The First Step

Hard, onyx-black eyes stared across the star-filled scene around them and into the cruel, blood-red pair that looked back in boredom.

The dark eyes belonged to a man, a warrior if his damaged armor was any indication, who shook with a sense of adrenaline. His right hand twitched heavily, as if readying for an attack, and a rebellious smirk slid its way onto the guy's face; even as blood dripped down from the red bandanna wrapped around his forehead.

His lips moved, a silent speech, aimed at the crimson-eyed adversary.

Those eyes were set against an almost reptilian-like face, one who's head was crowed by a set of horns. The demon, as would be the only way to categorize such a frightening creature, sat lazily in a floating throne; one that hid most of the monster's body, but one could see the tip of a tail resting on the lip of one side.

The demon made no effort to reply to the warrior's silent words.

Instead, as the wild haired fighter's hand erupted in a blinding flash of light, the villainous-looking reptile held up a single finger.

As the scarred man threw his attack though, what appeared to be a sun seemed to form out from the tip of the monster's fingertip. Long before the wounded soldier's own attack hit home his foe's weapon grew to such a size that it easily engulfed the much smaller light swallowing it whole.

Then, laughing maniacally, the horn-headed fiend tipped his hand and let the literal supernova drop from his finger, and let the monstrous force swiftly close in on its' target.

The onyx-eyed man screamed in horror as he was engulfed in the searing heat; the remnants of his armor quickly giving out under the pressure of the attack. His cry of horror finally breaking through the silence as he yelled a name: "FRIEZA!"

Onyx-black eyes snapped open and their owner jolted up from their bed with a gasp. Moonlight shining through the closed curtains vaguely illuminated the form of a small boy, one with a wild head of hair and an unusually built physique. The naked youth took deep, haggard breaths as he lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Goku, as he'd been named by the elderly martial artist named Gohan, had lost count of the times he'd had that same dream since that day two weeks ago he'd looked up at the full moon.

It had been a strange night, one that the young boy could remember nothing about, but that had ultimately ended in Gohan's death; he'd been crushed by...something.The footprint Goku had found the elderly man in didn't match any of the other types the boy had seen before. It looked like an apes foot.

'A giant ape,' the wild-haired child thought seriously. 'Could that be the monster Gohan warned me about all those years ago; the one who only comes out on full moon nights?'

It fit, seeing as Goku had never encountered the creature before that night, but it also raised the question of 'why'. Why did it only come out on those nights in particular; and why had it been so close to Goku's home?

These questions were pushed back though when the boy thought about why he'd recalled that memory in the first place: the dream.

Goku had had the same dream almost every night now, and on the rare occasion he didn't the pint-size martial artist's head was blank; he either dreamed of the warrior and the demon, or he didn't dream at all.

But the dream was something else that caused Goku to wonder. Mainly about the war-torn warrior; and why the man looked so much like himself. With Gohan no longer there to bounce these questions off of Goku was left to decipher the answers on his own. And through his workings the boy had come up with an interesting theory.

The man was his father.

The uncanny resemblance helped solidify the deduction, but it was later on when Goku focused on the details of the dream that he found something to really make him believe it. The man had a tail.

Goku had never met another person with a tail before, granted he lived thousands of miles from the nearest bit of civilization, but still. Gohan hadn't had a tail, so that had to mean having one made Goku special. It made him something more than human.

It made him an alien; if his father flying in outer space was any indication.

'That would explain my incredible strength and speed.' Thought Goku as he lay back down and prepared to try falling asleep again. As he shut his eyes though, one more thought broke through the fog of sleep before the boy drifted into unconsciousness again.

'And if I'm an alien, I must have come here in a spaceship.'

The following morning found Goku awake before the sun and practicing the various kata that Gohan had shown him.

While still only a boy at the tender age of 12, the wild-haired youth showed an unprecedented level of natural skill in the fighting arts, proven by how quickly he picked up his master's teachings. Thinking on it now, Goku wondered if this too had anything to do with his alien nature; or had it just been the blood of his warrior father in him?

Whatever the case, Goku took to his amazing abilities in stride, using his natural talent to push himself far beyond what any normal eleven-year-old was capable of. The evidence of which lay in the ruble at the boy's feet; he'd obliterated a boulder five times his size with just his finger.

Dusting off his hands Goku decided that he'd practiced enough for the time being and that it was time for breakfast. Slipping back into his purple gi top, the tailed youth made his way into the surrounding woods to find something to eat.

