Ghost From the Past


chapter 18:

Choices


a/n: Is anyone still reading this? If you're still with me, or just found this story and read it all in one night and didn't have to wait years for an update-thanks!


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We find Goten training alone, on an island, miles outside of West City. A glowing light forms in his outstretched palm and shoots out like a laser into a tall, rocky formation in front of him. If he hadn't been actively using his ki, pinpointing his location wouldn't have been so easy. The rocky formation explodes as his ki blast makes contact with it, and millions of pebbles rain down on us as we land on the flattest surface we could find.

Goten senses our arrival and glances over his shoulder at us. His eyes narrow when he spots Trunks. I'd never seen my uncle look upon his best friend with such disdain before. Without so much as a greeting, Goten propels himself with his ki, flying far away from us, and unleashes multiple ki blasts on the rocky terrain below him. The message is clear: Go away!

"It's impossible to talk to him when he gets like this," Trunks sighs." Goten hardly ever gets angry, but when he does…"

"Gee, I wonder who could've possibly made him this angry," I reply sarcastically while rolling my eyes." We don't have time to wait for him to calm down. He hates you, but maybe he'll talk to me." My legs tense as I prepare to launch myself into the sky after my uncle, but Trunks holds his arm out to stop me.

"I'll talk to him. This whole mess is my fault. Wait here for me where it's safe," Trunks commands. His hardened blue eyes fix upon mine. "I wont let anything happen to our family. It might get messy out there, but whatever happens, trust in me. Don't interfere."

"I trust you." I nod, and I mean it.

Trunks' hair flashes gold as he transforms into a Super Saiyan. His aura glows with golden power as he pushes himself into Super Saiyan 2. The transformation gives him the boost of speed he needs to catch up to Goten within seconds.

I clasp my hands together with worry, unable to do anything more than wait.

Trunks gestures with his arms and hands as he speaks, trying his best to reason with my uncle, but how can he expect reason or forgiveness after sleeping with Goten's first love? Goten yells back at Trunks, but I'm too far away to make out his words. Goten's hair and aura turn gold to match Trunks. He punches Trunks so hard that his body flies out of view. The sound of Trunks' body smashing into the rocky terrain below sounds as awful as a plane crash.

Had Goten's attack caught Trunks off guard, or was he simply allowing Goten to unleash some of his rage?

Goten shoots through the sky like a missile, dead set after Trunks. Their battle was far from over.

"Trunks," I whisper, holding back the painful urge to run to him and protect him in any way that I could." Don't die on me, or else I'll wish you back to life and kill you myself."

I had filled Trunks in on everything that happened in the future on our way here. I told him about his and Valese's daughter,Fable, who we were raising together. I told him about how Goten and I had inherited the power to travel back and forth between time like our grandfather, and how Dende had taken that power away from us so we could live normally again. I told him about the last words I had said to Fable which is why we needed to find Valese and stop her from terminating her pregnancy. I couldn't let that be my last memory of Fable. I couldn't bare the thought of never seeing her sweet face again.

Trunks had quietly listened to me tell my story. Unlike his future counterpart, he didn't start a debate about time travel or mention how unrealistic it was to do so without a time machine. He was still smug, though, when he asked," So, does this mean you want to recreate the future that you saw? Are you saying you want to raise a child…with me?"

I nodded." Yes."

Trunks grinned as if he waited his whole life for me to say that. My face reddened. A mixture of emotions ran through me. Had I just proposed to Trunks? The reason we're married in the future…is it because of me?

"…If that's what you want." I mumbled.

The wind from our auras had pushed our hair out of our faces, so we could see each other clearly. The happy look on his face turned serious, and his eyebrows pinched together." Pan, there's nothing I'd want more than to spend the rest of my life with you, but I have to ask…what happened to Goten? Was he in Fable's life, too?"

I always felt a little uneasy whenever I looked at Fable, not just because she resembled Valese, but deep down, I could always feel Goten's absence. If Valese and Trunks' lovechild is able to be born, then Goten won't be able to forgive them so easily.

"No. Goten wasn't there."

"I see." The remorse written on his face is soon pushed away with a brightened expression." Oh well, I'm positive he'll come around after he sees how happy I make you."

