We have this hope as an anchor
for the soul, firm and secure.
Hebrews 6:19
To a dear friend.
R.I.P Casey 3
Jan 27, 1997 - Nov 10, 2013
Chapter 12: Big News
'Oh Kami.' What was she going to tell him? Over the few months, everything had been so meticulously planned. The timing had been spot on, so why now? Pan held the small object within her hands, staring before she heard a knock.
She hastily wrapped it up as she heard Bra's voice, "hey, I really gotta go!" She exclaimed, jiggling the doorknob.
A petrified Pan shoved the device into her jacket pocket, opened the bathroom door and tried to pass by without a word.
Nope.
"Are you okay?" Bra asked with concern.
Pan looked up at her, embarrassed and red-eyed. Her voice broke as she told her best friend she would be okay.
"Lies!" Bra exclaimed angrily. "What could bring you to tears like this, huh?"
xXxXxXx
"So, who'd you leave C.C. with, besides Grams?" Mai asked her younger brother, popping open a soda can.
"You know who." Toshiro smiled a shit-eating grin.
Mai was dumbfounded. The two demi-Saiyans sat in the huge kitchen, talking about everything and nothing. They hid from both Goku and Vegeta, bailing on round five of training.
"Are you crazy? He's not ready yet, you can't! What were you thinking?"
Oh that's right, he wasn't.
The eighteen year old man shifted his weight to his other foot. He pulled his dark purple hair from his eyes. It was a tell-tale sign that he left his comfort zone. "He's just like us, it'll be okay." He hinted at the double meaning.
xXxXxXx
'Almost done.' As she clicked the last neru-plug into place, Bulma let out a sigh of relief. The air-conditioning had given out hours ago. Lab one was a disaster, and it was about to get much, much worse.
The smell of chemicals filled the air, alerting everyone to imminent danger. "What's that smell Grams?" Mai questioned, running down the hallway. The smell of rotten eggs filled their nostrils, only it wasn't.
"Shiro," Mai said behind her, "get ready!" the door to the lab was jammed, Bulma seemingly trapped. As Mai came to the door, closer to the crack of the door, the smell sent her mind into a tailspin. Too many bad experiences, too many deaths by this scent alone.
Her brother pulled her back and began breaking down the door, "Grandma!" he shouted. Upon opening the door, Toshiro and Mai shielded their noses, knowing full well that it was.
Bulma began coughing violently, her lungs filling with the toxic chemical. As Mai swooped in and kept her from falling, Trunks ran down the small hallway. "Mom, are you okay?"
He had been training, that much they could tell. His grey t-shirt soaked with sweat, and his lavender hair darkened as well. Bulma finally nodded, after calming herself down from her coughing fit. She turned around, and looked back into the lab.
"Back to the drawing board." She sighed.
'She was going back in there?'
Mai stared at her paternal grandmother, "like hell! You've successfully proved what, that you almost got yourself killed?" her long black hair falling into her face as she gave her what for. How absolutely frustrating! The one thing she told the older woman not to do, she had just done.
Bulma rolled her cerulean eyes dismissively. "I had to know what I had to work with." Trunks put his head in his hand, not knowing whether his mother was a genius, or an idiot.
"You're freakin' crazy." Toshiro said, rolling his eyes. Goten and Pan wandered down the laboratory hall was Bulma interjected. Pan couldn't focus on the group, for she had too much on her mind. Her eyes distant and Trunks noticed it.
"I attempted," Bulma began, "to make an antidote to the toxin. But first, I had to make an exact replica of what started it."
Toshiro sweat dropped mumbled, "yeah, you perfected it."
Smartass Sayian.
The hallway was getting cramped, with little fresher air. Goten decided to guide the group upstairs. The grey colored walls dampened everyones mood. As the six emerged from the labs, a distant humming could be heard. "Don't worry; it's just the deep-seated ventilation system. That toxin will be gone in an hour." Mai nodded her head and retreated to the backyard, not caring if Goku or Vegeta could see her. Clearly the scare had unnerved the young woman, for as she opened the back door, her hand kept slipping. They shook in fear, both past and present.
*Flashback*
"Mom, Dad, what's that rotten smell?" Toshiro asked, pinching his nose closed. The seven year old looked in confusion.
Trunks looked over at his wife. What was that? The scent seemed to burn their nostrils. Fourteen year old Mai emerged from the garage, scrunching her nose immediately.
On that normal Saturday afternoon, the family of four had been working on an old car. During the summer heat, the temperature jumped suddenly. It made the smell of rotten eggs even worse.
Toshiro began to pick up tools and as both his mother and father rolled the engine, and body of the hover car into the cooled garage. "it's a hundred-ten degrees and counting." Mai yelled, amazed by the thermometer, she'd never seen it rise so fast.
