Chapter Two:
Surprise Reunion

The scene opens on a bright, afternoon in West City, where everyone is heading back to their homes for the day. Up in the forest, Goku is enjoying some well deserved time with his wife, Chi Chi and their youngest son, Goten.

Chi -chi: (setting the dinner table) Goten! Go wash up, honey! Your brother and Videl will be here soon!

Goten comes racing in through the back door, clearly sweaty from a sparing match with his father. Smiling he races past the kitchen as Goku follows him into the house.

Goten: Okay, mom!

Goku: (entering the kitchen) Wow, something smells good!

Chi-chi: (slightly annoyed) Goku! You should go wash up, too. You look like one big sweaty mess.

Goku: (with a little grin) Alright, alright. I'm on it.

Suddenly, a car door slams shut from outside and Gohan, in a nice button down shirt, black pants and black rimmed glasses, knocks at the front door before poking his head inside.

Gohan: Hello! Anybody home?

Chi-chi: (excitedly) Gohan! (crossing the room to meet him) You're early!

Gohan: (smiling and embracing Chi -chi) Hi, mom! It's good to see you.

Chi-chi: You, too! Now, where is that beautiful granddaughter of mine?

Videl: (holding the infant Pan in her arms as she crosses the threshold, beaming) Right here! And she's so excited to see her grandmother.

Chi -chi: (to Pan) Hello, sweetie! (Pan giggles happily)

Gohan: Hey dad. Whoa! Looks like you and Goten have been hard at it again.

Goku: Every chance we get. You should come over sometime for a spar or two - keep up with your training, you know?

Gohan: I'll try, but I seem to stay pretty busy these days.

Meanwhile, as Goten finishes washing his face, dressed in a clean change of clothes, a screeching sound reaches his ears from his open window. He pauses and curiously looks out the window toward the sound, unable to see anything behind the cover of trees. Suddenly, a noisy crash echoes from behind the foliage and Goten's eyes widen in surprise. He races from his room to join the others at the door.

Goten: Dad! Dad! I heard something in the woods!

Goku: What?! What do you mean, Goten?

Goten: It almost sounded like a car crashing!

Gohan: Another car?

Videl: (to Gohan) But I didn't see anybody else on the road coming up here.

Chi -chi: (to Goten) Where did you hear it, Goten?

Goten: (pointing around toward the back of the house) From my bedroom window - over that way.

Goku: (heading out the door) I'll go check it out. It could just be someone having car trouble.

Gohan: (following) I'll come with you. It'll be easier carrying a totaled car between the two of us, anyway.

Chi chi: (calling after them) Now don't you two go and get yourselves greasy! Dinner will be ready soon!

Goku: (to Gohan) Yikes! We'd better hurry then.

Gohan: (over his shoulder) We'll be right back!

Once they reach a safe distance from the porch, both Sayains take off and fly out to the woods behind the house to look for the wreck. They fly for only a short time, before Gohan sees a trail of white smoke rising in the air just a head.

Gohan: Over there! (pointing fifty feet from them) I think I see something.

Goku: I see it.

They both zero in and land with ease about ten feet away. They are both stunned to see a dark blue, SUV smashed against a large, high rising tree. The steadily rising smoke, seeping out from the crushed hood, tells them that it was indeed a recent crash. A trail of skid marks, etched deep into the earth, obviously indicates that the driver didn't break in time.

Goku: Wow. It really was a car-crash.

Gohan: But how did it get all the way out here? The closest road is about 10 miles that way? (thumbing in the general direction over his shoulder)

Goku: (Scratching the back of his head) I don't know. But who ever was driving couldn't have gotten very far.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the driver's seat door is kicked open with a muted thud! and they see a thin hand and wrist reach out from inside, followed by a voice.

Voice: Ow... Ow, ow...

A young girl, standing at five feet, three inches, emerges - practically stumbling from the driver's seat. Her long, bushy chestnut hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, and she wears a pair of blue jeans and a black fleece jacket. She clutches her forehead with one hand and attempts to keep balance with the other as she turns and examines the damage.

Girl: ...Ohhh God..! (Goku and Gohan exchange a quick glance) Son of a - !

Gohan: Hey, uh - are you okay, miss?

Girl: (turning around, her fingers still pressed to her forehead) ... Yeah, yeah, I just... (She finally notices them and gets a good look; her round, green eyes widen at the sight of them.)

Goku and Gohan gaze back at her confused; they don't seem to recognize her.

Girl: Goku?

Goku: Uh... yeah..?