I roll my eyes and groan." We're going to become that lovey-dovey couple nobody can stand to be around, aren't we?"

.+. + . + . + . + . + .

One hour later, I'm in a squatting position, doodling stick figures into the dirt when the constant sounds of ki blast attacks, splitting mountain tops, and punches gives way to eerie silence. My entire body tenses. I hadn't considered the possibility of Goten and Trunks beating each other into unconsciousness. Trunks was older, but Goten was just as skilled in martial arts. They were evenly matched.

"Shit!" I spit into the dirt, nearly falling over as I rush to stand fully upright. There was no hope of ever finding Valese if both men were unconscious. I didn't even have Valese's phone number! How would I ever be able to find her? My eyes squint as I try to make out any humanoid shapes in the distance. Endless land, a vast blue sky, craters, and rubble lay ahead of me. It's impossible to sense their ki when my growing panic is overwhelming my senses.

"Sorry it took so long."

I whirl around at the sound of Trunk's voice. On trembling legs, I sprint over to him. Sometime during their fight, Trunks and Goten had changed into their fighting gis, which were now torn and ragged, barely covering the lower region of their bodies. Trunks was covered in scratches and bruises from his battle. He flinches as I sprint towards him, thinking I'll barrel into him ( if not for that reaction I probably would've), but I pivot and smoothly pull one of his arms over my shoulder so he could lean his weight into me. One of his eyes is swollen shut, and the other half closes as he smiles his thanks at me.

"You look like you're going to pass out. Don't even think about leaving me to do this all on my own," I growl, but it comes out more like a hysterical plea. My knees are still shaking from the panic, and Trunks notices.

"Enough of this, Goten. We can fight each other until every bone in my body is broken if you'd like—but on another day. Right now, we need to find Valese. We need to find her and stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life."

Goten swayed a little as he stood. He was just as battered as Trunks. There was a cut above his right eyebrow, and a small line of blood had made it down half his face. He acted as if he hadn't heard Trunks. His dark eyes had been settled on me ever since I rushed over to Trunks' side.

"Whatever you want from Valese has nothing to do with me." Goten responded to Trunks while still staring into my eyes." I suggest walking away from them now, Pan. They're nothing but snakes. They'll poison you with their lies and betray you over and over again."

"No, that's not true." I respond, unable to stop my tears. It hurts me to hear Goten talk so hatefully about his best friend, and the way he's looking at me- -as if I've betrayed him, too—is tearing me apart. I can't take it." I love Trunks. I love him a lot, and I've chosen to forgive him and Valese and give them a second chance. You should too, Uncle. Don't let one mistake ruin twenty-two years of friendship."

"You're just a stupid child, Pan! You don't know what you're getting yourself into by choosing to be with him. We all thought it was cute you had a crush on him but it's time to grow up. You're eighteen and it's time to act like an adult. Don't choose the man who knocked up his best friend's girlfriend just because he says he loves you. Don't choose the man that betrayed me!" Angry tears are streaming down Goten's face, and he begins to pace and motion with his arms as he talks.

"Why does it have to be him, Pan? Why? If Gohan knew about this he wouldn't approve, and he won't, not when he finds out how Trunks betrayed me! Are you willing to turn your back and walk away from your entire family for him? For that asshole I thought was my friend?"

"I'm not going to walk away from my family. It's not going to come to that."

I had never thought about how my parents and family would react to me marrying Trunks and raising Fable together. I hadn't experienced the future for long, so I don't know if my family was a part of our lives in the future, or if I really did have to choose between my family and Trunks.

"You're so naïve, and bullheaded like your grandma," Goten says. He spits into the dirt, perhaps aiming for Trunks but missing due to how weakened he'd become.

"I'm not a child anymore, Uncle. I can make my own decisions." I gently slide out from under Trunks' arm and leave him to stand on his own as I approach Goten. I tear off the bottom half of my shirt and use the cloth to wipe away the blood on Goten's face." I'm not asking you to forgive Trunks right away, and just because I've chosen to forgive him doesn't mean he gets to walk all over me. He gets one chance. One. If he messes up again, then I'll walk out of his life forever. You didn't see the future I experienced. I did, and I don't want to let it go, so will you help me?"

