THE NEW YEARS DEBACLE

EPILOGUE

8:22 am, New Years Day . . .

When Trunks had woken that morning, tangled in Pan's arms, the first thing he thought was that he wouldn't have chosen to spend his New Years Eve any other way. Coaxing the sleeping Pan into loosening her grip on his body, Trunks silently stood and began dressing.

Once he was clothed, Trunks stood stoically by the large window, pulling the curtains apart to stare out at the weather. They were in luck. It was eerily still outside in the Motel courtyard, the storm having blown over and left a fair dusting of snow on the small town. Trunks smiled, they could go home.

He quietly gathered his keys and wallet so as not to wake Pan and went out into the cold to order them some breakfast. Shrugging on his jacket, which was thankfully dry now, Trunks locked the door behind him and stepped out into the cold courtyard. As he headed for the Administration building, Trunks jammed his fists into his jacket pockets to keep warm. Upon doing so, Trunks felt a ball of paper touch his fingers. Pulling it out and unravelling it, he was surprised to find the fortune he got from that Chinese restaurant a couple of days ago. 'It must have fallen into my pocket,' Trunks concluded mentally.

He reread it. "Peril awaits you and serenity is your reward." Trunks smiled as he realised its meaning. Placing the paper carefully back in his pocket, he wondered how Goten had faired with his fortune.

Goten's mind swam back into consciousness very slowly as he was woken by the feeling of someone nuzzling him mouth. Blinking his eyes open, he came face to face with his girlfriend who was brushing her lips delicately over his to wake him.

Goten smiled and kissed her, his body becoming fully awake in response. When the kiss ended, Bura relaxed into his chest and sighed, never feeling happier. There were no more emotional walls between them in their relationship, they had taken the next step and were no longer afraid.

"I love you," Goten said, running his hands over her body, unable to get enough of her.

"Yeah, I know." Bura said with disinterest, earning a playful slap. "Hey! I wouldn't bee so feisty if I were you! My father would kill you if he found out what we'd been up to."

Goten had to agree. Last night they had taken their time to minimize the pain and enjoy every moment. Naturally, their coupling had been awkward with neither one of them being experienced, but eventually they had adjusted into one another's ability and Goten didn't regret his discission at all.

"So . . . uh . . . how was it?" Goten asked uneasily.

Bura smiled. "I can say in all honesty; the best I've ever had."

Goten suddenly looked very smug, lacing his fingers behind his head and leaning into the pillows with a satisfied grin. Bura punched him playfully as she began to dress.

"You know what I can't stop thinking about?" She said as she pulled a shirt on. "Why would you get such a strange fortune in your cookie?"

Meanwhile, at a busy Chinese Restaurant in West City . . .

"'A piece of the sky will hit you on the head tomorrow'," a crazed old man recited as he wrote the words very carefully onto a piece of paper and slipped it into a circle of cookie dough, ready for baking. " 'Beware of cats with red slippers on today'," He wrote down another.

Just then, his niece rounded the corner and spotted him. "Uncle Lou! What have I told you about writing those fake fortunes and distributing them to the public!" The man, sensing his life could be a risk, jumped up and hobbled away, laughing insanely as he went. "Yeah, that's right, you better run! Next time I catch you at it, I'll get the hose!" his niece called after him.

Back at Capsule Corporation . . .

"Yeah, it's a strange fortune alright . . ." Goten agreed, also getting up to dress.

9:15 am, Mount Pazou . . .

Videl was trying desperately to take her mind off her missing daughter as she cleaned the snow dishearteningly off the frosty windows of her home. She couldn't stop herself from glancing up at the sky once every minute to check if her daughter was descending out of the heavens towards her home. Both Videl and Gohan hadn't slept at all last night, spending most of the time calling Pan's friends and the police for any sign of her. Gohan had even called several hospitals a few times to see if there had been any car accident victims which matched Pan's description.

Trunks and Pan had simply disappeared off the face of the planet. Videl had sat outside the house in the cold snow for an hour that morning, trying to detect their power levels but a recent storm had left static in the air, obscuring any attempt to sense them. With every minute that passed, Videl began to worry more and more for her daughter's safety. House chores seemed to be the only thing appealing enough to keep her distracted from her panicked thoughts.

Videl sighed and lifted her broom to pushed more snow off of her windows. It was going to be a slow day. What a terrible New Years Day.

"Hey, Mom." Came a voice. Videl's head whipped around and her gaze came to rest on her dark-haired daughter standing nonchalantly in the snow a few feet away. Pan smiled and took a few steps towards her.

Videl blinked. A million questions were running through her head. Where have you been? Are you okay? Why didn't you call? Where's Trunks? Where's your car? But the first one that reached her lips was: "Is that you, Pan?"

Pan almost laughed. Receiving this as confirmation, Videl whimpered and slumped into the deep snow. She started bawling as Pan came forward and knelt next to her to hug her. The two sat like that, rocking back and forth.

Gohan came out shortly to see what the noise was about and almost broke out in hysterics himself at the site of his only daughter. He was so relieved that he grabbed her and didn't let go for a good ten minutes.

Pan eventually calmed her fretting parents down long enough to lead them inside so she could explain the situation.

A few days later . . .

Marron gazed down at the fresh pad of paper and chewed thoughtfully on the end of her pencil. Looking out of the second storey window of her bedroom, she watched the ocean lap at the sandy shore, reminiscing about the past few days. Marron's thoughts turned to her friends and the year ahead; and she smiled. Inspiration came to her instantly this time.

"My Late New Years Resolution . . .

1. I will be sure to check for items that could be crushed in my seat BEFORE I sit down on them.

2. I will never use a Motel bathroom. Mould . . . need I say more?

3. I will NEVER trust wildlife (Pan told me to write that one. It makes me wonder what happened to her and Trunks in the woods that night).

4. I will not climb drainpipes. Period.

5. I will never be late to a date with my new boyfriend, Uub, so as not to arouse false suspicion. NOTE TO SELF: boys are strangely sensitive to the idea of their girlfriends cheating.

6. I will never fall asleep without checking the bed for unwanted intruders first.

7. I will have an equally fun New Years Party at the end of this year; and my friends and I will do it all over again!

Signed: Marron Chestnut."

THE END