Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT. I do not own any music suggested. All rights go to their respected owners.
Claimer: I own this story and all original characters that appear.
Fall of the Colossal
Chapter 1
When We're Gone
Son Goku was old, there was no denying it. His Saiyan genes had kept him alive to the ripe age of one-hundred and twenty one, something he was truly grateful for. The brave warrior had lived what felt like a thousand lives, saw things that many could not even dream of and fought in battles that determined the lives of billions time and time again. He lived a life of outward violence and inner peace, tranquility attained through his simplistic view of the world.
No one had ever asked Son Goku his views on politics or social order, what was right and what was wrong. No one ever needed to. You could see it on the Saiyan's eyes that he believed everyone had at least a little bit of good in them and everyone deserved as many chances as necessary to show it. He knew in his heart no one, not even the demons of the lower world, was inherently evil, that people were just victims of circumstance.
Nothing had ever challenged this belief, and nothing ever would.
"Hey, Dad!" Came the call of a friendly-toned voice, Goku turning around to wave to his firstborn son as he climbed a few small steps to the hill where his father stood.
Gohan had grown, in more ways than one. Even though he was nearly a hundred, he seemed to be barely over fifty, two grey strokes on the sides of his spiky hair giving him a more mature look. He was wrinkle-free for the most part despite his hectic lifestyle, yet another bonus of his Saiyan genes. The scholar had theorized that his body was merely years away from rapidly aging, a result of his alien DNA being somewhat diluted.
He didn't seem to care too much though.
"How's it going inside?" Goku asked, his voice only a little raspy, despite his head now being adorned with snow white hair and wrinkles aplenty. The Saiyan's muscular stature, surprisingly, had remained sturdy and strong as ever, but he figured that any day now it would all turn to mush.
"Good as it can, really. Mom wouldn't anyone that upset…" The father and son were of completely opposite images: the former wore his iconic, now-faded, orange martial arts gi as always while the latter wore a three-piece grey suit with a black shirt and yellow tie. Goku had worn something similar to his sons earlier, but had changed moments after everyone had said their goodbyes, choosing to come outside and simply stare at the view, a smile on his face and an arm on his knee.
It would probably be the last time he would ever see this sunset.
Gohan smiled, putting his hands in his pockets and bathing in the orange glow of the setting sun, wishing his mother were here to see how the beauty of the distant star's light bounced off kilometers of endless, green mountains. He pushed those thoughts out of his head for the moment, however. He was here to spend a few more moments with his father.
Goku could already hear the footsteps of his rival approaching, but ignored them as he focused in on the sounds of his friends as they talked in his small home. There was without a doubt a gloomy mood in the homestead as everyone walked by the shrine and paid their respects, both those of the new generation and the next. It was odd to see Master Roshi so calm and collected for so long, having made the longest of trips to bid his goodbyes.
"It's gonna be strange without her here, to say the least. Even more without you, if it ends like that," Gohan stated, his smirk remaining as he turned to his father. The man had long since come to turns with what Goku's decision.
"I'll give it my all to make sure it doesn't come to that," Goku replied with a hammy smile and thumbs up, the father and son sharing a small chuckle.
"Are you ready to leave, Kakarott?" A gravely but recognizable voice asked from behind, the father and son turning their heads to see Vegeta, the aged prince having taken off his formal wear, like his rival, and put on his favorite torn and tattered blue bodysuit. While liver spots adorned his wrinkled skin and grey hair oozed from every orifice, the Saiyan seemed no less dangerous or cunning, his old eyes holding ferocity behind them unlike any other.
"Sure am," Goku answered, nodding to his son and strutting over to the prince almost excitedly.
Placing his hand on the fellow Saiyan's shoulder, Goku spared his eldest son one last glance and smiled as he put the middle and index fingers of his free hand to his forehead.
Gohan and Vegeta nodded to one another, each having garnered the other's respect and the younger of the two understanding the prince's decisions after what seemed like a millennia.
Their rivalry needed its victor.
Gohan turned back to the sunset almost absent-mindedly, the familiar zipping noise reaching his ears seconds later as the universes greatest warriors seemed to practically fade away.
The demi-Saiyan's thoughts dwelled on his mother mostly, a few tears being shed despite his knowledge of her most likely blissful afterlife, before the thoughts turned to his own mortality. There had been several challenges after Majin Buu's appearance, none quite as catastrophic but challenges nonetheless. His generation had dealt with most of the threats, with some help from the next generation, but how would the world fare once all the original Z-Fighters were gone?
What challenges awaited their descendants?
The final, epic battle between the proud Saiyan warriors Goku and Vegeta had taken place on an uninhabited planet far away from Earth. It was a gigantic world populated with only trees and freshwater rivers, a planet created by the Supreme Kai just for the occasion, and as Goku's one-hundredth and twentieth birthday present. The fight could be postponed no longer, both Goku and Vegeta knew that their bodies would not be running at full capacity for much longer, the mustached duo decreeing that a fight in Otherworld would never end with their spiritual bodies' near limitless stamina. The victory needed to be in the world of the living, one without any unfair advantages or distractions.
The battle itself had taken place on the day of Chi-Chi's funeral as both Saiyans had promised their spouses to hold off on the duel till they were both dead and gone themselves, the wives not wanting to worry about if either of their husbands would be coming home that night.
