Vegeta couldn't sleep. The sun had gone down hours ago, but he couldn't relax. His mind kept turning. Tarble on the other hand passed out after going to bed. He figured his brother could not fathom the trouble they may be in. After having someone go through their things the older Saiyan prince was outraged. Not only for himself but for his brother. He turned seeing his brothers back facing him away from the door, just as Raditz had warned the night before.
He thought of the other Saiyan. Why did he lie to them? Sure he had figured out that Raditz was being monitored, but even then a Saiyan would never lie to him. Why was Raditz being watched anyway? Was it just because the Princes were here or was there something more? Vegeta noted that the freaks had not returned from the Laboratory. They had passed them in the hallway as they followed the unhonorable maid. He remembered their faces as they passed. Most of them looked frightened of him, the oldest just looked angry. Not leaving their room since the bag incident, Vegeta had never heard them return. There was no footsteps down the hall, nor opening or closing of doors. No sound of children talking, heck no sound at all since the maid had left. From this he concluded that the doors must still be open. He also noted their clothing from before, they had not been here long, maybe not even a couple weeks. They still seemed new to the routine of the place. Something Raditz seemed to have hardened into his mind. His mind froze. No one had returned to the dorm. Not even Raditz and it was beyond late. Was he still in that lab working?
The wood floor outside began to creak, someone was walking the halls. Vegeta turned in his bed, making his back face the wall. He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep, really using this as an opportunity to listen. There was only one person, they walked slowly as if they didn't want someone to hear them. Under normal circumstances no one would hear them, he had to give them the credit of that, but they had just never been around a battle trained Saiyan he guessed. He heard the steps stop just outside their door. He turned off his ears, relying on his sense of smell. It was that maid again. Why was she here? Turning his ears back on, he listened for anything.
She just stood in front of the door. Vegeta was wondering why she had even come down the hall just to stop there. Did she know that they knew something was up? Apparently she had finished staring at their door and began walking down the hall. Vegeta smirked to himself as he heard the other doors closing. "Why did you choose him?" It seemed the maid was venting. He listened for any clues. "I was the chosen one, me." She sounded disappointed. A door slammed loudly, forcing Vegeta to turn over and look at the newly awake Tarble. He looked like he was about to ask Vegeta what was going on when another door slammed. "Why did she pick that dirty Saiyan over me? After all these years, I have always been by her side and she picks that monkey. This isn't right." The maid was clearly angry about Lady Zera picking Raditz for something. Vegeta looked over at his brother again, the boy was shaking. A crash came from the room next to theirs, Raditz room. Vegeta's theory on Raditz not returning had been correct, he heard the sound of something ripping. The maid left the room and was again standing exactly outside their door. The knobbed moved and Vegeta jumped to his feet. The door opened. The maid stood there with knife in her hand. Vegeta growled looking at the woman's distressed face. She began to laugh as she lunged toward Tarble's bed. Vegeta reacted fast blasting a ball of energy to the woman's gut stunning her for a second, but she still came forward.
"Tarble move." Vegeta ordered. Not questioning him the younger Saiyan ran behind him shaking. "Stay behind me." The woman screeched again and lunged forward again this time earning herself a fist to the stomach followed by a kick to the face. She cried out in pain as Vegeta forcefully went for her right arm, the one holding the knife. It cracked under the pressure, the bone exposed through her skin. The woman cried out and began to hug her clearly broken arm. Vegeta wasn't done, using an energy blast he melted the tissue around both of her legs. She let out a bone chilling scream. Vegeta was about to go in for the kill, but was stopped by his brother's arms around him. He had forgotten Tarble was behind him. He looked down to see his little brother pale and shaking. "Don't worry she can't hurt you." The woman was crying in pain but she couldn't move. Her arm was bleeding, but the energy blast had cauterized the flesh of her legs. The smell was putrid, Vegeta felt his brother move and a gaging sound. He knew Tarble had lost his supper.
"You dirty monkeys." The woman screamed.
"Why did you attack us?" Vegeta asked straight faced, he wanted clear answers. He was glad Tarble had stopped him, he could now get answers.
"You're the same as him. A dirty simian." The woman said a deranged smile on her face.
