Legacy of Warriors

Legacy of Warriors

Chapter 1

The Gift to Earth

(Note from the Author: I did not create, or pretend to create, Dragon Ball, Z, or GT. Keep your lawyers away from me and accept this work for what it is… a fanfiction.

Also, this is a rewrite to the abysmal Dragonball: Rings of Power fic I started several years ago and gave up on. Hopefully I learned something since then, because I want this version to not suck.)

"Shenron, can you please restore the Earth one last time… you know, for old time's sake?" Goku asked, wiping a bit of blood off of his lip. The only thing pulverized more than his tiny body was the planet itself. The Earth Special Forces had always been able to count on the Dragonballs to fix the damages of the battles against the forces of evil they engaged in. That was why the emergence of seven powerful Shadow Dragons had surprised them all. Their greatest source of hope, the Dragonballs, nearly became their undoing.

The glowing red eyes of the massive serpentine Shenron narrowed as it glared down from the sky at Goku. "Have you learned nothing, Goku? Your overuse of the Dragonballs is what got you in this mess in the first place," Shenron, the Eternal Dragon of Earth replied, his voice a deep bellow, like a clap of thunder in each word. "However, I am capable of making a deal with you, Son Goku. Give up your life, and I shall do as you asked. Come with me, Son Goku, on the last adventure of your existence."

Tears began to well up in Pahn's eyes. "Grandpa… no!" The Saiyan girl ran up and threw her arms around Goku, putting her head on his shoulder as she began to weep. "You can't do it Grandpa! What if more monsters come to fight again? We need you here Grandpa… you're the only one that can protect us all."

"No Pahn, I'm not," Goku said softly, gently hugging her before forcing her to look up. "Over the years, so many foes have threatened the Earth because of me. I am confident that you all can handle anything that will come your way. Pahn, you have become strong during our travels together. Vegeta, I'm glad we got to work together in the end. Gohan and Goten, my sons… you have always made me proud. Now it will be your turn to defend the planet. Uub, you were a great student and I know things will be fine in your hands. And Chi Chi… I love you. Shenron, I accept your conditions. Restore the Earth and take me with you."

The Eternal Dragon's eyes shimmered for a second as he bellowed, "It shall be done!"

"Goodbye everyone," Goku whispered as he jumped on Shenron's back. "Remember, I am always with you. It's up to you now."

"The Dragonballs shall be dormant for a hundred years. The pressure that has built up from your frivolous usage of the sacred Dragonballs must be released before I can allow you to use them once more." With that, Shenron left the mortal plane, carrying Goku with him. The Earth's mightiest hero left peacefully after many years of battle. The people of the Earth killed by the terrible Shadow Dragons were restored to life, and to them, things continued on as they always had.

But the Earth's Special Forces knew that it was different. Goku was gone, and now the fate of the Earth, maybe even the universe, would forevermore rest on their shoulders. Their greatest ally, greatest hero, and greatest friend was gone from the face of the Earth forever, sacrificing himself hoping that they could know peace. It was a bittersweet victory.

Four years pass, a peaceful time for the people of Earth without the vaguest of threats lurking in the shadows. It had been a painful process, but the Earth Special Forces eventually continued on with life after Goku, each day becoming slightly easier than the last.

News of the loss of Goku spread throughout the Universe, just as the stories of his great successes and battles had during his life. When news reached Neo Namek, they were especially saddened. They felt guilty for never repaying the debt that they felt Goku had earned when he defeated Frieza for them and avenged the very planet itself. And so they began to craft their greatest creations ever.

"Stabilizing the energy nexus," Dende called over to a second Namekian, both of them concentrating hard on their work. "Decanmous, are you ready to calibrate the energy output?"

Decanmous wiped a bead of sweat from the side of his head. "Yes," he replied, nodding slightly. "Let's do this."

"Two years," Dende sighed, looking at the fifteen shimmering golden rings in his hand. "Two years of intense calculations and designing. Two years of secret work, of trials and failures. And now we stand on the brink of success." With a last second of hesitation, Dende dropped the fifteen rings into the churning focus of energy set between himself and Decanmous, where they floated in the cloud of magic forces.

