A Daughter's Difference Chapter 16: Standing Your Ground, a dragon ball z fanfic

Chapter 16: Standing Your Ground

Wow it's almost been a whole year since the last time that I updated this story. To be honest with you, I don't have a great excuse other than that around the time of the last update I got a job and my limited time-off became almost non-existent. It was one of my greatest sorrow as I often opened the word document and tried my very best to keep writing, only to have to stop a few minutes later because I was late for school or work. Yet I still tried to write but writer's block was a b*tch. It's hard to write a few sentences every few days and keep a rhythm, as I'm sure you'll notice throughout the chapter. Still, one afternoon I got a day off and finished this chapter. It's not my best but I do hope you enjoy it. With school coming to a close, I hope to use those day's off as wisely as possible and I thank any and all you that still held out that I would return or contacted me.

"Gohan!" Bulma was the first to address the Saiyan when he reentered the kitchen; followed by Pan who jumped from her chair and ran into Gohan's arms.

Placing her coffee cup back on the table, Bulma walked over the demi-Saiyan. "Are you okay? He didn't try to pressure into anything right? Cause if he did, I swear to Kami…"

Gohan lowly chuckled at Bulma's fretting. "It's okay Bulma. He was just here to speak to about what has happened in the last few months. And put some things in perspective. He didn't pressure me into anything I didn't want myself."

The Capsule Corp. heiress frowned but did not continue her threat. "Still, he could have waited until you were better, not just barge in here like this was his home."

Gohan nodded as he continued to stroke through Pan's hair. "Piccolo is just worried, like you Bulma."

"Well… now that breakfast is over, I think it might be best if you go rest Gohan," suggest Bulma, steering the conversations away from the giant green man. "You only barely recovered this morning, and a good rest might be what you need to get back to one hundred percent."

The young savior shook his head in disagreement. "The only thing I've been doing is resting. I think it's time to get up and move around, and I'm sure Pan wouldn't mind a day outdoors, right Panny," Gohan gleefully asked, while Pan's eyes shined at the prospect of spending more time with her awaken father. Her head bobbed in rapid succession, agreeing with his plan.

Without waiting for confirmation from Bulma, Gohan placed Pan down before dash through the door and took off into the air. Pan, hot on his heels, flew after her father shouting about her father cheating by taking off without even so much as a 'ready, set, go.'

Bulma rushed outside while calling Gohan back, but only the joyful laughs of Gohan could be heard as he disappeared into the cloud followed by the small bullet Pan. "I swear that boy," Bulma muttered once she could no longer see either of them.

"Let him go." Bulma heard someone say behind her. She turned to see her son from the future leaning on the door frame while looking up in the same direction that Gohan and Pan left.

Trunks brought the cup of milk to his lips. To him there was no better beverage in the morning than a full cup of milk, and he was greatly enjoying this beverage to the fullest extent. "I know what you are thinking; how can I be so nonchalant about Gohan taking off after be barely recovered?"

From the look on his mother's face, he knew he hit the nail on the head. "Remember mom, we are Saiyans and we don't do well confined to a bed. If he feels this is the best way to recover, then let him."

"But—" Bulma began but was quickly brought down by Trunks.

"But nothing mom. This is his body, his nature, calling to him, and telling him to spread his arms and soar. As Saiyans, we are more resilient and recuperate faster while being active than we do under the care of the greatest scientific minds. I know you are scared after seeing the way Gohan appeared just a few weeks ago, but take it from one Saiyan; you have nothing to worry about anymore as I sense that dark cloud has dissipated." Trunks sipped the last bit of milk.

"I will always worry," Bulma murmured. She took one last glance to the sky before dejectedly returning indoors.

Trunks patted his mother as she passed him into the kitchen.

"In other related news, the hunt for the blue skinned intruders of the Intergalactic Tournament has reached a snag as no new evidence has been brought forward. Mr. Satan has extensively stated that he will leave no rock unturned… as the manhunt continues. Officials have asked if anyone with any information to call the number on screen."

Bulma rested her head on the couch's back cushion. After a long day of work, all she wanted to do was unwind and sit back. 'Take one day off and all the work piles up,' she thought tiredly as she remembered the stacks of reports on her desk when she entered her office in the morning. For her, the nightly news was only background noise to fill the void of the lonely room.

"One family in North City is happy to be alive after their car plowed through the barrier of the icy mountain road and began to plummet down below. Thankfully no passengers were hurt; however there is a certain mystery surrounding their survival, as the father told our own Rika."

The image on screen turned to a clearly shaken man as he stumbled on his words through the interview. "There is no other better way to explain it then what I saw. It-It seemed like an angel, a golden angel, descending from the heavens and just plucked us from the air and brought us down safely.

There was an inaudible question in the background by one of the other reporters, but his response was registered on the microphone in front of him. "I don't what happened. One moment I had control of the car, and the next moment we were in a downwards spiral to the ground."

From the interview, the image on screen changed back to the news anchorwoman who gave her last thoughts on the story, "Local authorities are puzzled by this strange turn of events, yet are happy that no one was hurt. Supernatural or not, the family is happy to be alive."

