Yay!!! It didn't take me as long to update! Hmm... maybe this is the start of a trend...... Nah. Well, anyways... enjoy yet another A plus chapter from Sutsuki-chan!!!

Chapter 18: Peace Never Lasts

Four months had passed.

The new kingdom was in the process of being constructed. Though it was not completely finished, everyone at least had a roof over their heads. The villagers had fared quite well their first few months away from the land they had called home their entire lives.

Pan hadn't had any strange dreams at all since the rebellion. Her mind was at peace, as was her heart. She had moved in with her real family, and had had no trouble adjusting to her new home life. She loved having a father who loved her, a mother who was perfectly healthy, and best of all, a twin brother. She spent most of her days playing with Zamuri, or training with Trunks. She had even convinced her brother to join their training sessions. He was progressing at an alarming rate, and was on the verge of flying at any time. He had learned how to shoot and deflect ki, and was in the process of learning dodging and maneuvering techniques. Pan was also advancing, and had recently learned her father and grandfather's signature move, the 'Kamehameha'. Now she and Zamuri were both being taught a move Gohan had once shown Trunks; the 'Masenko-Ha'.

Trunks also trained hard, often taking on both Son children at once. He knew his father wouldn't just give up and leave them alone. He knew they would live to see another battle. But to avoid panic within the kingdom, he kept this information to himself. He had moved in with his best friend, Goten, who had finally gotten a place of his own. It just so happened to be right next door to his brother's house. Neither had jobs, but one couldn't expect much from a kingdom that was only half built. They spent their days helping to build houses, roads, and shops.

"So, when are you going to do it, Goten?" Trunks asked. The two were walking down the gravel road in the late afternoon sun to their little house. It had been a long, hard day of construction work for the both of them.

"I don't know... When I feel like it." Goten shrugged.

"Aw, come on! You should ask tonight!" He urged.

"No way!!! What if she laughs at me?"

"Trust me, she won't laugh. She really likes you, man." Trunks reassured his friend.

"Yeah, you're right... But what if I'm not ready?" Goten began to shuffle his feet.

"Look, for as long as I've known you, you've been ready. You spend everyday thinking about her. You have to ask her, man." He nudged Goten with his elbow, keeping his hands in his pockets.

The two stopped as they neared the house, admiring it.

"You know, I'm thinking of adding on to it... Right over there." Goten extended his finger toward the left side of the house, imagining another couple of rooms replacing that empty windowless wall.

"Right after it was finished?" Trunks refuted. "Don't take it the wrong way, buddy. I mean, it's a good idea, but you might want to wait until construction dies down a bit first."

"But Trunks, we need these extra rooms. What with a woman around and all..." Goten winked.

"You... you mean you're going to ask her?!?" Trunks gawked.

"Yup!"

"All right!!! Way to go, Goten!" Trunks cheered.

"Way to go why?" Gohan had stepped out onto his porch for some fresh air, when he had noticed the commotion Trunks was making.

"Goten's gonna..." Goten quickly clamped his hand over Trunks' mouth.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Onii-san!" He said mysteriously.

"Oh, okay... whatever..." Gohan shrugged. He walked back inside, not giving it another thought.

Later that night, Pan was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. It was almost midnight, and everyone else was fast asleep. She pressed a button on her wristwatch to make it light up. It was 11:59.

(Just one minute to go...) She thought. She closed her eyes. A few seconds past, and her watch made a soft, high-pitched beep. Midnight. Pan opened her eyes again. She was now fifteen.

There was a small rustle just out of her window. She rose from her bed, and threw on her robe. Looking out the window, she saw nothing. But her curiosity got the better of her once again, and she tiptoed down the hall, and out the front door.

The cool air met her face as she stepped outside into the clear night. Winter was drawing nearer by the day. Pan expected the first snowfall to be any day now. Pan searched the bushes surrounding her window, but found nothing. She shrugged, thinking it must have been a bird taking flight. She walked around the house back to her front door. But before she could get that far, she spotted a dark figure in the middle of the road, bathed in the soft moonlight. The figure seemed to be facing her direction, and had stopped moving upon sight of her.

