Chapter Ninety-One: Nama, Where Are You?

The next morning, on the way to the castle conservatory…

Zarbon was unusually happy right now. He was talking excitedly on his scouter to Frieza, as he made his way upstairs to the castle conservatory to see little Princess Tayla Chloe for the first time. Not only had Princess Tayla been captured, but also he had heard from Flirtius that Shalila Chloe, the proud Superior Gran of Astoria, had offered to surrender herself in exchange for the freedom of Tayla and all of the hostages.

"Wondrous news, isn't it, sire?" Zarbon asked through his scouter channel.

"Hmmm…that depends on how you look at it, Zarbon. If it had been any other planetary leader, I would agree. But it is not like Shalila Chloe or any of her family to give up or give in that easily. You don't honestly intend to free Princess Tayla, do you? I don't so much care about the other captives, since everyone on this planet is to die anyway."

"Of course not, sire. But what do we do when Shalila Chloe becomes our prisoner?"

"Hmmm…good question…her surrender is not something that I would expect from her, and that alone makes me suspicious. She has to be planning something; she has to be. See that Flirtius restrains her with that cuffing gun that you allowed him to have."

"He's already done so, sire. Shalila Chloe has been cuffed, so she should be no threat. Should we spare her when she is brought to us, or should we have her killed?"

"Let her live for now. I want to know exactly what she is up to, and as long as she's alive, we'll be able to figure out what she's really planning. I've known that woman, that murderer of my own dear mother, for years, and if she is devious enough to kill my mother, then she is crafty enough to be hatching some scheme to save her family. Make sure she is restrained, and once Calmag is cleared, I want both her and her troublesome granddaughter brought to me the minute you and the others arrive on my ship." Frieza then chuckled wickedly through his scouter. "Zarbon! I just figured out how to control that little girl that the monkeys and Diamonique claim gave them so much trouble!"

"What's that, my sire?"

Frieza laughed cruelly. "When she and her grandmother are brought to me, I will torture and kill the old woman right in front of Princess Tayla! Princess Tayla will then see what I am capable of, and she will submit to me on the spot, too frightened of my great power to ever rebel against me!" Frieza laughed louder than ever.

Zarbon sighed, "Sire, that could prove to be a mistake, for if you did and the little girl were able to grow stronger, she could eventually grow powerful enough to cripple you or even kill you in revenge. Clan of Chloe members do not forgive or forget, you know that, sire, and Astorians can be just as deadly as the Saiyans once were. Better to keep Shalila Chloe as a prisoner for the rest of her life to give her granddaughter an incentive to work for you. It is amazing what children will do to keep their loved ones alive."

Frieza growled, "Zarbon, I will decide how to handle the brat, and I will do it my way! And I don't want Shalila Chloe alive any longer than necessary! I can't wait to torment and humiliate the old woman before I ship her off to the next dimension. The screams of a defeated powerful ruler are always music to my ears! Now do as I say, Zarbon and carry out my orders. Do not give in to the Superior Gran's requests; now that she's restrained, what can she do to any of you?"

"Yes, sire," Zarbon sighed. He decided then to ask about Kaydra and Chestra.

"Kaydra is doing exceptionally well in her training. You will see a great improvement in her fighting techniques once you and Chestra meet with her again. Your Chestra is on the medical cruiser just hovering outside of Calmag; she is well. And as for Kaydra again, she's become like a daughter to me; if she wasn't an Astorie, I could grow to love her. But anyway, it is time for you to get back to work. Farewell, Zarbon, don't fail me."

"I won't, sire. Now that Shalila Chloe and her Namek guardian have been disabled, we will definitely be able to destroy everyone else."

"Good. Signing off now." And Frieza's voice was gone.







