On Instinct

“Gohan.” Videl sighed as her husband came through the door. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

Collapsing onto the couch to snuggle in the warmth of his wife’s loving embrace, Gohan prepared to hear another tale of his daughter’s horrific behavior.

“She’s suspended from school, again.” Videl began tiredly. “She got in a fight with an eighth grader.”

“It was a boy.” Videl shook her head. “She got in a fight with a thirteen year old boy. Apparently, he was boasting about being the best martial artist in my father’s dojo.”

“Yes.” Videl whispered, near tears over her daughter’s behavior. “She confronted him. He laughed at her and she punched him. Gohan, our ten year old daughter knocked out a thirteen year old male martial artist. He was out for over an hour. We’re lucky that his parents aren’t pressing charges.”

“I wonder why.” Gohan mused. “Probably didn’t want it getting out that there son got k.o.’d by a little girl.”

“Actually,” Videl frowned. “I had to talk with them when I picked up Pan. They said that he had been getting an ego since he earned his black belt. They figured he deserved it.”

“So how long was Pan suspended for?” Gohan asked, trying to add up how much school she had missed already due to the same thing.

“Yeah, but it’s because she’s already been suspended for the same thing so many times.” Videl explained. “The dean says that if it happens again, Pan will be expelled.”

“This is the fourth school she been to.” Gohan complained wearily. “What are we going to do if she gets expelled? The school board has already told us that if she gets expelled again she won’t be able to attend a public school.”

“The next time we may not have to worry about it.” Videl sighed. “The next time she might be arrested for assault.”

“The school’s resource officer was there. He was the first adult ‘on the scene’, as he put it.” Videl explained. “Pan was saying ‘who wants to be next’ when he got there. She insulted and threatened him. He said the next time he’s going arrest her. He thinks that some time in Juvenile Hall would do her some good.”

“When I asked her why she did it, she laughed at me.” Videl looked worried. “She actually laughed at me.”

“I’m sorry, Videl.” Gohan closed his eyes in acute disappointment. “Where is she now?”

“Trunks and Goten showed up and offered to take her out for a while. I know she’s supposed to be in trouble, but I couldn’t deal with her right then. I needed a break.”

They stayed like that, lost in deep thought until a grumble rose from Gohan’s stomach. Grinning sheepishly, Gohan said, “I guess I’m a little hungry.”

“Okay.” Videl laughed patting her husband’s stomach lightly. “I’ll make us something to eat.”

“When is Pan supposed to be back?” Gohan asked, following his wife in hopes of getting to taste test for her.

“Oh, no!” Videl gasped, slapping her forehand and turning to look at him. “I was so upset I forgot to give them a time!”

“It’s okay.” Gohan assured her. “I’m sure the boys will bring her back at a reasonable hour. Do they know what happened?”

“Yeah, I told them. They weren’t to pleased with her either, but she went with them anyway.”

“Hmmm.” Gohan gave his wife a quick hug. “It’s a good thing those two still train. Otherwise Pan wouldn’t have any friends. She beats everyone else up.”

“Bra seems to be a good friend.” Videl argued. “And Pan fights with her all the time.”

When 9 o’clock passed and the boys still hadn’t come back with Pan, Videl started to worry. Gohan started to get angry. “Where are they?” he demanded, his words directed at no one. “Trunks and Goten know better than to keep her out till all hours of the night.”

“What if something happened?” Videl sniffed, trying not to give in to tears. “What if they went to Capsule and she picked a fight with Vegita?”

Gohan whirled around to face Videl. “That’s it. I’m calling Bulma. I’ll see if she’s seen them. If Pan was hurt I think someone would have called before now.”

“Hey, it’s been a while since I last heard from you.” Bulma said, genuinely happy to hear from her oldest friend’s son. “How are you and Videl doing?”

“We’re okay.” Gohan lied, not wanting to admit that he was having problems with his daughter. “Is Trunks or Goten around by any chance?”

“Hmmm.” Bulma thought back. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen either of them since this morning. Why? What’s up?”

“They came by this afternoon.” Gohan explained, beginning to worry. “They left with Pan, but they haven’t brought her back yet.”

“That’s odd.” Bulma frowned. “They should have had her back home by now. They know you don’t like her out late, especially on a school night.”

“Well,” Gohan sighed, he guessed he needed to let Bulma know the whole story. “Videl had to pick Pan up early from school today. She got in a fight and got suspended. Videl let her go because she needed a break, but she did tell the boys that Pan was in trouble. Videl told me that Trunks and Goten weren’t too happy with Pan.”

