Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Not Forgotten, Not Alone ❯ I am Gone ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: *Hides* Nope, not mine . . .

 

 

A/N: So like, after five years I'm finally updating. So sorry it took forever. Was um, distracted? And the past part was harder than I originally thought it would be. Kinda had to fill in some holes I had. But now that, that's over with, I can get back to updating again!

 

 

~~**~~**

 

Not Forgotten, Not Alone

 

 

Chapter Six

 

 

I Am Gone

 

 

~~**~~**

 

Whether it was a fact that he either didn't want to acknowledge it or not was unsubstantial to his current mood. He didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to even think that it was possible. He hadn't known her for very long after all. And as for the short amount of time that they had spent together, they were to busy bristling at each other or tossing out rude comments to have ever really tired to get to know the other. So why was it that he felt the way he did?

 

 

Why did he care?

 

 

She was just an underdog, just some normal employee that had been working for him. That was all, nothing much. Just normal her, receiving her normal paycheck, working at her normal job.

 

 

But still, something didn't seem right. He wanted to believe that before she had abruptly turned in her two week notice that she had begun to open up to him. But now, as her last week was drawing to a close, she seemed to be so much more further from him than she had originally been when he had stumbled across her in the halls.

 

 

“Excuse me miss, are you lost?”

 

“Yeah, kind of.”

 

Lying atop his bed still awake, as the world outside was fast asleep, dreaming of things he could never have, he had to wonder if he was also changing. Could a girl he had known for no more than a month at tops affect him as much as she seemed to be doing?

 

 

Why did he care?

 

 

He'd have to find a new date now; she wouldn't be around anymore for him to take her. He didn't want to take anyone else though; he wanted to take her. His mind was in a jumble and he absently cursed himself for the long day that would cause.

 

 

Tomorrow would be the last day that he would see her, wouldn't it. It would be the last day that he had the chance to watch from his desk as she fussed over the mountain of paper work that never left hers. Funny how it worked out, she was his secretary, and yet it was Bra that was the cause of her grief.

 

 

Maybe he should have opened up to her, told her his secrets and lies. Would that have made a difference in her decision to leave? A wry smile crossed his lips as he decided that it would have. Instead of staying as long as she had, she would have been long gone after he told her that his father was not from this world, but in fact a prince of a dying race from a dead planet.

 

 

Lazy eyes drifted to his window to watch the sun once again make its way into the brightening sky.

 

 

"Why are you quitting?"

 

 

"No, it's not because of you."

 

 

One question drifted from his lips as his eyes slowly gave in, and allowed sleep to come.

 

 

"Why do I care?"

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

Bright cheery light filtered through Pans bedroom window, and groggily she wondered how something could be that cheery at that time in the morning. Dragging her stiff form out of her bed and over to her window she promptly closed the curtains to shut out the light.

 

 

"Ah, much better."

 

 

Heaving a big yawn, Pan made her way back to her bed and sat down. Her eyelids dipped closed as they fought valiantly to put her back to sleep. But she refused the warmth of the bed, and the sleep it would welcome. Instead she let her eyes take in her surroundings. Today would be the last time she would see this place.

 

 

Setting her face into a determined mask, Pan mentally shook off all the negative thoughts that came at her. Today she was going to try and have fun. Even if her coworker wanted to pester her, she would ignore him and continue enjoying her last day at work. It was decided then, nodding her head and clapping her hands together once in front of her, Pan stood up and began the daily chore of getting herself ready for the day ahead.

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

The first thing Pan noticed as she walked into Trunks's office was a fuzzy blue blanket with a large lump under it lying on the floor. The next thing she noticed was the purple turf of hair that wasn't under the blanket.

 

 

A large, almost sinister, smile graced her lips as she silently plotted against her oblivious slumbering boss. She crept closer carefully so as to not make a sound. And when she was close enough, she marked her target and prepared to take a swing. But then her well-planed out plot fell short by the warm hand that quite quickly shot out from underneath the blanket and latched onto her ankle.

 

 

Pan shook her leg, trying to detach the parasite that now had a good grasp on her ankle. "Hey, leggo my ankle!"

 

 

"No," was the muffled reply of her captor.

 

 

"Yes!" Pan said as she emphasized her point by stomping said foot on the ground.

 

 

Another simple "no, you tried to kick me" was her answer.

 

 

Pan crossed her arms and proceeded to glare daggers at the blanket, "Mr. Trunks Briefs, you let go of my ankle now or…eep."

