Welcome back, readers to another exciting chapter of Dragon Ball Harmony! When we left off, Bulla faced a heart wrenching crisis. Zackary showed enormous resilience to Rage Shenron's attacks, but would've ultimately been killed, had it not been for Bulla spotting his and the others' salvation in the distance, in the form of a water tank. Because of his apparent weakness to water, Rage's slimy armour melted away, leaving him open for Garnet to finish him off. Now, with the danger passed, their energy restored, and another Dragon Ball in their possession, our heroes are ready to continue their quest. But first, Garnet has something to tell them about what they're up against. Do they stand a chance, or are Zackary, Marron, Bulla, Uub, Pan, Buu, Twilight and Spike in over their heads? Find out now...

History of the Shadow Dragons Revealed!

"Holy crap, you guys," Pan gasped excitedly. "The ketchup is in the fries!"

Zackary looked over at the huge plate of fries in amazement after chomping down on his fifth 'pizza on a bagel', courtesy of Steven, Garnet, and some other Gems he hadn't seen before: A slender figured Pearl, a short, thick-built Amethyst, a Peridot wearing some sort of half-face spectacle...thing, and another gem that was blue all over, including her dress, called Lapis Lazuli. Steven made a point of introducing everyone before they all got settled at the beach.

"My, you weren't kidding when you said make lots, Garnet," Pearl said. "I thought we'd have leftovers, but seeing that young man, the two girls and that... Majin Buu... eat..."

Peridot, who had been hiding behind her knees at the table, spoke up. "I can't believe I'm sitting opposite the Majin Buu! And here I was thinking that the Cluster was the only world destroying entity hiding in this planet-"

"Peridot, relax," Garnet soothed. "Majin Buu's on our side. He helped us to defeat Rage Shenron."

"You guys still owe us an explanation about these 'Shadow Dragons', Garnet," said Lapis Lazuli.

"Ugh, those punks again?" Amethyst complained. "Like we didn't teach them enough of a lesson last time?"

"Someone else must've been overusing the Dragon balls," Pearl said. "It's the only thing that would give these Shadow Dragons life again. I wonder who, though..."

"Oh, I think we know already," Garnet said, turning her gaze to the group who were all stuffing their faces. "Their predecessors."

Zackary finished off his fill with one last handful of ketchup filled fries and contently patted his tummy.

"Whoo, that really hit the spot!" Zackary said, grinning ear to ear. "Thanks heaps, guys!"

"Hehe... don't mention it," stammered Steven, who began scratching his head as he took in the sight.

Zackary looked around at their long outdoor table and saw that they had finished the whole thing. Every plate there was empty, including Twilight's. They all took a breath as they digested their meal. Then, Spike spoke up.

"So, Garnet, you were telling us about these Shadow Dragons?" he asked.

Garnet nodded and turned to Zackary and his friends. "You need to know what you're up against..."

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The first Gems landed on Earth more than 6,000 years ago, under the rule of Pink Diamond. While establishing a colony on Earth, these Gems make many discoveries, including the existence of organic life on Earth, and the Dragon Balls. There were very few humans in that age who the gems could communicate effectively with, but all the ones they could warned them not to abuse the power of the Dragon Balls.

Then, a few hundred years later, Rose Quarts rebelled against Pink Diamond, in the Gem War, which took many lives, human and Gem alike. Rose didn't want the humans to suffer for our conflicts, so we used the Dragon Balls each year to bring back all the humans who lost their lives in the Gem War. If we only knew what that would cost us, we would've never tried such a thing.

After Pink Diamond was shattered, the Homeworld Gems retreated from Earth, giving the Crystal Gems time to wish back more humans. But when we gathered them all, we found them damaged, and our attempt at summoning Shenron was met only with the arrival of that evil counterpart of his, who sent the Dragon Balls away to form the Shadow Dragons. As soon as one war ended, another began...

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Zackary could only sit in silence as Garnet told her story. He processed each and every word in his brain as they left her mouth. It sounded as if Twilight's theory was right after all: that overusing the Dragon Balls, irrespective of the nature of each wish, had dire consequences.

"You must understand," Garnet continued. "That every action has an equal and opposite reaction. We used the Dragon Balls to give back lives to those who's lives were stolen from them unfairly, thus bringing positive energy into the world. But negative energy was also born from these wishes, and this negative energy was contained within the Dragon Balls. Each wish we made introduced more and more of these two energies into the world."

"Until eventually, the Dragon Balls cracked," Twilight finished. "Just like what's happening now."

"Wait, why would the Kami before Dende create the Dragon Balls in the first place, if they have the potential to do such harm?" Spike asked angrily. "Sounds like he was just playing with the Earthlings to me."

"No, Spike," Twilight corrected. "Kami's intention wasn't to for the inhabitants of Earth to make wishes willy-nilly. He didn't make the Dragon Balls for the ease of their use, but in the hopes that no one would have to use them at all!"

