Chapter 8: The Truth Shall Set You Free

There were definitely some nerves when the teens landed back in Capsule Corp. Noca knew that the situation was going to be very awkward when he walked in after the week. He knew that Kiera had tried to contact him, but he had switched his phone off early into the week, which he knew she wouldn't be very happy about. Bra on the other hand, was another worry entirely. She had gone through a lot of effort to make sure Noca was comfortable there at Capsule Corp., but he did nothing but dismiss her.

She deserved an apology. As did Kiera.

Noca, however, wasn't the only one whom the nerves were affecting. Pan was feeling it too. After all, she had been the one who was most against Noca all that time. She had proved to her friends, and almost everyone around her, that she had a grudge against the boy and wasn't willing to back down.

Now, after all that, she would show up at Capsule Corp. and present him to her friends, safe and sound, without a scratch. She was happy she had found him. Honestly, she could actually say that to herself. Even if it had happened purely by accident, she was compelled to follow that energy, she made that decision, and it led her straight to him.

Pan wasn't often one to believe in superstitions, but a part of her felt that it needed to happen, that it was supposed to happen. That week had given her time to reflect upon her actions and understand where she had gone wrong with her impression of him, and apparently, Noca had gone through something similar. He was now willing to open up to her, let her in, allow her the chance to get to know him.

That meant something to her because that is exactly what she had hoped for in the first place. She wanted Noca to feel comfortable enough to share his story. The fact that he was hiding secrets is what made her wary of him, that and the childish reason of having the attention drawn away from her. Although, she did feel justified when it came to the part where her dad was willing to train him but not her. That was still the main part that got to her. In her eyes that was unacceptable, and her father had no real excuse.

But that wasn't the most important part for the moment. No, what was important was that Noca was back. He was safe. And Pan Couldn't believe she was even thinking that. Next she just needed to take whatever nonsense that Bra would throw her way about finding him. Pan was planning to stick with her story. It was purely an accident. They bumped into each other. She'll believe that, won't she?

As they walked towards the door Pan silently hoped that Noca would be able to go along with her story and wouldn't diverge, or tell the truth, just yet. Yes, it was hypocritical of Pan to want to lie to her friend, after hoping that Noca would tell his truth, but she did plan on telling Bra the truth. She just didn't want to do it in that moment. She would rather tell Bra when it was just them together.

Noca started to slow down as he approached the door, feeling like the anxiety was holding him back. Pan noticed he had started to fall back and looked over her shoulder at him. He looked up, their eyes meeting, but both looked away quickly. Noca sighed and started walking forward again. He stood next to her and nodded, showing that he was as ready as he could ever be for whatever was about to happen.

It was a little ridiculous to be that worried but both teens felt like it was awkward. Whatever. Bite the bullet. Pan stepped forward and opened the door walking in, Noca followed on with no more hesitation.

They walked down the hall, towards the living room. Pan walked into the doorway and saw that Bra and Kiera were sitting at the big table at the back of the room. They appeared to just be doing homework or something, it wasn't like they had an investigation going to try and find Noca. They only had both of their phones beside them while they worked, in apparent silence.

Pan cleared her throat. The girls looked up and saw her standing there. Pan motioned beside her and Noca stepped into the doorway. Both girls stood up immediately, with Kiera rushing across the room towards him. She didn't look happy.

"You idiot!" She yelled as she rushed up and pushed him, Noca stumbled back, but kept his balance. Pan held Kiera back. "You can't just disappear like that, you scared us!" She said, breaking free of Pan's grip and hugging Noca. He was surprised by that and placed a hand on her back.

"I'm sorry," Noca muttered. He looked up and saw Bra walk over, she looked a little annoyed as well, but there was relief in her eyes. "I needed space."

"Well, tell us in future," Kiera said, pulling out of the hug and hitting him on the arm. Noca smiled weakly.

"We're glad you're ok," Bra said, standing next to Pan. "Where did you find him?" she asked, turning to look at Pan. The raven-haired Saiyan froze for a moment.

"It was just an accident, I bumped into him in the city," Pan lied, kind of. She looked at Noca and searched for a sign of recognition. He cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I just went out for some fresh air and there she was walking by," Noca lied, backing up Pan's lie. Kiera and Bra weren't entirely convinced.

