"Survivor."

(Pare's Tale)

– A "Chaotic Future" Side Story –

PART TWO:

DREAM

The beast ran.

Only seconds behind, Pare, clad in animal skins and dashing bare-foot through the wilderness, chased after his prey, ignoring the stinging sensation as small limbs snapped back and struck his weathered face. The creature was incredibly fast, for there were very few things on Iquela that provided such an excellent workout for the Saiyan warrior, and its powerful jaws and heavily armored body made it a challenging opponent for this morning's workout. Suddenly the forest ended, and the massive, six-legged reptilian beast lowered it's flat, broad head as it found itself in an unobstructed clearing, where it would now be able to utilize its full speed.

Have to do this quick, or else I'll lose it! Pare thought, pulling one hand back as he gathered energy for a sudden attack. Hopefully this will at least stun it long enough for me to close in! With a grunt of exertion, the former royal adviser shot his hand forward, launching a sphere of shimmering blue ki which struck the beast in the rear, causing it to let loose with a skull-shattering roar of anger. The force from the blow, though, was enough to cause the monster to stagger, and in that moment, Pare was upon it.

Leaping high into the air, the Saiyan landed atop the stumbling creature, gripping tight to its thick, leathery neck with his knees. For a moment, Pare was afraid that he'd overestimated himself, for as the reptilian beast thrashed back and forth, the dark-eyed warrior was nearly thrown to the ground half a dozen times. Finally, though, Pare managed to lean forward enough to grab the beast's upper jaw, which he began pulling up, ignoring the rows of sharp, needle-like teeth that dug into his callused fingers and palms. Realizing the potentially deadly situation that it was in, the massive creature redoubled its efforts to throw the Saiyan from its back, but to no avail. With a sickening snap, the monster's entire upper jaw folded backward, ending its struggle almost instantaneously.

Pare leapt off from the dead creature's back, wiping his bloodied hands clean on the front of his animal skin tunic. Without even taking a moment to catch his breath, Pare stepped forward and, with an amazing display of strength, lifted the beast's carcass onto his back, grunting slightly with the effort. Now, with his prey defeated, the former adviser turned and began the long trek back to the place that he'd come to call home.

And back to the only other living person on the entire planet.

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Night fell.

As Pare came over the top of the ridge that surrounded the small valley that he'd called home for the last two-and-a-half decades, he saw a figure moving near the large bonfire that provided both heat and protection from Iquela's nocturnal denizens. He paused for a moment, taking in his surroundings, finding it—for the moment at least—hard to remember all of the hardships that he'd been through over the past twenty-odd years.

And all of the loss.

"Boy!" he shouted, making his way carefully down the embankment, the massive reptilian carcass tossed easily across his back. "What are you doing fooling around? Get the tools and prepare this; remember, the meat is edible, and the hide is—"

"The hide is valuable for both protection and insulation, yes I know," the child, a boy of about seven years, said, his voice sounding incredibly exasperated. "I'm not a little kid, Father; I know how to take care of one of those." With that the boy, who was nearly a mirror image of his father, made his way into a nearby cave which served as both storage area and shelter for the two Saiyans.

Pare watched his son, Hanzo, and was struck for a moment by an emotion that had once been alien to him, but now seemed all too commonplace: regret. If only you could see him, Kiera, the former adviser thought to himself, glancing up into Iquela's star-filled sky, the ribbon of a nearby asteroid belt cutting through the blackness of space. He'll be a fine warrior one day, and together he and I will avenge our people, I swear it…

For years Pare and his young wife had struggled to survive on Iquela, a task that proved more difficult than either Saiyan would have imagined. Added to that, the stress of trying single-handedly to restore the Saiyan race had taken its toll on Kiera, who had suffered miscarriage after miscarriage, until finally Hanzo had been born. The strain of labor, after having suffered so much, was more that Kiera could take, and she had died shortly after, ending all hope for the doomed race of brave warriors. And still, despite all of their time together, despite the years and decades of solitude with only one another for comfort, Kiera had still hated her husband, even at the end.

"Father?" a quiet voice asked, snapping Pare out of his momentary daze.

"What is it, Hanzo?" the older Saiyan asked, looking down at his son, who stood ready with the crude and primitive tools that would be necessary for taking what was needed from the monstrous carcass, which was still lying across Pare's broad shoulders.

"Are you going to put that down, or do you want me to get started even as you hold it?" Hanzo asked, flashing his father an insolent grin. To prove his readiness, the boy leapt atop the beast, a sharp stone knife held at the ready, causing Pare to lose balance and fall to the ground, laughing.

