Chapter 31

The young, pale girl opened her eyes as she heard the gunshots and cries of pain. Her color-shifting eyes were poised into a frown, and her white hair with black streaks was neatly combed and hung down her back. Two sheaths were slung around her back, both containing blades that held mystical power her mother had blessed her with. She wore a pair of black shorts and a short black tank top, which clung to her body. Over it, she wore a long white skirt that nearly touched the ground with slits on the side that came to just below her hips, and a long white robe which she kept open no matter what the weather. The sash of the robe would wave about as she moved, as well as her skirt.

The guard ran inside.

"Lady Hope ©!" he cried out.

"I heard 'em," Lady Hope said, standing up, and stepping into some black step-in shoes. "Them assholes picked the wrong village," she said, and headed outside, a furious look on her face, and a strong, scaled tail whipped at the air behind her.

Bulma, Vegeta, Ancha, Elvor, Kari, Goku and Asoret ran out of the Inn, and raced toward the docks, carrying their weapons in their hands. They were all wondering what Porre was doing in Guldove, but none asked, knowing they had to face them to find out. When they arrived at the docks, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Oooooooooh SHIT!!!!" Elvor exclaimed loudly.

"C'est impossible!!" Ancha said, her eyes wide.

Bulma looked confused.

"Who or what is that?" she asked Vegeta.

"That," Vegeta said, "is everyone's worst nightmare. Meet Grobyc, Porre's cyborg-assassin!"

A dark hovering figure looked down on them with solid black eyes, its face cloaked in a red cloth mask, its blue uniform the unmistakable mark of a Porre soldier…… but that's where its humanity ended. The thing's flesh shared the same deathly blue pallor as its uniform, its hair a single oak-red spike. Its right arm gleamed in the sunlight and Bulma suddenly realized that circuitry and wires lay beneath the torn skin.

Kari whimpered softly, and quickly hid behind Asoret, who was staring at the cyborg in awe.

"Wow, I've never seen anything like it!" he muttered.

"You should be glad then," Elvor said, and placed his rapier away.

From the sheath on his back, he grabbed the ultra black blade he'd received from Same.

"That thing's killed more than the entire Porre Army put together!"

Bulma was horrified. Suddenly, something began to spark in her mind.

"Let's fight it!!" she said, grabbing her dagger. "But don't kill it!!"

Everyone looked at her in shock.

"Just trust me on this one!!"

"Grobyc-only-obeys-those-who-are-stronger!!" the cyborg hissed icily. "And-Porre-is-strongest!!!"

Vegeta huffed.

"We'll see about that!" Elvor hissed right back, grasping the Murasame in his hands.

Grobyc didn't seem to like that, and raced at Elvor, but Elvor ran at him as well. Grobyc punched with his left fist, but Elvor easily blocked. Elvor lunged at Grobyc's feet, but the cyborg jumped up to avoid the blade. Bulma watched, and noticed how much the cyborg looked… human.

Vegeta growled and raced at the cyborg while Elvor kept it busy. Grobyc had somehow seen him though, and when Elvor lashed out at him again, he backflipped, whirled around, and easily punched Vegeta in his gut. Bulma gasped at that, and growled. Yellow sparks surrounded her and centered on her dagger.

"ELECTRICSWORD!!!" she hollered, and ran at the cyborg, whom looked at her in what could've been confusion.

The sword didn't touch the ground this time however, and the blade was aimed at Grobyc's waist. Grobyc wasn't fast enough to block or counter, so the blade cut through him like a hot knife through butter.

A strange sound emerged from the cyborg's mouth as he was hurled aside. Instead of bleeding however, all that was seen was electric circuitry that was sizzling about. They were about to recollect him, when his hand twitched, making them step back. Slowly, Grobyc rose back to his feet, shaking his head a little. Grobyc looked at the wound at his waist, surprisingly calm.

Kari suddenly sniffed the air and looked back. She let out a shriek of fear. Everyone turned around as well, shocked at what they saw. Grobyc looked up as well. There, stood a large metallic monster the size of an ordinary house. Its hands were two large blades with thermometers on them for some odd reason, its feet were the size of average caskets, and its head was just scary. It wasn't in the least human, which was what made the thing so frightening.

"W-w-what is that?!" Asoret asked.

"I don't know! This one's new!" Vegeta said.

Grobyc blinked his eyes, and mumbled: "What-is-Guillot-doing-here??"

The entire gang got ready to battle, for they had a feeling this one wouldn't go down easily. Asoret quickly fired an arrow at the thing, but it bounced right off. Kari growled and ran at the large machine, katana in hand, and threw her weapon at the machine, but it easily blocked her, for such a lunkhead. The thing lashed out at them, but they were faster than it, and scattered. All the time, Grobyc watched them, a strange glow of life in his eyes.

