Well,t he first half of this may look a bit familiar but it's now 

cleaned up, revised and extended with a second new half.

*sniffs* My teasers grown into a full-fledged prologue. *sobs* I'm so 

proud!

Anyway, C&C craved like you wouldn't believe! Dedicated to Susan, 

Goku-girl and Laike-chan (sp?) for reviewing the teaser! You guys are 

responsible for this being ready so soon!

Prologue

******** 

" Thanks for coming with me!" Trunks shouted. He had to shout because 

the wind rushing past his ears at several hundred miles per hour 

created a loud roar that made normal conversational tones near 

impossible. The recipient of his shouted appreciation waved off-

handed. 

" Not a problem Trunks!" Goten grinned. " Someone has to come play 

babysitter for the CEO of Capsule Corp!" 

" Nani? Hardly 'Ten - I just need someone to keep me from being bored 

out of my skull." Trunks growled and folded his arms in a sulky pout 

as the sliced through a small gathering of fluffy cirrus clouds that 

dispersed almost immediately. " These meetings are so boring." 

" What's this one about anyway?" 

" Mining opportunities. Mom's satellites picked up what could be the 

largest gold deposit ever found. The deeper ground scans showed the 

vein extending through an entire Chinese mountain range, and 

tunnelling under the villages that lay within." Trunks swerved a 

little closer to his best friend so he didn't have to shout quite so 

loud. " Mom arranged for us to meet with the village elders tomorrow 

to discuss a mutually beneficial plan to extract the gold at a very 

fair price for them. It will also help provide them with jobs as we'd 

be using local labour."  

" Wow." Goten absorbed the information. " Gold huh? Like your mother 

needs more money." 

" Goten!" Trunks swatted the dark-haired boy playfully. " That's not 

what this is about!" 

" I know, I know - jeez Trunks!" Goten clutched his scalp in mock-

agony. " Oh the pain inflicted on me by my best friend! Oh the pain 

of it all!" 

Trunks shook his head. " You, my friend, are a doof." 

" Hey!" 

Trunks waved him off as he checked his wristwatch.  A small beeping 

light showed up on the circular graph and Trunks nodded with 

satisfaction. " We're almost there!" 

" Good. I'm hungry." 

Trunks snorted. " When are you not?" 

" Hey!" Goten blinked as he thought of something. " Are we staying in 

the village then?" 

" Hmmm? Oh - no, mom made reservations at a nearby hotel. It has some 

awesome hot springs - and right next to it, is reputed to be the best 

training grounds for martial artists." He grinned. " Mom thought it 

would appease dad if we stayed there on the pretence of training." 

Goten snickered. " Did he buy it?" 

Trunks shot him a look that clearly read, 'what-do-YOU-think?' 

" Just asking." 

" C'mon - it's right down there." Trunks abruptly took a dive, 

tucking his arms in straight and doing a free-falling spiral towards 

the ground. 

" Show-off!" Goten shouted as he immediately followed in a similar 

fashion. He soon matched Trunks's speed and the two of them levelled 

off near the ground, skimming the surface and kicking up a huge cloud 

of dust and debris behind them. As they neared the spot Trunks said 

they'd be staying at, Goten took in the surrounding landscape and let 

out a whistle. 

" Kinda barren, aint' it?" 

Trunks chuckled. " This is an old-fashioned country, Goten. While the 

cities are very modern, the villages, especially in remote areas like 

this, are a bit behind the times. Many of the villages can't afford 

the new technology, but then again, they don't really need it." He 

grinned, taking in the same view. " It's kinda cool how their way of 

life manages to flourish so well despite all the changes and advances 

around them." 

" You sound like a teacher." 

" Baka!" Trunks swatted him again and sped up. Goten choked on the 

dust trail and spluttered before giving chase. He allowed himself to 

admire the view he had of Trunks flying full-speed ahead of him and 

smiled to himself. The lavender-haired demi-saiyajin had been in an 

unusually good mood ever since he'd called the other day to invite 

Goten on his business trip. He knew Trunks was a history buff - a 

secret he kept from almost everyone else - and that to come to a 

historic area like this put him in his glory. Goten liked seeing 

Trunks happy - it was very rare that Trunks allowed his inner 

emotions to shine through. But now he was completely relaxed and 

carefree, and Goten couldn't be happier. 

Well, there was one way, but he wasn't ready to even test that idea 

out yet, and so he upped his power a little until he was even with 

Trunks. 

" So where is it?" he asked again, scanning the horizon. 