The task itself was simple enough, use his tail as a lure and catch one of the large fish in the lake, and then drag his catch home to cook it over a fire. Just like every other day.

Or so Goku thought.

As his mind wandered to the possible location of his ship, the young boy didn't hear the roaring of an engine as a car came speeding down the dirt path. It wasn't until he heard someone shout at him to 'get out of the road' that Goku turned his onyx-black eyes upwards and in the direction of the scream. Just in time to be hit head on by the bumper of a compact car.

While normally such an incident would send someone flying off their feet, Goku wasn't any ordinary child, and so because of his unreal strength it was the mechanized monster that suffered. The whole front end was turned in on itself, and smoke billowed from under the crumpled hood. Inside, a blue-haired human sat dazed and disoriented from the crash.

But that only lasted for a moment, and soon, the person behind the wheel shoved open their door and stumbled out in an enraged heap.

"What the hell is your problem kid; didn't your parents ever teach you to watch where you're going!?" The voice that shouted at Goku was unlike anything the boy had heard before. It was nothing like his or Gohan's; it was higher in pitch, but still held a soft, flowing undertone to it. Secretly, Goku liked this person's voice.

But something deep inside him bristled at the tone she'd taken with him, and the young boy found him self almost subconsciously scoffing back. "Well, it'd be pretty hard for them to do that, considering they're dead."

Oddly enough, this seemed to take much of the fight out of the stranger's eyes, which Goku noticed were an interesting shade of blue. Their eyebrows lifted from their scrunched position, and the stranger let out a small gasp.

"O-Oh," they said softly. "I-I didn't know; sorry about that."

Goku merely shook his head, strangely pleased but also disappointed that the stranger had given in already, before he told them that it was okay. "As far as I know, they've been dead since the day I was born; the only person I've ever known was the man who found me, his name was Gohan."

Something in the boy's answer seemed to confuse the taller person, because they cocked their head to the side as they asked, "What do you mean he 'found' you?"

While at first he thought of revealing himself as an alien, Goku held off on that until he got a better read on the stranger before him. So, instead, he went with a simpler version of his past.

"Gohan told me once that he'd found me in the woods one day while he was taking a walk; I was alone, and after never being able to track down anyone who knew me, he took me in and looked out for me."

This seemed to lighten the stranger's mood; if the new shine in their eyes and the softening of their face were any indication. With a slight smile, Goku's blue-haired acquaintance mentioned that that was very nice and then asked if they could meet Gohan.

"If you'd been here a couple weeks ago, yeah, but Gohan's dead now." Was the young boy's nonchalant response. Then, tired of being the one doing all the answering, Goku decided to ask his own series of questions. "And besides, even if he were still alive, why would I introduce you to him when I don't even know your name?"

At this the stranger's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink, something that confused Goku, but as they itched their nose the stranger answered: "You're right, sorry about that, my name is Bulma."

"Bulma," Goku tested out the name, letting it roll off his tongue.

It was a strange name, that's for sure, but not unpleasant in any way. Then, realizing he was the one being rude now, the wild-haired boy went on to introduce himself next. "You have a nice name Bulma, it's nice to meet you, my name is Goku."

"Goku?" The newly introduced Bulma questioned. "Is that your given name, or did that Gohan guy give it to you?"

The child martial artist answered that it was the name given to him by Gohan. "I don't know what my real name is, but I figure the one I have is better than having none at all, right?"

"I-I guess so," Bulma answered uncertainly; completely mystified by how a child so young could be so aloof about such a thing as being an orphan. But before Bulma could say anything else, Goku asked another question.

One Bulma didn't think in a million years to hear.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask, how come you look so different from me or Gohan? I mean, I have muscles and Gohan had a scraggly voice, why are you so slim and soft-spoken?"

Bulma eyed the young boy like he'd grown a second head, unsure if Goku was being serious. But as Bulma looked into his eyes and saw that the kid was earnest in his questioning the blue-haired newcomer decided to answer him. "I-It's because I'm a girl Goku; I'm supposed to look and sound like this."

"Really; a girl?" Goku looked at Bulma in a new light. Gohan had indeed taught him about girls, but having never seen one didn't have any actual way of knowing that Bulma was one until she told him herself.

And, seeing the blue-haired human, Goku now had a better understanding of why Gohan was so obsessed with them. There was indeed something about Bulma that spoke to a deeper part of young Goku.

"Yep," Bulma answered cheekily while placing her fists on her hips. She wore a smug smirk on her lips as she went on to say, "And if I do say so myself I'm a pretty beautiful specimen; a true work of art."