Both Namekians shifted the churning storm of energy, contorting it to fit the needs of the project. With bright bolts and sparks, the cloud of energy began to seep into the rings, imbuing them with the energy conjured by Dende: the residual energy of the world's greatest hero, Goku.

Suddenly, the entirety of the Guardian's Lookout began to tremble and quake as the last of the energy filtered into the rings. Decanmous and Dende both locked eyes, uncertain as to what was causing the violent rumbling. "Did we do it?" Decanmous shouted over the roar, as he reached out for the nearest of the fifteen hovering rings. As soon as he had it in his grasp, the other fourteen scattered in an explosion, knocking both Namekians off their feet. Decanmous was swept past the edge of the Lookout. A glimmering stream of energy crossed his field of vision, which he instantly identified as another one of the Rings of Power.

Forcing his body into motion, Decanmous streaked off through the sky, tearing through the air to catch up with the descending object as it crossed over to the ocean. He reached it just as it broke the surface of the water, stretching out to grasp it before kicking his legs out against the water, canceling his momentum. He scanned the sky fiercely, desperately seeking any other trails of light from the remaining thirteen rings, hoping to recover them as well. However, there was nothing left to be seen. The remaining rings were lost to him.

Hoping Dende would have some idea as to what to do, Decanmous returned to the Guardian's Lookout. Dende stood at the edge of his massive tower, gazing blankly at the Earth below. "This is very interesting" Dende muttered, standing at the edge of his floating palace. "And very unforeseen."

Decanmous nodded and looked down at the two golden rings in his hands, gently pulsating with the energy the two Namekians placed within. "It is only right that the sons of Goku receive these two, don't you think?" Dende nodded in agreement, lost in thoughts about the fate of the Earth - the fate of the universe - if the Rings of Power would come into the hands of those with bad intentions, something neither Namekian had thought about before starting the project.

The cool metal felt reassuring under Cyba's touch. Freedom was so near, too near to lose now, he thought as he watched his cousin Anoreha toss the body of the last guard on top the pile of the other incapacitated Saiyans.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do Cyba?" Anoreha asked, her black eyes meeting his own. "The Space Colony has been the only home you've ever known."

He snorted a laugh. "Yeah… some home it's been. A real bastard of a grandfather, a monster for a father, and a few dozen scientists constantly trying to poke and prod me. Mother and Master Wolfstar are dead. And the missions they keep sending us on are starting to attract unwanted attention by that new emperor, not to mention the legendary Saiyan slayers. If I had it my way, you and Squaas and Master Arnek would be coming with me. This place won't last much longer in its present state."

Anoreha frowned. "I understand why you wish to leave, but I cannot. Not yet. There are people here that need someone to look out for them. Master Arnek is always out on missions these days, and if you leave, that will only leave Squaas and I to take care of the orphans."

With a sigh, Cyba opened the hatch to the space ship. With Squaas modifying the security footage, Anoreha would be free from punishment for her involvement in Cyba's escape plan. The thought made him grin slightly. The scientists were going to be pissed when they found out he left.

"That genetic material that Feldian modified me with came from Earth right? Same planet that Kakarot was from?" Cyba asked as he began punching in a destination into the computer. Anoreha nodded. "Then I think it's time I see what this Earth place is all about. Fifteen years and I hardly know anything about all the genetic manipulation Feldian did to me. About time I find out, I think." His grandfather was a bastard indeed, he thought.

"Cyba," Anoreha began, then stopped for a second. "Take care cousin."

"You too," he replied. "Get out of the hanger before you get caught." He punched up the launching code as soon as he closed the hatch, launching himself away from the Saiyan Space Colony with all the speed the craft could muster.

"Earth…" he said, feeling a slight thrill as the knot in his stomach loosened a bit. "I hope they have fresher air than the colony."

"Master Tratz, we have arrived in Earth's orbit," a man of nearly pure white told one that was almost identical. "I can detect several moderate power levels here. Given the average power level of the population, I think it is reasonable to assume that the higher ones are Saiyans."

"Excellent," the strongest of the five men on the space ship responded, standing to glance at the energy readings himself. "Yes, I am also nearly sure that those are Saiyans, at least some of them. Great, we shall begin our extermination shortly. Makradus and Yektla, I want you two on a general survey of the planet. Find out about geography, the native inhabitants, and their feelings on the Saiyans, if you can. If the Saiyans rule this planet as the last batch had, this could be messy. We might need to purge the entire population."