Goten exhales through his nose, the way he's always done whenever I've annoyed him and he's had enough." Valese took a train to Peppertown after we broke up to stay with her grandma. Her appointment is at the only clinic there." Fueled by pure anger and adrenaline, Goten lifts off the ground and flies into the sky.

"Thank you so much! You're the best! " I scream after him.

Trunks, too weak to stand on his own, collapses face-first into the dirt. Plop!

+.+.+.+.+

"It's a good thing you bring your dyno caps with you everywhere," I say, cradling Trunks' head like a baby. With shaky fingers I push a recovery pill ( from the first aid dyno cap) into his mouth. Instead of always relying on Korrin's senzu beans, Capsule Corp created a similar pill for the public to use. It doesn't have the power to heal broken bones, but it comes pretty close to the real thing.

Trunks groans and barely manages to swallow the pill. Within ten minutes he's able to open his eyes. After another five he's talking and standing on his own again.

"Can you fly?" I ask." Pepper Town will only take us twenty minutes to fly there. It's not that far away."

" I don't think I can." Trunks winces, one arm tucked close to his torso as if he's still in a lot of pain." I have my helicopter capsule. We'll have to take that. I think Goten cracked one of my ribs. Damn, he really tried to kill me back there."

"Can you blame him?" I take out the dyno cap and throw it in front of me. Poof! The Capsule Corp helicopter pops out of it. Trunks gets into the passenger side, and I slide into the pilot's seat. I'm not a professional pilot, but Bulla has flown me in her helicopter many times and I got to pilot it solo after a few house parties." How much time do we have left until Valese's appointment? Will this thing get us there in time?"

"Relax. We have plenty of time." Trunks leans his head back into his seat and closes his eyes." Just focus on getting us there in one piece."

I nod." Right."

.+.+.+.+.+.

The helicopter isn't as fast as flying, and it takes us another hour to get to Pepper City. We spend most of that time together in silence. Trunks is too drained from his fight with Goten to participate in small talk, and I'm too busy trying to figure out what to say to Valese to fill in the silence. Once we're within a mile of Pepper City, I find a patch of open farmland to safely land the helicopter. Trunks is a celebrity; it would draw too much attention if we landed the helicopter at one of Capsule Corps branch offices nearby or anywhere within the city. The last thing we needed was the media picking up on this delicious "scandal."

I shut off the helicopter engine." You know, if Valese was smart, she'd give birth to your child and be set for life. She'd never have to worry about money."

"Are you saying we should bribe her?" Trunks unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the helicopter. I do the same.

"No, I don't think that's going to work. If Valese wanted money she would've tried dating you from the beginning, not Goten. She really loved Goten and I think she'll always be ashamed of herself for cheating on him."

Trunks encapsulates the helicopter. Horses and goats watch us wearily from the edge of the field, staying close to the wooden fence. There's a house beyond the field. No vehicles are parked out front and there's not a farmer in sight.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Trunks asks.

"Grab onto me. I can gently fly us the rest of the way, then we can go from there."

Trunks arches his brow." Are you going to tell Valese the whole story, like the one you told me?"

I shake my head." No. I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, but Valese is an airhead. I think the truth would freak her out. She wouldn't understand. My plan is to beg her to have that baby. It's not much of a plan but it's the only one I can think of."

Trunks takes out another capsule, producing the blue college t-shirt and jeans he had on earlier. He doesn't give any warning as he rips off his tattered gi right in front of me. My eyes bulge and my mouth opens at the shock of seeing him completely naked. Trunks has a great body, and I've seen him naked in the future, but this is the present…we still haven't slept with each other for the first time yet! What is he thinking getting butt naked right in front of me?

Trunks smirks at my expression." We still have some time before Valese's appointment…" His eyes roam down my body.

"How the hell can you be horny at a time like this? Sex is the furthest thing from my mind right now! Learn to read the room!"

"Relax, Pan. I was only joking around. I thought it would make you laugh." He winces as he slowly begins putting on the jeans.

"No you weren't." I angrily cross my arms, not bothering to turn away and give him some privacy. Trunks doesn't say anything. He smiles to himself and gives me some hopeful looks every five seconds.

"Later, there will be plenty of time for that later," I tell myself.

