CHAPTER 3:
Dragonball… With Strings Attached
The central city was a great deal larger than they had anticipated. From a distance, the small round white domes seemed to be like decent-sized igloos, but after the trio landed and walked through the main streets, they realized how gigantic the city truly was, since most of it was apparently constructed underground.
Steam rose everywhere from vents causing the air to be humid and stuffy. Hundreds of small moonlanders were bustling about in the streets, speaking both common language and a tongue that was unfamiliar to the Earthlings' ears.
Trunks took a good look around at the inhabitants of the moon. Most of them were only about 4 feet tall, and every one of them wore a long white robe. Their skin was a light pink, and their eyes and hair varied from light lavender to a light red. They all seemed to be ageless, their features friendly, their eyes and smiles welcoming.
Although most of them nodded their heads to Trunks, Pan and Goku in passing, there were a few that still ran away in slight terror. It probably was very uncommon for outsiders to land on their moon. That didn't phase Trunks, though. He kept thinking to himself that they'd be off the moon faster than Giru could say 'danger'.
"So which way now?" Pan was holding Giru in her hands and shaking him slightly as she walked.
"Dragonball detected! Dragonball that way!" Giru pointed down an intersecting avenue which contained numerous vendors and several carts being pulled by creatures similar to small donkeys.
Pan beamed and beckoned with her head for Trunks and Goku to follow her, "Well come on, guys! I think we're getting close."
They continued to walk through the crowds and ultimately came to the center of town – a large white marble square with trees and flowers arranged in perfect symmetry by a giant white dome which towered above their heads. There were countless symbols engraved on its exterior, decorating the entire entranceway and the large white marble doors that led inside.
"So is this the place?" Pan stopped before the doors and held Giru up to look at his radar. "Huh?" She frowned a moment, "Where did it go?"
Trunks blinked in confusion, "What? The dragonball disappeared?" He held out his hands, "Let me see that."
"No wait," Pan stepped back a few meters, away from the dome, and suddenly Giru shouted out about detecting the dragonball again. "That's really strange!"
Goku scatched his head, "What's wrong, Pan?"
Pan took a few moments to step forward and back a few times before ultimately walking forward and standing before the doors. She looked up at the doors and pouted in thought. "That's just strange."
Trunks gestured for her to give him Giru, and when she didn't respond, he walked up to her and gently took Giru out of her hands, "What's the matter, Pan?" Trunks held Giru up and looked at the blank radar and then turned his gaze to her.
Pan shrugged, "If you step away from this place, it says you can sense a dragonball coming from inside this building, but you can't sense it right here. It's like the radar is blocked or something."
Trunks smirked slightly as he turned to look at the doors, "Well, there's only so many places it could go in here. I'm sure someone will know where it is."
"Oh boy," Goku grimaced, "do you think they'd have something to eat in there, too? I don't know how much longer I can stand being this hungry…"
"Yes, yes, we know, Goku. You've 'never been this hungry before'." Trunks didn't even bother to look at Goku as he stepped forward. As a quick afterthought, he removed his backpack and placed Giru inside for safe-keeping before putting it on again and staring at the doors.
"So what now?" Pan crossed her arms.
"I guess we knock." Trunks cleared his throat and raised his right hand. However, before he was able to bring his fist to the door, something made a –click– sound, and the door seemed to magically open by itself.
Trunks stood there, blinking, with his fist still balled in front of him as the door creaked open in its entirety and the red sunlight of the world poured into a great hall of pure marble and glass.
"Wow!" Trunks brought his hand down and stepped into the cavernous dome with great awe. "Just look at this place!" He looked up to the enormous paintings on the ceiling, of kais and gods and of two gold rings that had what seemed like lace running through them. The artwork was just magnificent. The room was spectacular.
Trunks' boots made small, barely audible footsteps that were magnified and reverberated off the marble walls. Soon, two more sets of feet followed him inside.
"Oh wow, you guys!" Goku looked up to the ceiling and over to some windows which were shaped in beautiful silhouettes of figures. "Talk about a photo opportunity!"
Digging into his belt pouch, Goku took out a small gray camera and aimed it upward. With one click, his camera flashed, and so did the whole dome for a microsecond as Goku got his shot of the ceiling.
Right then and there, there was suddenly another scuffle of footsteps and a high frantic voice mumbling something inaudible through all the reverberations and echos of the hall. Trunks, Pan and Goku turned to see a small man, barely three and a half feet tall, running toward them with his hands waving for them to stop.
