"Dragonball AS: Ultimate Cell Saga"
Chapter 78- "A Father's Love: Part 1"

By- Tiny

Trunks lunged at Goten with all of his might, swinging his shimmering blade right at the Saiya-jin hybrid only to have it slam hard into the weapon that was characteristic of his family. The younger warrior smirked at his opponent's surprise and kicked his feet up under Trunks', knocking the possessed Saiya-jin to his behind just in time to have Goten's other foot embed itself in his chest. A small spray of blood flew from Trunks' lips as he soared backwards through the ruins, his mysteriously powerful friend following close behind.

Marron and Paresu could only watch on in wonder as the two Saiya-jin battled, both knowing they would be crushed with ease should they interfere and possibly be used against Goten. Mixed feelings ran through both women's minds as they watched the two powerhouses battle it out, wondering which of the two men they had known since childhood would come out victorious. The idea of one losing to the other made them both sick to their stomach, not only because of their long standing friendship but also because the two women were mated to one or the other of the battling Saiya-jin.

A loud crash brought the two out of their daze, however, as Trunks' broken body slammed hard into the ground before them, not even three feet away, kicking up a tremendous cloud of dust all around. Goten landed on the ground shortly there after, not a scratch on his body, and looked on sympathetically at his old friend. It was then quite clear to both women that this was killing Goten on the inside, just as it was the two of them, but that he was doing what he did for the good of everyone.

"And I never thought it was true," Paresu sniffled, watching her mate close in on Trunks, "He truly is just like his father..."

"Do you concede defeat, Trunks?" Goten asked coldly, holding the nyoi-bo to his friends throat, "I don't want to kill you, but if you do not concede then I'm afraid I will have no choice!"

"GO TO HELL!" Trunks roared, firing a massive blast into his long time ally's face, knocking him back several feet.

Not wasting a moment of Goten's distraction, Trunks jumped back to his feet and charged at the younger Saiya-jin, drawing his foot back to strike him right underneath his chin. The blow never connected, however, as Goten's hand shot up and wrapped tightly around Trunks' ankle, throwing him with overwhelming force into the ground. He wasn't done beating on the older warrior yet, however, as Goten jumped into the air and came down at rapid speed onto Trunks' chest, slamming his knees into the ribcage.

The younger warrior spat up more fresh blood from the tremendous force of the impact, slamming his body further into the rocky ground and sending a tremendous wave of pain throughout his entire being. Never in his life had Trunks felt such pain, not even from the most powerful enemies he had stood against, and yet the friend he had always been the stronger of was driving him into the dirt. It was almost as humiliating as when his father would belittle him in a training session, only worse since Goten was supposed to always be weaker than Trunks.

"Now, you are going to listen to me," Goten growled, placing his foot firmly against Trunks' stomach, "You, Briefs Trunks, have committed some of the most serious crimes in the history of the universe, including the cold blooded murder of your younger sister and life-long friends. Do you feel no remorse for this? No pity whatsoever?"

"It is the desire of my masters that all the Saiya-jin and the resurrection known as Ubuu are killed," Trunks coughed, spitting up some more blood, "Who am I to deny them the vengeance they have sought for so long?"

"Yet you yourself are a Saiya-jin," Goten continued, "Why would you sacrifice your own life for the wishes of two losers? And for what reason would you even consider such a rash course of action?"

"I chose to be controlled so that I may have my revenge!" Trunks roared, nearly knocking Goten away again, "To finally prove once and for all that I, not that future abomination, am my father's one and only son!"

"You have done all of this just for those reasons?" a new, saddened voice called out, "By the gods, you should have known better than this, Trunks."

Leaning his head to see who had spoken, following the gazes of Goten and the women, Trunks caught sight of a small, fur covered figure heading at a slow pace towards him. The sight of his father actually made the possessed warrior begin to tear up, his wicked and bloodthirsty features softening into that of a frightened and greatly disturbed young child. It actually made Goten feel sorry for the other man now that he knew the truth of the whole matter, tears streaming down his own face as he watched his friend's pain become evident.

Vegeta crouched down next to his badly beaten son, his face not the hardened one of a warrior that he was so infamous for, but the concerned look of a father who's son is in peril. It was a side of the Saiya-jin prince none of the Z fighters, not even his children, had ever seen before and it brought quite a shock to their faces as he reached down and cradled Trunks in his arms. The Saiya-jin hybrid actually found that he couldn't look into the face of the man he had for so long wished would show him approval, knowing that he must now appear a monster to his father.

