Chapter 2: Goodbye
After she had explained the day's events to her parents, Pan quickly retreated to her room for some much-needed sleep. It was already 4:00 a.m. and Pan had to meet her best friend in the morning.
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Bra drove cheerily towards the Son household. Suddenly a figure appeared in front of her jetflier. "Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!" Bra screamed as she swerved and jerked to a stop. "What the hell do you think you're doing Pan!"
Pan laughed nervously as she floated over and sat next to Bra. "Well, you seem happy enough" Pan said as she glanced sideways at Bra.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be?" Pan's brow furrowed slightly. "Well, y'know. About your father and all." Bra slowed to a stop. "Why would I be upset about Otousaan? Did something happen?"
Pan sat quietly for a moment before speaking. "You mean you don't know Bra?" she asked hesitantly. "He died, last night."
Bra sat frozen in her seat. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even cry. Then after several minutes she spoke. "Pa-papa? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Bra wailed as she clung to Pan for support. "NO! NOT PAPA, NOT MY PAPA! HE'S STRONG, HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE!"
She cried till she had no tears left and she collapsed in exhaustion. Pan carefully lifted her up and flew towards Capsule Corp.
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When Pan walked into the large building she was shocked by what she saw. Trunks and Bulma stood perfectly still, staring at each other intently. Pan quietly walked through the room and put Bra down on a nearby couch. She then sat and waited to see what was happening between Bulma and her son.
Trunks stared angrily at his mother. 'It's all her fault. He didn't want to fight but she wouldn't listen. All her fault, all her fault. And look at her now. She hasn't even been crying. She was probably waiting for this.'
The two had been there since early that morning. Trunks had tried to confront Bulma about her actions but somehow it had come to this. Both of them refused to back down and end their silent argument.
Bulma stood coolly, her eyes focused on her only son. 'What is wrong with this boy? How dare he try to blame me for this, he doesn't even know what happened, I don't even know. How can I be the one to blame. And now this is how he plans to settle things? A staring contest? This is ridiculous.'
Finally Bulma broke the spell which had held them there for so long. She calmly walked over to her son. She stared into his eyes as if she were going to say something, but instead she turned and stalked away angrily. Trunks finally allowed his body to relax, and he found his muscles were quite tense from standing for so long. He turned to sit down and finally noticed Pan and Bra. "Hey, Pan-chan, what happened to Bra-chan?" He glanced worriedly at her sister as he sat beside her.
"I just told her about your father." Pan answered. "She took it pretty badly so I had to take her home. Here" Trunks lifted his hand to take what Pan held. A capsule.
"What is this?" he asked. "Bra's jetflier, I couldn't just leave it when I took her home, right?" Pan smiled at Trunks but he was unable to return the gesture. She doubted he would for some time. "I better leave." she said, lifting her body up from the sand.
Trunks jumped up to grab hold of Pan's arm before she left. 'What am I doing?' he thought to himself. Trunks quickly let go and apologized. "S-sorry. I just thought that umm maybe you should be here for Bra." Pan didn't quite believe what he was saying but she sat down anyway.
"Why did you tell her?" Trunks asked. "She should have found out from me, or Okasaan. You shouldn't have said anything."
"Gomen nassai. I thought she knew, and she seemed so happy, I wanted to know why. I thought that maybe something had happened. That he was okay."
"How could he be? It's not like we have dragonballs lying around anymore. He's dead! D-E-A-D, dead!" Trunks was glaring at Pan. He knew she didn't mean to upset him but it still hurt, and she was the only thing he could take it out on.
"Fine then! I'm leaving" Pan yelled, suddenly furious. She stomped angrily out of Capsule Corporation and flew away, unsure of where she was going.
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Bulma sat inside Vegeta's gravity room, thinking of the times she had spent with her husband. 'An alien. If someone had told be that's what I'd be married to I would have had them committed. So strange. He changed so much here. It's hard to believe someone can go from a murderous alien to a gentle husband and father in one lifetime.'
Bulma thought back to the first time she slept with Vegeta, and how having a son had so little affect on him, but now, that had all changed. He began to spend more time at home. Trained their son, and gave his wife a life she had never imagined. A life she could never hope to improve.
Slowly tears formed in her eyes. Tears she had painfully held back since the night before. "Never cry" Vegeta had always told her that, and she listened. She refused to cry for him when he had never wanted her to. But he was gone now, and she had to accept that. Bulma choked back her sobs to whisper two words, the saddest of her life.
"Goodbye Vegeta"
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