.+.+.+.+.+.+

We find the clinic without a problem. There's one protester holding up an anti-abortion sign on the sidewalk in front of the clinic. The protester glares at me as we walk towards the front door of the clinic, but one intimidating look from Trunks is enough for the protester to get nervous and look away. Trunks holds my hand as we enter the clinic.

The receptionist greets us with a kind smile." Do you have an appointment?"

Trunks and I scan the lobby. There are three women waiting to be seen. None of them are Valese. She isn't here yet.

"No."

"That's fine. Please have a seat and fill out the highlighted areas on these forms." She hands me a clipboard." We just need all the basic stuff like your date of birth, allergies, how far along you are, etc. Once you're done just bring the clipboard back to me and we'll come get you when the doctor is available."

Trunks takes the clipboard and leads us over to a pair of chairs across the room with a clear view of the door. He pretends to fill out the form while I keep watch for Valese. My eyes drift to the reproductive posters and pictures of babies on the wall. There's a 3D sculpture of a pregnant woman with a removable fetus and organs sitting on an end table, which one curious toddler can't keep his hands off of.

"No, don't touch that. Leave it alone," the mother scolds the child. The child makes a distressed sound and is about to go into a full tantrum until the mother pulls him close to her pregnant tummy. She rubs his back and reminds him he has a lot of fun toys at home to play with, which soothes him.

Seated close to the restroom on our far left is an older woman with a lot of grey hairs staring down at her phone as she scrolls through it. In the chair across from me sits a teenage girl, probably fourteen years old. She has scared, big doe eyes and is looking at some of the reproductive posters on the wall while fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater. Trunks is the only male in the waiting room. Before I can dwell much on these women and wonder about what brought them here, a timid figure walks through the front door.

"Hello, do you have an appointment today?" The receptionist cheerily asks.

Valese nods, setting her purse on the counter. I squeeze Trunks' hand. He looks up from the clipboard.

"Valese." He says, getting her attention.

Valese is surprised to see Trunks there, and looks disturbed to see that I'm sitting with him. She snatches her purse off the countertop, her thick brown hair bouncing behind her as she turns to go back outside.

"Wait!" I shout, letting Trunks' hand go as I chase after her. Behind me, I hear Trunks telling the receptionist that everything is fine. There were signs on the windows promising to take egal action if anyone dared to intimidate or threaten their patients, and we didn't need to get the cops involved. Trunks' pretty face is all anyone needs to be convinced most of the time.

Valese's heels click against the pavement as she marches through the parking lot.

"Wait, I need to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you. Go away," Valese responds, heading for a parked small white car.

"That's Trunks' baby too!" I snarl, balling my fists and resisting the desire to crush that white car and keep her from running away." He should have a say in whether his child gets to live or die!"

Valese whips around to face me." Are you serious? When I told Trunks I was pregnant he said it could be Goten's baby and I believed him! That's the only reason why I've stayed pregnant for this long! I wanted to have Goten's baby not his!" Valese tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ears and takes a deep breath." Trunks knows about the appointment. He said it was my body and he would support any decision I made."

"He's changed his mind." Trunks walks up behind me and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into him, both as a way to comfort me and to ensure Valese's safety. I'd never harm a pregnant woman on purpose, but given my emotional state he was unsure of just how far I'd go to make sure Fable lives to take her first breath." We will take care of the baby after she's born. I can be her mother. You won't have to be in her life if you don't want to, you can walk away."

"…Or you can agree to having partial custody later if you change your mind," Trunks adds, wanting to keep Valese's options open for her.

Valese's eyebrows pinch together as she thinks about our offer.

"Trunks will make sure you and the baby are comfortable. He'll take care of all of your living expenses and hospital bills. We'll give you anything you want!"

"Are you guys dating each other now?" Valese asks, suddenly noticing Trunks' hand is on my waist.

"Yes. We're actually engaged," Trunks replies with a smile.

"And you don't hate me, Pan, for sleeping with your boyfriend? You're okay with me and your boyfriend having a baby together?"

Future Pan definitely wasn't okay with it. Future Pan will need medication and therapy for the mental breakdown she'll have later by having Valese in her life, and that was the future I was choosing. This was the future I chose not to walk away from." I don't hate you Valese. I forgive you."

