DISCLAIMER: This story takes heavy inspiration from one of Daiku Theories Dbs's fanfictions on YouTube. I wanted to flesh out the plot in my own way and make it less fanfictiony as well as complete it. So, in case this story seems familiar to you, that is why. I take no credit for the core themes and ideas. With that said, I hope you enjoy the beginning of this tale.
Chapter 1: Return of G
o - o - o
Goku sat upon a tree stump on Beerus's planet, gazing out over the lake. It was only a few days before Universe 7 would leave for the Tournament of Power but there was an itch in the back of his head. What if all this wasn't enough? After the Zeno Expo, he had been training hard with Vegeta in preparation for the upcoming tournament, but they had only been given two days and most of that time was being spent looking for fighters to join the Universe 7 team. It was bad.
A solemn look washed over Goku's face, his lips pursing in concern. He thought back to his fight with one of the Pride Troopers. Toppo was strong, having forced him to use Super Saiyan Blue and Kaio-ken, and worse yet, Goku could feel some hidden power that the Trooper was holding back. He was excited but also worried. If he was able to focus on it more during the fight, he would've been able to tell exactly what it was, but as of right now, it seemed to be some form of hidden god ki, and that was a hunch at best. For it to be enough to sense even though Toppo was suppressing it, surely it must be a strong power.
And supposedly, Jiren was even stronger than him.
Goku sighed. If they lost the tournament, there would only be 1 universe left instead of 12 and that was 12 down from the 18 originally, as Whis had informed them. It seemed Zeno had no qualms with destroying and wouldn't hesitate to destroy Universe 7 along with himself even though Goku had befriended the King of All. In a way, he was a lot like Frieza but even worse.
"Kakarot," a voice spoke up from next to Goku. "What's with that look on your face? Don't tell me you're actually worried. We're making good progress."
Goku turned to look in the direction of the voice. It was Vegeta. He had completely forgotten about the Saiyan Prince. They had been training together just now, doing a more intense version of their normal routine on Beerus's planet. Experience had taught them that weighted training was one of the best ways to train, and so, they were wearing the puffy, weighted suits that Whis had provided them with before.
"I am worried. I don't think this will be enough," Goku said.
"Well, that makes one of us. I'm not worried. I'm sure of my power. It seems all that time as an earthling has gotten rid of your Saiyan pride."
"This isn't about that. I'm serious, Vegeta! When I fought that Toppo guy, I could feel a hidden power inside him. I'm not sure what it was but it was there and it was strong. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought it was Destroyer ki. And he told me there was someone else even stronger than him in his universe: Jiren the Gray."
"Jiren, huh," Vegeta said. "Regardless, don't sell yourself short. We're a warrior race. We've defeated the likes of Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. And we'll do it again if we have to."
"No," Goku said firmly. "It's never been that easy. You've seen the monsters this universe can create firsthand, Vegeta. Who knows what else is out there in these other universes? I'm going to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."
Vegeta smirked. "Didn't you hear what Whis said? Time manipulation is against the rules: it could get our Universe disqualified. Besides, there are only a few hours left. What good is it going to do you now?"
"A lot. And I'm willing to take the chance. You don't know this, Vegeta, but when I was heading to Namek years ago, it took me six days to get there, and I trained the whole time to beat Frieza."
"If you say so," Vegeta said. "But I think it'd be better if you stayed here with me and perfected your technique against a real opponent. We could finally be on the verge of Ultra Instinct."
"I wish I could stay but I need to go. If anyone asks where I am, will you cover for me, Vegeta? Can I trust you with that?" Goku asked.
"Sure," Vegeta snorted. "But don't expect me to take flak for you for too long. Be back on time for the tournament."
Goku gave a wide smile and a thumbs up to the Saiyan Prince. "You got it, Vegeta. You know, when it comes down to it, you're really a good friend, you know that?"
"Hmph." Vegeta crossed his arms and spurned.
With that, Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and shut his eyes. Falling into a quick trance of meditation, he sensed a faint ki across the universe, and transmitted instantly to that location.
"Hey!" Goku shouted with a jolly wave. "Dende!"
The green Namekian and Mr. Popo were watering some plants in the courtyard of the Lookout when they heard the Saiyan's voice. Looking up, Dende saw that it was Goku. The one who had saved them from Frieza on planet Namek. He had a lot of respect for the Saiyan.
Mr. Popo gasped. "Goku!" he said, happily surprised.