Having confirmation of her status made Goku think of another question: "So, if you're a girl, does that mean you live in one of those big cities Gohan told me about?"

"That's right kid, but we can talk about that later, first I wanna check something out."

Bulma put their conversation on hold so that she could pull a strange, round device from around her hip and clicked the button on top.

Goku watched as her eyes widened in shock, as well as hope, before Bulma turned her attention back to him. "H-Hey, Goku, Gohan wouldn't have happened to have a dragon ball by chance would he?"

This confused Goku for a moment, but after asking what she meant and seeing Bulma pull two orange orbs from her bag, the wild-haired kid knew what she was looking for. Gohad did indeed have one of these 'dragon balls'...but that didn't mean he was about to just hand it over.

'After all, if she's collecting them, and from that look in her eye, these things must be pretty valuable.' Goku thought to himself.

"Um, yeah, Gohan's got one with four stars on it...but what's so special about them that you want his when you've already got two of your own?"

Bulma once again was floored by the child's lack of knowledge; didn't everyone know the legend of Shenron? Shaking her head to clear those thoughts away, the blue-eyed beauty told Goku the tale of the Eternal Dragon and his power to grant any one wish when all seven dragon balls were collected.

"And that's why I need Gohan's dragon ball; so I can make my wish." Bulma's voice took on a pleading, almost pouty tone.

"But what if I have a wish Bulma? If the dragon only grants one, is it really fare that you get yours but I don't get mine?" Goku questioned. And it was true; there was a part of Goku that wanted to wish his father back to life, if for nothing else than to learn more about where he was from.

Bulma eyed Goku for a moment before smiling kindly at him; although the young boy could see it was slightly strained. She wasn't expecting him to resist her wishes. "Well, Goku, the dragon balls can be used once every year so this time can be my turn and next time we'll let you make a wish okay?"

Goku thought about this for a moment before finally deciding that was fare, especially considering Bulma had been the one to introduce him to the legend in the first place. And she'd already went out of her way to collect two of the seven anyways. Nodding in acceptance, Goku threw in one condition before fully agreeing.

"I want you to help me find something before I give you the ball though."

The serious look on Goku's face threw Bulma for a loop; who the heck was this kid? Never the less, the blue-haired genius smiled in thanks before saying: "Sure thing kid; what are you looking for?"

"...My spaceship."

It was a gamble, but, with everything he'd just heard about a mystical dragon and granting wishes Goku doubted he'd have trouble convincing Bulma he was from space. In fact, as his tail slipped from around his waist to scratch an itch on his face, he noticed that the blue-haired girl was just now realizing that her car had been beaten by a kid.

Blue eyes widened comically as Bulma looked between her trashed automobile and the furry, brown appendage finding its way back around the kid's waist. "Y-You're from outer space!?"

Goku raised a single eyebrow at her reaction; he had a feeling it would go something like this. "Yes, I am, but from what part I am unsure. As I've told you, Gohan found me when I was a baby, the only thing I left out was that he'd only done so because he was around when my ship crash landed here in these mountains."

Bulma continued to stare as the spiky-haired kid expanded on the story he'd just told her a minute ago.

The heiress almost couldn't believe her own ears, and yet, her genius mind rationalized that there really was no other explanation for Goku's tail, or his ability to beat a speeding car head on.

'And besides,' she thought with a sigh, 'who am I to judge or call him a liar; after all, my father is poker buddies with an anthropomorphic dog who people crowned King of Earth.'

Another minute went by, and just as Goku was about to ask Bulma if she was alright, the older teen blinked back into focus and turned her eyes on the alien boy. "W-Well, this definitely wasn't how I expected my day to go, but then I suppose I shouldn't really be too surprised by the existence of aliens, after all there's still so much of space we haven't looked at."

Ah, now that was more like it Goku thought as he lowered his eyebrow. Then, folding his muscled arms across his chest, the wild-haired young martial artist asked Bulma if she was willing to trade her help for the dragon ball he had.

Seeing nothing really wrong with the trade, and eager to make a possible new discovery about the universe, Bulma readily agreed to lend Goku a hand. However, after capsuling her ruined vehicle and returning her attention to the smaller boy, Bulma asked why he hadn't just asked Gohan to show him when he was alive?

"I hadn't cared much about my history until recently, and I guess Gohan didn't think I should since he never mentioned it" was Goku's response. His voice was a little dazed though as his focus was on the small box of capsules Bulma still held in her hand.