"You don't want to beat me up for hurting Goten's feelings?" Valese presses. I guess this explains why she ran from me when she saw me in the waiting room, she thought I was there to beat her up and get revenge on Goten's behalf.

"I would never beat you up." That would hurt Goten more if I did. Valese was so precious to him.

"One more question, why do you want to have my baby when you can have your own baby with Trunks?"

I turn my head to the side and look at Trunks. If only he could've experienced the future I experienced. If only he could've seen Fable's face and heard her voice as she called us "Mommy" and "Daddy." If only he could've seen all the happiness and love in his eyes he had for us, up in that tiny house on a mountain top overlooking West City. Our life together wouldn't be perfect, there were plenty of ups and downs and twists and turns ahead of us, but I was confident that we would survive through it.

"it's because I love Trunks that I want this baby."

Trunks returns my smile and bends over to kiss my forehead. I've been so sincere and honest with Valese's questions, that I'm positive she'll hop into that tiny white car and drive back to her grandma's house, pack her belongings, and fly back to West City with us. How could she not? She's been given the deal of a lifetime. She'll have a stress-free, debtless pregnancy and will be able to walk away and go on with her life as if those nine months hadn't happened. It'll be just like the future I foresaw. She'll regret walking away and will want to get to know her daughter when she's around five years old, and I'll just have to get used to co parenting with Valese ( therapy and meds included.)

Valese crosses her arms over her body as if she's cold. Rain clouds have moved in and have blocked the sun, and a breeze of heavy wind pushes into us. My skin prickles at the coldness of it. We'll have to take Trunks' helicopter if we don't want to get caught in the rain. I'm ready to suggest we head back to West City together when Valese finally makes her decision.

"No, I wont do it. I don't want to have this baby."

My mouth falls open." What?" Trunks' grip around my waist painfully tightens.

"I don't want to be pregnant. I don't want to give birth to Trunks' baby. Goten will never take me back if I do."

Uncle Goten, no! No, why did you have to tell Valese that the baby wasn't yours before she gave birth?

"It's over Valese. Goten doesn't want anything to do with you. He wont even speak with Trunks anymore, and they've been best friends since they were in diapers! Killing that baby won't get him to forgive you."

"No, I don't want to be pregnant." Valese stubbornly shakes her head. Determined, she marches past me, heading back towards the clinic.

"Goten doesn't love you! You cheated on him and broke his heart, he hates you!" I hiss, trying to wriggle free from Trunks' grip, but he doesn't let go. My words have no effect on Valese. She doesn't stop.

"No! No! No! Please, no!" I moan, feeling more pain in my body than I've ever felt in my life. My legs buckle and I fall to the ground, bringing Trunks down with me. I sense some of the staff run out of the clinic to see what the commotion is. I'm making a scene, but I couldn't care less about how crazy I look to a bunch of strangers. The sound of Valese's heels tapping against the pavement as she runs over to me gets me to quiet down into a whimper.

"I'm so sorry Pan. If I could transfer my pregnancy over to you I would. I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from getting pregnant." She tries to wipe away the tears on my cheeks, but more just take their place. She's sad, too, and looks as frightened as the teenage girl I saw in the waiting room. She's desperately clinging to the belief that terminating her pregnancy will make Goten return to her, will make everything right." Someday, Pan, you'll know what it's like to be pregnant, then you'll understand what I'm going through. I bet you will make a great mom."

"No, don't do it. Please don't do it!" I beg. To Trunks I croak out." Stop her."

"It's her body. We agreed she has the right to choose," Trunks mumbles into my hair as I try to wriggle free from him, even going as far as elbowing him in his injured rib, but he doesn't let go. Valese returns to the clinic, and the clinic staff whisper their condolences before leaving me to cry in Trunk's arms out in the middle of that parking lot.

Like a candle blowing out in the wind, Fable's tiny ki flickers out of existence.

Trunks lets out a sharp pained cry, not caring about his injury as he scoops me into his arms and shoots off into the rain clouds far from the clinic.

We've failed her.

. . . .

a/n: I regret adding abortion into this fic, but trust me when I say it was necessary for the plot. Don't worry, I promise this fic will have a happy ending. I've literally been typing for two hours on the last part of this chapter ( editing/rewriting) and my cat is so over it. My cat wants me to stop typing so she can peacefully go to sleep.