"Hey, Mr. Popo! Long time no see!"
"Goku, what are you doing here?" Dende asked, surprised. "Shouldn't you be practicing for the Tournament of Power. If I'm not mistaken, there isn't much time left."
"I was but that's actually the reason why I came here. I've come to ask you for a favor."
"Oh," Dende said. "In that case, ask away. I am at your service."
"I need to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a little while and squeeze some more training in. You think I can hop in right now?"
"Sure!" Dende said. "Mr. Popo just finished restocking the Time Chamber with food since Vegeta got out a few weeks ago."
"Great!" Goku said as they started walking towards the Time Chamber door. "Do still I have to worry about staying in there for too long? I don't want to get trapped inside."
"No," Dende smiled. "When I rebuilt the Time Chamber, I made sure to get rid of that weakness. You can stay in there as long as you need to, assuming you don't run out of food, but Mr. Popo can take care of that by visiting you periodically with supplies."
Mr. Popo was walking just behind them, listening in on the conversation between the Saiyan and the Namekian. At that moment, Goku turned around to acknowledge Mr. Popo.
With a large smile, Goku said, "Well, I look forward to seeing you soon! Speaking of supplies, do you mind if I take a bag of Senzu Beans with me. Only if it isn't too much trouble."
"Of course, Goku. Just a moment, please. I'll go get those for you."
In short order, Mr. Popo returned, handing Goku the bag of Senzu Beans. He waved goodbye to Goku with Dende before shutting the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
That was the last they would ever see of the Saiyan.
Goku started training as soon as he was in. He spent the next few months in the Time Chamber increasing his base strength. Unfortunately, Ultra Instinct always seemed to be just out of reach; without a partner to spar against, the Time Chamber was only good for increasing his raw power level and not his battle IQ. Nevertheless, Goku improved exponentially in a short amount of time, beginning to finally master Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken x100 without it exhausting him, but only just beginning.
Meanwhile, in the real world, things were quickly starting to catch up with Vegeta.
"There's only an hour left before we have to leave for the Tournament of Power. Where's Goku, Vegeta? You were the last person with him!" Beerus interrogated.
"Don't worry. Before he left, he said something about going to King Kai's planet to work on some new fighting style. He's probably there," Vegeta said, doing his best to seem calm and nonchalant. "You should know, Kakarot was born a peasant on our planet and stayed the same on Earth. He wasn't raised knowing anything about formality or being punctual," Vegeta feigned one of his characteristic scoffs.
"Hmm," Beerus contemplated that thought. "I suppose you're right. When he gets back, I'm going to have a few choice words to say to him."
"Indeed," Whis replied, brows creased in suspicion. He eyed the bead of sweat running down Vegeta's face. The Saiyan's demeanor was saying one thing but his energy another. "I should've anticipated Goku would be this irresponsible. I'm sorry, my lord."
Vegeta cursed inwardly, noticing the angel's sneaking suspicion. Where is this clown? he thought to himself. Doesn't he know he should've been here by now? He's really pushing it, damn it!
Little did Vegeta know that everything that could've gone wrong had gone wrong for Goku. In fact, Goku was nearly about to leave the Hyperbolic Time Chamber just in time for the tournament but had decided to test his power with one final demonstration. To make sure he could fully control Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken x100, he began to power up to max, making sure to wring every last drop of ki out of his bones. The very ground of the Chamber began to shake and groan as Goku let out a steady yell and powered up. Pulling his hands into his side, he shifted his feet into a firm stance and began to charge up his most powerful and signature attack, the Kamehameha, intending to throw the attack like a boomerang and then catch it again as proof that he could not only dish out this power but also control it himself. But something went wrong. Curving around with such power, the beam of energy which he had compressed into a fast-moving power ball had picked up so much speed and momentum that it took Goku by surprise and slipped right through his fingers, colliding right into the entrance to the chamber which had been behind him the whole time!
"No!" Goku shouted, instinctively reaching with his hand towards the Chamber. But he could do nothing at this point.
Goku went to see what happened. The damage was extensive, not that it would've mattered if it wasn't anyway. He didn't know anything about fixing Hyperbolic Time Chambers or fixing anything for that matter except for maybe farm equipment which was a new skill. There wasn't even anything in here to fix things with—just empty space!
Goku planted his hands on his head in alarm. "What have I done?!" he cried out, eyes wide as dinner plates. "What do I do? I won't be able to get out of this place now! It's impossible!"
