Chapter Thirteen: It's Not Over Yet
"WHAT?" Coola hissed, even though he knew it no longer mattered at this point.
"NAPPA AND RADITZ, YOU BOTH ARE DEAD!" Vegeta yelled from backstage.
Zarbon burst into maniacal laughter, and tears rolled down his mockingly joyous face. Chestra sighed and shook her head.
"Neither Nappa nor Raditz are going to make it off that stage alive," she murmured.
Zarbon arose and patted Chestra's shoulder, still laughing. "Ch-Chestra, I-I must go congratulate Vegeta-and give him my order for breakfast tomorrow!"
"Of course, Zarbon," Chestra said absentmindedly, as Zarbon literally danced away from her and towards the backstage.
As he did, the crowd of angry men booed and hissed and started throwing chairs and food and any other objects they could grab towards the stage.
"BOOOOOOO!"
"You're gonna get it, you monkeys!"
"You're gonna die for pickin' your own women to win!"
"Cheaters!"
"KILL THE JUDGES, KILL THE JUDGES!" one ugly, squat alien male shouted in a chant.
Soon, many of his fellow soldiers began joining him, pumping their fists into the air and screaming:
"KILL THE JUDGES, KILL THE JUDGES!"
"KILL THE MONKEYS, KILL THE MONKEYS!"
"MONKEYS MUST DIE!"
"MONKEYS HAVE NO BRAINS!"
"We'll be doin' Lord Frieza a favor!"
"We're going to get 'em!"
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"How did we win?" Journa exclaimed worriedly, her voice nearly drowned out by the angry mob of men.
"We're done for," Eclipse moaned.
As Raditz and Nappa inched closer to their women, they were holding the gold crowns for Miss Frieza. Hastily, they whispered to each other and nodded.
Cypress was muttering a rather interesting variety of curses that no one would have suspected she knew. Eclipse gasped when she recognized several of the words, and she especially knew at least from which language those words came.
"Journa-I know some of those words-why they're in-"
"Eclipse!" Journa snapped, cutting her off. "We're about to be killed, and you're worried about a few dirty words from Cypress?"
"But, I don't think that Cypress is-"
"Forget about that now, Eclipse! We've got to get out of here!"
"You've got that right!" Raditz exclaimed, seizing Journa by her waist and tossing her over his broad shoulder. Journa looked worriedly in Cypress's direction, and Cypress shook her head wildly and whispered, "Go! Now!"
"Same here," Nappa added, grabbing Eclipse and hoisting her over his shoulder. "Let's go!" he shouted to Raditz.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Raditz replied, as he and Nappa raced off of the stage, carrying their women. A series of ki blasts were shot in their direction, from various sources, but the Saiyans were too fast, and within less than a minute, they and their mates had disappeared.
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Frieza's personal pod shook, as his fury ravaged his body and twisted his features. Crackles of ki wove in and out of the pod, and steam was seeping from the top. Coola was floating nearby in the air, laughing and mocking him.
"Hahahahaha! Well, little brother, this humiliation almost makes up for those monkeys not choosing my Karilyn! Almost, but not quite. But, seeing you brought to your knees will have to satisfy me for now. Great birthday present the monkeys gave you, didn't they?" He felt that there was some justice in the universe, after all. All right, so Karilyn blew her own chances of winning, and he wound up looking like a fool, but at least Frieza would go down with them.
"Go to hell, Coola!"
"My, my, such language. Well, Happy Birthday, little brother."
Pointing his horns at his brother threateningly, Frieza hissed through his teeth, "That's alright, Coola! I'm still going to tell Father what you and your whore did to ruin my beauty contest! Don't think just because my day is ruined that I'm going to let you get away with what you tried to pull!"
"Now, Frieza, come on," Coola said too desperately. He couldn't believe, that he, the second most powerful being in the universe next to his and Frieza's father, was actually begging his pathetic younger sibling not to go tell on him to Father. Father would never let Coola hear the end of what he did, and it seemed to him that Father almost always took Frieza's side! Hadn't he already endured enough when his Karilyn was disqualified?
"Don't tell me to come on, big brother! You are really in for it, but lucky for you, I have a beauty contest to conclude."
"Didn't it just end, thanks to your monkeys?"
Frieza said icily, "Nothing ends, until I say it does." Even in his wrath, he had already concocted a backup plan.
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Some of the angry audience members were already on the stage, still trying to fire ki blasts at the Saiyans, but their targets had long since vanished. Hickey had already fled the stage before anyone from the mob could touch him, and he was no longer anywhere in the auditorium.
Paying little mind to the crisis onstage and doing nothing to end it, a mirthful Zarbon was triumphantly strolling backstage towards Vegeta, who was kicking and knocking things over. Tables, chairs, and other furniture and props were scattered all over the floor. The opposite wall was decorated with an array of holes created by a rapid-fire shower of ki blasts. Diamonique was alternating between mocking him and consoling him.
"Now calm down, Vegeta, darling," Diamonique insisted, even though she was glad that Reccoom had lost. "At least Reccoom was first runner-up. What was so bad?"
Vegeta yelled, "You know very well! I'll have to dress in Journa's nightgown and serve Head Commander Pretty Boy breakfast in bed!"
"Now, Vegeta, I'll see what I can do to get you out of this. Meanwhile, I have to go to the little ladies' room to freshen up. Will be back soon." And she strolled away, leaving Vegeta alone in his rage.
He then caught sight of his rival approaching and snarled, "Zarbon, if you've come to gloat, this is a rotten time to do it!"
Zarbon grinned, stopping and leaning lazily against the doorway to the backstage. "Actually, Vegeta, this is the BEST time. And you were so sure that Raditz and Nappa would pick Reccoom. I told you those two would let their hormones get the best of them; they knew that if they didn't pick their women, they would never receive any loving from them again. Maybe those two are smarter than I give them credit for."
