Chapter 1: Foreign soul in a foreign land
"He called himself….Son Goku."
That alone was enough to raise alarms among those gathered to greet Future Trunks and bare witness to his sudden attempt to assault Goku. He had spoken of a new threat terrorizing his timeline, one even stronger than the androids, and even Cell. Although he called himself Goku and even appeared to resemble him going off the timetravler's worlds, Trunks refused to call him by his friend's true name and took to giving him a different moniker.
"We called him Goku Black. It hurt terribly seeing somebody with your face destroying everything we'd worked so hard to rebuild, Goku." Trunks muttered, his fingers clutching tightly onto his pants as he thought back to his own time and remembered the horrible cries of people fleeing in terror as Black destroyed everyone and everything all with the same demented grin on his face.
"Don't worry, Trunks! You can train with us and get strong enough to beat him! He sounds strong though, I wanna fight him myself!" Plus, 'Goku Black' sounded cool and even Goku had to concede that to his apparent evil doppelganger. Trunks was understandably confused at his fellow saiyan's eagerness. "Why are you so pumped up…?"
Vegeta was less openly excited. The thought of somebody with that clown's face going around and wreaking havoc? It was almost enough to drive Vegeta up the wall. How pathetic this Black must be to feel the need to imitate somebody like Kakarot. While all three saiyans had differing opinions on how they perceived the threat of Goku Black, it wouldn't take long before they'd finally be able to tell said entity himself how they truly felt. The area in the sky where Trunks's time machine had appeared and floated down to the ground below began to ripple like a disturbed pool of water. The ripple grew wider and wider before distorting altogether into a pitch-black void.
Coming through that void was none other than the new terror that Trunks had come to warn the Z Fighters about.
"Black…" Trunks growled, utter hatred seeping through just that one word.
Trunks hadn't lied at all about his description of the terror ravaging his world. Facial-wise he resembled Goku to a tee. The clothes were a different look however with black being the predominant color among them instead of orange like Goku's usual attire, hence the nickname Goku Black. Scanning his eyes across those present, Black looked down at the ring nestled securely on his index finger.
"It seems whatever that foolish boy did to bring himself here created a disruption in the fabric of time and space itself. The Time Ring I'm wearing was attracted to such a disturbance and I was thereby dragged along for the ride." Black thought to himself before spotting Trunks down below. "Well, come to hide from your problems in the past, boy? Has it finally become clear to you how outmatched you truly are?" Rising to his feet, Trunks immediately flared his ki, the amount of energy he was able to kick up left a circle of dust around his person but if Black was perturbed in any way, he didn't let it show. "Bastard! How the hell did you manage to come here?!"
"Who knows for certain? Perhaps it was the disruption that you made while coming here that simply pulled me along as well. Or maybe it was your soul crying out for me to silence you and free it once and for all." Black snarked, his menacing and condemning tone a far cry from Goku's usual pleasant and easy-going demeanor. Before Trunks could engage him however, Vegeta called out to his son. "Don't bother. You're no match for him as you are."
Trunks couldn't believe what he was hearing. Back when he'd been here during the battle with the androids and Cell, his father would have chewed at the bit to fight such a strong opponent and now he was telling his son to back down because he didn't have a chance? Had his father truly matured this much since their last meeting?
Of course, while Vegeta was distracted with Trunks, Goku took the opportunity to confront Black himself. "You snooze, you lose!" He called out teasingly to his rival/training partner as Goku floated up beside Black, the two 'Gokus' staring eachother down. "So, you're the one they call Black? Gotta say it feels weird. It's like I'm looking into a mirror."
"Heh, it's been a long-awaited pleasure of mine to meet you as well, Goku. I'm glad that I finally have the chance now. Perhaps I'll be treated to a worthy opponent for a change." Black quipped, his comment obviously meant to disparage Trunks further. All while the time-traveling Saiyan was unable to do a damn thing about it.
Adopting a fighting stance, Goku smirked, obviously eager for the battle that was about to ensue. "Trunks tells me you're pretty strong. Since you're here, why don't you show me if he's right?" Seemingly pleased by the invitation to fight, Black turned to face Goku and returned the smirk. "Gladly. I've been wanting to test out this body against a real foe."
"…The heck does that mean?"
"An answer that you're not needed to know." Black swiftly responded before casually firing out a massive ki blast. Big enough to hide Goku from his view as the blast sent Goku careening across the sky and towards the rocky plains. Blasting off to continue the blast, Black couldn't help but feel just as excited. The chance to test Son Goku and to grow even stronger? What a joyous day indeed!
With his back against a pillar and the blast looming over him, Goku let out a yell that echoed throughout the plains and digging his hands into the center of the blast, whipped it up and above his head and fired a small blast, the size of a baseball, to destroy Black's. So he couldn't try to use it against Goku any further. As the explosion temporarily darkened the sky above the two Gokus, Black and Goku exchanged eager smiles once more. "Not bad for an opener though I'm sure that's not your best." Goku chirped back, eager to continue things. Splaying his hands off to the side, Black flared his energy which matched his outfit's color, a deathly black. "Indeed. Come then, Goku. Show me the strength your warrior race was so proud of!"
