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Chapter 2: The Galactic Patrolman
Vegeta gave a short laugh. "You're going to stop me? How funny,"
Jaco spaced his legs out into a V-shape and raised his arms straight above his head. "Prepare yourself!" He then proceeded to stretch his arms straight out to his sides with his fists clenched. "I, Jaco, will defeat you in battle and bring you to justice!"
Jaco's sweeping movements did nothing but further anger the Saiya-jin prince. "Enough of this nonsense!" he screamed. Vegeta flexed his arms at his sides and dashed toward the alien. Vegeta threw a quick high kick that, to his surprise, met Jaco's forearm instead of his head. Vegeta hopped back from the alien for the moment. He smirked, and brushed his thumb quickly across his bottom lip. "How unexpected. But you won't last long,"
Vegeta shot off again at Jaco. The prince began his assault with a flurry of punches. Jaco gracefully moved his head back and forth as he dodged them. Vegeta ended the exchange with a body kick that again slammed into Jaco's forearm. The pale blue alien found a small opening as Vegeta finished his kick and slammed a gloved fist into Vegeta's nose. The blow snapped the Saiya-jin's head back, but it surprised him more than hurt. Jaco followed up his punch with a sweep that took out Vegeta's legs and left him flat on his back. Jaco jumped into the air with his right fist cocked back next to his head. Vegeta rolled away and launched himself into the air. Jaco's fist smashed into the dirt where Vegeta once lay and kicked up dust all around them. Bulma, who was still standing a few yards away, shielded her eyes from the dirt that was kicked up.
Vegeta landed and glared at the pale blue alien. "Enough of these games," he spat. "I'm done with you," Jaco stood and turned his head in the Saiya-jin's direction but didn't say a word. Vegeta dashed at Jaco and connected with a crushing blow to the alien's jaw. Jaco flew backward and skidded across the dirt. Vegeta continued with his momentum and hit the ground running toward him. Jaco, who was laying on his back, saw Vegeta with a handful of yellow energy as he closed in on him. Vegeta released the blast and watched it fly towards its target. Jaco's eyes widened as the energy blast closed in on him. He quickly regained his composure and gritted his teeth. He placed his arms behind him and launched himself toward the blast feet first. Jaco's feet connected with the blast and sent it flying up into the air. The ball of energy exploded brightly in the sky above them.
The explosion from the blast whipped up a huge gust of wind that blew dirt, leaves and small rocks around the battlefield. Bulma again raised an arm to shield her face from the debris. "What is going on?!" she shouted. "Who are these guys?"
Jaco pushed himself up off of the ground and wiped the purple blood that had begun leaking from his mouth. Vegeta stood near the edge of the crater that his spaceship had created. "It's funny," he said as he began walking toward Jaco. "This is the longest workout i've had in a while, but I think its time we end this," Vegeta raised his right arm and pointed his index finger at Jaco. The Saiya-jin shot off three quick bursts of yellow energy from his finger. The three blasts connected with Jaco's left shoulder, right thigh, and left forearm almost simultaneously. Jaco stumbled backward, allowing Vegeta time to attack. The prince grabbed Jaco's white shirt and lifted him off of the ground. With only a scowl, Vegeta rammed a fist into Jaco's stomach. The alien let out a cry of anguish as well as a mixture of purple blood and spit. "Did you really think you could stand in my way?" Vegeta asked. "Did you really think you'd be a match for the prince of all Saiya-jins?"
Jaco could only gasp for breath. He grabbed Vegeta's clenched fist with both hands in attempt to free himself. The prince lowered Jaco a bit and punched him right between the eyes. Jaco fell from Vegeta's grasp and collapsed on the ground.
Bulma cowered next to her car as she watched Vegeta kick Jaco in the air. The alien fell back to Earth like a rag doll, but before he hit the ground, Vegeta landed another kick that sent Jaco rolling across the ground. Jaco dug his nails into the dirt and to stop his momentum. He managed to prop himself up on his left arm and looked up to see Vegeta striding toward him with a smirk on his face.
"Looks like this is the end of the road for you spaceman," he laughed. He raised his right arm in front of his body and a point of energy began to grow within his palm.
"Vegeta!" Bulma, who had come to Jaco's aid, shouted. "Thats enough!"
"Stay out of this! Get out of my way or i'll destroy the both of you!" Vegeta yelled; arm still outstretched.
Bulma walked in front of Jaco and stood between him and Vegeta. "Stop," she pleaded with the Saiya-jin prince. Vegeta fired off a blast at her feet and continued to advance. Bulma jumped back and fell backward over Jaco's injured body. Vegeta again filled his palm with scorching yellow energy as he walked. "I've just about had enough of the both of you. Now move out of the way, woman!"
Before Vegeta could react, Jaco extended his right arm toward him and shot an invisible ki blast that knocked the Saiya-jin backward. Jaco dashed off toward Vegeta but the prince recovered before Jaco could attack and the pale blue alien got a face full of Vegeta's fist.
Bulma began racing over into the fray and pulled a handgun from the holster on her hip. She fired off two shots into Vegeta's chest to distract him from landing a killing blow on Jaco's ragged body. Vegeta staggered back a few steps as the bullets hit him. One of the bullets fell onto the ground, while the other stayed lodged in chest. Vegeta cried out in pain and shot a ki blast blindly in Bulma's direction. The blast missed Bulma by yards over her head. Bulma made her way over to Jaco and knelt down at his side while she kept her gun focused on Vegeta. "Vegeta! I said stop! If we keep fighting like this we'll never get the Dragon Balls!"
"A Saiya-jin never backs down from a fight!" he screamed. A barely visible purple aura formed around him and a vein on his forehead became more pronounced. "This inferior alien scum made the mistake of challenging me to battle and it is my duty to destroy him!"
