Taabe

Billy Bear (reincarnation)

## Character Overview

**Taabe** was a Comanche war chief. He came into conflict with the Feral Predator somewhere in the Northern Great Plains in September, 1719, and was ultimately killed by the creature in a duel.

In August of 2022, Bennett Taylor confirmed that the script of Prey revealed that Billy Sole, known in the Val Verde Cinematic Universe as Billy Bear, from the original Predator movie was a reincarnation of Taabe, reframing his "last stand" with that film's Predator as being due to subconscious memories of a past life.

Taabe was a highly skilled hunter and warrior, also fearless, and he was eventually made war chief for these qualities. His sister idolized him, and he frequently indulged in her desires to be a hunter, unlike the others in the tribe. Taabe recognized Naru's potential to be a great hunter, but was only supportive to a point; though not arrogant, Taabe was prideful enough to dismiss Naru's skills after she continued attesting to what she saw within the forest, though this was likely to protect her. He ultimately admitted to Naru that it was she who had allowed Taabe to kill the lion, and he remarked on her exceptional observation skills.

Taabe's mastery of close-combat allowed him to fight the Feral Predator on mutual grounds, even putting him on the defensive by using his superior agility to outmanoeuvre the larger creature, causing the latter to resort to using its cloak. For this, Taabe branded the Feral Predator a "cheater".

## Biography (P)

### 1719: Incident with Feral Predator

Taabe was a skilled Comanche warrior and hunter, and the older brother to healer, Naru. Desiring to follow in her brother's footsteps, Naru held a great desire to join the other male members in hunting, something that earnt their disapproval. Taabe, however, was supportive of his sister, though to a point.

Upon tribesman Puhi going missing following an attack from a mountain lion. Taabe would lead a search party to find him. During their search, they encountered Naru, who was tailing them in hopes of joining their hunt. Though member Wasapejeered at Naru, Taabe allowed her to join, citing her skills in tracking and ethnobotany.

The group eventually found Puhi, gravely wounded and mauled, and Naru would treat his injuries. Taabe would split from the group to hunt the lion alone, whilst the others departed to bring Puhi back to camp. After witnessing several strange sightings, Naru expressed concern for her brother and also split from the group to find him, with tribesman Paaka joining her.

The two quickly reunited with Taabe on an open plain. Though Naru attempted to attest to what she saw, Taabe brushed over her claims and cited that the lion was their priority. Naru suggested climbing a nearby tree and lure the lion out to kill, and though Paaka arrogantly dismissed her idea, Taabe ultimately went with Naru's plan, and Paaka and Naru climbed the tree to use themselves as bait. Soon, the two were attacked by the lion, and Paaka was killed. Naru defended herself from atop the tree, and managed to fatally wound the creature, but fell and was knocked unconscious after being distracted by a red burst of light in the distance. Taabe would retrieve Naru and carry her back to camp, before returning to finish the wounded lion off. For his efforts, Taabe was appointed war chief, and the tribe celebrated his triumph. Though Naru would attempt to attest to Taabe about seeing "lightning in the trees" alongside her previous sightings, Taabe dismissed her, and undermined her skills as a hunter.

Determined to prove her peers wrong and find the mysterious creature that was stalking the forestry, Naru secretly departed from the camp the following morning.

Upon realizing this, Taabe sent a party led by Wasape to look for her, whilst he searched for her elsewhere. Naru would eventually encounter her assailant - an alien hunter known as the 'Feral Predator', who subsequently slaughtered Wasape's party. Whilst searching for his sister, Taabe would be apprehended and imprisoned by French voyageurs, who had also encountered the creature. The voyageurs would also capture Naru, and after unsuccessfully attempting to interrogate her, the fur trappers' leader, Big Beard, tortured Taabe in front of her as punishment, slicing into his chest with a knife.

The next day, the voyageurs tied Naru and Taabe to a tree in an ash-ridden open plain to use the two as bait to lure the creature out. However, Naru deduced that the Predator would not pay attention to them, as they did not pose a threat. Taabe would go on to admit to Naru that she was responsible for killing the lion, not him and that she was a worthy hunter. The Predator would emerge and slaughter the Frenchmen, and Naru would eventually cut herself and Taabe free. Naru departed back to the Frenchmen's camp to retrieve her dog, Sarii, whilst Taabe went to acquire the trapper's horses.

The Predator would arrive at the Frenchmen's camp and encounter Naru, though before he could engage with her, Taabe would ambush the creature on horseback, and the duel between the two would ensue. Using his agility and smaller size, Taabe would manage to gain an advantage over his larger adversary, and eventually overwhelm the Predator with a relentless assault. The Predator responded by activating his cloak and retreating, causing Taabe to yell out in anger. Realizing that the Predator was only interested in him, Taabe encouraged Naru to flee, before suddenly being impaled from behind by the Predator. Seemingly dead, Taabe suddenly sprung back to life with his remaining strength, Taabe stabbed the Predator in the leg with an animal skull, giving Naru enough time to escape. The Predator responded by finishing off Taabe with his Combistick, killing him.

Taabe's sacrifice allowed Naru to observe the Feral Predator's weaknesses, and she eventually avenged her brother and killed it in a final duel. With this, Naru succeeded Taabe as war chief.