As soon as Goten had dropped Valese off, he had begun looking for a deserted street where he could leave the car temporarily. It would be painfully slow to drive back to Capsule Corp when he could just Instant Transmit. As soon as he found an empty street, he parked the car haphazardly, too concerned with getting back to Capsule Corp to situate the car correctly. The second he had pulled the keys from the ignition, his hand was at his forehead, middle and index fingers extended. Without the slightest hesitation, he Instant Transmitted to Capsule Corp, sending a strong gust outwards inside the car, disturbing the few loose items within it. He'd worry about returning the car later.

The streaking world refocused an instant later as he rematerialized just behind the back door of the Capsule Corp dormitories. He still wasn't an expert at Instant Transmission, so he rematerialized at an angle, and found himself caught slightly off balance once he came back into focus. He quickly compensated however, and landed smoothly on the grass. A strong wind blew across the field as he rushed towards the gravity chamber, it bit into him and he shivered slightly.

He slowed as he approached the Gravity Room, realizing he hadn't actually thought about what he'd do once he got there. Did he really intend to bust in there and "rescue" Bra from Vegeta? He didn't even know how to get the damn doors open. Further, even if he somehow got out of there with her without Vegeta beating him senseless, did she really want to leave? She was incredibly stubborn, and if she wanted to stay in there, he'd have a hard time convincing her otherwise. He began to wonder if he hadn't maybe overreacted to the situation. He raised a hand to his head, scratching it as he thought about what exactly he was supposed to do.

As he stood there thinking, a loud whirring and grinding came from the gravity room. He set his eyes to the door way, assuming those noises meant the doors were opening. The red glow that had previously been illuminating him brightened to white.

Goten looked on apprehensively as the doors inched their way open slowly; as if taunting him. He didn't even notice the strong gust that passed him as the Gravity Room depressurized. When the thick steel doors finally did part fully, they revealed the two Saiyans who had previously inhabited its innards. Goten found the air sucked out of his lungs and his mouth fall agape in horror as he saw Bra. She was torn up, covered in bruises, cuts, scorch marks, and raw and bleeding skin on her arms and legs. She looked as if she'd had the shit kicked out of her. Knowing Vegeta, Goten was quite sure she had. Still he was taken aback – He couldn't recall Trunks having ever looked this bad after going toe to toe with Vegeta, and Goten had trouble believing Vegeta could actually do that to Bra.

She was limping slightly and had a tight hold around her father to keep herself upright. He felt a massive influx of rage that almost overpowered the concern he had for Bra. He had to purposely suppress his energy to avoid turning Super Saiyan right then and there. He rushed over to her, nearly slipping on the grass in his hastened, disillusioned state. He flashed an incredibly malicious look towards Vegeta for the briefest instant before he lowered himself so he was looking her in the face.

"Bra!" was all he managed to spit out, still quaking in rage.

"Go..ten?" she said slowly, her words slightly slurred as she looked up from the ground to him. Her eyes which were previously fluttering between opened and closed seemed to harden as she looked at him. He saw her raise her free arm up, tightening it into a fist before she groaned and her eyes closed. Her arm went limp and fell back to her side.

Goten paused for a moment. Had she just tried to hit him? Vegeta must have knocked the poor girl senseless. Goten knew she was on the verge of passing out, and likely wouldn't be able to speak any further. He stood up to his full height, moving over to Vegeta. Goten knew Vegeta would not be intimidated by his superior size, but that did not stop him from trying to laud the several inches he had over Vegeta. Goten's stare pierced down at Vegeta.

"You! What did you do to her!" Goten demanded.

Vegeta returned Goten's glare without missing a beat. Though he had never seen Kakarot's youngest quite this angry, he almost felt himself laughing at the boys attempts to intimidate him. Vegeta knew there was no way Goten was foolish enough to believe he could really stand up to him, but that didn't seem to be stopping him from trying.

"Out of the way boy!" Vegeta replied irritably, forcing a hand against Goten and easily pushing him aside despite Goten's attempts at resistance. The instant Vegeta had moved Goten out of the way, Goten was in front of him again.

