Dragon Blog Super #14: What If GOKU Was NEVER BORN? (Odyssey Arc I)

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

a.k.a. A MasakoX Fan,

Pandering to the Fandom.

I hit another mental block, this time with my Son Of Bardock? side story that will figure into the plot much later. I also fell down a Reddit hole and started giving ideas to other What If? writers, and found one I might enjoy doing once I decide that this is done: "What If Future 17 & 18 Turned Good?" I have some bizarre ideas for that one!

But first, let's set the scene for today's chapter in a world without Goku.

Last time in Dragon Blog Super, I covered some filler episodes of the Super anime, like "The Baseball Episode" where this version saw Yamcha and the Z-Fighters faced off against the Otherworld Tournament warriors in America's/Japan's passtime, the "Gohan Goes Hollywood" episodes with Kumu filling the Gohan role and Straps and Marin inspiring Dr. Hedo's favorite Sentai show, and a magic-powered Chi-Chi taking Yurin's spot in Tien's dojo episode because the triclops needs a healthy romantic relationship. And speaking of healthy romantic relationships, Bulla and Hedo will get there eventually now that a modified pre-Super Hero manga arc is behind them.

Everyone who was training with Beerus and Whis offscreen in the last part are still out of the picture for this arc, too. That means no Buu, Zangya, Vegeta, Tarble, Paragus, Broly, Gure, or Bahdo. Also, Piccolo will not be in this arc, as he is training with the Kais in pursuit of new deity-level techniques he can use in battle (and still chasing his Future self for that Orange power). Also, Jaco is away on important Galactic Patrol business (probably taking pennance for the Watagashi incident).

That leaves Bulma and her parents, Yamcha, Videl and baby Caltrop, Kumu, Krillin, Mai, Tights, Bulla, Marin, Straps, Tien, Chiaotzu, Roshi, Chi-Chi, Gero, Vomi, Gevo, and Hedo on Earth.

So what would a Super arc be without Bulma inviting everyone to party on her yacht...again? The reason behind this party is that it's Valentine's Day, and she wants to celebrate all the new couples. She invites Vegeta, Zangya, Tarble, and Gure to come, but Beerus won't just let his two favorite cooks go, and Vegeta and Zangya are too engrossed in their training (Vegeta even says he'll be damned if he lets "the old man and his feral brat" surpass him with some kind of "God ki bargain sale").

Bulma lets this go, and the couples' cruise begins. The food, drinks, and desserts are delicious (what the gods don't know won't hurt them, right?), but things go awry when Straps gets bored and starts scanning the nearby islands with his enhanced vision (a trait he gets from his father), and spots an alien ship hovering above one of them.

If you've seen the anime, you know where this is going. 17 and 18 are still podded up somewhere, and Goku doesn't exist, but this is going to be where Monster Island comes into play.

Thinking that whatever is going on over there could be infinitely more fun than pacing around the yacht while the grown-ups schmooze it up and get all yucky with each other, Straps plays on his mother's sci-fi fixation to get her permission before securing Bulla (with her Bulla-ZR--a play on "brassiere"--armor in a Capsule), Marin, and Hedo to go with him, with Kumu and Gevo (armed with hand-mounted blasters that are a cross between 16's Hell's Flash, Iron Man's Repulsor Blasts, and Rhinox's gatling pistols, which he calls "Gevo-Mits") acting as chaperones at their elders' "request."

Upon their arrival at the island, the air is split by a thunderous roar, followed by a chorus of surprised shrieks, howls, and growls as the alien craft begins pulling every creature on the island into its depths.

Just like in the original episode of Super, the group Instant Transmission aboard the ship to rescue the animals (with Bulla doing the technique and everyone grabbing onto her, including a blushing Hedo). They easily handle the Gladiator/Last Order Elite knockoff guards and confront the head poacher,

but instead of the remote being a bluff or an actual bomb, it's an auto-pilot switch that drops the poacher into an escape pod and sets the ship itself on a rapid course into deep space.

Bulla tries to regain control and return to Earth, but it's not like she can just mash buttons or plug in R2D2 or say, "Popo" to get it to do what she wants, so by this time, the group are well and truly lost...in Space! All she and Hedo can do now is have everyone search the ship for tools and try to tinker it into submission.

