CHAPTER 7:
Exchanging Rings

Two large doors were the only things separating Pan from the great hall of the gigantic dome chapel. She stared at the barred exit distantly as her hands fiddled with the item in her hands. Minutes before, the little man who called himself Hikaru had given her a rather large ring to hold for the ceremony. He's got to be kidding me. I know Trunks has big hands, but this thing, if a little larger, could be big enough to fit around my wrist. She looked down to observe the object again. I wonder what this could be made of? This doesn't look like any metal I've seen before. Although it had the appearance of yellow gold, at a second glance, she realized it was translucent, unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Also, it was warm to the touch. She would never have noticed it if it weren't for the room being so cold. All this anxiety had drained circulation in her arms, and the ring was acting as a somewhat hand-warmer.

Behind the big doors, the great hall was extremely noisy. She knew quite a crowd must have gathered, considering practically the "whole city" was here today, according her grandpa. So much for a quiet and secret wedding. With a few thousand witnesses, her "bonding" to Trunks would definitely go down in history books here, and it would most likely be listed under the "comedy" section. She had no idea what to expect from this ceremony and felt like everything would go wrong.

She heard hushing sounds from the great hall and knew it must be time. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The doors before her began to open, and at that point, she was able to see the aisle she would be expected to walk down. But something threw her off. Where is the music? Pan's eyes widened as she felt her heart leap to her throat. Aren't I supposed to be walking in with music playing? What am I supposed to do now! Pan felt an inner scowl while forcing an outer smile. That's just great. The ceremony hasn't even started and I'm already making a fool of myself. She looked out among the crowd. They all had their eyes on her. Pan had a funny feeling that they were expecting her to walk, and was about to take her first step, but halted when she heard some of the crowd begin to sing. Suddenly, they all joined in, singing some song in their native language, severely off-key and lacking in rhythm. It all sounded like dissonant musical mush. Thousands of high-pitched voices sounded like a children's choir gone wrong.

She felt someone nudge her back, but didn't look. She began walking forward, holding the ring as if it were a bouquet. At this point, she noted how large the audience really was, but before she was able to get butterflies in her stomach, she approached the first row, and saw her grandpa not only hopping on his aisle seat, but waving to her happily as if she were ten miles away, rather than the ten feet and closing. She frowned slightly at him, furrowing her brow in disappointment. Grandpa, that is so rude! She made a mental note to apply super-glue to his seat when her real wedding would happen one day.

She refocused her eyes ahead, looking to the altar, or, rather, small stage, where she'd stop and face Trunks. She blinked and darted her gaze around the room quickly. Where is Trunks! She suddenly had a horrible vision in her mind, of herself standing at the altar waiting for a particular demi-saiyan who would have walked out on her. Her heart leapt to her throat, and she felt like she swallowed a golf ball. Where is he? She stopped at the altar, and tried to act calm. She turned around and faced the crowd.

Suddenly, the voices stopped. No one breathed for several moments. Pan saw Goku look around in amazement, trying to find what the people silenced over. The double doors from which Pan had just walked, were closed. They must have shut the doors while she was walking down that aisle. I never imagined myself ever walking down an aisle for my wedding. If I could have had a say in this, I'd have gotten married on Dende's Lookout. She couldn't imagine anything more honorable than having her wedding hosted by the Guardian of Earth.

Two small Kikaruan men stood before the doors, nodded to each other, and began to open the doors again. The doors creaked open a little too slowly for Pan's patience. This time, six men were waiting to walk down the aisle, carrying a gigantic pink palanquin with a very sorry Trunks frowning on top.

Pan tried her best to keep a straight face. Her body shook for a second with the first chuckle she held in, and she was able to control it afterward only by re-focusing her attention on Trunks' outfit. His dress flowed down the palanquin, draping the six men's shoulders. She now understood why the men had such a long gown, since they would be lifted up for their entrance to the ceremony. It really was a nice effect, and would have been quite glamorous if it weren't for Trunks' expression on top. Pan found herself looking at him again, and darted her gaze away toward Goku before a smile could creep to her face. Oh man, will I be teasing Trunks about this later!

