Chapter Ninety-Seven: Comeuppance For Diamonique And Seductia

Bendros abruptly pulled himself to his feet and hurried over to Tayla's side. "Tayla, are you sure that you're up to challenging her?" he asked. "I can fight her in your place."

Tayla looked at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. She flew up to his face and gently kissed him on his firm cheek. "I appreciate, Bendros, really I do, but I have to do this. Ridikar sacrificed himself to save my life, and I can't let his death go unpunished."

"Tayla, you don't have to face her right now. I can take her."

"I'm sure that you could," Tayla told him softly. "But this is my fight. If she gets past me, then she's yours, but until then, it's just her and me. I don't want to risk losing another person that I care about very much, and I don't want your life to end like Ridikar's did. Please, Bendros, I have to do this; I have to. She's mine. For now this is between her and me. Please understand."

"Tayla…" Bendros began, but she shook her head sadly.

"Please step aside, Bendros. I'll need your help eventually, and I want you to stay alive for that, and for me. Oka? (Okay?)"

Bendros sighed reluctantly, "Oka. Bur bi carfi." (Okay. But be careful.)

"Donsen worrien. Willien." (Don't worry. I will.)

Diamonique smiled, amused. "How touching. I'd eliminate him too, but that's all right; I can save him for later. So it's just you and me then, little girl?"

"I'm not a little girl," Tayla told her coolly. "And yes, it's just you and me."

"Let's get it on, brat," Diamonique hissed.

"We're taking this outside," Tayla told her firmly. "I don't want any more innocent people hurt." She looked outside a broken window at the end of the hall to see a large, white cliff above the raging Shi River. The young princess pointed to the window showing the cliff.
"We can fight on that cliff."

"Fine with me, girlie," Diamonique said stiffly. "I'll be glad to give you what you deserve. At this point, I'll be happy to see you dead. Lord Frieza can well do without you."

"Perhaps he could," Tayla told her sweetly. "It's possible that my power may unnerve him, as much as I know it has unnerved you."

"Do you honestly think that your puny ki level would even faze me?" Diamonique stated arrogantly, hiding her fear of Tayla's powers as much as she could. Despite her brave words, the Gemstarian warrior knew that she had good reason to fear this difficult, bratty girl who was not going to make capturing her an easy feat.

"I can sense your fear," Tayla told her evenly. "If you wish to leave now, I suggest that you do so immediately."

"Ha!" Diamonique declared, squelching her anxiety about fighting Tayla again. "I'll see you there in fifteen minutes, girlie."

"I'll be there in less time than that," Tayla promised her.










On the outskirts of Magan in a cave on a cliff thirty miles from Tayla and Diamonique's chosen fighting location…

Norbrook had parked the skycar on a cliff, and he had forced Caline out of the car at gunpoint. Caline was frantically trying to wonder how she was going to escape before Norbrook had the chance to try anything on her. They were now walking deep into the caverns, and Caline finally managed to speak up:

"Why, General Norbrook? Why are you doing this? My family trusted you for many years, the same way that they did Alberm. How many more of you are working for Frieza?"

"Only Dunlop and myself, princess. Your husband was a fine spy for a long time, I'll admit, but he became too sure of himself. We used to get along well, him and I, until the day your father announced that Dunlop was marrying you. Wanted you for myself for several years, but it was Dunlop who had the money and the connections, not I. Unlike Dunlop, I worked my way up to where I was today; he was born into wealth. But enough of that fat fool; he received what he deserved, and you don't seem to be grieving too much for him."

Caline did not deny that; she felt no grief or regret for Alberm's death, only relief that he would not harm her anymore. She sorrowfully acknowledged to herself that his death had been horrible, but she held no grudge against Commander Jaden for killing him. Caline truly believed that Commander Jaden had killed Alberm because he was talking so badly to her; the Calmagian princess didn't know that Alberm's mistreating her had reminded Jaden too much of her own abuse at Sagash's hands. Commander Jaden had saved Caline from Alberm's clutches, for Caline knew well what Alberm was capable of when he was angry.

She could remember the many nights when she had told Alberm that she did not want to sleep with him, but he had forced himself upon her almost every time. She had not been a real spouse to him; she had known all along that she had been little more than Alberm's legal sex slave, a concubine instead of a wife. Caline had known Alberm since she was seven years old, and she had always felt uncomfortable and afraid around him.

