A/N: Chestra chapter should be coming this week...I hope.
Until then...another Tayla chapter! =)
Chapter Ninety-Four: Turn For The Worst
At the same time in the ballroom downstairs…
Chaos had broken throughout the ballroom, with the Astorians and the CRP officers now fighting the Ginyu Force and Dodoria on the surface in the large room. Dodoria had managed to kill two of the CRP officers with his mouth blasts, but when he had tried to kill Lieutenant Balboun, Cletos had jumped in front of Balboun and deflected Dodoria's attack back onto the fat warrior. A furious Dodoria was now trying to kill Cletos, but Cletos now had Lektron and Gracina helping him.
Unfortunately the three well-intentioned Astorian fighters did not hold up against Dodoria for long, for Dodoria had managed to slam his fist into Gracina's face before anyone could prevent it. He had hit Gracina so hard that Gracina was now disoriented, and her next fighting moves were now clumsy and weak. Gracina had used her Fireworks Ball on Dodoria, but Dodoria dodged her attack, and while the dazed Princess of Chloe was trying to regain her wits, Dodoria shot her with a hand blast that sent her crashing into a wall. Gracina was not even able to stand up now, and she passed out.
A furious Lektron charged after Dodoria with his sword, but Dodoria kept firing small, but powerful hand blasts at him that kept Lektron at bay. Cletos tried to attack Dodoria from behind, but Dodoria heard him coming, and the corpulent minion of Frieza's swiftly turned around and belted Cletos hard in his jaw, knocking him to the ground.
Cletos had hit his head on the solid marble floor, and he was now as disoriented as Gracina had been before she was defeated. Dodoria forgot about Lektron for the moment, and he stood over the stunned Astorian prince and grinned. Cletos had broken his leg when he had fallen, and he tried unsuccessfully to rise. He finally collapsed onto the floor once more.
"How would you like to be cooked, Astorie? Baked, roasted, or fried?" Dodoria asked menacingly. Cletos only moaned as Dodoria opened his mouth to fire a powerful mouth blast that would charbroil him.
But before Dodoria could blast Cletos to the next dimension, Lektron flew up behind Dodoria and slammed his fist in the back of Dodoria's head. Dodoria whipped around, distracted from Cletos, who was now being carried away by Arlon. Dodoria and Lektron began to fight each other fiercely, punching, kicking and chopping at each other every chance that they got. Lektron was now considerably stronger than Gracina or Cletos, and he still managed to hold his own against the fat, pink fighter. He was thankful that he too, like Raakon, had received his Awakening during the Battle of Chloe.
While Lektron was battling Dodoria, Lukan and Jeice were fighting each other, with Lukan deflecting several of Jeice's Red Comet Attacks right onto him. Julien and Filcor Sedemeyer were chasing down a badly wounded Guido, who had just lost a nasty battle with Rojal and Dedron. Dedron was now fighting against Baata with Rojal's help, but the two boys were barely holding their own with the large, blue Ginyu Force member.
Reccoom had just killed a CRP officer before Arlon could stop him, and Reccoom was now fighting Arlon and winning. Arlon wasn't sure how much longer he could last against the tough Frankenstein-like fighter. Reccoom was mercilessly pounding and punching at Arlon, and Arlon could barely block his punches. Steak then joined the fight to help Arlon, but he wasn't faring much better against Reccoom than Arlon was. Alora was on her way to help.
With the melee going on, Ridikar's main concern now was Tayla; he had just escaped one of Dodoria's mouth blasts, and he was now slipping through the door exiting the ballroom in order to go find his intended. Now that he could fly, Ridikar could move much faster up the stairs, deciding that flying upstairs would be safer than taking the elevators.
*I'm coming, Tayla *, Ridikar thought. *I'm coming to save you; don't worry. I won't let them take you away. *
Just as Ridikar was reaching the fourth floor, he saw a giant ki blast burst through the ceiling and crash down in front of him. Ridikar nearly shrieked, falling back, where he bumped into-Bendros?
"Bendros?" Ridikar asked, gasping. "What ha-happened, and what are you doing here?"
"I'm coming with you," Bendros told Ridikar firmly. "I've heard that Zarbon and Diamonique are upstairs, and Dirkan and Bajal are under that Seductia's spell. You're going to need some help, and Tayla needs both of us."
Ridikar didn't really want Bendros coming along; he suspected that Tayla had feelings for Bendros, and that idea didn't sit well with the Calmagian heir to the throne. He didn't like that Bendros had proven to be stronger than him either. Ridikar knew that he needed Bendros's help, but how was he supposed to prove himself to Tayla, if someone stole the glory and heroism that was meant to be his? Ridikar still had a lot of his pride left, and he wanted to be Tayla's hero.
"I'll be okay, really," Ridikar tried to convince Bendros as confidently as possible.
"Your family needs you right now more than I do. I can go save Tayla."
"Ridikar, do you how dangerous Zarbon and Diamonique are said to be?" Bendros asked incredulously. "Even Superior Granden Dirkan and Superior Gran Shalila had a hard time defeating Zarbon, and Diamonique can turn people into diamonds. We need to work together. I know that you want to help Tayla, and so do I. Not even I could take those two on alone, and Seductia had Dirkan and Bajal under her spell."
Ridikar was not happy to have to share rescuing Tayla with Bendros, whom he pegged as a rival, but thankfully common sense took over, and he grudgingly agreed. He just had a question to ask Bendros before they left:
"What are your feelings towards Tayla?"
Bendros grew uncomfortable. "What do you mean?"
Ridikar decided not to beat around the bush any longer. "I mean, how do you like her? Do you like her as a potential mate, or like a little sister, or just a good friend?"
"Ridikar, now is not the time…" Bendros said, trying to delay him.
"I want to know!" Ridikar suddenly cried out in anguish. "Are you a potential rival for her affections? I saw how she looked at you last night! I have a bad feeling that she-she's in-in love with you! If you think of her the same way, I'm not going to have a chance, even if I am to rule Calmag! I have the right to know-are you a threat?"
Bendros suddenly pitied the Calmagian prince. "You really do care for Tayla, don't you?" he asked softly.
"Yes, I do!" Ridikar couldn't restrain himself from shouting. "I love her! And it's not right for you to come along, just when I'm finally starting to get her to like me again! She'll surely pick you over me 'cause you're stronger and braver than I am! And you didn't try to force her like I did! Just when I thought I was getting back into her heart, you have to come along! Why? I'm sure there are plenty of girls among your own people that you could have! Why her? Why?"
