A/N: Mainly for current readers: After some consulting with a fellow author, I decided to fuse chapters 1 and 2 together into a whole chapter, while changing the ending to what was two slightly.
Chapter 2
A Long Road Ahead
The child, along with everyone else who had spent so much as a day in King Vegeta's court, was well aware that Frieza would strike sooner or later. The Saiyans secretly expected him to send in the Ginyu Force, a long and hard battle sure to rock the planet but in the end, war would finally break out after their defeat. Using the confusion of widespread battle, Yuken planned to make his escape into the shadows then.
At first, he had thought this to be a waste of an escape, the Saiyans sure to follow him… but now they were all gone.
Yuken had expected to feel joy on top of his relief, thought he would feel then need to turn the ship back to curse their graves. Instead he simply felt empty.
The boy had no friends on Planet Vegeta, anywhere even. All his most hated enemies were surely dead and he was far safer than ever before. All he needed to do was wash off his hair dye and he could easily slip away from any of Frieza's patrols and begin life anew.
"Alone," Yuken surprised himself, having voiced a nagging thought out loud, one he couldn't deny after even a moment's analysis. He was one of a kind now, sure to be the last survivor of Planet Vegeta, living in a world that hunted him. At least the Saiyans would protect their own from harm if it meant saving their race's pride from embarrassment, of that he was sure. But there was no one to protect him now. He was shackled to the Saiyan people and their reputation and in time, he too would be found out.
Looking out at the stars as they flew by faster than one could blink, the child suddenly found himself forcing a smile, the sensation on his face one he had not felt for the longest time.
"I don't care if they come after me. I'll fight them off, I'll win! I finally have a chance to be happy! To have a life…" Yuken stared down for a moment before staring at the endless possibilities before him, clenching his fists as he declared, "I'll survive, no matter what… I've earned this chance, and no one's going to take it away from me…"
Unfamiliar with Space Pod technology, Yuken was taken aback when a transparent white gas slowly filled the chamber, the youth growing drowsy as the craft redirected its course away from its original destination and towards the nearest station, requiring urgent repairs.
Feeling his eyelids grow far too heavy to keep open, Yuken let sleep take him as he gave the stars one last, longing look, certain a happy life awaited him somewhere in the galaxy.
A harsh thud awakened Yuken, the boy's eyes fluttering open as the anesthetic wore off. Shaking his head to relieve himself of the last of the gas's effects, the half Saiyan leaned forward and looked to either side of him, finding only grey smoke surrounding his ship. Scratching the back of his head, Yuken reached for what seemed to be the door release when the sounds of boots on metal made the child pull his hand back at the last second.
"Who the heck is in there?!" Yuken could barely hear whoever was in charge, but by the number of footsteps and mutters he heard, it was easy to tell the man was not alone.
"We have no idea, Corporal Cui! The pod's records were severely damaged, sir!"
"It looks like it came here automatically for repairs, Corporal!"
"Hmm…" The mystery man paused, Yuken growing nervous, catching his reflection in the glass before him, his dye still completely visible. They would instantly recognize him as a Saiyan with his tail and hair colour, and the infamous brand of armour did little to help.
"Keep an eye on that door. When it opens, be ready to blast anyone who comes out to smithereens! I have a weird feeling about this one…"
Yuken panicked as the smoke began to fade away, the child rapidly pressing buttons once more until the engine roared to life for a moment and hovered in place for a second or so, the smoke the damaged transport released doubling as a result of the start failure.
Yuken's heart rate reached a new height as the pod fell a short distance, hearing the men outside coughing up a storm from the smoke invading their lungs.
"Damn it! I can't see a thing!" A soldier declared, irritated.
"He's trying to get away! You know where the pod is! Open fire already!" Cui commanded, Yuken knowing he had no further choice in the matter if he wished to survive.
He simply hoped the smoke would hold out.
The group of soldiers were caught off-guard as their target abruptly jumped through the pod's glass, spinning around a second later and firing off a small blast that struck his space craft. The smoke, now black in colour, erupted and began consuming the deck, the small explosion causing a few of the warriors to stumble and fall back.
Still coughing relentlessly, Cui battled to so much as open an eye, the teenager struggling to hold back a gasp as he glimpsed a furry tail right before his eyes. Instinct kicked in as the appendage was swallowed by the smoke once more, the corporal reaching out as fast as he could, feeling the fur graze his glove.
The warrior's growing smirk instantly faded, however, when he closed his hand a moment too late and only managed to pluck a single hair from the tail.
