Chapter 52

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………………Silence…

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…………………………There was not a sound in the room…

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………………There was no movement in the room…

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…Besides the flow of water…

Inside the mass of water, slept a young child, no older than a few days. She had a few strands of silvery hair on her tiny head, as her body was curled up in a fetus-position. Her breath was steady and calm, which was rather odd, seeing as she floated in the water.

Slowly, her eyes opened, revealing two orbs of pure silver. She blinked, twice, then squeezed them shut and cried out as her body aged 17 whole years within a few seconds. Then, a seemingly glass wall cracked, then shattered with the clear sound of breaking glass, causing the girl to collapse on the ground. Her eyes were still closed, and she was panting heavily for breath, leaning on her arms.

After what seemed like an eternity, she opened her eyes, and gasped when she saw her reflection in the water. Water droplets fell from her hair into the small puddles, rippling up her reflection a little. Carefully, she raised one knee, placed a hand on it, and pushed herself to her feet, shaking the water from her waist-length hair. She lifted her hands up to her face, studying the palms and the back, shock still evident on her face.

She then turned around, her silver colored eyes focussing on the pedestal in the center. A sad smile graced her face at the sight of the blue shards resting on and around the pedestal.

"Wha's goin' on in there?!" Laze demanded a little angry.

"What Bulma be doing there?" Kari asked, sitting with her legs over the edge of the platform, swinging her legs back and forth calmly.

It was indeed taking very long. Bulma had been in there for a few hours already, and there had been no sign of her getting out yet.

Suddenly the door opened, and everyone whirled around in confusion. Out the door, dressed in the same clothes as when she went in, stepped Bulma, only now, her hair and eyes were a shining silver color.

"Bulma?!!?" everyone exclaimed at the same time.

Bulma simply smiled and said shyly: "Surprise?"

"Bloody Hell! How'd ya manage ta do tha?" Hope asked, smiling a little.

"Well, the Dragon Tear did most of the work, but uh…" Bulma started, and held up a bag to Hope.

Hope took it and opened it.

"It shattered…" she mumbled. "Now why doesn't tha surprise me?"

"You… you mean you're not angry?" Bulma asked, confused.

"Nah, it was ta be expected anyway, don't bother 'bout it."

Ancha smiled broadly and said: "Moi not sure what moi zhould call you. 'Elp me out!"

Bulma smiled too and said: "Just 'Bulma' will do fine."

Heat baked the interiors of the Termina Bar just as it grilled the streets outside. Yet, the Termina Bar accounted for the footrest for tens of thousands of visitors at the turn of every moon, at the end of close of every ledger. Located fittingly along a street near the port, the tavern was a necessary stop to those who waited for the next ferry to the mainland continents beyond or the El Nido isles. It offered the finest collection of wines imported from the mainland of Zenan and a wide range of vintages to the paying customers. Among its well-known dishes was the Squid Gut Pasta, a delicacy of flour pasta and boiled squids, a delicacy whose draw lie in its mouth-watering sauce. It was a delight, an addiction to the man on the streets and the aristocrats alike.

The bar, long and rectangular, was furnished with brown-tiled bricks and two expensive chandeliers. Burning torches built into the alcoves that were sealed behind brown metal grilles added an overall enigmatic feel to the bar. Tables were of elegant cream, long and round at the corners. No seats, however, filled the room around the tables and customers were made to stand for their meals and drinks. The first generations of operators and chefs had unanimously and stubbornly refused to install seats, eccentrically insisting that food tasted better this way. Customers never complained, for the good food lived up to its name around town.

However, not everyone appreciated this.

"Why can't they have any chairs in this place?" Goku asked, as they waited for their food to arrive.

"Ah, shuddap 'bout it! I'm rather curious 'bout this 'Squid Gut Pasta'," Hope said.

"It doesn't really sound that nice," Bulma said, making a face.

Laze chuckled and said: "Tha's exactly wha I said, and I took me words righ' back! And believe me; I don't do tha very much!"

Hope and Laze had gotten acquainted to each other, probably due to the fact that they both seemed to know so much about certain things that others couldn't possibly understand. Ancha and Kari were chatting back and forth with each other, constantly trying to make out what the other was saying, due to their own accent. Goku was asking Asoret a few questions about his father and aunt, wanting to know at least a little more about the Black Dragons. Haelles, who wasn't really the socialist, was actually talking with Elvor, though it was more like a battle of wits, as both of them tried to outwit the other. Bulma took a small loaf of bread, and took a bite from it, smiling at the familiar taste it left in her mouth. Arnian bread, she'd recognize that taste anywhere. Vegeta took a sip from his wine, and looked at Bulma for a moment from the corner of his eye. Within a few hours, things had changed, but was it for the better, or for the worse? He honestly didn't know.

After some more time of more chatting, some waiters came over and placed their orders on the table. Bulma gulped at the sight of the dish of Squid Gut Pasta, and watched Hope take a bite of the pasta instead. Hope smiled and took another bite without complaint. Laze also ate some of the pasta without complaining, so finally, Bulma picked up her fork and stabbed a part of the pasta. With a sigh through her nose, she lifted her fork and placed the fork in her mouth. Her eyes instantly widened at the unfamiliar taste, but she didn't spit it back out. She chewed thoughtfully, trying to determine the taste, but inwardly shrugged and swallowed.

