has really pissed you off."

"Shut up," Noca uttered. He flashed again, going Super Saiyan 2 and charged forward once more. Vegeta wasn't given a chance to power up again. Noca kicked Vegeta in the stomach… hard. And as the Prince bent down in pain Noca sent an elbow crashing down into the top of his head. Vegeta was on the ground, but as Noca went to kick him the Prince rolled away.

Vegeta jumped up to his feet and threw a barrage of Ki blasts in Noca's direction. The light and smoke started to fill the GR and cloud Vegeta's vision. So he was unaware that Noca had phased out of that predicament and flew in to attack from Vegeta's right. The Prince only became aware at the last second, when Noca was already too close. He smashed a powerful kick into Vegeta's back and that caused him to arc in pain. But he was quick to react this time. He spun around and kicked Noca in the ribs and blasted him away at point blank.

Noca soared back through the GR and smashed into the wall.

"You're too unfocused and overconfident right now," Vegeta said, dusting himself off as he walked towards Noca. "Sometimes that can work to your advantage, but right now it's making all your movements sloppy and rushed."

Noca slowly stood up and leant back against the wall. He was breathing heavily as he dropped down to his Full Powered Super Saiyan state.

"You're not training enough as a Super Saiyan 2," Vegeta told Noca, "You're finding it harder to sustain."

Noca snapped to look at Vegeta, still breathing heavily, "I'm fine. I've never been stronger!"

"But you could be stronger," Vegeta responded.

Noca looked down to the ground as his breathing levelled out. He nodded and looked off to the side, thinking. "We need to go to space… soon."

The teen looked back at Vegeta and the Prince could sense the seriousness and a returning focus. Vegeta nodded and smirked. "As soon as you're ready."

Both stood looking at each other and at the exact same time they both ascended to Super Saiyan 2. Their training session wasn't over just yet.

The session finished after about two hours, but by that time Noca hoped that Pan would be finished with her study session. He walked upstairs to the living room and entered to see that they were still sitting there with their books open and on their laptops. Noca glanced around the room and cleared his throat to alert them to his presence.

Pan sat up and smiled at her boyfriend, "How was training?" She asked. Noca nodded.

"It was good… aren't you guys finished yet?" Noca asked, sounding a bit perplexed, but also annoyed. Pan noticed the tone in his voice. She put her laptop to the side and walked over to have a chat with him.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a low tone, trying not to let anyone else hear their conversation.

"Come to dinner with me?" Noca completely bypassed what Pan had said to him and asked his question. "Please. Just the two of us. I wanna take you out."

"I wish I could, I'm gonna be busy with my assignment all night, plus I still need to read the next chapter in the book," Pan explained. It was a valid reason and Noca knew this. Part of him accepted it, but that wasn't the part that answered.

"Come on, we need to start spending some more time together," Noca said, getting a bit louder, but not quite raising his voice.

"We will, once all this work dies down," Pan said to him. She put a hand on his face and smiled. Noca let a quick, but weak, smile cross his face, but then he walked away.

"I'm gonna head home, I'll see you back there later," He said, smiling weakly again. He turned to the others. "It was night meeting you guys. Bra, Dom, I'll see you soon."

Noca walked out of the door and Pan followed him shortly. Once she was out of the room she decided to speak up for Noca to hear.

"Can I get a kiss?"

Noca stopped walking and stalled for a second, but didn't want Pan to think anything else was wrong. He turned around and walked back to her. He put his hands on her face and pulled her in for a kiss, but not just any old kiss. It was an open-mouthed kiss and it was all Noca could think of doing right now. Pan took a moment to sink into this feeling and let Noca hold her. He broke the kiss and walked away again.

Pan was speechless for a second, but then thought of something to say, "I love you!"

Noca looked back and smiled weakly again, then left the building. He got outside and took a very deep breath before walking off into the city, not interested in heading back home just yet.

He didn't get too far into the city though. Once he hit the park Noca decided to take a seat and just look at the water. He was feeling quite angry about what was going on and was starting to build some sort of resentment towards Pan, but he kept trying to shake those feelings off. They were stupid and unwarranted. He put his head in his hands and sat there for a few minutes.

Noca was drifting into his own little world until his phone vibrated in his pocket. The teen looked up and reached for his phone. He opened the message. It was from Alice. Noca didn't look at the message right away and just stared at the phone. He took a breath and looked around, for some reason.

