By: Amisha N. Smith
Part 1
Whew! Man, am I beat! Between college, babysitting, cooking, cleaning, and trying to stay employed, it'd be a miracle if I'm ever to finish the fanfic I'm working on now! Well, at least it's halfway done. Till then, I'll just torture you unsuspecting readers with an old story I wrote back in the baby years of my fanfic writing. (With a little revision done, of course.) Is it any good, you ask? Well, that's up to you to decide. Like a true artist, I never give myself good reviews. After all, I'm not just writing these stories for my own selfish amusement, ya know. Okay okay, yes I am. So what? Just read the dang fic. By the way, this fic is rated PG, so if you don't like violence, cussing, or anyone beating up Ned Flanders (Don't ask, just read), then you'll be better off not reading this fic at all. And now, let's begin.
Vegeta Goes to Daddy Camp
Part 1
Vegeta's troubles all started on a beautiful Saturday morning. Trunks was supposed to be packing his bags that morning, because just yesterday Bulma had given him permission to spend two entire weeks sleeping over at Goku's house. That meant two weeks of fishing, swimming, camping out, and watching late night horror movies with his best buddy, Goten. Trunks was really excited about the sleep-over. So was Vegeta. He was the one that gave Trunks the idea of asking Bulma to let him stay at Goku's in the first place. That way he would have Bulma all to himself. Vegeta lay awake that morning, thinking about how blissful it will be to have some privacy time with his wife. He looked over at his sleeping mate, and grinned as he observed how beautiful she looked in her nightgown. How blissful it would be, indeed. Suddenly he hopped out of bed, left the room, and went straight for Trunks' room. He couldn't wait to get that damn kid out of here. He opened his son's bedroom door and flicked on the light.
"Hey! Wake up, you whelp!", Vegeta snarled. "It's time for you to start getting ready to...." Suddenly he stopped, his eyes growing wide with anger. He couldn't believe what he saw. His son was laying asleep in bed, with his thumb stuck in his mouth. Vegeta's face nearly grew purple with rage. His son!? A THUMBSUCKER!?
We'll just see about that, thought Vegeta. He went to the hall closet, reached up to the top shelf, and pulled down a machete. He then walked back to Trunks' room. He pulled his sleepy son out of bed and dragged him to the living room. Vegeta made Trunks sit on the couch in front of the living room table. He then sat down beside him. Trunks, groggy from sleep, rubbed his eyes and looked up at his father.
"Hey pops," he yawned, "what gives?"
"Be quiet!", Vegeta shot back. "Put your left hand on the table and stick out your thumb." When Trunks hesitated Vegeta yelled at him. "NOW! Don't make me have to repeat myself!" Now Trunks was scared, but he did what he was told anyway. Vegeta held his son's hand down on the table. He then looked at Trunks and began to speak.
"You know what?", he said to Trunks with an evil smirk. "Back on my home planet we had a permanent cure for thumbsuckers. Wanna know what it was?" Trunks didn't answer. He just looked at his hand that his father had pinned to the table, a huge lump forming in his throat. Then he saw his father raise his other hand, which was holding a machete. Trunks screamed louder than he had ever screamed before. He then covered his left hand with his right one and immediately started pleading with his father for mercy.
"No, dad! Don't do it! Please don't cut off my thumb! Please, dad!" Vegeta seemed unmoved by his son's pleas. He held the machete over Trunks' hand.
"If you don't move your hand," he growled, "I'm gonna cut off your other thumb as well." By now tears were streaming down Trunks' face.
"Please, dad!", he wailed. "I promise I'll never suck my thumb again! Ever! Just please don't cut it off!" Suddenly Bulma ran into the living room, followed by her father, Dr. Briefs. They had heard Trunks screaming and were coming to see what was the matter. When Bulma saw Vegeta holding a machete over her son's hand, she fairly flipped out.
"VEGETA!", Bulma yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Dr. Briefs got an eyeful of the situation and quickly became nervous. "Now young man," he said to Vegeta, "don't do anything foolish."
When Vegeta looked over at them Trunks saw his chance. He pulled back and his hand slipped out from under Vegeta's. He then ran towards his mother at top speed. Only when he was safe in his mother's arms did he dare to look fearfully back at Vegeta.
