Gohan and Bulma stopped outside the gates of the house. It was quite large, and, judging by the quality of the front garden, lavishly decorated. Of course, next to the Briefs' compound, most houses felt small by comparison. When he went there, it made his house in the mountains feel like a tiny shack.

"So, are you sure Maestro lives here?" asked Gohan, climbing out of the helicopter.

"Positive," replied Bulma, as she nonchalantly placed the helicopter back into a capsule. "I looked it up, and I confirmed it from the college. This is his house."

"It's just…I still don't fully understand what you need my help for."

Bulma sighed. "We don't know how much he's looked at the blueprints. If he's already started replicating them…I think we need a Saiyan around, just in case things get ugly."

"But then why not ask my father? Or Vegeta?" It wasn't like Gohan didn't want to help. It just seemed strange. He'd never done anything like this before.

She laughed. "Because Goku and Vegeta don't know how to talk to people. You do. Remember, I don't want to use force unless it's absolutely necessary. We're not breaking down the door. We're just asking him nicely if he wants to give them back. I don't think the others understand that sort of…subtlety."

Gohan grinned. It felt like a compliment, that he could do something his father couldn't. "I'll try my best."

Bulma rang the doorbell, playing a high-pitched chime.

About a minute later, an older woman answered the door. She looked to be a little older than Bulma, well-groomed, with perhaps a little too much makeup. Gohan's first impression of her was that she seemed like the kind of lady who was used to having everything go her way.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hello!" said Bulma, cheerily. "Are you Aria? I'm Bulma, from Capsule Corp? We talked on the phone. I wanted to talk to you about your son."

The woman's eyes lit up. "Oh! Of course! Come in!"

And then she eagerly opened the door and let them inside.

The house seemed to be a mixture of modern and old-fashioned designs. Angular corridors and sharp colours would normally seem at odds with the more classic furniture and

After the lady's gaze lingered on him for a moment, making him feel suddenly uncomfortable, Bulma introduced him. "This is my nephew, Gohan. He's been helping around Capsule Corp recently. I thought it would be nice if he and your son met – you know, similar ages and all."

His nephew? Thought Gohan, puzzled. How much are we going to be lying?

He tried to follow along. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, nervously.

"Ooh, he's polite, this one." She seemed impressed.

The woman – Aria - led them to the dining room. "Sit down, sit down!" she said. "Capsule Corp., you say? You're always welcome. What do you want from Maestro?"

"We just wanted to talk to him," said Bulma. "Is he here?"

Aria's face fell. "I'm sorry. You just missed him. Ever since he graduated from college, he sometimes leaves home for week-long trips. Often visiting friends. I think they have some sort of club, because they seem to get together a lot."

"Is that where he is now?" asked Gohan.
"Yes. He left a few days ago, taking a lot of stuff with him. I'm sure he has some big ideas that he wanted to talk to them about. He's a dreamer, my son."

Bulma sighed. "We really wanted to meet him. I was looking at his credentials, and I must say, I was impressed. We need new talent like him at Capsule Corp."

Gohan was surprised how well Bulma was at this deception. She sounded sincere. She must be trying to impress his mother.

"Ooh, that would be a dream come true for him!" Aria started gushing. "Ever since he was little, we always knew he was destined for something great. Having a career at a distinguished place like yours – I'm sure he'd accept!"

"Well, do you how I might be able to find him?" asked Bulma. "We don't exactly have a cut-off time, but I'm sure he'd want to start as soon as possible. I really want to see him in person."

Gohan understood. Bulma was trying to get his mother to give them his location, but, the way she worded it, she made it sound like it was to his benefit. It was a really clever idea.

His mother looked at her sadly. "I wish I could tell you," she said. "But when he goes off, it's almost impossible to contact him. He never answers his phone. I'll definitely leave him a message about you. Perhaps I could get your number? If he comes home, I'll tell you as soon as possible."

"Just ring the Capsule Corp. headquarters," explained Bulma. "The receptionist will tell me personally."

Despite everything, Gohan was still curious. "He's only 16, right?" he asked the mother. "And he just goes off on his own? Aren't you worried about him?"

While he had been independent at an even younger age than that, he knew enough about human life to understand it wasn't a normal situation.

"We were, at first," said Aria, her anxieties clear in her face. "But he's a…a very smart boy. He's been mostly self-sufficient even when he's at home. He just stays in his room, working on one contraption or another. He even makes his own meals when I'm not around."

She pointed to his room, visible on the second floor of the house. It had a large, handwritten sign on the front saying 'KEEP OUT'.

"That's part of the reason he goes off with his friends. He says that they often have more space for him to work on his little inventions."

"So he's probably working on an invention now?" he asked.

"Most likely." Aria turned to Bulma. "I wish he was here. He normally locks his room when he's gone. If he was home, he could show you all the fantastic things he's made."

"That's why it's better to see him in person," Bulma explained. "Unless you understand how his inventions work?"

Aria shook her head. "I wish I could. But his brain…it all goes over my head."

