Chapter 1: Distortion
The Distortion World was an ominous dimension incomprehensible by the standard laws of physics. Land masses floated aimlessly throughout a dark purple void, whole waterfalls flowing in the opposite direction towards an anti-gravitated platform. Among spiky trees that grew out of rust-tinged soil resided this alternate plain of existence's only known inhabitant. It was a gray serpentine-esc creature with six elongated black tendrils, each one sporting red horns on their tips. The draconic being also had three golden-gray spikes on each side of its body in place of legs, four shorter ones extending from the snaking tail backward. Along with a striped chest of red and black, it had a trio of sharp half-rings wrapped around its neck and a highly imposing faceplate with horns that faced the back of his head to match. This was Giratina, a legendary Pokémon that represented all antimatter in its own habitat and respective universe of origin.
"Ooohgraaah!" roared the Ghost/Dragon type as it floated aimlessly throughout the endless horizon. Its beady red and black eyes narrowed into what seemed like pure infuriation, seemingly bothered by some unknown source of energy able to be sensed nearby. Growing more annoyed by this immense intake of incalculable power by the second, Giratina opened up its faceplate to reveal a tongued mouth and materialized a blue sphere of compressed aura. As a coping mechanism, the Renegade Pokémon whaled lowly and shot this projected attack at a proximate strip of earth. Said levitating platform spontaneously combusted upon impact, merely shattering into several different pieces due to a lack of oxygen necessary to produce a fiery explosion.
"Grrrrr…" Giratina rumbled lowly, glancing from left to right at the Distortion World's encircling "walls". To its surprise, one area seemed to be lit up with glowing yellow energy, radiating with an abundant shine of power. Targeting the specific gateway to another world outside of its primary home, Giratina blasted a turbulent whirlwind of air at the aforementioned power surge to create itself an interdimensional portal. Within this proverbial hole in the entire space-time continuum were three individuals of varying sizes, seemingly positioned near seven orange spheres in waiting for something to happen.
"Screeeah!" Giratina bellowed angrily, seeking to personally deal with the source of its prior ailment. With that, it slithered through the artificial rift and vanished into nothingness, the Distortion World now completely absent of all life.
In Universe 7…
After managing to spare Earth from the God of Destruction, Beerus' wrath, Son Goku's life seemed to be getting more interesting by the second. For one thing, he would be able to gain full control of his newly acquired Super Saiyan God form by training with Whis and find out what Godly chi was truly capable of. However, the stronger Goku wished to become, the more he seemed to distance himself from those closest to him, especially his wife, Chi Chi. Due to almost dying a third time in the battle against said purple sphinx cat, the Ox Princess had just about enough of worrying herself to the bone after so many years and decided to, reluctantly, put their relationship on hold until further notice. This sent Goku into an existential crisis that he had no idea how to get out of, interfering with his plans to visit Beerus' personal domain as previously intended. All the Saiyan goofball could do now was sit outside of Capsule Corp, staring blankly into space in an attempt to figure out what he should do to fix this.
"You should talk to him." suggested the blue-haired scientist, Bulma Brief, to her highly annoyed husband. Vegeta was extra pissed off at this point, enraged by the fact that Goku's incessive moping got in the way of his own chance to spar with Beerus' angel. His arms were crossed indecisively, tapping his foot at rapid speeds.
"Why do I have to comfort the idiot?! He only has himself to blame for what happened." The Saiyan Prince objected matter-of-factly in growing ire. Not at all pleased with his attitude, Bulma grows a prominent tick-mark on her forehead and pinches Vegeta's ear. This hurts more than it would seem.
"He's our friend and his marriage is at stake! Now, get out there and ask him to spar or something! Do I make myself clear?!" Bulma hissed maliciously into her husband's ear, an action which caused his skin to pale considerably.
"F-fine, I'll do it! Just let go of me you crazy Earth woman!" Vegeta surrendered in utter defeat, seething with aching pain. Bulma decided he had enough and released him from her death grip, smiling victoriously.
"Good. Lunch will be ready soon, so hurry back." Bulma beamed happily, kissing Vegeta's cheek in appreciation for what he agreed to do. The prince rubbed his beat red earlobe and sighed heavily.
"Yes, dear…" Vegeta muttered in reluctant agreement, begrudgingly stomping towards the direction of Goku. Meanwhile, the aforementioned son of Bardock held a fist under his chin in deep concentration.