“You think maybe they took her sparring?” Bulma asked, concerned now that she knew that the missing demi-Sayjins were angry when they left.

“Probably.” Gohan agreed. “They usually do that when she’s upset about something.”

“Thank you.” Gohan was even more worried now. Even if Trunks and Goten did take Pan out to spar, they still would have been back before now.

“Hold on a second.” Bulma told him, turning to the door that was opening. “My Dende!” she gasped, taking in the sight of her son and his best friend. Their clothes were in tatters, proof that they had been sparring roughly. Neither boy was standing under his own power, rather they were leaning against each other. Bruises and burn marks were readily evident, scratches and bleeding wounds as well. In short, they looked as if they had fought Vegita and barely escaped alive.

“Bulma!” Gohan shouted, hoping that she could hear him. He had heard her almost drop the phone. “What’s going on?”

Recovering her wits quickly, Bulma brought the phone back to her ear. “I think you need to come over, Gohan. As fast as possible. Trunks and Goten just showed up and they don’t look good.”

Gohan didn’t even stop to explain as he grabbed Videl’s hand and took off in the direction of Capsule Corp. Puzzled and worried, Videl didn’t try to find out. She’d know when they got there.

Bulma quickly hung up the phone after letting Gohan know what was happening. She motioned for the duo to sit down as she ran to get her medical kit. Since the Sayjins and demi-Sayjins were always getting banged up, Bulma had taken a nursing course.

Bulma had just finished dealing with the last of the boys’ visible wounds when Gohan and Videl arrived.

Not bothering to knock the concerned parents simply walked in, finding Bulma, Trunks and Goten in

“Let him go, Gohan!” Bulma shrieked, trying to pry his hands off Goten. “He’s hurt bad enough already.”

Seeing Gohan relaxing his grip, Videl turned to Trunks. “You were supposed to be watching her. Where is she?”

“Why not?” Gohan snarled shaking his brother sharply. “What were you doing instead of watching her?”

Goten’s world filled with pain as his body was jarred and he welcomed the blackness that took him under.

“Goten!” Bulma gasped, trying desperately to get the boy to respond. “Gohan let him go! Something’s wrong.”

Bulma motioned for him to bring Goten with him and follow her as she and Videl supported Trunks between them. Trunks was clinging to consciousness, knowing that if he passed out his mother and Videl would never be able to get him to the compound’s clinic. He knew that was where they were going.

Goten needed a doctor fast and the clinic seemed his only hope. Not that Trunks was fairing much better.

“They’re beat up pretty bad.” Videl was worried. They were waiting for word from the doctor on the boys’ conditions. “What could’ve happened?”

“They looked like they pissed Vegita off.” Gohan commented. “But I thought that Vegita was out sparring with Dad.”

“He was and still is.” Bulma assured them. “We’ll have to ask them what happened. It’s the only way we’ll find out.”

“I just hope they’ll be able to tell us soon.” Videl chewed on her bottom lip. “We won’t find out where Pan is until then.”

“Excuse me.” the clinic doctor stepped into the waiting room where Bulma, Videl and Gohan were sitting. “Trunks and Goten are resting. You can visit them, but please keep it short. They need rest and time to recover.”

“Your son had three cracked ribs, a fractured ankle and a broken wrist.” the doctor frowned. “I’d call family services if I didn’t know your family situation as well as I do.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Bulma glared at the man’s attitude. “I’m sure you can imagine the mess I’d have to clean up if Vegita were to meet someone from family services.”

The thinly veiled threat worked as the man’s attitude changed immediately. “Goten had the worst of it.” the doctor continued, his face blank and voice flat. “There was a broken rib that almost punctured his lung, a broken leg and broken collar bone. Then there was some internal bleeding, but we managed to stop it.”

“Thank you once again.” Bulma said politely, before leaving to see her son and his best friend.

When Videl and Gohan arrived at the room Trunks and Goten shared, both boys were unconscious.

Figuring it was best to wait for Bulma, the two took seats in between the beds. Bulma walked in a few minutes later.

“Well, they can sleep all night.” Bulma assured them, moving to wake Trunks. “Trunks, honey wake up.”

“We lost Pan.” Trunks answered, hiding behind his bangs. “We split up to look for her.” He paused, glancing at the other bed where Goten lay still unconscious. “I don’t know exactly what happened next. Goten found her first. I felt his ki level rise really fast. When I got there he was fighting Pan.”