Bulma suddenly looked around, as if someone had made an invisible signal.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you have any coffee? I would love to stay and chat about your boy. It's not often I meet people who share the same passions as me."

"Oh, of course! It's my pleasure!" exclaimed the mother. "What type of coffee do you prefer?"

Bulma started listing her coffee preference, which immediately went over Gohan's head. Small black, tall black, decaf, cappuccino…he didn't know the difference. His mother wasn't a big coffee drinker.

Aria walked out into the adjacent kitchen to prepare Bulma's coffee.

As soon she was out of sight, Bulma immediately turned to him. The cheery expression on her face was suddenly gone, replaced with a seriousness that surprised him.

"Alright," she said quietly. "From what we know, it looks like he's gone, and most likely took the blueprints with him."

"But do you think he's working on making more androids?" he whispered back. He knew they didn't want to be overheard.

"I have a feeling he's looking into it. We need to find him."

"But how? Even his mother doesn't know where he's gone!"

Bulma smirked. "That's where you come in. Here's the plan. When she returns from the kitchen, say that you need to go to the bathroom. I'll distract her. In the meantime, you need to get into his bedroom. If there are any clues to his whereabouts, they'd be in there."

That was an unusual request. "Like, break in? But how will I get there without you guys noticing me sneaking around?"

Bulma stared at him, partially in disbelief, and partially in amusement. "Gohan, you are literally one of the strongest beings in the universe. I'm sure you can think of something."

That doesn't necessarily help in this situation, he thought. But Bulma had a point. He had to at least try.

At that moment, Aria arrived with Bulma's coffee. "Have you ever seen those new instant coffee machines?" she asked her. "Just put in a capsule, and it brews it automatically! Do you make that sort of technology at Capsule Corp?"

"I've heard of them," replied Bulma, feigning interest. "I think we invented them initially, but I'm not sure if we still hold the patents for them. I can recall some being made by another manufacturer."

The two women continued talking about things that Gohan was honestly not interested in.

It was now or never. "Excuse me?" he interrupted. "May I go to the bathroom?"

"Oh, of course!" said Aria. "The nearest bathroom is just over there."

She pointed it out. Unfortunately, it was in her view. There was no way he could leave without her noticing.

Is there a way I can use another bathroom? One further out of sight? He racked his brains, but couldn't think of an excuse that made sense. And he couldn't just change his mind now. He had to go.

"Thanks," he said. Hurriedly, he went into the bathroom, and locked the door.

OK, he thought. They're not looking at me anymore. So how do I get into his bedroom? He observed his surroundings. His heart was pounding in nervousness. He'd never done anything like this. He didn't normally break the rules. After all, if Maestro's mother noticed him snooping around Maestro's personal belongings…there was no way she would let them go without an explanation. But he had to get in there undetected.

This shouldn't be such a big deal, he thought. Bulma's right. I'm the strongest being in the universe. I can handle this.

Then he noticed a small window, just above the toilet. A window. Perfect! I can just climb out and fly over to where his bedroom is. I'll just get in from the outside! He opened the window. It was just too small for him to climb through. But he could just fly through the gap. If he went in horizontally, and squashed his arms in, he would fit. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but he made it to the outside of their house.

Now, where is his bedroom? Gohan tried to visualise in his head where the bedroom would be in terms of the exterior. It was on the second floor. The room should be in one of the windows above me. Flying very carefully, so his body wouldn't be seen from the other windows, he managed to find it. At least, he was pretty sure it was his bedroom, considering it was filled with books and little mechanical devices. It almost reminded him of his bedroom, if you replaced the mechanical stuff with martial arts.

He tried to open the window, but it was locked. Of course, he realised, a little too late. It's not like windows normally open from the outside. There's no handle. He sighed. It looked like there was only one way he was going to get in there. Bulma would probably be annoyed that he was breaking something, but he didn't think there was a choice.

Holding onto the window, he pulled, and easily ripped it from its hinges.

As he flew into the now windowless bedroom, Gohan tried to carefully manoeuvre the window so it stayed in the hole he had just made. That was easier said than done, though. He managed to fit it in so it didn't fall, although it was leaning at a bit of a precarious angle. From a distance, it looked like nothing had changed. As long as no one tries to open the window anytime soon… He almost felt sorry for the guy. Perhaps he'd ask Bulma if she could pay for their window replacement.

But at least he was inside. Gohan scanned the room quickly. I need something that will tell us where he is or what he's been doing. Like a diary.

The room was rather large, but it was filled with belongings. Books overflowed from the bookshelves – a few of which Gohan had seen before, but many more dictionary-thick books with foreign-looking titles that he was sure he could scarcely understand. A space-patterned bedspread adorned the corner of the room, closest to the door. And near the window, a heavy-looking desk was covered with computer chips, wires, and other mechanical devices that Gohan was scared to touch.

He checked the desk. It looked like there had once been a computer there, but it had been recently removed. Not a good sign. Sorting through the clutter, there were a few books, and, off in the corner, a small notepad.

