Chapter 10

'The Gala'

A forceful shake knocked him from his sleep. He had fallen asleep against the control panel again. Checking the screen he observed that it was 2am. Groaning he jumped up abruptly pulled on his boots and ran out of the room and towards the source of the force. The training room. Inside he found his comrades panting. Kakarot stood arms crossed and scorched from a ki blast and above him levitated Raditz.

"Ha! Told you I've grown stronger" Raditz bragged down at his younger brother while flexing his muscles.

"Er… Raditz… don't you think you should hold back on the ki blasts? This ship isn't invincible…" Kakarot muttered while scratching the back of his head.

"KAKAROT! I TOLD YOU TO STOP USING KI BLASTS ON THE SHIP!" An extremely pissed of female voice reverberated across the ship.

"BUT CHI IT WAS RADITZ" Kakarot moaned.

"I DON'T CARE WHO IT WAS YOU SHOULD BOTH KNOW BETTER!" Once the shouting had stopped, Vegeta decided to make his presence know by fazing behind Raditz and kicking him in the lower back sending him flying into the opposing wall.

"WOO, Go Vegeta!" Kakarot jumped up and down and cheered. Even at 18, he was just as foolish as he had been three years ago.

"Hn. We will be back on Frieza's ship by mid day, and I'd like to make it there in one piece" Then, just as quickly as he entered he left.

Walking back towards the control room he mumbled curses under his breath about the idiotic saiyan brothers. The last thing he needed was to deal with a giant hole in the side of the ship. They were returning from what seemed like their thousandth purge as a team and it was once again a success. Although, Bulma's departure had changed them all; for the first few weeks without her, Chi Chi had been experiencing nightmares, all revolving around Bulma.

Flashback

The girl had been gone for 2 weeks and Vegeta was full of depression and he couldn't comprehend why. We didn't bond… so why do I feel so broken? His depression had made it almost impossible for him to focus on anything except thoughts of the traiyan princess and the hole she left among the team. He had been generating the majority of his emotions into hating Frieza for taking her from them and him. He stood in the training room. It must have been nearly 2am when he heard a scream and panicked movement. Quickly he fazed towards the noise and charged into what was Chi Chi and Bulma's room to find Chi Chi sobbing hysterically into Kakarot's arms.

"Chi… its fine… none of it was real" Kakarot's attempt to calm her failed.

"Ka…karot… He… He… Bulma…" At the sound of Bulma's name, Vegeta moved forward.

"Did you speak with her? Did the bond finally reopen?" His desperation was evident but Chi Chi shook her head bringing him back to his misery. Ever since Bulma had left the ship she had been blocking their bond causing it to grow weaker. Chi Chi had attempted to make contact with her every hour of the day but no use.

"I…I saw her… Cooler he… he was torturing her..." Chi Chi sobbed again. The two saiyans stayed quiet at Chi Chi accounted what she saw.

"Ah Bulma dear, what has taken you so long? I called for you 10 minutes ago." Cooler's words were cold. Colder than Frieza's.

"Someone's impatient. I was just finishing off my training." Bulma rolled her eyes. She had been here for almost 2 weeks and this dreadful torture and quick temper that Frieza had spoke of had yet to reveal itself. She was beginning to doubt the lizard's information.

"Oh but I have been very patient. I'm sure my brother informed you of my temper? Well I've been extremely lenient with you up until this point and let your snide remarks slide but I don't like to be kept waiting" Cooler stood up from his chair and slowly approached her.

"Whatever. Wanna tell me why I'm here?" A cold grin appeared on Coolers face and he fazed behind her and grabbed her tail causing her to collapse in pure shocks of agony. Bulma clenched her fists into tight balls.

"You will address me with my title. I will NOT accept anything less, Frieza may have gotten off on your rebellious behaviour and sharp mouth but he would not have sent you to me if he had not had enough. You will not leave here until you learn respect." As the volume of Coolers voice increased so did his grip on Bulma's tail. He had his fingers dug so deep that he had pierced the skin, leaving trails of blood running down his hand and onto the floor.

"Fuck... you" Bulma only just managed to get out. Suddenly a loud malevolent laugh echoed throughout the room.

"Big mistake. I've heard many things about a monkey's tail. I understand it's used for balance, the mating ritual, and where it is your greatest strength it is also your biggest weakness. So let's conduct a little experiment shall we? I wonder what would happen if I-." Bulma screamed in agony. Throughout all her beatings with Frieza she had never experience so much pain. Her emotionless façade had fallen. Along with her tail.

"Removed it."

The two saiyans stood in silence. All could only hope this was just a dream. Losing your tail was a saiyan and traiyans greatest dishonour and fear. Feeling a warm fluid dripping down his wrist, Vegeta looked down. Blood seeped from him palm. In his rage he hadn't even realised that he had drawn his own blood.

Flashback Over

He had missed her, Training with her, her snide remarks, her general presence. He cursed Frieza for taking her from him and he trained constantly in effort to reach the legendary status that he was promised so that he could enjoy ripping that lizard into shreds for what he had done. A bleep caused Vegeta to stand up. They were docking. The group's ship docked and they made their way towards Frieza's control room. Once they entered the noticed Frieza sat where he always did, at his huge desk, holding a glass of wine.

"Ah Monkeys, I assume all was a success as usual" Frieza didn't even take the time to look up from his screen.

"You're correct" Vegeta answered almost immediately.

"Good Good… Well I'd like to inform you that the annual planet trade organization gala is in a few days and you are all expected to be there. Go. We leave for planet Cold in an hour."

AN: Sorry this chapter is so short; it's building up to the gala! REVIEW!