Vegeta Takes on the FEI .
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, or its characters. They are property of Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation Ltd. I also do not own any of the actual 3- day eventers. I also do not own, and am not author of the books mentioned here. These people also exist in real life. No money is being made from this story, so suing is pointless.
"Denotes Speech"
'Denotes thoughts'
Chapter 7
It was seven forty-five in the morning. A peaceful Vegeta Briefs snuggled back against the fluffy pillows trying to ignore those far away voices trying to tear him away from the bliss of sleep. He'd already slept through his alarm call – of which had woken everyone else up. Trunks Vegeta Briefs now sat on his father's rear end, one brow lifted.
"I can't believe it. He's gonna be late."
"Your 'Tousan can't be late can he Trunks? I mean… he gets kicked out of all events if he doesn't turn up… right?" Goten blinked up at his fellow demi- saiyan. They'd been trying to rouse the Ouji for the past fifteen minutes with no luck. Originally the short saiya-jin wanted to be awake for seven; but had evidently decided the bed was more comfortable.
Unfortunately the dressage part of the trials started at nine. Vegeta's class also started nine, which left them less than an hour and a half to prepare Socks and get him warmed up ready for his turn.
When all hope just seemed to be lost, Bulma waltzed back into the room with a plate full of breakfast. The short ouji's nose started to twitch in reaction to the tantalizing smell coming from the fried breakfast. Goten and Trunks stood there wafting the steam toward Vegeta. A few seconds later, the prince of the saiya-jin abruptly sat up, eyes wide in the prospect of food.
Bulma smirked in triumph, reaching for a forkful of scrambled eggs, only to find her hands empty. She looked at her fingers that were still twitching from where they were holding the plate of food. She glanced up only to see the last of the breakfast disappear into Vegeta's stomach.
"You know… that was MY breakfast…" the blue haired scientist grumbled
"A saiya-jin has to eat you know." Vegeta grinned cheesily, while glancing at the clock that now read seven – fifty. The short saiya-jin fell out of the bed in a panic.
"Why didn't anyone wake me up!" He shouted, causing a brief tremor to rattle the window panes of the manor house.
"We tried…" Goten blinked slightly "But we couldn't wake you up."
"Yeah 'Tousan, we even tried water bombs."
Vegeta blinked, looking at the bed realizing indeed that it was fairly soggy. He sweatdropped a little before lunging at the youngest demi- saiya-jin, shaking his small frame vigorously.
"You go and fetch Kakarotto. Tell him to use his instant transmission to get directly to me; I'll need his help to get Socks ready."
Goten's head wobbled back and fourth and the chibi walked semi- straightly out of the room. The vigorous shaking had made his brain spin, making it very difficult for him to see straight.
By the time Goten had left the room, the saiya-jin no ouji had already prepared himself with two layers of clothing, one to take off after he'd finished plaiting Socks and his show gear, minus the stock, top hat (that actually fit OVER his hair gasp) and tails (A/N: Not the little orange fox, the long dressage jacket that's cut short at the front)
Trunks found himself violently dragged to his left, courtesy of his father. He waved meekly to his stunned mother as they flew off to the stables via the now open window. Bulma's jaw dropped slightly… then she shrugged.
"He's probably going to need that extra help to be ready in time anyway."
At the breakfast table, it was evident that there were people missing. Yamcha scratched his head with the fork that was in his right hand, promptly getting it stuck in his hair. A few tugs later, the utensil was released, along with a clump of black hair.
"Bulma… where are the saiya-jin?" Krillin looked up from his plate, realizing for once his meal hadn't been stolen from under his nose by pint-sized demi-saiyans and also noting a normal human sized full breakfast has been ordered… with the exception of Gohan, who just sat there sweatdropping.
Bulma glanced around at the curious stares she was getting, she started to sweat nervously.
"I think they woke up early to have a look around…" she started
"I just hope Trunks and Goten don't cause too much havoc." Chichi sighed
"I'm sure Goku-san is looking after them." Tien spoke up, with a reassuring smile.
