You see a dimly lit stage, with a girl standing in front of a microphone. "I have made a decision about the whole 'squirrel issue," alannapurple announces. In the background you see Callmesquirrel at her drum set, with her gag still on. Alannapurple snaps her fingers. The gag comes off, but a pair of chains appear around 'squirrel's wrists connecting them with her drumsticks. "Try hitting me with those things now!" alannapurple shouts in victory. 'squirrel groans, and you can see the gears working in her head, trying to come up with a way to get back at alannapurple for this torture.

Alannapurple sees this too, and looks back at the audience. "Well, we'll just let her deal with that for a while. Anyways, I'm going to try really really hard to make this a long chapter." She sighs. "I'm so jealous of all those authors who write the really long chapters every chapter for like, the whole story. I could never do that." She sighs wistfully, but is interrupted by a flying object that strikes her in the head. She rubs her head, then bends over and picks it up. "A marimba mallet?" alannapurple asks herself. (a/n for those who don't know, AKA, the non-bandos, a marimba is like a xylophone, but with wooden keys. And I'm most likely going to get a mouthful from the real 'squirrel for that lousy definition. The marimba is an instrument in the pit percussion section of marching band and concert band. But not orchestra.) She turns and angry glare at 'squirrel.

Callmesquirrel doesn't even try to look innocent. "You-know-who would kill me if I didn't know where my mallets were at all times. They were right here." She pulls the other mallet out of her back jeans pocket, and laughs.

Alannapurple rolls her eyes. "If you keep this up, I'm going to go back to Six Flags and buy you that key chain for your birthday." 'squirrel narrows her eyes. "You wouldn't."
"Of course I would." 'squirrel thinks a moment, then sticks her tongue out, gets up and runs off the set. "Kermit!" alannapurple calls, "Go fetch 'squirrel back here! Now!" Kermit appears, nods to her, then disappears off to where 'squirrel left. Alannapurple sighs, then turns back to the audience. "Sorry about that folks. Okay, I don't own DBZ. I have nothing else to say at the moment, except...... let the show begin!" The curtain falls.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Trunks parked his car on the curb right outside of Pan's house. He briefly (a/n yes, the pun was intended on that one) checked himself out in the rear-view mirror before getting our and walking up the driveway. (a/n oh come on, he's a guy, and a hot one, so why shouldn't he be checking himself out? Get real, people!) As he entered the house, Kara rushed passed him, pausing just enough to glare at him slightly. What the hell was that about? He asked himself. He came up with no answer.

He resolved to ask Pan, later (a/n I just discovered 'later' and 'alter' are made up of the same letters. This has no importance whatsoever to this story. Please ignore Me.), after they had talked a while. She was waiting for him inside the empty kitchen. It was empty because she had moved the painting she was working on into her bedroom late Friday evening.

Pan was sitting at the kitchen counter, trying to find the meaning of life in her already cold cup of coffee. (a/n I tried to that once, because most coffee is really gross cold. I guess that means the meaning of life is that the only things to get better with time are fine wines and exotic cheeses. Lol.) It wasn't working very well. She sensed Trunks enter the kitchen. She didn't look up, just said, "Hello."

"Interesting cup of coffee?" Trunks asked, laughing lightly. Pan never was a morning person.

"Not really. I asked it it's life story, and all it would talk about is how it was unpleasantly plucked from it's life on a nice, quiet branch of a coffee bean tree on some tropical island to be ground, boiled, and drank for my amusement. So I decided to let it get cold as punishment for being so annoying," was Pan's monotone reply. Trunks raised his eyebrows. "But enough about me," she said, finally looking up. "How have you been?"

"Fine. Busy."

"You always were," Pan said, slightly disgusted. Trunks couldn't tell whether the disgust was at his lack of reply, that he was fine, or that he was busy. He decided not to ponder on it for too long. Pan sighed. "You still president of that damn company?"

Trunks nodded. "Willingly?" Pan asked, extremely curious. He nodded again. "I don't even sneak out of the office anymore," he added with a laugh. Pan was taken back. "Why the hell not?"

Trunks shrugged. "I don't mind it anymore. And Bra's making me train Brett to take over the company when I finally give in and retire." He paused and looked at Pan again. "You remember Brett, don't you?"

Pan nodded, thinking. "Yeah, barely. Wow, he'd be.... he'd be what, 21 now?"

Trunks nodded. "He's here with me, now. Probably thinking of another way to get himself into trouble without me knowing, right this second," he said thoughtfully, then laughed. "He's just like his father was at his age. Like his father still is in some respects." They both laughed. Pan hardly knew Goten when he was in his early twenties, because she was pretty little, but she knew him as he got older, and he hadn't changed much in that time.

