Crimson Tide
Chapter Nine: Regret Comes in the End


With a guilt-laden heart, Goten rushed towards the hospital where his mother was admitted, together with his childhood friend, Keeney. The moment he found out about what happened to his mother, he immediately regretted all the things he did in front of her a while back at Capsule Corporation, but he knew that regret would not save his mother's life.

Despite that fact, however, he could not help but blame himself for what happened. I was so stupid! So stupid to let my emotions get the best of me! If only I controlled my temper, this never would've happened. If only I took hold of my feelings, mother wouldn't be here right now, experiencing all this...

"It's not your fault," Keeney whispered as she attempted to catch up with his pace.

Confusion immediately replaced the emotion that lingered on his features as he wondered how she knew what he was thinking of. He looked at her, wanting to ask the question, but for some reason he was unable to.

Keeney just sighed. "I know you're blaming yourself for what happened, Goten. But it's not your fault. If it was your fault, she would have fainted the moment you turned to leave. But she didn't. She lost consciousness after my father had a short word-war with her. So perhaps it's my father's fault. Perhaps not. But one thing's for sure. It's not your fault."

The young woman's words were soon confirmed when an elder man with thick glasses approached them. He looked at Goten and asked, "You're Goten Son, right?"

He nodded somberly.

"I have something to tell you, and I hope you will listen to my explanation very well, because this concerns your mother. You see, her life is hanging in the balance, and Please come with me to my office and we'll discuss this matter thoroughly."

Color immediately drained from Goten's face the moment he heard those words, and in fact, Keeney had to support him because he was at the verge of losing consciousness. When they got to the office, the doctor began to explain what it was all about.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Mr. Son and Ms. Briefs-Vegeta. I am Dr. Janus Laurts, a specialist in genetics and DNA-RNA technology. Now, you might be wondering why I am the one handling your mother's case when she is supposed to be attended to by a medicine or biology specialists, but you see, her illness has little to do with those."

Goten shifted his position uncomfortably.

"The roots of this illness, or shall we say, disorder, that had been plaguing was not caused by pathogens, or anything of that sort. Parasites or other living yet harmful organisms did not cause it either. Her defective DNA and RNA strands caused it. As from what I've observed in the blood tests we conducted, the coils of DNA molecules in her chromatids are somewhat... ruptured," Dr. Laurts said as he took out a sheet of paper and a pen to draw a model of a DNA strand.

Once he finished, he pointed to a certain part and continued his explanation. "DNA is composed of four building blocks, namely, purine, pyrimidine, sugar and phosphate groups --- adenine, guanine and cytosine. This part, which is supposed to be composed of purine, is hollow. Meaning, there is nothing. It's a void, a hole."

He paused to draw another strand of sorts --- RNA this time --- and then, he said, "While in her RNA strands, purine attached itself to uracil. Purine, which was supposed to be in the DNA strand and not in the RNA strand. Are you following?"

Both of them nodded.

"Now, for some reason, this transfer of components seemed to be the cause of the series of illnesses your mother is suffering now, Mr. Son. Although the question is how. How could have purine transferred from a DNA strand to an RNA strand? And how could that transfer cause illnesses when DNA and RNA are believed to only be for the replication of genes and the transmission of genetic information or traits from parent to offspring? Thus, I conclude that this disorder will eventually cause the decay of your mother's internal body structure and since there has been no case---"

"In English, please," Goten blurted out as he held his head which was now throbbing in pain at the thought of his mother's current predicament.

Dr. Laurts took a deep breath. "In short, this disorder---"

"There's no cure for her illness, and she'll die within a short span of time," Keeney summarized with a grim expression on her face.

As the truth sunk into his senses, Goten felt as if his spirit left his body right then and there.

"About time you returned, and about time you caught up with the latest events in our little circle, third-class baka," Vegeta muttered with a snort as Goku, Gohan and Pan arrived in the hospital. He was standing outside the room where Chichi was admitted with his arms crossed over his chest, taking his usual position as a guardian of sorts.

When Goku tried to go in, he stopped the warrior and pushed him back before he said, "Visitors are not allowed at the moment, except for your persistent clone who threatened to blast this place to pieces if he would not be allowed inside. You do not need to worry, though. The best-known specialists are attending to your mate at the woman's orders. So you and your spawns better sit down and shut up."

Goku sighed. "Still as cold as ever, Vegeta."

The other smirked. "You just don't know, Kakkarot. You just don't know. Now sit down and shut up."