"Fresh air? Where even where you?" Kiera asked.

"That burned out building from the other week…" Noca replied. Kiera was surprised by that and started to ask more follow-up questions. Bra, meanwhile, turned to face Pan.

"You lied to me, you said you were going straight home…" Bra said, giving Pan and disappointed look. "You followed that energy." Pan nodded and looked to see if Bra connected the dots herself, seeing the link between Noca and the energy, but she didn't seem to get it right away.

There wasn't much more time to think or talk as Bulma arrived to see what all the commotion was about. She immediately noticed Noca.

"Good to have you back. Glad you're safe," Bulma said, putting her hands on her hips and smirking. "Maybe don't run off without saying anything again. Everyone's been worried about you."

Noca nodded, showing he felt guilty about how worried he had made them all feel. Bulma didn't seem to have anything else to say on that matter. Noca half-expected her to have a motherly lecture to give him about being safe or something like that, but she just said almost the same thing that the girls had. Noca appreciated that, he didn't need someone giving him a lecture.

"You need to get out of those clothes," Kiera said, a slightly disgusted look on her face. "They're filthy and damp." Noca chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, honestly, I just need to sleep too," Noca said, looking at the three girls, his eyes lingering on Pan a little longer. "I'm gonna head up, if that's ok?"

"Of course, get some rest," Bra said, patting him on the arm. "Don't run off again," she added as Noca turned.

"Sorry again, Kiera," Noca said, turning to his blonde friend. The glare she was directing his way softened and she couldn't stop the smile that crept along.

"It's ok, I forgive you," She said. Noca smiled back at her and turned to go upstairs.

"Good night," Pan said, as he stepped out of the room. Noca glanced back in her direction and nodded.

"Night," He said, ascending the stairs and going right to the guest room he had been using to wash up and rest for the night. Pan did her best to hide the small smile that started to form. She just walked into the living room at sat down on the couch.

"Ok, spill it," Bra demanded, dropping down on the couch, right beside Pan.

"What?" Pan questioned, definitely faking it.

"Oh, don't do that to me!" Bra said, seeing right through Pan. Kiera was confused.

"What's going on?" She said, sitting down opposite them.

"You went searching for that energy and returned with Noca, there's a link, right?" Bra asked, showing that she completely caught on earlier on. Pan was surprised and looked dead ahead. Apparently, Kiera was still a little bit out of the loop.

"Ok, Bra, but shut up," Pan said, turning and glaring at her friend. She sighed and sat back in her seat. "Yes. I found Noca after following that energy. It belonged to him."

"What?!" Bra exclaimed. "Oh, wow, that's crazy."

"Yeah, keep it down," Pan said, pushing her friend in the side.

"Wait, didn't you mention this energy before? It's Noca's?" Kiera questioned, finally getting caught up, she just had to scroll back through her memories for a moment.

"Yeah, it's him," Pan said, smirking and shaking her head.

"You seem happy about that," Kiera said, her brow furrowed. Pan looked up at Kiera and then to Bra. The blue-haired girl wore a very knowing and suggestive look.

"Oh, please," Pan said, looking between the two of them. "I'm just happy that I don't have to keep wondering who it belongs to anymore. Bra, you were worried it was a threat, aren't you relieved that it isn't?" She questioned, that did seem to shut Bra up though. "I was just as shocked as you two are."

"Well, what happened when you found him?" Bra asked. Pan shuffled awkwardly in her seat for a moment.

"We spoke, a little… and I… I apologised," Pan confirmed. The girls seemed pleased but also a little surprised about that. Pan took the initiative and tried to be the bigger person, and it seemed to work. "Let's not say that we're exactly friends yet, but it's a start."

"What else?" Bra questioned further.

"He apologised to me, and agreed we could talk… about… well, I guess everything," Pan said, looking down again, just staring into space.

"That's definitely progress," Kiera said, shooting a look to Bra as if to say that things were going to be different from that point. Things would be better. There was certainly a lot of relief going around. Kiera and Bra were both happy with Pan and pleased that she took a chance on talking to Noca, although it was stressful that it took so long for it to happen.

Either way, like Kiera said, it was progress.


