Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ In the Control Seat ❯ A Father's concern ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon ball Z or GT. Akira Toriyama Does. This is fan fiction. Many thanks to bulmathebabe for the continued encouragement. And thanks to Veronica for reading it as well and giving Trunks and Pan a chance.

Control Seat to Pilot Seat

Chapter 7 Love undiminished by Distance

*“Daddy, Grandpa help us!” Pan cried.*

Her thoughts endlessly echoed through a corridor torn in the fabric of spacetime. Light years away on Earth, books tumbled onto the floor of the Son residence. Son Gohan yelped in shock at the crashing sound it made. Sitting behind the oak desk in his study, he pressed his head into one palm. He realized he had accidentally nudged the books with his sudden movement forwards.

“Pan?” he gasped, pulling off his glasses and letting them drop to the desk near his collected lecture notes. His mind rung with impressions and thoughts not his own, and he needed to regain control. Quickly he got up and crossed his office to lock the door. Then he sat down behind his desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Somehow, he knew that it was Pan he heard. His own daughter as if she was right next to him screaming in despair. Yet how could that be possible when she was halfway across the galaxy with Trunks and his father in search of Dragon balls? He knew very well that he could communicate with her telepathically thanks to their shared Saiyan blood, but he had no idea the bond of father and daughter had such a range. It was a gut feeling that pulled hard at him, and wouldn't let go. Just when he thought he could settle into a normal life, aspects of his unusual nature came back to haunt him to an unusual extent. He could not ignore the Saiyan side of his being, the one that involved powers that few could understand except those trained in psychic or martial arts.

Memories tugged at him. Of course, distance didn't matter when Saiyan spirits could soar into a common dimension of thought. Much like the place where he and Krillin had trained astrally, without their bodies, it was a dimension beyond physical limitations. Actually, it was a dimension that the Kais and accomplished martial artists used to bridge the gap between worlds. As a Mystical Super Saiyan Gohan had learned this technique, but he figured that since his father Goku was with Trunks and Pan, they would not cry out to him for help.

Yet she was his daughter primarily, and Saiyan spirit and blood linked them across space and time. His daughter needed him, and he needed to know what was wrong. If she was appealing to him, that meant something had happened to Goku, or he couldn't help. Inhaling deeply Son Gohan listened to the inrush of his own breath before releasing it in a long exhalation that hissed through his teeth. Tightly he squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out the room around him. Focusing again, he opened his mind. Letting inhibitions go he emptied it of all thoughts to hear and sense what had so violently slammed into him like a tidal wave mere minutes ago. His dark lashed eyes closed while a wave of blue ki surged over him, ruffling the papers and books nearby.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Inside his mind, he formed an image that was common and relaxing. Envisioning himself sitting by a stream in his gi, with a fishing pole on Mt. Pauzo. He knew that he must reach for her in a familiar jumping off point for what he was about to do. The orange and blue gi was his clothes from the kais, which he rarely wore except when in the most dire need. He would don his Great Saiyaman costume more times than this one. In fact, he and Videl still played superhero form time to time to keep their hand in martial arts training. Videl still insisted on going out as Great Saiyawoman to help keep the streets of Satan City safe from crime. Now that she spent much of her time as a professor's wife, she kept herself occupied with helping the police force as an attorney. She had even considered becoming the DA when Pan went off to college. Since Pan was no longer around, Great Saiyaman had staged a comeback and surprised the heck out of the newest rash of criminals. Gohan's best therapy for anger and uncertainty was martial arts, and Saiyaman came to the rescue in many ways. It was a healthy outlet for his need to help friends and family.

Sitting at the riverbank in his mind he called out, “Pan. Was that you? Follow the sound of my voice and answer if you can hear me!”

*“Grandfather, DADDY! I'm scared, please help me!”* echoed the thoughts along with a rush of tangible fear. Gohan felt his stomach twisting in response. Gohan's eyes snapped wide open with surprise.

