CHAPTER 15:
Definitely Not an Aftershock

"Just hold still!"

"I'm trying! But you keep on shaking those scissors and I know you're going to mess up."

"If you held still, I'd be able to cut it right."

Trunks closed his eyes and quickly sighed in resignation. Goku stood in the bathroom doorway with his arms crossed, looking smugly at the demi-saiyan in the chair. "Hey Trunks, I can cut your hair if you like."

"Grandpa, just get out of here, you're making Trunks nervous."

"Aww, that's mean." Goku's eyebrows went up in a slight frown. "I thought he could use some moral support."

"It's not like I haven't done this before, you know," Pan moved to stand beside Trunks and took his wet bangs in her left hand, measuring them with her fingers.

Trunks moved his hands to his lap, and looked in the mirror. "The only thing that makes me nervous are when your hands shake, that's all."

"My hands are only shaking because you're putting me under so much pressure to get it perfect." She brought the scissors up and clipped off a centimeter of his hair. "I say you should just grow it out. It might look good on you."

"She's right, Trunks. I've seen that look on you before, and it looked pretty stylish."

Pan took another lock of hair in her hands and measured it out. She glanced over to Goku with an eyebrow raised. "When did you see him with long hair before? I don't remember that."

Trunks grimaced, his eyes looking down to his lap. "He's not talking about me, Pan."

She brought the scissors up and snipped. She grinned as she picked up a comb and began to run it through his hair. There was only one other person that her grandpa could be talking about, and Pan had a very good inkling of who is was. "Ah, I get it now! You don't want to grow your hair out because then you'll look like Mirai! Am I right?"

"Just concentrate on my hair."

"You knew full well that this year away from Earth, you could have let your hair grow out just like his, and you're purposely making me cut your hair so nobody compares you to him. I get it."

Goku knocked a few times on the door frame, looking deep in thought. "Hey Pan, after you're finished with Trunks, can you give me a hair trim too?"

"What do you think I am! Your personal hair slave? No way! You're keeping your hairdo."

"Aww, but Pan..."

Trunks looked in the mirror to see the young boy standing there. "While you're standing there, Goku, could you call in Giru? I want to ask him how far we are from the next dragonball."

"Sure thing." Goku turned and left the doorway calling out for Giru. Pan snipped off another clip and ran her fingers through his wet hair. Trunks sighed and looked in the mirror again, watching Pan as she concentrated on getting it straight.

A few moments passed in silence except for the scissors snipping. Trunks closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of all thoughts.

He was tired. He had not slept well the past week, tossing and turning with nightmares, mostly flashbacks of what happened on the planet Vidal. He could not help but wonder what Baby had truly been after, and why he seemed to have an interest in Saiyan power.

He could not bring himself to imagine what would have happened if he could not have overcome Baby's possession of his body. He would have died in more ways than one. Goku would have been forced to kill him, or he could have killed Goku, and in the process would have lost the only person who could have knocked some sense into Baby.

Or worse, Baby could have possessed Goku. Trunks tried not to imagine it, to push the image back in his mind. He needed to meditate and clear his thoughts.

"So, Trunks, what are you going to do when we get back home?" Pan continued to comb and snip, pausing every other few moments to check if it was straight. It was a good change of topic. He had been beginning to feel a little sick with worry about what could have been.

"I don't know. I guess I'll be going back to work." At the thought of being imprisoned in his office again, forced to read file upon file of status reports, contract proposals, stock quotes, and not to mention organize meetings and conferences and proposals, Trunks felt his vision blur a little bit. He hated his job with a passion. "I hope to retire soon, though."

"Retire!" Pan paused in mid-combing. "How old are you? 28! And you're talking about retiring?"

"I don't intend to do it right away. I decided to wait until I'm at least 30." Trunks clasped his hands that were on his lap and took a deep breath. "I will have more than enough money to fall back on, free time to work on my own projects, and, well, maybe I can start planning a family."

A voice chimed, "A family!"

Pan and Trunks turned around to see Goku beaming in the doorway, holding Giru in his hands. "Oh wow guys, already talking about a family. I'm proud of you two. You guys will make wonderful parents."

Pan turned a shade of blue as her eyes opened wide in surprise. Her gaping mouth twitched a little bit and her stiff hands opened and closed as if trying to find support that could be there. She then closed her eyes and put her arms straight down to her side. With an angry growl and a vein protruding from her forehead, she said in an unstable voice, "Would you please stop teasing us already? I've had enough of it!" She trust a finger out to point accusingly at Goku, "He wasn't talking about me!"