She had never forgotten the time, when six months after she had turned ten years old, that Alberm had grabbed her in front of her father for the first time and kissed her hard on her lips. A humiliated Caline had kicked him hard in his ribs, and Alberm had actually fallen over backwards into an indoor fountain after releasing her! She had laughed at Alberm in his best suit, soaking wet. However, her laughter soon had stopped when her father had slapped her across her face in front of everyone! Alberm had tried to laugh Caline's assault off, but she could tell that she had angered him. Of course, he had done or said nothing when her father had hit her.

It was several hours after that incident that Amitar had told her that he had already betrothed her to that awful man. Caline had fallen to her knees and tearfully begged her father not to make her marry Alberm, promising that she would be good and not cause him any more trouble, if she didn't have to marry that cruel nobleman. Amitar had turned a deaf ear to her pleas and told her to stop whining and be happy that a fine man like Alberm Dunlop would want her.

She had known since she was nine years old that both Alberm Dunlop and Filcor Sedemeyer had wanted her, but she had never suspected General Narvo Norbrook of desiring her. Norbrook had always been like a gentleman towards her, and he had never even made on improper advance upon her. Caline believed that Filcor would kidnap her, especially after Ridikar had broken off their engagement, but she had never thought that Norbrook would be the one to come after her like this.

She was still in shock over Norbrook's wanting her as a woman, and it scared her much more deeply than anyone had suspected, especially since she had once trusted him explicitly. Caline sobbed softly, as she remembered what Norbrook had done to her on the way to this cave. In the skycar, he had held her at gunpoint, told her to stay still or else, and molested her. Before he molested her, he had used some rope, the same rope that had been used to tie him up, to bind Caline's wrists together behind her slender back, as she lay with her head in his lap, terrified.

Norbrook had set the skycar on automatic pilot, so that he would not need his hands to drive. He had cracked his window slightly for some fresh air. Then, keeping his gun on her, he had pulled up Caline's nightgown, up to her armpits and fondled her everywhere, using his free hand. He had talked to her lovingly while he had been caressing her, but his soft words had only served to terrify her more. Norbrook's touching her that way was just as traumatizing to her, as Alberm's raping and molesting her during their marriage had been. Caline was still shaken from the experience; Norbrook had been gentler than Alberm and Balair had been, but his unwanted touches were still as revolting to her as theirs had been.

Would she always have to keep up her guard around man or boy for the rest of her life? What if Dirkan or Lektron or any of Lektron's male relatives secretly desired her? What if even Kekron was like that? Caline's small, white body trembled. Wasn't there any male besides Ridikar that she could trust? What if she was able to go home with the Astorians after all, and one or more of the Astorian men turned out to be another Alberm, Filcor, Balair, or Norbrook?

Caline's earlier bravery and courage before Norbrook abducting her was fading away by the hour, and her fears were now threatening to cripple her. What was it about her that made so many older men want to bed her? Until recently, her fear of men had been limited to only Alberm, Amitar, Filcor, and eventually Balair, but now her fear of those males was starting to turn into terror of all men, even those she knew that she could trust.

As tears flowed down her milky face, Caline made a painful decision: she was not going to Astoria with the Astorians, after all. She decided then and there on the slim chance that she escaped Norbrook that she would flee from everyone, forever. She was no warrior or soldier, so she knew that she would be of no further use to either the Astorians or CRP officers, now that the hostages were safe. She would go back to neither her family nor the Astorians; she could not take the chance of another trusted male hurting or molesting her.

She would run away again, and this time, no one, not even Tayla's family, would be able to find her. She would do whatever she had to do to keep from being found. She could easily hide her identity again and become a maid, or a cook, or a nurse, or some occupation like that. It did not bother her to work with her hands and do chores; she would do anything to survive, as long as it did not involve indulging a male's attention. And she would never marry, or even allow a man or boy to court her. She would remain single and free for the rest of her life, no matter what.

Tears flowed further down her soft, white cheeks, as she thought of having to leave Tayla, Gracina, Natala, and the other people she had come to love behind forever. She did love them dearly, but she felt she had to leave them too. After all, they weren't about to leave the men in their family behind, and Caline's fragile beliefs that there were males she could trust were dying fast. She could not chance even the Astorian men turning out to be like those she had known before.

She had grown to especially love Gracina and Tayla, and it broke her heart, knowing that she was not going to see them again. Gracina had almost become like a new mother to Caline, and Tayla had been more like a sister towards her than Rosyn and Meyline had been. But sometimes you had to do what you had to do to survive.

