"Survivor."
(Pare's Tale)
– A "Chaotic Future" Side Story –
PART THREE:
JOURNEY
The ship cut through the darkness of space.
Pare's eyes snapped open as a series of flashing red lights illuminated the inside of his small space pod. He leaned forward slightly, reaching out with a white-gloved hand to press the button that seemed to be the source of the still-flashing emergency light. A moment later, the mechanized voice of the pod's computer system spoke.
"There is a ship dead ahead. Shall I take evasive action?"
A ship? Pare thought, absently rubbing his chin. It's been month's since I left Iquela, and this is the first time I've stumbled across anyone else… I wonder who else would be this far out? His pondering was interrupted as the computer repeated its query.
"Can you get a visual on it?" Pare asked, stretching as much as possible within the confines of the small craft. "If so, I want to see it; bring it up on the main monitor."
Within seconds of this order, the small view screen directly in front of the Saiyan warrior lit up, showing large, round ship speeding along through the void of space. Pare immediately recognized the massive spacecraft for what it was, and he involuntarily cried out in shock.
This is one of Frieza's ships! he thought frantically. Could it be that, even after all these years, that maniac is still searching for us, searching for any survivors? Pare could feel the sweat beading on his forehead, running down his face and the back of his neck as his body began to tremble. I… I should have never left… I should have stayed hidden, I'm not strong enough to take on Frieza!
"Shall I perform a scan of the unidentified ship, Lord Pare?" the computer asked, snapping the dark-haired warrior out of his state of shock. "Lord Pare?"
"Fine, scan the ship for life forms, and be sure to look for power readings as well." Just because this is one of Frieza's ships, that doesn't necessarily mean that Frieza himself is onboard. Get a grip, Pare! He shook his head, wondering at his own state of panic. After several moments of ominous silence, the computer system spoke once more.
"I detect six life forms aboard the unidentified ship. None of said life forms possess sufficient power to defeat you in battle in your current condition." The computer went silent once again, but only for a brief moment before it continued. "Also, I have just received a transmission from the unidentified ship. They command us to shut down all systems and allow them to take us aboard for questioning. They warn that should we continue on our present course without heeding their command, we shall be dealt with harshly."
"And you're absolutely sure that Frieza himself is not aboard that ship?" Pare asked, his mind racing.
"Affirmative. There is no trace of Lord Frieza's power signature among those aboard."
So, this must just be some kind of patrol ship then, Pare internalized. Frieza's sphere of influence must have grown a lot over the last twenty-five years; this was way beyond his control when Kiera and I fled planet Vegeta… Suddenly, another thought sprang to Pare's mind: If the computer is correct, and no one on that ship is my equal in strength… He smiled maliciously as he considered his options.
"Computer, do as the transmission requested. Shut down all power and prepare to be taken, understood?"
"Yes sir. Understood."
Kakarot, I know that I promised you I'd journey to Earth with all haste… But I must take this opportunity to exact what small vengeance I can for my people!
All power to the space pod's interior was cut, and Pare was left in darkness as his ship began to drift, awaiting capture from the poor fools aboard Frieza's ship. Pare smiled to himself once again.
They're doomed.
--
Pare exited the pod.
It took the Saiyan warrior a moment to gain his bearings, so long had it been since he'd left his small spacecraft, but when he did so, he found himself standing within a fairly large, well-lit chamber. The next thing he knew, Pare had five energy blasters pointed at him, and a rough voice commanded him to raise his hands above his head; it took all of his self-control to act cowed, when in reality he was dying to tear his would-be captors apart. One of the soldiers stepped forward, roughly pulling Pare's arms down behind his back and clasping some sort of restraints around his wrists.
There were five in all, four of whom were attired in the standard uniform of Frieza's private army: cheap imitation Saiyan armor, white boots and gloves, and white, semi-conical helmets. The fifth, though, was attired differently, and it was obvious that he was the authority on this ship. This lead soldier was tall, standing perhaps two or three inches taller than Pare, and he was wearing a pale blue jumpsuit and vest of Saiyan armor. His skin was purple and reptilian-like, covered here and there with light pink spots, and two long, sharp black horns protruded from his bald head. A pair of cold yellow eyes narrowed as the commander realized that the Saiyan was studying them.
