A/N: Everyone, I'm back! And I'm really sorry for the delay! Aside from school, I had a really horrible Writer's Block, plus I got three other fics to write. And the worst part was that my WB was mostly on this fic. ^^; Anyway, here's the new chapter! Although the spacebattle won't be in this chapter yet, even if that's what I originally planned out. And to Celeste haters, you're going to hate her even more in this chapter. To Goten lovers, you're going to pity our dear Goten-sama even more in this chapter. *sighs* I'm mean, aren't I?
Please review!

Crimson Tide
Chapter Seven: Thirst

Like an angel descending from the glorious realm of heaven, Celeste walked towards the altar in such a graceful manner that all eyes were averted towards her. Never had anyone looked so majestic --- in Goten's opinion.

Despite the seemingly joyous atmosphere, not everyone present were happy --- the Briefs-Vegeta siblings, Trunks and Keeney, certainly weren't. Keeney, who had been trying to keep herself together as much as she could, was at the verge of breaking down, her emotions tearing her up inside out. However, only Trunks seemed to notice. Only Trunks, who was also troubled greatly by the wedding, troubled by the fact that the woman he so loved, the woman he loved with all of his life, was marrying his best friend.

Goten defeated him again.

"Or forever hold your peace," the priest said as he gazed at the crowd, waiting if someone would object with the ceremony currently being held.

Nobody did.

Trunks, despite the fact that he was ready to stop the ongoing rite, did not do it. Although nobody knew that he wanted to stop the wedding in the first place, because nobody knew that he loved Celeste as much as Goten did. He only looked at the ground and dug his fingers on the bleacher he was sitting on at the same time, desperate to fight back the fire that was currently burning, the fire that was ready to burst into destructive flames.

Keeney, on the other hand, just bit her lip.

"Hang on, Goten. We're nearly there. Just hang on," Gohan muttered as he sped up his starfighter, eager to arrive on Earth and assist his brother and friends who were in grave danger at Seth's arrival. He glanced slightly as his daughter, eleven-year-old Pan, who was sleeping at the co-pilot's chair in a rather uncomfortable manner.

As the ball of blue and green came into view, he put a hand on Pan's forehead, and the half-Sabreur, half-saiyajin jolted awake at her father's touch. She then looked around, and when she saw her homeplanet on their ship's monitor, her eyes brightened up in excitement. "We're coming home! At last!"

"Not for long, though."

"But at least we're going to go on a visit."

Gohan could not help but grin, but that smile immediately faded away as he remembered Seth and the danger everyone on Earth was facing. He bit his lip, and then turned back to Pan and said, "Prepare your saber, I'm afraid that you'll have to fight if things get desperate. I don't feel dad's power level, so he might still be on his planet-hopping spree. So be prepared, just in case things will get rough."

"Don't worry, about it, dad. I'm a big girl now."

"I, Goten Son, take you, Celeste Thouvier, as my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, till death do us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life."

"I, Celeste Thouvier, take you, Goten Son, as my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, till death do us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life."

The priest smiled as he glanced at the crowd for a second, and turned back on the couple that stood before him. "By the power bestowed upon me... Goten Son and Celeste Thouvier, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Keeney looked away.

With a seemingly nervous expression, Goten turned to Celeste, took hold of the veil that daintily covered her face, and lifted it slowly --- and with a bit of uncertainty. As soon as Celeste noticed her husband's uncertain expression, she teased, "What's wrong? Are you just going to stare at me the entire day and not kiss me?"

"I can't kiss you if you'll keep talking," he teased back as he pushed the veil away slowly from Celeste's face, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "So if I were you, I'd keep quiet and just---"

Goten froze.

So did the rest of the saiyajins.

And then, to everyone's surprise, Goten pushed Celeste behind him as Vegeta, Trunks and Keeney bolted up and turned towards the doorway. Soon, they heard footsteps.

Loud, yet slow-paced steps.

"I do not like the sound of this," Keeney voiced out as she focused on the approaching figure by the church's doorway. "I do not like this at all."

A tall, lean man dressed in heavy black armor stood in front of the crowd, his eyes glowing and regarding everyone present with a hatred that held no history. Tucked on the belt of his armor was a tiny rectangular contraption; it was black, and it had a button. What is was, nobody knew, for they had never seen anything like it in their lives.