*“Pan… Think calmly and logically! This is your father,”* Gohan telepathed back.* “Where are you?”*

*“Daddy? Is that you? But how can you be here?” *Pan's voice echoed.

Slowly a figure strode from behind the trees on the opposite bank enshrouded in fog. Her astral self WAS here, in his mind through their mental link. She had achieved what he had not realized she could. Teenaged years had diminished the need for such play, and she had shut down any mental links to him except in the few times she had been in an accident or scared. Then her cries of help would echo loud and clear in his mind and he could tell where she was, and how quickly he needed to move to help.

“Never mind that, honey. Just close your eyes and breathe in and out. Calm yourself down. Your emotions are getting in the way of me receiving your thoughts. Remember what I taught you as a child? Let the thoughts flow in a stream… imagine me right near you,” Gohan inhaled.

“Yes, I can hear you… and see you!” Pan answered. He felt a surge of pride that she had remembered how they would share memories to practice telepathy. Picturing herself there with him fishing she could see him and he could hear her better.

“Pan, where's your grandpa? Can't he help you?”

“I don't know! Why can't I get him, but I can get you!”

“That doesn't matter. I need to know what's going on,” Gohan insisted.

“Daddy… Trunks and me… we're… in trouble… and we can't seem to …” she cried, stretching her arms out to him as she rushed to the bank of the river.

Gohan rose from where he sat, his toes touching the water as he stepped into the river. Pan dashed into the rolling current, throwing herself into his arms. Sheathed in that shared memory, Gohan reached down and scooped up his daughter, now only a little girl in her gi. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she cried into his shoulder.

“Pan, honey, please tell me what's wrong. Calm down and tell me what's going on, but think calmly and logically,” Gohan shushed, rubbing her back. Emotions bubbled up inside his heart, realizing his daughter was being far more open with her thoughts and feelings than she had since she became a teen-ager. He had missed their mental sharing and trainings and it felt wonderful to have that openness again.

Slowly Pan lifted her face from his shoulder, dark eyes glistening with tears. Gohan continued to hold her as she stammered, “All right Daddy. Trunks and I landed on this one planet and we were captured when we were sleeping… and Grandpa wasn't around, and before we knew it…”

“So your grandpa wasn't around? Moreover, you can't communicate with him telepathically. And I am assuming something's blocking your ki and Trunks?”

“Yes that's right,” Pan nodded. “Some sort of collar…”

“Can these beings use ki?” asked Gohan. He frowned for a moment, picking up a wave of awkwardness in his daughter. She wriggled a bit and suddenly she was not a baby girl in his arms, but had suddenly grown into a young woman. Gohan set her down, both of them stills standing in the river facing one another. That sudden need for distance he knew he had to respect before she could continue, but it pained him to lose that closeness of father and daughter in this shared memory.

“I don't know, and I can't tell,” she answered.

“Wait honey, why don't you show me in your memories,” said Gohan.

“I'll try,” Pan said reluctantly, and Gohan frowned from a moment at the reluctance. Yet he gently gestured towards her.

“Only show me what I need to know,” Gohan insisted, sensing his daughter's sudden need for privacy. Along with it, he felt a surge of relief. While his paternal nature wanted to force her to tell him what she was hiding, he knew better than to compromise that trust. Now was not the time to push for such openness. When she was ready, she would tell him.

Reaching out her hands, Pan placed them in his and Gohan saw a new stream flowing out of the forest behind her. Here in the river was their shared stream of consciousness. The one bank represented her mind, and the other his. Meeting in the middle they were bridging that gap, and the new flow of water coming towards him carve its own channel to blend into the stream along with them. Along with it, he saw a jumble of images, quickly sorting them into a sequence.

Brightly two suns shone down. Tinges of pain from small darts and a spinning haze of dizziness. Then angry shouts and hisses drifted at him from behind a set of bars. Rough scratchy straw was under his knees and he was seeing the world through Pan's eyes. Then he felt a sense of movement and a journey across an alien landscape.

