Disclaimer: Yet again, I don't own it. My friend and I own Jedin and will guard him zealously. He's ours, and we won't share . . . at least without permission.

AN: Watch this chapter! It's a doozy!

"Are you sure about this?" Goten, now seventeen, asked, a little nervous as they stood outside Jackson's Tattoos and Piercings. It was summer, the afternoon bright with no clouds to be seen in the sky. Restless and more than a little bored, they'd decided to wander the city until they found something interesting to do. "I don't think we're old enough."

"Will you let that go?" Jedin demanded, looking back over his shoulder at him in exasperation. "If it makes you feel better, I'll get one, too."

"Jedin, I just don't think this is a good idea, that's all," he replied, shrugging one shoulder. "It seems a little stupid to me."

"Let's look inside," Jedin suggested, "and if you don't want to, we'll go." Goten lifted an eyebrow at that, but sighed and followed Jedin inside. The smells of ink, sweat and antiseptic stung his nose, but his eyes were drawn to one wall where pictures and sketches of tattoos were displayed. Some were tacked up, while others were in frames. Mythical creatures, women in various stages of dress, flaming skulls, insects, and avenging angels were all lined up for him to see, making his head spin with possibilities. He looked over to see Jedin poring over an album full of even more pictures and sketches, his fingers stuck between pages as if he was having trouble deciding which one he wanted the most.

A curtain separated the front from the back, and the buzzing of tattoo guns made Goten think of a hive of bees. It twitched and Goten looked over. "See anythin' you like?" asked a man who reminded Goten of his grandfather, the Ox King. Easily topping seven feet, he had the same bulky build but instead of black hair, he had red hair, blond streaks coming back like wings from his temples. He had few tattoos, but the ones he had were impressive. The dragon on his right arm looked like Shenlong, wrapping around it from his shoulder to his wrist, the head of the dragon over his shoulder and disappearing beneath his shirt.

"Just looking around for now," he answered, shaking his head.

"Let me know if you need anythin'," the man replied, lumbering away.

"Hey, Goten," Jedin called without looking up. "You've gotta come see this." Goten wandered over to look over his friend's shoulder at the picture of a fire-breathing dragon, a luscious blond clutched in his claws.

"No, not that one," he said, shaking his head at all of Jedin's picks, from the absurd and back again. "Hang on, Jedin. I've got an idea." The man who'd spoken to Goten had wandered back in, looking at them with interest. "Have you got a piece of paper and a pencil?"

"Sure." The man reached under the counter, dug around for a moment, before handing him the items he requested. After directing Jedin to stand against a wall, arms crossed over his chest, Goten set the pencil to the paper. Within a few minutes, he had a sketch of he and Jedin back to back, looking toward the viewer, their poses mirror images of each other, and the same annoyed expressions on their faces.

Studying it a moment, he shook his head and made a few quick adjustments before he nodded. "How about that?" he asked Jedin, setting it on the counter.

"I like it," he said, amazed at his friend's talent. They looked ready to jump off the page, even though it had taken less than ten minutes to produce. Goten had dressed them in Sayan battle armor, hair sticking straight up, like the pictures of Vegeta he'd seen during a visit to Goten's while his mother was out shopping. "It needs a little something, though."

"What's that?" Jedin whispered in his ear, pointing to the alphabets on the wall. "Oh, that's good," he chuckled, picking up the pencil again. Getting the general lines of the script, he drew in "Sayan Pride Forever" above and under the two of them. "Can your guys do that?"

"Shouldn't be too hard to find someone," the man replied, taking the sketch and disappearing into the back with it. The two stood, looking idly around the lobby until the man came back. "Tank says he can do it. He's the best I've got. Hey, Tank!"

"What?"

"Come on out here for a sec." Tank shoved the curtain out of his way, and Goten thought immediately of an older, more muscular version of Gohan. Instead of standing straight up, Tank let his hair hang down his back and into his ice blue eyes. Tattoos covered his arms and bare chest, and from Goten could see, he had most of the ones from the wall on his body.

"How's it goin', guys?" he asked, his voice raspy from too many cigarettes. "So which one of you drew this?" He held up the sketch almost accusingly.

"He did," Jedin said, jerking a thumb at Goten. Tank studied him for a moment before he smiled, revealing two gold teeth.

"It's good," he told him, studying the picture again. "Fantastic, really. Can I keep this when we're done? I'd like to put it on the wall."

"Uh, sure, go ahead," Goten replied, stunned almost speechless that a sketch he'd just tossed off would be seen by so many people coming in and out of the parlor.

"You two ready?" They nodded and followed Tank through the curtain. Goten saw that the tattoos covered his whole back as well, disappearing below the waistband of his cut off jeans. He pointed them to a couple of chairs. "First tattoos, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much." Goten leaned over and said something to Tank that Jedin didn't catch. Though he sent him a questioning look, Goten just smiled and leaned back in his chair again. "I can do that, kid. No problem."

"I swear, Jedin, I'd rather get an energy blast to the face than go through that again," Goten murmured as they left the tattoo parlor four hours later, proud but sore owners of tattoos. "Doesn't hurt that much, my ass."

