Chapter 11
"PAPA!" covered in dust and tears, Pan caught her father off guard and dog piled him in the street. He had been passing out flyers of his missing daughter when Pan had jumped on him and pushed him to the ground.
"Pan? PAN!" the fully grown man was not afraid to cry from the joy of hiving his daughter back in his arms. Pan and her father simply cried together and didn't care that people were staring. They were in the middle of the street after all. "Pan I missed you so much. Your mother and I have been looking for you none stop. Even Vegeta helped. You know, he has been flying all around the planet for you? Your mother. Oh your mother will be just as happy as me when she finds out that you are safe."
"Papa. I am so sorry."
"Say no more about it. I and your mother decided that when we found you, we wouldn't ask where you went or why. We would just be happy to have you back. Oh Pan my daughter. I promise I will not be at work as much, I will spend more time with you."
"That's ok papa, you don't have to. I'm fine really. I just really want to go home."
"Then let's go home, together." Gohan pulled them both off the ground and held her hand tightly. He didn't take his eyes off her all the way home. They walked, still tearing slightly but smiling all the way. He had her back and that was all that mattered.
When they finally got home, Bulma, Trunks, Chi Chi, Goten, Bulla and Vegeta were sat or stood in the lounge. "Guess who jumped me in the street on my rounds?" everyone was shocked beyond belief. Even Trunks, who knew about what had happened between Vegeta and Pan the last time they met.
"PAN MY BABY!" Videl launched at her and almost crushed her with the biggest hug the human woman could muster.
"I'm home mama. I'm home and I am never leaving again."
"I missed you so much…" Gohan joined in to make it a family hug, then Chi Chi and Goten joined in, then Bulma, Bulla and Trunks added to make it a large group hug. Pan never knew she would have been missed this much. Vegeta simply stood against the wall. This was not what he was expecting. Sure, he knew somehow she would return, but after the way she had beaten him, thrown him aside and vanished before he returned, he didn't think she would come back this soon. But he was glad all the same.
"Pan. I am glad that you had the sense to return."
"VEGETA! Back off now!" Pan pulled free from the restricting hug and dropped into a fighting stance. "Don't you come anywhere near me you understand!"
"What? What are you talking about? Why are you acting this way?" Vegeta took a step towards her and Pan jolted up the stairs.
"PAPA, KEEP HIM AWAY FROM ME!"
"Vegeta?" Bulma asked her husband quizzically. Everyone looked to him for an explanation but couldn't get one. Because he didn't have one to give.
"I don't know. She has never acted towards me like this before…"
"Well, I think in the state she is in, that maybe you should leave for a while. You can come back Vegeta, but not yet. Maybe she just isn't up to facing all of us yet."
"But!"
"No buts Vegeta, we are going home. The poor girl looked exhausted. She needs some rest." Bulma pulled on his arm until the entire briefs family was out the house. She ushered her children to take a head start and held Vegeta back. "I know you love her like a daughter. I know you wish we could adopt her, I know that. But you are not her father and her mother and true father are the ones she needs right now. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't leave the house for a few months. So don't go round there to ask to train ok?"
"I will do what ever I see fit! I am the Saiyan Prince. I do not do as others tell me if I see it fit to do otherwise. If I wish to see Pan, I will see Pan!" Bulma raised an eyebrow and Vegeta humpfed away from her. "But I do not wish to see her for the next week or so…so she can rest…to train."
"That's my Vegeta. Come on honey, let's go home." He lifted her off the ground and soon caught up with his two children. "Soon honey. Soon."
"She looked…afraid of me. what did I do?..."
"Honey, Pan hasn't left her room in days. I'm starting to worry…"
"We have her back now. That's all that matters." Gohan had taken time off work for a week. And for the last three days, since Pan came back, she hadn't left her room. She just cried all the time. Her sobs could be heard through the door at night and drove her parents to despair.
"But I don't want her to be upset anymore."
"I'm not upset." Pan walked down the stairs in a pair of pink tracksuit trousers and a white tank top.
"Pan." Gohan smiled and put his paper down. "Do you want breakfast?"
"Sure. I could go for some food right now."
"I will be right back with a whole plate of pancakes. And ice cream, do you want some ice cream honey?"
"Erm, sure."
"Chocolate or strawberry?"
"I don't mind Momma." Pan sat next to her father. Her eyes were heavy and bags were present on her tears stained face.
"Both it is." Videl rooted around the cupboard and prepared the best breakfast in the world. Even Goku would come running, and Vegeta would pass up training for Videl's Pancakes and Ice cream dishes.
"So hun, what do you want to do today?"
"I don't know." Pan got up and poured herself a cool glass of fresh orange juice. She took a sip and returned to her seat. "I really don't know…"
"Your father isn't going to work. You could go to the park with him, like you used to." Videl chirped and whisked the batter with one hand, and broke the seal off the Ice cream box with the other.
"Sure, we could do that." Pan sipped her juice and looked to her father. "Is that alright with you?"
"Yeah sure. I'm looking forward to it."
"Are you really? Or are you just saying that to make me happy?" Gohan frowned and looked to the side. "Thought so. Listen Momma thanks for the breakfast, but I will eat it upstairs. If you don't mind. And I think I will give the park a miss…"
"Don't you even think about it."
"Trunks!" Trunks leaned against the open door frame and looked into the quaint kitchen scene.
