Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Cop Story ❯ Saiyans and Parking Lots ( Chapter 22 )

Disclaimer : The characters portrayed in this story do not belong to me. However, most of the events do. Yeah, don't ask...

A Cop Story

Part Twenty Two

By RM

Saiyans and Parking Lots

Shifty glances reigned supreme at lanes two and three where the competition was fierce and the scores were pathetically low. Dr. Briefs had managed to pick up his game. After making several observations and a few calculations, he had formed a plan that was working for him so far, which could be best summed up as `avoid throwing the ball in the gutters'. And despite Vegeta's best efforts for the team, they were still winning.

Yamcha eyeballed Nappa wearily, at a complete loss as to how the Saiyan could possibly be beating him when he couldn't have averaged over forty in the earlier two games. True, Yamcha was having a very unproductive night, but that didn't explain the situation one bit. Perhaps Nappa had been taking notes? Perhaps he had spiked the beer? Perhaps it had something to do with his new, lucky bowling ball? Who knew? Yamcha certainly didn't. And it was driving him crazy.

Raditz slapped his forehead and laughed as Zarbon's throw went straight into the gutter, rolling past the pins at a leisurely spin. Zarbon shook his head slowly from side to side on his way back to his seat, a slight smile on his face as he tried not to laugh along with Raditz.

"Hey Guts!" Raditz stated with a laugh. "If you manage to knock down three more pins, you'll break a twenty!"

"And he will be tied with you," Vegeta added hastily.

"Straight from the Monkey's-Buns," Raditz replied with a smirk. "I'm amazed you've actually knocked down a whole sixty-four."

Zarbon chuckled at Vegeta while Dr. Briefs looked around nervously.

"How did he managed to get that name?" Zarbon whispered to Raditz who stood next to the ball retrieval as it spit up a flashy, blue bowling ball. There was a tiny squeak as the ball collided with Yamcha's. Raditz eyed the contraption as he began to answer Zarbon's question.

"At least MY nickname doesn't have to do with how much I suck!" Vegeta interrupted the other team's conversation. He might be an atrocious bowler, but he wasn't deaf.

"No, it just calls attention to your big, fat ass!" Zarbon retorted as he narrowed his eyes at the Saiyan. He was thankful that he wasn't the only one who had proven to be completely inept at the Earthling's recreational activity.

"Uh," Dr. Briefs nervously licked his lips as he attempted to pacify the potentially lethal situation. It was the father in him that disliked the bickering. It was also a matter, in a situation such as this and involving men such as this, that he could become a statistic at a bowling alley. It wasn't something he would want to have to die with. Especially since he knew that someone would have to explain it to his wife. "How come I don't get a nickname?"

Everyone but Yamcha turned to stare at the Doctor in surprise.

"We could call you `four-eyes'," Yamcha offered from the foul line. The others considered the name as they looked from Yamcha to the oldest member of the two teams.

"Four eyes?" Raditz questioned as Vegeta nodded and shrugged. Nappa simply cracked his knuckles and watched Yamcha make his throw, a partial growl emanating from his throat as the human managed to knock down eight pins.

Dr. Briefs sighed, relieved that the tensions between everyone seemed to be coming under control, but perplexed that the nickname from his youth, the nickname he had suffered all through his school years, had once again surfaced.

"Four-eyes?" He heard Raditz question once again to Zarbon who looked just as puzzled at his statement. Neither one of them were familiar with the Earth term or the concept of bifocals.

"He means his glasses, Numbnuts." Vegeta mumbled as he walked past the pair, aiming to down another beer. Dr. Briefs nodded as he approached the ball return preparing to pick up his ball. He had spent a good deal of time hunting down a bowling ball light enough for him to actually throw, but he had also observed, thanks to his scientific genius, that the lighter the ball, the harder he had to throw. Several of his shots had simply bounced off of the pins without knocking them down. He looked down, making sure that he had the right ball, when Nappa's blue bowling ball came spinning up from the retrieval and appeared to `eep' as it collided with the others. Dr. Briefs peered around himself, finally aiming a glance back to where Vegeta was throwing back a tall one.

