UPDATE: I've recently begun working on the sequel to this story. It's only one chapter so far. I went ahead and posted it, you can find it on my profile page.
This is my attempt to show what I think a good movie based on Dragonball would be like and eventually leading into DragonBall Z. I'm not a fan of the ideas presented in Dragonball Evolution, mainly because I feel that, if you want to do a story THAT different from the original, you need to either call it something else, or write it as a fanfic. Just because the idea of Lord of the Rings set in the future might be interesting and new, that doesn't mean the movies should have done that instead. A movie based on a previous work needs to reflect that story in the best way possible, in my opinion.
I think a real DB movie should be an adaption of Toriyama's story, much in the same way the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies are. That doesn't mean you can't have original material. My story has quite a bit of original storylines. But at the end of the day, the characters are the same ones as in the original story. And I don't think that can be said about Dragonball Evolution.
Now, Dragonball is a very long story (even if you don't include DBZ). So in my idea for the movie, I've collapsed some of the major events of the series into a story that I think is pretty interesting, while still reflecting the original tone and intent without being a straight novelization of the manga.
Thanks for reading and I hope you find it worth your time to read the whole thing. I personally think the later chapters are better than the first, since in the beginning, I kind of have to novelize the manga just for continuity's sake. But as you can see with this chapter, I've included some new stuff as well.
Please be sure to leave a review. Just to let me know what you think.
Chapter 1
The car wound its way along the side of the mountain, stirring up a cloud of dirt in its wake.
Finally coming to a rest, the driver stepped out and took a look around, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
She reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a small, round device. Pushing a button at the top, the screen came alive with radar of the surrounding area. At the center of the screen, a little icon labeled "2" blipped.
The girl glanced at the half-open bag in the passenger's seat, which contained two baseball-sized spheres that appeared to be made out of clear orange glass. Each one contained small points of light that resembled stars.
Looking back at her radar, she confirmed what she was after.
She replaced the radar, took out a small recording device and began to speak.
"Bulma here, log 7. I'm in grid point RX-124. The radar confirms my direction. The next Dragonball's not far."
She glanced over her shoulder at the way she had come, and her hand came to rest lightly on the gun at her side, in its holster.
"Whatever that thing was that was chasing me," she continued, "I think I lost it back in the canyon. Dad was right, that dynamite was handy. This is Bulma, signing off."
She took one last look around her and got back in the car.
"West," she said.
From a distance, her leaving was witnessed by a pair of cold, reptilian eyes. The creature decided to let his prey get just a little further ahead of him before he continued the chase. The safer she felt, the better the chance that she would lead him directly to what they were both after. The Dragonball.
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Goku screamed furiously as he leaped into the air, twisting his body in mid-jump to leave room for the long staff he kept strapped to his back and he passed between the trees.
"You won't escape me!" he called out. "I'll make you pay for what you've done!"
Goku kicked at the air as if someone was there.
"Pow," he said to himself. "I got you now!"
The small boy stood alone atop a hill. But in his mind's eye, he was facing off with a horrible monster.
"Grrr, you'll be sorry" Goku said in a deep growling voice meant to supply the monster's side of the dialogue.
"You're finished!" Goku shouted in his own voice again as he launched himself at his invisible opponent.
Unfortunately, in his over eagerness, he forgot that he was playing on a hill, and his attack carried him over the edge and sent him rolling down.
When he finally came to rest on the grass below, Goku sat upright and laughed to himself.
"I win," he said with a smile.
As Goku stood and dusted himself off, he noticed that the sky was turning red.
"It's getting late. Grandpa'll be mad if I stay out after dark."
Goku took off at a solid run towards his house.
"I'm kinda hungry, though," he said to himself. "Maybe I'll run into something on the way."
When Goku came within view of his small house, he noticed something odd. Outside it was what looked like another, smaller house, with wheels on it?
And from out of this little house came a person!
"Hey!" Goku hollered. "What are you doing here?"
The stranger whipped around and pulled a gun from her holster.
"Freeze!"
Goku didn't stop. "What are you doing here!?" he repeated.
The stranger fired a warning shot at Goku's feet, intent on halting his charge. Instead, Goku leapt into the air and kicked the gun from her hand, startling her so bad she fell over onto her butt.
"What the heck was that thing?" he asked once he'd landed. "And why did you attack me!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" his opponent called out. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were a kid. I've already been attacked once today and I didn't want to take a chance."
Goku glared at her for a moment, trying to decide if he believed her or not.
"Hey!" Goku remembered, "Why does your house have wheels on it?"
"What?" the other person replied, with a strange look on their face.
"Aren't you afraid it's just gonna roll away, someday?" Goku asked.
"This is car. People drive it places."
"This is a car? I've only heard about them from my Grandpa. He said people in the city use them to get places in a hurry. Are you from the city, sir?"
"I am not a 'sir!' I'm a ma'am! Have you never seen a girl before either?"
Goku looked blankly at her for a second.
"No," he said. "Is that why you're all soft and weak? Cause you're a girl?"
