Author's Note: I'm back, everyone! =P And again, with a short chapter. *sweatdrops* I felt so obliged to write and update, since it's a Saturday here, so I decided to do so even if I only wrote a VERY short continuation. I hope you like it, nonetheless. Beware of Erasa-bashing, it's a bit abundant in this chapter. Trunks happened to develop it into an art of this own, and it's pleasing in this fic. =P

So anyway, this is the fic I'm really working on right now. Not that I'm abandoning my other fics, but this is #1 on my priority list at the moment. I want to finish this before the year ends, and I want to reach the 100 review mark too! So I hope you'll stick with me until this fic comes to an end, and well... thank you for your continuous support! You guys are just great!

Now that I'm done praising all you marvelous, amazing, astounding, splendid, wonderful, awesome, kick-ass, breathtaking, superb, great, fabulous... *insert all other complementary adjectives here* ...readers and reviewers, here is the next chapter. Please do not forget to review! *raises eyebrow* Remember, I PRAISED YOU! =P

Fueled by Anger, Driven by Despair
Chapter Nine: Signs and Revelations


It was a large, old-looking mansion with yellowish walls and vines interlacing with the deep, irregular cracks, windows with rusty panes and a large, wooden door which seemed to have remained tightly shut for years. What used to be clear, nicely printed letters on the signboard nailed to the mansion's gate were now barely visible, for the rain had eroded the paint away.

Eiyu took out a small piece of paper from his pocket and frowned as his eyes darted from the paper to the building it front of him. The two pictures looked different, but the address was the same, nonetheless. "It must be the effect of time. After all, this place seemed to have remained this way, uninhabited, for years," he told himself as he sighed and put the paper away.

When he walked towards the mansion, however, he stopped and suddenly had a head-splitting headache, followed by flashes which came like bolts out of the blue that he could not seem to describe...

"ERASA! ERASA YOU EVIL, FILTHY, DEMONIC, SCHEMING WENCH! STOP HIDING AND OPEN THE DAMN DOOR SO I CAN WRAP MY ARMS AROUND YOUR SCRAWNY NECK AND---"

The door slammed open and the blonde woman stepped out, her eyes glaring ever-so-sharply at the two boys, most especially at the lavender-haired, blue-eyed one who just threatened to kill her his own way. "What do you want with me, brats? If you want to kill me, I suggest you do it some other place, not here in my new home. After all, I don't want to spill your guts upon my doorstep."

Goten returned her glare as fiercely as she sent it out, his ebony orbs adding more power to the glare itself. "We want you to stop pretending and tell everyone the truth! We want you to get off your lies and to show your true colors!"

"Lies? What are you talking about?" Erasa asked with an eyebrow raised, hands on her hips and still standing firm on her ground. "You have no right to accuse me with such filthy deeds, young man! There are no lies here, just the truth, and nothing but the truth. And why are you both so upset? Can't you see I'm at a loss now? My husband left me for that raven-haired devil and he's definitely not coming back! Why don't you just give me time alone to sulk in my misery?"

It was then when Trunks pushed his best friend aside, his ice-cold blue eyes locking on to the other's orbs. He stepped up in front of the woman, anger evident in his pale yet handsome features, and then, he hissed in an equally cold voice, "Stop denying it. Yes, the others do not know what's going on, but we do. Pull off your mask and show us the devil you really are, horns and tail included. And don't forget your trident."

The remark caused Erasa to fume as she glared daggers at the older boy, but she knew that her anger would cause her downfall. She pushed the thought aside, and smiled as cooly as she found herself able to. "Tell me, then. What do you know that the others don't? You brats don't know anything. You're just two, ambitious boys who think that you can make the world spin in your hands and have all the cake and candy you'll ever want. You know nothing of the world. Nothing at all."

"You think so?" Trunks asked in a challenging manner. "Don't underestimate us, Erasa. You don't know who you're dealing with. We know more than what you think. We're not just the kids you think we are."

"If you claim to know so much then why don't you spill the beans about this secret you uncovered? Or are you too scared to spit it out, because that secret you say you discovered is but a lie, something you just made up?"

Then someone stepped up beside the young woman, with ebony eyes that mirrored Goten's own yet were lined with confusion and uncertainty. "What's going on here?!" Chichi demanded, although her voice had an edge of hesitation. "Erasa, Trunks, Goten --- what are you arguing about?!"