A spooked Bulma jumped when she heard the front door open and close. As far as she knew everyone was already home, so quietly she watched the door leading to the corridor from her seat. She leaned towards one arm of the couch to see who would pass by. A second later her inquiry was answered when she saw Gohan pass by. Immediately she called out to him, "Gohan!"

The young Saiyan did not stop however, so she got up and ran to the corridor calling out his name repeatedly. The next shout died in her throat when she saw Gohan signaling for her to remain quiet with one finger over his lips. It was at that moment that she noticed the small bundle curled up in his arms.

He walked over to Bulma and as quietly as he could he said, "Let me go put her in my bed, and I'll be right out." Pan looked exhausted but still she held a serene expression as she snuggled closer into Gohan's shoulder.

The Capsule Corp heiress nodded and watched as father and daughter disappeared around the corner. Bulma made her way to the kitchen, knowing full well that Gohan would be able to track her anywhere she went, so she didn't bother trying to inform him.

She was by no means excellent in the kitchen, but at the very least she could warm up water for her coffee, so that is exactly what she did. In fact, she made two knowing that Gohan certainly appreciate it.

It didn't take long before the half-Saiyan walked through kitchen door and plopped across from her at the table. "Thank you," Gohan uttered while carefully blowing on the liquid to cool it down. "How was your day?" he asked after his first sip.

"Backed up work," Bulma plainly responded. "You can only imagine how much fun I was having. Though I think I may have developed a new muscle on my finger from all those signatures."

The half-Saiyan chuckled, "Oh I'm sure it was a blast."

"How about you, what did you do? By the looks of it you and Pan were sparing." Bulma added another cube of sugar as she felt her drink was too bitter at the moment.

Gohan looked down at his torn and dirty Gi, a small smile surfaced as he looked back up. "A little of everything; we flew around until she asked me to pick her up and show her my top speed. Afterwards, we did also go to the mountainous areas of North City and visit Tien for a bit. Along with Tien's help, we made progress to help Pan better handle her combat flying, and as you can tell we also sparred for a bit. She is getting much better with each spar."

After hearing all the exertion Gohan must have put on his body, she looked down at her mug and said, "I know Trunks told me not to worry, and that as Saiyans your biology is different, but for my sake, take care of yourself."

"I will," promised Gohan. He knew Bulma's heart was in the right place, but he just couldn't handle being cooped up in that room for another day.

"Bulma…," he began changing the topic, but not finding the strength to continue at first. After a few deep breathes he pushed out what was on his mind. "I'm going to see my mother tomorrow."

The Capsule Corp heiress eyes widen as she slowly lowering her cup back down. With a deep sigh she said, "You know that I can't stop you Gohan, but don't you feel like you're rushing things?"

"No," he quietly responded. "I can put off this confrontation for a long time if I wish, but doesn't change that is will still fester in the recess of my mind. I must… no, I need to talk to my mother about what has happened in the last few months. It's the only way I will be at peace." Gohan's thought went back to what Piccolo had told him earlier that day, so he was even more motivated to do what he could to reach internal tranquility, and that was only available once he got through his mother.

"If you already made your decision, then why tell me?" she asked.

"I'm just trying to give you a heads-up, and possibly if you can look after Pan tomorrow. I just don't want her to see my mother right now, especially if she starts screaming." Gohan could still replay the hurtful words that Chichi had said to him the last time they spoke. It was an image and a memory that he didn't want his daughter to have as well.

Bulma nodded, "Don't worry kid; she will be safe with me."

Gohan gulped the rest of his coffee before taking his and Bulma's empty cups to the sink. "Have a good night and thanks for the coffee," Gohan added before vacating the room.

Once Bulma saw that the young man had left, she slouched back into her chair while running a hand through her face. Her final thought on that chair was how tomorrow was going to be a long day for the young half-Saiyan.

West City was bustling with noises from the early morning commuters. The whole city came alive as the sun began to rise, and the citizens made their morning rush to their destinations. One such person was a middle aged man that parked his vehicle and quickly rushed out of it, all the while frantically checking to see if he got everything he needed.

He checked his watch once again and jumped when he saw the time on screen. Muttering about how much he despised the morning traffic and all those reckless drivers that always cut him off. Moving as fast as his legs would take him, he rushed to make it to the office, yet in his heart he knew he was going to be late, so he began to prepare what he would tell his superior, who surely wouldn't appreciate his tardiness.

It was in that moment that he heard a child's booming voice cry out, "I want to go!" The middle age salaryman stopped in his track; looking for the origin of the voice, but in the end he could not pinpoint its exact location. However, he did realize that he was relatively close to the living quarters of the Capsule Corp family. It was common knowledge that many strange and loud sounds always came from that complex, so most eventually ignored them over time. With that thought in mind he realized that he was running even more behind, and after a quick glance of his watch, the older man began to run.

