Athren couldn't deny that Pran had a point. Athren was being far nicer than usual but it likely had something to do with the Earth and how he decided to live his life here. The planet had experienced a peace that Athren just hadn't been used too. He was raised to be a brutal and ruthless warrior and he was good at it, and he was bred to conquer the universe under his fathers orders, everything he was brought up to be was a massive contradiction to what he had become but he was rather fine with this. The shift was needed, his children were safe and he was doing something productive that he felt really made a difference to the people in his town. Even now, with Pran had had found himself training up a new defender of Earth, or at least that had been his hopes. Whether or not Pran was going to step up was his choice but Athren was working on giving him the tools.

"Yeah, I've got to admit it's a little strange even for me. Though, I'd say it's to your benefit."

If Athren had been the same person he was when he arrived to Earth, this wouldn't even be happened and if the chance encounter did happen with a Pran versus Athren scenario, it would've already been over. Athren wouldn't have held back, wouldn't be training pran, he'd simply be trying to end this fight quickly and get Pran out of the way, but that wouldn't do anybody any good.

When Pran had requested a minute to get focused, Athren was more than willing to give it to him. After all, this training wasn't going to be overly beneficial to him. He had already pushed himself to the maximum within this gravity chamber and there hadn't been much more that it could do for him. While he would still get stronger, his increase would be so insignificant. Meanwhile, Pran had everything to gain here. The gravity alone was going to be plenty to make him work for something and with that in mind, Athren wanted Pran to be at his best. He wanted him comfortable and he really wanted Pran to use his full potential in the chamber.

When Pran was finally ready he made a simple mistake, he counted down his attack and pressed forward. While Athren took his defensive stance he was caught off guard simply by the image that pran had used as a distraction. Though it wasn't enough to completely throw Athren into the attack.  Prans kick would land with Athren's knee and Athren would drop down to one, though Pran's vocalization was more than enough to let Athren know where Pran was. The second kick, Aiming for the back of his head was easy, Athren simply brought up his arm and collided it with the attack.

"You know, It's better NOT to announce your attacks."

With that simple statement, Athren would use his instant transmission to appear behind Pran and immediately send a powerful kick towards his side. It would have more than enough power to send Pran crashing into the walls of the gravity chamber. Athren wouldn't follow up, if this attack landed he would simply stand there and wait to see what pran would do next.

---

Word Count: 550
Total Word Count: 5,634

While Pran collided with the walls of the gravity chamber, Athren simply took the moment to observe. He wasn't here to press an attack and completely outclass Pran, he was here to test him and see what he was made of. Though Pran had shown a great deal of resilience and power within the walls of the gravity chamber, his tactics were something else entirely. Athren couldn't help but think they were almost childish with the way he announced his attacks, even Celric had been a more rounded warrior in that regard. This was something that would need to stop, the playful banter, the jokes.  Athren was a firm believer on training how you planned to fight and if Pran was to fight somebody evil of significance, he wouldn't be provided the luxury of making these jokes.

Athren couldn't help but shake his head lightly, he didn't think he was cool at all. He really didn't care what others thought about him for the most part. He just wanted to be respected and a good leader to his people and outside of that, opinions didn't matter.

"I don't think I'm cool at all. I just know that I'm a better fighter than you."

Athren stated this coldly, he wanted it to be put into perspective for Pran that he had a lot of work to do to get into shape and round himself off as a true warrior. While Pran had endless potential from what Athren could see, his mindset had to shift. He had to take things more seriously. He hoped that hitting the wall would've made that change but it seemed it only made things worse and made Pran much more of a joker.

Pran had pressed another attack, this time he was shouting out his most basic offensive maneuvers though he was saying the opposite at times. It was pretty obvious that he was trying to throw Athren off with this little tactic but it wasn't going to work. Athren wasn't focusing on the words but the actions, Athren being able to observe even the slightest twitch of a muscle to prepare for the next upcoming attack before it was even thrown. He was a master of his skills, he was a true warrior born of Vegeta and raised to fight. This is what he was meant to do, he wasn't going to be fooled so easily. His defense held strong as he dipped, weaved and blocked Pran's attacks. There had come a moment where Athren made the attempt to grip Pran's fist and stop it on the spot, though Athren wouldn't use this opportunity to strike back but instead, he'd try to educate.

"I can't tell whether you're more focused on talking or actually hitting me, I get this might be fun for you but you've got to train like you plan to fight and in a serious fight, there isn't room for this foolishness. You've got to focus on winning, on doing damage, not on these games."

