A/N: You all know why this chapter was delayed, and this time, it wasn't my fault. I finished this around a week ago, when ff.net was still screwy, so I wasn't able to update this one. Anyway, let's see what I have to ramble about. *looks at reviews* Hmmm... you guys sure have a lot of questions, unfortunately, I cannot answer them, because I will spoil the story. You'll just have to wait. ^-^ Oh, and I have a question to ask. Should I raise the rating? I got a comment from one reader about how "cold" this story is.
Oh and yes, I don't have any fic to advertise now, because I've been in school for the whole week, and I haven't read anything new anymore! If you want your fic to be advertised, though, or someone else's fic that's really good, just leave it in your review.
So here's the next chapter! Don't forget to review, I really want to know what you guys think! Once again, RRP --- read, review and ponder, for there will be more hints here with regards to what REALLY happened. Enjoy!
DRAGONBALL Z: Fueled by
Anger, Driven by Despair
Chapter Four: Questions and Discoveries
Papers, folders and other documents were scattered everywhere in a large and nicely furnished room in the Son mansion, the room that belonged to the youngest of the Son brothers, Goten. At the moment he was sprawled on the floor, still examining the documents that spread before him, while his best friend was sitting by the window pane, also examining a document with narrowed eyes.
In no time, Goten heaved a sigh as he rolled over to lie on his back. He shut his eyes and began to massage his throbbing head, although he still continued to analyze what he just saw in the papers he was examining. Upon seeing Goten's condition, Trunks jumped down from the window pane, tossed the folder he was holding to the younger boy's bed, and knelt down by his friend's side to check up on him.
"I think you've been thinking too much, Goten," Trunks blurted out as he helped Goten up. "Look at you! You're a mess. You should lighten up. Stop thinking about your brother and Erasa, because there's nothing we can do about it. It already happened, okay? And you can't change it."
"I don't know, Trunks. But the more I think of it, the more I want to clear out this matter, because I know something fishy is going on. I mean, do you think an accident can totally change a person? As in really change him completely? I don't think so."
Trunks patted Goten on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Goten. You don't have to rush. Someday, we're going to figure this out. And I'm going to help you, not only because I'm personally curious with all these things going on in your family... as well as because you're my best friend. So you owe me a lot of things already! You better pay me back, or else---"
"I know, Trunks, I know," Goten said with a weak smile as he leaned against the pillows of his bed, assisted by Trunks. And then, he turned to the other boy and said, "Do you know anyone in the police station, Trunks?"
"Why? If you're thinking of going there and talking with Videl, you shouldn't really bother. I think they transfered her to some faraway jail a long time ago. You know how Erasa is. She won't let her greatest rival get away," he mumbled as he continued to pick up the papers that were on the floor.
Goten's eyes narrowed, and then he asked, "Can you access to their records, though?"
That question made Trunks stop in his tracks, and then he turned to look at his best friend in surprise. "You mean, HACK?! Whoa, Goten. That's too much. I would never attempt to go in the police database, especially when our computer has its ID enabled! I would not only get in big trouble, but my whole family would! Let's just do some other methods, Goten. Just not go to those police stuff. You know how fierce and ruthless those police people are."
The black-haired pre-teen titled his head slightly, as if to indicate his computer. "Mine isn't," he said seriously. "And I would do it myself, but I'm not as experienced as you are. Come on, Trunks! You've been hacking for YEARS! That's become like your pasttime! And besides, didn't you tell me there's this neat trick you came up with while you were in one of your hacking sprees? You know, the one when you send a decoy which the opposite line tries to track down, while you enter their system? You can use that! Pleeeeeeeeeeeease, Trunks?"
"Don't even try that look on me," Trunks warned with his eyes averted. A few moments later, however, he turned back to look at Goten with a look of defeat on his face. "Because it always works."
Goten grinned. "It never fails me," he muttered as Trunks sat down by his side. "The tantrum method was the most reliable method of getting our wants when we were younger. At the moment, this method is the most effective. I should try devicing a new one thought... this will not work when we're teens..."
"So, what's your plan? What do you want me to do once I get into the station's system? Delete our records so we won't get caught on this risky operation we're doing? Put ourselves under their witness protection program in advance, so that we won't have any problems when we find out the truth and challenge Erasa in court? Or alter our records so they think we're dead, or in some other planet?"
"Nothing of that kind, Trunks," the other said, then shook his head as he corrected himself. "Not yet, that is. For now, we have to know the other side of this situation. We have to find out where Videl is, and then we go and talk to her. Who knows? She might have the answers to our questions, or perhaps, some valuable information that we never got to uncover. Information is crucial, you know."
