Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I know this chapter is short, and doesn't have a good cliffy, but I really wanted to get this out as a present for Miss Lous, one of my avid readers and reviewers, and one of my best friends. Happy birthday, Miss Lous! *sings* I really felt bad when you came online and I didn't finish the chapter yet, so I really drove myself to finish this one, even if it is a very short chapter. Even so, I hope you'll like this chapter! Somehow.

Please review! I would love to know your thoughts with regards to this fanfic, as well as suggestions and ideas that you might have in mind. Don't hesitate to let me know about them! I'm not sure how long this fanfic will be, but I'm aiming to finish it as soon as I could so I can work on more fanfics. I have three DBZ fanfics in the waiting list, after all.

That's about it! You may now proceed to your reading. Enjoy, and review. Please? =P

Fueled by Anger, Driven by Despair
Chapter Eight: Another Piece of the Puzzle


"Still nothing, computer?"

Patience is a virtue, master, the computer reprimanded, followed by a series of beeps and hums that told Eiyu that his computer was at work. A few moments later, a louder and longer beep came, followed by the computer's rather static voice, saying Matches found.

"Good. Flash the coordinates."

Numbers then appeared on the screen, a handful of numbers which came in pairs and in a sequence that seemed to need deciphering. Eiyu rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully, and a short while after, he ordered, "Computer, narrow the coordinates to the most isolated area."

Command invalid.

An exasperated sigh escaped Eiyu's lips, and then, he shut his eyes for a moment to calm himself down, counting from one to ten as he did so. Afterwards, he said, "Computer, decipher coordinates," in a calm tone as he settled for a simpler command that the computer was sure to understand.

Then, the computer screen went black, and green gridlines appeared all over it, the said lines criss-crossing each other. Along with the lines appeared three blinking dots --- two of the three werer relatively close to each other, and the last one was at the far end of the map. Eiyu pointed to the dot that was out of place, and ordered the computer to transmit to him the coordinates.

The computer reacted swiftly, printing the coordinates as well as the specific location of the area. At that, Eiyu's eyes narrowed. "Computer, establishment information and history, please."

Another paper flew out of the printer.

Eiyu took the paper, read the computer's reply, and his eyes narrowed even more. Immediately, he stood up, crumpled the paper, and threw it into the trash bin. Then, he picked up a small, leather pouch, which opened up to reveal all sorts of weapons --- guns, knives, daggers, tranquilizer boosters --- as well as equipment for espionage.

"I hope I'm not too late."

Erasa continued to sob in her mother-in-law's arms, mourning the loss of the man who married her yet left her when his ex-girlfriend returned. "It's not fair! We've been together for years, and then, Videl just shows up and he leaves to be with her!"

"Hush now, Erasa."

"I swear," the young woman began in a bitter tone as she clamped her hands into fists. "I swear I'm going to make Videl suffer even more than she had for doing this to me! I'm going to make her pay for taking away my husband, and I'm going to make sure that she'll die slowly and painfully! The Grim Reaper you say, Videl? The Grim Reaper will come for you, not for me!"

Worry began to fill Chichi's eyes. "Erasa, don't you think---"

"She's going to die. I'm going to kill her with my own hands if I have to. I'm going to make her pay and no one can stop me. No one, not even Gohan," Erasa blurted out angrily before they heard a soft beep from the metal door. "I'll get it," she said as she got up, wiped off the tears in her eyes, and opened the door expecting to see a visitor.

But no one was there.

Erasa was about to close the door and go back into her depression when she noticed a piece of paper on the floormat. She picked up the paper and examined it carefully. The paper was off-white in color, yellowish at the sides, indicating that it was quite old. On the upper left part of it was a logo that was no longer visible, and to the right was a letterhead of sorts that was familiar to Erasa but just could not make it out. "This could pass as an item in the museum," Erasa said to herself as she unfolded it.

Her eyes flew wide open in surprise, for the letter, in Gohan's messy yet legible handwriting, read:

I know the decision was made out of the blue, but I had no choice but to play along. I don't want to mess up, and I don't want anything to go wrong with our plans. Our future is at stake here. I know I hurt you, somehow, but I plan to make up for it with something that I know you will surely like.

A satisfied, evil-streaked smile crossed Erasa's features as her eyes landed on the period of the last two sentences.

I'm going to deliver Videl to you in a silver platter. From there, she's all yours.

"Okay, Goten, I've got everything ready!" Trunks beamed as he waved around a long, plastic folder that had all sorts of papers inserted in it. "Pencil, check. Binoculars, check. Tracking device, check. Comparison table, check. Disguise gear, check. Money, check. New jacket, check. Neatly-combed hair, check. Killer smile, check."

Goten looked at Trunks with narrow eyes.

"Well, I'm ready! I'm all set for our investigation on the Gohan-clone --- the rich Gohan-clone. Come on, let's get the party started!"

The younger boy looked at his best friend with an eyebrow raised this time. "You seemed to have forgotten, Trunks, we need Mr. Eiyu Nakasone to perform the investigation."

The lavender-haired boy flushed, then put away his embarrassment. "I knew that! Of course I did! So... what are we going to do now? We can't just sit here and do nothing! You said it yourself, you're going to find out what's going on, no matter what the cost."

"Did you check the police station yet?" Goten asked as he sat back down on the carpeted floor, taking out a folder from inside his backpack. "I already did my investigation in the hospital, and I have something you might want to know."

"Well, I never really got to peek around much in the station itself, but I got through their records, and I took all the information with relation to the matter at hand at the two-year time frame we're dealing with," the older boy said as he sat down and tapped his fingers on the table, a mannerism of his which Goten clearly noticed. "I'll sum things up for you, and I'll give you the details that you want, since we pretty much know most of the details. First off, there was the accident Gohan got himiself in. Then Videl was sent to prison for stealing Erasa's property. Afterwards, Sharpner died. Then came Videl's escape, but the police caught her again shortly after and sent her back in prison. And then, she died, supposedly, although of course we know that it's one big lie."

Goten looked at Trunks curiously. "What was the cause of Sharpner's death again?"

"Leukemia."

"No way," Goten blurted out as his eyes narrowed. "If he died of leukemia, then why doesn't the Satan City Hospital have records of his death? They don't even have records of him having the illness in the first place!"

Trunks shrugged. "Don't ask me. So, speaking of hospitals, what was this interesting something you found out that I would want to know?"

The youngest of the Son brothers took a piece of paper from the folder he was carrying, and handed it to Trunks. "Gohan got into an accident at May. He recovered from his coma in August, and a few weeks later was when he decided to marry Erasa, with the reason that he impregnanted her. But I want you to look closely at that form."

"I don't see anything," the other said, his eyes narrowing. "I mean, aside from the fact that Erasa was admitted in Satan City Hospital in the 11th of October due to miscarriage---"

Trunks eyes then widened significantly.

"See it now, Trunks? She lost her child in October, and the child was supposed to be two months old --- give or take a few weeks --- if Oniichan did impregnate her in August. But what does the record say? How old was Erasa's unborn child at that development?" Goten asked, moving forward to look at the paper with ebony eyes that gazed with unfaltering attention.

"The child was already... five months old."