For anyone that isn't familiar with my other series. This is an alternate timeline of one of my longest series. The Middle Child and this story will be more graphic in nature and have some of parts of their chapters posted to another site.

He stared at the wall, bored out of his mind. This was his life. He knew he would never leave this place. From the time he was born, he was too weak to be in the outside world, well that was what he was told. He really didn't believe his parents for a second.

His brother was the perfect child and in their eyes he was trash. He knew he was royalty, but he didn't feel like it. This room, his lack of contact with the outside world. He knew better. To his family, he didn't exist.

Sometimes, his brother would drop by, and that was good. Vegeta could be a little too much at times, but he was literally his only access to the outside world.

He walked over to one of his broken toys, he couldn't remember the last time he had had new toys. That was because he didn't get new toys. They were all hand me downs from his brother and they all came broken to bits.

He had fixed up some of them in his boredom, but for the most part, he didn't have the equipment to do so. He could never ask for it either. The last time he had tried to ask for something, he was backhanded across the room. His guardian wasn't the nicest person after all. He kind of wished that he had the same guardian that his brother had. Nappa wasn't the best, but at least he didn't treat his brother like garbage.

But that was probably due to the fact that he wasn't really the golden child that his brother was. Icbur was probably disappointed with what he ended up with. He and Nappa were chosen to look after the two of them before they were born and after that Icbur was stuck with him.

His parents probably didn't know that he knew that fact. That he and Vegeta had only been born minutes of each other. After Vegeta had been born, they must have expected him to have the same power level. Instead, they were left with a child with no power whatsoever.

He left the toy be, there was nothing he could do with it. It looked like today would be another day just looking at the wall. He wondered often what it would be like to leave this room. He had no memories outside of these walls. Locked away like the garbage he was. He knew why. He was from a royal line; his birth was a disgrace.

The door made the normal set of beeps before opening and he waited for Icbur to walk in, but today was one of those better days as Vegeta walked in looking slightly frazzled.

"Brother? What's wrong?" He asked, happy to see his brother over his guardian.

Vegeta looked up at him warily. "Lord Frieza has told father that all of us must meet with him for dinner tomorrow night."

He didn't understand. Why was Vegeta telling him this? "He must have something important for you."

Vegeta shook his head. "No Tarble, he wants all of us there. He knows about you."

He stood there in shock. What was he going to do? "But…How?" He sputtered.

"I don't know, but father has told me to come and get you. Icbur is going to have to show you proper etiquette before tomorrow night." Vegeta said crossing his arms and glaring at him.

He stood there in shock. He was going to go outside of his room. He couldn't control his breathing, almost having a panic attack. He was just so excited. Sure, he would still be limited to the house, but it was a different part of the house. When was the last time that he had seen his parents? It had to be at least a year.

"Tarble are you paying any attention?" Vegeta looked annoyed. "We have to go down stairs."

He nodded as the door stayed open and he began to walk out of the room. It seemed that Vegeta was ignoring him as he stared at the hall. The room that he was living in was so dull, he rarely got to see much color. But the hall was full of it. And while his brother was tapping his foot. He couldn't help but be distracted. How could he think of anything else when he was surrounded by so much that he had never seen before?

Instead of whites and creams with blank walls, there were rich reds and golds with paintings and tapestries marking the walls. The floor wasn't just a cold white tile, but a darker stone with a long winding ornate rug going down the hall. There was a statue at almost every corner. He never thought that his home could be so beautiful.

When they finally reached the dining hall, he was struck again by how breath taking everything looked.

The table was far too big for just the 3 of them, his father, mother, and brother. Did they really eat at this thing for every meal?

His eyes scoured the walls, noting extravagance of it all.

"Tarble." Icbur called his name, telling him that he needed to sit down, but he was far too distracted.

It was all too much at once. He had never seen anything like it. All he knew was the room. He didn't know what he felt more, fear or excitement.

He felt himself being pulled by his collar, Icbur had had enough.

He was forced to sit at the table, surprisingly Vegeta and his guardian Nappa took a seat as well.