"He never has changed, had he?" She asked. Trunks shook his head. "Not a bit." They laughed.

It felt comfortable to talk about the past, that far back, and laugh about it, until it began to remind her of the slightly more recent past. She stopped laughing. So did Trunks. "Pan," he said softly, "why did you leave?"

Pan sat there, and looked back at her depressed and angry (a/n I've never drank depressed coffee, but I think I've had angry coffee once before. Yee-ouch!! Lol.) cup of coffee for a little encouragement. It didn't come. She decided to talk anyway. "I guess I was just really.... angry... Mostly at myself, and at you, of course, but a little at the whole fucking world." The last statement was said in a very bitter tone of voice. "I didn't originally mean to disappear forever. But then I found out I was pregnant, and I just couldn't go back. Or even call, or write. I mean, how could I explain how that happened without explaining about..... that...." Her voice trailed off, and she turned her chair away from the counter to look at Trunks. He was leaning against the wall, staring into nothing. Pan looked down at her hands, hoping that he would say something soon.

It took awhile, no more than a few minutes really, but to Pan it seemed forever, for Trunks to digest those few words. He took a deep breath in, then let it out in a sigh. "I guess I can understand most of that. I mean, yeah, there are a lot of people back home who wouldn't easily take to that.... But even, I mean, what about now? People back at home still miss you. Bra and your mother I know for a fact still talk about you coming home."

"What about my father?" Pan asked in a slightly dead voice. The topic of her father, which she hadn't really thought about much, up until recently, often made her feel just that. Dead. Small. Ignorant. Unimportant.

Trunks sighed, and shook his lavender-covered head (a/n ::sighs:: What I would give to run my fingers through that hair.....). "I think..." He cleared his throat and tried again. "I think he gave you up for dead after the first year." His voice was soft, but Pan heard him loud and clear.

"I thought as much," she told him in a small voice. "But it doesn't really matter." Trunks saw her shaking slightly, and knew she was lying. But he didn't say anything. In wasn't important to him. Gohan wasn't his problem, at least, not at the moment.

There was silence. Both old friends were trying to think of some way to change the subject to anything. Pan found one first. "You said Bra and Goten have three kids now? What's that like?"

"Annoying for the baby-sitter, that's what it is," Trunks replied with a laugh. "The twins are six now. After Brett, they decided to wait awhile before adding to their collection." Pan laughed at the absurd thought.

"Twins, though. What're their names?" She tried to sound casual, but she was really dying of curiosity about her old best friend.

"Well, they're a boy and a girl, and dad made them name the boy after him, so now there are two snobby Vegetas in our mixed clan."

Pan laughed again. It was almost just like old times now. "Wow. I can now say that I'm truthfully related to Vegeta." She shuddered. "Maybe that's not a good thing," she added as an afterthought. "What about the girl? What's her name?"

"Pan. Bra decided to name her after you."

The information hit Pan like a ton of bricks. She was speechless for a few seconds. "Why?" she finally managed to croak out.

"Well, she took after her fathers side of the family, which translates to even your father admits she looks like you did at her age. That was the closest he's come recently to mentioning you." Trunks tilted his head to the side and thought for a moment, then chuckled slightly. "You know, a small part of me thinks Bra did it to try and get him to say your name again."

Pan shrugged. She didn't know why Bra ever did what she did when they were kids, so why should she know now? "Your guess is as good as mine. Actually, it's probably better." Trunks nodded again.

The silence came back, but it was a bit more comfortable this time. Not exactly a nice silence; it was still extremely uneasy. (a/n I've been listening to the same list of songs all day on winamp, and it includes Matchbox 20's entire album Yourself or Someone Like You, and there's this line in one of the songs that goes "If you've never heard that silence, it's a God-awful sound." I thought that would fit nicely at this point, and I also just heard that song. Okay, I've wasted enough time at this point. Back to the story!) It also lasted longer, as both parties were running out of "safe" subjects to talk about. Then, Trunks thought of something.

"Where – Did Kara tell you where she was going to?" Trunks asked Pan, suddenly.

Pan shook her head. "But it was probably the Starbucks down the street. She always meets her friends there." She paused. "Why?"

Trunks responded by shaking his head. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and dialed the some-what familiar hotel room number. Brett answered it with his usual cheerfulness, and Trunks told him, in very few words, to go find Kara and to keep out of trouble. The damn boy had a knack not just for trouble, but for eavesdropping on all, and that would be all, of his phone conversations and work and on business trips. Brett also had most of his brains from his mother, so Trunks had to tell him that he and Pan were "briefly (a/n okay that pun was unintentional) involved romantically before she left Japan." That wasn't the whole truth, because, of course, nothing is ever as simple as that, but Brett had taken it, just as he had taken the idea to meet Kara. For some reason, Brett was more of a people person than Trunks' entire immediate family, including his sister. Trunks hung up quickly so he could turn his attention back to Pan.

"What was that about?"

"It was just an idea I had. I'm sure if Kara's anything like you, she would be able to keep Brett in line." He paused. "What's she like, anyway?"

Pan blinked. "Aggravating. I never thought parenting would be so hard!"  

"Oh, I could have told you that." At Pan's quizzical look, he added, "I did baby-sit for you a lot when you were little. You were a monster!"

"Then I guess she's just how I was as a teenager. Except, she's so much more mature."

"Not the kind of girl who would have to prove she's an adult, huh?" The words were out of Trunks' mouth before he thought about the kind of reaction it would have on Pan. Whoops. Open foot, insert mouth.

~*~*~*~

Back at Starbucks........

"You know, I'd really like to see your house," Brett was telling Kara.

"Why?"

"Just 'cause." Like that was an answer. Kara frowned.

"I don't think that's a good idea. My mom said she wanted to be alone when she was talking to D-Trunks." Kara shook her head. She almost called him Dad! And she'd only known of his existence for a few days! But if Brett heard, he tactfully didn't say anything.

At that moment, Claire and Mal returned from their little bathroom 'escapade'. Claire clearly looked better, but Mal looked, well, angry. Most likely from being dragged away from what looked like the best ticket to getting a job at Capsule Corps sometime in the near future. Kara looked at the two of them. "You guys wanna ditch this joint and head over to my place?"

Mal looked pleased by the idea, but Claire wasn't so sure. "I thought you said your mom wanted some privacy?" she asked.

Kara shrugged. "That's why I've got my own bedroom." Mal snickered slightly. Kara gave her a look, and she stopped.

"Well, you know, I think I've got some homework I need to do for tomorrow that I've been putting off for a while. Why don't you guys go have fun, and I'll do that, okay?" Kara was curious as to why Claire was asking her permission to do homework, but she dismissed it with a wave.

"Fine with me. Later." And so Claire left the three others sitting at the table in the still slightly crowded building.

Kara turned her attention back to her mocha, which she hadn't touched since Brett came over to talk. It was surprisingly still warm, and she downed it quickly, burning her tongue and the roof of her mouth in the process. It didn't effect her much. (a/n you know, the whole 'it's hard to hurt a Saiyan thingy'.) She got up, threw the empty paper cup in the trash, and said to her friend and cousin, "Let's go." They left.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Back the American Son household.....

Pan was growling at Trunks' hastily made comment, and he could feel her ki rising quickly. "Wait, Pan. I'm sorry. That was way out of line of me."

"You bet it was," Pan growled back, but her ki stopped rising so quickly, then stopped rising all together. It stayed where it was, not going up or down.

"Look, let's pretend I never opened my big mouth, alright?" Pan sighed, and relaxed. "Fine. Is there anything about Kara you're still interested about?"

"Yes, actually." Trunks decided now would be a good time to ask about that weird glare she had given him on his way in. "What exactly did you tell Kara about me?"

Pan blinked. "Well, I wasn't going to tell her anything more than that you were a friend, but she has this very bad habit, which I know must have come from you, because, frankly (a/n I know this must be very annoying to keep interrupting her rants, but where did that term 'frankly' come from anyway? And how does Frank feel about it?) I never had it. It's called 'eavesdropping'." Trunks swallowed. Pan was still angry about his previous comment.

"I take it she overheard the conversation on Friday."

"Well, you're not as stupid as you look." Pan was glaring at him now. Trunks glared back. "Yes, she was. I now regret that I ever said that last comment. I must have been possessed by some moronic demon, bent on destroying my sanity when  I said it. Anyway, being the smart girl she is, she asked me about it. So I told her everything."

Pan cut short there, and Trunks looked up shortly. "Oh, did you? Then why was she giving me the evil eye when I passed her on my way out?!" he demanded.

Pan sighed, and all of her anger came out with her breath. "Fine, so I left out a few minor details...."

"Like what? I don't think there are many things in that story that could be labeled as a 'minor detail' except for maybe things like the clothes we were wearing!" he exclaimed. "And none of those would give her cause to do that!"

"Fine! I left out a few major details," Pan admitted, her anger slowly creeping back up.

"Like what?" Trunks asked, suspiciously.

"Like... like that fact that most of it was my fault..." Pan answered in a very, very soft voice, hoping he wouldn't hear her. But, Trunks had his super Saiyan (a/n not Super Saiyan as in SSJ, but the fact that it is both super as in great, marvelous, and Saiyan) hearing, and heard every word. He erupted.

"What?! Why the hell would you do something like that?!" he demanded.

"I don't know!" Pan shouted back. It was the truth, for the most part. She didn't know why, but she didn't want her daughter to know the truth. It was something she didn't want anyone to know, but unfortunately, someone did. That someone was the last person she would ever have told a secret like this to, but she had no choice now in who knew. It was so frustrating! "I guess I'm embarrassed," she embellished.

"So you would rather she thought I was some sort of, of.... Argh!" Trunks was quickly getting more pissed off then Pan was, and that's saying something. His ki and anger were skyrocketing to extreme heights, but Pan recklessly went on, ignoring it.

"Yes, I would!" she told him, rather coldly. "I guess I wanted her to hate you, didn't I?" She stood up, and walked over to Trunks. The stood facing each other, eyes shooting daggers, in the hall in front of the front door. Trunks was the closest to the door, and his back was to it. "Yes, I did!" Pan answered herself. "I wanted her to hate you, because if I hated you it wouldn't be enough!" It was the final blow. Trunks snapped, and shouted with anger. The air around him turned yellow, as did his hair as he reached SSJ (a/n I just don't like writing the whole thing out, alright!). He automatically began forming a ki blast in one hand, and his cold green eyes were aimed directly at Pan....(a/n I thought about leaving it here, but I really like the scene that comes after this, so this will be just a little bit longer.... more fun for you, right?)

~*~*~*~*~

All three of them, Kara, Brett and Mal, could hear the screaming going on inside, but neither Kara nor Brett could make out what they were saying. The three looked at each other, and ran up the driveway.

When Kara through the door open, she found a strange, glowing blond with hair pointing straight up positioned angrily in front of her mother. "What the hell?!" she demanded. The words were out of her mouth before she thought.

~*~*~*~*~

Trunks was about to release the blast when he heard the door burst open, and the frantic demand; "What the hell?!" He spun around, seeing the shocked look on Pan's face. The blast was released as he spun, aimed directly at the three bewildered teens. (a/n so Brett's not exactly a teen any more. 21 is close enough. It's young enough for him to still act like a teen. I should know, that's how old my brother is.....)

~*~*~*~*~

Even though neither Kara nor Brett had had any special training, they both had quick instincts, via their Saiyan heritage. (a/n well duh!) Kara flattened herself against one side of the doorframe, while Brett pushed himself and Mal against the other, knocking the wind out of Mal. The blast went right passed them, and out the door. It hit the car of one of the neighbors, causing it to explode.

Seeing both the explosion and the bewildered kids caused Trunks to change quickly back to normal form. He dropped his arm.

Mal looked from the now-normal Trunks to the fiery remains of the car and back again. She collapsed against Brett arm, which was still holding her up against the wall, in a half-faint. Kara just stared, her throat suddenly dry. "What... the... fuck...?" she finally managed to croak.

~*~*~*~*~

How'd y'all like that? I'm pretty sure it was at least twice the length of the rest of my chaps! The damn thing also took me about 2 ½ hours to write, so you might have to wait a while before the next one. I'm a little unsure about how I want it to go from here........... And about all those little a/n's sprinkled in...... I hope you read them, cause  I thought most of them were funny!!!

I'm sure you were all upset that I didn't have a quiz question at the end of the last chapter. So, now I have a knew one!! Lol. This one is more of an imagination question than insight......

What, exactly, is Trunks and Pan's story?

The reviewers who come the closest will get a box of Mint Millano (yum!!! ::drools::) cookie crumbs each! Yes, this will have more than one winner.

The reviewer who has the most interesting/original/farthest from the truth story will get one whole plain Millano cookie.

Yes, this is all a scam to get you to leave me more reviews. If you think I should use something more original, leave it in a review.

As always, flamers are excepted, and now appreciated!! Yes, I am now on a quest to get someone to flame me. Like I said in the summary for my latest fic, a non-fanfiction story called A Guide to Atherhozy, I have never, ever been flamed! I want to fix that! Either I've been a really good writer, people who like to flame don't like to read my story, (which, I don't doubt), or ::gasp:: Flamers have become an extinct breed, which I seriously doubt. So, if you really don't like my plot, my style, my intro (but how could someone not like that?) or my constant a/n's, please tell me. Thank you. My rant is now complete. Now go take on the day. (damn, I really sounded like Dr. Laura. ::shudders:: Bad feeling, very bad feeling..... lol)

RaWcK oN