Dragon War: Version 5.  The idea—version five—just looks at me with this indescribable expression.  I am not sure whether it is telling me I now have no reason not to fear myself, if I finally can complete this story and complete it the way that I want to, or if it, too, is simply pleasantly elated with strange amusement that, for the fifth time, the epic is beginning.

    Actually, it isn’t totally accurate to title this as the fifth version.  Including all versions uploaded to the Internet and all versions not, there have been six versions of Dragon War before this one.

    This one is version seven.

    Seven.

    I’m together this time, though.  I’ve done a significant amount of pre-writing, ranging from plot mapping to character notes.  Furthermore, I’ve taken the previous six versions of this fanfic, carefully selected elements for inclusion in this rewrite, and meticulously planned exactly what I am going to write.  This is the final version.  My writing skills have come a long way since I was thirteen-years old and in eighth grade; now I’m a sixteen-year old soon-to-be Junior in high school with vastly improved control of language.  I intend for this to be grand and far better than the predecessors.

    Seven.

    When I started Dragon War in late November or early December of 1999, I didn’t expect to still remember it existed a week later; I only composed the first bit so that I could get my name on Planet Namek, in the fanfic section.  It’s kind of strange that Planet Namek is gone now.  So is Fanfic.net, the second place I posted the original Dragon War.  I discovered fanfiction through those outlets.  Specifically, I read Paladin’s The Orion Saga on Planet Namek and found myself so consumed by the notion of creating a written world that I immediately began Dragon War.  The departure of Planet Namek and Fanfic.net might just be a sign that this endeavor has lengthened in execution time to well beyond the limits of convention.

    I no longer write fanfiction for glory or attention; the fanfiction world cannot offer glory because, after all, it is fanfiction, writing not entirely original.  Instead I write with different goals in mind: I find any writing to be entertaining to produce and a tremendous joy to complete; Dragon War has been in the process of being written for so long and I have amassed so many ideas for it that not completing it the proper way would insult my imagination; it wouldn’t be quite right to state that the cloud of incompletion haunts me, but it wouldn’t be right to say it doesn’t; and I want to kick the Dragon Ball fanfiction community and kick it hard.

    I’m estimating that, as of the writing of this, there are close to twenty thousand Dragon Ball fanfics on the Internet, possibly many more.  I see a lot of problems with most of those fanfics, problems beyond spelling and grammar.  Primarily, most new fanfiction centers around themes that have been used so many times as to actually make a person ill from blandness.  This statement was originally over a page long, but I’ve shortened it in favor of a simpler one: I intend to set the stage for much more original and better work.  Ash the Wanderer wrote Consuming Madness about two years ago and ignited an inferno of highly creative, excellently written fanfiction that moved beyond the repetitive themes that before his arrival and now dominate the scene.  A good many authors are trying to write quality fanfics with captivating plots, emotionally complex characters, and original ideas, but they go largely unnoticed.  I’m going to make them noticed.  Dragon War will hopefully be so excellent that the drab, slimy coating of gunk that covers so much Dragon Ball fanfiction will be knocked off.

    I know a lot of hard-working authors who, like me, are discontented with the state of the Dragon Ball fanfiction community.  They are excellent writers.  But they don’t voice their complaints.  I’m sick of voicing mine, and am finally taking action.  I also know a lot of authors who could care less about these issues and just write masterpieces.  I know another group of authors, ones who have drifted away in pursuit of other interests.  This is for all of you, the angry, the ignored, the forgotten, and the great.

    You guys are great.  It may not be that important—it is only fanfiction—but the world must be conquered bit by bit.

    Seven.

    Dragon War is written on the basis that none of the Dragon Ball Z movies, save for the first one, occurred, and that Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT have occurred in their entirety.

    Please read Dragon War very carefully.

    Seven.

    That’s how many dragon balls there are in a set.

    It’s time to rock the dragon.  And this time you won’t be seeing any parachutes.