"Do you really think those things, Trunks?" Vegeta asked forcefully, but with a calmness that was almost scary, "Do you really believe that I didn't view you as my son?"

"Is that not the truth, father?" Trunks spat, turning his face away so Vegeta couldn't see the tears in his eyes, "My whole life you have compared me to the one from the future, calling me a weakling to my face and bragging of how strong he must have been!"

"I didn't mean for it to be that way," Vegeta sighed, "I did what I did to spur you on to become a greater warrior than your future counterpart; to have something to compete against other than Kakarot's brat. You are the only son that I have Trunks and no matter what you have done, nothing is going to change that."

"What of the other me?" Trunks sniffled as his tears broke free and his dark fur began to fade back to white, "Is he not your son?"

"No, he is the Vegeta of the future's son," Vegeta smiled, pulling his son close to him, "And where as his blood may be the same as yours, it is you that are my true son, not some stranger from another time."

Trunks now lost complete control over himself, breaking down like an infant in the arms of his father as his tears streamed like waterfalls from his eyes. The Saiya-jin prince, never having been one to show any emotion, cradled his son in his arms for what was probably the first time right then as the evil energy that had been controlling Trunks' being dissipated into nothingness. The man in his father's arms was now the real Trunks, the one everyone had grown up with, and nothing could have been a greater relief to those around him.

Their relief was not to last long, however, as Trunks energy took a sudden plunge to near nothingness, his body reverting back to it's base form as his red blood came out onto his father's pristine white fur. His life was slipping away rapidly, causing Vegeta's concern to turn into anger as he shook his son's limp form in an effort to bring him back around, but it was to no avail. The man's life force was fading far too fast to do anything at this point, causing Marron to fall to her knees and shudder from how hard she was crying at the loss of her mate.

"It is done," Goten sighed, wiping a tear from his face, "He is gone."

"You...this is all you fault!" Vegeta snarled, powering up and grabbing Goten around the throat, "You killed him, after all you have been through over the years and you still killed my son!"

"I am sorry Vegeta, but I had no choice," Goten snapped, pulling free of the prince's grasp, "There was no other way for Trunks to atone for his actions. Had I not killed him, he would have eventually done it himself."

"I don't care what you say about my son's actions, he was under those damn wizard's control!" Vegeta roared, his aura rising dangerously, "You are going to hold him responsible for what he did under the control of another when the same was not held against me so long ago? You damned hypocrite!!!!"

"You will stand down!" Goten screamed back, causing Vegeta to unwittingly power down, "Do you think I enjoyed that? Trunks was my best friend and yet I was charged with the duty of finishing him off, even though I was tricked into the task."

"Oh really?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow, "And by whom, might I ask?"

"The goddess Saiya told me that I would have to fight and defeat Trunks, not kill him, so I agreed to a merger with Sullion," Goten explained, "It was only then that I learned that Trunks was to be killed and at that point, it was too late to turn back."

"Then you are going to take me to the goddess, right now!" Vegeta ordered, walking up to Goten, "I want to discuss the fate of my son."

"And your going to bring us with you too!" Marron sniffled, walking up to her friend with Paresu, "Trunks was my mate and I think that gives me a pretty big say in this matter."

Goten looked contemplatively at the three people before him, his face still passive but his eyes betraying the conflicting emotions that waged an eternal war within his consciousness. He now, as one of his race's divinities, knew that the others would quite possibly destroy him for bringing the three before them to plead for a damned soul, but as a compassionate warrior he knew that it would kill him inside if he didn't. Therefore, his decision was not a hard one to make at all, just one that he was certain would have very heavy consequences.

"Very well, everyone grab on to me," Goten instructed, everyone listening obediently, "I just hope this is worth it..."

NEXT TIME: Despite being told that his friend would not have to die, Goten has actually done the unthinkable and ended the life of his best friend, but not before freeing him from Bibi-di and Babi-di's control. Now, the very angry Saiya-jin prince Vegeta demands an audience with the Saiya-jin deities to plead for his son, but what kind of toll with this request carry? And will Vegeta be willing to pay it? Find out in the next installment of Dragonball AS!!!!!!!