Trying to think fast, Goku placed his two fingers on his forehead again and searched earnestly for any vestigial energies. Maybe Instant Transmission could get him out of this. Come on! Come on! he implored himself. He searched and searched and searched. And after a moment...
Nothing.
No, no, no! This can't be happening! he thought.
Goku mentally punched himself. All he could think about was missing the Tournament of Power and failing his Universe. They were going to get destroyed and he could do nothing about it. All he could hope for was that maybe Dende would figure out something is wrong and come looking for him in time. What Goku didn't realize is that Dende had already noticed something was wrong as soon as the entrance was destroyed because the entire structure in the real world had blown up as well when the sheer power of the attack was transferred through the door! Luckily, the damage wasn't enough to take down the Lookout but it shook the whole platform and got the attention of both Mr. Popo and Dende immediately.
Realizing what had happened, Dende and Mr. Popo ran to the site of the rubble to see if the dimension had still managed to spit Goku out like it had when Vegeta destroyed the Chamber but to no avail. Goku was nowhere to be found in the crater of destruction.
"Oh, no!" Mr. Popo said. "Goku's still trapped in there!"
Dende's face crumpled. With the only entrance to the dimension destroyed and him still stuck in there, there was very little chance of retrieving Goku at all, let alone in time for the tournament. Even if Dende could repair the entire Time Chamber within small amount of time he had before the Tournament of Power started, there was no guarantee this new Chamber would connect to the same one Goku is in. There were thousands, if not millions or billions of different dimensions. Who's to say they were going to get the right one on the first try?
"Mr. Popo..." Dende spoke up, utter shock lining the seams of his words.
"Yes, Dende..." he replied.
"I fear... Goku may be on his own now. I'm not sure there's much we can do for him."
"What about the Dragon Balls?" Mr. Popo asked.
"I thought about that but Goku is physically lost," Dende said. "If we had the Super Dragon Balls, maybe Super Shenron could locate the dimension Goku is in, but the Grand Priest has gathered them as the Tournament of Power's prize. Regular Shenron is limited to this Universe and won't be able to find his body. I'm afraid we won't be able to wish him back to our location in time. Still, his soul should be tied to this Universe. The best we can do for him right now is wish for his immortality so he doesn't die from starvation and hope to get him back at some point."
"I see..." Mr. Popo said glumly. "What do you want to do then? Should I go get the Dragon Balls?"
"Please, Mr. Popo. And hurry," Dende urged. "I will go inform everyone else of what happened."
While all this was happening, back at Capsule Corporation, Vegeta had found himself in even deeper hot water. All of Universe 7 had gathered and they were awaiting departure—Gohan, Krillin, Tien, Master Roshi, Android 17, 18, the Kais, and all the others.
"Vegeta!" Beerus shouted, teeth grinding, "Where the hell is Goku!? Did you lie to me? We have to leave now! We can't postpone this any longer or we'll be disqualified for tardiness. Tell me what's going on before I destroy you on the spot!"
"I saw the sweat on your face earlier, Vegeta. We know you're lying," Whis reminded him.
That damn angel, Vegeta thought. He's perceptive.
"All right, all right, calm down!" Vegeta relented, pressing the air down with his palms. "I know what happened to Kakarot. He didn't go to train with King Kai. He went to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train."
"What?!" Beerus spat out the fruit punch he was sipping on. "What does that idiot think he's doing? If the Grand Priest finds out what he's done, we'll be disqualified for cheating."
"That fool," Piccolo said, arms crossed and smoldering gaze solemn. "And we don't have any fighters to replace Goku either. He was one of the cornerstones of our team. It's going to cost us our existence if he doesn't get back or if he gets caught. Maybe both."
"Cut him some slack," Vegeta said, defending his Saiyan kin. If anyone could understand the desire to come out on top, it was Vegeta. A long time ago, he remembered taking the mark of Majin, having sought the power to defeat his rival Goku—a form of cheating and something that was completely out of character for him given his pride. That wasn't his finest hour, but if anything, this had taught Vegeta that they were more similar than he realized despite being from different bloodlines. They would both defend what mattered to them at any cost and what mattered to Goku was Earth and the Universe it belonged to. He would do anything to protect that. "He wasn't entirely out of line," Vegeta continued. "I hate to say it, but if we're going to lose anyway and our Universe gets destroyed because the other fighters were too strong, then what's the point in not cheating? Now that I think about it, Kakarot was smart to go. He mentioned that fighter from the Exhibition, Toppo, having God of Destruction ki and someone else, Jiren the Gray, being even stronger too."