And she knew that her leaving would upset Ridikar for a long time, but he would soon be too occupied with his new royal duties, if he lived, if their side won the war. He'd be better off without her, anyway; she just seemed to cause problems between him and their brothers. No one would miss her for long, and she would eventually learn to do without them. A lesser princess like herself would soon be forgotten.

But first, she had to find a way to escape Norbrook's clutches.

Only question was…how?









In the sky, over the outskirts of Magan…

From a long distance, Kekron and Veal had been able to hear Caline's sobs and Norbrook's soft words to Caline in the skycar. Kekron had told Veal that Norbrook must have had a window open because he had learned weeks ago that most of Calmag's skycars were soundproof. Both teens suspected the worst, and Kekron was uncharacteristically angry; he strongly believed that Norbrook had touched Caline without her permission.

"I'll kill him!" Kekron vowed aloud with such unusual fury that Veal shrank away from him. In the four years she had known Kekron, she had never seen him this livid. Kekron had always been such a gentle, sensitive, very mature young man who rarely ever gave a thought to violence. He was one of the most even-tempered young men that Veal had ever known, and to see him in this rage, no matter how justified, was a scary thing to her.

Kekron had noticed Veal's reaction, and he apologized, saying, "I'm sorry to scare you like that, Veal, but I can't help it. Norbrook turned out to be no better than Alberm Dunlop or Filcor Sedemeyer, and it just angers me that he would want to touch Caline as well! Caline does not deserve any more abuse! She's a sweet, gentle, loving girl who deserves much better than a monster like Norbrook!"

Veal said softly, trying to remain calm, "You like her, don't you? You must like her a lot."

Kekron's rage ebbed briefly, and he blushed ever so slightly, unable to look at the Meatian girl. "Yes," he admitted shyly. "I like her a lot. I know she's too young for me now, and she's still a little girl, but-"

"She'll be old enough in a few years?" Veal finished. "She is still a little girl now, but she's already fairly mature for her age, I think. If you don't mind my saying so, I think that you would be good for her, and she would be good for you. You two seem to be suited to each other, and if we live through this war, then maybe you two could get to know each other better."

Kekron looked at Veal with his heart in his eyes, and Veal patted his back comfortingly. She said as calmly as possible:

"Don't worry, Kekron. If you two are meant to be together, then you will be. I know that sounds odd from someone who comes from a culture of arranged marriages, but I truly believe now if two people are meant to be together, then it will happen."

She then continued softly, "We'll find her, Kekron, we will."

Kekron nodded worriedly, hoping that she was right.










At the cliff where Tayla and Diamonique have chosen to fight…

Diamonique was sitting impatiently on a rock when Tayla showed up in less than the set fifteen minutes (she had shown up in twelve). Diamonique took in the girl's appearance for several moments and then her own. Diamonique was still wearing her battered Top Elite armor, and Tayla was dressed only in an undershirt, her pants, and her patched gray boots that were about to fall apart. Diamonique privately thought that Tayla didn't look much like a princess; she had heard that Princesses of Chloe were beautiful, well-dressed women, although extremely conservative in their appearances. She looked down her pointed, perfect nose at Tayla, trying to make the girl feel inferior with withering glances. It didn't work, for Tayla's fierce demeanor was now as present as ever, if not more.

Diamonique shuddered at Tayla's merciless, determined facial expression. The fresh scars on Tayla's face that she had inflicted only added to the girl's new dangerous look. From what she had been able to glean of Tayla's fighting ability and strength, Diamonique knew that she was slightly stronger than Tayla according to brute strength, but Tayla's speed and ki attack abilities were equal to hers. She then wondered if she should just turn Tayla into a diamond statue and save herself the trouble of fighting her.

*No*, Diamonique thought to herself. *I will defeat this brat and have my vengeance on her for causing me so much trouble. If I have to kill her, I will. Lord Frieza will just have to get it over it; he has enough powerful warriors working for him, and she would just give him grief. I'm actually doing him a favor. *

Tayla then walked slowly towards Diamonique and said quietly, "Are you ready?" She looked steadily at her opponent, as she held Bendros's sword in her hands; Bendros had insisted on her taking it with her.

Diamonique arose, strutting herself towards her opponent. She said stiffly, "I've been ready. Be prepared to die."

