The next day at school, Gohan cornered Videl.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked. "You were acting strange yesterday."

"What…" Videl tried to think back.

"No, of course I'm OK!" she exclaimed, brushing it off. "It was just…it was nothing. I was being stupid."

"Oh, cool."

At least that was out of the way. But, for some reason, Gohan couldn't shake off the feeling that Videl was still acting differently. She seemed a lot more…cynical? She definitely felt more withdrawn than usual. But she had said that she was all right. There was no point questioning her even more. Even he knew that would be acting way too intrusive.

Anyway, he had more important things to think about. So, once school was over, Gohan decided to visit the Briefs' compound to visit Trunks. He often played with him like an older brother. The kid seemed to be a bit lonely a lot of the time. Company was always appreciated in that household.

He went to the front gate and rang the buzzer. It was only a few seconds before he heard a female voice coming through the intercom.

"Gohan!" They exclaimed. It was Bulma. "Just the guy I wanted to see."

For a second, Gohan was puzzled. Bulma couldn't sense ki. "How did you know it was me?"

Bulma laughed. "The camera. Look above you."

And, sure enough, there was a camera pointing at him.

"Oh, right…" That got him a little embarrassed. He always seemed to forget about that.

Bulma unlocked the front door for him. "Come by my office," she said over the intercom. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Well, actually…I was here to visit Trunks…"

"Come here first," said Bulma, sternly. "This is important."

She could be very forceful when she wanted to. Gohan sighed, and went over to her office.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

Bulma was busy looking over a bunch of papers when she saw him. Her face lit up.

"Glad you came! I wanted to talk to you about the robbery. You know…"

She looked around, as if scared someone was watching.

"The Androids?" she whispered.

That jogged his memory. "Oh, of course," he replied eagerly. "I told the police about it, like you said. I didn't tell them there were Androids, though, so I don't think they took it seriously."

She waved her hand in dismissal. "Never mind the police! I think I found our culprit, all by myself."

In dramatic fashion, Bulma picked up a remote control, and turned on one of the small television screens placed on the wall. It started showing what looked like the corridor directly outside her office.

"CCTV cameras," she explained. "There aren't any in my office, so I thought I was out of luck. But it turns out we have one monitoring the adjacent hall. Anyway, I was looking through the archived footage, and I found…this!"

She played the security footage. It showed a short scene of the hallway. The hall was empty. Suddenly, a boy could be seen coming out in the direction of Bulma's office. He seemed to be around Gohan's age, with close-cropped dark hair. He was dressed very formally. The boy looked around, checking to see if anyone saw him, and quickly darted away.

"Do you think that's the guy who stole them?" Gohan asked.

Bulma nodded. "Almost positive. I've been looking at it closely, and it seems like he has something in that bag of his. The blueprints could have fit in there."

"But do you even know who he is?"

She frowned. "I just worked it out today. And I think it might be a problem."

Bulma picked up the paper she was reading beforehand and gave it to him. It was some sort of…resume? The mugshot of the boy stared out at him from a small photograph, surrounded by text of what seemed to be his achievements.

Bulma started explaining. "Maestro. Age 16. He was part of a group tour of the Capsule Corp facilities. We often give them to people looking to apply for jobs here."

Something seemed strange about that. "He's 16? And he's already looking for a job here? Isn't that a bit…young?"

"Well, he could have been applying for cleaning staff, but he's not. From what I can tell, he seems to be a bit of a child prodigy. Graduated college last year. At 15."

Gohan whistled in amazement. "He must be really smart."

"His college recommended him to us. Said he had a talent that could be useful here. That's why he was on the tour with everyone else."

"And he took the blueprints while he was there? How did he even know about them?"

Bulma sighed. "I don't know. I've got a feeling…he might have been snooping around, looking for secrets. I made a joke to them about all the conspiracy theories surrounding Capsule Corp. Maybe he legitimately believed some of them, and was trying to get proof."

Suddenly, Gohan remembered Bayonet's comments the day before. 'I'd be more surprised if there weren't secret conspiracies.' Apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought that.

"And he just happened to find the Android blueprints. That's unlucky."

"And that's part of the problem," explained Bulma. "Of all the people to find them…a 16-year-old child prodigy? When I was 16, I was working on the Dragon Radar. I wasn't thinking of the consequences. I just knew I could make it, so I did. If I had seen technology for robots, I would have immediately started trying to build one. Just to prove I could."

