Fulfillment

Time for the (somewhat) long awaited chapter 3.I would have done this sooner, but I had a hard time getting a name for Juu's pa. But I found one, some of you may know what it means and laugh, but there it is. Now, on to the chapter. I hope you like it. Hope it's original, too. (P.S. Semi-Important note at the end of this Chap.)

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Death was everywhere in the burning encampment. Everywhere one looked on the Planet Vergasso, they could see the bodies strewn about; some obviously killed in a quite brutal way, necks and various other bones snapped in two. Others with simple puncture wounds in major arteries which caused them to bleed out until they were no more.

All this had happened to a Saiyan crew, whose mission to this planet had been purely diplomatic. Most of the members were not combat-trained, though their skills were admittedly better than many of their race. The few that were, however, were the first to be killed. No warnings, no sound, not even a reason given for this attack. The creature responsible had simply rushed in and began his ruthless slaughter.

His employer was pleased. When he'd found this creature, he was told that it was the best in its field, but this? This was nothing short of amazing! This creature had accomplished in mere minutes what would have taken his troops anywhere up to three days to finish, and even then there was no guarantee of victory. This creature certainly was good.

And Cooler certainly was pleased.

A streak of green streaked toward him, and he soon found himself staring into the evil, reptilian eyes of the creature; eyes that were set in a green, insectoid face that could only have come from a nightmare. "Well done," he told the creature before him. "This is far beyond what I had expected from you. The entire crew in less than twenty minutes!" He laughed. "You make a fine monkey exterminator."

A small, spine-chilling smile graced the creature's face as he twitched his long, blood-soaked tail behind him. "Indeed, it was a most bountiful harvest. I can't tell you the euphoria…." His words trailed off and his face became one of extreme concentration. Quickly, without saying a word, he rushed over to a pile of debris, where he found a cowering female Saiyan, obviously with child, seated next to her mate. He was obviously already dead, several puncture wounds in his chest showed that well enough. The creature remembered that kill fondly; the others had made such an effort to protect him that he had proved to be a worthy prize, which had also damaged the morale of those that had still been alive. An evil grin spread across the orange ridge that served as his mouth. So, he had a mate? Perfect.

Cooler set himself down behind him, sizing up the situation. A wicked grin settled upon his lips as well. He recognized the dead male, he had seen his father. The old fool had brazenly sent his family a transmission proclaiming the Saiyans' freedom after his brother's death. He had been inclined to retaliate after such an insult, but his father had refused to allow it, said that that region was Frieza's little pet project, and they had no interest in continuing his dealings with those filthy monkeys. Cooler closed his eyes as his smile widened. Well, his father was out of the way now, and he was determined to make the monkeys pay for their defiance.

He sized up the female that was before him. An unusual specimen, this one. The hair, the eyes, the height, all different than usual. But she was clearly important to the monkeys.

The creature spoke up. "Shall I kill her?" he asked, forcing her on to her back, the needle on his tail poised to strike at her throat.

"No. I need a messenger, after all." Cooler looked down at the prone female. "You, my dear, shall have the pleasure of being my messenger. You are to tell your people that their defiance will not be tolerated any longer. They shall soon return to their place as my family's servants. And then they'll know the TRUE meaning of suffering!"

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears as she weakly nodded. The creature, however, never took his eyes off the Saiyan beneath him as he spoke. "You say there are more of these… things?"

Cooler rolled his eyes at the creature before him; he may have been an excellent assassin, but he seemed somewhat dense. "Of course there's more. An entire planet, full of slaves and warriors that will soon be catering to my every whim."

At this revelation, the creature seemed to tense up for a moment, remaining completely still. Finally, he withdrew his tail, eliciting a sigh of relief from the female beneath him. Suddenly, he placed a large tridactyl foot and wrapped its appendages around her head. Cooler's face was that of confusion as the creature began to chuckle slightly as he applied pressure. His eyes widened with shock as he realized: this creature was disobeying his order; he was going to kill her.

"STOP!" he cried.

The creature began to apply more pressure, his laughter mingling with the screams of the female, relishing the feeling of her skull beginning to cave in under his foot. As the pressure increased, so did his laughter, until it finally reached an ear-splitting, insane screech. The female gave one last scream before her head quite literally caved in under the pressure, bits of grey matter scattering across the ground and splattering her murderer's face. The creature licked the gore that ran down his face as he stepped over her still-convulsing, headless body.