It was at that time, she realized her grandpa was taking pictures. She knew she'd have to destroy them later, before they'd get home, but she snickered to herself, thinking of the fun she'd have with them beforehand. She'd have to frame the pictures of Trunks. This moment was absolutely priceless.

It seemed to be taking an eternity for the procession, or it felt like one. Pan was so eager to get this done and over with, everything seemed to go in slow motion. The procession approached, lowered Trunks, helped him off, marched back to the doors, closed and opened them again for the little Hikaru man and his wife who walked down the aisle as well, and escorted them to the small stage. It just seemed to long and drawn out, Pan found herself daydreaming of the man standing beside her, thinking of what their lives actually would turn out like if they did keep their marriage intact, however much their pride made them want to deny it. I wonder what our kids would look like? I bet they'd look more like him, since he and Bra look so much like their mother, and the bright hair seems to be a dominant trait... She could distantly feel a hand grasp hers and blinked, snapping her thoughts from the clouds. She realized Trunks was sadly smiling to encourage her, squeezing her right hand. She tried her best to fight off a blush as she looked ahead and observed that she wasn't facing the aisle anymore. At some point, she must have turned around to face Hikaru, who had his eyes closed and his hands raised. His wife, a fairly pretty Kikaruan with pale violet hair, stood behind him, holding some scriptures, also with her eyes closed.

The hall was silent. Pan figured they must all be in prayer of some sort, and was beginning to feel really nervous. She found comfort in another squeeze from Trunks. Kami, he's still holding my hand. She didn't want to be rude and jerk it away. That would only hurt Trunks' feelings, and they were both in this boat together. But no guy had ever held her hand like this before. Although he probably thought nothing of it, being so much older and having experienced so much more in his life, this was a big deal to her. It's one thing to squeeze my hand for comfort, but he's holding it as if he has no intention of letting go... Look at her. She sighed inwardly. At her marriage, she was making a bigger deal of her husband holding her hand than the ceremony. Baka! He's not your husband. It's just a staged act...

Hikaru lowered his hands and began to speak. His voiced boomed and echoed around the dome. "For all those gathered here today, we will be witnessing the bonding two souls who have journeyed from a distant planet to mate under our religion and law."

The dome erupted in clicks and finger snapping. I guess that's their way of clapping. One person made a hoot call. Pan knew exactly who that was, too. She grimaced. What is this? Some comedy show! Why are they all interacting with the ceremony?

Hikaru raised his hands, and the hall silenced again. "Let us begin." His wife stepped up beside him. "I, the Saint Hikaru ,with my mate Lelanu have pledged ourselves to joining these two as Raiyan's children." Lelanu handed him a scripture, which he took in his hands and held up to read. "Introduce yourselves to the court, young male suitor."

Trunks blinked a moment. "You mean me?" Hikaru nodded toward Trunks. "Do you mean, to the crowd?" Hikaru nodded again and gestured toward the people.

Letting go of Pan's hand, Trunks turned, blushing slightly. "Uh, I'm Trunks Briefs. I'm from Earth." Trunks glanced over to Hikaru, who was urging him to continue. "I uh... run a company for a living, and I'm here because I'm looking for dragonballs."

Hikaru hissed behind him, "Tell them why you want to marry her!"

Trunks gasped and looked in panic toward Hikaru. "You never said I had to present a speech," he whispered angrily.

Pan rolled her eyes and whispered toward him, "Just say something, Trunks. Make it up if you have to. I don't have all day!"

Trunks swallowed and quickly tried to think of something nice to say. "I um... I've known Pan all her life, since she was a baby. I loved her family and friends, and I could not help but love her as well. She will always be someone special to me and," Trunks swallowed again, "I would be honored to take her as my w-...mate."

Hikaru turned to Pan. "Introduce yourselves to the court, young female."

Pan sighed outwardly and turned to face Trunks. "I'm Pan Son, and I'm also from Earth." I can't believe I'm doing this. "I've known Trunks all my life, and I think he's arrogant, stubborn, and takes everything too seriously. But he is a good friend, and he's fair and he always makes his family, including his best friends, feel loved always..." What would Vegeta say if he were sitting in the audience, listening to this? "He's a good fighter and he's loyal, and I know he'll be able to defend his family one day. I feel he would be a good mate for me because I can imagine having a family with him." She had said all of this while looking straight at him. He was blushing with a confused smile and frowning eyebrows, as if he weren't sure if he should be happy or sad at the moment.