The castle conservatory…

Diamonique idly ran a diamond-studded finger down Tayla's smooth, adolescent cheek. "Such firm skin; you have the potential to become a beauty someday, if allowed. I certainly wouldn't call you one now though, my dear. Such a scrawny thing you are, big muddy eyes, no breasts yet to speak of, hardly any curves. Maybe you'll fill out some, but you'll never become as well endowed as myself. You'll never have the hordes of men panting over you the way that they do me. Men prefer women who are nicely shaped such as myself, not sticks like you. But anyway, your fighting skills greatly exceed your looks; it is not every brat that can take me down the way that you did."

Tayla could not respond to her nemesis because of the gag in her mouth, but she gave Diamonique a look of pure fury bordering on hatred. Her expression was deadly enough now to destroy Frieza himself, if possible. Diamonique just bent down and whispered into Tayla's ear, "And once you wind up working for us, little girl, I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me. I can't harm you yet, but you better pray that I am not the one who trains you, for if I am, I will make you suffer. I will make you suffer anyway, and your misery will become one of my greatest pleasures. Any comments, little brat?" And Diamonique pulled the gag out of Tayla's mouth, so Tayla could finally speak.

But Tayla decided to be obstinate and not give Diamonique the satisfaction of hearing her respond. She turned her face away from her captor and stayed silent.

"Well?" Diamonique demanded.

Tayla ignored her entirely; she would not even look at her.

"Aren't you going to speak, or did you lose your voice?"

Tayla did not respond.

"Answer me!"

Tayla refused.

"Are you deaf, mute, or both?"

Silence.

"Don't you dare ignore me, brat!"

Again, silence.

"Are you deliberately doing ignoring me?"

Tayla finally allowed herself a small grin; she was fighting back in her own way, and it gave her some pleasure in irritating the annoying Diamonique.

Finally, Diamonique couldn't take Tayla's snubbing her anymore, and she seized the girl by her long, ebony hair and dragged her onto her knees. She shook Tayla hard, hoping to force a response out of her. Tayla just gave her a smug look, and she turned her button nose up at Diamonique ever so slightly.

The Gemstarian warrior then drew her hand back and sharply slapped Tayla across her face! And not only did Diamonique manage to slap Tayla's face, the diamond nail on her index finger raked a long, deep gash along her cheek from the corner of her left eye down to the curve of her pointed chin. The nasty, sharp nail had sliced her face like a switchblade. If the wound were not treated properly, the horrific attack would definitely leave a marring scar on her otherwise clear-skinned face.

Tayla bit her lip hard to keep from screaming, and she squeezed her saucer eyes shut, trying not to cry, not to let Diamonique see how much pain she had caused her. She turned her heart-shaped face away from Diamonique to allow herself the luxury of several tears.

Meanwhile, Raakon, who was still watching in the doorway, clenched his fists in anger. Never before in his life had he felt this strong urge to strike out against a woman like he did now. How dare that diamond-spell-casting woman hit and claw his sister like that, knowing that Tayla could not defend herself now! Diamonique was an adult; Tayla was still a child. The normally even-tempered, calm Prince of Chloe had to restrain himself from going after the cruel Gemstarian beauty and giving her what she deserved.

Remember the plan; remember the plan, Raakon, he told himself. Don't do anything rash. Remember your sister's life and safety are depending on you now.

"Nama," Tayla whispered hoarsely, trying to keep the tears out of her clear voice. "Nama…where are you?" She was too frightened now, too stunned by Diamonique's sudden attack to think rationally. The young girl began to tremble, her courage and spirit slowly fading away.

Diamonique laughed, as Tayla finally cried out bitterly, "You had no right to do that!"

"You should have thought about that before ignoring me, you skinny, puking brat!" Diamonique taunted, her cruel laughter the sound of nails raking along a blackboard.

"You hateful slutzini!" Tayla screamed in pain. "You and that awful Seductia are just alike, both of you! Both of you enjoy either hurting people or killing them? Why? What have we ever done to either of you?"