"Vegeta," Bulma said angrily. "What were you doing to Trunks?" Vegeta stood up and crossed his arms.
"Just helping him kick a bad habit", he replied with a smirk on his face. "Isn't that right, kid?" Trunks just looked back at Vegeta, his arms wrapped around Bulma's neck. Dr. Briefs reached over and took Trunks from Bulma. "Come on, sport", he said to Trunks. "We have to get you ready to go over Goku's house. Goten is waiting." Trunks followed his grandfather out of the living room, glad to get out of Vegeta's sight. When they left, Bulma turned and spoke to her husband. She was boiling over with rage. "Well, aren't you going to explain yourself?", she asked angrily.
"I told you, woman," Vegeta said. "I was just helping our son kick a bad habit." "What the hell are you talking about?", Bulma snapped. "No son of mine is going to be a thumbsucker!", Vegeta snapped back. "That's something only sissies do! My son is a Saiyan! And I'm gonna make sure he acts like a Saiyan! Even if I have to scare and beat the crap out of him to do it!" That said, Vegeta turned around and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
"Don't come back!", Bulma yelled after him. She walked into the kitchen to fix Trunks some pancakes, still fuming about Vegeta. There were times when the things Vegeta has done didn't make her nearly as mad as the fact that Vegeta still thought he was right after he did them. This was one of those times.
Goten stared intently out of the window, waiting for Trunks to arrive. He could barely contain his excitement. Two whole weeks of fun with his best friend! It was almost too good to be true! He sighed impatiently, wondering why Trunks wasn't there yet. Goku, who had just entered the room, smiled at him. He walked over and patted his son on the head.
"Hey there, champ", said Goku. "Staring out the window all day isn't gonna make Trunks get here any faster." Goten sighed again and looked up at his father. "I wonder what's taking him so long", he said. "Well," Goku replied, "maybe they stopped for gas or something. Don't worry, they'll be here." He then left the room, leaving his son to stare out the window some more. It was another ten minutes before Goten finally saw Bulma's car pull up in front of the house. "Mom! Dad!", Goten yelled. "They're here!" He ran out of the house and up to Bulma's car, ready to greet his chum. But when Trunks opened the car door and stepped out, Goten immediately knew something was wrong.
"Hey Trunks," he said, "what's up? Is something wrong? You're looking a little pale." "Uh, no. I'm fine", Trunks replied. "Come on, let's go watch cartoons. Inuyasha should just be coming on." Goten was clearly not convinced, but he didn't press the issue any further. He and Trunks ran inside the house, passing ChiChi, who had come out to greet Bulma. When Bulma got out of her car, though, ChiChi could easily tell that something was amiss. "Bulma?", she asked. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Bulma looked up at ChiChi, her eyes full of tears. "Oh, ChiChi", she said. "Sometimes I just don't know what to do about Vegeta."
"Vegeta?", said ChiChi. "I should have guessed as much. What has that scoundrel done this time?" Bulma filled ChiChi in on the events that took place in her house earlier that morning. ChiChi was shocked. "What is he, insane?", she asked Bulma.
"That's exactly what I was thinking", said Bulma. "How on earth could Vegeta turn out to be such a bad father?"
"Well," ChiChi said, "most people raise their young ones the exact same way they were raised when they were young." "Oh?", said Bulma. "And who raised Vegeta, huh? Hitler? Osama Bin Laden? No wait, I got it. Satan, right?"
"Close, but no", ChiChi said as she sadly shaked her head. "Vegeta was raised by Frieza most of his childhood."
Bulma paled ever so slightly. "F-Frieza!?", she said. "In that case, Vegeta couldn't possibly know how to raise a child." Bulma's head lowered. "What am I gonna do?", she asked in a teary voice.
ChiChi walked over to Bulma and gave her a hug. "Don't worry", ChiChi said. "There's still hope. Why don't you come inside? I think I may have an answer to your problem." Bulma followed ChiChi inside the house. She sat down in the living room while ChiChi went into the kitchen to get Bulma something to drink. Five minutes later ChiChi came back out holding a tray that had two steaming mugs of coffee on top of it. Laying between those mugs was a pamphlet of some sort. Bulma was instantly curious. "What's that?", she asked. ChiChi smiled and put the tray of coffee mugs down on the living room table in front of Bulma.