"No! No!" The little man ran up to Trunks and immediately put his hands to Trunks' waist and tried to push him toward the door, "You can't enter this sacred place looking like that!"
Trunks blinked as he was being led to the exit by the strange man, "We were only going to be here for a minute."
"Minute or not, nobody be allowed into the temple without wearing white!"
Pan and Goku grimaced as they said in unison, "White?"
"Really, sir!" Trunks dug his heels into the ground and then propped one foot in front of the other to prevent the little man from scooting him any further, "We only came to ask a question!"
The man stopped and sighed defeatedly, "Yes, alright, one question, and then you must go."
Trunks gave a bashful half-grin and scratched behind his head, "Okay, well… um…" He looked at the small man and tried to organize the question in his head, "We were wondering if you had seen a ball that is orange and has any number of stars in the middle?"
"Whaa?" The little pink man gave a confused face.
"It's about this size," Trucks measured with his hands, "And it has either five or three stars, either one. Those are the only two we are missing."
The man gave a blank stare, and for a moment, Trunks was certain they'd have to move on and ask someone else for information, since the little man didn't seem to have any clue what Trunks was talking about.
However, before Trunks could dismiss himself, the man blinked twice and raised both eyebrows, "You mean the Holy Stone? Ay?"
Goku, Trunks, and Pan blinked. They repeated as one, "The Holy Stone?"
"Ya, there were a magical stone that fell from the sky not too long ago, and it landed in the middle of our Temple here. It were sent by some Immortal for us to protect. It be the Holy Stone that has been prophesized for hundreds of years. You speak of this stone?" The little man walked several steps away from Trunks and looked at both Goku and Pan.
Trunks nervously scratched behind his head and gave a weak smile to the man as he responded for the group, "Well, yeah, I believe. Does it look anything like this?" Quickly removing the backpack, Trunks dug past Giru and picked out the first round ball he could find. With a quick movement to make sure Giru didn't escape, Trunks whisked the ball free of the backpack and buckled the top down in one stroke.
"Here," Trunks held out the Six Star Dragonball and showed it to the man.
The man's eyes widened as he stepped back in dramatic incredulity. "How?" His jaw dropped as he looked from the ball to Trunks and back to the ball again, shifting his gaze as if he were not sure which one to revere more. "You…!" The man stepped back and ended up backing up against a bench, "You be not of this moon!"
"That's right!" Pan laughed and put her hands on her hips, "We're from Earth!"
"Be you… Be you…?" The man began to tremble slightly, "Be you Immortals?"
Goku gaped, his mouth falling open as he echoed, "Immortals?"
"No!" Trunks shook his head, "No, we're from – as Pan said here – We're from the planet Earth. We just came here looking for our lost ball." Trunks looked at the Six Star Ball another moment before tucking it away in his backpack again.
"Yeah," Pan smiled brightly and brought her arms behind her back as she swayed innocently, "We'd really appreciate if we could have our ball back." She fluttered her eyes, "Pretty please?"
The little man frowned slightly as he regained his composure and stood up straight against the bench. "And just what do you need our Holy Stone for, may I ask?"
Trunks shifted his stance slightly and raised his hands to gesture with the story, "Your 'Holy Stone' will help us save billions of people back on our home planet. We need your 'Holy Stone' and six others of its kind in order to save our planet from exploding."
"Billions!" The man became wide eyed again as he tried to fathom the awesome number. "It… It…" The man faltered in his speech a moment as he looked around and then brought his gaze back to Trunks, "Our prophesy says the Holy Stone has the ability to make a rift between life and death. And it has the power to save lives…"
Trunks nodded, "This is very true. Will you help us?"
"Of course he'll help you!" Pan crossed her arms, "How could he just condemn a whole planet by not wanting to give us our dragonball back."
Trunks grimaced, "Pan, please… let him speak for himself."
The man looked between Trunks and Pan again and reached up to scratch under the little white hat he wore. "I be not sure what a dragonball be, but I can tell you…" He sagged his shoulders and shook his head, "I be sorry, but I cannot help you."
All three of them gasped, "Huh?"
"The power to grant the Holy Stone to mortals be beyond me."
"What do you mean, 'beyond you'?" Pan snarled and began to seethe.
"The Holy Stone may only be granted to those who have bonded under Kikaru's religion and law. I do not have the ability to give such a religious icon away freely to just any 'stranger-of-space' who wishes to take it."
Pan stomped the ground and shouted, "But we're not taking it! We're just claiming it back!"