"I hope so." Chichi speared a sausage violently with a fork. Tien visibly gulped, turning back to his own food.
MEANWHILE …
"Ve-geeeetaaaaaa! Why do I get the smelly job?" Goku whined while scooping another pile of horse – excrement into the wheel barrow with some soiled bedding.
"Because, Trunks knows how to groom Socks right, Trunks taught Goten how to groom him and you can't plait right. Besides… you're much more suited for lifting the heavy load." Vegeta snickered at the intentional compliment, in hopes of boosting Goku's ego in a way that benefited the Ouji.
"Wow really? So I have the best job suited to me?"
"Yes Kakarotto. I can't have Socks being in anything other than top condition for the test."
"Okay." He picked up another pile of soiled shavings, pausing to have a mini staring competition with Firedance. Vegeta was plaiting Socks' tail, his mane already in perfect tight buns. Trunks and Goten were just finishing up on making Socks coat gleam in the early morning sun.
"Finished!" Vegeta folded the long thin plait back up under itself, securing it to the main plait on Socks dock. He paused to look at his watch. "Eight forty-five. Not bad time." He glanced up at the demi-saiya-jin "You'd better get back to the others before Chichi has a heart- attack. I don't fancy having to blow my chances by those idiots messing up the schedule."
"Aww…. But..."
"No 'but's' brat. Off with you."
Trunks kicked the ground a little before complying with his father's wishes. The two demi-saiya-jin headed off to the arena stands where the other Z-fighters ki's were travelling toward. Goku lifted a brow before turning to the shorter saiya-jin with a questioning look on his face.
"?"
"You're my head groom Kakarotto. I can't be seen doing everything myself." Vegeta muttered to the larger saiya-jin while slipping the crownpiece of the double bridle over Socks ears. He gently slid the dressage saddle into place just behind Socks' withers, tugging up the white pad. He then secured the short leather girth to a respectable hole to prevent the saddle from slipping.
The short saiya-jin no ouji literally hopped into the rest of his show gear, then led the chestnut out of his stable. Socks waited patiently for Vegeta to hop aboard, which the ouji did – only when no one was looking. He glanced down at Goku, perking a brow.
"Close the stable door after me and go meet up with the others. I don't want anyone ruining this brilliant surprise." He rubbed his hands together in glee, and then nudged his heels against Socks sides.
"Whatever you say Vegeta." Goku saluted the top- hat wearing saiya-jin before using his instant transmission to catch up with Goten and Trunks. Vegeta shook his head, moving off to the warm up arena.
"Bulma… you said there was going to be a surprise this morning…" Krillin rested his chin on his hands, which were on the railing right next to the barricades that stopped the crowd getting to close to the dressage arena.
The blue haired scientist glanced at her watch and then lifted a brow "Well the surprise should be coming up next…"
"Hi everyone!" an annoyingly happy voice cut into the conversation
"Goku!" Krillin looked up at his old friend "Where have you been?"
"Oh you know…seeing what there is to do here…." The larger saiya-jin waved a cooked chicken leg in the air "Getting snacks …"
"Well you already missed the first two competitors." Yamcha spoke up. Goku just grinned in that 'all knowing all seeing' way "You obviously aren't that bothered…" The scarred warrior sweatdropped as Goku inhaled the meat off three chicken legs.
"First Call for competitor #3"
"Aiyayayayayaa!" Goku squealed in excitement, his arms flapping in random directions. This caused particles of food to splatter all over the crowd around him. Yamcha slowly wiped a piece of chicken – fluid off his face, twitching in disgust. He took a double take at Goku, Goten and Trunks who were now all wearing various items covered in Vegeta and horse pictures.
"Uh…. Right…. I'm not gonna ask…"
Their attention was drawn back to the ring as a rather short rider on a stunning chestnut entered the arena at a collected trot. The rider seemed to just stick to the saddle, hardly even budging. Krillin raised a brow and turned to Bulma.
