CHAPTER FIVE THE MARK HAS BEEN MADE



Frieza sat calmly on his throne chair on the bridge of his complex. He observed his soldiers clicking away on their consoles and computers with a deathly stare. He twitched his tail as the slave girl petted it soothingly. Her brazen black hair was cut short to her shoulders in this strange asymmetrical bob. Two loose plaits held the red ends of her hair in jagged tangles. "That will be enough, Astarte. I do not need to be aroused so early in the night. Come by later to my quarters," Frieza said in a deadly whisper much like a snake's. The slave girl simply smirked and left his side, her footsteps clicking loudly. Frieza quickly turned his head upon hearing the main doors slide open. He caught a glimpse of Zarbon escorting the blonde child Merilyn. Frieza could only snort at the two boys kneeling in front of him. He had forgotten they were there. He sneered at the blonde one called Shain. This one was catching the eye of his slave girl despite the boy's disgust at her little jests at flattery. At least he wouldn't have to worry about his whore finding somebody who could actually want her. The blonde child marched up to Frieza and kneeled calmly, her arms spread before her. Frieza smirked as he watched the swift passing of eye contact made by Shain and Merilyn. This was interesting to see. The Saiyin prince's warrior and Frieza's own blonde pixie. Frieza dismissed it with a chuckle before rising from his seat to rub his hand on Merilyn's cheek. He tipped her chin up to see her luminous green eyes sparkling with fire and passion. He had never seen the child so worked up. It was quite mesmerizing.

"You needed to speak to me, dear. Come with me to my working room," spoke Frieza before glaring at the two monkeys in front of him. "You two can leave now and think about your next purge. Do not disappoint me, Vegeta. You hear me, boy?"

Vegeta took in a deep breath of air and glared at Frieza then briefly glanced at the inquisitive looking Merilyn. "Yes, lord Frieza."

"And you, Shain. You need to control that large level of testosterone in your body or else there won't be any planets left to barter with. I recommend using Stealth every so often. Is that clear as crystal?"

Frieza smirked a wicked grin as the blonde boy let out a low growl. Frieza's scouter began to beep as Shain began to power up. Vegeta saw this too and clutched his arm.

"You fool, don't even try something so stupid. Now is not the time," whispered Vegeta sharply, his own power level going down. The two boys left quickly with Frieza chuckling in amusement.

"Now lets go and talk, child before I lose my interest in what you have to say." With that, Frieza left for his working room with Merilyn following closely behind. Frieza could sense her fear and wonder but also her determination. This was very, very interesting. Before Merilyn could even speak, Frieza cleared his throat. "My dear, I heard about the damage you inflicted on that dolt Nappa. That was quite impressive. Your power level astonished everyone. They didn't think you possessed any power. They only thought you were destined to be one of those monkey's mates. It was funny to see their horrified faces."

Frieza laughed to himself but quieted upon seeing Merilyn's serious face. She was shaking ever so slightly and her eyes seemed to be bristling with some watery substance. Something called tears. Frieza only snorted and put his hands together. "I know you have questions you need me to answer. I will answer only one of them. The rest are senseless and silly little questions that do not interest me.'

"You wonder why you have this power and all these new ...what do you call them.feelings you have been experiencing. These feelings are nothing. Discard them immediately. These stupid emotions only weaken your power and are examples of cowardice. I won't have my new warrior acting like a fool over something so stupid. This power, focus on this. Make it greater and larger. Focus on knowing what you can do and once you do, show the miserable beings without power that you are the better being. Make others bow before you and lick the blood off your feet and hands. Make them fear you and crawl under your power. Never show mercy to those who could end up deceiving you. No one is innocent. You are either the strong or the weak. Do you understand now?"

