The trouble started on a Thursday morning.

It's always been my way to hide things from myself, forget about them for as long as possible. I've done it with everything from relatively mundane things like a bad grades in a class adding up to something more serious, like when my dad had a heart attack. I don't let things get to me, letting problems build up until something sets me off.

It was the next to last class of the day; History. It was a couple weeks after I moved in to Pan's house, and everything had been going great. Gohan had gotten me a semi-old computer from his work. I had settled in well to the new living arrangements, even though getting to and from school was an hour long affair both ways, meaning we had to get up ass early. Like, before the sun came up early.

This day had begun a little badly. It was raining, and I had a bit of a headache. Because of the rain we had to go slower than usual with the car, which led to us running to get into class on time. Because the floors were wet from people tracking in water, I had slipped and conked myself pretty good on the forehead, ramping up my headache even more.

I reached up and rubbed the spot I had hit gently, wincing at the spike of pain that shot through the dull ache that had been there since I got up. The teacher was wrapping up a point he had made the last class, and quickly moved on to the new subject.

"Well, now we're going to talk about genealogy." I looked at him while he talked, not really hearing much. Then my day got even worse.

"So, for an example; Gabe, what do your parents do for a living?"

It hit me when I heard those words: I hadn't even thought about my parents, or any of the people I knew back home, since the first week I was here. My thoughts rushed over them, seeing faces in my mind, hearing voices and seeing names, realizing I'd probably never see any of them again. My parents, my brother, my friends, none of them. It hit like a sledgehammer to the face: my life before this place was over.

"Gabe?" I looked up, seeing the teacher, and not seeing him. I swallowed.

"Can I be excused, I'm not feeling well," I asked softly. His brow wrinkled, but he nodded. I shoved my book into my bag and grabbed it, walking quickly from the room, ignoring the looks I was getting from Pan and Bra, my head still spinning. I turned right and walked down the hall, not stopping at the bathroom or the nurses' office. I made a beeline straight for the main doors, walking out into the rain. I walked down the street, not paying attention to where I was walking. I didn't bother pulling the hood of my jacket up, I just walked. Luckily my backpack was waterproof, or everything in it would have been soaked through that day.

My thoughts drifted from one thing to another, focusing on people I knew back in what I was beginning to think of as my old life. I heard my mother telling me to feed the dogs, my father asking what was happening with my classes. Just the thought of my dog made me stumble a little.

After a while I realized I had made a circle, coming back to the school. In my daze I somehow even made perfect timing. People were filing out of the building, opening umbrellas or pulling coats close around them against the rain. I stared at the crowd listlessly, standing under a tree to get a little out of the rain. A minute later I heard an angry female shout.

"There you are!" I looked to my right and saw Pan storming toward me, Bra hanging back a bit. "Where the hell have you been? What got into you, walking out in the middle of school?" She stopped and fisted her hands on her hips.

I stared at her sullenly. "It was nothing."

"Nothing my ass! Seriously, what the hell?"

I pushed off the tree and brushed past her. "Not now. Let's just go home."

I heard her sputter from behind me. Then I heard her hurrying to catch up with me. "Fine. But I'm not happy with you right now."

"Join the club," I muttered. I caught her looking at me in surprise out of the corner of my eye. We walked in silence to the car, where we got in and continued the silence all the way home. When I got out I was still damp and cold. I went quickly inside, up the stairs, and into my room. I got some dry clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I stood and let the scalding water heat up my cold bones for a good while, trying not to think.

After a good 20 minutes I finished up, dried off, and got dressed. I went back into my room and sat on my bed, staring out the window, back to the door. I sat that way for a long time, thinking, trying not to think. My brain kept turning toward the image of my parents frantically searching for me, not knowing what had happened.

You were pretty hard on Pan earlier.

I jumped a little at the voice in my head. Well, I have a right to be angry. My life was thrown upside-down and down a ravine in the past few weeks.

Yes, but she doesn't know that.

I looked up, actually seeing my room for the first time since I got home. It was dark; it must have been past dinner. I felt my stomach grumble, but I before I could do anything else, I had some crow to eat.

Standing outside Pans door I realized just how big of an ass I had been earlier. I steeled myself and knocked. Pans reply came quickly. I pushed the door open slowly to find her staring at me. Her expression was unreadable. "Can I come in?"

She nodded; I stepped in and shut the door behind me. I looked at her, looked away, looked back, then sighed and let my head fall. "About earlier today…" I took a breath and found the apology spilling out of me quicker than I could think. "I was a complete ass, you didn't deserve how I treated you, I'm sorry." I stared at the floor for a little, then glanced up. She was watching me; her face had lost the stony expression it had when I came in. She scooted over on the bed and motioned next to her. I walked over and sat down heavily.

"What happened? Why were you so upset?" I stared at my hands, unable to think of how to proceed. I couldn't tell her the truth, she wouldn't believe it. Of course, this girl has been through space, seen the planet basically destroyed two or three times and brought back to life, and who knows what else. I shook my head to clear it. Before I could think of anything to say I found my mouth moving of its own accord again.

"My parents are gone. My brother too. My whole family…I'm never going to see them again." I felt tears threatening, and tried to clamp down on them. I would have succeeded, except for the small, cool hand that laid itself on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Pan was staring at me, her eyes filled with questions and sympathy.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. Those words, said in that tone of apology and sadness, broke me. I collapsed into sobs. I felt her pull me to her, my head on her shoulder, and I didn't resist. We sat that way, her rubbing my back gently, me crying into her shoulder. I hadn't actually told her anything, she just guessed from what I had said. I was pretty sure she'd guessed wrong, but the truth and her take on it were close enough, and along the same track. I don't know exactly how long we stayed like that, but long enough for me to get almost a month of suppressed emotion out of me.

I pushed myself up some time later and wiped my eyes. They were puffy from the crying, but I felt better than I had all day. She looked at me and I tried to smile. I was rewarded with a return smile. "Feel better?" she asked. I nodded. "So that's why that question shook you up so bad. I was worried it was something like that, but I didn't want to ask."

I spoke, able to think again now that the haze that had covered my brain all day was gone. "I was sent here after they were gone. I don't…really remember much. It's all kind of a haze…" I trailed off, not knowing where I was going, but Pan just nodded. I smiled at her a little sadly and shrugged. She grabbed my hand gently.

"You don't have to try and tell me if you don't want. But whenever you need to, I'm open." I started to speak, but my stomach beat me to it. I looked down and back up, embarrassed. Pan just laughed. She stood and went to the door. "Come on, mom saved some dinner for you." I stood and followed her out of the room.

Videl was in the living room watching TV when we passed. She looked up at me. "There you are. How are you feeling?"

"Better."

She nodded. "That's good. We were worried about you, but Pan told us to just let you be."

I blinked. "Well, thank you. I just needed to work through a couple things." She nodded, smiled, and turned back to the TV.

Pan was already in the kitchen, digging through the fridge. She pulled out a couple Tupperware containers and grabbed a plate off the drying rack over the sink. She dumped the contents of one of the containers on the plate and into the microwave. Three minutes later the plate was in front of me and I was wolfing down the contents. Pan left me and went out into the living room. When I finished I rinsed off the plate and put it on the rack, then went out to sit with Pan and Videl. An hour or so later and I was feeling the effects of the day. I stood and, saying goodnight to the women, went upstairs, got undressed, and collapsed into bed.

Friday came and went, dropping Saturday in front of me before I realized it. I woke up early that day, drawn out of my sleep by loud thumps and yells. I sat up and looked outside. All was calm out back, but every now and then there was a flash of light from the other side of the house. I got up and got dressed. I made a stop in the bathroom on the way downstairs, heading for the door. In the living room I passed Videl, who glanced up at me, went back to her reading then, just as I reached the door, jumped up.

"Hang on a sec, don't…" But by that point I had already opened the door and stepped outside. A white and orange blur shot past, carrying with it grunts, yelps, and the occasional triumphant laugh. I stood staring, noticing with a disinterested part of my brain that Videl was standing beside me, closely watching my reaction.

"It gets better," she said. I looked at her and she smirked. "I remember looking like that the first time I saw Gohan really fight."

I arched my eyebrow and asked the question I thought she expected, though I already knew the answer. "Gohan fights?"

She shook her head and I saw the slightest sad look flicker across her features. "Back when I met him he did, but not for a long time." Before I could respond and angry shriek ripped through the morning air.

"Mom!" I looked to the source of the yell and saw Pan flying toward me, her uncle Goten floating in the distance behind her. He waved cheerily, but Pan dropped in front of me before I could return the gesture. Her eyes darted from me to her mother. She leaned in to hiss at her mother. "I told you to warn me if he was coming out."

Videl shrugged apologetically. "He got to the door before I could stop him." She looked at me, then turned and opened the door. "Besides, I don't think you have anything to worry about." With that she went inside and shut the door. Pan looked at me nervously, chewing her bottom lip.

"Um…so…"

"You can fly?" She seemed to shrink into herself a little and nodded. I felt a smile blooming on my face. "You think you can teach me?"

She straightened and stared at me. "What? You're not freaked out?"

I laughed. "No way. I think this is awesome. And the fighting. Man, you were amazing up there."

She seemed to expand, shoulders straightening, an 'aw shucks' expression appearing on her. Then her forehead crinkled.

"You seem to be taking this rather well. Usually seeing someone flying around and, let's face it, doing things no human should do makes a person freak out a bit."

I smiled and, by way of explanation, reached out a hand to a group of rocks sitting about 10 feet away. They ranged from the size of a tennis ball to about half the size of a head. Five of them lifted off the ground, and I pulled them over and set them spinning around Pan. They weaved a semi-intricate pattern, crossing over each others' paths. Pan gaped at them.

"You're not the only one hiding abilities." I sent the rocks back to land where I had gotten them. She turned from watching the rocks sail to their resting place, a huge smile lighting her face.

"That was great! What else can you do?" I scratched the back of my head, a habit I had picked up from living in close proximity with Gohan and Goten.

"Not a lot, just variations on that really." I thought of the saber resting in the drawer of my bedside table, and wondered if using that would come as naturally as the telekinesis did. Pan turned and laughed, raising her hands slightly.

"This is great! I've been freaking out for weeks about how you'd react to this. Of course I'll teach you to fly."

We started right then. It was a colossal failure, to say the least. Pan assured me that it would take a while to get it. When Goten strolled over, announcing that he'd gotten it down in less than a day, Pan punched him hard in the arm. I laughed. We took a break for lunch, then went right back to the lesson. Pan sat me down and tried to explain the basics again.

"OK, so every person has a life force, called Ki. In order to fly you have to channel the Ki, pushing against the ground and lifting yourself. It could be difficult for you, since you haven't ever done any Ki manipulation." I nodded and stood. I took a breath, closed my eyes, and focused. I considered how I channeled the Force to lift those rocks earlier. From what she was saying, it's not all that much different than just reaching out and pushing. Maybe I can come at the problem sideways, use what I can already do and apply it to this.

I focused, drawing on the subconscious ability I had, pushing against the ground. I realized quickly that it wasn't working. I sighed and relaxed. I reached down into myself, feeling how my body was reacting to my thoughts and tapping into the power I had. I didn't actually know how I was accessing these abilities; it was all done subconsciously, without me really having to try very hard. However, I could sense how my body accessed the abilities.

I studied it for a bit before concentrating and shifting my focus slightly. I drew energy from a slightly different area, a more primal force than the one I'd found myself tapping into. I pushed. Opening my eyes, I saw Pan standing with her arms crossed, smiling and nodding. I looked down and saw my feet floating several inches from the ground. I grinned, losing my concentration and falling back to earth.

"You're getting the hang of this pretty quick. I'm impressed."

I shrugged, lowering back to the ground. "I just had to think of it from a direction I already knew. I know how to tap into my abilities to do things, so I altered my thinking a little, used what I knew to get around my lack of Ki ability."

"That's a pretty clever way to go about it." We both turned at the new voice. Gohan was standing in the door of the house, hands in his pockets, leaning slightly against the doorframe. "The hardest part about flying is understanding the concept. After that it's pretty easy to actually pull it off. Anyway, your mother's got dinner almost ready. Come on in and get cleaned up." We followed Gohan inside, washed up, then sat for dinner. That night we began a mini tradition. During dinner Gohan would retell the exploits of his family and friends over the years. Dinner stretched out almost half an hour longer than usual, the daylight fading as Gohan regaled us with stories from his younger days.