The newcomers sat down on the bench that was just beside Vegeta, and waited for their turn to see their loved one. However, as soon as Goku noticed that everyone was more or less dressed very nicely, he turned to Vegeta and asked, "Hey, bro(1), what's the occasion?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Bro," Vegeta hissed as he glared daggers at his greatest rival, and then, he scowled. "You idiot! Are you trying to tell me that you DON'T know what today is?!"

Goku fidgeted with his fingers a bit before he replied with, "No, so what is today?"

Immediately, Vegeta felt Goten's aura flicker in anger, and he knew for sure that the brat heard, thanks to their keen sense of hearing as saiyajins. Before Vegeta could answer the other's question, however, the door flew wide open and Dr. Laurts emerged with a distressed look on his face.

Everyone began asking the specialists all sorts of questions --- except Vegeta, who decided to remain quiet, and Goku, who had nothing to ask because he knew nothing of the situation.

Dr. Laurts held up both his hands and as he did so, they all kept quiet. He cleared his throat for a couple of moments and then he repeated the explanation he gave Goten and Keeney. As soon as he finished, Goku was swelling with rage, greatly upset by the fact that his wife will leave him and his family when they haven't even spent much time together. Then his emotions took control.

Without hesitation he pushed the doctor away and barged into his wife's room, only to see a young man whose aura was blazing in total anger and frustration.

Goten's raven eyes darted towards the newcomer, and his once compassionate gaze immediately reciprocated into a murderous one. Without averting his gaze, he hissed, "You're not welcome here."

Goku was taken aback by Goten's sudden coldness, for he did not understand why his son had been so bitter recently. He looked into Goten's eyes to search for the spark of compassion and softness that was reserved for him, but found none. That evidence immediately made him panic, although he tried his best not to show it.

Before Goku could reply, however, he was once again interrupted by the still ice-cold voice of his youngest son. "What are you waiting for?! Get out of here now!"

"I won't," Goku replied with dead calmness as he walked towards his son. "I won't leave. Not this time. Not when I'm needed. Not when I'm needed by your mother."

"And didn't I need you?!" the younger man half-screamed as he rose to confront the man that appeared as a stranger in his eyes. "Didn't I need you, so you left?! You were here when Gohan needed you! Now that mother needs you, you're here! But what about me?! Where were you when I needed a father?! Where?! Tell me!"

The other's eyes flashed with anger for but a moment, for sadness and regret overcame them thenafter. He looked into Goten's burning eyes intently, and then he began to explain. "Forgive me, Goten. I... I wanted to be with you. When you were little, I wanted to be with you more than anything else, but I had to stay in the Afterlife to prevent further chaos, and to make sure that you will grow up in a safe world."

"And when you returned after seven years, you took me for granted! And don't tell me you didn't, because if you truly didn't, then you would have saved me instead of Hercule when Buu sent our world to oblivion!" Goten shot coldly.

Goku could not reply. All along, he thought that his absence would keep his family together and safe from harm. But instead, his absence was tearing up his family from within.

When the older Son could not reply, the younger asked in a huff, "Do you know what happened today?! Do you?!"

Silence took over for a few moments before Goku replied in his usual calm voice. "Someone came. A strong warrior with a power signature that I could not seem to comprehend. He fought... you. I tried to come to your aid as soon as I could, but he fled before I even got close to our world."

The flame in Goten's eyes intensified even more. "That's all?! That's all you know about today?! You didn't know that today... that today was my... my wedding day?!"

Goku's eyes flew wide open in shock.

"I KNEW IT! I WAS NEVER IMPORTANT TO YOU! NEVER!" Goten screamed right at his father's face as hot tears cascaded from his blazing, anguished eyes. "I wasted seven years of my childhood, and even more after that, waiting for my you to come and be a part of my life! And above all, I wasted my life in believing that I had a father by the name of Son Goku! Son Goku was nothing more than a hero in my childhood, an illusion of a father who never was!"

"I'm so sorry, Goten," Goku whispered with downcast eyes. "I'm sorry for what I've done I didn't know"

"It's not what you did, Goku. It's what you didn't do," the younger saiyajin muttered angrily before he stormed off.

A sigh escaped Trunks' lips, although it was a barely audible one. However, the redhead who snuggled against his bare chest immediately noticed that subtle gesture. Without pulling away from him, Celeste asked, "What's the matter? Is this... bothering you?"

Trunks remained silent for a few moments, and with another sigh, he answered, "Yes."

