"Those who escape hell however never talk about it, and nothing much bothers them after that. " — Charles Bukowski

Chapter 1

Hell was the place where the bad guys went after they died. That was a fact, a strict knowledge that Trunks knew intimately considering his father had sent a lot of people there and had even gone there himself.

There were plenty of iconic pictures showing the place with righteous flames and miserable souls of sinners but those images weren't strictly true. No, Hell had a beautiful red sky that looked like watercolors freshly painted on a canvas. There were no screams of pain, no flames, just rocks and incompetent ogres. At least that was how his father described it.

Now, staring at a blood red sky, Trunks realized his father was right. Hell didn't look anything like he'd imagined.

Absently he brushed bits of dirt off his black tank top and took in his surroundings. If there was any question about where he was a large sign in block lettering spelled it out for him. WELCOME TO HELL, complete with a stylish smiling ogre drawn alongside the words.

Indignation flared in his chest when he saw it. How did he get sent down to the underworld? Just because his father had a bad past didn't mean it was genetic. In fact, when he put a little more thought into it, he honestly had no idea how he ended in the underworld.

He couldn't remember dying. Couldn't even remember being in any kind of fight. "How did I-" glancing up he saw there wasn't even a halo over his head. Something strange was going.

Blue eyes took in the open area again. Lingering on the extravagant fountain filled with lush red water, the bones piled hazardously against a park bench as if they were a gaggle of planted flowers. The place wasn't gruesome but a strange combination of macabre objects. To his surprise there was no sign of any ogres, not even a floating ghost.

He did spot a limp body lying near the fountain. At first glance the bright orange gi was identical to Goku's, but there was something different about this body. The hair was cut shorter and the body was smaller. His heart leapt in his throat when he realized who it was.

Goten.

Now he knew something was wrong. Maybe he could be lumped into the same category as his father, Trunks knew his childhood was speckled with debatable actions. He lied, a lot, and wasn't the ideal big brother, maybe he deserved to serve a few weeks in hell but Goten didn't.

He rushed over to the body and carefully inspected it. Like himself there was no halo over Goten's head, no sign of any fighting whatsoever. His friend was out cold, Trunks gave the body a firm shake in an effort to wake him up. "Oi, Goten."

Goten cringed at the movement, groaning as he opened wide black eyes and blinked against the strange light of the world around them. It took a moment for him to fully wake up, his hand clutched Trunks' for reassurance as he did so. "What's going on? Did I fall asleep outside again?"

"What do you remember?" Trunks pressed, his own memory was hazy. If he really tried he remembered being outside, the wind in his air, and the sense of smiling, but that was it.

He watched as Goten blinked, confused by the question and then concerned as he tried to think of an answer. "I… I don't know. I was at home I think…"

"Well, you aren't there now."

"What?" panic flashed in his friend's black eyes before they quickly searched the area. "Aw man, my mom is going to kill me. What happened? And why…." His eyes lingered on the wooden sign, face growing pale, "Why does that sign say Hell?"

"Because that's where we are." Trunks answered solemnly, "I… think."

"What?" Worry split across Goten's youthful face, "Did I miss something? Are we dead?"

"Calm down idiot. We're not dead, see? No halos." Trunks pointed to his own head and then ruffled his friend's mass of black hair. To his relief it seemed to calm the younger boy down, just a little bit.

"Yeah, well that doesn't answer how we got here. You think my dad is here as well?"

The idea never struck him, but it made sense. Goku was always moving between the two worlds. Trunks nodded, slowly feeling more reassured. "If he isn't we should at least be able to contact someone here right? Maybe King Kai? They must know if something has happened."

"Let's go look." Goten hopped to his feet. His worry had given way to excitement as he looked around. At seventeen years old there were still times where Goten could be as giddy as a child. Usually whenever things involved free food or adventure.

Trunks liked to think he'd outgrown that stage of his life. He was being groomed as the CEO of Capsule Corp, his once lax schedule was filled with more and more meetings. Business suits were replacing his old training gi's in his closet, and the amount of time he spent on adventures was limited.

Seeing Goten's eagerness was contagious though. It felt like ages since the last time they'd hung out together, even longer since it had been just the two of them. A sense of nostalgia warmed his chest as they argued which way to explore first.

"Maybe you should check and see if your dad is here." Trunks offered as he examined their options. There seemed to be a collection of mountains off to the west, he could see spits of fire exploding from the rocks where they stood. To the east was a forest of overgrown trees, and to the north there was a trail that seemed to lead to a small village.

Goten nodded and closed his eyes, searching out for any familiar energy. A moment later his black eyes snapped open, a gasp fell from his lips.