His brother's eyes looked at him coldly. "As I said, you are going to be in the company of Lord Frieza tomorrow. While you are weak, you will still be representing the royal family of Vegeta. I ask that you remain on your best behavior."

He looked down at the table. He could feel the stares of disgust at him, even from his brother. He didn't want to speak, thinking it would only make his brother angrier.

"I take your silence as you understanding. Icbur will show you what you need to know. Do not disappoint me." With that his brother jumped down from his chair. "Nappa we're leaving." The giant flanked his brother as they left the room. Leaving him alone with Icbur.

Icbur's bald head looked down at him. "Let us begin."

His heart was racing as he was lead back into the dining hall. He had been up all night tossing and turning, nervous for the day ahead.

He had been well dressed for the occasion. Due to his small size, he was given a lot of his brother's torn up clothes. What he was wearing now had to be all new. It looked like traditional Saiyan armor. The royal seal was on his chest plate. It was strange looking at in such good condition.

Upon entering the dining hall, he found his mother and father speaking quietly to each other. His brother Vegeta seemed to be waiting for something.

The one known as Lord Frieza was not there yet. He still wondered why the man wanted to see him?

He was lead down to the table and sat down. Not looking at his father, he could feel his glare from where he was, he looked down at the china in front of him. Icbur had explained some of it, but his mind went completely blank the moment he sat down.

"Tarble!" His eyes whirled up to stare at his mother. Her eyes were nowhere friendly, but he kind of expected that. "Stop fidgeting!"

He nodded, not saying anything.

"Remember your place boy. Just because Frieza has asked to see you, doesn't mean that you'll get to go any farther. After this is done, you will return to your room. Understood." His father said, he could hear his irritation. If his father had his way, he would have just told this Frieza person no. But it looked like he didn't give his family a choice on the matter.

The door flew open and in walked a strange looking man. This was the first time he had seen another race before, outside of books that is.

The man, who had to be Lord Frieza from how his family was greeting him, looked down at him as he entered. Almost ignoring the rest of his family.

"So this is the hidden child. What do you call yourself?" The Lord asked. His voice trying to sound kind.

"Tarble, sir." He didn't really know how to talk to this man. Something about the way he looked at him made him uncomfortable.

"Just Tarble? You're not going to throw your title around?" The man seemed to be getting a kick out of this. Was there a something that he missed.

"What title?" All he knew himself by was his name and some of the few jabs that Icbur threw at him on a constant basis.

Now the man was just straight up laughing. He looked around, finding that he was being glared at from every angle.

He was soon pushed back onto his chair, as the lord made to sit next to him.

He watched as everyone else sat down and food was starting to be placed in front of them.

Soon a conversation started, but he had no idea what they were all talking about. He looked across the table when the third course was being brought, looking at his brother and noted the look of irritation thrown his way. He wondered if he was doing something wrong, when his brother lifted his fork and he noticed that it was different from the one in his hand. He had never stopped using the first one.

He put it down, just as they launched into a boring conversation about heat shields. Why was he called out of his room for this?

"What do you think about all of this Tarble?" The lord asked him.

"I don't know." He said, he could feel the stares of everyone in the room. He didn't like this.

"How do you not know? You must know something about the how everything operates?" Frieza asked, a mocking smirk on his face.

If he could, he would have punched him in the face. Something about this guy really rubbed him the wrong way. Why was his family in an alliance with him? "No I don't. That is Vegeta's job." He snapped.

"Tarble! Appologize!" His father was on him in seconds.

His head hurt. It felt like someone was sticking a thousand small needles into his forehead. "It's the truth." He crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair.

Across from him, Vegeta was glaring at him, but he had no time to think about it as another stab of pain hit him, each time it left a metallic taste in his mouth followed by a small burning sensation.

"Tarble listen to father." Vegeta ordered.

He shook his head. "Why?" He felt himself start to laugh. "I live in a room cut off from the rest of the world and now I get to listen to everyone make fun of me. What a day this turned out to be." He jumped down from his chair and started to head towards the door.

He heard his father call for Icbur, but he paid no mind.

The giant appeared in front of him and he looked up at him. All he felt was one emotion as he looked up at his caregiver. Hatred.