Hikaru nodded and commanded of them, "Now turn and face me." When they did, he continued, "Kneel." At first, Trunks seemed a little hesitant, but he got down on his right knee beside Pan and reached for her hand again. "At this time, I will read the Holy Scriptures of Raiyan," and Hikaru began the service.

––––––––

It seemed like it had been several hours since Hikaru began to chanting the scriptures. Trunks was still feeling faint and dizzy. He'd been feeling this way ever since he left his dressing room, as if he were standing back and watching himself do everything from a distance. The only thing really grounding him was Pan's hand, which he held for support. It was the only thing that seemed real at this moment. Everything else was like a bad dream that was passing before him. He was happy, though, that this much time had passed. The ceremony could not possibly go on too much longer. He wasn't even listening to the drone of Hikaru's voice. He was trying to imagine himself home, sitting on his couch next to Goten, discussing his best friend's new girlfriend of the week while lying through his teeth about himself still being single and looking.

He tried to also picture an alien couple landing on Earth who were husband and wife. Even though they were married on another planet, wouldn't that still make them husband and wife no matter where they went? Sure there were no legal documents on Earth proving it, but if anyone ventured over to Hikaru, they'd find Trunks and Pan on the front page of every newspaper. It would be like trying to deny having a child. Just because his baby wouldn't be right in front of him, he'd have no right to just lie through his teeth about it. And they mated for life, here. It's not like they could split up after getting the dragonball. He would be living a lie for the rest of his life if he were to marry any other woman. But it's worth it if we can save the Earth. I would sacrifice my life for my planet any day, whether I would be alive or in another dimension.

He fingered the ring they had given him before the ceremony. He wondered what kind of metal the ring could be made from. The alloy was very interesting. He had never seen anything like it before. Perhaps he could apply it to an invention in Capsule Corp. when he returned. He smiled, thinking his mother would love to get her hands on it, but that would practically be begging for a flood of questions. He had hoped that the news about his wedding could be kept a secret for as long as possible.

Hikaru stopped chanting, and all was silent. He smiled at both Pan and Trunks and stepped to the side, making way for his wife, Lelanu. When she spoke, her voice rang like bells, "It is now the time for the ring presentation." She raised her hands, "Stand up, both Trunks and Pan of Earth." He felt himself let go of Pan's hand and stand before the small woman. Her smile was warming, and eased his anxiety slightly.

The woman Lelanu stood confidently and swept her hands gracefully before the crowd. "The rings of Hikaru symbolize the loyalty that two whombe bonded may share." Lelanu's long hair began to move as if there were a hidden breeze. Trunks snapped alert and noted that this woman, Lelanu, was raising her ki at a dramatic rate. What's going on? How does she have such an enormous ki all of a sudden! Trunks glanced over to Pan, who was frowning in contemplation as well. He felt Goku begin to raise his ki as well, most likely as a precaution.

Lelanu brought her hands down, but her ki continued to increase. "With these rings, you will bond for life. You may never bond to another as long as your mate lives, and you will not be able to take the life of your there any doubt in your hearts that you will not be able to fulfill your vows? If so, speak now." Her hair began to lift itself as if a wind were below her, and her white robe moved as if she were flying. Both Pan and Trunks kept their silence, but Trunks was feeling a mental battle inside himself. Lelanu turned to look at him, her face now expressionless.

"Trunks Briefs, have you chosen the finger on which you shall don your ring?" He nodded to her solemnly, wondering how the ring would stay on his finger. Lelanu smiled to him softly. "Then let me hold the ring you possess in your hands."

He handed her his ring and watched as she turned to Pan. "Pan Son, be you ready to chant the incantation?" Pan nodded in response to her. "Alright, Pan Son, I will say it slowly so you may follow. It be in our native tongue. The words mean 'with this ring I bond my life to you freely'." Pan nodded and began to recite the words, stuttering slightly, "Ngaryu mamoget nkankund'ge mangadalgo."