Trunks tensed immediately, "Goten?"

"There's nothing here…" Goten mumbled, "I can't feel anything."

"Well, we are in the land of the dead," Trunks mused. He searched out with his own senses and found Goten was right. There was no sign of life to greet him. No living bodies, no animals, even the plant life was dead. It was as if they were in a barren wasteland. A shiver of wrongness touched his nape, but he casually shook it off. "Alright, on to plan B. We find someone here who can get us to King Kai. That's all we can do, right? Once they see we're not dead someone will help us."

He tried to make himself sound confident, to take charge. It came naturally, after all the years he and Goten spent together he was always the one who lead the way for their bold ideas. Ever since they could walk Goten had followed him blindly into scheme after scheme, but this time his friend didn't look as convinced.

The thrill of adventure was gone, now replaced with a ball of dread that even Trunks could feel chaining them down. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, but worrying about it did nothing to help. They needed answers.

"We'll go north," Trunks decided, "There must be someone living in that village over there." He grabbed Goten by the shoulders and began to march down the dirt covered road.

Hell should have been filled with spirits, yet they didn't see a soul as they walked. It was as if they were the only living things in the land. Trunks tried to rattle his memories, to come up with some idea of what had happened to him, to them. Had he been with Goten? He was dressed in his gi so it was a possibility. His brain refused to cooperate though, it shied away anytime he pressed his memories.

Goten suddenly stopped, his heels digging into the dirt and refusing to move another step forward. He grabbed the hem of Trunks shirt, pulling his friend out of his thoughts. "Ouch, what is it?"

"Trunks, look." Goten nodded towards the village. They'd gotten a lot closer, now he could make out the thin rooftops decorated with little horns, a few of the buildings had signs on them, but a majority of them had holes punched through the structures. Red was smeared on the outside walls and there were bodies lying in the street. Unmoving.

Goten rushed forward before Trunks could utter a curse. "We gotta help them."

"Goten, wait! You don't know what did that."

It was too late, his friend was already at the edge of the village, crouched next to the first of many bodies. Trunks hurried after him, cursing Goten even as he came up behind the teen.

The body was that of an ogre, nearly twice the size of the Ox-King and bright blue in color. Half of his head was caved in, blood soaked the ground underneath his body, staining it as red as the sky. It was a gruesome scene, but even worse was its eyes. Opened and fully aware of the world around him. Trunks jumped back, "He's alive."

"Barely," Goten sounded remorseful, his hands were gentle as he checked the ogre for any other injuries. "Almost every bone in his body is broken."

The body convulsed violently as the ogre spat up blood. It stained his teeth and dribbled down his chin. An odd gurgling noise bubbled up from its throat and it took a moment for Trunks to realize it was trying to talk.

"S-Sp-Spell…. Ins and outs, h-h-he needs… spell… ins and outs…"

"Its gibberish," Trunks frowned. The ogre's eyes were staring at them, pleading for them to understand but it was useless. Goten didn't say anything.

"H-h-he ne-needs…. Blood. Ins and…" The strain of speaking was too much. The ogre's chest rattled with another cough, shaking his entire body and a grimace of pain etched across his face before it drifted away. His breathing stopped and the body stilled.

A moment of silence hung over them before Goten carefully eased away. His hands were bloodied from touching the creature. His voice was paper thin when he finally spoke, "What happens when you die in the afterlife?"

It was a good question, one he couldn't bear to think too much about. And one that would haunt Trunks the rest of his stay in the underworld.

Goten had always been told he'd had an easy life. When compared to his brother and father, maybe he did. The only real fight he'd ever been in had been against Maijin Buu and since then they'd had nearly ten years of peace. Ten years he spent training with his father, helping raise his niece, and laughing with his best friend.

The nightmares he'd had after Buu had stopped when he was nearly eight and were nothing but a distant memory of childhood. He couldn't even remember what they'd been about. His father had smiled sadly one of the many times when Goten had gone to him for comfort. "Sometimes battles don't just scar us physically. It's perfectly alright that you're afraid. Use that fear to get stronger."

He didn't though. Somewhere along the way, he forgot what that fear had felt like. Gohan had as well, between his job and raising a family his brother had stopped training altogether. The look of exasperation on Piccolo's face when he deemed the two brothers, "slackers," had been funny at the time.

Now, not so much.

"Come on Goten, stand up. We shouldn't stay here." Trunks crouched beside him, resting a warm hand of reassurance against his back. He was right of course, Trunks usually was. Goten took a moment to inhale a slow, steady breath before standing to his feet.