"And apparently you're stupider than I give YOU credit for! I told you this was a bad time! Yes, I will carry out my end of the deal, but you can at least leave me alone until tomorrow morning!"
Zarbon crossed his arms and chuckled. "Such a sore loser, are we? But very well, Vegeta, I won't rub it in your face anymore today. There'll be plenty of time for that tomorrow morning. And oh, prince, just to let you know-I prefer my eggs sunny-side up, along with steak cooked medium-rare, berries with cream-you know the kind I like-and that special fruit juice. Will be looking forward to having the Prince of the Saiyans waiting on me for a whole month."
Vegeta fired a ki blast in Zarbon's direction, but Zarbon laughingly skipped out of the way and said tauntingly, "And oh, by the way, congratulate your sister and Eclipse for me, will you? I'll be sure to send them flowers myself. I do owe them, you know."
He barely missed the second ki blast that Vegeta shot in his direction, as he slipped away.
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As Frieza's enraged soldiers searched for Nappa and Raditz onstage, heading backstage, some began firing more ki blasts towards the back, hoping to hit the Saiyan judges, or even Hickey. But some of those blasts hit their fellow soldiers instead of the intended targets, and real fights burst out. Men started attacking their colleagues or comrades, punching, kicking, and throwing objects at each other. Some started ripping boards from the floor and whacking others on the head with them. Ki blasts continued to be fired all throughout the auditorium, with those in the audience being forced to dodge. Frieza, Coola, and King Cold were shouting down at everyone, demanding order, but for once, no one was paying them any attention. The rioting continued, with very few people making an attempt to stop it.
During the melee, Reccoom, who was still onstage, was cursing and yelling, barely affected by two small ki blasts that had hit him on his thighs. He stomped giant holes in the floor and punched whatever was near him that was solid.
Despite the danger she knew she was putting herself in, Cypress seized Reccoom's arm. "C'mon, Reccoom, let's get out of here!"
"I'm going to kill those two!" Reccoom roared, referring to Nappa and Raditz.
"They're gone, Reccoom, let's go. You can get them later," Cypress ordered, tugging at his arm.
"I'm getting them now!" Reccoom yelled, yanking his arm out of Cypress's grasp. Shoving several soldiers aside, he stormed off in angry pursuit of Nappa and Raditz.
"Oh, forget you!" Cypress hissed. As she abandoned Reccoom to his pursuit, she kicked off her high heels and scurried towards the backstage in her stocking-wrapped feet.
But as she was about to go through the backstage door, a tall, grungy gray man with a duck-like head and reptilian body abruptly grabbed her upper arm. Despite his obvious strength and size, he was stumbling; it was clear that he was intoxicated.
"You ain't's goin' nowhere, lady!" the soldier, who was a Mid-Elite, snarled through his thick, orange beak. His alcohol-permeated breath blew into Cypress's face.
"Let go of me! What do you want?" Cypress exclaimed angrily.
"I know ya knows where Hickster went! I'm gonna kill 'im! He's just as guilty as those monkeys are of this! He let 'em pick their girlie friends for the winners! Tell me!"
"You're crazy!" Cypress yelled, trying to shake him. "Hickey wasn't a judge!"
"Doesn't matter; he could have stopped the monkeys, and he didn't. So he's gonna get what's comin' to him. Since the monkeys are gone, I'll just give Hicks what I was gonna give them! Where is he?" And he squeezed Cypress's arm tighter. "Tell me!"
"I don't know or care! Let me go!" Cypress cried, struggling to free her arm from his grasp. But the soldier yanked her towards him, shoving her into his body.
"You's a-lying! Tell me now, or I'll rip out that pretty hair and tail of yours!"
"Go to hell!" Cypress roared, punching at his chest with her free fist.
"You first, baby!" But just as the soldier was about to punch her in her face, his eyes suddenly bulged open, and, in unexplained shock, he released her arm. Cypress fell back, as the soldier crashed into the floor face-forward.
As the dust startled to settle, Cypress caught sight of a scowling Vegeta calmly dusting off his gloved fist. She looked at him with a small, relieved smile. "Thanks," she replied gruffly.
"Don't mention it-and I mean it."
Cypress chuckled softly. "Secret's safe with me."
"Good," Vegeta told her simply, crossing his arms. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to hunt down two fellow Saiyans and beat them until they scream like little girls. They'll be lucky, if I let them live."
As the angry shouting and ki-blasting continued onstage, followed by the furious roars of Frieza, Cypress asked in a kind voice, "Vegeta, I don't blame you for being mad, but can you really blame them? What would you have done in their situation?"
"I would have kept my word and my skin! What do you care anyway?" Vegeta yelled. "And Eclipse and Journa better not think that I won't have a few things to say to them, if they ever return!"
"They weren't planning on going through with the contest," Cypress said calmly.
"WHAT? Then why in the hell did they enter? Especially Journa, knowing that I was supporting Reccoom!"
"They entered it as a joke; they were going to drop out before the final judging, but Frieza wouldn't let them. And, of course, their entering put Raditz and Nappa in an awkward position. Men will do insane things to please their women, sometimes even at the risk of their own lives. And there are also some men…who, well, how do I put this? Ah…jump to conclusions because of things they've heard or seen about a woman and not bother to ask her about it?"
"And just what are you referring to?" Vegeta asked defensively, narrowing his eyes. He had started to like Cypress before Diamonique had told him about Cypress's time with Frieza, and the thought of those two together still put him on edge. He still didn't know what possessed him to rescue her from that prick that was bothering her; it couldn't be because he actually cared anything for her. He certainly didn't want Frieza's leavings, no matter how appealing.
"I think you know, Vegeta…pertaining to a certain story that Commander Diamonique told about me without knowing what she was talking about?"
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Was she telling the truth?"