"Actually, Pan, I was talking about you. I can't wait till we have kids."

Pan choked a little bit as her eyes grew even wider. She stepped back and stared speechless at the grinning demi-saiyan before her. His grin was a little too wide. She found her breath again when she realized he was holding back laughter, his eyes squinting from trying to keep them serious while his cheeks and eyebrows quivered in humor.

Pan opened and closed her fists, glaring with her eyes narrowed toward Trunks. She was thinking of where best to punch him and send him crashing into the wall. "You think you're so funny! All you're doing is giving Grandpa ideas."

"Oh come on, it was just a joke." Trunks turned back to sit properly in his chair, his laughing eyes still glued on her from the mirror. "You had a really classic expression on your face. You only get that when you're taken completely by surprise. I just couldn't lose that opportunity!"

"Sometimes, Trunks, I seriously think you're a bigger baby than Grandpa, you're so immature sometimes."

Trunks' smile vanished and his eyes opened slightly wider. The sick feeling returned to his stomach. He ached as if he had venom coursing through him, and gripped the sides of the chair as if it were threatening to throw him off. He threw his head down, his eyes flashing red for a brief moment, his body trembling.

"Hey Trunks, are you okay?" Goku released his hold of Giru and ran up to grab Trunks' right arm, looking in his eyes. Pan dropped her scissors in surprise of Trunks' relapse and gripped his shoulders, calling his name.

"Trunks! Trunks, answer me!"

"Danger! Danger!" Giru hovered in the doorway, flinging his limbs out in a panic.

"Grandpa, what's wrong with him!"

Goku put his hand to Trunks' forehead and jerked it back. "He's really hot. We should have him lie down."

"N-no... I'm f-fine, really." Trunks' breaths were deep and forced. "I need a h-haircut more than I need a nap, believe me."

"I'm not buying it. Your haircut is done, anyway. I was only being picky." Pan stood back and motioned Trunks to stand up. "You're sick, and you need to lie down."

Trunks leaned forward, his head down, his eyes closed, still gripping the sides of the chair, panting hard. "I...don't need to."

"Well, you're going to!" Pan crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out.

"I said NO, you little BRAT!" Trunks stood up and threw the chair again the wall, splintering it into fragments. He looked up with glowing red eyes, a twisted scowl on his face.

"T-Trunks!"

"Danger! Danger! Giru, Giru!"

"Stand back, Pan, that isn't Trunks." Goku moved to stand in between Trunks and Pan.

"What's going on!" Pan clasped her face in her hands, backing up against the wall. "What's happening!"

Trunks gave a distorted grimace and flung his right hand out, wrapping it around Goku's neck, "You stay out of this, little boy." He flung him into the wall, aside the broken chair, cracking the tile. Trunks progressed over to the trembling girl, a haunted evil expression on his face. "You think a baby like me needs to have a nap time? I'll show you a nap you'll never forget!" He threw both his hands out and began to form a blue ki blast, aimed at her face.

"Trunks! Stop!" Her eyes grew wider, tears forming as the blast got bigger in his hands. It was barely inches away. She was pinned against the wall, her voice faltering, unable to do anything to block the blast.

In one moment, the energy ball collected before her face, the light from it blinding her. She could hear a yell and a snap from behind it, and suddenly, the ball was gone as Trunks crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Goku stood there, his hand still protruding out where he hit Trunks on the neck. "Are you okay?"

Pan found herself still clawing the bathroom wall, short of breath, her heart racing. Everything had passed so fast, it seemed unreal. One moment, Trunks had been laughing and teasing, and the next, he was out for the kill.

"That," Goku pointed to the demi-saiyan, "was no aftershock."

"Do you think he's going to be okay...?" Pan clutched her heart, catching her breath. She looked at Trunks on the ground. His face was so peaceful. She couldn't bear but think about the internal struggle he must be facing right now. Something just happened to him, but what?

"I don't know, but he definitely needs to rest." Goku picked up Trunks' limp form and hoisted him over his shoulder. "It's a little too soon to blame it on a mid-life crisis, eh?"

Goku walked out the bathroom door and into the bedroom. He lay the unconscious demi-saiyan, wet hair and all, onto his side, the far side, of the bunk. He stood looking at him for a minute, and looked to Pan, who had followed him in. "Should we tie him up?"