 

 

Pan's tirade was cut short as the hand that had previously been on her ankle found its way around her waist. Odd, since the man who the hand belonged to, she could have sworn, was lying on the ground. Just as quickly as that thought formed, it was quickly replaced with a more basic thought.

 

 

'Mm, warm.'

 

 

Her eye's closed as she allowed her body a moment to drink in the comforting warmth that the body pressed up against her was giving off. It was a moment of weakness, she knew, but after her many years of being cold, she figured she owed herself a moment to pretend that the man that was holding her so close could actually make her problems disappear. That this man could piece back together her broken mirror, and make her life seem clear again.

 

 

Trunks bowed his head to let his forehead rest against her own, a gentle smile caressing his lips when she didn't pull away. How right this seemed, as though the petite woman held in his embrace was meant to be there. He was so comfortable with her in his arms, and he could almost swear that he heard her quietly whispering his name.

 

 

Wait . . . it didn't sound like her. As a matter of fact, it sounded oddly like his mother. And if he didn't know better, he would say that it wasn't a gentle whisper, but more of a violent scream coming from somewhere outside his office.

 

 

Hearing his name being called, Pan slowly moved out from his embrace and turned to look at the door. An uneasy feeling of dread filled her insides.

 

 

Trunks brought an unsteady hand to rub at his forehead, as he heaved out a sigh.

 

 

"Mom sure has some great timing."

 

 

After that, everything seemed to happen so fast that it was hard for Pan to keep up. First there was screaming, then came a pounding at the door, followed by it being swiftly thrown open. But just as quickly as time had sped up, it slowed down by double.

 

 

The two stared at each other, mentally trying to match the face that now stood in front of them, with one that they remembered.

 

 

Trunks moved forward and for the first time, introduced his new secretary to his mother.

 

 

"Mom, this is my secretary, Miss Pan Ochi. Pan, this is my mom, Bulma."

 

 

In that one moment time stopped, and they where both faced with ghosts of the past. Bulma responded first, clutching an unsteady head to her heart as she lowered herself to sit on the floor. Her eyes misted and a happy sob broke free from her dried throat.

 

 

While Bulma mentally celebrated the welcoming of some one she had long since thought dead, Pan continued stare in a state of shock. What was going on? Bulma? As in the Bulma that used to be her mother's friend? How could she still be alive? She was told everyone that she had known was dead. That's why she was moved to an orphanage, and later to her foster parents. So why was it that this supposedly dead woman was sitting on the ground in front of her? She seemed just as alive as the last time Pan had seen her. So what was going on?

 

 

Pan's knees grew weak, and a shiver ran down her spin. She realized then, as surely as the sun comes up, that her life must have been a lie. One big lie and she had never noticed. She had never questioned.

 

 

Remembering that she did have legs, Bulma sprang back up and rushed to Pan, enveloping her in a hug.

 

 

"Pan, you're alive! After all this time, you're alive!"

 

 

Just a little confused, Trunks stood back and watched as his mother smothered his secretary. Of course she was alive, if she wasn't, she very well wouldn't be standing there now would she?

 

 

"Mom? What's going on?"

 

 

Still crushing Pan to her, Bulma could have cried herself to sleep with the happiness that was overflowing her system. "Trunks, it's Pan! Pan's alive!"

 

 

Quirking a bemused eyebrow, Trunks stayed silent. His mother obviously was going through some kind of hormonal change or something.

 

 

Bulma took a step away from Pan, but kept her hands firmly gripped on her shoulders, so she could get a good look at the grown up version of the little girl from so long ago.

 

 

Sniffling, Bulma smiled. "You've grown so much."

 

 

Pan only offered a weak smile. She was at a loss of words, everything she wanted to say escaped her. A question nagged at her, yelling for her to ask, but she didn't know how. This was the moment she had dared to dream, but it was missing one vital part. Her parents. They weren't there, and so, Pan contented herself with the knowledge that at least some one she knew was still alive.

 

 

But something didn't seem quite right, Bulma shouldn't be standing there, she shouldn't be alive. Something was wrong, horribly wrong!

 

 

Bulma leveled her eyes to look into those of Pan's, as a moment of mistrust flashed across her face. Confusion danced in her eyes, sure this lady standing in front of her looked a great deal like their lost Pan, but that wasn't possible. They had gone to her funeral, had spent many a day at her grave.

 

 

Pan was dead. So who was this lady?

 

 

"You aren't Pan Son, are you?"

 

 

Pan let out a small gasp, she hadn't heard that name in so long. She wanted to cry, to launch herself into Bulma's arms and tell her that she was Pan, that she had come home. But something held her back, a lingering sense that something was out of place. She remembered then, and a great sadness formed in her soul. She couldn't tell them who she really was, couldn't let them know about her past. To tell them would ultimately mean that she would inadvertently be signing their name on a death wish. She couldn't do that to them, they hadn't done anything wrong.

