Chapter Twenty-Six: Pain Beyond Feeling

This is the first time this chapter has been released on this website! It was the first of five Facebook-only chapters that only my super-duper fans got to read. Now it's here for everyone! Please enjoy!

~Nadia

"What have I done?" she whispered. Moisture from her eyes had been sliding down her face for hours, but there was now only a dry, salty residue. She was huddled in a corner of the dark cave, alternating between sobbing and laughing hysterically. Her fingers clawed at the ground beneath where she sat, idly scraping at handfuls of dirt as though she were digging her own grave. "What have I done?"

"Shhhh. It wasn't your fault." She felt comforting fingers moving through her hair. "I was the one who made you do it. I was the one who forced you…"

"Stop," she told him, pushing his hand away. His touch caused shame to spread through her, but as soon as he was a few inches away from her skin, the loneliness was overpowering. She panicked and pulled him back, needing to keep contact. She pressed her cheek against his bicep, closing her eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry," Goten said as he hugged her against him. He had been repeating the words miserably for the past several hours. "I'm so sorry."

"He was crying," Para whispered. "I didn't know he cared that much."

"Of course he did. He cared… quite a lot, actually."

Para drew a shuddering breath and mashed her forehead against Goten's shoulder. Her head ached, and touching him was the only thing that soothed her.

"I was the one who didn't care," Goten said, staring forward blankly. "I didn't think it would bother me until I saw the look on his face. Man, that hurt worse than…"

When the saiyan's voice trailed off into silence, Para pressed him onward weakly. "What?" she asked. "Worse than what?"

She felt Goten shrug gently under her face as he tried to escape the memory. "It just… hurting him hurt worse than when I hurt Bra."

Para stiffened and pulled away then, even though she knew that she would be clinging to him again within the minute. Yeah, I bet it did hurt more. She released a small sob and dug her fingernails into her knees. Is this what I wanted to accomplish? Is this my victory?

"But I want you to be mine," Goten said, brushing her hair aside and pressing his lips against the back of her neck. "I would do it again in a heartbeat. Would you?"

"Absolutely," she said, turning to crush her lips against his desperately. "I would do it again ten times. It's worth it to be with you."

Goten cupped her chin in one hand, rubbing her cheek idly with one thumb. "We broke his heart, you know."

That was kind of the whole idea. Para nodded. "Yeah. If it weren't for Vegeta…" She bit her lip.

"You would have been able to defend me," Goten said. "You can reach the third level, and that makes you stronger than him."

"I was too emotional," Para said, shaking her head. "I couldn't move. I couldn't think. Thank god for Vegeta."

"I dunno," Goten said with a shrug. "I think I would have deserved whatever I got."

"You think wrong," she said firmly. "Look, I know it hurts now, but I promise we'll feel better in the morning. We all just need to… cool down."

"Cool down?" Goten repeated with a snort. "There's no cooling down from this. There's no going back. I lost my best friend. My mom has disowned me. Marron threw a drink in my face and Uub ordered me off his property."

"She doesn't blame you. I'm the one she called a slut," Para said faintly. "Marron is my only friend, and if she won't stand by me…"

"I'm your friend," Goten said.

"You don't even know who I am," Para said miserably.

"I know enough." He reached out to grasp Para's waist and tugged her close to him so that she was sitting between his legs. He nuzzled her ear and neck fondly. "No matter what, I'll stand by you. It's us against the world."

"It was supposed to be," Para murmured softly as she leaned back against him. "Can you get my purse?"

Goten compliantly stretched out and retrieved the red leather bag. Para took it from his hands, digging inside of it to retrieve a small black case. She flipped it open to reveal her tranquilizing kit—she had not used it for a while, but she had continued to carry it with her in case of emergency.

"What are you doing?" Goten asked, recoiling from the sight of the needles.

Para used her teeth to rip the protective wrapping off a syringe before jabbing the point into a vial of liquid. She began extracting the tranquilizer carefully, tripling the dose she had used regularly in the past. "This will make me sleep," she answered. "Maybe I'll feel better when I wake up."

"That doesn't sound like the best solution," Goten said, putting his hands over hers to stop her from sticking the needle into her arm.

She immediately grew upset. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yes," he answered. "Do me first."

"What?"

"Do you have enough to put me asleep too?"

"Yes, but…" Para hesitated. "One of us needs to stay awake and keep watch. If he finds us, he'll kill you."

"If he kills me, I deserve to die," Goten answered. "Best friends don't do what I did."

"Best friends do what you did every day."

"But we're saiyans…"

"Saiyans are even more physical than humans. You heard what Vegeta said…"

"It doesn't matter," Goten said. He moved her hands to position the needle above his own arm. "I really don't care anymore. Just do it."

She looked up into his eyes for confirmation. "Are you sure you don't want to be awake to defend yourself?"

"Yeah. If you're sleeping, I want to be sleeping beside you. I want to live in a dream with you and forget all of this." Goten gritted his teeth. "Do it!"

Para sighed and nodded. "Okay. Relax so it can penetrate your skin. Lower your ki even further than it already is." When he complied, she stabbed the needle into his arm, causing him to wince in pain.