"I can't believe Tank offered you a job," Jedin replied, trying to take his own mind off how much his left arm hurt.

"I never thought a useless hobby like that would get me a job," Goten answered with a shrug, wincing at the spasm of pain that shot down his right arm.

"Tank did warn us that it would take about a week for the soreness to go away."

"It's not next week yet?" Jedin laughed, before he stopped to look at Goten. "What is it?"

"Are you going to take it? The job, I mean." Goten shrugged his left shoulder.

"I don't know," he said, resisting the urge to rub his arm. "I might. Why?"

"I was just wondering, that's all." Jedin looked away for a moment. "Why'd you ask Tank to do that?"

"This is going to sound lame," Goten admitted with a slight blush, "but so we'd always be together." Jedin chuckled a bit and shook his head.

"It's not lame to me, Goten." They started walking again, waiting until they were well out of the city before they took off. "Goten, you're my brother, in everything except blood, and we both know that it doesn't always count."

"You're right, sometimes it doesn't," he agreed, nodding.

"Now, everyone will know we're brothers, Goten." He gave Goten a look that often meant trouble. "Where to now?"

"How about we go on a tour of the old battlefields?" Goten suggested, knowing it was the best way to stay out of trouble for now. He was going to hear it when he got home, and he knew it. Why not have as much fun as I can for now before all I see are the walls of my room?

"This was where Gohan beat Cell," Goten told Jedin as they stood looking around the battlefield. They'd already been to where Baby Buu had emerged from his pod, where Trunks from the future had destroyed Frieza and King Kold, where Vegeta and Nappa had attacked Earth, and even where Raditz had held Gohan captive in his Sayan pod before being destroyed by Piccolo and Goku.

"I thought Hercule defeated Cell." Goten shook his head and laughed until his sides ached.

"From what I was told, Gohan and the others let Hercule take the credit because they wanted to keep a low profile. Even though there was a camera crew with Hercule, the camera was knocked out, so it would have been their word against the local hero." He shrugged. "Everyone was happy, so who cared?" Jedin chuckled and pushed a hand through his hair.

"Where to next, Goten?"

"There's only one more, on this planet anyway," he answered, taking to the sky with Jedin close behind. "The rest are in various places throughout the galaxy."

"Is that it?" Jedin asked almost an hour later, pointing down to large clearing with only an enormous stump in the middle of it. Grass didn't grow around it and hadn't since before Goten had been born.

"That's it," he said, landing on the edge of the clearing. "The Tree of Might grew here, a long time ago. Gohan had just turned four or five when a Sayan, Turles, and his gang landed and planted the seed, wanting the fruit that made the one who ate it invincible." He didn't notice that Jedin had stiffened, his hands clenched at his sides, as he continued the story of how King Kai had contacted Goku and told him what was going on, that the Tree of Might would consume all the lives, energy and resources on the planet to bear the fruit.

"Hang on, Goten," Jedin interrupted, holding up a hand. Goten looked over at him, noticing for the first time that his friend's power level was rising quickly, fast approaching Super Sayan, nervous that his friend might be losing control.

"What is it, Jedin?"

"Turles was my father."

"What!"

"No one knew it, but my mother followed my father here, already pregnant with me," he said, seeing the tree as it had been, rising more than two hundred feet above the forest, spreading branches that blocked out the sun. "After he died, she told me stories about him and made me believe he was killed on a far away planet, not here."

"Jedin, power down," Goten warned, knowing his brother and Vegeta would sense his rising power level and come flying as fast as they could.

"Your father killed mine, Goten," Jedin growled, spinning around to glare at him. "I have every right to be angry."

"I know, Jedin, but we'll have a fight on our hands if you don't power down." He worked at keeping his voice as calm as possible, even though his nerves were jumping. He'd never seen Jedin this mad before, and never wanted to again. "Jedin--"

"Goten, shut up!" He threw a punch so hard and fast that if he hadn't blocked it at the last moment, it would probably have taken Goten's head off.

"Jedin, please stop this," Goten tried again, knowing he had to settle him down and quickly. He barely dodged a kick aimed at his head, quickly blocking the return punch.

"I said, SHUT UP!" Jedin attacked again, and Goten made no move except for self-defense. The attacks got faster and stronger as the fight went on, making him wonder if he'd have to go Super Sayan to stop the fight. Sensing his distraction, Jedin landed a hard roundhouse kick to Goten's chest, sending him flying into a nearby tree. Both Goten and the tree crashed to the ground, with Jedin close behind to keep fighting. Looking up from the ground to see his friend bearing down on him, fit to kill, Goten shot to his feet and into the air again.

"The hell with this," he muttered, and transformed into a Super Sayan even though it was now pretty much guaranteed that at least Gohan and Vegeta would be showing up soon. He had to stop Jedin while he had a chance. "Sorry about this, Jedin," he said when Jedin stopped in surprise.

"So that's how you do it," Jedin murmured, shocking Goten when he did the same.