"I said what did you do to her!" Goten demanded again, louder and more forceful this time. His rage had been piqued by Vegeta's seeming casualness and lack of remorse about what he'd done to Bra, and he felt himself inadvertently slip into Super Saiyan, casting the radiant golden glow all around the Capsule Corp grounds. Normally, he had a great deal of control over his Super Saiyan transformation, and was able to perform it without unleashing an excess of energy. This wasn't one of those normal times however, and his rageful transformation had ripped apart much of the ground around him, a slight haze of debris hanging in the air. The strong gusts of wind kicked up by the expulsion of energy had uprooted some of the small plants in the yard and bent back and broken several branches on the trees around the three of them.

Vegeta scoffed at Goten, the slightest hint of a laugh escaping him which only aggravated Goten further. Vegeta decided to appease the boy, if only for the sake of getting him to go away.

"She is fine you dolt. And she doesn't need you to coddle her like an infant."

"She doesn't look fine!" Goten raged.

"She needs rest, and that is all. Now get out of my way and let me take her to her room, or I will make you get out of my way."

Goten continued to stare at Vegeta, taking slow and controlled breaths as he got himself under control, fading out of Super Saiyan and casting the three back into darkness, save the ambient light of the Gravity Room and the light pollution from West City. Perhaps Vegeta was right, maybe she wasn't as bad as she looked. Vegeta could be a cruel son of a bitch, but if there's one thing he loved, it was his family. He wouldn't do something to unnecessarily put their lives in jeopardy. Goten looked back to Bra, allowing his energy senses, which had previously been obscured by his anger, to read her. Her energy level wasn't at a dangerously low level; she was just absolutely exhausted. Goten sighed, but forced a hardened look back onto his face as he returned to Vegeta.

"I'll take her." He stated firmly.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed for a moment. Although Bra hadn't said what had set her off, he had an inkling it was related to Goten in some way - especially after he had seen her attempt to hit the boy a moment ago. Still, he didn't particularly want to deal with the woman's accusations and delusions about what had happened over the past few hours, nor have her guilt him for having injured Bra when Bra had practically begged for him to fight with her seriously. It was aggravating to him that, even with all the time his mate had spent around him and other Saiyans, she still did not really understand them. Vegeta often felt himself and Kakarot were the only ones who did. Moreover, Bulma often seemed to forget that Bra was just as much Saiyan as she was human.

"Fine. But you will take her to her straight room and that is all. She is in no condition to put up with you. If her mother asks where I am, you are to tell her you don't know."

Goten frowned but nodded. He moved forward as Vegeta gently pulled Bra's hand off of him. Bra stirred slightly, giving a small amount of resistance to Vegeta's removal of her hand. Goten took it and quickly moved in to replace Vegeta. Bra mumbled something that even Goten's sensitive hearing could not discern. He felt a rustling behind him and turned to see Vegeta streaking up into the sky, quickly disappearing behind the light cloud cover.

"Come on Bra.." Goten spoke softly, giving her a slight forward push with the hand he had wrapped around her waist. He'd have enjoyed this under different circumstances, but was far too concerned with her wellbeing right now. She followed his lead and began to walk slowly. Her limping became slightly less with each step.

Goten desperately wanted to ask her what had given her the near suicidal urge to go into a full on training match with Vegeta, but he realized she was too out of it to give him a coherent answer. Besides, he didn't want to upset her further if she didn't want to talk about it.

Just as Goten was about to get her into her room, he heard a door open behind him, followed almost immediately by a light overhead turning on. Goten froze in place like a deer caught in the headlights. It was Bulma.

A moment later he heard a half scream, half gasp come from Bulma. He turned to face her.

"Oh my kami! What the hell happened!" Bulma demanded of Goten as she looked over Bra. "My poor little girl, are you okay?" She spoke, softer now.

"Um.. she was training with Vegeta.." Goten let out meekly.

"Vegeta!" Bulma screamed. Goten could see the flush in her cheeks, a sure sign she was furious. "Where is that bastard!"

"Mom.." Bra spoke, softly, but not opening her eyes.

"What is it hunny? What did your asshole of a father do to you?"

