A/N: Hi all. This is a Dragon Ball story concept that I've been working on for some time. put simply, it's a novelization and maturation of the DB, DBZ, DBGT, and DBS universe, for which, of course, all credit goes to Akira Toriyama. This is the first part that i wrote. It's not a full chapter length, but it's a sample of work. It starts off right after the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament where Goku fought Tien Shinhan in the finals. I consider it to be a prologue to the King Piccolo saga.

A/N P.S.: to everyone waiting on my other stories, i apologize for the delay. rest assured that they are not dead, I've merely been swamped with college. I ask for your patience in waiting for the next installments on those stories.

Fallen Comrade

"What's taking Krillin so long? He's been gone for ages!" exclaimed Bulma.

"I'm starving!" whined Puar.

Oolong groaned in his chair. "Even the pork looks tasty," the pig said.

They were all sitting around the big table in the restaurant, waiting for Krillin to return from retrieving Goku's 4-star dragonball and his power pole from the tournament stadium

"Well," said Master Roshi. "We can't wait around forever, and he did say we could start without him. All those in favor say 'dig in'!"

"Dig in!" echoed the rest of the gang.

There was a mad dive for the food around the table, and they all got down to work. Tien and Chiaotzu were slightly taken aback at first. Master Shen had always been stricter with his students' etiquette than Roshi's gang. But after a while, the festive atmosphere captured them too, and they began to eat with as much gusto as the rest.

Goku, however, had not eaten. He remained in his seat, staring down the table. Turtle noticed first.

"Goku, is there something wrong with your food?" he asked.

"Hmm?" asked Goku absently. "No, I'm not hungry."

While this sentence could be considered perfectly normal to Tien and Chiaotzu, everyone else stopped what they were doing and stared at Goku. His passing up food at all was unprecedented. For him to pass up food that he could see and smell right after an exhausting match was cause for serious concern. Yamcha even half-jokingly looked around to see if demons of the apocalypse would come crashing through the window. (EPIC FORESHADOWING...sorry, couldn't resist.)

"You're...not...hungry?" Roshi asked, amazed.

"I'm going to wait for Krillin," Goku announced.

"He probably just lost track of time," Bulma said in a knowingly confident voice. "Eat up, Goku."

Goku didn't respond, but continued to stare down at the table. In truth, he was hungry, but there was something else to it.

A strange uneasiness, growing to dread, had been plaguing him ever since they had entered the restaurant. His muscles, though unclenched, were tense. His body was responding to something that he couldn't yet identify. It was as if he was readying for a fight. His eyebrows knotted in concentration and focus.

Tien stirred and looked up at Goku, his keen senses picking up a shift in the energies in the room.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked. It was somewhat gruff, but it was meant with honesty.

Goku didn't respond. Tien looked closer at Goku's face.

"I've only seen that look once before," he persisted. "You had it on your face when I broke Yamcha's leg."

Master Roshi looked up at Goku as well. Goku's face was serious, uncharacteristically so. The Turtle Hermit had never seen him so serious. Even when fighting in an important match, Goku had always kept a carefree nature to his actions. All traces of that were gone.

Goku still had not spoken, but the feeling had become stronger, and was growing with each passing second. His hands clenched themselves into fists reflexively. The feeling had become so overpowering and stifling that he found it hard to breath.

"...Goku?" Roshi asked again, quieter.

Still no response, then...

It happened in a single flash. His mind exploded outward as if a window had just been shattered. Every hair on his body stood on end. A cold shiver washed over him. He started and looked up, staring straight ahead of him unseeing, not even registering that the rest of the table was looking at him. His hands were sweating and his heart was pounding in his chest.

'DAN-GER! DAN-GER! DAN-GER!' it thumped against his rib cage. He took in his surroundings as best he could, but there was nothing nearby except his friends.

Then he heard a different noise. A voice. A small, somewhat nasal voice crying frantically.

"GOOOOKKKKUUUUUU!" echoed the voice. In his mind flashed the image of a small bald figure.

"GOOOOOOOOKKKKKKUUUUU!" the voice screamed again. As the image faded, the figure turned to look at him. It reached out a hand towards him, then it was gone.

Goku was back in the restaurant. Everyone was staring at him now.

"Goku?" Yamcha said, confused.

"What's up?" Bulma asked casually.

The chair crashed to the ground as Goku dashed madly out of the restaurant. The rest of them heard him frantically shout out Krillin's name, then he was gone. They looked at each other. Most looked confused and perplexed. Tien and Roshi, however, looked worried. They rose and followed as fast as they could, the others on their heels helping Yamcha at the rear with his crutches.

"KRILLIN!" Goku screamed as he ran.

Panic tore at him. He ran down the streets, back towards the stadium. He forced himself faster, slipping into his fighting speed. He dashed around the corner and came to the stadium entrance. It was deserted. He leaped over the crater where the arena used to be and rushed into the main building, skidding to a stop beneath the entrance arch.

