Spoiler:
Chapter 1: Pilot
Long, long ago, the Saiyan planet of Vegeta was destroyed by the paranoid emperor Freeza, who sought to decimate its population to weed out any possibility of the legendary Super Saiyan being born. Sent off by his father Bardock, Kakarrot, the later-renamed Goku, crash-landed on Planet Earth to erase its human population… only to have his Saiyan programming erased when his caretaker, his later-to-be-adoptive grandfather Gohan accidentally dropped him from a high cliff… into the greatest adventure of all time! Years after his grandfather’s death, young Goku is joined by unlikely allies in Capsule Corporation’s heiress Bulma, the ex-bandit Yamcha, and shapeshifting animals Pu’ar and Oolong in a quest to gather the seven magic Dragon Balls. Having thwarted the evil Emperor Pilaf and his gang, Goku studies under the watchful eye of the legendary Muten Roshi and fellow student Kuririn, and with his training manages to thwart the evil organization Red Ribbon Army in a struggle to gather the seven Dragon Balls once again! Three years later, after narrowly losing in the Tenkaichi Budokai to a student of the rival school Tsuru-sennin-ryu, Tenshinhan, Goku comes face to face with the evil Piccolo Daimao (Great Demon King), and was once again there to save the day! Three years later, Daimao’s reincarnation Piccolo Jr. was revealed to have been left behind to avenge the original’s death, and after a titanic battle, Goku wins not only against the new Demon King, but becomes finally the champion of the Tenkaichi Budokai!
Accompanied by his child son Gohan, Goku’s adventures continue five years later against his battle-hungry fellow Saiyans Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta, and after yet another titanic battle, Goku, Gohan and Kuririn are again victorious, at the cost of most of their friends’ lives. In yet another struggle for the Dragon Balls that ensued on the Planet Namek, the homeworld of Piccolo and his divine counterpart Kami, Goku finally becomes the Super Saiyan and defeats the intergalactic warlord Freeza! Having succeeded in reviving his comrades, Goku returns to Earth a year and a half later. However, Freeza survived the previous battle on Namek, and now seeks to destroy the Earth’s population to have revenge… only to have his revenge cut short when Vegeta’s son from the future, Trunks arrives and slices him to bits! Trunks warns that Goku and his friends are now to be challenged by the cybernetic Red Ribbon Artificial Humans created by the rogue scientist Gero, and when it seemed matters couldn’t get worse, the bio-organic artificial human Cell had come from the future to absorb the rest of Gero’s creations. Enraged by the peaceful Artificial Human #16’s death, Goku’s son Gohan succeeds in destroying Cell and once again claims peace… at the cost of Goku’s life. Goku opts not to return to life, yet finds himself needing to return to the living world yet again when the millions-of-years-old Majin Boo is resurrected with the efforts of the wizard Babidi. Gathering the power of all of the Earth’s residents, Goku fires off a Genki-Dama of unprecedented proportions to destroy Majin Boo in his primordial, original form.
Ten years later, the evil Majin Boo is found to have been reborn as the human child Oob. Competing in the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai to test the reincarnation’s power, Goku decides to become the child’s teacher to pass on everything he knows to the reincarnated Boo. Five years later, as Goku travels to the Room of Spirit and Time to test the results of Oob's training, our story unfolds...
"I have a bad feeling about this..." said Dende, Kami's replacement as the Earth's God, "And it isn't just about having to repair the Room of Spirit and Time again in case those two destroy it."
"Oh come now, Kami-sama," said Mr. Popo, the thousand-year old assistant, "Goku and the child know what they are doing. It really isn't like this is their first spar."
"It isn't about that... I have a premonition. Almost as if this next year... will be our darkest year yet," continued Dende, "I'm told that my predecessor, the previous Kami also saw a similar premonition in the Saiyans' invasion... a premonition of his and Piccolo-san's deaths."
"Surely you can't mean..." replied Popo.
Suddenly, the sky went dark, signaling that the Dragon Shenlong had been summoned.
"What's this?!" exclaimed the shocked Dende, "Is someone using the Dragon Balls?"
