A/N: This is a rewrite of the original fanfiction: Dragon Ball Z The Next Generation. Although most of the plot remains the same, some of the elements of the original fanfic have either been altered or removed all together. To accompany the fanfiction is the doujinshi under the same name on deviantART.
Also, some clarification on DBZ TNG's characters. The main protagonist, Goku Junior, is notthe GT character. DBZ TNG's Goku Junior is the son of Gohan and Videl and older brother to Pan. Please, keep this in mind when you're reading this.
Also, with the rewrite, I've decided to include some elements of the new DBZ material as canon to DBZ TNG, like Battle of Gods.
So, without further ado, I present you the new and improved: Dragon Ball Z The Next Generation!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or Dragon Ball Super. All aspects of the Dragon Ball franchise belong to Akira Toriyama.
Chapter One ~ 10 Years Later
"Goku!"
The silence of the evergreen grove that expanded before the black-haired woman was but a grim reminder that her son had gone missing again. Frowning in annoyance, she pulled her head back through her son's bedroom window, which had "mysteriously" been opened without her knowledge. The woman sighed plainly, pushing back her neatly cut bangs from her ivory face as she observed her 7-year-old son's well-kept room. His bed was tucked into the far left corner, the sheets and blankets tidily tucked in after another peaceful slumber, and his desk was pushed against the wall under the window, an open book for various math equations still on the oaken tabletop.
Videl rubbed her stomach, grumbling about leaning too hard against the edge of the desk when looking out the window, and closed the window. She retraced her steps back out of the quaint bedroom, gripping her slender hips in frustration. "Pan!" she cried abruptly.
It wasn't a moment before a hurried pitter patter of feet sounded throughout the home, directing towards the mother. A young girl skidded in front of Videl, her black hair short and spiky and her ebony eyes alight with childish joy. "Yes, Mama?!" the girl cried excitedly.
Videl crouched down to her daughter's eye level, inquiring, "Do you know where you brother went?"
Pan blinked a few times. The 5-year-old rocked back and forth with indecision, and she glanced around the hall with nervousness.
"Pan," Videl stressed, "where's your brother?"
The girl took a deep breath, and she soon spluttered out, "Niisan went out to the forest cuz he said the forest looked pretty with all the changing colors so he went out to get a better look!"
Videl pursed her lips, her brow twitching. A defeated sigh puffed past her lips. "Thank you, Pan."
"You're welcome, Mama!" She zipped off.
The woman hastily stood up, rubbing her throbbing temples. "What am I going to do with that boy?" She then set out to ask her husband to run a certain errand…
…
The forest was painted with autumn's color scheme—browns, reds, yellows, and oranges galore. The smell of fall was fresh in the air, a September breeze whispering through the daubed leaves. Within the grandeur forest was a tall oak, towering high above the woods with a mighty stance and leering presence, a shelter to the creatures of the forest below.
A black boot placed itself on the emerald grass before the great oak, and a young figure beheld the tree with awe, obsidian eyes fluttering as they stared up at the leaves that still clung onto the lush, green color. It was a young boy, with wild, black hair in the shape of a palm and pink, peachy skin that was youthful and healthy, radiant with cheerfulness. He stared up at the tree, absently listening to the sounds of the forest around him. Suddenly, he sprang from his stance on the ground, his leap taking him higher and higher, until his hands latched onto the nearest branch, rattling the wooden limb and detaching a few limp leaves.
A breath he released, quiet and breathy with relief.
Grunting, the boy hauled himself onto the branch, finding his footing, and in a crouch, he leapt up from his position once more, jumping up from each branch, climbing higher above the earth, until he emerged from the leafy canopy, blinded by sunlight.
Once the colorful spots had cleared from his vision, the boy observed the landscape before him. His eyes sparkled when they lay upon the painted trees, a backdrop of blue, gray, and white of the mountains in the distance and the clouds in the crystal sky. "Wow!" he gasped, excitement glittering in his already bright orbs. "It looks so beautiful up here!"
…
Videl was outside of her home, her feet planted in the front yard. Her blue eyes concentrated, she murmured, "Gohan should be finding him by now…" She groaned, sweat-dropping. "Honestly, how does that boy do it?"
…
He laughed as he sat back and, throwing his head back, felt the wind run over his skin and finger through his soft hair; he grinned as he gazed up at the sapphire sky above.