As Vegeta was chugging the last few gulps of his drink, he caught the good doctor watching him. He finished quickly and grabbed two bottles, making his way over to his woman's father and his teammate for the remainder of the winter league's season. He could definitely use this as quality time to discuss the progress on the gravity simulator Dr. Briefs had promised him.

His moustache twitched as Vegeta approached him, two beers in hand. The Saiyan held out the condensing, green bottle, turning to watch the lane as Dr. Briefs took the proffered beverage. He looked back down at the ball return where he could have sworn he heard an `eep'. Just as suddenly as the thought entered his brain, he shook his head and dismissed it. It had to be the beer…

*****

When she had first shown up with her pink bowling ball, shoes and matching towel, he had figured it was a safe bet that she knew a thing or two about knocking them down. As the evening had progressed however, he couldn't help but notice that while her form looked good, the talent just wasn't there. He also couldn't help but notice that she was still much better than he was.

"A twenty-six," Bulma giggled as she leaned on their other teammate's shoulder for support. "With a name like `The Claw', I didn't think we could lose."

Piccolo growled as he leveled his glare on his teammates, trying to think of a way to nonchalantly change the subject, and scaring the hell out of the other man. "Speaking of claws," he stated dryly, "did you ever finish that report I asked of you?"

Her giggling subsided as her look sobered, resting her chin in a beautifully manicured hand. Her pale pink fingernails tapped against the smooth skin of her cheek and her eyes rolled up as she smiled.

"Yes," she finally stated plainly, shooting him a coy look as she bit her lip and continued to smile. "I'll get it for you."

She stumbled momentarily as she walked over to her bowling bag slowly, which sat at a table on the other side of the short counter separating the seating area for the lane and the tables for the general public. Piccolo noticed the young man on their team watching her appreciatively and letting out a breathy sigh as she bent over in her tight pants to pick up her bag. He sighed himself in exasperation. He was quite thankful for being asexual. It wasn't that he didn't get it, or that he didn't understand. He simply didn't care. While most would think of it as some kind of cruel existence, Piccolo figured that he saved a lot of time, not to mention trouble.

Bulma handed Piccolo the report and sat demurely next to the young man Vegeta had referred to as `Pips' earlier. She smiled at him and pointed to the lane, indicating that he should take the last shot of the game so they could all move along into the bar. When he caught on and stood up to collect his ball, she casually glanced down to lane three to see if her feisty, little Saiyan was still making a complete fool of himself. She giggled as she thought about how all of her big, strong friends from work were absolutely dreadful when it came to the simple game. It was quite a relief to find out that they weren't capable of doing everything well.

"Interesting," she heard Piccolo mumble as he flipped to page two. She disregarded him and let out a sigh when she saw that Vegeta's match had ended and he was no longer there. She turned her attention back to the green investigator who currently appeared engrossed in the virtual cookbook she had typed up.

"Where did you get that sauce?" She questioned him casually.

"Our game is over," he informed her, completely ignoring her question. They had lost their third game, which meant the other team had taken the point. He looked over at their opponents with a glare. If looks could kill, they would have not only been very dead, but in several different pieces. "I have some work to see to," he added, trying to swallow the bitter taste of defeat. "Thanks for the report. And for the water."

"No problem," she smiled, watching him gather his things while keeping her eye on Pips who was seemingly making eyes at her.

"Can I buy you a drink Bulma?"

She eyed him with a smile before giving him fair warning. "Not if you want to keep both of your arms." Then she added, "Vegeta wouldn't like that."

"Vegeta?" He blinked. He was relatively new to the force and was having a hard time keeping all of the names straight. "Who's Vegeta?"

"He's the one that threatened to rip you a new asshole and shove several bowling balls in while your mother watched," Piccolo reminded him in his deep voice.

"My boyfriend," Bulma responded to the young man's question with a dreamy sigh. She was feeling quite tipsy and even though she had been furious with the alien earlier, she couldn't wait to see him.

"He meant it," Piccolo cautioned. "Have an uneventful weekend." He finally added as he walked off with a backhanded wave.