Thankfully, this is not yet a horror movie (though the group is trapped on an alien spaceship with Earthly monsters and extraterrestrial beasts), so they pair off as follows to cover more ground in the search: Gevo and Straps, Bulla and Hedo, and Kumu and Marin.

The latter pair don't really know what to look for, so the brother and sister stay by the console in case anything of importance happens. Bulla and Hedo are more mechanically inclined, so they go in search of the engine room. Gevo has a lesser degree of technical aptitude, but is buoyed along by Straps' youthful curiosity about the menagerie onboard, 

and so they head back to the cargo bay where they first boarded and fought the guards.

A bit later, in the cargo bay, three whispering voices can be heard in one of the cages.

"Did you catch all that ruckus earlier?" Asks a mostly white-furred, cat-like being with one brown ear.

"Yeah, Mike;" says a second cat-being with dark blue fur. "Whaddya think that was all about?"

"I dunno, Mix; maybe rival poachers? Got any ideas, Mazi?"

Silence from the third cat-being, Mazi, who looks almost identical to Mix, but leaner and with pale blue fur.

"Mazi?" Again, nothing. But the pair then notice a bubble expanding and contracting at their brother's mouth, and sigh. "How could he have slept through all of that?"

Mike forms his hand into a karate chop above Mazi's head and nods at Mix, who grins mischievously and sharpens his index claw between his teeth.

Mix pops the bubble, jarring Mazi out of his slumber such that he cracks his head on the edge of Mike's hand.

"Hey!" Mazi shouts at his brothers, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Wha--?"

Mike and Mix quickly shush him.

"What'd ya do that for?"

"You slept through all the action, dummy!" They whisper at him in tandem, which is weird because Mix and Mazi are supposed to be the twins in the family.

This gets Mazi excited. "Like, a fight? Why didn't you guys wake me up?"

Again in tandem trope subversion, Mike and Mix smack their own foreheads.

A deep voice from down the hall: "Straps, did you hear that?"

"Yes, Uncle." said a second, more nasaly voice. "It sounds like there may be other intelligent life on board."

"That is highly unfortunate," said the deeper voice. "Can you locate them?"

"With my Super-Elite eyesight?" the one called Straps says, aping his Jaco's bravado in the face of the unknown. "Of course!"

"You were too loud, dummy!" Mike scolded.

"And whose fault is that?" Mazi retorted.

"Yours!"

"Will you two please shut up before we get spotted?" said Mix.

"There you are!" exclaimed the young, nasaly one.

The three cat brothers jumped at being discovered, and retreated to the shadows at the back of their enclosure.

"There is no need to be frightened, little ones," said the owner of the deeper voice, who was of such an imposing size that his assurances fell on distrusting cat ears. "We, too, are prisoners aboard this vessel."

"Oh, yeah?" Mazi stepped from the shadows and challenged him. "They why're we in cages and you two're walkin' around free? That ain't very prisoner-like, 'Uncle'!"

Using the power-insulation and strength-enhancing features of his eponymous Mits, Gevo then bends two of the bars, creating an opening for the brothers to escape. "There; is that more to your liking?"

Mazi balks at this feat of strength and eyes the large man suspiciously. "Yeah, I guess so." He then steps through the opening, with Mike and Mix reluctantly following suit. "So, mind telling us who you are?"

Gevo then introduces himself and Straps, and relates the circumstances that led our six heroes to this point, with Straps sure to include that it was his idea to go to Monster Island in the first place.

The cat-brothers are amazed by the story and believe that the pair are telling the truth (less so with Straps' embellishments, but Mazi has grudging respect for Gevo's strength and is grateful for his and his brothers' relative freedom). But when it comes to telling the story of their own capture and the nature of their race, the brothers are reluctant to do so. The last time an outsider learned of their secrets, it led to the collapse of their entire society.