"Jiren the Gray," Beerus said. "Didn't you mention him before, Whis?"
Whis nodded. "I did, my Lord. He's currently Universe 11's strongest contender."
Pondering those words, Beerus's anger seemed to die down somewhat. "That's an interesting way to put it, Vegeta. You may have a point. Either way, we'll have to-"
"Everyone!" a voice in the distance shouted. "Something terrible has happened!"
Just then, Dende appeared, having rocketed to Bulma's place at max speed, and he looked pretty tired, not being an athlete by trade.
"Huh? It's Dende!" Krillin shouted.
Beerus pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stifle his anger as a vein popped on his forehead. "Oh, good, someone with something new to say. What is it this time, Namekian?"
"Goku is trapped inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! He can't get out!" Dende yelled.
"Are you serious? How the heck did that happen?" Gohan blurted out.
"Kakarot's trapped?!" Vegeta exclaimed.
"I don't know exactly how it happened but the entrance to the Chamber was destroyed so it must've been some kind of blast. I think Goku may have gotten careless while training in there," Dende said.
Beerus clenched his fist. "This is unbelievable. That idiot is going to get us all killed. This tournament is his fault and now he was clumsy enough to not be able to show up! I'm going to kill him!"
Piccolo shook his head. "This was the worst possible outcome any of us could've hoped for. Gohan..." Piccolo turned to look at his pupil. He had been almost like a second father to the boy and they had been training together intensely recently. Their eyes met in a tense acceptance of the current situation. "We're going to have to carry on this one."
"I know," Gohan said. "I'll pick up dad's torch. Hopefully, things will turn out better than the Cell Games."
"That's what I'm counting on," Piccolo said.
"Whatever. There's no time to figure this out," Beerus interjected. "We can worry about Goku later. We have to leave now if we're still to have a chance."
"Shall we go, my lord?" Whis asked.
Beerus sighed. "Yes, Whis, I think it's time," he replied.
"Everyone clasp hands!" Whis said.
And so they left. With no other choice but to leave Goku on his own, the Tournament of Power would culminate in Universe 7 surviving to fight Universe 11 by Gohan and Vegeta's hands, and they would ultimately lose. Without Ultra Instinct, Gohan and Vegeta's power was no match for Jiren, and it was a decisive victory for the gray alien.
Their universe... was destroyed.
All the while, Goku survived, quietly tucked away and immortal in the pocket dimension he had trapped himself in with no way out in sight and no end either. He thought his lack of food would've eventually spelled his demise but all it meant was that he had nothing positive to look forward to anymore after his training sessions and that was merely one bullet point on an already small list of good things left for him, if anything at all really. What he did know for sure was that he was immortal now but he didn't know how. All he knew was that for some reason, he wasn't able to die anymore. He couldn't even age, forever stuck in his Saiyan prime of life.
After many years of thinking about it, Goku was certain someone must've used the Dragon Balls on him. Probably Dende since he was the only other person aware besides Vegeta and he was also the keeper of the Dragon Balls too. The fact that no one had come to get him, not even Bulma with her great mind—surely she could figure out a fancy machine to locate him like she had for the Dragon Balls—meant that his Universe must've gotten erased from existence. Except for maybe Whis, that meant there was no longer anyone who knew he was here. No one who knew he even existed.
The realization of these terrible truths bore long and heavy on Goku's mind. Worse yet, he had the rest of eternity to contemplate them. It drove him insane. Day in, day out, training was the only thing that could take his mind off his current condition, and he could at least pretend he would eventually go back when he was focusing on training. But the anger was too much. He began to boil and seethe in it, diving further into his vicious thoughts. So much time. This was the most thinking Goku had ever done. He began to change—to get smarter, colder, meaner, and more like Vegeta—with every day that went by. He began to feel the same rage towards the King of All and the angels that Vegeta had felt towards Frieza. In that very moment, Goku understood the pride of his fellow Saiyan.