"Why do you hate Raditz?" Tarble said, surprising Vegeta. He thought his brother was out of it.
"Because he took her away from me! That child gets everything from her and I get nothing!"
"He took Lady Zera away from you? How did he do that?" Vegeta prodded.
"He killed him." Both brothers froze.
"Killed who?"
"Phantcy" Vegeta raised an eyebrow, he knew no one by that name.
"That trunk guy?" He looked back to Tarble shocked.
"I overheard his name in the washroom. I think he's the older one."
"Yes he is dead." The maid began to laugh on the floor. "She wanted this. She waited for this."
Vegeta walked forward making a ball of energy. "Tell us everything now or I will kill you." She continued to laugh.
"You really want to know? You dare to know?"
He looked her straight in the eye. "Yes, I dare."
She smiled. "My dear Lady has a hobby, she loves taking in poor souls that have something of use to the world. Intelligent individuals of which she can control. Adults could not work for her, she loves control and with children her game would be easy. She goes to Planets in search of the brightest minds so she can control the galactic trade systems military department."
"That doesn't sound too bad." Tarble said spitting. Vegeta could tell he was trying to get the taste of his mouth.
"My lady was alone, her family never loved her, Frieza and Cooler always have taken the spotlight from her. Her brother's pitied her. One day a child fell down the stairs, his neck snapped. After that she began to love the sounds of screaming of torture and pain."
"Is that why most of the children leave?" Vegeta asked, but only got laughter.
"Fool, no one leaves this house, they don't even get close to the door." Vegeta paled. That meant she was killing children in this house. "That Saiyan boy I thought would be like all the others, but no he learned how to get close to her, that beast." Her rage had returned.
"Where is she killing people?" Vegeta was running through every scenario in his mind.
"Upstairs there is a room, a hidden room. One I have cleaned for 20 years. She takes them there and ends their lives anyway she wants." She giggled. "You should see the ones that she leaves there, they are truly a work of art."
"Why did she keep Raditz alive?" Tarble asked looking at the floor.
"I don't know, the Lady always looked like she would do him in, but I would always see him the next day, that scum." She said trying to spit in Vegeta's face. He punched her jaw sending her back against the door. She spit out a few teeth and blood, glaring at the older prince.
"Is that why his hand was bandaged this morning?" Vegeta asked anger in his voice. The woman cackled conforming his suspicions.
"Why did she do it?" Tarble asked fearfully shaking.
"He didn't tell her about your sheets till the morning, monkey." She said laughing. "She still hasn't found out about his slip up, I came here last night he told you to sleep with your backs to the door didn't he?"
"You came in here?"
She giggled. "To bad I didn't finish you last night, it would have been easy."
This was bad, Vegeta had to get not just Tarble out of here, but also Raditz. He would not stand for anyone torturing any of his people. He understood Raditz's fear. He was trying to protect them. His warning the night before and his lies had all been him trying to tell him the truth. Zera must have come in the night and did things to those facing the door. His anger rose thinking of all the nights over the last four years that Raditz had gone through this. Even if the boy had killed another, maybe he had sent others here to die as well, he had warned them, spoke with them and worried about them. He would ensure Raditz was pardoned and welcomed back to Planet Vegeta.
The woman was still cackling on the floor, it was beginning to annoy him.
"Is that all?"
"No." She laughed. "Right now the fiend is in her bed, scum."
She was making him sleep with her? It hit Vegeta at that moment almost taking the breath out of him. She was in love with him or the idea of him, why else would she leave Raditz alive? What if she was trying to make Raditz love her? He wouldn't stand for this. He would find a way off this Planet. He would kill her if he had to. "Are you done?" She continued to laugh, telling Vegeta that there wasn't anything else, he had his answers. "Tarble, cover your eyes."
His brother obeyed. Vegeta made an energy blast to the woman's head, she screamed before falling limp. He took walked over to his brother and led him out of the room into the hall.
"You can look now."
"Brother….I want to go home." Tarble's eyes began to fill with tears. To his surprise Vegeta hugged him.
"Don't worry I'm going to get us out of here."
"What about Raditz, brother we can't leave him."
"Were going to get out of here, all three of us."
To Be Continued…
