Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Returning what I was given ❯ Pan's Stumble ( Chapter 4 )

Pan's head popped out of the curtains, she was looking for someone, actually the only person she really cared about coming to see her, say the one line she'd worked on so hard, her uncle Goten. Pan saw Vegeta, Bulma, and her little friend Bra, in the crowd and waved with a half hearted smile painted on her young face, she really wanted Goten to be there, but the two seats saved for her uncle and Trunks were empty.

"They'll be here...they gotta be here..", Pan whispered to herself.

Little did she know someone was listening and plotting, Kari. Kari was a girl Pan had rubbed the wrong way from the beginning, somehow. Before Pan came along she had been the smartest child, and she had been the prettiest, no one else liked Pan either but they had to admit she was very cute. The entire class disliked her for no good reason at all, she was younger then everyone else, only four.

The school district had told Goten she was smart enough to begin school and of course Pan had jumped at the offer. Goten had actually smiled at her when she said she wanted to go to school early, Pan had been glad she made her uncle smile he never did get a good laugh or grin from ear to ear like she did. But that day he had cracked a smile as wide as a bus, and said "You are so much like your daddy…he loved to learn to you know..", but then Goten's emotion had faded back to sadness and he frowned, his joy for his niece had been short lived, but Pan was glad, it was better then no smile at all.

"Hey Pen", Kari said mispronouncing her name purposely, bringing Pan back to the present.

"Hi there...um but ya know my name's Pan.", She smiled at Kari, the kids had all played cruel jokes on Pan, ever since she'd started school, but she never thought anything of it, she wanted to have a friend so badly that she didn't care if they were mean or unkind she just wanted someone to talk to.

Pan giggled to herself, she did have someone to talk to at home, Goten of course, and Trunks, he was like her second uncle he was always looking out for her. But at school she was a loner.

Kari snickered and leaned into Pan very close to her face. "So…", she grinned inwardly she was gonna hit Pan with a painful come back this time, she'd had enough of this goodie two shoes hogging the spot light that so rightfully belonged to her in the first place. "Where's your parents?", she almost laughed in Pan's face when she saw the younger girl go pale and look sick, Pan eyes were a bit glazed, Kari could see she was trying not to show her hurt pain from the forwardness of the comment and blow.

Pan hadn't known Videl or Gohan but for some reason she wished she had, Goten never could stop talking about them, how great they were, how pretty her mother had been and how much Pan looked like her. How her father had been a super hero and saved the world from deadly villans, and yet so gentle and smart at once.

Kari knew Pan's parents were both dead, and she knew Goten was Pan's hero, her `uncle G'. Pft, what a joke Kari thought to herself. Then she looked into the crowd where there was no Goten. Heh heh time for me to hit her with blow number two…I won't have her ruining my play like this with her stupid self plus I'm the lead roll and st least my parents aren't dead they get to watch…they deserve a good show..and a good show means no Pan…Kari snarled as her thoughts turned to what she'd say to break Pan's heart into a thousand or more pieces. She got it.

"Oh that's right your parents are worm food, dead right?", Kari did laugh this time, Pan's eyes had gone the size of baseballs when she'd said that.

"w-What did y-you s-say?", She slurred her words….she was shaking, did she really just insult her mother and father like that?....Why would someone do that…Pan swallowed hard…she wanted to run away….so far away…..where was Goten when she needed him..…

"You heard me….oh and by the way, where's that dope of an uncle of yours at? Hm,…he must not like you…which is understandable.", the young girls lips turned up into a cruel grin.

"I heard your father died in a car wreak....my father said he was a silly fool….I bet he drove off that bridge on purpose haha I bet he didn't even want to see your face that must be why he died…because of you AHAHA", Kair laughed again.

No….no….Goten said my Daddy loved me…Pan thought back to when she about two or three.. and her painful memories took over her head…

______

She remembered Goten taking her to her father and mothers house to get some things before it got sold or torn down. She had seen a room with a little sign on the front of the door that said `Pan". She had only been two or three but she learned to read very early in life, she was most definitely Gohan's little girl.

She had gone in by herself, it was beautiful, there was wallpaper with all kinds of animals on it, Pan had thought they might be real so she had a great conversation with her wall, then she had saw a very nice, very pretty, red wood cradle in the corner. It was filled with soft blankets and a handmade pillow….she wondered if her mother had made it. Pan had climbed in and fell asleep, dreaming of the animals on her wall and a woman and man that she pretended were her parents. When she woke….men in ragged clothing were tearing the wall paper off, construction workers.

