They were both unstoppable. Their movements played off each other perfectly, their Ki fluctuating and balancing out, matching perfectly with the other's and boosting it beyond imagination. Neither of them spoke a word as they leapt forwards into battle. The world around them melted away, and heavy veils of adrenaline and power wrapped over them, clouding them to anything else. Nothing stood in their way. They crashed through gates, and stone and flesh.

They were unstoppable.

Freeza stood on a pile of rubble, holding his shoulder, half his tail flicking back and forth as both boys landed on either side of him, their eyes filled with unbridled angry killing intent. The tyrant stood up straight and looked back at both of them. "What the hell happened to you…?" He hissed. "Your hair… your eyes… Do you think that will make a difference?"

Freeza raised his good arm over his head and summoned up a ball of Ki. "I'll crush you both!"

Trunks leapt forwards, punching Freeza in the jaw, the force pushing the alien overlord backwards, arching his back. Goten slammed forwards, driving his elbow deep into Freeza's spine, which propelled him forwards, smashing him into the ground. They both turned to face him, as silent as the grave. Freeza pushed himself up with some difficulty, and turned to face them, shakily.

"This cannot… be happening!"

Both boys vanished from view before reappearing before Freeza, each throwing a set of expertly aimed and powerful punches. It was all Freeza could do to block each one as he was knocked backwards. He barely managed to block any, and over half of them connected with a vital point. Trunks and Goten pulled their fists back, simultaneously and both of their arms connected solidly with Freeza's face.

Freeza went flying backwards, smashing into a wall that miraculously was still standing. He cursed and pushed himself back up. He stood there, breathing heavily, blood pouring from his wounds onto the floor.

"This… cannot be…" He hissed, grabbing his ribs. "I will not be defeated… by a pair of low life half breeds!" He screamed, clenching his fists. "What are you! Tell me!"

"We're Super Saiyans!" They both spoke up at the same time, turning a little bit inwards.

"Super Saiyans…?" Freeza spoke, chuckling a little bit. "You think… that somehow changing your hair color, makes you a Super Saiyan? Let me fill you in on a little secret, half breeds." Freeza was laughing between words. He shook his head and looked up. "There's no such thing as a super Saiyan!" He hissed. "It's all made up! A legend thought up by a few monkeys well before your time!"

Freeza took a step forwards, and Trunks and Goten kept their eyes on him the whole time, staring intently as he began to raise a finger heavenwards.

"That form you've taken… Is nothing more than show." He said laughing a bit more as a ball of Ki slowly began to form over his head, steadily growing to monstrous proportions. "I, however, am no fake." Freeza smirked. "This power you see before you, is truth!"

"You're wrong, Freeza."

Everything stopped. The Ki above Freeza's head wavered a bit. "What?"

"Our power…" Trunks curled his fists. "Is no lie."

"Maybe the Super Saiyan is a legend." Goten took a step forwards with his best friend, as the two of them pulled both their hands back. "But if it is, then we are that legend."

"And you are not truth." Trunks' eyes narrowed.

Both boys held their hands close together and Ki started to build up behind them. "Because we are!" They both shouted in unison.

"You dammed fools!" Freeza floated up above them, the Ki steadily growing. "Vanish!" He threw it downwards, towards the two who stood there, standing strong and unmoving.

"Ka…" They both began, their Ki flaring up around them. "Me… Ha… Me…" Both boys moved their hands up towards the blast that was rocketing towards them.

"HA!"

Ki met Ki and exploded in a brilliant flash.

Pure, raw, and untapped power surrounded them. It was eating at their skin, dissolving them, making the two of them fade away. Trunks barely managed to turn his head. The force bore down on him with enough strength to crush him for good. Goten turned his head with the same difficulty and both boys just stared at one another for a few moments. They both held eye contact, neither speaking, and neither moving. Finally Goten moved, pulling his arm up and reaching towards Trunks, extending his hand. Trunks stared at him a while longer before moving his hand and reaching out to grab Goten's. The two held onto one another, as more power washed over them, threatening to smash them into oblivion once and for all. Still, they weren't going to go alone. The two had been inseparable since birth, and not even this was going to tear them apart. They were best friends, till the end. And most likely after that as well. Neither went anywhere, without the other following closely behind. Both turned away from each other, still holding on, and smiled.

