Prologue

A day to remember

'Wake up Goku! We're going to be late for Gohan's big day', Chi-Chi said.

'Wh…what? We're having soufflé?' Goku asked drowsily while rubbing the sleep off of his eyes. He slowly got up, splashed some water on his face and hastily put on his last surviving suit.

'Eeek.. I really did oversleep! I'm so sorry Chi-Chi, I had a little squabble with Vegeta yesterday and we ended up fighting until midnight.'

Chi-Chi had stopped trying to understand what went on inside her husband's head when it came to fighting. Saiyans lived for the fight and no matter how kind and caring Goku was; he was still a warrior at heart. 'Lets go, Gohan and the others are waiting.' was all she said as she locked the doors.

It had been a while since he'd used his teleportation technique so he felt somewhat queasy after materializing in the middle of the great hall where the ceremony was supposed to take place. The bruises both he and the angry looking man standing next to him had given each other last night certainly didn't help alleviate the dizziness.

The hall was magnificent. The walls were made of the finest marble; sculptures and paintings depicting a fight between gods long forgotten adorned nearly every surface. Pillars as tall as buildings held the beautifully sculpted roof in place. Meanwhile, gigantic windows allowed the full glory of the sun to shine through them.

'Mom, dad! You're finally here! What took you so long?' Gohan asked in a half joking and half serious tone. Chi-Chi had just opened her mouth to give an answer but before either of them could respond, a deafening high-pitched scream interrupted the family reunion. At the same time, the ground shook and the ancient palace grumbled as its walls shook unnaturally.

Almost as one, Goku and Vegeta took flight and stormed outside the building. What awaited them outside was something neither of them would have believed had they not seen it with their own eyes. The man standing with his back to them was surrounded by an enormous golden Ki, had long blond hair and a tail wrapped around his waist. The sheer intensity of the man's Ki had created a crater where he stood and particles of dust, rock and blood were hovering around him. He was covered in blood, prompting both Goku and Vegeta to fly towards him to help him.

It was only then that they saw it. The blood wasn't his. It belonged to the woman lying in front of him. The Saiyans stared each other in disbelief, her ravaged lifeless body looked as if an animal had attacked it. Her face was so disfigured that it was impossible to recognize who see was. In hindsight, that may have been a good thing because knowing who the woman was would have made even the kind-hearted Goku insane.

Before Goku could utter a word, Vegeta powered up and rushed to attack this unknown enemy. It was clear that he had done this heinous crime. Traces of his Ki were all over the woman's body. Moreover, this man had all the traits of a super Saiyan. 'Kakarot, you watch my back. I'll take care of this.' Vegeta said as he launched an energy blast at his target.

It all happened so fast that none of them saw it coming. Vegeta's blast was deflected and he was sent flying back to the church wall. At the same time, an energy blast hit Goku in the stomach so hard that it took the breath out of him, something that very few men could cause.

'I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!' Vegeta screamed, while struggling to regain his balance. There was no response. Instead, all he saw was a golden flash and the man was suddenly upon him. It took a second before he could feel the pain but then it struck him. As he was fading out of consciousness, he glimpsed at the strange man's face. 'It.. It can't be. Father?'