Saturday 10th March Age 792

With it being the weekend, Pan had decided she would stay at the compound that night with Bra. It was already pretty late, and Pan was already caught thinking about the idea of talking to Noca and having their proper conversation, revealing the truth and just getting to know each other better. That was probably all she thought about while she fell asleep. The next morning when Pan and Bra went down to the living room, they were both surprised to see that Gohan was there talking to Bulma.

Apparently, Bulma had called the previous night to let him know that Noca had been found and returned to the compound. He decided that he would visit to check up on the boy and ask what had been going on.

"Oh, dad…" Pan said, upon seeing him. The two adults turned to face their children in the doorway.

"Good morning. You could have told us Noca was back when you said you'd be staying here," Gohan said, getting into the parental mind right away upon seeing his daughter. Pan tried to say something to come back at it but couldn't find the words.

"My bad," She said, giving her father an innocent, toothy grin. Gohan smirked. "Is that why you're here, to see Noca?"

"Yep, Bulma called me, I thought it was only right I come and see why he gave us a reason to worry," Gohan explained. Pan nodded.

"Guess that's only fair," Pan said, as she and Bra went to the kitchen to get some food. Gohan watched them go and then looked to the coffee table in front of him and smirked again. Bulma noticed.

"What is it?" Bulma asked.

"I can sense a difference in her," Gohan answered, looking up at the scientist. "There's a calm that wasn't there before"

"Well, it was Pan that found him," Bulma said, taking a sip of her coffee. Gohan shot Bulma an inquisitive look but the scientist only raised her eyebrows and continued to sip her coffee. Gohan was certainly thinking on that fact and how it would have played into Pan's changed demeanour.

"I thought there was a change when she asked me if I had any luck finding him the other day," Gohan said, completely unaware that Noca had come down the stairs and was standing outside the door. He had already heard Gohan talking before and stopped to avoid talking to him right away, but then he heard that bit. He smiled to himself at the thought of Pan being concerned about him, he appreciated the change in her personality around him.

He looked up the hall and realised Pan and Bra were in the kitchen, deciding to join them there rather than talk to Gohan first. He entered the kitchen and saw the girls eating some toast while talking. Pan took a huge bite out of her toast and turned to see Noca standing in the door, her eyes went wide at the thought of the unflattering look.

"Good morning, Noca," Bra said, in her usual chirpy tone.

"Morning," Noca said to Bra, nodding and smiling at Pan. She quickly chewed and swallowed her toast. She cleared her throat and took a sip of juice.

"Hey," She said, feeling a little embarrassed. Bra could tell and nudged her friend lightly as Noca pulled up a chair opposite them.

"So, Gohan's here then," Noca said.

"Yeah, apparently my mom called him last night," Bra confirmed.

"Did you talk to him yet?" Pan asked. Noca shook his head and Pan nodded in understanding.

"Not ready for that lecture yet," Noca muttered. Pan scoffed as he said that, knowing all too well what her father could be like. Bra was happy to see that the two teens were starting to get along, even if it did seem a little faster than Bra expected.

"Would you like something to eat, Noca?" Bra asked, standing up and walking to the counter.

"Uh, I'm ok with just water for now, please."

"Have you eaten properly this week?" Pan asked, showing slight concern.

"I'm ok," Noca said, looking to Pan and then turned to Bra as she set down the water, "Thank you." Hestood up immediately after getting it and sighed. "I guess I should talk to Gohan," he said, taking a breath and walking out of the kitchen.

The girls looked at each other and stood up, following Noca. They wanted to know what was said to him after that, plus Pan had something she wanted to suggest. Something that Bra didn't even know about. Noca stepped into the living room.

"Morning," He said, announcing his presence. Gohan looked to him and Noca immediately noticed the change in his composure. He went from casual mode with Bulma to concerned teacher, or parental mode. He stood up.

"Hi. Sit down," Gohan said, sounding friendly, but there was that sign of a parental instruction. Noca nodded and sat down. Gohan stood in front of him and put his hand over his mouth for a second. "Why did you run off?"

"I had second thoughts about this life, and if I wanted any part of it," Noca said, honestly. He looked down and sighed. Gohan didn't have a follow-up right away, but he would get there.

"And you didn't think we'd be concerned?" Gohan asked. Noca looked up at him.