"Ridikar…"
"I want to know!"
Bendros sighed. He finally decided to tell him the truth. "Ridikar…I know that it's going to hurt when I tell you this, but Tayla has had a crush on me since she was a child, just barely eight years old. I don't know whether she's told you that before or not. When I first met her at that age, I liked her immediately, but it was as an older brother loving a little sister."
"I've suspected for years that she had a crush on me, but my suspicions weren't confirmed until she saw me kissing another girl close to my age a year ago. It took me a few days to find out the reason for her tears when she had seen me do that, and it was Superior Granden Dirkan himself who finally told me the truth about Tayla's affection for me. I was flattered, very flattered, but I didn't take her that seriously at the time because she had just turned eleven. Her affection for me must have been stronger than I thought because she avoided me whenever possible the entire time I was seeing that girl that she had caught me kissing. That time period was six months, and the girl that I had been seeing had been one that I thought that I would marry. Unfortunately, she eventually left me for another man, and I have not had another serious sweetheart since. Tayla and I just rekindled our friendship again, and it's remained fairly strong, and I hope that it will be so."
"Are you in love with her?" Ridikar wanted to know.
Bendros sighed again. "Ridikar…do you want the truth?"
"Hell yes! I want to know what are my chances with Tayla are, if you want her as well!"
Bendros emitted another long sigh. "Ridikar, I'm not going to lie to you. I care very much for her, and I want to see her happy, no matter whom she chooses. There's something else that I need to say: Ridikar, I did not like you for a very long time because you had tried to rape Tayla those weeks ago. When I first found out about it, like her family, I wanted to tear you apart. I am still somewhat wary about you, but I am beginning to believe that you are doing everything that you can to redeem yourself. I suspect that you did it mostly for Tayla, but there is nothing wrong with that part."
"Ridikar, I agree with Tayla's family that Tayla is not ready to marry anyone, let alone you. She's only twelve, not really old enough for courting. I understand that you are becoming a better person, but the Superior Gran and Granden are still uncomfortable with you seeing Tayla. They would have preferred it, if you two had just broken things off completely. I understand how you feel about Tayla, and I believe that your feelings are genuine, but I also agree with her grandmother and guardian that you two do not need to be seeing each other in that way right now."
"Tayla, like I said, is only twelve. She's grown up a lot since she's come here, but I think that she doesn't completely know yet what she wants in a suitor. Her heart, I think, is confused, and if you try to put the pressure on her, it will not help her any-"
"Stop with the long speech!" Ridikar cried. He sighed, "Look, I'm sorry to be shouting, but you keep avoiding my question: are you in love with Tayla or not?"
The future Granden of Sahara thought about Ridikar's question for a few minutes. He then reflected back on how it had been Tayla who had been able to reach him in Oozaru form. Tayla had been willing to risk being devoured by him before she would allow herself or anyone else to harm him. It had been because of her trust that Bendros had been able to finally recognize Tayla when he had been in Oozaru form. It had been because of her that he had been able to gain control of himself in Oozaru form. She was only twelve years old, and yet she was one of the bravest females that the Sastorian warrior had ever met or known. She was mature beyond her years despite her occasional bouts of temper (which could sometimes be funny to watch and listen to) and an extremely good heart, a kind heart. Thinking on these things, Bendros chose his words carefully, to ease the blow on the Calmagian prince. Finally, he said, "Yes."
Ridikar's face drained of color. "No," he whispered.
"But," Bendros continued. "She is only twelve, and I will wait a few years for her to grow up. However, if she truly cares for you, Ridikar, in the way that you want her to, then I will not stand in the way. It is her happiness that I want, and if you make her happy, then I will be satisfied and move on. If your feelings for each other are still mutual, I will do everything that I can to see that you two can be together in peace and happiness-when she's older, that is. She doesn't need to be marrying you at age twelve; if you two are truly meant to be, then you both can wait."
Ridikar was stunned speechless; he never expected his rival for Tayla's affections to say what he had just said. He knew personally that he couldn't have been that generous. No wonder Tayla liked him. The young prince knew that he could give Tayla everything if Calmag was still left standing, but could he give her happiness?
"If…you…mean…what you say…do you think that I could ever make her happy?" Ridikar asked hesitantly.
Bendros was thoughtful, and then he gave Ridikar a quick, encouraging smile. "You seem to be on your way to doing so," he told him honestly.
"Th-thanks," Ridikar stammered.
"Now let's go find Tayla before it's-" Bendros began, but he was interrupted by a silvery ki blast flying through the air behind him. Bendros just barely managed to dodge it.
A second similar ki blast flew down from above-right at Ridikar! Ridikar's eyes widened as he saw the ki blast coming. Bendros then threw himself at Ridikar and shoved him out of the way of the ki blast. Both young men fell to the ground, as the ki blast hit a stone statue of the Queen Kildara of Calmag in the hallway and-turned it into diamond form.
"Diamonique," Bendros whispered.
"You saved my life," Ridikar gasped. "Thanks." Sweat was pearling on his wide brow, as he lay under Bendros.
"Don't thank me yet," Bendros told him. "It's not over yet."
Before Bendros could help Ridikar to his feet, they heard a sickening sweet womanly laughter that also was scraping and harsh at the same time. Then they heard another feminine laugh that was also cloying, but without the nails-on-a-chalkboard screeching tone.
When Bendros and Ridikar looked up, they saw Seductia standing near them with a woman with silvery-blue hair, peaches-and-blueberries skin and black gem eyes. Both young men than briefly remembered Tayla's description of Diamonique, and they knew immediately that this second female was the deadly beauty who could turn people into diamond statues.
"Hello, gentlemen," Diamonique told them sweetly. "I don't believe we've met. I am Lady Diamonique of the Diamondian Tribe of planet Gemstar. Let me guess: you two little boys are here to rescue Tayla, am I correct?"
"Where is she?" Bendros demanded to know.
"You and that wench beside you better not have harmed her!" Ridikar growled.
Diamonique laughed contemptuously, and her laughter strained the eardrums of both young men. "Oh, she's still alive, don't worry. However, I have left a nice disfiguring mark on her little face; that's what she got for ignoring me. I would rather kill her myself, but Lord Frieza would never allow it. If you both are panting after her, and I suspect that you two are, you both have poor taste in females. I can understand that young men must satisfy their sexual appetites, but I'm sure two handsome boys can do much better than a scrawny, big-eyed girl with a chest flatter than a sheet of paper! If either of you two ever tried to bed her, it would be like sleeping with a toothpick!"
