Disclaimer – Hmm...let's see...nope. No DBZ or DBGT merchandise in sight!
A/N: Hi! coolkitty2 here! Thanx for all the wonderful reviews! I luved them! Thanx Thanx! Here's a new chappie for all you wonderful reviewers! =D Enjoy!
Ages – Pan = 20 Trunks = 28 Bra = 21 Goten = 27 Marron = 22 Uub = 27
Reminder – "blah" means speak 'blah' means thoughts ---o--- means flashbacks
Reviewers - element6 (aw...thanx! I'm happy that you like it! here's an update for u!) Amon's Angel of the Darkness (Thanx! I'm glad that you enjoy this! I will continue this so don't u worry!) Darkvampir129 (Okay...I hear ya! Here's an update! =I) Ninja Chic (uh...(peeks at the .45 custom colt revolver hidden behind her) heh heh you'll know Pan's reaction soon enough my friend! Hehe) DarkAceGambit (Aw...thanx! Here's a brand new chappie for ya!) Drek Rak'stom (Oh! I'm sorry for the long wait! =( aw..how sweet! Glad that it was good enough for u!) SKC-ANIME-LOVER (Thanx! =D Here's the update!) Spirit Demon (I'm happy that you like it! ...Haunt...me...??? Waaah! Here take the update! Trupan (Once again, I'm glad that you like it! hehe Here's your awaited update!) lil Mari (Yay! You clicked the button! Yay! HAPPY ME! Aww...thanx!) Candy the Duck (...oh...I-I'll try my best for ya! I'll do my best! XD sorry to disappoint u...) XxAnimeLover14xX (I know...poor Pan! Thanx for the review!) tatsumi sagara (Thanx! . Yea...I felt sorry for Videl too! Well...here's a new chappie!
THANX AGAIN WONDERFUL REVIEWERS! XDNow on with the chappie!
Melting Ice
Chapter 2 – The Gathering
"Gohan...I think I'm going to regret this..." Videl quietly confessed as she sat herself down on the couch.
"Videl, you are doing the right thing! This can help our daughter get back to her true self, seeing everyone here again will make her realize that tons of people love her. She'll get back on track after that!" Gohan said as he walked over to his wife, putting a comforting arm around her.
"But...what if Pan doesn't want to see anyone..." Videl said, dropping her gaze from her husband's face to the ground.
Gohan sighed. He couldn't argue with that... Up until now, they were so happy that the whole family was coming over that they didn't even think of the negative possibilities. And Videl was right...what made them think that their daughter can be her old self again after all these years of trying with absolutely zero progress. It's like their daughter just shut off the whole world...
Six years...six entire years...but to no avail...their daughter was...dead...it seemed that way. Each time they looked into her eyes...they couldn't bear to stare for long. Her eyes just looked lifeless...no soul. Like something just sucked the life right out of her. The bright glint that used to be there was replaced. Replaced with nothingness... No longer alive, no longer cheerful, no longer Pan.
When Gohan heard a small sobbing-like noise coming from next to him, he realized that he had been silent for too long. He mentally kicked himself and pulled his wife into a comforting hug. Gohan looked around and sighed helplessly, patting Videl softly on the back as he rocked her back and forth.
But...as Gohan continued to comfort his wife...he didn't notice that Pan's door creaked open slightly, and a small figure peered down at them with sad-like eyes...
x-x-x-x-x
"Hello everybody! Come on in!" Gohan greeted the group cheerfully as he led everyone to the living room.
"Hey Gohan! Long time no see huh?" Krillin grinned up at his friend. Gohan smiled back and nodded.
As everyone settled in the comfy room, Videl came running in with some snacks. And before a word could be spoken, Goku began to chow down on the food. And not long afterwards, Chi-Chi got out of her infamous frying pan and smacked her husband's hand, which made him recoil from the delicious home-made snacks. The little scene caused everyone to erupt in laughter, with the exception of Piccolo and Vegeta who just crossed their arms and stared disapprovingly at their clueless friend.
Goku just smiled goofily and scratched the back of his head.
As the hours led on, the room was filled with different conversations. Curious about each others present life and all happy to be reunited with friends and family again. It seemed like the day couldn't get any better...until someone mentioned about Pan's condition.
Vegeta waited patiently for a small pause in the room and when he heard one, he spoke up from his corner,
"So...how is the brat holding up." Vegeta said, not regretting what would happen after he mentioned Pan.
The room became silent and for a moment, the living room became uncomfortable. Shifting from foot to foot, all the guests started taking interest in other objects, such as the wall, the ground, their feet, and so on and so forth.
Until finally, Videl stood up and tried to cheer up the gloomy mood on everyone's faces,
"Oh! I'm so glad that you asked Vegeta!" Videl said, smiling weakly.
Goten looked up from the ground and looked strangely at his sister-in-law, "You are...?"
"Yes..." Videl answered as she looked back at her husband.