"Tying him up will only get him angry. He might explode again..." She sniffled slightly, shaking her head. "I don't ever want that to happen to him... ever again..." She could feel a sob threatening to surface.

"That wasn't Trunks." Goku shook his head. "There was a disturbance in his ki."

"Do you think it could be Baby?"

"No, Baby escaped. We both saw him go, but..." Goku looked back at Trunks, "he got this way after you called him a 'baby.' This may have something to do with that parasite after all."

"What should we do?"

Goku looked at Pan again, his eyebrows down in thought. "You stay here and watch him. If anything out of the ordinary happens, I want you to call out for me. I'll be in the cockpit with Giru."

Pan nodded as her grandpa left with the robot. She walked to the wall and turned off the light. Slowly, she walked over to the bed and sat on its edge, watching Trunks sleep. Everything seemed so calm.

Time passed and Trunks still was dreaming. He hadn't slept this well in an entire week. He would sometimes wake both Goku and herself up in screams from his nightmares, but when they would shake him awake, he couldn't remember a thing. But here he was, sleeping peacefully for the first time. It scared her that he could sleep so well after a panic that he caused not too long ago, but it eased her as well. She would have been more concerned if he were tossing and turning in his dreams. She wanted to reach out and run her fingers through his damp hair to let him know that everything would be okay, but was too afraid that she'd wake him.

More time passed. It must have been several hours since the incident. Pan was beginning to feel tired, but wasn't sure if she should climb up to her bunk. He might sneak out while she would be completely oblivious, in a deep sleep above his bed.

She'd have to block him in just in case he tried to leave. She laid her head down on her grandpa's pillow and continued to watch Trunks. If he tried to climb over her, it would definitely wake her up. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, pushing all her concern to the back of her mind as she took several deep breaths. It wasn't long until she, herself, fell asleep.

––––––––

Goku had had enough of this. He was bored stiff and couldn't figure out how to play that dumb colored block game, whatever its name was, on Trunks' handheld game device. Giru was sitting on the dashboard on standby mode. All he could do was lie back and watch the stars and hope that some sign of either of the two remaining dragonballs would pop up. He reached into his pocket and unpacked the four-star dragonball that he always kept by his side. He tossed it up and down in an attempt to humor himself, but realized he could juggle it for only so long before he lost his interest and got bored again.

A loud growl reverberated in the cockpit. Goku moaned and rubbed his stomach. "I'm so hungry..." He weakly sat up from the pilot's chair and began walking to the bedroom. He'd ask Pan to make him some dinner while he'd take over her shift. The thought of food made his stomach rumble again. He could really go for some pasta.

He slowly opened the bedroom door and saw that the lights were out. He tiptoed in and squinted his eyes to get a better look of the situation. He grinned mischievously when he saw that Pan had fallen asleep beside Trunks, lying on her side facing him.

Oh, this is too good! He crept as silently as he could over to the couple and gently lifted Pan's arm to wrap around Trunks. She moved a little bit, tightening her grip around Trunks' waist as she took a deep breath and then lay still again. Goku beamed down on the two, his grin stretching from one cheek to the other, his eyes lighted at the thoughts of playing matchmaker. They were so cute when they slept like that.

Now where is that camera...? It was somewhere in the lounge. He'd have to grab it quickly before the two woke up. It was just a perfect situation for them. After he'd snap a picture as a memento, he'd wake them up and voila, he'd have dinner and a show as Trunks and his granddaughter would fall madly in love in front of him!

He smiled to himself. He was such a genius.

And if worse came to worse, if Trunks were still in that weird angry mode, he'd just have to knock him out again. It seemed pretty simple. And, in either case, he'd get his dinner. He smiled even wider. This was the perfect plan!

He reached the doorway and slowly and silently closed the door, holding his breath so as not to wake them up. The door shut with a little click . He found himself in the hallway with his hands on his hips looking quite smug.

––––––––

A small click entered into her mind. She was in a light sleep, completely relaxed. She was so warm, holding something. Her faint dreams pictured the click as a door closing. Images of home painted themselves in her mind. She was so happy she'd be able to save them. All of her friends would be okay because of her, everyone including her grandpa and Trunks. Something had been wrong with him, but she couldn't place what. "Ahh..." She subconsciously stretched her body, feeling it beginning to wake up. Something was blocking her left arm from stretching. She weakly dropped it and moaned softly, opening her eyes tiredly.

