"Sonata Treble. What a stupid name," Videl snapped.

Gohan and Videl were walking towards the circus. They had flown to an area about 10 minutes walk away, and had been walking from there. Videl had explained that, if they were gathering information, it would be best if they tried to act as normal as possible. And that meant as little flying as necessary.

He had been surprised how eager she had been to help. All it had taken was the one phone call, and she had immediately decided to come with him.

But in the meantime, Videl had gone on a tirade about Sonata's name. He didn't fully understand her annoyance.

"First of all, she has a last name," Videl continued. "I mean, how many people have last names? I'll tell you: people who want to act like they're all special."

I have a last name, Gohan thought, sheepishly. But Videl wasn't exactly happy with him at the moment, was she?

"And second of all…both her names are music-themed."

"Music-themed?" asked Gohan. He hadn't thought of that.

Videl turned to him. "Of course," she replied, matter-of-factly. "A sonata is a type of song. And treble…it's like 'treble clef'. Like what they put on a score."

Gohan frowned. "How do you know all this?" It didn't seem like her.

"I played piano for a year."

"You did?" he asked, astonished. "I didn't know that!"

She nodded. "My mum used to play piano before she died, so they thought I should try. But I found it boring, so I stopped."

That sounded a bit more like her. They continued walking in silence.

Then, for some reason, Videl grinned.

"Hey, Gohan?" she asked, still smiling. "Did you ever play an instrument?"

It was such an out-of-left-field question.

"I think my mother wanted me to," he answered, thinking about it. There was a time – it must have been before the Androids arrived – where Chi-Chi tried to make him take up the violin. It didn't last long, though.

"But she eventually decided to give it up. I mean…I…I'd probably break it."

"…oh." Videl seemed to understand.

"And instruments are expensive," he continued on. "It wouldn't be worth it to keep replacing them."

It made him appreciate all of the things he had missed out on. Playing an instrument, that was one of them. But there were so many other things he never experienced. Things he could only read about. Sure, most of the time there were legitimate reasons to it – why would you bother learning how to ride a bike if you can fly? But if he wasn't part of the Son family…his life would have been very different.

But then Videl suppressed a giggle.

"It's a shame," she said. "If you learnt an instrument…you could have played the Piccolo."

Gohan groaned. "Very funny," he said, sarcastically.

"What, have you heard that joke before?"

"More times than you can count."

How many times had he had to explain that 'Piccolo' meant 'Another World' in Namekian? He almost wanted to tell Videl the truth, but seeing her expression, he realised she probably didn't care.

As they got closer to the destination, Gohan suddenly understood why Bulma would have difficulty finding it. It was a rather nondescript, tall building. A small sign announced that this was their headquarters for certain months of the year, when they didn't have performances. If Gohan didn't know where to look, he was sure he would have passed right by it.

The circus headquarters felt both cluttered and organised. People were constantly darting around– moving equipment, costumes, and what looked like stage props. The carpet around them was worn and faded from the footsteps of all the people they must have had here over the years.

Looking at the map Bulma had given him, it looked like the living quarters were at the back of the building. He and Videl walked along, easily blending in amongst the multitude of people. No one seemed to wonder why they were there, and Gohan was thankful for that.

Arriving at the living quarters, apartments were subdivided neatly, seemingly going in every direction. Seeing the magnitude of it, Gohan's heart dropped. How long was it going to take them to find where Sonata lived?

But then Videl went in front of him. "There's names here," she said, pointing to the faded signs hanging from the door. "We just need to find where hers is."

So they went from room to room, searching for a 'Sonata', or, if not, a 'Treble'. Despite Videl's previous assertions, it looked like last names were relatively popular amongst the circus folks. Her words echoed in his head. How many people have last names? I'll tell you: people who want to act like they're all special. Perhaps, in the circus, that was a common occurrence. After all, wasn't that the whole point of the circus? To show people who were special? Gohan wasn't sure. It wasn't like he had seen a performance before.

They finally found the room that said 'Treble'.

"Here goes nothing."

Gohan knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, a man opened the door.

He frowned. "Who are you?"

Videl decided to take charge. "Hi," she said. "We were looking for your daughter. Is she here?"

He shook his head. "She hasn't been here for the past week. What do you need her for?"

She's not here, either? That was disappointing. But Gohan wouldn't give up that easily.

"We're looking for someone else," he explained. "Maestro. We think your daughter might know him and where he's gone."

The Treble father's eyes lit up. "Maestro? I remember him!"

"What? You do?" asked Videl.

"He's one of Sonata's best friends. Practically her boyfriend."

Boyfriend? That was the last thing Gohan was expecting. Somehow, he didn't think someone like Maestro would even have a girlfriend.