Pan's voice reverberated and echoed through the vast hall several times before it was quiet again in the temple dome.
The man peered at her quizzically before continuing, "But even still, you be not Kikaruan. By our religion and law, I cannot grant non-Kikaruans our Holy Stone. I be sorry."
"Alright then!" Pan leaned against a bench and tilted her head, "Tell us how we can become Kikaruans."
"WHAT?" Trunks spun to gape at her, "Tell me you are joking!"
"Well according to this bozo, we have to be Kikaruans. So, it's only natural for us to convert, right Grandpa?" Pan turned her head, "Grandpa?" Seeing him standing with his head down, eyes closed and a slight bubble emerging from his nose, she stomped her foot a second time and cried out "Grandpa!"
Goku snorted awake and took a few wobbly steps back as he rapidly came to, "I didn't eat it,I swear!"
"Grandpa… augh…" Pan dug her head in her hands and groaned, "Sometimes I wonder how I'm related to you."
Trunks turned to the man and leaned over so he could come closer to matching the man in height, "So, sir… Um… How long would it take for us to become Kikaruans? Is that even possible?"
"Oh, certainly!" The man nodded vigorously, "A bonding should be enough to suffice, I believe!"
Trunks and Pan raised their eyebrows, "A what?"
"A bonding." The small man blinked and looked questioningly at Pan. "How else may I describe it? It be a bonding! Do not you call it a bonding where you be from? A mating? A marriage? Or something similar to that? You do bond with each other, right?"
The man looked over to Trunks for a response, but all he got in return was a speechless stare. He looked to Pan, who had a similar expression, and asked his question again, "Right?"
"Yeah, sure we do!" Goku nodded and grinned sheepishly, "I got married a long time ago!"
Trunks shook his head quickly, trying to rid himself of the shock that just electrified his whole body. Perhaps he didn't hear the little man right. A marriage. It would take a marriage to become a Kikaruan citizen. That was just absurd!
Trunks looked up and frowned deeply, "Let me get this straight… who needs to marry who? One of us needs to "bond" with someone else from this moon!" Trunks felt his stomach getting queasy with the thought of marrying a complete stranger.
"You know..." Pan suddenly cracked a mischievous grin and smirked at Trunks when he said that. "Since I'm only 14, Grandpa is already married, and you're a single bachelor…" Pan walked up to him and patted him twice on the back, "I'd say you're the man for the job, Trunks," she teased him, "so yes, it looks like you'll have to marry some woman from here."
Trunks just stared at her asPan stepped back with a huge grin on her face. She then began to wiggle her finger at him, "Oh wow, think of all those poor girls at home that swoon over you will feel, finding out you married someone from the moon Kikaru and left her there."
Trunks tried to contain a snarl as he felt his ki rising. There was no way, no way EVER, that he would agree to such a stupid act just to get a dragonball back. I'll just take the dragonball and run…. Take it and run. It's simple.
The pious little man continued, unaware of the mental angst that had been coursing through Trunks. "I say this because the only way to get to the shrine be to be blessed by our Immortal of the Sun, Raiyan."
Goku echoed thoughtfully, "Raiyan?"
The man nodded, "And the only way to get his blessing be to bond and spend an evening in the temple, a very holy place, where the Holy Stone can be found. But only those who have just bonded can enter that temple. Even I cannot enter, since I have entered once before."
Trunks mumbled to himself under his breath, shaking his head with rising anxiety, "This is ludicrous…"
"If you bond, however, you will be granted access. The doors will not open otherwise…"
As the little man continued to ramble on about the rules and regulations of accessing the Holy Stone, it became more and more apparent that the only plausible solution that would save them the most time would be for Trunks get married.
The thought terrified him. "Oh my god…" Trunks' eyes widened as it sank in, what was happening. Trunks was going to have to marry someone to retrieve the ball. "Oh my god… Oh my god…" Trunks looked up, unable to keep his voice to a whisper, his eyes popping, they were so wide, "Oh my god…"
Trunks shook his head and brought his hands to his ears as he doubled over in a panic. This was it. It was either be married to some stranger, or take the dragonball and run. There was no other way.
The thought angered him. He could feel his temper beginning to boil inside him, rising to the surface in torrents of steams, threatening to explode at any minute. His vision went from white to red as his heart pounded.
"Trunks are you okay?"
Trunks felt himself back up against the wall, looking up in a blood rage, only a hair's width away from transforming and venting his anger on the world.