"I'm fine.." Bra said, her voice having surprisingly strong conviction given her state.

"You're not fine. Look at you!"

"I asked him to." Bra said, her eyes finally opening and looking at her mother. Bulma recoiled slightly, both what her daughter had said and the look in her eyes.

"You.. you asked your father to beat the living hell of you?"

"No.. I asked him to fight me seriously. Like I was Trunks."

Bulma got closer to Bra. She wanted to hug her daughter to try and comfort her, but was afraid she might hurt her further. "Hunny… why would you do such a thing?"

"I just… needed to. You don't need to understand mom… I just needed to."

Bulma furrowed her brow slightly. Bra was right, she certainly didn't understand.

"Please don't be mad at daddy." Bra said, expressing more concern about that then about the state she was in.

Bulma frowned. "Let's get you cleaned up. You'll feel better after a shower and a change of clothes."

Bra nodded, and with a bit of help from Goten, unlatched from him. She stood up straight, and tried to take a step towards her mother, but her legs faltered, and she fell forward. Goten and Bulma both quickly grabbed a hold of her to stop her from falling over. Goten saw Bulma shake her head, and though much of her initial anger had faded, Goten could tell she was still livid. Bulma wrapped herself around Bra to help support her weight as the two made for the bathroom.

"Thank you Goten." Bulma said, smiling slightly to Goten. Goten nodded.

Goten was back in the car, driving it back home before he instant transmitted back to capsule corp. He kept replaying the earlier events in his mind trying to make sense of them. The first instant he'd seen Bra once the Gravity Room's doors had opened was etched into his mind, and it was horrifying. He hadn't been that furious or upset since he was 7. That image and those feelings had completely forced out any of the feelings he had had earlier about his break up with Valese. He felt angry with himself as well at having not gone back to Capsule Corp earlier, when he could have stopped that scene from playing out. He knew Bra would be fine - She was tough; her father's daughter, but still. Seeing her like that…

He sighed, trying to push that image from his head. He'd have to wait until she felt better to ask her what had made her crazy enough to do something like that. He knew Bra would be okay now. Bulma was pretty much the world's leading authority on Saiyan physiology after all, but he still wanted to get back to Capsule Corp quickly.

Goten was so wrapped up in his thoughts he almost missed the turn off to his house. He slammed on the car brakes hard. He had to quickly pull back though as any harder and he likely would have caused the brake pedal to snap off.

After having parked the car perfectly parallel with the edge of the gravel driveway (less he upset his mother), Goten stepped out of the car, taking in the crisp but cool spring mountain air. The air up here always felt cleaner and clearer. It was definitely colder up at this altitude though, and he found himself shivering nearly constantly. The coldness put haste into his step as he hurried towards the door to his home.

He had no sooner entered his home, and taken a step inward then he heard his mother's voice from the kitchen.

"Goten Son! If you don't get those shoes off this instant, I'll let you have it!"

Goten cringed slightly fearing both the potential outcome of those words, but also how she instinctively knew he hadn't taken his shoes off. He hadn't even thought about it himself. He quickly stepped back to the doorway and took his shoes off, placing them beside his father's and mother's. As he did so, he saw another pair of shoes. They were black dress shoes, and Goten immediately knew who's they were.

"Gohan!" Goten yelled, running into the kitchen. Gohan always seemed to bring out that bit of little kid Goten still had left in him.

Gohan was sitting at the table with Goku and Chi-Chi, a kettle of tea between the three cups each of them had. There was a fourth empty cup at the empty seat at the table, as if they had been expecting him. Well duh, of course they had been expecting him, Goten thought. Nothing got by his dad's finely tuned senses. The three were looking up at him, smiles across all their faces. There warm smiles almost made Goten forget his worrying for a moment as he took a seat at the table.

"Hey Goten!" his father said to him cheerfully and smiling. Goten returned the smile.

"Hey Squirt!" Gohan replied, smirking slightly at Goten. He knew Goten wasn't fond of that name, and hadn't been since he was 12. He saw Goten roll his eyes at him before speaking.

"You really need to stop calling me that Gohan."

"Why would I do that?"

"Cause I'm taller then you now."

