Dragon Ball — Hardcore

by Royal-Harmonica

A rewrite of dragon ball, where death is permanent. The dragon balls can't revive anyone, and the story will change drastically as result in order to accomodate that one rule. I also made up a lot of trashy head canon. If you like the original cast of dragon ball, this is the story for you. Made mostly in 2013, finished the last bits in 2023.

7. The Cell Saga, pt 1

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DRAGON BALL HARDCORE

THE CELL SAGA, part 1

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Well, perhaps not all things happen so smoothly as everyone had hoped. They all waited for Goku to come back to them, but he never did. Weeks, then months, and now a year. He missed Gohan's birthday, and Chi-chi would spend time to time crying, thinking that Goku probably found a better wife out there in space and would never come back for them. If only she realized she was too rigorous earlier.

But what seemed to be just another day of studying, or relaxing, or training, suddenly turned to internal chaos. Pretty much at the same time, all the Z-warriors felt a powerful energy entering within their solar system. It was really far, but they had no doubt about it. It was Frieza. And that got them moving.

The normal people only watched as their god-like friends got into a frenzy. It was morning when Yamcha jumped out of bed, scaring Bulma. He jumped around their room at the speed of sound, and reappeared in his orange gi. He told Bulma to stay there where it's safe, which prompted her to do the exact opposite, and then he jumped out the window and blasted off.

Back in mount Paozu, Gohan was putting up his purple gi while trying to explain to his overbearing mother that he's about to go fight an alien god, in the most ignorant way possible so as to not make her worry. And so he flies away.

At kame house, Tien was putting on his new green gi that Launch made him when he got a call from Yamcha; flying through the world with his cellphone. He asks Tien, "are you feeling it too or I just went crazy?!"

But it was true. It was the exact same ki signature that Frieza had. They still had no hope of fighting back against it, but now that they're on Earth they can fight to the best of their knowledge. Tien had a plan.

…

And so the few remaining warriors of Earth gather where they predicted that Frieza's ship would stop; some empty mountain lands to their luck. Yamcha and Gohan arrived first, and soon came Piccolo. After Piccolo, came Dende, with a bag of Senzu Beans that he got from Korin and Kami's staff. As new guardian of Earth, the others were under the impression that he would have to remain in the lookout; incapable of intervening directly. But at the end of the day, all those rules were just useless; they weren't made with a situation like this in mind. Dende had no problem breaking the rules for once; it's not like Popo is gonna fire his own boss, and he even seemed pleased when Dende decided to go. He was gonna help as much as he possibly could.

Tien arrived a little late compared to the rest of them, but he had a surprise. Before leaving, he asked Launch where old master Roshi got the seal tag from; the one they used to trap King Piccolo? That took him all the way to Baba's palace. After emptying his savings he managed to buy one magic seal, and now appeared to the others with an air fryer in hand. As a last resort he planned to use the Mafuba to trap this enemy, since they didn't have the power to defeat him in battle.

Piccolo immediately snapped at him, saying that using the Mafuba against such opponent was basically suicide for him. He couldn't survive the pressure or doing so, and so Piccolo volunteered to do it instead, as he also knew how to execute the technique. They just needed to catch him with his guard down. Gohan, Tien and Yamcha are going to attack him directly, while Piccolo prepares to do the trick; Dende stays behind in case things go south.

But while they were in the middle of their epic plan of death battle, someone entered the area. They didn't realize he was there until he was right in front of them. He simply said, awkwardly, "That plan is awesome. It should absolutely work!"

They all turn at the same time to see a young man, probably sixteen or so by his height. He had shoulder-length black hair, a scar from his cheek to his nose, wearing a yellow beanie, and a blackish trench coat that went all the way down through his gray pants and boots. He was standing there, smiling with his hands on his hips, and they had no idea who this was. Piccolo noticed that he had a weirdly powerful energy. It was weird because he never felt it before, and that's impossible. If there was someone on Earth this powerful, to the point he would've overpowered Vegeta when he came here, then how come they never felt it ever before?

