Judgement Day is a Dragon Ball fanfiction written by Engineerd. It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
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This Flash Forward Fic is set many decades after Dragon Ball Super at the end of Goku and Vegeta’s lives. Goku wants Vegeta to join him in Fighter’s Heaven after their deaths, but Vegeta is destined for Hell. In his search to find a solution, and without consulting Vegeta, Goku tells King Yemma that he and Vegeta are soul-bonded. Now, the two must fake a relationship or be sent to Hell.
Judgement Day provides examples of:
- Accidental Marriage: Years before he dies, Goku tells King Yemma that he and Vegeta are soul-bonded without knowing what it means. He doesn’t realize until after his death that he’d more or less told King Yemma he and Vegeta were married. Since their judgment papers say they’re soul-bonded, they are whether they like it or not.
- Afterlife Tour: Goku gives Vegeta a tour of Fighter’s Heaven since he’d been there before during his earlier deaths and knows his way around quite well.
- Big Eater: Vegeta and Goku have a massive appetite and multiple times are shown eating large amounts of food, even though they don’t need to eat due to being dead. Luckily for them, Fighter’s Heaven always has an infinite amount of food ready to eat.
- Celestial Bureaucracy: King Yemma directs recently deceased souls to whichever afterlife they’re heading to. Each soul has their own set of judgment papers which detail everything from their time alive. Every action they took is listed, with a number determining how good or bad it was.
- Dead to Begin With: Both Goku and Vegeta die very early on in the fic. The main plot takes place after they’ve entered Fighter’s Heaven.
- Endless Daytime: It’s always daytime in Fighter’s Heaven. Both Goku and Vegeta dislike this fact.
- Everyone Can See It: Goku’s friends are for the most part not surprised to learn he’s in a relationship with Vegeta. Krillin and Android 18 even had a bet over whether the two were a romantic couple or just friends with benefits.
- Fake First Kiss: Goku and Vegeta’s first kiss happens while they’re still faking their relationship. Vegeta kisses Goku in front of a group of people to distract from the fact they’d been arguing, fearing that people might begin to realize the two are not actually soul-bonded.
- Feeling Their Age: In the years prior to their deaths, Goku and Vegeta had both become weaker in old age. It’s mentioned that they’d both had to stop sparring often due to the risk of injury and that neither had used their full power in a long time.
- Healthy in Heaven: Goku and Vegeta both died in their elder years. Once they reach the afterlife, their bodies are restored to that of their younger selves in their prime.
- Judgement of the Dead: Each soul has judgment papers that list every good or bad action they took while alive. Every action is accompanied by a number representing the significance, with good actions having positive numbers and bad actions being negative. The sum of these numbers determines what afterlife they are headed to.
- Oblivious to Love: After Goku and Vegeta’s spar, the two have a conversation which Vegeta misunderstands as Goku wanting their relationship to be real, which he accepts. Goku doesn’t realize this and continues to believe Vegeta is faking. While Goku is still trying to figure out how to handle his feelings for Vegeta, Vegeta thinks they’re a real couple.
- Passed in Their Sleep: Goku and Vegeta both die of natural causes in their sleep at an old age. Vegeta was not expecting to go out that way.
- Romantic Fake–Real Turn: Goku and Vegeta have to pretend to be soul-bonded in order to avoid being sent to Hell. Over time, the two realize they have feelings for each other, and their relationship becomes genuine.
- Side Bet: Krillen and Android 18 had a bet over whether Goku and Vegeta were an actual couple or just sleeping together. Ultimately, Krillen is the winner, as they were in love (but didn't know it).
- There Is Only One Bed: Goku and Vegeta’s house in the afterlife only has one bedroom, with only one bed in it. While Vegeta has no qualms about sharing a bed, Goku finds it uncomfortable at first.
- Together in Death: Goku and Vegeta are united in the afterlife due to Goku claiming the two are soul-bonded. Goku was always intended to go to Fighter’s Heaven, but Vegeta was destined for Hell.
- Unknowingly in Love: Despite the lengths Goku went to ensure Vegeta went to the afterlife together with him, he doesn’t realize he has feelings for Vegeta until he has the opportunity to swap out their judgment papers. This would have allowed Vegeta to stay in Fighter’s Heaven without the two being soul-bonded. He feels conflicted since he doesn't want Vegeta to leave him but also doesn't want to force Vegeta to stay.
- Warrior Heaven: The majority of the fic takes place in Fighter’s Heaven, an afterlife where only those who’ve fought bravely in battle reside. Unlike regular Heaven, those who are sent to Fighter’s Heaven keep their bodies and still have the abilities they had in life.