"Yes…and no. I did go to see Frieza, and we spent some time together, but when he tried to seduce me, I refused. As I told him, I was not allowed to have an affair or anything else with him because he was King Cold's son, and King Cold had forbidden us women in his army to do so. He wasn't happy about it, but he let me go. I did go to him that time out of courtesy, and he can be very charming, strangely enough, when he wants to be." Vegeta shot her a dubious look that was mixed with disgust, and she chuckled again.
"Besides, who's really allowed to refuse an invitation from Lord Frieza? Think about it, Vegeta."
Still keeping his arms crossed, he growled, "I suppose you're right. I understand I have no real claim on you, but still I was led to believe that you were interested, that you…at least somewhat liked me."
"And I do," she told him gently. "But, it wouldn't be fair for us to start anything. My loyalty always has to go to my liege first, and sadly, I don't have the time in my life to pursue something with any man, no matter how much I may start to care for him. I am sorry, Vegeta, but I don't make promises that I can't keep."
"I suppose this is the part where you ask, if we can just be friends," he said quietly, with regret that was not as carefully hidden as he tried to make it.
"You could…say that," she said slowly. "But I don't regret the time I spent with you, Vegeta, honestly. Once you grow up a little, you'll make the right woman a decent mate."
"Grow up?" he yelled. "I've been a man for a long time now!"
Cypress laughed. "C'mon, Vegeta, you're what right now? Seventeen?"
"How in the hell did you know? Besides, I'll be eighteen next month!"
"Happy birthday in advance then." She smiled, cocking her head to the left. "Well, I have to go now. It's been great knowing you."
"Wait," he told her firmly, taking her arm. "Will I see you again?" he asked somberly.
With her bushy tail swishing mournfully, she sighed, her smile now both benevolent and sad. "I'll see you, but you won't see me."
He was about to ask her exactly what she meant, but decided against it. After all, she did work for King Cold, and she probably could only say and do so much. That was life as a soldier in the Cold Empire: a person could only do or as much as he or she was allowed, for as long as he or she was allowed. Beyond that was forbidden; Vegeta knew this as well as any Cold Empire warrior. It was unlikely King Cold and Frieza would have ever permitted anything between him and Cypress anyway, so it was just as well.
He looked at her with one long, last glance, only paying slight attention to the pandemonium onstage beginning to settle down. The calming was only because Frieza was threatening errant soldiers with death or dismemberment…
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"EVERYONE IS TO RETURN TO THEIR SEATS AT ONCE! ANY ONE WHO REFUSES WILL PERISH! I AM ALREADY HAVING A BAD ENOUGH DAY, AS IT IS!"
The angry men, who still had been searching for the Saiyan judges, grudgingly climbed off of the stage, as Frieza floated in his pod over the center stage. As the last soldiers were returning to their seats, Frieza lowered his pod, until it was just hovering above the floor.
"I have an announcement, ladies and gentlemen: Princess Journa and Lady Eclipse have been disqualified; it was obvious that those two were foolish enough to pick their mates over the other contestants. I have already sent soldiers after them and their mates to force them to return. We are redoing this contest, even if we only have two contestants, so I will be picking new judges-"
"Oh, pick me, sire, please!"
"I'll volunteer, Lord Frieza!"
"I'll be a judge!"
"Pick me, Lord Frieza!"
"Yeah, pick me!"
"No, pick me!"
Many more men volunteered, begging Frieza to choose them.
But Frieza added quietly, "-Who will be Commander Dodoria and Kiwi. Hopefully Commander Dodoria is somewhat sober by now."
Almost everyone wanted to boo, but no one dared. As Frieza finished speaking with Kiwi on his scouter and was now trying to contact Dodoria, he looked around agitatedly for Hickey. Where was his emcee?
He grumbled under his breath. Never mind; he'd hunt Hickey down later. Grunting, he added out loud, "Reccoom and Cypress, come onstage immediately…"
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Just as Cypress was about to reluctantly appear onstage, a slow smirk formed on Vegeta's handsome face, as he followed her to the doorway. He levitated slowly into the air until his face was on the same level as the taller Cypress's. His smirk turned into a grin, as he turned her around, thrust his palm behind her head, and into her hair. He wrapped his arm behind her back and pulled her closer to him until their chests were touching.
"Vegeta, what are you doing?" she exclaimed to him, stunned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a growing number of men in the audience look in their direction. She could hear some of them already snickering.
Ignoring the spectators completely, Vegeta laughed wickedly. "Giving you one hell of a parting gift!" And with that, he crushed his lips against hers, kissing her fully.
Shocked, Cypress didn't know whether to give in, or to push him away and smack him for his disrespect. He was a great kisser, she had to admit; he sure knew what he was doing. But she still couldn't allow this; she had to make him release her.
But releasing her was apparently not in his plans any time soon.
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Diamonique finally emerged from the ladies room, after taking almost twenty minutes to "freshen up". But was it her fault that her hair was mussed, or that her makeup needed retouching, or that a nail needed urgent repair? Being beautiful was such hard work, but it would be worth it when she saw Vegeta again. No matter how badly he treated her sometimes, she still desired him.
Smiling sweetly, she sauntered through the backstage to find her prince-who-to her utmost horror-was-KISSING-Cypress!
How dare he! After all she did to help him and Reccoom, he had to go kiss another woman! How could he treat her this way? Didn't he think he owed her some loyalty?
Well, that whore, Cypress, must have led him on! She had to have wanted Vegeta from the moment she saw him. She must have lured Vegeta into kissing her; yes, that was it. Everyone wanted to take Vegeta away from Diamonique, first Jaden, and now that tramp, Cypress!
Diamonique clenched her fists, with her long nails sinking into her palms. She was going to go give those two a piece of her mind right now! She'd tell Vegeta off for betraying her, and she'd let Cypress know that Vegeta was HER man, even if he didn't always want to admit it!