He glanced up at the sky, so alien and different from what he was used to. At first it had been pretty in a way, but now it merely reflected the bloody chaos around him. Among the swirling pink clouds, a figure stood out. Silhouetted in darkness and floating high above them. Goten couldn't feel his energy or make out the identity. His keen Saiyan eyes could just barely see the figure raise one hand and start to collect energy.

Without warning the hand flicked towards them, sending a glowing pink ball down where they stood. Goten cried out, grabbing Trunks' sleeve and taking off towards the ruins of the village. He heard the exact moment when the energy blast hit the ground, could feel the heat of it kiss his neck as they retreated. His didn't have much control over his movements, concentrating more on outrunning the blast then where he went. Together his and Trunks bodies slammed against the rocky ground and skidded to a stop.

They both hissed in pain as the rocks cut up their arms and face, but they were in once piece at least. Goten opened his eyes and stared at the spot where a village had once stood, now it was nothing more than a crater. The bodies blown to ash.

Horror seeped into his limbs as he stared. Trunks was the first to gather his senses, "He's above us."

Both eyes jumped up to where the figure had been floating moments ago. Now their attacker was considerably closer, hovering just a few hundred feet above them. His white reptilian skin covered every inch of his small body, and his purple lips were pulled back into an ugly sneer. "Well Well, looks like I've found you. Can't say you made it hard though, your energy was practically a beacon."

Goten couldn't believe his eyes. He'd heard stories but had never met the alien before. "Freiza?"

"So you remember me." The creature preened, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. His cold eyes fell on Trunks and locked on with utter hatred. "Good, because I haven't forgotten what you did."

"We've never met." Trunks replied coolly, "But my father would disown me if I didn't slap that ugly smile off your face."

"I dare you to try brat," Freiza barked gathering another blast in his hand and firing.

Trunks bellowed out a warning and they both took to the sky. Goten going left and Trunks moving right. It wasn't ideal, putting so much space between them. A couple of years ago they had been able to move without speaking to one another. They'd been at their prime of anticipating each other's movements and needs. When they fought together even Vegeta broke a sweat fending them off. But that was a long time ago.

Now, Goten could only keep his eyes open and watch his friends back. He saw the moment Freiza appeared just inches above Trunks' head. He called out and the warning was enough for the older boy to duck out of the way of a nasty kick. Just barely though.

Goten charged forward, seeing the moment Freiza's guard was down and unleashing a barrage of punches. A few of them landed but they barely fazed his opponent. If anything Freiza's smile grew. "Not bad for the son of Goku. Do you want to turn into a Super Saiyan? That might give your punches some more bite."

The fact that he couldn't feel Freiza's energy was alarming. Based on how his punches were being received all he could guess was that Freiza was impossible strong. Goten jumped back, putting distance between them before the monster could strike back.

Freiza preened at the move, mistaking it for fear instead of caution. Seeing his purple lips upturned in a sadistic smile made Goten's stomach roll with anger.

"So Freiza, you know who I am?"

"Oh I know all about you and Vegeta's brat. You both look just like your fathers." the smile faded, replaced with a disgusted sneer, "I can't stand it."

There was hatred in his voice, along with the promise of death. Goten's body immediately tensed up at hearing it, his nerves were on fire as his Saiyan instincts detected the upcoming fight. But he wasn't ready, it had been so long since he'd been in a real fight. And they didn't know what exactly they were up against, or why?

He met Trunks gaze across a distance, saw the same questions and caution etched into his friend's face. If they fought together they'd have a chance, if they fused they could win. But then he'd have to-

"Goten!"

The scream jarred him out of his thoughts. He caught the frantic look in Trunks' eyes before realizing that Freiza no longer stood between them. He moved without a second thought, dodging to the left just as a claw punched thru the air. Exactly where his heart had been.

His relief was short lived before something slammed into the base of his neck. His vision went white and his lungs couldn't suck in any more air. The shock of the blow left his body suspended in mid-air for a solid minute, but it felt like a lifetime. Never, he'd never felt such pain before.

He couldn't breathe, couldn't find the ability to suck in a gasp. Another minute and he'd black out from suffocation, but then something lashed across his cheek. A sharp quick slash like a whip and it snapped him out of his shock as he hurtled to the ground.

The world around him went black for a minute before it all came back in an awful flash of light. He was staring up at the red sky, laying in a crater as deep as a grave. The taste of blood gushed in his mouth and involuntarily he swallowed it.

Above him, something flashed like a laser show. A gold light danced dangerously close to a purple ball of energy. Trunks' screams of battle filled the air around them along with Freiza's chilling laughter.