It was then when Celeste shifted her position and looked at the man she truly loved straight in the eye. Her eyes looked both confused and scornful at the same time. "Are you telling me that you're actually guilty with what we're doing? Oh come on, Trunks! You said it yourself --- there's nothing wrong with this, because we're only expressing our love for each other!"

"We're not supposed to do this. Not now, that is."

Celeste let out an exasperated sigh as she snuggled against his muscular physique once more. "Lighten up, please. Stop worrying about it. I am very much capable of keeping this secret relationship, thank you. Just think of this as your... lucky night."

"Lucky night, yes," Trunks murmured as he kissed her softly.

"Tell me, Trunks," she began as she attempted to open up another topic to ease the somehow... tense... atmosphere. "What's a saiyajin's weak spot? I mean, nobody's perfect, right? Achilles had his heel, his only vulnerable spot. Superman had Kryptonite. What about you guys?"

He leaned back against the soft pillows thoughtfully. "Hmmm... It varies, actually, because all of us have different weak spots. Let's see..." he paused to shift his position into a more comfortable one. "It's pride for my father. That had been and will always be the cause of his downfall. It had been proven time and again, and he never learned his lesson, unfortunately. As for Goku, it's his softness, his kindness. He's too kind-hearted, too merciful that he lets the enemy go out of compassion or gets tricked because he believes in the repenting facade they put up."

Unnoticed by Trunks, Celeste smirked.

"For Gohan, it's his anger," he continued to explain. "He has the dangerous tendency to go berserk at critical and sticky situations, and once that happens, his rage overrules his common sense. And then, once he starts beating the crap out of someone, he ends up stalling because he enjoys what he's doing! That happened with Cell, and that move of his caused Goku's death. On the other hand, my father's little princess, Keeney, is physically weak by nature --- after all, she's a girl --- although it's amazing how her energy attacks pretty much dish out major damage. Boxer's agility is hopeless; Bra's just not a fighter."

"What about you and Goten?" she interrogated with a very interested expression. "What does it take to defeat you two and knock you both out?"

The saiyajin paused as he thought about it carefully, and then he shook his head. "Goten? I don't know. He has changed too much in the past few years. Before, girls were enough to make his head --- and his world --- spin. Now, that technique has lost its effectiveness, not only because he's married and madly in love with you, but also because he has changed greatly. He's no longer the Goten I once knew.

"As for me..." his voiced trailed off as he pulled her even closer to him. With a smile, he whispered very softly to her ear, "You are my weakness, for without you, I am nothing."

Your weakness, indeed.

"But I suppose you're not that affected by those, considering the fact that this world is still peaceful and in a good shape. I must say that you guys did an excellent job in being this planet's freedom fighters. Everyone's so blessed to have warriors such as you."

Trunks flushed noticeably at the comment, and then he said, "It's nothing, really. It's just... in our blood. My mother's blood, perhaps. She had always been a strong woman, dedicated in using her intellect to make the world a better place. I guess she influenced my father into using his strength to make the world a better place and not to destroy it, like what he attempted to do many years ago."

"Your family amazes me," she voiced out with a smile. "You have your own story filled with wonderful things that shouldn't have been, but just happened."

"So what is your story?"

She shook her head as she smiled lightly. "Nothing special."

"Oh?" he asked in disbelief. "You're telling me that Seth came here to take you away without any reason? I heard you say something about second summoner and a Sabrean circle. What was that all about? Don't tell me it was nothing?"

Celeste did not reply.

"Look," Trunks began in an extremely concerned tone. "I don't want you to get hurt, and I will protect you from Seth with my life in the line. However, I must know why he is after you, so that I will also be able to protect what you are hiding from his clutches. You have to trust me, Celeste. Just as I trust you."

"I don't want to put you in trouble."

"You already did, Celeste. You already did," he replied. "When you put one of the saiyajins in trouble, you put everyone else in trouble as well. After all, we are a team. All for one, one for all. So... just spill it out. The sooner you do so, the earlier we can plan out our moves and the earlier we can outline our precautionary measures."

She heaved a sigh, and then, she began narrating her story and the ancient ties that bound her to it. "A long time ago, two races from very advanced planets raced each other in conquering the universe. The saiyajins of Vegeta-sei --- your race --- and the Sabreurs of Sabrea --- my race. Their competition led the Sabreurs to attack Vegeta-sei to eliminate the saiyajins, and it was in Vegeta-sei where the current Emperor of Sabrea used the power of the legendary Seven Spirits. The Seven Spirits are the guardians of Sabrea, and they possess a power that seems to have no limitations. However, the Spirits went out of control for some reason. Luckily, the saiyajins managed to defeat the Emperor --- and the Seven Spirits --- before any major damage was done.

