Nightmare

Bardock was right. At that moment Paragus was racing through the spaceship port at West Point, Brolli under his right arm, Mehetabel holding his left hand, trying to figure out how he was going to steal a ride out of here. This planet had been Paragus' home for his entire life, and he loved it no less than any other Saiyan, but he knew if he kept living here his son would eventually be killed.

Slipping past the guards at the gate had been difficult but possible. The interior of the place was a maze swarming with guards, however, and avoiding them was becoming a nightmare. He had to keep diving into alcoves and little rooms, and he had had so many near misses he knew he was going to get caught if he kept this up much longer. He had to get to a spaceship… he could hear them taking off in a distant part of the building, an industrial roaring noise.

Paragus turned a corner and saw three soldiers heading in his direction. He rushed back around the corner and looked for cover. There was a small, dark painted door marked 'Do not enter' on the left. He pushed it open- mercifully it wasn't locked and shut himself in, pulling Mehetabel after him. He looked around. He was in a dimly lit room, full of shelves of machinery. A huge pile of boxes was stacked against the far wall. Paragus felt a cold breeze coming from somewhere. He shivered slightly, and stepped forwards.

'Daddy, where are the spaceships?' Mehetabel whispered.

'I don't know,' Paragus hissed back. 'Be very quiet, we're not supposed to be here.' He looked around the room, trying to figure out where the slight wind was coming from. It seemed to have its origin behind the boxes. Perhaps there was a secret passage there. It was probably just a ventilation duct, but Paragus wanted to be sure. He put Brolli down and heaved some of the boxes aside. They were monstrously heavy, and seemed to be full of clanging metal things. They went back about three layers but when Paragus pushed aside the last one he saw a long, dark corridor on the other side. Cheering inside, Paragus gathered up his children and pushed through the boxes.

They tiptoed through the corridor for about ten minutes, and reached a small gap, which the wind was coming through. Paragus peered out through gap. On the other side there was a massive room, nearly as big as the hall at the Imperial Palace. Lining the walls were hundreds of gleaming silver things, unmistakably space pods. Paragus' heart lifted. He had found the spaceships. The roaring sound of the pods shooting into space was very loud now. There was a wind blowing through the room, and Paragus knew there must have been a porthole for the spaceships somewhere, but he couldn't see it.

The room was packed. Knots of soldiers, mercenaries, and aliens drifted past. Guards were stationed all along the hall. There was no way anyone could sneak up and take a spaceship without being beaten up. Paragus supposed if he were immensely strong he could have fought all the guards and taken one by force, but he wasn't immensely strong. Especially compared to some of those guys.

Paragus stood frozen in the corridor, contemplating his dilemma.

'I thought I'd find you here,' a coarse voice suddenly said behind him. 'Running away, are you?' Paragus turned around, unwillingly, his stomach churning, and faced a black-clad chest. He looked up, not wanting to see, and saw the scarred face and burning eyes of Bardock. Paragus stepped back, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to run into the heavily guarded room, but what stood in front of him was the stuff of his nightmares.

'You're not holding a child, Paragus,' Bardock snarled. 'You're holding a monster. A monster that would kill you if it had the chance. Stop being such an arse. Give the child to me.'

'Leave me alone!' Paragus shouted wildly. Bardock took a step towards him. Paragus looked around and dived to Bardock's left, slipping under the soldier's arm. He barely managed to hang onto Mehetabel and Brolli. Paragus ran away down the corridor, adrenalin coursing through his veins. His fear gave him strength but not control. His feet slipped on the floor as he ran, keeping the boxes in sight. Bardock followed him, not bothering to run.

'Don't bother, Paragus,' he called out. 'Save your energy.' At that moment Paragus slipped when his foot caught a barbed wire. He found himself on his hands and knees on the tiled floor. Brolli slipped from under his arm and rolled down the corridor, towards Bardock.

Fear such as Paragus had never known in his life, not even in the worst battles of the Saiyan-Tsufurun war, coursed through him. He had just exposed his baby son to the Psychic Distortionist. In his heart, Paragus knew this was the end. There was no way he'd be able to save Brolli now.

Bardock advanced down the corridor, and expression of great malice on his face. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes glowed with a grim satisfaction. He bore down upon Brolli, who looked up at him with an innocent smile on his face.

'He's just a child!' Paragus screamed, unable to stand the physical pain that wracked his heart. 'Please don't hurt him!' Some deep part of Paragus' brain told him that pleading for mercy was cowardly, but every other part of him was desperate to save Brolli. 'Oh, please!' he cried again.

Bardock glared down at Brolli.

'You're pathetic,' he said. He raised his hand high above his head. Light began to draw into it, glowing white energy. Bardock tensed his body for the strike…