Chapter Ninety-Five: Face-Off Against Diamonique
Diamonique purred, "Good, it's about time you gave up, brat. Lord Frieza will be most pleased."
Tayla hung her dark head down in defeat, more ashamed of herself than ever. What would Nama and Dirkan think if they knew that she was giving up like this? Would they understand? Tayla looked back at Dirkan squeezing Bendros's tail.
"Make him stop hurting Bendros!" she ordered Diamonique. "You have me now, so there's no more need to hurt anyone else!"
Diamonique said in a bored tone, "Oh, very well, I suppose I can grant this petty request. Seductia, order Dirkan to release the monkey boy."
Seductia cooed to Dirkan, "Dirkan, my handsome green darling, you can release the man with the monkey's tail now."
"Yes, my precious starlight mint!" And Dirkan released Bendros, and the shaken Sastorian warrior fell further to the ground, tears streaming down his chiseled cheeks. He looked worriedly at Tayla, and Tayla looked back at him with the tears and shame in her dark eyes. She then looked down, as the tears continued to flow.
"Tayla, no," Bendros whispered.
"She did it for you and that little weakling nearby," Diamonique said silkily. "You should be thankful that she surrendered just now, for I would have then had Seductia order Dirkan to kill you and that Calmagian brat. Then I would have had her order Dirkan and that big Astorian to kill themselves. Young love is so touching, don't you think?"
She kept her sharp nails at Tayla's throat, as Tayla kept her head hung down. Tayla's look of despair and defeat on her young face broke Bendros's heart and infuriated Ridikar. The Calmagian prince wished that he had just enough strength to break Diamonique's neck. Tayla deserved much better than a life as Frieza's slave.
"Slut," he hissed under his breath, meaning Diamonique.
Bendros was still recovering from his trauma, but he managed to clench his fists and growl, "You let her go! Who do you think you are, blackmailing an innocent young girl into surrendering to you and your kind?" He would have attacked Diamonique, but Diamonique could easily cut Tayla's throat before he reached them.
Diamonique snorted. "I am Lord Frieza's best Top Elite officer, and when I take her to him, I will be richly rewarded. He will give me all the credit for Princess Tayla's capture. After all the grief that this scrawny brat has given me, I deserve everything that I get."
"Oh, you have that right!" Tayla cried out, despite Diamonique's nails. "I should tell him what you did to my face before Nama healed it!"
Diamonique then suddenly remembered what she had done to Tayla's face, and she slowly felt along the cheek where Tayla's scar had once been. Smooth skin met her long finger, and her eyes widened in disbelief. "How-how did that sca-scar disappear? How did your grandmother heal it?"
"She just did," Tayla retorted, determined not to tell this "slutzini" anymore than necessary. "My Nama can do anything."
"Really? If that was so, your granny wouldn't be lying on the floor now," Diamonique snapped. "Now, how did she heal you?"
"She just did," Tayla repeated stubbornly.
Diamonique grew thoughtful then, and then she remembered the tonic that the old man had given her to heal herself. She then remembered what the man said that the tonic had been made out of-the famous blue or green Calmagian roses. Bright Healers, the roses were called, he said. She smiled then.
"She healed you with the Bright Healer roses, didn't she?" Diamonique asked her. Tayla's silence only confirmed Diamonique's suspicions. "Your granny has some on her, doesn't she?"
"Why would she carry flowers around?" Tayla asked her. "My grandmother's a warrior, and warriors just don't carry around flowers."
Diamonique was not convinced. She said to Seductia, "Seductia, have Dirkan look for any kind of flowers on Shalila Chloe."
Seductia gave the order to Dirkan, with Dirkan replying, "Anything for you, my ripest of all berries", and Dirkan left to go over to Shalila's unconscious form. He felt over his wife, searching under her clothes and through her pockets. Finally, he produced two rose heads and held them up for Seductia to see.
"I found two rose heads, my strawberry muffin," he said proudly.
"Bring them to me, my darling," Seductia ordered sweetly.
"Yes, my sweetest of all lollipops!" Dirkan obeyed her request and he lightly tossed the rose heads to Seductia before he arrived. Seductia caught them easily.
Tayla, Bendros, and Ridikar had to keep themselves from vomiting. The sickening, mushy words that Dirkan and the others trapped under Seductia's spell made them want to throw up. Tayla pitied Dirkan then, for on the slim chance that Dirkan was ever free from Seductia's spell, he'd be too ashamed to show his face ever again, just for saying all those ridiculous sentiments alone. Bendros would have laughed at Dirkan's silly words under normal circumstances, but right now, he was too worried and still too much in pain to even look at his Namek attacker.
Seductia strolled casually over to Dirkan and openly caressed his chest through his torn shirt. "I like you, my handsome emerald hunk. Why don't we go upstairs and I'll let you make sweet, passionate love to me? How about it?"
"I would love to ravish your heavenly body, my mistress of the moonlight!"
"Good. I thought that you would. C'mon, let's go."
"Hold it, Seductia," Diamonique told her former trainee. "You don't have time right now to play with your Namek. We still have a mess here to clean up. Oh, look, who's this handsome fellow jumping down through the ceiling? Why, I believe that it's Tayla's brother!"
Raakon Chloe, still under Seductia's spell had now arrived. He landed gracefully onto the floor and ran eagerly to Seductia. "Seductia, my love! How may I serve you, my queen of the brightest, prettiest stars?"
Seductia laughed. "It's about time you arrived…Raakon. Just stand there for now, my dear."
"Yes, my sweet apple!"