The blue-haired beauty raised a curious brow as she listened to Goku's answer. Curious, at least, until she saw what had caught his attention. Smirking playfully she boasted, "What's the matter kid? Never seen a Dino Capsule before?"

Goku shook his head of wild hair and told her no.

"Gohan and I didn't use cars or any other real technology; we cooked over open fires, and bathed using the rivers around us. But he did tell me about them, and how useful they could be I storing all sorts of different things."

Then, thinking of something else Gohan had mentioned about the legendary capsules, Goku asked how she could afford so many as Gohan said they were expensive.

At this Bulma felt her face heat up a little; were her families capsules really that expensive? "Well, yeah, I suppose some of the newer models can be a bit pricey but it's not like Dino Capsules aren't accessible to everyone; you just have to know what you can afford."

Not having any real experience with money or the business side of supply and demand Goku let the matter rest at Bulma's muttered words. Then, looking to the sky he concluded that, while there was still hours of daylight left, it would be a good idea to get started looking for his ship.

Turning his eyes back to Bulma Goku relayed his thoughts to her and, after the blue-eyed girl voiced her agreement, they were on their way into the tree line; Goku's fish being forgotten in the search.

Goku and his newly met search partner Bulma trekked through the surrounding forest area for, what Bulma realized after looking at her watch, two hours. And while the high mountain air kept the woods from being a muggy mosquito fest, the blazing summer sun was still coming down on the pair at full strength.

After taking another drink from her canteen, the blue-haired girl groaned in discomfort before asking if the young monkey boy even knew where they were going. "We've been out here forever Goku, this much unprotected exposure to the sun isn't exactly good for my sensitive skin ya know."

The youth in question didn't bother to look back at the girl behind him, choosing instead to focus on the shrubbery that needed to be pushed aside, as he answered her. "It shouldn't take too much longer for us to find it Bulma; I doubt Gohan walked too far from his home during his trips, so my ship has to be close by."

Then, almost as an afterthought, the tailed alien did turn one eye on Bulma as he muttered, "And don't call me 'monkey boy'."

Bulma managed a swift nod of understanding before Goku turned his eye away, but once she was sure the boy couldn't see it, the bluenette impishly bit her bottom lip as she watched his back.

'I think I'll have some fun with that little piece of information,' she thought, realizing the name got under Goku's skin.

However, before the young girl could think up another way to slip the name into conversation she was signaled to halt. Looking from her companion's outstretched hand to his face Bulma quickly noticed the look of annoyance that was creased into the boy's features.

Curious to what could be the problem she asked, "What's the matter Goku, why are we stopping?"

"I found my ship," he managed through fiercely ground teeth.

On her end, hearing this made Bulma excited. Not only was she about to be the first person to introduce alien technology to the world, but it also meant she would soon be in possession of her third dragon ball. 'There's just one problem though.' she thought.

Whatever was on the other side of those trees, Goku wasn't happy with it.

Taking a careful step forward, so as not to set him off, Bulma whispered to the gi clad alien why they weren't getting closer.

"Look for yourself," was his curt reply.

Puzzled as to what could have the younger boy so on edge Bulma took his advice and, moving even closer, peeked out from behind the last bit of tree line that separated the pair from the next clearing. It didn't take her long to find the problem.

Once Bulma's blue eyes were able to see past the trees it took only seconds for them to lock on to a giant, scaly foot with claws. Swiftly peering upwards, the blunette's view was filled with the image of a fully grown T-Rex!

Barely managing to keep herself from squealing in terror Bulma hauled herself back behind the safety of the trees and stumbled backwards until managing to trip, and fall on her butt.

"I-I guess that could be a problem," the girl babbled in a breathless tone. Turning her shaky vision to the boy in front of her, Bulma mumbled that they would have to wait until the lizard left before checking on Goku's ship.

Only to be stunned into silence by his response.

"No, I'm sure I can bring it down, the problem is the fool is standing five feet from my pod. If I try to fight it, there's a chance it could take a wrong step and crush it; no, I'll have to draw it away first, problem is I don't know how."

By the end of his explanation Goku was looking left and right in an effort to find something he could use so as to snag the over-grown lizard's attention.

'But with no other animal in sight, and none that I can smell near by, that only leaves...' Onyx-black eyes met with ocean-blue.

"Bulma...this is going to sound crazy but-"

The older girl didn't even give Goku a chance to finish, "Don't even think about it kid. There's no way you are using me as live bait; we're just going to have to wait—hey! Goku what are you doing!"