"Honestly, I didn't think any of you had a reason to be. I'm not a part of anyone's family," Noca said, thinking on it and looking down again. "I didn't think I had any connections worth sticking around for." Gohan was about to say something but Noca cut off with an addition. "I was wrong."

"You were?" Gohan asked.

"I didn't realise how much Kiera considered me a friend after such a short time, I didn't realise she and Bra would care about me that much to get worried, to panic…" Noca said. He already accepted he had made a mistake and he knew why what he did was wrong, but at the time he really thought he was justified in doing so.

"They weren't the only ones worried. Videl has been too," Gohan said, sighing and taking a seat beside Noca. "I was wrong to put your training on hold after what had happened, but…"

"I know, you couldn't have two kids trying to kill each other in your home," Noca said, chuckling weakly. Pan did so in the hallway as well, and that was heard by the people in the room.

"Pan?" Gohan said, as his daughter and Bra stepped into the room.

"Hi, sorry, but I just want to add that you don't have to worry about that now…" Pan said, looking at her father and then to Noca. She smiled weakly. "I think… we can try to be friends."

Bra was proud of her friend, and Gohan was happy that his daughter had started to think rationally. He stood up again.

"That's good," Gohan said nodding to Noca. The boy smiled up at him. "Then I'm happy to train you."

"I think he should come back to ours," Pan said, quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Bra turned to look at her friend with wide eyes, a smile creeping across her lips. Pan looked at her in the corner of her eye and stepped forward. "It's easier for you to train him that way."

Gohan scoffed and looked down to Noca.

"Are you ok with that?" He asked. Noca stood up, looked from Gohan to Pan and nodded.

"Yeah. I am." He said, smiling. He knew what Pan's play was. She wanted him close so that they could have their talk as soon as possible. She wasn't messing around.

"Good. That's settled then," Gohan said, clapping his hands together. "I know Videl will be happy to see you safe. We'll head home as soon as you kids are ready. Maybe we can get a training session in right away."

Noca headed off to his room to get his stuff ready, even though there wasn't much, and it was all pretty much ready. Pan rushed to Bra's room, with her friend of course.

"I cannot believe that you actually asked for him to go back to yours!" Bra said, taking on a very teasing tone. Pan was wary of it and readied to defend herself from whatever Bra said next. "You must really, really like him."

"Oh please, really, Bra?" Pan said, shaking her head and writing it off. Bra laughed out loud.

"I don't hear a denial," Bra said, teasing and poking her friend a bit more. Pan just stood up and grabbed her bag.

"That's just silly, I only just started talking to him," Pan said, trying to plead her case. Bra just nodded, a knowing expression on her face. Pan glanced at her, and it was probably her best death glare.

"Ok, I'll drop it," Bra said, holding her hands up but as Pan walked out Bra definitely smiled to herself.

It didn't take long to get back to Pan's house, and Noca was immediately greeted with a hug and some more scolding from Videl, which was to be expected, especially after she had certainly gone out of her way to become like a maternal figure to Noca, especially in the absence of any other true parental figures. Gohan honestly took a more teacher/student approach to their relationship but Videl was the only thing that truly gave him a homely feeling. And his friendship with Kiera, of course.

He was starting to question why he did run off when there were definitely those that cared about him. He knew it was wrong, he accepted that. Now they all just had to move past it. And move past it quickly they would, especially considering Gohan was already suggesting a training session, almost as soon as Noca had a chance to get back to his room. Noca wasn't about to shy away from it, he took to the challenge of another training session with much enthusiasm.

"I want to do another Ki training session," Gohan said, as he and Noca stood out in the field. Noca's mood started to drop but Gohan was quick to clarify. "We haven't trained together in a few weeks and I'm interested in seeing how you've improved your Ki control."

Noca listened and understood what Gohan was saying. It made sense. He just wanted to see how fresh Noca was. Luckily that was the only training he was able to do on his own. Noca knew part of the other reason he wanted to see Noca's Ki control. Pan had told him about the conversation she overheard, where Gohan couldn't sense Noca's Ki when he was in Satan City. Gohan wanted to gauge Noca's power level and see if he can sense something in there that will give him a clue as to why he couldn't sense it before.

