Pan's Night Light
Chapter One
Bedtime for Baby
"Go to bed, Pan. It's late and you've got school tomorrow" said Videl
"But I don't wanna go to bed, Mama!" was the retort "I wanna stay up late and train with Grandpa!"
"You can do that next weekend, now go to bed!"
Pan hung her head in melancholy "Aaaaw, I'm never allowed to have any real fun!" and with that, she went to her room and went to sleep. Now, what Pan doesn't like people to know is that she sleeps with a night light. And just perchance tonight she'd forgotten to turn it on! After about 15 minutes of tossing and turning in the darkness, she finally fell into a deep sleep…and was met with a creepy voice that said: "Aaaaw, poor Pan; forced to go to bed at 9:00. Mommy and Daddy still think you're a little girl!"
Pan recognized this voice very quickly: "Baby?! Are you inside my body?" she whispered with a shiver
Baby smirked: "No, or at least not yet. But I digress; the point is that you are being denied the fullest extent of your potential. You're forced to listen to Mama and Papa about everything. I don't think they fully recognize that you are independent. I remember your defiance against me, and a part of me wished I'd infected you with my Tuffle cells and amplified your potential."
Pan became more and more scared: "Go away!" she shouted, trying to rationalize everything out "I'm not scared of you. We defeated you. You're just a voice in my head, now get out of here!"
This just continued to make Baby more and more pleased at what he was doing to Pan. He continued to tell her all sorts of lies. All that did was increase Pan's anger and fear until it got to the point where she woke up in the darkness and gasped with fear.
"What the …?" she started "Oh…I forgot to turn on my night light" She was about to turn the night light on when she felt a clammy hand on her shoulder. It was not her mother's or her father's. It was Baby's!
Chapter Two
More Tuffle Mind Games
"Don't think you can escape me, little girl!" sniggered the evil parasite, his grip tightening on the quarter-Saiyan's shoulder "I'm only here to tell you the truth about your life on this worthless planet. Everyone thinks you're weak. Even your dolt of a Grandfather doesn't have true faith in you. The only reason he and Trunks finally submitted to your presence on that voyage was because they knew you'd feel special, just for being there. Worthless fool"
"You lie, Baby!" Pan replied "And I'm not little!" she added angrily, trying to break free from the Tuffle's surprisingly powerful hold.
Baby was enjoying playing these mind games with Pan. He grinned evilly again and conjured up an image before Pan's eyes: Everyone was walking away. Everyone she knew was leaving her. Her family, her friends, everyone! Her eyes filled with tears and Baby relished the fact that his game was working: "You see?!" he cackled "No one cares about you, Pan. You don't mean anything to anyone!"
Pan's lip quivered: "Stop it" she sniffled meekly. The evil parasite was getting under her skin in a new way: He was making her feel awful. It was horrible. Pan shut her eyes and opened them again. Baby was gone when she opened them. She reached for her night light and turned it on. But when she turned it on, Baby's face appeared in the light. Pan screamed.
Chapter Three
When Banter goes too far
Pan could not believe what she was seeing. Baby was in her night light. She pinched herself just to make sure. She was not dreaming. Baby was really scaring her. She screamed out in absolute panic: "MAMA! PAPA! HELP ME!"
"They can't hear you. You don't mean anything to them" Baby replied "You're all alone. Not even your friends, Bulla and Marron would understand if you told them. Trust me I know" He then conjured up another image of Bulla and Marron laughing at Pan and teasing her: "You see? What friends would laugh at you, hm?" the Tuffle continued to spread his lies.
Pan glared at the lamp defiantly: "How dare you! Marron and Bulla would never do that!"
"Oh, really?" was the reply. Bulla and Marron appeared again in another image chanting evilly: "Pan's still a baby! Pan's still a baby!" Pan's eyes filled with tears again, but then she realized and stifled her tears.
"I'm not a baby. You're the baby, Baby!" she countered "Mature people wouldn't tease other people for no reason, so you're just living up to your name!"
"Very well" replied Baby "No use denying it. But since you worked it all out, I guess I have no choice but to take your body!" and with that he attempted to enter. Pan shrieked in terror at what was happening.
Chapter Four
All a Dream
Videl and Gohan came rushing in to Pan's room.
"Pan, sweetie. We heard screaming in here. Is everything Ok?" Videl said calmly but with a lot of concern for what had happened to her daughter. Pan was wriggling in her bed and whimpering: "No…this is my body…leave me alone"
Gohan turned on the light. Pan opened her eyes and shielded them from the brightness. When her vision adjusted she saw her mother standing over her: "Mama?" she blinked "What happened? Where's Baby?"
Gohan smiled as he realized what had happened. He walked up to Pan: "Aw, I know what's happened. You had a nightmare about that Tuffle. Don't worry; Grandpa killed him, remember?"
Videl chipped in: "That's right. Grandpa got rid of that Parasite so there's no need to worry. You just fell asleep and dreamt everything"
"Do you mean it? That dream felt like it would never end!" Pan replied with a shiver
"Don't worry about it. It was all a dream. If you're still scared, why don't you tell me what happened?" her mother consoled her sweetly
"Well…" Pan began nervously.
The End