"Really?" Bendros asked her calmly, although he was bristling at her insults about Tayla. "Well, how many toothpicks can say that they almost killed you?"
Diamonique growled. She clenched her fists, as Ridikar also took up Tayla's defense. He said edgily, "How dare you say those things about Tayla? She's everything that you're not-kind, loving, and loyal! All you want to do is hurt people; she wants to help them! You take back those things that you said about her!"
Diamonique turned up her tiny nose and emitted an unladylike snort. She turned to Seductia and said, "Seductia, take care of these impertinent, disrespectful young men for me!"
Seductia smiled wickedly. "With pleasure, Commander." She then created one of her red ki balls and threw one at Bendros, whom she had already become attracted to. Bendros threw a small ki ball that crashed into hers, and his attack decimated Seductia's ki ball. Seductia tried to throw a second ki ball at Bendros, but Bendros destroyed that one as well.
"Ridikar," Bendros told him. "I am going to hold them off; you get out of here and find Tayla!"
"Are you sure that you're going to be able to handle those two?" Ridikar asked him shakily.
"One of us has to," Bendros replied. "Go! Now!"
Ridikar took one last look at the two dangerous women, and finally he flew upstairs through the hole in the basement that one of the ki blasts had created.
Seductia then threw some more of her red ki packets at Bendros, but the Sastorian warrior either destroyed or dodged every one. Finally a furious Seductia's face purpled, as she brought her palm to her lips and blew Bendros a kiss.
"My Kiss of Death attack should take care of him," she whispered.
The kiss was visible, a ki blast in the shape of a pair of huge, smacking lips that flew straight at Bendros. Bendros threw himself out of the way of that attack, and Seductia's Kiss of Death Attack crashed into a painting of Prince Amitar on the wall behind Bendros. When the attack hit the painting, the entire painting, paint, canvas, frame and all melted quickly into one huge, colorful glob of gook. The melted painting slid to the floor, while the wall behind the painting collapsed, as it melted away. Within minutes, much of that wall was gone, melted away, as steam rose from the remains. Needless to say, the Sastorian warrior was horrified. His Saiyan tail trembled, and his knees shook, as he surveyed the damage that Seductia's little attack had caused.
As worried as he was though, Bendros knew that he had to destroy Seductia once and for all. Knowing what he knew and seen of her, she was likely to bewitch him and all of the Astorian and Calmagian men to make them work for her.
Bendros rose to his feet, clutching his sword. "I've seen what you can do, Seductia," he said coolly. "Now it's time for you to see what I can do."
But before Bendros could act, another ki blast fell through the ceiling, and Shalila, holding Tayla's hand, jumped down through the hole, accompanied by her granddaughter. They would have fled to the next floor above instead of down, but Dirkan and Bajal, who were now jumping down behind them, had prevented them from doing so. Every time that the two Astorian females had tried to flee upstairs, both possessed men would block their paths. Now Dirkan and Bajal landed next to Seductia.
"Where is Raakon?" Seductia demanded to know, as Tayla and Shalila went to join Bendros in his standoff against Diamonique and her former protégé.
"Raakon is sleeping, my queen of the sunset," Dirkan replied.
"Would you like us to rouse him, my honey lover?" Bajal asked.
Seductia hissed, "Not now! Just both of you kill Shalila Chloe and that handsome, yet annoying young man with a tail!"
"Yes, my mauve-haired goddess of the loveliest twinkling stars!" Dirkan gushed.
"Anything to please you, my dab of pink pearl cream!" Bajal enthused.
"Get ready," Shalila ordered both Bendros and Tayla.
"Right!" they both told her.
Dirkan and Bajal flew at the three fighters, and Shalila quickly confronted Dirkan, who wasted no time in punching her in her face. Bajal started off his fight against Bendros by punching Bendros in his stomach. Tayla debated whether to go to her grandmother first or to Bendros, but then she quickly decided on Shalila when Dirkan caught his wife in a stranglehold. His large emerald hands were wrapped tightly around Shalila's throat, choking her. Shalila kicked and batted at him in order to prevent him from cutting off her air, but it was to no avail.
"No!" Tayla screamed. "Let her go!"
She ran around them until she was behind Dirkan, and she jumped into the air. When she came down again, her feet rammed into Dirkan's kidneys, and the stunned Namek screamed in pain. He was forced to free Shalila's neck, and a woozy Shalila backed away quickly, as Dirkan swiftly turned around to confront his ward.
With a look of pure fury, he began to take his anger out on Tayla, landing a giant fist into her eye before Tayla could dodge it. Tayla turned her face away, crying out, as Dirkan punched her in her jaw. She was forced to fight him back in order to save herself, and she kneed him in his crotch.
Dirkan then seized Tayla by her hair, just as Shalila attacked him from behind, landing a hard kick to his lower back. Dirkan screamed again in pain, but he did not release Tayla's hair. Instead, he turned around and punched Shalila hard in her face. Shalila fell back, and as she did, Bajal, who escaped from one of Bendros's punches, came up behind her and smashed his ham-sized fist into the back of her red head. Before his grandmother could react, Bajal hit her hard again, and this time, Shalila fell facedown into the hallway floor. Her head turned to the side, her gray eyes closed, and she slipped into unconsciousness, as she lay on her stomach.
"Nama!" Tayla screamed, as the tears flew from her brown eyes. "No, not Nama! Nama!"
"Superior Gran!" Bendros cried out.
Tayla kicked and punched at Dirkan to force him to release her, but Dirkan socked her in her stomach, as he held her hair. She then used her free fist to try to punch Dirkan in his face, but Dirkan blocked her attack and grabbed her wrist.
"Let her go!" Bendros commanded, rushing at Dirkan. He would have reached the Namek warrior, had not Bajal unexpectedly blocked his path. Bajal began to land a series of swift, hard kicks and punches, and Bendros was once again forced to fight his uncle-by-marriage.
Seductia ordered, "Dirkan, darling-love, capture Tayla Chloe!"
"Yes, my precious strawberry!" The Namek managed to look at his mistress briefly before turning his full attention on Tayla again.
"Seize her by her other wrist! I've heard that Astories are weakened if both their wrists are restrained! Capture her once and for all, my handsome green hunk!"
"You can count on me, my rose-haired fairy princess!"