" Right there." Trunks pointed out an area just ahead and to the left 

of them, and as they neared it, Goten could make out dozens of 

sparkling lights which he realized, as he drew closer, were miniature 

pools, varying to some degree in size, and sparkling in the light of 

the early afternoon sun. Elongated wooden poles stuck out of each 

pool of water and Goten wondered briefly what they were for. 

Trunks veered off to the side. A small building sat a short distance 

away from the pools and Goten realized that must be the hotel where 

they would be staying. As they touched down, Goten noticed a severe 

lack of customers and wondered what he reason could be. It certainly 

was beautiful territory - one would think this place would be chock-

full of tourists. He said as much to Trunks who was dusting himself 

off. 

" Remind me next time not to wear black when we're travelling through 

this kind of terrain," Trunks commented lightly before addressing 

Goten's remark. " I don't know Goten - even mom was surprised though, 

when she was able to book us our rooms with out a problem." He 

shrugged.  

Rooms. Plural. As in more then one. Goten stifled a sigh of regret 

and dusted himself off as well. The two were dressed casually in 

their training gear. In Trunks's case it was a pair of black loose 

pants, a black tank top, his boots and his Capsule Corp jacket. Goten 

on the other hand, wore a scruffy pair of jeans that were so ripped 

Chi Chi threatened to throw them out if she ever saw them again, and 

a blue and white hockey jersey he'd gotten while on vacation to 

Canada a few years back. He grinned at the memory - that had been 

another business trip he'd gone on with Trunks. They'd had fun at the 

hockey game, even if Trunks had gotten into a fight with one of the 

players in the penalty box. They'd nearly been kicked out until the 

manager realized Trunks was head of one of the largest shareholders 

the building had. 

He was shook from his reverie when Trunks opened the hotel door and 

waited for him to go in. Goten skipped through, ducking lightly as he 

sensed Trunks' hand come up to swat him again and sauntered up to the 

counter, ignoring the muttered " baka," that came from behind. 

" Hi!" he chirped. The counter girl looked at him, amused. 

" Nihao!" she said with a smile. " Welcome to Jusenkyo Springs." 

" Arigato," Trunks smiled briefly. " Watashi wa Trunks Briefs." 

" Son Goten!" Goten waved cheerily. The girl chuckled. 

" My name is Peach. My grandfather and I run this resort. If you have 

any questions or problems, please feel free to ask me." 

Goten grinned. " I was hoping you'd say that. I was wondering - are 

we the only ones here?" He gestured to the beautiful landscape 

outside the door. " I can't believe this place isn't crowded beyond 

belief - you've got a awesome view here." 

Peach laughed. " Our resort is kind of exclusive," she admitted. " We 

do not advertise, and we do not want or need large crowds. We prefer 

a small clientele." 

" Aa." Trunks nodded. " Don't let my mother hear that - she'd be 

praying to the advertising Gods for the safety of your marketing 

souls." 

" I will remember that," Peach agreed with a smile. " At any rate, we 

have been expecting you. May I show you to your rooms?" 

" Please." 

The rooms were actually separate from the main building in small, two-

bedroom bungalows, Trunks noticed as they left the reservation area 

and entered an enclosed walkway. As they passed through the large-

windowed hallway, Goten paused and pointed out the window to the 

springs in the distance. " I heard that's one of the best training 

grounds for martial artists. Is that true?" 

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Peach froze in mid-step, and 

turned around quickly. " No. It is not. " A worried air clouded her 

previously clear aura and she glanced at the springs with a sort of 

despairing look. " Those springs are dangerous for swimming and are 

for viewing only. Please stay away from them." She smiled brightly at 

them suddenly. " If you desire to bathe in the springs, we have 

natural hot springs that are much safer on the other side of the 

compound. I will show you to them if you wish?" 

Goten blinked. " I..guess. But why are those springs dangerous? And 

what's with the poles?" 

Peach sighed. " The poles were once used for balancing exercises. 

They have been left there for old times sake but are no longer in use 

and haven't been so in a very long time. As for why the springs are 

dangerous...." she glanced at Goten with a serious expression. " They 

are cursed." 

" Cursed?" Trunks scoffed with a snort. " Like haunted?" 

" Some would say the effects of the Jusenkyo Springs are quite 

haunting," she agreed. " Please heed my warning and do not go into 

the pools. It is one of the rules of the resort that we have made to 

protect our customers." 