"That's…unusual," he said. "How did they even meet?"

The father smiled. "It's a long story. But if you're looking for him…I can tell you what I know. What are you kids, police or something?"

Gohan fidgeted, unsure of how to word it. "We're looking…on behalf of someone else."

"Undercover, eh? I guess a bunch of kids would be pretty useful for undercover work. I doubt people would look twice."

We're not undercover, Gohan was about to interrupt. Then he saw Videl's hostile expression. Say nothing, it felt like she was saying.

The father gestured them into the cabin. It was very crowded – full of costumes, makeup, and photographs. Lots of photographs. They took up almost the entire walls – photographs of this man, his wife, and above all, photos of a young girl. This must be Sonata, Gohan thought, examining them carefully. In the photos, she was quite young, elaborately dressed in a sequined leotard and matching headdress. There were also photos of the family together, not in any sort of costume. It gave Gohan a sense of nostalgia. They all looked so happy.

The father pulled up two chairs for them to sit down in. Clearly, he was expecting to be talking for a while.

"It all started a few years ago," he started. "Sonata was in the acrobatics act. She was good, too, so good that the guys decided to give her a leading role."

"You must have been proud," commented Videl.

He nodded eagerly. "Of course I was! I would say her talent's in the blood, but… Sonata's a hard worker. She didn't get where she was from natural talent alone."

"Anyway, Maestro was in the audience for one of the shows. Sonata was 10, he would be around 9-ish. The kid was so impressed by what she did that he ran backstage during the intermission, desperately trying to find her. He wanted to know how what she did was 'physically possible'."

Videl smiled. "Makes sense. For a kid, seeing the acrobats would have looked like magic."

I doubt I would have been impressed, Gohan thought. I probably could have done better. In a way, it was disappointing. He had seen wonders and terrors that normal people would never have dreamed of. Nothing a human could do would impress him anymore.

"The guys were about to tell the little kid to leave – backstage was off-limits, after all – but Sonata stopped them. She thought Maestro was interesting. And it's true that I've never met anyone with the guts of that boy. I'm sure he knew he wasn't supposed to be there, and yet he was willing to break the rules to catch a glimpse of my daughter."

"It almost sounds like he was in love with her," Gohan realised. It sounded like what his mother had done. She had gone out to the tournament just to find his father, on the off-chance that he might have been there.

The Treble chuckled. "He might have been. Although, keep in mind, he was quite young. Either way, he was enraptured by Sonata. And she found that fascinating. They spent the second half of the show backstage, just talking and playing with each other."

"Of course, the show soon ended, and Maestro's parents came to bring him home. It seemed like their friendship would a brief one. Sonata lived with us in the circus, and he lived in the city. It would be hard for them to see each other again."

"But then, about a year later – I remember it was just after the Cell Games-"

Gohan stiffened at mention of the Cell Games. It was strange, hearing normal people talk about it, with no understanding of the truth.

"- and the circus had decided to come back to the city. We were kind of jumping on the bandwagon of Mr. Satan's triumph. Everyone was in a mood for celebration. Popularity for attractions like these skyrocketed."

He gave Videl a meaningful glance. "I'm sure you'd know more than anything."

So he does know who Videl is, Gohan thought. Initially, it seemed like he hadn't.

"The first show was completely sold out. Sonata had her few minutes in the spotlight. And, during the interval, Maestro came running backstage again. He must have seen the advertisements, and pestered for his parents to go so he could see my daughter again."

"I remember he was yelling for her, demanding to know if she knew who that little kid was in the Cell Games. Do you remember him? That little blonde kid who tried to fight Cell for a while."

Gohan froze. They were talking about me? They were looking for me? He knew people would have wanted to know who he was, but he hadn't heard of people trying to discover his identity.

"Why would Maestro think that?" asked Videl. "What does the circus have to do with the Cell Games?"

"Nothing, really. But I guess he assumed those guys from the footage were circus folk. After all, a lot of their stuff looked like circus tricks – light shows and choreography and all that."

They're not 'circus tricks', Gohan thought, angrily. Was there anyone who hadn't believed Mr. Satan's lies?

"But after that, my wife and I, and Maestro's parents, realised it would be beneficial if the two kids kept in touch. Sonata's always been a bit lonely when it comes to kids her age, and I think Maestro was like that as well. Isn't he some kind of robotics prodigy?"

Gohan nodded. So it's definitely the same guy that we're after.

"After Sonata decided to quit performing 3 years ago, they've been in touch more often."

"3 years ago?" asked Gohan. "But she must have still been young…"

"She was," the Treble agreed. "But she decided she didn't want to perform anymore. I think she was just burned out. You see that a lot in child stars – after a few years, they can just lose their motivation for performing. My wife and I knew this could happen, so we weren't so disappointed. The only strange thing was Sonata still kept up her practice, even nowadays. She didn't want to lose her skills. She took pride in her abilities."