Diamonique smiled cruelly. "I am loving this!" she declared. "Those three are getting defeated, and we didn't even have to get ourselves dirty! You truly are a genius, Seductia."
"Why thank you, Commander. You are wonderful yourself."
"I know! Thank you for reaffirming that!"
While Bajal and Bendros were fighting, Tayla was struggling with Dirkan, trying to prevent him from grabbing her other wrist. Dirkan freed Tayla's hair finally after Tayla had hit him in his chest, but it was only so that he could try to grab her other wrist. Tayla kept moving her free wrist, which was her right one, around, so that Dirkan could not seize it.
She then heard a voice, familiar and masculine echo from above:
"Hey greenie! You want to bully someone, come after me!"
Both Dirkan and Tayla turned around to find that Ridikar had jumped down from the same hole that Shalila and Tayla had escaped through earlier. Ridikar's feet landed on the floor, and before Seductia or Diamonique could intervene, Ridikar ran towards Dirkan and Tayla. Dirkan responded to Ridikar's brave action by firing his eye lasers at him, with the lasers just barely missing Tayla. Ridikar just barely dodged the rapidly firing lasers, as he danced around them.
Tayla knew that she had to do something quickly. Using her life force as a backup source once more, she summoned all of her strength, drew her right foot back and kicked it high enough to land into Dirkan's crotch. The kick was hard enough to cause Dirkan severe pain, and he was finally forced to release his captive. Tayla wasted no time in escaping him.
"After her! Recapture her!" Seductia ordered.
"It's as good as done, my sweet cherry!" And Dirkan hurried after Tayla to follow Seductia's orders, but Ridikar blocked his path.
"You'll have to get past me, if you want her," Ridikar told Dirkan as bravely as possible.
Dirkan responded to that challenge by punching Ridikar hard in his face. Ridikar fell back, as Dirkan slammed his entire weight into Ridikar's body. Ridikar nearly toppled over, but he then foolishly tried to come after the Namek again. He quickly realized his mistake when Dirkan landed two more blows on him. He shoved Ridikar to the ground and kicked the boy hard in his stomach before Ridikar could rise. Tayla saw Dirkan attacking her suitor, and then she looked over to where Bendros and Bajal were fighting, as she ran back to help Ridikar.
The fight between Bendros and Bajal was evenly matched, and both men were able to match each other blow for blow and kick for kick. It might have remained that way, if Bajal had not suddenly seized Bendros's tail. Bendros screamed out in extreme pain, as he fell to his knees.
"LET ME GO!" he cried out in terror, as Bajal squeezed his tail harder. He then cruelly twisted Bendros's tail around his fist. Bendros beat his fists at Bajal, but he was in too much pain to put up a fight.
"LET HIM GO!" Tayla screamed at Bajal, but Bajal ignored her. She was unsure as to what to do: go to Dirkan, who was beating Ridikar to death, or go to Bendros, who would surely go insane from the pain that Bajal was inflicting on him. Tayla had heard of insanity resulting from such prolonged tail squeezing, and that insanity usually drove the victims to suicide.
But if she went to Bendros first, Dirkan could easily kill Ridikar within seconds. Her guardian could destroy Ridikar with one ki blast. Neither male could hold his own at the moment, so what was she to do?
Finally, Tayla took a deep breath, as the tears dangled on her lashes. She then looked over at Bajal and whispered, "Bajal, I'm sorry for what I have to do, please forgive me."
And with the tears streaming down her cheeks, Tayla fired a medium-sized ki blast at Bajal's head. The bolt of lavender light from her hands zipped through the air and shot Bajal in the back of his head. Tayla prayed that it wouldn't be enough to kill her brother, only cripple him.
And it worked! Bajal opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out, as he slowly released Bendros's tail and fell down to the side. His eyes shut closed, and he too was now unconscious. Bendros was gasping for air, tears of relief flowing down his cheeks.
A relieved Tayla wanted to go comfort him, but Ridikar needed her right now. She then fired a similar ki blast at Dirkan's head, but Dirkan saw it coming and dodged it. He fired his eye lasers at Tayla, and while his attention was focused on her, Ridikar quickly began to crawl away from his attacker. Dirkan noticed Ridikar trying to escape, and he tried to grab the boy. He would have succeeded, had Tayla not fired a smaller ki blast at Dirkan's hand, piercing a smoking hole in the back of Dirkan's green hand. Ridikar scurried to his feet and scuttled away to Tayla.
"Thanks," he whispered gruffly. "I really appreciate that-"
He did not get to finish his sentence, for at that moment Diamonique's feet kicked him away from Tayla. Her feet crashed into his stomach, and then Ridikar fell to the ground backwards.
Tayla realized to her horror that she had not noticed Diamonique's ki coming near her in time, and this mistake would prove to be costly. Before she could help Ridikar, Diamonique suddenly seized Tayla from behind and wrapped her left arm around the girl's waist. Using her right hand, she then placed the sharpest of her deadly nails at Tayla's throat. Tayla gasped.
A recovering Bendros wasted no time in flying over to Tayla's aid, but Dirkan came up from behind the Sastorian fighter, and he seized Bendros by his tail. Bendros screamed in terror as pain, as he was once again forced to his knees. Dirkan kicked him in his kidneys with one foot, as he continued to squeeze and twist Bendros's tail harder.
"Listen, little girl," Diamonique said frostily. "I know that the poison in my nails cannot kill you because you are Astorian, but I can cut your throat with my nails within two seconds. If you want yourself and your family members here to live, I suggest that you surrender now. If not, I will have Seductia order Dirkan and Bajal to kill themselves, and we can easily destroy your unconscious granny and your two boyfriends. All Seductia has to do is bewitch them with her Fatal Attraction Attack, you know that attack involving those cute little red balls she throws? Then she can order them to kill themselves as well. Or I can turn them into diamond statues. And if I decide to kill you, then there will be no chance for them."
The color drained from Tayla's face. What was she going to do now?
"You're not a stupid girl, Princess Tayla. Even a stubborn Astorie brat like you knows when to admit defeat. What's your choice?"
Tayla's brown eyes clouded with tears, as she saw the suffering of her friends and family members. She saw her beloved Nama lying on the floor, unaware that Tayla was once again a captive. She saw her Namek guardian squeezing the tail of a pain-ridden Bendros, and she saw Ridikar lying on the ground. The tears flowed freely down her face, as she whispered, deeply ashamed:
"You win this one. I surrender."