Pips sat next to Bulma for another minute as she folded her bowling towel and packed it away. When she glanced over at him, he looked pretty nervous, probably having remembered the exchange with the crotchety Saiyan earlier that evening. Bulma hadn't gotten the chance to introduce them, but that was mostly since she wasn't exactly sure how to follow Vegeta's rather graphic threat. Piccolo had gotten it right, mostly. But he had paraphrased to keep in clean.

"Come on," Bulma finally grabbed Pips firmly by the arm. "At least walk me to the bar. I'll ditch you before the trouble starts."

Pips swallowed audibly but couldn't seem to break the hold Bulma was exerting on his arm. For once in his life, he sincerely hoped that the beautiful woman tugging him across the lobby would ditch him just as she said she would. He had a bad feeling that his life just might depend on it.

*****

He dusted off his smock and fixed his little chef's hat, pulling out a small chunk of tomato and a huge leaf of lettuce. He was getting out. He'd had it! The fights were getting worse and he had decided that it just wasn't worth it anymore. He was a humble pizza man. That was the plain and simple truth. He wanted no part in the way of ruling the world anymore and he was sick to death of being tossed around like some little cookie every time Garlic Jr. disagreed with something he had done. Lately, that had been every ten seconds. He just couldn't take it anymore. And he had to admit, neither could the counters.

He was cleaning out the proverbial locker. He really didn't keep too many personal items at the pizzeria. He had never really trusted Garlic Jr. as far as he could throw him, which had inadvertently not been too far, as they had discovered just last night during a heated altercation over how to handle the `special' sauce on an order of white pizza. It had all basically boiled itself down to one major point. While Garlic Jr. certainly exhibited the motivation and the desire to succeed, he was crazier than a rat in a country shit-house, and Pilaf knew it was time to pack up, haul off and move on.

He shoved several things into his knapsack while mumbling distractedly to himself as he reflected on how things managed to turn sour. He had known Garlic Jr. for years.

"…ungrateful little…my dice?" He questioned to no one, pulling a pair of large, fuzzy dice free from a small cardboard box, which had seen better days. He remembered taking them off his rear view mirror, but he hadn't thought they would turn up here. He blinked and continued to rummage.

"…stupid, disagreeable…how did this get here?" He asked this time. His cucumber sleeping mask looked coolly up at him, as if hanging out at the bottom of a box in the back office of a pizza parlor was an everyday, no big deal occurrence.

He let out a squeaky growl as he plummeted straight towards the bottom of the box with his small hands, suspecting that these things of his hadn't gone missing by themselves.

"…pigheaded, nincompoop…my ABBA Gold!" His eyes widened as he grabbed his precious CD, the one he had been missing for over two years, the one he had been looking for, the one that Garlic Jr. had said cracked into tiny pieces when a large sauce pot had accidentally been dropped on it that fateful January morning. "What is this?!" Pilaf complained as his anger got the best of him. He didn't think too much longer however. He knew exactly what this was.

It was the last straw.

*****

For the bowlers, the night had pretty much ended when the last ball was thrown and the matches had been decided. For the drinkers, the night wasn't even halfway through. Most of the tables at the alley were taken, full of laughter, glasses, and heavy drinkers.

The bar was packed wall to wall, mostly with those who could still stand up. The gang had set up in the far corner in-between the kitchen and the bar. Captain Roshi had supervised a few of the men in moving some of the tables near the jukebox, so that there was a small area where he could dance with the young ladies. So far, every woman he'd approached had turned him down. Launch giggled as Tien spun her around the make-shift dance floor in front of the old man while Chi Chi and Yamcha practiced the latest steps together. Behind them, and much too close to the bar as far as the others were concerned stood Raditz, singing along to the music in an extremely shaky falsetto with overdone vibrato, managing to sound not only like the cat that was being skinned but also it's consecutive eight lives. #17 looked on in amusement while Goku and Vegeta winced as they leaned against the bar.

