Chapter 14: Here at Last

Friday 26th January Age 792

This was the date Pan had been looking forward to most since January 26th Age 791, although she wouldn't admit it to anyone, Pan was thrilled that it was finally her thirteenth birthday. She was finally a teenager and she was planning to have a nice, small party with her closest family and friends, at Capsule Corp. She woke up bright and early, rushing downstairs to see that her parents had prepared a fantastic birthday breakfast for their one and only child.

Pan ate that beautifully delicious breakfast with a beaming smile on her face. She was showered with love by her parents, given the gifts she had wanted, even though it had just been Christmas. She would be getting to see her favourite people later that day. And to top it all off, the school was closed for a teacher training day. Pan legitimately felt as if nothing could ruin her day.

Capsule Corp. was going through the usual frantic preparations that took place for birthday parties, although it wasn't Bulma in charge of organisation this time, it was Chi-Chi, so everyone was working that little bit harder than if it were the blue-haired scientist barking orders. Both women were proud, powerful perfectionists, and no one would be slacking while they were running the show. The Capsule Corp. chefs had grown to understand the procedure, especially whenever Chi-Chi was there.

Valese and Marron were helping Bulma with getting things laid out and set up to look like a party, Android #18 was there too, getting to the harder to reach places. Vegeta was up to his usual. No, not in the gravity room, he was hanging up the decorations in the garden dome, all the while grumbling about the wasted time away from his precious training. Krillin was there to give a hand as well. Hell, if his wife and daughter were willing to help, why shouldn't he. At least, that was Bulma's reasoning. Pan liked things small when it came to her birthday, so the only guests that had not yet arrived were Erasa and Kiera.

The only other absentees were Trunks and Goten. Chi-Chi was furious about that fact.

"WHERE ARE THOSE BOYS?!" Chi-Chi's screeches echoed through the halls of Capsule Corp. "If they don't get here quickly, they'll be in big trouble!"

"Relax, will you, Chi-Chi?" Bulma said, soothingly, trying to make sure the woman didn't explode. "They're probably just held up somewhere."

Chi-Chi turned to Bulma with an expression that said, 'I'm not stupid' and Bulma recognised that right away.

"They can fly, Bulma!" Chi-Chi snapped back, but immediately closed her eyes, took a breath, and calmed herself. "I'm sorry, Bulma, but those boys are getting on my NERVES!"

Chi-Chi stomped off back to the kitchen and could be heard yelling some more. Bulma just stood on the spot and chuckled nervously, but knew it was best to get back to setting things up for the imminent arrival of the birthday girl. But first, it was best to go and make sure that Bra was up and ready. The blue-haired scientist went upstairs to her daughter's room and immediately saw it was in a big mess. There were clothes strewn everywhere.

"What are you doing?" Bulma asked, as Bra came rushing out of the bathroom holding a few outfits and wearing half of another.

"Mom, thank God, you can help me," Bra said, rushing over. Bulma was perplexed. Bra sat her down at the end of the bed and then the teen showed off a few outfits. "Which of these is nice enough so I look amazing, because duh, I want to look amazing, but which is still amazing enough without upstaging Pan?"

Bulma shook her head and chuckled. Bra really did love her fashion and was just as indecisive about her looks as Bulma was as a youngster.

"I'm sure it won't matter," Bulma said as she glanced at the things Bra was holding. "The red one."

Bra looked down, eyed up the outfit, and threw the rest on the ground.

"Thanks, mom. You're a lifesaver," Bra said as she hurriedly dragged her mother to the door and shut her out so she could get changed.

"Tidy your room up before you come down!" Bulma said from behind the door before rushing off downstairs.

About an hour passed by, and things were still being prepared, although, it was all basically done. Except for the food of course. Vegeta had found the time to rush off to the gravity room for a quick training session. Kiera had already arrived with Erasa, so Bra was hanging out with her. Chi-Chi had dragged Valese into the kitchen because without Goten or Gohan there she didn't have the perfect person to help with the cooking. And because Goten wasn't there yet, neither was Trunks.