His head felt like it was a blaze now. Within his mind he could hear a thousand screams of pain and terror. A blood red filter covered his vision as he watched the Icbur grab for his own neck. The man's face was turning red as he looked on. The man was clawing at his neck now.

He heard a couple of coughs, looking down as she watched blood leak out of Icbur's mouth. The pain in the back of his mind receded, bring him to the present.

He turned to find his family and Lord Frieza dumbfounded.

As they made to move, he dashed out of the room. He had never felt so scared in his entire life.

Instead of heading back to his room, he made for the exit. He wanted out. He wanted freedom.

He could hear people calling out to him, but ignored everything.

The main entrance was just starting to close up to the palace. The sun had already set. If he could make it outside the door, he could truly escape.

He took a couple of deep breaths before he ran out the door, sneaking between the legs of one of the guards.

The darkness of the night greeted him. The cold air feeling good on his sweating skin.

"Tarble!" Vegeta was just inside the door. It was open, so they could see each other. But the moon was out. His brother would not dare to follow him. He watched as his brother offered him his hand. "Come back now."

He backed away, moving farther away from the palace. "I can't."

"Sure you can. Just walk back over here and we will talk about what just happened."

He made to move forward, towards Vegeta, when he looked back up at the sky. The moon, the stars…everything looked so beautiful. He felt his eyes start to burn in a different way. Tears began to stream down his face. Could he really go back in there? They would just lock him up again. "Vegeta…."

His brother looked at him and he could see the fear in his eyes. "Don't you dare…"

He looked at his brother for what had to be the last time. "I'm sorry."

And with that he turned and fled off into the night.

He couldn't believe it. Tarble had just run off into the night. He kept staring at the spot where he last saw his brother, but he couldn't go after him. The moon was out. If he changed forms he would crush the city.

The look on his brother's face looked so…. final. As if his last words would be their last conversation.

He just had too many questions, none of which looked like they would be answered.

With the moon, all of the dangerous animals came out into the open. Unless his brother was the one responsible for Icbur's death, he couldn't see him making it till morning.

He sighed. This was all his fault. If Nappa hadn't slipped in front of Frieza, Tarble wouldn't be running around the city or worse after night fall.

"So he has escaped." He froze as he heard Lord Frieza come up behind him.

He could hear multiple footsteps. He could smell his parents as they got closer.

"I can send a party after him. Most of my army can go out in the night without issue." Frieza offered.

He didn't even think it over. "He needs to be found as soon as possible."

He could see the look of dread on his mother's face. Yes, they treated Tarble horribly, but the world outside was darker. If Frieza wasn't around, it would have been different. Tarble could have ran free as much as he wanted, but with him around it made things more problematic. He saw firsthand what Frieza did to those that were weak. His brother wouldn't last one day doing that work.

The room was for his protection, but after seeing his brother's reaction to the outside world, he couldn't fully blame him. In Tarble's eyes, he must have looked like he was going to lock him up again.

He heard a scouter beep followed by Frieza giving orders to some random officers. "Well then, I will be going. The boy can't have gotten that far." Even as he spoke, he didn't trust him.

But he had no choice. This was the only way to get Tarble back. He just hoped that it wasn't too late.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

You are probably wondering why Tarble and Vegeta see their parents differently in this one. Vegeta is seeing was is actually there, while Tarble is projecting. It will be explained better in later chapters.

Also you probably noticed something odd about the ages. Thats because one of my headcanons for Dragonball is in here. In Japan, the younger twin often refers to the older one as their older brother and vise versa. During the Tarble special, Tarble only refers to Vegeta as Nii-san, which is really only a stand in for him calling him brother. We are never really given an age, most of us assume that Tarble is younger due to his size, but he is a full grown man during the special. I always thought that it made sense for them to be twins because of their power difference. Vegeta is born a prodigy and Tarble an embarrassment. Basically the reason that Tarble is so weak, is because he was sharing the womb with Vegeta and they were fighting over nutrients and power. Think about it, can you really see two Saiyan fetuses sharing their means to survive.