Loneliness. It had been all that he had ever known. Ever since he was a small boy. Being beaten to within an inch of his life by Freeza, Zarbon or Dodoria in "sparring sessions".
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Loneliness. She had had hardly any friends her own age right up until she was 13 just because she dressed and acted differently from other girls.
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Loneliness. Always having only himself to rely on. Knowing that if he failed it would be over.
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Loneliness. Being teased and made fun of. Being called names and having things thrown at you because you were stronger that the boys 4 grades ahead of you.
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Vegeta shot up from his sleep in a fighting stance. He looked around and relaxed a little before glancing out the window to see the rising sun. He got up and went downstairs to where Mrs. Briefs was cooking a very large breakfast.
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Pan awoke slowly. She opened her eyes fearing that she'd be back in a 2nd grade classroom with everyone taunting her. When she saw that she was not she uncurled from her fetal position and sat up. She released a shaky sigh and got dressed. She showered and went downstairs. Videl was cooking breakfast. 'Hi, Pan. Ready to go to CC?' asked Videl.
'As ready as I'll ever be,' replied Pan with a sigh.
Gohan walked in and sat down and ate. 'Pan, honey,' he said to get her attention.
'Yes dad?'
'There are some things you should be careful about saying around Vegeta. He gets agitated easily...'He paused. 'First, never mention your grandpa Goku's name, and NEVER correct him when he calls him Kakarot.' He paused for a long while. 'Now that I think of it, as long as you do that you should be ok,' he chuckled while scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed way.
Pan put on a face that said "What do you take me for?" and rolled her eyes. 'To be honest if someone put me in front of Grandpa Goku, only I'd never seen him before and they asked "What name do you think suits him better, Goku or Kakarot?" I would have said Kakarot.'
Gohan stared at his daughter in shock before grinning. 'You're more Saiya-jin than either me or Goku. In fact, after Vegeta I say you're the most Saiya-jin I know.'
'I'll take that as a compliment, but if I'm so Saiya-jin why doesn't my tail grow back like yours did?' Pan asked.
Gohan studied her for a few moments. 'I don't know. You were born with one, so were Trunks and Bra and Goten, but they were all removed and haven't grown back. Mine stopped growing back too after the Saiya-jins arrived all those years ago and I don't know why.' He thought of a way to get her to stop bugging him. *What genius!* 'Go ask Vegeta,' he finished.
Pan understood but also felt like Gohan wanted to get rid of her with the 'Go ask Vegeta.' He'd told her to ask her mother about where babies came from when she'd asked, but when she went to her mother she said to ask her father. It pissed her off. 'Fine!' She grunted. *Couldn't you think of a better way to show you're pissed?* *Shut up! Stupid brain.* She grumbled to herself like this the whole way through breakfast. Soon the time came when she had to leave for CC. She went upstairs, got her guitar and suitcase and got into the black convertible.
The ride there was uneventful, except for her dad rambling on about being a good guest to her and her mom talking about how romantic their vacation would be. She could feel Trunks' and Vegeta's ki drawing nearer and nearer and was certain that they knew where she was as well. The car soon pulled up to the main entrance. It was a warm sunny day, but if you were in the immediate area, you wouldn't know that because the thick black smoke rising from the now destroyed gravity room where Vegeta had been training was blocking out the sun.
Gohan and Pan leapt out of the car leaving Videl behind and ran over to the smoking wreckage to see if anyone (Vegeta) had been hurt. Bra came running out of the house with fear written all over her face. The rubble was blazing with fires hot enough to create an inferno in the space that was once a small building. It was far worse that the last time this had happened and there was no way anyone unprepared could have made it. Everyone just stared in shock at the scene. And even more shocked when Vegeta came running out of the house yelling at the top of his lungs.
'WOMAN!!!!!! Get your ass down here NOW!!!'
A few seconds later Bulma came out of the house. 'What now Vegeta-ouji?' She said sarcastically before seeing (and feeling) the fire from the GR.
'Your blasted contraption broke, AGAIN!!' He was furious. But not as furious as Bulma.
'You mean that you broke it!!!'
'How could I!? I was inside on a break! But if I had been inside I'd be totally FUCKED OVER by now!!' he seethed. 'It's to bad that you're not smart enough to make a GR that won't EXPLODE and KILL whoever's using it! Not even Kakarot could survive that!'
Bulma clenched her jaw and made fists. She was shaking with rage. 'I've seen both you and Goku take things much worse that this so don't start with me or tell me how to do my work!!'
'There is a very big difference between ki blasts and fiery EXPLOSIONS! And even the smallest ki blast could kill someone unless they could put up a defence! Also, keep in mind that your GR did almost nothing to help me achieve Super Saiya-jin status. I became a Super Saiya-jin on a faraway planet without the help of that piece of crap!' he shouted while pointing to the wreckage over his shoulder.
