[Monster Inside] - Chapter 4
Pretending to Switch Sides

11.24.2010

updated 6.13.2011

In the weeks that followed, Callas sparred daily with Bardock. It was always kept a secret. One of the things she enjoyed most about it, aside from the fact that it interrupted the boredom of her days while the Monster Price was off claiming Mars for the Saiyan Empire, was that she was allowed outside of the palace. Bardock had kept his word, something she was eternally grateful for, and she could breathe in the strange scents of the planet. Technically they were still within palace walls, but in a secluded area of the Gardens.

"These Gardens were built for the Prince's mother," Bardock told her on their first day of sparring. "Or so it is known. The king did everything he could to woo the woman, but supposedly... well, I guess I should not be telling a slave this."

"She did not love the king?" Callas asked as she nosed some flower-like plants. She sneezed immediately and regretted her decision to sniff them.

Bardock was silent a moment before continuing, "It was strange and convoluted, but no the Queen did not like our King for a long time. Their marriage was one of necessity. The Gardens were his peace offering, and it worked mostly. She died in childbirth though, as many females do. After that, the King sealed this place off from anyone but royalty."

Callas eyed Bardock, pulling her attention from the strange orange-and-yellow swirled plant she was touching. "Then why am I here?"

"We have been given permission to be here, but it must be kept a secret. Tell anyone, and you will... we will both be punished."

The seriousness of his face and tone made Callas nod as though she were a child. "Of course," she murmured.

Today they were working on her speed. Bardock said she seemed to excel in speed and dexterity, which of course she already knew. He also said that because she lacked the physical strength of other Saiyans, she most likely lacked the physical strength of other species too. Avoiding the hits seemed the most logical way to go, since building stamina and brute strength would require far longer and much more of an intense training program than they had time for.

"Besides, even if I do train your strength, you will never reach a level that will matter human to Saiyan," Bardock concluded.

Not getting hit sounded like the best plan to Callas, so she heartily agreed with his deductions and put all her efforts into training. She was happy to have this in her life again. On Chikyuu, Gokuh and she would train every day; of course, Gokuh was miles ahead of her in skills and strength, but Callas would almost be faster some days... almost. Thinking of Gokuh made her chest ache. She had not visited him since before the Prince had left 5 weeks before. She told herself the reason she had not visited him was because it would anger her Monster and she might lose the chance she had been given, and maybe that was some of it, but the real reason was the fact that she was afraid to face him again.

The look of hurt and betrayal on his face the last time she saw him still haunted her. The accusations... the anger she felt from him.

Callas was ripped from her thoughts as a punch landed in her stomach and dropped her to the ground, the air gushing out of her lungs as she hit. She gasped, mouth opening and shutting like a fish, trying to gather herself.

"You left yourself open," Bardock grunted as he landed beside her. "Your thoughts seem far away today, not a good state of mind to be in during a fight. You have to focus, Callas!"

The red-haired girl doubled over as she was finally able to pull air into her lungs. After dining on the delicious oxygen, her adrenaline started to fade and her heartbeat slowed down from the shock. She looked up at Bardock with a half-smile. "Sorry."

"Sorry won't cut it on the battlefield, little slave," Bardock said a little more gently. "Your eyes... they are blue."

Callas stood up gingerly and took a deep breath. "You know my eyes change colors."

"Yes, what does blue mean?"

"Why does it have to mean anything?" she snapped.

"Because it does..."

Callas wished she had a tail to swish from side to side, so he would know she was agitated enough by the question and leave her alone. Not that it mattered. A Saiyan slave had to answer to their superior just the same.

"We can take a break if you tell me," he offered and knew he had her when the acceptance lit in her eyes and she sat down on the plum-colored grass. He sat next to her and said, "In fact, just tell me about colors from your planet. I'm curious especially about orange."

Callas searched his face. "Because of Gokuh's gi?" The word was not familiar to him so Bardock furrowed his brow. She laughed and said, "Maybe you need more lessons in Chikyuu's language! Complaining that I need more in Saiyan and you don't know what a gi is!"