As Trunks, Piccolo, Krillin and even Vegeta flew after the two to watch the battle, they could feel their Goku's energy rising immensely and once they arrived, they'd see why. Just as Gohan had first taken on the form to defeat the bio-android Cell, Goku had managed to adopt Super Saiyan 2 as well. With electricity cackling along his body, he flew towards Black with a flurry of punches at his disposal. Some were deflected, some were outright dodged. But a few blows still managed to hit home, and Black was sent crashing through a craggy pillar and into the ground below leaving a nice man sized crater in the process. But as they watched the fight, Trunks couldn't help but question one thing. "Why? Why is Goku only fighting Black as a Super Saiyan 2? I bet if he used that form, he showed me, he could have already won this!"
"Blame Kakarot's irritating need to gradually reveal his strength as the battle drags on." Vegeta commented. He knew of the form that Trunks spoke of and while he had a feeling it'd likely get the job done against Black, Kakarot just wasn't the type of person to end a fight so quickly. Even if it'd end up biting him in the ass later…
Floating down near where Black had crashed, Goku called out to him. "C'mon, if you're half the threat Trunks said you were, a blow like that wouldn't be enough to put you down for the count! Let's keep fighting!" Just then, sinister laughter could have been heard as Black floated out of the crater and clutched at his stomach where Goku had punched him.
"Yes, yes hit me as much as you'd like Goku. The pain will only increase my strength!"
"…Okay, that was a seriously creepy thing to say."
Flaring his energy once more, Black charged at Goku and the two exchanged a wild flurry of punches and kicks. As Black attempted to clock Goku in the side of the head with his elbow, Goku ducked under it and thrust his hand forward to try and blast Black point-blank. Twisting around, Black kicked Goku's hand aside as the ki blast went astray and blew up some rocks and boulders in the distance, knocking over Trunks's time machine in the process with the following shockwave.
"Kakarot's losing the power advantage. I can feel Black's power rising higher and higher." Vegeta commented right as the two saiyans broke off their clash and Black chuckled. "So, you're just as strong as I predicted you'd be." Wiping off a trail of blood from where he'd been busted in the mouth, Goku returned the gesture. "Same here." As the two were about to continue, Black felt a sharp pain course through his body and he'd be yanked away, back near the void he'd come through initially.
"Ugh, it seems my time here is coming to an end…" Black complained before noticing out the corner of his eye, Trunks attempting to right the time machine from where it'd fallen. Why was that foolish Saiyan so concerned about what amounted to a hunk of metal and wires? Unless….Unless, yes that had to be it! It was what he used to get here! Even if he was dragged back to the future, Black wouldn't go without leaving a small parting gift.
"Trunks, look out!" Goku exclaimed and Trunks quickly flew away from the incoming blast. One that had enough power behind it not only to likely kill him if it had connected but destroy the time machine as well and if the explosion wasn't enough proof? The charred bits of metal falling from the sky were more than enough.
"Bastard!"
"Hahahahah! Enjoy your stay here while I ravage what's left of your pathetic world, Trunks!" Those were the last words Trunks would hear from Black for quite some time for Black was yanked back through the rift which quickly closed once it'd sucked him back in. Now, while he had enjoyed testing Goku's power and trapping Trunks in the past, Black was somewhat annoyed to head back alone. He knew in his heart of hearts that whelp Trunks would find a way back. But in the time, he'd be alone, he'd long for an opponent like Goku. Someone worthy and capable to test his power on!
Things wouldn't stay in Black's favor for very long, however, for as he traveled through the rift in space and time, something went wrong. Time travel was only supposed to be used by the deities who oversaw the creation of life and the destruction of it. Any other use was blasphemy. But due to the shady nature of how Black had become who he was and Trunk's own machinations with his time machine, it seemed that the rift wouldn't be taking him back to where he belonged.
Feeling a massive pain running through what felt like every fiber of his being, images filled Black's head. Villages burning, people running and fleeing in terror, some woman cutting down a man and at the end of it all? A grotesque looking blade with an eye on it. An eye that seemed to be looking right at him!
"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Losing out to the pain, Black passed out and as the rift opened up to depart him to wherever it'd ended up, he fell from the sky and crashed down among a series of trees, cracking branches and crushing leaves through his fall. Upon hitting the ground with a loud thud, the heavy rain from above poured on his prone body. All while within his head, those same images played over and over. What was happening?! Why was he seeing all this!? Who were these people and what did they have to do with him!?
As a couple of curious animals poked their heads out to see what had caused that great noise, they quickly scattered upon another figure approaching Black's body. Dressed in an angelic white cloak which contrasted heavily with Black's own clothes, he knelt down and placing his hand atop Black's back, a white glow ebbed around Black's person and soon he snapped up, his face as pale as a ghost's own and a horrible headache plaguing him.