"I hate those things," he said after a moment. "How long does it take to…"

He was already sliding to the floor before he could finish the sentence. Para crawled closer to him, looking down at his innocent face lovingly. "I'm sorry, Goten," she said, leaning forward to kiss his eyes. "You think it hurts now. Just wait and see. This is nothing. This wasn't even about you."

Para stroked his hair tenderly for several more seconds before she extracted the needle from his arm. She was about to discard the needle in a sanitary way and prepare a second for her own sedation, when she frowned, studying the drops of Goten's blood on the thin metallic spike. What does it matter? She used the same needle to extract a heavier dose of tranquilizer from the vial. As she plunged the tiny spear into her vein, she felt a strange thrill at the rebelliousness and intimacy of sharing a needle. She forced an unusually high quantity into her bloodstream before letting her head fall against Goten's chest.

She linked her fingers with Goten's before blissful sleep took her, and her last strange thought was of Romeo and Juliet. Para smiled as her heavy eyelids fluttered closed. It would have been better if I had poisoned us both, my love.

Earlier that day…

Trunks could tell that something was wrong. Had she suffered through a bad day at the hospital? She sometimes became depressed for a few days when she lost a patient. Had she overexerted herself training after work? He had been surprised when he had felt her ki skyrocketing before Nyssa's party; he hadn't known that she intended to train. She did so much. It had felt like she was at Kami's Lookout—had she received some bad news about the upcoming battle? He felt that there must be some awful underlying reason for how distant she had been acting throughout the birthday party. She had hardly engaged in conversation with anyone, and had spent most of the evening flicking ants away from the picnic table. When a fly buzzed by, intent on savoring the aromas wafting up from the foods, Medea had grabbed a napkin faster than any of the humans at the table could perceive. Her nimble fingers had darted out to capture and crush the poor winged insects in her napkin before letting their corpses tumble off the picnic table.

He had observed this behavior in confusion, wondering what was troubling her. She was normally a high-spirited girl, full of smiles and jaunty humor. There was only one explanation: something really stressful must have happened to her, and she was trying to conceal it to spare him from sharing her troubles. She was very considerate that way.

Excusing himself from his family at the picnic table, Trunks knew he needed to find Medea. He needed to let her know that she did not have to suffer her anxieties on her own—she was no longer alone. He would find a way to ease her mind and make her feel better. He smiled, thinking about all the ways he could cheer her up as he headed towards Marron's house.

Trunks could not help admiring the way Uub kept his lawn perfectly manicured. The garden outside the house was decorated by vibrant blossoms in every imaginable color. It made him smile to think of his old friend Marron tending to the landscaping while her kids ran around playing. The sweet domestic scenes warmed his heart and made him think about his own future. He only knew one thing for certain. The indigo-haired woman from the future, regardless of whoever she was and wherever she came from, was his future. It felt right when they were together; he felt calm.

When he pushed in the door to the Chestnut home, he was met with a surprise. A little girl was wearing pajamas and trudging woefully down the stairs. She dragged a stuffed giraffe behind her by its leg.

"Uncle Trunks, will you tell me a story?" she asked hopefully.

"I thought your grandpa was going to read you one?" Trunks said in confusion.

"Grandpa Krillen fell asleep!" Nyssa exclaimed with a pout. "He didn't even get to the ending. You hafta tell me a better story, and this time I want to hear the ending."

Trunks smiled. "Sure, Nyssa. I would love to, but do you mind if I check on Medea first? She went to the kitchen and she's been taking a bit too long."

"What's wrong with Auntie M?" Nyssa asked with worry.

"She's just stressed out."

"Because of the big monster?" Nyssa asked with excitement. "I've been training every day, and when he comes, I want to fight too!"

"You can't…" Trunks began to sternly scold the girl that she should remove this idea from her head immediately, but then he remembered the way he had been at her age. A smile came to his lips as he remembered how excited he and Goten had been about fighting Buu. It had all seemed like a big game at first… even after their parents had been killed, it had still seemed like a fun competition. It had been in their saiyan blood to lust for battle, but Nyssa was only human.

"I'm stronger than my sister and she's older than me," Nyssa was telling him earnestly. "Mommy said that Daddy used to be a big pink monster in a different lifetime, and that's why-come he's so strong."

This surprised Trunks. He realized that Nyssa was, in fact, the daughter of Buu. Maybe he could relate to her more than he had previously imagined.

"Isn't that cool?" Nyssa asked. "So maybe I have a secret special power too since…"

Trunks' head moved sharply to the side when he heard what sounded like glass shattering. His saiyan hearing was stimulated by the distant sound, and he frowned, knowing that it was coming from the kitchen. Medea had said she was going to have a drink of water to make herself feel better. Trunks immediately imagined that she had collapsed in the kitchen, spilling her drink. Was something wrong with her health—was she ill? He tried to think over Nyssa's incessant babbling. Medea had seemed very out of sorts in the past few days, and today she seemed to be in a different world altogether. Could she possibly be pregnant? The idea made him excited.

"Uncle Trunks, you're not listening to me!" Nyssa said with frustration. "It's my birthday and no one is paying any attention to me! Everyone treats me like I'm just some stupid kid!"