"She's deceived us for too long!" Goten exclaimed pointing towards Erasa, an act that he was sure he would get in trouble with if they would fail in revealing Erasa's treachery. "She made us believe in something she completely made up, and we've been living lives revolving around that lie she started two years back!"

The older of the Son women turned to the younger and inquired with utterly confused eyes, "Erasa, what are they talking about? What is the meaning of all this?"

It was then when Goten had enough. Flame erupted in his eyes that used to maintain such stability --- as Trunks did most of the yelling, mocking, taunting and fuming --- as he turned towards his mother. He did not want to cross her, but he just had enough of her always siding with his evil sister-in-law. "Erasa, Erasa, Erasa! It's always Erasa, it's always her you believe in, it's always her you have faith in! And what annoys me to the brim is that ~she~ is the one who has been lying to us all this time, and yet it is she who you trust more than anyone else!"

Chichi looked at Goten. "Young man, you will not---"

"Erasa lied to us, to all of us! Oniichan NEVER impregnated her --- she was pregnant even BEFORE the time she claimed that they did the bad thing! She was FIVE MONTHS pregnant when her baby got aborted, and the abortion was SELF-INDUCED! She did the abortion on purpose, because she wasn't pregnant with Oniichan's baby --- the baby's father was SHARPNER!"

Dark orbs filled with shock and disbelief turned to meet the other woman's blue ones, but the moment Chichi stared into her daughter-in-law's eyes, she knew. She knew that her son was telling the truth, for the stability in Erasa's gaze was lost then and there.

Fear which came like a shockwave replaced the coolness in those eyes, and Erasa seemed to have lost control of herself. "H-How d-did you k-know...?!" she asked, stuttering.

Rage swelled up inside Chichi at those words, and she whirled around to face the young woman with anger blazing in her eyes. "Erasa, HOW COULD YOU?! I trusted you, I trusted you above everyone else, but you... YOU BETRAYED THAT TRUST!"

"Finally," Trunks blurted out as he crossed his arms in front of his chest in his father's fashion, snickering in satisfaction as he did so. "You finally admitted that you are one evil, filthy, demonic, scheming wench! It's over, Erasa. We know the truth, and you gave yourself away. Your game's up!"

"And since you asked," Goten pitched in, smiling in an equally satisfied manner. "We're going to let in you in with our little secret. It took us a lot of time, a lot of snooping around, but detective work did the trick. And we have all the evidence that we'll ever need. You have no way out, Erasa. You've hit bottom."

Videl groaned as she fluttered her cerulean eyes open, and the sight that greeted her was the world that spun in a blur. She blinked repeatedly as she attempted to clear her vision, and when she finally managed to do so, she sat up, still holding her head which continued to throb in pain. "What happened?" she asked Gohan, who was sitting at the far end of the bed, and she could tell that he had been watching over her.

"You suddenly had a terrible headache, and then, you collapsed shortly after. I don't really know why it happened, but I did what I can to get you back in good shape," Gohan explained as he smiled softly at her. "I'm glad you're okay, my love."

My love...? Videl asked herself, frowning as she did so, feeling that his usage of such a term was a bit out of place. However, the thought that he had been lead to believe that she was dead by Erasa, and that he had been living with the blonde young woman for nearly two years made Videl think that Gohan was plainly influenced.

To her surprise, however, Gohan began to edge closer to her, the smile on his features widening significantly, and the gleam in his eyes brightening noticeably as well.

"What are you doing, Son Gohan?"

He looked deep into her eyes. "Something that will make you feel better," he replied with a wink before he pulled her into his arms and held her as tightly as he dared. "I didn't mean what I said at the wedding... I was just so confused, my mind was just too wacked up because of the accident I got myself in... I wanted to be with you badly, but I could not find you anywhere. Now I want to make up for the time we had lost, and now is the perfect time for it..."

Gohan leaned down to kiss her, but before their lips touched, the sound of breaking china chimed in their ears and by reflex, the young man bolted up and took up a defensive fighting stance. Not hearing any other sound after the sudden disruption, Gohan's eyes narrowed significantly in worry and suspicion. He turned to Videl and said in an utterly serious tone, "Stay here, my love. I'll go there and check it out."

He clamped his hand into a fist, preparing to strike whatever or whoever was causing the disturbance, and cautiously, he walked out of the room. With that, Videl was then alone, growing uneasy by the second, and the eerie silence was making things worse for her. She waited for Gohan's return, not moving a muscle and not making a sound, when she heard a groan and the sound of a body falling to the ground.

And that was the last sound she heard --- that and nothing more.