hardly leave Bulma alone in the crossfire, he paused and looked at her questioningly.
<br />
<br />
"Don't worry, I'll have that in a moment ..." She pointed her remote control at the robots and pressed three buttons at the same time. The robots froze and smoke came out of their heads.
<br />
<br />
"Vegeta, take their guns from them and give them to me!" Somehow Vegeta was beginning to feel like he was Bulma's henchman.He actually hated being ordered around, but since only she knew what the whole action was aiming at, he did what it took. As soon as Bulma had the energy weapon in her hand and pointed it at the door, it opened and the three "toys" of the Phelesen stumbled out.
<br />
<br />
"Vegeta!" That was all Bulma needed to say, two punches and a kick and the three lay unconscious on the floor.
<br />
<br />
"Come out!" Shouted Bulma into the room. "We don't want to kill you, we just want to talk to you. Or ..." she hesitated now, counted to three and added, "Are you afraid of a little bet?"
<br />
<br />
"What if I just don't feel like it?" Came from the dark room. "You two don't seriously believe that you can escape like that? The ship is full of slaves who would jump into a vacuum for me and robots who only obey me. You don't even have a ship anymore, so what do you want? "<br />
<br />
"Bet with you, that's all. Or is the Pheleses reputation as daring gamblers exaggerated? My companion Vegeta here is in any case a Saiyan with a short patience and since he has nothing to lose anyway, especially not since he knows what it is with these stamps on himself, he'll simply shoot a ball of energy through the wall back there. Then we'll both be over too, but we have good friends in the afterlife who will put in a good word for Enma ... "
<br />
<br />
To demonstrate how serious he was, Vegeta shot a ball of energy through the wall between the hall and the Phelesen's cabin. The demonstration was very impressive; in any case, through the smoking hole, one could see the rather disconcerted Phelesen peeping out of his cover behind the lavishly decorated bed.
<br />
<br />
"How is it?" Bulma waved to him through the hole. "Fancy a little bet, or do we need to be clearer about how serious we mean it?"<br />
<br />
“It's okay.” The Phelese took heart, straightened his clothes and hairstyle and stepped out. Bulma aimed the energy weapons not at him, but at a point a few yards down the hall. When she pressed the trigger, a bright, yellow beam shot out of the pipe and cut a small, smoking hole in the floor.
<br />
<br />
"What about the wave now?" Asked the Phelese.
<br />
"Well, I'll bet you that no one on board can win a fair duel against Vegeta."
<br />
<br />
"The stakes?"
<br />
<br />
"If I'm right, then they'll give us one of the little space gliders from the hold, full of fuel and without damage, and let us go as free beings without any stamp. If I'm wrong and Vegeta loses, then ..." She pretended to have to they think first. "Then I'll show you where my home planet, the earth, can be found."
<br />
<br />
Vegeta stared at her with his mouth open. Did she trust him that much?Bulma seemed to sense what was going on inside him because she grabbed his hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. "I rely on Vegeta," she said to the Phelesen. "He's the best fighter in the universe."
<br />
<br />
"But isn't that a little unfair to him," objected the Phelese slyly. "After all, he's putting his life on the line in this fight. Wouldn't it be more fair if you both won a bet against me together?"
<br />
<br />
"And what do you have in mind?" Asked Vegeta. "Bulma is not a warrior, so forget about a fight against one of your slaves."
<br />
<br />
“I hadn't thought of that.” The smile that played around the Phelesen's mouth didn't appeal to either Bulma or Vegeta. "I've built a small labyrinth in the center of the ship. If I'm not sure about the value of a new addition, I'll send it through there. Depending on how far it can make it before giving up, the decisive factor is which stamp it gets .If you both manage to cross the labyrinth to the middle, I will not only let you run, but all of my slaves on this ship. If you give up beforehand, however, you will put your stamp on each other in front of my eyes. "
<br />
<br />
Vegeta swallowed. That was tough stuff. Although he was standing in front of Bulma unarmed, the Phelese clearly had the upper hand at the moment. Vegeta didn't care a bit what happened to the other slaves, but he knew Bulma's soft heart and before he could stop her, she had already consented.
<br />
<br />
The Phelese smiled contentedly. He himself led them to the lock behind which the labyrinth began. "Here's a communicator," he said, handing Vegeta a flat, round device that flipped open like a powder compact. "If you want to give up, all you have to do is press the green button to contact me and say the three words."