 

 

Trying her best at smiling, Pan spoke softly. "No ma'am, you must have had me confused for someone else, I'm Pan Ochi."

 

 

She was Pan Ochi. Pan Son disappeared the day her parents died.

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

They left again, gone away with out her. Pan sighed, they always did this. She was a big girl now; she was seven years old! She could help out! Placing another block on the wooden bridge she was currently trying to build, she imitated her father's voice.

 

 

"We'll be back soon honey."

 

 

Yeah, she knew better than that. They always went away for a long time. So long in fact that it seemed as though they never saw her anymore.

 

 

Giggling, Pan imagined what it would be like if she grew so tall that when they finally came back, they wouldn't recognize her. She would be so tall that they would have to make the ceiling higher just so she could sit in the house. She would have to get a bigger bed, and bigger toys. Giving her blocks a once over, she decided that yes, she would definitely need bigger toys if she grew that tall.

 

 

Trees! Yes, trees would become her new blocks!

 

 

With a plan set in place, Pan ran to the hallway where a chart of how tall she had grown over the years was located. Standing next to it, back first, she lifted her hands to measure how tall she was now. Turning around and looking at where her fingers were, as opposed to the line that indicated how tall she was last week, Pan pouted. She would have to find a way to grow. That was for sure.

 

 

…

 

 

She sighed, a long and heavy one. Her parents had been gone for longer than they said they would be. Where were they? They had only been gone for three weeks, yet it seemed like three years to her.

 

 

Would they be gone for her birthday? It was only another two weeks away . . .

 

 

Big brown eyes glared at the growth chart down the hallway. She hadn't even grown an inch!

 

 

…

 

 

Funny, she never noticed that stain on the ground before? It kind of looked like a bunny, if she squinted enough.

 

 

Bored, it was the only word that could explain how she felt. Her parents had yet to return, her sitter was in the back yard finishing up the last bits of laundry, so she was left to her own devices. Which sadly enough, meant that she had the day to stare at the wall.

 

 

"Gah, sooooo bored!"

 

 

Well, her parents had to come back in one day. Her birthday was tomorrow, they wouldn't miss it would they? They wouldn't miss her turning eight years old would they?

 

 

Soft, dark eyes shifted to stare sadly at the floor; maybe her parents would surprise her by showing up on her birthday.

 

 

She missed them.

 

 

She missed her daddy.

 

….

 

 

Locked in her room, Pan pouted. She was not going to leave her room till her parents showed up! It was final! Pan's sitter could bang her hands on the door till they bled. She was not, under any circumstances, going to leave her room.

 

 

Well, maybe to go to the bathroom. But that would be the only reason.

 

 

The pounding on her door suddenly stopped, and Pan briefly thought it was because her parents had finally come home. But when she didn't hear her parent's voices, Pan continued to pout.

 

 

They hadn't even shown up for her birthday yesterday. Her parents had missed it! Probably too consumed in digging around in the dirt to even realize that their daughter's birthday had come and passed. She was forced to spend it with her sitter. Just her sitter, because her children were away for the summer.

 

 

Pounding on the door renewed, this time louder and more forced. If she listened close enough, she could have sworn that between the insistent thumping the lady outside was crying.

 

 

Curiosity slowly took over her movements and before long she was standing before her door, one hand reaching out for the knob. Her child instincts took hold of her as she slowly opened the door, meaning only to see what had upset her sitter to the point of crying.

 

 

As the door opened further and further, she could see more of the woman who now was crumpled on the floor. Silent sobs racked her body and murmurs of "why" filtered through the otherwise quiet hallway.

 

 

"Why are you crying?" Pan questioned, her voice soft and innocent.

 

 

Deep blue eyes, blurred by the onset of tears, met Pan's own questioning gaze.

 

 

"I'm so sorry." The woman half choked out before gabbing hold of Pan and crushing her in a hug. "I'm so sorry." She continued to cry out as she continued to pull Pan further into her embrace.

 

 

It wasn't long after the initial shock of what her sitter had told her, that Pan's world died. Time stopped for her, and a feeling of such sorrow wrapped its cold hands around her heart.

 

 

Her parents had been gone for a month. Pan hadn't seen them since they left, and she would never again be able to see them. Shadows of memories, a handful of moments, were all she was left with. Warm smiles, loving embraces, and kind words were all that was left to connect Pan to her parents.

 

 

……..