Krillin was lying face up on the floor. His eyes were open, staring blankly at the ceiling. Blood was trickling down his forehead from an impact mark on his skull. Goku's power pole was lying on the ground beside him, still in its case. The blonde tournament announcer was in a heap some feet away, but Goku had eyes only for Krillin.

Goku let out a cry of shock and grief as he stumbled towards his friend. Reaching him, he blindly began shaking him, calling out his name in vain, even as a part of him, the part that had understood his vision, knew that it was too late.

The announcer pushed his head up with effort.

"It...was...a monster," he gasped. "It came through the window...it took a little ball...and a list of names...from the tournament. It got away!"

"Krillin..." Goku repeated, barely hearing the man. He stopped shaking him, and just stared down at his friend; his rival; his brother-in-arms.

"He's...gone," he finally said to himself. The tears returned to his eyes as he said it.

"It should have been me," he said, his grip on composure slipping with every word. "I was the one who forgot my grandpa's dragonball and my power pole. It should have been me here!"

His voice raised steadily until the last word was nearly shouted.

"Goku!" called a voice behind him. Master Roshi and Tien had caught up, with Launch, Chiaotzu, Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong and Puar behind them.

Roshi and Tien stopped short in the doorway.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Oolong called out, running through the door. "Why'd you go and-what the...oh no!"

He had caught sight of Goku, still kneeling silently beside Krillin's body.

"Im-Impossible," Roshi stammered.

"Poor Krillin...he's dead."

Goku said the words without tears or crying, and yet there was such pain behind them that it was worse than any outburst could have been.

"It-it can't be true! It can't!" Yamcha cried out.

The announcer was struggling to get to his feet. Tien knelt beside him.

"Easy," he said. "Don't push yourself."

"It was a monster!" the announcer cried to the room at large, his voice still shaking with fear. "A hideous monster! It took a strange ball covered in stars, and a list of the martial arts society!"

"A dragonball and names?" Yamcha repeated, nonplussed.

"A monster," Roshi murmured, turning back to Krillin and Goku.

"Krillin...Krillin tried to stop the beast but it was too strong," the announcer continued, shakily getting into a sitting position. "That boy fought with everything he had."

Goku was shaking as he held Krillin's body. His face was hidden from the others, but they could hear the involuntary noises escape his mouth as he fought to control his breathing and his grief. The others stood behind him silently, each absorbing the shock and the grief.

Suddenly, Goku stood up. He was still shaking, but the noises that escaped him now, were not grief-filled, but rage-filled. His hair started to stand up a little straighter as the energy from his anger poured out of his body.

"He...didn't...deserve this!" Goku ground out between his teeth. He turned on the spot to face the rest of them, picking up his power pole from the ground as he turned.

"Bulma," he snapped. "Do you have the dragon radar?"

Bulma looked taken aback and confused. "Umm, yes..." she stammered. "But why-"

"Give it to me."

"Wh-What?"

Goku past her for the door, grabbing the radar from her hands as he moved.

"Goku, stop!" Yamcha cried, moving to stand in front of the door. "Calm down. You need to rest."

"Get out of my way, Yamcha, I don't have time for this."

"No, Goku. Whatever you're planning it can wait. We can all look for the dragonballs together to bring back Krillin. Rushing off to look for them now while we're all exhausted is no way to do it."

"Let. Me. Through." Goku said again, quieter.

"No. We do this as a team. If you want to go, then you'll have to go through me."

"So be it."

To the astonishment of everyone, especially Yamcha, Goku leapt straight at the crippled fighter and dealt him a debilitating blow to the pressure point in his neck. Yamcha reeled and began to fall forwards. Master Roshi lunged forward and was able to catch him, but Goku was running back out of the hall without a backward glance.

"Goku, wait!" Roshi called out, his voice rising in both anger and panic. "Come back here! Stop! That's an order!"

Goku tore off across the arena and out into the city. He was blinded, half by tears and half by rage. No matter how long it took, and no matter the cost, the monster that did this would never have peace again. He would find whoever did this. And he would kill them.

A/N: Well, there it is. Very short, I know, but I wanted to get a feel for whether people would be interested in this style of novelization. If i do proceed with the story, the vast majority of the Oolong and Bulma' type of comic relief will be taken out. That was my one issue with the dragonball saga. I have very little patience with that kind of humor.

Also, the story will help to illustrate my idea of Saiyans. WHY they are what they are. Why there culture is/was the way it is/was. What really happens during a Zenkai experience. That sort of thing. I've tried to find official explanations, but they are few, far between, and very vague. I've pieced together what i can find, and am filling in the blanks as best i can with logical, lore-friendly concepts. I'm currently developing several videos on Youtube that discuss these ideas and others as well.

So, I'm excited to start working more on this story, but i don't want to put too much time into it unless people are interested in reading it. And there's only one way I can know if people like it and want more or not. And that is...

TO REVIEW!

until next time, y'all!