"The one and only. Besides, I really wanted to beat you at Frisbee again."
"You never win. You just like to think you do. Ass." She chuckled and forgot that she wasn't in the army anymore. "Oh sorry."
"No problem. Go on, have fun."
"After she has her breakfast." Videl insisted and placed the jumbo sized bowl before Pan.
1
2
3
And it was all gone.
"Bye Momma, Papa." Pan kissed them both on the cheek and loved that the sparkle in their eyes had returned. She hated that she was the reason they had faded, from worry. But she was back now and that was all that mattered. "Be back soon."
"I will make sure of it." Trunks hooked arms with her and led her out the house. They smiled and chuckled all the way…until they were in his car. He clamped the locks and put up an Anti Ki field around it. "Now you can spill it. and I mean all of it. 1, where the fuck were you all this time."
"Trunks."
"2, why the hell did you leave.
"Oh Trunks just."
"3, why the HFIL didn't you come talk to me about it. we are supposed to be tight."
"But."
"And 4, why did you act like my Dad was gonna kill you when you first saw him? He looked for you more than we did. Simply because he refused to sleep or even eat. he took a bag of golden peaches that fill you for 6 months and a bag of senzu beans. Because he thought you might be hurt."
"Alright you! Just you listen!" Pan clenched her fists and banged one on the side. "1, I went somewhere I wish I never went in the first place and came home of my own accord. So I wanted to come home! 2, I left because I thought it would be an adventure, something to do with my life, something that would make me accomplish something for once in my life, off my own steam. I wanted to go out and see the world, and live it." She kneeled up on the seat and was livid! "3, I didn't come to talk to you about it because I wanted to do something for myself. You would have stopped me going and at the time, that wasn't what I wanted. I should have talked to you, but I didn't. because I would have just gotten this!" she pointed to the ground making a stand. "And 4, how could I not be just a little bit afraid of someone who tried to KILL ME?"
"Kill you? Dad didn't try to kill you. He tried to make you come home."
"Then he sucker punched me and knocked me out. He then kicked the stuffing out of me and only Doc and his men saved me from dying! I could have died!"
"Bullshit!" Trunks bore his teeth and roared. "Dad wouldn't try to kill anyone!"
"He's done it before."
"…he isn't like that anymore. And you should know that more than anyone Pan. He is like a father to you! More than he is to even me or Bulla."
"Well you can have him. I just hope he doesn't try to kill you two." Pan huffed in her seat and looked out the window.
"Look, I don't know where you got that bullcrap from, but after you wouldn't come home, you powered up to full strength and threw Vegeta to the other side of the world. By the time he got back to you, you weren't there."
"Lies. I bet he told you that. They are all lies. Doc said."
"Who is Doc? Who is this Doc you keep going on about?"
"…I can't say." Pan turned her back to him and dug her nails into the window. Her fury was building and she wanted to cry, again.
what is that? is it pain? My mate is in pain!
"Dr Gero, Project Perfection is acting rather strangely. The creature started to have a fit three days ago and now it is getting worse…we may lose it."
"We will not lose it you fool. He is just having an adverse reaction to…wait. Three days ago? This all started three days ago?"
"Yes."
"Three days?"
"Yes."
"Drat!" Dr Gero stormed around the lab once, and then looked to the laky. "Leave! Now!"
"Yes sire!" once he was alone he marched up to the tank and stared into it. He was faced with a tall creature with long limbs, clawed fingers, closed eyes and a motionless body. Yes, Project Perfection had evolved in three days into Stage 2, Imperfect Cell. He was ready and waiting to wake up. But they sedated him until they were ready to wake him. They needed to program him with orders first. Or he would just do as he pleased, and they couldn't have that. "Now you listen to me and you listen good. I am your creator and you will do as I say. I made you from your very atoms, your cells! I am your master and you will not ruin my plans to perfect my father's work! Not over that floozy!" Project Perfection jerked instantly and his hands twitched. "Yes I know you can hear me. I know you feel attached to the slut too!" He jerked again and a frown creased over his face. "Yes, you can bare your teeth all you want. Because when I find that little turn coat, that little yellow bellied bitch, I am going to take grate pleasure in sending her up against my firing squad and shout with pride…fire?" Gero stared into large, yellow eyes with demonic black slits in them. Cracks appeared in the glass and coloured stated started to seep from the container's wounds. Gero had purposely riled him up to get him to react, and put him in his place. But he couldn't have predicted this! "No…No!" Gero turned to run, but fell to the floor after a splintering, shockingly loud echo of glass shards hitting the floor, sent him to join them. The creature's tail had shot out from the tank and impaled him in the back. Slowly, Gero felt his insides being sucked out from the inside, absorbed through the singer of the tail and fuelling his own creation. "…Who are you?"
"Who am I?" He withered away into nothing, leaving only clothes in his place. "I am perfection. Major…I…am Major."
The newly self Christened creation of evil, blasted the complex into a thousand pieces and vanished into the woods. First he would make a pit stop on the nearest town, absorb the people for an energy boost, and run to the one who needed him. Needed him to be near her and hold her. The one who cried out for him with her soul and needed him to complete her, to make her whole. "To make her perfect. I am coming Pan" he closed his eyes as he became one with the forest foliage. His wicked lips curled into an evil smirk. He could sense her. "Pan…I can see you…."