Diamonique responded by slapping Tayla across her face again, this time raking a smaller cut across the already large gash on Tayla's face. Tayla now had a bloody crisscross under her left eye. Indigo blood flowed copiously from her wounds, dripping down onto her blue fighting gi that Gracina had found for her. Tayla's assailant showed no mercy for Tayla's pain or remorse for her actions.

Diamonique smiled sweetly, but there was a malicious hint to that smile. She added in a cloying voice that made Tayla want to vomit, "Oh, and Tayla? Guess what! Your sweet granny surrendered to us." Tayla's eyes widened as far as they could in horror, as Diamonique continued, "That's right, my dear, she did. Zarbon just told me a few minutes ago. The mighty Shalila Chloe surrendered herself to us on the condition that we free you and all of the other captives, but of course we have no intention of honoring that part of the bargain."

"No…" Tayla whispered, her inner pain causing her wounds to ache worse. Tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Na…ma…why?"

"She did it for you especially, little girl. Funny, you're not even to rule after her, and she sacrificed herself for you, although I don't understand why. Now that we have her, you, and that Namek, Dirkan, in our hands, your people and Calmag's people will definitely perish. The Clan of Chloe here will cease to exist. And we will surely dispose of your precious granny and her darling Namek once we have finished with them. Face it, little girl, you belong to us now, and you'll spend the rest of your pathetic life serving Lord Frieza, like the rest of us. Why, I think that I will suggest to him that he send you to planet Astoria to destroy your own people, and under our training programs, you'll eventually learn how to blow up an entire planet with just one hand. It's so much fun, I can assure you."

"I'll…never…kill…innocent…people…never…none…of you…can make…me." Tayla infused as much fury and defiance in these words as possible.

"Lord Frieza can, darling, trust me on that. You're not the first recruit that we've had to force to do his will. I wouldn't recommend becoming an IVR-that's involuntary recruit, if I were you. IVR's are the scourge of Lord Frieza's forces because IVR's are a nuisance, especially to those who truly wish to serve him and do his bidding willingly. Better to come to him voluntarily, my dear, for it will go much easier on you."

"He'll…have…to…kill me first," Tayla choked out.

"And that," Diamonique said heartlessly, "is something that he would gladly do."

"You…have…enough people…working for…Frieza…that are willing…to do so…so why…must you… force those who don't want to work for him…to do what he wants…why?"

Diamonique laughed. "Because we wouldn't have enough powerful fighters, if we only took volunteers. Two-thirds of those who volunteer to work for Lord Frieza aren't as powerful as some of the captives that we force to work in his army. You've probably met Commander Jaden already, and she was an IVR, and yet she commands more respect in our army than many voluntary soldiers. Anyway, you don't have a choice."

"I…always…have…a…choice…and I shall…never…volunteer…to work…for that demon, that bastard…" Tayla whispered.

Raakon was still standing in the doorway, and his heart was sinking in despair. His beloved grandmother, one of the bravest women that he ever knew of, had willingly turned herself in to Frieza's forces. Why? Raakon fought to keep the tears in his eyes from falling.

"Just when we need you most, Nama," he whispered to himself. "Nama…where are you, now?"







In the ballroom…

"I'm a hero!" Flirtius sang. He was still holding Shalila Chloe's wrist, and Shalila had her proud, red head hung down, as she stared at the cuffs on her wrist. A heavy brown cloak, lent to her by Lieutenant Balboun engulfed her small, wiry body. "I cuffed Shalila Chloe, and I made her surrender!"

"Oh, shut up!" Baata growled. "You didn't make the old woman surrender! She did it on her own!"

All of the hostages in the ballroom were stunned to see Superior Gran Shalila Chloe of Astoria now the captive of Frieza's forces. Crystalis and Pork were weeping freely, and Steak and his children clung to each other. Among the remaining hostages, some were crying, some were cursing, and two men were trying to prevent a third from shooting himself through his heart.