Gohan nodded in approvement and Videl continued on,
"Pan has improved from the last couple of years...she started eating all the food we put in front of her door...and from time to time...she speaks...but only for a couple of minutes..."
Chi-Chi began to sniffle and grabbed a nearby tissue box, clutching it to herself.
"We have tried to make bigger conversations with her and we did try to help her but...she keeps on pushing us away...over and over again... And I feel like she's becoming more and more distant from us everyday, when we talk to her...she seems and bitter...
I don't know what to do anymore...I mean, Gohan and I tried everything. We're afraid that if we try to interfere with her again...she might never come back to us...ever again." Videl finished off, smiling sadly as she looked at the soles of her slippers. The room was as quiet as ever, except for Chi-Chi's echoing sobs.
Bra and Marron stood up abruptly and went over to Videl, with serious expressions glued onto their faces."Videl...we would like to...um...I mean...if you don't mind at all...if we could try to talk to Pan...privately..." Marron half-timid and half-serious asked as she stepped forward.
Videl looked up at the two girls, surprised by their question. But soon enough, she began to smile warmly at her daughter's two friends.
x-x-x-x-x
As Bra and Marron mounted the stairs, they were both in deep thought. Remembering Videl's advice...and concern for the two.
---o---
When the room became lively again, Videl made a sign with her finger motioning the two to follow her into the kitchen. Bra and Marron immediately knew what Pan's mother wanted to talk about and followed her down the hallway and into the dining room.
As they quietly made their getaway and walked straight into the kitchen, they saw Videl's illuminating face. They had never seen her so happy since Pan's incident. Seeing this woman smile at them so happily, it just made them want to go see Pan even more and perhaps the girl would get back to normal soon...smiling as brightly as her mother.
"So...I guess you want to talk to us about Pan right?" Bra questioned, breaking the calm silence in the room.
Videl nodded slowly. "Yes, I just want you two girls to know...that I-I am so glad that Pan still has true friends...most people don't want to go near her anymore because... of her 'change'..." Videl ended sadly, once again looking at the soles of her slippers.
Marron stepped forward quickly. "That isn't true Videl! Everyone still loves Pan and...we'll try with all our might to get her back! And those other people don't know a single thing about Pan like we do!" The blonde exclaimed, then quickly shuffled back, embarrassed with her outburst. She mumbled a soft apology as Videl laughed lightly.
"Thank you." Videl said sincerely.
The two girls smiled and nodded. "Oh, but..." Videl started as the two listened closely.
"Please take good caution when you speak to Pan...she's...she's a bit fragile at the moment...and perhaps still angry with myself and Gohan...about the party and all. She hated the whole entire idea when we both told her...she began to scream angrily and she even turned super saiyan... I was so afraid that she might collapse after her outburst that we quickly put the 'ki lowering' device that Bulma just invented to calm her down.
So...she's still a little weak from it, so please...when you talk to her, please be gentle. If you feel like she's going to snap anytime, put this onto her wrist right away okay?" Videl finished as she handed over the 'ki lowering' device that she used on her daughter not too long ago.
Marron and Bra looked at it and back up at Videl's face hesitantly. They never heard of this...this might be harder than it looks... If they had known this before then, they might have not gotten their hopes so high of returning their friend back to her normal state.
Bra nodded at her friend confidently and Marron took the device from Videl's hand.
As the two headed out of the kitchen, they heard Videl's soft whisper behing them, "Good luck girls..."
---o---
"Bra...?" Marron called out nervously.
"Yes Marron?" Bra answered as she was interrupted from her thoughts.
"What if...we can't get Pan back?" Marron asked, shaking a little at the thought of losing one of her best friends.
"We'll just have to try...Marron." Bra replied, building up some self-confidence.
Marron sucked in a deep breath and they headed down the small hall to their friend's room.
"You wanna knock?" Bra questioned glancing from Marron's nervous face to the door.
The blonde said nothing for a while so, Bra took that as a 'no'. It was up to her, she then bent forward a little and knocked ever so lightly, hoping that Pan would hear it.
A minute later, they heard some shuffling in the background and waited patiently for a response.
"Who is it." The cold voice commanded as footsteps reached to the entrance. Then, silence again.
"um...it's us Pan...Marron and Bra." Marron replied uncomfortably, her lips quivering in." The voice said as it acknowledged their presence, she opened the door slightly, Bra had to push it open a little more so they could both step in.
And when they did, they were shocked with the darkness in the room, there was absolutely no light at all. The curtains were covering the windows. The lamps and nightlights were all shut off. The two girls just stood in one place...too unsure to do anything. Pan's face was disguised by the darkness but...they could see her emotionless eyes...they stood out like a sore thumb in the dark.
Is this really how their friend was living? In complete and utter darkness? ...if so...then they were both horrible friends, letting their friend live like this, not putting a end to it earlier. What kind of friends were they? Pan was probably so disappointed in them...wondering why her friends didn't come to the rescue. Wondering if her life could be any better if her friends visited her often. If they could be there to comfort her in her time of need...they felt awful, so awful.