Goten could see Trunks was about to argue that they didn't require 

protection and latched onto Peach's arm, escorting her up the hallway 

and effectively ending an argument before it could start. " Of 

course, Miss Peach. Now tell me - are you single?" He batted his eyes 

flirtatiously at the

Trunks blinked and sighed before following quietly.

*~*~*~*~*~*

" Ka-knock, ka-knock!" Goten rapped on the door sharply before taking 

the initiative and letting himself into Trunks's room. He swept the 

room with his eyes, noting that it was almost exactly the same as 

his. A large wooden dresser lay against one wall, with an attached 

unit that housed a large-screen TV and VCR. Under the window at the 

end of the room, a small marble table was pushed up against the 

external vent, with two comfortable looking chairs on either side. 

The door to the bathroom where Trunks apparently was currently lay 

just beyond the dining set-up, and little wisps of steam could be 

seen billowing up from the crack between the doorway and the 

floor. `Must be taking a shower.' There was a hanging closet just 

down from the bathroom door and as Goten's eyes completed the circuit 

around the room, he finished with the large, king-sized bed with what 

looked like the comfiest pillows he'd ever seen. With a wicked gleam, 

Goten pounced on the bed, snuggling into the thick comforter and 

burrowing his head in the pillows. 

`My bed's not this comfortable,' he mentally pouted. He toyed briefly 

with the idea of asking Trunks to share – certainly the beating he'd 

receive would be worth the expression on his face right? He chuckled 

and closed his eyes. It was so warm, he might as well wait right here 

until Trunks was done in the shower…

*~*~*~*~*

Trunks opened the bathroom door with a wave of steam rushing past his 

ears, making his toes curl as he met the contrasting and refreshing 

coolness of the room. Padding quickly over to the dresser, he pulled 

out a change of clothes that looked remarkably similar to the ones he 

had arrived in and dressed quickly. He turned then and suddenly 

understood why he had felt Goten's aura when he had been under the 

hot shower. 

The raven-haired demi-saiyajin was curled up on his bed, snoozing 

away. The thick black spikes of hair that normally seemed to defy 

gravity had given in to the laws of physics and fell across his face. 

They seemed to tickle his nose; Trunks watched in amusement as 

Goten's nose twitched and he raised one hand up to clumsily swipe the 

offending strands out of the way, only to have them fall exactly back 

into place a minute later.

Kawaii…. The thought appeared out of the blue and Trunks instantly 

flushed bright red to the roots of his purple hair and he instantly 

shut that thought out of his mind. What would Goten say if he head 

heard that?

One would wonder about the state of Trunks's mind if they could catch 

that line of thought, seeing as how he didn't actually voice it out 

loud. But somewhere along the way, their years of close friendship 

had formed a bond that rivalled that of siblings and was only 

reinforced by their fusion attack which made them of one mind and 

body, susceptible to the thoughts and emotions of the other. If he 

were going to be thinking thoughts like that, he'd better raise his 

walls damn quick.

And if, Trunks moaned mentally, I raise those walls like that, Goten 

will sense it and instantly wonder what's wrong and then we get into 

a whole realm of trouble and…

He smacked his forehead sharply and turned away from the sight on the 

bed before he woke Goten with his mental meandering.

Grabbing a brush, he pulled it through his still-damp hair and then 

debated about how to wake the sleeping Saiyajin. A smile spread 

across his face as he remembered how Goku used to wake the two of 

them when they were on one of their sleepovers. He crept to the side 

of the bed.

*~*~*~*~*

Goten was having a wonderful dream where he was reclining on a bed of 

silk sheets and sumptuous pillows, straight out of Arabian Nights, 

being hand-fed chocolate-covered strawberries and banana slices from 

scantily clad handmaidens. The maidens were giggling and he was 

enjoying the delicious food when all of a sudden the girls morphed 

into a single person with lavender hair and piercing blue eyes that 

leaned in close to him and whispered—

" WAKE UP GOTEN!! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!"

" YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Goten shrieked and 

literally jumped up to the ceiling, clinging to the underside of the 

wooden crossbeam like a scared cat, eyes wide as he whipped his head 

around searching for a threat. " WHERE?"

Trunks hit the spot on the bed that Goten had just vacated with a 

howl of laughter. He rolled on to his back so he could peer up at the 

frazzled Son, tears of mirth streaming from his eyes. Goten's heart 

rate slowly calmed down to its original speed as he realized what had 

just happened, and a grin threatened to form as he watched Trunks 

acting playful.