Noca wasn't about to reject the chance to show his improvement and move closer to being more than fight ready.

"I want you to raise your power level, bring out as much of your Ki as you possibly can," Gohan requested. Noca didn't expect that to be the first task in this lesson, but he was happy to oblige. Noca steadied himself, clenched his fists and tensed up briefly, but then glanced back at Gohan. "It's ok. Do it."

Noca scoffed and started to bring out his Ki, something he was starting to become quite proficient in. Gohan could feel Noca's power rising at a tremendous pace. It was surprising. After about thirty seconds Noca's aura burst from within. It was a dark blue aura, that caught Gohan by surprise as he was so used to seeing white aura from his allies. Even in past sessions Noca's aura had been white when he was just starting to train control, so what had changed?

Noca's power continued to rise but as it did his control over it started to waver slightly. Gohan noticed that Noca was continuing to try and grip onto it and hold it under his control but the more he tried the more he tensed, which only meant his focus started to fall.

"Don't tense, you're thinking too much," Gohan said, "Try to relax and let your power do its own thing for the moment."

Noca tried to make sense of that instruction and realised it was going to be hard to just stop thinking but he did what he could to relax his body. He recognised how tense he was and knew that was no way to be in that situation. He took a deep breath and released it. His aura did fall in intensity for a moment but as it happened his power level started to stabilise. Noca was starting to feel relaxed and Gohan noticed that.

The teen closed his eyes and for a moment he felt distant, isolated again. The image of fire crept into his mind and there was a sudden burst of energy from within. His aura erupted out again and his power level skyrocketed but Noca was beyond control of that and he fell unconscious, dropping flat on the ground as his aura dissipated. Gohan watched in awe and slowly started to walk towards the boy.

Pan felt the surge and rushed to her bedroom window to see what had happened. She saw Noca lying unconscious and left her room, going downstairs and heading outside.

"What happened?" She asked, there wasn't an incredible amount of urgency from Pan, but there was certainly concern.

"It was just too much for him in the moment," Gohan replied. "He's fine. He'll sleep it off." Gohan assured Pan, as he lifted Noca up and carried him back to the house. Gohan set him down on the couch in the living room but Noca started to wake up right away. He opened his eyes and sat up

"Hey, Dad. He's awake," Pan said, calling her father back just as he was about to leave the room. He walked back in and stood by Noca.

"Are you feeling ok?" He asked the boy. Noca stood up and stayed still for a moment.

"I feel… weird," Noca said, looking at his hands. Pan could sense that something had changed with Noca's energy in that moment. She wondered if Gohan felt it to. They both looked to Gohan and he just tilted his head to the side slightly.

"I don't know," He said, pondering what could have caused the strange feeling, and the small change. "Maybe you reached a point you haven't before."

Noca looked down at his hands again and realised that the feeling of having that energy running through his body, under his control, it was still there. He remembered the feeling and all it did was remind him of the burst of energy he had when back at the Mansion with Omega, and again back in his village the day his mother died. It was a similar feeling, but he didn't even remember what happened either of those previous times.

"I guess it's just thanks to your training," Noca said, looking up to Gohan and smiling weakly. Gohan nodded inquisitively and turned, walking to his study. Noca glanced at Pan and sat back down on the couch.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Pan asked, standing beside him. Noca nodded and looked up at her.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be fine," He said, shooting her a quick smile. Pan returned the gesture and went off back to her bedroom, leaving Noca to ponder what had happened to him in that moment and how he could utilise the new feeling in any future conflict. Had he really made progress out there, and found a new level?

That truly remained to be seen.

That night Noca felt weird, but happy, to be joining Gohan, Videl, and Pan for dinner. It had been so long since he shared a table with them, and the last time there had still been that sense of animosity between him and Pan. It was nice that things had changed, even if there was still the anxiety surrounding a conversation that the two of them would have at some point. Noca wasn't really prepared for it, even if he did make the promise that he'd explain himself.

That was pretty much all he had been able to think about most of the day, except for when he was training, that was different of course. He had different worries on his mind then. For a thirteen-year-old Noca seemed to have so many worries, it wasn't fun.

