Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Prologue

"Sayonara, Son Gokou"

Notes-

OK. This is the prologue of IGNO…and if it seems unfamiliar to you, it's because IGNO never originally had a prologue. And if it DOES seem familiar to you, it's because 99 of this is not original material…it's just the ending of the last episode of Dragonball Z…only I wrote it up in a prose format in my style. Basically this is just to recap the important events that took place before IGNO actually gets going…and the last paragraph, pretty much the only part that IS original material, sets the stage for chapter 1 to open. So…Enjoy.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 2/1/06

Sparks of lightning flit about the crowded stadium like loose fireflies. The crowd is silent, mouths agape as they watch in amazement the spectacle on the stadium before them. Standing, fist to fist, a grown man dressed in a blue martial arts Dogi and a young dark-skinned boy face one another, tense and unmoving, each carefully monitoring the other for an opening. In a flash, they move, almost faster than the eyes in the stadium can follow. The group of people gathered in the private lounge are in awe at the sight of Son Gokou, the Earth's strongest warrior, being matched equally by a boy no more than ten years of age. Little did these people, however; these lifelong friends and family of Son Gokou, acknowledge that this boy was no ordinary child, but rather the reincarnation of the evil monster Majin Buu who terrorized the planet over a decade prior.

In an instant they move, in perfect synchronicity, finally losing the underdeveloped eyes of the ordinary humans in the crowd. Humans who came to the Tenka'Ichi Budoukai to witness a spectacular martial arts battle, unaware that they would be treated to the spectacle of the two strongest warriors on the planet locked in a dead-even bout.

"There's no mistaking it!" shouts the wild-haired man. "You really are that evil Buu's reincarnation!"

Paying the older man's words no mind, the dark-skinned Uubu leaps at him in a blind rage. Caught unaware by the man's unparalleled fighting experience, the boy is lifted into the air and taken sky-high as the man, the great Son Gokou, takes flight, only to tighten his grip on the boy and slam him head first into the concrete below. As the rubble clears, the boy rises, unscathed, taking his stance in preparation to launch another assault. Gokou wipes the sweat from his brow, astounded that the boy is still standing.

"Amazing…Bit by bit he's increasing his speed to match mine!" Gokou says before he is caught up in another barrage of furious blows. The crowd is stunned breathless as the announcer goes over the play-by-play-or, the best he can give from his point of view. More sparks of electricity dance across the two opponent's bodies as they continue to match one another's attacks-fist meeting fist, knee meeting knee, foot meeting foot in a remarkable contest of strength.

His rage yet to break over the older man's previous taunts, the young boy clasps his fists together, jumping into the sky and smashing his elder in a fierce direct-hit. This time, it is Gokou who is buried beneath a pile of rocks and rubble on the deteriorating arena. Escaping his entrapment with a burst of power, Gokou emerges to counter the ever-vigorous Uubu. As the boy engages his senior opponent in a furious charge, the older man merely lifts off into the sky again, hovering off the ground above the ring.

"H-h-he's FLYING!" the boy manages to shout in disbelief at the sight of the man floating in the sky not so far above.

"Ka…" the seasoned martial artist begins, cupping his hands together and charging his energy into the palms. "Me…Haaaaaaaah…"

The crowd is lost in breathless surrender as the two competitors continue to astound and amaze. However, as Gokou puts more energy into his technique, the very stadium below begins to crumble. Struggling to stay on his feet, Uubu scrambles to avoid falling from the ring and declaring himself an automatic out. Seeing the young warrior struggle, Gokou halts his attack and dives back down, grasping the boy's arm tightly and holding him inches above the ground. Confused as to why his opponent would do such a thing, the boy looks to the man above him.

"Oh, that's it, you don't know how to fly yet, right? Well, I guess that's pretty normal, since no one's ever taught you how. You probably never even considered it before."

Taking the boy and landing on the ground below, the older man continues to speak.

"I'm sorry for saying all that bad stuff before. Can you forgive me? I only wanted to see what you could do." The young boy is confused as Gokou goes on. "If I didn't, I don't think you would have fought against me so seriously. But it looks like I was right about who you are. You're incredible!"

Uubu stands in embarrassment, staring up at the older man in disbelief. Was this man really complimenting him as an equal?

"But, you don't know how to USE that power o' yours yet. This is probably the first real fight you've ever had, right?" Gokou folds his arms across his chest, pacing the area back and forth. "Hm…I've got it. How 'bout I live with you for a while? I can teach you how to fight. I'm sure after that you'll get way stronger. Right? What do you say?"

He looks down at the boy, awaiting an answer. Pushing past his shock, the boy manages to pull out a response.

"S-stronger? But…"

"Hn? What's wrong?"

"I…I can't." he says sadly. "My family is poor. The whole reason I came here was for the prize money."

"Hey hey, don't worry about the money! I can get Mr. Satan to give you some. He's got a lot, since he's such a big hero."

