Fulfillment
Here goes chapter 2. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, or sent a PM review if this site wouldn't let them review normally. I really appreciate the support, especially since this is my first foray into A/U, and I'm very nervous. I hope this is something you'll all enjoy. No big plot developments yet, just some filler stuff. And some new characters are introduced.
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Darkness. Everywhere he looked, there was darkness. What little light entered the cell in which he was kept only served to remind him of his current condition. He had been placed here by order of the King, his only crime being that he had disagreed with an order. He had refused to go on a purge. Even when they'd offered him the position of an officer in the military, which was a considerable step up from his previous position, he had refused. Now he was paying for that decision.
He knew that they'd release him soon. The purge had ended and all the ships had returned. All save the one that was lost, anyway. He also knew his brother would soon be coming to see him, no doubt to rub his situation and helplessness in his face. How his brother could betray their father's memory he would never understand, nor accept.
With that thought came the memories of what had happened before. How he had nearly been shipped of on a purge as an infant ay the order of a now -dead tyrant. How his father had succeeded in saving his people. And how his father had been betrayed.
He was pulled from his thoughts as his ears picked up the sounds of a reporting sentry. The Prince had returned and he had brought a special 'present' for the King. And if the Prince had returned, his brother's arrival was imminent. With a low murmur of discontent, he hung his head, waiting for the inevitable.
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In another section of the palace, things were not much more pleasant, as the occupant of a certain bedroom was feeling much the same as the occupant of the cell so many floors below her. Her surroundings may have been much more ornate and immaculate, but her heart felt as though it were in a prison all its own. It had started many years ago, when she was first born. She and her brother were twins, which was an unnatural occurrence amongst Saiyans. Her brother had been born first and had appeared to be a normal Saiyan baby, other than a pair of strange blue eyes. All the nurses at the hospital already seemed to be swooning over the little boy, his eyes made him all the more handsome, they'd said. But then, when she was born, her parents had received the shock of their lives; their baby had yellow hair.
At least that's what they called it. Being born with the yellow hair and blue eyes was strange enough, but even her tail fur was that same yellow color. Many people didn't know quite what to make of her over the years. When she'd finally come of age, however, the others had definitely taken notice. All the other females had made fun of her, called her a freak of nature. The males, however, treated her one of two ways; some were repulsed by her deformity, others seemed to eye her as if she were a piece of meat. This normally wouldn't have mattered to her, but when some males had discovered a way to mate without forming the bond, she became increasingly worried. How could she tell now if anyone would actually care for her? How would she know if anyone truly loved her, or if they were just using her?
'My brother would know', she thought to herself. She had been hoping against hope for her brother's safe return. He'd gone on a diplomatic mission to a planet just on the fringe of the territory of their allies. His purpose was ironic to both him and her: he had to defend a purging that he himself had argued against. But, it was either that or be sent on the purging.
Interestingly enough, he'd taken his pregnant mate with him. She smiled at the thought of his brother's mate. Keya had been one of the few who had not teased her for being different, but perhaps that was because she was slightly different herself. She was shorter than most Saiyan females, not more than a few inches over five feet and had also been born with strange eyes, a light brown as opposed to the dark brown or black eyes most Saiyans were born with. She had light brown skin, perhaps even light enough to be considered a dark tan, and dark red hair ending just below her shoulders. All in all, a very unique woman. That was no doubt the reason her brother had chosen her. When he'd first brought Keya to meet his family, she'd been leery of her, in part because she was afraid to be mocked again. But the two had actually gotten on quite well. The girl could talk your ear off sometimes, but that was actually one of her endearing qualities; as much as she'd talk, she was always prepared to listen to whatever you had to say.
She became alert once again when she heard a knock at her bedroom door. "Enter."
One of the palace servants walked into the room and bowed her head. "Excuse me, my lady, but your father requests that you join him in the courtyard. He also requests that you be prepared to leave soon."
'Why? Where am I going?"