Once dinner had finished Gohan informed Noca that they would be sending him back to school, even if he didn't want to do it, it was only right that he gets some formal education. He was still young and technically a part of their family, even if he liked to think of himself as independent, he was still only a teenager. Noca accepted that was still part of the deal and didn't argue it.

After dinner as Noca was returning to his room Pan sort of ambushed him before he could get inside.

"You should probably come look over my homework and see what we've been working on in school while you've been away," Pan suggested.

"Are you sure?" He asked, knowing that Pan had something else in mind as well.

"Well, yeah, obviously we can talk as well…" Pan said, suddenly feeling a little nervous. She tried to casually lean against the wall but made it look too awkward by misjudging her distance from the wall and leaning a little lower than anticipated. Noca smiled and shook his head looking into his room.

"Sure, why not?" Noca said. Pan perked up and seemed pleased to hear that. She walked back to her room and beckoned for Noca to follow. He felt weird going into her bedroom for the first time. They had been talking nicely for less than a full day and already Pan was being quite open. Noca glanced around, taking in the decorations of her room. Some posters, pictures of family, little ornaments.

Pan sat at her desk by the window and opened up her laptop, bringing up her recent schoolwork. Noca didn't expect Pan to actually mean they would go over schoolwork, but he wasn't against it.

"Use that chair," Pan said, pointing to a chair by her door that had a pile of clothes on it. Noca looked over and then back at Pan. She turned and saw the chair. She stood up and rushed over to it. "I'm sorry, I always just throw clothes on there." She threw the clothes on her bed and brought the chair over to the desk. Noca smirked and shook his head.

"Thanks," He said, taking the chair and sitting down. "So, what important stuff did I miss?" Noca asked, sounding a little disinterested. Pan chuckled.

"I know it's not the most interesting thing, but you should be a little caught up," Pan said. Noca shook his head again, still smiling. "What?"

"I would just expect Bra to be the person to say that," Noca said.

"She probably would, but I care about my education too, I have dreams," Pan said, a teasing tone in her voice so she assured Noca she wasn't offended by anything.

"I know it's not really why you invited me here though," Noca said, cutting straight to the point. Pan stopped looking through a document on her laptop and brought her hands to her lap.

"You're right," She said, chuckling nervously. She turned to face him and cleared her throat.

"I want to say, I didn't feel like opening up to you, or anyone for that matter, because I felt I had no reason to get attached," Noca started, trying to find a long way around getting to the worst part of the conversation. "I wasn't planning to stay. When I left my village, I was on a mission to find Son Goku."

Noca stopped, in case Pan had anything to interject with, but she was fine with listening for the moment. Noca appreciated that.

"It was pure chance that I arrived when I did. In my condition and how far out I was it would have taken me days. I never meant to, I guess, ruin your birthday," Noca said, sounding apologetic for it. Pan could hear that in his voice and truly recognised how she had overreacted to it. "You had a right to be a little upset, but I always sensed some sort of… anger, frustration…" Noca thought for a second, "I could tell you didn't trust me, and I didn't feel like you were entitled to my explanation. I was stubborn in that regard."

"We were both very stubborn," Pan said, smiling weakly. Noca scoffed, nodding. He started to think back to their argument in the park and he shuffled in his seat, his demeanour changing a bit.

"I will say I think you were very unfair to me at times, you made assumptions that were a little… hard to take," Noca said, getting into some rough territory. Pan's brow furrowed but she knew better than to snap back now. She had to listen. She would have her chance to talk. "You assumed I didn't know anything about loss," Noca said, looking staring down, avoiding eye-contact.

"I… I did say that," Pan said, remembering her words and understanding how, in certain circumstances, they could be considered quite harsh.

"Only Kiera and your mother know the truth," Noca mentioned. He sighed and there was a slight shudder in his breath. He was still looking down so Pan tried to adjust a little so she could see his face. Noca composed himself and looked up, surprising Pan. "You said your grandfather left, tell me about that."

Pan wasn't expecting it to be turned back on her, she went to say something to bring it back to Noca's story but stopped.

"He went off to train someone, um, about eight or nine years ago now," Pan said, "It's been so long."

"And that clearly had some sort of long-term effect on you?" Noca questioned.