"Well done, you two."

The last thing Goten had been expecting to do was wake up, but wake up he did. His entire body was sore, and every inch of him was aching. Though Goten supposed that was a good thing. If there was one lesson he had learned it was that pain meant you were still alive. He stirred a bit and flexed his fingers. Trunks' hand was gone. Had they gotten separated? Goten took a deep breath and tried to assess his surroundings. He opened his eyes and squinted up. His vision was hazy at best, and clouds of darkness swirled about the corners of his eyes. The place was dark, and Goten quickly realized he was neither in Freeza's base nor outside. The ground he was lying on was too comfortable for that. In fact it wasn't the ground at all. It was a bed. He shifted a bit and blinked a few times trying to clear his vision up. As soon as he did he heard a voice from his left.

"Hey, kid. Are you awake in there?"

Goten's voice was hoarse and tired but he managed to speak up anyways. "Grandpa?"

Bardock's familiar hand was on his shoulder. "How do you feel, runt?"

"Okay, I guess." Goten whispered as his vision cleared up. He blinked and looked up at his grandfather who was sitting next to him. A smile appeared over his face and he instantly sat up, wrapping his arms around Bardock's neck. "Grandpa!" He gasped, relieved at the physical contact. "You're not dead!"

"Of course I'm not, now get off."

Goten sat back, beaming at him. "Me and Trunks thought you guys were all dead… we couldn't sense your Ki."

"Well you can thank your father for that. He somehow managed to get us all out of there, and by the time we came back, you had already finished it."

Goten smiled and folded his arms. He should have known his father would get them all out of there safely. He then frowned and let his arms fall. "Where's Trunks?"

"He woke up a few days ago."

"A few days? How long have I been asleep!"

"At least five days."

Goten grinned. "Awesome." He slid his feet over the bed and stretched his arms. "And Trunks is okay? Everyone else is too?"

"Yeah. Well… Vegeta is in bad shape."

"Vegeta? Trunks' dad?"

"Yeah." Bardock stood up, and helped Goten do the same. "He'll be okay, but apparently those Senzu aren't easy to come by. We didn't have enough, and Vegeta insisted we give the last to you two"

"He did?" Goten smiled a little bit. "That was nice of him."

Bardock closed his eyes and nodded. "Goku gave him half a senzu bean, and it helped a bit, but it didn't have the full effects it normally would. Still he should be better in a few weeks."

Goten nodded. "Where are we, by the way?"

"Back on that ship. Headed for that backwater planet of yours."

"Earth?" Goten shot up, jumping to his feet, and clenching his fists. "We're going back to Earth?"

"Yes, now calm down."

"Yahoo!" Goten leapt up into the air. "We're going back to Earth! Yay! Whoo hoo!"

Bardock smirked and grabbed Goten's shoulders. "Alright, calm down, kid."

"I'm going home!" Goten wrapped his arms around his grandfather's middle. "Finally! Hurray!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you're excited. Now cool it. Come on, your dad's been worried about you. Your brother's been in here every two hours too." He put a hand on the back of Goten's back and steered him towards the door.

"How have you guys been getting along?" Goten looked up at Bardock.

"I'm not going to lie, Goten. It's strange having a family all of the sudden. In fact it's downright insane And you were right when you said Kakarot was nothing like us Saiyans."

"I told you."

Bardock lead him up to the deck, and opened the door. Instantly all heads turned towards him and he ran inside, smiling. "I'm back!"

"Goten!" Gohan was the first to speak up. He ran over, embracing his brother. "We were worried about you."

"Well, I'm just fine. A little sore from sitting in one place so long, but I'm okay."

Goku walked over, putting a hand on Goten's head. "It's good to see you, Goten. I'm so proud of you." He knelt down, taking Goten's shoulders. "You ascended. I knew you could do it."

Goten nodded. "I thought you guys were gone…"

Goku embraced his youngest son. "Don't worry, Goten. Daddy isn't going anywhere again."

Goten flushed and patted his father's back. "Dad, cut it out, that's embarrassing." He pulled away from his father who laughed and ruffled his hair. Goten smiled, and looked up. "So where's Trunks?"

"He's talking with Vegeta." Yamucha spoke up.

"I think we ought to keep our distance." Goku said, putting a hand on Goten's shoulder. "They have a lot to talk about. You'll see him later."