Cooler became utterly enraged. Under any other circumstance, he would have admired this form of execution, but this creature had ignored a direct order. That was inexcusable. "What do you think you're doing?!" He was compelled to take a step backward as the creature eyed him with that same murderous gleam in his eyes. "I gave you a direct order! You were not to kill her, she was-" He didn't get any further as the creature's needle-like tail was lodged in his throat, and the creature smiled at the look of pure horror that was on his victim's face. Cooler managed to gasp out, "B-but… I'm your … master…"

The creature's eyes narrowed. "I just wanted to thank you, master," he spat, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You've done so much for me. You freed me from that cage where I was imprisoned, you brought me to this planet, and you even provided me some playmates with which to amuse myself. And now I find out there's an entire planet of these things with which to play. For that, I am appreciative." He then retracted his tail from his victim's neck with a sharp grunt, letting him fall to the ground as the blood escaped his neck. "But you forgot one very important thing, fool." He proceeded to lick the blood from his tail as he leaned down and looked into Cooler's dying eyes.

"Cell has no master."

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Juuhachi sighed as she walked with her father toward the throne room of the palace. She absolutely hated these formal affairs. For one thing, she always felt awkward when they introduced her father and her as 'Lord Daifu and his daughter, the Lady Juuhachi'. It was bad enough BEING nobility, much less being reminded of it every time she went to one of these things. But, since she was unmated, she was required by law to attend such events with her father.

They entered the ornate throne room and she rolled her eyes as they were announced. Daifu noticed this and sighed. He wouldn't have brought her with him, as he knew how she hated appearing in public, but the law was the law; no one seemed interested in his daughter, and those who did were always rejected. 'I suppose she'll know when she meets him', he thought.

As the two made their way to their seats in the front row, Juu's eyes settled on the second reason of her hatred of these events. Prince Vegeta. There he sat on his throne next to his father's, a smug look on his face after his triumphant return, his ever bare forehead blinding her as it reflected the light in the room. He seemed aware of this, as he tilted his head until it shined right into her eyes. She gave a low growl; he knew how much that trait annoyed her.

As time went by, more of the nobility filed into the room and the proceedings were soon underway. King Vegeta entered the room as all present stood as a sign of respect until he took his seat upon his throne. Many noticed, for the umpteenth time, the family resemblance between King and Prince; the latter being a carbon copy of his father; the same hair, same shape of the face, even the same ego. Though the Prince was a bit shorter than his father, perhaps a genetic contribution from his mother, and lacked his father's goatee that he'd sported for years now. Apparently the prince had no affinity for facial hair.

After the procession had died down, the formal greetings taken place, and Prince Vegeta's military review had been completed, at which time he told them how pathetic they were that a mere group of four humans had been able to hold them off and even kill their commander, the King spoke.

"My people, today is a blessed day. Today we celebrate the safe return of our sons and daughters from their duties abroad. We celebrate the bountiful harvest they have returned with. But most of all, today we celebrate the anniversary of our freedom!

"As many of you know, today marks the twenty fifth anniversary of Frieza's destruction. For many years, we were forced to go on raids and purges on the whim of a tyrant. For too long we suffered under his heel. Then, one day, we watched in awe as his ship was mysteriously destroyed while in orbit, freeing us from that maniac forever!"

Juu snorted at that last statement. Everyone else may have been so willing to forget what had really happened in order to satisfy the King's ego, but she wasn't. She knew who was responsible for that event. But it seemed almost everyone else on the planet was more than willing to forget, as they applauded, cheering like mad. She even noticed, with a great amount of disgust, that his own son seemed to be one who was.

The King continued. "Now, we are free; free to do what we choose. Free to reap the bounty of our own labors, not having to share the spoils with a petty tyrant that held an impossibly high debt over our heads. Now, this is our world again! Go forth, my people, and rejoice!"

The crowd began another bout of wild cheering, even giving the King a standing ovation. He stood and waved one final time to his subjects before preparing to leave in preparation for one of the many ceremonies that would take place that night. He was stopped short, however, as Prince Vegeta stood and called out to his father. "Before you go, father, I have a gift for you."