She stormed over to the couple that seemed to be paying their surroundings no mind. Oh, those two would pay!
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Somewhere far, far away from Frieza's mother ship in a traveling pod…
"Cypress and I tried to expose Karilyn, but apparently Diamonique busted the wench for spiking the punch…that's the one and only thing I'll be thankful to her for," Journa was telling Raditz, as he was only now starting to catch his breath. Journa was nestled against Raditz's chest, as he held her on his lap.
Both Saiyans were thankful to be, for now, out of Frieza's reach. Raditz had been stunned when his mate had told him that he and Nappa never had to pick her and Eclipse for Miss Frieza. His first reaction to that news had been, "You mean that I DIDN'T have to choose you for Miss Frieza, after all?"
"Hey, now, let's not go that far," Journa had said reprovingly, narrowing her eyes at her beloved. She rather liked the feel of the new gold crown on her head, and she would have enjoyed it more, if it hadn't possibly cost Raditz his life in the future. Fortunately, for her, Raditz had laughed for a few moments. At least he laughed until she came to the part where she mentioned that she had learned from Cypress the danger he and Nappa had been in during the contest.
"Yeah, good ol' Diamonique; she helped save us," Raditz sighed, only half-meaning his words. "But what was Cypress's big secret? Did she say why she spent time with Frieza instead of Vegeta?"
Journa laughed nervously, embracing his neck. "Raditz, I hope you're very comfortable."
"Why?"
"Well, Cypress isn't quite who she said she was…in fact, it was a huge shock to me when she said that…" And in a few, painfully brief sentences, she told him what had been revealed to her.
The entire pod shook violently, and if sound had been able to carry throughout space, the loud echo of Raditz's, "WHAT?" would have been heard all over the galaxy.
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Dodoria and Kiwi delightedly strolled onto the stage; well, Kiwi strolled, but Dodoria staggered along, still inebriated. His massive weight shifted back and forth sideways, as he slowly approached Frieza. He slurred drunkenly, "Siiiiire! Who we got to piiiiiick?"
Frieza looked at him in obvious disgust, especially when he smelled his breath. Ugh! "Reccoom and Cypress are the only ones left."
"Well, I sure ain't pickin' Cypress, I know that!" Dodoria declared loudly before he belched.
"Well, I'm not picking Reccoom," Kiwi insisted petulantly. "Don't know why'd you want to pick Reccoom, Commander; Cypress is hot!" Reccoom glared at him, as he finally appeared onstage.
"'Cause Cypress wants to take my Frieza 'way from me!" Dodoria croaked. "I'm gonna make her leave right now! Reccoom wins!"
"No, Cypress does!"
"Reccoom!"
"Cypress!"
"Reccoom, Reccoom, Reccoom!"
"Cypress, Cypress, Cypress!"
"Oh, just pick a winner already!" Frieza hissed, crossing his arms and glaring at them.
"Yeah, pick a winner!" someone in the audience demanded.
"Yeah! Right now! Pick the real Miss Frieza!" more audience members commanded.
"We're picking Cypress!" Kiwi told Frieza.
"Like hell we are! Reccoom's winnin'!" Dodoria shouted.
"You must really be drunk, if you pick that fool over a babe like Cypress!" Kiwi snapped. "Don't know why Lord Frieza bothered picking you, even if you are a commander. You're a disgrace when you're drunk like you are!"
"Yeah, well disgrace this!" Dodoria roared, exposing his palm to Kiwi. Within seconds, a stream of whitish-gold light shot from his palm towards Kiwi.
Kiwi leapt out of the way in time, but the burst of ki flew past him towards the doorway to the backstage, where Vegeta was still holding Cypress…
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Suddenly, Cypress felt something burning and hot hit her in her hip, and she screamed. She toppled into Vegeta's arms, as he caught her. Both of them fell to the floor, with him still holding her. As his eyes closed, he rolled on top of her to shield her, but thankfully, no more blasts came.
They could hear Frieza yelling at Dodoria for his stupidity. Vegeta was about to leap up to confront Dodoria when he felt Cypress move beneath him. He brushed his hand against her sore hip for a moment, and his eyes widened when her body did not feel the same as before.
"What the hell…" he murmured, as realization struck him. Shocked, he looked down at the woman under him. And then he heard the loud laughter, joking and snickering from everyone around him, as Frieza, Diamonique, Dodoria, and Kiwi came closer.
Placing her hands on her curvy hips, Diamonique screeched, "Vegeta, you have disgusting taste! Of all the women you had to betray me with, it had to be her! What does she have that I don't?"
But Frieza, Dodoria, and Kiwi were too shocked to speak. Their jaws hung open, their eyes bulged; not even Frieza said a word.
He couldn't believe it! Vegeta had not only apparently been making out with the woman he was lying upon, but Cypress was not the woman Frieza and the others thought she was. He suddenly felt very sick, and he was out of antacids, not that it would do him much good anyway.
"I don't believe this," he said, stunned.
"I-I told you she wasn't what she seemed to be, sire," Dodoria said slowly. "But I didn't even suspect this, and it's-ugh!" His voice rose. "Diamonique's right! That is disgusting! Vegeta and her? That is the nastiest sight I've ever seen in my life!"
"For once…you and I have to agree, Do-doria," Frieza said shakily.
"Permission to retch, sire?" Dodoria asked.
"Per-permission granted."
"I can't believe this!" Diamonique cried. "I suddenly feel very sick!" And she ran backstage, much to Vegeta's thankfulness.
He looked down at the woman in his arms again. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and what he had just done with her.
He'd be the eternal laughingstock of Frieza's forces after today, and not just because Reccoom had lost earlier.
For after this horrid beauty contest was over, everyone would be talking about seeing Vegeta kissing Jaden, who was smiling sheepishly, as she lay beneath her best pupil.