In a moment of awkward and silent shock, Piccolo breaks the silence by screaming to this new boy for him to lower his energy level, or else they'll find them as soon as they land. The boy suddenly scoffs at himself, apparently he forgot about that, or so he said. Tien and Yamcha try to at least ask who this boy is, but he just acts mysteriously and ignores their questions. He simply states that he can't say why he's there yet, but he'll try to help. Whatever it is that they are gonna do, just do that.

And so, he walks away without saying anything else. They were confused, and had far too many questions now, but before they could even follow him, Dende spotted the ship into the atmosphere. "They arrived."

The giant ship appeared there, and was followed by a dozen other ships of the same size. They all collectively landed, but the main ship didn't open; not until there was a full scout of the landing zone by the soldiers of the other ships. The Z-warriors hid away and waited for the perfect moment to strike. Finally, the place was secured, and the soldiers got into formation. They stood in their line as the main ship opened the hatch entrance.

…

That energy that they felt wasn't Frieza. It was pure evil and strong like him, but it didn't belong to the same man. This person that now arrived, looked like Frieza, but it had a few differences. For once, that huge power was him, but just in his second form as far as they know. Frieza had purple bits over his body, but this man had black ones. The Z-warriors didn't have to figure it out for themselves, as soon the soldiers shouted, "All hail King Cold!"

KING?!

They couldn't believe it, but it actually makes a bit of sense. Frieza should have a father before him that ruled the galaxies, but they didn't expect him to be still alive; not with a son so conniving and twisted as Frieza. They all watched carefully as he began to speak.

"So this funny-looking rock is planet E-Arth?" he said to his little yellow alien counselor wearing a gown, Kikono. He saw it as an extremely poor planet; never in his life had he seen so much space being wasted by nature while they could've easily fit a couple hundred lodging sites for workers here, as well as some high-tech factories. Maybe if they knew that, this planet would've gone farther than its moon.

He looked around, trying to get a feeling for this place, but the blue sky was already getting on his nerves; and those white things just randomly scattered around it just bothered him. He asked, "Is this really the place where this Super Saiyan lives?"

Cold came to this planet specifically to meet the Super Saiyan, but since he didn't show up, he would have to drag him out. He ordered his couple dozen soldiers with powers up to 20.000 to go around and cause as much destruction as they could and report back here in five minutes. They bowed and blasted off.

The king decided to go sit back at his throne for a while and wait for a response, but the earth forces replied instantly. As soon as he turned his back, the entire squad that he just sent away got smashed and sent back to the ground, forming craters on the impact. One of them even blasted straight through the wall of his ship. With a deep sign and a pull of his cape, he turns around and now sees the Z-warriors slowly descend from the air, landing to face him. A boy, a handsome gentleman, a bald triclops, and also one of those Namekians that he heard all year. They all look mean and serious; straight to the point, huh.

Strangely, Cold greets his new hosts with such courtesy that it weirds them out. If he was to guess, they should be those "friends" that were reported working along the Super Saiyan back on the now-gone planet Namek. He politely requests them to bring their Saiyan friend there at once; they have important matters to discuss.

Yamcha steps it up and tells Cold how it is. Goku isn't around; he never came back after Namek was destroyed. But they will gladly whoop his ass if that's what he came here for. Cold didn't quite get this earthly term, but he understood that they were mocking him. So he decided to use his scouter to see how much they can boast.

2.000.000 for the kid; 2.300.000 for the pretty boy and 2.800.000 to his three-eyed friend. Now that was funny, to think they could even lay a finger on his son. Too bad the Namekian had 42.000.000; he was about to make a joke, but his high power kind of ruined it. He had to watch out for that one.

Well, now he knew that none of them could ever dare to pose a threat, but he was kind of enjoying their blind arrogance, so he decided to entertain this conversation.

"Do you know why I'm here, earthling?" Cold asked, "I'm here because someone ruined my only method of entertainment."

Cold then proceeded to explain to the Z-warriors about this old game that his family has been playing for three generations now. You see, Cold had been taking over planets for over a thousand years now, and he got so good at it to the point it became automatic. The thing that once was his legacy became tame and predictable. Everyone would immediately surrender as soon as they saw his flag landing on their grounds. He was getting old and bored, and it was time to pass on the mantle of King of the universe. And so he used clone technology to create two sons for himself, as females of his race had gone extinct with his mom's death. Those sons that he created were Cooler, and the little Frieza. He made sure to make them strong, but just below him so they could never pose a threat if they went rogue. He took good care and spoiled them rotten, and by the end of their childhood, when they finally completed 50 years of life, he set them off into the universe. He liberated all the planets that once belonged to him, and set out the mission for his sons to conquer all the planets back. The one who conquered all the planets to himself would win; simple.