"Was Chi Chi, right? Do I take too many risks?" Goku whispered to himself in growing disbelief, thinking back to each time he died or was close to death. Admittedly, even with the Super Saiyan God transformation, he wasn't even close to reaching Beerus' full potential. If the feline Hakaishin did go through with destroying Earth as planned, he technically wouldn't have the strength capable to stop it. Meaning, the seven years he spent in Otherworld after the defeat of Cell was pointless since Beerus was always going to come someday. It just dawned on him that seven whole years that he could have spent with his family and friends were unable to be taken back. Goku missed the birth of his second son and most of Gohan's mid-childhood just for the sake of getting stronger.
"I-I never realized that…what Chi Chi could have felt during that time…it's…" Goku stammered in building sorrow, thinking of how lonely she must have felt during that period of her life. Goku slumped down into his seat exasperatedly, placing a hand on his spiked black hair.
"Maybe I don't think stuff through. If only I could start over somehow…do things…I don't know anymore." Goku sighed miserably, wondering back to the first time he married Chi Chi many years ago. Even their proposal was a result of his tendency to not put much thought into what he is saying or doing, directly resulting from his wrongful belief that "marriage" was a food when first meeting the temperate black-haired girl. Come to think of it, "love" itself was a difficult subject to decipher for the poor Saiyan man-child as well.
"Are you going to spend all day moping, Kakarot? You really are pathetic." Vegeta chastised in disgust, narrowing his eyes downward to look at Goku's. Goku, used to his rival's daily bitterness, just absentmindedly waved at Vegeta as a sign of greeting.
"Oh, hey Vegeta. Shouldn't you be training with Whis?" Goku asked curiously, trying to gather his clattered thoughts back to some semblance of normality. Vegeta twitched his right eye in anger at Goku's obliviousness, but kept calm for just a short while.
"Think, Kakarot. Don't you think I would if I could right now?" Vegeta rhetorically inquired, knowing full well that he needed Goku's Instant Transmission ability to travel there. Goku sheepishly nods and shrugs his shoulders innocently.
"The point I'm trying to make is that maybe it's time to take a break from Chi Chi." Vegeta simply proclaimed, displaying a stone-cold scowl of seriousness to show that he wasn't fooling around. Goku's eyes both widened at what Vegeta just told him to do and the rare mention of his wife by name.
"Take a break? But we've been together for so long…" Goku forlornly argued, reminiscing the time they spent together as children, and teenagers in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Vegeta scoffed at this excuse and grabbed a fistful of Goku's gi in unrepentant rage.
"Look at yourself, Kakarot! You're a Saiyan warrior who lives and breathes to fight! Now, because of that woman, you're whining and complaining like one of those pansies on Bulma's asinine soap operas! Whis and Beerus the Destroyer have agreed to train us for crying out loud! Snap out of it, you clown, and realize what actually matters!" Vegeta shouted in a passionate temper tantrum, shaking Goku back and forth like a weightless rag doll. Goku, a bit dizzy from Vegeta's tugging, was about to respond to the prince's critical qualms, but was swiftly interrupted by the sky's clouds turning a dark black.
"Someone's using the Dragon Balls?" Goku murmured aloud, distracted by the prospect of what the mysterious user or users could be wishing for. Suddenly, Goku leaps out of his seat and departs from the stupefied Vegeta.
"Hey, Bulma! Do you have the Dragon Radar?!" Goku asked loudly in front of the Capsule Corps' main entryway. Bulma peered out from the kitchen and rummaged through her belongings, locating the pocket watch looking device.
"Here you go! Glad to see you're a bit livelier than before." Bulma chirped in relief, hoping that Goku would be able to cheer up sooner than later. Vegeta walked up to Goku assertively, ready to rip him a new one for not finishing their conversation.
"We're not done here, Kakarot! Did you get what I was—" Vegeta's rant was cut off by the sound of the Dragon Radar's bleeping noise, depicting the Dragon Balls as glowing yellow dots. As implied with the abrupt weather change, all seven were gathered in one single location. Not wanting to waste any more time, Goku grabbed Vegeta's shoulder while he was still in the middle of talking.
"See ya later, Bulma. We'll be back soon!" Goku cheerfully said goodbye to the genius daughter of Dr. Brief. He placed two fingers on the bridge of his nose and singled out Shenron's chi signature, also taking time to sense the ones summoning said eternal dragon.
"Wait—" Vegeta attempted to stop himself from going with Goku, but was materialized into thin air alongside him anyways. After waving farewell, Bulma felt an ever so slight shiver go down her spine as if something bad was about to happen. She squinted her eyes in worry before slowly walking back into the kitchen.
"I'll check the spare radar just in case." Bulma cautiously noted, wanting to keep track of the Dragon Balls' current positions herself.