"Seductia," Diamonique told her. "Have Dirkan and Raakon kill the others off."
"No!" Tayla screamed. She said desperately to Diamonique, not able to turn around and confront her directly. "You said that if I surrendered, that they would live!"
"I did, didn't I?" Diamonique asked her sweetly. "Well, guess what, little girl, I've changed my mind. It's not as if you can stop us now anyway. Even if you were to take back your surrender, I could still slash your little throat, and a dead girl would be of no use to anyone. You just better be thankful that I chose to spare you." She then called out to Seductia, "Seductia, have your men kill them now!"
"Wait!" Ridikar cried aloud.
"Oh, what now?" Diamonique asked impatiently.
Ridikar knew that this was the last chance for him and everyone else to live. He pulled himself to his feet and walked as bravely as possible over to Seductia, knowing that Seductia could put him under her spell at any time. "Seductia, listen to Diamonique's words before you attack us. She just went back on her word to Tayla not to have us killed."
"Yes?" Seductia asked. "So?"
"Does Diamonique plan to share any of that big reward that she claims Frieza is giving her with you? After all, you are the one who really is responsible for Tayla's capture. If it weren't for you, Tayla would not have been brought here. You're the one who should receive the reward."
"That's right," Bendros added, going along with Ridikar. "It was your brilliant idea that got Tayla captured. Why should Diamonique have any of the credit? All she did was recapture her, but it was her and Zarbon's fault that Tayla escaped in the first place. How do you know that Diamonique would share any of the reward with you?"
Seductia pondered the young men's words for a few moments, and then she looked away from Ridikar over to Diamonique, who was still holding Tayla captive with her nails. "Yes, Commander, do you intend to split the reward with me? Did you ever intend to?"
Diamonique flushed uncomfortably. "You'll get…something for your trouble. It was mainly the Top Elite officers that Lord Frieza wanted to capture Princess Tayla. You did a good job, Seductia, you did, but you have to understand that it was I who caught Princess Tayla again and convinced her to surrender."
"But I had her captured first," Seductia told Diamonique stubbornly. "How much of that reward am I getting?"
"Um…we'll have to discuss the terms later, my dear," Diamonique told her as smoothly as possible. The Gemstarian warrior had intended to take the full credit, with a token reward for her former student. "Now just have your men kill Shalila Chloe and those two annoying boyfriends of Princess Tayla's. Do it now."
"Don't do it, Seductia!" Tayla cried, immediately realizing that Bendros and Ridikar were trying to turn Seductia against Diamonique. "If I were you, I would negotiate with Diamonique on that reward before you obeyed any more of her orders. She went back on her word with me; how do you know that she wouldn't do the same with you? You might not get anything, if it's up to her."
Seductia looked at Diamonique thoughtfully, and then she said, "You know, Commander Diamonique, the girl and her lovers have a valid point. I know that you would do anything to take all the credit. How do I know that you wouldn't cheat me out of what is rightfully mine? I want to know now exactly how much of that reward I am getting."
"Now is not the time for this, Seductia," Diamonique told her sharply, evading the subject. "Have your men kill the others immediately."
"Don't let her order you about, Seductia!" Tayla shouted.
"That's right," Ridikar added. "If she's avoiding the subject, that means that she wasn't planning to give you much. If I were you, I would stop following her orders altogether until you and her worked out a fair settlement. Don't let her cheat you out of what's coming to you."
Seductia crossed her arms then and leaned back against Dirkan's muscular chest. She then smiled smugly at Diamonique. "You know what, I think I am going to take their advice, Commander. I am not doing another thing for you until you tell me how much of that reward is mine."
"You won't get a thing if you don't have your men kill the others now," Diamonique snarled. "Now have them kill Shalila Chloe and the boys!"
"No," Seductia told her impertinently. "Negotiations first, Commander."
"Tell her, Seductia!" Tayla declared.
"Shut up, brat!" Diamonique roared. She looked daggers at Seductia. "Seductia, I am warning you, disobeying a Top Elite Officer's orders could get you removed from the Elite. I will report you directly to Lord Frieza."
"Let her report you," Ridikar told Seductia. "Even if she does tell Frieza right away, what can Frieza do at that moment? He's not going to come all the way here just to discipline you for a minor infraction. Surely, someone as powerful as him has better things to do than go investigate some small complaint."
"You're right about that," Seductia said sweetly, leaning back further against Dirkan's hard body. She said to Diamonique silkily, "You know what, Commander, I'm going to give you some time to think about things. I decided that I need a break, and my darling Namek here is going to help me relax. When you decide how much you wish to give me--and it better be a generous amount-I will come back and serve you again. Until then, I'm going to have some fun of my own with my new green lover!"
"This isn't the time to play!" Diamonique hissed.
"Too bad, so sad, Commander. Contact me on my scouter when you make up your mind. Until then, my green hunk and I are going upstairs for some fun, aren't we, my precious?"
"What kind of fun, my lemon drop?"
"Oh, you'll find out, Dirkan, darling!" Seductia purred, nuzzling his chest. She then called to Raakon, "Raakon, darling!"
"Yes, my pink buttercup?"
"I want you to go get Shalila Chloe, put her on your shoulder and come back to Dirkan and me. We are going upstairs, and who knows? Maybe I'll show you a few things in the bedroom as well. But Dirkan gets his turn first. Oh, and Raakon, darling, would you help Bajal get up before you get Shalila Chloe please? I see him about to rise."
"Anything for you, my sweetest of all candy canes!" And an enthusiastic Raakon ran over to Bajal, who was awakening, and helped his brother to his feet.