Pan did it again. She did it AGAIN! She volunteered them to become Kikaruan citizens and now Trunks was going to have to suffer for it, just like before, every single time!
"No… WAY!" Trunks snarled and snapped, "This is B#$SHT! There is NO GOD that only opens doors for those who 'BOND'! This is LUDICROUS!"
Trunks was about to start shouting a string of uncharacteristic obscenities toward the man, and would have advanced on him if it weren't for Pan and Goku who rushed over to restrain him back against the wall.
"TRUNKS," Goku whispered in a hissto him, "Calm down, NOW. You can't barge in here and start telling them their religion is wrong. We won't EVER be offered the dragonball that way! Just play along, Trunks. Calm down! Don't go Super-Saiyan over this!"
But nothing Goku could say could suppress Trunks' anger. Everything he had been bottling up inside for the whole trip was threatening to come to the surface right here and right now. This was it. This was the final straw that broke his back, and he had had enough.
Trunks snarled and spit out, "I refuse to bond with any of your women, got that?"
Pan struggled to restrain his left arm and hissed at him, "Stop acting like a baby, Trunks! Just do it, get it over with, and we can get our dragonball!"
"This is all your fault!" Trunks glared at Pan, "You just volunteered me for this mess, and now I have to marry some girl for no reason and then just leave her!"
"So? She'll get over it!"
"She'll get over it!" Trunks practically foamed at the mouth, "How would you like if someone did that to you, Pan?"
The little man's eyes were wide as he coughed several meters away from them. "You know…" The man tried to speak, but the trio was arguing against the wall too loud for them to hear him. The man coughed again and raised his voice slightly so the acoustics of the hall could pick it up "Excuse me!"
All three stopped and looked to him.
"It's alright, sir, you don't have to bond with anyone."
Trunks' eyes widened a bit, "I don't?" Trunks emitted a visible sigh of release as he relaxed under Goku's and Pan's grip.
The man smiled sweetly and nodded his head toward Pan as he continued, "That girl looks like the perfect age."
Pan looked around and behind her, but didn't see anyone. Blinking twice, she put her right hand to her chest, "Who, me?"
"I don't know how old your race usually be, but our daughters are usually bonded by the age of 30." The man smiled, "Of course, our years may be a little different than yours, but you look old enough, and as long as you make verbal vows of loyalty, it should work."
Pan just gaped at the man.
"But I must warn you. The couple that becomes bonded, or as you colloquially call it, 'married,' cannot go to the altar with false vows. If our Lord Raiyan detects that you intend to abandon her, or him, on the planet after you bond with them, the marriage will not be complete."
Goku frowned, "So you're saying they can only marry someone who will be traveling with them back to Earth?"
The man nodded, "Yes, that be precicely what I be saying." He then looked at Pan and studied her, as she paled to a sickly yellow. "I believe you and this little boy with the dark hair would work well, assuming you are all traveling to the same destination."
While Pan looked angry suddenly, Goku burst out laughing. "I'm not a little boy! I'm her Grandpa! That won't ever work out." Goku grinned, "Besides, I'm already married. Chi Chi would kill me if she found out I also married my own granddaughter!"
Goku then looked around as if he had completely forgotten about the events of the past minute, and his eyes fell on Trunks, whom he was still restraining. "I know! Trunks here can do it."
Trunks' eyes went even wider when he realized whom he'd be marrying. "NO!"Goku took Trunks' arm and pulled him to the side away from Pan, and opened his mouth to whisper something quietly. But before Goku could get one sound out, Trunks cut the boy off with two fingers Goku's mouth, and got his word in first. "No means NO, Goku." Trunks looked away and settled his gaze on Pan a moment, shuddering at the mental vision of marrying her, and then turned back to Goku.
Trunks lowered his voice more and whispered loud enough for only Goku to hear, "I say we just break into their Temple, take the ball, and leave. It's easy, it's simple, and no GOD is going to come after us for taking back our ball that will save five billion lives."
Goku pried Trunks' hand away from his face and held Trunks' wrist tightly as he lowered his brow. "Trunks, I want you to listen to me, and I want you to know I'm very serious when I say this."
"I'm not doing it, Goku."
"Yeah, I know, I got that… but…. this whole marriage bonding thing… He says it only has to be a verbal agreement, right? He didn't say anything about there having to be love?"
Trunks didn't say a word to him. He refused to talk to someone who supported this whole madness. There was just no way. There was no way that he'd ever ever marry Pan, in this lifetime or the next. He just couldn't see it happening. He didn't want it to happen. It was not ever going to be a reality.