The older man scowled at her but before he could speak she said, "It is his uniform. His orange uniform. And really, colors mean different things to different cultures on Chikyuu. They aren't all the same."

"That is strange," he commented.

"Well, for the most part there are some universal meanings. Red is power, green is life, blue is sadness or calm," she hurried past this, "Yellow generally means happiness or energy, orange is lucky, purple means royalty." She paused and thought for a moment, "Oh, and black is associated with death, while white normally is associated with innocence. But not always."

Bardock nodded. "It is a strange thing for races to want to name everything and find a meaning for things so small as color, but we do it too." He was thoughtful, eyes trained on her but not really seeing her for a few minutes. When he did focus on her again he said, "Are you sad about the Prince being gone?"

Callas frowned and shook her head. He had not been distracted from her eyes. If only she could manipulate them more easily. She had been working on controlling her emotions and thoughts, which meant controlling her eye color, but so far she had not done as well as she had liked. She stared at the exotic plants around them and finally answered, "I have not visited Gokuh since Prince Vegeta left."

"And you would like to see him," Bardock stated, trying to guess her thoughts on the matter. He craned his head to see her face.

The slave pursed her lips and shook her head again. "No. Yes. I don't know." She put her face in her hands and sighed, "He's so angry with me."

Bardock stood up suddenly and paced, his own tail flicking in annoyance. Callas peaked up from her hands to watch, uncertain as to why he was suddenly so irritated. The emotions radiating off of him were confusing and unpleasant. "He should swallow his pride and work with us! Stupid boy," he finally growled.

Callas straightened, putting her hands to her knees. "I don't think you Saiyans know how to swallow your pride."

Bardock looked at her and for the first time since her slave collar had been altered, she could not feel any emotions coming from him. It was a strange feeling. His face was unreadable but she could tell he was thinking about something; his eyes were calculating and cold, very much like the Monster Prince's before a trip into battle. The older man studied her face a moment longer before saying, "Look, Callas." He knelt down in front of her. "We need him on our side. There's something about him, some strange power... It would benefit our war against the Ice Lizards, something we sorely need."

Callas scowled and crossed her arms over her body. "You want me to convince him to help you guys. Why should I? You are tyrants as much as these Ice Lizards I hear about!" She jumped up and backed away from him, knowing her eyes were turning red with anger. Her skin felt hot and flushed as she fought to keep control over her voice. "You destroy people's homes and take over planets! You use people as slaves or.. or... keep their home planets as a mining station for minerals or whatever else! And you want me to ask him, the man whose home you destroyed, changing our planet into a vacation getaway for aliens, and enslaving our people, if he will help you in a war you are losing?"

Bardock lifted his hands in a calming gesture as she spoke, shaking his head slightly. "You don't understand the terrifying power of this race, nor do you understand the ruthlessness of these people. They will eradicate all life force in the universe that does not bow to their will. They will USE us, Callas, because we are prime fighting machines! I've seen it!" His face flushed as he said this and he turned away from her.

The fury seemed to drain from her body as she heard his words. "You've seen it?" What did he mean by this, she wondered. "They are enslaving Saiyans?"

Bardock nodded. "Some. Only men. They kill our women so we cannot reproduce. Letting women into battle has been something we have, over the years, slowly been banning, but now it is impossible. We will be wiped out."

Callas let her face harden. "You wipe out civilizations every day."

Bardock scowled. "We are the lesser of two evils. Trust me." There was something in his eyes, and she could feel his emotions again, the horror and agony in his thoughts made her cringe. The fact that she liked her guardian slowly started to change her mind, which she hated. When had she grown to like her captors so much?

The girl turned away from him and sighed. "Gokuh will not listen to me. He hates me now. He thinks I am one of you."

The guard took this as a good sign and moved closer to her, putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder. She glanced at it as he spoke, "You are the only one he will listen to." He walked around to look at her face. "Please, not just for us but for you and for... for him."

