Chapter Text
“Dad, I found the problem! This part got knocked off the ship, and with it came one of our stabilizer jets!” Bra pointed out the piece on the screen and the floating part out the window. “It’s causing the ship to destabilize, and autopilot’s gone dark!”
”Nappa!” Vegeta snarled.
“Pipe down, I was sleeping! I didn’t do anything!”
“Like I’d believe that! You’re still trying to kill us, are you? You’re just too weak to do so yourself, so you choose the coward’s route!”
”You’re full of crap! I know you don’t trust me as far as your puny little daughter could throw me, but you haven’t taken your evil little eyes off me since I got on board! How could I have done anything to your ship?!?”
”You tell us! You must have done something before you boarded!”
”I DID NOT!!!”
”LIAR!!!”
”Actually, Dad…” They both turned to Bra, a look of disapproval on her face. “The little part that got knocked loose was right around the wall of the ship that you slammed old man Nappa into.”
The two were silent for a moment. “Well, if he hadn’t’ve left Trunks behind, I wouldn’t-“
”And then it must have fallen out completely when you were powering up in your ki demonstration.”
Vegeta gulped while Nappa glared and snarled at him. With an exasperated growl, the young prince finally spoke.
”Well, let’s soften our landing!”
”Your ship isn’t designed to handle a little crash?” Nappa scoffed. “Those Earthlings of yours just can’t make ‘em like they’re supposed to, huh, Your Grouchiness!”
Vegeta ignored him. “Bra, aim our ship for the nearest planet! I’ll help you steer!”
Bra nodded and took the controls, but Nappa shoved her out of the way!
”Hey!”
”Let me drive, squirt! I’ve got way more experience flying spaceships than you!”
”And way more experience being a jerk.”
”Feel free to smack him back if we survive this.” Vegeta assured her. “How’s the ship’s condition?”
”Bad, it could fail any second now!”
”Nappa, are we clear for landing?”
”Hold on… there’s a big patch of desert, but we’re falling too fast! I can’t pull up in time to keep us from crashing! Hah, oh well, we’re Saiyans, we’ll survive!”
“Damn right we will!” Vegeta flew to the vessel’s ceiling and pushed upward, correcting the course for them. “How about now?”
”I’ll slow it down!” Bra pushed against the back of the ship.
”Ah, there we go!” Nappa “Now I just gotta… oh great.”
”What?”
”Controls are dead, I can’t slow us down from here anymore!”
”Then go help Dad push, muscles, and give me my spot back!” Bra rushed over to the computer and tackled Nappa out of the seat, catching him off guard! She began to speedily type in override commands.
”Bossy little Vegeta spawn…” Nappa muttered, reluctantly pushing the back wall in her place. “Hey, she’s stronger already! And faster!”
”Dad, lower her a little!”
Vegeta dropped to the floor and exerted his force downward.
”Let up a bit in the back, we’re unstable enough as it is!”
Nappa grunted and eased up.
”Now a little to the left…” Bra sped over to the left side, pushed for a bit, and whooshed back to the controls. “Just a smidge more…”
With the trio working together, ship touched down on the planet’s surface, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
”At least the ship’s not in pieces.” Bra said.
”At least we’re not in pieces.” Nappa agreed. ”We almost were because of Vegeta’s anger management issues! And you scold me?!? Huh!”
Vegeta gritted his teeth. He opened his mouth to reply, but his daughter cut him off.
”Hey, don’t fight now guys, we made a great team! Dad, you can admit you made a mistake, but you saved us, so we’re all good!” Bra faced Nappa. “And you did an awesome job as our brakes, you got that control down pretty good!”
”Ah…” Nappa blushed and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”
”Come on, we should look around and see if the locals have a replacement part for the ship. Either of you guys been to this planet?”
They shook their heads.
”We could probably order a new one, if someone hadn’t smashed my scouter!”
“Alright, I get it!” Vegeta huffed. “What’s done is done, let’s focus on what we can do to fix our transportation.”
The Saiyans strolled down the streets of the nearest city, where Bra made a beeline for the bustling marketplace, which was filled with short, pointy eared merchants in turbans and robes, their skin tones a bright array of pastel colors.
”Yay, they have shopping!”
”We’re only here for the ship part, don’t forget!” Vegeta reminded her.
”Don’t you forget you promised to take me shopping, wherever I want, Dad!”