A flash of fear ran through Pan, as Trunks walked toward the door. "I'll be right back." He said before he kissed the woman goodbye.
*End Flashback*
xXxXxXx
Days had passed since the lab fiasco, and everything had seemed to calm down.
Yeah right.
It was about dinner time at Capsule Corp. and the Sons had just flown in from the 439th.
Pan couldn't seem to think straight. For almost a full week, she had just kept the news to herself, not even he knew. But that was going to change tonight.
The adults were in the kitchen talking. Bunny made sure that nobody sampled her delicious cooking, "there might not be enough." But without fail, both Trunks and Goten snuck in over the counter to eat.
"Our brothers are total idiots." Bra laughed, trying to get Pan's attention, but it didn't work. The teen was in a daze, her eyes shrouded in distance.
Dinner was being served as Pan stood up. She felt lightheaded, nervous. Her hands began shaking, palms clammy. How was she going to do this? How were they going to take it?
"Are you okay, Pan-Chan?" a confused Goten asked, setting the last plates on the table. He was completely unaware of her inner struggle.
Her mother soon noticed her state. "Is something wrong? Why are you shaking?" she sipped her tea.
'Am I really shaking?' At that moment, Pan almost completely removed herself. It felt like an out of body experience. Her mind was as numb as her body.
Kami must hate her.
Everything in the rom began to spin. Faster and faster it turned, until it stopped directly ahead of her… Trunks.
His figure loomed in the doorway. He froze as his mate stuttered those fateful words.
"I-I-I'm pregnant." The words weighed heavily on everyone. But to Pan, the weight was crushing her. Silent tears escaped her eyes, she continued to blink, the fear taking hold. Son Pan had stepped into the realm of the unknown.
Trunks visibly paled at the news, as the rest of the families stood silently letting what they had just heard settle. He didn't know what to do… go up and kiss her? 'Not really a good idea.' Every male in her family stood within spitting distance. He could feel her fear. Or was that his? Every emotion seemed to meld so perfectly together. There was no difference between their fears. It was just fear.
As one can imagine, the first instinct is to run. But Trunks did the exact opposite.
Pan was soon engulfed in her loves embrace as she fell apart in his arms. He stoked her hair softly, just letting her cry.
"Mommy," Takara whispered, pulling on Videl's shirt sleeve. "What does that mean?"
Goten mumbled, "Trunks life is over. That's what it means." He earned himself an elbow to the gut from Bra as Videl rolled her eyes.
"It means Pan is gonna be a mommy." Little Takara's mouth favored an "o" as she hopped off of her chair.
She went up to Pan in the living room and hugged her leg. "It's okay Aunt Panda, you don't need to cry." Her big brown eyes looked straight up as she tried to get the teens attention. Pan's cries softened as she smiled into Trunks chest at her niece's name for her.
Nineteen. He was going to be a father at nineteen. What were they going to do? Not only were they very young, but they were in danger. Was she going to be able to fight now? Two people travelled across time from a desolate wasteland, and now what? 'What have we done?'
For many more minutes, Pan began to calm down. Her eyes were very red and puffy, all she wanted was to be left alone to cry again. Finally, ChiChi tapped on her shoulder. The young woman saw her and only held tighter to Trunks.
Sensing what ChiChi was trying to do, Trunks whispered in the young woman's ear. "its okay Pan, I promise." He grabbed her arms to release her hold on him.
"How long have you known, little one?" her mother asked, brushing her fingers through her hair in comfort.
xXxXxXx
Mai and Shiro ducked out early. That moment between their mother and father was personal; they didn't need to be there.
Looking at the stars meant peace. And in that July air, the silence was broken. "Is she going to be able to fight?" Toshiro asked softly. Mai only shrugged.
xXxXxXx
"You've known for a week and didn't tell us?" Goku asked his daughter. All she could do was nod, for the words died on her tongue.
The two families ate in silence, even after the two time travelers returned.
"How long have you brats been mated?" Vegeta asked in between mouthfuls.
"Five months." Pan quickly responded, keeping her head hung low. Her long bangs covered her eyes as she picked through her food. 'Why can't I just disappear?'
xXxXxXx
It was late in the night and Mai and Toshiro were in an old lab, tinkering with old bots. A small amount of light illuminating with room as tools clanked and computers calculated.
"Gohan and Goten didn't seem to object to it." Toshiro sighed, pulling his hair from his eyes.
His sister didn't look up from her work, "it wouldn't have made a difference. Dad would've killed them. Even in his state of shock, he would've protected her with everything he has. They're deeply bound, those two."
xXxXxXx
Days passed and it was finally time to test the antidote. Bulma led Trunks, Bra, Toshiro, Gohan, Vegeta, Mai and Goku into a highly concentrated room within her lab. The large white and grey walls illuminated brightly by heavy-duty lights, driving the Saiyans' eyes insane.
