Author's Note: I don't believe it myself, but here's an update! I apologize if this took a while to get out, but I do hope you understand the situation I am in. I'm still busy with rehearsals for our school play, and I've got more than three fics to work on. *smiles sheepishly* Anyway, please review and tell me what you think, as I haven't worked on this fic for a long time.

Crimson Tide
Chapter Fourteen: The Twisting of the Mind


"You're insane! Goten is innocent, he will never kill his daughter, nor my sister!" Keeney exclaimed in utter fury, bolting up from her seat to address the detective who took up the case of Bra's murder, Anji Miromoto. Before the other could say a word to support the statement he just gave out, she snapped, "There is nothing to explain! Goten is a good man, I've known him since childhood and I have full trust in him! I will not listen to your lies any longer! You've said enough!" and stormed out of the room.

"Keeney! Keeney, get back here---" Bulma called out to her daughter frantically, but the Saiyajin no Ouji grabbed her by the arm to stop her from running after the girl. They looked at each other silently for a few moments, and then, the woman settled back into her seat. At that, she asked, "Is it true that you he was found in the area of the murder a short while after it was reported?"

The detective nodded with narrowed eyes. "Yes, he was in his house, at the very heart of the murder, although he denies the fact that he killed her. Although it would seem impossible for someone such as him to kill his own daughter, but all the evidences point to him. The knife found in the crime scene had his fingerprints. Now, regarding your daughter, we found out from the autopsy that was conducted that your daughter had 23 stab wounds, most of them in accurate pressure points. Not even the best assassin in the world can do that in such a short span of time, and thus, the killer had to be someone in your league. And who do we get when we combine all the facts together? Goten Son."

"I don't know see any reason why he would kill his own daughter," Bulma voiced out once again, not believing what the investigator just said about the demi-saiyajin she had grown to recognize as part of her family, though not by blood. "No father would ever want to spill the blood of his own kind."

"Unless of course, something happened to him that made him transform into such a man," Trunks suggested, snapping out of his silence. All eyes then darted to him questioningly, and he leaned back on the chair in a lazy fashion. "Why is the question, isn't it? The answer is simple, and I'm surprised that nobody has noticed what has happened to him until now."

His mother's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong, Okaasan, I was not trying to imply anything bad about him. He's my best friend, after all. What I'm trying to say is that something has been terribly wrong with Goten and you all failed to see it. You've all been too busy with other matters that you didn't notice that something has been happening to him," the lavender-haired saiyajin replied, pausing to look at everyone present in the room. When he was sure that their attention was completely on him, he continued, "Remember when he was sick? Around a week later, when we were in his place babysitting Ariadne, he suddenly grew dizzy and he was forced to rest up early. Before I left his mansion when my duty was over, I went to his room to check up on him, and he was... delusional. He suddenly just got out of bed and began talking about death, bloodshed, annihilation --- and then, he collapsed."

"And...?"

Trunks took a deep breath. "I called up my colleague and asked her to examine him. Physically, Goten was fine, at the verge of recovering but he was disturbed. When I told her what had happened in his life, it was then when she concluded that he was suffering from a mental disorder. In fact, she even told me that he might be schizophrenic."

All their eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

"To put it simply, he's gone insane. Thus, he cannot be blamed for anything, because what happened was beyond his control," Goten's best friend said with finality in his voice.

The detective looked at him, not believing what he just heard. "From what you just said, it seems like your requesting that the possible charges against the suspect be dropped."

"By all means, yes. At the moment, he doesn't need to be locked up in jail or confined in some place that would cause him more suffering than ever, because I believe it is that suffering of his that caused his present condition. He needs treatment; he needs rehabilitation. And if none of you will agree to my proposal then I will be forced to have it executed to the extent of my personal capacity. I cannot stand the thought of my best friend being a lunatic --- and not most especially when he's almost going to be a father once again."

Bulma bit her lip in contemplation, and a short while after, she blurted out, "I'm afraid I have a part in his current condition. The medicine I gave him might have disrupted something in his body or in his metabolism, and in turn caused the disorder he's suffering now. The death of my youngest child is hard to bear, but I'm not pushing through with the charges. Clear Goten out of this mess and get him fixed up."