Goku turned to the man and asked politely, "Hey mister, I was wondering, does the couple have to be in love when they, um, 'bond'?"
The little pink man fumbled his words for a bit before responding, "Well, we would prefer if the couple were in love, but we still do have some arranged marriages."
Goku turned back to the raging demi-saiyan, "Listen to me, Trunks. All you have to do is stand there and tell her you vow to be her husband, she'll say the same thing to you, go to the temple, grab the ball, get the other two, head back to Earth, and pretend it never happened."
"Easier said than done, Goku."
"There's no law binding you two on Earth, right? It only applies when on this planet." Goku frowned after an unsuccessful smile of encouragement. "Trunks, come on, just play along for once. I don't want to destroy their beautiful temple and get bad karma just because you couldn't roleplay a marriage scenario."
"Bad karma!" Trunks threw his hands up and paced in a circle, "Here we are, trying to gather a dragonball to save our planet, and you're worried about bad karma if I refuse to get married for it!" He stopped and pointed to Goku with a death glare, "Trust me on this one, Goku. You're going to have a lot more 'bad karma' if we can't gather all those dragonballs in time!"
"Come on, Trunks, be a good sport about it." Goku pushed aside Trunks' pointed hand and gave a supportive grin, "We're all in this together, you know."
Trunks took this opportunity to look over to Pan, to see what she was doing while he was trying his best not to blow up the temple. He saw she was slightly paler than usual, looking down at her bare left hand.
And seeing her look at her left hand made him look at his. His bare, bachelor's left hand. And then the realization sunk in again, that he'd be married to her. To Pan…
Trunks tried his best to maintain his calm as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. This is just a nightmare. I will wake up with Goku's foot in my face, Pan sleeping in the bunk above us, and we'll be heading to an uninhabited planet to pick up the REAL Dragonball.
"Come on…" Goku grinned and nudged him, "Let's get this over with so I can get back to the ship and cook something to eat!"
Trunks' breath caught in his throat. My great Kami, I'm going to be marrying a 14 year old. The sick thing is that Goku is ENCOURAGING THIS. He brought his hands up to grab at his hair in his anxiety, his frustration, his panic at knowing this was it. It was all over after this. No more dating, no more late nights, no more freedom… He was going to be a married man…
He turned to face the marble stone wall and leaned his head against it as he sensed Goku leaving his side.
This was too much. He didn't plan for this. He didn't want this.
"Oh god, Goten…" Trunks squeezed his eyes shut and tried to control his breathing, "Right now, I really, really wish you came instead…" Because… if Goten came, then Trunks would be able to talk Goku into grabbing the dragonball and running. They could have done that at every stop. They could have been home by now! But then Pan had to stow away and ruin his entire trip, which he never wanted to go on in the first place.
He heard some mumbling coming to the right of him, and turned his head from the wall enough to see that Goku was by Pan's side, giving her the same pep talk.
This was really happening. This was no dream. The reality of it hit Trunks hard, again and again, like tidal waves of shock flooding his nervous system. He realized his hands were shaking from the stress of the whole situation, and brought them up to the wall, pressing against the cold marble for a moment before pushing himself away.
"Hey Trunks!" Goku approached him and said a little too happily, "I guess now is the time we should be counting our lucky stars that a girl came with us on the trip! Now we'll have a ball, partying after the wedding!" Trunks was ready to shoot Goku.
"You're not funny. You're SICK, Goku."
"Wow, you know, Trunks, I don't think I've ever seen you this angry."
Trunks stepped forward with a snarl, feeling his rage boil again, "Should I be HAPPY about this!"
"Yes! It's your wedding! At least smile!"
Trunks couldn't believe it. Goku was getting a kick out of this. That sadistic little bastard was getting a kick out of Trunks' misery. This was just too much.
It… This… It would never happen. There was just no way. He could never feel that way about her, not in a million lightyears…
But as he looked over to Pan, who was still staring out in shock, he felt his anger diminish as he realized she'd probably be going through the same trauma.
It was no secret that Pan and Trunks didn't get along. There were times when they tolerated each other, sure, but the chemistry was almost alwaysoff. She was an immature little leech who selfishly claimed credit for everything and pouted if she didn't get her way, and Trunks was an introverted scientific loner who found more enjoyment while sitting and thinking than having to deal with people. They had nothing in common. All their tastes in music or art, or games or activities, even watching television... everything about them just clashed.