"Who are you?" Keeney asked, and the moment she felt the other's aura, she shifted into a fighting stance. For some reason, she began to feel nervous, although she had no explanation on that development.

The man laughed. "Fools. It is inappropriate to tell you who I am, you who are from such a lowly race. However, I heard that you are rather... extraordinary... fighters, so I guess I should take my time on you."

Their eyes narrowed significantly.

"I am Seth Sa'urc-Rien, a warlord from Hakai-sei in the Outer Regions. The oldest, strongest and smartest. However, to wreck havoc is not the reason why I came here today. I am not here to fight or to purge this planet. I am here for a simple request."

Immediately Celeste gripped Goten's hand and in a begging tone, she whispered to her husband, "Do not let him take me, please..."

Goten turned to Celeste, who was now quivering in fear, and held her by the shoulders in order to help her compose herself. "It's all right, Celeste. He's not here to hurt you. He has no reason to do so."

"No, you don't understand!" Celeste exclaimed as she gazed into Goten's eyes fearfully. "He... he has come for me. I... I escaped, from Hakai. I went to Sabrea to ask for Videl's help, and she sent me here. And then I met you. The reason why I ran away was because... I was to be wed to him... but... I didn't want to... because he... he wants to become the second summoner of the Sabrean circle."

"Second summoner? W-What are you talking about, Celeste?" Goten asked back in a barely audible voice. However, Celeste was in no condition to reply, for she was totally scared out of her wits. In anger, Goten turned to Seth and hissed, "You are not taking her away from me."

"And why, young man, if I may ask?"

"Because I'm married to her."

Seth's eyes flew wide open in shock, and his eyes immediately burned with anger in such a high intensity. He walked furiously towards the human who claimed to be Celeste's husband, but was stopped by Vegeta who stepped in between Seth and Goten. The former stopped in his tracks and glared at Vegeta as he ordered, "Move out."

"Touch the brat and I'll kill you."

Those words did not seem to mean much, but to Goten, it meant a lot, because Vegeta was showing his fatherly side openly towards everyone, even in front of his own son, Trunks.

However, Goten knew that it was not the time to think of personal matters such as that when lives were at stake, so he walked forward and past Vegeta to face their nemesis. "I'll take it from here, Otousan. Trunks, get Celeste out of here. Keeney, get everyone to safety. If it's battle this intruder wants, then it's battle he's going to get."

Trunks set down his best friend's wife cautiously in his room, and immediately he rushed towards his closet, seemingly in search for something. He threw stuff out of his closet in frenzy, determined to find the object that he knew was hidden underneath the pile of junk. He was the CEO of Capsule Corporation, yes, but he had never been Mr. Organized. His office had always been a mess, and so was his room. "Damn... where is it?! I've got to find it... I've got to... In case everything else fails, it would be the only way to---"

On the other hand, Celeste sat at the edge of Trunks' bed, still quivering in fear. She knew how strong Seth truly was, and she was afraid that Goten --- as well as everyone else --- would lose and that she would be taken away from her new home.

As her aura fluctuated nervously, Trunks stopped his search, walked over to her and without hesitation, pulled her close to him, aiming to comfort the frightened beauty. "It's all right, Celeste. It'll be okay. Seth doesn't stand a chance against them. And I know Goten will never let his guard down, because he loves you very much and..."

He swallowed, unable to continue.

"What's wrong, Trunks?" Celeste asked as she slowly regained her composure, feeling so secure in the young man's arms. "Something has been bothering you, what is it?"

He sat by her side, and then looked away as emotions swelled up from inside him, emotions he had been trying to lock up for sometime now. But this time, with the woman he loved alone by his side, he knew that it was time for him to speak up. "I... I love you, Celeste."

"I..." Celeste's voice trailed off as she felt a painful lump creep up to her throat, but she pushed that hindrance away and turned to Trunks as she whispered, "Trunks... I love you too."

The demi-saiyajin froze at those five words, and then he turned to her with a look of disbelief on his face. "Y-You do?" he stuttered as the other nodded, and after she did so, he looked down at the ground in regret. "I was too late, then. If I told you sooner---"

"It wouldn't have made a difference," Celeste answered bitterly.

That caused Trunks to revert his gaze to her, as confusion mixed up with the emotions that were present on his features earlier. "What do you mean... It wouldn't have made a difference?"

