Gineous got excited. "Yeah, so what is this place?"
Vegeta shrugged. "She didn't know what it was for. It paid well, and she didn't really care. But this is definitely it…Your pitiful human senses probably haven't noticed, but there have been mini earthquakes for a while now. You only noticed this last one because we were so close to it. I think the rooms have been rotating. They'll go through a cycle and if we're in the right room at the end of the cycle we can get out."
"Why'd you wait 'til now to tell us?!" Ginias shouted. Vegeta merely shrugged. (Because I can blast out of here any time I want! And with that, he blasted a hole in the wall and flew away.)
Hotaru looked at Vegeta. "So if we get through this, we can get out, but we have to be there at the right time. So we need to get to the right room."
"We'd better hurry!" Relena began to flutter about the room, ineffectively attempting to find a quick way out of it.
"It'll probably take about 8 hours for the rooms to finish their rotation," Vegeta advised.
"Yes, we should get going," Ginias agreed. With new motivation the group pressed onward.
* * *
The group had about half an hour before the final rotation and they had come to a halt.
"There are no multiples of three."
"What?!" Gineous faced Hotaru as if she were making a very sick joke.
"There are no multiples of three," she repeated.
"What do you mean there are no multiples of three? There must be. Check again."
"Ginias, I already looked. Repeatedly. There aren't any."
"But you said that's what we're looking for!" Hotaru suddenly noticed that Ginias had apparently applied a great deal of eye liner sometime after the last scene. He formerly soft, kind eyes were dark and hard. His voice lowered threateningly. "You'd better find the right door. We're almost out of time." Hotaru backed away from his overwhelming glare and shook her head.
"Just give me a minute to think about it. I'm sure I can figure out something." She sat and mumbled to herself for several minutes, occasionally calling upon Vegeta's memory for the numbers of previous rooms.
"I've got it!" She exclaimed in a moment of enlightenment. "It's the… blah blah blah blah blah," the rest of them heard.
"Right," said Ginias. "So which door is it? What's the number?"
"I don't know that," Hotaru looked at him incredulously. "Didn't you hear what I just said? It would take years to figure it out with a computer."
"I don't care about your excuses! Figure it out!" A wild, uncontrolled look had crept onto Ginias' face.
"You don't get it. It's impossible!" Hotaru backed away from him.
Vegeta stepped in between the two. "Back off Ginias. Beating helpless women is not going to solve the problem."
"You can't figure out the blah blah blah of blah blah blah," Hotaru tried to explain calmly while Ginias loomed menacingly behind Vegeta.
"Two."
"What?" Everyone looked around to see who had spoken. Marron giggled. Hotaru gaped at her. "What did you just say? How can she know that? She must be some kind of genius."
"Outta my way!" Ginias pushed past Hotaru as he searched for the number 2 hatch. Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Killing everyone in your path is only going to slow you down more, you know."
Relena looked up. "Killing everyone in your path…? You killed them! You're the Zion who murdered everyone working on the Apsalus, even your own sister! Susuka knew. So you killed her, too."
"Shut up! I don't need any of you!" Ginias grabbed for Marron. A collective gasp escaped the group. Vegeta punched (flicked) him in the face.
Ginias staggered back and fell to the ground. Vegeta and Hotaru grabbed Marron and ran for the hatch. Relena tried to follow, but before she could reach them Ginias was on his feet again and on top of her. He grasped her hair, pulling her back to grip the rest of her head in his other hand. With a quick twist he snapped her neck. (Everyone silently cheers) He ran for the hatch, but Vegeta managed to pull the other two through and slam it on Ginias' head. Meanwhile, in the next, room Marron and Hotaru scrambled to find the next door. They continued in this fashion, Marron ditzily calling out numbers, Hotaru searching frantically for the right hatch, and Vegeta bringing up the rear fending off Ginias. After about half an hour they could no longer see or hear Ginias behind them. Finally, as they entered a new room, Hotaru stopped.
"This is it," she announced.
"How do you know?" Vegeta queried.
"Um…well, because there was a big sign on that last hatch we came through that said 'this is the room you're looking for.'" Hotaru walked further into the room, "I guess we just wait here." As she walked her foot bumped something small that skittered across the floor. Curious, she bent down to pick it up. "Oh my Kami! It's the shard from my glasses!"
Vegeta looked up at her outcry. He raised one eyebrow. "So?"
"I broke them. When I first woke up here. This is the room we started out in."
A dramatic pause filled the room. And the rooms rotated for the final time.
* * *
A doorway opened on the far side of the room. From a few paces in front of Vegeta, Hotaru spoke, "I guess this is it, Vegeta."
"Vegeta…?"
"Veg–" Hotaru never finished the sentence. Dreamily she looked down at the hatch handle protruding from her stomach. Then she slowly turned her head to the side where she could see Vegeta lying on the floor in a pool of blood. In her final foggy, horror-filled breath she gasped out two words. "Run. Marron."
Marron looked at Hotaru in her own stupidity induced daze. She frowned slightly, then turned towards the bright light of the new doorway.
