MEET THE FLINTSONS

Part  Two: Breaking Training

by Magnes

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Special thanks to Lady Artist for lighting that fire under my tail to get this done and to Mia for beta reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Late Saturday night after the ball.  Goku and Krillen are sitting on the stone wall between their houses moping away as they think.  Fired.  Mr. Vegita fired them.  Now what were they going to do?  Certainly not tell their wives.  Not yet, anyway.  Suddenly, in a small flash of light, Piccolo appears before them, glaring and impatient.  They ignore him.)

PICCOLO: Well?

GOKU: Oh, go away!  You just got us both fired!

KRILLEN: Yeah, scram, you bad penny.

PICCOLO: You can't give up!  This planet is in grave danger!

GOKU: So are WE.

KRILLEN: You're not married, are you, Piccolo?  You don't know what danger is, pal.

(Goku holds his head in both hands.)

GOKU: What am I going to tell Chi-Chi?

PICCOLO: Goku, there are more important issues here than employment-

KRILLEN: Yeah.  Unemployment.

PICCOLO: Earth is on the brink of an invasion by the most powerful being in the universe and you're ground zero.

KRILLEN: Oh, back to the frozen lizard-

PICCOLO: If he's not stopped nothing is going to matter.

(Goku looks up at the tiny figure, a strange look on his face.)

GOKU: Why do I believe you?

PICCOLO: Because you know I'm not lying.  Freiza's going to eradicate every person on this planet, which will be damned hard to explain to all those people in the future if you don't succeed.

KRILLEN: Uh, there won't be any people, Piccolo.

PICCOLO: My point exactly.  Do you want that kid of yours to live?  Don't you want to see him turn into a great ape at the light of a full moon?  Don't you want to fight the forces of evil every time he gets himself kidnapped?

GOKU (shocked): Uh, no, not really, except for that living part.

PICCOLO: Then get back to the quarry now.  I'll be waiting.

(He vanishes in a puff of sparkles.  The guys sigh.)

KRILLEN: Well?

GOKU: I'm not sure what he's talking about, but I believe him.

KRILLEN (dully): Yeah, I guess I do, too.

GOKU: Let's go.

~~*~~

(Midnight at the quarry again.  Piccolo is waiting and immediately they get another lesson.  Everything is exploding and Krillen's destructo-disc is slicing the stone like butter.)

PICCOLO: Good.  Good.  Faster!

(Meanwhile, Vegeta Vegita is in his office, writing on a stone slab with a hammer and chisel as he tries to catch up on some work in the relative peace and quiet away from Bulma and Trunks.)

QUARRY: BOOM!!!!!

(The explosion knocks him clean out of his stone chair and sends him sprawling on the floor.)

VEGETA: What the-?

(He scrambles to his bare feet and looks out the window.  There's flashing lights, smoke, and shouting coming from the quarry.  He gapes.)

VEGETA: Rock poachers?  How completely asinine.

QUARRY: BOOOOOM!!!!!!

VEGETA: Alright!  That does it!

(He throws down the hammer and chisel and runs out the door.)

~~*~~

PICCOLO: Now dodge!

(Goku weaves between the blasts Piccolo sends his way, expertly avoiding getting turned into a Saiyan fritter.  He fires back.  Piccolo simply disappears and reappears behind him.)

PICCOLO: Company.

GOKU: Huh?

PICCOLO: Your boss.  Ex-boss, I should say.

(They turn.  Vegeta is standing on the edge of the quarry, awed.)

KRILLEN: Uh-oh.

GOKU: Hiya, Mr. Vegita!

VEGETA: What are you doing, Flintson?  Is that Rubble with you?

GOKU: Uh...training?

VEGETA: Training?

(His predatory eyes narrow and his mind is awhirl as he drinks in the labor-saving forces standing not thirty feet away.  Why, with that kind of power, that ability, he could double production.  Triple it!  Rubble could cut stone slabs to order in seconds!   Flintson had leveled more rock in ten seconds by this technique than a dozen workers on brontosauruses could in a day.  Suddenly it occurs to him that he'd just fired both power houses hours ago and he feels faint at the notion of losing such priceless workers that actually came to work on time.  What kind of fool had he been?  He clears his throat, going into boss-man mode.)

VEGETA: Ah, yes.  Training.  Well, see that you're here early Monday to clean up this mess.

GOKU: Uh, Mr. Vegita, you terminated us tonight...?

VEGETA: Did I?  I don't remember doing that, Flintson.

(Goku and Krillem grin.  Suddenly Piccolo appears in the air in front of Vegeta, arms folded and a match for Vegeta at his grumpiest.)

PICCOLO: Double their salaries.

VEGETA: Done.  You're the Namek-thing Flintson was raving about?

PICCOLO: Namek-jin to you, Vegetable Boy.  Why don't you stick around?  You just might learn something.

(Annoyed but intrigued, Vegeta sizes up the Ken-sized alien and decides anything that goes on here is going to be a helluva lot more interesting than listening to Bulma or dictating letters to a smart-mouthed bird.  He folds his arm and lays his best scowling smile on Piccolo.)

VEGETA: I'm all yours, Green Bean.