“I’m not sure how she did it.” Trunks sighed. He really needed to get some rest, but he knew that everyone wanted to know where Pan was. “I realized they weren’t sparring when Goten went down and Pan didn’t let up. So I stepped in. She caught me off guard when she went super Sayjin. I didn’t even know she could. She didn’t let up and I couldn’t find an opening. I didn’t have a chance to go super Sayjin. She knocked me out and when I came to she was gone.”

“When did all this happen?” Bulma asked, confused as to why it would take them so long to get home.

“It wasn’t until we told Pan it was time to go home.” Goten rasped. He had woken up when he heard his brother’s voice. “We pick her up from your house and went flying. We were talking to her about controlling her temper and the importance of school. How even though we’d made trouble as kids, we’d done it in fun and not to hurt anyone. We sparred for a while, but when we called it quits and decided to go home, Pan took off.”

“Since when can Pan turn super Sayjin?” Videl wondered. “Gohan refused to train her until she stopped fighting at school.”

“Well, we’ll let you two get some rest.” Bulma decided, still not sure what was going on with Pan. “See you in the morning.”

“What about Pan?” Gohan asked as Bulma and Videl guided him out of the room. “We still don’t know where she is.”

Turning, they saw Vegita holding Pan by her tail as she growled, trying to reach the Sayjin Prince.