"From what I've seen so far, that rider looks to be even better than the last two…"
"Ehehehehee…" Bulma chuckled nervously "Well I think he does stand one of the best chances…"
The rider came to a halt. It was customary to remove ones hat in a salute to the judges before the test really started. Both the previous riders looked like regular men in their mid thirties. The short rider slowly but confidently reached for the brim of the top-hat, glancing toward the stands where the Z-senshi were sat.
"Whoa…" Tien shuddered at the look that was shot their way, experiencing chills running up his spine.
There was the sound of multiple jaws hitting the floor just as the classical music kicked in. The rider had lifted the top hat to reveal a recognizable flame of dark brown hair. Krillin Tien and Yamcha sat there in shock, unable to move a muscle as the short saiya-jin prince started the test. Goku on the other hand had pulled out a pair of pom-poms from thin air and was now cheering on the smaller saiya-jin.
Vegeta rode a steady collected trot around and down the long side of the arena, performing different steps within the gait to make Socks look like he was floating and dancing at the same time. The Z fighters managed to gather their wits as Vegeta performed passage, where the horse trotted across the arena from one corner to the other, but with his body parallel to the sides, so he was actually going lateral. They slowed down as they approached the centre of the area, trotting on the spot with not a hoof put forward.
Socks stepped out of the stationary trot into an extended stride, turning left at the end of the arena. It was time for the canter. First of all, they rode half a figure of eight, changing the leading canter leg as they crossed the middle of the arena. Vegeta decided to be smart now. As they crossed back across the diagonal of the arena, he alternated the canter lead every stride.
"Kami…." Yamcha muttered
"Horses can skip?" Krillin rubbed his eyes. Surely enough, Socks was bouncing from one foreleg leading to the other.
"That's just… weird… the entire situation is weird…" Tien whispered to himself. Gohan looked at his mother, who was twitching. The elder demi- saiya-jin shrugged turning back to watch Vegeta's dressage. It was amazing really the saiya-jin no Ouji proved that he could do almost anything he set his mind to.
"Now comes one of the hardest movements in a dressage test." Bulma clasped her hands together, watching as horse and rider circled a twenty meter diameter circle, then down to ten. The others looked at Bulma in confusion.
"The Pirouette" The Z- senshi and families looked back to where Vegeta was approaching the centre line in the arena. Not knowing what to expect of the pirouette, they were more than shocked to find Socks, cantering a zero diameter circle. Socks hind legs remained almost stationary as he turned on the spot, performing a pirouette worthy of the highest mark or lowest score in the test. A round of applause rung around the stands as they rode away from the tight movement. They shifted back to trot as they made their way up the centre line again and halting. Once again, Vegeta took his hat of to the judges before trotting out of the arena.
The Z-senshi were all gathered near the boxes that Socks and Firedance were staying in. Most didn't want to believe what they had just seen; but had no choice really. Bulma was gently patting Socks' neck while Goku was busy avoiding a rather feisty Firedance that was adamant about snacking on the large saiya-jin's gi. Vegeta on the other hand was grinning at the state of shock he'd reduced most of the group to.
"I still don't believe it." Yamcha rubbed his eyes as Goku ran past, arms and legs flailing in all directions before he hid behind the smaller saiya-jin.
"Well, someone has to show those pathetic earthlings how to do it, and it may as well be me." Vegeta snickered. "Tomorrow is roads and trials with Cross country. We already know that I have the lowest score on the dressage."
Krillin blinked "So you lost?"
"No, cueball!" Vegeta rolled his eyes "the lower your score, the better. Points are awarded for faults. Even Kakarotto knows that." Goku popped up behind the smaller saiya-jin, grinning slightly.
"Me and my big mouth…" Krillin muttered. A low rumble cut through the air, slowly increasing in volume. Many pairs of eyes turned to the large orange-clad saiya-jin; whom of which grinned nervously.
It was obviously time to return to the manor house for something to eat.
The next day around lunchtime, everyone was packed into the stands at the start/finish line of the main cross country event. The Z – fighters were once again in the front row, having a perfect view of the large mobile video screen. The main cross country course itself was very large, so there were screens set up in certain spectator area's to keep everyone updated on the competitor's progress.