A short chuckle came from Goku.

"Good point." Gohan replied, mirroring his father's chuckle.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Goten asked, filling his cup from the kettle at the center of the table. They didn't say it, but Goten knew he had been the subject of conversation before he got there.

"Just how proud we are of you Goten." Chi-Chi said. Goten could almost see a tear in her eye.

"Huh? Why guys?"

"Well you're about to graduate from West University with honours." His mother spoke. She recalled how worried she'd been about Goten when he was a child. He was good hearted, free spirited and strong like his father, but it had seemed he'd been born without whatever it was of Gohan's that had made Gohan so intelligent. Luckily some of that had actually made its way into Goten, it just needed to hit maturity before manifesting.

"Oh mom…" Goten said, sighing slightly, but smiling.

"We wanted to do something special for you Goten." Gohan began. "So me and dad were thinking we could take a trip somewhere for a week or two after exams are done. Just the three of us"

"Wow really!" Goten said, his excitement reminding those at the table of his childhood self. But who could blame him. The most Goten had seen of Gohan lately had been when Goten would stop by his office at the university. That didn't happen very often with how busy Gohan was. "That'd be great! Where are we gonna go?"

"Well you get to pick Goten." Gohan replied. He could see Goten's eyes practically glaze over as he no doubt thought about thousands of places they could go. "You don't need to decide right now though Goten."

Goten quickly focused back in on the kitchen, stopping his mental replay of all his favorite spots.

"You're sure you're okay to take that time off work right Gohan?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Yea don't worry mom, I've got my slaves." Gohan said amused, clearly referring to the students working under him. "They can hold down the fort for a week or two without me."

The four continued making small talk as Goten told them about the shenanigans him and Trunks were getting up to. He didn't bring up Valese at the moment because, as much as he was enjoying this family time, he felt obligated to get back to Capsule Corp quickly. Bulma would take good care of Bra, but he still wanted to get back there.

As his mother was clearing away the cups and kettle, Goten and Gohan moved towards the main exit of the house, saying goodbye to their parents. Once they were outside the house, Goten spoke again. He had been considering going to see Gohan to ask him about this, but since Gohan was already here, it seemed the perfect opportunity.

"Hey Gohan…"

"Yea little brother?" Gohan asked.

"You don't have any senzu beans lying around do you?" While a somewhat odd question, Goten was aware that Gohan had been experimenting on the seemingly mystical qualities of the plants.

Gohan smirked slightly, his voice slightly chastising as he spoke. "Senzu beans aren't exactly the type of thing you just leave lying around Goten."

Gohan saw his brother's hopeful look fade and become somewhat downtrodden.

"But," Gohan continued, causing Goten to perk right back up. "I do have two back at the lab. I'm really trying to figure out how they work."

"How's that going?"

Gohan sighed, shaking his head. "Not well at all. I just can't find a scientific explanation for how they work, even taking into account ki and ambient energy.. but why do you ask?"

"Do you think I could have one?"

"What for Goten?"

Goten shifted his wait uncomfortably, unsure how to explain what happened tonight. When Goten didn't answer and merely continued to fidget, Gohan spoke again.

"Well tell you what. I'll give you it, and we'll just say you owe me one alright?"

Goten smiled. "Thanks Gohan."

Goten Instant Transmitted back to Capsule Corp, apparating in the living room, giving off a light gust that disturbed a few books and papers that had been on the coffee table. He had an almost triumphant oomph to his step as he made for the stairs to go to Bra's room, tossing the senzu bean up and snatching it from the air repeatedly. Bra would be back to normal in a hurry with this.

As he started up the stairs though, he saw Bra's door open and Bulma step out.

"Hey there Goten." She said quietly after having reached Goten

"How is she?" Goten asked nodding towards Bra's bedroom door.

"She's better. Out like a light though. I don't think she'll be waking up anytime soon." Bulma's look of concern mated with one of confusion as she continued to speak. "It's the strangest thing though, she has a look of total content and peace on her face."

"Hm…" Goten replied thinking. She must have meant it when she said she needed that, but that still didn't get rid of the anger he had towards Vegeta. "Well I had something for her, but I guess it can wait until morning."