Goku tried to cut through the metal, but the metal was too tough to penetrate. Asoret also tried to cut through the machine's metal, but to no avail. Ancha's pins were hurled all over the robot's body, but they couldn't get through. None of them noticed the thermometers of Guillot's blades going up, but they did notice the strange glow on the blades. Guillot whirled around, aiming the blades straight at Bulma, who cried out as she felt the heat coming from the blades. She was too slow to dodge and too weak to block, and the others were all too far away from her to help. Bulma closed her eyes, awaiting the blow that never came, though she did hear a strange clanging sound.

When she opened her eyes, both of Guillot's blades were stopped by two other blades, wielded by a single girl no older than Bulma or Vegeta. The girl's muscles were a little bigger than Bulma's though. With a loud clanging sound, the girl hit the blades away, and shot the right blade through the robot's 'stomach'. When Guillot tried to hit her, she ducked away, and lashed out with her left blade, hitting the robot's waist. The girl's blades cut through the metal with ease, a lot easier than either of the gang's weapons. Guillot tried to hit her again and again, but it kept missing her. The girl was really fast, and she managed to run to right in front of Guillot, and she kicked it, hard, making it fall back.

And that's where it staid.

The girl gave a firm nod at the machine, and sheathed both blades in the sheaths on her back.

She looked around the group of friends, and asked: "Ye people alrigh'?"

The girl was from Zenan. Easy to tell by her accent.

"We'll be fine, thank you," Elvor said, sheathing the Murasame on his back.

"Who are you anyway?" Asoret asked.

"Me name's Hope. Nice meetin' ya. Who are ye?" Hope asked right back.

Some small introduction followed, and no one noticed Grobyc remaining in the shadows.

"Wha are ye people lookin' fer?" Hope asked kindly.

"We were looking for the shaman. The Sky Dragon said we had to pick something up here," Vegeta said.

"The shaman, eh?" Hope questioned. "Well, ya found her."

"Wait a minute! You're the shaman?!" Goku asked, shocked.

"Yep. Tha'd be me! So, Sky told ya ye had ta ge' sometin' from me?"

"Yes, but we're not sure---" Bulma started, when someone interrupted her.

"If-Grobyc-were-you-Grobyc-would-run," Grobyc said as Guillot began to rise again.

"Bloody Hell?! I thought I trashed tha thing already!!" Hope exclaimed.

"Apparently not," Ancha whimpered, stepping back cautiously.

"Kari no like this," Kari mumbled, moving away quietly.

Guillot was finally back to its feet, and by the looks of it, it wasn't at all that happy.

"Tha cyborg's got a point ya know," Hope mumbled.

Vegeta nodded.

"Let's get out of here then!!"

That was the signal they'd all been waiting for, and they ran. Problem was, Guillot came after them.

Luckily, all the others of the village had already left for the safety of their homes, for Guillot destroyed practically everything that got in his way.

"Up the ladder!!" Hope shouted as they reached one of the towers.

They did just that. Guillot was too bulky to climb ladders, and the ladder would give away if it tried to get up anyway. Guillot wasn't one to give up though. Instead of using the stairs however, Guillot used the tower to get up!!

"People are gonna die if tha thing don't stop now!!" Hope hissed angrily.

"Then go back down!!" Kari said, and she had already turned, but stopped dead.

Grobyc had just taken the last step up the ladder, and was blocking their only way of escape.

"Oh no," Bulma whispered.

"Zut," Ancha said.

Elvor was about to grab the Murasame from his back, when Grobyc spoke.

"Step-aside!"

All of them were confused at first, but they did when Grobyc took a position that signified he was going to run full-speed at something. Guillot had almost reached the top, and the tower would collapse at any second, but Grobyc ran at the large machine and jumped on. Guillot received the shock of its life, and especially when Grobyc pulled his left fist back, and punched the other machine clear in its skull. Grobyc then jumped away, but without his left hand. That was still stuck in Guillot's head.

Everyone watched quietly, as nothing happened for ten whole seconds, before Guillot's head exploded, and the machine fell down. Grobyc leaned over the railing to watch it fall, but he nearly tumbled over because of the shockwave it created, if Hope hadn't pulled him back. Silence reigned the group for awhile, before Vegeta turned to Grobyc, a little suspicious.

"You just saved not only our lives, but that of everyone in this village. Why?"

Grobyc turned to him, his facial expression partly visible through the see-through cloth mask.

"You-oppose-the-Porre-military," Grobyc said plainly.

Bulma snorted.

"You would too if you---OOF!!"

Elvor had elbowed her in her gut.

"Shut up," he hissed.

"Grobyc-finds-that-interesting."

Asoret blinked.

"Sorry?"

"Grobyc-would-like-to-join-on-your-quest," Grobyc finally stated, causing a few members of the team to topple over.

"C'est impossible!!" Ancha said, a little steamed.

"What gave you that ridiculous idea!?" Goku demanded.

However, they knew the decision was up to Vegeta, and if Vegeta chose to accept, they had no saying in it.