A look of disbelief, overpowered by admiration, spread on Trunks face. He stood up and shook Goten's hand, as he muttered with a smirk, "Well, Agent Son, we better get our work started. Time, like information, is crucial, and it is something that must not be wasted. I'm sure that our joint efforts will ensure the success of this risky operation, and again, we will be able to solve---"
"Trunks, don't get carried away," Goten advised with a goofy grin, and then the two boys burst into laughter.
Well... looks like Goten's got more brains that I expected him to have after all!
"Goten, time for dinner," Erasa called out as she knocked on the door of her brother-in-law's room. She expected the door to slam on her right on the face --- again --- but this time, it didn't happen, to her amazement. However, that amazement quickly turned to suspicion and curiousity as she continued to knock on Goten's door, yet she received no reply.
She shook her head as she opened the door of Goten's room, ignoring the large poster on the door that said Don't enter without permission, especially you, ERASA, scribbled in Goten's messy handwriting. As she stepped into the boy's room --- which she expected to be messy beyond belief --- her eyes narrowed almost immediately. Indeed, the boy's room was a mess, but instead of toys and clothes scattered all over the place, there were papers and folders --- documents, obviously.
What would Goten be doing with documents such as these? Erasa asked herself as she took one of the folders and examined what was inside. When she saw what the documents were, her eyes narrowed even more. She put the folder aside and crept over to the other pile of papers on the other side of the room, and felt herself flush in anger as she examined them one by one.
When she heard footsteps, however, she immediately tossed the papers back to the pile and rushed out of the room quietly, not wanting to get caught, especially by Goten, who has never been in good terms with her. To Erasa's relief, however, it was just her husband, who went up to check on her. After she planted a kiss on Gohan's lips, however, she whispered in a deadly serious tone, "We have to talk. There's a pest in the house."
Dinner was very much like the usual. The head of the house, Goku, was at one corner of the dining table, stuffing himself to his heart's content, while Chichi was on the other end, ranting about grandchildren and the importance of good grades to the 11-year-old Goten. Gohan was attending to the baby, while Erasa continued to entertain the other members of the family with her jokes --- that weren't even a bit funny, according to Goten.
However, despite the naiveness he inherited from his father, Goten clearly noticed that Erasa had been glaring at him all throughout their dinner --- although she was careful not to do it while the boy was looking at her. Goten began to wonder what her looks were all about. True, he had always resented her, but she had been nice to him all these years... until tonight.
Goten was eager to get away from Erasa's murderous gazes, although he did not know how to do so. For one, he was still hungry. And he knew that if he would attempt to get out of the dining table with his food unfinished, he would get another lump in the head, thanks to Chichi's trusty frying pan. That was one thing he was trying to avoid, for Trunks told him that those smacks would only cause brain cell damage, and if there were body parts Goten valued dearly at the moment, those were his brain cells, the cells that would help him and Trunks solve the mystery they were working on.
What Goten didn't know was who he was really dealing with, while Erasa knew how to deal with the boy properly. A smirk formed on her features as she leaned over and said, "How was school today, Goten?"
The pre-teen glared at her for a few seconds, mad that she had to open up a topic and delay his stay on the dining table. However, he knew he could not do anything, so he just turned to his mother and smiled wryly. "Thanks to Trunks, I got to move a level higher in Computer class. I really need to work on Mathematics, though. I still get confused with all those scientific notations and prime factoring stuff," he said as he paused to shove a piece of chicken into his mouth, which disappeared after a split-second. "And that's pretty much it. Oh and Trunks is coming over tonight because we're going to be working on this school project, and it's going to help me move a level higher too!"
The doorbell rang.
"Well, that's Trunks," Goten blurted out with a triumphant smile as he hopped out of his seat. "Thanks for the food, mom! It was great! I'll see you all later!" he exclaimed as he zoomed out of the dining table, delighted that Trunks, once again, saved him in the nick of time.
"Medical records, birth certificates, fingerprint records... I don't know how they got those, but I'm sure that Trunks brat has something to do with it," Erasa blurted out in an annoyed fashion. "The question is, what are they trying to find out? What made them suspect that something was wrong? Those boys are too young to understand matters as complicated as these!"
Gohan glared at Erasa as she finished her sentence, and without warning, he took her fiercely by the arm and hissed, "You told me that NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING will go wrong! Maybe you left out tiny little details, Erasa. You should go over the procedures and make sure you didn't mess up!"
"I didn't," Erasa snapped coldly. "Perhaps YOU did. You know how Goten is, he's the kid who longs for attention and affection. And yet, ever since we got married, you never gave him much of those. You should hang out with the kid some time, give him what he wants, and perhaps this problem will be solved!"
"Hmph," Gohan snorted as he let go of his wife, and then, he sighed. "But I don't have time for him, hun. There's you, there's the baby. I don't really have time to hang out with annoying little brothers now, especially one who is as stubborn as that Trunks..."