"Bajal, darling," Seductia ordered. "I want you to help Raakon get Shalila Chloe, and then you both come to me immediately."
"Yes, my cupcake!"
After several minutes, Bajal and Raakon came to Seductia with Shalila Chloe on Raakon's shoulders. Bendros was debating as to whether to try to fight them for Shalila, but he decided against it for now. Knowing Seductia's unpredictable moods, she could order both Bajal and Raakon to attack him again or have them kill Shalila on the spot. Besides, it seemed to Bendros that Seductia did not plan to hurt Shalila at the moment; the dangerous beauty clearly had her own agenda.
Seductia then ordered Bajal and Raakon to touch Dirkan, as she herself leaned into him.
"Don't hurt Nama!" Tayla cried worriedly. "Let her go!"
Seductia smiled then, and Tayla could detect a small note of benevolence in that smile. "Calm yourself, girlie. We're just going to hold your granny hostage for now. I have three gorgeous men here to play with, and your grandmother is the last of my concerns. She isn't going to die right now; it wouldn't be worthwhile to kill someone who's out of it as she is. C'mon, men, let's go! TELEFADE!"
Within seconds, Seductia and her captives faded out of sight.
Diamonique hissed, "That little tart! How dare she turn against me?"
Ridikar couldn't help, but smirk. "I guess her lust for Dirkan and greed for that reward overrode her loyalty to you. Serves you right, lady, because I sure wouldn't continue to work for you either."
"I agree," Bendros added.
"That's it!" Diamonique roared. "You two men are about to become jewels! Diamond Freeze!" And with that she aimed a silvery-blue laser at Ridikar, who jumped out of its way. She managed to do this with her free hand while holding Tayla captive still.
She continued to aim more diamond-freezing lasers at Bendros and Ridikar, both of whom dodged each one. Finally Bendros declared, "Give it up, Diamonique! It's two of us against you now, and Seductia's gone. Let Tayla go!"
"You heard him!" Ridikar cried out. "Free her now!"
"Oh, I don't think so, boys," Diamonique said severely. "In fact, I may turn the girl into a diamond statue myself in order to restrain her. Or I may get angry enough to kill her; I can cut her throat within seconds. I suggest that you boys leave immediately, if you want her alive and well."
"Didn't Frieza say that you couldn't harm me?" Tayla asked her. "What would he do to you, if he knew that you had killed me or froze me? I don't think that he'd be too happy with you right now!"
"Shut up, little girl!" Diamonique snapped. She said to Bendros and Ridikar, "Leave now!"
"What do we now?" Ridikar whispered to Bendros, who was standing near him.
Bendros sighed, unable to answer. He was no longer sure at this point as to what to do. If only his leaders, Shalila and Dirkan were able to help.
"Princess Tayla," Diamonique told her captive icily. "You tell your boy toys to leave now, or I will turn them into diamonds. It's your choice, little girl."
Tayla sighed, ashamed of her overwhelming fear for the lives of her two potential suitors, "You two better go."
"No way, Tayla!" Ridikar declared.
"We're not leaving without you," Bendros told her. "She apparently must not be as strong as she acts, or she would quit hiding behind you and come fight us on her own."
Ridikar then grinned. "That's right. Diamonique is just a girl, after all, and we all know how weak girls are."
"Hey!" Tayla cried indignantly. "I'm a girl too!"
"Calm down, Tayla," Bendros told her, trying not to laugh. "Ridikar merely meant Gemstarian girls like Diamonique. Diamonique must be much weaker than she acts; she's probably just a weakling. Why, I bet that those nails aren't made out of real diamonds either."
"Yeah," Ridikar added. "And I'll bet that the only moves that Diamonique really knows are filing those nails and fixing her hair. She probably works more on her wardrobe than her fighting techniques. I bet that she's just a pretty package, just a bit of fluff with no real substance."
"You've got that right, Ridikar," Bendros told him. "And I would lay odds that the only techniques she knows are makeup techniques. "
"I agree, Bendros, I agree. And while she has a nice set of breasts, I don't believe that they're real. I've known my older sisters to use water brassieres from time to time, and those boobs that she has look similar to those. Just water, cloth, but no real flesh. Tayla's chest is smaller, but she didn't have to pay for it. Anyone like Diamonique can stuff her blouse and armor."
That was the last straw, as the old cliché goes, for Diamonique. No one had ever dared to insult her chest (which actually was real, thanks to special lotions on Gemstar that had increased the size of Diamonique's now generous bosom) unless they were planning a painful suicide. Her black stone eyes narrowed, her face purpled, and her free fist clenched. With an angry thrust, she threw Tayla into a wall, not realizing what she was doing, and she flew through the air at Ridikar.
"No one insults my magnificent chest and lives to tell about it!" Diamonique declared, with her fists aimed at Ridikar's face. Ridikar flew out of her path and slid to the floor, and then Diamonique came after Ridikar again, but Bendros blocked her path. The Sastorian fighter managed to land his fist into her chest, and Diamonique responded by clawing Bendros's handsome face. Bendros kneed her in her stomach then, ignoring the sharp pain that her nails had inflicted.
The two began to pummel and kick each other for a few minutes, as they used their best martial arts skills on each other. Diamonique shoved Bendros into a giant red vase, but Bendros emerged to throw his weight against the deadly beauty, as she clawed him again, this time on his arm. Bendros cried out, as blood burst forth from his lower arm, but he continued to fight Diamonique. He was considerably stronger physically than Diamonique, but Diamonique was faster, and yet Bendros was able to match most of her blows and kicks.