"Why don't you see for yourself?", she asked Bulma as she picked up a mug of coffee for herself. Bulma picked up the pamphlet and examined it. Inscribed on the front of it were the words: Daddy Camp. Where some of the best fathers in the world are born. "Daddy Camp? What the heck is that?", asked Bulma.
"It's where some men go when they're having problems learning how to raise their children", ChiChi replied. "You see, when Gohan was born, Goku had no idea how to raise a son. That's because he was practically an orphan growing up, and he didn't really have a father figure to teach him the basics about raising children. I wrote my father a letter, asking him what I should do. He sent me back that pamphlet." ChiChi leaned back and smiled, her brain full of memories. "I signed Goku up for six months at Daddy Camp. He was so nervous before he left. But after he returned, he had a lot more confidence when it came to raising Gohan. I think a few months at Daddy Camp would do Vegeta some good."
Bulma put the pamphlet down and sat back, shaking her head. "It could only do some good," she said, "if Vegeta agreed to go. And the chances of that are slimmer than none." "Aw, come on, Bulma", said a cheerful voice. Bulma looked up to see Goku standing behind ChiChi's chair. "I've seen you convince Vegeta to do some things I never thought he'd do. If anyone can convince Vegeta to go to Daddy Camp, it's you."
Bulma rolled her eyes heavenward. "That's easier said than done", she said. "Look at it this way", said ChiChi. "Can you really afford not to try?" Bulma looked at the pamphlet and sighed. "No", she said. "I guess not." "Bulma", Goku said in a gentle voice. When Bulma looked up, Goku continued.
"Vegeta has his many moods, but I truly believe thet he cares about you and Trunks more than anything else in the universe. Have a little faith in him. Go on and ask him to go. It may take a little doing, but in the end I'm sure he'll say yes." Bulma picked up her coffee mug and took a nervous sip. "I truly hope you're right", she said.
Vegeta stormed into the house and threw the towel that was around his neck into a corner. He was tired and, more importantly, he was hungry. "Bulma!", he yelled. "Hey, woman! Where are you? I'm hungry!" Dr. Briefs walked into the living room. "Bulma isn't back yet", he said. He looked, annoyed, at the towel that Vegeta had tossed onto the floor. "Why don't you try making your own lunch today?"
"Hmph", Vegeta replied as he stalked into the kitchen. "That woman's been gone for nearly three hours. What the hell could she be doing, anyway?" I imagine she's getting a break from you, thought Dr. Briefs. He didn't dare say that out loud, though. He knew that Bulma would be very upset if she came home and found out her husband had blasted her father into another dimension. Suddenly the door opened and Bulma walked in. "Daddy?", she asked. "Where's...."
"He's in the kitchen", Dr. Briefs said. "Shall I leave you two alone?"
"Umm, actually, I'd rather you stay here", Bulma replied. "I'm about to ask Vegeta a huge favor, and I don't quite know how he'll react to it." Dr. Briefs looked puzzled, but he stayed anyway. He sat down on the love seat while Bulma went into the kitchen where her husband was. About three minutes passed before Dr. Briefs heard Vegeta's voice boom from inside the kitchen: "ARE YOU CRAZY!? HOW DARE YOU MAKE SUCH A REQUEST!?" Vegeta stormed angrily out of the kitchen, a sandwich in one hand, a tall glass of water in the other, and Bulma one step behind him, pleading as she followed.
"It'd only be for a few months", she said. "It would help you learn to be a better father to Trunks. Please, Vegeta?" Dr. Briefs was curious. "What is it you want him to do?", he asked Bulma. "Here", Vegeta growled. He threw a strange pamphlet over to Bulma's father. "Read that crap."
Dr. Briefs picked up the pamphlet and began reading it. After a few minutes, he began to smile. "This doesn't look all too bad, if you ask me", he said. "I think you should go, Vegeta."