Twenty competitors had already gone before the Prince of the Saiya-jin, whom of which was at the starting line waiting for the signal. Today he rode Socks again. Socks is not a brilliant jumping animal, but could tackle the smaller cross country obstacles. Vegeta was saving the smaller horse to blow everyone away tomorrow.
He looked down at his watch and then something caught his eye. The countdown to begin his round started. As soon as the green light went off, they went from standstill to flat out gallop. Socks knew the drill; he just had to make sure that he got over everything first time. Vegeta's hair spiked out more than usual as they loped along at a gentle gallop, he wasn't concerned about the time. He knew that Socks was fitter than any other horse in the competition. That was just a side effect from hanging around the Saiya-jin no Ouji for too long.
The short saiya-jin glanced about as they sailed over a trailer of flowers. A gust of wind rushed past that was not the air current he was feeling. He cocked his head slightly trying to locate the source of the new wind. A shadow passed over their heads causing Vegeta to look up.
"Kakarotto…" He said bluntly, not the least bit affected by the terrain. The larger Saiya-jin was flying overhead in an attempt to race him. Spectators gasped as the man in orange was flying just over the competitors head. Vegeta looked back where he was going, in time to notice an enclosed jump. It was a water trough inside an open stabling area… however he'd have to duck to get across cleanly.
Goku grinned, waving at Vegeta as he flew about four feet above the elder Saiya-jin.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" He grinned.
"Heads up Kakarotto." Vegeta said simply before assuming a posture very close to Socks' neck. Goku looked up just in time to see a very solid wooden beam heading straight for him. The larger saiya-jin had a brief feeling of Deja-vu before he collided with the offensive inanimate object. While Vegeta took off over the brow of the hill, Goku slowly fell out of the air, holding his throbbing nose with a hand, while rubbing a bruised forehead with the other.
"Itai! What IS that thing made of?" the orange clad saiya-jin whined before taking off once again to catch up with Vegeta and Socks
MEANWHILE…
"Ouch." Tien commented as he watched the large video-screen
"Yeah… I can't believe that thing didn't collapse on contact with Goku's head!" Krillin exclaimed.
Vegeta on the other hand was doing very well. He'd had to hold back for a little while so he did not overtake the previous competitor. That would result in disqualification. They were happily prancing along with the finish line in sight. It took only a few minutes for the previous competitor to finish their round. He then set Socks into overdrive, pulling out all the energy reserves to get a nice moderately speedy gallop.
As Vegeta approached the finish line, several things happened all at once. The short saiya-jin passed the line, causing a huge round of applause as Socks slowed to a walk. The next thing was an orange blur seemed to have miscalculated its flight path. A sickening rip of rope and the whine of twisting metal filled the air. Vegeta glanced up in time to see Goku tangled up into the Start/Finish banner.
"Hi Vegeta." Goku waved sheepishly, sporting a lump on his head and a black eye from where he ran into the wooden beam.
"Kakarotto." Vegeta acknowledged the other saiya-jin, just in time for the remaining metal post to randomly decide to fling the younger saiya-jin into the stands. The remainder of the banner came away from the pole as Goku soared through the air, landing with a crash between Yamcha and Krillin.
Vegeta stared at the scene and then shook his head. "Baka."
Vegeta stared at the larger saiya-jin sitting next to him, while shielding his own mound of food with an arm to prevent 'Kakarotto crumbs' from contaminating his food. He ate slowly, surveying the damage that the innocent banner had inflicted on Goku earlier. The saiya-jin no Ouji really didn't understand how the large saiya-jin could possibly manage to miss a bright yellow and red banner.
"It amazes me how unobservant you can be sometimes Kakarotto" Vegeta sighed, eating an entire steak in two bites. Goku turned to the shorter saiya-jin and grinned with a mouth full of mashed potatoes.
"Ugh." Vegeta shuddered while turning away. At least he was looking forward to tomorrow, as show jumping was his favourite discipline.
It was a beautiful day. The balmy breeze was neither too warm nor too cold and the sun settled, peeking out from behind a fluffy cloud. Vegeta, the Saiya-jin no Ouji sat perched upon the 'hell horse' known as Firedance. The larger saiya-jin had vacated the area pretty swiftly seen as the smaller Anglo-Arab thought Goku's gi was a healthy food source.