It was just a doomed marriage from the start. It would never last. There was just no way, even if they felt positive about this sudden short-notice wedding – that word still made Trunks cringe when thinking of it – that they'd be able to make the marriage work.
And perhaps it was the idea of their future annulment that made Trunks suddenly feel instantly better about the whole marriage. They would have a wedding, take the dragonball, leave, and never consummate their marriage.
That scenario was built into their plans, anyway. At least it gave them a back door. And that realization brought an instant smile of relief to his face, when he realized it truly was going to be a staged act.
He could do it. He knew he could. All it would take is a bit of acting, a lot of patience, and distantly kissing Pan on the cheek at the wedding if they were forced to seal their vows.
Trunks sucked up his pride, gave a confident grin, and closed his eyes. I can do this. He walked over to Pan, careful to stride assuredly and professionally. He made eye contact with her, bringing her out of her daze, and then stopped a few inches away from her. It was close enough to look like they were going to hug, or to dance.
The uncomfortable personal bubble had been broken on their parts, but he had to do this. He would not marry anyone any other way. Call it his "mother's" side of him coming out, but it had to be done this way.
He took her hand, got down on his knee, and said between tensely grit teeth, "Pan-chan, will you marry me?"
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–4/22/05–
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ORIGINAL
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CHAPTER 3
The city was bigger than they imagined, mostly because of the fact that a lot of the city was actually constructed underground. The three of them walked through the streets with people bustling around them. The inhabitants of the moon were only about 4 feet high, had pink skin, and all preferred wearing white. Most looked at Goku, Pan, and Trunks and ran in fear. I guess it's not often they see outsiders on their moon, Goku thought to himself.
Goku looked over to observe Trunks' and Pan's reactions to the small people. While Trunks didn't seem too concerned with the residents, Pan was staring just as wide-eyed toward them as they stared at her. He smiled to himself, and tried to think back to when he visited Namek, the first planet, not counting Vegeta, that Goku ever visited outside of Earth. It was a strange feeling for him to get adjusted to the fact that he was on a strange planet far away from most of those whom he loved. He knew that it was definetely not Pan's first time on another planet, since they'd been planet-hopping for nine months now, but he could sense that she was still feeling that excitement that came from being in a foreign land.
"Dragonball detected! Dragonball detected!" he was knocked out of his thoughts when Giru pointed to a large dome building that was in the center of the city.
"Wow, look at how big that building is!" he stared at it. It was definetely the biggest building in the entire city. "I wonder what could be inside it?"
"Well, there's only one way to see!" Pan smiled and began walking faster toward the building.
"Hey, Pan, wait up!" Goku tried to walk faster, but it was hard without looking awkward, since his body was smaller than hers, and he had to practically run to keep up with her.
When they came to the main doors of the building, they noticed that there were designs carved on all the stone that framed the doorway. Trunks pushed the doors and they opened easily, revealing the bright white marble interior that glistened celestially.
As they began to walk in, they heard a voice call out from inside "What are you doing! You can't enter this place looking like that? Who are you? What do you want!"
They stopped and looked around. Pan tapped Goku on the chest and pointed toward the aisles of benches that faced toward the front of the building. A little man was peering out fearfully from behind the benches.
"Hahaha! It's okay, sir, we're not here to harm you. Actually, we were just passing through and um," Goku thought how he could word this easily, "we were wondering if you had seen a ball that is orange and has five black stars in the middle?"
"What? The Holy Stone, you mean?"
Goku, Trunks, and Pan blinked. They repeated as one, "The Holy Stone?"
"Yes, there was a magical stone that fell from the sky not too long ago, and it landed in the middle of our Temple here. It was sent by some Immortal for us to protect. It's the Holy Stone that has been prophesized for hundreds of years. You speak of this stone?" The little man came out from behind the bench and approached them cautiously.
Trunks nervously scratched behind his head and gave a weak smile to the man as he responded for the group, "Well, yeah, I believe. Does it look anything like this?" He unpacked the Six Star Dragonball and showed it to the man.
"Oh my goodness! You have one, too. You say you came from space? Are you… are you Immortals that have come to collect your ball back?"
Pan, Trunks, and Goku gave themselves a nervous glance before looking back at the man. Goku opened his mouth, about to clarify the situation, but Pan stopped him and decided to explain, herself. "Okay, I want to say something really quick, to explain all of this, so you know the situation. We came from a planet called Earth, where that ball is from. There are seven balls that look like that one, except with different numbers of stars on them, and we need to collect them all very soon or our planet will explode, so we'd really like if we could have our dragonball back, or else billions of people will die."
