Crimson Tide
Chapter Seventeen: Cornered and Outnumbered

"No... stay away from me!" Celeste shrieked as she scrambled out of her bed and towards the doorway, but a hand grabbed her and pushed her back to the bed. "Trunks, what on Earth are you---"

"Tell me the truth, Celeste. What did you do with our child?!"

She met his gaze as powerfully as she could, but she was overpowered. Left with no choice, she decided that it was best to stall, for Goten would arrive very soon and save her life. "Our child? What are you talking about?!"

"Don't lie to me! You were pregnant with our child, and now I find out that the infant in the nursery is not our child, but your child with Goten. What did you do to him?! Tell me!" he demanded in a deadly tone as he took her by her dress and glared daggers at her.

"If you want to know, then I'll tell you!" Celeste snapped back as tears swelled in her eyes. "When I came here to Earth, I was already allied with Thanatos, as I was his personal aide. The entire wedding deal? It was a show! It was my mission to seduce you and make you fall for me, so that I can lure you to the dark side soon after and offer you to my master. Yes, you got me pregnant, but I promised Thanatos that I would give him Goten Son's child, so I had to abort our baby so I would be able to do so! But something went wrong! And you know what that something is? I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU!" she exclaimed in frustration.

Trunks fumed even more. "So you only used me!"

"No! I mean... yes," she admitted sadly. "That was what I was supposed to do. Use you. Use you to achieve the end my master and I are trying to achieve. But I fell for you. I got attached to you. We formed a bond of love that burned with so much passion. But that was not supposed to happen. I was not supposed to fall in love with you..."

"And what do you suggest we do about it?"

She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Forgive and forget," she replied.

He stared at her as if she was insane. "Forgive and forget?! What kind of joke is that?! It's too late for that now, Celeste. I no longer have the heart. In fact, I no longer have a heart! I'm no longer the loving Trunks you once knew --- no longer caring and understanding despite of my arrogance. I'm now a monster. There's nothing else I want to do but kill. I'm now a bloodthirsty, power-hungry monster. Just like my master. After all, I'm his apprentice. It fits perfectly."

"Give me a second chance, Trunks!"

"It's too late for that," he replied in a voice that sent shivers to the other's spine. He held out his palm in front of her chest and charged up an energy beam, an energy beam to put an end to another sorrowful soul, when a powerful blow knocked him off his feet, and made him release Celeste in the process.

"Enough of that, Trunks. You touch her one more time and I won't hesitate to dislocate your shoulder," Goten threatened as he stepped in the room, backed up by Vegeta and Keeney. "Both shoulders, if I have to."

The dark saiyajin rose up and smirked at the newcomer. "So, my archenemy is finally here. But I'm afraid it's not yet time for our final showdown. Not until I take out every single member of your damn clan in revenge for humiliating and defeating us!" he exclaimed as he rushed to attack his former best friend, but at that very moment, Vegeta pushed Goten away and sent his fist flying towards his son's face. The impact of the punch slammed Trunks against the wall and dazed him for a few moments.

Goten, on the other hand, helped his wife up, but after he did so, she started crying. "What's wrong?" he asked as he took her into his arms. "Hush now, Celeste... Don't cry..."

However, she pushed him away. "I don't deserve all this love, all this care, all this concern you're giving me! Perhaps our child deserves it, as he is but an innocent soul, but not me! Not someone like me!"

"Celeste, what are you talking about?!" her husband asked, utterly confused.

"I'm sorry... Goten..." she began as more tears fell from her sad eyes. "I'm sorry for everything that I've done. I... I used you. I used you to help my master reach his goals with regards to universal domination, just as I used Trunks. I was already a servant of Thanatos when I came here to Earth. Nobody knew about it, because it was our grand scheme. When you fell in love with me, I was overjoyed for luck was on our side. I then did not hesitate to marry you, because I would then be able to fulfill my promise to Thanatos --- that I would deliver to him the son of Goten Son."

She paused to look at the people present in the eye. Part of her wanted to stop, but the stronger part of her wanted to let the truth out. Now or never, that was the case. "However, we had problems... and that was when I was ordered to kill you mother. Soon after, Thanatos told me to seduce Trunks and then bring him to our side, and from there, we twisted his mind and turned him against you. All of you."