Author's Note: The brothers here are based on Z, Mike, and Mix from the Nekomajin [Z] gag manga, reimagined as the last survivors of the planet Nekomajin, which was once inhabited by creatures resembling terrestrial cats, until it was visited ages ago by a Namekian elder named Leopa (after the leopard slug), who created a large set of Dragon Balls called the Majin-dama, which were divided evenly among the Neko population, evolving them into their Nekomajin forms upon consumption of the orbs and granting them various magic-based powers.

In more recent times, the Nekomajin were discovered by a greedy rabbit-like alien named Usagi, who learned to extract the Majin-dama and increase his own power. Mazi, Mike, and Mix managed to escape Planet Nekomajin, only to land in the poachers' clutches. But it will be some time before the brothers trust our heroes enough to share this information.

Or will it?

Elsewhere on the ship (shortly after Gevo broke the brothers' enclosure), Bulla and Hedo are searching for the engine room when Hedo notices a strange buzzing coming from Bulla's pants.

"Umm, Bulla?" Hedo asks.

"What's up?"

Hedo points at the origin of the sound, blushing profusely. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"Yeah," Bulla replies. "'Get your mind out of the gutter!'"

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the ZR Capsule. "See? It's just my armor." Then her tsundere reaction wears off and she realizes why her armor is buzzing.

Hedo is confused at the new look of excitement on her face. "What are you suddenly so happy about?"

"Dragon Balls!" Bulla squeals with delight. "There are Dragon Balls on this ship!"

She starts to run off, but doubles back to lay a big "thank you" kiss on a fully flushed Hedo (like, he's on the verge of a totally wholesome nosebleed right now, and the subsequent POM! of the Bulla-ZR Capsule opening almost sets him off completely) before stepping into her armor and dragging him along in search of the possible Dragon Balls. If you've read the previous part, you know that's become kind of a thing with her....

Moments later, Bulla and Hedo find themselves in the cargo bay, where Gevo is watching Straps play-fighting with...three cat-children?

Gevo turns to the young couple. "Did you find any tools, Miss Bulla?"

"No, Uncle Gev," she replies sheepishly. "I think we were getting close, but my armor Capsule started buzzing."

"So there are Dragon Balls onboard?"

"Yep! Three of them; and the suit's Dragon Radar says they're right...there!" Bulla points a finger directly at the three cat-brothers, who freeze in mid-fight, such that Straps lands an accidental blow on Mazi's face. Little Nekomajin can't catch a break, can he?

So, yeah; the jig is up already. The cat-bros have seemingly no choice but to tell the group (later including Kumu and Marin) that they are Nekomajin.

"Interesting," says Kumu, recognizing that last part. "We have a Majin friend back on Earth. A set of those dama things, too."

The brothers are invigorated at the possibility of more of their kind being alive on another planet, until Kumu tells them that Buu isn't a cat and their Dragon Balls work differently.

But come to think of it, they do know a crazy-strong cat.

Credit: KCruzer on Twitter

Could Beerus have been one of these Nekomajin people at some point? Something to think about later....

They still need to get the ship off autopilot somehow, but returning to Earth is no longer their end goal; merely a pit stop on a grander journey.

"Listen;" Bulla announces, looking the Nekomajin brothers in the eyes. "Mazi, Mike, Mix? We're going to get this ship under control, take the creatures that were stolen from our planet back where they belong, and when that's done, we're going to help you three defeat that Usagi creep and restore your people. I promise."

Hedo takes Bulla's hand and says, "Agreed."

Gevo: "As am I"

"On my honor as the son of a Galactic Patrol Super-Elite!" Straps throws his hand in as well.

"I'm in, too!" Marin adds her hand on top of Straps', blushing at the public, physical contact.

"Count on it!" Kumu tops it off, stifling a chuckle in Straps' direction.

We close on a tribute to that freeze-frame moment at the end of the first episode of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers,

with the adventure to be continued next time, in Dragon Blog Super!

If you liked this part and want to read more to find out what happened to the poacher, if our heroes will get the ship fixed in time to avoid being sold on the intergalactic black market, where the next stop on their journey will be, and the answers to many more questions, please like and comment down below, subscribe to my blog, and follow me on Tumblr, Reddit, and Facebook for the latest news on my content.

MasakoX Fan,

Out