Until then...another Tayla chapter! =)
Chapter Ninety-Four: Turn For The Worst
At the same time in the ballroom downstairs…
Chaos had broken throughout the ballroom, with the Astorians and the CRP officers now fighting the Ginyu Force and Dodoria on the surface in the large room. Dodoria had managed to kill two of the CRP officers with his mouth blasts, but when he had tried to kill Lieutenant Balboun, Cletos had jumped in front of Balboun and deflected Dodoria's attack back onto the fat warrior. A furious Dodoria was now trying to kill Cletos, but Cletos now had Lektron and Gracina helping him.
Unfortunately the three well-intentioned Astorian fighters did not hold up against Dodoria for long, for Dodoria had managed to slam his fist into Gracina's face before anyone could prevent it. He had hit Gracina so hard that Gracina was now disoriented, and her next fighting moves were now clumsy and weak. Gracina had used her Fireworks Ball on Dodoria, but Dodoria dodged her attack, and while the dazed Princess of Chloe was trying to regain her wits, Dodoria shot her with a hand blast that sent her crashing into a wall. Gracina was not even able to stand up now, and she passed out.
A furious Lektron charged after Dodoria with his sword, but Dodoria kept firing small, but powerful hand blasts at him that kept Lektron at bay. Cletos tried to attack Dodoria from behind, but Dodoria heard him coming, and the corpulent minion of Frieza's swiftly turned around and belted Cletos hard in his jaw, knocking him to the ground.
Cletos had hit his head on the solid marble floor, and he was now as disoriented as Gracina had been before she was defeated. Dodoria forgot about Lektron for the moment, and he stood over the stunned Astorian prince and grinned. Cletos had broken his leg when he had fallen, and he tried unsuccessfully to rise. He finally collapsed onto the floor once more.
"How would you like to be cooked, Astorie? Baked, roasted, or fried?" Dodoria asked menacingly. Cletos only moaned as Dodoria opened his mouth to fire a powerful mouth blast that would charbroil him.
But before Dodoria could blast Cletos to the next dimension, Lektron flew up behind Dodoria and slammed his fist in the back of Dodoria's head. Dodoria whipped around, distracted from Cletos, who was now being carried away by Arlon. Dodoria and Lektron began to fight each other fiercely, punching, kicking and chopping at each other every chance that they got. Lektron was now considerably stronger than Gracina or Cletos, and he still managed to hold his own against the fat, pink fighter. He was thankful that he too, like Raakon, had received his Awakening during the Battle of Chloe.
While Lektron was battling Dodoria, Lukan and Jeice were fighting each other, with Lukan deflecting several of Jeice's Red Comet Attacks right onto him. Julien and Filcor Sedemeyer were chasing down a badly wounded Guido, who had just lost a nasty battle with Rojal and Dedron. Dedron was now fighting against Baata with Rojal's help, but the two boys were barely holding their own with the large, blue Ginyu Force member.
Reccoom had just killed a CRP officer before Arlon could stop him, and Reccoom was now fighting Arlon and winning. Arlon wasn't sure how much longer he could last against the tough Frankenstein-like fighter. Reccoom was mercilessly pounding and punching at Arlon, and Arlon could barely block his punches. Steak then joined the fight to help Arlon, but he wasn't faring much better against Reccoom than Arlon was. Alora was on her way to help.
With the melee going on, Ridikar's main concern now was Tayla; he had just escaped one of Dodoria's mouth blasts, and he was now slipping through the door exiting the ballroom in order to go find his intended. Now that he could fly, Ridikar could move much faster up the stairs, deciding that flying upstairs would be safer than taking the elevators.
*I'm coming, Tayla *, Ridikar thought. *I'm coming to save you; don't worry. I won't let them take you away. *
Just as Ridikar was reaching the fourth floor, he saw a giant ki blast burst through the ceiling and crash down in front of him. Ridikar nearly shrieked, falling back, where he bumped into-Bendros?
"Bendros?" Ridikar asked, gasping. "What ha-happened, and what are you doing here?"
"I'm coming with you," Bendros told Ridikar firmly. "I've heard that Zarbon and Diamonique are upstairs, and Dirkan and Bajal are under that Seductia's spell. You're going to need some help, and Tayla needs both of us."
Ridikar didn't really want Bendros coming along; he suspected that Tayla had feelings for Bendros, and that idea didn't sit well with the Calmagian heir to the throne. He didn't like that Bendros had proven to be stronger than him either. Ridikar knew that he needed Bendros's help, but how was he supposed to prove himself to Tayla, if someone stole the glory and heroism that was meant to be his? Ridikar still had a lot of his pride left, and he wanted to be Tayla's hero.
"I'll be okay, really," Ridikar tried to convince Bendros as confidently as possible.
"Your family needs you right now more than I do. I can go save Tayla."
"Ridikar, do you how dangerous Zarbon and Diamonique are said to be?" Bendros asked incredulously. "Even Superior Granden Dirkan and Superior Gran Shalila had a hard time defeating Zarbon, and Diamonique can turn people into diamonds. We need to work together. I know that you want to help Tayla, and so do I. Not even I could take those two on alone, and Seductia had Dirkan and Bajal under her spell."
Ridikar was not happy to have to share rescuing Tayla with Bendros, whom he pegged as a rival, but thankfully common sense took over, and he grudgingly agreed. He just had a question to ask Bendros before they left:
"What are your feelings towards Tayla?"
Bendros grew uncomfortable. "What do you mean?"
Ridikar decided not to beat around the bush any longer. "I mean, how do you like her? Do you like her as a potential mate, or like a little sister, or just a good friend?"
"Ridikar, now is not the time…" Bendros said, trying to delay him.
"I want to know!" Ridikar suddenly cried out in anguish. "Are you a potential rival for her affections? I saw how she looked at you last night! I have a bad feeling that she-she's in-in love with you! If you think of her the same way, I'm not going to have a chance, even if I am to rule Calmag! I have the right to know-are you a threat?"
Bendros suddenly pitied the Calmagian prince. "You really do care for Tayla, don't you?" he asked softly.
"Yes, I do!" Ridikar couldn't restrain himself from shouting. "I love her! And it's not right for you to come along, just when I'm finally starting to get her to like me again! She'll surely pick you over me 'cause you're stronger and braver than I am! And you didn't try to force her like I did! Just when I thought I was getting back into her heart, you have to come along! Why? I'm sure there are plenty of girls among your own people that you could have! Why her? Why?"