She sighed. "Yeah, I suppose," she said, picking herself up off the ground. "Look kid, my name is Bulma, and you might not know this, but I'm kind of a big deal and, like you said, I'm in a real hurry, so is your 'Granddad' in?"
"Oh yeah, sure he's here," Goku replied cheerfully, the whole violent incident apparently forgotten. "Let me show you."
Goku lead Bulma into his one-room house and left the door open so as to let the light in.
"Here he is," he said, pointing to a little table that held a familiar-looking orange crystal ball.
Bulma stared in amazement.
"He doesn't talk that much after he died, but this was his prized possession, and he said that he'd always be here looking out for me."
Bulma knew that separating this kid from his family heirloom was going to be harder than she thought.
"What's your name, kid?" she sighed as she sat down, taking a moment to try and figure out how best to approach this.
"Me? I'm Goku. Nice to meet'cha!"
"Yeah, sure," she said, rubbing her hand where Goku had kicked her. "You're pretty strong for a little kid."
"Yeah," Goku beamed. "My Grandpa trained me to be tough as steel!"
"Was it just you and him up here?"
Goku nodded. "Yeah, ever since I was a baby."
"Well, here's the thing, Goku," Bulma said, treading as softly as she knew how. "I need to borrow your Grandpa's ball for a little while." .
"What! No way, he's my Grandpa. His spirit lives in that ball," Goku shouted, suddenly agitated again. "Get your own!"
Bulma sighed. "Okay, look, I'm going to show you something." She reached into her pack and pulled out her two balls, just like Goku's.
"What! More Grandpas?"
"They're called Dragonballs," Bulma said, rolling her eyes. "And there are actually seven of them total. And they're very special, and they've been hidden all over the world."
"Why are they called Dragonballs?" he asked.
"Because once you get all seven, a great big dragon comes out and grants you one wish."
Goku's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "A real live dragon? Like the kind in fairy tales and stuff?"
It was then Bulma knew how to play this.
"Yeah, that's right. Like a fairy tale" she continued, leaning forward to capture Goku's full attention.
"Turns out, there is this old, old legend that says once you get all seven Dragonballs, Shenron, the Eternal Dragon, will arise and grant you any wish you want." She paused for emphasis. "Is there anything you would wish for?"
Goku thought hard about it for a moment. "No," he said simply.
Someone who didn't want anything? That was a first in Bulma's experience. This was looking grimmer and grimmer.
"I think just seeing a dragon would be cool enough," Goku spoke up again. "Maybe I'd ask him to fight me, just so I could see how strong he is."
"You like to fight tough guys?" she asked with a crafty look in her eye.
"Yeah! Me and Grandpa used to fight all the time, and he was really strong."
"Well you know, Goku, there are a lot of strong guys in the world, maybe some even stronger than your Granddad. And you'll never get to meet them just living up here on this lonely mountain."
"What do you mean?"
"What I'm saying is, why don't you, and your Grandpa of course, come help me look for the rest of the Dragonballs? You could see the whole big world and fight lots of strong guys."
Goku thought about it for a minute. "You mean like an adventure?" he asked.
"Exactly!"
Goku's eyes got a strange look in them for a moment. A wild look that Bulma recognized. It was one she saw in the mirror every time she thought about doing something crazy.
Before Goku could answer, a strange sound whistled through the air, followed by the intense heat and sound of an explosion.
From out the door, Bulma could just glimpse the remains of her car, reduced to a smoking ruin.
"My car!" she screamed.
"Look out!" Goku hollered as he grabbed Bulma around the waist with one arm and snatched up his dragon ball with the other and leapt out the door all in one fluid motion.
Just as they hit the ground outside, Goku's house erupted in flames like Bulma's car.
"What's going on?!" Bulma cried out.
From above them came the sound of leather wings flapping in the wind. Both she and Goku looked up to see a large creature, resembling a cross between a man and a pterodactyl, land several feet away.
"Oh great," Bulma said to herself.
"Yesss, you thought you had escaped me, didn't you?" the creature asked with a look of pure joy on its face.
"Hey!" Goku screamed at the monster. "You blew up my house!"
The beast looked at Goku and took note of the dragon ball in his hand.
"Yesss, thanks for leading me to the next dragon ball," it sneered.
"Bulma, who is this guy?"
"He's this monster that's been tracking me for a while. He's after the Dragonballs, too."
"Is he one of the tough guys you told me about?"
"No, Goku, you can't fight him, he's too strong! Not even dynamite could stop him. We have to run!"
"Yesss, run and give me the fun of chasing you one last time" the demon hissed, taking one step forward.
But before he could take another, he found Goku's foot planted right in his face. The demon was thrown to his back from the force of the attack.
"Bulma seems to think you're pretty strong, but I'm not so sure," Goku said with a wicked grin. "Wanna try again?"
"You brat! You dare mess with the Great Demon King and his Army!?"
"If they're strong, I'll take them all on!" Goku shouted.
"Fool," the monster hissed as he opened his mouth and released another fire ball like the one that had destroyed Goku's house.
Goku jumped straight up and dodged the attack. Drawing his staff, Goku lunged at the demon and connected, causing a loud crack as it hit the monster's head.