Callas studied Bardock, taking in his emotions, his sincerity. On some level she knew the Monster had put him up to this. Prince Vegeta was tired of having a low class warrior disobeying him, especially one that had so much potential. Callas knew they were experimenting on Gokuh, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with his "programming" as a child, trying to understand why he was so much more human than Saiyan, and trying to figure out why his ki seemed to differ so much from other third class Saiyans. If anything, she could get them to stop experimenting on him. Perhaps it would make him happier. She knew he would be happier not being locked up. The increase in sparring would definitely help relieve anger and stress for him.

"You're lucky I like you, Doc," she sniffed after some thought.

Bardock clapped her on the shoulder and chuckled, relief emanating from him. "Same to you."

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled. "When do I go see him?"

"After our training is over," he said and tossed her into the air. Callas yelped but immediately felt her instincts kick in. She shoved her body around in midair and proceeded to parry his onslaught.

The cell was dimly lit by the evening sun when Callas entered the room. The marble walls were dingy and dark, matching the grey stones on the floor. Even her human nose could smell the stink of blood, sweat, and waste in the room. She searched the shadows for her friend and saw him slumped against the wall, his arms held up by the shackles on his wrist. His spiky hair seemed droopier than before and his skin seemed blotchy and discolored even for the violet hue of the sky that seeped in from the small barred window opposite where she entered.

He made no physical manifestation that might suggest he knew she was there, but she could feel the anger swelling out from him like a red fog. She approached him, closer than usual, now that she knew there were no guards to listen in on their conversation and no Monster Prince to sneak down and catch her. Bardock had used his higher position to get her access to the room for a few private moments and then he had used his sly nature to get them involved in a game of Stones, a strange game that Callas still failed to find logical or fun.

"Gokuh," she said softly. He did not answer. "Gokuh... forgive me." A part of her felt the guilt set in and another part ignored it. She knew this would catch his attention, because she knew him. He would not be able to ignore her if she were sincere about apologizing for everything leading up to this moment. That was just his nature, and it had always been something she loved about him. Until they had been taken by the Saiyans. His kind-hearted nature had not served them at all and now it even seemed to be a weakness of sorts. She was manipulating him, like a good little slave should for her Master. Bile threatened her throat.

The human-Saiyan raised his head to look into her eyes. His face was beaten and swollen in areas. Bruises discolored his cheeks and his lips were split in a few places. The anger and hurt in his eyes began to melt as he studied her. Callas took advantage of his wavering emotions and put a small hand to his cheek. "I hate what they do to you, I do."

Gokuh blinked at her and almost smiled, but the display of emotion screwed his face up and he winced in pain. Callas sighed and gently put her forehead to his. He breathed in deeply, as if taking in her scent. She imagined she must smell much better than this cell or the men that come in here. "You believe me?" she asked quietly. "I only do what I have to in order to survive the Monster."

"You still call him that?" he croaked out. She wondered when the last time he had been given water was.

"Yes, he will always be the Monster Prince," she said with bitterness. Right now she hated him. It was always easier to hate him when he was gone; when he wasn't teasing and taunting her; when he wasn't giving in to her demands; and when she saw what he let happen to Gokuh.

He moved as if to hug her, but he had forgotten his hands were chained back. He let out a gasp of frustration and Callas wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his mouth against her neck and kissed before saying, "Of course I believe you. I was just afraid... I've missed you so much, Chi."

Callas felt the familiar warmth and love radiating from him and the relief and acceptance that overtook his previous negative emotions. It made her heart soar and the aching that seemed to be weighing her down for the past few months lifted a little. "I missed hearing you call me that," she half-sobbed against his neck. The dry blood made him smell metallic, but she did not mind much. If things went as planned, she would soon have him out of here and cleaned up.

She moved away from him to see his face as he spoke. "I'm sorry I called you a traitor."

The slave shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter. I am one, I guess." He opened his mouth but she continued to talk so he would not. "Gokuh, I have a confession to make." He narrowed his eyes a little, unsure of whether or not he would like this, but he nodded at her to continue. "Bardock helped me come down here so we could talk. I was banned from seeing you anymore, but now they want me to come see you."

"Why?"

"They want me to convince you to join them in their war against the Ice Lizards."

His eyes flared with rebellious anger. "Never," he said with bared teeth.