She somehow was next to Trunks, he was still sleeping. "Mmm..." she gave an inaudible moan and felt her body slowly beginning to gain back feeling. Her eyes shot open wide when she realized she had her arm around him. How did that happen! She tried her best to gently lift her arm without disturbing him. She knew if he had woken up before her and saw her arm like that, he would have completely gotten the wrong idea! How could she possibly have explained that one!

"Don't..." Trunks moaned something under his breath, "What... what are you doing?" His breath began to quicken, his eyes tightly shut, his body slightly trembling.

Pan froze her arm, unsure whether lifting it any more would awaken him, or if he was already awake. If he were still asleep, it would have meant he was having nightmares and flashbacks again. That wasn't good, but it made her so relieved to know that the real Trunks was dreaming something.

"No...no..NO!..." He turned away from her, clutching his pillow. Her hand was still suspended in the air, over where he used to be. She retracted it and sat up in bed, watching him. "Dad... don't..." He clutched his pillow tighter, releasing a sob, "don't go..."

"Trunks?" She reached out to touch him. "Trunks?"

He shot up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. He was looking straight ahead, his hair, now dry, disheveled and tangled. His arms were tensed, his eyes wild, his voice trembling, "It was... a nightmare..."

"What was it about?" Pan reached out to touch his face. He jerked back in reflex and turned to look at her.

"I don't..." He brought his hand up to his forehead. "I don't remember. But it was different from my other nightmares lately."

"You were calling out for your father to stop doing something and to not go."

"Did I?" He tried to run his fingers through his hair, but found he couldn't. It was too knotted up at the moment.

At that, the door burst open and Goku jumped in with a camera, "Say 'Dende'!" A blinding flash of light cast the whole room in a white hue. Pan and Trunks stared stupidly, with their mouths hanging open at the boy. That didn't just happen...

"Uh oh, you guys are awake!" Goku gave an embarrassed smile, with all teeth showing, while his left arm reached behind him and scratched his head. "I guess that makes this an awkward moment..."

"What do you think you're doing, Grandpa!" Pan shot out of bed, arms straight at her sides, her balled fists itching to get a knock at his face. "Give me that camera RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh come on, Pan, it was just a picture of you two in bed together. You weren't doing anything!" Goku hid the camera behind his back as Pan approached him a slow rage.

"How did you know I was in the bed with him! You came in, saw me with my arm around him, and left to get your camera, didn't you!"

"You were awake!"

"You had your arm around me?"

"Just SHUT UP, both of you!" Pan pointed to Goku. "Grandpa, if you don't give me that camera right now, I'm going to make you so miserable, you're going to WISH you would have starved to death!"

"Ack!" Goku turned a shade of green.

Trunks smirked a little bit, "Goku, I suggest giving her the camera. If you don't, she'll probably cook another one of those 'stews', Kami help us."

"No!" Goku stuck his tongue out at her.

"GIRU!" Pan pulled at her hair. "GIRU come in here RIGHT NOW!"

"Giru! Giru Giru!" The robot rushed into the bedroom at light speed, hoving before her. "Pan called?"

"Eat that camera. Now."

"He tried it before. It won't work." Goku held the camera in front of him, waving it around to tease the robot.

"Trunks, you grab Grandpa."

"Hey, I'm not getting involved." Trunks shook his head with a smile.

"Fine then, I'm going to go grab a needle from the first aid kid."

"Noooooo!" Goku's eyes bugged out and he froze in terror. The camera dropped from his grip as he staggered back at the thought.

Giru snatched the small box and ate it in a matter of milliseconds.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Goku flung himself toward the robot with claws outstretched. "Give that back!"

"Poor Goku, he's traumatized." Trunks leaned back in the bed, smiling at the whole event taking place. Goku had grabbed Giru and was shaking him wildly, turning him upside-down and waiting for the camera to fall out.

"Dr-a-gon-ball... de-tec-ted!" Giru was flailing his arms wildly.

"You spit that thing out right this instant!"

Trunks sat forward in bed, "Goku, stop shaking him. I think he has something to say."

Goku dropped Giru and stood towering over him, emitting a deadly glare.

"Dragonball detected?" Giru seemed to be asking it in question form, cowering under Goku's figure. Although the boy was small, he was gigantic compared to the small robot. "Dragonball! Dragonball detected!"