"WHAT?" Coola hissed, even though he knew it no longer mattered at this point.
"NAPPA AND RADITZ, YOU BOTH ARE DEAD!" Vegeta yelled from backstage.
Zarbon burst into maniacal laughter, and tears rolled down his mockingly joyous face. Chestra sighed and shook her head.
"Neither Nappa nor Raditz are going to make it off that stage alive," she murmured.
Zarbon arose and patted Chestra's shoulder, still laughing. "Ch-Chestra, I-I must go congratulate Vegeta-and give him my order for breakfast tomorrow!"
"Of course, Zarbon," Chestra said absentmindedly, as Zarbon literally danced away from her and towards the backstage.
As he did, the crowd of angry men booed and hissed and started throwing chairs and food and any other objects they could grab towards the stage.
"BOOOOOOO!"
"You're gonna get it, you monkeys!"
"You're gonna die for pickin' your own women to win!"
"Cheaters!"
"KILL THE JUDGES, KILL THE JUDGES!" one ugly, squat alien male shouted in a chant.
Soon, many of his fellow soldiers began joining him, pumping their fists into the air and screaming:
"KILL THE JUDGES, KILL THE JUDGES!"
"KILL THE MONKEYS, KILL THE MONKEYS!"
"MONKEYS MUST DIE!"
"MONKEYS HAVE NO BRAINS!"
"We'll be doin' Lord Frieza a favor!"
"We're going to get 'em!"
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"How did we win?" Journa exclaimed worriedly, her voice nearly drowned out by the angry mob of men.
"We're done for," Eclipse moaned.
As Raditz and Nappa inched closer to their women, they were holding the gold crowns for Miss Frieza. Hastily, they whispered to each other and nodded.
Cypress was muttering a rather interesting variety of curses that no one would have suspected she knew. Eclipse gasped when she recognized several of the words, and she especially knew at least from which language those words came.
"Journa-I know some of those words-why they're in-"
"Eclipse!" Journa snapped, cutting her off. "We're about to be killed, and you're worried about a few dirty words from Cypress?"
"But, I don't think that Cypress is-"
"Forget about that now, Eclipse! We've got to get out of here!"
"You've got that right!" Raditz exclaimed, seizing Journa by her waist and tossing her over his broad shoulder. Journa looked worriedly in Cypress's direction, and Cypress shook her head wildly and whispered, "Go! Now!"
"Same here," Nappa added, grabbing Eclipse and hoisting her over his shoulder. "Let's go!" he shouted to Raditz.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Raditz replied, as he and Nappa raced off of the stage, carrying their women. A series of ki blasts were shot in their direction, from various sources, but the Saiyans were too fast, and within less than a minute, they and their mates had disappeared.
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Frieza's personal pod shook, as his fury ravaged his body and twisted his features. Crackles of ki wove in and out of the pod, and steam was seeping from the top. Coola was floating nearby in the air, laughing and mocking him.
"Hahahahaha! Well, little brother, this humiliation almost makes up for those monkeys not choosing my Karilyn! Almost, but not quite. But, seeing you brought to your knees will have to satisfy me for now. Great birthday present the monkeys gave you, didn't they?" He felt that there was some justice in the universe, after all. All right, so Karilyn blew her own chances of winning, and he wound up looking like a fool, but at least Frieza would go down with them.
"Go to hell, Coola!"
"My, my, such language. Well, Happy Birthday, little brother."
Pointing his horns at his brother threateningly, Frieza hissed through his teeth, "That's alright, Coola! I'm still going to tell Father what you and your whore did to ruin my beauty contest! Don't think just because my day is ruined that I'm going to let you get away with what you tried to pull!"
"Now, Frieza, come on," Coola said too desperately. He couldn't believe, that he, the second most powerful being in the universe next to his and Frieza's father, was actually begging his pathetic younger sibling not to go tell on him to Father. Father would never let Coola hear the end of what he did, and it seemed to him that Father almost always took Frieza's side! Hadn't he already endured enough when his Karilyn was disqualified?
"Don't tell me to come on, big brother! You are really in for it, but lucky for you, I have a beauty contest to conclude."
"Didn't it just end, thanks to your monkeys?"
Frieza said icily, "Nothing ends, until I say it does." Even in his wrath, he had already concocted a backup plan.
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Some of the angry audience members were already on the stage, still trying to fire ki blasts at the Saiyans, but their targets had long since vanished. Hickey had already fled the stage before anyone from the mob could touch him, and he was no longer anywhere in the auditorium.
Paying little mind to the crisis onstage and doing nothing to end it, a mirthful Zarbon was triumphantly strolling backstage towards Vegeta, who was kicking and knocking things over. Tables, chairs, and other furniture and props were scattered all over the floor. The opposite wall was decorated with an array of holes created by a rapid-fire shower of ki blasts. Diamonique was alternating between mocking him and consoling him.
"Now calm down, Vegeta, darling," Diamonique insisted, even though she was glad that Reccoom had lost. "At least Reccoom was first runner-up. What was so bad?"
Vegeta yelled, "You know very well! I'll have to dress in Journa's nightgown and serve Head Commander Pretty Boy breakfast in bed!"
"Now, Vegeta, I'll see what I can do to get you out of this. Meanwhile, I have to go to the little ladies' room to freshen up. Will be back soon." And she strolled away, leaving Vegeta alone in his rage.
He then caught sight of his rival approaching and snarled, "Zarbon, if you've come to gloat, this is a rotten time to do it!"
Zarbon grinned, stopping and leaning lazily against the doorway to the backstage. "Actually, Vegeta, this is the BEST time. And you were so sure that Raditz and Nappa would pick Reccoom. I told you those two would let their hormones get the best of them; they knew that if they didn't pick their women, they would never receive any loving from them again. Maybe those two are smarter than I give them credit for."
