Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Hybrid ❯ Landing ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Prelude. Read it.

 

A/N: Nothing, other than constructive criticism is always welcome.

 

I didn't know how long I'd been passed out. The abrupt crashing of the pod I'd stolen jarred me from unconsciousness, throwing me against its door. Grunting, I pushed myself up, prepared to open it up; before I did, though, I noticed that the pain that plagued me was gone. I checked my arms for marks and blood. Nothing. I reached around and felt the spot where the needle in my brain had been. Again, nothing. I narrowed my eyes, confused by what was going on? How could I have healed from those injuries so quickly? Even the burns on my back I'd taken from the laser shots didn't hurt anymore. I shook my head, deciding to dismiss the issue for now; I had another problem: finding something, anything to do with myself now that I was free. I looked down at myself, noticing my lack of clothing; I laughed inwardly for neglecting to address something so basic. I'd made my escape with nothing on.

 

I stepped out of the ship, wincing as the sunlight hit my eyes. I put my hands up, stepping down and onto the ground below; scanning the area, I noted that I'd landed in what looked like a large field. High grass shot up from the ground, covering me up to my waist. For that I was thankful; if someone spotted me, at least they wouldn't know I was naked. Looking up ahead, I saw the outline of a small village. The homes looked like small dots in my vision, indicative of their distance from where I currently stood; at the very least, I wanted something to wear, so I set out, walking at first, but then electing to run after growing impatient. I surprised myself with how fast I reached the end of the field; it seemed as though I'd only run for a few minutes by the time I was done. Peering out from the high grass, I saw people moving about; one woman was returning to the village with a container filled with water, while others busied themselves with other various tasks. The village was relatively small, the houses mostly made of brick; at the innermost part of the community was a large temple with statues leading to the main door. Most importantly, though, was that everyone I saw was fully clothed; if I were to walk into town like this, I'd stick out. I wished to go into town relatively unnoticed, so I'd need to get some clothes quickly. As I examined the village, I looked for a place I could run to and crouch near so as to not be noticed by anyone; I did not want to be seen without any clothes, so I refused to leave the tall grass unless I could sneak into town.

 

My wait was longer than I expected, as minutes stretched to hours; people continued to move about the town, with someone always near the entrance. I waited impatiently, cursing to myself for being so cowardly while peering into the village through the blades of grass. After a few hours, I finally got my chance, although not in the way I'd anticipated. A young boy—though he still looked older than me—walked away from the village and headed toward the field where I hid. I looked at him closely, taking note of his body shape and size; he was tall—he stood a few inches higher than me—and lean, with some muscle around his shoulders and arms. As he approached, I quickly decided that I'd take his clothes and leave him in the field. I didn't want to do this, but I needed something to wear into town if I wanted anyone to take me seriously. I crouched lower in the grass, still keeping my eyes on the boy as he entered the field. As he did, I saw that he carried a sword on his back; I decided to sneak up on him, grab the sword, and force him to give up his clothing. That way, I didn't have to hurt him and I could walk away with what I wanted. I waited on him to stop in the field before I made my move; when he did, I slowly rose from my hiding place and ran towards him. With his sword within my reach, I leapt for it, my hand mere inches from its target. Before I could grab at it, though, my assailant spun around and swung his fist, hitting me squarely in the face. I cried out in pain as my head slammed onto the ground, the force of his blow changing my trajectory entirely. I didn't have much time to lick my wounds, though, as he pulled his sword from its sheath and swung downwards at me. I instinctively rolled and leapt to my feet, charging him again and attempting to retaliate with a punch of my own. The boy skillfully blocked it and responded with a kick to my gut, sending me flying back again; he followed his counter by leaping in the air, his sword high above his head. My eyes grew wide as I realized that I couldn't dodge him in time, and instead I bit my lower lip and put my hands in the air: my only hope was to stop the sword from killing me.

 

I screamed again as the sharp blade cut into my skin and dug deeper as the boy pushed against me. I looked into his eyes and saw shock; I think he was surprised that I was defending myself by grabbing onto his sword. I ignored the blood that dripped onto my face and grunted as I pushed against him. I sighed, relieved when I won out and pushed him from atop me, sending him reeling backwards as a result. I got to my feet and charged him again, hoping that my opening would last long enough for me to end this altercation, but to my dismay, the boy recovered quickly, striking me on the side of my head with the sword's handle. I fell to the ground again, defeated as he put the tip of the blade to my throat, forcing me to surrender.

 

“Get up. Now,” the boy tersely stated. I slowly rose to my feet. “Why'd you attack me?” came his next words.

 

I looked to the ground, ignoring his question.

 

“Answer!” he commanded, digging the blade into my neck a little, drawing blood.

 

“I wanted your clothes,” I answered matter-of-factly.

 

“Liar! Who sent you?” he demanded, gesturing for me to start moving with his sword.

 

“No one. Like I said, I wanted your clothing so that I could go into town,” I responded, walking towards the village.