Meanwhile, we cut back to Goku and Oob's battle in the Room of Spirit and Time.
Goku had already activated his Super Saiyan form, the legendary transformation that dyes a Saiyan's hair in a gold glow and envelops his body in a fiery aura.
"I'm quite shocked at the speed in which you learn, Oob!" exclaimed Goku, "It's not like I've been standing around doing nothing these past five years myself, and now I can't even hope to keep up with you without becoming a Super Saiyan!"
"If there's anything you taught me, Goku-san, it's to never be satisfied with reaching your current limits," said Oob as he wiped some sweat off his forehead, "Plus, I know you're still hiding more transformations. I won't be satisfied until I've brought them all out!"
"Well, Oob, if you really insist..." replied Goku as he then took a deep breath, "Haaaa!!!"
The fiery aura blazing around Goku spiked up fiercely and streaks of lightning enveloped it. Goku's hair stood more on end as strands covering his forehead also spiked upwards. Goku had transformed to a level surpassing the Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2.
"I'd really love to keep training with you for even longer, but I've already used up a year in my previous stays in this room," said Goku, "So the Graduation Battle will have to come to a rousing finale right here and now."
"That's just what I wanted!" replied Oob in earnest as he also fired up an intense aura, "Come at me with everything you've got, Goku-san!"
"First, we'll see if you're ready to take on this form yet," said Goku as he suddenly disappeared from where he stood, and kicked Oob to the other side of the Room of Spirit and Time.
Goku then placed his right index and middle fingers on his forehead and teleported straight to where Oob was flying using the Shunkan Idou technique. Oob was already familiar with this attack, however, and countered it by also activating the same move and appearing behind Goku.
Goku, however, grabbed Oob's wrist and shot a ki blast straight into his abdomen, blasting him hundreds of feet away.
"That's not good enough, Oob!" yelled Goku, "Remember, this transformation drastically increases my speed, reflexes and power! Make no mistake, my attacking capabilities are on another level right now!"
"Grr..." grunted the dissatisfied brown warrior, "If that's the case, HAAA!!" Oob placed both his palms onto his forehead and activated the blinding Taiyo-ken attack.
Goku, however, had seen this coming and closed his eyes, and then swiftly kicked Oob in the chin when he appeared behind him.
"Again, not good enough!" yelled Goku as he grabbed the stunned Oob's wrists and then flung him straight onto the floor, "The key is rage, Oob! You're a huge spring of potential power just waiting to emerge on the surface! Rage will bring out power you still haven't mastered, just as it did for Gohan!"
"Come at me with all you've got! Feel the fury, Oob! That way you can't lose to anybody in the world!" yelled Goku as he began to enter the Kamehameha stance, "ANYBODY! YOU HEAR ME?!"
Oob began grinding his teeth and then gathered all of his power into his palms before forming a large sphere of Ki as he crossed his palms over the other before he yelled, "I'll give you what you want, Goku-san!!"
"Not good enough yet! Rage is the key, you're still controlled by your thought and reason!" yelled Goku, "Become enraged! Feel the fury just boiling up inside you, just like you did five years ago when you battled me at the Budokai!! Do it now!"
Goku fired off a small warning shot that took Oob off his feet. He then continued to fire off a volley of small Kamehamehas at his irritated opponent.
"Get enraged! Bring out all of your power!!!!!" yelled Goku as he then began to concentrate his power to the fullest around his palms.
"Ugh...." grunted Oob as his eyes finally whited out and his body was enveloped by a large, blazing white aura, which then became surrounded by pink lightning. He then shouted, "YOU ASKED FOR IT! HAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
Oob's power instantaneously blacked out the entire Room of Spirit and Time in a blinding flash, and he then fired off a massive mouth blast of pure, unbridled pink energy. Goku has no doubt awakened the beast sleeping within.
"Now that's the stuff!" yelled Goku as he, too, unleashed a massive wave of blinding energy in the form of a full-power Kamehameha. The two blasts were stalemated, but Oob's blast slowly started to give way as his rage started to subside, prompting Goku to yell, "No! That's not the way at all, Oob! You've unleashed the power, now you've got to rein it in! The power isn't what controls you, Oob! You have to control the power! It can't go away as quickly as it came, you have to master it! The power is yours to control! Feel the rage, and don't let it escape you! You are the master of your own strength! Keep it coming!!!"