"You're certainly a tough one. Most take days to wake up, some don't wake up at all-"The cloaked man commented before Black rose to his feet and gripping him by the collar slammed him against the nearby tree. "You, are you responsible for this? Responsible for those visions and this pain I'm suffering? Answer and I may spare your worthless life…"
"I may have had a hand in guiding you here. But beyond that, the problems plaguing you are not ones for me to solve. Chalk it up to your willpower that I was able to wake you up as easily as I did." Noting Black's tight grip upon him, the man stared down Black clearly unafraid. "Do what you will but if you kill me, your death will soon follow." "Is that a threat?" Black growled, as he held his free hand out and began to charge up a black energy sphere. "I could level this entire forest if I so desired and you along with it. If you can stop me, I'd love to know how."
"I won't be the one stopping you. The pain you're going through will. It will continue to grow worse until your body gives out from the pain and you simply die. It's as simple as that. Now, if you're through trying to intimidate me.." Much to Black's surprise, the man was easily able to remove Black's hand and shove him back. Angered by the show of resistance and confusion at the power disparity, Black scoffed. "Consider yourself lucky that I gave you a warning." The blast fired, sure, but it wasn't nearly as powerful as Black had intended it to be. The only thing that was leveled was a tree or two. Which was still plenty powerful in it's own right but the look of horror upon Black's face showed that it wasn't close to what he had meant to dish out.
"What have you DONE?"
"As I've said, I've merely helped bring you here. The rest is out of my hands. But I can help you if you'd simply listen." The man explained while straightening out where Black had ruffled up his cloak by grabbing it so roughly. As his mood at the moment consisted of frustrated due to the immense pain this headache was giving him, confusion at just what was going on with his power, and just general bewilderment, he'd relent…for now. "Fine then, tell me. Who are you and where am I?" Black asked, a simple question to start things off. Though it clear that even with the various problems afflicting him, he still had no desire to be trifled with. Folding his arms across his chest, the man spoke bluntly.
"You are in the Bengal region, near India. As for who I am? You may call me Zasalamel." He clarified with a light shining from his golden right eye. Having never heard of a Bengal or India, Black simply chalked it up to this being a different universe. Still didn't explain the situation with his power but he'd soon learn more. Whether this 'Zasalamel' was willing to cooperate further or not. "Now, I've done my part. Who are you?"
"…."
The question was a tough one. For while he looked like Goku, enjoyed a good fight like Goku, he most certainly was not the same person as the Earth and even the galaxy at large's hero. Behind the outward Saiyan appearance was the soul of a wicked deity known simply as Zamasu, the Supreme Kai in training of Universe 10. Which only made his anger here understandable, if only from his holier than thou point of view.
Who was this Zasalamel to speak to him in such a manner and how much did he truly know about what had just happened? Bottling up his anger and frustration to save for future use, a devilish grin spread across Black's face as he settled on an answer. If this was simply another universe then no doubt his escapades would reach the real Goku's ears in due time.
"You may call me Son Goku."
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Apologies for a good chunk of it basically being a recap of the first fight/meet up of Goku Black and our Goku. But I wanted to help set the stage for how Black ended up where he did. Which by the by does connect with the story we're presented in Libra of Souls (even if personally I feel it could have been a lot better had the game been given a bigger budget but who's to say)Black and Trunks's tampering with time certainly messed a great deal of things up.
Due to Black's destruction of the time machine, Trunks is currently stuck in the 'main' Dragonball timeline. In the series, he doesn't stay there for too long however. Instead choosing to use his time to hang out with Gohan and see his family and train some more with Vegeta. Only for Bulma to reveal that she kept the time machine Cell used to get here back in the Cell Saga in Z. I figured I'd keep him here a touch longer so as to help 'beef' him up more when he DOES face Black again. So stay tuned for updates with Trunks!
As for Black, yep, if you're a sub fan then you already knew the twist and same if you watched the dub on Toonami. Personally, I found out the twist through watching clips of the English dub on youtube and THEN went and watched the full episodes both sub and dub to get a good understanding of everything.
I feel that Black although he talks about hating mortals and wanting to punish/exterminate them, he's the one who got so obsessed with a mortal(Goku) he stole his body and claimed he WAS him(if only just to fuck with Trunks.) and that's also why he's as mad as he is. Even before he became Goku Black, he was a GOD as Zamasu and now through means he doesn't quite understand or full comprehend yet, his powers have been lowered(outside of the story it's to help better balance him because it'd be a boring story if he just exterminates the entire SC verse but I'll explain it more indepth in the upcoming chapters)
Also for fans of the DBSuper manga, I hope you'll read this too obviously but you might be disappointed when I say I wasn't too fond of how the manga treated Goku Black. Apart from feeling rushed in general, I felt Goku Black in there wasn't nearly as much of a threat he was in the anime. In the anime both SSJBlue Vegeta AND Goku are no match for him at first when he goes SSJR and so it's disappointing to see him practically whine up a storm when Vegeta beats him up in the manga to whereas in the anime he's confident even after Vegeta beats him to a pulp. Sorry! I take the anime's side on this!
If you have any characters, you'd like to see show up in this then let me know! I'd be glad to work in a cameo or scene for anybody! Happy reading! : )