Gohan kept from pushing into the parts she wished to hide. Although he saw the gaps in her reminiscence, he could clearly see his daughter and Trunks sitting next to each other in a cage. Their clothes were minimal and he frowned at this, wondering why they had been asleep, but knew better than to ask. Suspicions formed in his mind yet he had to keep them out of the way, and remain as dispassionate as possible. His blood boiled at the angry shouts and accusations echoing from brightly fathered beings around them. Mystified he watched Trunks standing resolute before a tribunal of lizard beings under a huge dome. He frowned along with Pan to hear Trunks defiance and cold calculating demeanor.

Once the memories stopped, he and Pan released hands. Sheathed in their memory world father and daughter opened their eyes and their astral selves regarded one another. Gohan said, “So, they are blaming Trunks for something Vegeta did?”

“That's what it sounds like Daddy. But Trunks is being so… ugh!”

“Pan, you're not in any immediate danger. I think they want Trunks. However, what's this about… Mate?”

“Um Daddy… it's nothing!” Pan waved her hands quickly. “We were just captured together and they assumed…”

“Of course they would,” Gohan blinked, giving his panicking daughter the benefit of the doubt. Now was not the time to give her the third degree.

“Daddy, I'm just in a cage now with Trunks. And he's trying to figure out what makes these collars work. And they said something about…”

“I heard. They're convening to decide your fate. It seems that they are intent on making Trunks a scapegoat. I don't think you're in any danger, but he may be. However, from what you showed me they may make a long drawn out affair of this. Therefore, I doubt they want to kill you or him right away. Rather they'd try to humiliate him,” Gohan reassured her.

“But what do we do, Dad?” she asked.

“Wait and trust that your Grandpa will find you. I'm sure that he's tracking you down right now. Remember his enhanced senses,” Gohan said.

“All right dad. But if I'm not in any immediate danger, then can you tell me something?” Pan asked, clasping her hands in front of her. She blinked up at him, a question ion her lips. Gohan felt a surge of worry that she would ask him something embarrassing, and half hoped it was what he suspected.

“What is it honey?” asked Gohan softly. “Look, you can ask me anything. Please if you're scared or you don't know what to…”

“Daddy, I'm not a child,” Pan huffed.

“All right, Pan, what is it?” Gohan relented, seeing the angry wrinkling of her nose.

“But why can't Grandpa hear me, but you can?” she asked again.

“Because of my training by the Kais. This is not a mere Saiyan bond that you and I share, but a special one that I forged with you. One born of Kai training. Therefore, I would always know if something happened to you. And since your ki's blocked, the part of the bond you reach me through is one forged of the other side of our heritage,” Gohan answered.

“You mean because of Grandma Chichi's powers?” she asked hesitantly. She nodded understanding all of a sudden.

“Your grandmother and great grandfather could also use mystical energies. Not born of Saiyan blood, but of human psychic power. Those mystical abilities are what made me able to take the training of the Kais,” said Gohan quietly. “You are the Ox Princess in a sense. Grandmother Chichi knew about mental bonds even before she knew that your grandfather was a Saiyan. Why she never questioned why she and Grandfather had a bond.”

“So they would have one even if not Saiyan?” Pan asked.

“Yes sweetie,” Gohan said. “Look, that's why I can't communicate with Trunks, but you can. And perhaps you can let him know that…”

“Daddy… I something's wrong,” Pan suddenly blinked up at him. Her hands grasped wildly, and Gohan reached out to grab her gloved hand.

“Pan, hold on. Stay with me,” Gohan answered.

“What's happening… why can't I hear you?” Pan asked, panicking. Around them, the woods were growing dark and filled with mist.

“You're scared about something Pan. You're holding something back from me. And that fear's starting to get between us,” Gohan explained. “Pan, trust me… if something else is bothering you, you need to push it aside if we're to keep this bond active.”

“Daddy, I don't know what it is… I'm trying to but I can't keep contact with you! It's too hard and it's taking so much energy," Pan snapped impatiently. Fear surged up, causing her hand to slip away as her image faded in and out. One moment she was real and solid, the next she was only a ghost.