Vegeta looked at Grobyc, and saw in the robot's eyes that he was serious. Although he didn't enjoy fighting with an enemy, right now, they could use all the help they could get. There was only one thing that had to go though.

"Fine, you're in."

Grobyc seemed to smile behind his cloth mask.

Hope smirked and said: "At least Porre lost its precious cyborg-assassin, and tha's a good thing. For us, I mean."

Everyone agreed on that, although there were a few frowns here and there.

"Hey, 'bou' tha thing ye guys were 'sposed ta pick up, I think I know wha Sky's been talkin' 'bou'."

"This's it!" Hope said, and placed something on the table in front of the others.

Grobyc had been fixed by Bulma, and instead of wearing a Porre uniform, he was wearing the Terminan uniform. He still had the cloth mask, as if he didn't want to show his face. They were all standing around a round table, with the Dragon Emblem carved in it. The object was standing in the center circle.

It was a strange sapphire blue gem, surrounded with white crystal on the sides. At one side, the crystal curved upward, and if you followed the lines of the other pieces of crystal, you'd swear the thing looked like a teardrop.

"This's the Dragon Tear," Hope said, almost as if reading their mind. "It's been passed down from shaman ta shaman fer generations."

Elvor watched the gem closely, studying the hexagons that the gem was made off. He wasn't the only one. Bulma was also watching the hexagons, as if they held some kind of secret.

The light from the torches was reflected on the gem, and it danced about the room. The hexagons of the blue gem were reflected in the blue of Bulma's eyes. Something suddenly happened inside her mind. She saw the Dragon's faces flash by her eyes, one by one. Terra, Douse, Pyro, Flora, Mura, Same and Sky. Then, she saw this strange place. A strange palace-like structure, sitting on an island, before a large black dome came up around it, lit up, making the entire isle vanish. Fierce Dragonian victory roars were all you could hear.

Bulma groaned and grasped her head with one hand.

"You alright, Bulma?" Vegeta asked.

"Yeah, just a small headache, that's all."

Yeah right.

"What-does-this-Dragon-Tear-do?" Grobyc asked.

"It's said tha the Dragon Tear's got the power ta switch bodies. Though I ain't too sure how tha's 'sposed ta go," Hope explained.

Asoret looked at the gem a bit oddly, and asked: "What are we supposed to do with this?"

"I wouldn't know," Vegeta mumbled. "But maybe we can ask the Dragons after Laze is healed."

Hope looked at him for a moment.

"Hey, ye woul'n't mind if I wen' along too, woul' ya?"

Bulma looked at her in confusion.

"But… why?"

"Well, I wanna see the inside o' the Sea Of Eden fer meself. Le's jus' say, I'm rather curious as ta wha's in tha place," Hope said.

"Then I don't see why not," Vegeta answered. A smirk graced Hope's face.

However… not everyone was feeling their best.

Laze cried out as another seizure grasped her young body, and she began to cough up blood. Her scar was burning painfully, and the poison was running through her bloodstream extremely fast now. Sweat was rolling down her face, salty tears slipped from underneath her closed eyelids, and her entire body seemed to radiate a strange aura of disease.

Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest, and a hand on her chest tried to desperately calm it, before it would burst. She choked again, and blood poured from her mouth. Another seizure shook her body and a cry of anguish burst forth from her dry throat. Pain shot through her entire body, and she laid there, like a fetus, rolled up, and scared for her life. Her hands found her stomach, and she cried as yet another seizure shook her body.

'He… he neva… neva gotta… a chance…' she thought sadly, and cried out in pain, choking on a large amount of blood.

Those guys better hurry! Time doesn't slow down for anybody!!

Reviews:

Kitten: I know I missed the battles on Fargo's ship! But who can't you beat?? That 'DeadHead' from the Ghost Ship or something?? If not, tell which one you mean. Oh, and what exactly makes you say that the last Dragon is female, hmmm?

veggie-chan: Yes, it was a vision, and Bulma was having it.

P-chan: I guess. Thanks for the compliment.

trunks babe: No problem!

cat421: Well, I didn't describe that much, did I?

B-chan and Syaorons angel: The couple at the end were Bulma and Vegeta for your information. And I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about those Porre guys!!

Bulma BriefsYue Lover: Figured you would.

Ciria: Who says Same was talking about the last Dragon? I can't answer that question about the Dragons and Bulma, sorry.

Dragon battle schedule:

1. Earth Dragon Isle - Terra, the Earth Dragon

2. Water Dragon Isle - Douse, the Water Dragon

3. Mt. Pyre - Pyro, the Fire Dragon

4. Gaea's Navel - Flora, the Green Dragon

5. Marbule - Mura, Eldest Black Dragon

6. Marbule - Same, Youngest Black Dragon

7. Sky Dragon Isle - Sky, the Sky Dragon

8. Sea Of Eden - ????????

I already told Yue this, but if people desire for me to write a side-story about all couples [lemon style] please tell and I'll see what I can do. I'm not that good at lemons, but that's my own opinion.