"I may die today," Tayla told her calmly. "But it won't be by your hand."
Diamonique decided to make the first move, and she flung a medium-sized ki blast at Tayla, who crossed her arms in Mirror Shield position and deflected the attack right back onto her. The Gemstarian warrior fell backwards, but after two minutes, she began to recover.

Just as she was recovering, however, Tayla flung herself at her, punching her hard in her face. Diamonique then slashed Tayla's side with her sharp nails, causing indigo blood to spurt out. The injury was not severe enough to stop Tayla in her tracks, however, and she was able to land her foot into Diamonique's stomach. Diamonique then tried to aim a freezing laser at Tayla's heart, but before she could even launch the ki blast, Tayla seized her wrist and twisted it hard, making her scream. Diamonique then tried to claw Tayla's face again with her free hand, but Tayla used Diamonique's captured arm to block the attack. She then slammed her tiny fist into Diamonique's jaw.

Diamonique made another attempt to claw Tayla's face again, but Tayla kicked her hard in her stomach and fell back. Diamonique then launched herself upon the girl and punched her in her scarred cheek before Tayla could prevent it. Tayla responded by kneeing Diamonique between her legs, and then the two began to hit and kick at each other as hard as they could. Kicks, chops and punches dominated their fight for the next ten minutes until Diamonique abruptly left Tayla and flew into the air to launch a regular ki blast.

The large ki blast that Diamonique had released sped towards Tayla like a comet, but Tayla used Mirror Shield to deflect it back at Diamonique. Diamonique dodged her own ki blast by inches, as she fell back and prepared to launch another ki missile upon the girl. This one Tayla was also able to use Mirror Shield to prevent, and Diamonique dodged it again.

Diamonique then used her eye lasers from the air to shoot at Tayla, and these were too quick for Tayla to use Mirror Shield on, so she kept dodging and dancing around the eye blasts that her opponent kept sending her. Black shafts kept raining around her, but Tayla was able to avoid every one, as she managed to fly into the air.

She then decided that she didn't want to waste too much time fighting Diamonique, so she began to draw upon her life force to back her ki attacks up. She then powered up, preparing for a Blitzer attack, but before she could do so, Diamonique shot more eye lasers at her, and Tayla was forced to stop and dodge the attacks. Diamonique kept firing more eye blasts at her so quickly that she had no time to prepare for her Blitzer or Double Janus Bolt attacks. She used one-handed Mirror Shields to deflect Diamonique's eye lasers away from her, but she could not deflect any of them back onto her opponent.

Finally Tayla flew up higher into the air, further away from Diamonique. Her enemy followed her, as Tayla fired a ki blast at a pile of large boulders on a smaller cliff that was set upon the larger cliff where she and Diamonique had started their next battle. Diamonique was right in the path of the boulders, as they started tumbling towards her.

Diamonique at first laughed when she saw the boulders falling towards her, and she began to fire eye and hand lasers at them to shatter the huge boulders. Tayla fired another ki blast at the pile of boulders, and those boulders kept Diamonique busy as well.

"Stupid brat," she muttered, as she kept firing at the boulders that fell towards her. A particular huge boulder fell towards Diamonique's head, and Diamonique shot another ki blast at it, completely occupied with it and the other falling rocks.

But what Diamonique didn't know was that Tayla had been using the time wisely to power up for her Double Janus Bolt attack. Tayla put her hands together in a praying position once more, drew on her life force, and then thrust her hands apart. Holding her hands at the same ninety-degree angle as before, she then threw them back together side by side, and then she shot out two silvery bursts of ki from her palms. The two bolts of light whirred through the air, whistling loudly, as one suddenly crashed into Diamonique, piercing her chest while the other one struck her from behind. The streams of ki collided with each other inside of Diamonique's body, and before Diamonique knew it, she was being electrocuted from the inside out. She screamed in terror and pain, as her body began to fry and crackle in mid-air. Two boulders fell towards her, and the bigger one hit her hard on her head, and the rock sent her crashing to the ground. Within seconds, her body hit the ground with the impact of a plane crashing, and that was when Tayla made her next move.

A severely wounded Diamonique tried to rise again, but then Tayla sent her a second Double Janus Bolt attack, and this move hit her much quicker than the first attack did. This second one had involved Tayla using more of her life force than before, and this time the ground beneath Diamonique began to crumble, as she was still being electrocuted. Diamonique screamed loudly, her shrill sounds nearly busting Tayla's eardrums. The ground beneath the Gemstarian warrior collapsed under her completely, and Tayla quickly retreated away from both cliffs, as both natural structures began to fall into millions of pieces and clouds of debris and dust.