All this was speculative but Goku was confident. At the very least, time had given him that confidence. So, what did his current situation mean then with Whis being the last one left? Goku knew that angels were exempt from the consequences of the tournament. Moreover, the angel's silly penchant for good food could fool someone, but when it came down to it, Whis had always seemed to take life and his occupation very seriously and probably wouldn't be too welcoming to the idea of Goku still existing considering that Universe 7 was condemned to erasure and that technically included him even though he was still alive unintentionally. Although subservient, angels were not below the Gods of Destruction nor the Universes. The angels each served their assigned God of Destruction and Universe dutifully and weren't supposed to get attached to them. With all this in mind, if Whis hadn't come to get him, that meant he either presumed him to be dead or figured he wasn't worth the trouble of finding to finish the job. The betrayal of the latter was putrefying to think about.
It would be many millenia before Goku could stem some of his deep loneliness. Overtime, in the silence of the Chamber, Goku figured out how to use Image Training on himself by projecting battle memories of opponents he had faced onto his mental space. And although he could not do it in real life because there was no one to do it with, he frequently sparred in his head with imaginary opponents and even copies of his own person, ironing out any weaknesses he saw in his techniques, and yes, talking with his opponents as well. In many ways, it was more efficient than real training because he couldn't actually get hurt and could skip the recovery phase, not that efficiency mattered much in a place where time and space itself never ended. It was also better than nothing at all and here in a world where there was literally nothing—there was a lot to be said for that.
Going forward, Goku knew he would have to get creative if he was going to maintain some semblance of sanity and of his former self. With immortality, he decided it would be a good idea to reach his max power potential. For thousands of years he trained, losing track of time and no longer remembering how many days it had been since he first entered. When he got bored, sometimes he would walk over to the pile of rubble where the entrance to the Chamber used to be and play with the pieces like a child plays with blocks. Maybe, just maybe, if he slammed the pieces together hard enough or in just the right way, they would stick together and he could rebuild the place.
It never happened, of course, but that didn't stop him from trying.
Centuries would pass and Goku would grow to have an immense power, far beyond what he could ever have realistically conceived in his normal lifespan. He did the unthinkable, expanding Super Saiyan Blue into SSB2 and SSB3, the Super Saiyan God equivalents to the regular Super Saiyan forms but with blue hair instead of yellow. But there was something that laid beyond even Super Saiyan God. Super Saiyan God was merely the second tier to the entire envelope of transformations available to a Saiyan. In a way, this made sense to Goku: there were three transformations per phase and three phases in total. The Saiyan body seemed to love the number three. And the third tier was something beyond his wildest imaginations.
Super Saiyan Silver.
SSS.
Or as Goku sometimes liked to call it, Super Saiyan Infinite—because this power was one that no mortal could ever manage to achieve in their lifetime. Only eternity had made such a feat possible.
The power of this phase was unimaginable. It was so strong that the hair of the Saiyan could no longer reflect color and became silvery white with a deathly sheen. The ki was white as well, the only remnant of color left remaining in the eyes—red—as a sign that it was a further evolution of the original Super Saiyan God form. Even Goku's attacks, as a result of using such concentrated and pure energy, became white in this phase too. And best of all, there was something about the form that allowed Goku to regenerate his lost tail. Using an artificial moon, Goku was able to access the Great Ape transformation on top of the regular three. Although he couldn't control himself in that form, it was of no concern. There was no one to hurt in this place and Goku could truly go all out like never before and he would eventually come to dominate even such an unruly and wild form as the Great Ape transformation which was the pinnacle of all. This new phase, SSS, seemed to have traces of that pinnacle in SSS1, SSS2, and SSS3, making Goku look like some kind of monkey king in all those prior forms with hair on the arms, torso, and even in other unmentionable regions.
The excitement kept Goku sane, and to some degree, momentarily happy, however, time was a long lost concept. What did that word even mean anymore? There was no such thing as time, just existence now. Goku had grown so repulsed to the concept. The only thing keeping him going and alive was his burning desire for vengeance.
At this point, Goku felt that his base form had completely surpassed that of Whis's. The weight of the Chamber had also grown unbearable on Goku's mind. He might've had an immortal body but he had the soul of a mortal nonetheless, and that limited soul was being consumed and sucked out by the torment of an eternal existence. The soul and the body could never come to terms with each other. Thinking back, Goku remembered that he was only 43 years old when he had first entered the Chamber. Most of the memories in-between were cloudy. Many years had past but he couldn't in any way quantify or even approximate it after the first one-thousand. 99% of his recollection now consisted of being in the Chamber but in all that time, even though his emotions had withered, he had never forgotten what Zeno had done to him or his Universe.