A heavy, exasperated sigh escaped Celeste's lips as she stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the young man. "My marriage with Goten was inevitable. There was nothing I could do to stop it, and if we had known that our feelings were mutual, we still would have not been able to do anything about it. I had to marry him, Trunks. Because marrying him would be the only way for me to repay my debt to Videl. It is Sabrean tradition that a debt must be repaid, or the one in debt will suffer for a lifetime." She paused for a moment, and then turned to look at the man she truly loved. "If I had a choice, Trunks. If only I had a choice."

"But I just can't stand here and do nothing! I... I can't let you go, Celeste. I can't and I won't. Not when I know that you love me too. Not when I'm aware that the one you love is I, and not Goten. There must be something I can do! There has to be something I can do!" Trunks exclaimed in a frustrated tone as he bolted up from his position and met Celeste's gaze.

And then, unable to control himself any longer, he kissed her, with the most passionate kiss he could muster. The flame within him burned with intensity so high, he seemed to have lost control of himself, and when they stopped, Trunks found himself yearning for more.

He opened his mouth to speak, to beg her not to go away, but that was when Celeste flirtatiously ran down her finger through his lips, and she whispered, "Speak no more."

For the second time that day, their lips touched, not caring at all for who might be affected with what they were doing, because they felt they were right. After all, they loved each other dearly, and they were unwatched.

Nobody knew love existed between them. And nobody will ever find out.

Goten wiped off the blood that trickled from his lips and through his chin, and then he once again resumed a fighting stance, waiting for Seth's attack, however it may arrive. Just a few seconds later, however, Seth lunged at Goten, and soon both warriors were engaged in a flurry of punches and kicks.

Then they stopped and pulled away from each other, panting.

"You're good," Seth commented as he took up a defensive stance this time. Then, he smirked. "But of course, you're a saiyajin. Your fighting abilities are extraordinary, although you still lack the touch. I heard that you haven't been training for around ten years, and it sure shows."

The look on Goten's face changed dramatically, and the villain wondered what he said to make it change so. The hatred that was reflected on his raven eyes changed in intensity, as if it was now directed to someone else. And it was now directed to someone else, for the mention of the past made Goten's blood boil. "I'll show you what I'm capable of, Seth," Goten blurted out in a threatening tone as he cupped his hands together in front of him. "And you'll see that it was a mistake to take me on."

This kid is putting all of his anger on me... interesting. I wonder who he is really enraged at? After all, that emotion didn't show until I talked about his past... his past...

Seth smirked. "Fine then, kid. Show me what you are capable of doing. And I'll show you what I'm capable of doing. It's a fair deal, isn't it? Now then, shall we begin?"

As if answering his question, Goten fired the ki-blast that he was charging up in his hands just moments ago. Seth evaded it with ease, however, and he reappeared behind the saiyajin in the blink of an eye. "Is that it? Is that what you're trying to impress me with? Well you better try again, because it's not working." At that, he lifted up his hand to strike Goten down, when he noticed that tiny balls of energy were floating around them, seemingly ready to attack at the saiyajin's command. "You're not getting away."

"Ah, so this is it, then. Impressive. You managed to charge up all these puny energy balls without me noticing, and at such a short time. My, you've been trained well. If you're after the impression my boy, then I would say that I am truly impressed."

Goten did not flinch, even at that comment. His eyes were focused towards his target, the alien warlord who wanted to take his wife away. He loved Celeste too much to let her go --- and he would never let her go, most especially to a weird space conqueror.

With that thought in mind, he put his hands in front of him, palms out, and in one swift movement, brought his hands together. The energy balls, who seemed to have minds of their own and plainly awaiting the command of their master, came flying towards Seth, who was standing at the midst of them all.

As Goten's palms touched, a great explosion occurred --- an explosion so great that he had to shield himself from the ripple of the blast.

A/N 2: I've got no fic to advertise at the moment, since I haven't been reading fics lately, although if you would be so kind, please check out my new fic "If Let Go I Must, Then Let Go I Shall". It's actually a Goten/Bra fic I wrote out of experimentation, and I want to know if I stand a chance at writing stuff like those. ^^; Also, if you want to meet up with other DBZ authors, I suggest you join this group for authors I'm moderating... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dbzahq
See you there! Hopefully. ^^;