"You have my support, brat," Vegeta simply said with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "You have my full support."

"Very well, then," the detective said as he stood up, his precious documents held close to him. "I shall now call the officer who's in charge with your cases so he can take things from here, for I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do. Please wait."

"The press will surely be feasting on this controversy --- think of all the stories they can come up about us! Our reputation is doomed! You know the press, we can't trust them! They will twist the truth to come up with crowd-attracting stories and put us in jeopardy!"

Vegeta only snorted. "I presume that is all you every think about."

The tone of the older man's words made the younger warrior turn his eyes questioningly at his father and ask, "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, brat," the Saiyajin no Ouji answered, looking at his son intently. "All you ever think about is your fame, your name, your reputation. All that ever matters to you is your honor, your dignity, and your pride. You're very selfish, very self-centered --- I won't be surprised if you'll trade your soul to the devil for such desires."

"As if you're not selfish, self-centered and arrogant," Trunks countered angrily.

Before the older of the two could reply, the door swung open and two other members of the Son family scrambled in. Celeste walked into the scene first, with slow but sure steps, followed by Goku who had been aiding her towards the police station. At the sight of her, Trunks bolted up from his seat to greet her with a kiss --- luckily, he remembered not to kiss her on the lips, not in front of others --- and then led her out of the room and somewhere else to explain what just happened.

Vegeta, on the other hand, just smirked up at Goku, whose eyes wandered around in an extremely concerned manner. "So, you've decided to come as a concerned and loving father. Well, Kakkarot, I suppose you won't listen to what I have to say, but you shouldn't bother, really. He no longer needs you, and he no longer cares whether you're here or not."

"Thanks for the advice, Vegeta, but I insist on staying here," the younger of the two purebloods replied coolly.

"Suit yourself, then. Make yourself comfortable. I just hope you won't actually believe that your brat is a murderer. "

Goku's dark orbs froze as he stared at the other in utter disbelief. "W-What?!"

"They're accusing him of murdering my brat, Bra, and your grandbrat, Ariadne. The heavier case is on the latter, though, considering the fact that they found him in the crime scene --- and they found his fingerprints on the knife that was used in killing the girl. Luckily, Trunks testified that his friend --- a psychiatrist, perhaps --- diagnosed your brat of having a mental disorder of sorts, so he has a lesser chance of ending up in jail. The officer-in-charge still has to investigate on that matter, though," the Ouji narrated, then he paused as he met his companion's gaze. "I don't believe them, though. Not even my brat's words that Goten is insane. For all we know, he could have been framed up, or something of that sort."

The other saiyajin asked as he sat down beside his rival-turned-friend, "Who would do such a thing?"

"I'm not certain," Vegeta admitted with drastically narrowed eyes, "But I have one suspect in mind. He vowed to return to finish off the brat, yet it had been nine months since their last encounter, and he's nowhere in sight. Maybe he's preparing for a great reappearance, or he's executing his plans to crush the brat in some other way."

"Sa'urc-Rien?"

Vegeta nodded.

"Well, the message said..." Trunks paused to get a piece of paper, on which the bloody message was scribbled in a hasty manner. He then looked at Celeste with serious-looking sapphire eyes before he read what he had jotted down. "Lmuodg wel le sixu duhnr. Lmuodg wel le duigew jmr. Lmuodg pal le qe iwq qou. Sabrean, if I'm not mistaken? What does it mean?"

The young woman's face was a salad bowl of emotions. "Oh... you should've done what he told you to when he said it the first time! He doesn't like to wait, most especially if he gives first-hand orders," she chided, shaking her head. "You see, the message translates to a popular Sabrean quote: Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why; theirs but to do and die. And that is what he himself firmly believes in. That his disciples must obey his every word."

The demi-saiyajin's hand was then clamped angrily into a fist. "He shouldn't have done that!" he protested, but then he realized that it was useless to do so. He hung his head in silence for a while, thoughts streaming into his head, and when he looked back up at her, his ice-blue eyes burned with a different kind of flame that even Celeste herself could not comprehend.