It wasn't long before Pan and her parents arrived, everyone greeted the birthday girl, gifts were exchanged, and the party had essentially begun. Some picking foods had been put out for everyone to snack on, music was playing, everyone was socialising. Although, Valese had been freed from the kitchen once Gohan arrived and Chi-Chi had a new cooking partner. Growing up in the household, Gohan had learned a lot from his mother.

Pan was enjoying herself, but she was little upset that Goten and Trunks were nowhere to be found, and it was tough trying to get a hold of them. Neither were answering their phones, for some reason.

Meanwhile, somewhere in East City, Goten and Trunks were rushing in and out of shops together, in a frantic fashion.

"Will you hurry up Goten, we're already late as it is," Trunks groaned as Goten dragged him into another shop. Goten seemed worried and in a state of minor panic.

"When I find the perfect gift!" Goten snapped back. Trunks was amused by the situation, but he also knew the trouble they would be in when they returned, Despite being grown men. "Can't believe I left it so late."

Goten had forgotten about Pan's birthday, although he wouldn't want to admit that to anyone other than his best friend Trunks. Even Valese had been doing her absolute best to remind him that he still needed to get something. Goten just kept putting it off, and eventually it was too late. Goten knew it would be bad to show up without a gift, not necessarily because Pan would be expecting it, but because he wouldn't feel right if he didn't do so. He and Pan had been very close when she was younger and even though they had grown apart, with Goten having other life things to deal with, they still had a certain bond.

"The girls can't keep lying to everyone all day, Goten. Frankly I'm uncomfortable getting Marron to lie at all," Trunks said, shivering at the thought of Android #18 being mad at him. Goten was definitely apologetic and knew he messed up, but there was no time to dwell. Least of all because he found the perfect gift, rushed to buy it and they were ready to head on back to the party. Even if they were already late.

They quickly shot off and started flying in a direct line headed straight for West City. Both men feared the combined wrath of their mother's, something even the combined form of Gotenks couldn't handle. They were focussed solely on their destination. Then Trunks sensed something below them. He stopped suddenly, causing Goten to crash headfirst into the lavender-haired man's ribs. Trunks fell away, gripping his side.

"Ow! Watch it," Trunks yelled to his friend. Goten rubbed his head and snarled back at Trunks.

"You're the one that stopped for no reason."

"I stopped because I felt something down there!" Trunks said, pointing down towards the ground. Goten looked down, a little perplexed, and then back to Trunks.

"Well now that you mention it, I feel something as well," Goten confirmed. They quickly agreed to check it out and dropped down so they could look around, while still hovering in the air.

"I can't tell where it's coming from, it's too small," Trunks said, realising that while they could feel something it wasn't clear, until Trunks noticed something, "And it's fading fast."

Goten looked to Trunks and started to speed up, scouting as much of the area as he could, his eyes catching something.

"Trunks, there's blood over here."

The two of them dropped to the ground next to the blood and noticed it was dripping along, a little bit, and there were some drag marks in the dirt. They looked around, practically in the middle of nowhere, to see where it could have come from.

"It looks to be heading out of that forest," Goten confirmed, before pointing in the opposite direction, "Follow on that way."

The duo continued to head west until they saw something in the distance, beyond some farmland, on the other side of a fence. There were some horses poking around what looked like a rock or a pile of rags. But it was neither of those things.

"That's a person!" Trunks said, quickly flying over and dropping beside a small teenage boy. He had tattered, bloody clothes, long, messy, and spiky dark hair, and he was in a terrible condition.

"He looks really hurt," Goten said, inspecting the boy's wounds.

"We better get him to my mom," Trunks said, as Goten leaned down and lifted the boy up over his shoulders.

"He seems to be breathing, just about," Goten stated, feeling the boy's chest moving, albeit raggedly.

"Yeah, but he doesn't look like he has long," Trunks said. They both took off and started to fly quickly towards West City. "I guess we have a reason for being late now."

Back at Capsule Corp. everyone was awaiting the arrival of Goten and Trunks. Gohan had made it clear he could finally sense their power level as it headed towards them. Everyone was eager to find out what had kept them so long, especially Pan. She was furious at the boys for missing most of her birthday party, all she really wanted was family to be there.