Goten had then run into the room.

"Stop it stop it!", he had screamed at them. "He worked hard on that, stop it!!", Pan had watched the men ignore her uncle and continue to destroy what her father had worked so hard to give to her.

Pan was glad Trunks had come Goten was crying and mumbling on the floor by that time…he did that sometimes…just broke down…he did it a lot…it always made Pan worry for her uncle…..and it made her scared that he wasn't okay.

"He worked so hard on it..", Pan heard her uncle mumble into the carpet and choke, Trunks looked down at his friend with sadness in his own eyes then turned his attention back to the construction workers, he glared at the men, his blue eyes like icy daggers.

"What the fuck it wrong with you people?!", he almost screamed, Trunks wasn't Gohan's brother but he might as well have been, Trunks had loved Gohan too.

The men just continued working on the wallpaper and sort of chuckled.

"Listen kid", said the lead construction worker with a grin as he saw Trunks growl when he said kid, "it's our job to do this, no one has paid for this house and we gotta tear it down and we have to get rid of the one next door too, so as you can see we got a lot of trash on our hands to deal with, so scram."

Goten whimpered and sobbed harder "It's not trash….Gohan made it.", Trunks eyes blazed with anger , they were taking away what Goten had left of his parents, Videl, and Gohan if they torn these two houses down.

"You know what…I'm about to rearrange every one of your organs in your body to where your dick is in your throat….and if you don't want that happening….I suggest you get the hell out of here…or you'll be choking on your own dick, you stupid fuck.I know that's not the way you've dreamed of dying so leave….", Pan hadn't known what ALL those words mean't but she knew that Trunks was mad, and she never wanted to be on the recieving side of his anger.

"Listen kid, talk your shit but we got a job to do.", with a grim laugh the man ripped the wall paper off the wall some more, getting rewarded with more pleas from Goten to stop and let his brothers things stay like they were. Then Trunks lost it.

"I TOLD YOU TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!", Trunks screamed and his already blue eyes, went an icy turquoise as his pale lavender hair surged up and went a bright gold.

"Now…. before I carry out my earlier threat about your organs you sorry asshole.", But they never got a chance to hear Trunks last words, they were already gone and running home crying like babies, who'd gotten their lolly pops taken away.

Trunks powered down from his transformation and looked over to the cradle and saw Pan.

"Hey kiddo", he smiled and walked to the cradle and planted a light kiss on her forehead. "What do ya say we take uncle Goten home now, huh sweetie?", the small three year old had nodded a bit shaken from all the noise and yelling. "Why ish uncle G….crying….", she asked the teen and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, eyes filled with concern.

"He'll be okay Panny", Trunks ruffled her hair and put her on his shoulders.

Goten was a mess on the ground, he had been put through too much trama and if anything involing his brother, parents or even Videl came up that he couldn't handle, he became unstable and broke down.

Trunks shook his head and picked his, mess of a friend, up. "Man Goten…why can't it be like the old days…when ya were happy", Trunks sighed as Goten mumbled and called him Gohan.

"I'm Trunks Goten…not Gohan.", He had said, "come on man… it'll be okay", Trunks put Goten over his shoulder and told Pan to hold on tight as they walked out of the room, pan waved goodbye to her torn animal wallpaper and soft blankets as they had left.

____

"M-my dad loves me Kari..", Pan said to the girl, still standing in her face.

"No one loves you….how could they?…No wonder your uncle isn't gonna show…he's probably hitching a ride out of town…heh..or maybe he'll do what your father and mother did." She snarled.

"What do you mean?", Pan's eyes went wide with fear, maybe she did kill her mother and father…..what if Kari was right? What if Goten was dead…right now…Pan swallowed the lump of emotions burning in her throat, she had killed them both, and now she was killing Goten, Kari was right.

Pan had always wondered why her hero would break down in tears each time she did something that reminded him of the ones he had loved, that were now gone. Maybe Kari spoke the truth, maybe her uncle cried because Pan was killing him inside, hurting him, destroying his very essence of life.

The tears welled up in Pan eyes spilled over her cheeks, Kari had done it she'd won, she'd gotten her wish, she had crushed Pan, broken her heart into not only a million pieces but continued to stomp them and kick her after awards.

Kari had a proud and satisfied grin on her face as she watched a horrified, weeping, unstable, tiny, scared and weak Pan run off stage right as the curtains folded back, to revel an audience full of people and a stunned and furious Goten standing at the double doors witnessing all of his nieces pain. He had seen it all.