Trunks got out of bed and straightened his shirt, "How far away is this dragonball?"

"Ten minutes, Giru Giru!"

"WHAT?" Trunks spread his arms wide in surprise. "How long have I been out!" He brought his left wrist up to look at his watch.

"I don't know, several hours I assume." Pan tilted her head to the side to watch Trunks.

"I have to go land this ship! You two, get ready for entering the atmosphere!" He bolted out the door, cursing them for not waking him up sooner.

When Trunks was gone, Pan smirked at her defeated grandpa for moment, and walked out of the room casually with Giru. Serves him right. She smiled at her own remarkable brilliance, looking back to see her grandpa still standing there alone.

Goku's shoulders slumped with the realization that he'd lost this battle. All the best candid moments of the trip were on that camera. Stupid robot...

––––––––

Trunks was the last one out of the ship, holding Giru. Pan clicked the remote and locked the spacecraft. She packed it in her backpack next to the four dragonballs she always carried around.

They were on a forested planet with blue skies, green fields, and oceans that spanned great distances. It looked very much like Earth and gave Pan a pang of homesickness. They had landed on a cliff that overlooked a large lake surrounded by trees.

"Okay guys, let's start walking. It isn't too far from here." Trunks began walking toward the cliff, followed by Pan and Goku, who was looking around at all the plants curiously. As they reached the edge, they looked down and saw that, although ground was not too far down, the cliff was too steep to walk. The trio took to the air, flying down the slope, and landed on a grassy clearing that ran along the bank of the large body of water.

The robot began bleeping with great intensity. Trunks studied the dragon radar built into the back of Giru, then looked at Pan. "Looks like the dragonball is somewhere in this lake."

"Really! Wow, that was a quick search..."

"You guys wait here and leave the swimming part up to me!" Goku flexed his young muscles and dove into the water.

Pan crossed her arms, "Well I'm glad he was willing to go, because I'm in no mood to get my hair wet." She patted her dry hair and winked at Trunks.

He grinned slightly at her, but frowned when her smile vanished and Trunks heard something loud behind him. Pan's eyes grew large and he spun around to see a gigantic tidal wave come out of nowhere, about to crash on them. "Pan, watch out!" The water pounded on them as they yelled in surprise. Everything was tossed and thrown under the weight of the entire lake landing on them.

When the water receded, Trunks realized that they were both soaked to the bone and shivering from the cold. The look on Pan's face was classic, her hair and bandana dripping, and her clothes soggy. He couldn't resist it, the rumble in his chest, growing louder and louder, "HehehahahaHAHAHAHA!" He pointed at her and fell to the ground.

"It's not that funny, Trunks." She said, a small smile making its way to her face. She turned around with her arms crossed, facing away from him any the lake. "It was just grandpa doing a ki blast underwater and going overboard." She huffed.

His laughter ebbed and his eyes widened as he saw something she didn't. "Um... are you sure about that?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure?" She turned around to look at him, but found her eyes wandering to what was emerging from the center lake. "What? What is that thing!"

Giru was bleeping wildly and Trunks grabbed him, turning him over to look at the radar. "It seems like the reaction is emanating from inside that gigantic lizard, Goku! Wow, look at the size of that thing!"

Goku suddenly sprung up from the water, causing another massive wave of shock to ripple through the lake. Trunks grabbed Giru and Pan and flew up to avoid the next wave. They watched Goku fly up to the dragon's mouth and start prying its teeth open. As Trunks let Pan go, she flew closer, over the lake, shouting and waving her hands.

"Grandpa, get down!"

The boy held the lizard's teeth apart triumphantly, as if he had been lifting weights. "That should do it!"

Before either Pan or Trunks could move, Goku jumped into the lizard's mouth and vanished.

Trunks' eyes went wide, "Whaaa! Goku are you CRAZY!"

"Gimme back my Grandpa, you creep! Spit him out!" Pan flew up and started punching the lizard in the stomach. "Spit him out now!"

The lizard began to whine in short shrieking sounds. It threw its head back as if in agonizing pain. Pan flew back and watched the beast clutch its stomach. Pan did a flip in the air, "Good! I knew I'd give you indigestion! Now spit him out!"

Trunks could see something trying to emerge from the belly of the lizard, punching it from the inside. It looked like Goku was having a hard time getting through its tough skin. The figure inside the beast's belly began to fly outward, stretching the lizard's skin and causing it to shriek in pain again.