Only Marya remained calm, as she dared to walk through the hostages straight to her captive grandmother. Her visions had not predicted this. Her silken white caftan swept the marble floor of the ballroom in a hushed, mournful whisper, as she approached the Ginyu Force, who was now dancing Captain Ginyu's awful Dance of Victory. Dodoria and Samsonite were with them, and Samsonite grabbed the High Priestess of Chloe's slender arm. A startled Marya abruptly turned around when he did so, but she tried to regain her composure the best that she could.

"Ah…a pretty thing you are," he slurred. "I've always liked tall redheads. How's about you and me getting better acquainted? I could show you things in bed that no Astorie man ever could!" Samsonite shared Balair's appetite for beautiful young women, and the tall, slender Marya looked ten years younger than she actually was (Marya was now thirty years old). He drooled openly, and Marya tried to disguise her disgust the best that she could.

"How about forgetting it?" Marya asked him calmly, but with a rare contemptuous undertone in her usually kind voice. "I am a Priestess of Chloe, and I've taken a vow of chastity. Do you honestly believe that I would ever allow someone like you to help me break it?"

The entire Ginyu Force heard Marya's words, and they laughed at Samsonite. "Ha, ha, Sammy!" Reccoom boomed. "You share Bali's bad luck with Astorie women!"

"Yeah, and to think you used to brag to us about how you could make any woman succumb to your charms!" Jeice jeered. He didn't like Samsonite any better than he did Balair.

Shalila permitted herself a smile at Marya's snappy response. Even in the gentlest of her grandchildren, the Clan of Chloe strong spirit resided. She even allowed herself a mild chuckle.

Samsonite growled, "I didn't ask any of you fools for your opinion!" He turned to Marya and hissed, "You'll pay for that one wench! You don't start being nicer to me, I'll make you regret every one of your words, woman! How'd you like an early trip to Enma Daiou?"

Marya said sweetly, "I am afraid that you'll be meeting him much sooner than I will. I've already seen a glimpse or two of your future, as well as your past. Your list of crimes is almost as long as your brother, Balair's, so if you trying to emulate him, you've made him proud. He is currently waiting for you in hell, so if you wish to meet him again someday, you are well on your way."

"Wench!" he snarled, raising his gigantic dark green hand to her. He would have succeeded in striking her, but it was Ginyu who grabbed his arm.

"That's enough," Ginyu growled at Samsonite. He shoved Samsonite away from a grateful Marya and asked her evenly, looking down on her, "Exactly what are you doing here among us anyway? You're supposed to be with the other hostages."

"I know that, Captain Ginyu," Marya said calmly. "I have only come to visit one last time with my grandmother. You wouldn't deny a young woman the chance to see her beloved grandmother one last time, would you? It has been a while since I've seen her. Please allow me to visit with her alone for at least thirty minutes; it is not like I can actually help her to escape. I have no powers beyond my psychic visions, I can assure you. I am no threat. Surely a man who was kind enough to stop this other fellow from striking me, a defenseless Priestess, wouldn't deny me a chance to tell my grandmother goodbye, wouldn't you? I would always be grateful to you, if you permitted me this last chance." And Marya looked deeply into Ginyu's eyes and smiled hopefully, putting on her most appealing expression. Ginyu blushed slightly, and then he grinned.

"Sure, why not?" he said happily, flattered by Marya looking at him so appealingly. He bent down and whispered into her ear, "But are you sure that you took a vow of chastity? I wouldn't mind getting to know you better myself."

Marya said as serenely as possible, "Yes, Captain, I have taken a vow of lifelong chastity. Allowing myself to become someone's mate or wife would distract me from my duties as a Priestess. All Priestesses and Priests of Astoria take vows of chastity in order to stay better focused on our true purposes in life. Anyway, thank you, Captain, but may I please see Nama alone now?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Captain Ginyu said cheerfully. "Okay, men, Flirtio-"

"That's Flirtius!" Flirtius growled.