Bulma and Gohan, fruitlessly, continued their attempts to convince the young Pan that she was going to stay at Capsule Corp. Trunks sat in silence as he took great pleasure in seeing his mother and Gohan struggle to make the stubborn Pan see reason. He tried his best to keep a straight face, but it was a difficult task while seeing Pan continue to rebel. It was a trait he knew too well that both her mother and Chichi carried, so it didn't surprise him how tenacious Pan can be, especially if things aren't going her way.

"But daddy," she whined from her seat. She stood on her chair in order to have a better position to grab on to Gohan's shoulder, occasionally shaking him when she felt he was ignoring her. "I wanna go as well! I wanna see Grandma!"

Gohan, exasperated by the repeating cycle, stated tiredly the same thing he had been saying since Bulma slipped in revealing where Gohan was going today, "Honey, we've been over this over a hundred times. I need you to stay here with Aunt Bulma. I need to go home today, but I promise I will take you to Grandma's next time. Just for today."

A clearly disgruntle Pan turned from her dad and sat back down while crossing her arms in front of her. Her nostrils flared as she glared at her half-eaten breakfast.

"Come on Pan, we are going to have so much fun today, you and me," Bulma asserted. The Capsule Corp. heiress felt bad that she had spilled the bean, but she thought Pan was aware that Gohan was going home for the day when she asked when he would be back. "Don't tell me you don't want to spend some quality time with your favorite aunt?" she quipped with a wink.

"I wanna go with Daddy," she snapped with the same vigor as before.

"Why not just let her go with Gohan," Trunks casually suggested. Though he did recoil from the double glare he received from his mother as well as Gohan. 'See this is where Pan should take notes if she wants to improve her glare,' he thought.

"Because Trunks…I need to go speak with my mother in private." The edge in Gohan's eyes never waning.

The time traveler put his hand up in show of yielding yet still adding his piece. "Look man, I get it, but you are wasting a lot of time here. Time you could be using to get this over with." Trunks knew pretty well that Gohan was expecting a confrontation with Chichi and didn't want Pan to get caught in the crossfire, but he also knew that Pan was stubborn enough to keep them indoors all day, so he opted with an idea that might please both parties.

Trunks continued, "All I'm saying is that you should let Pan go with you if you want to go while the sun is still up. And as an added bonus, I'll be going as well." Both Saiyans continued to stare at one another. Trunks hoped that Gohan understood the unspoken message he was trying to convey by saying that he would tag along. He would go as a safety precaution to take Pan away if the need came.

Gohan stared between Trunks and the puppy eyes Pan was giving him; eventually Gohan slouched back into his chair and loudly let out the air in his lungs. "Fine Trunks you win, but you know what you have to do if things go south."

Pan didn't fully comprehend what her father meant by that last part, but at the moment she didn't really read much into it since it appeared she was going to go with her father after all. Still, she wanted to make sure she heard her father right and asked, "So I can go?"

"Yes," Gohan plainly answered. He really didn't want Pan to go on the off chance his mother began screaming, but he did see Trunks' point that at this rhythm they would spend all day convincing Pan.

Pan immediately demonstrated her gleefulness and jumped from her seat to hug her father, and thank Trunks for coming to her aid. It was a feeling she was not too used to, since she is more used to bickering with her older brother, yet she was thankful he did come to her rescue.

"Pan why don't you go get ready. We'll be leaving in a little bit," suggested Gohan. The young girl jumped from her chair and ran out of the room, not wanting her father to change his mind.

The moment Pan was no longer within earshot, Bulma and Gohan turned to Trunks expectantly. The time traveler only gulped as a chill ran down his back.

"I hope that you're right about this Trunks, and that you'll hold up your side of the bargain," Gohan almost barked.

"I'm surprised you gave in Gohan," Bulma added, yet her eyes never leaving her son.

Gohan rolled his eyes as he responded, "It's not like they gave me much options. Trunks is right, we've already spent at least a hour, and Pan was not showing any signs of giving in."

"Listen both of you," Trunks interrupted, "Everything is going to be fine. We'll go, and once Pan has seen Chichi, I'll take her for a small walk. Then Gohan, you can have your private conversation. Trust me; you'll see that this will work out." He smiled while internally he added, 'I hope.'

"For your sake, I hope you're right," Bulma chipped in at the end.

From the ground, if someone were to look up at that moment, they would have seen three dots zooming at an alarming pace across the peaceful clouds. At the head of this arrow formation flew a closed-eyed Gohan. His purple Gi fluttered in the air, yet he paid no mind as he focused on the task at hand.

The crossed-arms Gohan continued to fidget, as a small-scale parallel to the immense internal struggle he was feeling. He had said that he was ready, but every fiber in his body yearned for him to turn back. It had been a whole month since his blowout, and now he was going to face the music. Yes it was on his terms, and yes he knew that this had to happen if he is to move forward with his life, but no training could prepare him for what he was about to do.