“Honey… it must be too hard for you to keep the bond open if you can't be completely open. Your mind's not in synch with mine…” Gohan urged. Already pain and a gnawing hunger shot through him, distracting his own concentration. It had been too long since he had practiced this side of his powers, and it was his own fault for neglecting them. Now it would cost his daughter's piece of mind. Especially if she was holding back out of fear.

“I'm sorry Daddy; I can't seem to hold on… you're slipping away. What am I doing wrong?” Pan despaired.

“You're not used to this, and the distance is too great between us,” Gohan answered sadly. Suspicion reared its head as to the cause of the breakdown, but he didn't want to add any more of a burden to Pan's growing fear. He would have to trust his daughter to care for herself, because another force was closing off this open link. She could not sustain the mental energy for she was so out of practice, and her concentration was shattered with the realization that being so open to him would reveal what she sought to hide.

Instead of demanding her full intention, Gohan made another choice. Gently he said, “Don't be scared Pan. You and Trunks will figure this out. Your mind's not used to maintaining the energy and focus across so much space and time. When you most need me, I'll be here. You won't be alone…”

“I'm scared… Daddy,” she whispered.

“I know honey, but I can't always be there to protect you, even though I want to, badly. I can't keep this up either… it seems…” he trained off. Pain surged through his mind as he felt his own side of the bond closing off. The sensation of something slipping out from under him was followed by a hard solid surface slamming into his cheek, ribs, and hip. More images tumbled around him into blackness before Gohan's eyes popped open.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Something hard and solid covered in itchy fibers pressed to his cheek. Lying on his side Gohan found himself staring at the legs of his oaken desk. It loomed over him like a tall cliff, while he heard the sounds of voices and footsteps echoing through the floor against which his ear was pressed. The doorknob clicked along with the sharp rap of knuckles and a familiar voice. It shouted, “Gohan! Honey are you in there?”

“Videl?” he murmured, rolling over onto his back. Aching all over, he felt his body depleted of energy. With a grunt, Gohan sat up, and then reached up to grab the edge of his desk with one hand. He levered himself up and stood on shaky legs.

“Please open the door Gohan! Are you in there? Are you okay? I was calling you to dinner for almost ten minutes! What is going on?”

“I'm coming Videl!” Gohan gasped. “I'm all right…”

“Gohan, please open the door! You're scaring me!” Videl called again.

“Honey… don't break the door down… I'm almost there,” Gohan called back. He landed against the door with a groan, fumbling at the latch with his fingers. He rolled off the door to the side, leaning against the bookcase towering overhead with volumes of his reference books.

The door burst open revealing a worried Videl. Seeing him her blue eyes gleamed with irritation and relief. Instantly her hands propped him up and she dipped her face into his saying, “Gohan, what on earth are you doing? You look awful! What's going on?”

“Honey I'm sorry, I've just been working too hard,” Gohan said with a slight laugh.

“You're coming home with me, mister, and we're getting you food now,” Videl scolded. She levered her shoulder into his armpit and pulled Gohan to lean on her. He allowed her to support him, curling his arm around her waist reassuringly.

“Honey… how did you know I was here?”

“Gohan Son, you know better than to ask silly questions. C'mon, you're coming home NOW! Even if I have to drag you back,” Videl insisted, marching him down the hallway towards the living room. Meekly Gohan allowed his wife to march him towards the nearest sofa. Then turning him around she guided him to sit down next to her. Groaning, Gohan tipped his head back against the rear of the sofa.

“All right, Mister. Lay back and put your feet up. You've done enough work for today,” Videl scolded, getting up. She pulled his legs around so they draped across the length of the sofa, then marched over and lifted his head and shoulders to a comfortable pillow.

“I didn't mean to give you reason to fuss over me, Videl,” Gohan panted, blinking up at her. “But there's a logical reason…”

“Okay Gohan, what's going on? You look horribly ill! What's going on?” Videl blinked, her blue eyes filled with worry.