"Ridikar…"
"I want to know!"
Bendros sighed. He finally decided to tell him the truth. "Ridikar…I know that it's going to hurt when I tell you this, but Tayla has had a crush on me since she was a child, just barely eight years old. I don't know whether she's told you that before or not. When I first met her at that age, I liked her immediately, but it was as an older brother loving a little sister."
"I've suspected for years that she had a crush on me, but my suspicions weren't confirmed until she saw me kissing another girl close to my age a year ago. It took me a few days to find out the reason for her tears when she had seen me do that, and it was Superior Granden Dirkan himself who finally told me the truth about Tayla's affection for me. I was flattered, very flattered, but I didn't take her that seriously at the time because she had just turned eleven. Her affection for me must have been stronger than I thought because she avoided me whenever possible the entire time I was seeing that girl that she had caught me kissing. That time period was six months, and the girl that I had been seeing had been one that I thought that I would marry. Unfortunately, she eventually left me for another man, and I have not had another serious sweetheart since. Tayla and I just rekindled our friendship again, and it's remained fairly strong, and I hope that it will be so."
"Are you in love with her?" Ridikar wanted to know.
Bendros sighed again. "Ridikar…do you want the truth?"
"Hell yes! I want to know what are my chances with Tayla are, if you want her as well!"
Bendros emitted another long sigh. "Ridikar, I'm not going to lie to you. I care very much for her, and I want to see her happy, no matter whom she chooses. There's something else that I need to say: Ridikar, I did not like you for a very long time because you had tried to rape Tayla those weeks ago. When I first found out about it, like her family, I wanted to tear you apart. I am still somewhat wary about you, but I am beginning to believe that you are doing everything that you can to redeem yourself. I suspect that you did it mostly for Tayla, but there is nothing wrong with that part."
"Ridikar, I agree with Tayla's family that Tayla is not ready to marry anyone, let alone you. She's only twelve, not really old enough for courting. I understand that you are becoming a better person, but the Superior Gran and Granden are still uncomfortable with you seeing Tayla. They would have preferred it, if you two had just broken things off completely. I understand how you feel about Tayla, and I believe that your feelings are genuine, but I also agree with her grandmother and guardian that you two do not need to be seeing each other in that way right now."
"Tayla, like I said, is only twelve. She's grown up a lot since she's come here, but I think that she doesn't completely know yet what she wants in a suitor. Her heart, I think, is confused, and if you try to put the pressure on her, it will not help her any-"
"Stop with the long speech!" Ridikar cried. He sighed, "Look, I'm sorry to be shouting, but you keep avoiding my question: are you in love with Tayla or not?"
The future Granden of Sahara thought about Ridikar's question for a few minutes. He then reflected back on how it had been Tayla who had been able to reach him in Oozaru form. Tayla had been willing to risk being devoured by him before she would allow herself or anyone else to harm him. It had been because of her trust that Bendros had been able to finally recognize Tayla when he had been in Oozaru form. It had been because of her that he had been able to gain control of himself in Oozaru form. She was only twelve years old, and yet she was one of the bravest females that the Sastorian warrior had ever met or known. She was mature beyond her years despite her occasional bouts of temper (which could sometimes be funny to watch and listen to) and an extremely good heart, a kind heart. Thinking on these things, Bendros chose his words carefully, to ease the blow on the Calmagian prince. Finally, he said, "Yes."
Ridikar's face drained of color. "No," he whispered.
"But," Bendros continued. "She is only twelve, and I will wait a few years for her to grow up. However, if she truly cares for you, Ridikar, in the way that you want her to, then I will not stand in the way. It is her happiness that I want, and if you make her happy, then I will be satisfied and move on. If your feelings for each other are still mutual, I will do everything that I can to see that you two can be together in peace and happiness-when she's older, that is. She doesn't need to be marrying you at age twelve; if you two are truly meant to be, then you both can wait."
Ridikar was stunned speechless; he never expected his rival for Tayla's affections to say what he had just said. He knew personally that he couldn't have been that generous. No wonder Tayla liked him. The young prince knew that he could give Tayla everything if Calmag was still left standing, but could he give her happiness?
"If…you…mean…what you say…do you think that I could ever make her happy?" Ridikar asked hesitantly.
Bendros was thoughtful, and then he gave Ridikar a quick, encouraging smile. "You seem to be on your way to doing so," he told him honestly.
"Th-thanks," Ridikar stammered.
"Now let's go find Tayla before it's-" Bendros began, but he was interrupted by a silvery ki blast flying through the air behind him. Bendros just barely managed to dodge it.
A second similar ki blast flew down from above-right at Ridikar! Ridikar's eyes widened as he saw the ki blast coming. Bendros then threw himself at Ridikar and shoved him out of the way of the ki blast. Both young men fell to the ground, as the ki blast hit a stone statue of the Queen Kildara of Calmag in the hallway and-turned it into diamond form.
"Diamonique," Bendros whispered.
"You saved my life," Ridikar gasped. "Thanks." Sweat was pearling on his wide brow, as he lay under Bendros.
"Don't thank me yet," Bendros told him. "It's not over yet."
Before Bendros could help Ridikar to his feet, they heard a sickening sweet womanly laughter that also was scraping and harsh at the same time. Then they heard another feminine laugh that was also cloying, but without the nails-on-a-chalkboard screeching tone.
When Bendros and Ridikar looked up, they saw Seductia standing near them with a woman with silvery-blue hair, peaches-and-blueberries skin and black gem eyes. Both young men than briefly remembered Tayla's description of Diamonique, and they knew immediately that this second female was the deadly beauty who could turn people into diamond statues.
"Hello, gentlemen," Diamonique told them sweetly. "I don't believe we've met. I am Lady Diamonique of the Diamondian Tribe of planet Gemstar. Let me guess: you two little boys are here to rescue Tayla, am I correct?"
"Where is she?" Bendros demanded to know.
"You and that wench beside you better not have harmed her!" Ridikar growled.
Diamonique laughed contemptuously, and her laughter strained the eardrums of both young men. "Oh, she's still alive, don't worry. However, I have left a nice disfiguring mark on her little face; that's what she got for ignoring me. I would rather kill her myself, but Lord Frieza would never allow it. If you both are panting after her, and I suspect that you two are, you both have poor taste in females. I can understand that young men must satisfy their sexual appetites, but I'm sure two handsome boys can do much better than a scrawny, big-eyed girl with a chest flatter than a sheet of paper! If either of you two ever tried to bed her, it would be like sleeping with a toothpick!"