That's interesting, Gohan thought. But then he remembered what he was there for.

"So, Sonata knows Maestro very well…"

The father nodded. "And you're looking for him? I do know they have some sort of club. What was it called? It was something music-themed."

He scratched his head.

Then he remembered. "Opus, that's it!" he exclaimed. "If Maestro's gone, and Sonata's gone with him…it's probably something Opus-related."

"What sort of club is this?" asked Videl.

He smiled. "I honestly don't know. They've been meeting up quite a lot recently, though."

Gohan stood up. "Well, if you don't know where they went…maybe we should go."

The man frowned. "Already? But surely this is your first time! While you're here, you might as well come and watch us practice. I think they're doing trapeze rehearsals."

Videl's eyes lit up in excitement. "That sounds cool!" she said.

Gohan hesitantly agreed. It wasn't like it could hurt.

He guided them up a few flights of stairs, towards what must have been a training room. Trapezes were adorned from the ceilings, but the room itself was very plain, and there were several safety nets preventing falling-related injuries. The circus performers, looking very mundane in ordinary gym clothes, were taking turns practicing their swings. Most of them were young women and girls, but there were a few muscular men in the roster, as well.

One by one, they flew around the ceiling, clearly comfortable with the small piece of wood and string that was their only method of support. They reminded Gohan of little monkeys, swinging from tree to tree. And…did he also do that, back when he still had his tail? He was so young, he could barely remember.

But Gohan wasn't amazed, like Videl was. He was sure if he tried the trapeze out, it would be easy for him. But it wasn't like there was a point to trying. He could fly. Why bother with aiming for an illusion of flight when you could do the real thing, and easily?

So Gohan stared at them without truly registering it. He was thinking of something else.

It was their casual mention of the Cell Games. Maestro and Sonata had been talking about him. And it probably wasn't just them. There were plenty of people who saw him fight. Gohan just hadn't expected people would discuss it. He hadn't expected them to remember it.

It was such a strange feeling, having people mention him. It made him feel like…some sort of celebrity. He'd never felt like that before. People staring at him at school was one thing, but having a person he'd never met before casually talk about him…

Was he a celebrity? He certainly didn't feel like one. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to be one. In books, celebrities were harassed by paparazzi wherever they went. Every small action he took would be scrutinised. Perhaps it wasn't that bad in reality. Videl was pretty famous, and she seemed to manage. But Gohan loved the feeling of being out of the spotlight. That feeling where no one was judging him.

It was just so new to him, seeing how his actions had affected other people. When he fought Cell, he hadn't been thinking of all the people of Earth. He had been thinking about his friends and family, and how he didn't want them to be killed. It was the same with Majin Buu. He fought because Gotenks had failed, and he needed to protect them. But it wasn't just about them. There were…billions of people in the world, and what he had done had changed their lives immensely. Gohan had never understood the significance of it before. But now, being immersed in 'normal' human life, he saw it all the time.

Videl sat down beside him.

"Pretty crazy, huh?" she said.

Gohan shrugged.

Videl seemed to understand. "I guess, for you, something like this isn't that cool."

"Not really," he said honestly. It wasn't particularly on the forefront of his mind.

That made conversation dry up.

They sat there in silence for a while, until Gohan decided to ask her something. "Videl?"

She turned to look at him. "What is it?"

The words came from him, almost unbidden. "Was everyone talking about me? Back then?" He needed validation. Maestro and Sonata couldn't have been the only ones.

Videl grimaced, not wanting to answer. At that moment, she must have understood what was going through his mind.

"Yes," she said softly. Then she became more animated. "Especially the boys. They wouldn't shut up about you, I swear! It got me really pissed off. This was supposed to be about my father. Why were people caring so much about some stupid kid?"

"So, you didn't like me?"

"Of course not!" Videl snapped. "I used to think you were so nosy – you, and your friends. Butting into a fight that I thought wasn't about you."

And then, she ended up dating 'that kid'. Then Gohan remembered they weren't technically dating anymore.

"But everyone else…they all liked me."

"Yeah, because…" Videl froze in realisation. "…they were jealous of you. You were fighting Cell. And the stuff you did was incredible. My father denied it. Adults were sceptical. But the kids believed it. They wanted to believe it was real. They wanted to be just like you."

"But…I'm not a role model!" Gohan protested, feeling pressured. "I'm just a guy who was born into the right family. If any of them had Son Goku for a father, I'm sure they'd act in the same way."

Suddenly, Videl became annoyed. "Ugh! Stop being like that!" she exclaimed. "Stop undermining yourself! You can't say everything you've done comes from Goku. It doesn't. What about that whole 'you had the power within you all along'?"