"G....gaaarrggggghhh....." said Oob as he grabbed his head in pain, "I... I....... I....."
"I am the master of my own strength! HAAAAAAAH!!!!!!" Oob finally reined control over his fullest, deepest wells of inner strength and unleashed it in a massive burst. The sudden spike of energy caused Goku's blast to be repelled back, forcing him to teleport out of the way to avoid colliding with the tremendous attack. Oob read through the trajectory of Goku's teleportation and attacked him with his knee, only for Goku to block it with his arm. The humongous Ki energy that was released from such a clash, however, tore up Goku's shirt and the armband on his right arm.
"Yowch!!" yelled Goku in pain, "I think you cracked a couple of bones in my arm!"
"Heh... heheh..." said Oob softly in satisfaction as he staggered a bit before collapsing onto the floor, asking his master, "So does this mean I pass?"
"Yup! I honestly expected you to have tapped out after that mouth blast just now, but you still managed to counterattack one more time!" replied the satisfied Goku, "You may not have beaten me, but you've shown me beyond a doubt that you've gained control over your inner power! And that's more important than a simple matter of winning or losing!"
"So after twelve months of training here in the Room of Spirit and Time... the graduation exam is over!" said Goku as he sprawled his arms upward, undid his transformation and sat on the floor, "Let's head outside and grab a bite to eat! You've really worked me up an appetite!"
Just as quickly as Goku said this, the clock and hourglasses adjacent to the entrance of the Room of Spirit and Time collapsed onto the floor, releasing a torrent of green sand and broken glass.
"Oops... I guess Dende will have to fix that for us too." said Goku as he pulled Oob up by his hand and rested his arm onto his shoulder.
Outside, the planet-wide dark night disappeared as fast as it came.
"Just what was that?!" said the confused Dende, "could it have something to do with my premonition?!"
"I-I don't know, sir," replied Popo. "But it doesn't seem as though the Dragon Balls were activated here in the Heavenly Realm. Maybe Bulma made a wish upon the Dragon Balls? I-I'm sure it's nothing really."
"Let's hope so..." said Dende nervously.
Just then, the battered Goku and Oob emerged from inside the Room of Spirit and Time.
"Hey Dende!" said Goku as he sat on the floor, exhausted, "when we came out of the exit just now, it was the weirdest sensation I've ever felt! As if time stood still one moment, and that moment felt like an eternity... and eternity felt like it was a couple of minutes... and the few steps I had to take to come outside felt like climbing a mountain! What gives?"
"Oh no... this was what I was afraid of," replied Dende, "That Room of Spirit and Time was still undergoing maintenance, Goku. I had to let you use it because I figured it'd be better than having you two destroy this entire hallowed palace..."
"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good..." said Goku, "So I guess we've gotten ourselves into another predicament?"
"Hopefully not," said Dende as he sighed and continued, "You see, when the former Kami and Piccolo became one to confront Cell, they activated the first set of Dragon Balls that they had created together when the God Kami and the original Demon King Piccolo Daimao were one being: The Ultimate Dragon Balls."
"Ultimate Dragon Balls?" said Goku wide-eyed, "That sounds like a pretty fancy name for a set of Dragon Balls. From the way you sound when you mention them, they... don't really sound like good news."
"Far from it," said Dende as he continued his explanation, "The Ultimate Dragon Balls are said to possess power beyond any set of Dragon Balls that you or I have ever summoned before. Uncharted levels of power. But there's... a catch. Not only are they capable of increasing in capability as the creator gains new levels of power, they... come at a great cost."
"A great cost? Like what?" asked Goku.
"It's said that a year after they are activated, the Ultimate Dragon Balls' power of darkness will irreparably ravage the planet they're activated on..." said Dende with looming dread. "And with Piccolo-san being a combination of not just himself and Kami, but a third Namekian, I don't know what would happen if they were to fall into the wrong hands. It's quite possible that they could grant any single wish, without limitations."
