Crimson Tide
Chapter One: The Birth of a Supernova

Earth, 785 AD

"No! Don't leave me! You... You'll marry that Eduardo because your mother wishes you to?"

"Miguel, please, listen to me! I don't have a choice! I must follow my mother's wishes!"

It was one of those lazy Friday nights when one just wants to sit down, relax, eat popcorn and watch a soap opera. That was what Goten Son, and Trunks and Keeney Briefs-Vegeta were doing. They were in the boy's apartment, sitting down, relaxing, eating popcorn and watching a soap opera.

However, Goten and Keeney were doing more than just watching the soap --- they were actually mimicking the scenes. The soap opera they were watching was funded by a Mexican company, and it was the soap opera that brought the eldest of the trio more fame and more fortune. He had been in showbusiness for nearly two years, and everyone knew that it wouldn't take long for him to do something internation, for he was quickly rising to his own glory.

"You're going to be unhappy, Juanita! Even now, you are... how much more if you're going to be with Eduardo? He won't make you happy, mi amor(1)! He won't!" Goten mimicked in a high-pitched phony voice that sent them laughing. At least, Goten and Keeney --- Trunks' biggest fans who had seen the soap many, many times; many enough for them to memorize more or less all the lines their friend had in the series.

"I know, Miguel. But... por favor(2), listen to me. Allow me to explain. I can't go against my mother, because she's fatally ill, and she wishes that I marry Eduardo!"

"Then let's elope. I'll take you away, far away! I can't let you marry Eduardo. Not ever," Goten said, mimicking Miguel, the leading man, who was played by Trunks.

Keeney, Trunks' younger sister who was sitting by Trunks' left, moved closer to Goten and blocked Trunks' view of the television. With a singsong voice, she mimicked the leading lady, Juanita, played by a semi-popular actress who instantly fell for the purple-haired demi-saiyajin upon first sight. "Why, Miguel? Why?"

At that, their faces were only a few inches away from each other, and both of them --- to Trunks' amazement --- were dead serious, despite the fact that they were using phony and singsong voices to get the scenes done. He knew that if a talent scout would see them, they would immediately be given a soap opera of their own... comedy style, that is.

"I love you, Juanita. I love you with all my life."

"I... I love you too, Miguel."

They moved even closer to each other, their lips almost touching --- when a hand grabbed the remote control from Goten's hand, and the television instantly went off. The two froze, their faces barely an inch apart, and in perfect synchronization, a horrified look overtook their features as they turned to the older demi-saiyajin.

"TRUNKS!"

A not-too-happy Trunks was sitting between them, his arms crossed in front of his chest in the usual Vegeta fashion. His best friend attempted to grab the remote from the demi-saiyajin, but failed. He decided that it was best to just go on with what he had started to do --- to whine. "Trunks! Give that back! We were having fun!"

"Fun embarassing me, alright," Trunks grumbled. "You two never--- Hey!" he exclaimed as Keeney snatched the remote from him, as he wasn't paying attention to her. She turned the television back on, but only saw the ending credits roll. Their mimicking spree was over, as the episode came to an end.

Goten and Keeney slumped back into the couch.

"Great. Now you ruined it, Oniichan," Keeney complained, folding her arms.

Trunks rolled his eyes. "You've seen that a million times!"

"Actually, we've only seen it 934 times," Goten replied smugly.

Goten, when did you learn how to count?" Trunks asked, smirking. His best friend glared at him, and without so much of a warning, the younger demi-saiyajin tackled Trunks to the floor. Soon, the two warriors were in a brawl.

"I know how to count!"

"That's what I said!"

"Stop insulting me, Trunks!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a scholar."

"Shut your mouth!"

"Goten's a scholar! Heroic nerd!"

Keeney ignored the situation, eating the rest of the popcorn.

After a few moments, the brawl finally came to an end. The two warriors settled back into their positions, which was as far away from each other as possible. Trunks then took the remote control and flicked to another channel, watching the program with a contented expression on his face. The apartment was then at peace --- but only for a few moments.

Until Trunks reached into the popcorn bowl to find it empty.

"Goten!" Trunks exclaimed, looking at his best friend accusingly. "Why did you have to eat all the popcorn?!"

"What?! I didn't eat all the popcorn! Maybe you did!" Goten countered.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"Then who did?!" Trunks managed to blurt out.

They then turned to look at Keeney, who looked at them with a strange expression on her face. She pointed to herself, as if asking, "Me?" before she shook her head, her mouth still a big puff. That made the boys burst into laughter, but their spree did not last long, as Trunks' cellphone rang.