Vegeta gulped. “That’s… we can’t…”
“Dad!”
Vegeta sighed. “Alright, let’s get this over with…”
Nappa watched with amusement as Bra zipped from stall to stall, picking out treasures for herself along with jewelry and clothes, his prince holding all of her bags like a servant. He snickered, savoring the sight of his killer suffering through such mundane humiliation, especially when the ladies shopping cooed over Vegeta!
”Oh, aren’t you just the cutest little thing!” One of them pinched his cheek, a vein popping out of his forehead.
”Stop that at once!” He barked, but they only found his anger endearing, the others coming over to him; his hands full, he knocked her hand back with his foot and glared daggers at them all! Nappa’s amusement died down when Bra approached him, a large outfit in her hands.
”Here old man, I picked this out for you!”
”Don’t call me that, you pampered brat! I’m not even old anymore!” Nappa growled. “And I don’t need any alien clothes, I have my armor!”
Vegeta spoke next. ”Actually, it would make things easier on our mission if none of us wore armor, so we wouldn’t-.”
”Oh, so now you’re trying to domesticate me too? Just because she’s got you wrapped around her finger-“
”Since we wouldn’t be associated with the army that provided our race with that armor in the first place!” Vegeta insisted. “We don’t need that kind of attention!”
”Why not? If they’re scared of us, anyone who’s got a dragon ball would bring them right to us if they value their life!”
”Or they could attempt to destroy them to spite us, and then the Earth- and you-are next!”
”Oh, give me a break! If you really want to kill me so bad, just try it! It’d beat listening to you keep insulting and threatening me; I’m not your slave you can push around anymore!”
“Rrgh! I’m trying to- agh, forget it! Do as you please!” Vegeta turned his back in a huff.
”Mr. Nappa?” Nappa leered down as Bra held out the outfit in front of him. “I promise you’ll like it; just try it on for me, okay? Pleeeease?”
Nappa winced at the child staring up at him, her blue eyes excitedly pleading. Without a word, he took the outfit and sought out a place to change.
He returned in a black vest and gray shorts, while Bra changed into a long mahogany poncho and designer jeans.
“Pretty stylish finds, huh?” Bra bragged. “I was afraid we’d be stuck in the same drab clothes as everyone else on this planet!” She looked Nappa over. “Not bad. You’d probably be a babe magnet in those if your face wasn’t so scary.”
”Shows what you know pipsqueak, my face is gorgeous.”
”Riiiight.” She turned away. “Don’t worry, Dad, I got you this so you can match us!”
”Hm?”
Bra tied a golden bandana around his neck. “Yeah, it really suits you.”
Vegeta looked down and gave a small smile. “Now let’s look for that missing part.”
”So, did they have it?” Nappa asked as Vegeta dropped off the shopping bags in their spaceship.
”No, they said they’d have to order it.” Bra said. “It’ll be ready sometime tomorrow. We should find a place to stay for the night.”
”We have a place to stay for the night, and it’s free.” Vegeta stated.
”Not the spaceship! I want to go someplace nice! If they have all this cool stuff to buy, they must have some fancy hotels! Ooh, I wonder if they have alien spas? I sure could use one after all that training and sweating and walking around today! And like some souvenir shops nearby, and nice restaurants…”
Vegeta groaned as Bra went on, knowing there was no talking her out of this. “Fine, we’ll stay for one night, and no more!”
“How much money do you even have?” Nappa wondered.
”Not sure.” Vegeta answered. “They’ve got a system of automatically transferring foreign currencies to their own upon payment, and I’ve just been charging my wife’s credit card like always.”
”How much did you spend???”
“More than I’d like, but a promise is a promise. And we’re the richest family on Earth, so we’ve never paid expenses any mind.”
Nappa raised his eyebrows. “No wonder your kid’s so spoiled.”
”Hey, I’m right here!” Bra protested. “Now let’s go find us a hotel!”
On their way to the city, the trio looked back as they heard a mob charging towards them!
”Hey, your credit isn’t bad, is it?” Nappa asked.
”I doubt it. Someone probably tipped them off about your armor.” Vegeta replied.
”No, it’s not that!” Bra pointed. “Look!”
On closer inspection, the stampeding crowd was a flock of merchants carrying various goods! They eagerly beckoned their visitors to buy more from them, and before they knew it, they were surrounded!