He was about to do something even his father could not; reason with Chichi. Gohan continued to mentally organize his thought, and all that he had planned to tell his mother. It wasn't long before he felt a tap on his shoulder that brought him out of his reverie. His onyx eyes opened widely, and instantly he closed them as the outside was too bright at the moment. Finally they began to ajar slowly to see Trunk pointing slightly behind them. The young Saiyan came to a halt and noticed that in his trance he had overshot his home. With another sigh, one that he knew would not be his last of the day; he made his trek back home.

Pan waited for her father and Trunks to come back. She tilted her head as she floated, wondering how her father could have missed their home, when there was nothing but wildlife for miles. There was even a trail of smoke as a beacon straight to the only house for hundreds of miles in any direction. Like West City, the daughter of Gohan continued to struggle to wrap her mind around the many difference between the scenery in front of her and the one she was used to back in her time. Everyone back home had explained to her on many occasions about the differences she would most likely encounter, but she still tussled with the idea of how different this was from home.

Gohan and Trunks returned to the waiting Pan, and all three descended in silence.

The young savior, the victor of the Cell games, stood in front of his home, and as he slowly reached to knock on the door, he stopped. His fist shook in mid-air, as Gohan continued to will himself to reach out and let the bend of his fingers hit against the mahogany door, but they would not move forward. Another fist came from Gohan's peripheral view, and actually knocked instead. He turned to see the hand return to Trunks, who stood to his left.

Gohan was about to ask why, but Trunks beat him to it by quipping, "We would be stand here all day if I let you go at your pace, and I kind of need to use the bathroom."

The youngest demi-Saiyan felt the need to comfort her father, so she did the only thing she knew to do, she took his free hand. Pan slipped her small hand into his much larger one, and squeezed to let him know she was there. Something internally just told her she needed to do something for her father; Pan just hoped it was enough.

Gohan looked from one side to the other at both demi-Saiyans that stood with him, and his head tilted down while a small smile grazed his feature as he softly said, "Thank you."

The door opened and an unfamiliar woman stood on the other side. She stared for a second at the trio before greeting them. "Good afternoon, may I—" she began but stopped when she recognized the young man in front of her. "Prince Gohan! I was not aware you would be arriving today," the older woman quickly added as she did a small curtsy for the royalty in front of her.

"Gohan, do you know her?" Trunks quietly asked his fellow demi-Saiyan.

Gohan shook his head, but internally he was taken aback by her. While he did not know her, he vaguely recalled her from somewhere but couldn't place where. Though from the way she acknowledged him, he figured she must be from the Ox Kingdom.

Before he could ask who she was, a booming voice from inside called out the attendant, "Kasa! I heard a knock on the door, who is it?"

Kasa turned to the much larger man approaching from behind. His size made even more evident from the way he had to slightly crouch to get past the door frame behind her. "My Lord!" she exclaimed in excitement. "The young prince has returned."

"Gohan?!" he question in a bit of skepticism. The Ox King knew that he only had one grandson at the time, so asking if it was him was kind of pointless, yet he found it hard to believe that Gohan was back by his own choice. The large man also asked because he didn't know if it was Goku, given how many times that man constantly walked through life and death as if there was no barrier in between.

Finally after months of not seeing his grandson, his very own eyes laid upon him. A large smile spread from ear to ear from just seeing him. However, before he could even take another step towards him, a bullet-like child rocket towards him. It was only thanks to the reflexes he developed, and slightly maintained, in his youth that he was able to brace himself as Pan crashed into his massive chest.

"GRANDPA OX!" the small child cried out, as she fiercely grabbed a hold.

The Ox King croaked and coughed from the sudden impact. As he worked on getting his breathing back under control, he looked down at the small child sobbing and babbling incoherently about how much she missed him.

Kasa remained silent just a step to the side, waiting to see if they still required her presence, still she watched the scene play out yet it left her confused by what the young girl had said. As far as she knew there was only one grandson, currently born that is, that the Ox King had; however the small girl pronounced herself has his grandchild as well.

"I'm sorry?" The Ox King proclaimed once he could. He looked over at the other two Saiyan in his doorway for an answer, but only received a nervous smile from Gohan and Trunks face palming.

Pan continued her winded ramble, "…and then Grandma said that you had to go away for a long time but that you would be back and you dint and I missed you sooo much and where did you go? And your hair is black?"

The only further confused the large burly man. He gapped for a few minutes trying to figure out an answer for the small girl, but he had none.

"Pan," Trunks sternly called out, "what did I tell you about meeting people from this time."

It was only after Trunks spoke that Pan realized her mistake, but she was just so excited after not seeing her Grandpa Ox is so long. Dejectedly she apologized and climbed down the large man before making her way back to her father's side.

It crushed the older man seeing the small child dismay. He wanted to reach out to her, but she had already made her way back to Gohan. The Ox King looked up to his grandson and asked expectantly, "Gohan?"

Gohan tighten his hold on Pan's hand, but not enough to hurt her, and crouched to comfort her. "She is my daughter, Pan," Gohan plainly announced.

"What?" the monarch questioned.

However Trunks' clarified by adding, "From my time."

