Chapter Six: "Those Who Believe In Santa…"
"RINNNG!"
Vegeta sighed, as he answered his cell-phone. "Yes?" he asked curtly.
Bulma's voice answered, "I need you to come home as soon as possible. We're having guests. Goku just teleported himself and his family to our house."
"Good for them."
"Vegeta!"
"Oh, alright! But I need to drop off a co-worker at her place first."
"Just ask, if she'd like to join us. Dinner's been ready for an hour. Everyone's waiting for you."
Vegeta asked Perky reluctantly, "Do you wish to join us for—"
"Why I'd love to!" Perky enthused. "Thank you!"
"Does that answer your question?" Vegeta wanted to know.
Bulma grunted a reply and hung up.
"Your wife must be such a lovely woman!" Perky burbled, hugging herself with glee.
"Then you really haven't met her yet," Vegeta remarked smartly.
"That's not very nice! She's your wife!" Perky scolded.
Vegeta smirked.
"I bet deep down you really love and wonder what you would do without her, wouldn't you?"
"I can think of a million things I could do without her," Vegeta retorted, not willing to admit his "weakness" for his wife to anyone.
"I wish I had a husband! Maybe I will someday!"
"And maybe you'll actually get around to buying a coat," Vegeta grumbled, as he turned down the heat in the now overly warm car. He looked over at his passenger, who was hugging herself tighter and smiling, as if she had won a lottery. "Or is it because you can't afford one?"
"Oh, I can, but I never get cold. I love the snow and chills!"
"A skinny human like you never get cold? Are you really an alien? Tell the truth! Who are you, really?"
Perky merely smiled and winked. "You tell me."
"I don't think you'd want me to do that."
"Well," Perky said brightly. "Then let me tell you what I think you think of me. You think that I'm some silly, poor little girl who doesn't have the good sense to dress warmly for the cold and who is always too cheerful, annoyingly so, I believe?"
"So you're a mind-reader, eh?" Vegeta slowed down his driving and pressed several buttons to turn the car to aircar mode, so the car would fly. "What exactly do you do outside of that penny-ante little elf job of yours?"
"What I do with you every day—love people, cheer them up, spread holiday joy! I try to keep Christmas going all through the year. I help others, and I help spread Santa's message of joy, peace, and goodwill towards everyone."
"Yes, I know that you're the jolly little elf—but what are you really?"
"I told you! Vegeta, unlike with you and Stuckey, my job doesn't end when I punch the time clock. My work continues all day and all yearlong! I live to bring joy to people, no matter what season it is!"
Vegeta fiddled with the radio controls, trying to find a decent radio station that actually wasn't playing Christmas music, but he was not succeeding. He turned to one radio station that belted loudly, "It's a marshmallow world in the winter…"
"Oh, don't change it, please!" Perky exclaimed. "I love this Christmas song!" Swaying her head back and forth, she begin to sing vociferously with the radio, "When the snow comes to cover the ground/ It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day/ I wait for it the whole year round…"
"Alright! I get it! You love this song! But sing it in your head!"
"Oh, c'mon, Vegeta, sing with me! In the car is one of the best times to sing Christmas carols! C'mon!" And she continued, unfortunately off-key, "…The world is your snowball just for a song/ Get out and roll it along—"
"Enough!"
Stopping reluctantly, Perky sighed. "Some mortals just don't know how to appreciate good music—"
"Mortals?" Vegeta asked.
Perky covered her mouth in horror, as if she had said a naughty word. "Oh, I'm sorry; I guess I don't always think of myself as being like everyone else. Not above anyone, mind you, but just…different…"
"Yes, I certainly agree you're not like anyone else…except for maybe that moron, Kakarot!"
"I'd love to meet him! He sounds like he'd be a lot of fun! It's not every day I meet a grownup who believes in Santa!"
"Yes," Vegeta told wryly, "there's no one like Kakarot."
"Tell me more about him!"
"WHAT? Don't tell me you have a crush on him, or some foolish notion like that! He's already married with two kids, and his wife's actually more dangerous than he is. Her words alone are sharper than a sword!"
"But I bet she thinks the world of him and would do anything for him, wouldn't she?"
"I guess," Vegeta replied, not caring one way or another, as he turned the wheel.
"Well, would you please tell me more about him?"
"Fine, fine, I will, if you promise not to sing any more Christmas songs until we get to my house!" Vegeta growled, as he stopped at a red traffic light that was resting upon a long pole from the ground. The falling snow almost concealed the scarlet glow.