"Males were then banned to take the Sabrean throne from then on, and the females created a new government through the chosen ones. The daughter of the Emperor then became the ruler of Sabrea, and the pillar of the Sabrean Circle. She had the authority to use the Spirits' power whenever needed, but only if the priestess of Sabrea, or the so-called summoner, summoned the Spirits.

"As years passed, however, rumors developed that the husband of the summoner will inherit the power of the original summoner at marriage, and power-hungry warlords were desperate to get that power. Seth is one of them. He believed that if he was to be wed to me, he would get the right to summon the Spirits --- for I am the summoner --- even without the approval of Videl, the pillar."

"So that's why..."

Celeste nodded. "I still don't know if the rumors are true, though, for it part of tradition in our world that the summoner must do one of two precautionary measures to prevent the possible sharing of the summoning authority. One is to not get married at all, but that would end the bloodline of the summoner, so it was not advisable. The other method was the common practice in Sabrea, and it is..."

"Is...?"

"To kill the husband right after a female child is born."

The younger son of Vegeta, Boxer, swallowed hard in nervousness as he inched towards the raven-haired girl who sat on the bench by Chichi's room. Everyone else had gone after Goten, who stormed off in anger earlier, except for him, and Pan Son, who was forced by her father to stay behind. When he was finally close to her, he took a deep breath before he sat down.

"Hi."

Pan turned her head to look at him, but she did not say a word. She just stared at him, although what her stare meant, he had no idea. She looked as if she was trying to recognize him; she also looked as if he had dirt on his face that was staining his features. Heck, she even looked like she was love-struck at the sight of him!

Embarassment creeping up to him at those thoughts, Boxer immediately pushed those away. He turned to meet her gaze, and then he asked, "You don't remember me, do you?"

She held out her hand in front of him, hinting him to stop. "Don't say a word," she said as she shut her eyes, attempting to recall who he was.

She doesn't remember me... Boxer thought sadly, averting his eyes to look at the rather dull floor of the hospital. But who am I to complain? I'm just a nobody. I'm no one special, not even to my own family. So who am I to complain?

He was about to leave her when she smiled, lowered her hand and opened her eyes, looking into his beautiful blue ones. "Oh come on, Boxer, what makes you think I don't remember someone like you?"

At that, Boxer blushed.

A/N: That extra-long chapter was meant to celebrate the end of our prelims --- ah, the joy, but schoolwork still isn't over, with a project at hand. This was, by far, the longest, so I hope you liked it. Oh, and I'm a good girl! No evil cliffy for this chapter! I'm a good girl today!

(1) - I got that from our dubbed version of DBZ. I find it rather amusing that Goku calls his fellow members in the Z-Team "bro", and I had it here to give Vegeta another reason to get ticked off at Goku. Or something of that sort.

Let's see... a couple of explaining to do here with regards to the reviews I got on the previous chapter. First off, to Dragon Empress --- sorry for the delay of this chapter! I intended to upload it sooner, as I said in my review, but exams held me back. But now, here it is. Second, to Cornbread Me --- yes, Videl is Lorelai's daughter and is older than Gohan technically, but since he aged in the Room of Spirit and Time (Hyperbolic Time Chamber, however you call it) he's still older than her. For Keeney's name, it's taken from bikini, just spelt differently.

And a bit of "warning" here for another piece of work I will soon upload. It's the novel I'm working on (for school), "When Dreams Die", since my friend wants to read it badly and I can't afford to print everything out for her. Now, concerning the warning, it is actually the non-DBZ version of this fic (I couldn't think of anything else to do for school) which is exactly the same as this, except for a few things. Take for example the names, the characters' history, as well as the Boxer/Pan romance --- that will be skipped, since their counterparts have a huge age gap. The rest of the story flows the same way as this fic, so you have two choices: either you read the novel and find out the things that will happen next in this fanfic; or leave the novel alone and wait for the upcoming chapters of this one.

Oh, and I have a fic to advertise! Read "Goten's Revenge" by Dragon Empress --- and it's off to a good start! Although if you like Goku, I suggest you don't read it. The plot may seem common, but it's great, nonetheless.

Now that I'm done with my rant, it's time for you guys to do your part. REVIEW! *goes down on both knees and begs* Pwease?