Nobody went out to meet up with the boys as they landed, but Goten and Trunks rushed into the compound as soon as their feet touched the ground, taking everyone by surprise with their abrupt entrance, even though people were expecting them. Bulma was about to interrogate them and then saw blood dripping down onto Goten's clothes and onto the floor, then she noticed the boy.

"What happened?" Bulma asked, rushing over as Goten walked forward.

"Mom, we really need to get this kid a Senzu bean or something," Trunks said, guiding Goten through the room so they could find somewhere to put the boy down. The two Saiyans, and Bulma, rushed through to the medical bay so they could lay the boy down on a bed, so he could be comfortable.

Gohan went along with them, with Pan and Bra eager to follow. Bra because of her curiosity, Pan because she wanted to know what was unsettling her whole birthday party. Goten put the boy down and stepped back as Bulma used the medical equipment to do a full check-up to see what was wrong with him, apart from the visible injuries. Gohan entered the room to help in any way that he could, with Pan and Bra waiting outside the room. Someone else was watching from nearby. Vegeta was standing away but glanced towards the door.

"That boy has a familiar look about him," The Saiyan prince thought to himself.

"This kid is in terrible shape, we really do need the Senzu beans," Bulma said, looking around and then noticing Bra was at the door. "Bra, go get the beans, they'll be in the GR."

Bra nodded and rushed off to get them, Bulma looked back and saw that Gohan had his hand on the boy's head.

"He has an above average power," Gohan muttered. Vegeta managed to hear that and was even more intrigued and began to focus more intently. Even Pan was interested.

"He's lost a lot of blood, and it doesn't look like he's eaten in a while," Bulma mentioned. Gohan nodded.

"It seems like he's been in this condition for a while," Gohan elaborated, motioning to the shredded clothing, long hair, and stained blood. Bulma nodded and stood back, just as Bra rushed in with a Senzu bean. Gohan took it and fed it to the boy, helping him to chew it and swallow.

Just as the bean made its way down his throat the boy's eyes started to open. He twitched a little bit as the bean kicked in, healing some of his injuries, then there was a burst within and the boy attempted to jump up, ready to defend himself, but Gohan held him down.

"Woah, calm down," Bulma said, placing her hand on the boy's arm. "It's ok, we're friendly."

The boy looked at Gohan, then to Bulma, and then saw Goten, Trunks, and Bra standing at the door. Goten gave a small wave. The boy was breathing heavily and seemed to be in an incredibly panicked state.

"Relax, we won't hurt you," Bulma said, in a soothing voice. The boy took a breath and sat back, with Gohan pulling away and putting his arms down. The boy seemed to recognise what was going on and was brought back into reality. "Bra, go get him some water."

Bra nodded and rushed off again, Pan followed with her this time.

"Wait a minute, Bra, what the hell is going on?" Pan asked, stopping her friend.

"I don't know, but we gotta help," Bra said, pulling her arm away and rushing to grab a couple of bottles of water. Pan continued with her.

"This is weird though, right? He just shows up out of nowhere, on my birthday," Pan elaborated, although Bra wasn't too sure of the point she was trying to make.

"It is weird, but I'm sure we'll find out," Bra said, trying to calm Pan down. She definitely seemed annoyed and unsettled by everything. Bra returned with the water, opened the bottle, and handed it to the boy. He accepted it.

"Thank you…" He mumbled, his anxiety in the situation silencing him, along with the dry throat probably. The boy downed almost the entire bottle of water and seemed to have calmed down. Bulma placed her hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention.

"Can you tell us your name?" Bulma asked, calmly. The boy looked up at her and saw her as a friendly, knowing he could trust her.

"I'm Noca," He said, nervously. Bulma smiled.

"Hi, Noca. My name is Bulma, this is my daughter Bra," Bulma said, motioning to Bra who was standing nearby.

"Hi," Bra said, smiling. Noca nodded and smiled weakly at her.

"Over there is my son, Trunks," Bulma pointed to the lavender haired main by the door.

