Crimson Tide
Chapter Six: Prelude to the Underworld's Chorus

An alarm sounded.

One after the other, the alarms went off, each rising in pitch and volume as they sang out the invasion alert. In the monitors of the Sabrean battle station, a nebulous swirl of darkness and mists filled the air. The mists parted to reveal a handful number of large starships, and smaller vessels spilling from behind them. The largest ship was leading the entire fleet, and it radiated with some strange aura far different from the rest. The ships hardly had any markings, except for one odd-looking emblem that seemed to glow in a deep shade of red.

The moment the Sabreurs saw the ships, only one word penetrated into their thoughts.

Hakaijins.

A message was being transmitted from one of the battleships to the battle station, and it was made clear by the Hakaijin pilot who sent it that the message was for Empress Videl alone. However, Videl knew that it was merely to put curiousity into the hearts of the Sabreurs, so she told one of the receiving pilots to broadcast the message all throughout the planet.

He was tall, with dark red hair and equally dark red eyes, fierce and authoratative. He was clothed in some strange type of armor, with the emblem of the Hakai royal family by his chest. With a voice full of mock respect, he greeted the young empress. Videl's eyes narrowed noticeably as she identified the leader of the Hakaijin fleet. "Seth..."

"Good day to you, m'lady. Unfortunately, the time has come for us to take things... to another step. I know that you're smart enough not to let unrest spread among your people by keeping this message a secret and all to yourself. But tell me, are you sure that unrest will spread among the people you are governing?" the Hakaijin warlord stopped to smile. "I'm certain that all of you have seen the army I have brought with me. In Hakai, there's more. We will not use our weapons on you if you will just cooperate. All we need is a little information here. And I'm sure you don't want so many people to die because of that information, do you?"

"You..."

"Where is Celeste Thouvier?" Seth asked as he smirked. "Yes, you heard me right. Celeste Thouvier, daughter of your Governor Thouvier, and the summoner of the Sabrean circle. Where is she?"

Videl snorted as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "That's none of your business."

"Really?" he taunted, then he shifted his weight to his other foot. "I'm going to ask you again, m'lady. For the last time. Where is Celeste Thouvier?"

Videl did not reply. Instead she took our her comlink, and loud enough for Seth to hear, she said, "First Company, please follow standard procedure. Admiral Ivanov, I leave it up to you."

"So, you're calling for war, eh?"

"You asked for it," she said in reply. "I'm just giving it to you. Second Company, prepare for back-up," she continued to give orders. "Third Company, stand by. Special Unit, I give full control to---"

A huge explosion knocked her off her feet, as well as the other officers and scientists that were with her in the battle station. She got up quickly and sped towards the nearest monitor, determined to find out what just happened. And it was a startling discovery. Their base had been severely damaged by the blast, for nearly half of it was turned to ashes. The explosion immediately caused panic among the citizens, and unrest began to spread, as she had feared. She pressed a couple of buttons to put up the second layer of the planetary shield, but the Hakaijin fleets were moving in quickly. "Move out, First Company!" she yelled into her comlink. "We must not let them get in the planet!"

"Roger," Sonia Ivanov, her mother's best friend and the admiral of the First Company, acknowledged.

"Still stubborn, m'lady?" Seth teased. "Well then, I think you need another demonstration."

And only a few moments after, another explosion followed, but this time the assault was on the other battle station in orbit. To her dismay --- as well as the other people who were with her --- the battle station was caught right on target, and faster than their eyes could blink, it was totally eradicated.

Screams could be heard from the other monitors that showed what was going on all over the planet, and Videl bit her lip as she thought of what to do next. A thousand possibilities ran through her mind, but only one appeared appealing for her. She turned to her comrades and said, "Keep the shields up. If their ships get really close, lower the third layer. Our ships can still stand the pressure."

However, to their utter surprise, the Hakaijin ships began to turn around, as if they were retreating. An overjoyed cheer was heard from all over the planet, when another tranmission from Seth echoed in the battle station. "Think the game's over, my lady? Think again. We know where she is."

Videl's eyes flew wide open in surprise.

"Chikyuu-sei."

She slammed her fist onto the controls, cutting off the tranmission completely, and she made a dash towards her starfighter. On her way there, she grabbed her comlink, and ordered the Special Unit to go after the fleets headed for Earth, while she ordered the specialists to track down who gave out the information to the enemy.