Goku thought heavily on all of the heavenly beings, including the King of All. He thought of Whis whom he was particularly angry at for caring about nothing other than a silly trifle like food over the lives of people. "You, your angels, and your stupid need for amusement. You killed all my loved ones and the Universes without mercy. All those lives, just deleted out of existence over nothing more than a game. When I leave this place, I'll finally kill you, Zeno, and all your angels too. But I have to reach my max power first to make sure that happens."
Chi-Chi...
Gohan...
Goten...
The only feeling Goku had felt all these years was that of resentment, those names giving him further strength. He trained even harder, no longer able to gain access to new forms, but still able to increase his base power level and endurance until he could use all his forms with perfect stamina and zero fatigue. With centuries of practice, Super Saiyan Silver became as natural to him as breathing. The power was immeasurable. With no end in sight, Goku finally passed the million-year mark, unbeknownst to him. In all that time he had developed all sorts of new techniques and reached his physical peak long ago. There were no more limits to surpass now. He had reached the limit. Once and for all.
At last, Goku began to break mentally. This was it. He was being held up by crumbling pillars but this was the last straw for his sanity. To the ravages of time he had lost even the benefit of seeing progress. Change. The only thing that told him he was still here and making it. That he was still alive somewhere. There was absolutely no change anymore. Nothing new to do or see. No new heights to ascend to. Just him.
Just himself.
And that drove him crazy. What good was all this power if he was never going to use it? Goku lashed out his long tail in Super Saiyan Silver 3 and screamed in pain, feeling such an intense hatred for Zeno it seemed to distort the very fabric of the dimension itself. Noticing this, Goku screamed even louder, watching the space in front of him ripple. He tried again and again, a sliver of hope surfacing, but quickly realized it was in vain. Even with millennia of training and his physical peak, the fabric of this dimension was not something to break through because technically it wasn't fabric at all and couldn't be broken. It was nothing but a pocket dimension beyond real time and real space—that's why it was infinite in the first place. How could something like that ever be broken?
The Saiyan finally fell to his knees, defeated, not by a warrior as he had anticipated in the beginning of his life, but by existence itself. He never thought that of all things, it would've come to this. "Someone? Anyone? Please!" Goku cried, his teeth flashing with an immense grimace. He wanted to die. "Hear me! I'll do anything!"
And yet, that final, utter scream of pure despair and desperation was enough. His power level had been just enough for someone, somewhere, in an unknown place, to somehow hear him. His voice may not have been able to break the dimension but it did manage to go through it.
Just barely.
"Anything, you say?" a smooth, fiercely feminine voice spoke back.
What? Goku exclaimed in a thought to himself, frantically looking around like a deer. Had he imagined that? For a second, he thought he had heard a voice.
Curious, the entity wondered to herself as well. Whose voice is this? she thought. Is that a Saiyan? And one with overwhelming power, I can sense. This mortal could be of great use to me.
"H-hello?" Goku repeated, although this time with a much smaller, sheepish volume.
"I hear you, mortal," the voice said again.
All of a sudden, there was a big flash of light, like the sun, that illuminated the place, blinding Goku. When Goku blinked, a tall, voluptuous woman—no, a female angel—had materialized in front of him. She nearly matched Goku in stature in his SSS3 form which was already very tall to begin with. She certainly looked like an angel if the height, porcelain blue skin, and white hair was any indication, however, there were some differences. Her attire was unusual. Rather than the typical formal angel attire of robes, an overcoat, and a sash, she wore a deep blue skirt that tapered down into a split falling between the legs. A long set of matching blue boots ran up to her thighs. Moreover, the halo wasn't around the neck as with regular angels but around her head like the Grand Priest—perhaps an indication of status? If that was the case, then how had Goku never heard of her before leading up to the Tournament of Power? Not only this, but her eyes were a deep, candy pink, bordering on red that captured Goku like a bee to honey. He hadn't seen a woman's form in ages and only now was he so abruptly reminded of this fact as her pretty face and wide hips captivated him. In a way, she reminded him a lot of Whis's older sister, Vados, except this one was even more fierce in both beauty and demeanor. And more cleavage too.
All this considered, Goku wasn't so sure exactly what to say.
"Ah, h-hi..." he said awkwardly, a grin—and for the first time, happiness— flashing across his face. His eyes couldn't help but notice the thickness of her body, only thin in all the right places. Not letting his mind trail down that road, Goku quickly gathered himself, focusing on addressing the matter at hand. "Um, my name's Goku. Son Goku. But who are you? What are you doing in this place?"