Bulma looked like she was about to explode. 'I'll show you Vegeta! I'll build a GR so good you'll be BEGGING me to make version 2.0!!!' She finished, panting hard.
Vegeta smirked while everyone else look on amazed. 'Onna, Kakarot's brat and his brat are here,' he said offhandedly before walking inside.
Bulma was extremely embarrassed that Gohan and Pan had to see that little episode, but went over to greet them anyway. 'Hi, Gohan!' she said.
'Hey, Bulma!' He replied a bit nervously. 'What's up?' Stupid question.
'Well Vegeta-"ouji" is being princely as usual,' Bulma said with a scowl. Nothing like a Vegeta scowl, but a very good one nonetheless.
Pan spoke up. 'Well, he says he didn't do it. I believe him.' She really did believe him and thought that Bulma was being a bit unfair. 'What are you two staring at?' she asked, rather annoyed at the looks that both Bulma and Gohan were giving her. They immediately stopped and started talking to each other.
Pan was a bit zoned out and missed everything that they said. She didn't even notice that her father was already making his way back to the car.
'Bye, Pan! Be back in two weeks!' Gohan called to Pan as he got into his car with Videl and drove to the airport.
'Bye,' said Pan absentmindedly. 'BYE!? WAIT, DAD!!' she called at the top of her lungs as she ran to the curb. 'DAD!! YOU'VE STILL GOT MY THINGS!!' she yelled urgently hoping that he'd hear her. Kami, what would she do without her things? 'WOAH!' She cried as she tripped over a pile of trash that some baka had just dumped on the front lawn. Wait a minute, thought Pan. That's not trash! That's 'My stuff...' She said quietly to herself. She felt her anger rise quickly. 'IF MY GUITAR IS BROKEN YOU'RE REIMBURSING ME FOR IT, MOM!!!' she screamed after her mother while waving her fist in the vain hope that she'd be heard.
'News flash. Pan angry at bitchy mom promises "The mother of all fist wavings". Nearby royal family member amused, but not impressed,' Vegeta said coolly from his place in the front doorframe.
Pan released an aggravated sigh. 'What do you want, Vegeta?' asked Pan without even turning to meet him.
'Kakarot's death at my hands. And a cheese burger,' he said grinning like a Vegeta should.
Pan rolled her eyes, picked up her stuff and tried to push past Vegeta, but wherever she walked he just blocked that part of the doorway.
She sighed again. 'I'm not in the mood for your games, Vegeta. Lemme through,' she demanded. 'Don't make me hurt you,' she threatened when he wouldn't relent. *Right, like I could hurt HIM.*
Vegeta was staring at her guitar case. 'What's that?' he asked pointing to it.
'What, this?' she asked as she lifted the case up a bit to signal what she was referring to. He nodded. 'It's a guitar.'
'What does it do?' He asked genuinely interested.
'Umm...It plays music. That is to say, I play it and it makes music.'
'Can I hear it?'
'I'd need to set it up first. I assume you have a good stereo, right? I'd need to plug it in. I'll play later if you want, but I need to get upstairs and put this stuff away. Okay?'
He stood there for a few seconds before nodding. He went off to another part of the house and she went upstairs.
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An hour later Pan had put everything away either in drawers or the closet, and checked out the private bathroom next door (which EVERY DBZ fic absolutely must have), tidied herself up and rested for a while. She was already bored and decided to attend to the first matter of business: finding a way to play her music. *I may as well ask Trunks. He IS next door after all.*
She casually walked out her door and walked across the hall and knocked on the door. After a few seconds it was opened by Trunks, and a blast of loud music was released. It was so loud that Pan almost jumped back from surprise. 'Hey Panny! Just lemme turn it down!' He called over the music. He went over to what looked like a very expensive stereo and turned the music way down to about a 7(it had been on 25). He returned. "Sup? I was just listening to some pop.'
Pan was dumbfounded. 'How did you-'
'Soundproof room,' he interrupted.
'Oh. Trunks, do you have another stereo somewhere?' she asked.
'Umm...................I THINK there's the brand new one in my mom's lab. It came in yesterday and hasn't been opened yet, but ask Mom first if you wanna use it, okay?'
'Thanks, Trunks. I was gonna use it to play my music on and use the amp for my guitar.'
'You have a guitar? Can I see it?' pleaded Trunks.
'In a while,' she promised quickly before waving and going to the lab leaving Trunks to watch her walk away before he shrugged and went back inside.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, that's chapter two. I've been sitting here for *looks a fake watch* 18 seconds thinking *should I stop, or should I go on*. My choice is rather obvious. Next time, Pan gets her stereo and Vegeta gets a taste of heavy metal. What does Trunks think of it? Bulma a Super Saiya-jin?! Which three of the last four things said will actually happen? Read the next chapter then, and don't forget to review!