"Just get to it, you little bastard," Pare replied, standing to his feet and dusting himself off. "I'm going to rest for awhile; you know what to do if anything happens." Turning his back on the child, Pare entered the small cave and, finding what comfort he could, the Saiyan warrior nodded off to sleep.

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As it had been for the last several nights, the dream was the same.

"There has to be another pod!" Kiera shouted frantically, running to and fro around the now-empty hangar in her vain search. "They couldn't have launched all of them, could they?"

Pare made no answer as he too tried to find any other way for the two of them to escape, other than the option that he'd already put forth. I don't understand why she's so adamant about finding her own pod; do I disgust her so much? he thought, shaking his head. Besides, I'm not exactly looking forward to the idea of being crammed inside a single pod with her either, but we're wasting valuable time here!

Suddenly something caught his eye, and the Saiyan adviser walked slowly toward a nearby terminal, where a faint green light could be seen blinking rhythmically on and off—the signal that a recently-launched space capsule was away safely, with no complications. For reasons that he himself was unsure of, Pare brought up the information for the launch, finding to his surprise that a Saiyan child, a third-class warrior named Kakarot, had barely an hour before been sent away, to a planet called "Earth."

Earth.

From what Pare could recall Earth was a backwater, inconsequential world just beyond the sphere of Frieza's influence. Its people were weak and its technology primitive; all in all, it would be a simple job for young Kakarot, for even a Saiyan child—when transformed by the light of a full moon—could easily subdue an inferior planet like Earth.

But if Frieza has given orders to send one of us to Earth, Pare internalized, then that would mean that he was preparing to expand his territories at least that far… If that were true, then it would mean that soon, with a large enough force behind him, Frieza would rule over most of the known universe.

Suddenly the scene shifted, and Pare gasped aloud as he found himself floating alone amidst a sea of stars. Panic gripped him as his hands flew to his chest, his lungs burning as the struggled in vain to take a breath. After what felt like an eternity, Pare finally felt his body giving out, and he closed his eyes tightly as his vision blurred and darkened.

This is it, he thought, a grim smile slowly stretching across his solemn face. This is how I'm going to die… With that this realization, the warrior from planet Vegeta resigned himself to his fate, or so he thought.

Just before Pare could completely surrender his hold on life, an explosion of warm, golden-yellow energy enveloped him, invigorating and renewing his exhausted body. Somehow, without even turning to look, Pare knew that someone—most likely the source of this indescribable power—was hovering in the void just behind him. Fear gripped the former royal adviser, who had never before witnessed such an overwhelming strength in all of his long life.

"You have nothing to fear from me," a strong, kind voice spoke, emanating from the mysterious, gold-enshrouded being. "I mean you no harm, friend, for we are one and the same." With these simple words, a calm fell upon Pare, whose trembling body had been paralyzed with terror. The voice continued.

"Listen to me: you must make a journey, one that will force you through many hardships." The voice paused for a moment, prompting Pare to slowly turn around, bringing the glowing stranger directly into his field of vision. What he saw caused him to cry out in shock.

"Ba… Bardock!"

"Not quite, my friend," the stranger replied with a lop-sided grin, and upon further inspection, Pare realized that his assumption had perhaps been too hasty.

The resemblance between this incredibly powerful young man and the third class warrior Bardock was indeed uncanny: both shared the same distinctive hairstyle, as well as the same facial structure and physical build. This stranger, though, was clad in a uniform of orange and dark blue that was entirely alien to Pare.

And there was, of course, the definite difference in power.

"Listen, I don't have much time," the orange-clad warrior continued, his features shifting from wry amusement to a look of stern impatience. "I've come to you across time, across space and reality to give you this message: You have to leave, Pare. Leave Iquela and make the journey to Earth. If you leave quickly, you may find others like yourself, people who share your blood and your proud Saiyan heritage."

"You are Kakarot!" Pare blurted out, his dark eyes widening with disbelief. "And there are others, you say?"

"Listen!" the stranger shouted, causing ripples to course throughout his flickering aura of golden light. "The people of Earth are in danger, and they don't even know it yet! In barely ten years' time, a terrible darkness will be brought into being, and the Earth and every living thing on it will suffer for years to come, Pare! Go to them, now; give them what aid you can or the Saiyan race will be no more, do you understand me?"

"Very well," Pare said softly, his voice subdued. "Hanzo and I will—"

"No, Pare," the Saiyan, Kakarot, broke in. "Your son has his own part to play, and it lies along a different path than yours." He shook his head, floating forward to lay his hand gently upon Pare's shoulder. "You must make this voyage alone."