"Enough!" the purple-skinned soldier shouted, reaching forward to grab Pare by the front of his black cloak. As he did so, the leader cried out in surprise, for the as the cloak parted, he was rewarded with the site of Pare's own vest of armor.
And more importantly, the long, brown tail that the Saiyan had kept wrapped securely around his waist.
"Well, well, what have we here, men?" the commander asked with a chuckle. "Would you look at this, a real live Saiyan!" Slowly, the lead soldier's expression shifted from wry amusement to cruel glee. "Think of the fun that we can have with this guy, eh? I hear these Saiyans are supposed to be strong, but do you think he'd actually stand a chance against any of us, Lord Frieza's elite?"
As the commander went on bantering with his men about their supposed strength and superiority, Pare couldn't have cared less. My ship's computer said that there were six life forms aboard this vessel, he thought, ignoring the raucous burst of laughter that erupted from the group of five soldiers; laughter at his expense, more likely than not. Could this be some kind of ploy, sending these weaklings out to face me, having them claim that they are the elite of Frieza's force? If that was the case, then perhaps the mysterious sixth life form was the soldiers' true leader…
"Alright, that's enough fun for now!" the purple-skinned commander said, returning his attention to his Saiyan "captive." "Take him away for now, and we'll deal with him later, when all of us can agree on the best way to make him beg us for his life!"
"Yes sir!" one of the helmeted soldiers responded, keeping his blaster at the ready as he grabbed Pare's arm and began leading him away. Just before exiting the small hangar, the man turned to ask his commander a question. "Should I lock him up with the other prisoner?" he asked.
"Sure, why not?" the lizard-like soldier replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't think we have to worry about them conspiring against us, if that's what you're getting at. Remember, we are the most powerful fighting unit in the universe, now that the Ginyu Force has been destroyed; we have nothing to fear from the two of them." With that the discussion was over, and Pare found himself being led down a long, curving hallway toward what he assumed was the ship's brig.
The entire way, Pare found his thoughts focusing on two things: that the Ginyu Force—Frieza's most powerful and loyal servants—had somehow been destroyed, and that he was most likely about to meet that sixth life form…
--
The child cringed.
As light from the corridor flooded the small, dark cell, the small shape of the boy scurried into the corner, shielding his eyes with his arms as he trembled uncontrollably. Pare waited at the entrance for a moment, unable to move despite the prodding of the soldiers behind him. As he had entered, for just a brief instant, the Saiyan warrior had been visited by an odd sensation, something that felt entirely alien to him.
Concern.
Hanzo…
The thought struck him as solidly as the blow to the back of the head that finally forced him into the dank, cold holding cell. He fell to the ground as the group of soldiers laughed at him, obviously pleased at themselves for having successfully captured a Saiyan, supposedly one of the most powerful and dangerous races in the known universe. As they left, the door shut securely behind them, leaving the cell in inky darkness.
The sound of soft sobbing caught Pare's attention, and he slowly stood to his feet, studying the child in the corner. In the darkness of the chamber, it was hard to make out many details, but the sharpness of the Saiyan's vision aided him a little. The boy was small, standing only two-and-a-half, maybe three feet tall. He was clothed in little more than rags which hung upon his slim frame; it was obvious that the child was on the verge of starving. Pointed ears, a smooth, bald head, and very pronounced eye ridges were noticeable in the dark, and even though the boy's skin tone could not be judged, Pare instantly knew what it was he was dealing with.
"You're from Namek, yes?" the dark-haired fighter asked, crossing his arms over his vest of armor. The child sniffled once and nodded before burying his face in his hands again. "I've never seen a Namekian before, though I've heard much about your kind." Silence again, punctuated only by the soft weeping of the young captive. "How did you come to be here?"