"TAY…LA…YOU…LITTLE MONSTER! I'LL…GET…YOU!" And those were the last words that Tayla would hear from Diamonique, as the cliffs fell apart completely into a giant cloud of dust.
Tayla flew further and further away, as the dust began to slowly settle.

Within ten minutes, the collapsing had stopped, and there were no more of those cliffs left, and Tayla hoped, no more Diamonique.

She floated down slowly to the top of a plateau, as she watched the clouds of dust began to dissipate. She was exhausted now and out of breath, and she would have to wait a bit for her life force to restore itself. She had used the maximum that she could expend without wearing herself down; Diamonique had been somewhat easier to defeat than Vegeta had been. Diamonique was in a higher position than Vegeta, but she did not have Vegeta's brute strength, or his extensive repertoire of ki attacks. Tayla could no longer sense Diamonique's ki, and she hoped that this time, it would stay gone.

She then whispered, as she suddenly began to weep, "You've been avenged, Ridikar, I hope." And then she allowed herself to cry louder for a few minutes, for she then realized that defeating Diamonique would not restore Ridikar's life. No amount of vengeance can ever bring back someone's life, or repair the damage that the receiver of the revenge had caused. All vengeance did was bring relief (and sometimes joy, depending on the person) to the avenger and bring justice for the victims, but that was all it could do. Vengeance could not ever resurrect dead victims, turn back time, or repair the damage or pain that it was being used to avenge. Tayla's heart and soul hurt when she thought about this. She understood now why some races and species preached against revenge; she had finally understood truly why her brother, Raakon, had once turned his back on fighting. He had known all along what she had just learned.

Raakon had once said in a lecture during one of the lessons he had been teaching her that vengeance was best left to fate and the Kais, and Tayla had asked why. Raakon said that she would learn soon enough, and she now she had. Most of the time, only fate and the Kais could truly use vengeance properly, without causing more pain than necessary. She had been extremely hard on Diamonique, especially when Diamonique could not fight her back anymore. But she had been so angry over Ridikar's unjust death and her own horrific abuse at Diamonique's hands that all she had been able to think about was destroying the cruel Gemstarian woman.

It made her feel better that Ridikar was now avenged, but it did not make her feel good to know of the harsh tactics she had used to defeat her cruel opponent. Of course, Diamonique had done wrong, but Nama had once said before that two wrongs don't make a right. But was defeating Diamonique really a wrong? At least, she wouldn't be able to hurt others anymore.

That was what Tayla would focus on, and she managed to put aside her uneasiness about what she had done. She could not be shy about eliminating a threat, no matter what.








In Shalila and Dirkan's bedroom…

Dirkan, Bajal, and Raakon had been standing guard in front of Shalila, and Dirkan was completely naked, having stripped himself on Seductia's orders. Seductia had recovered quickly from the trauma that Tayla's ki quakes had caused, and she had turned back to seducing Dirkan. After some thought, however, she had left to go find Diamonique to see if her ex-trainer still lived. She had commanded Dirkan to stay naked until she returned. Seductia had been exclaiming delightedly at the thought of sleeping with Dirkan, and she hadn't hesitated to taunt Shalila cruelly about bedding Shalila's husband. Shalila, who had now been gagged, hadn't been able to respond. Once Seductia had left, Shalila's gag had fallen out of her mouth.

Shalila had had her wrists rebound, and Bajal, on Seductia's orders, had hung her by her wrists on a coat hook. Suddenly, she noticed a change over the men, as Dirkan, Bajal, and Raakon seemed to return to their normal selves (just as Bendros had hoped). Dirkan was shocked to find himself naked, and even more shocked to find his wife hanging from a coat hook. Bajal and Raakon were equally stunned, and they both wondered how they had arrived in Dirkan and Shalila's room.

Dirkan shoved past both of Shalila's grandsons to reach his badly injured wife. He embraced her tightly, nearly in uncharacteristic tears. "Shalila…" he whispered.

"Dirkan!" Shalila shrieked. "You…you are back to normal!" Tears of shock and joy burst from her soft, gray eyes.