"Really?" Bendros asked her calmly, although he was bristling at her insults about Tayla. "Well, how many toothpicks can say that they almost killed you?"
Diamonique growled. She clenched her fists, as Ridikar also took up Tayla's defense. He said edgily, "How dare you say those things about Tayla? She's everything that you're not-kind, loving, and loyal! All you want to do is hurt people; she wants to help them! You take back those things that you said about her!"
Diamonique turned up her tiny nose and emitted an unladylike snort. She turned to Seductia and said, "Seductia, take care of these impertinent, disrespectful young men for me!"
Seductia smiled wickedly. "With pleasure, Commander." She then created one of her red ki balls and threw one at Bendros, whom she had already become attracted to. Bendros threw a small ki ball that crashed into hers, and his attack decimated Seductia's ki ball. Seductia tried to throw a second ki ball at Bendros, but Bendros destroyed that one as well.
"Ridikar," Bendros told him. "I am going to hold them off; you get out of here and find Tayla!"
"Are you sure that you're going to be able to handle those two?" Ridikar asked him shakily.
"One of us has to," Bendros replied. "Go! Now!"
Ridikar took one last look at the two dangerous women, and finally he flew upstairs through the hole in the basement that one of the ki blasts had created.
Seductia then threw some more of her red ki packets at Bendros, but the Sastorian warrior either destroyed or dodged every one. Finally a furious Seductia's face purpled, as she brought her palm to her lips and blew Bendros a kiss.
"My Kiss of Death attack should take care of him," she whispered.
The kiss was visible, a ki blast in the shape of a pair of huge, smacking lips that flew straight at Bendros. Bendros threw himself out of the way of that attack, and Seductia's Kiss of Death Attack crashed into a painting of Prince Amitar on the wall behind Bendros. When the attack hit the painting, the entire painting, paint, canvas, frame and all melted quickly into one huge, colorful glob of gook. The melted painting slid to the floor, while the wall behind the painting collapsed, as it melted away. Within minutes, much of that wall was gone, melted away, as steam rose from the remains. Needless to say, the Sastorian warrior was horrified. His Saiyan tail trembled, and his knees shook, as he surveyed the damage that Seductia's little attack had caused.
As worried as he was though, Bendros knew that he had to destroy Seductia once and for all. Knowing what he knew and seen of her, she was likely to bewitch him and all of the Astorian and Calmagian men to make them work for her.
Bendros rose to his feet, clutching his sword. "I've seen what you can do, Seductia," he said coolly. "Now it's time for you to see what I can do."
But before Bendros could act, another ki blast fell through the ceiling, and Shalila, holding Tayla's hand, jumped down through the hole, accompanied by her granddaughter. They would have fled to the next floor above instead of down, but Dirkan and Bajal, who were now jumping down behind them, had prevented them from doing so. Every time that the two Astorian females had tried to flee upstairs, both possessed men would block their paths. Now Dirkan and Bajal landed next to Seductia.
"Where is Raakon?" Seductia demanded to know, as Tayla and Shalila went to join Bendros in his standoff against Diamonique and her former protégé.
"Raakon is sleeping, my queen of the sunset," Dirkan replied.
"Would you like us to rouse him, my honey lover?" Bajal asked.
Seductia hissed, "Not now! Just both of you kill Shalila Chloe and that handsome, yet annoying young man with a tail!"
"Yes, my mauve-haired goddess of the loveliest twinkling stars!" Dirkan gushed.
"Anything to please you, my dab of pink pearl cream!" Bajal enthused.
"Get ready," Shalila ordered both Bendros and Tayla.
"Right!" they both told her.
Dirkan and Bajal flew at the three fighters, and Shalila quickly confronted Dirkan, who wasted no time in punching her in her face. Bajal started off his fight against Bendros by punching Bendros in his stomach. Tayla debated whether to go to her grandmother first or to Bendros, but then she quickly decided on Shalila when Dirkan caught his wife in a stranglehold. His large emerald hands were wrapped tightly around Shalila's throat, choking her. Shalila kicked and batted at him in order to prevent him from cutting off her air, but it was to no avail.
"No!" Tayla screamed. "Let her go!"
She ran around them until she was behind Dirkan, and she jumped into the air. When she came down again, her feet rammed into Dirkan's kidneys, and the stunned Namek screamed in pain. He was forced to free Shalila's neck, and a woozy Shalila backed away quickly, as Dirkan swiftly turned around to confront his ward.
With a look of pure fury, he began to take his anger out on Tayla, landing a giant fist into her eye before Tayla could dodge it. Tayla turned her face away, crying out, as Dirkan punched her in her jaw. She was forced to fight him back in order to save herself, and she kneed him in his crotch.
Dirkan then seized Tayla by her hair, just as Shalila attacked him from behind, landing a hard kick to his lower back. Dirkan screamed again in pain, but he did not release Tayla's hair. Instead, he turned around and punched Shalila hard in her face. Shalila fell back, and as she did, Bajal, who escaped from one of Bendros's punches, came up behind her and smashed his ham-sized fist into the back of her red head. Before his grandmother could react, Bajal hit her hard again, and this time, Shalila fell facedown into the hallway floor. Her head turned to the side, her gray eyes closed, and she slipped into unconsciousness, as she lay on her stomach.
"Nama!" Tayla screamed, as the tears flew from her brown eyes. "No, not Nama! Nama!"
"Superior Gran!" Bendros cried out.
Tayla kicked and punched at Dirkan to force him to release her, but Dirkan socked her in her stomach, as he held her hair. She then used her free fist to try to punch Dirkan in his face, but Dirkan blocked her attack and grabbed her wrist.
"Let her go!" Bendros commanded, rushing at Dirkan. He would have reached the Namek warrior, had not Bajal unexpectedly blocked his path. Bajal began to land a series of swift, hard kicks and punches, and Bendros was once again forced to fight his uncle-by-marriage.
Seductia ordered, "Dirkan, darling-love, capture Tayla Chloe!"
"Yes, my precious strawberry!" The Namek managed to look at his mistress briefly before turning his full attention on Tayla again.
"Seize her by her other wrist! I've heard that Astories are weakened if both their wrists are restrained! Capture her once and for all, my handsome green hunk!"
"You can count on me, my rose-haired fairy princess!"
