As the ship landed, Vegeta couldn't help himself. He wanted off the ship as soon as possible, but Gure moved to stop him. "How are we going to breathe?" She asked.

Raditz moved past them, shutting off the engines. "That shouldn't be a problem. If the ancient saiyans used this place for training, then it should be safe to walk out there."

The smart saiyan touched a couple of buttons that opened the hatch to the outside. Vegeta smirked. "Well, they would be going crazy if we weren't able to breathe."

Raditz rolled his eyes. "You mean the vacuum of space would kill you?"

"Yeah, that," Vegeta said, walking past the larger saiyan and out the door. The emperor looked around the landscape. The moon was bluer than he thought. As he took another step, Vegeta felt odd. He could breathe, so that wasn't it, but it was almost as if he felt dizzy.

Raditz followed him, grabbing the emperor and keeping him upright. "It's an illusion."

Gure looked around. "How can you tell?" she asked. Everything around them looked wonderful really.

"The moon was abandoned hundreds of years ago. A couple of saiyans couldn't get it looking like this in only ten," Raditz said while moving forward.

"So Betra is trying to trick us already?" Vegeta growled.

Raditz nodded. "That's why you probably feel dizzy. Her power messes with the mind. I don't doubt that's what's going on."

"So we need to stay sharp then," Gure said. "We can't let her trick us like she tricked Tarble."

Vegeta was going to agree, but Raditz looked like he was pondering something. "What is it?"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this," the larger saiyan said, walking forward and away from the ship. "Let's get going. The temple can't be that far from here."

Vegeta nodded and walked after the smart saiyan with Gure walking beside him. His eyes kept scanning what was around him though. The land around them was quite pretty for being a moon. Blue canyons surrounded them, but were lit up by the sun's reflective light. The sky looked like an endless aurora, where twinges of purple and gold streamed together. If this wasn't a mission to save his brother, he would have thought about bringing Bulma here for some kind of get away.

Raditz stopped when they reached a courtyard of sorts, but Vegeta couldn't see why the other saiyan had stopped. "Raditz…" he began, only to stop in his tracks.

A statue of Cooler was situated in the middle of what appeared to be a garden. Vegeta felt his heart sink, they were too late. Tarble had to have been killed by Cooler's hand. He fell to his knees, trying to hold back his grief, only for a dark growl to be heard around them. The emperor stood quickly, putting his back to Raditz's. Gure next to him on his right, but her eyes never left the statue. It had to be hard to see that monster that had raped her.

"I thought you would never come," Tarble said with a grin as he came of hiding. "What brings you here?" His eyes remained red while he stared at them.

Vegeta couldn't believe it. Tarble was alive, but how and why? "I came here to see you."

Tarble's head cocked to the side. "Why would you want to do that? I thought that you had better people to speak to."

"Tarble, you have it all wrong," Vegeta said.

Tarble frowned. "So I'm wrong? Of course you would think that, Emperor Vegeta." His eyes glared at Vegeta.

"Tarble, that's not it, and you know it," Raditz said.

Tarble only laughed. "So I was right. You're in on this, too. How long were you planning with him?" the younger royal snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Raditz said in confusion. What had this woman done to Tarble? It was like he didn't trust anyone.

Tarble began to circle them. "You've been planning to betray me. I'm not dumb."

"No one ever said you were," Vegeta said, trying to stay calm. The fact that his brother truly believed the lies sickened him. "Why would I betray you?"

Tarble snarled. "You want all of the power to yourself. You've always been greedy, Emperor."

"Stop calling me that," Vegeta said. It felt so odd having his brother use his title like that.

Tarble only smirked. "So I can refer to you as a fool then?" He wanted to get under the emperor's skin, if he could get Vegeta to attack him, he could end this right now.

Vegeta didn't look at him. "I don't care. Do as you please."