Unfortunately, the conversation was overheard by three miscreants that had since times now forgotten into a distant memory been a thorn on Goku's side...
"Did you hear that, m'lord?" said one female voice, "Any wish, they say! Any single wish!"
"Woof! I mean, my great Lord Pilaf, this could be our chance to finally achieve your great ambition!" said a second voice.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-YES! This... this could finally be our reprieve!" said the third voice, as he began to cry tears of joy onto the radio the three had connected to bugs they'd installed onto the floor of Dende's palace days before this moment, "After decades of searching for the great seven magical Dragon Balls, our time is finally at hand!"
The shadows obscuring the three miscreants' faces were lifted by a freak lightning storm that had begun to envelop the area, revealing them to be the Pilaf Gang, reunited after nearly four decades since their last bid to gather the Dragon Balls in the time of Piccolo Daimao. The three then furtively hurried to the location of the entrance to the RoSaT, holding a radar in their hands showing the Ultimate Dragon Balls gathered in one location...!
We return to Goku's conversation with Dende.
"But what does that have to do with that weird space-time sensation I felt when I got out of the Room of Spirit and Time?" asked the curious Goku as he scratched his head, "Are the Ultimate Dragon Balls sealed in the entrance or something?"
"It's a long story, Goku. I'll start where you're last familiar with the Room of Spirit and Time's entrance being sealed," said Dende, "Do you remember the time that the evil Majin Boo and Gotenks were locked inside the Room?"
"Yeah, Piccolo told me all about it at Bulma's party 10 years ago," said Goku, "something about how Gotenks lied to him and said he couldn't handle Boo anymore, so Piccolo sealed off the exit."
"Yes. Unfortunately, when he did so, the Ultimate Dragon Balls were lost in the space-time distortion caused by the interdimensional exit disappearing," said Dende as he explained, "and both Boo and Gotenks one after the other opened new portals using their sheer power, which exacerbated the distortion."
"Exacer-what?" said Goku, dumbfounded.
"Worsened," continued Dende, "And now that the entrance to the Room of Spirit and Time, which I fixed haphazardly to allow you and Oob a chance to go all out without endangering this palace or the planet, has again been distorted... it's quite possible that the Ultimate Dragon Balls, which were once out of anyone's reach after being swallowed up by the distortion, could be found by anybody who gained access to that entrance. A distortion that goes beyond space and time...."
"So in a sense, it's my fault, isn't it?" said Oob as he got up, "If the evil Majin Boo was part of the reason that portal became so disrupted."
"N-no, it's only what you did in a past life. You're hardly responsible..." explained Dende nervously.
"No. It's my problem to solve, and I'll take care of it," said Oob, "it's not just that I did it in a past life, but damaging the entrance a while ago was something I was half-guilty of, along with Goku-san."
Suddenly, the bugs installed on Kami's Palace let out a loud, disruptive broadcast, in a deafeningly loud manner:
"Then you won't mind if we put your lights out!!" the bugs relayed Pilaf's message loudly.
Suddenly, smoke bombs were thrown all over the surface of Kami's Palace releasing a pink cloud of smoke, and before Goku, Oob, Dende and Popo could react, the four were put to sleep by the gas.
"G-grr.... what... what is this..." said Oob, disgruntled, as the four collapsed weakly.
"Now, Mai!" yelled Pilaf, "Put all four of them in a pod and shrink it into capsule form!"
"Yes, sir!" said Mai as she grabbed the four of them and tied them in steel wires before placing them in a pod, shrinking it and then throwing the capsule off the Heavenly Realm.
"For decades we slaved away building a ship strong enough to break through the barrier blocking this stupid dump," said Pilaf with candor, "and now the four obstacles we had left standing in our way to having universal domination have been eliminated!!"
"Ha! HAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAHA!!!" danced Pilaf and Shu, overcome with joy.
"With all respect, sir," said Mai, "We've yet to actually get our hands on the so-called Ultimate Dragon Balls! This celebration is still too early!"
"Oh shut up Mai," said Pilaf, "They're all asleep inside a capsule that's god-knows-where by now! Just what could stop us?"