	On Instinct “Gohan.” Videl sighed as her husband came through the door. “I’m so glad you’re home.” “Oh Videl.” Gohan shook his head wearily. “What happened today?” Collapsing onto the couch to snuggle in the warmth of his wife’s loving embrace, Gohan prepared to hear another tale of his daughter’s horrific behavior. “She’s suspended from school, again.” Videl began tiredly. “She got in a fight with an eighth grader.” “Not again.” Gohan groaned. “How is the other girl doing?” “It was a boy.” Videl shook her head. “She got in a fight with a thirteen year old boy. Apparently, he was boasting about being the best martial artist in my father’s dojo.” “She heard him.” Gohan guessed, knowing how it ended. “Yes.” Videl whispered, near tears over her daughter’s behavior. “She confronted him. He laughed at her and she punched him. Gohan, our ten year old daughter knocked out a thirteen year old male martial artist. He was out for over an hour. We’re lucky that his parents aren’t pressing charges.” “I wonder why.” Gohan mused. “Probably didn’t want it getting out that there son got k.o.’d by a little girl.” “Actually,” Videl frowned. “I had to talk with them when I picked up Pan. They said that he had been getting an ego since he earned his black belt. They figured he deserved it.” “So how long was Pan suspended for?” Gohan asked, trying to add up how much school she had missed already due to the same thing. “Two weeks.” “Isn’t that a long time for a suspension?” Gohan’s brow wrinkled. “Yeah, but it’s because she’s already been suspended for the same thing so many times.” Videl explained. “The dean says that if it happens again, Pan will be expelled.” “This is the fourth school she been to.” Gohan complained wearily. “What are we going to do if she gets expelled? The school board has already told us that if she gets expelled again she won’t be able to attend a public school.” “The next time we may not have to worry about it.” Videl sighed. “The next time she might be arrested for assault.” “What do you mean?” Gohan asked, alarmed. “The school’s resource officer was there. He was the first adult ‘on the scene’, as he put it.” Videl explained. “Pan was saying ‘who wants to be next’ when he got there. She insulted and threatened him. He said the next time he’s going arrest her. He thinks that some time in Juvenile Hall would do her some good.” “Maybe it would.” Gohan thought aloud. “Maybe that’s just what she needs.” “When I asked her why she did it, she laughed at me.” Videl looked worried. “She actually laughed at me.” “I’m sorry, Videl.” Gohan closed his eyes in acute disappointment. “Where is she now?” “Trunks and Goten showed up and offered to take her out for a while. I know she’s supposed to be in trouble, but I couldn’t deal with her right then. I needed a break.” “I understand.” Gohan squeezed his wife closer. They stayed like that, lost in deep thought until a grumble rose from Gohan’s stomach. Grinning sheepishly, Gohan said, “I guess I’m a little hungry.” “Okay.” Videl laughed patting her husband’s stomach lightly. “I’ll make us something to eat.” “When is Pan supposed to be back?” Gohan asked, following his wife in hopes of getting to taste test for her. “Oh, no!” Videl gasped, slapping her forehand and turning to look at him. “I was so upset I forgot to give them a time!” “It’s okay.” Gohan assured her. “I’m sure the boys will bring her back at a reasonable hour. Do they know what happened?” “Yeah, I told them. They weren’t to pleased with her either, but she went with them anyway.” “Hmmm.” Gohan gave his wife a quick hug. “It’s a good thing those two still train. Otherwise Pan wouldn’t have any friends. She beats everyone else up.” “Bra seems to be a good friend.” Videl argued. “And Pan fights with her all the time.” “You have a point.” he conceded. When 9 o’clock passed and the boys still hadn’t come back with Pan, Videl started to worry. Gohan started to get angry. “Where are they?” he demanded, his words directed at no one. “Trunks and Goten know better than to keep her out till all hours of the night.” “What if something happened?” Videl sniffed, trying not to give in to tears. “What if they went to Capsule and she picked a fight with Vegita?” Gohan whirled around to face Videl. “That’s it. I’m calling Bulma. I’ll see if she’s seen them. If Pan was hurt I think someone would have called before now.” “Hello?” Bulma answered the phone wondering who would be calling this late. “Bulma? It’s Gohan.” “Hey, it’s been a while since I last heard from you.” Bulma said, genuinely happy to hear from her oldest friend’s son. “How are you and Videl doing?” “We’re okay.” Gohan lied, not wanting to admit that he was having problems with his daughter. “Is Trunks or Goten around by any chance?” “Hmmm.” Bulma thought back. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen either of them since this morning. Why? What’s up?” “They came by this afternoon.” Gohan explained, beginning to worry. “They left with Pan, but they haven’t brought her back yet.” “That’s odd.” Bulma frowned. “They should have had her back home by now. They know you don’t like her out late, especially on a school night.” “Well,” Gohan sighed, he guessed he needed to let Bulma know the whole story. “Videl had to pick Pan up early from school today. She got in a fight and got suspended. Videl let her go because she needed a break, but she did tell the boys that Pan was in trouble. Videl told me that Trunks and Goten weren’t too happy with Pan.” “You think maybe they took her sparring?” Bulma asked, concerned now that she knew that the missing demi-Sayjins were angry when they left. “Probably.” Gohan agreed. “They usually do that when she’s upset about something.” “I’ll call you as soon as I find out anything.” Bulma promised. “Thank you.” Gohan was even more worried now. Even if Trunks and Goten did take Pan out to spar, they still would have been back before now. “Hold on a second.” Bulma told him, turning to the door that was opening. “My Dende!” she gasped, taking in the sight of her son and his best friend. Their clothes were in tatters, proof that they had been sparring roughly. Neither boy was standing under his own power, rather they were leaning against each other. Bruises and burn marks were readily evident, scratches and bleeding wounds as well. In short, they looked as if they had fought Vegita and barely