Disclaimer: Dragonball Z and related characters are copyrighted by Bird Studios/Shueisha, Toei Animation. Licensed by FUNimation Productions, Inc. Besides, if I actually owned it, why would I be writing fanfiction?

Time Period: Shortly after the Buu Saga, so everyone's the same age as before Buu, but now Goku's alive and back on earth.

Majin Mischief

Vegeta woke from an afternoon nap, feeling groggy but refreshed. He cursed a bit to himself when he found out that he had fallen asleep—he was not one prone to sleeping in the middle of the day—but his morning training had worn him out, so it was partly understandable. Still . . .

I can't be getting that old, he thought as he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. I'm only forty-something in earth years; that's nothing notable for a Saiyan. Hmpf, what am I brooding over anyway? Taking one lousy nap during the day doesn't mean that anything's wrong with—

Vegeta's jaw dropped when he looked in the bathroom mirror. Scripted on his forehead, just below his widow's peak, was the eerily eloquent, yet evil-looking Majin "M" that he remembered so well during his early fight with Buu. He stood shocked for a moment, trying to figure out his situation.

What does this mean? I don't feel any different than usual; hell, I'm not even Super Saiyan right now! Maybe it's just . . .uh . . . maybe I . . . er . . . arrgh! Frustrated, Vegeta slammed his fist down on the sink. "Damn!" he said out loud. "I take one nap and look what happens!" He looked back in the mirror and caught a glimpse of something in the reflection of his bedroom behind him. He turned around, walked back into the bedroom, and knelt to pick up the object he had seen. It was black and cylindrical, and it looked almost like . . .

A marker cap? he thought. Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

"WHERE IS HE!?" Vegeta screamed at the top of his lungs. He powered all the way up to Super Saiyan 2 and stormed out of his bedroom, his blood pounding and his vision red with fury. "No one makes a fool of the Prince of Saiyans!"

Downstairs in the kitchen, Bulma stopped making lunch when she heard Vegeta ranting. The next moment, the Saiyan warrior came charging in, snarling while his golden aura sparked violently around him. "Where's the brat!?" he demanded.

"Vegeta, will you just get a gr—" Bulma dropped the sandwich she had been holding when she saw the "M" on her husband's forehead. She backed up against the counter, terrified. "Oh my Kami . . ."

"Where's Trunks!?" Vegeta shouted, looking back and forth in rage. "I'm going to kill him! I'll nuke this whole city if I have to!" He sensed a glimpse of Trunks' ki off in the distance and ran out into the backyard while Bulma ran for the phone. "Come out and face me, you little brat! Did you really think you could fool me!? If I have to hunt you down, I swear I will destroy whatever is in my path!" He finally pinpointed Trunks' ki, which came from the direction of a forest on the edge of the city. "So there you are!" he shouted. "Prepare to be punished!"

Vegeta had just risen into the air when something blurred in front of him and Goku suddenly appeared, looking unusually focused.

"Kakarot?" Vegeta asked, partly confused. "Get out of my, I have to chastise my son!"

Goku's hardened expression increased; it was the one he wore only when he was about to fight an enemy that threatened the world. "You're not going anywhere," he said emphatically.

Vegeta growled in irritation at Goku's behavior. "Listen, I'll fight with you right after I beat my unforgiving brat into a pulp!" He started to fly past Goku, but the other Saiyan blocked him. He tried to move by again, but Goku blocked him once more. "Dammit, Kakarot!" he swore. "You're pissing me off! Now move!"

"How did it happen, Vegeta?" Goku asked. "Did you wish him back with the Dragonballs?"

Vegeta ground his teeth, the veins pulsing in his forehead. "The others are going to have to wish you back with the Namekkian Dragonballs, baka, if you don't get the hell out of my way!"

Goku's face remained dead serious. "No."

Growling viciously, Vegeta tried to push Goku out of his way, but the other Saiyan grabbed his hand and pushed back. Infuriated, Vegeta tried to punch him with his free hand, but Goku caught that one too. The two warriors locked together in a power struggle, and Goku turned Super Saiyan 2 to even the balance. Finally, Vegeta raised his foot and kicked Goku squarely in the chest, knocking him away. Goku flew back at him and Vegeta charged to meet him. Fists started flying faster than the eye could follow, with Goku set on keeping Vegeta from leaving and Vegeta bent on defeating Goku. After a few seconds of matching each other, Vegeta twisted around to deliver a roundhouse kick to Goku's head, but Goku grabbed Vegeta's arms and pinned them behind his back.