"Ah! Now that make sense," The Ox King replied smiling. On the other hand, Kasa first looked shocked at the young prince's admission and further double back by her King's words. Internally she kept shaking her head while repeatedly saying 'what, how does that make sense.'

"Please come in." The old king did his best to make a path so the young demi-Saiyan could enter from.

A very pregnant Chichi wobbled her way to the hallway. With as much force as she could muster into her voice, she asked, "Dad! Who was at the doooo…." She never ended her sentence as she locked eyes with her firstborn at the doorway. She swallowed the saliva that had built up in her mouth as their staring contest continued with none of the members moving. She wanted to run to him and embrace him, but after what happened the last time she wasn't sure that was the right thing to do at the moment.

"Grandma?!" Pan broke the silence, but did not dart towards her as she had done with her Great-Grandfather. She stood baffled by the door at the size of her Grandmother's belly.

Chichi's eyes moved from her offspring to the child's voice to his side. There she saw a child dressed in the same garbs as her son, the same purple Gi. She blinked a couple of times and then rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The little girl, though unique in her own nature, held a similar visage to Gohan when he was her age. It made her heart throb for a second before she came back from her memories of those simpler times.

"On second thought," the Ox King stated after clearing his throat, "Pan, right? How would you like to go for a small tour of the area? We could see all types of animals, would you like that?" The old king's eyes darted between his grandson and his daughter as there staring contest continued. "That is if your father is okay with it? Well Gohan?"

This snapped both Gohan and Chichi attention from one another to focus on the large man. Chichi's eyes widen after hearing this but didn't say anything.

Pan appeared to mull over her great-grandfather's words. She really wanted to spend some time with her Grandpa Ox after not seeing him in a long time, but she felt obligated to stay with her father, so she looked down as she bit her nail.

Gohan squatted down and reassured her that he was going to be okay. He could feel her excitement about exploring but uneasiness about leaving him through their bond. "I'll be okay Panny; you go out to play with Grandpa Ox and Trunks. I'll be right here."

With some reluctance and some pushing from Trunks, both older males managed to lead a worried Pan out of the house and into the open fields around the house. Kasa, seeing that everyone was dispersing to allow mother and son to speak, quietly muttered about some chore she had to be getting back to and walked away as well.

Once everyone had vacated the general area, besides the duo, Chichi called out to her son, "Please… come in." She walked towards the living room and sat back down, placing her feet once again on the stool that had been placed there before. She sighed of relieve from not having to be standing anymore.

Gohan walked in as well but chose to lean against the wall across the room from her.

The large Ox King and the time traveler walked side by side as they looked ahead to the small girl that continued to dart from one area to another. Pan continued to follow the numerous amounts of animals she had never seen before. That was one of the biggest difference she saw between her old world and this one; this one had so much more life and color.

"So I take it everything went well in your time Trunks?" the old monarch remarked when he found the picnic table the Son family had set out near the forest entrance. He could clearly see Pan from this seated location.

Trunks laughed, "Was there ever any doubt?"

"I guess not," the Ox King joined in his laughter.

"Everything is finally at peace back home, and I can't thank you all enough for that. I took care of the androids and Cell, and with that ends Dr. Gero's diabolic plan." He let out a sigh of relief as he looked up at the clouds that passed overhead.

The large man asked the question that has been gnawing on him, "And is she really Gohan's daughter? I mean I can see the feature that Gohan passed down to her, but I just thought it would be a couple of years before I would get a chance to meet my great-grandchild, if I ever met them at all."

Trunks just bobbed his head in agreement. "I know it's hard to believe, though given how our lives are I'm surprised how much trouble people have wrapping their minds around this one, but she really is his daughter."

The monarch whistled in amazement. "I guess you're right, but still it's bizarre to see a child of my grandson, a person who is only eleven at the moment." His demeanor morphed as he continued, "Trunks, what did she mean that I had gone away?"

This brought the time traveler back from his peaceful gazing. He shifted in his seat as his long bangs began to cover his eyes, and he dare make eye contact with the older man. "You died recently," he finally said. "We only buried you a week ago in my time. We just didn't have the heart to tell Pan that you had passed, so we decided to make up a story about you leaving back to fix the kingdom. We knew it was a short-time fix, but I just couldn't tell those innocent eyes what had happened."

This made the old man gulp. "Was it the androids?"

"No," Trunks denied rapidly, he faintly smiled as he continued, "Believe it or not, it was actually of old age. Hardly anyone had died of that in a long time, thanks to the androids, but I guess that is a sign that my world is finally on the right track."

"I'm sorry to hear that Trunks; though it slightly relieves me that I was able to live out to the end of my day. Forgive me if I say something that offends you. I mean no harm." The Ox King stroked his beard as he watched his great-granddaughter digging up some dirt and making it into small balls to the side.

"None taken," Trunks shrugged. "It was hard for all of us, but we will pull through together."

"I'm sure."