“I heard Pan,” Gohan answered.

“You what? Are you sure?” Videl blinked in shock. She felt like sinking to the sofa near him, and Gohan tipped his head back, his spiky hair matted and coated with sweat.

“I heard Pan as clearly as I hear you now,” Gohan panted, blinking up at her with his dark eyes.

“Sweetheart, I'm going to get you some food now,” Videl said firmly. “And you can tell me after you have had dinner!”

“But Videl I DID hear her!” Gohan protested, trying to sit up. Immediately Videl pressed her palm against his chest and pushed him back down. She unknotted his tie and unbuttoned his top two buttons, then undid his belt.

“Don't you MOVE from that spot, Gohan till I bring you something. I'll be RIGHT back,” Videl instructed, before rushing out. Groaning Gohan closed his eyes and cursed. He should have told her immediately, but how could he explain to Videl without scaring her? Right now, he knew he had to placate her and let her fuss over him for his own good. He was little use to anyone starving half to death.

“Here, drink this,” Videl said, as she nudged something cold and cylindrical into his limp hand. Gohan smelled the sugary sweetness and opened his eyes. He wrapped his hand around a bottle of Hercule sport drink. Grateful, Gohan unscrewed the cap and chugged almost the whole container in a gulp. His forehead and face were still damp with sweat from his astral voyage. Tension and tightness left his feet when he felt her untying his shoelaces and tugging them off. One by one, they thumped to the floor.

Videl then lifted his legs so she could sit down and balance them across her knees. She watched him carefully to see color returning to his pale flesh. Reaching across she gripped his other hand to give it a supporting squeeze. She passed his glasses that she had retrieved and stuck in his breast pocket of his jacket.

“Thank you, very much,” Gohan panted, looking at his wife thankfully. Fingers pressed into the ball of his foot as Videl massaged and pressed the spots that soothed his aching forehead. Slowly he slipped his glasses onto his face once more, relaxing under his wife's ministrations.

“Don't mention it sweetheart. You scared me there. Now I'm sure we'll be able to get you more than that to get your strength back,” Videl said. She reached over to the coffee table, and then lifted the large tray laden with two helpings of food to set it on his belly. Gohan straightened up so his back pressed against the armrest of the chair. While Videl continued to rub his feet, he picked up his chopsticks to attack the bowl of steamed rice drenched with chicken broth. How well she knew him. Whenever he would be consumed with work, she always brought him this simple meal to get food back into his gaping stomach twisting with hunger. If he ate something too rich right away after a long period without food, he'd get sick. Chichi had told Videl this a long time ago, and she adopted it as their code to remind him, “Hey eat will you?”

After two more helpings, Videl added chicken and vegetables to his bowl, which he immediately gobbled down. Then when he seemed much stronger, Videl said, “Gohan, I know you miss Pan as much as I do. However, she's safe. Are you sure you're just imagining it because you're worried?”

“No honey I heard her. As clearly as I heard you,” Gohan answered firmly. His dark eyes focused on her through those thick framed glasses, and she saw him push them more securely in place on the bridge of his nose.

“Gohan… I know you and Pan can do the same thing we can, but how can you be sure that you heard her from so far away? I thought you said it was hundreds of light years?”

“Apparently I was mistaken. I had underestimated the strength and power of the mental rapport I have with our daughter,” Gohan coughed.

“And why would you be able to hear her and not your father? Isn't he there with Trunks protecting her? Or did something happen to our baby girl? Gohan she isn't…” Videl asked. Her eyes widened with horror.

“No honey it's all right! Trunks is with her, and I just KNOW that my dad won't let anything bad happen to her. If there's a way to help her he'll find it!” Gohan answered hastily, leaning over to grab her hand and squeeze it.

“Then what can we do, Gohan? How can we help our baby girl?” Videl despaired.

“We have to trust in Dad, and Trunks. Pan isn't a child anymore, even though she'll always be our little baby girl, Videl,” Gohan relented. He found the strength to swing his legs off her thighs, and then reached over to pick Videl up by the hips and set her into his lap.