She was only sure of one thing: Trunks had changed.

"Look," Goten began with a growl as he planted his fists on the table. "I will say this for the last time. And I want you to pay attention. Listen, read my lips, whatever! Just make sure you understand what I have to say! I. Am. Not. Insane!"

The psychiatrist only chuckled at the demi-saiyajin's outburst. "Oh, really? Very well then. You're not insane... you're just schizophrenic." And at that, the thin, freckle-faced man burst into maniacal laughter that made Goten's blood boil.

"It's not funny!"

"Ah, yes, it's not," the other replied as he looked at Goten with amused eyes. "Let me tell you something, Mr. Son. I've got the papers here," he said waving the folder he was carrying, "And the result of the analysis on your history proved that you do have a mental problem. I'm afraid that there's bound to be a crazy guy in a family --- and you're the one from your household. But there's nothing to worry, really. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay in the ward. Your strength will give you glory there. That's what I'm sure of."

The young man glared daggers at the human, and when the other's gaze did not falter, he began to grow hysterical. He bolted up all of a sudden and attempted to do everything he could to defend himself from the false accusations of the man who stood before him. "I'm innocent! I didn't kill Bra, and I didn't kill Ariadne! She's my daughter for crying out loud! You have to believe me! I'm telling the truth! I didn't kill anyone, I swear!" he exclaimed hysterically, and when he saw that his efforts were failing, he decided that it was best to let the truth go. "If there's anyone who tried to kill Ariadne, it's Trunks! I saw him! I saw him with my two eyes! He attempted to strike her down while they were playing a game! If there's anyone who tried to kill anyone, it's him!"

"Now, now, Goten, you have to calm down," the old man said as he stood up and walked towards the other to subdue him, thoroughly convinced that the demi-saiyajin was indeed out of his mind. "Everything will be fine, trust me."

"But I didn't kill them! Do you believe me? Do you?"

The specialist knew that he had to play his game for a while. "Yes, Goten. I believe you. But there's nothing to worry, everything will be fine," he muttered before he stuck a syringe into the young man's arm and injected into the warrior's body whatever was inside --- which was most probably a fast-acting sleep-inducing drug.

The move was so sudden that Goten screamed out of reflex. He plucked the syringe out of his arm and threw it away, and after he did so, he inched towards the psychiatrist with sharp, threatening eyes. Without warning, he took the old man by the neck and attempted to choke him to death --- but before he was able to do so, his vision blurred and his muscles grew numb.

"Sleep well, Goten Son."

Those were the last words he heard before he stumbled back into the darkness.

"Great job, my apprentice!" a voice thundered from behind Trunks, who stood alone in a dark, deserted alley, and as the demi-saiyajin turned around, he saw his master, Thanatos, emerge from his means of transportation --- ripples in space.

"Who's next?" the son of Vegeta growled.

The dark lord held up his hand. "Now, now ---"

"Who's next?!" he demanded.

At that, Thanatos gave out an amused chuckle. Things are going a lot better than expected. With Goten Son out of the way, I can now begin the step-by-step destruction of the freedom fighters, until none of them will be left to protect the world... and the universe. And once my apprentice's task is done, I will dispose of him without warning. Ah, the greatness of a dark god, indeed.

Noticing that Trunks was growing very impatient, he smirked, "I know you thirst for more, Trunks. But you should take things slowly, and plan everything out carefully. You're lucky Goten came and you were able to pass on the blame to him... but now that he's out of the way, you have to be careful not to fall into a situation that will put you in trouble. Each of your missions must be carried out carefully and you must leave no evidence. Plan things out carefully --- it will take time, but the rewards will be fruitful."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do," the demi-saiayjin blurted out in a stubborn tone before he spun around to leave.

Thanatos followed the young man with his eyes, and he muttered, "We'll see, Trunks. We'll see. Your next mission will serve as a demonstration --- afterwards, you will find out for yourself that I'm right and you're wrong."