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Chi-Chi was shoved rather roughly into the kitchen area by a strong armed female guard, her black hair flying into her face. "Get in there, wench! It's time you receive your duties for your stay here."

Chi-Chi's only response was a rather rude and unladylike gesture, which earned her another slap across

the face. She let out a growl. What was it with these people and slapping? Finally, she resigned herself to getting in line with the rest of the slave girls. The same female guard went down the line, stopping at each girl and assigning them chores. "You better remember 'em, too," she said. I ain't gonna give 'em out again. If you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing, you will be killed. Is that understood?"

A small chorus of yeses came from the girls as the guard continued down the line. She stopped in front of a blue-haired girl, who Chi-Chi noticed looked uncannily like Bulma. The guard gave her one look and said "You're on floor scrubbing duty."

The girl let out a small squeal of dismay. "Floors?! Yuck, I can't do that! They're all icky and stuff! I won't you can't-" she was silenced from speaking any further when a large hole appeared in her midsection. She looked down at the wound, a shocked expression on her face, before collapsing onto the floor in a heap. Two other guards came out from the hall to drag the body from the room as the first guard proceeded to lower her hand from its previous position.

"Anyone else care to complain about their tasks? No? Good." She started down the line again, a smug expression on her face. When she finally reached Chi-Chi, her face broke out into a grin. "Oh, I have something very special planned for you. You get deliver the meals to the deepest cell in the dungeons." She lowered her voice to sound as intimidating as possible. "Only the worst criminal on the planet are kept in that cell. What's more, you get to feed him. That should be fun, huh?"

Chi-Chi didn't let it show, but she was intimidated. As bad as these people were, she could only imagine how bad their WORST criminal was. And she had to sit in his cell… and feed him, no less! She was pulled over to a table area to a tray laden with an unnatural portion of food; three people couldn't finish that much food! The guard noticed the shocked expression on her face. "That's right, wench. You get to stay with him until he eats it all. Every. Last. Bite. Four times a day. Just consider yourself lucky that he's on half rations. Now get started!" With that, the guard thrust the tray into her hands and pushed her to the door that led to the dungeon. Before she could enter, however, another guard came out and called the guard that was with Chi-Chi. "Hey, you two! Get in here; all personnel are required to watch the vidscreens by order of the Prince."

The female with Chi-Chi groaned and pulled Chi-Chi with her back to the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. Chi-Chi did her best to block out what was going on; mostly just the King prattling on about today being some sort of holiday or something. Then she heard something that caught her attention: "Before you go, father, I have a gift for you."

Those words seemed to draw her in, and she listened intently to what he would say next.

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Vegeta stood in confidence, enjoying the fact that everyone in the room seemed to be anxious as to what he had gotten for his father that was important enough to give at an assembly. He waited a few moments more before he spoke.

"As you know, thanks to our COMPLETELY INEPT military, a small group of humans managed to hold our people at bay during our invasion, even managing to kill several of our people, including the commander of the mission, Nappa. No small task, even though the fool was a blundering idiot. They forced me to take my elite guard and attack them myself. I regret to inform our people that I was in fact the only one that managed to survive that encounter.

"But, I have not returned empty-handed. As you can tell, we were clearly successful in our mission and the pathetic band was destroyed.

"All save one."

Vegeta motioned to the guards by the door, who began to open it. He turned to face the King, a vicious smirk on his face.

"Father, I present you with your gift!"

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Chi-Chi began to watch with feverish interest as the large wooden doors began to slowly creak open. She somehow knew what was on the other side of the door, but was in no way prepared for what she saw and had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. Finally, regaining some of her composure, she managed to quietly choke out a single word amongst the many hoots and jeers coming from the guards in the room.

"Krillin?"

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Juuhachi was trying her best to hide it, but she was sick to her stomach at the sight before her. There, at the end of the aisle, stood the human she'd subconsciously come to think of as hers. The little man was bruised all over; one of his eyes was completely swollen shut. He'd been stripped of his shirt, and she could see the numerous bruises and cuts that were still quite fresh; she even saw some burns from a shock prod being jabbed into him more times than she cared to count. She then realized: he hadn't looked like this when she'd seen him not more than an hour before. Just what had they done to him in that short a time?