"And apparently you're stupider than I give YOU credit for! I told you this was a bad time! Yes, I will carry out my end of the deal, but you can at least leave me alone until tomorrow morning!"
Zarbon crossed his arms and chuckled. "Such a sore loser, are we? But very well, Vegeta, I won't rub it in your face anymore today. There'll be plenty of time for that tomorrow morning. And oh, prince, just to let you know-I prefer my eggs sunny-side up, along with steak cooked medium-rare, berries with cream-you know the kind I like-and that special fruit juice. Will be looking forward to having the Prince of the Saiyans waiting on me for a whole month."
Vegeta fired a ki blast in Zarbon's direction, but Zarbon laughingly skipped out of the way and said tauntingly, "And oh, by the way, congratulate your sister and Eclipse for me, will you? I'll be sure to send them flowers myself. I do owe them, you know."
He barely missed the second ki blast that Vegeta shot in his direction, as he slipped away.
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As Frieza's enraged soldiers searched for Nappa and Raditz onstage, heading backstage, some began firing more ki blasts towards the back, hoping to hit the Saiyan judges, or even Hickey. But some of those blasts hit their fellow soldiers instead of the intended targets, and real fights burst out. Men started attacking their colleagues or comrades, punching, kicking, and throwing objects at each other. Some started ripping boards from the floor and whacking others on the head with them. Ki blasts continued to be fired all throughout the auditorium, with those in the audience being forced to dodge. Frieza, Coola, and King Cold were shouting down at everyone, demanding order, but for once, no one was paying them any attention. The rioting continued, with very few people making an attempt to stop it.
During the melee, Reccoom, who was still onstage, was cursing and yelling, barely affected by two small ki blasts that had hit him on his thighs. He stomped giant holes in the floor and punched whatever was near him that was solid.
Despite the danger she knew she was putting herself in, Cypress seized Reccoom's arm. "C'mon, Reccoom, let's get out of here!"
"I'm going to kill those two!" Reccoom roared, referring to Nappa and Raditz.
"They're gone, Reccoom, let's go. You can get them later," Cypress ordered, tugging at his arm.
"I'm getting them now!" Reccoom yelled, yanking his arm out of Cypress's grasp. Shoving several soldiers aside, he stormed off in angry pursuit of Nappa and Raditz.
"Oh, forget you!" Cypress hissed. As she abandoned Reccoom to his pursuit, she kicked off her high heels and scurried towards the backstage in her stocking-wrapped feet.
But as she was about to go through the backstage door, a tall, grungy gray man with a duck-like head and reptilian body abruptly grabbed her upper arm. Despite his obvious strength and size, he was stumbling; it was clear that he was intoxicated.
"You ain't's goin' nowhere, lady!" the soldier, who was a Mid-Elite, snarled through his thick, orange beak. His alcohol-permeated breath blew into Cypress's face.
"Let go of me! What do you want?" Cypress exclaimed angrily.
"I know ya knows where Hickster went! I'm gonna kill 'im! He's just as guilty as those monkeys are of this! He let 'em pick their girlie friends for the winners! Tell me!"
"You're crazy!" Cypress yelled, trying to shake him. "Hickey wasn't a judge!"
"Doesn't matter; he could have stopped the monkeys, and he didn't. So he's gonna get what's comin' to him. Since the monkeys are gone, I'll just give Hicks what I was gonna give them! Where is he?" And he squeezed Cypress's arm tighter. "Tell me!"
"I don't know or care! Let me go!" Cypress cried, struggling to free her arm from his grasp. But the soldier yanked her towards him, shoving her into his body.
"You's a-lying! Tell me now, or I'll rip out that pretty hair and tail of yours!"
"Go to hell!" Cypress roared, punching at his chest with her free fist.
"You first, baby!" But just as the soldier was about to punch her in her face, his eyes suddenly bulged open, and, in unexplained shock, he released her arm. Cypress fell back, as the soldier crashed into the floor face-forward.
As the dust startled to settle, Cypress caught sight of a scowling Vegeta calmly dusting off his gloved fist. She looked at him with a small, relieved smile. "Thanks," she replied gruffly.
"Don't mention it-and I mean it."
Cypress chuckled softly. "Secret's safe with me."
"Good," Vegeta told her simply, crossing his arms. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to hunt down two fellow Saiyans and beat them until they scream like little girls. They'll be lucky, if I let them live."
As the angry shouting and ki-blasting continued onstage, followed by the furious roars of Frieza, Cypress asked in a kind voice, "Vegeta, I don't blame you for being mad, but can you really blame them? What would you have done in their situation?"
"I would have kept my word and my skin! What do you care anyway?" Vegeta yelled. "And Eclipse and Journa better not think that I won't have a few things to say to them, if they ever return!"
"They weren't planning on going through with the contest," Cypress said calmly.
"WHAT? Then why in the hell did they enter? Especially Journa, knowing that I was supporting Reccoom!"
"They entered it as a joke; they were going to drop out before the final judging, but Frieza wouldn't let them. And, of course, their entering put Raditz and Nappa in an awkward position. Men will do insane things to please their women, sometimes even at the risk of their own lives. And there are also some men…who, well, how do I put this? Ah…jump to conclusions because of things they've heard or seen about a woman and not bother to ask her about it?"
"And just what are you referring to?" Vegeta asked defensively, narrowing his eyes. He had started to like Cypress before Diamonique had told him about Cypress's time with Frieza, and the thought of those two together still put him on edge. He still didn't know what possessed him to rescue her from that prick that was bothering her; it couldn't be because he actually cared anything for her. He certainly didn't want Frieza's leavings, no matter how appealing.
"I think you know, Vegeta…pertaining to a certain story that Commander Diamonique told about me without knowing what she was talking about?"
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Was she telling the truth?"