The ring that Pan held began to glow. Trunks could not believe what he was seeing. The gold ring was actually glowing! I'm going to have fun playing with it later! Trunks smiled to himself, discovering he actually would gain something worthwhile from this trip.

Lelanu began to levitate next to Pan. She put her hand on Pan's head and closed her eyes. "Just relax, Pan Son, this will only channel my energy into the ring you hold." The woman opened her eyes and looked at Trunks, "Now, Trunks Briefs, hold out your hand on which you wish your ring to be."

He held out his left hand toward Pan, feeling a little confused. Why did the ring need so much power? What was the woman doing? He looked into Pan's eyes with a concerned look. Lelanu's words broke through his thoughts, "Tell her which finger you wish your ring to be on."

"My, uh...ring finger." He was impressed with how people could customize their weddings here. They could actually choose the finger on which they wished to wear their ring. He guessed it was because the metal was dead giveaway as to what kind of ring it was, versus having so many rings look alike on Earth and needing to actually reserve a location for a wedding band.

"Now, Pan Son, place the ring on his finger." He watched Pan slip the oversized ring onto his finger, but before she could let go, something extraordinary happened. It glowed white brightly and then began to shrink before their eyes. It molded itself to his finger, dimming to a dark yellow light. And then the light was gone, and it was done. Wrapped around his finger, a translucent gold ring symbolized Trunk's bond to Pan. When he looked up to the young girl, she was panting as if she had just gone through a sparring session with her father.

Lelanu levitated toward Trunks and took his hand, examining the ring. "May Lord Raiyan bless you and all your days to come." She smiled at him and turned to Pan. "Now Pan Son, have you chosen the finger on which you shall don your ring?" Her voice rang like a Christmas carol in the hall. The audience was awed into silence.

"Yes, I have. The same one."

Lelanu smiled and handed Trunks the ring that Pan had lent her. "And Trunks, are you ready to recite the incantation?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. I mean, uh, yes." Trunks heard the words he had to repeat and felt like he was going to make a fool of himself, getting the words wrong. "Uh... Nuhgoku, um... momget mankind mangadollgo?"

The audience erupted in laughter, and Trunks blushed furiously. "Trunks!" Pan hissed at him, "Are you trying to ruin this for me?"

Trunks blinked and looked to her, suddenly feeling a defensive anger rise. He narrowed his eyes and hissed back, "Ruin it for you! What about me?"

Lelanu held up her hands and silenced the hall. She smiled at Trunks and shook her head in humor. "Try it again, this time, say one word at a time with me. Ngaryu..."

Trunks just hoped this was the last stage of the wedding. He wasn't sure if he had the patience to go on with this any longer. Thiswas humiliating. He was in a dress, he was faking a marriage to Pan, and he was forced to recite stupid words.

ButTrunks sucked in his pride and calmly stated,"Ngaryu..."

"Mamoget..."

His eyebrow twitched at the thought that he and Pan had to bear their naked selves to each other after this. "Mamoget..."

"Nka-nkun-'ge..."

He wondered how he'd be able to even touch her. And they couldn't bring anything in other than their own bodies. It wasn't as if he could easily blindfold himself. He wouldn't even be allowed a blindfold. "Nkankun'ge.."

"Mangadalgo!"

"Manga...dalgo." At the end of his word, the ring in his hand began emitting even more heat. It grew so warm that it began to emanate light. He felt Lelanu hovering above him before she placed a hand on top of his head. He suddenly felt a great strength wash over him, and could feel it channel through his hands into the ring which grew even brighter.

Pan held out her left hand and Trunks felt a knot in his stomach. I'm placing a ring on her finger. It really snapped in his mind that he was, in fact, getting married. Before, it seemed unreal. It was a concept, a nightmare, something unfathomable, unbelievable. Even as he was standing on the stage, it just felt like an old high school musical production that he would be starring in. But this, placing this glowing wedding ring on her finger while he wore its matching mate... it hit him hard that he would be swearing away all other love he could have in his life, for this one girl. Gohan's little girl. Goku's granddaughter. His best friend's niece.