"It was me and Goten that found you," Trunks said, nudging Goten, who just waved back again, a smile on his face. Gohan was standing on the opposite side of Noca, looking down inquisitively. Noca glanced at him.

"I'm Gohan. Goten's brother," Gohan said, maintaining his inquisitive look. "Would you be able to tell us what happened?"

Noca swallowed and looked around the room, as he looked at everyone his eyes fell on the raven-haired girl standing just outside of the room, glaring towards him. Her look softened when he looked at her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her and realised he was beginning to stare. He looked back at Gohan as Pan walked away, to at least have some sort of birthday party.

"The injuries are because I was training," Noca started, still anxious to reveal everything about himself to these people. "I got stuck in some bad weather."

"The blizzard?" Gohan enquired, "Judging by the injuries you had they must have been about a month old, and there was the blizzard around Christmas time."

"Yeah…" Noca muttered, "That was what caused it."

Noca was going to keep the part about Omega and Delta to himself, even though he himself was unsure of what had actually happened there.

"Why were you training in a blizzard?" Bra asked, interested in finding out what other crazy things this person has been through. Noca chuckled slightly.

"I wasn't training in the blizzard," Noca confirmed, with a smirk, "I was travelling and got kinda caught in it."

"Where were you travelling to?" Gohan asked. Before Noca could answer Chi-Chi was approaching and making herself known.

"Son Gohan, what is going on? It is your daughter's birthday!" Chi-Chi yelled, storming into the room and noticing the boy. She hadn't been caught up on what was going on and was completely unaware that this had happened. She was in the kitchen at the time. "Oh… who's this?"

Noca looked to Gohan.

"Son… Gohan?" He questioned, although he didn't mean to do so out loud. Everyone looked to the boy again. Gohan looked back to his mother.

"We'll be out there in a bit ok," Gohan said, hoping that would deter his mother's wrath. Gohan then looked to Goten and Trunks, "You guys should go see Pan as well, she's wasn't happy about you being late."

"Oh yeah, you gotta wrap her gift!" Trunks said and Goten slapped him.

"You idiot," Goten said.

"You haven't wrapped Pan's gift?" Bra asked, shocked.

"Well, he bought it today," Trunks said. Goten slapped him again.

"What's wrong with you?!" Goten yelled. Trunks slapped him back.

"Stop slapping me!" Trunks yelled back.

"Will you all get out!" Bulma shouted at them both. Goten and Trunks rushed off, with Bra following on. Bra did turn back before leaving the room though.

"Speak to you later, Noca," Bra said with a smile. Noca realised he was starting to smile at the interactions between Goten and Trunks, but then Bra just made him feel nervous again. The door closed and Bulma and Gohan were the only ones left with Noca.

"You seemed surprised by my family name?" Gohan questioned. Noca cleared his throat and looked down, nervously.

"I was travelling for a specific reason…" Noca said. He was beginning to feel like maybe these were people he could trust, especially if this Gohan was related to the person he had come to find. "My mother sent me to look for Son Goku."

Gohan and Bulma looked at each other for a second.

"And why are you looking for my father?" Gohan asked, not trying to sound threatening or anything. He didn't think the boy had any negative intentions.

"Uh… she said he could train me," Noca revealed. He decided to keep the more personal details to himself. Bulma could see something hidden behind his eyes when we thought about it.

"Well, Goku was the best martial artist in the world, anybody would want to train with him," Bulma said.

"It's a shame we don't know where he is," Gohan followed-up. Noca looked up at him, confused by it. The boy looked a little defeated.

"I was told I'd find him in West City," Noca said, looking down at his hands.

"Well, this is West City, but no, unfortunately we don't know where he is," Bulma confirmed, "He left a while ago, a long time ago now."

Noca didn't seem to have any more words. Bulma looked to Gohan and then she sat down beside the boy.

"Why don't we get you some new clothes and some food," Bulma suggested, "You wait here, and I'll go find something for you."

"Thank you," Noca muttered. Bulma left the room and Gohan walked towards the door.

"I'd love to talk to your more, Noca. Get to know more about why you wanted to train with my father," Gohan said as he opened the door, "But it's my daughter's birthday, and I should probably be there with her."