"Hmph", said Vegeta, his mouth full of sandwich. "Screw a Daddy Camp. I've got better things to do." Vegeta gulped down his water and got up to take his glass into the kitchen. Before he could leave Bulma put a hand on his arm.
"Vegeta", she said. Her eyes were beginning to water. "I know you don't consider going to a place like 'Daddy Camp' to be very Saiyan-like. But will you at least think about it? Hmmm?" Vegeta looked down at his wife. He'd probably never admit it, but he hated to see Bulma cry. "I'll think about it", he growled before exiting the room. Dr. Briefs walked over to Bulma and put an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, sweetheart", he said to his daughter. "I'm sure Vegeta will come around."
"I hope so", Bulma replied. She looked in the direction she saw Vegeta leave. "Okay, Vegeta", she said to herself. "I'm putting my faith in you, just like Goku said." She mentally crossed her fingers. "I know you'll make the right choice."
Vegeta trained late into the night inside the Gravity Chamber. Not necessarily because he wanted to become stronger, but because training helped him focus the thoughts that were running through his mind. He also knew that the more he trained the later it would be before he had to go back inside and give an answer to Bulma's ludicrous request. How could she ask the Prince of the Saiyans to go to a place called 'Daddy Camp'? What was she thinking? Vegeta got madder and madder the more he thought about it. Why would she ask such a thing in the first place? Did it have something to do with what happened with Trunks early this morning? Hmph, thought Vegeta. She's way too soft on that kid. I know how to raise the little whelp. I'll make a true Saiyan out of him. Suddenly he had a thought: What exactly did he know about raising children? He didn't really have a father figure to follow an example of. He only knew his own father at the very beginning of his life. After his father's murder, the rest of his upbringing came from.... Suddenly Vegeta stopped training. A horrible reality hit him square between the eyes. He was raised by Frieza. How could he possibly know how to raise a kid? A sudden thought sickened him: What if Frieza was raising Trunks through him? He could almost hear Frieza's cruel laughter. Vegeta lowered his head and growled angrily. He now knew what he had to do. Suddenly the door to the Gravity Capsule opened and Dr. Briefs stuck his head in. Vegeta knew what his father-in-law wanted to ask him. He decided to answer his question before it was asked.
"Tell Bulma," he snarled savagely, "that I've decided to go to that stupid camp." Dr. Briefs' jaw dropped. He could hardly believe what he had just heard. Suddenly Vegeta turned on him. "Dammit, didn't you just hear me!?", he yelled. "Are you senile or something!? GO DO WHAT I SAID!!"
"Y-yessir!", Dr. Briefs said before beating a hasty retreat. Vegeta, alone once again, became immersed in his thoughts. The last thing he wanted to be was as lousy a guardian to Trunks as Frieza was to him. But was this 'Daddy Camp' really necessary? Or was he being too soft? "Oh, well," Vegeta said out loud to himself. "Better soft than sorry." Suddenly Vegeta froze, his eyes growing wide with disbelief. I can't believe I just said that, he thought. He looked around to make sure no one had heard him. He then draped a towel around his neck and, shaking his head, went for the house.
Vegeta woke up early the next morning, alone in bed. Delicious smells were coming from the kitchen. Vegeta smirked to himself. He knew that Bulma was trying to appease and reward him by fixing him his favorite breakfast. He heard footsteps coming towards the door. Dr. Briefs?
No, he was supposed to have left town that morning. Suddenly, Vegeta knew. Bulma was serving him breakfast in bed! Vegeta almost laughed out loud. That woman, he thought to himself. He got up and opened the bedroom door for Bulma, startling her and almost making her drop the tray of food she was carrying.
"Vegeta!", she said. "Did I wake you?"
"Kinda", Vegeta replied. He stared eagerly at the tray of food Bulma was carrying. He was starving. Bulma handed him the tray.
"Now Vegeta," Bulma said, "remember to eat slowly."
"Yeah, yeah", Vegeta said as he stuffed an entire sausage into his mouth. Bulma rolled her eyes upward. Suddenly the doorbell rang. "Coming", Bulma chimed as she went to open the front door. ChiChi and Goku were standing on the welcome mat. "Well, how did it go?", ChiChi asked nervously.