For the next couple hundred years, he watched as his kids raised armies, destroyed planets, committed such astounding acts across the entire universe; and he loved every second of it. It was like watching two of the greatest players in the universe in a never-before-seen game of wits and power. And by the looks of it, little Frieza was going to beat his slightly-older brother. He couldn't bear to wait for what he'd read the next day of their war.

It was then that Yamcha interrupted him, asking how he could be so cruel. Didn't he understand what kind of terrible things they've done to all the innocent people?! Was he really okay letting both of his kids kill each other for his own amusement?!

Cold explained that it didn't bother him. He played in that game too, back when he was a youngling. When he started, his father could barely keep up ten planets under his control, but after a few hundred years of showing who's boss, Cold had more than 1000 of them obeying his every wish to the letter. Of course, he himself had to kill his younger brother to complete the game. "What was his name again? Well, it doesn't matter."

After telling his story, they might get why he is here. All of sudden, this miserable, worthless, preposterous little pipsqueak that they began calling Super Saiyan suddenly appeared and assassinated his son, and therefore broke the game. And with it, he managed to pose a threat to Cold's position with his rumors. Now King Cold was here to deliver that Saiyan the ultimate punishment for ruining the last hundred years of his life.

Yamcha was there, fuming with anger. All that destruction; all for his little game? Does he even have an idea of everyone they lost because of this stupid travesty?!

Cold simply replied with no remorse. "It doesn't matter if little bumps like you get killed. You people that live such short lives could never comprehend how truly worthless you are in the grand scheme of things. If only you knew when to kneel down and obey like the dog you are, than maybe those friends of yours that ended up dead could still be here with us today."

And that was it. That got Yamcha pumped the fuck up. He immediately activated his energy claws and dashed straight for Cold. Gohan and Tien yelled at him to watch out, and follow right behind. Yamcha wanted to make him eat those words at all costs. But everyone there knew that it was a reckless attack in every sense of the word.

But, something weird happened.

Someone who was not known for showing up at the right time, weirdly appeared in the battlefield at the best possible moment. And that person was their good old friend Goku.

…

With two fingers placed on his forehead, Goku simply appeared in front of Yamcha. They didn't feel him coming at all; it was like magic. The first thing he did was grab Yamcha by the shoulder and calm him down with his voice. Then he looked at Gohan, and took him for a big hug, saying that he missed him so much. He wasn't paying attention to Cold at all. Tien asked, "G-Goku?! Where did you come from?"

"From up there," Goku said, pointing towards the sky. From there they saw a Saiyan pod slowly fall from space, and crash land into the horizon. "By the way, nice seeing you, Tien. You got stronger, didn't you? I'm kind of itching for a quick scrap now; what do you think?"

Tien didn't know how to respond; he felt flattered, but seriously he reminded Goku that they were face to face with an evil enemy who came to kill them all. This was no time for catching up; he was trying his best to not sound rude. Goku knew it; he'll take care of it now. He told everyone to stand back, and with absolute trust in their friend, they did.

Cold looked him up and down, and noted that he didn't have a tail. Was he really a Saiyan? Goku confirmed, but becoming a big monkey isn't the thing that Cold should fear. First Goku wanted to thank Cold. If it wasn't for him he would never find his way back to Earth. But Goku didn't hold an inch of respect for Cold; he knows of what he did throughout his life; all the destruction he caused; he was as unforgivable and disgusting as his spawn.

"Parting down to insults, are we? Well then" Cold said, as he didn't want to waste any time talking to this worm. He'll see his power level and proceed from there. For now, he was imagining what kind of torture he can put this Saiyan through. He was a bit rusty with that sort of thing, though; it has been 200 years since his last personal execution.