"What happened to you?" he cried in horror. "Who injured you like this? I'll kill whoever did this!" He took her down from the coat hook and quickly untied her. Shalila threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, glad to have her mate back to normal again.

"Dirkan," she sobbed. "Oh, Dirkan…my Dirkan…never thought that you would be back to your old self again!" The confused Namek embraced her tightly, pulling her against him. He felt himself become aroused, and he remembered that he was naked. He quickly pushed himself away from his wife and looked about for something to cover himself with.

"Dirkan!" Shalila couldn't help, but laugh. "Why are you rushing about? You don't have anything that I haven't seen before, silly! Why are you embarrassed to be naked in front of me now?"

Dirkan couldn't help, but laugh himself. "I guess you're right, but your grandsons don't need to see my best friend down there!"

Bajal managed to joke, "He's not the only one happy to see you, is he, Nama? His best friend rising between his legs seems delighted as well!"

"Bajal!" Shalila scolded sharply, embarrassed.

"Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" Dirkan growled, as he managed to pull on his pants.

"But what happened?" Raakon asked. "How did we get here? And where is Tayla? And Zarbon and Diamonique?"

Shalila suddenly had to sit down, and she grew very sad.

"Something has happened to that poor girl," she whispered. "I could feel her grief, her pain."

"For who, Nama?" Raakon asked.

"And how did we get here?" Dirkan wanted to know.

Shalila stood up quickly and spoke, "Listen, Dirkan, Bajal, and Raakon, I will have to explain what happened to you three later. First, we need to go out into the garden and gather some more of Caline's roses to heal ourselves. Then we can go find out what happened to that whore, Seductia. I just hope that poor Tayla and Bendros are okay. I have a feeling Seductia's spell has been broken, and I don't know how or who broke it, but I am very, very grateful, and I will see that the person who did it is richly rewarded."

"Seductia must have enchanted us," Dirkan concluded.

"That's exactly what happened," Shalila explained to her husband.

"You mean that I was acting like Dirkan and Private Gauze when they were under that woman's spell?" Bajal asked, stunned. "There was no way that she could have bewitched me!"

"Oh, but she did," Shalila told him.

"I hope that I didn't spout any ridiculous garbage like they did?"

"I'll just put it this way," Shalila said slyly. "I believe that you will miss your 'dab of pink pearl cream'."

"Dab of what???" Bajal exclaimed.

"Heh, heh, at least I'm sure I didn't say that rubbish," Dirkan quipped.

Shalila said sweetly, "Well, my darling, for a while, Seductia was your queen of all sunsets and your mistress of the moonlight."

Dirkan's green face would have paled, if it had been possible. His eyes and his mouth were wide open in horror. "I-I said stuff like that?"

"I called her my dab of pink pearl cream?" Bajal exclaimed, horrified.

"Well, at least you didn't call her 'sweetest of all candy canes' or 'sweet apple', but perhaps your brother here would know something about that. Raakon, I'm surprised at you; normally you come up with better compliments that aren't so mushy. I've never known you to call Natala your 'pink buttercup' or 'queen of the loveliest stars' or was that sunsets?"

Even Raakon was embarrassed by this time. He just hoped that Natala would understand once she had learned that he had been following around another woman. He looked at a blushing Bajal, and he knew that his older brother was hoping the same thing with Alora.

Dirkan was blushing a bright purple, for he couldn't look his wife in her face. Shalila looked at all three of her beloved men and sighed. She would wait until the war was over to tell him of the more dangerous, near-deadly things they had done while they were under Seductia's spell.

She just hoped that the little tramp was dead. If not, Seductia would be by the time Shalila crossed paths with her again. At this time, Shalila could not sense her ki.

Hopefully, that was a good sign.









Twenty minutes after Diamonique had been defeated, and ten minutes before Dirkan, Bajal, and Raakon had been removed from Seductia's spell…

Bendros had found Bajal's sword lying on the floor, and he was thankful to have a blade again. He was about to go upstairs, after sensing the ki signatures of Shalila and the others when Seductia suddenly teleported in front of him. She was coming to find Diamonique to see if Diamonique was still alive, in hopes that Diamonique would now give her a larger share of Frieza's reward.

Bendros thought of a plan very, very quickly, and then he smiled somberly. And then, he put on the same slack smile as Seductia's victims and ran to her, throwing herself at her feet, crying joyously:

"Seductia, my sweet, pure love of the universe, I wish to change sides and join you!"
Seductia was taken aback, puzzled. "Wait a minute! You're not even under my spell!"