They were both happy drunks. And not just because their teams had pulled off a win on the first match of the season. Goku's disposition while drinking was no big surprise, as the effect of his cheerfulness was merely amplified. Vegeta was the surprise. The first and only time #17 had seen him get drunk was after a particularly grueling sparring match, where Vegeta had kicked some major butt. Sure, they had to trick him to get him to drink that much. As worldly as Vegeta seemed, he was certainly not well versed in Earth's recreational activities, and certainly not where drinking was concerned. When he had gotten to the point he couldn't walk straight, #17 figured they would all be dead by the morning, knowing the Saiyan's quick temper and rather unpredictable nature. But instead of the angry drunk they all figured Vegeta would be, they found that the best way to make Vegeta sociable, or at least a little more agreeable, was to get him hammered. And currently, Vegeta was so hammered that he was almost cracking a smile.

#17's earlier efforts with Goku had certainly paid off. He had been quite sloshed for a good two hours, and currently showed no signs of stopping. They had even managed to win their third match of the evening, earning a point in the overall league standings. In retrospect, the entire night had gone off without a hitch. He gazed around the loud, smoky lounge and grinned as he caught sight of #16 and Mai enjoying each other's company. He continued looking for the last set-up of the evening only to find Marron had seemingly cornered Krillin at a small table towards the door.

*****

She was babbling. While this occurrence was nothing out of the ordinary, he found that for once in his life his patience was wearing a little thin.

"Is this going somewhere?"

She blinked at him and ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing it down. "You'll just have to move on Krillin. I am so over you." She informed him with a shrug.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, shifting in his seat. He focused his attention on Ox's table at the far corner of the large room where #18 was laughing and making merry amongst the clinking of glass with the rest of the gang. That was when he felt her hand on his.

"Don't be upset, honey." She comforted him sweetly. "I'm sure you'll find someone very special."

He turned his head and stared incredulously at her, the last bit of information rolling off her tongue and seeping into his brain. He let out a resigned sigh and decided not to get into it with her. He looked at her carefully, wondering where she had been for the past year and a half since it seemed quite obvious that she hadn't been on planet Earth. He was staring as her lips moved, but his mute button had been pushed and no sound was registering. He finally snapped out of it as she stood slowly and smoothed down her lime green, mini skirt. She waved happily, blowing him one last kiss, making her way to the bar and towards the gorgeous man she had met earlier at the bowling rack who went by the name of Carbon, or Sarbon. She couldn't remember. After all, they had only met once.

The little, fuzzy, pom-pom ties on her white boots bounced to and fro as she hurried towards the crowded area. Not really paying much attention to anyone else other than the exotic hunk of glorious man, she nearly tripped over two people just making their way into the bowling alley tavern.

*****

"Excuse me," Bulma frowned as she maintained her vice-like grip on Pips. She looked at the woman who had just walked into her accusingly, then narrowed her eyes as she realized just who the woman was. It was Krillin's bimbo ex-girlfriend. She rolled her eyes as Marron continued on her way towards wherever it was she was going in such a hurry and tried not to be so critical of the beautiful model.

"Bulma, I think that…"

"Shush, and don't think," she half growled to her bowling partner, trying to dismiss the other woman completely.

"But I don't think that…" Pips began again quite nervously as they approached the far end of the bar where Vegeta and Goku were standing.

"I can handle him," Bulma replied simply.

Pips licked his lips. She had promised to ditch him and it was now quite clear that she had been lying.

She smiled wickedly as she approached an unsuspecting Saiyan.

"Hello Monkey-Buns," she giggled, grabbing his rump firmly and in the process treating him to the only public goose he had ever been subjected to in his life.

He spun around in shock, ready to start something with someone, but instead looked down into the vibrant eyes of the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. His look transformed quickly into a scowl, despite the effects of the heavy drinking as he looked just past her to the little pip-squeak standing behind her. Vegeta smirked inwardly as he maintained his scowl, registering the absolute terror in the young man's expression and prepared to have some fun with him.

Bulma watched Vegeta carefully, catching on quite quickly to what was about to take place.

"If you're nice Vegeta," she breathed out in her most seductive voice, trailing a delicate finger down his jaw-line, "I'll do that thing that you like so much when we get back to my place."

His dark eyes darted back to her and he hesitated. His jaw clenched once under her finger and his eyes narrowed as his dire look softened. "That thing where you use that…"

"Uh-huh," she smiled sweetly, answering him quickly in a breathy whisper as he trailed off.