"Whatever, Flirt-boy; let's leave these two ladies alone, so we can all go practice the latest steps to my Dance of Victory. Off we go, men! C'mon, Flirt-boy, you've got to learn my smooth moves if you wanna be part of the Ginyu Force!" Ginyu declared. And Flirtius slowly trailed behind the elated Ginyu Force over to the dais in the center of the ballroom.

Samsonite snarled, "I'll get Cap'n Ginny for that! How dare he intervene?

"Quiet, Sams," Dodoria ordered him. "I'm sure you'll eventually get a woman soon enough. I doubt a virgin would be that satisfying anyway." He then hissed to Marya and Shalila, "Thirty minutes, wenches, and not a second more. I'll be back the minute the time is up! Let's go, Samsonite."

"I can't believe we're allowin' this," Samsonite grumbled, but he acquiesced and left with Dodoria.








When the Elite men had left, Marya openly embraced Shalila and whispered, "I am so sorry, Nama, that you were forced to make this decision."

Shalila hugged her back and whispered, "No one forced me to make this decision, but myself. Do not fret yet, Marya, for do you honestly think that I would allow myself to be taken this easily, if I didn't have a plan or two up my sleeve?"

"No, Nama," Marya admitted.

"Listen, Marya," Shalila said in a low voice, just above a whisper. "I want you and Steak to help gather all of the hostages together in one part of the ballroom near an exit, for I guarantee you in less than an hour, the Ginyu Force and all of the other Elites here are about to get theirs."

"But Nama," Marya whispered. "What about the wrist cuffs?" And then a thought occurred to her. "They are fake cuffs, aren't they?"

"Of course," Shalila said with a grin. "They are dummy cuffs, and I am keeping my ki at such a low level that it would barely set off any scouter here. Flirtius has changed sides in order to spare his own life. I had him bring me here, under the guise of him taking me prisoner. Very clever, eh?"

"Very," Marya agreed.

"Okay," Shalila began. "Now have you heard anything about where they are keeping Tayla and Dirkan and Bajal?"

"Yes, Nama," Marya whispered. "Zarbon mentioned something about them being in the conservatory. But, Nama, Dirkan and Bajal are said to be under the spell of some woman named Seductia."

"I know," Shalila told her confidently, holding up seven fingers. "And I promise you, Seven Moons Oath, that dear Seductia will have a date with Enma Daiou by the end of this day. I plan to make her demise especially painful, for what she has done to my family and to a poor CRP soldier named Matias Gauze. Now you must keep mum about everything I have told you, my dear, do not even mention it to any of the other hostages here until this ordeal is over."
Marya nodded, and she and Shalila continued to still hold each other. Shalila whispered, "Are you all right personally, my dear?"

"Yes, Nama," Marya assured her. "No physical harm has come to me other than Samsonite grabbing my arm."

"Good," Shalila told her. "Now leave me for now, so I can concentrate on what I have to do. You and Steak bring those other hostages together, for once all hell breaks loose here, I don't want any innocent bystanders getting hurt."

"Yes, Nama."

"I am very proud of you, my Marya. It was very brave of you to stay behind to comfort and reassure the others. I know that it was not an easy decision for you to make."

Marya only smiled and nodded shyly. She then explained her plan to have Crystalis help them, and after hearing how Crystalis and Pork wanted to change sides and help the Astorians, Shalila approved.

"Good luck, my dear. And send my good wishes to both Crystalis and Pork."

"I will, Nama."








Twenty minutes later…

Shalila was standing in the middle in the ballroom floor, still with her head hung down and her normal, straight posture slumped. But there was a steely glint in her silvery eyes when Samsonite came back on Dodoria's orders to retrieve her.

"Okay old woman, your time's up. Commander Dodoria wants to talk to you."

"Oh, does he?" Shalila asked calmly.

"Yeah, he sure does. Come along, old hag. Your surrenderin' to us has sure been a surprise."