escaped alive. “Bulma!” Gohan shouted, hoping that she could hear him. He had heard her almost drop the phone. “What’s going on?” Recovering her wits quickly, Bulma brought the phone back to her ear. “I think you need to come over, Gohan. As fast as possible. Trunks and Goten just showed up and they don’t look good.” Gohan didn’t even stop to explain as he grabbed Videl’s hand and took off in the direction of Capsule Corp. Puzzled and worried, Videl didn’t try to find out. She’d know when they got there. Bulma quickly hung up the phone after letting Gohan know what was happening. She motioned for the duo to sit down as she ran to get her medical kit. Since the Sayjins and demi-Sayjins were always getting banged up, Bulma had taken a nursing course. Bulma had just finished dealing with the last of the boys’ visible wounds when Gohan and Videl arrived. Not bothering to knock the concerned parents simply walked in, finding Bulma, Trunks and Goten in the kitchen. “Where’s Pan?” Gohan demanded, picking his younger brother up by his shirt front. “W we..” Goten gasped for breath as he tried to answer his angry brother. “W we…” “Let him go, Gohan!” Bulma shrieked, trying to pry his hands off Goten. “He’s hurt bad enough already.” Seeing Gohan relaxing his grip, Videl turned to Trunks. “You were supposed to be watching her. Where is she?” “We don’t know.” Trunks answered, grimacing in pain as he cradled his cracked ribs. “Why not?” Gohan snarled shaking his brother sharply. “What were you doing instead of watching her?” Goten’s world filled with pain as his body was jarred and he welcomed the blackness that took him under. “Goten!” Bulma gasped, trying desperately to get the boy to respond. “Gohan let him go! Something’s wrong.” Gohan blinked in shock as his brother went limp in his grasp. “What’s going on?” Bulma motioned for him to bring Goten with him and follow her as she and Videl supported Trunks between them. Trunks was clinging to consciousness, knowing that if he passed out his mother and Videl would never be able to get him to the compound’s clinic. He knew that was where they were going. Goten needed a doctor fast and the clinic seemed his only hope. Not that Trunks was fairing much better. “They’re beat up pretty bad.” Videl was worried. They were waiting for word from the doctor on the boys’ conditions. “What could’ve happened?” “They looked like they pissed Vegita off.” Gohan commented. “But I thought that Vegita was out sparring with Dad.” “He was and still is.” Bulma assured them. “We’ll have to ask them what happened. It’s the only way we’ll find out.” “I just hope they’ll be able to tell us soon.” Videl chewed on her bottom lip. “We won’t find out where Pan is until then.” “Excuse me.” the clinic doctor stepped into the waiting room where Bulma, Videl and Gohan were sitting. “Trunks and Goten are resting. You can visit them, but please keep it short. They need rest and time to recover.” “How bad was it?” Bulma asked as Gohan and Videl left to see the two boys. “Your son had three cracked ribs, a fractured ankle and a broken wrist.” the doctor frowned. “I’d call family services if I didn’t know your family situation as well as I do.” “Thank you, doctor.” Bulma glared at the man’s attitude. “I’m sure you can imagine the mess I’d have to clean up if Vegita were to meet someone from family services.” The thinly veiled threat worked as the man’s attitude changed immediately. “Goten had the worst of it.” the doctor continued, his face blank and voice flat. “There was a broken rib that almost punctured his lung, a broken leg and broken collar bone. Then there was some internal bleeding, but we managed to stop it.” “Thank you once again.” Bulma said politely, before leaving to see her son and his best friend. When Videl and Gohan arrived at the room Trunks and Goten shared, both boys were unconscious. Figuring it was best to wait for Bulma, the two took seats in between the beds. Bulma walked in a few minutes later. “They’re still out.” Gohan mumbled, gesturing towards the beds. “Well, they can sleep all night.” Bulma assured them, moving to wake Trunks. “Trunks, honey wake up.” Trunks groaned, wincing when pain shot up his arm as he rubbed his eyes. “Be careful.” his mother admonished softly. “Your wrist is fractured.” “Hn.” Trunks grunted, sounding like his father as he moved into a seated position. “Can you tell us what happened?” Videl asked quietly. “We lost Pan.” Trunks answered, hiding behind his bangs. “We split up to look for her.” He paused, glancing at the other bed where Goten lay still unconscious. “I don’t know exactly what happened next. Goten found her first. I felt his ki level rise really fast. When I got there he was fighting Pan.” “How could Pan do that much damage?” Gohan interrupted, looking at his brother. “I’m not sure how she did it.” Trunks sighed. He really needed to get some rest, but he knew that everyone wanted to know where Pan was. “I realized they weren’t sparring when Goten went down and Pan didn’t let up. So I stepped in. She caught me off guard when she went super Sayjin. I didn’t even know she could. She didn’t let up and I couldn’t find an opening. I didn’t have a chance to go super Sayjin. She knocked me out and when I came to she was gone.” “When did all this happen?” Bulma asked, confused as to why it would take them so long to get home. “It wasn’t until we told Pan it was time to go home.” Goten rasped. He had woken up when he heard his brother’s voice. “We pick her up from your house and went flying. We were talking to her about controlling her temper and the importance of school. How even though we’d made trouble as kids, we’d done it in fun and not to hurt anyone. We sparred for a while, but when we called it quits and decided to go home, Pan took off.” “Since when can Pan turn super Sayjin?” Videl wondered. “Gohan refused to train her until she stopped fighting at school.” “I don’t know.” Goten answered yawning. “Well, we’ll let you two get some rest.” Bulma decided, still not sure what was going on with Pan. “See you in the morning.” “What about Pan?” Gohan asked as Bulma and Videl guided him out of the room. “We still don’t know where she is.” “Looking for this?” a familiar voice sneered behind them. Turning, they saw Vegita holding Pan by her tail as she growled, trying to reach the Sayjin Prince. Return to Amaris' Realm