Pips swallowed hard as Vegeta's lip curled up in an alarmingly distrustful half-smirk while Bulma turned and smiled. He froze as Vegeta leaned over and slapped him on the back none too gently, all the while unsettled by the look he was receiving from him.

"Well then, in that case, let me be the first to congratulate you on your loss," Vegeta stated quite evenly without slurring, emphasizing the last word. "Drinks are on me."

*****

He squeaked out a heartfelt groan as he floated into the bar from the men's restroom. It was disgusting what that big brute of a Saiyan had made him do, but he had been too scared to say no. He thought maybe someday he would be able to stand up to the big ape, but for now, he was still stuck in a society where it was perfectly acceptable for people to run over cats. And he was quite certain that Nappa could do much worse.

"Hey Puar!" Yamcha called out from the dance floor with enthusiasm.

"Oh Yamcha!" Puar raced over to his best friend and roommate, diving straight for his chest.

"Well, I didn't think art class could be that bad!" Yamcha commented on his friend's apparent distress. "Maybe you should have a nice glass of juice and tell me about it?"

Puar looked up into Yamcha's smiling face and simply nodded. Chi Chi, who had been dancing with Yamcha, stroked the fuzzy little tail that hung dejectedly, causing Puar to release a long sigh. When Raditz approached the trio holding a glass of iced juice, Puar smiled warmly and accepted it with haste.

"It was terrible!" Puar began, holding the glass with both of his small paws. He was about to let the real horror spill when he caught Nappa glaring at him from the other side of the bar. "You wouldn't believe what happened tonight with the…watercolors!" He stated, practically breaking out into tears.

The big glass shook in his little paws as Raditz ushered him to the bar where he could sit and talk if need be. Goku and #17 took no notice of the group as they stood talking to Bulma's teammate about the finer points of not being able to bowl, and for that Puar was thankful. He had already drawn enough attention to himself and really did not relish the thought that anyone would catch on to Nappa's little scheme, especially through him.

"Oh Hiya!" Launch greeted the little, blue shape-shifter. "I didn't know you were here!"

Puar smiled broadly, a little juice moustache gracing his upper lip. As Launch continued her cheerful banter, a very annoyed frown was cast in her direction.

"What is that screeching?" Vegeta managed to maneuver his stance to face the new group at the bar. It wasn't easy, seeing that Bulma had wrapped herself around him and was wiggling to the beat of the music in an attempt to get him to dance. Despite his obvious reluctance, he had wrapped one arm around her to keep her from falling while he protectively held a beer in his other hand.

"Puar has had a rough night," Raditz supplied from the other side of the sulking, fuzzy half-pint.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at Puar, taking in his ruffled appearance. His bright blue coat was unkempt and static ridden, as if he'd been rubbing against things all night. Rubber things. The type of rubber things that perhaps lined that infernal contraption called the ball return…

He put his beer down on the bar and took one long, good last look at the disconcerted cat before glaring across the bar to where Nappa was standing with Rikum and Ginyu. It suddenly made perfect sense. Nappa was no bowler, yet he had pulled off a disturbingly high scoring game on that last round. And his bowling ball? A very conspicuous, bright, blue ball that when thrown, seemed to have a life of it's own. While most of the officers weren't privy to Puar's abilities, Vegeta knew that Nappa was. They were partners on one of the special task forces set up by Captain Roshi. Nappa would therefore be well aware of what the little guy could do.

Vegeta was not very happy. So his teammate had decided to cheat? And without his permission?

"Rough night indeed," was Vegeta's eerily quiet reply.

Raditz picked up on the tone in Vegeta's comment as he watched his prince unwind Bulma from his body and step away from the bar. He watched as Vegeta walked purposefully over to Nappa where they exchanged a few words calmly and exited the bar. Drunk or not, he was well versed in the signs of trouble brewing when he saw it. The fact that Vegeta was quite calm about whatever it was to irk him this much when he was this drunk was not a good thing.

"Come on, little brother," Raditz tugged Goku's arm roughly before putting him in a head-lock and dragging him towards the door. "Stay sharp."