A loud POP! sent Goku sprawling out of the lizard's belly along with a heavy airstream of gas.

"Oh... oh man NO!" Pan gagged and flew toward the bank as fast as she could. "That's... the most disgusting smell ever..."

Trunks suddenly smelled it. He had once smelled spoiled milk, curdling out in ninety-eight degree weather. It was once in his entire life that he had to endure that horrible smell. This was worse by far. It was as if rotten meat and eggs were mixed into the batter. He was doing all he could not to throw up. He covered his nose and mouth with his hand and found his ki faltering.

He felt Goku grab him and help lower him to the ground. Goku smelled just as bad. He felt so weak when he touched the ground, he couldn't balance himself.

"Goku..." Trunks fell on his knees, finding it hard to breathe. "I need... a gas mask..."

"Oh shape up, you'll get used to it. If you think this is bad, you should have smelled that thing's breath."

It suddenly struck Trunks that this entire situation was hilarious. Here he was, practically dying from a smell when he had endured far worse threats to his life before. He wondered how his father would react to this situation. He just tried to picture a look of disgust on his father's face. It was just too funny.

Trunks began to laugh out loud, earning a worried glance from Goku as he checked on Pan, who was sprawled on the ground as if playing dead. This was such a classic moment. "Hahaha, at times like these, Goku, I really did wish we had a camera. Too bad it was destroyed! Hahahaha."

Giru spun around and said in a happy tone, "Giru still can take picture, Giru, Giru!"

"What!" Goku's eyes brightened.

"Camera has fused with Giru. Giru can take picture if you like."

"Ohhh! Yeah! Haha! Go ahead, Giru."

"No wait!" Giru's sensory eye flashed and with a Click! caught a distraught Trunks reaching out in desperation. "Oh man, I wasn't serious when I said that..." Crap! Now Goku had his camera back, and it was in the one mechanical device they could not destroy!

"Don't tell me Giru can take pictures now..." Pan sat up weakly with her hand covering her mouth.

Trunks found he was either getting used to the air, or the smell was going away. He felt his energy coming back to him and looked over to Pan, who seemed to be recuperating as well. It would be good to walk around and stretch.

He stood up and looked back at the lake. That's strange... He slowly walked over to the bank where a teeny version of the gigantic lizard was coming ashore. "Hey guys, look at this. The lizard shrunk!"

He bent over, picked up the whimpering reptile and brought it back to show Goku and Pan. He dropped it on the ground and grinned at the thing.

Pan's eyes grew wide in surprise. "That thing is the cutest little lizard I've ever seen!" She beamed a smile and got down on all fours to get a closer look at it. "Aww... look, it's hurt." Pan took off her backpack and found a band-aid to patch the hole in the lizard's stomach. "I'm really sorry. My grandpa didn't mean to hurt you."

"He sure was a little stinker, wasn't he?" Goku peered at the thing as if trying to convince himself that the lizard was the same gigantic beast from before. Trunks grinned at Goku and Pan and they all broke out into laughter.

A beeping sound interrupted them and they all instantaneously looked at Giru, however, the robot was not emitting the sound. Trunks looked down to his wrist and found that his watch was the source of the sound. He looked at it more closely, pressing a few buttons with a knotted brow.

"Is everything okay, Trunks?" Goku stood and walked over behind him to look over his shoulder.

"Sure is." Trunks brought his eyes up to look at Pan, a large smile on his face. "Happy Birthday, Pan."

"It's my birthday? Really!"

Goku beamed at his granddaughter. "Here's a birthday present. I hope you like it!" He tossed his newly acquired dragonball to Pan. She caught it and held it up with a smile.

"Three-stars! Wow, the best birthday present ever! Thanks!" She grinned widely and put it into her backpack. "One more to go and then we're all set!"

Trunks stood and put his arms around each of the other's shoulders. "Hey you two, let's go back to the ship and celebrate. It's not every day Pan gets to turn fifteen."

They walked back, each sporting elated smiles.

––––––––

"Yes! One more! Haha!"

They were in the lounge area which was redecorated with balloons and ribbons. Pan was in her Mexican sombrero, dancing with maracas in front of Giru, who was holding a video camera. Spanish merengue music was blasting throughout the ship. Everyone seemed to be in a light mood. There was much cause to celebrate.