"But—"

"You don't need to be so humble about it. Besides, if there were any big trouble some day, you would be the only one who could protect the peace!" The boy pauses, considering the older fighter's words. Before he has a chance to speak back, however, Gokou once again takes into the sky, hovering over towards the private lounge building where his friends and family are watching.

"Otousan!" calls the man's first son, Son Gohan. Gohan, too, had at one time been a great warrior, strong and brave…before the years of peacetime caused him to change his passion for fighting over to that of a scholarly pursuit.

"Heh," Gokou speaks aloud. "Turns out I'm gonna live with that guy and train him." And with no more than those few words, he floats back down to the annoyance of his long-time friends. He stops in mid-air, turning back to face the group and waving casually.

"I dunno how many years it will be, but I'll come back now and again. Please take care, alright?"

"But Otousan, why are you…" Gohan trails off.

"Ja!" Always a man of simple and few words, Gokou can only give a one-word response for the bomb he has just dropped. Hovering lower, he lands on the tiled floor beneath the building, greeting two of the planet's last promising young heroes-his second son, Son Goten, and the son of his long-standing rival Vegeta, Goten's best friend Trunks.

"Otousan…" Goten whispers as his father approaches the two of them.

"Gokou-san…" the other boy trails off, just as confused as his friend. Just before the older warrior is able to speak, however, a small girl comes running over to him, tears flowing from her eyes. It's Pan, Gohan's 4-year old daughter, and granddaughter of the great Son Gokou.

"Jiichan!" she cries, leaping into her grandfather's arms as he scoops her up lovingly.

"What's wrong, Pan?" he asks worriedly.

"Is it true? What you were talking about just now, is it true?"

"Yeah." He duly notes, taken slightly aback as his young granddaughter is once again driven to tears. Clearly taking after her grandfather, her emotion is transferred to her fists and she begins rapidly punching the older man.

"No!" she yells. "I can't…Jiichan! I can't handle not seeing you! I don't want to!" Having expended her energy, she calms herself and surrenders into hugging her grandfather tightly. Lovingly, he pats her on the back, trying to comfort the small girl.

"Hey, hey, Pan…it's not like I won't see you again…I said I was gonna come back time to time, didn't I?" At the promising sound of those words, she looks up, tears drying in her small eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's a promise. Please don't cry." Heeding her grandfather's words, she wipes the tears from her cheeks, smiling brightly. "There you go. Good girl." Holding her to him tightly, he turns back to the two boys standing before them.

"Now don't you two forget to keep up on your training, either! Same with that guy, Earth's peace is on your shoulders now."

Taking the man's words in, Goten and Trunks look at one another, then back to their great mentor with smiles on their young faces.

"Right!" the cry simultaneously, hope brimming in their voices. Still sitting comfortably in the older man's arms, Pan looks up at her grandfather, a smile on her face as well.

"I'll train too! I'll get strong just like you, Jiichan!"

"Yeah, that's it!" he laughs out, pleased to no end by the confidence exuded by his young son and niece. Setting the girl down on the ground, he steps over to the man who stands with his arms folded, back against the opposing wall nearby.

"I'm sorry, Vegeta." He tells his long-time rival. "And after I did all that to get you to come all the way out here…" In a very unlikely manner for the shorter man, he can only smile.

"Hn. In these rinky-dink fights, we both know that neither of us, or even that Uubu kid for that matter, could go all out anyway." Gokou can only laugh at his fellow Saiyajin's words.

"Hahahaha, you said it!" Waving goodbye as he turns away, he says his final goodbye to a former enemy turned ally. "Ja na."

Flying back to the ring, Gokou returns to Uubu, who has been waiting patiently. Gesturing for the boy to climb onto his back, Gokou prepares to take off once again, this time not knowing when he will make his return. As the dark-skinned boy climbs aboard his one-way ticket to the promise of incredible power, Uubu can only smile warmly.

"Your house is on a southern island, right?"

"Y-yes."

"OK, hold on tight, Uubu!"

"Yes!"

And with that, to the amazement of friends, family, and millions of ordinary humans packing the stadiums, Son Gokou, the greatest martial artist the planet Earth, nay, perhaps the universe has ever known, takes off into the vast sky of the blue planet; the boy on his back the embodiment of a power rivaling his own as the blood of the former evil Majin Buu courses through his veins. And as their aura bursts outward and vanishes just as quickly into the clouds beyond, the very people who know him best accept the departure of such a great man, knowing full-well that he will live up to his word that he will return someday.

However, what may be an easy thing to accept for people who have known Son Gokou since he was a boy may not be as acceptable to others. Namely, as the aura twinkles off in the distance, a young boy of only seventeen years watches, a sinking feeling in his heart. The father whom he grew up without knowing was once again leaving his life-And Goten didn't know how to go about his daily life as if this was not a big deal.

End of Prologue