Cui growled in anger as the Saiyan youth yelped in surprise, the soldier firing a weak blast to clear away the smoke, finding only confused soldiers before him once the smog was gone. Raising an eyebrow, Cui caught sight of the platform doors closing automatically in his peripheral vision, the soldier quickly realizing what had happened.
"Sound the alarm! There's an intruder in the base! It's a dirty Saiyan!" Cui declared, clenching his fists as his cronies bumbled about, using their scouters to alert anyone they could. Meanwhile, the purple alien strode towards the same doors his prey had gone through, thinking to himself, 'No way are you getting away from me! Your head is my ticket to the top and I'm not letting that chance slip away…'
'Water!'
Yuken's legs felt like jelly, his heart trying to tear itself out of his chest as he ran, the boy's mind going a million miles an hour.
'Water!'
A small blur ran by a large number of soldiers, the aliens pausing in their idle talk to simply make out a child, chalking it up to some brat running from a superior to avoid some sort of punishment. Once the message of a Saiyan intruder began to spread, however, the troops started running down the hallway at full speed as well, a hungry look in their eyes as they gave chase.
'Water!'
Yuken rounded a corner, catching a glimpse of directional signs now and again, doing his best to navigate the military compound as fast as he could. He could feel the eyes, hear the alerts, smell the anger and bloodlust in the air. They were after him and they could easily pick him out among the other troops. What awaited him afterwards, he had no idea.
'Where is it?!'
The clamber of military boots began to echo in the hallway before him, the youth coming to an abrupt halt, panting as he heard the same number of troops, if not more, rushing in from behind. Yuken looked to both sides, pupils dilating as he got ready to fight to his last breath, already knowing the odds.
The boy's eyes, at the last second, alerted him to a metal chute to his right. Without even waiting a moment, Yuken dived in, his tail disappearing as the first soldier turned the corner formerly behind him.
"Where'd he go?!" The horned, green, rhino-like creature inquired angrily, several soldiers bumping into his back and all feeling the same irritation as they saw the other platoon round the corner before them.
"I don't know," a yellow-skinned being began, clenching his fist as he walked forward and stared the other group down. "But that Saiyan is ours! So you nobodies can head back to your quarters!"
"Why you…" A blue, orange-haired creature fumed as the green commander replied.
"That fifty million is ours, Orlen! If you want it, you'll have to get through me!"
"Then it's as good as mine already! Get 'em!"
A moment later and the small hallway was a cluster of fighting, soldiers of all ranks and builds duking it out as they attempted to lay claim to the yet to be captured prey. Several members in the brawl soon noticed a pair of eyes peeking out of the incinerator chute, but found a fist in their jaw before they could speak up, anger erasing the pivotal memory.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuken closed the flap before him and leaned against the small wall behind him in an attempt to catch his breath, struggling to do so in the dark space. Escape artistry was not the child's forte, so he knew it was only a matter of time before his luck ran out. He needed to, ironically, remove his disguise to disguise himself.
Unsure of whether up or down was right option, the child received a clear message as the temperature around him began to rise, the youth looking down to see a red glow slowly creeping up the chute.
Realizing just what he had jumped into, Yuken quickly flew upwards, traveling several floors for safety's sake before cautiously exiting into what seemed to be an empty hallway.
Glad to be out of the confined space, Yuken once again checked his sides for danger before spying a bathroom out the corner of his eye, a rare smile appearing on his face for but a second as he calmly walked down the passage and curled his tail around his waist. It would do little to help fool anyone at this stage, but it was better than nothing.
Cautiously, Yuken pushed the bathroom door open, glancing around before entering and softly closing the door behind him. Giving the room a better look, the child listened intently as he went on his knees and looked under the stalls, relieved to find no one relieving themselves.
Yuken walked up to the nearest sink, sighing deeply as he looked at himself in the mirror.
'I look like a Saiyan alright. Time to change that.'
Letting his thoughts drift away, Yuken uncurled his tail and placed the tip of it in the sink, letting some warm water run on it before rubbing on it with bottom of his cape. Satisfied when he saw the brown colour slowly fade away into a lighter shade, a white tip or two barely visible, the hybrid was about to increase the force he was using when he suddenly froze.
A loud flushing sound and a relieved sigh reached the boy's ears, the demi-Saiyan slowly turning his head as he saw two dainty feet in white boots land on the bathroom floor. Yuken could only curse his luck as he heard the small alien struggle to open the stall door's lock, before achieving his goal and opening the door.
The imp-like alien walked out, carrying a newspaper, and was dressed in white cadet armour that covered his green skin. Stretching his back, the young soldier's top right eye happened upon something, the ball-like alien jumping in fright as he turned to see, with all four eyes, a young Saiyan standing by a sink, tail in hand and a look of surprise on his face.