"Yo, how's it going with Pan?" Read Alice's text.

Noca wasn't sure how to reply. Part of him wanted to just lie. Say that things were ok and then just go home, but then again…

"Not well. She's too busy." Noca replied, but didn't put his phone away. He watched as the phone said 'seen' and then saw the icon come up to show that Alice was typing.

"That's sucks! Where are you now?" Alice asked.

"Just sat in the park." Noca sent back. The same icons appeared on his screen and then came the reply. A reply that had Noca thinking.

"Do you want to come over for a drink?" Alice asked. Noca didn't know what to say. He stared at his phone. At the message and had his thumb already over the letter 'N' ready to reject the offer. But did he want to reject it? He was only planning to spend his night alone, either in the park or at home, but he actually had an opportunity to do something.

"Ok." Noca replied. He didn't know what else to say. He didn't really know what he was doing, but at least he wouldn't be alone all night. Alice sent him the address and he started to make his way there. Flying, of course.

Noca landed outside her apartment building and pressed the buzzer. A few seconds later her voice came on the other end.

"Hello," She greeted.

"It's Noca," The Saiyan replied, feeling rather nervous. He heard the buzzer go as the door unlocked and he was able to walk in. He slowly made his way up the stairs to her apartment and saw her waiting at the door to let him in. She had a smile on her face.

"You ok?" She asked as she let him in.

"I guess," Noca replied, his nerves not calming just yet. She motioned for him to take a seat and he did. He sat with his hands in his lap, silently. Alice quickly went to the kitchen and came back offering him a drink.

"Want a soda?" She asked, holding a bottle out for the boy. Noca looked at it, then at her. He smiled and accepted it, saying thank you. Alice sat beside him and noticed that he wasn't in a good state of mind. It even seemed like Alice was nervous to talk to him right now. Noca took a sip of the drink and set it down on a coaster. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Noca turned and looked at her. She definitely seemed genuinely concerned. Noca smiled weakly and looked down to the ground. He still felt too nervous and wasn't sure he really wanted to talk about it. That's when Alice stood up and walked over to get her laptop.

"We'll get some food and watch a movie," She suggested, not even letting Noca give her an answer. She smiled at him as she sat back down and turned on her laptop. Noca smiled back weakly again and took his jacket off, starting to feel a little more relaxed.

Time passed by and their food arrived and Alice put a film on. Noca was certainly easing into the situation and was feeling better about talking now. The film was pretty much being ignored and once they finished their food Alice decided to try and get him to talk about what was on his mind again.

"So, you wanna talk about it now?" She asked. Noca looked up at her and his smile faded. He took a breath and turned in the chair.

"I feel like we're drifting," Noca started, "I understand that she's very busy, and I have work, but I feel like we just don't get any time together anymore."

Alice nodded to show she understand, but didn't say anything, seeing that Noca certainly had more he wanted to say. He cleared his throat.

"I'm not sure if she notices just how much this is affecting me. I don't know if… if she cares," Noca said, but his brow was furrowed as he spoke, as if he didn't believe what he was saying. "The last few weeks have been very difficult."

Meanwhile, back in West City, Pan was still studying with the group, but they had all taken a quick break and Pan had a chance to talk with Bra.

"I don't know why Noca didn't stay here and sit with us," Bra mentioned, "It's always weird not having him study with us anymore."

Pan just shrugged her shoulders and sat back.

"It probably just bores him," Pan suggested. Bra scoffed and chuckled a little.

"I don't think so. You could be studying anything and he would always want to sit with you and help as best he could," Bra explained. "He just wants to spend time with you. Just you."

Pan looked at Bra and then away. She started to think on it and it was true that he was always asking to spend time with her. Pan still didn't believe he would want to sit there when she was studying.

Dom took a chance to interject, in Noca's defence.

"He wouldn't want me saying this, but recently Noca's been feeling just a little bit neglected," Dom explained, "He talks about it quite a bit. Maybe just have a little chat with him about it?"

Pan took in Dom's suggestion and pondered it. She thought about ringing him, but she needed to focus on this studying while she was in that mind set.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow morning, definitely," Pan said to the others. They both smiled and said that it would be a good idea.