"Of course it did, he used to train me when I was a kid, we spent so much time together, and then one day he just up and leaves with just a 'seeya later' and then disappears for nearly a decade," Pan said, getting very frustrated to the point of standing up and walking to her window.

"Is that part of why you don't like your dad training me?" Noca asked, gingerly, realising he had maybe guided Pan into a tough topic, but she wasn't the only one confronting tough times. Pan sighed and turned around.

"Yeah," She said, looking down. "Dad would never give me a chance. We all thought he stopped training years ago, but… he had started again, and then you show up and he trains you like that," Pan said, snapping her fingers. "I don't understand it."

"I'm sorry to be the one he's training," Noca said, confused at his own wording there. He shook his head and stood up, walking closer to Pan. "You know I didn't do it intentionally? I was honestly just hoping to find Goku, learn about…" Noca almost said something that he wasn't ready to say just yet and had to hold back. "I just, had a lot I needed to find out and I was told he was the one who could help."

"Why though?" Pan asked. That was the question Noca should have expected but even now he still wasn't prepared for it. "Why my grandpa? Who told you?"

Noca just stared at Pan for a moment, blinking a few times as his eyes started to water, but apparently, she didn't notice that part. Noca cleared his throat, suddenly feeling it get dry. He looked past Pan, out of the window trying to find peace in the fields.

"My mother said to find him. Find Son Goku," Noca said, turning around and walking back to the chair. He sat down again and sighed. This was what he had come to talk about with Pan and there was no use in holding it back anymore. He had to learn to live with it. "The day I left my village… there was an attack…" Noca began but he started to get overwhelmed. He looked down again.

Pan walked over and sat down in her chair again and placed a hand on his knee, to show support. Noca looked to her hand and then up at her. There was some genuine compassion there. She was starting to understand what had been so difficult for him, why this topic was a tough one. She still just wanted to hear it from him.

"Something, or someone… killed my mother," Noca said, looking down again. He visibly tensed and Pan could feel the frustration and strong emotions overwhelming him. It was that familiar feeling again. The same one she felt back in September. Noca looked up, tears starting to run down his face. "When you said I didn't know about loss that hurt, I understand you didn't know any better at the time. But I hated that." He looked into her eyes, and she saw that pain.

"I'm sorry…" She said, wanting to look away but finding that she couldn't. This was the moment they needed, they were connecting and understanding each other.

"My mother's dying request was for me to find Son Goku, and learn about myself," Noca said, realising that was still pretty cryptic and would lead to the next big reveal he had planned.

"Why Goku? And what do you mean learn about yourself?" Pan asked. Noca scoffed and shook his head.

"Please, don't overreact, or tell anyone else," Noca said, looking into her eyes, showing that he really meant that. Pan nodded. "I'm a Saiyan."

Dropping that bombshell as quickly as possible. Pan sat back in her chair, unable to take her eyes off of Noca. She scanned him, taking in his eyes, the spiky nature of his hair, his physique. It all started to make sense. His power. The energy he showcased when training with Gohan. It was all there. He wasn't making that up.

"That's how you knew about Saiyans… you're one of us?" Pan questioned, finding it hard to believe despite how obvious it was. She chuckled and shook her head. "That's huge."

She turned to look back at Noca and saw he was still clearly battling his emotions. Tears were still running down his face, but he wasn't quite crying. Pan moved a little closer and took his hand. He scoffed and looked at her again.

"I don't want you to treat me differently just because I am a Saiyan or because of what I've lost," Noca voice started breaking, but he took a breath and composed himself. "I told you only because when you said you felt overwhelming energy in September, and we know that energy was mine, you felt the outburst I had when she…" Noca stopped and sighed. He pulled his hand away from Pan and walked to the window, looking out. Pan stayed in her seat and struggled to find the right words to say.

"When I felt you… your energy, I also felt your emotions," Pan said. Noca found that odd, he didn't turn around.

"You knew how I felt?" He asked.

"I felt what you felt," Pan said.

Noca turned around, wiping his eyes and walked over to her again.

"What?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know, but I connected, and I felt it, and I cared," She explained, starting to get emotional herself. She sniffed and turned to look up at Noca. "And when I couldn't feel you, I missed you."

"It's strange because I never felt you," Noca said, looking at Pan. "And that was the first you ever felt it?"