Vegeta shrugged. "She didn't know what it was for. It paid well, and she didn't really care. But this is definitely it…Your pitiful human senses probably haven't noticed, but there have been mini earthquakes for a while now. You only noticed this last one because we were so close to it. I think the rooms have been rotating. They'll go through a cycle and if we're in the right room at the end of the cycle we can get out."
"Why'd you wait 'til now to tell us?!" Ginias shouted. Vegeta merely shrugged. (Because I can blast out of here any time I want! And with that, he blasted a hole in the wall and flew away.)
Hotaru looked at Vegeta. "So if we get through this, we can get out, but we have to be there at the right time. So we need to get to the right room."
"We'd better hurry!" Relena began to flutter about the room, ineffectively attempting to find a quick way out of it.
"It'll probably take about 8 hours for the rooms to finish their rotation," Vegeta advised.
"Yes, we should get going," Ginias agreed. With new motivation the group pressed onward.
* * *
The group had about half an hour before the final rotation and they had come to a halt.
"There are no multiples of three."
"What?!" Gineous faced Hotaru as if she were making a very sick joke.
"There are no multiples of three," she repeated.
"What do you mean there are no multiples of three? There must be. Check again."
"Ginias, I already looked. Repeatedly. There aren't any."
"But you said that's what we're looking for!" Hotaru suddenly noticed that Ginias had apparently applied a great deal of eye liner sometime after the last scene. He formerly soft, kind eyes were dark and hard. His voice lowered threateningly. "You'd better find the right door. We're almost out of time." Hotaru backed away from his overwhelming glare and shook her head.
"Just give me a minute to think about it. I'm sure I can figure out something." She sat and mumbled to herself for several minutes, occasionally calling upon Vegeta's memory for the numbers of previous rooms.
"I've got it!" She exclaimed in a moment of enlightenment. "It's the… blah blah blah blah blah," the rest of them heard.
"Right," said Ginias. "So which door is it? What's the number?"
"I don't know that," Hotaru looked at him incredulously. "Didn't you hear what I just said? It would take years to figure it out with a computer."
"I don't care about your excuses! Figure it out!" A wild, uncontrolled look had crept onto Ginias' face.
"You don't get it. It's impossible!" Hotaru backed away from him.
Vegeta stepped in between the two. "Back off Ginias. Beating helpless women is not going to solve the problem."
"You can't figure out the blah blah blah of blah blah blah," Hotaru tried to explain calmly while Ginias loomed menacingly behind Vegeta.
"Two."
"What?" Everyone looked around to see who had spoken. Marron giggled. Hotaru gaped at her. "What did you just say? How can she know that? She must be some kind of genius."
"Outta my way!" Ginias pushed past Hotaru as he searched for the number 2 hatch. Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Killing everyone in your path is only going to slow you down more, you know."
Relena looked up. "Killing everyone in your path…? You killed them! You're the Zion who murdered everyone working on the Apsalus, even your own sister! Susuka knew. So you killed her, too."
"Shut up! I don't need any of you!" Ginias grabbed for Marron. A collective gasp escaped the group. Vegeta punched (flicked) him in the face.
Ginias staggered back and fell to the ground. Vegeta and Hotaru grabbed Marron and ran for the hatch. Relena tried to follow, but before she could reach them Ginias was on his feet again and on top of her. He grasped her hair, pulling her back to grip the rest of her head in his other hand. With a quick twist he snapped her neck. (Everyone silently cheers) He ran for the hatch, but Vegeta managed to pull the other two through and slam it on Ginias' head. Meanwhile, in the next, room Marron and Hotaru scrambled to find the next door. They continued in this fashion, Marron ditzily calling out numbers, Hotaru searching frantically for the right hatch, and Vegeta bringing up the rear fending off Ginias. After about half an hour they could no longer see or hear Ginias behind them. Finally, as they entered a new room, Hotaru stopped.
"This is it," she announced.
"How do you know?" Vegeta queried.
"Um…well, because there was a big sign on that last hatch we came through that said 'this is the room you're looking for.'" Hotaru walked further into the room, "I guess we just wait here." As she walked her foot bumped something small that skittered across the floor. Curious, she bent down to pick it up. "Oh my Kami! It's the shard from my glasses!"
Vegeta looked up at her outcry. He raised one eyebrow. "So?"
"I broke them. When I first woke up here. This is the room we started out in."
A dramatic pause filled the room. And the rooms rotated for the final time.
* * *
A doorway opened on the far side of the room. From a few paces in front of Vegeta, Hotaru spoke, "I guess this is it, Vegeta."
"Vegeta…?"
"Veg–" Hotaru never finished the sentence. Dreamily she looked down at the hatch handle protruding from her stomach. Then she slowly turned her head to the side where she could see Vegeta lying on the floor in a pool of blood. In her final foggy, horror-filled breath she gasped out two words. "Run. Marron."
Marron looked at Hotaru in her own stupidity induced daze. She frowned slightly, then turned towards the bright light of the new doorway.