"Sir, if we encounter a Saiyan?" Yektla asked, without finishing the question.

Tratz's head turned away from the computer, bringing his gaze upon Yektla. "Do not kill it, yet. We may be able to extract information about the Saiyan planet Neo Vegeta or the fabled Saiyan Space Colony. If we could find either of those, surely all of us would be invited into the Hall of the Legends and accepted among them. If nothing else, you two would finally make Elite Exterminators."

The two bowed, then left the orbiting ship, descending down toward Earth to complete the mission Tratz had assigned them.

"How many do you think are left, Tratz?" the final of the five asked as they watched Makradus and Yektla enter Earth's atmosphere in a glowing blaze. "How many planets with Saiyans? We have only encountered five since Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, and the treasure troves of Neo Vegeta and this Saiyan Space Colony seem too good to be true."

Tratz snorted a laugh, but only one. "Does it matter? We will destroy the Saiyans, wherever they hide, Lentra. Personally, I hope the universe is crawling with them, hiding in fear of the mighty Ni Asyas. Let them know fear… and let us bring them pain and death!"

Makradus and Yektla sped off toward the nearest energy signal, deciding that any of the higher power levels could be Saiyan. And even if they were not Saiyan, the two Ni Asyas reasoned that the chances were high that if the creature was sentient, it would know of the Saiyans and where to find them.

As they neared the moving power level, they soon discovered that it was not Saiyan. Yektla took the lead, moving with all his speed to cut off the figure that sped through the air. "Well well, looks like we have a Namekian," Yektla snorted as the figure came to a stop in front of them. "Excuse me, but do you know if there are any Saiyans on this rock?"

Decanmous bared his Namekian fangs in a snarl, shuddering slightly as he felt their power levels. "You… you don't have good intentions. I will not help you."

"Aw, so sad," Makradus mocked, reaching out and grabbing the Namekian by his white cloak. "I was hoping we could be good friends too. Now I guess I'll have to kill you, before we can move on to the Saiyan scum."

"Don't be an idiot, Makradus," Yektla snapped, holding back his comrade's fist. "I detect something strange about this fellow here. What do you make of those two rings he has grasped there?" Decanmous made as if he were going to pull away, but Makradus held on to the cloak tightly.

Makradus sniffed loudly, then glared at Decanmous. "Yes… I sense some strange energy coming from them."

"Great, that's what I thought," Yektla replied. "I believe Master Tratz would like to have those." Decanmous scowled, then actually did manage to pull away from Makradus's grasp.

"To hell with giving them to Tratz, we should keep them!" Makradus mused, which prompted Yektla to smack him on the side of the head.

"Idiot! We serve Master Tratz for now. I won't have you ruining my chances at becoming an Elite Exterminator some day. Now, Namekian, hand those rings over." Yektla stretched out a hand to receive the rings, but Decanmous did not move for a moment. "Well, do you want to die?"

"I suppose not," Decanmous said as he also reached out, his fist closed. At the last instant, he thrust his other hand forward, releasing an energy blast directly at Yektla's face. Decanmous wasted no time in kicking the Ni Asyas warrior in the torso, knocking him into Makradus. He then unleashed a bigger blast, which enveloped both of them. "Next time, don't come picking a fight with someone you don't know anything about," he muttered as the energy began to dissipate without revealing his foes. "Hmm… I didn't mean to kill them."

A white form leapt forward striking Decanmous swiftly and stunning him with the force of the blow. "My, you are presumptuous," Yektla said as he struck again then grasped Decanmous's closed hand. He forced the fingers open, snatching the rings away from the Namekian before hurtling him toward the ground. Makradus launched a powerful energy burst at the falling form, which struck the Namekian before he hit the ground. "Time to go report to Master Tratz about our findings."

"But we haven't found any Saiyans yet," Makradus complained as they made their way for the atmosphere.

Yektla shook his head slowly. "There will be time for that later, Makradus. Master Tratz will surely be pleased with what we have found already. Now let's make haste, I don't want to be stuck on this rancid mudball all day."