"You won't escape me!" Goku called out, trying not to smile at how much fun he was having. "I'll make you pay for what you've done!"
The demon tried to recover and take flight, but Goku followed, leaping into the air and throwing his staff for all it was worth. The demon's wing crumpled under the assault, knocking him to the ground again.
"You're finished!" Goku screamed as he landed feet first on the creature's stomach, finishing him off.
Bulma could only watch in amazement at Goku's feats of strength.
"Oh yeah," Goku said aloud, "this is so much more fun in real life."
Looking back at Bulma, Goku called out "If we meet any of these other demon guys, I hope they're stronger than this one!" .
Bulma's mouth opened wide with a grin as well as she looked at her new traveling companion. "I don't know, Goku. I don't think anyone is stronger than you!"
Oh yeah, Bulma thought to herself. This is going to work out just fine.
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The mayor looked up in terror at the monster that held him in his arm. Even though he was the most human-looking of the bunch, he seemed to be the most terrifying. The others called him Piccolo.
"I'll ask you again," Piccolo said. "Where is your treasury?"
"Okay, okay," the helpless mayor replied. "I'll give it to you."
Piccolo released the man, who led him to a portrait on the wall. The mayor removed the painting, revealing a vault, which he nervously tried to open.
Once it was, Piccolo pushed the man aside and reached in. When he pulled out his hand, it was holding an orange crystal ball, containing several red stars.
"We have it!" one of the Demon King's other children cried out. "The Master will be so pleased!"
"Yes, I will be," said a dark and sinister voice from the doorway.
This creature was the worst of all. He was man-shaped, like Piccolo, but his skin was rough like the others, almost covered in green scales.
"We have what we are after, my sons?" he asked.
"Yes, Great Lord Demon King," Piccolo replied as he knelt before his father.
As they turned to leave, the mayor spoke up.
"I gave you what you wanted," he cried. "You promised not to harm the city's people anymore, right?"
The Demon King turned. "Oh yes. I gave you my word," he said with a smile that turned the mayor's blood cold.
The Demon Army emerged from the castle into a world littered with dead bodies and destroyed buildings. As one, they all took flight and landed atop a large floating air-ship, which had an RR insignia on the side, denoting its previous owners.
As the ship pulled up away from the city, the Demon King looked down.
"What a pitiful infestation that has sprung up in my absence," he said.
Without warning, the Demon King raised his hand and threw down a massive fireball at the city, which transformed the whole of it into a hellish firestorm.
The other demons crowded around the edge of the ship, laughing with glee at their Lord's power, and at the dying humans beneath them.
One, however, did not join in on the revelry. Piccolo stood back from the rest, glaring with disapproval at the ease with which his father had broken his word and violently slaughtered the humans.
The Demon King led his family into the control center of the air ship, which contained a giant map of the entire world.
"We now have two of the Dragonballs," the Demon King announced, pointing to their position on the map.
"And last we heard from Tambourine, that female he stalked carried two Dragonballs, and was leading him to a third," said another, older looking demon.
"True, Piano. By now he should be moving to meet us at the rendezvous point, above the kingdom of the Ox-King," the Demon King surmised. "There are reports of yet another Dragonball, between him and the kingdom. I suppose he will attempt to take that one as well."
"Yes," Piano hissed. "A truly… industrious fellow, that Tambourine. But we have already dispatch Cymbal to that small village to claim its Dragonball."
"No matter," the Demon King smiled. "They will all be mine in the end anyway, regardless of who delivers them."
He turned to Piccolo.
"Have we begun preparations to take the Ox-Kingdom?"
"Yes, my lord," Piccolo reported. "The spies confirm the location of the Dragonball, and the castle's pitiful defenses."
"Good, good," the Demon King smiled again, turning his attention to the Dragonball in his hand, and removing another from his cloak.
"Two Dragonballs already in my possession. Four more on the way and one last one to claim in fire and blood. Very good. It was indeed kind of the Red Ribbon Army to supply us with their ship and research into the whereabouts of the balls, was it not?" he smiled.
"True" replied Piccolo. "Although I fear you left them little room to bargain."
"Do not forget, my lord," spoke up Piano, "that it was I who guarded your resting place for a century, and I who fooled the Red Ribbon into releasing you. Do not forget, my lord."
"Yes, I remember!" the Demon King barked. "You remind me every chance you get. Rest assured I am grateful that you were resourceful enough to survive my last defeat and plan for my return. But that is your duty as a demon!"
"Yes, my lord, yes," Piano cringed.
The Demon King returned his Dragonballs to their resting place and took one last look at the map of the "human" world.
"Yes," he growled with pleasure. "Soon I will have all seven, and then I will summon than infernal Dragon. He will grant my request. And then the whole of human civilization will bow and suffer before the all-powerful Demon Clan. And then we will wipe them from this Earth, and establish a new Empire of Blood and Terror! Bwahahahaha!"
The Demon King's terrible laughter echoed through the halls of the air-ship, spilling out over the side and coming to rest on the remains of his latest victims, as if attempting to prove the validity of the Demon King's words.
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S-Shield's notes.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think with a review. Good, bad or indifferent.