Gohan left the room and Noca was there all alone. He looked forward and saw that in the hallway was another man, with spiky black hair. He was walking away but for some reason he got a familiar feeling from that man. Noca got off of the bed and looked around the room. He was surprised by just how much advanced tech he was in the presence of. These people were certainly special, and kind. Strangely kind. Noca looked to the door to see if anyone was coming. Not yet.

He noticed his bag was sitting in the corner and he picked it up, checking inside to see if everything was still there. Nothing was out of place and Noca was relieved. He didn't know how familiar he should get with these people, they may be relatives and friends of Son Goku, but they weren't him. Noca saw that the woman Bulma was returning and had some clothes folded up in her hands. She knocked and entered.

"These are some of my son's old things," Bulma said, placing down the small pile on the bed. It seemed like there was enough for a couple of days, and almost all of it looked like it had never been worn. "I wasn't sure what you would want so I brought a selection."

"Thank you," Noca muttered timidly. Now that he had a proper chance to adjust and wake up his nerves were really setting in.

"You don't have to worry about anything right now, you're safe with us," Bulma said, assuming that due to the boy's condition he was hiding a lot about why he had been injured. Noca sighed. "You just take the time you need in here, and then you should come and join us, we can introduce you to everyone. It might help you feel more comfortable."

"Thanks, I will," Noca said, looking up and meeting Bulma's eyes, he smiled for a second and looked down at the clothes again.

"There's a bathroom just through there so you can wash up," Bulma said before leaving Noca in peace. Noca watched her go and waited for her to disappear from view before starting to go through the clothes. He settled on a red t-shirt, and a pair of black jogging bottoms. Just something comfortable and neutral. He set it to the side and went to the bathroom.

It was bigger than what he was used to. There was a large shower and he walked over to it gingerly. It seemed fairly simple to use but also very modern. He turned it on, removed his tattered clothes and stepped in. Initially the water felt so hot and foreign. It had been a while since he had been able to clean himself properly, with hot water and soap. He stepped in completely and let the water wash over him and he eased into it. He relaxed. It was an amazing feeling, almost like something completely new.

He cleaned himself up, taking the time to get in every nook and cranny to get everything as squeaky clean as it should be. It was almost like a miracle. The feeling was heavenly and afterwards he felt like a brand-new person. He re-entered the room after he had finished, dried himself and changed into the clothes he had chosen, leaving the rest behind. He grabbed his bag and walked to the door. He stopped and looked through, trying to see if he could spot anyone, but he was taken down a hallway and knew everyone was probably just around the corner, based on where they had walked to.

Noca reached for the door handle and stopped himself. It was weird. He felt out of place. He was worried that when he stepped out there, they would all be staring at him and wondering who he was and stuff like that. He was scared of being the centre of attention. He was starting to tremble a little, out of fear. He looked through again and saw the girl from before poking her head around the corner. Bulma's daughter. She smiled and waved down at him, motioning for him to come out. Noca took a breath and stepped out, feeling like he was accomplishing something big. He slowly walked up the hall as she waited.

"It's about time you emerged!" Bra said, enthusiastically as he reached her. "Noca, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Noca answered, smiling nervously. "You were Bra, right?"

Bra nodded and grabbed Noca by the arm, dragging him in the hall where the party was being held.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat!"

Bra dragged Noca all the way over to the huge buffet table that had been set-up with all the food that Chi-Chi had supervised the preparation of all day. Bra took a plate and turned to Noca.

"What do you like?" She asked but noticed that Noca was baffled by the mountains of food before him. She chuckled to herself and started to put stuff on that plate. "Chi-Chi is an amazing cook so I'm certain you'll love this food."

She finished putting stuff on the plate and turned back to Noca, presenting it to him.

"Here you go, Bon Appetit!" She exclaimed, Noca took it from her and smiled.

"Thank you," He said, a little less awkwardly. He smiled at her and was then led over to a table, where Goten was sitting, apparently, he had beckoned them over.