Back at Alice's, she and Noca were still chatting about his recent problems with Pan. Alice was getting to a point where she believed that she was understanding the situation completely and knew what to say to make Noca feel better. She took a chance.

"Maybe Pan doesn't full appreciate you," Alice suggested. This certainly caused Noca to stop and take a moment to think. But he really didn't accept that idea. "People change…" Alice followed-up.

Noca shook his head. "I just don't believe Pan's like that."

Alice sat closer to him, "It can happen, it can always be a hard thing to deal with." She said, trying to be as comforting as possible.

"That's be possible. Not after everything we've been through," Noca explained, never wanting to accept what Alice suggested. "There's too much history…"

These thoughts were certainly upsetting Noca and Alice could notice that. She quickly put her arms around him and hugged the teen, but Noca didn't react to it. It certainly felt out of his comfort zone. Alice pulled out of the hug and Noca looked at her. Still wearing a questioning expression, but with a whole lot more confusion after that hug. Alice didn't think about what to do next, but she leant forward and planted her lips on his.

It was only quick, but Noca was unsure of how to react to this strange outcome. He pulled his head away and stared at her. He was feeling far more confused right now and there were no words coming to his mind. Alice placed a hand on Noca's leg and moved in closer again. She leant her head in and kissed him again, but this time she was trying to take it further and Noca could feel her tongue trying to get involved.

This was when Noca finally snapped back to reality. He pulled out of the kiss and stood up, realising what had just happened.

"I shouldn't have let you do that…" Noca muttered as he walked over to the window. Alice remained in her seat, but she was very shocked.

"I can't believe I did that…" Alice mumbled to herself. She quickly stood up and apologised to Noca. He didn't turn around and look at her though. He continued to stare out of the window, still sinking back into the real world. "Fuck!" She cursed, putting her head in her hands, "You have a girlfriend… I shouldn't be doing this."

Noca didn't know what to do. All he could think about right now was how Pan would feel, and that hurt.

"I'm sorry, Noca. This is all my fault, I never meant for it to happen," Alice tried explaining. She was clearly very embarrassed with herself. Noca turned around, grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

"I have to go," He said, not looking at Alice or even bothering to say goodbye. He was out of the door quickly, and Alice understood.

Noca made it outside of the building and had to stop. He bent over putting his hands on his knees and found himself breathing very heavily. He wasn't sure how this had happened, but all he knew was that it was bad. He regained his composure, cracked his neck and flew off home as quickly as possible.

When he arrived back at the house he headed inside quickly, and spent a little time in his own room before heading to Pan's room. He would wait for her to get home… and then they would talk. It wasn't going to be a great conversation, but Noca had to talk to her now.

Noca sat in her room with the light on so that she would know he was in there once she returned. It was around 10pm by the time she got back, but she entered her room and a smile appeared on her face once she saw Noca was sitting there and that only hurt him more.

"Sorry I'm late, and sorry that I didn't come to dinner with you," Pan said as she put her bag on the floor and was about to walk over and hug him. Noca put his hand up to stop her and slowly stood up.

"I'm the one that needs to apologise," Noca started, swallowing hard and looking to the ground. He found it too hard to look her in the eyes. Pan scoffed at what he said and walked over to her bed.

"What are you on about?" She asked, sitting down. Noca turned around slowly.

"I'll have to explain everything," Noca cleared his throat, "I work with Alice. Chloe's friend from school." Noca paused and Pan thought that was it and seemed amused, but Noca continued. "And we've spoken a lot, mainly in breaks. But I was invited to her apartment tonight… and I went." Noca paused again, starting to get nervous. He was happy that Pan didn't interrupt him.

"I thought it was just gonna be drinks, talking… and a film, but…" Noca stopped again, took a breath and looked away. "She kissed me. I didn't stop it right away. I was confused and I didn't know what was going on." Noca cleared his throat and swallowed again. "I was feeling very neglected and the whole time I was there with her… I couldn't stop feeling guilty."

Noca stopped talking. He had nothing else to say and he waited to see what Pan would say on the matter. She just sat there with he hands on her knees and didn't seem to want to say anything. She was looking down and Noca couldn't tell how she was feeling, but he knew it wasn't good. He kept his eyes focussed on her as she clenched her hands into fists, stood up, enraged, and started hitting him in the chest.