…

But out of this whole situation; something of a terrible anomaly took place, and all the Z-warriors were witnesses. They all saw something move in the background; behind Cold. One of those boulders that were scattered around the field started shaking violently. And suddenly, the boulder puffed into colored smoke, and out of the smoke appeared that same strange boy from earlier. Goku looked at him with absolute confusion in his eyes, and before they could do anything, the boy shot a ki beam out of his finger, directly hitting King Cold in the face.

It did absolutely nothing, but his Scouter was destroyed. King Cold's face sank as he looked to the boy, and he immediately jumped away from Goku and Cold, and joined the other Z-warriors by the cliff. They were all just eyeing him, confused. Yamcha thought to himself, "Was that… Was that the Shape-shifting technique?!"

Cold rubbed off the black marks from his face and asked, "Is he another friend of yours?" to which Goku had absolutely no idea what to say, but did figure out it was an ally. It didn't matter right now. He wanted to return to his usual life and Cold was in the way.

He had something he wanted to show them now. It did take a good few months to keep it under control, but he finally managed to yield its power. Goku looked deep into his own mind, to his darkest suppressed memory, and from there he heard that scream, "GOKU, HELP ME!"

That memory triggered something; an energy that shot through his entire body. His muscles grew a little, his hair spiked up and took a bright blond color, and his eyes were emerald green. The legendary Super Saiyan appears before Cold, and he's not looking okay right now. The others were in pure shock and awe of this power that they feel right now, but Cold couldn't feel it at all. This monkey's hair color just changed; is that supposed to be impressive?

His physique barely changed, so his power increase must've been minor. His power level was a miserable 4.000.000 when he first looked; no silly transformation like that would put him on par with Cold, who is more than twenty times stronger than him. What problem could he cause-

…

Before Cold could even finish that thought, Goku had already struck his whole fist into Cold's stomach. Goku saw first hand what evil he has done and what power his race can access. He won't be holding back. And so began the King Cold wrecking marathon. For not even a second did Goku allow him to breathe while they fought. Every punch he threw was punished, and not a single ounce of strength was pulled back from Goku's attacks. He had no mercy. The Z-warriors were now terrified to get such a warm welcome from him just a minute ago, and now he was fighting like a true monster.

After five minutes, Cold was grasping for a moment to fight back. His remaining soldiers all looked terrified from their ship's windows, and they straight up decided to leave him behind. Cold began understanding why Frieza feared the Saiyans and their legend, but he then saw something to exploit. He asked if Goku would let him transform to his final form. He promised that it would give him a true fight instead of a boring beat down. Cold felt like those stupid Saiyans would buy anything for a good fight, and that would be his undoing.

But Goku reacted so monotonously. "Thanks for warning me you have another form. Now I know what I'm not gonna let you do," and so he proceeded to beat him across the land one more time, and finally he kicked him towards the skies. He went above and beyond with that strike, and only managed to hold himself when he was already in space.

He looked down at this disgusting blue ball of nothing. He never felt so humiliated. He had even forgotten how it felt to bleed. And now he was losing it. Much like Frieza, he had no answer to defeat other than pathetic struggle. And so he made one Death Ball; a really, really big one. It was as big as the moon, and all the Z-warriors saw it shine purple brighter than the sun. The black ball was then launched towards the Earth by Cold, with the intention of destroying it for good. The Z-warriors all witnessed the giant thing coming down at them. Goku suddenly appeared beside the group and only said, "Guys, I think I might need a little help with this one."

Together, they all prepared their attacks to fend off Cold's giant Death Ball. Goku prepared a Super Saiyan Kamehameha, along with Yamcha. Piccolo and Gohan charged their Masenko blasts, and Tien was gathering energy for his Shin Kikoho. Even that strange boy started making his own move. An attack that called Burning Attack. Finally, when the Death Ball was mere seconds from hitting earth, they all unleashed their techniques, and pretty much force the ball back towards Cold.

He watched there in a cold sweat as the ball bounced back, and was coming straight towards him. On his hubris, he thought he could send it back with his sheer power, but he was mistaken. In the end he was swallowed by his own Death Ball, and the entire world witnessed the best firework show of all time. It was safe to say that King Cold was no more. You cannot imagine the shock of his troops who just witnessed a millennium-long tyrant, who has been their iron-fist ruler of the universe since the grandparents of their grandparents, die so quickly. He was now dead. Kikono, his counselor and now the appointed ruler of the universe in his place, told his troops to return to planet 1# immediately. And made a simple law in the meantime:

"From now on, planet Earth is to be considered completely and utterly dangerous, and all routes towards it shall be deleted! Cleanse it from the map! it does not exist for us anymore! We will never come back!"