Meanwhile, Ridikar was checking on Tayla, as he pulled her out of the wall. He brushed her off, as Diamonique and Bendros continued to fight each other. He looked over his intended carefully, and Tayla managed to smile.
"Okasen? I mean, are you okay?" she asked him.
Ridikar grinned. "Yeah, how about you?"
"I'm fine, I think, thanks to you and Bendros."
He smoothed her hair with his hand, and Tayla did not object. "I'd do anything for you, Tayla, don't you know that by now? Did that slut really claw you earlier?"
"She did," Tayla panted. "But Nama healed me with Caline's roses. Now Seductia has both Nama and the roses."
"We'll get them back and finish off Seductia," Ridikar assured her as confidently as possible.
"C'mon," Tayla told him firmly, taking his hand. "We must go help Bendros. Diamonique is more dangerous than you two think she is."
And with that, Ridikar followed Tayla to go help Bendros, who was still holding his own against Diamonique-until Diamonique knocked Bendros to the ground with a punch to his jaw. Bendros tried to rise again, just as Diamonique launched herself upon him. She raised her hand into the air.
"How would like your heart put on ice, monkey boy?"
She intended to freeze his heart until it stopped beating, but before she could act, Tayla seized her arm and twisted it behind Diamonique's back. Diamonique screamed in her pain, as she turned around and saw Tayla twisting her arm with the strength of someone three times her size. The cruel Gemstarian then realized her mistake in releasing Tayla.
Diamonique forgot about freezing Bendros's heart, and she seized Tayla by her hair and yanked it, tearing out a huge chunk of black tresses. She would have done it again, but Tayla socked in her jaw, showing no mercy. The two females threw themselves away from Bendros, and the two began to wrestle around on the floor, with Tayla punching Diamonique as hard as she could. Diamonique responded by slashing Tayla's face again on the same side as before.
"I'm going to cut your face up, brat, so that no boy or man will ever want to kiss it!" she declared, as she scratched Tayla's face once more. Tayla screamed, as Diamonique's nails raked across her nose and lips. Diamonique slapped the girl across her face, sharply, increasing Tayla's pain twofold. Tayla snatched her wrist before she could injure her again, but Diamonique grabbed Tayla's other wrist.
Bendros and Ridikar were then behind Diamonique, and both young men seized Diamonique to force her to get off of Tayla. Finally, they succeeded in yanking Diamonique away from Tayla, and Bendros was now holding Diamonique under her arms. Diamonique struggled and kicked against Bendros, but he managed to hold her for a few minutes until Diamonique stomped his foot with hers. Bendros tried to regain his grip on her while Ridikar helped Tayla stand up.
But Bendros was not able to hold Diamonique for long, and Diamonique managed to lean over and bite one of his arms with her sharp crystal blue teeth. Bendros cried out, but he did not release her right away until Diamonique bit into him again, this time, tearing a chunk of his flesh in her teeth. She spat out his flesh and blood, as she slashed his thigh with her nails, and finally Bendros unthinkingly released her in his pain.
Tayla was ready to take down Diamonique now when Diamonique suddenly threw herself at her and shoved Tayla into a wall. She was weaker physically than Tayla, but she was as fast as Tayla was, and she had better control of her own body weight, a skill that Tayla had just mastered. Bendros came up from behind Diamonique, but Diamonique turned around and slashed his face and neck with her deadly claw-like nails. She then took that time to uppercut Bendros in his jaw. Before Bendros could recover, Diamonique turned away and launched herself at Tayla again with her nails out.
"You're going to die, brat!" Diamonique hissed. "I'm going to rip your heart open!"
And her nails did reach Tayla, but her nails scratched Tayla's face instead of her chest, for Tayla was able to block Diamonique's hand from her chest. While Tayla was holding Diamonique's wrist away from her, Diamonique slashed one of Tayla's breasts with her nails. She would have done so again, had not Ridikar seized her free wrist and yanked it away from Tayla. With one twist, Ridikar managed to twist Diamonique's wrist and sprain it.
"You bastard!" Diamonique screamed, as she kicked Tayla in her stomach, forcing Tayla to release her wrist. Tayla shoved her away and Diamonique fell backwards several feet, but did not fall down. She then raised her nails again and dodged Bendros's attempt to grab her. Diamonique then ran at Tayla again, intending to stab her and cut her chest open once and for all.
But before she could do so, Ridikar jumped in front of her, blocking her way to Tayla.
Diamonique was furious at first, but then she stopped and smiled; she knew just how to hurt Tayla even worse than what she was planning.
Before Ridikar could react, or even anticipate what she was about to do, Diamonique leaped into the air with her nails sticking out from the hand on her good wrist, and she quickly landed in front of Ridikar, brandishing her nails like knives.
To the horror of Tayla and Bendros, Diamonique's nails clawed Ridikar's face, cut down his neck, and then sank deep into his chest!
"NO!" Tayla screamed.
"NO! STOP!" Bendros cried.
Diamonique just ignored them, smiling, as she made a final swipe into Ridikar's chest, and then shoved him to the floor. Ridikar fell backwards onto the floor, clutching at his chest.
His face grew ashen, as amber blood burst forth from his chest in a tidal wave, engulfing his body, and then bleeding more slowly. A terrified Tayla ran to him and fell to her knees beside him.
"RIDIKAR!" she screamed. "Don't die, please!"
"Tayla…" he moaned, clutching at her hand.
"RIDIKAR!"