" You jerk!" he shouted down at his chuckling best friend. " You 

nearly gave me a heart attack!"

" Are you alive?"

" I think so," Goten growled. He looked down and judged his 

approximate landing. He let the grin loose.

" BONZAI!"

Trunks's laugh turned into a yelp as Goten fell from the ceiling 

directly on top of him, squishing him into the mattress before 

rolling off and landing with a thump on the floor. Goten smirked 

smugly at him as he pretended to brush imaginary lint off him. Trunks 

clawed his way up from under the comforter and scowled at him.

" Well, that was amusing," Goten drawled. " What's next?"

Trunks was about to make a sarcastic comment when twin roars echoed 

throughout the room. As the din faded away, the two looked at their 

stomachs and then back up at each other, nodding in agreement.

" Food."

*~*~*~*~*

On their way back from the delicious dinner provided by Peach, 

supplemented by capsules of stored food from Bulma who had no desire 

to send the little resort into bankruptcy trying to keep two half-

Saiyajins fed, Goten's attention once again settled on the grouping 

of pools in the distance.

" Neh Trunks?"

" No Goten."

" Hidoi!" he protested. " You don't even know what I was going to 

say!"

" Does it have anything to do with those springs Peach told us about?"

" Uh…."

" No Goten."

" You're no fun," he pouted. " Beside's, I would have thought you'd 

want to go and see them close up – you were the one arguing with her 

after all."

Trunks glared at him. " I was not arguing with her. I just don't like 

being told I need protection." He growled, looking away. " It's bad 

enough dad keeps calling me a wimp – I don't need strangers thinking 

I need help."

Goten paused, and raked a hand through his hair, eyeing his friend. " 

You okay Trunks?"

" Hai. Just tired I guess."

Goten snapped his fingers. " I know just what you need."

Trunks blinked at him. " Sleep?"

" A good spar!" Goten slapped him on the back, knocking him forward a 

step. " It'll clear your mind, help ya sleep better. What do you say?"

" I say you're trying to find any excuse to go see the training 

springs." Trunks arched an eyebrow. " Right?"

" You betcha!" Goten nodded. " C'mon Trunks – it won't hurt anything! 

And beside's, your mom told Vegeta that we'd be training there 

anyway – we don't want to make a liar out of her, right?"

" Little manipulative – I though I was the corporate schmuck here?" 

" I learn very quickly, oh wise one. Can we? Please?" Goten batted 

his eyes. " Pretty please?"

Trunks sighed and glanced over at the springs. For some reason, the 

springs didn't appeal to him.  They almost made him uneasy, even 

though he couldn't really sense a threat, per se - just a vague sense 

of foreboding. Still, he thought, glancing from the springs to Goten 

and then back again. They are pretty. And Goten really wants to go…

Goten knew he had won as soon as Trunks' shoulders slumped in 

resignation and he grinned wildly, thumping Trunks on the back once 

more before taking off in the direction of the cursed springs.

" Yatta! C'mon Trunks – let's go!"

" You little – wait up!"

Trunks launched himself into the air, putting on a quick burst of 

speed, enough to overtake his friend. Within minutes they were 

nearing the pools and as soon as they came into view Goten let out a 

cry. Seconds later Trunks watched, stunned, as Goten dropped out of 

the sky like a stone. About to go after him, Trunks suddenly felt his 

own power fluctuating, flickering in and out. Then his aura dropped 

completely and he followed Goten snoot-first into the ground, 

ploughing a trail of dirt a meter long.

Across from him, Goten raised his head and spit out a mouthful of 

dirt.

" Itai," he moaned. " Trunks, what happened? Did you see what hit us?"

Trunks coughed and hacked up a dirt farm of his own before 

answering. " Nothing hit us Goten. One minute we're flying, next 

minute we're falling."

" Well, you're the genius boy here," Goten muttered, pushing himself 

up. " Fix it!"

" Oh yeah. Easy." Trunks sat up and shook his head. Then he froze. " 

Goten – I can barely sense your ki."

" Huh?" Goten's eyes narrowed. " Yours too Trunks – it's lower then 

a.."

"--then a humans ki," Trunks finished for him, nodding. He looked up 

and around, searching for a possible explanation. His eyes lit on a 

weatherworn sign a few meters away, hand painted with Chinese 

characters. Goten followed his gaze and squinted at the sign.

" Can you read that?"