Pan nodded to Goku, thinking she had made her point clear and to the point. Then she nodded to Trunks to assure him that they'd be off the moon shortly, just like she promised.
"Pardon me young miss, but did you say you need the Holy Stone to save billions of lives?"
Pan nodded, "yes, so will you help us get it back?"
The little man looked thoughtful for a moment. Trunks had gone a long time reading facial expressions for some of his professional decisions, but he was too nervous to be able to make out what the man would say. After a moment, the little man seemed to come to a conclusion.
"I can't let you take it," the little man said.
"What!" Pan looked incredulously at him. "What do you mean we can't take it? Grrr…" Pan looked as if she were losing her patience, growing flustered. Goku sensed her ki was rising and put a hand on her shoulder to shake his head. "Fine! What can we do in order to have it?"
Trunks felt like he was going to fall over. Oh no! Trunks thought despairingly, She's done it again and offered our services to people who have a dragonball… He felt like he could punch a wall. She always does this!
"Well, it's simple really. I believe your story, and I think you should be able to have your Holy Stone back if it is to save so many people, but the power to grant you your Holy Stone is beyond me.
"What do you mean, 'grant us' our Dragonball?" Trunks peered at him.
"What do you mean, 'beyond you'?" Pan seethed.
"Well, visitors, I think you need to hear a story of my own in order to fully understand this. It may sound a little odd to you, because you are not familiar with our ways. You say that you need the Holy Stone to save many people. I believe you because that is what a Holy Stone is prophesized to do. But it can only be given to those who have bonded under Kikaru's religion and law. I do not have the ability to freely give such a religious icon away to just any stranger from space who wishes to take it."
We're on the moon 'Kikaru'? Goku thought to himself, not realizing how the faces of Trunks and Pan paled to completely white.
"What did you say!" Pan demanded of the man to repeat.
"I said," he coughed a little, "that the Holy Stone can only be given to those bonded under our religion and law."
Trunks eyed him, then turned to look at Pan, "I believe she is asking you to define the word 'bonded'." He suddenly felt a sinking in his stomach.
The small man blinked and looked questioningly at Pan. "How else may I describe it? A bonding! Don't you call it a bonding where you are from? A mating? Something similar to that? You do bond with each other, right?" He looked over to Trunks for a response.
Trunks felt like he was going to turn green under the man's stare and slowly began to back up against the wall. "Let me understand something… who needs to bond to who? One of us needs to "bond" with someone else from this moon! What exactly do we do when we bond?" He glanced quickly over to Goku, who was just beginning to realize what they were talking about and started to smile.
Pan grinned mischievously at Trunks when he said that. "Well, since I'm only 14, Grandpa is already married, and you're a single bachelor, I'd say you're the man for the job, Trunks," she teased him, "so yes, it looks like you'll have to marry some woman from here." She began to wiggle her finger at him, "Oh wow, think of all those poor girls at home that swoon over you will feel, finding out you married someone from the moon Kikaru and left her there."
Trunks felt his ki rising. There was no way, no way EVER, that he would agree to such a stupid act just to get a dragonball back. I'll just take the dragonball and run…. Take it and run. It's simple.
The pious little man continued. "I say this because the only way to get to the shrine is to be blessed by our Immortal of the Sun, Raiyan, and the only way to get his blessing is to bond and spend an evening in the temple, a very holy place, where the Holy Stone can be found. But only those who have bonded can enter that temple. Even I cannot enter. If you bond, however, you will be granted access. The doors will not open otherwise." While the man was saying this, Trunk's temper was flying through the roof. All his patience was gone. He felt like he was about to explode from rage and began to scream out what he really thought of the whole situation.
"That's B#$SHT! There is NO GOD that only opens doors for those who 'BOND'! That's LUDICROUS!" Trunks was about to start shouting a string of uncharacteristic obscenities toward the man, and would have advanced on him if it weren't for Pan and Goku who rushed over to restraining him back.
"TRUNKS," Goku whispered to him, "Calm down, NOW. You can't barge in here and start telling them their religion is wrong. We won't EVER be offered the Dragonball that way! Just play along, Trunks. Calm down! Don't go Super-Saiyan over this!" Trunks was fighting them, determined to teach this alien a lesson for pulling the most horrible prank he'd ever experience in his life.