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Loneliness. She had had hardly any friends her own age right up until she was 13 just because she dressed and acted differently from other girls.
--------
Loneliness. Always having only himself to rely on. Knowing that if he failed it would be over.
--------
Loneliness. Being teased and made fun of. Being called names and having things thrown at you because you were stronger that the boys 4 grades ahead of you.
--------
Vegeta shot up from his sleep in a fighting stance. He looked around and relaxed a little before glancing out the window to see the rising sun. He got up and went downstairs to where Mrs. Briefs was cooking a very large breakfast.
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Pan awoke slowly. She opened her eyes fearing that she'd be back in a 2nd grade classroom with everyone taunting her. When she saw that she was not she uncurled from her fetal position and sat up. She released a shaky sigh and got dressed. She showered and went downstairs. Videl was cooking breakfast. 'Hi, Pan. Ready to go to CC?' asked Videl.
'As ready as I'll ever be,' replied Pan with a sigh.
Gohan walked in and sat down and ate. 'Pan, honey,' he said to get her attention.
'Yes dad?'
'There are some things you should be careful about saying around Vegeta. He gets agitated easily...'He paused. 'First, never mention your grandpa Goku's name, and NEVER correct him when he calls him Kakarot.' He paused for a long while. 'Now that I think of it, as long as you do that you should be ok,' he chuckled while scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed way.
Pan put on a face that said "What do you take me for?" and rolled her eyes. 'To be honest if someone put me in front of Grandpa Goku, only I'd never seen him before and they asked "What name do you think suits him better, Goku or Kakarot?" I would have said Kakarot.'
Gohan stared at his daughter in shock before grinning. 'You're more Saiya-jin than either me or Goku. In fact, after Vegeta I say you're the most Saiya-jin I know.'
'I'll take that as a compliment, but if I'm so Saiya-jin why doesn't my tail grow back like yours did?' Pan asked.
Gohan studied her for a few moments. 'I don't know. You were born with one, so were Trunks and Bra and Goten, but they were all removed and haven't grown back. Mine stopped growing back too after the Saiya-jins arrived all those years ago and I don't know why.' He thought of a way to get her to stop bugging him. *What genius!* 'Go ask Vegeta,' he finished.
Pan understood but also felt like Gohan wanted to get rid of her with the 'Go ask Vegeta.' He'd told her to ask her mother about where babies came from when she'd asked, but when she went to her mother she said to ask her father. It pissed her off. 'Fine!' She grunted. *Couldn't you think of a better way to show you're pissed?* *Shut up! Stupid brain.* She grumbled to herself like this the whole way through breakfast. Soon the time came when she had to leave for CC. She went upstairs, got her guitar and suitcase and got into the black convertible.
The ride there was uneventful, except for her dad rambling on about being a good guest to her and her mom talking about how romantic their vacation would be. She could feel Trunks' and Vegeta's ki drawing nearer and nearer and was certain that they knew where she was as well. The car soon pulled up to the main entrance. It was a warm sunny day, but if you were in the immediate area, you wouldn't know that because the thick black smoke rising from the now destroyed gravity room where Vegeta had been training was blocking out the sun.
Gohan and Pan leapt out of the car leaving Videl behind and ran over to the smoking wreckage to see if anyone (Vegeta) had been hurt. Bra came running out of the house with fear written all over her face. The rubble was blazing with fires hot enough to create an inferno in the space that was once a small building. It was far worse that the last time this had happened and there was no way anyone unprepared could have made it. Everyone just stared in shock at the scene. And even more shocked when Vegeta came running out of the house yelling at the top of his lungs.
'WOMAN!!!!!! Get your ass down here NOW!!!'
A few seconds later Bulma came out of the house. 'What now Vegeta-ouji?' She said sarcastically before seeing (and feeling) the fire from the GR.
'Your blasted contraption broke, AGAIN!!' He was furious. But not as furious as Bulma.
'You mean that you broke it!!!'
'How could I!? I was inside on a break! But if I had been inside I'd be totally FUCKED OVER by now!!' he seethed. 'It's to bad that you're not smart enough to make a GR that won't EXPLODE and KILL whoever's using it! Not even Kakarot could survive that!'
Bulma clenched her jaw and made fists. She was shaking with rage. 'I've seen both you and Goku take things much worse that this so don't start with me or tell me how to do my work!!'
'There is a very big difference between ki blasts and fiery EXPLOSIONS! And even the smallest ki blast could kill someone unless they could put up a defence! Also, keep in mind that your GR did almost nothing to help me achieve Super Saiya-jin status. I became a Super Saiya-jin on a faraway planet without the help of that piece of crap!' he shouted while pointing to the wreckage over his shoulder.
