Dragon Ball; Sage of Hope

Chapter 2: Another Low

After the mysterious flash of light that had been caused by the abrupt scuffle between himself and Vegeta, Goku's vision came back slowly as he realised he was in an empty void. He swivelled on the spot, looking all around him but seeing inky blackness as far as his eyes could see. He searched out with his Ki sense yet could only sense himself.

Goku was certainly puzzled, he felt like he was in a dream, yet he was dreaming with his eyes open. "Hello, anyone here?" he called out, yet only got silence as his voice echoed in the empty void. Getting into a lotus position, he levitated in the void, fist on his cheek as he thought over the recent events that had transpired.

From his beloved wife or ex-wife, in this case, cheating on him with his close friend as he watched, to the God of Destruction he had befriended attempting to kill him just because the power he had achieved to keep his friends and family safe from threats had been deemed dangerous in the wrong hands.

The feeling of betrayal stabbed at his heart whilst twisting his poor stomach into a knot with worry. Goku failed to notice the tears that had formed in his tear ducts as they silently fell until one touched the corner of his mouth, shocking him with its mild salty taste. Slowly he brought his hand to his eyes and with the back of it wiped away the tears. "Are they even worth the tears?" mused Goku, voice hollow and devoid of emotion.

Next moment a portal appeared in front of his very eyes, illuminating the void with its brightness. Squinting and blinking his eyes rapidly Goku tried to make out the small figure that stepped out of it, but the light was as bright as the Solar Flare technique.

"I always forget that the portal is bright." spoke a voice from within the portal. Goku picked up that the owner was a female, however, he also was convinced she was friendly due to the friendly and cheery undertone to her voice. The light suddenly died down as mysteriously as it had appeared leaving Goku looking at a young girl.

She was a pretty, young looking female Kaioshin from what Goku knew of their race, with pinkish-red hair and pinkish-purple skin. Like most Kaioshin she wore a pair of Potara earrings and robes akin to the ones worn by the Supreme Kai on the Sacred World of the Kai, though it hers seemed more casual in design. Her outfit also sported a pair of high heeled boots, which may have been to compensate for her short stature, as she was noticeably shorter Goku. "Uhm..." was all Goku could muster, eyes roaming over the small Kai.

"Excellent, you're finally awake. We don't have much time as it is."

"Who are you?" questioned Goku, looking both puzzled and curious, before he quickly wiped the trace tears if any that could have been on his cheeks "And where am I anyway?" he continued after having finished "Oh, silly me haha" she responded, her voice light and airy with a cheerful undertone, before clearing her throat "My name is Chronoa and I'm the Supreme Kai of Time. We're currently in the Void, a place that exists in between time streams."

"Oh, ok then, well my name is..."

"Son Goku, Legendary Super Saiyan from planet Vegeta. The one who defeated Frieza on Namek fought Cell and vaporised the threat that was Kid Buu with a spirit bomb. Need I go on?" spoke Chronoa after cutting Goku off. Goku shook his head, "That won't be necessary." added Goku nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Good, now that the pleasantries are out of the way we can get down to business."

"Sure, what do you need?" Chronoa smiled broadly, as she flashed her pearly whites "I need you to go back in time to stop a threat before it happens."

"Sure, why not." responded Goku with all the enthusiasm of a dead fish, "It's not like I'm wanted or needed here anyway." continued the Saiyan before shrugging, making Chronoa eye him curiously. "Are you okay Goku?" there was certainly something off about him, he seemed different from his usual self. The air of child-like innocence that she had witnessed on him a few times had now been replaced with the aura of a broken man, one who didn't know what his place was in the world. She watched as he sighed, a long one at that before he spoke "Uhm... yeah, I'm completely fine. Just something on my mind is all."