"I… my planet was…"
"Was what?" Pare prompted, walking closer to stand over the trembling child. "You have nothing to fear from me, Namek. It seems that you and I are in the same boat at the moment." Though only for the moment, Pare silently added, casting a wicked glare toward the closed door, envisioning all of the well-deserved horrors that he would visit upon his would-be captors. Finally, the boy continued.
"Soldiers came to my planet," he said softly, a distant look of sadness evident in his wide eyes. "They began slaughtering my village and I…" Tears once again rolled down his cheeks as he lost his composure, weeping quietly in the darkness.
"You were taken by these men?" Pare asked, his mind spinning. These are Frieza's soldiers, of that there's no doubt. What could that murderous bastard have wanted with planet Namek, anyway? From all that I've heard, there isn't anything there deserving of Frieza's attention… A thought occurred to him, some fragment of a memory. The legendary balls of Namek? he wondered, in awe. Could Frieza really believe that stupid legend? What a fool…
"Listen, boy," Pare said, returning his concern to the matter at hand. "What is your name?" He was surprised that he'd asked such a question. Honestly, what difference did it make? It wasn't as if he was interested in having a little chat with the child, was he? Could he really be feeling sorry for the little Namek? Further musing was interrupted as the boy spoke up.
"Clef."
"My name is Pare, and I'm not going to hurt you," Pare continued, forcing the disturbing emotions from his mind. "I'm going to go and have a word with our friends out there, do you understand?" Clef nodded, but the look of confusion in his eyes showed that he had no idea what Pare truly intended. "Good. You stay here; don't come out, no matter what you hear, okay?" Again the child nodded understanding, and Pare moved to stand before the cell's only door. As the black-cloaked Saiyan began to gather energy into his now-outstretched hand, he looked over his shoulder, sparing a slight smile of reassurance to the frightened young boy.
"Cover your eyes, Clef."
--
An explosion rocked the ship.
"Are we under attack?" the purple-skinned commander asked, jumping up from his seat in the ship's main control room. "Bring it up on the main screen!" he shouted, his subordinates running to and fro, obviously in a panic.
"Sir," one of them replied shakily. "The explosion originated inside the ship! It must be—" Before he could finish the thought, a piercing beam of scintillating blue energy shot through the room's thick, heavily armored door, catching the soldier in the chest and killing him instantly despite the protection offered by his vest of armor.
Instantly the doors exploded inward with a flash of light, and a blur of movement shot inside the chamber, making its way toward the nearest soldier, who died silently before he even knew that he was under attack. A burst of blue light followed, and across the control room another enemy was taken out.
That leaves just two more, Pare thought, grinning wolfishly as he spun about, searching for his next target. A volley of weak, yellow-orange energy blasts assailed him from behind, striking him squarely in the back and knocking him forward without doing any real damage. He turned quickly, clenching his left fist and deflecting the remaining blasts with a backhanded blow. Another of Frieza's lackeys stood there in shock, obviously having expected his handheld energy blaster to be powerful enough to destroy the vengeful Saiyan. Pare leapt forward, charging a substantial amount of ki into his right fist as he lashed out with a powerful strike to the soldier's jaw, killing him and nearly removing his helmeted head from his shoulders.
"Saiyan scum!" the commander shouted, taking up an offensive stance and calling upon an impressive amount of energy. An aura of pale purple light sprang up around the reptilian-like warrior as he prepared to launch an all or nothing assault against Pare, who stood calmly in the center of the chamber, his body shifting lazily into a defensive posture. With a roar of hatred, the lead soldier threw himself at Pare, covering the distance between them in a fraction of a second.
At the last moment, just before contact was made, Pare crouched down, thrusting his white-gloved hand upward to catch his opponent just below the rib cage. The strike was thunderous, shattering the suit of imitation Saiyan armor and forcing the commander's eyes to bulge from their sockets and his long, forked tongue to loll comically from the corner of his mouth. A fount of dark purple blood spewed forth from that same mouth as Pare absently tossed the soldier aside with disgust.