In the middle of her refusal Goku used his superior speed to rush over and, taking care not to grip too tight, wrapped his hand around Bulma's slim wrist before pulling the girl to her feet and pushing her out into the clearing. "Just get its attention," he said in a rushed explanation, "move him away from my ship and then I'll come out and kill it. Trust me."

Not fully realizing what happened Bulma turned back after stumbling into the clearing and shouted, "Trust you!? I just met you monkey boy, and after pulling a stunt like this, you think I'm gonna trust you!?"

Bulma was about to give the wild-haired boy behind the trees another piece of her mind when the earth shaking beneath her sneakers drew her attention to the real problem on her hands. Looking up, the blue-haired beauty stared into the crimson eyes of the lizard king, blinking once, then twice, before screaming and dashing to her left in fear.

The loud noise, sudden movement, and thought of an afternoon snack, were the perfect combination in getting the dinosaurs attention. In seconds the small mountain of a reptile had all its focus on the moving meat stick that was zeroed in on its sights...never noticing as it moved in for the chase, that a second figure had exited from the trees that were now at its back.

For Bulma this was a nightmare. Her legs, while aesthetically pleasing, were not the legs of a runner. Her body moved slowly despite her best efforts to escape and within seconds of being pushed, the girls lungs and muscles ached painfully with exhaustion.

Fearing her life was over, as it was only a matter of time before the monster caught up with her, Bulma almost forgot that there was still hope. Goku. Managing to suck in a great mouthful of air, the bluenette let it all out in a crazed scream for help.

"GOKU WHERE ARE YOU!? HURRY UP AND SAVE ME!"

Those seem to have been the magic words, because almost immediately after the ground shook as if hit by an earthquake. The force was of tremors were so strong, Bulma found herself off balance and once again falling to the forest floor; this time on her hands and knees.

Still fearing for her life however, Bulma whipped her head around and stared wide eyed in the direction she believed her doom to come from. Only to have them nearly pop out of their sockets and her jaw hit the floor.

'N-No way,' the frightened girl thought to herself in disbelief. Still gasping for air Bulma looked on at the picture in front of her. 'That's just, i-it's impossible!'

The thing that had the genius so baffled was that, no more than five yards from where she sat lay the unmoving, dead body of the very same T-Rex that had been chasing her only seconds before.

However, this wasn't what had the girl so baffled. No, it was the fact that Goku, a boy who couldn't have been older than thirteen by Bulma's calculations, was standing atop the giant lizard's head with his fist buried elbow deep in its skull.

'Goku,' she thought it amazement, 'who are you?'

Bulma's question was put on hold though because, once he was sure the dinosaur was down and out, Goku pulled his bloody hand free and, leaping from his perch, began to make his way over to the crater he'd seen earlier.

Remembering the whole reason for the chase, Bulma managed to haul herself up on her feet again before making her way towards Goku on shaky legs. 'They feel like jello,' she thought in dismay.

And yet in spite of this the girl was able to hobble over, moving swiftly past the dinosaur, towards the edge of the same crater she'd seen her savior move to. Once there, Bulma let herself settle down along the lip of the impact site so as to rest her burning muscles.

From this point of view the girl could easily see the little white pod that Goku now stood in front of. The transport was clearly alien, and appeared to have been built to carry one person.

Which begged the question: why had Goku been sent to Earth alone?

It was a loud hissing noise pulled Bulma from her thoughts this time, and when the world came back into focus she found that the sound had been Goku's pod opening. 'Maybe it only opens for him; like thumb lock for a safe?'

Whatever it was, the space craft had indeed opened, and even from her higher vantage point Bulma could see the high-tech inside of the ship. She could also see the comfortable-looking seat inside where the pilot would sit. Bulma's blue eyes could even make out the various, flashing instruments that must have been the controls.

All-in-all, while the pod itself was banged up, Bulma could tell that the craft was far beyond anything the people of her own planet were capable of.

However, just as she was about to call out to the owner of the pod Bulma heard a voice. It was female, but mechanical, like the one someone heard on a voicemail over the phone.

The first time it spoke the bluenette had been so caught off guard she'd missed what was said, but it soon became clear the voice had been set on a loop when the teenage genius heard the voice again. The second time she'd only caught the last words, 'life forms', and assumed it was telling Goku to study them.

It was the third time, when Bulma finally, clearly heard the message that the girl felt her blood run cold and her heart stop.

"Wake up Kakarot; destroy all life forms."

xXx