Chapter 51

They arrived on the next floor, and the metallic gate opened slowly. The gang of people got out, walking past the six Dragon statues on the sides. There were three on each side, and each in the same position as the ones outside. Up ahead, there was a fork in the path, but they headed left out of experience. This brought them to the room with the teleportation device that would send them up to the very top of Fort Dragonia.

"Just a question," Bulma suddenly said, breaking the silence among them all. "What was that weird flame back at Chronopolis? It looked like it was frozen or something."

"Tha's exactly wha't is," Laze mumbled, balancing herself on the edge of the path, keeping her arms spread to keep her balance. "Wha ya saw was the Frozen Flame, also known as 'Corena Terosa' amongst the Dragonians. It's the essence of a monstrous creature going by the o'---whoa!!"

Laze stopped for a moment when she threatened to fall over. Hope looked up in shock and finished Laze's sentence for her.

"Lavos."

Laze whirled around to look at Hope in shock.

"How the Bloody Hell did ya know?!" she asked.

"Same told me 'bout 'em. She said he ruined her life fereva," Hope answered plainly. "Now I've got a question fer ye! How'd ya know 'bout the Frozen Flame?"

Laze stepped back on the path and said: "If I knew, I'd tell ya, but I don't. Jus' sorta popped inta me skull or somethin'."

Hope nodded, accepting the answer.

Elvor suddenly remembered something.

"What on Earth does Ciria have to do with all of this anyway?" he asked.

"Good question! I was kinda wondering that myself!" Goku said.

Mune, the green haired kid with blue eyes, turned around and started walking backwards so he could look at the gang while talking to them.

"Well, Ciria was from a future that could've been if FATE hadn't been defeated and if the Arbiter had died because of the Hydra poison. FATE had somehow gotten its hands on the Frozen Flame and had begun destroying everything, starting with the 8 Dragon Gods Of Time."

Masa continued.

"Same was the very first to go by what Ciria told us, and the others followed shortly after. Ciria somehow managed to destroy all robots safe for one, but she did kill FATE. Sadly enough, killing FATE brought no one she knew back, and she would've fallen into despair, if what had happened hadn't happened."

"Now there's a confusing sentence!" Asoret mumbled.

This time, Doreen began.

"A large time-portal, also known as a 'Gate', swallowed up a large part of the city Ciria had been at when it was being destroyed by a large storm. The storm had caused the waves of the sea to rise so high that the city was easily overwhelmed. However, when the Gate swallowed the city up, everything froze and would never move again. The Gate sent the city, including Ciria to the past, right in the unused part of the Sea Of Eden named the Dead Sea. The Dragons came to check it out, and they found Ciria."

"Ciria warned them of what was going to happen," Mura continued. "So the Dragons prepared themselves for the time that that would come. Sky even went as far as to give the Arbiter medicine for the Hydra poison. It wouldn't stop the poison, but at least it would stop it for a little while. However, no one had counted on Ciria's death."

"Tha guy… was Sky??" Laze asked, shocked.

Same nodded and said: "Yeah, he was. But anyway, the Dragons knew that Ciria could possibly help all of you in the future, which is why they all agreed to revive her, only in a way that no one knew it was her. It was a difficult process, and they only managed by using the Dragon Tear that Ciria took with her from the future. Sadly enough, the process was too strong and Ciria forgot who she was, and everything that she shouldn't have forgotten. And in the process, the Dragon Tear shattered."

Bulma had stopped suddenly, and her eyes began to lightly tear up. All her memories began to run through her mind, and none of it had been fun.

She opened her eyes in confusion, not knowing where she was, until she realized the patterns on the ceiling.

'Fort Dragonia? But… that was… destroyed…' she thought, thinking she was dreaming.

"Hey guys! She's awake!!" a familiar voice said.

She sat up, and looked on in shock as all eight Dragons walked into the room, still standing. She felt like she was dreaming, but she couldn't think anything else, because Same talked to her after she had seated herself on a pedestal.

"Who are ye? Ye're a new face here."

"What?!" she asked. "What's going on?! Don't you recognize me?!" she asked.

Same quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I'm s'posed ta?" she asked.

Flora giggled.

"I like you!" she said to the girl. "You're cute!"

She smiled, easily recognizing Flora's childlike ways.

"You look awful," Terra said, lifting a bloodied lock of hair from the girl's scalp. "You can stay with us until you feel better."

Typically Terra, looks first, then health.

"God, you were out for quite some time, what happened?" Pyro asked, adjusting her hat.

"You just appeared in the Dead Sea out of nowhere," Douse clarified a little.

She told them who she was, where she'd come from, and they all listened.

"A ruin from the future?" Sky inquired after a while.

She nodded.

Sky nodded too, and said: "Impressive."

"What happened to make it so… ruined?" Mura asked her.

She had wanted to answer, but the memory was still too painful for her.

"Stop bombarding her with questions," the eighth Dragon said. "Let her rest for now."

"Alright," the other Dragons said, and left the room.

He turned to her for a moment when he too reached the door, staring at her with intense red eyes.

"Don't worry, we shall make sure FATE is destroyed," he said, and left her alone with her troubles.

