chapter 5
chapter 5
"Sir" a messenger said, saluting Gohan in his tent.
"Yes?" the tired man said, more than a little annoyed.
"The emperor has ordered your men move out tomorrow for the battle front, the rebels are overtaking the Cherry River."
"We're not ready." Gohan growled, slamming his fist onto the desk.
"I'm sorry sir, the emperor has spoken." The messenger said as he left the angry general.
"Shimatta…" Gohan muttered. "Goten!" he yelled for his brother.
"Hiya Gohan, what do you need?" Goten asked sticking his head inside the tent and grinning stupidly.
"We have to move out to the battle lines tomorrow." Gohan said.
"Wait, tomorrow as in the morning??? We're not ready! These men have the fighting ability of a spring bunny." (Spring bunny hahahahahahhahaha… ok only mango would understand that joke…) Goten said, getting all worked up.
"I know, if only we had more experienced warriors…" Gohan said. Suddenly a little light bulb appeared above the younger man's head.
"Hey Gooooooooohaaaaaaaaaaan." Gohan looked at Goten strangely, he had seen that look before…
"What?" Gohan said, almost a little afraid to ask.
"I know at least one warrior that could help us."
"What?? Who?"
"Remember that attack on Vegeta's dojo yesterday?"
"Yes…"
"A young woman was the person who stopped those 6 men."
"You're saying a woman could help our cause?"
"She's a warrior Gohan, next to you, Trunks, and I, probably the strongest. She held off 6 men without even breaking a sweat." Goten defended.
"It's against policy…"
"But it's necessary." Goten said, cutting off Gohan's thoughts, "What's more important? Breaking a stupid tradition or having the rebels get rid of ALL of our stupid traditions?"
"I hate to admit it… but for once I suppose you're right."
"No brother, I KNOW I'm right, and I suggest you send for that girl." Goten said as he stormed out of his brother's tent, none too happy that his loser "soldiers" had to fight that next morning.
Pan finished drying her final pot and put it away in the cupboard. Life had become so boring since the attack on the dojo. Bulma was giving her menial tasks and (ug) the dishes, in an effort to keep her mind off of Trunks. She heard a knock on the door but ignored it, instead focused her attention on the solitary ant trying to find a crumb on her spotless floor.
"Pan!" A voice yelled through the house.
"What Bra?"
"You have a… umm… visitor." Bra said as she led the visitor into the sitting room.
"If its another suitor you can lead him right back out the door." Pan said hanging up her dishtowel.
"Umm Pan… he's definitely not a suitor." Bra responded. Pan just rolled her eyes and made her way into the sitting room.
"Can I help you?" Pan asked, sitting opposite of the man.
"You may be able to." The man replied, his dark eyes taken aback by the young woman's features.
"Excuse me for sounding rude, but who are you sir? What do you need with me?" Pan asked, noting the man's attire complete with flashing medals.
"Well if you haven't been able to tell by my attire, my name is Gohan, and I am the emperor's son and head general." Gohan said, her frankness reminding him so much of someone he used to know.
"Oh…. Excuse me your highness." Pan said, bowing her head low, "Would you like some tea?" she asked hurrying around the room to grab the teapot Bra had prepared for her.
The constant busyness… frankness in speech, obvious warrior qualities, and those eyes, so dark blue they looked black.
Suddenly Gohan knew.
"Videl…" he said under his breath. The girl reminded him of Videl.
"Pardon me sire?" Pan asked kind of confused.
"It was nothing, I'm sorry." Gohan said, desperately tying to cover up his sudden emotion. "Thank you." He said as Pan poured him delicately a cup of tea. "Miss, the reason I'm here is to ask for your help in an upcoming battle." Pan tried to fight back a giggle.
"Excuse me sir, but me? Fight?" Pan asked, stifling her laughter.
"I realize it's against policy, but I need any experienced warrior I can get at this point." Gohan explained. "We have to move out to the battle front tomorrow."
"I'm sorry sir, I don't think I can leave here, you see, Vegeta-san is very sick, I can't leave him to guard to house."
"I'm perfectly capable girl." A voice behind Pan said as Vegeta made his way into the room.
"Vegeta." Gohan said, shaking Vegeta's hand.
"To what do I owe this pleasure of seeing the emperor's son?" Vegeta asked with faked friendliness.
"I need your daughter sir, tomorrow we are to stage hopefully the final battle against the rebellion. Our warriors are week and stupid, she has proven her skill against those rebels who attacked your dojo."
"She is a remarkable warrior but she's a woman, that is completely against tradition. What will the men think if they see a woman battling besides them? It will be an insult to their honor."
"I realize this Vegeta, I have that figured out already." Gohan said in reassurance. " Your daughter…"
"Pan," Vegeta said filling in Gohan's thought.
"Right, Pan will dress like a man, act like a man, fight like a man, none of the soldiers will know."
"How can you be certain you will get away with it? I'm certain at least my son won't be idiot enough to not realize that it's Pan. And I know he won't want her fighting." Vegeta responded.
"Vegeta." Pan said, sitting next to her sensei, the only father figure she had ever known and gave him a reassuring hug. Vegeta was quite taken aback by her display of emotion. "I don't want to leave here, but if the emperor orders, I have to obey. I'm sorry… father…" That was all Vegeta could stand, his emotions were on overload, first the hug, now Pan had called him father, something she had never done before, with her real father sitting across the way from the two of them.
"Pan, I want you to go." Vegeta said standing up and walking over to the mantle where he handed Pan his swords. "Just be careful." Pan simply nodded and allowed herself to be led out of the house away from her family by her real father. Gohan's head was spinning, there was no way it could be his Pan, his daughter had been killed as an infant, along with his wife. The girl was Vegeta's, maybe not by blood, Trunks had told her she was kind of adopted, but she was still Vegeta's little girl. That little glimmer of hope had given him reason to fight, even if he didn't have a family, he didn't want a family like Vegeta's to be destroyed.
Vegeta fought off his tears only to find Bulma's long arms draped around his shoulders. "I know it's hard Vegeta, you couldn't hide her here forever." Bulma said as her mate let his tears flow, she hadn't seen him cry since Trunks was born, but those had been tears of joy.
"I've been trying to hide her from the emperor for 18 years Bulma, he's going to take her away from us."
"Vegeta, you promised when we found Pan you would tell her everything about the nature that we found her."
"Yes.."
"You have yet to tell her about the fact that she's the emperor's granddaughter for Kami's sake. She has a whole other family she's never known before. And from the looks of it, her father is miserable, and doesn't even know his daughter is right in front of him."
"But Bulma, he can't take care of her like we can."
"Vegeta he can, he's her father. She will always think of you as her father. And she's a grown woman, she and Trunks will eventually be married and he will take care of you, and we both know that's just as good as the two of us taking care of her." Vegeta just nodded and his mate led him to their bedroom for a good night's sleep.