"Woman," Vegeta growled warningly, "turn these lights down or-"
"Or what Vegeta? You'll blow this whole place up, or just turn it off your damn self?" The genius cut him off. She was already mad at him for a past situation. So this did not help the Prince in any way.
"What's with the masks, Mom?" Bra asked, looking at the black mask in her hands.
"A requirement." Bulma sighed. "The box in the center of the room is air tight. Though from the date we have collected, our toxin is vary acidic. The mask just reduces the chance of acid burn in your lungs."
Nice to know.
Mai opened her mouth to speak, "do you think that's what killed everyone? Not really the toxin itself, but the acid in it?"
Bulma stopped to ponder that thought. "Its possible," she began, "human lungs are weak, compared to Sayian standards. And they don't hold up as well. So once they are exposed to this toxin, their lungs are unable to heal themselves, and brace for another 'attack'. Though Saiyans are a little bit better able to handle it. Your mother only experienced small doses, right? So over so many small times of exposure, her lungs couldn't handle it anymore."
Mai nodded her head in understanding.
When Bulma put on her gas mask, there was the blur of a young woman. "Sorry I'm late." Pan said, a bit out of breath.
The eight looked over at Pan. Trunks removed his mask and sighed. "You can't be down here." He knew that look, face scrunched in annoyance and her eyes lit up with fire.
"And why the hell not?" She questioned.
Toshiro stepped in. "Its a safety concern."
"Bullshit." She spat, eyes narrowing on the time jumper.
"Panny please." Goku said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. Pan sighed and said she would finally leave, but only after Bulma explained what was happening. 'I may not see it, but I will know what's going on.'
After Pan had been de-briefed, the young woman only had one question. "If the box is sealed, why do you need gas masks?"
Bulma sighed, pulling a strand of blue hair behind her ear as Goten laughed. Couldn't one explanation be good enough?
'Of course not, she is Chi's kid.'
"The toxin is acidic. So there is always a possibility that it will melt through the glass, or just a crack. Though of course, since you're pregnant, we can't be sure your lungs will be safe."
That made sense.
Everyone was still gathered around the to women as they spoke. Trunk thought it very eerie that their future, good or bad, was only steps away in a square glass box. Pan eventually left as Gohan joined. Goten threw him a mask, and told him to get ready.
"Since this is a gas, the light bulbs from within the box will tell us what stage this test is in. Red at the toxins release, blue for the progression stage, and finally green at the all clear. Got it?" The Brief explained. She pressed the orange button, and the test commenced.
Both Bra and Mai's eyes widened in shock, the air cleaned quicker then imagined.
Another worker checked the computer as it read, "twenty-four seconds." His eyes bulging from their sockets.
"Impossible!" Vegeta exclaimed. "It couldn't have worked in mere seconds!"
That grey and white room exploded in cheers and bewilderment. Gohan did the equations quickly in his head. When the math added up, all he could say was, "wow."
"How long, Uncle?" Mai whispered curiously, turning to look at him.
Trunks noticed the question and turned around, awaiting an answer. 'Interesting.' Soon enough, The rest of them joined, looking at the eldest half-Saiyan.
"Just under a week." He answered, mindblown. His eyes distant, completely in shock.
Six days. It would be over in six days. 'They're all going to live.' Toshiro sighed in relief. His sister couldn't speak, but she embraced him as he started to laugh from joy. Bulma and Vegeta took a deep breath.
"I hope this really does work." Bulma told him telepathically.
"Shut up woman." He rolled his eyes. "It will, I know it."
xXxXxXx
Pan's eyes widened. "Are you lying to me, Trunks Briefs?" Not a chance in hell could that be true!
He stared at her in disbelief. 'Do I look that crazy?'
"Yes." She chuckled, reading his thoughts.
It had been hours since Mai had slipped up, confirming what he had suspected for a while. Trunks snapped back to reality as Pan grabbed his hand and dragged him from his bedroom. That fire in her eyes reignited at this news.
The two families sat around the room and small talked. The night continued like normal, as Toshiro threw a cracker at Marron. She laughed as she pulled the remnants from her hair. "What'd I say?"
Pan released his hand at the edge of the room. She marched over angrily to Mai. As she picked up the twenty-three year old by collar, she said, "hey, what ar-"
Slap!
The room lay quiet as confusion enveloped them. "Why?" Pan screamed. "Why would you lie about who I am to you?" Her voice faltered as tears streamed from her face.
"I'm sorry." Mai whispered, as Trunks worked to pull the teen off of her.