The two aliens stared at one another for ages, scared out of their minds, only the sound of running warm water filling the room. The pair seemed to gulp almost simultaneously, Yuken removing his tail from the sink and the cadet cautiously reaching for his green scouter.
"Just… err… wanna check your power level, if that's okay?" The green alien asked politely, shivering like a leaf as his hand grew ever closer to the scouter. "It's not often I-I get to m-meet a Saiyan, ya know?"
"Of course," Yuken replied, taking a step back as he moved his hand behind his back and slowly charged a white orb.
The pair of youths smiled at each other, their hearts palpitating at insane speeds as the green alien's hand grew ever closer to his ear.
The quiet sound of an energy ball, however, caught the cadet off-guard and he panicked, practically yanking the device off his ear and yelling into it as loudly as he could, "HELP! THE SAIYAN IS RIGHT IN FR-"
Before he could utter a syllable further, the small creature was shoved into the wall behind him at neck break speed, the following controlled explosion knocking him unconscious and bursting a pipe open that covered the poor cadet in freezing water
About to catch his breath, Yuken could hear murmurs from the soldier's undamaged scouter as it lay on the floor.
"Cadet Guldo come in! Cadet Guldo! Get a squad up to his location, now!"
Yuken burst out of the bathroom, running once more as he muttered a string of curses under his breath. A number of endless hallways greeted the child once more as he struggled to navigate the compound, rounding a corner to find two soldiers waiting for him.
"Don't move or I'll open fire!" A humanoid soldier commanded, raising a blaster and aiming it at the youth's head. Meanwhile his comrade, a purple alien with an elongated head, stood at the ready to tackle the boy at a moment's notice.
Looking between the guards, Yuken could think of no better plan as his mind panicked.
Screaming in frustration, the child released a wall of energy from his body, the shield catching the duo off-guard and forced the purple alien back while the soldier got his hand incinerated, the helmet-wearing man screaming in agony as his target shot up through the ceiling.
Surprisingly, Yuken found himself outside, deducing he must have been on the top floor of the structure. The boy suppressed a gasp, looking forward to an orange horizon, the sun gently setting behind the sandy dunes of a vast desert landscape as far as the eye could see, dark shadows mixing in with light brown sand. The child turned around, expecting to see the same landscape but was surprised to find the opposite. Now before him was a vast, lush, green jungle with the echoes of small creatures getting ready for the night reaching his ears. Rivers twisted and turned in-between trees possible as old as the planet itself.
Nestled between these two biomes was a slim city that seemed to travel the planet's equator, hustle and bustle about even at this late hour. The people in those streets could move about as they wished, think as they wished and acted according to their wants, not having fears of bullies or warriors breathing down their necks day in and day out.
The boy's heart thumped rapidly in his chest once more, but no longer out of fear. Burying unwanted emotions, Yuken declared, "So… this is what freedom feels like…"
"There he is!"
"Get him!"
Not even sparing a second glance, Yuken sped downwards as a cluster of warriors followed after him, Cui at the head of the group and his teeth bared in rage.
The young Saiyan sped forward with renewed vigor, a number of civilians gasping as the boy flew by, followed by several of their oppressors. The youth muttered a curse once more as he flew by a number of street vendors, turning his body as he flew so he was belly-up. Abruptly, Yuken fired a weak blast at the ground that threw up a column of smoke and caused an uproar of frightened screams.
Several soldiers flew straight through the cloud to find a fork in the road, grunting in frustration before they turned left. Cui's squadron had, however, flown over the dust cloud, the purple youth smirking darkly as he chased down his target once more.
'Faster!'
The boy's heart raced, a pod hangar just before him, an open ship sitting on a platform his last chance of escape.
'FASTER!'
The youth's legs screamed in agony as fear crept up and down his spine, the day's tension slowly gnawing away at his psyche.
'FASTER DAMN IT!'
The pod was a few feet away, several engineers lifting their welding masks and yelling at the boy to back off.
'NOT WHEN I'M SO CLOSE!'
Tears in his eyes, the child began to reach out, struggling to find the focus to fly as he forced himself forward, his tail thrashing in anticipation.
'I WON'T LET THEM TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME!'
The boy's hand, a mere inch away from the open pod door, suddenly went limp. Visions of the beautiful biomes he had seen moments before seemingly fading from his memory. Acceptance slowly seeped in as he was yanked away from his escape, his captor chuckling maniacally as he threw him to the feet of several other chuckling guards.
Still feeling weak, Yuken looked up to see Cui smiling down at him, a white-tipped, brown tail in hand as the teen declared, "You should really learn to train this thing, or it could be the death of you."