Tarble felt puzzled. His brother was known for his pride, why was he being so dishonorable? "Then a fool it is." His eyes moved to find the Tech-Tech staring at the statue in the garden. "Staring is rude isn't it?"

Gure jumped as she continued to look up at the statue. There was something creepy about it. "It's just so lifelike."

Tarble walked over to it with a smirk. "It should be, considering how I acquired it."

Gure stared up at him. "Tarble, you can't trust Cooler. He's a monster."

The saiyan king looked down at the tech-tech. Something about her sad face made him angry. It was like he didn't want her to make that face. Her sadness bothered him. "What makes you think that I trust him?" Tarble said, wanting to ease her concerns, but he really didn't know why. He hated this woman. Why did he want her to trust him?

"Why else would you have a statue of him here?" Gure started crying. "For a second, I believed that he killed you and took over." She really had believed it. Her heart felt like it wanted to break the moment she saw the statue.

Tarble began to laugh. His laughter made everyone stare at him with perplexed expressions on their faces. "Like that bastard can kill me." He began to lean against the statue as he laughed.

"But he came here with a stone," Raditz answered. "Cold said that he did."

Tarble glared at his former friend. "Like those stones really matter here." His eyes glowed and the blue rocks around him reacted to it. "This place used to be for nightwalkers only; perfect for someone like me to rule over."

Vegeta remained quiet as he watched his brother grin. Something was not adding up. "But then why do you have a statue of Cooler?" He asked as Gure screamed.

"Its eyes…they moved!" The tech-tech shook with fear.

Tarble began to laugh again. "He wanted to play the game, only to lose in the most delicious way."

Gure watched as Tarble walked back up to the statue. The eyes were staring at her beloved with hatred, but Tarble only smirked at him. "You put him in the statue?" She asked, wanting answers.

"Well, yes. He came here wanting my Kingdom," Tarble said, staring at the small form in front of him. He felt funny as he looked down at her. His dizziness was fading, but he shook his head. He had a queen…even if Betra wasn't his mate.

Gure sighed in relief as she looked back at the creepy statue. Cooler would never hurt her again. "Thank you."

Tarble's eyes went wide. "You thought that I did that for you?" He moved away from her and the others. "Why the hell would I do anything for a traitor like you?" He was trying to keep his thoughts straight, but the longer he was around the Tech-Tech, the worse it got.

"I know you didn't," Gure said, looking down. "I just wish I could have seen it."

Tarble rolled his eyes. "Like you belong here."

Vegeta sighed. "Tarble, we came to talk. Can we go somewhere without that thing?"

Tarble only laughed. "So the fool doesn't like my design choices? I guess that makes sense as our old palace did suit your needs over mine." He began to lead them away from the courtyard. "Don't plan on staying here for long. I'm a very busy man." He needed to get away from the tech-tech, so he knew where to head. His queen had to be near. She said something about checking herself. He grinned.

Vegeta followed his brother into the temple and looked around. He was kind of surprised that there were so many saiyans here. How did this many elites escape Planet Vegeta? He moved forward, only to hear Raditz grumble, which told the emperor all he needed to know. This was another part of the illusion. There had to be at least a few others, but most of them were fakes that this Betra had produced. He wanted to growl, but he kept it to himself. Blowing his top wasn't going to help the situation.

Gure kept her eyes on Tarble. The way he looked at her earlier. It was almost as if he was starting to remember her, but it only lasted for a split second. His eyes were still that blood red color and she wondered if that would ever go away. She figured she could live with it, if he returned to the way he used to be.

Tarble led them to what looked like a dining room. He wouldn't have let them in, but he felt like showing off. After inviting Cooler into his Kingdom, he wanted to rub everything in Vegeta's face. But, strangely, his brother wasn't reacting the way Tarble thought he would. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

"So, what really brings you out here?" Tarble asked, wanting some answers.

Raditz was the only one that remained standing. "What do you think we are out here for?"