Silence now dominated the chamber, and Pare took a brief moment to dispose of the bodies, turn each of them into a pile of ash with several well-placed blasts of energy. Finally, with his job finished, the dark-eyed Saiyan made his way calmly back to the holding cell, reentering through the still-smoking hole where the door had once been.
"Clef, it's safe to come out," he said, walking over to crouch down before the child. "Come on, take my hand." Again Pare was surprised by the caring tone of his voice, but he reached out his hand anyway, waiting for the young Namekian to take it. Finally Clef did so, and Pare escorted the frightened child back to the ship's command center.
"Listen," Pare said upon entering and sitting the boy down in the commander's seat. "I have to leave, Clef, I'm on a very important mission. Before I go, though, I'll set this ship's autopilot for Namek, and soon you'll be home." Seeing the look of sadness that crossed Clef's face, Pare continued. "There's no need to be frightened, Clef. This is one of Frieza's ships; no one out there will dare attack you. You'll be home in no time, okay?"
"You don't understand," Clef replied quietly, drawing his knees up under his chin and wrapping his arms around his legs. "I have no home to return to, Mr. Pare." He clenched his eyes shut, trying in vain to prevent the flood of tears that now poured endlessly down his dark green cheeks.
"What are you talking about?" Pare asked, fearing that he already knew the answer.
"I heard those men talking… They said that planet Namek was destroyed just a few days ago." Clef sniffled again, wiping his tears on the sleeve of his tattered shirt. "All of my people are dead, Mr. Pare… I have no place to go."
For a moment, Pare once again found himself feeling sorry for the child, whose terrible tale was so very similar to his own. Walking over to the chair, Pare knelt down before the young Namekian, placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder. No words came at first, as Pare found himself surprisingly overcome with emotion. What's wrong with me today, anyway? he wondered, his thoughts tinged with dark humor. I think I'm getting soft…
"I'd take you with me if I could, Clef," Pare said, the truth of his own admission disturbing to him. "But I have to go alone, and it's far too dangerous for a child like you." He squeezed Clef's trembling shoulder reassuringly before standing and moving toward a control panel. "There's a planet not too far from here. I'll set the ship's autopilot for there. Once you arrive, I'm sure you'll be able to find someone who can take care of you."
"But what am I supposed to do, Mr. Pare?" Clef asked mournfully. "All my friends are dead, my race is gone!" He broke down once again, his sobs echoing throughout the large control chamber. "What am I supposed to do!"
"Listen to me, Clef," Pare said, perhaps more stern than he had intended. The boy looked up, locking eyes with his Saiyan savior, and for a moment Pare glimpsed a great power slumbering somewhere within this sobbing, frightened boy. "Clef," the survivor from Vegeta continued, "there's only one thing that you can do: you must find your own reason for living. When you do that, then you'll know what you're supposed to do with your life."
With that, Pare entered the coordinates for the nearest planet. Without a word, he walked purposefully across the chamber, stopping only when he reached the blasted-through exit. Turning to face Clef, Pare smiled.
"Goodbye, Clef. Trust me, everything will work out. You have a lot of potential, even if you don't know it. Someday, you'll do great things."
"Do you really mean it?" the child asked, his eyes now dry of tears.
"I mean it."
Leaving the young Namekian behind him, Pare returned to the small hangar where his pod was being held, prepared to continue on his mission to the Earth. A mission that, despite everything told to him by Kakarot in his vision, Pare still doubted would be a success.
To be continued…
--
Coming soon:
Pare's ship crash lands on a hostile planet! Injured and alone, will the Saiyan warrior be able to evade his Galdrian pursuers, or will his quest finally be ended for good? Luckily for him, help will come from the most unlikely of sources in an event that will change the fate of EVERYTHING!
"Survivor (Pare's Tale)"
PART FOUR:
STAR-CROSSED