"Hey, kid, you're looking much better now, eat up, this stuff is great!" Goten said, as he dug into his own food. Noca looked at Goten, saw that there was a brunette woman sitting beside him, she smiled and gave a little wave. Noca nodded towards her in a friendly manner. He then saw Trunks with a blonde sitting beside him. They appeared to be a couple.

Bra dropped beside Noca and nudged him gently.

"Dig in," She said. Noca looked down at the plate, realised that he was incredibly hungry, starving even, and he did just what Bra said, he dug in. After eating a little bit, he stopped for a second.

"Oh wow… I don't think I've ever had food this good," He said, Goten chuckled beside him.

"Yeah, my Mom's the best," he exclaimed, a wide grin on his face. Noca chuckled nervously. He finished up his food and had some juice, taking a chance to sit and just relax afterwards. Everyone was talking and Noca had no idea how to insert himself into the conversation. He still wasn't familiar or necessarily comfortable with any of these people.

"So, where did you travel from?" Bra asked.

"Oh… um, the mountains…" Noca said, almost questioning it in his head. Bra giggled a little.

"Which ones?" She asked. Noca thought for a second.

"Well, in the Southern regions, I'm from a small village up in the mountain range," Noca elaborated, as best as he could. "It's called Kayu village."

"Kayu?" An inquisitive, yet gruff voice said from behind him. Noca turned and saw the same unknown spiky-haired man from before leaning against the wall. "I knew someone named Kayu once."

Noca started to feel uncomfortable again, he was getting into an area that he wasn't certain about. He didn't think it was the right time to reveal anything about himself, just yet. Noca looked at the man and for some reason he could tell. He recognised that this man was a Saiyan. He didn't know how he could tell, but it was clear to him. That's when it clicked. Of course, that meant that Gohan and Goten were also Saiyans.

"That's my dad, Vegeta," Bra confirmed. Noca turned to look at her. That meant that she and Trunks were Saiyans also.

"How do you know the name Kayu?" Vegeta asked, walking over to the table. Noca cowered a little bit, that man was incredibly intimidating.

"Uh… I… well it's the name of my village," Noca replied.

"Don't get smart with me," Vegeta snapped. Bra slapped him on the arm.

"Stop it, dad," She said, Vegeta continued to glare at Noca.

"It was named after…" Noca started, briefly stopping to think about his next words. No sense in revealing who he truly was, he didn't feel like it for some reason. "I think, it was named after some guy's father, a man that lived in our village, before I was born."

"What was his name?" Vegeta asked.

"Uh…" Noca murmured as he started to think about it, but Vegeta was impatient.

"Answer me," He snapped back.

"Give me a second, it was before I was born," Noca said, snapping back in his own way, and finding a little bit of his fighting spirit. He immediately lost it though. "I think his name was Cilu."

Vegeta's whole demeanour seemed to change and he stepped back, thinking on that name. Noca looked around the table, almost worried that everyone else might have reacted the same way to hearing his grandfather's name. Fortunately, they were all just as confused him. Noca looked back at Vegeta and noticed that there wasn't a glare anymore, it was a more inquisitive look this time.

"Is that name important?" Noca asked.

"He was a Saiyan," Vegeta said, clearly hiding more information. Noca wanted to see what else Vegeta knew, but he didn't seem willing to give up that information.

"Another one, here on Earth?" Trunks questioned, "How can that be?"

"He must have got away," Vegeta said, looking down at Noca again. The teen was starting to feel very uncomfortable with Vegeta's eyes piercing into his soul. Noca turned around and started picking at his food as Vegeta walked away, disappearing into his gravity room. Bra tried to ease the tension.

"Um… well, Noca we should probably explain what a Saiyan is, right?" Bra said, looking up to her brother and Goten. They both seemed to react nervously. Noca looked around and saw that while they were trying to piece something together in their minds, he had a chance to say something.

"I kinda already know," Noca mentioned, earning more stares, from everyone at the table this time. Noca closed in a little. "I mean, I grew up in a village that was named after a Saiyan, some people had stories about him. Nothing special, just that he was another planet."

The Saiyans at the table looked at each other and they didn't see anything wrong with that response, nothing to pick at. Noca felt relieved. Everyone continued to eat their food and enjoy the party, chatting, drinking, playing music and occasionally dancing. When he had finished eating, Noca was dragged away by Bra yet again, this time he was taken over to sit with Pan and Kiera.