Merilyn's lip quivered as she tried to speak. "What about the visions I have been having? I saw~"

"You saw nothing. Visions, dreams, hallucinations, these are a fool's gifts. DO not dream, do what you want and need to do. Of course, you could use these as tools to your rise in power. You want to be known, don't you? Do it how I tell you to. That way is the ONLY way to greatness and power over everything. Go now and spar with the monkeys. They may be your race but you are different from them. You are a living god, not a lone being of a pathetic race that died long ago. First, we will cut that RIDICULOUS hairstyle of yours. It reminds me of that pretty boy Zarbon."

With that, a servant appeared with shears and cut off Merilyn's long plaited hair. The bouncy blonde hair now lay on her shoulders. Merilyn touched it and twisted a strand of it in her fingers. She then looked at Frieza in wonder and terror.

"Now you may spar the right way. You don't want to look weak and vulnerable do you? People can take advantage of that. Not just me," Frieza concluded before walking with Merilyn to the control bridge. Zarbon stood patiently and gasped at seeing Merilyn's shorn hair.

"Take her to the sparring gym. Remember my words, my child. They are the only truth because I said them. Others will lie to you but I never will. Zarbon, take her now to find a suitable sparring outfit and help her to the gym."

Frieza smirked as they left. I have her wrapped around my fingers now. Everything is underway. Merilyn held the skin- tight sparring outfit in her hands with a look of disgust. How could she fight in this little thing? After looking at Zarbon's blank face, she sighed and slipped into it. She quickly pulled on the heavy knee boots and struggled with the armor. Why is this thing so heavy? I can barely move my body, she thought to herself. She was already sweating profusely from just putting on her outfit. She calmly stood and snapped her glove on her skin. It was snug like a second skin. This was good. No mistakes this time. She took a deep breath and replayed Frieza's words in her head. She couldn't help but feel doubt about what he had said. He had been telling her that all her life and they were the only truths she knew. However, she couldn't think about that now as she entered the gym again. This time she didn't stumble or make a fool of herself. After surviving her first sparring match, she wouldn't lose this time. She had to be somebody, something strong and better than others. Failing her goals would not improve anything now.

Shain crossed his arms and raised a hand for Radditz to stop his attack. They both looked over at the battle clad Merilyn. Shain smirked at the determination of the girl and proceeded to watch her move towards the center of the gym with a soundless grace. Before he knew it, she was there next to him and he hadn't even sensed her ki. This was something he couldn't tolerate as much as he was intrigued by her boldness. Just before he began to yell at her, he realized how vulnerable she looked. Her arms were hanging by her sides and her large head was cocked to the side, her green eyes studying the other Saiyin's moves. Her mouth was slightly open and moving. She was mumbling something incoherent.

"Hey, girl! What are you looking at?" whispered Vegeta in a deadly hiss as he landed on the floor. Nappa landed beside him, breathing hoarsely. His body was bruised and scratched.

"Huh?" Merilyn turned to face the prince's deep scowl. She looked around at the other Saiyins then focused on the prince again. He walked towards her until they were inches apart. He suddenly lashed out and held her by her arm. She looked into his dark eyes and saw the violence in them. "Do not reply to me with `huh?' I will have to show you how to address me correctly." She felt the heat from his energy as he began to power up.

Just before he could attack her, Shain pushed Vegeta off her and stepped in front of her protectively. Vegeta snarled at him and began to power up for an attack but only shrieked fiercely before stomping off to fight Nappa once more. Shain's calm eyes followed Vegeta's retreating form then switched onto Radditz. Radditz could only scan the girl with smugness before following his prince. Shain let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and felt a thin hand grasp his arm. He turned around to face Merilyn and before she could thank him, he smirked at her and began to walk off.

"Hey, wait! Please talk to me! You are being rude you know!" yelled Merilyn with frustration as she tried to catch up with the blonde boy who had saved her butt. He suddenly stopped, causing her to crash into him. She was again on the floor and on her butt. He turned to look at her with a frown. His eyes seemed to cut through her and shrink her down to size. She almost shivered with fear.