"Arrgh!" Vegeta roared. "Let go of me, you baka!" He struggled, trying to break free. His aura sparked and crackled furiously. He suddenly lashed out with a back-kick, hitting Goku in the knee and breaking free. He had not flown away two feet when Goku suddenly appeared above him and slammed him face-first into the ground.

"What the—!" Vegeta was cut off by a mouthful dirt. He tried to get up, but Goku held him down with his knee and pinned his arms behind his back again.

"No more, Vegeta," Goku said.

Vegeta spit out the clod of dirt. "I'll kill you, Kakarot! Get off me! This is no way to treat your prince! I'm a warrior, not a criminal!"

"I'm not going to let you kill anyone."

"If you get off of me, maybe I'll only kill you!" Vegeta tried to arch off the ground, but Goku slammed him back down.

"You're completely out of control," Goku said, a tinge of concern in his voice. "Why did you do this again? I thought you loved your family now."

Vegeta screamed unintelligible threats into the dirt.

At that moment, Trunks and Goten flew down into the yard to see what the commotion was. They had a strong feeling about what caused it, a fact that made them all the more curious to investigate. Finally, when they saw Goku pinning Vegeta on the ground and heard clips of curses that were not even in the dictionary, they had to use all their willpower to keep straight faces.

"Dad, what are you doing to Vegeta-san?" Goten asked innocently.

Goku looked up at the boys and said quickly, "Get out of here now. Go to Kami-sama's island and tell the others that Baba-Di's back."

"Really?" Trunks asked, feigning fear.

Recognizing the voice, Vegeta managed to pull his face out of the ground and see who it was. "Trunks!" he shouted murderously. "You scum-sucking little urchin!" He started to get up, but Goku slammed his head back into the ground.

"Hurry guys!" Goku said urgently. "Leave!"

Unable to contain themselves any longer, Trunks and Goten started giggling, then burst out laughing.

Goku's expression became confused. "Huh?"

"It's not real, Goku-san," Trunks said, still laughing.

Moaning, Vegeta extracted his aching head from the earth and looked up to see half a dozen Trunks' and Gotens swimming around in his field of vision.

"What's not real?" Goku asked.

"The 'M'," Trunks said, grinning. "Goten and I drew it on." He licked his thumb and rubbed the "M" on Vegeta's forehead with it. Nothing happened at first, but after a little more work, he pulled his hand away, revealing the "M," which was now partially smudged. "Well, we did use permanent marker," he explained.

While Vegeta still reeled from the earlier blow and tried to keep track of how many people were in front of him, Goku looked at the smudged "M," then licked his finger and smudged it some more. His face instantly relaxed out of its serious expression.

"Oops," Goku said apologetically. He let go of Vegeta's arms and got off of him. "Sorry about that, Vegeta. I thought you had become evil again."

Shaking his head to clear it, Vegeta slowly pushed himself to his feet and wiped blood away from the corner of his mouth. "Actually, you're wise to question my loyalty to the forces of good." He turned on Trunks, infuriated. "Because right now I think I'm going to be evil!"

Trunks and Goten swallowed nervously and began to back away from the angry Saiyan. "Uh, Dad," Trunks said, "it was just a joke. Can't you take a joke?"

Vegeta roared and his golden aura exploded to life around him. Goten and Trunks took to the sky and began flying for all they were worth. Vegeta shot after them and Goku followed, trying to stop him. However, even the savior of the world could not keep up with the enraged prince, which showed just how much speed-increasing potential that fear had for Trunks and Goten.

"Get back here, you little punks!" Vegeta screamed. "I'll show you exactly what I think of jokes!"

"We're really really sorry, Mr. Veget—" Goten was cut off by Trunks' grabbing his arm and speeding up.

"You can't escape me!" Vegeta shouted.

All four warriors disappeared in the distance.