As he was forced down the aisle between the rows of seats, the many nobles and soldiers in the room began to mock him, laughing at his inability to fight back. Occasionally, someone would throw something at him, eliciting a cheer from the other people in the room. The guards noticed this and once again began to jab him with their prods, causing the crowd of so-called nobility to cheer even louder.

Juu turned to her father, silently begging for him to do something to stop this. Daifu looked at his daughter's eyes and saw tears there, threatening to fall; a shock in and of itself. He lowered his head and shook it sadly. Not even he could do something to intervene that wouldn't be suicide.

She turned her attention back to the little man before her. He had finally reached the end of the aisle and was forced to his knees in front of the thrones, silent tears streaming down his face. This was nothing short of utter humiliation. She looked up and saw both Vegeta and his father sitting on their thrones with smirks on their faces. This was disgusting; how could anyone enjoy something like this? It took everything she had to keep from rushing up there and slapping the King as he began to laugh.

"This?! This is the human that gave you us so much trouble? I think I shall have to begin a stricter training program for our troops! This is embarrassing!" He finally began to calm his bout of merriment and spoke to the man in front of him. "What is your name, scum?"

When the man refused to answer, the Prince jumped up from his throne and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air. "My father asked you a question, freak! WHAT?! IS?! YOUR?! NAME?!"

The little man gave a few sputters before finally managing to choke out his name. "K-K-Krillin."

Vegeta laughed and released Krillin's throat, dropping him on the floor and proceeding to spit on him before climbing back into his throne. "I wouldn't wish that name on a Namek."

The King scrutinized the man that Juu now knew as Krillin with a small smirk on his face. He turned to the Prince. "Tell me, son. What were his crimes?"

Juu felt her eyes go wide. It was bad enough that they had humiliated him in public. Now they felt the need to put him through a mockery of a trial.

Vegeta turned to his father. "He is being charged with the murder of at 30 Saiyans at the hands of him and his cohorts, numerous acts of terrorism and treason against the Saiyan Empire."

The King smiled and looked down at Krillin. "Well, do you deny these charges?"

Krillin didn't even raise his head to look at them. Why bother? It's not like it would make a difference.

The King settled back in his seat. "I'll take that as a no, then. Very well. My son, deliver your ruling."

Vegeta was inclined to have him thrown into the deepest cell in the dungeon with that fool Kakarot, when he noticed something in front of him. That little freak was glaring at him. And, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the Yellow Freak was giving him the same look. 'Well,' he thought to himself, 'it seems Daifu's spawn has an affinity for the midget. Time to kill two birds with one stone.'

He turned back to his father. "For such acts, there can only be one punishment."

Juuhachi's eyes flew wide. 'NO! PLEASE, NO!'

Vegeta noted her reaction and continued. "For his crimes, this human shall be put to death!"

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Chi-Chi couldn't hold her tears in anymore as the others in the room began to cheer. They only friend that she had left on this planet was going to die. Now, the one thing she had begun to fear was going to come true.

She was alone.

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The crowd in the throne room had begun to go wild, making Vegeta quite pleased with his descision. His father, on the other hand, had another idea. He raised a hand to quiet the crowd before speaking.

"Now, now, Vegeta. Surely you won't begrudge your father the pleasure of enjoying his gift before you kill it?"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at his father's comment. What exactly was the old man planning now? "What do you mean?"

The King grinned wickedly at his son. "I mean, son, that he will die. But that doesn't mean we can't all enjoy it."

Vegeta returned his father's smile. 'Still crafty, I see. For an old man.'

The King turned his attention to his people. "He will indeed die, but not here." He raised one hand and waved the guards to take him away, that same grin on his face. "To the arena."

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Well, this chapter was considerably longer than my others. I'm quite proud of this one. Now, as for the important note:

Many of you know that I'm going to be writing a sequel to 'One Good Reason', and that the central character will be an OC. You also know that I asked the readers who I should pair him with: Bulla or Pan? So far, I've gotten people asking for both, but they give either no reasoning behind their choice, or a very tiny one. I still want opinions, as I value them, but I need a compelling argument as to why I should use that girl in order to sway me. So please, respond.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and I hope to update soon. PLEASE REVIEW!!