Pan had told them to each wear something silly, so Trunks decided on donning a red party hat with white polka dots while Goku decided to sport eyeglasses with a large nose and mustache. They did look absolutely ridiculous, but it put them all in good moods.

Trunks sat before the meal that he cooked for them. Although it was Pan's turn that evening, he decided to cook a feast by himself as her birthday present. He even made a cake for her. It took several hours, while the other two were setting up, but he was darn pleased with his work. He wondered how his mother would react when she found out he cooked better than her nowadays.

He smiled as he took a bite from the roasted chicken. It was rotisseried just right. He was so proud. "All right! Just one more to go!" He took another delicious bite. Perhaps it was too good. He might actually spoil them.

He looked over to the young saiyan and saw that he wasn't eating anything. That was definitely unlike him. "Why are you looking so glum, Goku? Is something on your mind?"

"Only what happened earlier. It brought my thoughts back to..." Goku chose his words carefully, "a certain parasite."

Pan looked over with a concerned expression on her face. "Grandpa, are you sure you want to bring this up now?"

"What are you talking about?" Trunks took another bite of the chicken and frowned a bit toward Pan and Goku, his gaze moving from one to the other.

The two of them looked at each other a second, then back at Trunks. Pan took off her sombrero. "You don't remember it?"

Trunks swallowed his bite and blinked, "Remember what?"

There was a heavy silence. Trunks felt it weigh on the party. The merengue was playing all around that ship, but right in that spot, everything seemed to just stop.

"Is there something you two know about that I should also, you know, maybe, perhaps hear?"

Goku looked to Pan, "Yes, I agree, we should talk about it later. I'm sorry to bring it up now. It's my fault."

"Tell me right now! What are you two going on about? What happened?"

Goku took a chicken leg and bit into it, his eyes going wide. "Oh wow, Trunks, this is delicious! You're a natural at this."

"What don't I remember?" Trunks stood up and crossed his arms.

Pan took a slice of the cake, stuffing her mouth. "Ohh wow hish ish goob."

He slammed his fists onto the table, rattling all the food. "Are you two going to tell me or what!"

Goku swallowed his bite. "You uh... you snapped last night."

Trunks frowned. "When was this?"

"During your haircut."

"I got a haircut?" He brought his hands to his head and began to probe its length. "Oh yeah, that's right. I don't remember it very well. What happened?"

"You went crazy and attacked Pan after she called you something."

"Called me what?"

"The name of an infant child."

"A baby?" Goku and Pan took a sharp intake of air when he said the word. He looked at them, slightly confused. "You mean like the name of that parasite guy?"

"You're not affected by the word!"

"What?" Trunks shook his head in disbelief. "Are you sure you two didn't imagine something? If I went nuts, I should at least remember part of it, wouldn't you think?"

Pan pointed to one of the doors that lead to the lounge. "Check out the bathroom if you want proof."

Trunks hesitated a moment, then sat back down, putting his arms on the table with a concerned frown. "What do you think caused it, Goku?"

"I'm not sure. It might have been a one time thing, or stress" Goku glanced to Pan and back to Trunks, "or maybe your body couldn't handle him inside you and ended up splitting your personality or something." He pushed his plate away from him and looked Trunks in the eyes. "All I know is that your ki changed a lot. It wasn't you."

Trunks threw up his arms, "Even when Baby was inside of me, I remember everything that happened. This makes no sense! I don't remember a thing!"

"Listen, guys," Pan interrupted them by handing them each a maraca. "Let's worry about that later. You're forgiven for everything, Trunks, and if it happens again, I'll still forgive you. So stop worrying and have fun!" She put her sombrero back on and grabbed another slice of cake. "Think positive thoughts! Soon we'll be able to go home, save the Earth, and live out our days as heros!"

Goku shook his head a bit. "I have a bad feeling... I wonder where Baby could be right now. I was positive he would come after us, but he hasn't." He looked at Trunks' facial reaction. "I'm wondering if we really got rid of him or if he's hiding somewhere while we get comfortable." I'm also wondering if there could be any way Baby could monitor us through Trunks... but that would be impossible...

Pan began to dance again in front of Giru's video camera. "Stop worrying. He put up his best fight, but we won. It's that simple." She began to sing along to the words, trying to phonetically pronounce the Spanish without having any idea if she was singing the words right or not.

Goku shook his head again and looked at Trunks, "But maybe too simple."

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–10/16/05–