Trunks was about to settle back down on the table to look at the clouds, when something struck him dead-center of his face. He passed his hand across his face and looked down at the mud that his hand had collected. His eyes narrowed as he knew who was to blame. Beyond his hand, Trunks saw the giggling girl trying her best to remain standing as she pointed in his direction.

He growled while he hissed, "If you'll excuse me, I think a certain brat just declared war. IT'S GO-TIME PAN!"

The Ox King chuckled as he saw the older Saiyan running after the smaller and more agile Pan. Every time Trunks almost had her, she would manage to evade her captor by the smallest margin. The howls of her laughter never ended as she did her best run ahead and away from her older brother.

The old monarch turned to the house in the distance. He just hoped everything was going smoothly, yet something in his heart told him otherwise.

"You can sit down Gohan," she reassured, but Gohan shook his head.

"I'm fine where I am."

"So… what is this about a daughter? Who is the little girl really?" For a woman that had seen the impossible done many times over, and the wife of the man that came back from the dead once, yet she could not accept that the little girl was in fact Gohan's child. After all he was only eleven at the moment.

Gohan shrugged. "Like I said, she is my daughter."

Chichi frowned at his lackluster attitude. "If that's the case, then why is it that I hadn't seen or heard of her until now?"

"That's because she come from Trunks' time. She is the daughter of that Gohan."

Chichi nodded in acknowledgement once she heard that. "I guess that makes more sense then you hiding a child for four years."

With no more comment about Gohan's daughter, the Son matriarch visually scanned her son from a distance for any injuries, but he seemed in perfect conditions."I'm glad to see that you're doing better Gohan. We heard from Bulma how badly injured you were after this last fight. What were you thinking?"

This made Gohan snap his head up, "What was I thinking," he repeated, "I was thinking of saving my friends and family from some genocidal space pirates, that's what I was thinking!"

"You were almost killed again Gohan," Chichi berated. "I don't' understand how such a smart boy can make so many foolish decision!" her voice rising with each syllable. "I already lost your father, why can't you understand that I don't want to lose you too."

Gohan swallowed at the mention of his father. It was a touchy subject for him, but with a few deep breaths he came back to his serene state of mind. "I wasn't about to let those guys have their way with this planet if I had the power to stop them."

"Why must you throw away your life?" Chichi muttered. "I need you here!"

"I don't see it as throwing away my life, mother." Gohan clenched his fist in frustration. "I'm doing what I have to in order to protect everyone, even you."

Chichi shook her head. "That's what your father said, and we know how that ended up."

"DON'T…don't bring my father into this." Gohan bit his lip to stop the tears that were already forming.

"Why not?!" Chichi slammed her fist down on the sofa's arm. "That is your fate if you continue this pointless affair. He said that he would come back, that we would all be together, but in the end…" she was never afraid to shed some tears and that is exactly what she did, "In the end, I'm a widowed wife, pregnant with a child he will never meet, and a SON…a son that has a death wish and is following in his footsteps. So tell me, why shouldn't I bring your father up?"

"Please Gohan," she continued, "I beg you… please stop these endless fights. Come back to me, my son. I don't want to lose you too. I'm sorry for what I said before, if that is what you wanted to hear, then I'm sorry but please just stop."

Gohan wiped the small tear that had leaked and turned away from his mother. He looked out through window to the endless meadow in-sight. Far in the distance he could see his daughter playing with Trunks and his grandfather. "I can't," Gohan answered.

"Can't or won't?" Chichi sharply asked.

Gohan remained silent for a few minutes. Minutes that seemed to go on forever to both member of the household. Eventually he said, "Maybe a little of both. Mom, I can't and won't sit back and ignore the evil being that come to this planet if I have the power to do something. I was given a gift, the gift of strength, and to waste it away by being locked up in my room studying book that I memorized by this point is tremendous tragedy."

He turned away from the window and directed his line of sight on his mother. "I'm sorry mother that I have turned out to be such a huge disappointment in your eyes, but this is my calling. I have to do this to protect that little girl's future. I finally understand why you, as a parent, so vehemently wanted to protect me against the natures of our world, the dangers and pains, but I am not your little boy anymore!" his voice rose each time. "I am not a defenseless newborn that needs your protection! Will I die in battle, maybe, but I can't let something like fear or doubt control me, or I will die for sure. Hell mom, I already almost died because of my doubt! I made a promise mom. As long as I have a breath in my body, I will continue to protect Pan from any and all dangers."

"What are you talking about? Isn't that little girl going back with Trunks?" Chichi interjected.

"No. She is staying here indefinitely."

An alarmed Chichi exclaimed, "Who is going to… don't tell me, you didn't did you?"

Gohan nodded, "I did. She has lost both her parents in her time, and I–am–her father! I finally understand your feeling as parent to protect me, but it is that same feeling that is now coursing through my body, and I will do what I must to protect her smile, her life!"

"You're a child Gohan!" Chichi fired back. "You can't expect to raise a kid at this stage of your life."

This only made Gohan laugh. "A child?! I'm anything but one, you and my father saw to that. Physically I may appear as one, but between the endless amount of high-theoretical books you stuffed down my throat and the never-ending life-and-death fights I participated in, I never really got around to actually having a childhood! So don't tell me what I can and cannot do, mother!"

