Chapter 24

Darkest Hour

It was the day after Bulma had been taken to the whorehouse. The entire palace was in a state of grief. Everybody missed the former and future queens. Prince Vegeta had been making everybody miserable with his anger and hostility. And King Vegeta seemed to dive into a deeper vegetative (no pun intended) state as each day passed.

Bardock stood in his lab over the body of the former queen. It took a lot of courage for him to be able to even look at her headless body. He checked her blood for poisons and other abnormalities. All in all, everything seemed to be in order and decapitation was indeed the cause of death. Bardock let out a sigh in defeat. He was sure that he would find something here to prove Bulma's innocence. He was just about to stitch Lydia's chest together when he felt a horrible, blinding pain.

He clutched his chest with his hand and felt his heart beating so fast that it felt like it would explode. And almost as quickly as the pain had come on, it left him and he felt completely normal.

"That was no coincidence, I'm sure!" Bardock shouted to himself. He took a sample of the blood from Lydia's heart and tested it to see how long it had clotted for. 'I don't know why, but something tells me the time of death is important.' Bardock thought to himself.

On the other side of the lab, Radditz was running the diagnostic on Bulma's blood samples that Bardock had taken. He had just finished the tests that his father had asked him to perform. He was growing more and more excited, because if his father's hunch had been correct, the results would mean great changes for everybody.

He carried the samples and the tests to his father so that he could process them.

Bardock had just finished taking the sample of blood from Lydia's heart and was in the process of sewing her corpse back together. "Radditz, I should be able to get the results from all three tests in about 1 hour. If I'm right, they will be exactly what we need to get Bulma out of that hellhole. I only hope that she can make it thru the night. Now, help me prepare the queen's body." He told his son.

Prince Vegeta could no longer take it. He thought that he could move on without Bulma, but he was still in need of some closure. "Maybe I should have just killed the bitch." He spoke to himself. At any rate, he knew he would get no sleep until he saw her for one final confrontation. He would go tonight. Little did he know that he was being spied on by a very unwelcome presence.

At the bordello

Bulma lay on the bed that was in her assigned room. She had not eaten in three days as she had refused to come out and greet any potential clients. She had thought that she would just get it over with and accept her new life, but she just couldn't do it.

A knock on her door made her sit up on the bed. The bordello manager strutted into her room with a very angry smirk on his face.

"So, it looks like you don't care if you eat or not. No matter, you will work, whether you like it or not. And your little trick of avoiding customers has failed you. It seems one has requested you personally. You must have made quite an impression on him during your stay at the palace. He was very eager to purchase your services. He even offered me double!" The manager exclaimed.

Bulma wondered who the mystery buyer could be. She didn't think that she had angered anybody at the palace enough to be able to use her in such a fashion. Her thoughts were interrupted when none other than Turles marched in her room.

"Well, I'll leave you two kids alone," the manager happily stated as he shut the door behind him.

"Well, well, well, how the mighty have fallen. You thought that I would forget how you made me appear to be a fool in front of the king." Turles taunted her. "I'm going to make you pay for that, you little bitch. Oh yes, I remember how you stuck your tongue out at me. Well, you don't even want to think about all of the crazy things I will make you do with that tonight. And you had better behave. The manager informed me that you bring in no revenue, so if something were to 'happen' to you, it would be no skin off of his back." Turles continued to rant to Bulma.

Bulma wanted to cry. But she would not give him that satisfaction. Now, more than ever, though, she wished that she had accepted the pain pills that Bardock had offered her.

Turles walked over to her bed and smacked her hard across the face. Bulma's neck almost snapped from the force.

"Yes, little one, it's going to be a long night." He bragged as he pulled her up by her hair.

He jerked her around so that her back was facing him and kicked her down on the floor. When she tried to lift herself up on her hands, he kicked her in her stomach. The blow caused her to fall over onto her hands and knees.

"Much better. I like my meat tenderized." He whispered in her ear as he ripped off the skirt that she had been dressed in.

He lifted her up so that she was bending over the bed with her backside facing him. He moved her legs apart with his leg and tore off her very flimsy panties.

Bulma closed her eyes and tried to picture herself back home with her father going over test results. She wanted to be in a happier place, if not physically, then mentally. She balled her fists as she prepared for the intrustion on her body.

Bulma thought that she was about to feel Turles ram himself into her, but instead, she felt a void where Turles had been. She hesitantly looked behind her and saw a pile of ashes on the floor by her feet and in the doorway she saw a very pissed Vegeta.

A/N: Oh, I'm evil for ending it there. What will Vegeta say to Bulma and why did he just appear to save her? Find out next time. Please r & r!