"What do you want now? I am trying to train, girl," came the soft baritone of his voice. Merilyn almost giggled at hearing the almost non-existent lisp he had. She stopped herself though after seeing his frown deepen. She slowly stood up and faced the blonde boy once more.

"I just wanted to.um.say thanks. Is that okay with you?" she spit out quickly then smiled brightly at him. She held out her hand and winked at him. "My name is Merilyn Asris Venia Renatus but you can just call me Merilyn. And don't address me with lady or anything like that, okay? Though Frieza demands it, it makes me feel like I have a title I haven't earned. Cool, okay?" she winked again and gave him a quick peace sign.

He regarded her with shock then cleared his throat. "I am Shain Verhar and I don't much like people who think they are something better than everybody else. Cool?" He smirked as her face changed from a smile to a look of pure hatred.

"How dare you say that to me! I didn't do anything to you! Just because I happen to not act as weak as I look doesn't mean you can be mean to me!" screeched Merilyn. She had never felt so much anger before for somebody or something so stupid. This new feeling was so overwhelming and weird.

"Ok, whatever, fish monger," he retorted at her before smirking in amusement. He had never seen this girl so full of emotion before. She was always so blank and inertial. Now she was full of feeling and definitely pissed off at him.

"WHAT!! You will address me as Lady Merilyn, not fish monger!"

"I thought you said for me not to address you as lady or anything like that, huh?" He countered at her. He could barely contain his enjoyment. He had never felt such amusement before and he had definitely never laughed so hard like this.

"What? Whatever. I'll go spar somewhere else," she spat at him before stomping off to find a fat little green alien snickering at her.

She could barely contain her anger. She felt her blood pulsate through her body and boil with heat. She felt her cheeks flush red and her hands sweat under her gloves. She couldn't spar like this with her peers laughing at her. She would show them how to respect a great presence when they saw one. With an unnatural burst of adrenaline and a snarl much like a wolf's, she sprinted towards the alien. "STOP LAUGHING AT ME! I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO RESPECT YOUR BETTERS!!"

The fat alien's face changed to quick terror then amusement. He would take this little upstart's threat and show her what pain really felt like. He began to power up, his silver aura illuminating his bloated body. Just as his eyes settled on his target, he heard the girl let out a yell then disappear completely! He couldn't believe it. She was moving so fast that he couldn't find her anywhere. She appeared again next to him and drove a punch to his gut. He heard her hiss in pain as he flew ten feet from her.

He looked for her again and saw her tower over him with a deep sneer unnatural on her face. Merilyn couldn't think or feel anything except pure pleasure and anger at this fat idiot. Maybe Frieza was right about power and eliminating the weak that cross your path. `Focus on knowing what you can do and once you do, show the miserable beings without power that you are the better being'. She couldn't stop the flow of Frieza's words flowing into her brain like a shock to her circuits, igniting a wave of new- found power one could only imagine.

She stepped over the fat alien and calmly grabbed him by his throat, holding up over her head despite her size. She could feel his fear like a wave of sickness. Before she could do anything, he raised his hand and sent a weak beam of energy at her. She hit the ground a few feet away with a light impact. She felt blood on her lips and wiped it off with the back of her hand.

`Make others bow before you and lick the blood off your hands and feet.'

She licked the blood off her chin and rushed at the fat alien again. This time she landed a punch to his gut. Spit flew out of his mouth and onto her face. She teleported behind him and slammed an elbow into his back, breaking his lower spine. She slowly walked in front of him and looked down at him with a blank expression. She smeared blood off her hand and onto his lips. "How does that taste? You made me bleed," she said in a soft deadly whisper.

The alien only sneered and grabbed her head. Suddenly, he let out a pain filled scream and pulled back his hand. For that second, Merilyn could feel his thoughts and ambitions. A rush of blurry images had passed into her and out again. Realizing what had happened, she slipped off her gloves and began to walk towards his retreating figure.