"So…you think he might try to build more Androids?" It was the worst case scenario, and Gohan understood what the consequences could be.

"He might. I know I would have. You just get caught up in big ideas and new technology – you never think about the repercussions of your actions. And that could be a problem."

"I don't see why this is such a big deal," came a new voice.

Uninvited, a new figure walked into the room. He had apparently been listening in for a while. A foot shorter than Gohan, his long black hair in a style almost impossible to replicate naturally, he had his arms crossed in what seemed like boredom.

"If he makes more Androids, we can just destroy them," said Vegeta, dismissively. "They're hardly a threat anymore."

Bulma frowned. "You shouldn't eavesdrop, Vegeta,"

"It's not my fault that you're too loud," he rebutted.

Bulma rolled her eyes, the insult seemingly not important enough to register. "The problem isn't whether you can beat them or not," she explained to the two Saiyans. "The problem is what sort of…damage…they might cause if we don't find them in time."

Damage? "What do you mean?" asked Gohan.

"17 and 18 were powerful. And I still remember what the other Trunks told us about them. They could easily kill thousands of people if they were set loose. Sure, it would attract you guys, but by then, it would be too late."

"That's not a problem," dismissed Vegeta. "You can just use the Dragon Balls."

Something about the way Vegeta said that seemed to set Bulma off. "No, we can't!" she exclaimed, suddenly raising her voice. "First of all, the Dragon Balls are inactive right now. We can't use them for a few months. Second of all, everyone on Earth has died already. They can't be brought back to life again."

She turned to look from Gohan to Vegeta, then back again.

"And third…I've decided…" She looked a little angry. "We're not using people as bait anymore."

"Bait?"

"You know what I mean! The way you've sacrificed innocent lives in your petty battles. I'm sick of it! It's been happening for years now, but no one seemed to have a problem with it! When Majin Buu arrived at the lookout, searching for the boys, Piccolo willingly let the people die so they could get more time. If we didn't have the Dragon Balls, they would have been dead for good. I've had enough of risking the lives of innocent people just so you guys can get a good fight!"

Her voice had been gradually rising in pitch and volume, and now she was almost yelling.

"Did you know I suggested we stop Dr. Gero before he could even make the Androids? And Goku stopped me, because he wanted to fight them! Well, I'm not making that mistake again! This time, I'm going to find Maestro before someone could get hurt, and I don't care what you idiots think!"

Her sudden outburst had shocked them both into silence. Gohan tried to think back. Had Bulma really suggested that? He didn't remember. It was such a long time ago. He had been so young.

But, eventually, Vegeta resigned. "Fine," he snapped. "Do what you want. It's not like Androids would be a good fight, anyway. I'd get more challenge training with Trunks."

And he left the room, leaving Gohan alone with Bulma.

"Um…" Gohan didn't know what to do. Bulma seemed so distraught. He wanted to make her feel better, but he didn't know how.

Then, he had an idea.

"If you want, I'll help you find him."

Bulma turned around, suddenly remembering his presence. "What?"

"I'll help you find him," he repeated, a lot more confidently. "If we can stop Androids from being built…we wouldn't even have to fight in the first place!"

Bulma looked at him and smiled, her expression surprisingly soft. "Oh, Gohan. That's…really sweet."

She sighed. "Sorry for yelling at you," she apologised. "I just needed to get it out there."

"That's okay," he said. "You've got a point. I never thought about it like that."

She sat down at her desk again, not wanting to look anyone in the eye. "I don't know what made me realise it," she said softly, seemingly talking to both Gohan and herself. "Maybe it was the fact that we were targeted. Maybe it was the fact that, when I got back, my co-workers were bombarding me with graphic stories about how they died. Either way, I realised…it's not fair for us to put their lives in jeopardy anymore. They deserve to live, just as much as we do."

Gohan stared at her, curious. He didn't normally see Bulma like this. She was usually so carefree. Dying must have really affected her, he thought.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, before Bulma piped up:

"Trunks is in his room."

"What-oh, right!" Gohan suddenly remembered the reason why he was there in the first place.