Noca didn't even bother to stop her. He knew what had happened was bad and he knew that Pan would have a lot of anger to get out now. "How could you?!" Pan yelled, crying and continuously smacking at his chest. Pan eventually stops and falls against his chest, crying. Noca didn't know what to do. He slowly lifted a hand and tried to put it on her back, but before it even touched Pan backed away and pointed to her door.

"Get the fuck out," She said, through holding back tears. Noca didn't want that. He took a step forward and Pan pushed back on him. "Get out!" She screamed back. Noca still didn't move. He stood still and looked down at the ground. He went to walk forward again and tried to talk, but Pan rushed forward and started to punch at his chest again shouting for him to 'get out' and still crying. As she continued to hit him her attacks were getting harder and Noca was starting to get worked up.

"Pan, stop," Noca said weakly, but she didn't.

"Get out," she said, again. She continued to hit him harder, and harder. She was about to hit him in the face, but Noca caught her fist.

"Stop!" Noca said, catching the fist. As he did there was a flow of energy from Pan and she was seething with anger now.

Pan looked up into Noca's eyes and there was not an ounce of forgiveness in her eyes. "Get… out."

Noca stood there, looking at her and he let go of her hand and walked to the door. He stopped after opening it and stood there for a second. He felt really bad and wasn't sure what he could do to change things. To fix things. Noca took a breath.

"I know you feel betrayed. Angry. But I am truly sorry about this. I am," Noca said. He looked over his shoulder, but he wasn't going to attempt talking to her again tonight. He didn't want to make things worse. Time would do them both good, and time is what he would give her. He stepped out into the hallway and Pan instantly rushed to the door, slamming it.

Once the door was closed she turned around and fell against the door, sliding to the floor, crying. Noca could hear it, but he knew he had to leave her to it. He couldn't do anything to fix this right now. He sighed and walked off, heading to his room and grabbing a backpack he had prepared shortly before Pan got home. He knew where he was going.

He passed by Gohan and Videl on his way out of the house, but had nothing to say to them. He just nodded and walked out. Neither of them knew what was going on, but they would probably get some answers from Pan. Eventually.

Noca got outside and flew right to Capsule Corp.

Upon his arrival he walked in through the front door and made his way right down to the Gravity Room. Noca burst in, taking Vegeta by surprise and walked right up to the Saiyan Prince. Vegeta stopped moving and stood with his back to the teen.

"We're going to space…" Noca said in a commanding tone. Vegeta turned his head to the right, looking over his shoulder slightly. "As soon as possible."

Vegeta slowly turned around, chuckling lightly.

"Are we really?" Vegeta questioned, looking the teen in the eyes. He could tell that Noca was absolutely serious, but there was something else wrong. Vegeta wanted to press the issue, but Noca didn't look in a talkative mood. "Fine, we'll go."

Vegeta pushed past Noca and exited the GR. The teen followed. They walked upstairs to the Lab, where Bulma was, and entered. Bulma was surprised to see that Noca was there, but didn't question it. She was more confused as to why they had bothered to come here in the first place.

"What did you break?" Bulma asked, specifically at Vegeta.

"Nothing. We need the ship ready," Vegeta requested. Bulma sighed and got up out of her chair.

"Can't give me any heads up in future?" Bulma said, moving over to another desk. She started to rumble through a drawer, looking for something. Eventually she found it. A Capsule. She turned to look at the guys again. "You'll need to give me time to make sure there is enough fuel and supplies on-board. And I'll be doing a full check."

"How long will that take?" Noca asked.

Bulma pressed the Capsule top and threw it, the ship filled up a large part of the lab, but luckily there was enough of an open space for it. "It won't take too long, Noca. Don't worry. Also, do you remember the glass I had you test?" Noca nodded a confirmation, Bulma continued. "Well, I had it used for almost all glass items on-board that ship, so it will be pretty unbreakable."

Noca nodded as he was impressed to hear that, but he still had the thoughts of what had happened in the back of his head so his mood hadn't improved.

"I'm gonna go chill out before we leave then. I have something to do," Noca said as he walked away. He found a space to sit on his own and made sure to keep away from anywhere in the house that Bra was. He didn't really want to interact with anyone, or have them know that he was leaving today.

Noca sat down in a room, alone, and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He started to write a letter, it was addressed to Pan.