"Oh, you have that right," Shalila said silkily, and the smoothness of her tone sent a shiver down the Sistrai warrior's back.

Samsonite tried to shake off the worry that was suddenly creeping into him, as he seized the Superior Gran's left wrist. "Let's go, old lady."

"Oh, we'll be going alright," Shalila told him in that same silky tone. "But I am afraid that you'll be going to a different place than I will."

"What the hell do you mean?"

He found out soon enough, for at that moment, Shalila used her free hand to form a fist. With the quickness of light-speed, she thrust her fist into the air and sent it crashing into a shocked Samsonite's throat, fracturing his windpipe. Before Samsonite could react, Shalila punched his throat a second time, and the Sistrai warrior choked for air, as he was forced to release her left wrist. He could barely breathe, as he tried to throw his weight against Shalila.

But the crippled Sistrai did not succeed, for before he could shove Shalila to the ground, Shalila punched his ribs hard, cracking two of them. Quickly, she opened her fist into a palm and sent a strong blast of ki energy combined with electricity through her hand that shot from her palm and into Samsonite's body. Unlike Balair, Samsonite had not built up any immunity or resistance to electricity at all, and he screamed in terror, as electric waves shot throughout his reptilian body.

He continued to scream, as electric currents and ki shafts shot out from his body in a blinding flash of light that engulfed the entire room. He could feel his body disintegrating into thin air, as he took his last breath, screamed his last scream.

When the light faded, Samsonite was lying in a charred heap, made of skin, bones and ashes at Shalila's feet. Shalila spat upon the corpse and said contemptuously:

"And to think Flirtius told me that you were the strongest one of the Mid-Elites that were sent after us."

Another event had occurred during Shalila's destroying Samsonite: the sudden disappearance of almost all of the hostages! All of them had fled through a trap door behind a drinking bar that had been on the right hand side of the ballroom. It had been a new passageway that Caline had suddenly remembered just before Shalila had wished her family farewell. Shalila had been grateful for that last bit of knowledge from Caline.

The last hostage had scurried down behind the bar before any of the Elite men could prevent him from fleeing. Now the Elites had no more bargaining chips in the ballroom; all of the hostages, Calmagian and Astorian were gone. Only Steak, Ham, Pork and Crystalis had remained behind to help Shalila.

Dodoria's fat jaws were hanging open as he viewed with horror the scorched body of Samsonite. He finally recovered long enough to shout, "Get her! Destroy her!"

"Men, after her!" Ginyu ordered.

Shalila smirked, as she threw off her heavy brown cloak and presented her Sword of Chloe that flashed in the gleaming lights of the ballroom. The Ginyu Force flew after her, and Shalila called out:

"Who's next?"

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A/N: Well, I wasn't planning until now to kill off Samsonite so soon, but I did. Anyway, Balair and Samsonite have two other brothers that are still alive to cause trouble, although it is unlikely that they will appear in this story.

Sorry that it is taking me so long with the last Chestra chapter, but I am still undecided as to how I will end that story. Sometimes it seems it's just as hard to know when or how to end a story as it is to begin one. Once I come with a plan, and I will try to make it soon, you will definitely see the end of the Chestra story.

I think that I will mainly work on "Tayla" after I end Chestra, so it might be a while before I put up any more chapters of "Be Careful For What You Wish For" and "Dragonspaceballs". I have not given up those stories altogether; it is just that "Tayla" is my main focus right now.

There will definitely be a sequel after "Tayla" tentatively titled "Hope Never Dies" and I have several other story ideas that I am thinking of writing. Some of these ideas include a Supreme Kai romance, a story about how Androids 18 and 17 became what they are now, and some more side stories about the DBZ villains and their comrades. Oh, and there is also a neat idea that I have about Vegeta having a head injury and becoming the total opposite of what he is normally like.

Well, anyway, review and let me know what you think! Gooden boden fro noy!