His head snapped back to Nyssa in surprise. He felt a pang of regret, suddenly noticing that Nyssa was now sporting one of the new orange headbands which Medea had chosen for her. This accessory nestled in her dark curls clearly brought another feisty young girl to mind, one who had often made vehement declarations of her own maturity. He reached out to put a hand on her head gently.

"Sorry, Nyssa," he said kindly. "I bet you're almost as strong as your Grandpa Krillen by now, right?"

"Yeah!" she said, bouncing happily. "There was even this one time…"

Trunks frowned as his ears picked up what sounded like a gasp. "Are you going to leave him?" When he heard this, in what sounded like an angry whisper, his face froze. He could recognize the voice that was speaking better than his own. He tried to strain to hear more, but Nyssa was pulling on his arm.

"…a really good story! So Grandpa Krillen just fell asleep, and he's snoring sooo loudly. Please, Uncle Trunks, I can't sleep. I have lots and lots of energy. You need to tell me a story!"

He could not focus on the sounds coming from the kitchen while Nyssa was chattering, so he simply nodded. "Sure, kid. Whatever you want." He tried to appease her so that she would remain quiet. He heard a hiss traveling from the kitchen: "Bra means nothing to me!" He scowled at these words. Goten and Medea seemed to be having some kind of heated argument. He could hear their whispers and the urgency in their tones.

"Hey, Nyssa, can you wait here for a sec?" Trunks asked uneasily. "I think Medea is in trouble and she might need my help. I'll be back in a minute and I'll read you any story you like. Promise."

"Really, really promise?" Nyssa asked with big eyes.

"Sure," he answered, "you're the birthday girl after all!" He reached out to pick her up from the ground and swung her around rapidly in the air, making her giggle, before planting her to sit comfortably on the stairs. "Just wait right here and don't move a muscle!"

"Okay," she said cheerfully, hugging her stuffed giraffe.

Trunks began moving toward the kitchen, feeling confused about why the two saiyans in the kitchen were fighting. He realized that Goten might know what was wrong with Medea since they had recently trained. He had not physically sparred with Medea in a very long time, being too absorbed in his own work. It was possible that there was a health issue that Goten had discovered which Medea was trying to conceal. Knowing his best friend, the younger saiyan was probably trying to get his girlfriend to come clean and tell Trunks what was the matter. As he approached, he could hear the sounds of struggle grow louder.

When a cabinet door slammed loudly, and Medea's ki spiked noticeably, Trunks moved forward to push open the kitchen door. When his hand connected with the wooden panel and shifted it aside, his eyes registered fragments of a scene that wouldn't fit together to make sense.

A flash of a polka-dotted dress.

Tanned fingers digging into a creamy thigh.

Calves curled and locked around a man's body.

The graceful curve of a feminine ankle, and a high heel dangling off toes. Trunks stared at the shoe as it fell to the ground with a clatter.

He gazed at the expensive slipper intently for a moment, fixating on its patent leather sole and the high arch from toe to heel. It was a moment before his eyes traveled upward, disbelieving what they saw as his best friend shoved Medea up against the kitchen sink, sliding her short skirt higher up around her waist. He watched as his friend slid his hands over the girl's bare hips, leaning forward and devouring her mouth. He tried to process what he was seeing, but he could only keep seeing. He could not stop seeing. He was completely incapable of forming a reaction.

His lips parted, but not even a whisper of air traveled through them. He saw Medea's fingernails knotted in a mass of disorderly dark hair, and he saw her legs tighten around his friend's waist. He saw his friend dragging her body down against his to…

"Goten…"

The sound had escaped his own throat, and he had not even realized that it was his own voice. He saw the pair of lovers pause in their carnal, frantic embrace. His friend slowly released the woman's hips, turning around to look behind him as he still stood between her legs. Their eyes met, and Trunks could see the mortification in Goten's dark brown irises. He could see the guilt, the shame, and… the remnants of lust. Goten had been lusting after his girlfriend.

Trunks did not realize what was happening when he found himself moving forward, his hair suddenly golden and his eyes suddenly green.

"Fuck," Goten said, pulling away from Para abruptly. He moved into a battle stance instinctively, holding up both of his hands in surrender. "Listen, man…"

A second later, Trunks would have surely caused physical harm to his best friend if not for a hand pressing firmly against his chest. He saw that Para had rapidly rearranged her clothing and moved to place herself between the men.

"Please don't," she said softly, "don't hurt him. It's my fault, Trunks. Take it out on me."

He turned to look at her sweet face, and allowed her velvety words to sink into his mind. He grasped her hand that was resting on his chest, realizing quite suddenly that his greatest fear was losing her. His hair abruptly softened, falling into soft, lavender locks around his cheeks. He took a deep, shuddering breath before looking from Para to Goten, making painful, lingering eye contact with both of them. He could see quite clearly on both of their faces that they were both ashamed of their actions, and they both loved him dearly. He nodded, knowing that he needed to be mature about this. He nodded again. This sort of thing happened—it had happened to him!

Trunks suddenly was seized by the memory of being with the woman in his office—the redhead Karina Allbright. He remembered Pan walking in and seeing them together, and the look of pain and rage in her eyes. She had seen him in a similar position, with Karina's legs wrapped around him, and her skirt bunched up around her hips. He had done this to Pan—and he had never realized the way she had truly felt about it until now. Thinking about Pan made tears spring to his eyes.