Goten's cellphone continued to ring, but no one was picking it up. In his excitement and panic on his wedding day, he accidentally left his phone in his bedroom, and now, he was miles away, in a church waiting for the ceremony to start. His cellphone was one of the most important things of his life, but now, he completely forgot to bring it with him, for the thought of his wedding clouded everything else that was in his mind that very day.

"Damnit, Goten, pick up the phone," Gohan cursed in panic as he walked back and forth with his communicator. After a few moments, he gave up on it. He threw the communicator to the floor, picked up his comlink and helmet, and then rushed out of their room.

She started her starfighter, eager to go after the Hakaijins and prevent whatever havoc they were planning to cause on Earth, the planet she had lived in for years --- and loved. As she was about to make a jumpstart to hyperspace, her comlink buzzed.

"Videl! Where do you think you're going?!" Gohan's half-angry, half-worried voice sprung into her ears.

"I'm going to Earth. Blasted traitor, I'm going to make sure he shall be executed for giving out confidential information---"

"It was Pan."

Videl blinked. She was quiet for a couple of moments, and then, she finally asked, "What did you say?!"

"It was Pan," he repeated. "She told the Hakaijins where Celeste is. One of them managed to get in the palace, and he threatened to harm us if Pan would not tell him where Celeste is hiding."

"Then where the hell were you?! Why didn't you make sure that---"

"I was hell fighting the others that were trying to get in the palace!" he shot angrily. "And don't you even try scold our daughter for what she had done, for it wasn't her fault! Heaven's sake Videl, she's only a child!"

Videl grimaced. She hated the bond they shared, and she hated how Gohan knew her so well. She hated how he knew that she was going to put the blame on Pan's shoulders, she hated how he defended her when it was her fault, and she hated how he had always favored her through the years. Sometimes, he even favored Pan over Videl herself. And one of those times... was now.

"Our daughter?! Your daughter, that would be the more appropriate term!"

"Videl, this is not the time to fight!"

"Then why don't you just shut up?!"

A heavy sigh escaped Gohan's lips. "Videl, get back down here. They... They need you. Pan and I will take things from here. We're on board Silmeria, and we're going to go after Seth and his fleet. Today is Goten's wedding. And his wedding is now complete with an alien entourage... my brother would definitely not like that. He would not like his wedding day ruined just like that."

"Take care."

"Yes, Videl. And... Pan's here to talk to you."

"I'm so sorry mommy!!" Pan wailed. "I... I didn't mean to tell them... but they said they would kill you, and daddy, and Gokazu... and they've got weapons that could kill even the best Sabrean warriors in a flash... I saw them use those gadgets on our generals, mommy! And... I was afraid... that they'd kill you too..." her voice trailed off as she completely burst into tears.

Videl felt really bad with her sudden outburst, and she felt bad because her daughter did it because she was afraid to lose them. "It's okay, Pan," she said in her most loving voice as she attempted to calm the demi-saiyajin down. "It's okay, mommy understands. I'm sorry if I yelled at your daddy, I'm sorry if I made you feel bad, I promise it won't happen again. I was just... frustrated... that we weren't able to stop the Hakaijins from entering our world, and I was... frustrated because when you come to think of it, I failed."

"You didn't fail, mommy," Pan said. "You didn't. The war's not yet over. We might have lost the battle, but we can win the war. Right?"

She sighed heavily as she nodded in agreement. "You're right. And we don't have time to lose," she said as she forced back sudden tears. "You take care of your daddy, okay?"

"Okay."

"We don't have much time, we really have to go," Gohan's voice returned. "See you soon, my love."

She slumped against the pilot's seat as static buzzed around her, for Gohan cut the communication off already. She could not help thinking how life had been more complicated than ever. The lives of millions of people and the fate of one planet was now in her hands. And things were not going good. She had too much to handle. Too many things were stuck in her head. She had to manage too many things. And what scared her was the thought that as the days went by, she was spending less and less time with her family. She missed the good old days dearly.

She picked up her comlink. "Mother? Please have the docking bay cleared, I'm going down."

"I don't think he's coming," Goten said in a sad tone as he stood outside the church, ebony eyes darting around. "I don't think he even knows." A hand rested on his shoulder, and he turned his head to the side slightly to see the Saiyajin no Ouji. To his surprise, however, Vegeta didn't scowl nor smirk. He actually look concerned, he actually looked worried. This puzzled Goten greatly, so he asked, "What is it, Vegeta? Something troubling you?"