"Now you're beginning to understand, Twilight," Garnet replied. "Just like we should've understood before even laying a hand on those Dragon Balls. You see, the Shadow Dragons represent the worst aspects of mortal-kind. Greed, toxicity, apathy, cruelty, deceit. These aspects of yourselves are what you are truly facing when fighting the Shadow Dragons, and in fact, when you make your search for the Dragon Balls in the first place."

"So the wishes that my Grandpa and others made with the Dragon Balls somehow gave birth to these monsters?" Pan asked shakily.

Garnet nodded in response. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Pan, but you and your friends are cleaning up after your grandfather, here."

Zackary looked over at Pan, who was beginning to tear up. Uub wrapped a comforting arm around her, and she leaned back into his shoulder. Just as Bulla was about to turn to Pan as if to say something, Steven spoke up.

"Before you guys get into who did what to cause this, let's all just be clear: Nobody is blaming anyone for anything. The fact is, this happened, and we have to deal with it now. Getting all angry and disappointed at Pan's Grandpa is only gonna make things worse."

Zackary let out a breath that he had been subconsciously holding this whole time. He had a fair idea of what Bulla was going to come out and say. "He's right. We can't loose our heads, guys. What matters now is that we find the rest of the Dragon Balls and make the world right again, just like we planned."

Bulla turned her gaze down to the table and looked hard at a spot there for a long moment. She then turned back to Pan and took her hand, giving Pan a short nod and a smile. She was followed soon by Uub, who took Pan's other hand in his free one. Then Marron reached across the table and put a hand on Uub's forearm before extending a hand out to Zackary. Zackary took her hand and felt a wide weight rest itself on his shoulder. He turned to see Buu looking at him with his trademark smile. Twilight repositioned her self between Bulla and Garnet and rested a hoof on Bulla's closest forearm, while Spike stood up, walked over to Twilight and Bulla and put a claw on each of their shoulders.

"Buu and friends fight together, Buu and friends win!" Buu announced.

"That's right, Buu," said Marron. "We're in this together, now."

Pan sniffled and let go of Uub's hand temporarily to dry her eyes. When she was done, she smiled to Marron, then to Zackary.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THIS PLANET!" Peridot suddenly shouted, prompting the attention of everyone seated. "First the Cluster, then Majin Buu, now wish granting Dragon Balls that turn evil if their overused? What's next, is Lord Freeza gonna give us a visit, too?"

"That's already happened, Peridot," Pearl replied. "And that... Son Goku... person... beat him."

Peridot began breathing erratically for a few moments, before her eyes rolled back and she slid down her seat and under the table.

"Drama queen," sniggered Amethyst.

Zackary turned back to Garnet and asked, "What else can you tell us about the Shadow Dragons?"

"Each of them is dangerous in their own way," Garnet replied. "But there is one who is worth warning about; Syn Shenron."

"Syn Shenron?" Spike asked. "What makes him so dangerous?"

"He's the One-Star Dragon Ball, and quite easily the strongest of the Shadow Dragons," said Garnet. "He was born from the greatest of our wishes, and thus is the most cruel, uncaring and evil hearted of them all. He has no respect of any form of life, and isn't even above killing his fellow Shadow Dragons."

"What's his special ability?" Pan asked. "Like, Haze with his pollution, or Rage with his electricity. It might provide a clue to what his weakness is."

Pearl shook her head as she replied. "He is simply the strongest of the Shadow Dragons, I'm afraid. No special abilities, no obvious weaknesses."

"Well, that makes trying to find that out of the question," Zackary said, looking down at his empty plate.

"Syn is also not at all a fair fighter," Garnet continued. "Even when outnumbered, he will still find an underhanded way to beat you."

"So in other words, keep our eyes open?" Twilight asked.

"Exactly," replied Garnet. "If he spots a weakness, he will exploit it. And when you face him, for stars' sake, don't have the Dragon Balls on you when you do?"

"Huh?" Zackary asked. "Why not."

"If Syn is able to absorb the other Dragon Balls, he will be nearly invincible, and will have the powers of all the other Shadow Dragons."

"How do you know that we'll have all the other Dragon Balls when we face this Syn Shenron?" Bulla asked.

"It's the most likely scenario I have seen," Garnet replied, taking of her shades, revealing not two, but three eyes, much to Zackary's surprise.

"My future vision enables my to see multiple futures and possibilities. That's actually how we Crystal Gems were able to beat Syn the first time. Believe me when I say the you truly don't want to know what happens when Syn is able to absorb the Dragon Balls."

"So, what do we do? Hide them?" Spike asked. "How do we know that this Syn Shenron won't come looking for them and find them in their hiding spot."

Zackary looked out to the horizon began to ponder their predicament. The sun was just setting then, giving the sky a beautiful blend of orange and purple. As he thought, Garnet spoke again.

"When we faced the Shadow Dragons, we hid each of the dragon balls in one place as we collected them – the cave near where we built our beach house. Then again, we were the only ones looking for them."