The little man looked a bit nervous, seeing Trunk's reaction, and decided to clarify something so Trunks wouldn't be upset. "It's alright, sir, you, alone, don't have to bond with anyone. That girl looks like the perfect age. I don't know how old your race usually is, but our daughters are usually bonded by the age of 30. Of course, our years may be a little different than yours, but she looks old enough, and as long as she makes verbal vows of loyalty, it should work. But I must warn you. The couple that becomes bonded, or as your lady friend puts it, "married," cannot go to the altar with false vows. If our Lord Raiyan detects that you intend to abandon her, or him, on the planet after you bond with them, the marriage will not be complete."
The little man looked at Pan and studied her, as she paled to a sickly yellow. "I believe you and this little boy with the dark hair would work well, assuming you are all traveling to the same destination." While Pan looked angry suddenly, Goku burst out laughing.
"I'm not a little boy! I'm her Grandpa! That won't ever work out." Goku looked around, and his eyes fell on Trunks, who he was still restraining. "I know! Trunks here can do it."
"NO!"
Goku took Trunks' arm for the second time that day and pulled him to the side, but before he could open his mouth, Trunks got his word in first. "No means NO, Goku. I say we just break into their Temple, take the ball, and leave. It's easy, it's simple, and no GOD is going to come after us for taking back OUR ball that will SAVE FIVE BILLION LIVES."
Goku put up his hand to silence Trunks. "Trunks, I want you to listen to me, and I want you to know I'm very serious when I say this."
"If this is about food, Goku, it can wait."
"No, this isn't about food. It's about you and Pan. This whole marriage bonding thing. He says it only has to be a verbal agreement, and he didn't say anything about there having to be love." Goku turned to the man and asked politely, "Hey mister, I was wondering, does the couple have to be in love when they, um, bond?"
The little pink man fumbled his words for a bit before responding, "Well, I would prefer if the couple were in love, but we still do have some arranged marriages."
Goku turned back to the raging demi-saiyan, "Listen to me, Trunks. All you have to do is stand there and tell her you vow to be her husband, she'll say the same thing to you, go to the temple, grab the ball, get the other two, head back to Earth, and pretend it never happened. There's no law binding you two on Earth. It only applies when on this planet. Trunks, just play along for once. I don't want to destroy their beautiful temple and get bad karma just because you couldn't roleplay a marriage scenario."
Trunks tried his best to maintain his calm. This is just a nightmare. I will wake up with Goku's foot in my face, Pan sleeping in the bunk above us, and we'll be heading to an uninhabited planet to pick up the REAL Dragonball. Goku nudged him for a response. His words caught in his throat. My great Kami, I'm going to be marrying a 14 year old. The sick thing is that Goku is ENCOURAGING THIS.
He was painfully aware that Goku was no longer in front of him, but by Pan's side, giving her the same pep talk. This was really happening. This was no dream. The reality of it hit Trunks hard. What could Goten have done if we were met with this situation? We'd be FORCED to tear down that Temple…
It was as if Goku could read his mind. "Hey Trunks!" he said a little too happily, "I guess now is the time we should be counting our lucky STARS that a girl came with us on the trip! Now we'll have a ball, partying after the wedding!" Trunks was ready to shoot Goku.
"You're NOT FUNNY. You're SICK, Goku."
"Wow, Trunks, I don't think I've ever seen you this angry."
"Should I be HAPPY about this!"
"Yes! It's your wedding! At least smile!" Goku was getting a kick out of this.
Trunks' rage was threatening to boil again, but he purposely calmed himself with several deep breaths. He looked over to Pan, who was still staring out in shock, and kept repeating in his head "I can do this… I know I can do this. The marriage will be called off when we leave this planet. It'll be treated like the practical joke that it was. I'm just taking this too seriously…"
His stomach knotted and he felt like he would be sick. Think happy thoughts…Work. Wait, no, that's not a happy thought. Mom….? Nope… Dad? Eh. Bra, there. That's happy thought. Goten. Bra and Goten. Okay, maybe not both of them together. Marron? I haven't talked to her in years and years. Goku makes me happy, but I'm NOT happy with him right now….
He sucked up his pride and closed his eyes. I can do this. He walked over to Pan, careful to stride confidently and professionally. He made eye contact with her, bringing her out of her daze. He stopped a few inches away with her. It was close enough to look like they were going to hug, or to dance. The uncomfortable personal bubble had been broken on their parts, but he had to do this. He would not marry anyone any other way. Call it his "mother's" side of him coming out, but it had to be done this way.
He got down on his knee, and said between tensely grit teeth, "Pan-chan, will you marry me?"
––––––––
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–9/18/04–