"Goku Junior."
Goku Junior jerked his head back up, startled by the sudden male voice protruding into the silence of the forest, and he twisted his torso around to view a taller man, arms crossed over a broad chest. He wore glasses, and behind them, a chastising glare.
"Oh…uh," swallowed the quarter Saiyan nervously, and he released a nervous laugh. "Hi, Dad?"
"What are you doing all the way out here?" Gohan asked sternly, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, y'know, enjoying the view," Goku Junior replied, chuckling as he scratched his head awkwardly.
Gohan sighed, and with a shake of his black-topped head, he reprimanded the boy further, "Goku, your mother specifically said that you couldn't go outside until you finished your homework. Am I wrong?"
Goku Junior, being the honest boy he was, shook his head in response, then bowed it in apology. "No, you're not. Sorry." His black eyes flickered up to his father's face curiously, wondering about the indecision in the man's eyes, and the subtle furrow of his brow. He believed his father understood his need to explore the beautiful environment their little cottage beheld, after all, Grandma Chi-Chi had been rather strict with Gohan in his younger years with homework and schooling. Luckily for Goku Junior, his parents were not to those extremes.
"It's alright," Gohan finally replied, smiling faintly. "Just make sure finish next time, got it?"
With an elated cry of "Yep!" and a nod, the Son boy scrambled over to his father earnestly. He hopped into Son Gohan's arms, climbed up to sit securely on his shoulders, and gingerly placed his hands on Gohan's head, grinning in excitement. "Ready, squirt?" Gohan asked. Goku Junior grunted in affirmation. "Alright, hang on!" Rising from the tree line, Gohan flew towards the Son residence, his smile growing at the whoops and hollers of his seven-year-old boy.
"Faster, Dad! Faster!"
"Okay, okay! Just hang on tighter!"
Goku Junior laughed. "I wish I could fly like you, Dad!"
Suddenly, Gohan's smile fell. "I know, Goku… I know…"
…
"And just where have you been, young man?" Videl questioned, glaring crossly down at her son with an severe frown and knitted brow. Her blue eyes held the fire that she once had in her teenaged days, lesser at some degree.
Goku Junior bowed in apology. "I was looking at the view, Mom," he replied simply, politely. "I'm sorry—but it looked so pretty out there…"
"You still promised me you'd finish your math before you went outside." Videl crossed her arms. "I won't ground you, but you'll go over to Grandma's after you do your homework and help her do every single chore around the house, and whatever else she wants you to do. Am I clear?"
"Crystal, Mom!"
"Good, now, you know what you gotta do."
Goku Junior bowed again, and he quickly scurried off back to his room.
"That boy…!" Videl groaned, rubbing her temples in exasperation. Gohan chuckled.
"Hey, he means well, Videl. Don't be so hard on him," he said lightheartedly.
"I was hard on him?" Videl inquired, arching an eyebrow, unconvinced.
"Yeah, I think you're turning into my mom!" Gohan teased.
"Really?" Videl retorted, her eyes glimmering. "Well, fine. No reading for you until Goku gets all his chores done at Chi-Chi's."
"Wha?! Aw, Videl—!"
…
Goku Junior trudged to his room with a heavy sigh. "Man, knew that was a bad idea…"
"Niisan!" Pan yelped, appearing from at the door of her room, holding an orange phone in her hands. The cord only allowed her to go that far. "Did you get grounded again?"
"No, but I gotta help Grandma with chores," the boy explained.
"Mm'kay. Oh," said the little girl, holding the phone to him expectantly, "Bulla wants to say 'hi'."
"Un?" Goku Junior moved closer to his younger sisters and took the phone, pressing it against his ear inquisitively. "Neh, B-chan, what's up?" He paused, listening to his 4-year-old friend's incessant chatter on the other line. "Ah, no, I can't come over today—Mom told me I gotta do chores over at Grandma's. …Yeah, sorry. No, I didn't finish my homework before I went outside. … Uhn… Mm-hm…" He blinked, frowning. "Eh? You think you can convince your mom to come over this weekend? I dunno, B-chan…but, if you think you can, I'm sure you could! Okay, well, I gotta go do my math homework. Ja ne!"
Goku returned to phone to his sister's reaching hands, and the female quarter Saiyan retreated back into her room, chittering to Bulla excitedly about the prospect over a sleepover this weekend. Giggling softly at his sister and friend and how happy they were, he raced back to his room, sliding over the hardwood floors on his way. He stumbled a bit, yelping in surprise when he almost fell, but laughed it off. He wasn't made of glass, so no worries!