And then, she stared into Goten's eyes, which flashed with emotions that she could not comprehend nor control. "See how evil I am?! I killed your mother! I fed her with DNA-destroying Hakaijin viruses until her genetic components disintegrated! Then, I lured your best friend and turned him into a monster --- he said it himself! And for the final blow, I betrayed you! I had an affair with your best friend! I got pregnant with him, but I was forced to abort the child so that I would be able to have a child with you!" she exclaimed in a very anguished tone. "If there's anyone who's supposed to die, it's me!"

"No!" Goten snapped. "That's not true, Celeste! I don't believe you! You're lying!"

She averted her eyes to empty space. "It's a devil behind this angelic face, I'm afraid. And there's nothing I can do to change the fact that I made your life a living hell. No matter how many I'm sorry's I'm going to say, that cannot change the fact that you suffered so much because of me."

Her husband took her into his arms once more. "Believe me, I can turn a devil into an angel if it is what must be done. We'll just have to stop Thanatos and then we can resume living our normal lives. You know, forgive and forget."

"Thank you, Goten. For your kindness. For your sympathy. For your concern. For understanding me. For taking care of me. For loving me. But I don't think that we can simply forgive and forget. It's just... not possible."

"It is, Celeste. It is," Goten countered as he bent over to kiss her, but before he could do so, she pushed him away with as much force as she could muster. In fact, the force was so strong that Vegeta, who stood behind the demi-saiyajin, was knocked down to the floor as well. She then looked at her beloved, Trunks, for the last time, but he only sent her a glare of hate and anger in return. She turned away, devastated at the outcome, but realized that it was time for her to pay the price.

Hoping against hope that she would be forgiven for all the evil that she had done, she ran towards the hospital window, crashed through the glass and jumped down from the 127th floor of the hospital to put an end to her life.

"CELESTE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Goten screamed as he attempted to run after her, but the Saiyajin no Ouji pulled him back before he could do anything stupid. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO SAVE HER, LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"It's too late, brat. It's too late."

Goten stopped, apparently weakened in spirit at what just happened. Tears began to spill out of his eyes as he thought that he had lost another person he loved dearly. Was it wrong to love? Was it a sin to love?

Then why do I have to lose the people I love?!

Tears also fell from Keeney's downcast eyes, and with those tears came pain. Her heart ached terribly, because of the fact that despite all the bad things Celeste did, Goten still loved her. He was ready to forgive her, to forget all that she had done, and to start living anew. Celeste was the only one Goten loved; he will never love anyone else but her.

However, when they all stopped to check on Trunks, he was gone. Panic filled them the moment after their terrifying discovery, for they were unsure of where the hero-turned-villain was. Goten, however, had the answer. He knew the identity of Trunks' next target. With eyes blazing in anger, he growled, "My child... who else?!"

With that, he stormed off towards the nursery, followed by Keeney who was wiping her tears away. "We can't let him do that!" she exclaimed. "He's my brother, yes, but we have to stop him! For heaven's sake! I won't allow him to murder a child!"

"I swear, if he touches my son --- best friend or no best friend, he's going to die!"

However, Goten's son was missing. No matter where the two looked, they could not find a trace of him. Anger swept to his face the moment he realized that Trunks must have taken the infant somewhere and hid him --- or to make matters worse, he must have killed the child by now. Before Goten could mutter a curse or two, however, Trunks appeared by the window of the nursery, holding the former's child upside-down by the heel. With a smirk, he mouthed, If you want him back, then come and get him.

Keeney laid a hand on her friend's shoulder to stop him from doing anything drastic, but her subtle movement was no match to the rage that filled Goten at the unexpected turn of the situation. Eyes blazing, he rushed to the window, pushed it open, and flew out in pursuit of his son's captor.

"Well, well. Daddy's finally here. But it's too late now, isn't it?" Trunks muttered as he waved the infant around, with threatening sapphire eyes that seemed to relay the message that he would not hesitate to drop the child if Goten would make a drastic move.

Not wanting to put his son in more trouble, the other begged, "Trunks, please. Let him go. It's me you want. Just leave him alone, please!"

"Stay where you are," Trunks ordered as his ex-best friend slowly flew towards him. "And don't move if you want your son to live. The same goes for you three."

The younger of the two demi-saiyajins turned to look for the three Trunks referred to, and that was when he noticed the arrival of Vegeta and the youngest of the Briefs-Vegeta brothers, Boxer. "What are you doing here?" he asked the other two who just arrived.