Goten nodded. "Okay." He understood that.

Trunks sat beside the cot in the poorly illuminated room, his hands folded over his knees, and his brow furrowed in thought. It wasn't the first time he had come into his father's room, but it was the first time he had sat down to stay. He thought he was finally ready to hear what Vegeta had to say. The question was if Vegeta was ready to say it.

Vegeta lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, not moving and not saying a word. A tray of food sat on the beside table, untouched and still steaming with heat. The two simply sat in the dark silence of the room.

"Are you going to talk to me?" Trunks spoke up quietly.

Vegeta turned his head away, not looking his son in the eye. "There's nothing to talk about."

Trunks sighed and folded his hands over his mouth. "There's plenty to talk about. You just don't want to talk about it."

"Then why are you bothering me?"

"Because I want to talk about it."

Vegeta heaved a sigh, and shook his head. "Get used to disappointment, kid."

Trunks looked over at his father, and sighed. He rested his hands over his knees again, and let his eyes drop the floor. He wasn't sure how he was going to get his answers from his father. "I'm not leaving till you talk to me." He said, stubbornly.

Vegeta was silent and Trunks frowned. He leaned forwards. "Why did you leave?" He barely whispered.

"I had a Kingdom to run. I was a prince before I was your father."

"You're lying."

Vegeta looked over at his son and cracked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Why'd you really leave?" Trunks looked up. "I don't believe that you left cause you had a duty to. There's another reason. A reason mom wouldn't talk about. So tell me what it was."

Vegeta sighed and looked back up at the ceiling. "Keep your nose in your own business boy."

"This is my business." Trunks insisted. "It's my life we're talking about. My mother."

"Then ask her."

"She's not here."

Vegeta was quiet for a very long time. Trunks was starting to get exasperated and was starting to contemplate leaving the room, when Vegeta spoke up again. "I left because I loved her."

"What?" Trunks looked back over, his eyebrows rising. "Don't give me that! You didn't leave to protect her, you-"

"No, I didn't. I left because I loved her. And I didn't want to." Trunks was silent for a long time after that and so was Vegeta. But finally his father started talking again. "Saiyans… think emotions like love and the like are weaknesses. She ruined me. She knew me, loved me, and challenged me. And I loved her too. And that… frightened me. I was afraid she was changing me. She did change me. More than you'll ever understand. And that's why I left. I ran away, boy. I ran away from the person she made me into."

Trunks looked down at the floor, angry tears stinging at his eyes. Hearing that his father had left them for such a selfish reason hurt. It hurt more than he was willing to admit. He stared at the floor, refusing to look up. "Are you happy?"

"What?"

"Did leaving make you happy?"

"No."

Trunks looked up sharply, a few tears falling despite his desperate attempts to keep them back. Vegeta just stared up at the ceiling, never making eye contact.

"No I'm not happy. In fact, the moment I left, I was miserable." He shook his head. "But I understood misery. It was familiar, so I left."

Trunks felt a few more tears slip and he wiped his face angrily. He looked back down at the floor and ventured another question. "If… you had known about me. If mom had known before you left, would you have stayed?"

"No."

The words hit him like a ton of bricks and he winced, keeping his eyes on the floor. He wanted to ask why not, but he had just about enough of questions. Still, he did prefer the honesty to a sugarcoated version meant to protect his feelings. He didn't look up, and Vegeta just kept talking.

"In fact, I would probably have left earlier."

"Why?" The word tumbled out before Trunks could stop it.

"Because it would have been something else that would make me want to stay."

The words shocked Trunks. He raised his head a little bit, to look at his father who had finally turned his head to look at him. "You… would have wanted to stay?"

"I don't want a son. I don't want children. When I said that, I meant it. But… I did name you my heir. I acknowledged you as my son. That should be answer enough for you. Now stop crying. You're a Saiyan royal. Saiyans, especially not the elite, or the royal family, do not cry."

"I'm not crying." It was a lame reply, but it was all Trunks could manage to say.

"No." Vegeta said, looking over at him. "You're not. You are my son, after all."

Trunks felt himself smile despite the anger and sadness that he still felt inside him. "Alright, father."

(Someone reviewed the last chapter, asking if they could translate this fic into Italian. My answer is yes, but I would very much like to be credited with writing it. That would be nice.)