In the middle of a desert…
After years of constant failure, Emperor Pilaf was finally going to achieve what he's always wished for: wealth and power of the highest magnitude! After being thwarted the first time around by Goku's friend, Oolong, humiliated by King Piccolo the second time around, and regressed into that of an infant through a poorly phrased wish, he successfully regathered the Dragon Balls as greatly anticipated. With the help of his eternally loyal subjects, Mai and Shu, Pilaf could obtain anything he desired with no such intervention from outside forces. Since none of the Z Fighters seemed to recognize the three due to their younger appearances, the blue dwarf was free to claim what was rightfully his at long last.
"Bahahaha We did it! The Pilaf Empire will live again!" Pilaf guffawed delightedly in gleeful euphoria. He was even shorter than his usual self from early Dragon Ball, but still wore a blue and red striped beanie with a star in the center on top of his elfish head. His general attire consisted of a black tunic with green sleeves and a white frill wrapped around his neck, wearing yellow sandals on both feet. Pilaf's shirt also displayed the Japanese kanji for "fried rice" in red font.
"Uh, sire…Not to be rude, but I don't think the Pilaf Empire was really alive to begin with." Shu nervously informed, scratching the back of his head. He was a Shiba Inu dog wearing a purple ninja uniform that completely covered his ears. A katana was positioned on his back in a blue sheath. Angered by his "minion's" correction, Pilaf conked Shu on the head in reactionary irritation.
"Shut up, Shu! Don't you think I know that already?! I was referring to my dream for the Pilaf Empire, you simpleton!" Pilaf comically lambasted his canine lackey. Shu whined pathetically, holding onto the large blemish jutting out from his hood.
"Sorry, sire…" Shu winced apologetically, groveling at his feet like…well, a dog. In the background, Mai held a noticeable grimace on her face that could be mistaken for pouting. She has long black hair with two rectangular bangs covering each ear and wears a green gymnasterka, or Russian battle uniform, with black boots on each foot. Along her waist lies a brown belt reminiscent of her older self from Age 749 onward.
"Mai, what are you doing?! Get over here and set up the Dragon Balls!" Pilaf commanded his only female follower impatiently. Snapped back to reality, Mai sporadically rolls each of the individually red-starred Dragon Balls into a neat circle as instructed. In response, each sphere glows exuberantly to life.
"My apologies, sire! I got… got distracted by something. Won't happen again." Mai timidly excused her behavior, blushing a rosy red. Shu and Pilaf look at each other for a moment, both grinning stupidly from ear to ear.
"Thinking about your boyfriend?" Shu questioned mockingly, failing to hold back uproarious laughter from breaking out. Pilaf shortly joined in, slapping his knee and keeling over on the desert sand. Mai, extremely flustered, coughed a few times and placed two hands on her small hips.
"He's not my boyfriend! I'm technically older than his mom, so why would I be interested in a brat like him anyways?" Mai profusely denied her boss and colleague's suspicions. She exhales uneasily and looks out into the distant skyline once more.
"There's just something…strange about this place. I don't know how to describe it. Like we're being watched somehow." Mai elaborated her insecurities, a single gust of wind blowing forward in the breeze. Shu and Pilaf cease their fits of laughing, gulping down insecure lumps in each of their throats.
"Let's just get our wishes over with then. We've waited too long for this!" Pilaf authoritatively proclaimed, snapping his fingers in wanton desire. As Shu and Mai excitedly position themselves behind each side of their boss's back, Emperor Pilaf raises up his arms and prepares to call upon Shenron for the third time in his life.
"RISE ETERNAL DRAGON AND HE—" Pilaf's summoning chant is cut short by the inexplicable appearance of Goku and Vegeta through Instant Transmission. Pilaf, recognizing the black spiky hair, practically has a Vietnam flashback and starts shaking uncontrollably in fear. Shu and Mai do the same, hugging each other for dear life.
"Wait just a seco—Oh, great. It's these morons." Vegeta scoffed in a bored tone, facepalming his forehead. Goku, on the other hand, slightly recognized the three from his adventures as a kid and waved at them in greeting.
"Hey, Emperor Pilaf, right? You're not trying to take over the world again, are you?" Goku naively asked, wagging his finger as if he was a scolding parent. Pilaf felt as if he was about to have a nervous breakdown and could only stand frozen in place from shock.
"No, no, no, no, no, no…NO! That Goku kid always gets in my way! Every. Single. Time!" Emperor Pilaf shouted scornfully within his subconscious, grinding his teeth in a back and forth motion with bloodshot eyes. Seeing the Dragon Balls awaiting activation, Pilaf sported a conniving sneer laced with sinister intentions.
"M-Mai, I think the boss has finally lost it." Shu whispered fearfully, still huddled close to her in a locked embrace.