He had lost one incredible saiyan woman already. He knew he would never recover from that loss, and he could not bear to lose another. Not when things were finally coming together in his life, not when he was finally beginning to settle into a comfortable rhythm again. He knew that he needed to act mature about this. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself and sort out the mess in his mind. He needed to respond to this situation in a civilized way. He did not realize that his whole body was shaking, and that the tears had begun to pour down his cheeks. He nodded again.

"Trunks," Para said in surprise, moving closer to him. She touched his face, wiping his tears away. "I'm so sorry. Oh, god, Trunks…"

"It's okay," he told her suddenly. He tilted his face down to meet hers and smiled at her through his tears. "I'm upset, but I'll get past this. I'm a grown up." When he saw that neither of the two offenders could respond, he nodded firmly, looking from one to the other. "Let's just forget about this. It's fine."

Para hesitated, staring at him fearfully. He reached out to touch her arm, and she flinched slightly at the contact.

"Come, Medea. Let's get out of here. Let's go home and forget about this."

She had not expected this reaction. She had not expected him to be so… calm. Para could see how violently his body was shaking, and she could feel the crackling of his ki in the air around him. She could see that he was struggling to fight his tears. She did not know what to do or say. Turning to glance at Goten's face, Para saw the emptiness of pain beyond feeling.

She shut her eyes tightly. I made this happen, and now I can't bear to watch. Her eyes flew open when she felt Trunks' hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," he told her, swallowing visibly. She stared at his Adam's apple fearfully. "It's really fine. I'm not upset. Let's just go home."

Para nodded, unable to do anything else. She moved after Trunks automatically, feeling somewhat like a robot controlled by his voice. She thought about Giru, who was waiting at home for her. It was a strange time to think about their pet robot, but Giru knew who she was and had faithfully kept her secret. Yes, she would go home with Trunks and put her arms around Giru's spherical little body, and hold the robot as she cried herself to sleep. Just like when she was a lonely teenager—nothing had changed, and she had successfully shot herself in the foot, in the side, and in the head to ensure the destruction of her own happiness.

She and Trunks had almost reached the kitchen door, walking at a slow, zombie-like pace, when she heard a firm voice speak behind her.

"She's not going with you," Goten said quietly.

Para's heart leapt into her throat; she somehow felt like she was being rescued. Both she and Trunks turned to look at the son of Goku, and they were met by a wave of hot ki sweeping over their faces. Goten extended his hand out toward her.

"Make your decision," he told her firmly. His face was declaring battle, but there was also a naïve, vulnerable tenderness behind the ferocity. Never had he reminded her more of her grandfather in that moment, and in that moment she knew that she needed to stand by him. Goten would be crushed if she walked away from him now, and he was not the man she currently intended to crush.

When Para stepped forward, enraptured by Goten's warrior-beauty, there was an instant during which she was very conscious of being Bra Briefs. It disappeared as soon as it had come when she was called by another name.

"Medea!" Trunks said desperately. "What are you…"

"Please forgive me," she said softly as she turned back to him, "things have changed." Her voice was weak, and her conviction was unsteady. She felt like her body was about to rip in half between the two men. If she had taken off the katchin jewelry she wore, she physically would have split in two.

"Are you seriously doing this?" Trunks asked her hoarsely. "I'm willing to overlook what I saw."

"I'm not," she answered, moving closer to Goten. "I'm so sorry, Trunks." Her hands had broken out into a cold sweat. They felt clammy and they shook as she reached out to take the hand of her new-old lover. She inhaled deeply before making her declaration:

"I want to be with Goten."

A silence filtered through the kitchen. Water could be heard dripping from the tap, and it felt like all three saiyans were holding their breath. Trunks was not even blinking as he stared into a pair of gorgeous indigo eyes.

"How can you do this to me?" he asked her in a voice that was quavering with bottled rage. She was already wincing, anticipating the popping of the cork. She imagined that it was going to shoot directly into her eye. Trunks was moving forward, advancing on her, and there was green fire in his eyes. She deserved it; she wanted him to hurt her. She could feel his ki rising. "Medea, we've been together for over six months…"

And how long were you with Pan before you cheated on her! she mentally screamed. Her own ki began to increase in small hiccups. She felt her breaths start to shorten, coming in quick, shallow bursts. She was hyperventilating, and she felt the world spinning around her. The surge of dizziness caused her to feel suddenly faint. She ripped her eyes away from Trunks, trying to focus on a stationary, solid point—she saw an kaleidoscope of rainbow colors dance all over Marron's kitchen walls. She was sure that she was about to slip into some sort of permanent, traumatized coma when she felt a hand resting against her back protectively. Possessively.

Goten's touch brought her solidly back to earth. He was unwavering and certain. "Look, man," the dark-haired man said with a deep frown. "I love you, but I'm sick of yielding to your every whim. I'm going to be selfish for a moment here and tell it like it is. You started seeing Medea just to make Pan jealous. Just to use her for your company appearances and the newspapers."

"That was ages ago!" Trunks yelled. "Everything changed once I found out…"

"That she was saiyan? That she was from the future? Then she became of value to you as a person rather than a pawn?" Goten knew his best friend better than he knew himself. There was no one who could more accurately finish his sentences. "I don't care where she's from. I don't care what species she is. I just need her."