The angel smiled devilishly, twirling her orb staff behind her back. "You can call me Cogna. I heard you say you'd do anything to get out of this place. So here I am. Are you surprised?"
Goku scratched his head, reverting back to his base form where Cogna towered over him like an Amazon. "Yeah, in a good way, but... what do you mean? You'll really help me get out?"
"That's right—that's what I said. But like you said," she reminded him, putting great emphasis on his utterance, "you'll have to do as I say."
"I promise I'll do whatever you want, but please, just get me out of here."
"I see," Cogna said, elegantly leaning back into an imaginary floating chair. Running a finger down her pink lipstick, she considered the Saiyan intensely with conniving eyes and saw clearly the opportunity in front of her, ripe for the taking. "But from now on, you'll obey all my orders like a good monkey. Okay?"
"Okay," Goku nodded.
"Good."
"Say, since you're here, I don't remember seeing you at the Zeno Expo. Jeez, that was so long ago. It feels like forever."
"The Zeno Expo? You aren't talking about the Tournament of Power, are you?" Cogna said, a sassy, puzzled hand splaying outwards.
"I am. Why?" Goku asked, spying her fine, pink nail polish.
"Where are you from, Goku?" Cogna asked. "You're a Saiyan, so... Planet Vegeta?"
"Technically, yeah, but really I consider myself more of an earthling than I do a Saiyan. Earth is my home."
"Ah, Earth," Cogna said as she peered into the orb on her staff, searching out the matter. "By that measure, the Tournament of Power was over 2000 Earth years ago. Curious. It bewilders me how you weren't destroyed along with your Universe."
Goku's lips parted in pure shock and horror. "Are you kidding me? 2000 years ago? But every day on Earth is like 1 year here."
"Oh. So you've been in this place for a million years then?" Cogna inquired.
Goku clutched his hair, feeling the shock and horror dissipate into existential dread. He quivered and let out a huff of pure grief from his lips. "A million years, how could I, how could...?" he muttered in confusion. "I can't... That's how long it's been?"
"I believe so. Based off what you just told me," Cogna said, pondering for a moment as she tugged at the gold metal choker adorning her neck. "And not by choice, I presume."
"No..." Goku wiped his face with his hands, dragging it down glumly. "I survived because I've been stuck here in this stupid pocket dimension this whole time. Please tell me Universe 7 still exists."
"Unfortunately not," Cogna remarked. "It was destroyed along with all the other universes following the Tournament of Power. Only Universe 11 remained afterwards with Jiren the Gray as their champion, so that's all there is now."
"But the wish. There was a wish!" Goku pointed out. "The Super Dragon Balls were supposed to be the prize. Jiren didn't wish for all the Universes to come back?"
"No," Cogna said.
"Why? What did he wish for then? Tell me!"
"As a matter of fact, he wished for his village to be restored."
"His village?"
"Indeed," Cogna said. Tipping her staff forwards, she showed Goku what that wish meant by revealing Jiren's past to him. His life as a boy, the death of his parents and destruction of his village, all of this and more was shown to Goku, enlightening him.
There was some modicum of sympathy from Goku's former self—those long lost emotions. He couldn't truly say that if it came down to his loved ones and the universe that he would ever choose the universe. Jiren made the right choice. Still, it did nothing to get rid of the resentment that Goku felt. Goku hid his face in his arm. He couldn't believe this. Billions dead over Zeno's amusement and one bad wish. It infuriated him to the core, but after a million years, there wasn't much anger left to add and not much he could do about it from here. His main bone to pick was with Zeno. Not Jiren. Jiren was for the Tournament of Power and that time had passed. With how long Goku had been alive, the gray alien probably wouldn't present much of a challenge anyway.
Goku turned his head aside and shut his eyes tight in a teary grimace. "Take me out of here, Cogna. Take me to the only Universe that's left."
"As you wish, Son Goku," she said, clasping him on the wrist.
Goku... the Saiyan thought. It'd been forever since he'd heard that name. In fact, he'd almost forgotten it.
But now, he was about to put it back on the map.
A/N: Just a fair warning, I have a bad habit of not finishing fics. Sorry. I like to get my ideas out there at the very least so that they don't disappear if I forget, but I will try and finish this. No promises, however.