Diamonique's cruel laughter mingled with Tayla's screams.
Diamonique purred, "Good, it's about time you gave up, brat. Lord Frieza will be most pleased."
Tayla hung her dark head down in defeat, more ashamed of herself than ever. What would Nama and Dirkan think if they knew that she was giving up like this? Would they understand? Tayla looked back at Dirkan squeezing Bendros's tail.
"Make him stop hurting Bendros!" she ordered Diamonique. "You have me now, so there's no more need to hurt anyone else!"
Diamonique said in a bored tone, "Oh, very well, I suppose I can grant this petty request. Seductia, order Dirkan to release the monkey boy."
Seductia cooed to Dirkan, "Dirkan, my handsome green darling, you can release the man with the monkey's tail now."
"Yes, my precious starlight mint!" And Dirkan released Bendros, and the shaken Sastorian warrior fell further to the ground, tears streaming down his chiseled cheeks. He looked worriedly at Tayla, and Tayla looked back at him with the tears and shame in her dark eyes. She then looked down, as the tears continued to flow.
"Tayla, no," Bendros whispered.
"She did it for you and that little weakling nearby," Diamonique said silkily. "You should be thankful that she surrendered just now, for I would have then had Seductia order Dirkan to kill you and that Calmagian brat. Then I would have had her order Dirkan and that big Astorian to kill themselves. Young love is so touching, don't you think?"
She kept her sharp nails at Tayla's throat, as Tayla kept her head hung down. Tayla's look of despair and defeat on her young face broke Bendros's heart and infuriated Ridikar. The Calmagian prince wished that he had just enough strength to break Diamonique's neck. Tayla deserved much better than a life as Frieza's slave.
"Slut," he hissed under his breath, meaning Diamonique.
Bendros was still recovering from his trauma, but he managed to clench his fists and growl, "You let her go! Who do you think you are, blackmailing an innocent young girl into surrendering to you and your kind?" He would have attacked Diamonique, but Diamonique could easily cut Tayla's throat before he reached them.
Diamonique snorted. "I am Lord Frieza's best Top Elite officer, and when I take her to him, I will be richly rewarded. He will give me all the credit for Princess Tayla's capture. After all the grief that this scrawny brat has given me, I deserve everything that I get."
"Oh, you have that right!" Tayla cried out, despite Diamonique's nails. "I should tell him what you did to my face before Nama healed it!"
Diamonique then suddenly remembered what she had done to Tayla's face, and she slowly felt along the cheek where Tayla's scar had once been. Smooth skin met her long finger, and her eyes widened in disbelief. "How-how did that sca-scar disappear? How did your grandmother heal it?"
"She just did," Tayla retorted, determined not to tell this "slutzini" anymore than necessary. "My Nama can do anything."
"Really? If that was so, your granny wouldn't be lying on the floor now," Diamonique snapped. "Now, how did she heal you?"
"She just did," Tayla repeated stubbornly.
Diamonique grew thoughtful then, and then she remembered the tonic that the old man had given her to heal herself. She then remembered what the man said that the tonic had been made out of-the famous blue or green Calmagian roses. Bright Healers, the roses were called, he said. She smiled then.
"She healed you with the Bright Healer roses, didn't she?" Diamonique asked her. Tayla's silence only confirmed Diamonique's suspicions. "Your granny has some on her, doesn't she?"
"Why would she carry flowers around?" Tayla asked her. "My grandmother's a warrior, and warriors just don't carry around flowers."
Diamonique was not convinced. She said to Seductia, "Seductia, have Dirkan look for any kind of flowers on Shalila Chloe."
Seductia gave the order to Dirkan, with Dirkan replying, "Anything for you, my ripest of all berries", and Dirkan left to go over to Shalila's unconscious form. He felt over his wife, searching under her clothes and through her pockets. Finally, he produced two rose heads and held them up for Seductia to see.
"I found two rose heads, my strawberry muffin," he said proudly.
"Bring them to me, my darling," Seductia ordered sweetly.
"Yes, my sweetest of all lollipops!" Dirkan obeyed her request and he lightly tossed the rose heads to Seductia before he arrived. Seductia caught them easily.
Tayla, Bendros, and Ridikar had to keep themselves from vomiting. The sickening, mushy words that Dirkan and the others trapped under Seductia's spell made them want to throw up. Tayla pitied Dirkan then, for on the slim chance that Dirkan was ever free from Seductia's spell, he'd be too ashamed to show his face ever again, just for saying all those ridiculous sentiments alone. Bendros would have laughed at Dirkan's silly words under normal circumstances, but right now, he was too worried and still too much in pain to even look at his Namek attacker.
Seductia strolled casually over to Dirkan and openly caressed his chest through his torn shirt. "I like you, my handsome emerald hunk. Why don't we go upstairs and I'll let you make sweet, passionate love to me? How about it?"
"I would love to ravish your heavenly body, my mistress of the moonlight!"
"Good. I thought that you would. C'mon, let's go."
"Hold it, Seductia," Diamonique told her former trainee. "You don't have time right now to play with your Namek. We still have a mess here to clean up. Oh, look, who's this handsome fellow jumping down through the ceiling? Why, I believe that it's Tayla's brother!"
Raakon Chloe, still under Seductia's spell had now arrived. He landed gracefully onto the floor and ran eagerly to Seductia. "Seductia, my love! How may I serve you, my queen of the brightest, prettiest stars?"
Seductia laughed. "It's about time you arrived…Raakon. Just stand there for now, my dear."
"Yes, my sweet apple!"