 

 

Dear Mom and Dad,

 

 

I am doing fine. I'm living in an orphanage now. There's a lot of other kids here too. They all lost their parents like me. The people here are nice. There's this lady here that says if I stay on my best behavior, that I might get new parents. But Mom, I don't want a different Mom, I want you back. I want Dad back too. Oh, I guess its lunchtime now, the bell just rang. So I have to go and get some lunch before all the other kids eat it all. I'll write again as soon as I can. I love you Mom and Dad!

 

 

Your daughter,

 

 

Panny.

 

 

………..

 

 

She hated them with every fiber in her body. She detested everything that they stood for. She loathed every word that passed from their lips. The lady with her cold glances and scornful frowns, the man with his suggestive eyes and sinister smile; she hated them.

 

 

She hated the life she was forced to live, hated the world as it now looked to her once innocent eyes. Memories of her past were slowly fading away into the deepest regions of her mind, leaving her nothing with which to save her sanity.

 

 

Six years she had lived with them, and now at the age of fifteen she wondered how she had even made it that long. But she knew, as surely as the sun rises after the moon, that she was thankful for them. Not in any substantial way that a child might give a person a hug in thanks, but in the knowledge that the world is not perfect. That monsters, though not tangible beings, are real. Lurking within each and every person, waiting for the moment that they can be set free and tear lives asunder.

 

 

She hated them.

 

 

Her mother had never done the things to her as the lady had, her father had never done the things the man had. And with each tick of the clock, she knew he would be back again. His voice would stay silent, as it was his hands that always did the talking when she was involved. Broken and battered, her pride stripped from her clinging fingers, she would have to come down in the morning and look into their faces. The lady would smile, in the only way that she could, and pretend that nothing had happened the night before. The man would be drinking his morning coffee, reading his paper, and living in his own world till night fell again.

 

 

It had only been a name that they had forced upon her, and yet it was like something entirely different. It was a life, a world, all these things that she was too young to understand, to young to know any different.

 

 

But all that would change, this life and its darkened ways would come to an end. When her fake father concluded the night's ritual beating, she would slip away. And she hoped, prayed to be out of her foster parent's lives forever.

 

 

Dull brown eyes looked over her surroundings, noting the one object she would take with her. The necklace, the last piece connecting her to her parents, the last piece of a puzzle that was once known as Pan Son.

 

…….

 

 

Rain pelted her back as she ran on tired legs to her motel room. Shoes in one hand, bottom of the dress in another, she ran. Her lungs tried to heave in more of the precious air that was currently being deprived. But she couldn't stop, she had to keep going!

 

 

The cuts on her arm bleed freely, and Pan lost all hope of ever cleaning her ruined dress. But at that moment, her bloody dress was the last thing on her mind. Curse words filtered through the air between gasps as she cried out in rage.

 

 

She had thought she had mastered the art of slipping in and out unnoticed, undetected. So why had he found her again? Where were the clues that she always seemed to leave behind? How did he always find her? Were her movements that noticeable that any onlooker could pin point her location as accurately as he could? So many questions, but where were the answers?

 

 

Objective set, she had only meant to lift a few pockets. Take a few things from here and there that the people wouldn't really miss. That was her job, her means to survival. So how had she ended up like this? Slits in her arms, bruises covering her body, swelling in her cheeks; it just didn't add up!

 

 

A single tear slipped from her eyes, ignored as she continued to race on to the only place she figured would be fairly safe.

 

 

But god, she was tired . . . so tired.

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

Lying atop her bed, Pan glared. Try as she might, she could not understand anything that had happened earlier that day. There were a number of things wrong in fact. Number one, Bulma should be dead. Number two, it seemed as though Bulma had thought that she, herself, Miss Pan Ochi, was the one who should be dead. So what was going on? Why would they both think the other was dead?

 

 

There was only one logical thing she could think of. That being that it had all been some kind of elaborate scheme to get her away from her parents. But what was so grand about her that anyone would want her? She was only a fraction of what her parents were.

 

 

Her brain hurt, but she had to figure it out.

 

 

Standing up and walking to her dresser, Pan proceeded to grab a sheet of paper and a pen. Setting herself down on the floor, she let her mind tell her hand what to write. Maybe if the words were written, it would better help her with solving this puzzle.

 

 

She was told everyone was dead, yet Bulma was still breathing. Bulma was told she was dead, but that was obviously a lie. If she remembered correctly, it was her sitter who had given her the news of her parents and everyone else. Why would she lie? So whatever the scheme was, that lady was part of it. Willingly? And then there were the cops, the owners of the orphanage, almost everyone she had come in contact with sense the day she left. So that meant that the mastermind behind it all had to have a lot of . . . power.