”Wow! They’re even more passionate about shopping than me!”
Nappa grunted. “They’re irritating me! I wanna blast them to smithereens!”
“This might surprise you, but I don’t blame you.” Vegeta told him, swatting a tall hat for sale out of his face. He powered up, and his energy blew back all the Imeckians at once! “But we can have fun without blowing them up, see? Just power up around them and you can flick them off like the insects they are!”
“You just think that up?”
Vegeta shook his head. “Experience from the journalists on Earth.” They entered the hotel and approached the green receptionist. “Give us a room for two adults and one child, and make it a good one!”
The receptionist peered down and smiled, patting the prince on the head. “Awww, are you the big, tough man of the household?”
Vegeta snarled and formed a blast, but Bra stood between them and calmed him down. “Easy Dad, he doesn’t know! He means one adult and two children!”
”Dad? Oh, you’re playing house with your big sister? How sweet!”
Vegeta looked down at himself, almost forgetting about his younger body. Nappa snickered. “Look on the bright side, Prince, you’ll get a cheaper rate this way! You’re welcome!”
The receptionist nodded. ”Certainly. That comes to a total of 300 gammets.”
”That is a good rate for a place like this. Perhaps to compensate for the greedy mobs?” As Vegeta swiped his card, a colorful robot came out to greet them.
”Welcome, guests. I am your robo-porter, I will take your luggage.”
Vegeta handed it their suitcases, but it picked up Vegeta instead, wheeling around towards their room.
”I’m not luggage, you stupid machine, I’m a guest!” Vegeta protested. Nappa and Bra chuckled at the sight.
The bellhop ignored him. “Follow me.”
”Listen, you defective, short-circuited bucket of bolts! You unhand me before I turn you into spare parts!” Vegeta ground his feet before the robot reached the elevator and shook it off of him, sending it straight at the receptionist, who ducked. “Fix that or I’ll send it to the scrap heap personally!”
”Y-yes sir! Here’s your room key, enjoy your stay!”
Nappa quickly snatched the keys first, sneering down at Vegeta. “Uh-uh-uh, room keys are for adults, junior!”
Vegeta retorted with an unamused look. ”Then give them to me, I’m still more mature than you are.” Vegeta swiped the key back, but Nappa just snickered again.
”Okay, then! After you, oh prince of all luggage!”
Vegeta grunted.
”This place is really luxurious!” Bra inspected their room, eyeing the amenities. “They have a fully stocked fridge, a stove and oven, a coffee and wine bar, even a chocolate fountain! And they have a hot tub in the bathroom!” She ran inside and dipped her toe in the water. “Dad, see if they have room service!”
”What for? You said the fridge is fully stocked!”
”Come on, we can’t stay in a room this fancy without trying the room service! Besides, I know how much you eat, it won’t last the night!”
“Hmph!” Seeing her point, Vegeta dialed the phone.
Nappa plopped on the bed. “Ooh, nice and soft!” He turned on the TV. “And they’ve got some good military propaganda on!”
On the screen was a tall men with bright pink spiky hair in opulent clothing. “And we’re live with our generous ruler Don Kee, giving his weekly address to his loyal subjects! Don’t forget, taxes are due tomorrow, so don’t delay..”
“Don Kee? Perfect name for a royal jackass.”
”Room service is here!” Vegeta announced, grabbing the incoming plates of gourmet food.
”Mmm, looks tasty!” Nappa went over to join him.
In about an hour, Bra emerged from the bathroom. “Guys, I take back what I said about this place being nice! Their shower is broken; it won’t turn off!”
”The food won’t stop coming either!” Vegeta turned to Nappa. “What’s going on here?!?”
”What, are you gonna blame me for that too?” Nappa grumbled. Vegeta rolled his eyes.
”Not only that, but there’s some kind of meter on the bathtub, like it’s a taxi or something!” Bra shouted. “It’s up to over 8000 gammets and climbing!”
”What?!”
”Hey, there’s one on the TV too! Over 2000 gammets for watching television!” Nappa noticed. He gazed around the room, finding meters everywhere he looked! “And one on the stove and fridge and the air conditioner and even the bed and chairs!” Nappa’s eyes widened. “Yamoshi almighty, they’re even charging us for breathing their air!”