He took his position in his seat, stretching out his pink fingers in anticipation, and took up his discarded pencil and continued his equations, gnawing on his lip tentatively as he thought.
…
Bulla rolled off of her pink-and-yellow ensemble of a bed, ending her conversation with her dear friend Pan, and the little blue-haired girl darted out of her room to Capsule Corporation's lab, where she knew she would find her mother busying herself with experiments of all sorts. Her crystal, cerulean gaze scanned her surroundings, making sure she would not miss a thing out of place in her extravagant estate. Her big brother Trunks was at school.
When she reached the lab, Bulla heightened herself with the help of her tiptoes to punch in the code on the keypad, which she had memorized to a tee already. A double beep signaled access granted, and Bulla marched her petite form in, calling out, "Mommy~!"
"Bulla?" Bulla watched her mother quickly tilt a picture frame face down on her desk, and the woman swiveled around in her worn office chair, eying her daughter quizzically. "What is it?" she asked hastily. "I do need to get this project done—"
"I wanna go over to Go-kun's and Pan-chan's house this weekend!" the hybrid declared without missing a beat, albeit interrupting her mother in the process.
Bulma's blue eyes fluttered. "Oh? This weekened? Well, I'm pretty sure we don't have anything so—"
Again, the azure genius was cut off by her bubbly daughter's ecstatic: "YAY!" She sighed. "Okay, okay, we can go over there. As long as you behave up until then—and if Videl and Gohan say it's alright."
"Awesome! Thank you, Mommy!" Bulla chirped. Not a moment later, the mini-Bulma skipped off, singing a merry little tune, pleased that her mother had readily agreed to her demands. Bulma shook her head, yet, she smiled as well. No doubt if her father were still here, she would continue to have him wrapped around her dainty, little fingers, melting him like sugar—even though he was the furthest from sweet.
Sighing, Bulma absently reached for the picture she had hurriedly hidden from Bulla's view, but she stopped, pursing her lips. No, I need to get work done.
The picture remained in its position as she worked.
…
Goku Junior had thankfully finished his multitude of homework and was just arriving at his grandmother's house. He opted to walk to it whenever he visited, seeing it was just down the road from his own house. Huffing, he knocked on the door, awaiting an answer. Not a minute passed before the door was open, and, lo and behold, there was his grandmother staring down at him, holding a spatula.
"Goku?" the woman said, surprised.
"Hi, Grandma!" cheerfully replied the boy, his fiery eyes sparkling. "I'm here to help with chores."
"Oh, wonderful!" Chi-Chi declared, clapping her hands together with a beaming grin. "It always takes so long without Goten around here to help me! Come inside! Come, come!"
Goku Junior obliged his grandmother and entered the humble abode, observing the surroundings with his bright eyes. Everything was as it was when he had come over earlier in the week. Neat and tidy, as his grandmother liked it. "So, what do you need me to do, Grandma…?" he asked offhandedly when his eyes caught a certain picture. There was a man who looked like him, clothed in all orange, standing amidst the Son family at some kind of birthday party. Goku Junior was there too, only 2-years-old at the time. The only differences he could detect between him and the man was that his own skin was much pinker and his hair was slightly more upswept. Goku Junior frowned.
"Goku! C'mere, sweetie!"
"Comin', Grandma!"
'Mommy's'gonna haveuh baby?' inquired the small toddler, as the evening lights surrounded the partygoers cheering and laughing in merriment.
It's foggy. Two aliens had crashed Bulma's birthday party, I think. Mom said she was pregnant with Pan. I remember it being hectic before, but then…
'That's right, squirt!' replied someone else with the biggest, warmest grin the boy had ever seen in existence. 'You're gonna be a big brother, huh? Man! It's crazy to think about!'
I wondered why his hair and eyes weren't hot pink anymore, or why he wasn't surrounded by fire. His clothes were all torn up—Grandma wasn't happy about it, but she really didn't seem to mind anymore. He seemed really happy though, but not quite about Mom being pregnant.
'You better make sure it grows up big and strong, alright? Be the best big brother ever!'
The toddler beamed up at him. ''Kay, Gwampa!'