 

 

The pen fell from her shaky grip as realization dawned on her. It all led up to them. The man who always followed her, the lies everyone had told her, it all led up to the two. Her foster parents. Those two had enough power and money that they could buy an island and live as king and queen if they wanted to.

 

 

"I'm such an idiot!" Pan groaned out to the silence of her room. Of course she hadn't realized it earlier! It was so obvious, that she had never thought of it.

 

 

"But if Bulma is supposed to believe me dead, then the only place that I'm truly safe at . . . is with her." Because, her foster parents couldn't make a move on her without starting a chain of reactions that would end badly for everyone involved.

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

Boredom did funny things to people, Trunks decided. Staring cross eyed at the pencil that was precariously balanced on his nose, he concluded that work was no where near as interesting as the pen.

 

 

"I'm back!"

 

 

Whipping his head to the side, and sending the pen flying across the room, Trunks stared at the one face he had previously believed he would never see again.

 

 

"I decided I didn't really want to quit, so I'm back."

 

 

"You're back?"

 

 

"Yep!"

 

 

Trunks grinned, "For good?"

 

 

Quirking her head, Pan sent a glower his way, "For now."

 

 

Standing up, Trunks walked over to Pan and gave her shoulder a pat. "Good, because I have a lot of paper work that I didn't really want to do."

 

 

With that, Trunks made a quick escape, successfully leaving Pan with a week worth of sorting through bills. Giving the paper an eye over, Pan decided it was nice to be back, but she still mourned the death of her desk.

 

 

For a long time her smiles had been forced and fake. But this time, as she glanced back at the door, her smile was real.

 

 

 

 

Tbc.

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

Next Chapter:

 

 

And the routine continues once again!

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

Character Notes:

 

 

Pan: Has an identity complex

 

 

Trunks: Has a Pan complex

 

 

Bulma: Has a clueless complex

 

 

Vegeta: Not in this chapter . . . so why did I add him again?

 

 

~ * ~

 

 

To my reviewers! Yay!

 

 

Mii-chan1:

 

 

Yes, I do believe I did, in fact, drop off the face of the planet . . . and I landed in some dark ally with nothing but bread crumbs to eat . . .wait, no, that was in my dream. Lol. So um, I had planed to update sooner, but when I got the past part of this chap, my brain decided to die. Even gave it a funeral and everything. Pan might tell Trunks eventually, or my mysterious man might . . . cant tell you!

 

 

fayevalentine2392:

 

 

Okay! Okay!

 

 

Misswhitefangs:

 

 

Thank you muches! So yeah, I'm really stressing over the past for this . . . didn't really realize I had left so many plot holes over the years . . . yeah.

 

 

CrAzY-Fan-Fic-Addict:

 

 

Lol! Your guess is as good as mine. Thank you! It's nice to know people are enjoying this story! Sorry to hear about your crappy mood, but its been about 3 or 4, maybe 5 . . . months since you left your review, so I hope your feeling better! (Hugs) Yes, in all due time the freak chasing Pan will be explained. Soon . . . I think . . .

 

 

Cute_Kitty:

 

 

I will never grow tired of people telling me they like my story. I love them like I love ice cream!

 

 

Arkhato:

 

 

Thank you thank you! Yes, I am the best, aren't I! Wait . . .where are you going?

 

 

Complexity66:

 

 

Lol! Thank you!

 

 

Tiffany:

 

 

I understand what your saying, the only problem is, I'm so lazy I can barely get one chapter out . . . and you want TWO! LOL! I made this chap cover over a lot of things, that way I wouldn't have to do two chapters. Teehee! Two birds plus one stone equals, um, two birds and one stone? Anyway, thank you!

 

 

Tiff:

 

 

LOL, yes I know I want to update! I want to update everyday and be showered in reviews! But I know I must be doing something right, since you reviewed twice on one chapter, teehee! Hope you had a great Christmas and new year's and all the other holidays that led up to today!

 

 

Danna:

 

 

You're such a bad sister! You didn't even review for this chap! Gerrrrr! . . . teehee . . Don't hurt me!

 

 

AS A SIDE NOTE!: If there was any confusion, let me clear that up. Pan was NOT raped! Her um, step father? Would beat her to a bloody pulp, that's all!

 

 

Help needed: I currently need a beta . . . I know my grammars not the best, and I have lots of run-ons and fragment sentences. So if any of you want to beta for me, just send me an email at inca_dove@yahoo.com. Toodles!

 

 

Fanfic by inca