The soldier's jaws drop to the floor, not being able to believe what just happened. Kikono laughed maniacally; the idea that Cold's death was possible drove him insane. Now he has the mission to go back to the main planet of the empire, and do everything in his power to pretend Cold is still alive. Without his image, the empire would explode in rebellion, and they'll lose everything they have.

…

…

The Z-warriors just watched from where they stood; seeing the ships fleeing at max speed. Slowly, King Cold's red cape fell from above; burnt and ripped, it confirmed that he was dead. As Goku turned back to his original self, Yamcha asked if he even needed their help to defeat him. Goku replies by saying that he didn't want to hog all the fun. Yamcha started to repeatedly bonk Goku in the head as they ran around in the wastelands, and the other Z-warriors just sat there in relief. As sudden as it began, the crisis was over. Once again, no one was any the wiser to what just happened, and they can go back to their daily lives without ever thinking about what kind of political vacuum they just opened. The strange boy even brought a mini-fridge in a capsule and offered everyone drinks and snacks.

Bulma, Launch and Chi-chi soon arrived in a flier. She shouted for everyone, only to find them all having a casual picnic. After arduous years apart, Chi-chi could finally see her husband again. She ran and jumped on top of Goku with a loving hug, and soon began to chase him around the wastelands in anger just like Yamcha; as Goku could do nothing but run in fear of his angry wife.

Finally, Piccolo broke the casualness by asking who the boy was, and if he didn't answer this time, then they would have a problem. The boy saw that it was enough to hang around. He was acting all flustered when he saw Bulma and Yamcha talking to each other. Bulma noticed him, and noted the Capsule Corp logo on his black trench coat. She tried asking him questions about it but he simply looked away with a red face, and decided to just resume back to his mission. He pointed at Dende who was drinking a cup of water and said, "You should be Piccolo, right? I need to talk to you."

But then Dende just pointed towards the actual Piccolo who had a mean look to his face. The boy was confused, he was under the impression that Piccolo was 11 years old, but Dende said that members of the warrior clan mature much faster than other Namekians. Well, it doesn't matter. He just has a message to give him and Goku. And after Goku was done receiving two years worth of emotional abuse, he went with Piccolo where the others couldn't hear them.

…

The first thing he told them was his name: Bokusa, but he said everyone calls him Boku. He wanted them both to please trust what he's gonna say, as stupid as it might sound, and also asks to keep his identity secret from the others. He was Bulma's and Yamcha's son, which surprised Goku for how tall he already was, but Boku explained that he actually comes from the future using the technology of a time machine. He came from about seventeen years in the future, and he should be born within a year. He came here to deliver a message about the somber future.

In three years; May 4th, 10:00 in the morning, in a lonely town not too far off from South City, two enemies with incredible power would appear from there, and target all the warriors from Earth. Surprisingly enough they were androids created by the Red Ribbon army. One is an old man, and the other is a bald thing. One by one they took down the Earth's warriors. First Dende, then Piccolo, then Tien, then Yamcha, and finally, Gohan. Not even their close relatives were spared from these androids. His mother, Bulma, was seen as a threat and killed as well. Boku was just an infant then, and she made sure to hide him away before they found her. Once their hit list was done, they simply did whatever they wanted with the world. Humanity never recovered, and probably would never be allowed to.

Hearing that story, Goku and Piccolo exchange ominous glares, and so he asks, "What about Goku?" Boku didn't mention what happened to him. And so Boku revealed that Goku never got to the battle. In the following year, he would fall ill of a fatal heart problem that was caused by all his past fights. He would be bedridden for months without waking up, and eventually died of a heart attack in his sleep; just a week or so after Boku was born. That was a cruel fate that sent chills down Goku's spine. The consequences of overusing the Kaioken finally caught up to him in the end, just like King Kai said they would.

