A New Beginning
by htmLord

Okay, folks, I'm back! Its been a long, long time since I've written, but here I am, with a new fic for you to enjoy. No, I'm not planning on doing any work on any other stories, I've had a combination of writer's block and lack of interest for about 9 months. Hopefully, this fic will help clear that up.

In any event, I should explain this story. Technically, its A/U, though only be the slimmest of margins.. the only difference is one sentence.. just ten words.. and all of the differences that spawn from it. The story begins 20 years after the fight with Buu, right at the beginning of GT, and its really just one huge "What if..?" I hope you enjoy, cause here it is!

Prologue

Goku strolled out of the entrance to the lookout and patted his stomach. "Mmm! That was good, Mr Popo!"

"Thank you, Goku," came the reply.

"And thanks for letting Ubuu and I have our fight here, Dende.. it was really fun!"

"It wasn't a problem," the Guardian of Earth responded, "besides, the Earth couldn't have handled it."

Goku nodded in agreement and started to walk off, his thoughts wandering. "That was intense! And think.. that was Ubuu.. I wonder how powerful Vegeta has become.. that would be a great fight, too.. or Gohan.. just think if he hadn't quit training after defeating Cell.. he would be an amazing sparring partner.."

Lost in thought, Goku didn't notice the sky had went black, nor did he notice that a massive Black Star Dragonball dragon hover above him. In a typical Goku manner, he merely voiced his thoughts. "Geez.. I wish Gohan wouldn't have stopped training after beating Cell.."

The part that followed was what startled him. "It is done.." a deep voice rang out followed by a much more high pitched "NO! That wasn't my wish!" Goku turned upward to see the huge dragon above him before it split into the dragonballs and raced off to the far corners of the universe. Then, a frustrated little green man came running around the corner to see who had stolen his wish.

"G..Goku?" he said, scared nearly white. "W..what are you doing here?"

"Pilaf? Is that you?" Goku looked at the little man discerningly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm.. uh.. I'm.. just leaving!" he said in a high, scared voice as he ran back around the corner, attempting to flee.

Goku merely shrugged, not knowing what was going on, then turned and flew off for home.

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The Son Household, moments before

Gohan sat at the table, reading a book entitled "Geothermic Theory and its Practical Applications". Deeply absorbed in his reading, he barely noticed the pretty, dark haired woman standing beside him until she spoke. "Gohan, dear.. what would you like for dinner?" Videl asked her bookish husband.

Gohan turned to her, caught off-guard for a moment. "Well.. uh.. er.. how 'bout we go over to Mom's for dinner? You know she'd love to have us..." Gohan relaxed, having used his favorite response to evade that question. The truth was, Gohan was almost as bad at deciding WHAT he wanted to eat as Videl was good at making it.

Videl gave Gohan a little smirk that said "Not that line again.." but that she thought his response was still cute.. even though he'd used it more times than he had done push-ups.. She gave him a peck on the cheek and was just about to turn for the phone to call Chi Chi when she heard him say something.

"Yes, dear?" she said, turning. What she saw was definitely not usual..

Gohan was glowing a faint gold color, somewhat like the color of a Super Saiyan, but a bit less vibrant.. not only that, but we looked to be in shock.. or maybe even in pain... "GOHAN!" she yelled as she ran toward him.

Gohan, however, couldn't hear his beloved wife. At first, he had felt the crackle of power rush through him.. and then, nothing. For a moment, he thought, somehow, something had just killed him and he might be dead.. and then, he heard, faintly, his father's voice.. "I wish Gohan wouldn't have stopped training after beating Cell.." he could barely make out.. and then.. POP

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Meaningless Trivia of the Day

Only 6 characters never die in the DBZ series.. 5 are Kai's. Can you name the sixth?