Then a bitter chuckle snapped them back into reality as they lifted up their heads to look at their friend. Not saying a word, they began to stare at her...what has become of their cheerful friend...her eyes...they looked Her smile didn't make her appearance much better either...they looked...bitter...
"What's wrong? Cat caught your tongue?" Their friend asked, still chuckling...but something told them otherwise that she was not chuckling because she was in a good mood.
"Um...Pan?" Marron asked, a little afraid of her friend's state at the moment.
"What." Pan snapped back as she ceased laughing. You could almost see the bitterness just thrown into Marron's direction.
The girl began to close her eyes and her breathing became rapid, this couldn't be their childhood friend, could it? The once so cheerful and bright...turned into bitterness and ice.
Bra glanced at her now shaking friend, she immediately stepped forward, shielding her. It seemed like it was instinct or something.
Pan smiled maliciously as Marron began to cower. She wasn't even regretful for her actions.
This, made Bra boil, what was wrong with her? Pan would never do that to Marron! Never! And here, she just did, hurting her without a second thought to it. This was certainly not their former best friend, Pan Son.
"Pan, that was cold. You know that Marron cares about you and you...you just shoved all that anger in her face!" Bra shouted, furious with her friend's thoughtless action.
The ebony haired girl began to laugh her bitter laugh, and it only made Bra's blood boil even more. Enough is enough! This was a hopeless case! If Pan didn't care about her friends anymore, if she didn't care about their feelings, if she didn't care about how worried they were about her, then...they mine as well not help her at all.
Bra had made up her mind. Pan was better off on her own, conquering over this new "change".
'I'm so sorry, Videl...but we tried and...there is no way getting through to her..." The girl thought, imagining Videl's hurt look when they tell her this. They did what they could...and now, they had to step down and hope for the best. Bra then had to say one last thing before she left...she had to make this clear to Pan...
"Pan...before we leave. I just want to make one thing clear: Don't you ever treat us like that again! We're you're friends Pan, what happened to you-"
Bra halted when she saw something dark clouding over Pan. She walked toward her and bit her lip, regretting her words. Now her friend was hurt...and all because of her big mouth...why oh why did she have to say that to her...
The aqua-haired girl reached out to her friend, but only to have her hand slapped away. Bra withdrew her hand immediately and locked her eyes on Pan's. What was she trying to say...?
"Don't you ever give me orders. Now...do me a favor and step out of my room, out of my house and out of my life, I don't need you two fashion rejects. I need no one's sympathy so I really don't need yours." Pan spoke, ever so coldly.
Bra was now too stunned for words...this was not Pan...this could not be Pan. This was definitely not Pan. So then...what happened to her? Bra looked back as she heard a 'thump' on the ground.
'Marron.' Bra thought as she rushed over to her fallen friend. She had fainted. Bra took her friend into her arms and scooped her up. Turning slowly towards the ebony-haired girl,
"Pan, I-"she began to say but was interrupted.
"Get out...now." Pan ordered as Bra turned around and headed for the door. She started to get teary eyed, and the tears started to fall, one by one, but only to be sucked up again. She didn't want to cry...not now.
Before heading out the door, and out of her best friend's life, Bra spoke some last words,
"Pan...I know that you don't want me or Marron anymore and...we'll grant your wish but...remember one thing...we'll never stop being your friends...ever."
And so, Bra stepped out, leaving Pan all alone...again.
x-x-x-x-x
"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Chi-Chi said as she sprung up to the young girl.
Bra forced a small smile and gave Marron to Krillin and 18. She looked back up the stairs,
'I can always still hope that Pan will be our dear friend again...I still have faith in you Pan...I still do...'
Bulma walked up to her daughter and spread her arms out, welcoming her into a hug, but then, all the tears that were held back before, were released...all in one big wail. She ran out the room and dashed out the door in a flash. Videl sat back down on the couch and covered her face into her hands. What was she going to do now?
Gohan stared off into the distance...now...more than ever thinking that their daughter's case was hopeless... He just didn't have it in him anymore...he just couldn't have it in him anymore...
A certain someone with lavender hair stared at everyone in the living room, all those sad faces caused by a loved one...who needed everyone's care at the moment...but no one could ever get to her...
This left him only one choice...he was determined and when his mind was set on something...it was never going to turn back.
"I'll do it."
The atmosphere became silent again, all eyes were on him. Truthfully, it made him a little nervous, but nonetheless...he was confident. So, to add more bravery to his words, he stepped forward and faced everyone.
"I'll help Pan. I will take her to Capsule Corp for a month and I will try everything I can to help her, and I promise...by the end of the month, we'll have Pan back with us again."
A/N: Yeah! T/P action coming this way! Yeah! =) So there you have people, you'll see the T/P part of the fic very soon! hehe Thanks for reading this! I hope that you all come back to read the continuing! On your way out please leave a review...just push that little button...type in some friendly words and then press "done", easy no? lol See you all soon! Bies!
-coolkitty2