Tarble smirked. "You've come to drag me back to that room, haven't you?" He waited to see how they would respond, but again he got nothing. "Well, answer me!"

Vegeta sighed. "Why would I want to lock you up?" He needed Tarble to understand that he wasn't there to hurt him.

"Who knows why you do the things you do," Tarble scoffed. He wouldn't be deceived. Vegeta had already told him what he was planning.

The emperor growled. "I was the one that took you out of that place!"

Tarble smirked, his eyes glowed. "Really, you did that?" He chuckled. Finally he had broken through that exterior. He would get his brother to fight. Then he could dispose of him. "I thought I did that on my own."

Vegeta glared at Tarble. "I was the one that came by and saw you when you were in there, remember? Who was the one that moved you out of there?!"

Tarble only grinned. "Of course you're going to take the credit. Tell me more about how you "saved" me."

Vegeta was going to snap at his brother, but Gure stopped him. "We didn't come here to argue. We just came here to talk."

The King glared at the tech-tech. "Who told you to interfere?"

She glared up at him, but he didn't feel angry with her. Instead, he was kind of impressed that she was standing up to him. "No one, but I'm not going to sit here and let you rant like a crazy man." Her eyes lit up. "I care for you too much to let you do that."

His eyes narrowed. "You care for me? Don't make me laugh." He stood and turned his back to them. "No one cares for me. I'm nothing but an afterthought."

"Tarble, you know that's not true," Raditz said, making Tarble turn to face him. "You think after everything we've all been through that you're just an afterthought?"

Tarble only laughed. "I was used from the get go."

"How can you say that?" The larger saiyan stated. "We went through hell together more than once. Zera's home and those days in the bunker… Don't those mean anything to you?"

Tarble flinched as the image of two young boys entered his mind. Both of them were messing around in a laboratory. Both of them were laughing as they melted a man's skin off. "You were using me. That's all that there is to it."

"What would I gain by using you?" Raditz said, clearly hurt by what Tarble had said.

Tarble only laughed, regaining his composer. "A place beside the royal family. You were a lowly third class, you wanted power. Hell, the first thing you asked for was for my brother to train Kakarot. You've been in this for the perks from the start."

Raditz looked away from Tarble. "Is that what you've really thought of me this whole time?" The larger saiyan was thinking. The years they had been friends… Was it really all just a lie from the start?

Tarble wanted to revile in the large saiyan's anger at being found out, but the look on Raditz's face stung him. He really didn't understand. If Raditz was using him, he should be trying his hardest to call him a liar, but it looked like the lug wanted to cry.

Another image flashed before his eyes. He was lying down on a table and looking up. His hands were tied up. Zera was standing over him with her arms wrapped around Raditz. He watched as a needle got close to his skin, but only went up into the frostian's eye. The young Raditz only gave him a smile as he untied him.

Tarble shook his head. They were messing with his mind. That was it.

"You don't have to be so mean," Gure said. "We aren't your enemy."

"Aren't you?" He knew that they planned to take him away, but they couldn't. This moon made it so they couldn't.

A set of doors opened and into the room a young female saiyan entered. She had a mischievous smile on her face until she saw the group. "Tarble, dear, why are they all in here?" Betra asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Vegeta couldn't help but snarl at the woman, but Gure stopped him. "It won't help us if you go after her," she whispered in his ear. Vegeta sighed and watched as Betra came closer.

Tarble looked her over. "So, what is the news?"

Betra was still looking over the group. "You know, I don't really like an audience like this."

"It won't hurt them to hear," Tarble said, staring at her. His muddled mind began to stop fidgeting the moment she stepped into the room.

Betra smiled, making sure to fix her gaze on the tech-tech. "I'm pregnant."

To Be Continued…

Beta Reader's note: Hey, y'all. I'm sorry this updated late. My Nana is in town and missjo is sick, so we both lost track of the days. Chapter 40 will be up tomorrow.