"Who are you?" Pan called out, just loud enough for the stranger to hear. There was no reply. Instead, it moved toward her ever so slowly. "I'm warning you! Don't come any closer! I may not look like much, but I'm very strong!" Pan threatened, her voice shaking a bit. The cloaked figure reminded her of the shadows that had taken her brother in her dreams. She wasn't about to take any chances, knowing that most of those eerie dreams had come true within the past few months.

"Pan?" The stranger called softly, yet unsurely. The voice haunted Pan's mind, as if it were ever so familiar to her...

"Stop it! You back off... whoever you are!" Pan backed up against her porch railing as the stranger drew nearer and nearer.

"Pan, it's me!" Two hands emerged from the long, baggy sleeves of the cloak, and reached up to remove the hood. The face of a young teenage girl with ocean blue eyes was revealed. Her blue hair was cut short, hanging just below her ears.

"Bra...?"

"Happy birthday, Pan."

The two embraced each other tightly, tears welling up in both girls' eyes. Pan noticed Bra's hands and face were ice cold.

"But I don't understand... How did you get here and..." Pan sniffed, caressing Bra's unbelievably short hair. "... What happened?"

"Oh never mind about that now. Where's Trunks? I must speak with him immediately!"

"This way." Pan led Bra to the house next door where Trunks was sleeping peacefully. Although she was overjoyed to see Bra again, Pan was a bit disappointed that she hadn't come solely for the purpose of seeing her again. But Pan quickly put these selfish thoughts in the back of her mind when she read the urgent look on Bra's face.

Pan lightly rapped on the door. There was no answer.

"Is he not at home?" Bra asked.

"No, they're just really deep sleepers." Pan led Bra around to the back side of the house, where she could peer inside Trunks' window. She saw exactly what she had expected; Trunks was lying in a sporadic position on his bed with the sheets kicked down to his feet. He wore a wrinkled white t-shirt with dark blue sweat pants. His left arm was hanging off the bed, his mouth hanging open.

Pan didn't take any chances. She banged loudly on the window, sending Trunks up into the air yelping like a startled dog, and landed on the floor flat on his face. He slowly picked himself up, and looked in the direction of the noise. His eyes were wide open, staring alertly into the darkness. As his eyes focused, he spotted Pan's curious face pressed up against his window.

"Pan... What now...?" He muttered to himself. Trunks stumbled to his feet and opened the window. "What do you want?" He asked lazily.

"I brought an old friend. She just got into town tonight." Pan motioned to Bra.

"Oh Kami... Bra!!!" Trunks gasped. He leapt out the window and held his sister strongly. Bra then wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his white shirt, and let the tears flow. "It's all right, Bra. Everything's going to be fine now." He kissed her forehead gently.

"Trunks, what's going on?!? I heard a..." Goten came bursting into Trunks' room, and stopped when he saw the emotional scene right outside the window. Pan put a finger to her lips, signaling for him to just remain quiet.

Trunks grabbed Bra firmly on the shoulders, and pulled her away from him. "What are you doing here?!? Does Otou-san know?" Bra shook her head silently, wiping the salty tears from her eyes.

"I... I came to warn you..." Bra stuttered.

"Warn me? Warn me of what?" Trunks loosened her grip on her shoulders. His hands fell away from her slowly, not able to imagine why she looked so afraid.

"Otou-san... Otou-san is launching a surprise attack on your kingdom early tomorrow morning!"

"He... What?!?" Trunks cried.

"No way!!!" Goten exclaimed, rushing back to the window.

"Yes... Just before the first morning light, they'll attack, thinking you won't be prepared... The only way they'll call the attack off is if you surrender baby Goku. I got here as quickly as I could... but I only heard at dinner last night that Otou-san and Vegeta were going away for a couple days... and Vegeta let it slip... then Otou-san got mad, told him to shut up, and stormed off. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner, but it took me a while to find my way through that cave. Now I'm afraid I might have arrived too late for you to prepare for..."

"No, don't worry about it." Trunks cut her off. "You've done enough. Don't worry; we have more than enough time to get ready."

"But... You only have a few hours!"

Trunks gazed to the horizon. "And that's just enough."