"Yes," Pare replied with a nod of understanding. "I must go alone…"

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The pod was still functional.

Pare sat in the small craft's only seat, his hands awkwardly working the controls that had once been so familiar to him. Through the open hatch, the Saiyan warrior could see the sky darkening as a storm, common during this season, began to blow in from the south. As the patter of rain fell against the rounded top of the space pod, Pare made his final confirmations before exiting and floating slowly into the air.

So it will still fly, he thought, feeling a mixture of relief and despair. For so long Kiera and I stayed here, afraid that if we left Frieza would find and kill us… But now it seems that if I don't leave, then any last trace of the Saiyan race will be wiped out. And I must leave my son, my only child, behind…

Pare wasn't really worried about Hanzo that much, for the boy was tremendously powerful, and a great hunter and fighter as well. All his short life, the child had been taught the ways of the Saiyans by his father, and he would have no trouble staying alive on Iquela, at least until Pare could return for him.

And I will, I swear it…

As the exhausted Saiyan made his way back to the shelter, the storm broke around him, filling the sky with jagged bolts of lighting, pelting sleet, and winds powerful enough to blow even a powerful warrior like Pare off track. Yet the storm without was nothing compared to the turmoil of emotions that the former adviser was suffering within.

Kiera, we worked so hard… So hard to bring our Hanzo into this world, and now I learn that I must abandon him for the sake of our people. As he flew, Pare clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms and drawing blood. And what if I'm wrong, and these dreams aren't some kind of portent after all? Will I be abandoning our child for nothing at all then?

"Your son has his own part to play, and it lies along a different path than yours," Kakarot's voice seemed to echo within Pare's mind. And what if he was right? What if Hanzo did have some larger, important role to play, and he would only be set upon the right path if Pare went through with his part in the grand scheme of things?

Very well then, Kakarot, Pare resolved, clenching his teeth as he lowered himself down into the valley that served as home for Hanzo and himself. I put my trust in you…

And pray that I have not been deceived.

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Hanzo remained silent.

"But… But why can't I go with you?" the boy stammered, doing his best to hold back the tears that were lying just below the surface. "I'm strong too, Father; I could help you, I know I could!"

"This is far too dangerous for you, Hanzo," Pare replied, adjusting the vest of the shoulder-less Saiyan armor that he hadn't worn since landing on Iquela two decades earlier. "Frieza may still have men searching for any Saiyan survivors, and while I'm willing to risk my own life on this quest I'll not have my only son die as well." The former adviser to King Vegeta threw a long, dark cloak over his armor and turned to face his son. "If I fail in this, Hanzo, then it will be up to you to avenge our people, do you understand?"

Hanzo nodded, a single tear running down his left cheek.

"You must continue your training, Hanzo," Pare continued, placing a strong hand upon his young son's trembling shoulder. "You must push yourself to the limit; you must become the strongest of us all. Stronger even than I, son." Silence followed this last statement, as Pare struggled to find something else to say, anything that might make this separation easier for Hanzo to bear.

"Father I… I will become stronger," Hanzo said, breaking the silence finally. "I will be the most powerful warrior in the universe, and Frieza himself will kneel before me, begging for his life." A strange light seemed to enter the boy's eyes, and for a moment Pare saw the promise of tremendous strength and potential from his son.

"I have no doubt of that, Hanzo. No doubt at all." I can't explain it, but somehow I know that he's right, Pare thought proudly. He's going to be stronger than all of us… "Hanzo," the armored Saiyan warrior said, once again breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them, "when this is over, I'll come back for you. You have my word."

"Of course, Father."

Finally, knowing that it was now or never, Pare entered the small space pod, prepared to embark upon this quest that had been entrusted to him in a dream, by a warrior whom he'd never met, from a planet that he'd never before laid eyes on. Suddenly, Pare desperately hoped that he wasn't on some fool's errand.

No, he told himself as the spacecraft's hatch closed with an ominous hiss. It was more than just a dream… It was a vision, it had to be! I will find planet Earth, and with it, I will find my people.

The pod shuddered slightly as it lifted off, and as it shot high into the sky, becoming little more than a speck of light in the distance, Hanzo wept.

To be continued…

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Coming soon:

Pare embarks upon the journey that will ultimately determine the fates of two universes! His journey takes him across the universe, and leads to encounters with both new friends and old foes alike, but what will happen when his space pod malfunctions above a powerful and potentially hostile world?

"Survivor (Pare's Tale)"

PART THREE:

JOURNEY