"I-I think you're right, Shu. This can't be good." Mai responded with the same sense of abject horror, chilled to the bone in nervousness. Vegeta, much to Goku's disagreement, imposingly shuffled up to Pilaf and outstretched one of his hands in preparation for chi-blasting.
"Step away from the Dragon Balls, shortstack. Or else I'll step on you." Vegeta warned intimidatingly, charging up a ball of chi from his fingertips and placing it near the blue elf's head. With that threat, Emperor Pilaf's sanity utterly snapped in two.
"Shortstack…I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S SHORT WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU! RISE ETERNAL DRAGON AND HEAR THE WISH OF HE WHO SUMMONS YOU!" Emperor Pilaf blindly stood up to himself, awakening Shenron to his fullest potential. Each Dragon Ball shined brightly before a streak of lightning erupted from the center and grew to elevated heights. It took the form of a massive Chinese dragon with green scales, brown deer antlers growing out of his head like horns. Shenron narrows his red eyes and looks down at his next line of work. Vegeta disengaged his chi and silently signaled for Goku to intervene if need be.
"WHO DARES DISTURB ME—Oh it's you again. What do you want to wish for this time?" Shenron sighed monotonously, waiting for the foolish blue midget to mess up somehow due to his incredible sense of bad luck. Emperor Pilaf pointed accusingly at Vegeta and Goku, momentarily catching the two Saiyans off-guard.
"These two nuisances need to be taught a lesson! I want them to be put in the same situation as I am now. I wish for them to be turned back into kids, so they can learn some proper respect for their superiors!" Emperor Pilaf haughtily declared, cackling evilly as he uttered his first desire. Shu and Mai gazed at each other in awe while Vegeta was absolutely livid by this bold request.
"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU BLUE-BALLED BASTARD?! TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK BEFORE I BLAST YOU BACK INTO THE HOLE YOU CRAWLED OUT OF!" Vegeta screeched vexingly, getting close to punching his fist straight through the impish monarch's face. Goku, not knowing what else to do, catches sight of a wind tunnel being created above Shenron and the Dragon Balls!
"Vegeta, look!" Goku called out, sensing an extremely hostile chi signature approaching fast from within the portal. Vegeta, Pilaf, Shu, and Mai looked where just pointed to see an inky black shadow gradually picking up speed. Hearing the details of Pilaf's wish, Shenron, none the wiser to what is taking place, has his eyes glow a red hue and prepares to grant what was asked of him.
"Your wish has been grante—Huh?" Shenron stops mid-sentence to turn his head upward, red eyes widening at the appearance of Giratina in an entirely new form. It now has two bat-like dragon wings with three red spikes each and six dinosaurian legs that have yellow claws. Also much bigger than before, Giratina catches Shenron off-guard and roughly slams into him.
"Ooof! Um…Fareweeellll!" Shenron shouted in awkward pain as it was forcefully transported back into the Dragon Balls in a faint beam of light. Due to this never happening before, the orange spheres remain as they are, but are helplessly dragged into Giratina's dimensional rip one by one!
"Aaaahhhhhh!!!" The Pilaf Gang screamed simultaneously as all three of them were pulled in by the portal's high-speed winds. Goku and Vegeta use their mastery of chi manipulation to keep themselves attached to the ground, but can feel themselves slipping by the second. In fact, while they remain at the same strength, their entire bodies seem to grow lighter all of a sudden.
"V-Vegeta! I can't hold on much longer!" Goku grunted in exasperation, his blue and red boots dragging against the sand. Vegeta, his eyes starting to close from fatigue-laced exhaustion, slumped over unconscious and was picked up by a watchful Giratina.
"NOOOO!" Goku gasped distressfully, utilizing every last bit of his chi to fly into the portal and tackle the unsuspecting creature. Once Goku and Giratina flew into the Distortion World, the portal leading there dissipated without any other trace. Universe 7's strongest Saiyans and the Pilaf Gang were gone in an instant.
Back at Capsule Corp…
Bulma was still making lunch for Vegeta, her, and Trunks in the kitchen, currently keeping an eye on her own Dragon Radar to make sure things were going well for the two Saiyan warriors. However, what caught the heiress' attention was the fact all seven lit-up icons representing the Dragon Balls vanished in only about 5 minutes time. This struck her as odd since it should take longer for the Dragon Balls to turn to stone because of the new 3 wish limit bestowed by Dende. She paused for a moment or two to look out into the horizon, but brushed aside her worries as merely unwarranted.
"They should be fine. What could possibly go wrong?" Bulma jokingly wondered to herself as she got back to meticulously cooking. For Goku and Vegeta, everything was almost unanimously the answer to that question.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone