Chapter One______________________
The rain poured down heavy on the streets of Satan City, it was only six in the afternoon but it looked to be closer to midnight. School was letting out, though most of the students remained to clean their messes. None were prepared for the weather, as it had only been that morning that the skies were clear as crystal. Least prepared of all, perhaps, was young Pan Son.
At sixteen she is a mischievous and playful tomboy, or at least acts so. Inside she is an emotionally ravaged adolescent, still haunted by the loss of her beloved grandfather, Goku Son, two years ago. Neither she, nor any of the other Z Fighters, had truly accepted his loss.
At this moment she was standing under an overhang outside the school, watching the rain and waiting for her mother to pick her up. She cursed herself inwardly for not shoving a small umbrella into her backpack with the rest of her junk, most of which was banned from the school property because of her. She looked up as a small car pulled up, grabbing her bag as her mother rolled down the window and waved.
"Hurry, Pan! Your father has a surprise for you when you get home!" Videl Son hollered at her daughter. She smiled as Pan hurried, not sure if it was to get home or to just get out of the rain. "Awfully funny weather we're having lately, isn't it dear? This is the third storm that's appeared out of nowhere this month."
Pan sighed and climbed into the car, leaning her head against the window and closing her eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever," she responded. Her thoughts were mostly drifting back to the incident in the cafeteria earlier. "Mom, what is it about guys that makes them fear going out with someone stronger than them?" she asked.
Videl looked worriedly at her daughter. "Did you go through another breakup, honey?" she asked. She knew that Pan had been having them since she started dating a few years back, and she knew it hurt her more now than even then.
"Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I'm bad to love, does it?" she asked. "It seems things have just gotten worse ever since the Black Stars were found.I miss grandpa Goku."
Videl reached out an arm and put her hand on Pan's shoulder, they were almost home and the streets were clear so she didn't worry much about the road. "You're a lovely young lady, don't get upset. There's someone for everyone, you just haven't met the right person yet."
Pan didn't know how to take being encouraged while being called a lady at the same time. She didn't like being lady-like. Her half-shirt and punk gloves stood testament to that. ".Thanks Mom," was all she said in response.
They pulled into the driveway, the rain seemed to start pounding harder as they did so. Neither had time to so much as open their doors before Gohan ran out and jumped into the backseat. "Big emergency! We need to head to Bulma's!" he said. Beads of sweat and rain were pouring down his face.
"But Gohan, what about Pan's present you said you had?" Videl asked.
"It's at Bulma's place, so we'll give it to her there. Just hurry!" Gohan pleaded. Whatever was up had him tied in a knot. "It's very important."
Videl wanted to ask more, but he was so frantic she didn't want to waste any time. Pan simply watched curiously. "This sounds bad." she said, trailing off and laying her head back against the headrest of her seat.
The rain poured down heavy on the streets of Satan City, it was only six in the afternoon but it looked to be closer to midnight. School was letting out, though most of the students remained to clean their messes. None were prepared for the weather, as it had only been that morning that the skies were clear as crystal. Least prepared of all, perhaps, was young Pan Son.
At sixteen she is a mischievous and playful tomboy, or at least acts so. Inside she is an emotionally ravaged adolescent, still haunted by the loss of her beloved grandfather, Goku Son, two years ago. Neither she, nor any of the other Z Fighters, had truly accepted his loss.
At this moment she was standing under an overhang outside the school, watching the rain and waiting for her mother to pick her up. She cursed herself inwardly for not shoving a small umbrella into her backpack with the rest of her junk, most of which was banned from the school property because of her. She looked up as a small car pulled up, grabbing her bag as her mother rolled down the window and waved.
"Hurry, Pan! Your father has a surprise for you when you get home!" Videl Son hollered at her daughter. She smiled as Pan hurried, not sure if it was to get home or to just get out of the rain. "Awfully funny weather we're having lately, isn't it dear? This is the third storm that's appeared out of nowhere this month."
Pan sighed and climbed into the car, leaning her head against the window and closing her eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever," she responded. Her thoughts were mostly drifting back to the incident in the cafeteria earlier. "Mom, what is it about guys that makes them fear going out with someone stronger than them?" she asked.
Videl looked worriedly at her daughter. "Did you go through another breakup, honey?" she asked. She knew that Pan had been having them since she started dating a few years back, and she knew it hurt her more now than even then.
"Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I'm bad to love, does it?" she asked. "It seems things have just gotten worse ever since the Black Stars were found.I miss grandpa Goku."
Videl reached out an arm and put her hand on Pan's shoulder, they were almost home and the streets were clear so she didn't worry much about the road. "You're a lovely young lady, don't get upset. There's someone for everyone, you just haven't met the right person yet."
Pan didn't know how to take being encouraged while being called a lady at the same time. She didn't like being lady-like. Her half-shirt and punk gloves stood testament to that. ".Thanks Mom," was all she said in response.
They pulled into the driveway, the rain seemed to start pounding harder as they did so. Neither had time to so much as open their doors before Gohan ran out and jumped into the backseat. "Big emergency! We need to head to Bulma's!" he said. Beads of sweat and rain were pouring down his face.
"But Gohan, what about Pan's present you said you had?" Videl asked.
"It's at Bulma's place, so we'll give it to her there. Just hurry!" Gohan pleaded. Whatever was up had him tied in a knot. "It's very important."
Videl wanted to ask more, but he was so frantic she didn't want to waste any time. Pan simply watched curiously. "This sounds bad." she said, trailing off and laying her head back against the headrest of her seat.