”I just phoned them to stop with the room service, but they’re ignoring us!” Vegeta growled. “And now we’ve got a 12000 gammet charge on the phone bill!”
Nappa gnashed his teeth. ”Vegeta, what does the meter say they’re charging us for the food?”
”IT’S OVER NINETY THOUSAND!!!”
”WHAT?!? NINETY THOUSAND?!? They’re bleeding us dry! That’s it, I’m going to give the staff a piece of my mind!” Nappa stomped downstairs.
”Don’t worry, we’re super rich, remember?” Bra called after him. “We can afford whatever they charge!”
”It’s not just about the money, it’s about pride! They’re taking advantage of us, and I’m not going to let them get away with it!”
“He’s right, and I’m the one they’re ripping off!” Vegeta joined Nappa. “Bra, you may as well eat your fill while it’s here. We’ll be back soon enough.”
Bra looked at all the escalating numbers, formulating a plan.
”Did you teach them a lesson?” Bra asked her returning companions.
”He saw us coming and ran off, apparently.” Nappa huffed. “Sign says he won’t be back until morning, the coward!”
“At least you got the room service to stop. “
”You can blame that blasted robot for that problem!” Vegeta answered. “I had some… words with it. So, what to do about the meters?”
Nappa leered at the one by his bed and smashed it! “How about that?”
”Great, now they’re going to charge us for that meter.” Bra groaned.
”Who cares, they already charged us for everything else?”
Vegeta put a hand to his chin. “Hm… just be more subtle about it.” He tapped another meter, and the numbers stopped. “Like that.”
”Is that what you did to the robot?” Bra asked.
Vegeta smirked. “Bra, you’re good with technology and tools to fix them, why don’t you fix our shower?” He tossed her a wrench. “Courtesy of the porter.”
”I already reset the air meter to zero, air should be free.”
”Agreed.”
Bra huffed. “Some relaxing stay, doing all this work for them.”
The three made quick work of the rest of the meters, and the next morning, they remained unchanged.
“We’d like to check out.” Vegeta found the receptionist back at work and returned the room key.
“And we’d like to file a complaint while we’re at it!” Nappa added.
”You‘d like to complain?!?” The Imeckian man gasped. “I’m the one who should be complaining! You broke all of our gammet tabulators!”
”Can you prove we broke them?”
“Prove?!? According to the numbers, you didn’t breathe during your entire stay here!”
Bra nodded. ”That’s right, we’ve taught ourselves to hold our breath to survive being around Nappa and his nasty body odor!”
Nappa narrowed his eyes at the princess.
”I don’t believe you!” The Imeckian shouted.
”Oh really? Give him a whiff.” She lifted Nappa’s arm and pointed his pit in the man’s direction. “Go on!”
The receptionist pinched his nose and flinched backward. “That’s not the point! The meters should run regardless of whether you breathe or not!”
”Then why charge us for something we might not even use?” Vegeta countered.
”That’s- well, I mean…” The Imeckian shook his head. “You still broke hotel property!” He pulled out the smashed meter. “Just look at the state of this!”
”Oh, that was me.” Nappa admitted. “I thought it was an alarm clock.”
”This isn’t funny, you’re going to pay for all the damages and then you’re going to pay what the tabulators would have calculated by this time-“
Nappa grabbed him by the neck over the counter. “No, you’re going to cut the crap and give us fair rates, or that crushed meter is going to look real good compared to what we do to you!”
”No! I’ll- I’ll report you to Lord Don Keah-!”
Nappa squeezed his throat tighter. “And how are you gonna squeal on us when I break your little green neck?”
The man sputtered a goodbye and waved them away; the trio grinned to each other and left to meet the Imeckian with their parts.
”Here is your stabilizer jet and the securing piece, that’ll be fifteen thousand gammets!”
Nappa cracked his knuckles. “Should we beat a better price out of this guy too?”
Vegeta shook his head. ”Not this time, space ship parts are hard to come by. Come on.”
They headed back to the stretch of desert they crash landed on, but when they got there, they looked around in shock!
”Uh… where’s the ship?” Nappa wondered. “Isn’t this where we parked?”
“You think the desert swallowed it up?” Bra guessed.
“There’s some tracks going towards the city!” Vegeta pointed out. “Which can only mean one thing…”
Bra and Nappa gaped at Vegeta, who nodded. “Someone stole our ship!”