"I guess we can't do that then," said Marron. "If there are more people like the ones in that motorcycle gang that Zack and I faced in Red Centre Town, they'll surely be looking for the Dragon Balls."

"And should they happen upon our designated hiding place, all our efforts were for nothing," Zackary concluded out loud. "I think we should hold on to the Dragon Balls 'till we get six of the seven, and avoid Syn Shenron at all costs before we do so."

"You run the risk of Syn Shenron getting what he wants that way. You know that, right?" Steven questioned.

"Not if we hide them all together, first, mate" Zackary replied. All his friends looked to him with amazement as he said this.

"But what about the others who could be looking for the Dragon Balls?" Twilight asked.

"You can use our beach house to hide them when you have collected the six," Garnet offered. "Each of us gems has a room that only we can open. They will be safely hidden away until you return from defeating Syn Shenron."

"Well," Uub said with a sigh. "I guess that's as good a plan as any."

"I call dibs for holding on to them!" Amethyst suddenly blurted out.

"You are not nearly responsible enough to guard the Dragon Balls, Amethyst," Pearl protested. "Remember what you did with the one star ball we found? I believe I should be the temporary guardian of the Dragon Balls until-"

"They will be split evenly between us," Garnet interrupted. "I will get two, Amethyst will get two, and Pearl will get two."

"Sounds like a plan," Zackary said, with new enthusiasm in his voice. This was going to work, he knew it. He turned back to his friends, and they looked back with the same hopeful expression that he was feeling. It simply had to work.

"Remember guys," Zackary added. "Together."

"Together!" all eight of them cheered in unison, before standing up to help Steven and the Crystal Gems tidy up the beach.

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Zackary slowly opened his eyes from a not-so-pleasant dream. The moonlight shone through the window onto the couch that he was sleeping on. He sat up and looked around the room.

His friends were all still asleep, in their own sleeping bags that were generously provided by Amethyst and Pearl, and in different positions around the living room. Marron was next to him on the couch, lying the other way to him, Twilight was on the armchair, curled up into a ball, Spike was on the floor just under her, Pan decided that a good place to sleep was under the coffee table, Uub was right beside her, Buu was splayed out on a window-side seat near the front door and Bulla had somehow strung her sleeping back up between a staircase leading up to a higher level and the wall on the opposite side, to form a hammock. He stared out the front door to the beach ahead blankly, trying to empty his mind of all thought of the dream that he had. He didn't feel the movement next to him.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Marron asked quietly, interrupting Zackary from his concentration. He turned to her and nodded.

"You wanna talk about it?" Marron asked, shifting herself up next to him in her sleeping bag.

Zackary let out a sigh as he replied. "Just had a dream about my family back in Harbour City."

"Oh?" Marron asked. "Good I hope."

Zackary shook his head. "We flew back to my house and found them dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry," whispered Marron. "I'm sure your folks are fine."

"I hope so," said Zackary. "I've already lost my father to this madness. I couldn't bear the thought of losing anyone else."

"Don't worry, Zack," Marron said, placing a reassuring hand on Zackary's shoulder. "Once we get the Dragon Balls, we can bring your dad, and everyone else who lost their lives to all of this."

Zackary's brow furrowed. "I'm not so sure that's a great idea anymore."

"Huh?" asked Marron. "Why not?"

"Think about what Garnet said earlier," Zackary replied. "Didn't the Shadow Dragons come to life from similar wishes? I don't want to run the risk of bringing them back right after we put them down."

There was silence in the room for what seemed like hours before Marron spoke again.

"Well, how about this," she said, causing Zackary to turn his look to her. "We only make that wish on the Dragon Balls, to wish everyone back to life. After that, we promise never to go looking for them again."

"R-really?" Zackary asked, bewildered. "What if we need them for something serious?"

"If it's someone's time to die, then it's their time," Marron replied. "You heard Garnet's story. If we keep using them to bring people back to life every time something like this happens, well, we're dealing with the consequences now, aren't we?"

Zackary looked out to the door again as he pondered Marron's words. His own mother would use a similar phrase when describing death. It somehow made him feel... comforted, hearing it from Marron.

"You know, Marron, strangely enough, that actually made me feel a lot better," he said, turning to her and smiling. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Zack," Marron replied, returning the smile and removing her hand from his shoulder. "Now, try and get some sleep. We have another early morning tomorrow."

Zackary nodded a lay back down where he was, while Marron did the same.

Hold on Mum, McKenzie, Jordan. I'll make this right, he thought to himself as he slowly drifted back off to sleep.

Zackary: G'day, Zackary here. We're finally off to find the next Dragon Ball!

Bulla: Hey, look guys! Harbour City!

Marron: Isn't that where you live, Zack?

Zackary: What? I can't believe it! I gotta check on my family real quick guys! Next time on Dragon Ball Harmony: Return to Harbour City; Free Fish? Don't miss it!