He was currently in the practice arena with five other competitors, all of which were on larger horses. One male competitor claimed that a horse of fifteen-one hands could never hope to get around the course. Of course, he was proven wrong. Vegeta had altered the height of the practice jump from four and a half feet to five and a half feet. This was larger than the actual fences they'd be clearing in the main arena.
Firedance promptly popped over the fence that was as big as himself as if it was a big skip in his stride. Both horse and rider turned toward the other competitor with large cheesy grins plastered on their faces. This caused jaws to drop all around as the saiya-jin no ouji returned the jump to its previous height.
"Vegeta Briefs, report to waiting station immediately" the voice called over a private speaker overlooking the practice arena.
Vegeta smirked, giving the opponent a two fingered salute before trotting off to wait for his turn.
"Well Pete, I can say I'm surprised at the horse our newest competitor has chosen to tackle this course."
"Yes Roger. This small, but nice looking animal stands at only fifteen- one hands. We don't expect them to do well, however we could be mistaken."
"That's right Pete. This man we have never heard of previously and yet he is currently sitting comfortably at the top of our leader board."
"Here comes Mr. Vegeta Briefs now."
A round of applause came from the crowd as the previous competitor left and the next pair strode in at a confident trot. Vegeta glanced about with a nonchalant shrug. He set Firedance into a bouncy canter, waiting for the start buzzer.
The buzzer sounded and they were off. Firedance was not cantering but more like 'bounding' toward the first jump, which was a wall. The crowd held its breath as Firedance's front hooves left the ground. All were shocked when the deceptively small horse floated with at least two feet to spare aver the jump. There was a moment of silence as this fact sunk into everyone's brain. At first they thought it was a fluke, however Firedance took the round into his hooves. Vegeta just went with the flow; he knew that the small half-Arab was perfectly capable of completing this course with little input from his rider. They sailed over the white bar and hedge, causing the crowd to cheer.
"Heh that got you stupid humans interested." Vegeta muttered as they strided towards a triple combination.
"Well would you look at that Pete! We were sorely mistaken, I have a strong feeling that this man will walk away very pleased!"
Meanwhile, Vegeta was taking in the scenery as he sailed over an oxer, followed by a spread with a raised back rail and a simple upright consisted of planks. The short saiya-jin continued around the course, unaware of the impending danger looming almost directly overhead.
ELSEWHERE…
"It's time to show that sorry 'super saiyan' who's in charge around here!" a familiar raspy voice cut through the air along with the sound of something lashing against a metal floor.
A single child tugged on his mother's hand as he stared up at the funny looking blimp up in the air.
"Mommy look!"
"Oh … my… gosh!" The woman stood there mouth agape as the 'blimp' started to land. Clawed legs unfolded from underneath the oval structure, landing with minimal damage to the surroundings. A hatch on top of the ship opened as creatures started to fly out from the extra-terrestrial craft.
Anyone that had been returning to their seats in the stands with refreshments let out screams of horror as they fled for cover.
"Well well, looks like all our little friends are here too." The raspy voice spoke up as a series of beeps confirmed the location of some old foes.
The Z-fighters tensed up as Vegeta was clearing the last fence. A huge roar erupted from the crowd as Firedance passed the finish line at a healthy gallop. Something was not right in the air. Even Vegeta looked bothered as he exited the main arena.
Then it hit Krillin, those power levels… they were ALL familiar. He turned to Tien Yamcha and Goku with a grave look to his features
"If those power levels are who we think they are… I think we're in trouble guys."
A shadow blocked the sunlight from bouncing off Krillin's bald head.
"Well well…a pleasant day for a rematch, don't you think?" the raspy voice spoke with a sneer.
Krillin stuttered "I… it… it's…..!"
End of chapter 7
I am soooooooooooo sorry this took so long to update I had a bit of a writers block and this chapter is HUGE.Let me know what you think about a sequal fic. waves