"Lower your voice young man. I will not have you speak to me that way Gohan," Chichi fervently bit back. Her mood was growing darker with each second this conversation continued.

Gohan's nose twitch in irritation but let out a deep breath of air he was holding. "Fine," he conceded by lowering his voice, "but that doesn't change what I said. I stand by it. Mom, I'm going to raise that child whether you approve of it or not. I will continue my training, for betterment and safety of Earth, but also to protect the world Pan now resides in, whether you like it or now," he said stringing those last words together.

"I will continue my studies, not because I'm trying please you," he said while pointing at her, "but because I want to be a better father to my daughter, a father that can provide for her. I will raise her the way I wished I was raised, with the freedom I wished I had. It's too late for me, but I will do better with her."

"Children cannot raise other children," she muttered. "How do you plan on providing for her, did you think about that? You can't be going from one martial arts tournament to another collecting prize zeni. That is no steady income."

Gohan licked his upper lip. "I may have another option," he began, his eyes once again scanning the meadow for his daughter. "Bulma made me an offer."

Chichi's fist clenched at the mention of Bulma's name. First Piccolo had robbed him from her, and now her supposed best friend is doing the same.

"I'm going to work for her. Once I get back to West City, I'm going to accept the position she offered me, and that should cover the steady income problem you alluded to." Gohan scratched the side of his head. "Plus she is aware of my unique situation and promised to work around my restrictions."

"Well, I guess you have everything figured out," Chichi vilely snapped. She wasn't sure if it was the mood swings that made her react this way, or if these were her true feelings, but at the moment she felt right speaking in this manner.

Gohan was taken aback by her words but eventually he nodded, "Maybe not everything, but it's a start. Mom…," he stopped momentarily, "you can't stop me. Not anymore. I came here to rid myself of my doubts and fears, and to tell you what I planned to do with my life. And… and if you can't accept that, then I have no choice but to leave and never return."

"Are you giving me an ultimatum," she snarled. The audacity of her child to think he could give her, his mother of all people, and ultimatum.

He continued, "This is hurting me more than you can ever imagine, but I cannot live in peace while seeing the disappointment in your eyes every day. Right now I can see you seething, but I do hope you come to your sense, but until then I have to go. I'm sorry mom."

Gohan huffed in disappointment as he walked out of the living room, and soon out through the door of his childhood home. He thought he had the strength to get everything off his chest, but it deeply wounded him looking into the eyes of his mother at the moment. Gohan knew that anyone looking at his life right now would see it as selfish on his part to leave his mother in her current state, but he really didn't want to go back to the state of mind he was in before; the one where his doubts had made him a liability to everyone. He needed to get away and regroup.

"GOHAN!" Chichi screamed, she tried to get up and run after her son, but her large belly didn't allow for any fast movements. The rage that had been building dissipated, as sorrow replaced it, while she tried her best to catch up to her son. She didn't even know what she was going to say, but her motherly instincts dictated to go after him. He had finally come to her, and in a fit of anger she may have pushed him even farther away. She finally stood up but through the window she saw that he had already left. Her shoulders slumped and finally she realized the severity of the situation.

Chichi felt her leg give out, and her body fell back onto the couch. All she wanted was to protect her little boy, but maybe in doing so she had managed to push him farther away. 'I just…I just… I just didn't want him to die. I don't want to be left alone,' she thought while rubbing her enlarged stomach and letting the tears roll down her cheek.

Dear EgyLynx,

I'm sure that when you said, 'but not...too fast,' you didn't mean wait a whole year to update hahaha. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed my story.

Dear Aaron Leach,

Thanks man as always.

Dear pir84lyf,

Yes, that is one of the fundamental things I wanted to bring back, the master/student relationship between Piccolo and Gohan.

Dear jgkitarel,

I do feel bad for Chichi because from a parent's POV she is right in just trying to lookout for her son, but Gohan has accepted his mortality, while Chichi is trying desperately to not accept life's rules. Gohan understand what he must do and understand the risk and rewards with this life choice. Hopefully one day Chichi also accepts this, or she may never see her son.

Dear SinisterofRAGE,

Well it would make sense that Babidi would sense the darkness in Gohan's heart. Still we will see what happens when we get to that point, and see how much Piccolo's training will help the young Saiyan. As for the last question I have already answered it through PM.

Dear Dracarot,

I think that is one of the media's greatest failures. Their inability to follow-up on a story that was "Breaking News" once the case has gone cold for a while. Too often we see how stories that got extensive coverage initially slowly slide of the headlines until they get a 'barely mention' when a conclusion has happened. I see it in RL and I'm sure Dragon ball's media is probably be the same.

Dear saiyan fan,

It is sketchy if it were not for the fact that they have seen crazier before. If they can accept a person from the future, who isn't alive yet, coming back; I don't see why Chichi would be surprised when Pan arrives. In this chapter we see that she is shocked but not terribly enough that she would faint. I do think that she almost fainted when her son revealed that he had taken guardianship of her though.