"Yes…and no. I did go to see Frieza, and we spent some time together, but when he tried to seduce me, I refused. As I told him, I was not allowed to have an affair or anything else with him because he was King Cold's son, and King Cold had forbidden us women in his army to do so. He wasn't happy about it, but he let me go. I did go to him that time out of courtesy, and he can be very charming, strangely enough, when he wants to be." Vegeta shot her a dubious look that was mixed with disgust, and she chuckled again.
"Besides, who's really allowed to refuse an invitation from Lord Frieza? Think about it, Vegeta."
Still keeping his arms crossed, he growled, "I suppose you're right. I understand I have no real claim on you, but still I was led to believe that you were interested, that you…at least somewhat liked me."
"And I do," she told him gently. "But, it wouldn't be fair for us to start anything. My loyalty always has to go to my liege first, and sadly, I don't have the time in my life to pursue something with any man, no matter how much I may start to care for him. I am sorry, Vegeta, but I don't make promises that I can't keep."
"I suppose this is the part where you ask, if we can just be friends," he said quietly, with regret that was not as carefully hidden as he tried to make it.
"You could…say that," she said slowly. "But I don't regret the time I spent with you, Vegeta, honestly. Once you grow up a little, you'll make the right woman a decent mate."
"Grow up?" he yelled. "I've been a man for a long time now!"
Cypress laughed. "C'mon, Vegeta, you're what right now? Seventeen?"
"How in the hell did you know? Besides, I'll be eighteen next month!"
"Happy birthday in advance then." She smiled, cocking her head to the left. "Well, I have to go now. It's been great knowing you."
"Wait," he told her firmly, taking her arm. "Will I see you again?" he asked somberly.
With her bushy tail swishing mournfully, she sighed, her smile now both benevolent and sad. "I'll see you, but you won't see me."
He was about to ask her exactly what she meant, but decided against it. After all, she did work for King Cold, and she probably could only say and do so much. That was life as a soldier in the Cold Empire: a person could only do or as much as he or she was allowed, for as long as he or she was allowed. Beyond that was forbidden; Vegeta knew this as well as any Cold Empire warrior. It was unlikely King Cold and Frieza would have ever permitted anything between him and Cypress anyway, so it was just as well.
He looked at her with one long, last glance, only paying slight attention to the pandemonium onstage beginning to settle down. The calming was only because Frieza was threatening errant soldiers with death or dismemberment…
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"EVERYONE IS TO RETURN TO THEIR SEATS AT ONCE! ANY ONE WHO REFUSES WILL PERISH! I AM ALREADY HAVING A BAD ENOUGH DAY, AS IT IS!"
The angry men, who still had been searching for the Saiyan judges, grudgingly climbed off of the stage, as Frieza floated in his pod over the center stage. As the last soldiers were returning to their seats, Frieza lowered his pod, until it was just hovering above the floor.
"I have an announcement, ladies and gentlemen: Princess Journa and Lady Eclipse have been disqualified; it was obvious that those two were foolish enough to pick their mates over the other contestants. I have already sent soldiers after them and their mates to force them to return. We are redoing this contest, even if we only have two contestants, so I will be picking new judges-"
"Oh, pick me, sire, please!"
"I'll volunteer, Lord Frieza!"
"I'll be a judge!"
"Pick me, Lord Frieza!"
"Yeah, pick me!"
"No, pick me!"
Many more men volunteered, begging Frieza to choose them.
But Frieza added quietly, "-Who will be Commander Dodoria and Kiwi. Hopefully Commander Dodoria is somewhat sober by now."
Almost everyone wanted to boo, but no one dared. As Frieza finished speaking with Kiwi on his scouter and was now trying to contact Dodoria, he looked around agitatedly for Hickey. Where was his emcee?
He grumbled under his breath. Never mind; he'd hunt Hickey down later. Grunting, he added out loud, "Reccoom and Cypress, come onstage immediately…"
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Just as Cypress was about to reluctantly appear onstage, a slow smirk formed on Vegeta's handsome face, as he followed her to the doorway. He levitated slowly into the air until his face was on the same level as the taller Cypress's. His smirk turned into a grin, as he turned her around, thrust his palm behind her head, and into her hair. He wrapped his arm behind her back and pulled her closer to him until their chests were touching.
"Vegeta, what are you doing?" she exclaimed to him, stunned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a growing number of men in the audience look in their direction. She could hear some of them already snickering.
Ignoring the spectators completely, Vegeta laughed wickedly. "Giving you one hell of a parting gift!" And with that, he crushed his lips against hers, kissing her fully.
Shocked, Cypress didn't know whether to give in, or to push him away and smack him for his disrespect. He was a great kisser, she had to admit; he sure knew what he was doing. But she still couldn't allow this; she had to make him release her.
But releasing her was apparently not in his plans any time soon.
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Diamonique finally emerged from the ladies room, after taking almost twenty minutes to "freshen up". But was it her fault that her hair was mussed, or that her makeup needed retouching, or that a nail needed urgent repair? Being beautiful was such hard work, but it would be worth it when she saw Vegeta again. No matter how badly he treated her sometimes, she still desired him.
Smiling sweetly, she sauntered through the backstage to find her prince-who-to her utmost horror-was-KISSING-Cypress!
How dare he! After all she did to help him and Reccoom, he had to go kiss another woman! How could he treat her this way? Didn't he think he owed her some loyalty?
Well, that whore, Cypress, must have led him on! She had to have wanted Vegeta from the moment she saw him. She must have lured Vegeta into kissing her; yes, that was it. Everyone wanted to take Vegeta away from Diamonique, first Jaden, and now that tramp, Cypress!
Diamonique clenched her fists, with her long nails sinking into her palms. She was going to go give those two a piece of her mind right now! She'd tell Vegeta off for betraying her, and she'd let Cypress know that Vegeta was HER man, even if he didn't always want to admit it!