"Seductia," Diamonique told her. "Have Dirkan and Raakon kill the others off."
"No!" Tayla screamed. She said desperately to Diamonique, not able to turn around and confront her directly. "You said that if I surrendered, that they would live!"
"I did, didn't I?" Diamonique asked her sweetly. "Well, guess what, little girl, I've changed my mind. It's not as if you can stop us now anyway. Even if you were to take back your surrender, I could still slash your little throat, and a dead girl would be of no use to anyone. You just better be thankful that I chose to spare you." She then called out to Seductia, "Seductia, have your men kill them now!"
"Wait!" Ridikar cried aloud.
"Oh, what now?" Diamonique asked impatiently.
Ridikar knew that this was the last chance for him and everyone else to live. He pulled himself to his feet and walked as bravely as possible over to Seductia, knowing that Seductia could put him under her spell at any time. "Seductia, listen to Diamonique's words before you attack us. She just went back on her word to Tayla not to have us killed."
"Yes?" Seductia asked. "So?"
"Does Diamonique plan to share any of that big reward that she claims Frieza is giving her with you? After all, you are the one who really is responsible for Tayla's capture. If it weren't for you, Tayla would not have been brought here. You're the one who should receive the reward."
"That's right," Bendros added, going along with Ridikar. "It was your brilliant idea that got Tayla captured. Why should Diamonique have any of the credit? All she did was recapture her, but it was her and Zarbon's fault that Tayla escaped in the first place. How do you know that Diamonique would share any of the reward with you?"
Seductia pondered the young men's words for a few moments, and then she looked away from Ridikar over to Diamonique, who was still holding Tayla captive with her nails. "Yes, Commander, do you intend to split the reward with me? Did you ever intend to?"
Diamonique flushed uncomfortably. "You'll get…something for your trouble. It was mainly the Top Elite officers that Lord Frieza wanted to capture Princess Tayla. You did a good job, Seductia, you did, but you have to understand that it was I who caught Princess Tayla again and convinced her to surrender."
"But I had her captured first," Seductia told Diamonique stubbornly. "How much of that reward am I getting?"
"Um…we'll have to discuss the terms later, my dear," Diamonique told her as smoothly as possible. The Gemstarian warrior had intended to take the full credit, with a token reward for her former student. "Now just have your men kill Shalila Chloe and those two annoying boyfriends of Princess Tayla's. Do it now."
"Don't do it, Seductia!" Tayla cried, immediately realizing that Bendros and Ridikar were trying to turn Seductia against Diamonique. "If I were you, I would negotiate with Diamonique on that reward before you obeyed any more of her orders. She went back on her word with me; how do you know that she wouldn't do the same with you? You might not get anything, if it's up to her."
Seductia looked at Diamonique thoughtfully, and then she said, "You know, Commander Diamonique, the girl and her lovers have a valid point. I know that you would do anything to take all the credit. How do I know that you wouldn't cheat me out of what is rightfully mine? I want to know now exactly how much of that reward I am getting."
"Now is not the time for this, Seductia," Diamonique told her sharply, evading the subject. "Have your men kill the others immediately."
"Don't let her order you about, Seductia!" Tayla shouted.
"That's right," Ridikar added. "If she's avoiding the subject, that means that she wasn't planning to give you much. If I were you, I would stop following her orders altogether until you and her worked out a fair settlement. Don't let her cheat you out of what's coming to you."
Seductia crossed her arms then and leaned back against Dirkan's muscular chest. She then smiled smugly at Diamonique. "You know what, I think I am going to take their advice, Commander. I am not doing another thing for you until you tell me how much of that reward is mine."
"You won't get a thing if you don't have your men kill the others now," Diamonique snarled. "Now have them kill Shalila Chloe and the boys!"
"No," Seductia told her impertinently. "Negotiations first, Commander."
"Tell her, Seductia!" Tayla declared.
"Shut up, brat!" Diamonique roared. She looked daggers at Seductia. "Seductia, I am warning you, disobeying a Top Elite Officer's orders could get you removed from the Elite. I will report you directly to Lord Frieza."
"Let her report you," Ridikar told Seductia. "Even if she does tell Frieza right away, what can Frieza do at that moment? He's not going to come all the way here just to discipline you for a minor infraction. Surely, someone as powerful as him has better things to do than go investigate some small complaint."
"You're right about that," Seductia said sweetly, leaning back further against Dirkan's hard body. She said to Diamonique silkily, "You know what, Commander, I'm going to give you some time to think about things. I decided that I need a break, and my darling Namek here is going to help me relax. When you decide how much you wish to give me--and it better be a generous amount-I will come back and serve you again. Until then, I'm going to have some fun of my own with my new green lover!"
"This isn't the time to play!" Diamonique hissed.
"Too bad, so sad, Commander. Contact me on my scouter when you make up your mind. Until then, my green hunk and I are going upstairs for some fun, aren't we, my precious?"
"What kind of fun, my lemon drop?"
"Oh, you'll find out, Dirkan, darling!" Seductia purred, nuzzling his chest. She then called to Raakon, "Raakon, darling!"
"Yes, my pink buttercup?"
"I want you to go get Shalila Chloe, put her on your shoulder and come back to Dirkan and me. We are going upstairs, and who knows? Maybe I'll show you a few things in the bedroom as well. But Dirkan gets his turn first. Oh, and Raakon, darling, would you help Bajal get up before you get Shalila Chloe please? I see him about to rise."
"Anything for you, my sweetest of all candy canes!" And an enthusiastic Raakon ran over to Bajal, who was awakening, and helped his brother to his feet.