Diamonique smiled cruelly. "I am loving this!" she declared. "Those three are getting defeated, and we didn't even have to get ourselves dirty! You truly are a genius, Seductia."
"Why thank you, Commander. You are wonderful yourself."
"I know! Thank you for reaffirming that!"
While Bajal and Bendros were fighting, Tayla was struggling with Dirkan, trying to prevent him from grabbing her other wrist. Dirkan freed Tayla's hair finally after Tayla had hit him in his chest, but it was only so that he could try to grab her other wrist. Tayla kept moving her free wrist, which was her right one, around, so that Dirkan could not seize it.
She then heard a voice, familiar and masculine echo from above:
"Hey greenie! You want to bully someone, come after me!"
Both Dirkan and Tayla turned around to find that Ridikar had jumped down from the same hole that Shalila and Tayla had escaped through earlier. Ridikar's feet landed on the floor, and before Seductia or Diamonique could intervene, Ridikar ran towards Dirkan and Tayla. Dirkan responded to Ridikar's brave action by firing his eye lasers at him, with the lasers just barely missing Tayla. Ridikar just barely dodged the rapidly firing lasers, as he danced around them.
Tayla knew that she had to do something quickly. Using her life force as a backup source once more, she summoned all of her strength, drew her right foot back and kicked it high enough to land into Dirkan's crotch. The kick was hard enough to cause Dirkan severe pain, and he was finally forced to release his captive. Tayla wasted no time in escaping him.
"After her! Recapture her!" Seductia ordered.
"It's as good as done, my sweet cherry!" And Dirkan hurried after Tayla to follow Seductia's orders, but Ridikar blocked his path.
"You'll have to get past me, if you want her," Ridikar told Dirkan as bravely as possible.
Dirkan responded to that challenge by punching Ridikar hard in his face. Ridikar fell back, as Dirkan slammed his entire weight into Ridikar's body. Ridikar nearly toppled over, but he then foolishly tried to come after the Namek again. He quickly realized his mistake when Dirkan landed two more blows on him. He shoved Ridikar to the ground and kicked the boy hard in his stomach before Ridikar could rise. Tayla saw Dirkan attacking her suitor, and then she looked over to where Bendros and Bajal were fighting, as she ran back to help Ridikar.
The fight between Bendros and Bajal was evenly matched, and both men were able to match each other blow for blow and kick for kick. It might have remained that way, if Bajal had not suddenly seized Bendros's tail. Bendros screamed out in extreme pain, as he fell to his knees.
"LET ME GO!" he cried out in terror, as Bajal squeezed his tail harder. He then cruelly twisted Bendros's tail around his fist. Bendros beat his fists at Bajal, but he was in too much pain to put up a fight.
"LET HIM GO!" Tayla screamed at Bajal, but Bajal ignored her. She was unsure as to what to do: go to Dirkan, who was beating Ridikar to death, or go to Bendros, who would surely go insane from the pain that Bajal was inflicting on him. Tayla had heard of insanity resulting from such prolonged tail squeezing, and that insanity usually drove the victims to suicide.
But if she went to Bendros first, Dirkan could easily kill Ridikar within seconds. Her guardian could destroy Ridikar with one ki blast. Neither male could hold his own at the moment, so what was she to do?
Finally, Tayla took a deep breath, as the tears dangled on her lashes. She then looked over at Bajal and whispered, "Bajal, I'm sorry for what I have to do, please forgive me."
And with the tears streaming down her cheeks, Tayla fired a medium-sized ki blast at Bajal's head. The bolt of lavender light from her hands zipped through the air and shot Bajal in the back of his head. Tayla prayed that it wouldn't be enough to kill her brother, only cripple him.
And it worked! Bajal opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out, as he slowly released Bendros's tail and fell down to the side. His eyes shut closed, and he too was now unconscious. Bendros was gasping for air, tears of relief flowing down his cheeks.
A relieved Tayla wanted to go comfort him, but Ridikar needed her right now. She then fired a similar ki blast at Dirkan's head, but Dirkan saw it coming and dodged it. He fired his eye lasers at Tayla, and while his attention was focused on her, Ridikar quickly began to crawl away from his attacker. Dirkan noticed Ridikar trying to escape, and he tried to grab the boy. He would have succeeded, had Tayla not fired a smaller ki blast at Dirkan's hand, piercing a smoking hole in the back of Dirkan's green hand. Ridikar scurried to his feet and scuttled away to Tayla.
"Thanks," he whispered gruffly. "I really appreciate that-"
He did not get to finish his sentence, for at that moment Diamonique's feet kicked him away from Tayla. Her feet crashed into his stomach, and then Ridikar fell to the ground backwards.
Tayla realized to her horror that she had not noticed Diamonique's ki coming near her in time, and this mistake would prove to be costly. Before she could help Ridikar, Diamonique suddenly seized Tayla from behind and wrapped her left arm around the girl's waist. Using her right hand, she then placed the sharpest of her deadly nails at Tayla's throat. Tayla gasped.
A recovering Bendros wasted no time in flying over to Tayla's aid, but Dirkan came up from behind the Sastorian fighter, and he seized Bendros by his tail. Bendros screamed in terror as pain, as he was once again forced to his knees. Dirkan kicked him in his kidneys with one foot, as he continued to squeeze and twist Bendros's tail harder.
"Listen, little girl," Diamonique said frostily. "I know that the poison in my nails cannot kill you because you are Astorian, but I can cut your throat with my nails within two seconds. If you want yourself and your family members here to live, I suggest that you surrender now. If not, I will have Seductia order Dirkan and Bajal to kill themselves, and we can easily destroy your unconscious granny and your two boyfriends. All Seductia has to do is bewitch them with her Fatal Attraction Attack, you know that attack involving those cute little red balls she throws? Then she can order them to kill themselves as well. Or I can turn them into diamond statues. And if I decide to kill you, then there will be no chance for them."
The color drained from Tayla's face. What was she going to do now?
"You're not a stupid girl, Princess Tayla. Even a stubborn Astorie brat like you knows when to admit defeat. What's your choice?"
Tayla's brown eyes clouded with tears, as she saw the suffering of her friends and family members. She saw her beloved Nama lying on the floor, unaware that Tayla was once again a captive. She saw her Namek guardian squeezing the tail of a pain-ridden Bendros, and she saw Ridikar lying on the ground. The tears flowed freely down her face, as she whispered, deeply ashamed:
"You win this one. I surrender."