"Hello?" he began, signaling the others to keep quiet, and then, his eyes widened considerably. "Really?! Okay, I'll be there! Tomorrow, 10 am. All right. See ya!" he exclaimed happily. He stopped the call, and he started jumping for joy. "Yes, yes, YES! YESSSS!"

"What's the news, Trunks?" Goten asked, excited for his best friend.

"They're holding an audition tomorrow, for Nineteenth Century Fox's upcoming film, Dreams of Apocalypse, and my talent manager wants me to try out for the lead role!" Trunks beamed." I'm finally getting the big break I've long been waiting for! I won't just be remembered for playing Miguel in the soap, I will be remembered for Dreams of Apocalypse from now on!"

"Congratulations, Oniichan," his sister said happily, extending her hand.

The demi-saiyajin, on the other hand, shook it like a pro. "Aw, don't mention it," he replied, before he relaxed back on the couch as they resumed to watch the movie. A few moments later, however, he turned his head slightly to look at his best friend. He smiled as he got an idea. "Goten! Why don't you come with me? Who knows, they might spare you a little role in the movie! I'm sure they're gonna need an extra or something!"

"Are you sure, Trunks?" the other asked, hesistating. "I'm... kinda shy... you know."

"Goten, in showbiz, you can't afford to be shy! It's a whole new world full of glamour and splendor! Gorgeous guys like us need to be in showbiz to make those women drool at our feet!" Trunks said happily, but he was surprised how flat Goten's reaction was to the word women.

He sighed. Goten had changed a lot. After Gohan left for his wife's homeworld, Goten had gone back to rigorous training --- he even asked Vegeta a couple of times to spar with him --- and he even started reading books and studying. In fact, Trunks was very shocked to discover that Goten belonged to the top ten students of their class, and was getting very good grades --- like Gohan used to.

"Nii-chan, can I---"

Trunks knew what Keeney wanted, and so he jokingly replied, "No, you can't come."

She sighed heavily, expressing her annoyance, but then she smirked as she looked at the two. Afterwards, she crossed her arms infront of her chest, and pouted. "Fine then. I'll just have to eat the chocolate cake all by myself," she told them, a smile crossing her features as she saw their ears perk up with the words chocolate cake.

Goten grabbed Trunks by the collar of his shirt and started whining. "Trunks! You have to let her come with us! Chocolate cake! We can't afford to miss that!"

The female demi-saiyajin laughed at that, before she let out a yawn that made her rise up from her seat. "Now, now, you two. I was just kidding. I have rehearsals tomorrow, and I can't afford to miss that. Besides, I hate on-screen acting. I like ramp modelling better," she explained. She had been doing promotions for Capsule Corporation for as long as she could remember, and in one of those pluggings, a talent scout saw her and asked her to do a couple of other promotions. Now, like her brother, she was a successful ramp model rising to her own glory. "You two just enjoy and make sure that you get the roles you want!"

"What about the chocolate cake?" Goten asked hopefully.

"Don't worry, Goten, there'll be plently of chocolate cakes for you once you're a star!" Keeney replied with a wink, and then she ran to her room in the apartment --- where she sleeps over on Friday and Saturday nights --- before Goten or Trunks could catch her for tricking them into the chocolate cake deal.

"Trunks, do you get paid with chocolate cake?" Goten asked. "Keeney said there'll be plenty once you're a star. Do they pay stars with chocolate cake? Trunks? Trunks?" He turned to see his best friend, already asleep, his head on the arm of the couch. Goten sighed and took the remote control, surfing through the different channels.

"Someday..." Goten told himself. "I'm gonna be a star."

"TRUNKS! HURRY! WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" Goten bellowed as he sat on his car, waiting for his best friend to come out of the apartment. It had been hours, but the purple-haired demi-saiyajin still wasn't out. Heaving a sigh, he slumped back against the driver's seat. He knew what was taking Trunks so long --- he was making sure that he looked perfect for the audition. Goten heard him complain about a pimple and a freckle --- things he didn't have --- as well as his hair, his clothes, his shoes... and practically everything.

"I'm coming!" Trunks yelled from his room up the second floor, and after a few heavy footsteps, he finally exited the apartment, shutting the door behind him with much pride. "How do I look?" he asked Goten as he went in the car.

"Fabulous," Goten commented, now embarrased with what he was wearing. Just a plain white shirt, black sweatpants and sneakers. Trunks, in his white undershirt, dark blue jacket, denim jeans and funky boots, was simply gorgeous-looking.

Girls will surely be drooling on his feet, Goten told himself as he started the car.

"Oh come on, Goten! Don't just give me a one-word description of how I look! I wanna know what my best friend thinks!"