In that moment, his life flashed before his eyes. His last second being single. Even if he denied it all of his life, he'd always be married to Pan. I came this far... I'll go all the way. This is for all the people of Earth... and Pan's dignity. As he placed the ring on her finger, it glowed brightly, as his had, and began to shrink to the size of her finger. Suddenly, he felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. All his energy was being sucked away by something... by the ring, as it molded itself to her small hand. It was as if his soul itself became a part of her ring.

He found he was on his knees, panting hard. He looked up to see Lelanu standing over Pan and say, "May Lord Raiyan bless you and all of your days to come." Then, Lelanu landed on the ground and stepped up to her mate Hikaru, who had been observing from the side.

He nodded to her and stepped before them. Trunks stood to acknowledge him. Hikaru looked at Pan and Trunks and smiled. He whispered something low so only Trunks and Pan could hear. "At this time, you two may kiss to seal your destinies."

Trunks froze in horror and looked in slight panic to Pan. "Uh..." His heart felt like it would burst through this ribcage. He suddenly found it hard to breathe, and could feel himself losing his balance. "I have to kiss her...? Do I have to?" He asked faintly, feeling the world spin and the eyes of the audience glued on his every move.

"No, you do not have to. But some choose to." Trunks felt a wave of release. Finally, an option that he could choose. "Alright, we choose not to, then." He felt himself regain his balance and smiled to himself, closing his eyes.

Hikaru looked at Trunks a moment, and then began to address the audience. "As of today, Trunks Briefs of Earth and Pan Son of Earth have hereby bonded under Raiyan's religion and law. May their lives be long, and may they always provide support and happiness for their mate." He looked at Pan, "And may you bear many healthy children."

Pan turned red, a small scowl forming on her face. Trunks would normally have smirked at this comment, but he felt sick at the thought. According to this moon, her "many healthy children" would be mine... He tried to rid himself of the mental image.

The crowd began to sing again, but this time they were talking in addition to it, so the music sounded muffled. As people began to leave the hall, Pan looked at Hikaru and asked "When do we go into the Temple?" Hikaru smiled at her as Lelanu collected the scriptures from his hands.

"This evening, after the dinner. We will let you know when it is time."

Pan nodded. "Thank you for a lovely ceremony. It was very nice." She faked a large smile, and took Trunks' hand, dragging him away from the stage.

"Pan?" Trunks followed in confusion.

"We need to talk."

"Pan, we have all evening to talk. Shouldn't we wait for Goku?" Something told him that Pan wasn't very happy about something. She kept marching forward without looking at him.

"Pan..." She burst through the double doors and led him out to the hallway. He had no idea where she was leading him, but he had a feeling he'd like Goku around for whatever she intended to do.

She found her dressing room door and swung it open, with Trunks still in tow. She turned on the light and let him go as she slammed the door shut.

"Pan?"

She looked like she was going to slap him and he had an inkling he knew what it was about. "Pan, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to mess up the recitation. I didn't mean it, really!"

She pushed him against the wall. "Pan, what is wrong? What are you doing?" He looked at her face and felt the world spin again in fear. "Pan!"

Before he could do anything, she grabbed his head and jammed his mouth down to her lips, throwing her arms around him. His eyes opened wide, and his hands flailed wildly as he let out a muffled yelp, "Mmhnmbm!"

She continued to kiss him as he gathered his strength and tried to pry her off of him, "Mmhbm! MmHBMM!" But she was too strong. He flared his ki hoping to knock her off of him, but she was steadfast. He didn't want to do it, but he was about to seriously injure her... But, before he could form a ki blast, she broke away from him and stood back while he panted in a rage.

Pan crossed her arms and looked at him angrily. "How DARE you not kiss me at our wedding! I will NEVER be able to get over that. NEVER!"

Trunks fumed at her, feeling a low growl coming from his throat, "What was that all about, then? Making up for LOST TIME?"

Pan picked up a lamp and ripped the cord right out from the wall. She threw it at him with all her might. He dodged it just in time and looked to see it shatter where he had just been standing. "Are you NUTS, Pan!" Something flew by his head, and noticed she had just thrown a large glass ashtray that had been next to the lamp.

Right then, Goku walked in and stopped short at the doorway, looking at the broken lamp and shattered ashtray behind Trunks, who was dodging attacks from a very angry Pan.

"Oh wow!" He said delightedly, "You two fell in love already!"

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–9/23/04–