Bulma looked like she was about to explode. 'I'll show you Vegeta! I'll build a GR so good you'll be BEGGING me to make version 2.0!!!' She finished, panting hard.
Vegeta smirked while everyone else look on amazed. 'Onna, Kakarot's brat and his brat are here,' he said offhandedly before walking inside.
Bulma was extremely embarrassed that Gohan and Pan had to see that little episode, but went over to greet them anyway. 'Hi, Gohan!' she said.
'Hey, Bulma!' He replied a bit nervously. 'What's up?' Stupid question.
'Well Vegeta-"ouji" is being princely as usual,' Bulma said with a scowl. Nothing like a Vegeta scowl, but a very good one nonetheless.
Pan spoke up. 'Well, he says he didn't do it. I believe him.' She really did believe him and thought that Bulma was being a bit unfair. 'What are you two staring at?' she asked, rather annoyed at the looks that both Bulma and Gohan were giving her. They immediately stopped and started talking to each other.
Pan was a bit zoned out and missed everything that they said. She didn't even notice that her father was already making his way back to the car.
'Bye, Pan! Be back in two weeks!' Gohan called to Pan as he got into his car with Videl and drove to the airport.
'Bye,' said Pan absentmindedly. 'BYE!? WAIT, DAD!!' she called at the top of her lungs as she ran to the curb. 'DAD!! YOU'VE STILL GOT MY THINGS!!' she yelled urgently hoping that he'd hear her. Kami, what would she do without her things? 'WOAH!' She cried as she tripped over a pile of trash that some baka had just dumped on the front lawn. Wait a minute, thought Pan. That's not trash! That's 'My stuff...' She said quietly to herself. She felt her anger rise quickly. 'IF MY GUITAR IS BROKEN YOU'RE REIMBURSING ME FOR IT, MOM!!!' she screamed after her mother while waving her fist in the vain hope that she'd be heard.
'News flash. Pan angry at bitchy mom promises "The mother of all fist wavings". Nearby royal family member amused, but not impressed,' Vegeta said coolly from his place in the front doorframe.
Pan released an aggravated sigh. 'What do you want, Vegeta?' asked Pan without even turning to meet him.
'Kakarot's death at my hands. And a cheese burger,' he said grinning like a Vegeta should.
Pan rolled her eyes, picked up her stuff and tried to push past Vegeta, but wherever she walked he just blocked that part of the doorway.
She sighed again. 'I'm not in the mood for your games, Vegeta. Lemme through,' she demanded. 'Don't make me hurt you,' she threatened when he wouldn't relent. *Right, like I could hurt HIM.*
Vegeta was staring at her guitar case. 'What's that?' he asked pointing to it.
'What, this?' she asked as she lifted the case up a bit to signal what she was referring to. He nodded. 'It's a guitar.'
'What does it do?' He asked genuinely interested.
'Umm...It plays music. That is to say, I play it and it makes music.'
'Can I hear it?'
'I'd need to set it up first. I assume you have a good stereo, right? I'd need to plug it in. I'll play later if you want, but I need to get upstairs and put this stuff away. Okay?'
He stood there for a few seconds before nodding. He went off to another part of the house and she went upstairs.
-----------
An hour later Pan had put everything away either in drawers or the closet, and checked out the private bathroom next door (which EVERY DBZ fic absolutely must have), tidied herself up and rested for a while. She was already bored and decided to attend to the first matter of business: finding a way to play her music. *I may as well ask Trunks. He IS next door after all.*
She casually walked out her door and walked across the hall and knocked on the door. After a few seconds it was opened by Trunks, and a blast of loud music was released. It was so loud that Pan almost jumped back from surprise. 'Hey Panny! Just lemme turn it down!' He called over the music. He went over to what looked like a very expensive stereo and turned the music way down to about a 7(it had been on 25). He returned. "Sup? I was just listening to some pop.'
Pan was dumbfounded. 'How did you-'
'Soundproof room,' he interrupted.
'Oh. Trunks, do you have another stereo somewhere?' she asked.
'Umm...................I THINK there's the brand new one in my mom's lab. It came in yesterday and hasn't been opened yet, but ask Mom first if you wanna use it, okay?'
'Thanks, Trunks. I was gonna use it to play my music on and use the amp for my guitar.'
'You have a guitar? Can I see it?' pleaded Trunks.
'In a while,' she promised quickly before waving and going to the lab leaving Trunks to watch her walk away before he shrugged and went back inside.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, that's chapter two. I've been sitting here for *looks a fake watch* 18 seconds thinking *should I stop, or should I go on*. My choice is rather obvious. Next time, Pan gets her stereo and Vegeta gets a taste of heavy metal. What does Trunks think of it? Bulma a Super Saiya-jin?! Which three of the last four things said will actually happen? Read the next chapter then, and don't forget to review!