<br />
<br />
Vegeta tossed the device to Bulma with a scornful snort."A Saiyan never gives up."
<br />
“We'll see.” Again that smile that didn't bode well.
<br />
<br />
Bulma wondered if she hadn't rushed to agree. Vegeta didn't seem to mind what kind of challenge he had to face, she herself would probably just be a block on his leg and that was probably what the Phelese was after.
<br />
<br />
The lock opened and behind it a narrow passage appeared, which turned to the left after just a few steps.
<br />
<br />
"Oh yes," said the Phelese before the two climbed through the opening. "We should set a time limit. How about 10 qui?"
<br />
<br />
Bulma looked questioningly at Vegeta. This measure was known to him. "That's pretty much eight hours," he explained.
<br />
<br />
Eight hours seemed enough, even with such a huge ship. "Okay."
<br />
"Then everything is clear, so if you both don't touch the golden cube in the center of the labyrinth within the next 10 qui, you've lost."<br />
<br />
"And if we do it, you will keep all your promises, understand?" Replied Bulma, far from being intimidated by Phelesen's sure-footed behavior.
<br />
He nodded indulgently. "Yes, yes. As agreed. The 10 Qui begin ... now!"
<br />
<br />
Bulma and Vegeta squeeze side by side through the entrance, which closed silently behind them. Since there was no other way, they followed the narrow corridor, straight ahead, left, left again, straight ahead, right, straight ahead diagonally downwards, and then finally a crossroads.
<br />
"Vegeta, can you put an arrow in that direction in the wall, the ceiling and the floor
<br />
burn pointing to the right? ", asked Bulma. Vegeta nodded and burned the arrows into the metal as requested. So they went to the right. Straight ahead, further down diagonally. Again to the left. The next intersection and again they took the right path that Vegeta marked. It. It more intersections followed and by the time an hour had passed, Vegeta must have marked about twenty.When they turned right again, after a few meters they came across a junction that they had already marked.
<br />
<br />
"We ran in circles," said Vegeta accusingly.
<br />
"That's fine," said Bulma. "Now we take the left path. This time mark the direction with an X instead of an arrow." As usual, they marched from intersection to intersection until, after about an hour, they came to another intersection that was already marked with an X and arrow.
<br />
<br />
Bulma did not let that disturb her. "Now we're going straight ahead. Just make a circle."
<br />
<br />
Vegeta wondered what Bulma was up to. But since he didn't know a better solution himself, he did what Bulma asked him to do. After the third of the eight hours, they were back where they had started.
<br />
<br />
"Good, that's enough." Bulma sat cross-legged and motioned Vegeta to sit next to her. "Can I borrow your hand and your energy?Unfortunately I don't have any paper. "
<br />
Vegeta was amazed when she asked for a thin energy beam, put her hand around his and burned a map of the labyrinth on the floor with the energy beam. Apparently these three circular passages were sufficient to give her the necessary information for the overall structure of the labyrinth.
<br />
<br />
"I may not be as smart as you," said Vegeta when she let go of his hand again, "but I don't see a center here."
<br />
<br />
"It doesn't exist either.", Bulma said dryly. "No wonder all slaves give up sooner or later, the whole thing is a trap."
<br />
"This ... this ..." Vegeta's aura glowed and his eyes flashed angry. “I'll just break this stupid labyrinth into its individual parts.” He stretched out his arm and a ball of energy grew out of the palm of his hand, which he had pointed against the nearest wall.
<br />
<br />
Bulma put her hand on his arm. "Don't be too hasty.What if the engine room is in that direction? Then the whole ship goes up and we go with it. We also need your strength. Did you notice how low the ceiling is? I guess we are dealing with two mazes here. One is pure illusion, the second is probably right below us and in fact has the center with the golden cuboid he was talking about. Since there is no entrance to the lower labyrinth from above, you will have to make one for us. "
<br />
<br />
“No problem!” Vegeta was happy to let off some steam. The energy beam that he fired on the ground was correspondingly wide and hot. It hissed and smoked. Bulma covered her mouth and nose and coughed. Vegeta was not deterred by the stinging vapors and added a little more energy. There was a thud, the pressure wave of which pushed Bulma against the wall. Then at last a hole yawned in the floor about half a meter thick, wide enough to let them both through.<br />
<br />
It was pitch black below them. Bulma fished a capsule out of her breast pocket, and this time it wasn't a tool case, but a large box with