"You," Trunks said viciously, "you forced her into this!"

For a moment, his voice was so convincing that Para almost believed him. She almost believed that she had been manipulated and seduced by Goten, before she remembered that she had planned this moment well over a year ago. She had consciously decided to cheat on Trunks, and now that she was in the moment, it all felt too unreal. "No," she whispered. "Don't blame him. It was my choice."

Trunks shook his head, refusing to believe her. "You would never have hurt me like this, Medea—I know that it's his doing. Why do you have to ruin everything for me, Goten? You were my best friend!"

"I am your best friend," Goten said quietly. "Trunks, please understand. I have no ulterior motives. I have nothing else, while you have the world at your fingertips. I need this girl."

"Fuck you, man!" Trunks hissed. "When are you going to stop acting like your bank account is a handicap? When are you going to stop begging me for handouts of scraps? When are you going to stop coveting everything I have, comparing yourself to me? Your jealousy has destroyed our friendship, Goten. That's your real handicap—your filthy envy."

Goten seemed struck by these words, and he stood in speechlessness for a moment. He bowed his head slightly. "I have envied you, and for that I'm sorry. But this is not about…"

"Oh, I know exactly what this is about," Trunks seethed. "You couldn't bear to see that I was happy…"

"Stop!" Para shouted. She raised her ki slightly, just to draw their attention. "Trunks, this is my fault. I always felt that you held something back from me… and I held something back too. I knew that you were just using me at first. Maybe something changed along the way and you actually began to care for me, but something changed for me too. I realized… I realized that Goten and I just connect better. It's not his fault… it's just the way things happened."

"You realized…" Trunks turned to her viciously. "How long!"

She swallowed, unable to speak.

"How long! How long has this been going on behind my back!"

"Trunks, I…"

When he advanced on her, she shivered at the coldness of the ice in his blue eyes. She nearly took a step back, feeling fear spread through her chest as his face drew close to hers. Prickles of electricity ran up the back of her neck, and the look on her face made her breath catch—she almost anticipated to be dead within the second.

"How long have you been fucking him?" Trunks hissed.

Para closed her eyes tightly, almost wishing he would go on with it and do whatever he intended to do. She would have welcomed physical blows more than his measured anger. She felt her chest constrict as she waited for some kind of impact.

"Look at me!" he shouted. "How long?"

Her eyes snapped open. She owed him a response. She gripped Goten's hand tightly, feeling tears prick the back of her eyes. They began to pool along her bottom lashes, and she was unable to blink them away. "Just today," she whispered.

She flinched when Trunks moved forward sharply, feeling the wind of his motion stirring her indigo hair. Inches from her face, the man paused. "No," Trunks said. "I won't hit a woman. Saiyan or not. But you…" He slowly pivoted, with darkening eyes. A vicious sneer overtook his face as he looked at Goten. Then a smile. Trunks smiled, the most sinister, sadistic smile that had ever graced his face.

"I'm going to rip your fucking dick off."

Para saw it happen almost in slow motion. She knew it had happened in a fraction of a fraction of a second, but Trunks was suddenly lifting his hand to fire a ki blast directly through Goten's heart. The dark-haired man was emotionally distraught and unprepared for his friend's rage. Para knew she needed to move, and in that sliver of an instant, she clenched Goten's hand and slammed two fingers into her forehead.

Trunks bellowed as he unleashed a wave of ki in a finishing move, exploding through half of Marron's kitchen. He yelled in rage when he saw that his target had evaded the attack. "Run, then," he said with a grin. His own face had never looked more like Vegeta's as he walked out of the kitchen, intent on stalking his prey. He walked through the hallway, passing by the stairs on his way out of the house.

"Uncle Trunks, are you ready to tell me the story now?" Nyssa asked anxiously, fingering her giraffe.

Trunks ignored the child as he moved past her, flinging Marron's front door open. When he stepped out of the house, he saw that everyone was looking toward him. Goten was standing with Medea near to Gohan and Vegeta. He was taking cover from the storm; but it was impossible. The storm would rain down and destroy the happy little picnic. Uub and Marron had risen to their feet, slightly surprised and upset with the explosion that they had witnessed leaving their kitchen.

Nyssa ran after the lavender-haired man, tugging on his sleeve to regain his attention. "Uncle Trunks?"

Trunks slammed his hand to his left, violently striking the side of Nyssa's head and sending her crashing into the side of the brick house. The seven-year-old went clean through the wall.

"Nyssa!" Marron screamed, rushing forward. She stumbled as she was slightly tipsy.

Uub grabbed his wife and held her against his side protectively. "Don't go near him, Mar. He's crazed."

"What's wrong with you, Trunks Briefs!" Marron yelled, fighting against Uub vainly. "She's just a little girl…"

Trunks whizzed by them in a blur of blue ki, weaving through the crowd toward Goten. When he met with his opponent, he smashed his knee into Goten's nose. He immediately began to pummel both of his fists into Goten's stomach.