Goku Junior followed Chi-Chi into the kitchen. Despite the circumstances in which he came here, he was always eager to help his grandmother around the house. Goten was in school half the time, either that hanging out with Trunks. And Grandpa was…
Not here anymore…
"So, what do you need to me to do, Grandma?" he asked.
"Oh. Let's see, I need help finishing hanging up laundry," Chi-Chi explained, rummaging through the cupboards, "weeding the garden, feeding the chickens, and baking cookies—"
"Oh, boy! Can we bake the cookies first?!"
Chi-Chi laughed at the boy's eagerness. "Now, now. You know we bake cookies after all chores are done. Why would we want to have the thought of freshly baked cookies while doing work? Oh! It'd be too much to bear!"
Goku Junior pouted, but he relented to her suggestion. "Okay, Grandma. We better hurry then!"
…
The boy was pleased that he and his grandmother finally reached the best part—making homemade cookies! Giggling in delight as he rolled the chocolate cookie dough out with a rolling pin, Goku Junior hummed to himself, mumbling the words every so often as he continued to work. "Cha La… Head Cha La…" He flattened a sufficient amount of dough, with the okay from Chi-Chi of course, and grabbed the nearest cookie cutter. The cutter he had chosen was shaped like some robot's head, a nozzle mouth it had. Goku Junior stamped the cookie cutter in the dough, evenly spaced, and peeled the excess dough away from the cut outs carefully.
"Wow," Chi-Chi drawled out, pulling out a freshly baked dozen of cutter chocolate chip cookies—these were shaped like a dragon. "At this rate, Goku, we should be set for weeks!"
"Awesome!" the boy sang out.
"I'm home!"
Goku Junior, surprised by the intrusion, raised his head at the familiar voice. A teenager with black, wild hair that brushed against the base of his neck promptly sauntered into the kitchen, dumping a school bag on the floor, along with a jacket. He yawned, then sniffed. The hunger was visible on his youthful face, his ebony orbs lighting up, and he chirped. "Oh boy! What smells good?!"
"Goten, you're home later than usual…" said Chi-Chi, suspiciously, and she folded her arms stiffly under her breasts, arching an eyebrow.
"Un?" Goten looked at her cluelessly. "Oh! Yeah, sorry, Mom! Me and Trunks-kun were talking, and time flew by, hee!" He laughed, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, you coulda called beforehand to let me know…" Chi-Chi shook her head in defeat. "Honestly! What did a poor woman like me do to get such a delinquent son…?"
Knowing the "delinquent" card all too well, Goten swallowed, sweating nervously, and whimpered. "S…Sorry, Mom… I'll call next time…"
Goku Junior hopped down from the stool he had been perched on, and nonchalantly scooted over to the flustered teen, snickering faintly, "Ojisan, I thought you knew better!" Finally, the teenaged hybrid noticed the other presence in the room, and he peered down at the young boy. Goten's expression once again brightened at the sight of his 7-year-old nephew.
"Ah! Hey, kiddo!" Once he crouched down, Goten enveloped the quarter Saiyan into a crushing embrace, the two laughing together as they hugged. Chi-Chi smiled at the sight. The uncle and nephew bond the two shared was more like a brotherly bond, and the woman remembered how ecstatic a younger Goten was at the thought of his big brother finally having a baby!
"I'm gonna be an uncle~!"
Goku Junior looked up at his 17-year-old relative, beaming. "You did say 'hi' to Trunks for me, right, Ojisan?"
"You can tell him so yerself!" Goten answered cheerily, releasing the boy. The other frowned quizzically.
"Whaddaya mean?"
The teenager grinned, flashing the famous Son grin, and said, "Trunks-kun, Bulla, and Bulma-san are all coming over this weekend!"
"R…Really?!" Goku Junior gasped. Elatedness bubbled within him, causing him to quake with excitement. The contents overflowing, the young Saiyan hollered:
"ALRIGHT!"
Nearly ten years have passed since the battle with Majin Buu, and nearly five since the fight with the fabled God of Destruction, Beerus. After these encounters, peace has reigned throughout the planet Earth. Goku Junior, with his parents Gohan and Videl, have lived a happy and carefree life…
But how long until everything is uprooted?
And scene!
And so concludes the first chapter of the new and improved Dragon Ball Z The Next Generation! If you have any questions, feel free to ask them, yada yada yada.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! :D Reviews are much appreciated! Thank you!