[Monster Inside] - Chapter 25
Becoming a Monster

11.7.2011

updated 9.1.2012

Callas launched at the two men in front of her, surprising them with her speed. She nailed the taller one in the jaw with her elbow, sending him flying back, and twisted so that the heel of her foot connected with the bulky ones neck. Without wasting time, she sped towards the bulky one and nabbed his wrist, spinning him around and tossing him up in the air.

Her ki energy spiralled up in power and she felt thrilled to stretch the limits of her own ability in this battle, even if it was over something terrible.

Callas flew up after him, but before she got too far off the ground, she was slammed into by a solid mass, shoving her into the stone on the opposite side of the arena. When she managed to stand up from the shock of the force, she saw the taller Saiyan grinning at her, body taut in a fighting stance.

"What is your name?" she asked him. "I want to know who I am killing." She spit at him, teeth bared in an unfriendly gesture.

He scoffed and said, "I am Erucar, and my friend is Kress. We will not be losing to a weak little human. We already had you once." He licked his lips and Callas snarled, pressing forward towards him. She was surprised from behind by Kress, who snatched her arms and held her back against him.

"Forgot about me, did you? Stupid," Kress laughed.

Erucar advanced and began an assault on her torso, punching and jabbing. The pain was agony, but Callas did her best to remember a worse pain, and it was not hard. She jerked her legs up when both his arms were near and grabbed them, twisting so that he turned and went face first into the dirt. Kress tightened his hold and pulled so tight she thought her arms might be pulled out of their sockets.

Erucar stood and slammed his fingers into the tender part of her thighs as he did, causing a knotting pain to develop. Callas shrieked in response. She began to wonder if it was hopeless, but a familiar power began to course through her. She quickly realized that her hair was wrapped around Kress and her skin was touching some of his, opening an electric channel between them that gave her a type of access to his energy. It was as if she could "see" it around her and the ease in which she could coax it to her was like breathing. She inhaled it in, letting Kress's energy soak into her skin, travel up through her hair and into her. His grip on her arms began to relax as she drained him.

Before the other Saiyan could hit her again, she released the built up store of energy she collected from Kress and sent Erucar flying across the stadium dazed.

With him gone, Callas continued absorbing the other's energy like another source of sustenance. Eventually he released her arms and she stepped forward, turning to face him, her hair still wrapped around his legs and slithering up to wrap even further around him.

Though she was wrapped up in the somewhat intimate act of taking his life energy, Callas was suddenly aware of the quiet stadium, everyone watching her. She looked up and saw Gokuh's face, fascinated and horrified at the same time. Others were impressed; others were in shock; even others were pleased at the turn of events. When she caught the Prince's eyes, she saw a calculating look, peppered with what she assumed to be pleasure at her ability.

Callas turned her attention back to the crumpled man in front of her. He looked pathetic more than something to fear now, so she pulled her hair back and left him the tiniest bit of life energy to survive off of... for now. Part of her really wanted to kill him, to take revenge for what he did, but with Gokuh watching she felt as if she could not. He might never see her the same.

She would never be the same.

Erucar was flying back towards her, enraged and powering up. Callas used the energy she had just sucked from Kress to power herself up further. She felt almost intoxicated on his power, more than she was used to. Her body felt electric and full. She caught herself laughing as she launched herself towards him as well. It was too easy for her to reach out and touch his mind with her Empathy. She could feel his rage and fear spurring him on, though fear from her almost killing Kress or from what Vegeta would do to him afterwards she could not discern.

When they reached one another, Callas used her speed to shoot just out of his grasp and reappear behind him, grabbing his tail and pulling as hard as she could. He roared with pain and turned to grab at her, though she dodged each attempt. She gathered ki in her hands and shot it out as she held onto the tail, incinerating his tail as she did. The agony in his eyes was worth it as he tumbled gracelessly to the floor of the arena. The crowd erupted in cheers and unhappy noises.

Deciding not to let him recover, for they never gave her that courtesy either, Callas sliced through the air after him and shoved her knee into his stomach shortly after he hit the ground. She felt her advantage over him fading as the energy she took from Kress was being used up.

"I hate you so much," Callas growled at him, narrowing her eyes as he looked up at her. His eyes pleaded for the agony to end, but his mouth was set firm. He was not going to speak. "I told you I was going to rip your dick off, but I think I'll burn it off instead," she said in a rough voice. His eyes widened and she grinned evilly, the type of grin she saw so frequently on the Monster Prince's face.

Callas gathered energy in her hands and pressed them against his groin, letting the heat build and build until he was screaming in horrible anguish. Then she released it, quickly jumping back away from him, and the whole lower half of him has been incinerated. Blood was slowly dripping onto the dirt.

"I see Saiyans bleed red blood too," she murmured, feeling powerful, feeling invincible. She stepped closer once again and kneeled next to him. He was convulsing and gasping in pain. "You look miserable," she whispered. "I'll put you out of your misery." She wrapped her slender fingers around his neck and then stopped. A glance up at Gokuh revealed the horror on his face.

Kill or be killed, she told herself, and then she looked up at Prince Vegeta. A quick tendril out and she could feel both shock and pride coursing through him. All because of her. She smiled at him and let the open passage from Erucar's skin to hers flood through, draining his life energy greedily. He was dead, skin already turning blue, eyes staring lifelessly up at her, in a matter of moments. She stood up and the crowd erupted in pleasure.

The red-haired warrioress could fight; she could win. She would help them. (Obviously; she fought for the Prince, as his behest, even after being punished.)

Prince Vegeta stood and hovered up off the balcony, a little further over the arena as if to get a closer look at her. He beckoned towards Kress, still alive. "Finish him, little warrioress."

Callas was shocked at the name. It was a big deal being called a warrior by the Prince! And her, a human no less! She hesitated a small moment, glancing at Gokuh, but she turned away quickly and walked over to Kress. His breathing was shallow, his pallor very white. She wished she had a knife, so she could cut off his penis and tail. It served him right to suffer before he died.

I hate him. I want to make him suffer.

But a Saiyan's body was his weapon; not knives and machines. She had to be like a Saiyan. There was no other way if she wanted to survive.

So Callas used her hands. She clawed and pulled and ripped him apart. She had blood all over her and soaked into her white dress. Her long red hair fell in her way more than once, but she ignored it. The wind eventually picked up and blew it away. Finally, when the bulky Saiyan's cries were mere whimpers, she powered her hand up with Erucar's energy and shoved it through Kress's armour, right into his chest. Breaking past the sternum and into the fleshy soft part was a glorious moment for Callas.

All of her life she had felt this violence, this carnal desire to hurt others deep inside her. She kept it at bay for Gokuh, for her sister, for her life on Earth. She hid it because it scared her to feel these things. She was taught that taking other's life was wrong. Who was she to end someone's life?

Who were they to take what they wanted from me? I hate them. I hate them, I hate them!

It was like giving in to something she always wanted... it was like when she would sneak out at night to party and experiment with cocaine or whatever drug was the flavour of the night. It was like when she experimented with boys and girls. It was like when she had Gokuh's attention, and she could take what she wanted from him. Whatever she wanted, whenever.

Inherently, she fully realized and accepted this now. As she held up a bloody heart to the audience and for Prince Vegeta, Callas realized she really was a terrible human being.

She thought with a bloody smile, I should have been born a Saiyan.