She turned to look at him straight in the eyes, and smiled. "We have all the time in the world, sweetheart," she said sweetly as she inched closer towards him. "And besides, we don't have to worry about major pests, for they're gone. Sharpner's dead, and Videl is out there in some weird planet, abused and tortured --- heck, she might have killed herself by now. So all we have to do is get rid of the boys' suspicion, and everything will be fine. We just have to make some sacrifices."
"Trunks, check it again, that can't be true! I'm positive that Videl-neechan is alive! I'm positive!" Goten exclaimed as he sat uneasily by Trunks' side, his face pale not only because of his illness, but also because of the thought that the person who holds the answers to his questions was dead. "I don't know why or how I know this, but I'm sure she's alive! Check it again!"
"Goten," Trunks began in a very serious tone as he turned to his best friend. "It's all here. She died in prison, around a year ago, and they just buried her. That's it. She's dead, okay? I don't know why you're insisting, but she's DEAD. Or do you want me to spell it out for you?"
Goten shook his head, refusing to accept defeat as he said in a weak voice, "I was just hoping she's alive... so I'll have answers to my questions. I'm sure she would be able to answer them..."
"Take it easy, Goten. We'll have the answers to your questions soon," his best friend assured him with an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "I'm going to ask my mom's help, and perhaps with all her acquiantances and resources we might be able to solve this problem. So just relax, and don't pressure yourself."
A tiny smirked formed on her features as a ball of blue and green came into view. Her dark blue eyes, cold and seemingly uncaring, continued to stare at the planet that lay before them, a stare that was at first filled with excitement, but was now overcome by hatred and determination for revenge. Her jet-black hair cascaded magnificently past her shoulders, and it matched perfectly with her pale face that bore no scar or mark at all.
I'm home, although nobody would ever realize that. But who cares? Revenge is at hand, and that revenge is so close... so close... she thought to herself as the memories of her past resurfaced at the sight of the planet she used to call her home. The time has come, Erasa. It's time for payback. But don't worry, I'm going to make my revenge slow yet painful. I'm going to make you suffer as much as I have. No. Even MORE than I have.
"So when will our descent be, m'lady?" a voice asked from behind her, a voice that had been her only source of love and comfort for the week that passed. "From the information I uncovered, Erasa Son would be hosting a party for her two-year-old son in around a week, and more or less everyone will be there. I also learned that it will be an open party, and that all members of the elite society may attend if they wish."
The look on her face was undescribable, for a lot of emotions flushed at the same time. However, when she resumed speaking, it was excitement that overpowered the rest. "We have a week to prepare then. And a week would be just enough for us," she said as she spun around to face the man who stood by her. "They can't hurt me again. They'll never hurt me again. And this time, it will be I who will make them suffer. I will make them suffer for everything they've done to me!"
He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Take it easy. I know what you feel, but it is not good to show them your anger when we're still at the early stages of our plan." Softly, he planted a kiss on her forehead before he turned around to leave.
"Eiyu," Videl called out rather uneasily before he could walk out the door. "Don't leave."
Her husband turned back to face her and he smiled. "What is it, Videl?" he asked in his usual calm yet pleasing tone. "Is there anything else you need from me? Just name it, and I would do everything in my power to give you what you want."
Silence overtook them for a few moments, as they stared into each other's eyes and soon got lost in their depths. Everything else that followed seemed to be choreographed yet done involuntarily, for the way she wrapped her arms around him and the manner he held her close were dramatically and gracefully done. It didn't take long for their lips to touch and they engaged in their most passionate kiss yet.
Their fun was cut short, however, when one of Eiyu's men walked in the door and interrupted them right then and there. At first they were both slightly annoyed --- while the man was in a deep shade of red due to his embarassment --- until Videl was told that they found something that she might be interested in.
"Well, I better go check it out. After all, it might be useful," Videl muttered with a wink before she planted another kiss on Eiyu's lips, ignoring the man who continued to stare at them in awe. Afterwards, she walked out of the control room while Eiyu went over to the controls, taking the opportunity to look at the planet that was right before them.
As the sun's rays streaked towards their ship, he saw his reflection clearly on the panel. He looked at his mirror image for a few moments, running his fingers through the glass as if caressing his own face, and then, he picked up a folder that lay on top of the controls and took out a picture of the man known as Gohan.
At the moment he saw what the other truly looked like, a thousand questions swam up to his mind. A thousand questions about himself, about his past, about Gohan, and about his wife, Videl. However, there was one question that disturbed him most from all the rest, one question that had been lingering at the back of his head for some time already, yet he was too occupied to realize it.
Did Videl marry me because... because she saw me as Gohan, the man she loved, and she... still loves?