*****

They exited the alley quietly, both scowling as Nappa followed Vegeta towards the dimly lit corner of the snowed-in parking lot. The piles of snow formed by the plows clearing the streets and lots formed the perfect cover for a little disciplinary action that seemed sorely overdue.

"So out with it, Dip-shit." Vegeta stated quite calmly as the pair squared off glaring at each other. Nappa merely blinked before he did the one thing he was apparently quite proficient at.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He snarled, playing dumb.

Vegeta moved quickly, taking advantage of his greater speed and power, phasing out and in and landing a solid punch directly into Nappa's diaphragm. The larger Saiyan's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he doubled over in pain. When he bent slightly, Vegeta used his other fist, slamming him on the cheek. The force of the second blow propelled Nappa off his feet and onto his back, gasping for air as white fluffy flakes slowly swirled in the slight, night breeze.

"Not good enough," Vegeta stated coolly. He wasn't really sure what pissed him off more. The fact that Nappa had cheated, the fact that he had decided to cheat on his own, or the fact that Vegeta was sick to death of the big guys picking on the little guys. Like it or not, while more powerful than all of the ones that had ever picked on him, Vegeta was one of the little guys. He'd had to deal with it all his life.

Vegeta's scowl intensified as he tried to clear his vision of all the white flecks floating around. He knew he'd been drinking a little bit too much and currently his legs were not co-operating as he stood over the bald warrior. He shook his head again, trying to dispel the fact that when he looked down, he saw two Nappa's lying on the icy ground. One was quite enough.

Raditz was the first to clear the corner of the immense pile of snow barring the small section of the lot. He tried his best to sneak up on his fellow Saiyans, only to have his brother come sliding to a halt next to him, bumping into him with a loud `omph.'

Vegeta immediately tried to zero in on the disturbance as his head swiveled around. He looked a little wobbly to Raditz, who was probably the least drunk of the four, but not by much. Nappa began to stir and moved to sit up on his knees, clutching his stomach as Raditz and Goku moved towards Vegeta, one grinning and one trying very hard not to.

"What's going on here?" Raditz demanded as he looked from Vegeta to Nappa.

"None of your fucking business!" Nappa hissed at the ground.

At his comment, Vegeta hauled off and kicked Nappa in the gut as hard as he could. Both Goku and Raditz looked around, just a tad confused as to what exactly WAS going on. The air began to whip around when they felt Nappa initiate his power up and Raditz shot Vegeta an alarmed look.

"Oh no you do not! You fucking putz!" Vegeta spat, grabbing Nappa by his ear and backhanding him into one of the nearby, parked cars. The car boomed and crunched as the large body sailed through one of the doors, ripping halfway through the frame. Goku winced when the grind of metal echoed in the still night air but also noted that it had stopped the large man's power up.

"No ki, you son of a bitch!" Vegeta slightly slurred. "Not unless I fucking say so!"

"Why Vegeta, I didn't know you knew Nappa's mother," Raditz commented, trying to lighten the situation.

The shorter Saiyan turned on Raditz quickly, meaning for a strong kick to the gut, but slipped slightly on the deliverance and landed the blow directly on the knee. Raditz swore loudly, hopping up and down while Vegeta tried desperately to regain his balance. Goku, who didn't appreciate his brother getting kicked, especially when he hadn't really done anything, grabbed at Vegeta spinning them both on the icy pavement. When they finally managed to stop, Goku pulled back and popped Vegeta in the nose.

Vegeta shook off the jab and stared back at Goku with a dazed expression. Blood began to trickle down his lip but he wasn't about to let that stop him. Not appreciating the fact that Goku had hit him, he growled and headbutted the younger man, causing Goku to lose his hold on his shirt. As they both staggered slightly away from one another, Vegeta managed to circle a kick squarely on Goku, sending him flying towards the same twisted hunk of metal Nappa had crashed through moments before. Losing his balance one more time, Vegeta fell to the pavement with a heavy thud. He blinked slowly and shook his head again, and just as suddenly as his foul mood had started, he burst out laughing at the scene before him.