"Well....", Bulma replied. "He said yes!" ChiChi and Bulma laughed and hugged each other. Goku stood behind ChiChi and pretended like he wasn't as nervous as ChiChi was. "See? I told you to have a little faith", he said cheerfully. Everyone turned and looked as Vegeta entered the living room.
Upon seeing Goku, Vegeta folded his arms and immediately shifted into his 'I'm superior to you so don't mess with me' mood. "What do you want, Kakkarot?", he growled.
"Hey, Vegeta!", Goku said. "You're going to love Daddy Camp. It's so much fun...."
"What!?", Vegeta snarled. "How did you find out? Bulma! Did you...."
"Pipe down, Vegeta", ChiChi spoke up. "We already knew about it. We were the ones that gave Bulma the idea in the first place." Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "You gave Bulma this idea?", he growled savagely.
"Um, guys", said Bulma. "Why don't you drop by later? I have some things I want to discuss with Vegeta."
"Sure", ChiChi said. "Come on, Goku." Goku waved goodbye as he and ChiChi left. Vegeta growled as he watched them leave. He hated them both. When they were gone, Bulma walked up to Vegeta and gave him some money. "What's this?", Vegeta asked. "That's for your plane ticket", said Bulma. "I called and had you registered for Daddy Camp earlier this morning. You're to be there before noontime on Monday."
"What!? You mean, tomorrow!?", Vegeta said. "I don't even have enough time to pack my bags!"
"Oh, don't worry", said Bulma. "I've already packed your bags for you. We'll leave for the airport at six o' clock tonight." Vegeta folded his arms and looked down at his wife, annoyed. "Woman, I'm already fed up with this issue", he growled.
"I know", Bulma said. She smiled and kissed Vegeta on the lips. "I love you", she said. "Hmph, don't try to soften me up, woman", Vegeta said to her. He kissed her back, anyway.
Vegeta was growing more and more restless as minutes went by. He and Bulma had already paid for the plane ticket, and now they were sitting down and waiting for the announcer to call Vegeta's plane number over the intercom. Vegeta looked around and observed the cluttered scene before him. Children were crying, people were complaining to security about lost luggage and wallets, and some wierdo was walking around handing flowers and spuoting poetry to anyone who will listen and expecting them to give him money for it. The guy looked like he was headed in Vegeta's direction, but the look Vegeta gave him told him to act otherwise. Vegeta sighed wearily as another five minutes went by. He made a mental note to blast both Kakkarot and his miserable shrew of a wife into the next dimension when he got back for giving Bulma this crazy idea. Suddenly the announcer called Vegeta's plane number: "Flight three fifty one! Route to Boston, Massachusettes! Flight three fifty one!" Bulma turned towards her husband. "Vegeta", she said. "Yeah, yeah. I heard", Vegeta said. He got up and headed for the plane line. "Vegeta?", Bulma said.
"What is it, woman?", Vegeta replied grumpily. Bulma reached up and kissed him for the second time that day. "Good luck", she said. "I'll call you every day." Vegeta turned and headed for the plane line. Bulma watched him go, a sad look on her face. She wondered if he was mad at her. Before she turned to leave, Vegeta turned and looked at her. He smirked at her and gave her a wink. Bulma smiled back at him. When she turned around to leave, she felt much better than she had a few seconds ago.
Vegeta boarded the plane and took his seat, wondering how he let Bulma talk him into this in the first place. Then he remembered that he was doing this so that he wouldn't end up being the worst father in the universe. Vegeta did a mental recap on his life. A lot has happened since he first started courting Bulma. He used to care about nothing but becoming immortal and ruling the universe. Now look at him. A stupid boy sitting behind Vegeta was taunting him by throwing peanuts over his seat and chanting 'nya nya nya nya nyaaa'. Vegeta turned and warned him against any further assault by flipping him the bird and calling him an ugly expletive. He then turned back around and grinned evilly when the boy started to cry. At least he hadn't gone totally soft. As the plane took off, Vegeta laid his head back and concentrated on going to sleep. Little did he know that somebody sitting in the other aisle two seats behind him was watching him very closely..
