"I win!" The cry actually came from both boys, but for fairness' sake they had to argue about it.

"I touched it first!" Goten cried, a challenging gleam in his eye.

"Did not," rejoined Trunks, but he was grinning. "See right there? The rock cracked where I hit it."

"Just 'cause you hit it harder, doesn't mean you hit it first," Goten pointed out.

"Does, too!"

"Does not!"

After about a minute of the same old song, Goten's mild nature ended the battle. "Oh, all right, fine—we both won," he compromised. "It was a tie." Which was true in the first place.

Trunks clasped his hands in Goten's. "C'mon! Let's spin!" he urged his friend. And they did, whirling about until their progress was a blur. Once they had created the desired whirlwind, they separated and rode the winds, whooping and laughing. The dispute during his training had already left Trunks's mind. Being with Goten always lifted his spirits. They were the best of friends. All the differences separating them didn't compare to the single similarity: they were both half Saiyan. Goten was the only real playmate Trunks had on this planet, and vice versa.

"Let's play heroes and villains!" Goten suggested eagerly. "I'll be the hero!"

"Okay," Trunks consented. "I was hero last time, anyway. I'll be from planet, um…Zbunktos." He cleared his throat and said, in a properly nasty-sounding voice, "People of Earth, bow to your new overlord!"

"Vegeta, wait up!" called Goku, putting on an extra burst of speed to catch up.

"You have something to say, Kacarrot?" Vegeta turned to look at Goku without slowing down.

"Yeah. How'd training go?"

Vegeta snorted derisively. "Trunks shames his training and his heritage."

"What do you mean?" Goku wanted to know.

"He makes mistakes that even beginners would avoid," Vegeta replied. He gritted his teeth. "It's all a game to him!"

"So he messed up at one practice—he'll do better tomorrow," Goku tried to cheer his friend up.

"It's not just today," explained Vegeta darkly. "He's lost his focus."

"Maybe it's just a phase," Goku reasoned. "You should lighten up a little, Vegeta. He's only a kid! When I was fourteen, the whole world was my playground!" He laughed with the memories of a wild little monkey-boy in the backwoods.

"When I was fourteen, I served an intergalactic tyrant," Vegeta retorted. "Every week there was a new planet to wipe out." Goku didn't know how to reply to that, and Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Don't make excuses for laziness, Kacarrot! And don't tell me you weren't a focused, competent fighter, even when you were young."

"Aw, come on. Everything's a game to a twelve-year-old," Goku coaxed him.

"Kacarrot, you know as well as I do that fighting is not a game!" Vegeta snapped. "This is the single most serious aspect of a Saiyan's life, but he considers training a chore—something to be done only because he's told to." He shook his head. "The boys are already forgetting the peril they faced when they fought Buu. This time of peace has made them soft."

"Those two bundles of energy, soft?" Goku repeated skeptically.

"Mentally, not physically!" As Vegeta spoke, his voice rose. "Trunks only died once, and he was unconscious throughout the whole affair. He doesn't understand the grave danger of a true fight." He looked Goku directly in the eye. "One day soon he's going to face a deadly foe, and he's going to get himself killed." He turned away and was barely audible when he said, "I fear for him, Kacarrot."

Goku didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent. He knew that Vegeta's harsh exterior was only due to worry. Goku was still wondering how close to the truth his friend was when he and Vegeta separated five minutes later, heading to their homes.

"It's over, Thepmok! I'm going to make sure your evil never shadows another planet! This fight ends now!" Goten proclaimed heroically, floating in the air high above Trunks. He began to form a Kamahameha Ball.

Trunks let out his best throaty chuckle. "It ends now, all right," he agreed. "For one of us." He proceeded to turn into a Super Saiyan. His eyes went aqua, his hair turned blond, and a golden aura of power shone around him. He raised both hands over his head and directed the golden energy upward to form a glowing sphere above himself. He grinned proudly as Goten forgot himself for a moment and exclaimed in admiration.

Up in the air, Goten's attack was ready. The ball glowed a brilliant blue, making Trunks squint even from the ground. Goten, his dark hair turned a deceptive light color from the glow, launched it. Trunks threw his ball at the same time. Within moments, the two energies clashed.

Goten's whole body was tense, focused on pushing his ball at Trunks. For his part, Trunks was keeping his best friend at bay with his own chi blast, but the tide could turn either way at the moment. He yelled and pushed with all his Super Saiyan might. The Kamehameha shot back toward its wielder. Goten had to turn Super in a hurry just to break even. With a screech, he pushed back. The light flared, blinding. Then, it exploded.

Pain.

Trunks had never felt so much pain. His arm felt like it would fall apart if he moved. He lay flat on his back, his vision foggy. Nearby, he saw an orange-and-black blob. No…that couldn't be right. He shut his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, he could see that the orange was clothing, the black was hair, and the blob was…Goten. He was so still, it was easy to imagine he was…dead.

"No…" Trunks groaned, pushing himself to his feet with great difficulty. He gripped his shoulder hard, the pain not as important now as his one purpose—get to Goten. The six steps it took him to get there felt more like a mile. Then, he was at his friend's side, his breathing ragged. "G-Goten, are you—" he began, but before he could finish, the pain overwhelmed him at last, and he slumped to the dirt, unconscious.