Goten smiled, thinking of the best way to praise his best friend for looking fabulous. "Overall," he began coolly as the other got into the car, "you are preposterous and exorbitant. Your clothes are gaudy, your hair's ostentatious, and I'm sure you'll get the part without trouble because of your resplendent look!"

The other looked blank. "W-What was that all about?!? How dare you---"

His best friend laughed. "I just said you look fabulous and your clothes are splendid."

"Oh... oh!" Trunks exclaimed, finally enlightened. "You scared me for a while, nerdy boy!"

"Hey!"

"I was just kidding," the other replied, raising up his hands in a surrendering motion. "Don't get too worked up, geez!"

Goten forced a smile, but as he drove Trunks towards Nineteenth Century Fox's studio, he was in deep though. Trunks' name-calling was getting more and more serious --- not that he cared, really --- but he did not want to be associated with Gohan at all. He did not want to be associated with anyone for that matter, as he wanted to have an identity of his own. He wanted to be Goten Son, not Kakkarot's clone, not Gohan's little brother, and most especially not Trunks Briefs-Vegeta's sidekick.

"Here we are," he announced as he pulled the car to a stop in front of the studio. "You go on ahead, I'm just gonna park."

"Oh come on, Goten! We'll go together!"

"I'm serious, Trunks. You go ahead. I might steal the ladies' attention." Goten joked with a wink.

"Alright. But don't chicken out! If you're not inside by ten minutes, I swear I'm going to strangle you."

Goten's smile widened. "I wanna see you try. Now go! Good luck!"

"Goten!"

"I'm going, I'm going, trust me."

Goten's statement made Trunks exit the car. "Well, I expect my best friend to keep his word because I trust him! See ya in five minutes," the purple-haired warrior exclaimed as the younger warrior pulled away from the entrance. He shrugged, but as he turned around, he came face to face with his talent manager, Rufius Reinhardt.

"Trunks! Glad you're early today, the director wants to see you as soon as possible!"

"Blame my best friend, he drove me here," Trunks replied jokingly.

"Ah, Goten, was that his name? You're lucky to have a friend like him, a sidekick to succumb to the bidding of his master."

Trunks eyes narrowed. "Now, now, Rufius, that's rude. Goten's not a sidekick as I am a master. He's not a pawn as I am King. He's my partner and my best friend, and I'm not higher --- or lower --- than he is," he quickly blurted out, but Rufius noticed that Trunks definitely punctuated lower when he reprimanded him.

Obviously, he was lying.

Trunks was a prideful young man, and Rufius knew that. Prideful and ambitious, ever since he met him. And even though Trunks said that Goten was his best friend, Rufius knew that Trunks considered himself higher than the other. And he also knew that Trunks did not feel that insecure to his fellow actors, but rather to his best friend.

After all, Goten was good-looking and plainly a girl-magnet.

The young actor clearly feared that.

Rufius just smiled. "Forgive me, Trunks. I was just implying a point with one of my expressions. Now, we better go. Mr. Beaumont wants to see you right now."

The other casted a look at the parking lot, and smiled as he saw a black-haired young man walk towards them. "Wait, Goten's coming, let's wait for him."

"Hey Mr. Reinhardt!" Goten greeted, extending his hand.

Rufius shook Goten's hand with much respect. "Ah, Mr. Son, it's a good thing you're here. You want me to stick you up for a minor role or something?"

"Well Mr. Rein---"

"That was exactly what I was telling him last night!" Trunks interrupted. "It would be cool if he'd get a part in the movie!"

"Maybe Trunks' sidekick or something," Goten said, smiling.

"I'll see what I can do," Rufius blurted out as he led them inside the studio, and towards the office of the director, Rexus Beaumont.

"Mr. Reinhardt!" Rexus exclaimed as he rushed to meet his friend. "You're early today! The audition starts at ten, you know."

"It doesn't hurt to be early, does it?" Rufius replied with a goofy grin. "So how's the screening going? I heard you started the auditions for the minor roles yesterday."

"We haven't done much, unfortunately. We're hoping to get the cast complete today."

Rufius smiled. "Wonderful! My client's friend wants to try out for a minor role, and I'm happy that there are still slots available."

"Why, bring them in!" Rexus said as he took the script from his table. When he looked back to see his guests, his eyes widened considerably.

He had found the perfect guy for the job.

He briskly walked towards the would-be superstar, extending his hand to congratulate him. "I don't know how good you are at acting, but I'm sure we can work on it! You're just perfect for the role! Build, hair, eyes, everything! Congratulations!"

Trunks extended his hand to shake Rexus', but his jaw dropped when the director merely went past him, and at the next moment, was busy congratulating the young man who stood behind the rising star.

Goten.

(1) - "my love"
(2) - "please"