"Ok, so, girls, this is Noca," Bra said, as she sat him down opposite the two girls. Noca looked at them both awkwardly and smiled. "Noca, this is Pan and Kiera."

Noca looked to the raven-haired girl who was staring daggers at him.

"You're Pan?" He said in a questioning tone, and then he looked to the blonde, she gave a gentle wave, "And you're Kiera?"

Pan gave a murmured 'mm-hm' in response while Kiera was a bit nicer.

"Yeah, hi, nice to meet you," Kiera said, shaking Noca's hand. Noca was amused by the formality and just proceeded to sit there uncomfortably.

"It's actually Pan's thirteenth birthday today!" Bra half-exclaimed.

"Oh, really? Well, happy birthday," Noca said, smiling at her in a friendly way, but he could tell she wasn't overly fond of him at that time. Noca looked down nervously. "I'm sorry to… intrude."

"Oh, no, you're not intruding," Bra said, defensively. "We're all surprised about this of course, but there's nothing wrong with it."

"It's fine, you don't have to say anything," Noca said, slowly standing up. "I shouldn't hang around anyway."

"What do you mean?" Bra asked. Pan started to draw within herself a little bit, feeling a little guilty for the vibe she had given off, even though she was annoyed about the attention briefly being taken away from her on her birthday by some random stranger.

"Well, the reason I travelled this way has obviously been unsuccessful, so I should keep going or… return home," Noca said, trailing off and looking away. "I shouldn't hang around where I don't belong."

"What? But you said you were from the southern mountain range. You're going to travel back there?" Bra said, standing up and managing to draw the attention of everyone again. Pan reacted to this but not in a way that was noticeable. Noca froze on the spot for a second and then found his courage.

"Like I said earlier, I came looking for Son Goku," Noca started. Pan perked up again. Noca looked to Gohan and then to Bra. "I need to find him for a reason, I was told to find him. So, that's what I'll do."

"Why?" A voice piped up. Noca turned to see it was Gohan, stepping forward. "You haven't been clear on why you're looking for my father. We can help you if there's a problem."

Noca looked around again, realising the scene he was creating. There was no way to really back out of it easily and quietly.

"My mother said I needed to train with him, so I can return to my home as a stronger person," Noca confirmed, continuing to leave out certain details. He and Gohan looked at each other for a second and Gohan seemed to be considering something. Noca wasn't sure what was going on, but he was growing increasingly anxious.

"There's no need to rush off immediately, you need to rest," Gohan suggested. Noca looked around again and spotted someone on the other side of the room and he was certain he saw someone he knew. It was a blonde woman, with an almost dead, intimidating stare. Noca looked at her a little too long and then looked back to Gohan.

"Ok…" Noca muttered stepping back and sitting down at the table again. Pan was still staring at him, but Noca just looked down at the table. Bra returned to her seat and was clearly trying to find something to talk about.

"So, uh… how old are you?" Bra asked. Noca didn't react immediately. He continued to stare down at the table and then he breathed in and let out a heavy sigh. He turned to Bra and smiled weakly.

"I'm thirteen as well," Noca said, keeping in mind that it was Pan's birthday he glanced back at her and looked down again. Unknown to the boy, the blonde woman from before was walking over. She tapped Noca on the shoulder. Noca turned and got a much closer look at the blonde haired, blue-eyed woman. He flinched a little, not expecting her.

"Why were you staring at me a second ago?" Android #18 asked. She seemed a little agitated by it.

"I'm sorry…" Noca replied, "You just reminded me of someone…"

"#18, don't worry, I'm sure he meant nothing by it," Bra said, trying to defend him and keep the situation to remain calm. Noca heard the number and it took him a second before it clearly registered in his mind.

"Android #18? You're #17's brother?" Noca questioned. She seemed surprised.

"You know my brother?" She asked.

"Uh… yeah, he actually helped me when I first left my village, he helped save my best friend and her family," Noca elaborated. #18 seemed to smirk and stepped away.