"Bajal, darling," Seductia ordered. "I want you to help Raakon get Shalila Chloe, and then you both come to me immediately."
"Yes, my cupcake!"
After several minutes, Bajal and Raakon came to Seductia with Shalila Chloe on Raakon's shoulders. Bendros was debating as to whether to try to fight them for Shalila, but he decided against it for now. Knowing Seductia's unpredictable moods, she could order both Bajal and Raakon to attack him again or have them kill Shalila on the spot. Besides, it seemed to Bendros that Seductia did not plan to hurt Shalila at the moment; the dangerous beauty clearly had her own agenda.
Seductia then ordered Bajal and Raakon to touch Dirkan, as she herself leaned into him.
"Don't hurt Nama!" Tayla cried worriedly. "Let her go!"
Seductia smiled then, and Tayla could detect a small note of benevolence in that smile. "Calm yourself, girlie. We're just going to hold your granny hostage for now. I have three gorgeous men here to play with, and your grandmother is the last of my concerns. She isn't going to die right now; it wouldn't be worthwhile to kill someone who's out of it as she is. C'mon, men, let's go! TELEFADE!"
Within seconds, Seductia and her captives faded out of sight.
Diamonique hissed, "That little tart! How dare she turn against me?"
Ridikar couldn't help, but smirk. "I guess her lust for Dirkan and greed for that reward overrode her loyalty to you. Serves you right, lady, because I sure wouldn't continue to work for you either."
"I agree," Bendros added.
"That's it!" Diamonique roared. "You two men are about to become jewels! Diamond Freeze!" And with that she aimed a silvery-blue laser at Ridikar, who jumped out of its way. She managed to do this with her free hand while holding Tayla captive still.
She continued to aim more diamond-freezing lasers at Bendros and Ridikar, both of whom dodged each one. Finally Bendros declared, "Give it up, Diamonique! It's two of us against you now, and Seductia's gone. Let Tayla go!"
"You heard him!" Ridikar cried out. "Free her now!"
"Oh, I don't think so, boys," Diamonique said severely. "In fact, I may turn the girl into a diamond statue myself in order to restrain her. Or I may get angry enough to kill her; I can cut her throat within seconds. I suggest that you boys leave immediately, if you want her alive and well."
"Didn't Frieza say that you couldn't harm me?" Tayla asked her. "What would he do to you, if he knew that you had killed me or froze me? I don't think that he'd be too happy with you right now!"
"Shut up, little girl!" Diamonique snapped. She said to Bendros and Ridikar, "Leave now!"
"What do we now?" Ridikar whispered to Bendros, who was standing near him.
Bendros sighed, unable to answer. He was no longer sure at this point as to what to do. If only his leaders, Shalila and Dirkan were able to help.
"Princess Tayla," Diamonique told her captive icily. "You tell your boy toys to leave now, or I will turn them into diamonds. It's your choice, little girl."
Tayla sighed, ashamed of her overwhelming fear for the lives of her two potential suitors, "You two better go."
"No way, Tayla!" Ridikar declared.
"We're not leaving without you," Bendros told her. "She apparently must not be as strong as she acts, or she would quit hiding behind you and come fight us on her own."
Ridikar then grinned. "That's right. Diamonique is just a girl, after all, and we all know how weak girls are."
"Hey!" Tayla cried indignantly. "I'm a girl too!"
"Calm down, Tayla," Bendros told her, trying not to laugh. "Ridikar merely meant Gemstarian girls like Diamonique. Diamonique must be much weaker than she acts; she's probably just a weakling. Why, I bet that those nails aren't made out of real diamonds either."
"Yeah," Ridikar added. "And I'll bet that the only moves that Diamonique really knows are filing those nails and fixing her hair. She probably works more on her wardrobe than her fighting techniques. I bet that she's just a pretty package, just a bit of fluff with no real substance."
"You've got that right, Ridikar," Bendros told him. "And I would lay odds that the only techniques she knows are makeup techniques. "
"I agree, Bendros, I agree. And while she has a nice set of breasts, I don't believe that they're real. I've known my older sisters to use water brassieres from time to time, and those boobs that she has look similar to those. Just water, cloth, but no real flesh. Tayla's chest is smaller, but she didn't have to pay for it. Anyone like Diamonique can stuff her blouse and armor."
That was the last straw, as the old cliché goes, for Diamonique. No one had ever dared to insult her chest (which actually was real, thanks to special lotions on Gemstar that had increased the size of Diamonique's now generous bosom) unless they were planning a painful suicide. Her black stone eyes narrowed, her face purpled, and her free fist clenched. With an angry thrust, she threw Tayla into a wall, not realizing what she was doing, and she flew through the air at Ridikar.
"No one insults my magnificent chest and lives to tell about it!" Diamonique declared, with her fists aimed at Ridikar's face. Ridikar flew out of her path and slid to the floor, and then Diamonique came after Ridikar again, but Bendros blocked her path. The Sastorian fighter managed to land his fist into her chest, and Diamonique responded by clawing Bendros's handsome face. Bendros kneed her in her stomach then, ignoring the sharp pain that her nails had inflicted.
The two began to pummel and kick each other for a few minutes, as they used their best martial arts skills on each other. Diamonique shoved Bendros into a giant red vase, but Bendros emerged to throw his weight against the deadly beauty, as she clawed him again, this time on his arm. Bendros cried out, as blood burst forth from his lower arm, but he continued to fight Diamonique. He was considerably stronger physically than Diamonique, but Diamonique was faster, and yet Bendros was able to match most of her blows and kicks.