And once the door closed, she cried.

Bulma sniffed, recalling the loss of the Dragons, the only ones who had ever seen her as family. When someone placed a hand on her shoulder, she looked up. Vegeta was standing there. The two of them were the only ones left, because the others were already on the top floor. She knew she'd blown her cover, she had a feeling he knew why she was crying. He didn't say anything though, just kept his hand on her shoulder. Bulma finally couldn't take it anymore, and cried in his chest. Vegeta didn't mind; he just held her.

Bulma didn't recall how long they stood there, how long she'd been crying, but through it all, Vegeta was there with her. The tears wouldn't stop, because the loss of her family was too much for her. Ignorance was such bliss at some points. If only she didn't have to remember all of this, all would've been fine. But she knew it wouldn't, because she now knew why they were here.

Finally, the two of them were with the others, who were waiting for them.

"Ye alrigh' now, Bulma?" Laze asked.

Bulma sniffed once, but nodded.

"Bulma…" a young girl's voice said.

Bulma looked down at the young Same, who was now holding the Dragon Tear in her hand.

She held it out to Bulma and said: "You have to proceed alone from here… I think you know why…"

Bulma nodded and took the Dragon Tear from her.

She then put a frown on her face, and stepped up to the door to the next room. Bulma pushed them open, and strode inside, leaving the others outside as the doors closed.

"Where do we go from here?" a redheaded demi-human asked, before she shifted back into her human form.

"God, FATE's been defeated, and we can go home. Finally," a auburn haired woman in a long trenchcoat said, placing a loose strand behind her ear.

"No."

Everyone whirled around to face the golden haired female.

"The Black Wind is howling furiously… I have a feeling, our mission here isn't over yet."

Everyone blinked, looking at each other.

"And it has something to do with that new moon."

She took heavy breaths, trying to control herself, before stalking over to the pedestal in the center, still holding the Dragon Tear in her hand. She stopped a few feet in front of it, standing on a circle engraved in the ground, and gazed around the room. She saw all six Dragon statues, each poised in a roar, facing her. She took a gulp, and placed the Dragon Tear on the pedestal.

The Earth Dragon statue shimmered, and a strange energy formed in its mouth.

Yellow Dragon… Fortune

The Fire Dragon statue shimmered, and a strange energy formed in its mouth.

Red Dragon… Love

The Green Dragon statue shimmered, and a strange energy formed in its mouth.

Green Dragon… Innocence

The Water Dragon statue shimmered, and a strange energy formed in its mouth.

Blue Dragon… Courage

The Black Dragon statue shimmered, and a strange energy formed in its mouth.

Black Dragons… Evil

The White Dragon statue shimmered and a strange energy formed in its mouth

White Dragon… Kindness

The energy shot straight at the Dragon Tear, which absorbed the energy, and glowed the mystifying glow it had always had. Bulma looked straight into it, the blue hexagons being reflected in her eyes. Her reflection was seen in the blue gem, and suddenly, it shifted to another familiar face. A face seeming to be the exact same, but the face was shrouded with silver locks, and was staring back with a pure silver gaze.

Bulma suddenly felt like she was drowning as bubbles began to swim around her and began to stick to her body. She began to gasp for breath as her pulse began to race faster and faster, and she fell to her knees, unable to stay standing. She was leaning on her arms, when suddenly, her eyes widened in horror as her body seemed to shrink!

The light of the Dragon Tear bounced around the room lighting up pictures of all kinds, but Bulma didn't see them. All she saw was her own body, shrinking before her very eyes. She raised her hands, and noticed that they were becoming smaller by the second, and it made her want to scream, but she couldn't. She had wanted to run, but her legs were also shrinking, so that was out of option, sadly enough.

She couldn't cry out, because her voice seemed to be lost, so instead, she watched as her body began to shrink further, until her clothes didn't even fit her anymore. Strangely enough, she felt no pain. However, for that, she was glad. Her thoughts were lost, she couldn't think logically anymore. She shook her head, as if trying to cancel it, but she couldn't figure out why. Things were so unclear, and she wasn't sure of anything anymore.

Finally, she felt so utterly lightheaded, that she passed out, not noticing her clothes falling to the ground as her body evaporated in water bubbles.

The Dragon Tear was beating rapidly, like a heart, the energy it had absorbed flying everywhere through the room, filling the room all the way up with water.

The place where every living thing was born in.

Bye Bulma!

Reviews:

Ciria: No, he didn't. Yep.

ketsui-8: There are 55 chapters, plus an epilogue, and a small quiz to go with it.

The Mad Orange: I KNOW that! I just bloody hate him!! And uh, I think you already got my answer.

samicat: Masa, Mune, Doreen, Mura and Same had come from Zenan with Laze, but they'd gotten lost during a storm. If you think for a second, because there are two people with a diagonal scar. Laze, and ………

Bulma BriefsYue Lover: You're welcome!

Shai: Really? Did you finish the game already? I finished it a few times at different points, and I got some pretty freaky endings. Especially that one with 'General Kid'. [shivers] That was freaky!

REQUEST

Please review the names of two people who are/could be good/close friends.