But Boku didn't come here only for that. He still had one last trick up his sleeve. His mother did manage to make a cure for his heart failure when she was alive, but it had been too late. But now, Boku gave the medicine capsule to Goku, and said for him to take it as soon as he feels the pain from his chest start, and it should stop him from dying. Bulma grew so guilty with the deaths of her friends over the years that she started to make schemes and calculations for a way to warp through time and space, and maybe save them from death by going back and fixing things. But she got killed before finishing it, and it took Boku one year alone to put the whole machine together. The fuel for it is damn near impossible to get. This was his last chance to make things right, as he doesn't have enough power himself to do any good against the androids. He lost so much over the years, and even the only two friends he ever made.

It was a nice experience meeting his mom and dad for the first time. And to think that helping defeat Cold was one of the first times he ever won a fight. He was glad he could meet these people that he read so much about, but he guessed it was time to go. He should return and be met with a new world where all of them are alive, so he gets on his knees and begs for them to prepare and win the fight. And so, Goku promises to do his absolute best to win. He also thanks Boku for preemptively saving his life.

And so they part ways, and Boku asks for them to tell the others what shall happen, for them to prepare as well. Don't mention anything about him to his parents or else something drastic might change. And so he disappeared into the rubble.

…

As Piccolo and Goku fly back, they wonder if anything of that was actually true. Piccolo for once chose to believe in him, as his words sounded way too truthful for his ears. And if so, Goku would need to train for now, and watch out for his heart problems.

They went back, and Piccolo began his telling of the summarized story with all the biggest spoilers removed. To make a long story short, they better train or they might die. Yamcha straight up called that boy a liar. There's just no way someone so strong just shows up. Goku getting sick from his overuse of the Kaioken is acceptable, but they are just too strong to lose at this point, aren't they? It was kind of hard to believe this story, but then they all witnessed something incredible. They saw Boku inside a machine, just rising in the air not too far from there. He waved at them. With a flash, he and his ki signature completely vanished, and a little wormhole opened in the sky for a second, and then it also disappeared.

And so, they got their bearings for the whole situation. All of them were convinced that something bad was gonna happen, and they needed to prepare. They had a good three years; it's not like it will be tomorrow. Just as they were thinking of how to begin, Bulma intervened with a simple question, "What about the dragon balls?"

Dende said that he was still in the process of sculpting the new dragon statue and forming the ritual guidelines, but once he was done with it the dragon balls would be as good as back. And so Bulma told them her plan. Why wait three years and train for another death battle, when they can simply wish for the dragon to take them to where these androids are being made before they are completed, and stop them?

It was a cold and awkward reception, but she had undeniable logic and reasoning. Why not? But Goku had a simple reason why. This doctor and these androids haven't done anything bad yet, have they? Should they really go like a bunch of vigilantes and find this guy in his sleep to put him down before he's even evil? It was not something that Goku wanted to do, and neither did Piccolo and Tien. To be absolutely fair, as martial artists, they wanted to face the threat head on and fight them to test their abilities. Now they were some of the strongest people alive, and they surely wouldn't find a good challenge outside of their inner circle. Bulma thought they had gone crazy with power, and begged for Yamcha to listen to her. Yamcha was kind of over the wall with the whole plan really, but he then posed the argument:

What if they find these androids, but they are already completed? They would just get killed. It made more sense for Yamcha that they are already out there, instead of believing that this doctor will make such powerful foes in just three years. To her surprise, that was kind of a smart argument.

Piccolo suggested that instead of going out of the line, they should follow it. They know what happens in the future, so why change it? It's safer to follow the path that they already know it's there. Now that they know about the enemy, they can properly prepare and everything will be fine in the end. Without much counter argument, that seemed to be it.

Goku was cheery as usual, and was ready to train. He'll have to come back home first, he is still wearing his alien suit. Now that everything got quiet, they asked him what he had been up to for this last year he's been gone. And so he began to tell them.

…

When Namek was seconds from exploding, he managed to get into a space pod from the Ginyus, and shot out the planet by pressing all the buttons. He left just in time to escape the explosion, but the force sent his pod flying uncontrollably through space. He tracked back to the planet that the Ginyu force was at before they headed out to Namek; planet Yardrat. They were good people; although none of them were alike. It was more of a shared planet. They couldn't help Goku go back to Earth however, as it was a planet they had no idea of where it was.