Meanwhile, Ridikar was checking on Tayla, as he pulled her out of the wall. He brushed her off, as Diamonique and Bendros continued to fight each other. He looked over his intended carefully, and Tayla managed to smile.
"Okasen? I mean, are you okay?" she asked him.
Ridikar grinned. "Yeah, how about you?"
"I'm fine, I think, thanks to you and Bendros."
He smoothed her hair with his hand, and Tayla did not object. "I'd do anything for you, Tayla, don't you know that by now? Did that slut really claw you earlier?"
"She did," Tayla panted. "But Nama healed me with Caline's roses. Now Seductia has both Nama and the roses."
"We'll get them back and finish off Seductia," Ridikar assured her as confidently as possible.
"C'mon," Tayla told him firmly, taking his hand. "We must go help Bendros. Diamonique is more dangerous than you two think she is."
And with that, Ridikar followed Tayla to go help Bendros, who was still holding his own against Diamonique-until Diamonique knocked Bendros to the ground with a punch to his jaw. Bendros tried to rise again, just as Diamonique launched herself upon him. She raised her hand into the air.
"How would like your heart put on ice, monkey boy?"
She intended to freeze his heart until it stopped beating, but before she could act, Tayla seized her arm and twisted it behind Diamonique's back. Diamonique screamed in her pain, as she turned around and saw Tayla twisting her arm with the strength of someone three times her size. The cruel Gemstarian then realized her mistake in releasing Tayla.
Diamonique forgot about freezing Bendros's heart, and she seized Tayla by her hair and yanked it, tearing out a huge chunk of black tresses. She would have done it again, but Tayla socked in her jaw, showing no mercy. The two females threw themselves away from Bendros, and the two began to wrestle around on the floor, with Tayla punching Diamonique as hard as she could. Diamonique responded by slashing Tayla's face again on the same side as before.
"I'm going to cut your face up, brat, so that no boy or man will ever want to kiss it!" she declared, as she scratched Tayla's face once more. Tayla screamed, as Diamonique's nails raked across her nose and lips. Diamonique slapped the girl across her face, sharply, increasing Tayla's pain twofold. Tayla snatched her wrist before she could injure her again, but Diamonique grabbed Tayla's other wrist.
Bendros and Ridikar were then behind Diamonique, and both young men seized Diamonique to force her to get off of Tayla. Finally, they succeeded in yanking Diamonique away from Tayla, and Bendros was now holding Diamonique under her arms. Diamonique struggled and kicked against Bendros, but he managed to hold her for a few minutes until Diamonique stomped his foot with hers. Bendros tried to regain his grip on her while Ridikar helped Tayla stand up.
But Bendros was not able to hold Diamonique for long, and Diamonique managed to lean over and bite one of his arms with her sharp crystal blue teeth. Bendros cried out, but he did not release her right away until Diamonique bit into him again, this time, tearing a chunk of his flesh in her teeth. She spat out his flesh and blood, as she slashed his thigh with her nails, and finally Bendros unthinkingly released her in his pain.
Tayla was ready to take down Diamonique now when Diamonique suddenly threw herself at her and shoved Tayla into a wall. She was weaker physically than Tayla, but she was as fast as Tayla was, and she had better control of her own body weight, a skill that Tayla had just mastered. Bendros came up from behind Diamonique, but Diamonique turned around and slashed his face and neck with her deadly claw-like nails. She then took that time to uppercut Bendros in his jaw. Before Bendros could recover, Diamonique turned away and launched herself at Tayla again with her nails out.
"You're going to die, brat!" Diamonique hissed. "I'm going to rip your heart open!"
And her nails did reach Tayla, but her nails scratched Tayla's face instead of her chest, for Tayla was able to block Diamonique's hand from her chest. While Tayla was holding Diamonique's wrist away from her, Diamonique slashed one of Tayla's breasts with her nails. She would have done so again, had not Ridikar seized her free wrist and yanked it away from Tayla. With one twist, Ridikar managed to twist Diamonique's wrist and sprain it.
"You bastard!" Diamonique screamed, as she kicked Tayla in her stomach, forcing Tayla to release her wrist. Tayla shoved her away and Diamonique fell backwards several feet, but did not fall down. She then raised her nails again and dodged Bendros's attempt to grab her. Diamonique then ran at Tayla again, intending to stab her and cut her chest open once and for all.
But before she could do so, Ridikar jumped in front of her, blocking her way to Tayla.
Diamonique was furious at first, but then she stopped and smiled; she knew just how to hurt Tayla even worse than what she was planning.
Before Ridikar could react, or even anticipate what she was about to do, Diamonique leaped into the air with her nails sticking out from the hand on her good wrist, and she quickly landed in front of Ridikar, brandishing her nails like knives.
To the horror of Tayla and Bendros, Diamonique's nails clawed Ridikar's face, cut down his neck, and then sank deep into his chest!
"NO!" Tayla screamed.
"NO! STOP!" Bendros cried.
Diamonique just ignored them, smiling, as she made a final swipe into Ridikar's chest, and then shoved him to the floor. Ridikar fell backwards onto the floor, clutching at his chest.
His face grew ashen, as amber blood burst forth from his chest in a tidal wave, engulfing his body, and then bleeding more slowly. A terrified Tayla ran to him and fell to her knees beside him.
"RIDIKAR!" she screamed. "Don't die, please!"
"Tayla…" he moaned, clutching at her hand.
"RIDIKAR!"
Diamonique's cruel laughter mingled with Tayla's screams.