“If only we'd stopped her from going! Goten was supposed to go, not her dammit!” Videl gritted her teeth.

“You know how stubborn she is. She takes after… Mom,” Gohan said carefully seeing the frustration on his wife's face.

“Admit it, she's got so much of me in her,” Videl answered plaintively, resting her head against Gohan's shoulder. She felt the roughness of his tweed coat, smelling its reassuring scent along with her husband's cologne.

“I know it seems impossible to believe that she's already a young lady, ironically the same as age as you and I were when we, ahem…” Gohan stopped with a blush on his cheeks.

“Made her?” Videl supplied, kissing his ear lightly. The sight of his modesty and shyness reasserting itself was too endearing for her to resist. Gohan wrapped his strong arms around his wife, securing her to his lap while he kissed her cheek. He always knew how to make her feel better, and Videl relaxed a bit, trusting that their daughter was safe.

“I know you're worried, and I am too honey. I feel helpless when she's crying out to me. Nevertheless, I can't do much more than pray that Trunks and my dad will be there. It kills me to know that I could be there protecting her myself and I can't… with all this power I have,” Gohan answered in a low angry voice.

“Gohan don't beat yourself up honey,” Videl shushed him, pressing a finger to his lips. “You need to put that bat down right away before you get any more bruises to your soul.”

Now she adopted the role of comforter, swinging around to straddle her husband's lap and wrap arms and legs around him in a double embrace. Gohan relished the physical presence, and rubbed her back with his large strong hands. She slid his glasses up and brushed her lips over his. Gohan opened his lips slightly to let her in and they shared a hungry kiss. The need to reassure one another took feverish hold of them and they were soon hungrily devouring one another's mouths. Over the course of their marriage, they knew that part of the best way to relieve stress was by regular coupling. His fingers worked the buttons of her blouse while she broke off the kiss and tugged his shirt out of his pants.

Clothes whispered to the floor. Gohan and Videl soon divested themselves of any barriers and lay sprawled across the sofa together. Straddling his hips, she bent down to attack his mouth again while his hands found her curves and rubbed them soothingly. A long time seemed to pass as they lose their fears in one another.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

A while later, Gohan rubbed his wife's bare back, loving the feel of her body keeping him warm. Under him, he felt the texture of the sofa on his own bared skin, and chuckled at the sight of their clothes strewn haphazardly across the living room. Her long hair spilled over his shoulder and chest as she pressed her breasts to his bared pecs. They were still intimately joined, Videl not wanting to leave the comfort that his body offered fused to hers. Although satisfied Gohan was still not completely spent as he shifted his hips slightly. This prompted a giggle from her and she lifted her face to look tired down at him.

“Insatiable. That's what you are,” Videl answered.

“Do you feel better now, sweetheart?” he asked softly, kissing her lips leisurely.

“Yes, but I can't help but wonder if there is anything we CAN do?”

“Stop worrying, Videl. And just do our best to continue as we can. She was bound to move out and on her own. We just didn't expect it would be in this manner,” Gohan frowned.

“It's worse than her being at college,” Videl mused. “But at least she has Trunks with her. That boy's almost as smart as you are!”

“That's what I'm afraid of,” Gohan grimaced. Videl saw the anger on his face, and kissed his wrinkled brow.

“Are you afraid our little girl is getting into OTHER trouble?” Videl asked. Gohan stammered, feeling embarrassment creep all over him. The blush that started on his cheeks now travelled down his entire body and caused Videl to giggle.

“You sure know how to kill a mood,” he huffed, pouting at her mirth.

“No I'm sorry honey. I didn't mean to put it like that. Look, you do trust our daughter to make good choices. And I know if Trunks knows what's good for him he'll…”

“Perhaps,” Gohan answered firmly. Again, suspicion arose when the pieces of the puzzle spun around and added up to a disturbing picture. However if there was any indication that things WERE going a certain way, he was sure that his father would have a major say in it if Trunks was acting foolishly.