"Goten, no!" Chi Chi gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth

Para was frozen, before she remembered that she needed to force her petrified body into action in order to save Goten's life. She moved toward the men, trying to wrestle Trunks' hands away from Goten. "Stop this!" she begged him. "It's my fault. It's my fault!"

"Stay away from me. This is between me and him!" Trunks roared, shrugging her off. She fell to the ground a few feet away. Trunks faded, materializing behind Goten and grabbing the man's head between his hands. He intended to snap Goten's neck and kill him in one firm blow. He grinned at this concept, figuring he could castrate the man after death. He had promised, after all.

Before he could hear the gratifying snap of a spinal cord, he felt strong arms pulling him away from his friend. He saw Gohan removing his younger brother from his grasp, just as a warm, red furry arm encircled his own neck. He cursed as he struggled against the Super Saiyan 4 headlock.

"Boy," Vegeta said calmly. "Why are you acting like a menstruating female? Shall I purchase you some Tampax?"

Trunks ripped himself free and swiveled in midair, sending his fist out toward his father. Before it could collide with Vegeta's head, the older man stopped the attack with a single finger.

"She's leaving me for him," Trunks said, drawing a ragged breath. "She's been fucking him behind my back!"

"Well, obviously," Vegeta responded. "He has been training harder than you."

"Excuse me?"

"It's natural for a powerful woman to choose the strongest mate. If you trained as much as Goten, maybe she wouldn't have lost interest."

"Vegeta," Bulma said angrily. "Why don't you defend your son for a change? He has been wronged."

"You don't care," Trunks said in disbelief, his ki skyrocketing. Power ballooned out from his body in turbulent yellow waves. "You have never cared!"

"No," Vegeta hissed. "If I didn't train as hard as I did when we were informed of the androids, your mother would not have left Yamcha for me. You would not have been born. It's a reflection on what kind of man you are when a woman leaves one fighter for a stronger fighter."

Vegeta turned to the side and spat. "It is a reflection on what kind of man you are when a woman chooses you to be the father of her children. In your current pathetic state, only a weak woman would choose you. No wonder Pan is nowhere to be found."

"Don't you talk about Pan!" Trunks screamed as his irises disappeared. His eyes became completely white and he temporarily forgot about Goten in his easily transferrable rage as he flew directly at his father.

"Unbelievable," Videl muttered. "These men. Honestly…"

When Trunks powered up and rushed at Vegeta, the older man went work, matching him blow for blow. He sent a thought into Para's mind once he had attracted his son's attention. Take Goten and get out of here. Lay low for a while. I do not want to ever see you again.

Para nodded, feeling the resentment in Vegeta's thought. "I'm sorry," she told everyone, kneeling at Goten's side. "I'm sorry this happened."

"You ought to be ashamed!" Bulma said harshly to Para. Vegeta and Trunks continued to fight at full power, moving their battle higher into the sky. Gohan frowned and turned his eyes up to observe the fight above.

Goten groaned, turning to the side and coughing up blood. Chi Chi shook her head sadly. "You're no son of mine, Goten. Don't come back to Mt. Paozu—I can't believe you did this to your best friend."

"Mom, please understand," Goten said softly. "I couldn't stay away from Medea…"

"Shut up!" Marron shouted savagely. "Couldn't you have picked another day to do this? Far away from my kids!" She slipped out of her husband's grasp and moved forward to the picnic table. Grabbing a pitcher of strawberry daiquiri, she lobbed it at Goten. It hit him squarely in the already bruised head.

"I'm so sorry, Marron," Para said, flinching as some of the liquid splashed on her arm. "I didn't mean to…"

"Don't talk to me, you slut!" Marron shouted through tears. "You endangered my family!"

"Get off our property," Uub commanded. "Both of you. Stay away from our house for good."

Para nodded, lowering her head in shame. She moved to the picnic table where her purse was, and slipped it on her shoulder before touching Goten's hand and moving two fingers to her forehead. Both of them disappeared. Vegeta and Trunks were still engaged in battle far above the picnic. Gohan had flown up to keep an eye on the two men, and jump in at any moment if it got out of hand.

Marron bolted toward the house where her daughter lay in a pile of rubble. "Nyssa!" she shouted frantically. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Nyssa pulled herself off the ground, rubbing her head in confusion. "Momma, he didn't say 'get ready' before he hit me."

"Thank Dende," Marron breathed, hugging the little girl against her chest.

Nyssa was pouting. "It's no fair! I want a rematch. Daddy always warns me first."

Para woke up to a face nuzzling her neck, and a hand stroking her waist under her polka-dotted dress. She blinked her heavy eyelids open, and saw only darkness all around.

"Goten?" she whispered. She immediately felt a warm, moist mouth attach itself to hers.

Help me forget, he said telepathically. He positioned his body above hers, and nudged his knee in between her thighs. Help me forget everything.

She was still too drowsy to form a coherent response, even with her mind. She felt the coolness of Goten's belt buckle being discarded against her hip, and in the next second, Goten was entering her. She gasped out in surprise, but her body was already responding, wrapping her legs around him to give him better access. She wanted to forget too.

There was no better way to wake up from a drug-induced coma than with Goten making love to her desperately, as if his life depended on it. Being conscious was not so terrible, she decided as his lips descended to her neck, pulling her skin gently between his teeth. In the dark cave, he pounded himself into her, pumping his hips brutally.