Perky halfheartedly prevented herself from singing along with the radio to another one of her favorite Christmas songs, Snow by Berlin Irving. But her curiosity caught the best of her, and she fell silent, as Vegeta spoke:
"Kakarot is like me, a Saiyan, and unfortunately, more powerful than I. Ever since he first defeated me in battle, I've wanted to become stronger than him. It was my goal, and I never achieved it. Yes, he is the strongest warrior on this planet, possibly the entire universe, but he can be a dimwit. Of course, considering that he suffered brain damage as a child, that can't be helped too much. He acts more human than Saiyan, except in battle."
"Sounds like there's more to him than what you're saying."
"You can meet him and decide for yourself what you think. But let me ask you this: you don't think it's bizarre to be around a man who has openly admitted to you that he is an alien prince and a former assassin?"
Running her slender fingers through her drying hair, Perky smiled benevolently. "No, I don't, and I believe you. I also believe that you're not as bad as you try to make yourself appear to be."
"Hah, that's only because I don't want to go back to jail, or get kicked out of my bed again!"
"Still trying to be the tough guy, eh?"
"I am the tough guy!" He turned to her and narrowed his eyes. "Now, going off-subject, you never did answer my question. Just who are you? Where did you come from?"
Perky beamed, unfazed. "From a happy, snowy land where Christmas is truly all through the year! Where everyone loves each other and helps each other! We work together to bring joy and happiness to everyone around the world—all year round!"
"And just where is this happy, snowy land?"
Perky smiled mysteriously. "Only those who believe in Santa can find it."
Vegeta slapped his head. "Stop screwing with me! You will never convince me that the fool exists!"
She just shook her head, still smiling. "Vegeta, Vegeta, Vegeta. What must I do to convince you?"
With a contemptuous laugh, Vegeta crossed his arms and remarked triumphantly:
"Make the man come to my home, and tell my daughter in person that I didn't beat the real thing."
"Wow, Vegeta, who's the babe?"
Vegeta glowered at Goten, who had kept his eyes glued to Perky, ever since she had walked into Capsule Corp. Within the first ten minutes of her arrival, she had everyone singing:
"You better watch out/ You better not cry/ You better not pout/ I'm tellin' you why…"
"That babe is just some silly little girl who likes to play an elf all year round. Don't get any ideas; it's unlikely you'll see her again after tonight."
"How disappointing," Goten muttered. But then, he grinned. "Ah, well, might as well make use of the time I have. 'Scuse me." And he strolled grandly into the living room, where Perky had just started a spirited game of "Christmas Charades".
She was crouched on the floor covered by a brown velvet blanket. Slowly and carefully, she piled pieces of beaded fake fruit onto her body. Goten jumped up and shouted:
"I get it! You're a fruitcake!"
Vegeta, who had followed behind him, fully agreed with that statement—much more than Goten would ever know.
Perky burst from her blanket and fruit happily and cried, "You're right!" As the other guests cheered, she grinned at Goten. "What's your name?"
Goten told her, as he strutted her way. Perky asked him, "So, Goten, do you believe in Santa?"
Goten laughed, almost wickedly. "For you, I'll believe in anything!"
Some of the guests groaned. Vegeta grumbled under his breath and shook his head.
"I believe in Santa!" Goku shouted jubilantly. But then his face fell. "Well, I wish I hadn't made him mad that day…hey, weren't you there when I sat in his lap?"
"Yes, I was," Perky replied. She put her hand on Goku's shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Goku. Santa's sorry. He was just having an off day. But he's really happy that you still believe in him. He wishes more grownups would believe in him."
"Yeah, so do I," Goku admitted, feeling much better. "I keep trying to tell Chichi and the boys that he's real, but they don't believe me. Well, Goten used to believe that Santa was real, but…ah, I wish there was…a way to convince everyone."
"So do I," Perky sighed.
Chichi yelled with clenched fists, "Don't encourage him!" Perky pulled back from her and flinched, amazed.
"Chichi, come on!" Goku laughed good-naturedly. "Of course Santa is real! Would you like to go to Santa's place with me, so I can show you?"
"Just tell me, Goku! What proof do you have that Santa is real?"
Goku grinned. "I don't need proof. I actually met him!"
"Oh, right, Goku!" Chichi scoffed. "I suppose you sat on his lap at some other mall when you were a kid. You didn't even get to a mall until you were in your teens!"