"No.no.NO!" the alien pleaded in agony, crawling ever so slightly away from her.

`Make them fear you and crawl under your power.'

Merilyn lashed out and placed her hands on his face. She could feel the flow once more and she immediately tried to pull away. Whatever it was, it held her in its grasp and soothed her soul. The bloodlust and anger she felt radiated in an orb of light she felt in her body. Lightening began to crackle around her body and through her hair. She had to pull back now. This new flow of emotions and thought was too much for her. She could feel the warrior's energy flow into her and through her body. She began to scream in horror and euphoria. She felt herself fall back a few steps. She saw the outline of yellow surround her form and the lightening crackle in spiraling glides through it.

After gazing at this new power she had, she turned towards the barely alive warrior on the ground and felt the bloodlust engulf her once more. She couldn't think again as a dark cloud engulfed her reasoning and thinking ability. She could feel the primal instinct within her crave what she dreaded it wanted.

She narrowed her eyes and began to move towards the fallen warrior. She saw Shain run towards her and step in her path, anger on his face. "He's done. Let him have his honor and walk away alive!" he shouted angrily.

"Honor? What is honor? Do you mean honor among cowards who would laugh at their own comrades? I'll show you my idea of power and honor by sending him to another dimension!" She snarled back at him then rushed towards the fallen warrior.

She fiercely began attacking him and beating him to a pulp. It became a sick game as she bounced him around like a ping- pong ball at her teleporting figure. The heat of bloodlust became pure chaos as she landed a final assault on the nearly dead warrior. She quickly remembered a move she saw Vegeta do and began to power up all her remaining energy to carry out the classic attack. Her hands began to glow a dark blue and gold as she aimed at the fallen warrior. "FINAL FLASH!"

A large beam of light emitted from her hands and shot towards the warrior. The gym radiated with light and rays of energy as the beam made its impact. Shrapnel and twisted burnt metal flew from the side of the gym the warrior lay. Smoke hovered in the air and slithered out the smoking doorways.

Vegeta couldn't believe his own eyes as he saw Garu get shot straight to the next dimension by that little troublesome girl. He quickly focused on the smokey fog and listened to the sound of life. He saw the faint outline of a figure walking out of the smoke. Merilyn's footsteps clicked on the metal floor softly as she made her way to the exit. Her smoking, crackling yellow aura faded into nothing. The only signs of damage were the dirt smudges on her cheeks and the swollen muscles bulging from her hand. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead in a calm tranquility. He watched Shain walk to her but she passed him as if in slow motion.

Shain caught a few floating tendrils of her hair in his gloved fingers before they passed through them. He could hardly contain the jumble of feelings he was experiencing but swallowed them down. He casually smirked and crossed his arms. She was Frieza's perfect warrior now and that meant new terrible things. Frieza would push her past the limit and kill her either physically or mentally. Or she would kill him after seeing his true colors. Either way she would die in some way or another. He could tell. She was dying already. ((

Merilyn walked quietly to her chambers and opened the door to find Araro standing with anger on her face. Merilyn didn't care nor feel what it was the Phoenix was angry about. She sluggishly pushed past her and fell on the floor next to her bed. She could barely feel her arms or legs as her vision became blurry and sedated. Araro's voice sounded like a high -pitched siren's call or very, very slow. Merilyn tried to focus but she couldn't concentrate her mind on anything. She felt like she didn't have a body, like her spirit was floating above her. "Goooo.awaaay.Ararooo," mumbled Merilyn almost incoherently. She didn't know how to get back up and she didn't think she could if she wanted to. She saw through half-swollen eyes the velvet atmosphere of space. Closing her eyes, she tried to envision the image of the six people crowded together. She could hardly hold it as she felt her mind give out completely. She had slipped into some endless void that she couldn't crawl out of. She realized Frieza's words echo in her head and thought quietly before passing in to darkness, the mark has been made.