While it was completely possible to talk and fight, he didn't think Pran's methods had been beneficial and if he was going to try and train up some defenders of Earth, he'd need them to be the best they could possibly be. With Callion still missing, the Planet needed somebody.

---

Word Count: 552
Total Word Count: 6,186

Athren couldn't help but sigh lightly at Pran's words. It surely wasn't something he was used too. The last person he fought that had so much lip was Quash but at least he fought like a true warrior when it had come down to it. Pran didn't seem overly experienced, he hadn't been tested by the trials of saiyan combat throughout the years and it showed. Athren couldn't help but assume that Pran hadn't really ever been in a real fight, one that had actual stakes that could shape ones life.  While fighting was something Athren was experienced in, it was also something that he craved. His saiyan blood typically pumping at the thought of it, it had allowed him to keep focused and dedicated it a real fight and he had nearly always managed to get out of a stick situation. His years of practice and real battles had made him who he was today and while he was a serious fighter, he wouldn't change that at all.

With Pran flipping away to get some distance, he spoke up once more stating that in a real fight he could fight however one wanted and while he was correct, there was ways to be a good fighter and ways to fail and so far, Pran was setting himself up for failure. Athren couldn't imagine such a playful fighting style up against Liari, it would've left pran wide open for punishment. "Tell me, have you ever even been in a real fight? One that winning was the difference between life and death?"

Athren felt like he already knew the answer, but he wanted to put this into perspective. "While there isn't an issue having a little bit of fun, you should always train the way you're actually going to fight and if death is the stakes, I highly doubt you'd take such a light approach." While Athren was trying to mentor Pran, he kept observing what the boy had been doing. He figured his tactics would continue to be randomized childs play but Athren was going to be more than ready for it.

With the after image technique being used, Athren would simply sense out Pran and what he was doing and it didn't take long for Athren to sense that Pran was above him and with a swift backflip Athren would avoid contact and land on his feet going into a little slide as he came to a stop. It was a clever little technique but Athren was too far above it. His Ki sensing abilities had been enough to keep track of the real Pran.
"That's all?" Athren would've paused and waited again.

---

Word Count: 444

With Pran's brief explanation about being in a serious fight once, Athren wasn't going to press the issue. He had stated loud and clear that it wasn't one that he liked to remember and Athren had one of those stories too. His involved losing a fight and watching his kids die in front of them. It had to be the absolute most terrible thing he had ever experienced. Luckily for him though, he was able to rectify the biggest part of that problem. While his crew remained dead and he was still working at that, his children were alive and safe upon the lookout with Ayu. He wouldn't want to talk about this, he'd never even bring it up. It was something he'd carry with him forever and those dark memories were something else. So he'd understand that Pran wouldn't want to talk about it. The issue though, was that Pran was unknowingly stepping into a life that would increase the risk of situations like that.

Pran would then go and try to explain that they hadn't been fighting for real and he even brought up the fight in South City. Pran was well aware that Athren had been holding back. This was obvious, Athren was simply playing around but this training session wasn't exactly for him. This was so Athren could measure out his opponent and see what he was capable of. He wanted Pran to become stronger, it was obvious that he had the potential to become on of Earth's most powerful warriors and the truth was, he was already more than half way there. He just needed some guidance, needed to knock off the childs play and take it seriously. This might've been a spar, but it was meant to prepare Pran for what was to come and he'd need to be serious.

"You're right. I'm not fighting even close to the levels I fought Liari with but that isn't the point. You might not want to kill somebody but it isn't always about that. I won't lie to you, I've killed more people than I can count, I've wiped out massive populations of people and I wouldn't let anybody get in my way. If somebody would've wanted to stop me, they'd have had to kill me. It might not be your main motivation or a situation you want to put yourself in, but sometimes the only way to save lives, is to take one."

While there was certainly things that Athren was going to keep to himself about his past life, he wanted to be as transparent with Pran as possible. It wasn't just about putting things into perspective but about being himself and building a level of trust. The person who did all those terrible things was in the past, Athren knew who he was now and didn't question it at all. He wasn't the same person he was before, he had changed drastically and was still improving. He had now been defending life instead of taking it and while he was still willing to kill, he wasn't seeking it out anymore.