At first Gohan was confused, but then he remembered. It was how he had described to her his power-up from the Elder Kai.

And perhaps she was right. He was the strongest in the universe. Again. But in the end, that hadn't mattered. He had still failed, and he had still died.

He started to argue. "I don't know-"

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed two girls walking up to them. He recognised them as some of the first performers to take a turn on the trapeze. They looked about their age.

He stopped talking. This wasn't the kind of conversation to be overheard.

"Hi!" said one of the girls. "What are you guys doing here? Tourists?"

"Actually, no," explained Gohan, formally. "We're looking for someone here."

"Sonata Treble," Videl clarified.

The two girls frowned.

"She's not here," one of them said. "Probably off with her boyfriend or something. Why are you looking for her?"

Um…How would he explain it without it sounding weird?

Videl stepped in for him. "It's kind of a long story," she said.

The shorter one sighed. "Well, be our guest. Just warning you, though…"

She examined her surroundings, making sure no one was in earshot. Satisfied no one would hear, she whispered, "She's kind of a bitch."

"Really?" asked Videl, surprised.

"Oh, yeah," agreed the other girl. "She's a bit of a loner a lot of the time. Besides her boyfriend, she doesn't hang out with many kids. Not even us. Probably thinks she's too good for us."

"And she's really good," the first girl continued. "I see her practicing a lot. She's easily the most talented performer here. I don't get why she stopped."

"Also, Sonata's kind of scary sometimes," added the second girl. "One time, I made a joke about her geek boyfriend, and I must have insulted her or something. Before I knew it, she had me in a headlock, demanding that I apologise."

"I don't know where she learns this stuff," commented the first girl. "It's not like the guys here teach us how to fight. I swear, she probably teaches herself. It sounds like her."

"You mean, she knows how to fight?" asked Gohan, curious. It was the first he'd heard of that.

The first girl nodded. "I don't get why. Sonata's just weird like that. I'm kind of glad she stopped performing. I wouldn't want to share the stage with her."

"Well, we'll keep that in mind," said Videl.

"Thanks for the…information," said Gohan.

"When she comes back, I'll tell her you guys were looking for her."

But the longer they lingered there, the more they realised they weren't going to get any more information. If Sonata didn't have any friends here…it didn't look like anyone here knew the precise location of where Sonata had gone. Her father in particular didn't seem too worried. Perhaps, like Maestro, Sonata was one of those children who could run off without worrying their parents.

Like Maestro, and…like him.

So, after waving goodbye to Sonata's father, they discretely left the circus.

Once the building was safely out of sight, the two of them stopped, reflecting on what had occurred.

"…that was interesting," said Videl.

Gohan frowned. "It's not good news. Sonata's definitely gone with Maestro. Why would she, unless there was some good reason? She wouldn't understand the mechanics for the Androids. There's no point for her being there…unless she was planning to become one."

Everything was coming together, in awful fashion. Maestro had the blueprints. All he needed was a subjects. And who better to volunteer than his girlfriend? His best friend?

Why else would she have gone?

But Videl disagreed. "I'm not so sure about that. You heard what they were saying about her. She takes pride in her abilities. I don't think she'd want to be a…cyborg. For her…it'd probably be cheating. She didn't put any work to become stronger. She didn't practice, she didn't perform. All she would do is let her boyfriend stick some electronics into her."

While this was a fair point, Gohan wasn't convinced. "But she'd probably do anything for Maestro."

"Probably," Videl agreed. "But I have a feeling we haven't seen everyone yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's put it this way. We have the Maestro. We have the Sonata. Now all we need are the instruments."

They stopped off at Videl's house. "If anything comes up, I'll tell you," Gohan explained to her. "If you still want to help, that is."

"Of course I want to help!" Videl exclaimed. "This is important."

She was looking at him strangely.

"…Well," she said. "I'd better go."

Videl started running towards the doors. But just before she left, she turned back and quickly added:

"Oh, and by the way? We're still not dating."

"I…I never said we were."

Videl breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Good."

And she went inside and shut the door.

Gohan simply stared at the closed doors for a while. She just had to get the last word, didn't she? That little assignment…they had actually been enjoying themselves, and he was expecting that maybe she would have come around.

But of course it wasn't going to be that easy. When had things ever been easy for him?

[AN: Something I actually need to clarify - characters in the Dragon Ball universe don't normally have last names. Bulma is just Bulma. For Dr. Briefs, Briefs is his FIRST name. Mr. Satan is just a ring name, and his real name is Mark. Just Mark. So her name is not 'Videl Satan'. It's just Videl. Toriyama has said this in interviews, if you want to look it up. Just a fun fact for you!]