"Power down, Jedin," Goten said, "before Gohan and Vegeta show up. If they do, we'll both be in more trouble than we ever want to be in." Like the day they'd gotten in trouble for hacking into the school computers, Jedin looked ready to take on both Vegeta and Gohan single-handedly. Goten couldn't allow that, because while Gohan might not kill him, Vegeta would. "Please, Jedin. We'll finish this later, but we need to get out of here."

"Very well," Jedin replied with a sigh, and powered down as Goten requested. Goten did the same, the tension leaving him in a rush. "I'm sorry, Goten."

"It's not your fault," he denied, shaking his head a little. "I'd react the same way, I think."

"We should probably get out of here."

"You're right," Goten said with a slight chuckle. "Not only that, it's time for dinner. A fight like that really works up my appetite."

"See ya tomorrow, Goten," Jedin called, quickly flying out of sight, his power level still high, but not as high as it had been even moments before. Goten followed Jedin's example and flew as fast as he could for home. When he got there, ChiChi was standing outside, her arms crossed over her chest and looking like she was ready to ground him again.

"Where have you been?"

"Out." He shrugged, ignoring the twinge in his ribs from the kick Jedin had given him and the pull in his arm from the tattoo. "I left you a note."

"You said you were going out and would be back later."

"I didn't want you to worry, Mom."

"I worry about you all the time, Goten," she shot back, "especially when I know you're out and about with that Jedin character."

"There's nothing wrong with Jedin."

"How come I've never met him? You've been friends with him for six years, Goten, and I've never met him once. The only times I saw him were when you two were in trouble together."

"Mom--"

"Ever since you met him," she went on as if he hadn't spoken, "you've been getting in trouble in one form or another. Fights, hacking, stealing, vandalism . . . the list goes on, Goten. You and Trunks rarely, if ever, speak anymore and you two were practically attached at the hip when you were younger."

"Times change, Mom," he replied casually, barely feeling the twinge from his conscience about the fact that he and Trunks had grown apart over the last six years. He knew Trunks, once his friend, brother, idol and rival, shared some of the blame of the distance between them. Every attempt to reestablish the camaraderie between them Goten had made had been rebuffed. As long as he was a friend to Jedin, Trunks wanted nothing to do with him. It had hurt at first, and while he occasionally missed his first friend, he had been forced to put childish thoughts of them fighting together to save the universe behind him.

"You've changed the most, Goten," ChiChi murmured, looking up at him now with anguished eyes. Her sweet, stubborn little boy had been replaced with a stranger with seemingly mercurial moods, at home nowhere and with no one, except Jedin. He flew off at the least opportunity, staying out for longer periods and saying little if anything of where he'd been.

Blinking back tears, she studied him again, noticing for the first time that he was covered in dirt and grass stains, his clothes ripped in several places. "What happened, Goten?" she asked breathlessly, panic making her heart pound for a moment before she controlled it. "Come inside."

"I'm all right, Mom," he said, noticing for the first time that places other than his ribs and arm ached from his impact with the tree. Aside from those aches, he felt fine, but knew his mother would have to fuss over him for a while until she satisfied herself that he was unhurt, just sore. He let her pull him inside and push him into a chair at the table, leaving the room to get her fully stocked first aid kit. Resting his elbow on the table, he propped his chin on his hand and closed his eyes, visions of the fight flickering through his mind. With formal training, Jedin could be one of the best fighters on the planet.

He was so intent on his thoughts that he didn't notice ChiChi's return or the fact that she'd ripped the remains of his right sleeve to the shoulder. "Goten, when did you get this?" she demanded, staring at the tattoo.

"Hmm?" he murmured distractedly, looking blankly at the tattoo before her question sank in. "This afternoon."

"When did you decide to do this?"

"This morning." She sighed, the one that Goten knew always warned of a tongue-lashing. Suddenly, he was tired of being treated like he was still an eleven year old, and stood to face his mother.

"I won't have this, Goten," she said, glaring up at him. "I will not have you getting yourself tattooed and pierced--"

"I didn't get a piercing," he broke in, one eyebrow lifting insolently, "but now that you mention it, an eyebrow ring would look really cool on me."

"Don't you dare, Goten!" The look in her eyes used to freeze him on the spot when he was younger, but not anymore. "I refuse to allow this! I am still your mother, and as long as you live under my roof, you will follow my rules."

"Is that right?" he asked, tilting his head to one side as he studied her. She nodded, not seeing that his hands fisted and relaxed in a visible fight for control. "Fine. Screw you, Mom. I'm moving out." He started for the back door, hardly surprised when it opened before he got there. Gohan stepped through, leaving the door open behind him.

"Goten, did you--"

"Yes," he replied, hardly looking at his brother as he passed. He slammed the door behind him, ripping it off its hinges in his anger.

"Goten!" Gohan called, quickly understanding the situation. Goten ignored him, launching himself skyward. He didn't know where he was going, and realized that he didn't care. A surge of power had him turning toward the city, where Jedin and his adoptive parents lived.

To Be Continued . . .