"And believe me when I tell you this, you don't have to face death to prepare for it. You think I wasn't ready for Liari? You think I wasn't training endlessly for that battle? I did everything I could to put the outcome of that fight in my favor and when the moment came, it still wasn't enough. I needed more than just training to beat her but I was prepared to fight until the end."

Of course, Athren was talking about how Liari had still outmatched him regardless of all his training. It had only been his Super Saiyan Two form that gave him the REAL advantage. When Liari had gone into her great ape form, it would've been more than enough to beat him as a super saiyan and while that fight never really had it's match up, the outcome would've been uncertain. Though focusing on the fight, Pran's stance had shifted and it wasn't before long that he pressed off and sent through another attack. Though this time, he was much faster than before. Athren's defenses were firm and solid but this time strikes had been getting through. Few hit his chest, his jaw, his face and Athren couldn't help but smirk. They didn't have the same impact as previously. Athren had let this go on for a few short moments before he swiftly transformed into his Super Saiyan form in an instant.

Once Athren had transformed he allowed Pran's next hit to collide with him and Athren would've brought a fist swiftly forward aiming for Pran's gut. He was truly going to put this Earthling warrior to the test now. He was going to see what Pran was truly made of.

---

Word Count: 802
Total Word Count: 7,432

Athren couldn't help but wonder if Pran could've avoided the punch to the gut if he hadn't been so playful.  After all, it did seem like Pran wasn't fully invested in this fight and he was letting his mind wander. Now, this was part of the reason that Athren transformed into his Super Saiyan form, he wanted to apply pressure, he wanted Pran to stress a little bit and get backed into a corner. He wanted Pran to take this more seriously. They had been talking about life and death, about serious fights, so why not provide Pran with one, right here, right now? It had honestly seemed like the best idea possible, this way Pran could understand Athren's viewpoints on the matter. Athren had been around the universe and in more fights than he could count and through that, came experience and wisdom when it came to the battlefield. Pran might've faced death but he hadn't been an expert in it. He had to grow as a fighter, he had to take it seriously when the time came. Otherwise, he'd find himself lacking.


With his fist being delivered to Pran's stomach, Athren couldn't help but smirk. He stood there as still as could be as he awaited to see what Pran was going to do next. Surely, he'd power up or something.  There was only one way for Pran to match the power of a super saiyan and that was to give it everything he had. Athren felt like Pran had the potential and in his Super Saiyan form, Athren had still been holding back most of his power but this would be more than enough of a challenge for Pran.  Maybe he'd unlock something, maybe he'd take it seriously, who knew? It was a waiting game at this point but Athren wanted Pran to dig deep and push forward. He'd have to if he wanted to protect the Earth, it was a role that wouldn't be for everybody. His form had been so flawless and perfected that not even his aura flared, it was a perfected point that he wish he had managed to apply to his Super Saiyan Two form. The endless hours of work that had gone into this form had really managed to pay off. Athren felt like he had full mastery of it, it was nice to put on display.

When Pran finally got to his feet, he had more to say on the subject.  He believed that one couldn't ever fully prepare for Death, or at least thats what it sounded like and Athren couldn't disagree more. It may have been the cultural differences or the way that they each experienced life but Athren knew that every single time he went out on a mission or took on a contract, he was potentially meeting death. This wasn't something he feared, nor did he try to avoid. It was a simple fact of life and he was truly ready to embrace it at any point, without fear.
Hell, he even had proof of it within his own techniques. He had a self destruction technique that he knew he'd use eventually and he was ready to meet his end, without fear.

It was at this point that Pran started throwing more punches, though without a power up or any type of advancements in his movements. He was really going to stay in his base form and try to deal with this? Athren couldn't help but arch a brow as the power level difference made it all too simply for him to weave effortlessly around the punches.


While Athren found himself dodging attacks, he couldn't help but respond.

"Don't all living creatures care for their lives?  I'm not any different, though while I care about my own life I'm also well aware of the situations I've walked into and put myself in. I've also been trained my entire life for one purpose and that was to become a powerful asset to the throne of Vegeta, to risk my own life for their gain....

While each assignment I had been on always had an objective, my own objective was to survive at any cost. I trained, I prepared for any possible scenario I could think of to make sure that I came out on top and I always did. "

Athren paused a moment as he continued to dip and weave around the incoming attacks.

"The weak perish while the strong survive. Yet it doesn't matter how strong you get or how powerful you can become, there will always be somebody stronger out there in the universe and it's only a matter of time until you meet them face to face and when that time comes, it only matters how you've prepared yourself. How hard you can push when your back is against the wall with no hope to escape except right through."