Para cried out, knowing that no one could hear her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, allowing the sensations to wash over her as she clenched her abdominal muscles and rocked her hips against him, blind to everything except her pleasure. She was blind to the world, and for a few minutes, she did forgot everything except the blissful assault of Goten's body.

When the saiyan was finished, he lay limply against her, nestled against her neck. "Vegeta and Trunks fought for hours," he told her. "I was trying to focus on their fight—I think Vegeta put him in a healing tank."

Para nodded, running her hands over his back. "I feel so horrible."

"Well, I don't. I feel pretty good," Goten said. There was a grin in his voice, even though she could not see him in the dark.

She hit him in the shoulder. "We should get going home."

Goten seemed to hesitate. "You really don't mind if I stay with you? You don't mind living with me?"

Para smiled, knowing that he could not see her had spent five years living with Goten, and she had missed him terribly. "Well, you will have to earn your keep. You'll have to wake me up like this every morning."

He planted a kiss on her jaw. "Only if you put me to sleep like this every night."

She traced her fingers up his spine. "And you need to make love to me at lunchtime, too."

"Only if I can also have you for dinner," he growled, nibbling on her ear.

She laughed lightly, feeling him growing hard inside of her again. "We'll never get anything done, Goten."

"No, we'll train!" he told her, beginning to move his hips against her again. "We'll train every other minute of the day. We'll get so strong together."

"Mmm," she said, trying to focus, "but the hospital…"

"Screw the hospital!" he told her angrily, punctuating his words with a thrust. "You're saiyan. Don't waste your time in that place. Let's just be ourselves from now on. Let's just be who we are, and do what we want."

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to cling to both his body and his logic.

"We sacrificed everything to be happy," he told her. "So let's be happy."

Three months later…

They were happy.

It was, in fact, the happiest time of Para's life. She and Goten spent every day together, ignoring the rest of the world. Shortly after the incident, Marron had texted to apologize for calling her a slut, and mentioned that she had needed to get her kitchen re-modeled anyway. Marron had made several attempts to meet with Para for drinks or coffee, but Para had chosen to remain reclusive with Goten. They had not seen any member of the Z-team since the blowout with Trunks, and in fact, they tried to avoid people altogether.

The two saiyan lovers reveled in the physical glory of just being; they exerted and honed their personal power to the highest possible reaches. They held nothing back, beating the stuffing out of each other until they both collapsed. Then they would use their last bit of energy to make love, rest in each other's arms, and repeat. It was heavenly.

Which is why, on this particular day, on the frozen planet Polaris, Para was not surprised that Goten had finally been able to achieve her level. She had known that it was coming. Oftentimes when she transported Goten to a distant vacant planet, and the two would train at full power, his Super Saiyan 2 would be equal to or slightly better than her third level. She knew that his additional years of experience, and his greater saiyan blood gave him an advantage over her power that was mostly gained through fusion.

And she also knew how to push his buttons.

"You can do this!" she had shouted. "You've been Super Saiyan 3 before—why can't you do it again?"

Bullets of sweat poured down his face. "I never did it on my own… I was fused with Trunks."

"So are you saying that you need Trunks?" she asked with a smirk. "Are you nothing without your best friend? Should I go get him and ask him for help so that you can beat a girl?"

"Shut up!" Goten roared. "I can do this without him! I can do this!"

He had done it. And he had beaten her to a bloody pulp.

Even so, as she was being pummeled into the ground, Para had felt an unexpected surge of pride and love for Goten as the man pushed his personal boundaries. In these past few months, he had flourished and bloomed, becoming one of the strongest saiyans who had ever lived. He was certainly more powerful than Trunks now, thanks to her encouragement and training. He was possibly more powerful than Gohan—and only steps away from his father and Vegeta. Perhaps she was only the woman behind the man, but part of Para drew a deep gratification and sense of accomplishment from helping Goten to be all that he could be.

Even if it meant being blown to bits by his Electric Kamehameha.

"I'm sorry, Medea," Goten was saying as he lifted her battered body gently against his chest. He winced as he examined her wounds and broke bones. "I didn't mean to go so far…"

"This was supposed to happen," she croaked with a bloody smile.

"I need to get you to the rejuvenation tank. Can you teleport us home?" he asked frantically.

She tried to talk and ended up coughing. She spoke telepathically instead. Maybe if you can lift my hand to my forehead.

He did as she requested, and once she had performed the instant transmission, she collapsed into unconsciousness. Goten had opened up a capsule containing a healing tank, and set it up in their bedroom. He began to carefully peel her clothes away from her gory, bruised skin. He noticed then that her black-metal necklace was digging into her collarbone. He frowned and unclasped the necklace, removing it from her skin.

"You shouldn't wear so much jewelry when you're sparring," he told her lifeless body, kissing her forehead. He noticed that she also had bracelets that were caked with blood and damaged skin. Her body had been burned badly from his ki attacks. Goten carefully removed Para's dark katchin bracelets from her raw wrists, wincing as he pulled off the metal which had become glued to her body. He followed by moving to her hands, where she wore two dark rings on each of her index fingers. The metal had welded itself to her swollen fingers, and flaps of skin from other fingers were hanging over the rings. He grimaced as he saw flashes of bone through her damaged hands, feeling guilty for how much harm he had inflicted on her body. Goten gently began to pry the rings off so that she could heal completely.