"Not me, brat. Not me," he said. "You. You're the one with a problem. What is it?"

Goten sighed heavily as he fixed the collar of his shirt. "Otousan. He's not... I don't think he's coming. And... this is one of the most important days of my life. Yet he won't be here for it." He then looked away as he felt tears coming to his eyes. He wanted to hold them back, because it was humiliating to burst into tears in front of the Saiyajin no Ouji. But Vegeta was silent. He did not give any comment, whether a sincere one, or just of pure sarcasm, and that made Goten realize that it was okay to give in to his emotions. "When Gohan was married, he was here. When Pan was baptized, he was here. He had always been around for Gohan. But not for me. Somehow, I feel insignificant. It's as if... he never wanted me. He's always taking me for granted, he's always away on the most important days of my life. Sometimes... and right now... I wish that you were my father. Because you're here, and you understand."

"Don't go emotional on me, brat," Vegeta said with a snort, although it was obvious that he was kidding. He sighed. "I guess it wouldn't be wise to make you upset any more. And my sarcasm doesn't seem to get to you."

"I don't know what to do, Vegeta."

He shook his head. "I don't know what you should do either. You should ask the woman, she's the person my brats turn to when they're upset."

"She won't understand," Goten managed to choke out. "She won't. She'll just defend my father, just as my mother would. Just like Gohan would. Just like everyone else would. They'll all say that Goku is a good man, Goku knows what's best for you, and all that excuses they can come up with. They just don't understand how painful it is..." he paused to wipe away a few tears. "They don't understand."

Vegeta snorted once more. "Enough of that, brat. You're making yourself look like a weakling." Then, he smirked. "If you really want to consider me your Otousan, then that's fine by me. Just don't let the woman know, or anyone else for that matter, for they'll think I've sunk so low to even consider Kakkarot's clone as my brat. And remember, brat, I'm only doing this because you've done so much for me. I'm just returning the favor... my son."

Tears filled Goten's eyes as he looked at Vegeta with much gratitude and delight. For so many years, he had looked up at Vegeta as his own father, but now, his father finally considered him as his son, even though not really by blood. In his joy, he hugged Vegeta tightly, continuously saying, "Thank you!"

Damnit, Kakkarot... Vegeta thought. You've made me too soft.

However, a sincere smile flashed on his features for a few seconds as he encased his brat in a hug, but when they pulled away from each other, his smirk was once again planted on his features. However, he scowled thenafter as if nothing happened. "Don't do that again, brat," he warned. "You're making me look like a sissy. And you better dry that tears of yours, you're showing too much of your weakness."

And he walked away. But for Goten, Vegeta just did something very importantant for him, when he's supposed to hate him. After all, he is the son of the Ouji's greatest rival. But no, that fact seemed to have been deleted from Vegeta's brain as he did one thing that made Goten a lot happier on his wedding day. He had officially walked into his life.

Goten smiled. Arigatou, Otousan.

"GET THAT BLASTED MACHINE FIXED!" Seth barked at his pilots. "Sabreurs are closing in, so hurry up and get that damn hyperdrive machine fixed!"

His men continued to work as if they were in a frenzy. They rushed back and forth, to and fro, determined to fix the hyperdrive machine before Seth would blast them all from existence. However, due to their panic, they did the methods wrong, which made the Hakaijin warlord furious than ever. In his anger, he shoved all his specialists aside and worked on the machine himself, until the alarms in his ship all went off at the same time. "NOW WHAT?!"

"A Sabrean fleet is closing in on us, my lord. It's headed by the ship Silmeria."

"SILMERIA?! It's that Emperor! So he finally decided to take matters into his own hands! CURSE HIM!" Seth roared as he scooped up his comlink, and shouted, "ARES!"

A voice noticeably similar to his replied, "Yes, Seth?"

"Deal with that Gohan... get your starfighter out, use my fleet and stop them! That'll give me time to fix this damn hyperdrive machine, and then, I'm out of here!"

"But brother," the one named Ares blurted out in a worried tone. "You're going to Chikyuu-sei alone?"

"Do not worry about me, my dear brother. I will be alright. I will not fail. I will return to Hakai-sei with that woman, and we shall begin our reign of terror! It's so close dear brother, our success is so close," Seth snickered, his crimson eyes blazing. "In fact, it's so close, I can taste it."