 

He growled low and egged me on, forcing me to continue walking despite my embarrassment. As we walked into town, many of the villagers looked at me in shock. Other laughed and pointed. Had I not had a sword pointed at by back, I would've blushed and run from the village as fast as I could. Instead, we proceeded to the temple neat the back end of the village, meaning that my degradation would last as long as possible. When we reached the temple, the boy placed the blade on my shoulder and pushed down lightly, gesturing for me to drop to me knees. Out of fear, I did as I was ordered.

 

“Sensei! I found a thief in the field! Come quickly!” the boy exclaimed. Upon his request, an older man with a blue and black gi looked up and began to walk towards us. His face belied his age, slightly wrinkled near his eyes, though the rest of his body did not; he was slim in build, but one could easily tell that there was little, if any, fat on his body. He looked down at me as he finished his approach, dipping his hand down to bring my chin up, forcing me to look into his eyes.

 

“What have you come to steal?” the man asked, his eyes burning holes in my own with his intent stare.

 

“Nothing except his clothes,” came my response again, my head tilted backwards to indicate the boy behind me. “I only wanted something to wear, and I was embarrassed to come into town with nothing on.”

 

The man's eyes narrowed, as if he were trying to determine whether or not I was telling the truth. After a few seconds, his eyes widened again and his lips curled into a slight smirk. “If you wanted clothes, you could've simply asked Takeru. He would've helped you out,” he stated, gesturing to the boy behind just as I had earlier. “Stand,” he commanded, “for you have dishonored my young warrior. Apologize to Takeru, and then we will see about getting you clothing.”

 

I swallowed hard, turning towards him; avoiding his eyes, I murmured an apology.

 

“Do it again,” came the older man's voice. “Look into his eyes, and speak clearly. Insincerity has no place here.”

 

I gritted my teeth, hating that the damned man was being so insistent. I was naked, and being forced to apologize for wanting clothing. Couldn't he just let this go?

 

“I'm sorry for trying to steal your clothes,” I blurted out, looking into his eyes as I did so.

 

“No problem,” came his response, his serious expression rapidly transforming into a smile. “You're pretty strong for a kid” he added before the man interrupted again.

 

“Takeru, grab him some clothes. Quickly now.” The boy nodded and ran into the temple. I slowly turned around to face the man again.

 

“Thank you,” I managed to stammer, looking down at the ground as soon as I finished.

 

He lifted my face again to face his. “You're welcome.” He stared at me for a long time, examining my face closely. “Why have you come here? Takeru was sent out to investigate the crash.”

 

I avoided his gaze again, taken aback by his question. Not that his question was out of the pale or anything, though; I simply didn't know how to answer him. Besides, I didn't want to talk about it now. Hoping that he wouldn't press the issue, I ignored his question.

 

“It's okay. Perhaps you will be more open to talk about it tomorrow. That is, if you'd be willing to stay here for the night.”

 

I looked back up at him, nodding in agreement.

 

“I have a proposal for you. Why don't you stay here and become one of my pupils? You'll get food, shelter, clothing, and you'll learn discipline here as well.” He touched his fingers to my forehead. “Takeru complimented you on your strength, but if he was able to defeat you, you must not be very disciplined. Here, you'll learn how to control your strength and give your ki focus, direction. Do you accept?”

 

I wordlessly nodded my approval. I had nowhere else to go, nor anything else to do. This opportunity seemed as good as any.

 

“Good. Since you already know Takeru, he'll show you around and get you prepared in a room to sleep in. We haven't been formally introduced, however. I am Sensei Akeno. And you are?”

 

I shook my head, nervous to answer his question; I'd never been given an actual name. All of the tech workers only referred to me as “subject.”

 

“More secrets?” the Sensei said, a small smile on his lips. “We will have much to talk about tomorrow I see.” I looked past him, seeing Takeru return with a bundle of clothes. Thanking him, I quickly put them on and followed the boy's lead.

 

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Meanwhile, back at the laboratory:

 

“What do you mean he escaped?!?!?!” came Frieza's voice.

 

“H-h-he escaped. Broke through the glass and stole one of the spacepods,” came the meek response of one of the guards. Even through the monitor, Frieza made for an intimidating figure.

 

“Do you even know where he went?!?!”

 

“No, L-Lord Frieza. The pod left for a location not on our list of landing docks.”

 

“OF COURSE IT ISN'T, YOU IDIOT! WHY WOULD HE GO TO ANOTHER ONE OF MY LOCATIONS?!?!? FIND HIM IMMEDIATELY! YOU AND THE REST OF THOSE INCOMPTENT GUARDS HAVE ALREADY RUINED MY PLANS!!!”

 

The guard gulped, so nervous that he actually fell backwards onto the ground. “H-H-How are we supposed to find him, my Lord?”

 

The Ice-Jin's mouth opened to yell at the guard again, but suddenly, he relented, his mind forming another idea. “There is more of the DNA stored there, correct?” The Lord's voice was calmer, but it was not without the harshness that indicated that he was still quite displeased.

 

“Yes,” came the guard's quick response.

 

Frieza thought for a minute before responding. “Create more clones, then. Be sure to tell the technicians to implant them with control chips to prevent more escapes. Increase the rate of growth on the embryos. I cannot afford to allow that monkey to run free. Create more clones to track him down and kill him.”