Pan nodded. It honestly made no sense for either party. They were both completely without answers. Pan hoped that once she found the source of the energy and had a chance to learn more there would be some form of explanation but there was literally nothing. Pan scoffed and put her head in her hands.

Noca appreciated that they had made the time to have this conversation and make this connection, but it only made the next part seem a little difficult.

"Pan, I want you to know, I don't plan on staying once my training is complete," He said. She looked up from her hands and turned to face him. She stood up.

"Why? Aren't you concerned about this weird connection thing?" She asked.

"Well, a little, but I came all this way to learn about what it takes to be a Saiyan I guess, to learn about who I am and what I can do, before going back home," Noca said. Even as he said it all it didn't make sense to him. He wasn't sure what his mother had wanted for him, why she really wanted him to find Goku, and what he wanted him to do afterwards.

"Do you still have family back there?" Pan asked, believing she knew the answer to that question. Noca's brow furrowed as he thought on what he really had back in that village.

"No…" He said, questioning his path. "Why did she send me?" He asked himself. Pan saw his new inner turmoil as he realised the direction he thought he had found in his life wasn't what he expected.

"What happened to your father?" She asked.

"Left when I was a baby," Noca said, brushing past that topic with ease while still contemplating his life goals. He thought back to a conversation with Android #17. He was asked what he wanted out of his life, what his goals were, his answers were only to do with this quest he had been given by his mother. Find Son Goku, and he hadn't even done that. Noca sat down again and it was time for him to put his head in his hands.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe…" Pan started, before realising Noca was lost deep in thought and probably wasn't hearing her words. She sat down in front of him and brought his attention back to her. "Do you think that this is probably what she wanted for you? Find a new life, a place to be who you really are?" Pan didn't quite believe the day had come where she was convincing Noca that he should probably stay with them, even if he did complete his training or find Goku.

Noca was lost. He had been given direction immediately after his mother's death and since then he knew what he had to do. Or, so he thought. Now, he felt alone. He truly felt like his mother was leaving him for good. He started to cry, and Pan was caught off-guard. She moved to take his hand in hers.

"I don't know what to do anymore…" Noca said, he sobbed quietly and looked at his hand in Pan's. He moved his eyes to meet hers. He sniffed and blinked a few times composing himself, but he felt Pan's hand tighten on his.

"You have your whole life to figure that out, and you don't need to hide your feelings," Pan told him, becoming his voice of reason in this moment. Noca wiped his eyes.

"Thanks…" Noca muttered. They smiled weakly at each other for moment but realised that moment was probably too long. She released his hand and they both shuffled uncomfortably. "I um… should probably get some sleep."

Noca stood up and walked to the door but Pan stood up, another question springing to mind.

"Wait, sorry, but why did you hide that you were a Saiyan when you knew that we were?" Pan asked. Noca stopped and turned. "I just wondered. You had no reason to worry."

"I guess, I was used to being treated different for it…" Noca replied, "I was born with my tail, I only lost it last year. My mother embraced our difference but not everyone in our village accepted that." Noca pondered the memories of how he had been treated, and what he had been told of how his father left purely because his son wasn't human. "People can be horrible to those they don't understand. They treat people differently because of things they can't control."

"You don't need to worry about that here," Pan assured him.

"Thanks. But please, can we keep it between us. Only you and Kiera know," Noca requested. He smiled at Pan, hoping that she would honour that request. Pan sighed but smiled back.

"I won't tell anyone. But you should when you're ready," Pan told him. Noca nodded and opened Pan's door, about to step out. He stopped and turned to face her again.

"Good night," He said, smiling again and leaving. He closed Pan's door and headed to the solitude of his own bedroom. Pan stood there staring at the door for about a minute. She was smiling to herself for a bit, but it faded when she realised that Noca was holding so much inside and she thought of how harsh she had been.

She just hoped that they would both be able to learn from their mistakes and move on past them. It seemed like they had a chance to be friends and that would certainly make those around them feel happy and relieved.


Characters Seen/Mentioned in this Chapter:

Noca (OC)
Pan
Bra
Kiera (OC)
Bulma
Son Gohan
Videl – Mentioned
Son Goku – Mentioned
Emna (OC) – Mentioned
Android #17 – Mentioned