So Gohan rushed over to Trunks' room. At least, he thought he was going in the direction of Trunks' room. Their place was enormous. It was always so easy to get lost, no matter how many times he came over.

Eventually, he found Trunks' room. He knocked and opened the door. Trunks was just sitting on the enormous couch in the centre of his room, watching TV. His hair had started growing out, almost reaching his chin. He wondered whether Bulma was going to take him for a haircut. Perhaps not. Trunks didn't have the same problem Gohan and Goten did. As soon as their hair got too long, it started growing outwards. Either way, if Gohan didn't keep cutting it, it would end up a lot like his fathers' unmanageable spikes. But Trunks…Gohan remembered the other version of himself. If they weren't that different, he would have the ability to have his hair any length he wanted.

The young half-Saiyan boy sure had a lot. His room was filled with toys and all sorts of games. Some of them were placed messily into large plastic boxes, but others were just lying on the floor, unused. Carefully climbing over the discarded toys, Gohan understood why Goten came so often to their house. There was a lot to entertain.

Trunks turned and saw him. "Gohan!" he exclaimed, grinning. "Hi! What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to say hi," Gohan explained. "And, you know, to hang out."

He was so lucky. In a way, Gohan had two younger brothers. It was always such a thrill to see them grow up, and to help them and teach them. Gohan still remembered that in that alternate timeline, he was Trunks' mentor. His mentor! It sounded like such a…responsibility.

Sometimes, he wished he could have met that future version of himself. He sounded like the coolest person ever.

"Oh, cool!" Trunks turned off the television and bounded over to him, full of energy. "Can you play Firefight with me?"

"Firefight?"

"It's this new game I got," explained Trunks eagerly. "It's better if you play with someone else, and Goten isn't very good."

"Goten's played this?"

Trunks nodded. "But he's not that good. I'm sure you'll be a lot better. Cause you're older, and stuff. Come on, can you play? It's no fun unless you're versing someone."

I might as well. "OK," he agreed. He'd talk to Trunks while they were playing, perhaps.

"Oh, and Trunks?" he added. "'Versing' isn't a word. It's just 'versus'. There's no plural to it."

"Really?"

Gohan nodded. Sometimes, he just couldn't stop himself from correcting people like that.

Trunks passed Gohan a controller, and started up the game. He seemed to have a lot of experience playing these games. At the very least, he was the only one who knew how to get past the multitude of menus to start the game mode he wanted.

He started the mode, and showed Gohan how to sign in as a second player. When it started up, he began explaining the game.

"See, you start off as this soldier." He pointed to their player characters, separated by a split-screen. "What you need to do is start shooting the aliens here." Trunks immediately started controlling his character, shooting the creatures, the controller a blur in his hands. It was still pretty easy to follow his character's movements. Despite what the humans had assumed, Saiyans weren't that much better than humans when it came to hand-eye co-ordination.

Like when Father gave me that earring to fuse, and I dropped it.

Quickly, Gohan tried to forget he thought that. Why did he always have to remind himself of those failures?

"When you kill the aliens, you get stats," Trunks was explaining. "And when the time is up, we get to fight each other with all the stats we got."

Huh. "That's actually really interesting," mused Gohan. "It adds an element of strategy to it."

"I guess," said Trunks. He had already started mowing down the aliens in his general vicinity.

Oh, right, Gohan suddenly realised. I need to start, too. I don't want to be too far behind.

So, occasionally looking at Trunks' screen to understand the strategy, he started following his instructions and shooting the 'aliens'. They didn't particularly look like aliens to him. More like overgrown insects. It was obvious whoever built this game had never been face-to-face with a real-life alien.

Then Gohan felt like an idiot. Of course they haven't met a real-life alien, he thought. Unless they met Vegeta. Or…or my dad.

It always took him a few seconds to process that his father was alive now. He had been so used to forgetting about him.

"So, Trunks?" Gohan asked.

Trunks seemed preoccupied with his game. "Huh?"

Gohan kept up a conversational tone while they were playing. "I was just wondering…are you going to keep training?"

"Well, dad wants me to," replied Trunks. "But…I dunno if I want to. What's the point?"

"Because you're a Super Saiyan now?" Gohan still found it hard to believe Goten and Trunks had transformed so easily. It wasn't just the age that was strange. It was the reason. For them, it had seemed so natural.