"I had to get us some reinforcements," Vegeta replied as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, his usual mannerism. "After all, we'll need all the help we can get when his master will show up," he finished as he tilted his head slightly towards his son's direction.

Trunks' gaze flickered between his father and his siblings, and then, he hissed, "Don't make me hurt you."

"Let the child go," Boxer ordered, his tone now cold and angry, which surprised everyone present. He had always been soft-spoken and laid-back; he never showed anger or resentment towards anyone, no matter how tough the situation was, except perhaps, to the princess of Sabrea, Pan Son. But now, it was different. He was a different person now, although why that was so, they knew not.

The saiyajin-turned-evil met his brother's eyes with the same intensity of coldness, and after sparing a glance at the others, he seemed to slump his shoulders back in defeat. "Very well, then. I'll let the child go," he said in a calm tone, but to everyone's surprise, he let go of the child's heel and the infant was dropping towards the ground at a dangerous speed.

Adrenaline rushing through him, Goten attempted to sprint after his son and take the child in his arms. However, he found himself unable to do so, for something seemed to hold him in place. The other three saiyajins tried their luck, but to no avail. They could only watch in horror and pray for a miracle, but before the infant hit the ground, a pair of arms caught the little boy.

Goku looked up at them with a smile on his face.

"For once you actually served your purpose," Vegeta spat, although the younger of the two purebloods could tell that the former was grateful. Then, the Saiyajin no Ouji discovered that he was able to move once again. "Well! Looks like your game's up, brat," he blurted out as he flexed his arms, apparently getting ready for battle.

Trunks narrowed his eyes, attempting to freeze his opponents so he would be able to get away without trouble, but he found himself incapable of doing so. His eyes narrowed significantly as he saw his sister smile from a distance, and then, he knew what truly happened. She did a counter-attack.

"Pan taught me some useful tricks, Oniichan. I'm sorry I had to use them on you."

He panicked at that development, and the more when the other saiyajins closed in on him. He backed off slightly, but they closed on him on all sides that he knew that he was in so much trouble.

"Give up, Trunks!" Goku exclaimed as he took up a fighting stance, his grandson he held firmly with one arm. "Give up so we won't have to hurt you!"

The other looked around, trying to find a way out, but he was outnumbered. Keeney was ready to do whatever she would have to do if her brother would come up with any of his tricks; Vegeta and Boxer were both prepared if a battle to the death would have to be fought; while Goten was already at the verge of killing his former best friend in cold blood.

"Once again, your habit of rushing into things got you trapped in the web of trouble. Do me a favor, will you? Next time, work with a plan," a voice said as a sudden gust of wind threw the saiyajins away from their target, and then a dark figure --- tall and strikingly handsome, yet with eyes that blazed like the flames of hell --- materialized beside the outnumbered demi-saiyajin.

Trunks only snorted.

"How rude. But I've adjusted to that rather unrefined attitude of yours," Thanatos muttered before he transferred his gaze to the other saiyajins. "Looks like everything's all set for the party. Send in the clowns."

"You're not getting away this time! You've caused enough damage already! If you're leaving, then you're leaving for the Underworld!" Goten exclaimed as his anger began to rise in an alarming rate.

The dark lord smirked. "I hope your threats are as good as they sound. Last time we fought, you nearly got yourself killed, when you were supposed to put an end to me. You were lucky I gave you a second chance, a chance to fulfill your purpose in life."

"My purpose in life is to exterminate you."

"Do you really think so?" the other taunted. "Do you really think that you actually have a purpose? Who do you think you're kidding? You're nothing but a piece of garbage. Nobody needs you, because all you ever brought about was trouble. If you truly were of importance, then why did your best friend choose to be your enemy than be your ally? I recommend that you do a self-evaluation, Goten. Who are your friends? Do you even have friends?"

Goku shot the Hakaijin warlord a warning look before he turned to Goten and exclaimed, "Don't listen to him, son!"

At that, Thanatos burst into maniacal laughter. "Do you think he'll listen to you? When had he ever listened to you? You're no one special in his life, Goku. That's why you're not in our so-called death list."

"I don't care if he won't listen to me. I just hope he won't listen to you either."

Author's Note: Here is another update, and I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. You've been very inspiring to me. Anyway, I'm doing my best to get this done, because I still have so many fics to finish. My fault for starting so many until they pile up on me. *sweatdrops* Again, thank you, and I hope that chapter was good enough for you. =P