Bulma looked down at the ground and tears began to form in her eyes. Small patches of dirt darkened beneath her as her tears stained the earth. She let out a sniffle and looked up at the proud Saiya-jin warrior. "Vegeta.. Please. He's very important to my family,"
Vegeta's expression softened a little. His mind wandered to when he was a child. He had just left his sleeping quarters to investigate a strange sound coming from the floor beneath. To his horror he saw Beerus, the God of Destruction, using his father as a footstool. His father, the champion and king of the Saiya-jin race was reduced to a lowly servant. Frightened, Vegeta immediately returned to his quarters and attempted to force the scene from his mind.
The very faint, purple aura that had surrounded Vegeta receded. He turned away from Bulma and Jaco and began to walk back toward the small hut that he had occupied the night before. "Do what you will," he said.
"T-thank you, Vegeta," Bulma said with a small smile. She rolled Jaco onto his back and stood up. She jogged over to her now slightly damaged car and rummaged around in the back seat. She returned to Jaco with a box of first aid supplies to tend to his wounds. Bulma used some prepackaged medicated wipes to clean up Jaco's cuts and scrapes; much to his dismay.
After having his cuts cleaned up, an aching Jaco managed to stand and dusted himself off. "This isn't over," he said solemnly. "It is my mission to keep him from destroying the planet. He's dangerous,"
"I know," Bulma began, as she packed away her medical supplies. "But he's going to help me find the Dragon Balls,"
"Excuse me? Dragon what?" Jaco asked.
Bulma sighed and told the legend of the Dragon Balls to Jaco. After the explanation, the alien looked over toward the hut that Vegeta had entered, and back to Bulma. "Did you tell him all of this?"
"Well, yeah," Bulma said. "He saw one of my Dragon Balls and asked about them. I didn't think it would be a big deal until I saw the look in his eyes after I explained them,"
"Who knows why he could want those. Saiya-jins are ruthless killing machines that live to fight. Letting him anywhere near these stones is just asking for trouble," Jaco said. Bulma furrowed her brow and looked away from Jaco. "I know its a big risk, but.." she paused. "I feel like he could be a huge help,"
"Why do you even want to find all of these Dragon Balls exactly?" Jaco asked.
Bulma turned to him and smiled. "I'm wishing for the perfect man of course!"
Jaco blinked a couple times before saying anything. "You're jeopardizing the future of the human race so you can find a boyfriend?"
"Not just any boyfriend! The perfect boyfriend!" she said as she clasped her hands together against her right cheek.
Jaco sighed. "If you insist on finding all of them, and you insist on taking him with you, then I have no choice but to stay with you to make sure he doesn't cause any trouble,"
Bulma smiled. "Thank you, Jaco. We should get going. I need to get my things from the hut over there before we leave," Jaco nodded and walked over to wait by the car while Bulma made her way back to the hut. Vegeta had left the door open after leaving the battle with Jaco. Dirt, leaves and rocks had been blown into the small one room hut during the fight. As Bulma entered, her foot sent a rock skipping across the wooden floor. Vegeta shot up from the bed he was laying on and startled Bulma.
"Will you quit doing that!" she shouted.
"Well if you and your friends stop startling me than you wouldn't have to worry about it!" he yelled back. Bulma exhaled loudly and began to gather her things from the floor. "We're leaving," She re-capsulized her television, and sleeping bag, grabbed her blue bag that contained the Dragon Balls, and stood. "Lets go,"
Vegeta scowled and followed her out of the hut. He walked for a few feet but stopped upon seeing Jaco standing by Bulma's car. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm coming along to keep you under control," Jaco said.
"Hmph. Keep me under control? I suggest you stay out of my way or i'll crush like I did before!" Vegeta said, becoming irritated. Bulma turned and glared at Vegeta for a moment. The prince turned his head away but followed her toward the car anyway.
"Hmm. The radar says the Dragon Ball is still quite a bit away. Oh well, in this car we'll be there in no time!" Bulma said happily. Jaco sat in the passenger seat of the car with his elbow sitting in the window opening with his head in his hand. Vegeta was in the back seat with his arms crossed as he stared out the window.
The peaceful drive was soon interrupted. Bulma screamed, swerved the car, and drove it off of the side of the road. The vehicle dove down into ravine next to the road and crashed into the trunk of a large oak tree. Vegeta and Jaco both exited the car quickly and looked unhappy with Bulma as she slowly pulled herself from the drivers seat.
"Why did you do that?" Jaco asked.
"I'm glad to see you're alright too," Bulma said sarcastically. She brushed some lavender hair from her face and began jogging back up to the road. Jaco and Vegeta both eyed each other wearily before following her together. Neither one wanted to be behind or in front of the other so they walked side by side, a few feet apart. When they reached the road, Bulma could seen kneeling down next to a large, brown turtle that sat in the middle of the road.
"Hey guys! This turtle is lost. He says he can offer us a reward if we take him home," she said. She popped up and ran over to Vegeta and Jaco. "A Dragon Ball!"
"And how do you propose we get him home?" Jaco asked.
The next thing Jaco knew, he had the turtle on his back as he carried him down the dirt road. "So, how far do we have to go to get you home?"
"If you can just take me to the beach, I can swim home and return with your reward," the turtle said.
"The beach?!" Bulma exclaimed. "That's like ten miles from here!"
"If someone wouldn't have crashed the car then it wouldn't have taken so long," Jaco said.
"Hey! I swerved to avoid the turtle! You would have done the same thing!" Bulma retorted.
Realizing he wouldn't win the fight, Jaco just shook his head and continued on with the turtle on his back.