For the next months he trained there, until he got in touch with some sort of resistance army that heard rumors about the Super Saiyan that survived and killed Frieza. He was sent to a planet called Eltron, at the center of the universe, and from there he helped the resistance fight King Cold's control from the shadows. Eventually the rumors got so strong that the only way for Cold to calm the rebellion was to bring the Super Saiyan's head to their doorstep; to show them there was none more powerful than he. And so Cold set out to Earth, and the resistance threw a party for Goku's departure, and set him off on an undetectable pod right behind Cold's fleet. And after a month of travel, he arrived.

…

That was unusual. Normally Goku doesn't go so much in depth into his stories. They all looked at him funny when he finished recounting it, and that made Goku remember about his pod. He quickly blasted off towards the direction it landed, and left the others standing there. "Dammit I knew we should've gone after him! We lost our chance to be war heroes in space," said Yamcha.

Goku went to the woods really quickly and arrived at Aru Village, where people were poking his ship with sticks and using it to heat up their dinner. He came in, said hello to everyone, and then he ripped off his shoulder pad from his armor, put it on the seat, and then he pressed a few buttons to send it back to Yardrat. That is the signal that confirms Cold's defeat, and from then on it was up to his new friends up in space to deal with the rest. He then placed his two fingers on his head, and in a blink he reappeared in front of the others.

After getting scared a second time, Yamcha questions how the heck he is doing that. And Goku replies, "Oh, nothing! just a little something I learned in Yardrat." As he called it, Instant Transmission allows him to instantly teleport to a nearby ki signature that he can feel, taught by an alien master named Pybara.

Now, they know what the future holds, and they need to prepare for it. Seeing Goku was nice again, and now they had to go back to as much of normal life they can grasp. They promised to see each other from time to time, and keep up getting stronger for these androids. And so the warriors split and return to their homes after one of the quickest world-ending battles of all time.

…

…

They would try to live out normal lives from then on, but once or twice in a week, they would get really serious about the androids. Goku managed to easily fit back into his home life with Chi-chi; the two were happy like he never left, and he kept the heart medicine in hand at all times. Gohan had to convince Chi-chi to let him train, saying that this future where his dad dies and his mom gets killed for no reason; he wanted to stop it at all costs. Pulling her heartstrings, Chi-chi allowed him to train with her father. And of course Goku planned to go out training with Piccolo. He was still stronger than Goku at that point, and many times he forced the Super Saiyan out of him to win. Their fights always got a little too heavy and bloody, but it was just how they liked it. They both had some things to work through. Gohan had a lot to catch up to his dad and Piccolo, but he didn't disappoint with bravery and effort during his training.

…

Yamcha would split his time between married life and training, and it worked miracles. He asked dr. Briefs to install something of a gravity chamber in their Capsule Corp mansion, and eventually it was finished. It could go up to 1000x Earth's gravity, and that would improve Yamcha's training tremendously. And as soon as he was done, he could go out and have some alone time with Bulma, hehe~

…

Tien regressed his training a little, but doubled its effects. While Yamcha was hogging gravity training, Tien went back to Kami's lookout and back to the room of Spirit and Illusion. While inside, he would envision himself appearing on a giant red planet with a moon in the sky. It was planet Vegeta. And there he would face horde upon horde; hundreds of thousands of Saiyans attacking him from all sides. When the full moon arose they became giant monkeys and the battle just got harder and harder. And at the end he had a final opponent to face; Vegeta. And he wouldn't stop this method of training until he was strong enough to defeat all the Saiyan race and Vegeta in combat. Both personalities of Launch would always be there at kame house to welcome him back and wish him good luck the next day. He has been living with her for nine years now; he can't treat her like just a friend anymore. Maybe Yamcha could give him some tips about dating.

…

And as for little Dende, he asked Mr. Popo if there was any way for him to improve his abilities. And in the many rooms of the lookout, Popo found the book of all-known magic that was passed down from guardian to guardian. He didn't know how useful it would be, but Dende had a talent for magic, he would most certainly know what to do with it. The book had about half a million pages, but he'll get there eventually.

They had a good time until the androids arrived, but they can't get cocky. Time flies, and they should be ready by then. These three years of peace might end up being their last.