Gohan's eyes darted to the notepad. Opening it up, it looked like an address book. Names and addresses of people were written neatly in alphabetical order. Addresses! That could help! He placed it in his pants pocket, excitedly. A clue! He'd found a clue! Bulma would want to see it. For a second, he was surprised that Maestro left such an important document in his room. But then he remembered, it wasn't like he knew they were after him. And besides, his room was most likely locked. He didn't expect anyone to be able to get in here.

If they didn't know where he was, at least some of the people on this list might know. Why else would he write their names down?

Gohan couldn't find anything else that would help them locate him. There were a lot of books about science and technology, but Bulma probably knew enough about that stuff, anyway. The only other things of notice were some framed photos, some awards he had won, and a bunch of comic books. That last one made him smile. Of course he reads comic books. He can't be a nerd without it, can he?

Feeling satisfied, Gohan was just about to exit through the bedroom door, until he realised the bathroom door was still locked from the inside. If he came out through the bedroom, the bathroom would still be locked, and no one would be able to open it. He needed to get back to the bathroom window…which meant going through the exterior of the house again. Luckily, there was more than one window in Maestro's bedroom. So he went to one of the windows that he didn't break, opened it, and flew out through there.

Phew, that was close. When he arrived back in the bathroom, he closed the window, trying to act like nothing had happened. He had been so worried people would see him flying around the house. What if they had security cameras? I needed, like, an invisibility cloak or something. That would have made things easier. Was that even possible? He needed to ask Bulma.

Bulma! Right! She's still in the dining room! Gohan flushed the toilet – after all that, he actually did need to pee – and opened the door, walking back to Bulma and Aria.

"I'm sorry I took so long," he apologised. He had to get it out of the way. If he paid attention to it, he wouldn't look as suspicious, would he?

"You don't need to apologise!" exclaimed Bulma. "It's fine."

"Did I miss anything?" he asked.

Bulma smiled. "Not really. We've actually been talking about our coffee preferences this whole time."

He groaned. That sounded boring.

Aria laughed. "Just wait until you're older. It's an acquired taste, I think."

Bulma looked at him. Gohan understood. If she had telepathy, she would be saying did you get what we needed?

He made a small, hardly noticeable nod.

Bulma seemed to get the message. After a few more minutes of discussion, she suddenly stood up.

"Well, it's been nice chatting with you, but it looks like we won't be able to talk to Maestro. It's probably best if we go back."

Gohan followed suit. "We're sorry for taking up your time like this."

"Ooh, no!" replied Aria. "It's always a pleasure, having distinguished guests like you. I promise to tell Maestro that you came. And I'll contact you as soon as he comes back home."

Bulma smiled. "That would be ever so helpful."

She motioned for them to leave.

"So, did you find anything?" asked Bulma, once they were safely in the helicopter, as they prepared to take off.

"I think so." Gohan pulled the address book out of his pocket and gave it to her.

Bulma's eyes lit up as she examined its contents. "This is great! It looks like these might be friends of his, or at least acquaintances. We can ask if they know where he is – as long as we have some kind of cover story. Did you have any difficulty getting there?"

"Not really," he admitted, a little embarrassed. "I sort of broke their window, but it's not too noticeable. At least, I hope not."

Bulma stared at him. Then she started to laugh.

"Oh, I can only imagine what Vegeta would have done!" she said.

He probably would have destroyed half the house, or at least broken down the door. Suddenly, Gohan understood why Bulma asked him specifically.

When they got back to Capsule Corp, Bulma immediately started photocopying the pages of the book. Once they were printed, she gave the copies to him.

"If we don't find anything, we might need the help of the authorities," she explained. "I know they have personal files on people. They might have information about him and his friends that we don't. If that happens…give these copies to them."

"But I thought you didn't want to get the police involved?"

Bulma sighed. "I didn't. But if we can't find him…I'm responsible for this, Gohan. I should have destroyed those blueprints. And the more I hear about Maestro, the more I'm convinced he's doing something with them. A police investigation into Capsule Corp is the least of our problems if he does manage to make more Androids."

Bulma's feeling guilty, he realised. That's why she wants to find him so badly. This problem was all her fault.

"Do you need my help for anything else?" he asked. It felt like he was part of the 'case' now.

She smiled. "Not right now," she said. "But I'll contact you if I do. I have a lot more free time than you do, considering you have school and all. I'm going to start seeing if I can contact these people. If I find something, I'll tell you."

So Gohan left to go back home, feeling surprisingly self-satisfied. He had never done something like that before – something almost like detective work, even if he wasn't a detective. It had been rather difficult…but he couldn't deny that it had also been fun.

[AN: Thanks to everyone reading! I'm sorry for saying this, but the next chapter might be a little delayed. Unfortunately, I think I've got an the worse disease known to fanfiction writers - writer's block. I know what's going to happen next, but there's going to be a little downtime before Bulma gives Gohan an update on the situation. My problem is working out what's going to happen during that downtime. I'm honestly open for suggestions! If you have a long idea, you can PM me instead.]