Athren paused briefly again, a smirk returning to his face.

"And when I meet the person who I can't push through? ..
.... I'm ready to accept my fate."

---

Word Count: 842
Total Word Count: 8,274

If this spar had been easy before, it had now become effortless. Without Pran powering up any, Athren was able to dodge everything with ease in his super saiyan form. It had been effortless as he dodged everything without putting in any effort. The scales of power had just been too different for Pran to be able to land any blow and even in the unlikely chance that he did manage to land one, Athren suspected that it wouldn't have any type of effect at all. Athren had just been too strong in this form and the only chance of evening this out was for Pran to unlock something within him and transform. If Pran were to do that though, Athren would be a little surprised. He didn't have a great knowledge of the human race but he knew a majority of them were rather weak and incapable of such feats. Pran had proven to be an exception but could he go further beyond? That was a question that would remain in Athren's head until Pran brought it to light.

Pran had done a few back flips to create some distance and while Athren was tempted to use this opportunity to land a devastating blow, he was rather curious about Pran's views and his mindset. They had been worlds apart in every aspect of life. From the reason for their birth to the lifestyle they lived and the teachings they had received, the two of them couldn't be more different. Though there had been one similar interest and both of them wanted to protect the planet. While the two of them both enjoyed martial arts, their views on it and their reasons had been too far apart to call that similar. Though while Pran talked, Athren listened before giving out his own response. He couldn't help but shake his head slightly, it seemed strength and preparation had been a subject of confusion. He was going to clear that up.

"There's always somebody stronger and while the strong survive, that isn't all about the power level of each fighter.  I'm talking about techniques, motivation, determination. Anything you can use in a fight to get the edge. Even your mindset going forward could be a massive game changer and a lot of those things are determined well before the fight even starts. Those things are all determined in a moment like right now. "

Athren paused for a moment, thinking of his words before speaking them.

"With the exception of training others, I tend to train how I fight. I take it seriously like my life depends on it. I try to eliminate all my opponents techniques before I even see them by having the perfect counter for every single situation. Of course there's always going to be something you can't predict, your level of preparation may put you in a perfect spot to deal with whatever comes your way."

He crossed his arms at this point, his turquoise eyes glaring across the room at Pran.

"And it's an endless cycle and it's always going to be. As long as there's different opinions, there's always going to be conflict. You're going to have those who rise up to conquer the universe and those who fight against them. You're going to have people like Liari who just want to fight for fun, to kill families and destroy cities just for their own entertainment. It's never going to stop because you can't change that.  The only way you can make the universe better is by being prepared to stop them at whatever the cost, so nobody else has to suffer under them. There's no discussion, there's no talking them down. There's only one way to truly put an end to it."

With Pran asking about Athren's past and why he left, Athren arched an eyebrow. It was a curious thing to ask at a time like this but it wasn't exactly unwelcome. If Athren was going to train people, he was going to need to earn their trust. Sure, he had displayed a very great thing in the south city conflict with Liari but that wasn't enough. He needed people to view him as a leader, as a trustworthy source of information if they were going to take any of his words seriously and the truth is, Athren wanted Pran, Gemikai and Opherla to survive any fight they got in and if they were to take anything at all from Athren's lectures, it would be to prepare for everything, train how you fight, train as if your life depended on it because that training would be the only thing to fall back on when your life was at risk.

"Still kind of rock with their ways?"
Athren arched a brow curiously again as he chuckled.

"Would you really expect anything less? I spent nearly my whole life fighting to be the best of the best within the saiyan ranks and what I learned from all those experiences has made me the warrior I am now and those lessons on the battlefield are proven. I left because they couldn't see my value and the corruption within the throne wasn't allowing for room to grow, so here I am."

Pran's last question, what are you living for?
That one, was one Athren couldn't answer appropriately.
He was here for his kids primarily and now his village but his own wants and needs?
He had one goal remaining outside of protecting his kids and that was to wish back his crew and rectify the Orange City incident.

"If you can hit me, maybe I'll tell you."

It was at this point Athren rushed forward, his super saiyan speed blasting him across the room in an instant as he brought his right fist across and through to collide with Pran's face. Of course he was ready for a defensive action but he was hoping that this little deal would be more than enough to push Pran to try a little bit harder.

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Word Count: 1,003
Total Word Count: 9,277