"I told them you would say that," Callas said sadly, glancing out the small window up into the night sky. It was strange to see a sun in the evening, but the moon for this planet did not come around but once every seven years. "But I trust Bardock." She looked back at him and with earnestness, tried to convince him to do the same. "You know that-"

"He's my father?" Gokuh interrupted. "Yeah, I've figured that much out. I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say that."

"I know..." he sighed. "Sorry, continue."

Callas shook her head a little. "It's fine. He has not really admitted to it, but he does not deny it either. Anyway, he takes care of me. He's kind, as kind as any other Saiyan I know." She almost said "Aside from you," but knew that it might upset him if she compared him to his race. In his mind he was human even if it was not by blood. "And he works close with the Monster Prince. I hear about the war and the battles. I have learned quite a bit of Saiya-jin and I'm not sure they really know just how much I understand. It's going badly for them overall. At this rate, they will lose the war against the Ice Lizards."

"Good," Gokuh spat.

"No," Callas said quickly, "no, not good. As bad as the Saiyans are... the Ice Lizards are worse." She watched Gokuh's face distort with disbelief. She put her hands on his face. "Trust me, Son-kun. We want the Saiyans to win. When that is our only option, we want the lesser of two evils."

He frowned, mulling this over. "But there are other options, Chi! Don't you see that? If we can just... just..."

"What?" she stepped back away from him and spread her hands in a wild gesture. "You want me to break you out of here? And we can fight our way through thousands of Saiyan warriors? Most of whom are stronger than you, and all of whom are stronger than me? At the very least, I will die. And what about Bulma? She will die if we try to break her out, she's weaker than I am."

"We could sneak out, somehow."

"Gokuh, I don't know the way out of the palace. They give me some freedom to walk around, sure... but I am restricted. I've never seen the entryways or exits except from windows." She thought for a moment. "I've found some passages that seemed unused, but whether they are really a secret or not I don't know. They are often deserted but they don't lead out of the palace, just different rooms and chambers. This place is huge! I don't think you understand that. It's probably three times as big as Capsule Corp. was."

Frustration and defeat passed over his features and he hung his head down. "There just has to be some other way. I can't help the people that destroyed my home and my friends."

"You can," Callas said softly. "You have to if you want to save us." There was silence for a few minutes. She was afraid she had gone too far, so she desperately searched her mind for some other hook. "Think of it," she said, "as the better way to save the universe... It needs a hero too. But we can only do as much as captives can do right now. Maybe that will change, who knows."

"Yeah," he said, his voice scratching pathetically. "Yeah, maybe it is all we can do. If we come across a chance to escape, we can take it though."

Callas did not answer but watched as he looked up at her with a tiny bit of renewed hope in his eyes. She was unsure if they would ever have the chance to escape, and if they did, where would they go? Maybe with time he would begin to accept living here like her; maybe he would like it, like she sometimes did.

"I'd sure like them to stop sticking me with needles," he shuddered. "I'm not sure what they keep looking for but they obviously aren't finding it."

Callas smiled. "I am pretty sure this will get you out of the dungeon. And if you agree to fight for them, they might give you a better place to stay and a place to spar and train too."

He nodded, feeling more hopeful with every word. "I really need to train. I'm feeling so weak and unfocused."

She furrowed her brow. I wonder why Bardock was talking about him having such power if he is feeling weak. He still has his collar on too. How could they measure his power with the ki-restrainers. The marble door slid open and the older man stood in the door way. "Time to go, slave," he said.

Callas nodded and glanced at Gokuh with a smile. "I will tell them your decision..."

Gokuh nodded his affirmation and sadly said, "Goodbye, Chi." She felt his weariness and sorrow reaching out to her but she put her feet in front of her and walked away. It was hard to ignore; Gokuh always had the strongest empathetic channels of anyone she had come across. Maybe it was because she had known him for so long, but she could not say the same about her parents or sister, so maybe not.

When Bardock and Callas had gotten far enough away from the guards, he spoke. "Well?"

"He will help."

The older man smiled and put his hand on her head. "Good. The Prince will be pleased." He sighed and as they got closer to her room, he murmured. "Things are about to change around here."

"I know..."