Trunks frowned. "Yeah. That, and Gotenks can beat everyone. If we go Super Saiyan 3…we're stronger than everyone! Well…except you."

Gohan smiled. "Except me." After all, Goten and Trunks had sensed his power when he faced Majin Buu. And they'd seen the damage he did to him.

The young boy then turned to face him. "Hey, is anyone else going to get that ritual power-up thingy like you did? Can I get it?"

"I don't think so," said Gohan. "The only reason the Elder Kai did it for me in the first place was because the universe was in danger."

And we bribed him, Gohan thought. That was another reason.

But Goten and Trunks having the same kind of power sort of terrified him. And…perhaps he would be a little jealous. The fact that he had this power made him feel unique. He didn't want that to be taken from him.

On the screen, it looked like time was up. They were suddenly transported to a smaller arena-like area, when they had to fight. Gohan struggled with the controls, desperately trying to get some good hits on Trunks. From what he could tell, the bullets from their guns went too fast to reliably dodge, no matter how good your reflexes were. The best option was to run for cover, and shoot when you had a good hit.

While Trunks was more experienced, Gohan thought he was better at strategy. The young half-Saiyan boy seemed to charge in for an attack without realising it left him wide open. Slowly, Gohan managed to whittle down Trunks' health. Perhaps I might actually win this, he thought. That would be a surprise.

Suddenly, Trunks' avatar started glowing red, surrounded by what looked like bright crimson flames. He shot Gohan a few times, and then got him into a combo that took off the rest of his health. His character fell down to the ground, and a red filter took up his side of the screen. Trunks had won.

Trunks grinned. "Yay! I win!"

"What was that?" Gohan asked, taken by surprise.

"Oh, I just went Super Saiyan," said Trunks, still proud from his victory. "It's not actually Super Saiyan, but that's what I call it, cause it sort of looks like one. You do a lot more damage, and you can do your finishing move."

Gohan frowned. "But how did you do that?"

"Oh, you just hold both triggers down at the same time," Trunks explained quickly.

"You didn't tell me about that."

"Whoops!" Trunks started to laugh. "I guess I forgot."

That was a cheap trick, Gohan thought. He was pretty sure Trunks had neglected to tell him on purpose. But there's no point telling him off…Trunks was just overly competitive. Just like his father.

"But Trunks…" continued Gohan, now that the game was over. "I was just telling Goten, you can't rely on being able to fuse all the time. And if you get stronger on your own, wouldn't that make Gotenks stronger, too?"

"I guess," said Trunks. "But Goten would have to get stronger, as well. We can't fuse unless we're at the same power level."

That's true, Gohan realised. Either they would both have to train, or none at all.

"Well…just remember, you're not the strongest. Not yet."

"So, you mean…I have to keep training?"

"Oh, no!" Gohan tried to backpedal a little. He didn't want to be a hypocrite. "If you don't want to train, then that's fine! But if you enjoy it…you shouldn't stop just because you think you're the strongest. There's always a way to improve. My father always used to say that."

It looked like his words had reached Trunks. The boy sat there, mulling it over. "OK."

They then played a few more matches. Despite Gohan's best efforts, Trunks won all of them, although he had gotten pretty close to beating him at some points. He was sure it was just because Trunks had more experience. If he played more often, he might have been able to beat him. Maybe. As long as Trunks didn't cheat again.

Eventually, Gohan decided it was time to head home. Dinner would probably be starting soon.

"Just remember what I told you about training," Gohan said to Trunks as he left. "I don't think Goten understands it, but you need to remember not to let the power go to your head. The consequences…I know them more than anything."

And that familiar image brought itself to the forefront of his brain. That of his father, holding a bloated Cell, about to self-destruct.

You did well, Gohan. I'm proud of you. Tell your mother I'm sorry.

7 years, and Gohan still couldn't forget it completely.

But then Trunks started talking, abruptly bringing him back to the present day.

"You're good at this 'advice' stuff, Gohan," he said. "When I ask Dad something, he just tells me to destroy what's in my way."

Gohan chuckled. "That sounds just like Vegeta."

So when he left the Briefs' compound, he felt a renewed confidence. Perhaps he could still be useful. Like finding that 'Maestro' guy. If he could stop him from possible endangering others, and he did it without needing his father to help…it would be just what he needed.