The servant girl looked up. "I am unsure, madam. He only asked that I fetch you, he said nothing of your destination."
She sighed. "Very well, tell him I'll be along shortly."
The servant bowed her head again. "Yes, Lady Juuhachi."
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Chi-Chi's head was spinning. First, they'd arrived on this godforsaken planet as slaves. Now, Bulma had been pulled away from the rest and been given, of all things, third-class citizenship due to her scientific expertise. Now, Chi-Chi and the rest of the slave were being hauled to the nearby capitol city to be sold or God only knew what else, and the thought made her nervous. She'd already been separated from one of the only friends she'd made since her captivity. Would she be separated from Krillin, too? She was stronger than most other women on the wagon with her, but the idea of being alone was still unappealing.
Finally, she worked up enough courage to ask the long-haired officer about their destination. "Hey. Where are we going?"
He whirled to face the woman that was riding on the wagon he was currently walking next to and delivered her a sharp slap across the face. "You'll learn to speak when spoke to, wench! For some bizarre reason, this ugly lot has been bought by the palace. No doubt for your stronger offspring." He looked at Krillin and smirked. "I'll bet you had some fun, didn't you, ugly one?" He shifted his gaze back to Chi-Chi. "And I'll bet he had the most fun with you. My, you're a pretty little whore, aren't you?"
He had to take a step back to avoid the enraged woman's lunge, erupting into a fit of laughter. "Struck a nerve, I see. Can't say as I blame you. I wouldn't want the world to know I got screwed by something that ugly either." With one last laugh, he turned away and began to walk ahead of the wagon.
Chi-Chi turned and looked at Krillin. Sure enough, he once again had his head hung low in shame, trying hard to stop the sobbing that brose unbidden in his throat, muttering two words over and over.
"I'm sorry."
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Lady Juuhachi, or Juu as her friends called her, arrived in the palace courtyard to see her father standing bear the fountain, awaiting her presence. He turned and smiled at the sight of his daughter, dressed in a simple gown. Normally, she wouldn't have dressed in such girlie apparel, but her father refused to allow her to wear her armor in public; he said it drew too much attention to her already very noticeable figure and wouldn't stand for all the looks that it drew from the un-mated males and even the more unscrupulous mated males.
"You look lovely, my dear."
She smiled slightly at her father. He could be a little overprotective of her, but she knew deep down that he only did it because he loved her. "Thank you. You wanted to see me?"
The smile faded from her father's face, the twinkle gone from his dark eyes. "Yes, about that. I'm afraid, my dear, that we must attend a bit of a ceremony… at the King's request."
Juu's eyes opened wide, her mouth hanging slightly agape. "What? He's not still trying to mate me with that annoying, bratty Price, is he?"
Her father narrowed his eyes at her. "That's enough, Juuhachi. You will not speak of the Prince in such a manner." His face softened some. "But, no, he's not. As I understand it, he has accepted the fact that you seem to harbor a bit of dislike for one another."
Juu scoffed at the statement. A bit of dislike was a gross understatement; they hated each other. He was an arrogant, self-absorbed jerk who was only interested in what others could do for him. Add to that the fact that he had always treated Juu like a freak, and that led to more than a 'mutual dislike'.
"Well, then what does he want?" she asked.
Her father looked up at the sky and sighed. She certainly had her mother's attitude, may she rest in peace. "Apparently, all the nobles are to attend a bit of a celebration. The Prince has returned from the purge, and he's brought the King a gift. It seems he caught the one giving us so much trouble down on that little mud ball and is bringing him back."
Juu's eyes lit up at the mention of the new captive, and her father smiled. She'd been fascinated by the stories of that particular human being able to fend off even some of the strongest of the Saiyans. Now she'd have an opportunity to meet her 'hero'. "In fact," he continued, "they're bringing him to the palace as we speak."
Before another word could be spoken, she was gone, already headed up the stairs to the outer wall to see whether or not they had arrived.
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They had arrived. Even from a great distance they could see a great palace sitting high above the rest of the city. Their new home. The place where they would be enslaved.