Raditz glowered at Vegeta, rubbing his knee vigorously in the frigid evening air. "What the fuck is your problem now?" He questioned daringly. Normally he wouldn't show so much disrespect towards his prince. After all, his rank and power did command a good amount of respect. But there were times, and this certainly classified as one of them, when Raditz wanted to just seize Vegeta and shake the living shit out of him.

Vegeta didn't answer but instead continued to laugh on the icy concrete as the snow continued to fall. Raditz continued to hop, until he too suddenly lost his balance on an ice patch and tumbled over, landing roughly on his rear. Unlike Vegeta however, he did not find it amusing.

Goku lifted himself out of the car and wiped his nose, which was now bleeding, compliments of Vegeta's big, thick skull. He turned around to offer Nappa a helping hand, pulling him up from the now completely totaled vehicle and became the slippery parking lot's next victim, pulling Nappa down with him. When he landed on his back, he just lay there staring up at the night sky. It was devoid of stars but there were plenty of juicy, white flakes falling lightly and sticking to his eyelashes. He heard Vegeta's rough laughter quite distinctly and seeing that he was just as drunk as the other Saiyan, he figured there really was no good reason why he himself shouldn't join in.

Nappa wasn't as jovial. He was downright pissed. He was once again on his hands and knees, clutching at his abdomen. As he shifted he felt the crack and crunch of bone, knowing from previous experience that he had broken a few ribs. When he finally managed to get to his feet, he attempted to walk away with a dignified swagger. Fighting with Vegeta tonight would not be advisable. He was much more unstable than normal. As he neared the hysterical prince, he picked up his pace, sliding on the ice and emitting a slight grunt with the effort of not falling. Vegeta wasn't as spaced out as Nappa had hoped however, and he reached out and tripped the retreating warrior.

Raditz eyed the action wearily, not wanting to get involved but worried over the prospect of some very costly, not to mention conspicuous, damage. Vegeta's tone was low and dangerous, and unfortunately was in a specific Saiyan dialect known only to the elites. Raditz saw Nappa's face pale as the speech was given. He strained to hear more of the reprimand, silently cursing Vegeta for excluding them from what the problem was, although he also knew that Vegeta had every right to. When Vegeta had finished, he released his hold on Nappa, and pulled himself up from the ground, dusting himself off and wiping his nose. Nappa turned to Vegeta after he too had picked himself up and mumbled a reply. Vegeta's eyes burned with fury but his voice remained calm as he ground out a retort. Nappa slumped his shoulders and bowed his head, then simply turned and walked away. Raditz narrowed his eyes at the scene, rolling the strange speech silently off his own tongue, thinking to himself that one of the words he thought he caught had to do with honor. Honor about what he had no idea.

Goku was still chuckling as his brother helped him up. He continued to chuckle and pointed at the car that had been destroyed while Raditz's attention was pulled back to Vegeta who had slipped and fallen once again onto the pavement with a thud.

"Well, we've managed to do it again this year," Goku stated with a grin as Vegeta floundered around in the background.

Raditz turned his attention to the car. Sure enough, he noticed that the car they had totaled belonged to Krillin. Although the same situation hadn't presented itself, the same ending result had been met. Krillin was going to be pissed.

"Look, you two get going. You're bleeding and I don't think you should just go waltzing back in there." Raditz offered with a disapproving scowl. "Besides, you've both had quite enough to drink."

Goku and Vegeta regarded each other before turning their attention to Raditz.

"What about my wom…"

"Chi can bring Bulma back with her," Goku offered Vegeta while informing Raditz at the same time. "Just let Chi know that we'll meet them back at her place. I have a key." Goku finished with a shrug.

Raditz nodded and smirked at the two men. "You two get cleaned up," he ordered as he turned to walk away. Before he got too far, he heard two thuds and shouts of laughter coming from behind him. He turned around one last time to see Goku and Vegeta lying on the pavement yet again in a drunken heap.

His big problem now was trying to explain things to Krillin.

He was grateful to have someone like Yamcha.

*****

That's what I have ready for now, I should have the next chapter up in another day or so. It's a brand new bonus chapter too, so you'll have to be sure to tune in next time…And if you'd like to leave a note before then, that's fine too. And on a side note… I just have to say…Yamcha rocks.