The reason's behind Gohan's mental breakdown was one of the hardest things I had to come up with. As I have mentioned in a previous chapter, it was never my intention to have Gohan spiral so much down, but when he did I struggled to figure out why, and finally after rereading some of my older chapter I was able to come up with a believable reason. As I thought about a Saiyan's biology compared to a human's, I saw that their were always a multiple of a humans. For example, food consumption was always almost ten times what any human needs, so I figured that if starvation creates discomfort for a human; it would probably drive a Saiyan insane. Thanks for the review.

Dear Shigure Toshiro,

Thanks man

Dear ohitsthatguyagain7,

Well in that case I hope the wait for this one was worth it. Sorry for the long delay.

Dear 99913,

Oh he has a very wounded pride hahaha.

Dear theVaar,

Initially I had thought of doing it when Gohan was a little older, but I saw this age to be a 'turning-point' of sort for who Gohan is suppose to grow up to be. In the regular canon universe, Gohan would probably be the nerd, by then, that we saw neglecting his training, so bringing Pan by then would cause all sorts of mayhem. Also Gohan would have lost a great chunk of his power. He may be young, but he is at his peak and that way he will grow it larger for this point forward, rather than him trying to catch up first. That was my thought process when choosing this age.

That said, I know most people will see Pan as his little sister, and we will see how much trouble she lands Gohan every time Pan corrects those that made the wrong assumptions, leading to some very funny and awkward situations.

There will be flashfowards, but not the whole 7 years in one go. I really want to delve into Gohan's responsibilities as a young father, the consequences and rewards.

Dear Death to Original Naming,

That is a very loaded suggestion. I think the reason that Future Chichi didn't send something back was because she knew it would be pointless to reason with her. She carries the same stubbornness and knows the extents that it may go, so she figured that this Chichi has to learn the same lesson the hard way because that is the only way she learned it. Plus F. Chichi doesn't know the problems that this Gohan is going through.

Future Chichi never sent Pan to fix things. She sent her to be with her father, but told her to be with him in those dark days. Pan is not suppose to fix things, instead all she has to do is provide some comfort, the same that Pan provided for her since her son's death.

Dear Zombyra,

We will see what level's Gohan gets, and I am not one of those that believes that only pure Saiyan can achieve SSJ3. ;)

I'm not sure when Videl will 'truly' meet Pan. I'm sure Videl may run into Pan a couple times, but I don't think they will get a proper introduction for a while.

Dear CraZy Blue MonKey,

I know what you mean. Chapter 4's goodbye is something that even brings a tear to my eye every time that I read it. I remember that I had to stop a couple of times when I wrote that part since it was getting to emotional for me. (At the time I was going through a dark moment in my life and I poured all my sadness into that goodbye.)

Dear Dragon Queen Niji,

I'm glad you liked it. Chichi has never been my favorite person, but I try to put my bias aside while I write her, though some small parts do bleed on to the Chichi of the story. I always point towards Future Chichi when someone says that I just hate Chichi and only know how to write her by bashing her.

Dear Guest,

Thank you.

Dear superhuman3101,

...and that day is today! Seriously though, I'm sorry it took me this long to actually write this chapter. Thank you for the kind words.

Dear KageOkami-Kogo,

Thank you so much. Sorry for the long wait.

Dear justsomerealguy,

You know I've heard many of those 'this is where Toriyama was going to leave it at' stories. I've heard it for each of the saga's and to be honest I kind of hoped that Toriyama would have ended things after Cell because everything that has come out since then has been nothing but blunders and caused destruction of continuity. Not to mention the destruction of the Gohan character. A once highly developed character with a great arc that showed his rise from a weeping child to strong warrior, was thrown away for giggles (at the expense of the Saiyaman character) and brought back to strong warrior (with Ultimate Gohan) only to pull the rug from under us again and made him once again abandon his training. I mean I get the argument that Gohan doesn't like to fight, but really we have to see Gohan training to get his lost power once again. You think Gohan would have learned his lesson after the Buu incident. That doesn't make Gohan look smart.

Dear Patachu,

Here is your update :)

Dear The Bard,

I do hope so too. I just need to find some time and I'm sure I'll be able to see it to the end. Thanks for the review.

Dear Megasuper,

I think Bojack was after the Cell games. I mean Goku is dead by this point. Also Krillin and 18 haven't become an item yet, but I'm sure our favorite bald monk will get the girl soon.

Dear cillapan,

I will do my best to always come back. No matter what. I just hope you can bare with my tardiness. Thank you for the compliment.

Dear iamgoku,

Well Gohan doesn't know what Chichi has said to the others, but I'm sure when he finds out he will not be happy about it. The other's don't bother in informing them of Chichi's decree since they think it's Gohan's choice.

I'm glad to hear that you like the characterization for each of the characters.

Thank you to all that reviewed and read this chapter. I'm going to get started on the next chapter, as I await to hear what you think about this chapter.