"Chichi, I really did meet him," Goku insisted seriously. "I was traveling around the world gathering Dragonballs…just after I left Penguin Village, and I saw his sleigh and reindeer stuck in a bunch of trees. He saw me and begged me for help as I rode on Kintoun, so I stopped and disentangled his sleigh and reindeer. He was amazed by how strong I was then, and he asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him I only wanted three things: lots of good food, strong opponents to fight, and to be the strongest myself." Goku smiled, almost wistfully. "He just laughed and ruffled my hair, telling me he'd see that I had all the food I wanted, but that the strong opponents and great strength would come to me without his help. He said that he couldn't help make me stronger, that I had to do that part myself. Then he gave me a great big bag of candy and said he'd see me at Christmas and flew away. Then I saw him again when—"
"Dad!" Goten groaned. "Will you please stop with the Santa stories? We're too old for fairytales now!"
"Goku, he's right," Chichi snapped. "Those stories were cute when you first told them, but you should know better by now."
Perky merely smiled and rested her tiny hand on Goku's bicep. "Well, I believe him!" Goku beamed.
Before Chichi could start another tantrum, Bulma asked, "Where are you from, Perky?"
"From a wonderful, snowy land where Christmas exists all through the year!"
"Yes, you told me that!" Vegeta shouted. "Now exactly where is this land?"
"Far up above the Earth," Perky crooned. "And only those who believe in Santa can find it."
"Yay!" Goku cried. "Then that means I can go there to visit sometime!"
"Oh no you won't, Goku," Chichi scolded him. "You promised me that you would find a job."
"Actually, Chichi, I have plans for a job."
"Really?" Chichi asked hopefully. "What are they?"
"I can work for Santa in his workshop!"
Chichi flopped over backwards.
Vegeta watched Bra slowly descend the stairs, as the other partygoers reveled, ate, and drank. Bulma was ascending the stairs towards her daughter.
"C'mon, Bra, join us!" Bulma urged with a hopeful smile.
"No thanks, Mommy. I'm writing a letter to Santa. I just came down for some milk."
"Oh, you're writing to Santa again? Oh, good, sweetie! Are you still asking for Patty Poopsey?"
"Not really, Mommy," Bra replied somberly. "I'm asking him to forgive my daddy and to say that Daddy's sorry, even though Daddy didn't say it yet." With a sad smile that no child should know how to use, Bra turned on her heel and plodded back to her room.
Vegeta clenched his fists, silently fuming. That was it! No more playing along with this Santa-really-exists crap! He was telling his daughter the truth! Tonight!
Bulma turned around abruptly; even though she didn't know how to sense ki, she almost always knew when Vegeta was near. He pushed past his wife with only a grunt, as he began to storm towards Bra's room. She hastily sped up to him and caught his arm.
"Where are you going, Vegeta?"
"To do something that I should have done from the beginning!" he snapped.
"And what would that be?"
"If you must know, I've decided that Bra is old enough to know the truth about Santa!"
"Vegeta, no!"
"Yes! I am telling her the truth about what really happened the day I supposedly attacked her precious Santa!"
"Vegeta, please! Not now!"
"Please, Vegeta, don't! You mustn't tell her that Santa's not real! Please!"
This second begging came from a horrified Perky, who was now behind Bulma. Perky dashed past Bulma and placed herself directly in front of Vegeta.
"Perky, please don't!" Bulma begged. "You must move!"
"I can't!" Perky's lower lip was trembling. She seized Vegeta's arm. "Vegeta, please don't go to Bra like this! I promise, if you don't tell her what you're about to tell her, I will tell you everything that you wanted to know about me! Just don't tell Bra that Santa's not real!"
"I'm not interested at this point," Vegeta lied angrily. "I am tired of my daughter worshipping a man that does not exist!"
"He does exist, Vegeta, he does! Please, you must believe me! Don't go to Bra like this, and I will confess all!"
"What must-must you confess, Perky?" Bulma asked.
"Please, sit down, both of you, and I-I will tell you everything."
Bra smoothed down her pale pink, woolen nightgown, just before crawling into her white, frilly canopy bed. Her finished letter to Santa, freshly sealed in its envelope, lay on her nightstand.
Just then, she heard a scraping noise outside her window. She bolted up and hugged herself in terror. She shivered; she had thought she had locked her window, but maybe she hadn't. Bra huddled into a ball, as the window slowly slid open, and bursts of wintry wind blew in.
She began to crawl further under the covers, as she noticed a huge, hulking man climb in through the window. She couldn't make out the shape; he was all dark and unfamiliar.
She had tried not to make a sound, hoping he wouldn't notice her, but panic overrode logic, and as the stranger walked towards her bed, Bra screamed:
"DADDY! MOMMY!"
A/N: I do not own the lyrics to Marshmallow World, which were written by Carl Sigman and Peter de Rose, and sung by a number of people, including Dean Martin.