"That'd probably be best."

"Do you want me to stay with her in case she wakes up?"

"No that's fine Goten." Bulma said appreciatively. "I'll stay with her."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Well would it be okay if you and Trunks stay in the B Building tonight? I don't think she'll be easily woken up, but just in case. I know it doesn't have.."

"That's fine." Goten said. Bulma nodded before moving back towards Bra's bedroom. As she reached it she paused for a moment and turned back to Goten.

"Oh, Goten, one more thing."

"Hm?"

"If you and Trunks see Vegeta before I do, punch him in the face, would you?"

"Heh" Goten responded nervously, unsure if she was serious. "I'll try."

Goten and Trunks were sitting on the couch in the primary living room of the Capsule Corp B Dormitory. Goten had intercepted Trunks as Trunks was pulling into the garage, and quickly led him from building A to here, promising to tell him why once they were here.

"Well Goten, how come we're over here?" Trunks said with some irritation. Though the B dormitory was as well-equipped as the A dormitory, his room certainly wasn't in the B building.

"Well, your mom asked us to stay over here." Goten knew that would be a horribly inadequate explanation for Trunks, but he still wasn't sure what he was going to say, so he wanted to buy any time possible.

Trunks paused, expecting Goten to continue. When Goten didn't Trunks spoke again, the irritation in his voice increasing further. "Why Goten?"

Goten exhaled deeply. "Because she didn't want us to wake up Bra."

Trunks scoffed incredulously as he stood up. "That's it? The little princess needs her sleep so we have to stay over here? That's bullshit. I'm going over there." Trunks said, quickly making for the doorway. Goten hurried over faster though, quickly putting out his arms and fully blocking the exit.

"What the hell Goten?" Trunks said, a slightly shocked look on his face.

"It's not that." Goten shook his head. "She's hurt pretty badly, your mom wanted to make sure she got as much sleep as possible."

"Hurt?" Trunks said skeptically, considering Goten. Sure his sister wasn't nearly as strong as himself or Goten, but he couldn't imagine a way she could have actually been injured.

"Yea. She was training with your dad and…"

Trunks shook his head again. There's no way his dad would hurt his sister, so he felt quite confident that her claims of injury were extremely exaggerated at best, and flat out lies at worst. Bra was a bit of a drama queen after all. "That's it? What did she do, break a nail trying to punch him or something?" Trunks let out a laugh, expecting Goten to mirror him, but Goten's expression remained serious and rigid. In fact Trunks actually detected anger in it. Anger that was being directed at him. Once he realized this, he quickly stopped laughing.

"I'm serious Trunks. She's hurt pretty bad."

"No shit…" Trunks said slowly. Had his dad really let his sister have it? He always thought his sister deserved a bit of a beating; it only seemed fair really. But now hearing it, he found himself getting angry at his father; she was still his little sister after all, and he knew it was part of the unwritten rules that he was supposed to protect her.

"How bad are we talking here Goten…" Trunks found himself asking, still hoping it was really just a cut or some bruises. But as Goten went on, in particularly gruesome detail (Goten's way of pushing Trunks' guilt at having been so dismissive earlier), Trunks found himself repelled and disgusted with his father and with himself. When Goten concluded, Trunks still had difficulty believing he really heard what he just had. His sister had always been that pristine, pretty, girly girl and he really couldn't imagine her beat up like that, especially by Vegeta.

Goten could see the rage brooding behind Trunks' now cold blue eyes, and in the slight quaking in his arms. Goten had known Trunks long enough to quickly pick up when he was angry. Goten himself felt his earlier rage boiling back up after having explained to Trunks what Vegeta had done to her.

"Where did Vegeta go?" Trunks asked, the eerie calm of his tone, and the use of his father's first name was unnerving.

"I don't know." Goten replied. He had a pretty good idea what Trunks was thinking, and Goten was absolutely with him. Goten had considered doing this himself once he was sure Bra was okay.

"Then we're going to go find him." Trunks stated firmly, his face void but his eyes failing to hide his rage. He really didn't care about that fact that he and Goten were liable to join his sister after this.