There was, after all, only one way for a battle such as this to end: with a warrior's death.
With Bulma having passed a year before Chi-Chi and the Saiyan's being unable to wait more than a few days after the latter's passing, the fight date had been set in stone.
A single planet had never seen such displays of power and skill, anyone in neighbouring galaxies with simply the ability to sense energy was stuck in a sense of awe, not believing any one being, or two for that matter, could fight at such a level.
The battle saw its end after a full day of non-stop combat, both Saiyans arriving at King Yemma's check-in station, grinning all the way. It was only moments after going through due process that the pair entered the training grounds of the afterlife, each warrior bombarded with questions of who won the fight and for the minutest details of the monumental battle.
The Saiyans simply grinned and walked away, seeking new training partners to try out their reinvigorated bodies, now that they were back in their primes.
No crystal ball had been able to see passed the insurmountable level of energy used, and the final beam clash that the fight had ended on made it impossible to guess who was the victor.
Goku and Vegeta sparred countless times in the afterlife, their sons and further descendants not surprised in the least when they arrived and bore witness to the pair still going at it, even if not so vigorously as in their final duel.
It was obvious both Saiyans knew the winner of their final fight, but each of them simply smiled and walked away, arms folded, when asked who the winner was. It was their little secret, one that would never be made known to the world.
Years turned to decades and decades to centuries as Goku and Vegeta spent their afterlife sparring and laughing, meeting family members new and old and simply enjoying all Otherworld had to offer.
They never once thought back on Earth, for they knew it would always be in good hands.
Four hundred years after Majin Buu's defeat…
The three-eyed warrior took a gut-wrenching punch to the abdomen, spit flying from his mouth as his eyes widened in pain. The young human barely had time to pull his head back before a chalk-white knee jerked up and threatened to take his head off. Wordlessly activating the Kaioken technique, the triclops pulled back as fast as he could just in time to avoid his ally's blast as it struck the horned monster, throwing up a colossal explosion.
Growling, the Arcosian turned his head upwards, tongue hanging out as he glared at the female cyborg above. Preparing to fire off another deadly blast from her shining, metallic, claw-like hand, the black-haired beauty barely had time to pull her arm back and block a knee that sent vibrations throughout her body, shaking her metal bones to their core.
With the monster just before her, cackling like a madman, the cyborg glanced around to see most of her allies lying on the ground far below, unconscious, as her remaining human ally prepared to fire off a blast with the last of his energy into the white demon's back.
It wouldn't be nearly enough.
"Gomen, hurry!" The cyborg commanded, feeling her arm bend under the strain of keeping such a power at bay.
Down, on the ground stood Son Gomen, the light brown-haired warrior panting heavily from the effects of the poison in his veins. Before him floated the gigantic dragon Shenron, the immortal being and soul hope they had remaining.
The demi-Saiyan knew what needed to be done, but he feared what could result if who he brought back wasn't on their side.
What if this warrior turned against them, ruined the peace they had worked so hard for? What if he found out? Worst of all, what if this warrior truly was stronger than him?
A colossal explosion took place above him, the Saiyan warily turning around to see Lace hanging back, her metallic arm beyond dented, and Mocha falling to the ground slowly a distance away as the last of his energy left him. In between the two was a thick column of brown smoke that hid Icer, who's ki was as present as ever.
When the smoke faded away, there stood the pale white monster in his third form, his back singed and all looks of merriment and tomfoolery gone from his face. He was going to get serious now.
Gomen's mind was made up: It was now or never.
Facing the dragon once more, Gomen just missed seeing Lace being kicked towards the horizon at supersonic speed, a look of shock on her face as she crashed into the ocean miles away.
"Dragon," the Saiyan spoke in Namekian, struggling to remember the words he was going to say.
"No!" Came the angered howl of Icer, the Arcosian speaking for what felt like the first time in hours as he rushed towards the young warrior, a murderous look on his face. He wasn't about to have his wish stolen.
"Please," Continued the warrior, struggling to stand for much longer, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Please bring back to us the greatest warrior who ever lived! One who will save this planet!"
Shenron's eyes flashed, his deep voice bellowing, "I HAVE HEARD YOUR WISH. SO IT SHALL BE DONE."
The Dragon Balls dispersed, Shenron disappearing with them into orange arcs of magic beyond the horizon and into the unknown. Slowly but surely the dense, black clouds above cleared away and sunlight shone from a blue sky and onto the world below.
Icer stood in shock and awe as he finally saw the warrior who had taken the dragon's place: A very confused, and hungry, Son Goku.
A/N:
Welcome, one and all, to Fall of the Colossal! This is a story that's been simmering in my mind for the last few days and I decided to give it a go!
Now, I am certain that you all have many questions and I will do my best to answer them in coming chapters as best I can. In that conveyance, however, I am only human and am therefore bound to forget to explain one or two things, so please leave any and all questions in your reviews. I'll be holding a Q&A in the last section of the chapter, as an area to show any answers I couldn't fit into the story.
Also, as a tidbit of information, this story was heavily inspired by the DC Comics storyline "Kingdom Come" and will basically be my take on how it could fit into the DBZ world.
With all that said, thanks for the read, any reviews and/or favorites and follows, and I hope to have you guys stick with me through this old story of mine.