"So, he's still doing some good out there," #18 said, walking back to Krillin. Noca sat back down, watching her go and then looked back to Bra.

"I think I need to sleep," Noca mentioned, leaning back in the chair.

"Oh, I can show you to one of the spare bedrooms, you should definitely stay here the night," Bra suggested, standing up and then looking for her mother. "Hey, mom, Noca can stay here the night, right?"

Bulma looked over, surprised by her daughter suddenly calling out for her.

"Oh, yeah, he can stay as long as he needs to," Bulma replied, before going back to her conversation with Videl. Bra took him by the arm again and led him away.

"Come on," She said, leading him out of the room. Noca was glad that she was finally taking him away from that situation. He had been feeling so uncomfortable. Before she did drag him away, he did get a chance for one more thing.

"Bye, Kiera. Happy birthday again, Pan," He said before being dragged out of the room. Pan didn't say anything back, but Kiera did say bye. Once he was gone Pan sighed and sat forward.

"What is he doing?" Pan asked. Kiera's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Showing up here out of the blue and causing a scene, taking the attention away," Pan said, she did seem to be acting a bit childish, but she was still only a teenager.

"I don't think he meant it," Kiera said, shrugging her shoulders, but trying not to make Pan mad.

"No, it isn't intentional, but come on, the whole time my father was there observing him, Bra was dragging him around the whole time. She's meant to be my best friend," Pan said, crossing her arms and leaning back in the chair again.

"She is your best friend, she was just being nice, that's Bra," Kiera said, smiling, hoping it would make Pan feel better. "It's still your birthday and Bra will be back to spend time with us."

Pan huffed, but she had to admit that Kiera was making sense. Pan didn't need to be so harsh on the stranger. He hadn't done anything harmful, she just wished it hadn't been on her day.

Bra and Noca finally arrived at the guest room that she had chosen for the boy.

"Here you are," She said, opening the door and letting Noca step in. "You have your own king-size bed and en-suite bathroom, everything you need can be sent up through that chute as well."

Noca looked around and was pretty shocked by it.

"This is too much, this is biggest bedroom I've ever been in," Noca stated, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, really? This is like half the size of my room," Bra stated, looking around and then back to Noca to see his eyes were wider. "What?"

"What do you do with all that space?" Noca asked. Bra laughed.

"I make it work, I guess," She joked, "This is what we get for being the Capsule Corp. family."

Noca titled his head to the side slightly.

"Capsule Corp.?" Noca questioned.

"Yeah, the family company, you know Capsule Corp., right?" She asked.

"I do, but… didn't know that was your family," Noca said, laughing again. "Wow."

"Well, I think you've had enough information thrown your way today. I'll let you rest up now," She said, backing out of the room. "Good night, Noca."

"Good night," Noca said, smiling as she closed the door. It closed and his smiled dropped away. He finally had the peace and quiet, and isolation he had wanted. It wasn't that he didn't like any of them, but he had a lot to process, and figure out. He set his bag down and jumped on the bed. It was an incredible comfort and he didn't realise how much he had missed it. He had truly embraced the outside lifestyle while he was there, but now he could fall asleep on the cloud and rest his body properly. He stretched out and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

He finally reached the city and, unfortunately, Son Goku wasn't there. He was still far from his goal of training and becoming strong enough to return to his village and… well, he wasn't really sure what the end goal was. It wasn't something he had taken too much time to think about, oddly enough. He just wanted to get to Goku and do what his mother had told him to. Those thoughts would certainly play on Noca's mind soon enough. But that would come later. Right now, Noca can sleep.


Characters Seen/Mentioned in this Chapter:

Pan
Son Gohan
Videl
Bulma
Chi-Chi
Valese
Marron
Android #18
Vegeta
Krillin
Erasa
Kiera (OC)
Trunks
Son Goten
Noca (OC)
Omega (OC) – Mentioned
Delta (OC) – Mentioned
Son Goku – Mentioned
Kayu (OC) – Mentioned
Cilu (OC) – Mentioned
Emna (OC) – Mentioned
Holline (OC) – Mentioned
Android #17 – Mentioned