Trunks wouldn't be able to take Freiza on his own. If Goten didn't get up his friend was as good as dead, but his muscles refused to move. The best he could manage was wiggling his fingers. At least he could feel something.

Something rustled from the edge of the crater, dirt shifted under the weight and the soft sound of shoes shuffling reached his ears. Goten lifted his head to look, praying to see his father's smile beaming down on him. "I told you to keep up training," Goku would say. Gohan would have been a little more sympathetic.

But the shadow he saw didn't match either man. It was smaller than his father, about the same height and build as Goten. Long hair dangled in the stranger's face, obscuring it from view, but one thing was for sure. The person was staring at him.

Goten blinked back, he heard the stranger laugh. "I guess I'll have to help you two."

Trunks' blood was boiling, the sound rang in his ears like a bomb had gone off. His fists were hitting their mark, striking Freiza fast and hard. He revealed in the look of surprise on the monster's face but he couldn't let it go to his head.

He might be hitting Freiza but that didn't mean he was hurting the monster.

While in the midst of his onslaught a breeze caught his hair, indicating movement behind him. A voice followed the presence, it sounded smug when it said, "You should duck."

The heat of a ki blast tickled his neck and Trunks quickly did as the stranger requested flipping backwards just as a blinding yellow light struck Freiza. The alien howled in pain as the blast zoomed off towards the deep forests to the west. It wasn't a particularly strong blast but it did its purpose. Putting distance between them and Freiza.

Trunks smiled at the sight, "Nice move Goten! Now we should get-"

The man who saved him wasn't Goten. Wasn't even really a man. Instead, it was a boy who looked about their age, young with sharp eyes. His shoulder length black hair just barely touched his shoulders and he wore a confident smirk. He looked familiar.

"You're right," the boy said, "We should get going. He'll be back soon, pissed off like the princess he is."

Without warning the boy dropped to the ground, falling into a small crater. Trunks followed, speechless as he tried to work out who the stranger was and why he'd helped. Then all thoughts ceased when he saw the boy pickup Goten's limp body.

Trunks dived to the ground next to them as the stranger adjusted Goten's weight on his back. "I'll take him," he offered reaching out to check and see what the damage to his friend was. The fact that Goten needed to be carried anywhere was alarming.

He'd thought Goten was unconscious but black eyes stared out in a gaze heavy with pain. When they found Trunks he offered a shaky smile. That was Goten, always trying to reassure him.

The boy shook his head, "Moving him around isn't the best idea right now. Quickly, I know a place where we can hide."

"Hide?" Trunks repeated, his father would have smacked him upside the head for even uttering the word. But now it had it a slight appeal. Behind him, Freiza's cry of rage arose from the trees, rattling the leaves with its promise of death.

Trunks couldn't bring himself to complain when the stranger took off, not when something so fearsome awaited behind them, and definitely not when Goten was propped on the other boy's back.

They flew a short distance but with enough speed that put Freiza well behind them. The ground was a blur as they flew over it, Trunks could barely pinpoint the any landmarks or signs of life. Only one thing stood out, a long bending red line that curved as they passed over it. Water the color of blood running across the land like veins. He wondered vaguely if it stopped in Hell's center, right where a heart should be.

Without warning the black haired boy dived towards the earth and Trunks followed. They fell into a forest made of trees with trunks as thick as houses. Moaning faces looked as if they were carved into the bark and old notches made it look as if the trees had eyes. It was unsettling.

"We should be safe here." The boy said, dropping Goten to the ground with little care.

The teen huffed at the sudden drop, hand absentmindedly rubbing his injured neck when Trunks came up to him. "Goten, are you alright?"

Black eyes blinked, their focus back but hazy around the edges. If he was still in any pain Goten refused to admit it. "Just my pride."

Trunks watched him for a minute more before turning towards their savior. Something about the other boy made him tense. He just barely managed to keep his voice calm when he spoke, there was no need to get themselves in another fight so soon. "I guess we should be thanking you…"

The boy laughed, "You guess? I saved your asses back there. You should be kissing my feet."

Trunks bit the inside of his cheek, giving Goten the chance to speak up. "Uh sure, but we don't even know your name." The younger boy flashed a carefree smile, a look passed down from his father that could melt the iciest hearts.

Miraculously it seemed to work. The black haired boy paused for a moment before smirking. "You can call me Juunana."

Author's Note: I really shouldn't start another Goten/Trunks story but... this one wouldn't leave me alone. I hope you all enjoy this crazy adventure with me. Please read and review.