Girl: Goku... it's me... (she notices Gohan and stares at him, before her eyes practically bulge out in surprise) and Gohan!? Gohan, is that you?!

Gohan: (shares a look with his father) Have we met before?

Girl: (taking a step forward) Guys, it's me... you don't remember...?

Goku: I'm sorry, Miss, but...

Girl: (with an understanding smile) It's okay. I know it's been a while... (she trails off suddenly, stumbling slightly and pressing her hand to her forehead).

Gohan: (rushing foward) Are you okay?!

Girl: I'm fine, I promise. Just a little bumbled and bruised, that's all...

Gohan: (Suddenly remembering something) Wait - what did you say?

Girl: (looking directly at him, not entirely sure what's tripping him up) I said I'm just a little bumbled and bruised...?

Gohan: (the clogs slowly turning in his head) There's only one person I've ever heard say anything like that... (he intently examines her face, and a flash of recognition finally rips through his eyes)

Gohan: Oh my gosh! Dad - it's Lore!

Goku: (confused) What? Lore?!

He looks at the girl again, this time staring at her until their are almost nose to nose. Though she is made a little uncomfortable from the lack of personal space (made evident by the sweat-bubble appearing behind her head) the girl smiles sweetly none the less, hoping that Goku will finally remember her, too. All at once, his face breaks out into a wide smile.

Goku: Hey, you're right! It is her!

Lore: (with a small laugh) Yep. It's me alright.

Goku: (grinning) You're all grown up now, Lore! It's amazing!

Lore: (blushing slightly) Thanks! (turning to Gohan) I can't believe how much you've changed, too, Gohan. You look so different now!

Gohan: (tapping his glasses) It's the glasses, isn't it?

Lore: Hey, you pull them off.

The reunion seems to be going well, until Goku glances back over at the car, now no longer steaming, but also in no better shape. His smile fades when he realizes he still has no idea what happened.

Goku: (to Lore) D'hey - what exactly happened here, Lore? Is this your car?

She glances back over her shoulder; as soon as she lays eyes on the wreckage again, her smile is replaced by a sorrowful, pained frown.

Lore: Well... it was...

Gohan: (worriedly) What happened? And how in the world did you get this thing all the way over here?

Lore: (sighing) I have no idea. One mintue I'm cruising back from my grandparent's out in West Virginia - and the next thing I know, I'm being run off the road and smack into the middle of a tree.

Gohan: Wait, run off the road? You mean someone forced you to crash?

Lore: (thinking carefully) Huh... come to think of it, I guess that could have happened. (She fails to notice Gohan and Goku fall over in traditional anime-style. Gohan leaps back up.)

Gohan: You mean you don't know?

Lore: Well, what I mean is, I just thought it was an accident. This other car got a little too close for comfort while I was driving and that's how I got pushed over. But, now that I think of it... I guess it could have been deliberate.

Goku: But that still doesn't explain how you ended up here. Along with your car for that matter.

Gohan: Yeah. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone being able to pull that one off.

Lore: Believe me, I wish I knew. I know I wasn't trying to get to here at the time.

She grimances and grabs her face again, this time the area just above her right eye. Gohan and Goku close in, Goku gently prying her small fingers away from her face.

Gohan: (noticing the mark over her eye) Ouch. That looks bad.

Goku: It looks like it's starting to swell. C'mon - we'll take you back with us and get you fixed up. Then we'll try to figure out exactly what's going on.

Lore: Okay. That sounds good.

Gohan: (Turning around and smiling) Here: hop on.

Lore: (grinning back up at him; wrapping her arms around his shoulders) Just like the old days, huh?

Gohan: A little bit.

He lifts up a little and she climbs on his back, tightening her arms around his shoulders and neck. When she has a firm hold on him, he and Goku lift off at the same time and immediately head back toward the house. Lore takes one last glance back at the totaled SUV and holds back a depressed sigh.

Lore: (inner thought) Oh man... mom and dad are gonna kill me...

So this is about where I came in. Oh my God - my poor baby! But what really started to worry me was how I even ended up in West City - with Baby Blu. It's not like I was the only person to jump between worlds... let alone the only one to do it as a kid... but the thing is: I wasn't looking to cross worlds when I was driven off road. And, it was the first time (as far as I knew) that anyone had managed to make the jump with their vehicle in tow. Even for a world like this, that's not normal. But I'll admit I was glad that the first people I ran into were Goku and Gohan... even if they didn't remember me at first. I can't really blame them for that, though; it really had been a long time since we last saw each other. But that's what made everything that came after our reunion all the more strange...