"Sir, this is exactly what we thought when we beseeched Piccolo's help, and we know how that turned out..." said Shu.
Pilaf bonked the aged dog on his head before begrudgingly acknowledging that he was in the right, "Fine! Let's get a move on!"
After about half an hour of wandering in the palace like the bumbling fools they were, the three managed to reach the entrance, which they promptly opened.
"Make sure to keep your robot suits on, the two of you!" said Pilaf, "From what we learned while eavesdropping, there is a large space-time rift here, and if we get stuck, this'll be all for naught!"
"Aye-aye, sir!" said the two goons as they then each activated the radar functions on their robot suits and before long, managed to gather the seven Ultimate Dragon Balls.
"Now, let's get out of here!" yelled Pilaf, "This world is ours for the taking!"
The three robot suits then merged to a single, large Pilaf-bot and activated a jet function, breaking the door that led to the outside world and escaping the space-time dimensional rift. Finally, with the seven Ultimate Dragon Balls in tow, the three goons, barely able to contain their excitement, dusted the long-lost Ultimate Dragon Balls to reveal the black stars emblazoned on each ball of the seven-ball set.
"They're quite different from the original set, aren't they sire?" said Mai.
"Just holding them gives me the creeps, sir." said Shu, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Oh, shut up, the both of you! We've come this far, we can't afford to turn back now!" yelled Pilaf angrily, "Now it's time to do this! Come forth, Ultimate Shenlong! And grant my wish!!!"
The entire palace was enveloped in a vast darkness before a huge spark of light emerged from the seven balls, and the red-colored Ultimate Shenlong, with a body the size of a large island many times the size of the palace emerged, enveloping the planet in the darkest of nights.
"You... Who have... Summoned me.... State.... Your... Wish..." said the unfathomably powerful dragon, "Any one wish... I... shall... grant."
Pilaf gulped as he collapsed onto his knees in awe of the sight of the dragon, but before he could gather himself, two blindingly fast figures rose from the ground to instantly knock out Mai and Shu. The two were Goku and Oob.
"W-w-w-w-w-w-WHAT?!?!!!" shrieked the flabbergasted Pilaf, "Just what is happening? I had you two put to sleep inside a capsule! You should be off floating in some ditch somewhere in the middle of the ocean!"
"Unfortunately for you, Pilaf," said Oob, "I've trained for more than five years under Goku-san. Your sleeping gas might keep an average person asleep for several hours, but on him and myself, it didn't even last an hour! Admittedly my injuries kept me asleep a few minutes longer, but once we were up, breaking through the capsule and rescuing Dende-san and Mr. Popo was an easy task!"
"I gotta say Pilaf," said Goku, "I never thought you'd still be up to your old tricks. In a way this even feels like an old reunion. How long's it been since the last we've met, thirty? Thirty-five years?"
"T-thirty-five?!" yelled Pilaf angrily, "Try thirty-eight! And thanks to you, my plans were foiled again and again! Just how long do you plan on being a thorn on my side?!!!"
"Honestly I don't plan on anything. I just need to put you to sleep and tell this dragon to shoo, and after that-"
"Shoo?!!!! "SHOOOOOO!?!!!!" yelled Pilaf with utter rancor, "AFTER ALL MY HARD WORK TO GET THIS FAR?!!!! I HATE YOU!! I HATE YOU SO MUCH I WISH YOU'D JUST DIE AND NEVER COME BACK, NO MATTER WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS!!!! A DEATH SO PERMANENT THE HEAVENS COULD COLLAPSE ON EARTH AND YOU'D STILL BE-"
"Your...wish... is... granted," said the Ultimate Dragon, "Farewell."
The dragon's eyes let out a bright glow and then were surrounded by sparks of lightning, which then gathered around Goku's body and caused him to convulse and vomit repeatedly as his heart stopped, before he collapsed onto the floor and closed his eyes, before a halo appeared on his head and his body vanished into thin air, nowhere to be seen.
The Ultimate Dragon Balls then rose far-off into outer space and scattered around the universe...
To be continued...