She stormed over to the couple that seemed to be paying their surroundings no mind. Oh, those two would pay!
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Somewhere far, far away from Frieza's mother ship in a traveling pod…
"Cypress and I tried to expose Karilyn, but apparently Diamonique busted the wench for spiking the punch…that's the one and only thing I'll be thankful to her for," Journa was telling Raditz, as he was only now starting to catch his breath. Journa was nestled against Raditz's chest, as he held her on his lap.
Both Saiyans were thankful to be, for now, out of Frieza's reach. Raditz had been stunned when his mate had told him that he and Nappa never had to pick her and Eclipse for Miss Frieza. His first reaction to that news had been, "You mean that I DIDN'T have to choose you for Miss Frieza, after all?"
"Hey, now, let's not go that far," Journa had said reprovingly, narrowing her eyes at her beloved. She rather liked the feel of the new gold crown on her head, and she would have enjoyed it more, if it hadn't possibly cost Raditz his life in the future. Fortunately, for her, Raditz had laughed for a few moments. At least he laughed until she came to the part where she mentioned that she had learned from Cypress the danger he and Nappa had been in during the contest.
"Yeah, good ol' Diamonique; she helped save us," Raditz sighed, only half-meaning his words. "But what was Cypress's big secret? Did she say why she spent time with Frieza instead of Vegeta?"
Journa laughed nervously, embracing his neck. "Raditz, I hope you're very comfortable."
"Why?"
"Well, Cypress isn't quite who she said she was…in fact, it was a huge shock to me when she said that…" And in a few, painfully brief sentences, she told him what had been revealed to her.
The entire pod shook violently, and if sound had been able to carry throughout space, the loud echo of Raditz's, "WHAT?" would have been heard all over the galaxy.
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Dodoria and Kiwi delightedly strolled onto the stage; well, Kiwi strolled, but Dodoria staggered along, still inebriated. His massive weight shifted back and forth sideways, as he slowly approached Frieza. He slurred drunkenly, "Siiiiire! Who we got to piiiiiick?"
Frieza looked at him in obvious disgust, especially when he smelled his breath. Ugh! "Reccoom and Cypress are the only ones left."
"Well, I sure ain't pickin' Cypress, I know that!" Dodoria declared loudly before he belched.
"Well, I'm not picking Reccoom," Kiwi insisted petulantly. "Don't know why'd you want to pick Reccoom, Commander; Cypress is hot!" Reccoom glared at him, as he finally appeared onstage.
"'Cause Cypress wants to take my Frieza 'way from me!" Dodoria croaked. "I'm gonna make her leave right now! Reccoom wins!"
"No, Cypress does!"
"Reccoom!"
"Cypress!"
"Reccoom, Reccoom, Reccoom!"
"Cypress, Cypress, Cypress!"
"Oh, just pick a winner already!" Frieza hissed, crossing his arms and glaring at them.
"Yeah, pick a winner!" someone in the audience demanded.
"Yeah! Right now! Pick the real Miss Frieza!" more audience members commanded.
"We're picking Cypress!" Kiwi told Frieza.
"Like hell we are! Reccoom's winnin'!" Dodoria shouted.
"You must really be drunk, if you pick that fool over a babe like Cypress!" Kiwi snapped. "Don't know why Lord Frieza bothered picking you, even if you are a commander. You're a disgrace when you're drunk like you are!"
"Yeah, well disgrace this!" Dodoria roared, exposing his palm to Kiwi. Within seconds, a stream of whitish-gold light shot from his palm towards Kiwi.
Kiwi leapt out of the way in time, but the burst of ki flew past him towards the doorway to the backstage, where Vegeta was still holding Cypress…
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Suddenly, Cypress felt something burning and hot hit her in her hip, and she screamed. She toppled into Vegeta's arms, as he caught her. Both of them fell to the floor, with him still holding her. As his eyes closed, he rolled on top of her to shield her, but thankfully, no more blasts came.
They could hear Frieza yelling at Dodoria for his stupidity. Vegeta was about to leap up to confront Dodoria when he felt Cypress move beneath him. He brushed his hand against her sore hip for a moment, and his eyes widened when her body did not feel the same as before.
"What the hell…" he murmured, as realization struck him. Shocked, he looked down at the woman under him. And then he heard the loud laughter, joking and snickering from everyone around him, as Frieza, Diamonique, Dodoria, and Kiwi came closer.
Placing her hands on her curvy hips, Diamonique screeched, "Vegeta, you have disgusting taste! Of all the women you had to betray me with, it had to be her! What does she have that I don't?"
But Frieza, Dodoria, and Kiwi were too shocked to speak. Their jaws hung open, their eyes bulged; not even Frieza said a word.
He couldn't believe it! Vegeta had not only apparently been making out with the woman he was lying upon, but Cypress was not the woman Frieza and the others thought she was. He suddenly felt very sick, and he was out of antacids, not that it would do him much good anyway.
"I don't believe this," he said, stunned.
"I-I told you she wasn't what she seemed to be, sire," Dodoria said slowly. "But I didn't even suspect this, and it's-ugh!" His voice rose. "Diamonique's right! That is disgusting! Vegeta and her? That is the nastiest sight I've ever seen in my life!"
"For once…you and I have to agree, Do-doria," Frieza said shakily.
"Permission to retch, sire?" Dodoria asked.
"Per-permission granted."
"I can't believe this!" Diamonique cried. "I suddenly feel very sick!" And she ran backstage, much to Vegeta's thankfulness.
He looked down at the woman in his arms again. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and what he had just done with her.
He'd be the eternal laughingstock of Frieza's forces after today, and not just because Reccoom had lost earlier.
For after this horrid beauty contest was over, everyone would be talking about seeing Vegeta kissing Jaden, who was smiling sheepishly, as she lay beneath her best pupil.