Krillin was feeling especially glum. This was his fault; those people had been his responsibility. He was supposed to defend them. That was what his master had trained him for, after all. Yet, despite all that training, he'd failed. The people had still been enslaved. And to make matters worse, he'd been expected to pretty much rape the women in his cell. He felt awful, plain and simple.
He sat in the wagon, his head still hung low, and Chi-Chi's arm wrapped around him for comfort. He smiled slightly at that. She seemed to actually care about him and, amazingly enough, didn't blame him for what happened. Of course Bulma hadn't either, but now, she was gone. Now he had only one friend in this world. Well, only one that he knew the whereabouts of, anyway.
Krillin looked up and noticed the long haired Saiyan officer making his way away from the wagon and through a door in the side of the palace. Nothing strange there; he was probably reporting that the slaves had arrived. He looked up at the sky, trying to clear hi mind of the thoughts plaguing his mid, and gasped at what he saw.
There on top of the wall, staring at him -HIM of all people- was a blonde-haired angel.
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Juu stared down at the only male in the group of slaves being transported in the wagon. This was the one that had given them so much trouble? He looked weak. He was small, certainly smaller than the other human males that had come to Vegeta-sei over the months. His clothing had been torn , he looked slightly malnourished, he was nearly bald , and… he had no nose? That was odd. She tilted her head slightly as she noticed that most of the females seemed to try to give him a wide berth, with the exception of a few.
She was forced to blink when he began to stare back up at her. His eyes, they were filled with pain. Like he didn't have a real friend in the world. 'Just like me,' she thought. She smiled slightly at him and he turned away, blushing. She had a feeling that things at home were going to be interesting indeed.
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The long haired Saiyan made his way through the dark passageways to the cells in the far back of the dungeon, intent on seeing the one that had been on his mind since his return. They needed to have words, those two, and he hoped that perhaps his brother was no longer acting like a fool. Finally, he reached the cell that held his kin.
"Well, Brother, dear. Are you ready to come to your senses, or will you have to carry out the remainder of your sentence?"
The other Saiyan looked up at his older brother, his unruly black hair now plastered to his head with sweat and grime, his wrists scarred from struggling against his chains, but his eyes still filled with fire as he spoke. "How could you? How could you betray our father's memory like that? He worked so hard to free our people from Frieza and you just turn around and continue the senseless slaughter anyway! Why?!"
The long haired one laughed. "You are a fool, little brother. Father freed us, yes. But now we can reap the profits of our business without having to worry about that gender-confused lizard dipping his fingers in the till. Father was a fool for not realizing that with Frieza gone, we could finally take our place as rulers of the Universe!"
The younger of the two glared at his brother. "Do you even hear yourself?! You're no different than Frieza."
The elder smirked. "Ah, little brother, you're just as idealistic as Father was. And where did that get him? Dead, slaughtered like an animal, that's where!"
The younger Saiyan lunged at his brother, straining against the chains that held him, causing his brother no end of amusement. "You know," he said, continuing to smirk, "you remind me a lot of a certain slave girl. A human. Why don't you go join them, you're so fond of their kind." He began to walk away, calling back to his brother. "In fact, you and the little whore would be perfect for each other. If you don't mind your women slightly used, that is. Sweet dreams, Kakarot!"
As he walked away, he could hear his brother's screams echoing off the walls of the dungeon. "You can't keep me here! You hear me, Raditz?! You can't keep me here forever! And when I do get out, I'll make you pay. I swear it!!"
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Well, that's chapter 2! Okay, time for reader interaction: I need a name for Juu's father. Can anyone supply me with one? And no, unlike other A/U, he's not Dr. Gero. And lest anyone panic, Chi-Chi and Krillin do not start any kind of romantic relationship in this fic. They're just best friends. I figured I'd put him in that role instead of Bulma for the sake of originality. Well, tell me what you thought. Is this original? Review, please.
And special thanks to D4 for providing me with Keya.