Some time passed and the ship was nearly ready. Noca's letter was written and he was ready to leave. He only took with him what was absolutely necessary. Noca knew he would be leaving imminently, but he needed this letter to be read by Pan, and only by Pan. He checked his watch for the time. Nearly Midnight. Hopefully Pan would be asleep.

Noca used Instant Transmission and moved to just outside her bedroom. He narrowed his senses to detect any movement or energy within the room. From what he would tell, Pan was asleep. He used Instant Transmission again and dropped the letter on Pan's dresser before leaving the room immediately. He moved back outside the door and waited there for a second, just taking a moment to himself.

Suddenly, there was movement down the hall and Noca was about to move away quickly, but he saw it was only Gohan. He was holding Rei in his arms.

"Where are you going?" Gohan asked, not sounding annoyed or angry. Just concerned. Noca looked down and didn't want to say anything to the man. "I know you and Pan have been through something big, but you'll get through it."

"I know, but I need to go… this is the best time," Noca moved away from the door and towards Gohan. "I will be back. I don't know when."

Noca looked down at Rei, smiling up at the teen. Noca forced a smile across his face and took Rei's hand in his own.

"Don't worry, you little monster. I'll be back soon," Noca said, still wearing the fake smile. Rei let out a little giggle and Noca stepped back. "Bye, Gohan."

Gohan nodded as Noca used Instant Transmission once again. He returned to Capsule Corp. just as Vegeta came to inform him that they were ready to go. Noca took a moment to himself and then followed the Prince. Vegeta and Noca boarded the ship, saying a quick goodbye to Bulma and took off for Space, right away.

Noca took a moment to glance back down at the planet as he was leaving, but looked away, knowing that whatever was waiting for him in space would be dangerous, and he would need to be ready. Vegeta looked at Noca and nodded as the two of them sped off into deep space.

Back at the house, Pan felt a something strange happening with Noca's energy. It was moving very, very far away, very quickly. She shot awake and jumped out of bed, looking out of the window. She knew exactly where he was going and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Pan stepped away from the window and walked towards her door. She wanted to question her parents to see if they knew anything, but stopped when a bit of paper caught her eye.

She picks it up and immediately recognises the handwriting.

Pan,

I'm sorry about what happened. It was never my intention to hurt you. Alice and I were just friends and she was the one that made the attempt for something more. I didn't stop her because I was already confused and upset enough. I know it was wrong of me, but as soon as it happened I felt that I had to tell you. I wanted you to know that you are always first in my mind and always will be. I think we need some time to be away from one another, to sort out our minds. I'm going to be in space with Vegeta. I have a mission, a path to follow. I will return as soon as I have found what I need to. As soon as I'm done, I will return to you. I hope you will have forgiven me by then. I love you, Pan. I always will.

Noca

Pan held the letter in her hands and couldn't take her eyes off of it. She could feel the tears coming to her eyes and tried to hold them back. She set the letter down and walked back to the window. She looked up into the sky and let her tears run.

"I love you too," Pan whispered to herself, but she already knew it was too late to do anything else about it.

Meanwhile, Noca and Vegeta had finally got to a stable point in space and their ship was on course. Vegeta stood up out of the pilot's seat and turned on the Gravity. He put it to 150g and said that it would be set to that for the entire time. Noca accepted, but still seemed distant. Vegeta also went on to say that they will stick to their current days, so it is still midnight for them and they should get some sleep. Noca agrees, but before Vegeta goes off he has to ask Noca one more thing.

"So, where are we going?" Vegeta asked. Noca looked to him, certainly with a questioning expression.

"I don't know, I was just told to look for Planet Sadala," Noca informed Vegeta. The Prince grunted in annoyance. Noca went to the control panel. "I'm sure I'll be told what direction, eventually. The Guardian is likely to tell me."

Vegeta shrugged and walked away to his quarters, leaving Noca along on the bridge area. Noca leant over the control panel and looked out over the darkness of space. He was finally able to drink in the beauty, but he needed to get some sleep. He went off to this own quarters, knowing that Vegeta would start off a rigorous training session as early as the following day.

Hope you enjoyed, could say that these three chapters were like a mini-arc before the main focus of this new arc starts, but it was needed to make the next part feel more effective, I believe.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to reading some reviews! So don't forget to leave one.

Next Time... Chapter 18: Hair, Blood, and Alcohol