When the rings were off, he was about to lift her into the tank—but then he noticed one more piece of jewelry. A slim chain of katchin links spanned Para's slender, bruised ankle. Frowning, Goten adjusted her limp body in his arms. He extended a hand to her foot, trying to unfasten the anklet with one hand.

Para stirred slightly, feeling the hand on her foot. She squinted open one eye, and jumped in fear when she saw Goten fiddling with her jewelry.

"What are you doing!" Para shouted hoarsely, yanking her foot away from him. "Stop!"

"Shhh, it's okay," he told her, touching her knee soothingly. "Your skin won't heal properly if all this jewelry is stuck in your body."

"No!" Para shouted, trying to push him away. She was too weak from the battle. When she saw that he had removed every other piece of the katchin jewelery from her body, she began to sob. She screamed, panicking as she imagined herself splitting into two girls. Goten would hate her. If that chain was removed from her ankle, her beautiful life would come crashing down around her. He would never talk to her again if he knew. "Please don't! Dende, please don't, Goten!"

Hearing the hysterical tone in her voice, his hands paused their fidgeting on her ankle. He looked up at her in concern. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, sobbing. "Please—it's special to me. Don't remove my jewelry."

"Your skin is torn. Your bones are visible," he said with a frown. "I hardly think that you should be wearing jewelry when your body is so wrecked. What if you get an infection?"

"I won't. I'll heal. Please give me my rings back," Para whispered. When Goten slipped the rings back over her bloody index fingers, she felt faint relief. "Thank you," she whispered, realizing how close she had been to losing him. Perhaps this ruse could not go on forever—perhaps she would have to leave him someday, but it would be on her own terms. She was not ready to give up her personal paradise just yet, for she knew that it would be the last time she got to be with him.

"I'm sorry," Goten said gently, hugging her against him. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay," she told him as her heart stopped racing. She leaned against him, taking slow breaths. "I just love you so much."

"I love you more," he told her firmly, stroking her indigo hair at the back of her neck. "You bring out the best in me. You've supported me and challenged me—I've achieved more than I ever thought I could! For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm doing what I'm meant to do. My dad would be proud of me if he saw the way I fought today."

Para closed her eyes tightly, feeling tears trickle through her lashes. "He would be, Goten. He would be so proud. I'm sure that wherever he is, Goku's looking down at you and smiling. You went Super Saiyan 3! That's no small feat."

Goten smiled and kissed her hair. "Because of you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. Now into the healing tank with you!"

"Just hold me for a second longer," she told him.

"Fine, but every second you waste being injured is a second we could spend having crazy Super Saiyan 3 sex when you're healed."

Para's eyes shot open. "Put me in the tank! Put me in the tank!"

A few weeks later…

Lying naked on the couch, with a blanket pulled around her, Para sleepily watched the television. It was one of her new favorite shows, and strangely enough, she had never thought much of the program before her life as a fused being. Goten had gone to get popcorn.

"Hey, M, have you seen my socks?" Goten called out from the kitchen.

"On the refrigerator!" she called back.

"Oh, thanks! Got them."

There was silence in the kitchen for a few moments as Goten rummaged around for snacks. When the program went on commercial break, Para smiled and used her telepathy to spy on Goten. She loved watching him eat. He shoved a bowl filled with nachos and covered in cheese sauce into the microwave, and stood around waiting impatiently. Looking around to make sure that no one was watching him, Goten's hand drifted down to scratch his balls as he stared through the glass door of the microwave.

I should have just used my ki to warm that up, he thought to himself as his stomach growled in anticipation. Oh, well. I wonder if we have jalapenos? In boredom, he began going through the drawers of a cabinet close to the microwave. His eyes settled on a bill curiously.

It was a bill for property taxes, with the city name printed in big bold lettering. What really puzzled him was the addressee name visible through the little window on the envelope. Frowning, Goten picked up the piece of paper and studied the name for a moment. Swallowing, he turned and marched out of the kitchen to the living room where Para was resting on the couch.

Having read his thoughts, she had bolted upright in fear, clutching the blanket around her chest nervously. How could she have been so careless as to leave that bill lying around?

"Para," Goten said in confusion, holding up the bill. "Your name is Para?"

She stared at him, terrified of the conclusions he had drawn. "Goten, please. Don't… don't think ill of me." She mentally cursed herself for being so foolish—they were only at the house so she could watch her stupid TV show! If she had not allowed this human whim to distract her, if she had been more focused on her training, they would be in the forest or desert. Surely they would be in some remote location far away from her personal documents! She could not believe that everything was falling apart because of a piece of paper. If she had just paid the bill promptly and disposed of the envelope instead of procrastinating…

"Para," Goten repeated again, testing the word on his tongue. "This can't mean… your name, it's…"

"Goten, stop. Listen—let me explain!"

He frowned at her, waving the envelope in the air angrily. "You lied to me. I know what this means!" He shook his head in disbelief, his jaw working in frustration. "If your name is Para, then you must be…"

Cliffy! Has Goten figured it out? =O