Bendros took Seductia's hand and kissed it lightly. "You don't need those silly red balls to enchant me, my beautiful fairy fluff! I have been delighted with you for a long time; I was just too shy to show it! My sweet cherry taffy, do you know how much you enrapture me? I have admired you for some time, and I wish to become part of your court!"

Seductia looked at Bendros skeptically. She was flattered, but she was too smart to fall for Bendros's seemingly mindless devotion right away. "You're very handsome and strong, but how do I know that this isn't a trick of yours? And where is Commander Diamonique?"

"Forget about her!" Bendros declared. "She isn't worth your bother! You are ten times the woman that she is! Let me help you prove that, please! I am in love with you already, my princess of golden sunrises! Won't you give me a chance, please? I am so sorry that I hurt you earlier, and that I gave you so much grief! I just had to keep up appearances with the Superior Gran and Tayla around, you understand. Please give me a chance to prove my devotion to you, and with me, you won't even need to put me under that ridiculous spell. My love and dedication to you are real!"

Seductia frowned. She wanted to believe him, but…

"How do I know that you're telling the truth?" she asked suspiciously.

Bendros impulsively seized her into his arms and gave her a long, hard kiss on her lips, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He ran his hands over her curves, and Seductia couldn't help but be aroused by his sudden advances upon her. She melted against his body, running her hands along his muscled arms and returning his kiss. She slipped his tongue into his mouth, and their tongues danced together seductively inside each other's mouths. They pressed against each other, wrapping themselves around each other. Bendros continued to caress her body, as Seductia ran her fingers and tongue along his face. Finally, after about ten minutes, Seductia was breathless.

"My Kami! I am amazed!" she cried out. "You're even better than Dirkan, and with you, it's for real!"

"Of course it is, my chalice of sweetness!" Bendros crowed. "If I could, I would take you upstairs and prove my love and desire for you right now! I can outdo any Namek or pureblooded Astorian, I can assure you!"

Seductia jumped into Bendros's arms, and she drew Bendros's hand to her left breast. Bendros caressed her left breast lightly, as his mouth fused with hers. His joyous expression saddened, and Seductia immediately noticed.

"What is wrong, my darling?" she asked.

"I am sorry, Seductia," he told her somberly. "I've no doubt that you pleased many a man and still could, but I won't be one of those men."

Seductia grew alarmed. "Wh-what do you m-mean?"

Bendros smiled sadly at her. "I didn't want to resort to this, and I'm sorry; if there was another way, I would take it, but I have to do this." And with that same sad smile, he pressed his hand harder against her breast and sent an electrifying ki blast through her heart. Seductia's mouth gaped open in horror, as she screamed. Bendros gently tossed her onto the floor, as she continued to scream.

He had long ago surmised that Seductia was not as physically strong as most of her comrades; other than her Fatal Attraction Attack and Kiss of Death attack, she had no real powers. That was why it had been so easy for him to attack her, once her guard had gone down. He suspected that she would easily fall for a man whom she did not have to enchant with her Fatal Attraction Attack. He had a gut feeling that once Seductia was dead, her power over Dirkan, Bajal, and Raakon would die with her.

He took some pity on her, and in order to end her misery faster, the regretful Sastorian warrior plunged Bajal's sword through her heart. He hated to kill any woman, and taking a life like this wasn't like him at all. Like Tayla and Raakon, he could not take a life without some regret or guilt. However, he couldn't have defeated her, had Dirkan, Bajal, and Raakon been around to help her.

Within seconds, Seductia was dead, and orange blood seeped gently from her slim, once-beautiful body. Bendros withdrew his sword from her body and wiped it clean on the carpet.

"I am sorry to kill you this way," he whispered. "But I couldn't let you do what you did to Tayla's family members to some other unfortunate victim." He then felt about Seductia's body for the stolen healing roses and found them. He tucked them into his pocket.

He then pulled a tapestry down off of the wall, a lovely red and gold cloth and gently threw it over Seductia's inert body and face. He then took one last glance at her and went sensing about for Tayla's ki. He hoped that she would be okay.


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A/N: I hope that battle wasn't anticlimatic; I wasn't planning until today to have Bendros kill Seductia himself. Anyway, both Diamonique and Seductia got what they deserved--for now. Seductia is definitely dead, but is Diamonique? And what of Caline? Find out next time.

Thanks for reading still!