" Give me a second," Trunks muttered, converting the Chinese 

characters to Japanese words in his mind. While not his specialty, he 

could still read Mandarin. He briefly thanked his mother mentally for 

her insistence that he learn other languages. " It says Cursed 

Jusenkyo Springs – Do Not Enter."

" Cool. At least we made it all the way here before our little swan 

dive." Goten stood up and brushed himself off. " You coming?"

" Goten!" Trunks stared at him. " Don't you want to know why our 

powers failed first? "

" It's because of the curse, silly!" Goten grinned. " Peach said it 

was haunted."

" Please don't tell me you believe in that junk."

" Well, what other reason is there? Beside's," Goten added. " After 

all the weird things we've seen in our lives, what's a little curse? 

And don't tell me you don't believe in magic – what about Babbidi, 

huh? Remember him?"

" I try not to." Trunks' voice was cold. Goten flinched – wrong 

subject.

" Sorry."

" No prob."

" So let's go!" Goten started walking towards the springs. A light 

mist covered the springs, refracting the fading light of the setting 

sun into a myriad of colors that painted the landscape in front of 

him. The result was really quite breathtaking and Goten wondered 

again why such a natural treasure wasn't on display as some kind of 

park or something. Trunks followed behind him, warily eyeing the 

pools of water as though expecting someone or something to attack 

them at any moment. Goten stopped at another sign. 

This one was even older then the first, moss-covered around the 

edges, faded from years of exposure to the sun, rain, heat and cold. 

The ancient characters were scratched and hard to see. Goten squatted 

in front of it and brushed off some of the moss and clinging vines, 

blowing the dirt away. There seemed to be some diagrams of stick 

figures balancing on top of the sticks.

" Trunks? What does this sign say?"

Trunks walked over and knelt down to take a closer look. " Lemme see…

it says that the object of the training is to improve mid-air combat 

techniques by using the poles as platforms. This emphasizes natural 

agility, balance, skill and speed." His brow creased. " The word 

natural is underlined twice. I wonder…"

Trunks abruptly stood and walked a short distance away. Goten 

blinked, watching. " Trunks?"

" Shhh…." Trunks closed his eyes and extended his aura. That same 

sense of foreboding he had earlier came back full force. That was 

another thing – he could sense his ki, and Goten's. They just seemed…

suppressed. He opened his eyes and walked back to the sign, studying 

it intently.

" What's up Trunks?"

" I think I know what happened to our ki," Trunks said slowly. " This 

place has its own kind of aura…almost mystical compared to ours. It's 

suppressing our ki so that we have no choice but to use our natural 

abilities when training here."

" Really?" Goten closed his eyes, trying to sense whatever it was 

that Trunks had. " I don't get it."

" To be honest, neither do I," shrugged Trunks. " Wanna call it quits 

Chibi?" The idea of sparring without the use of their ki was slightly 

unnerving.

Goten growled good-naturedly at the nickname and shook his head. " Nu-

uh! Let's do it!"

With that, he leapt onto the pole closest to him. He wobbled slightly 

as he automatically reached for his ki to level him out, forgetting 

that he couldn't. " Whoa.." He finally righted himself, balancing on 

one foot and the toe of the other. Trunks watched, amused.

" Having fun?"

" It's harder then it looks," Goten admitted. " But what the heck – a 

challenge is a challenge, right? " His voice took on a wheedling 

tone. " C'mon Trunks! This is cool!"

Trunks sighed. He still had a bad feeling about this, like they would 

regret being here later. But a part of him wanted to show Goten that 

he could do it too and he shrugged off his Capsule Corp jacket, 

dropping it to the ground. With one graceful leap, he landed neatly 

on an opposing pole from Goten, arms spread in a ready position. 

Goten scowled.

" Show off."

Trunks grinned, baring his teeth. " Let's do it!"

*~*~*~*~*~*

It happened so suddenly. A dazzling mid-air kick met a strong block, 

followed by an uppercut that met another kick. Blow after blow hit, 

missed, landed and struck again. What happened next was inevitable.

A mutual blow connected sending both combatants flying backwards into 

the pools. Two heads lifted from the water gasping.

A minute later, horrified screams and yowls rent the air.

At the receptionist desk in the main building, Peach heard the 

distant wails and knew. She sighed, shaking her head, and picked up 

the phone.

" Grandpa? It happened again…"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

End Prologue 

*snickers* I am so evil...I know you can all tell where a part of 

this is going - but I think I have a few surprises hidden away for 

ya! Anyway, let me know what you think! I'm not a mind reader ya 

know - yer gonna have to write it down! ^_^