They all chatted back and forth once in awhile, asking questions of all kinds, while eating Squid Gut Pasta and drinking red wine. Even Kari, who no one had seen as that type, drank a lot of red wine. She said it tasted a lot of the soup they had at her village. Everyone seemed to enjoy the company of the others, as if they wouldn't have changed it even if they had had the chance. Because at some points, there would have been times that someone must've thought about not being involved in it. No one acted on it though. And personally, Bulma wouldn't change it for the world.

"Ya know," Laze said, after having taken another sip of her wine, "sometimes when I took the medicine Sky gave me, I wished none o' this had happened, tha I had neva been poisoned and all. But I jus' realized, tha if it indeed hadn't happened, we woul'n't be here righ' now. If it neva happened, FATE woul' still be 'round, and we woul've neva believed it if we eva heard tha some kind o' machine had been controllin' Porre. So, ya coul' say, I'm glad this all happened, and I'm glad I met all o' ye guys."

Bulma smiled, never having thought that Laze could say something like that, and she wasn't the only one by the looks of it. Ancha smiled, and began to clap lightly, and the others soon followed. Laze smiled and curtsied a little, however, Bulma noticed that Laze seemed to have done something like that a lot more than she might show.

Conversation resumed to normal after that, but something seemed to be gnawing on Laze's mind, but hardly anyone seemed to notice. It was just in her eyes anyway, but Laze didn't seem to want to talk about it.

After some time though, Bulma decided to question it.

"Laze."

Laze looked up, after taking a sip of her wine.

"Something's bothering you, I can tell. Care to share with us?" she asked.

Laze looked down at her glass, and her mood seemed to be gone at the instance. Ancha seemed to understand why, and sighed softly. Laze looked at the young harlequin before giving a sigh herself. Everyone was looking at her in confusion.

"Porre's been restored…" Laze mumbled, and Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked.

"You zeem zo 'ave forgotten what we zaid when we were in ze Hydra Marzhez when we first met," Ancha said.

Suddenly Elvor choked on some of his Squid Gut Pasta, and looked up in horror. Vegeta did too, only he didn't choke on anything. Bulma, having heard the story too, looked stupefied.

"Y-y-you're leaving?!" Bulma asked, making everyone stare at Laze and Ancha in shock.

"We gotta," Laze said. "We don't have a sayin' in the matter."

Silence reigned for awhile, because no one knew what to say about it.

Haelles finally sighed and said: "I don't think the other Dragons will think it wise for me to let you go alone. I'm supposed to be your guardian after all."

Laze managed to smile again, and said: "Yeah, well, ya sure tha's the only reason, eh?" while quirking an eyebrow.

Haelles simply scoffed, but didn't say a word. Bulma finally decided to leave it at that, but still.

"You will visit once in awhile won't you?" she asked.

"O' course we will!!" Laze said, almost undignified. "Tha's wha friends are fer, eh?"

The others finally managed to smile again as well.

Conversation picked up again, until Laze suddenly seemed to notice something.

"Hey, me eyes coul' be mistakin', but is tha Chichi??" she said, pointing to another table.

Everyone else looked over, and gasped. Chichi was indeed standing at one of the tables, but she didn't seem to be very happy. She actually seemed rather down. Bulma excused herself for a moment, and walked over to Chichi.

"Chichi?" she asked, tapping the other girl on her shoulder.

Chichi whirled around, and gasped when she saw Bulma.

"Bulma?! What happened to you?!" she questioned.

Bulma smiled and said: "Long story. Come on and I'll tell you."

"Yamcha suddenly began to murder everyone on the school, and I just ran, I couldn't help it! I was scared!!" Chichi cried after having heard what happened to Bulma, Vegeta and the others. "The school's destroyed, and I managed to take the very last boat that left. That's how I came here. But everyone else… Juu, Krillin, Jay, and the others… they're all dead…" Goku pulled Chichi to him, trying to soothe her somehow.

Laze growled.

"So while we were gone, tha bastard took the chance ta overrun the school and kill all witnesses. Jus' great!"

Hope sighed.

"Wha a filthy S.O.B.," she mumbled.

"But… what are we supposed to do now?" Goku asked.

Vegeta thought for a moment, then said: "First off, I think we need to find some volunteers to help rebuild Viper Manor."

Laze smiled.

"Ye're gonna rebuild it??" she asked.

Vegeta nodded.

Ancha smiled as well and said: "We zhould really toazt zo zat!"

Everyone raised his or her glass and tapped it together lightly, each saying: "To Viper Manor!"

"Ya don't have any regrets 'bout leavin' this all behind?" Hope asked as her and Laze watched over the entire El Nido Archipelago.

"A lil', I guess," Laze murmured. "I've spent a lot o' time on this place, but I still wanna go home."

Hope nodded.

"I understand. There's nothin' wrong with wantin' ta go home. But, I want ya ta have this," she said, getting out something from her pocket.

She gave it to Laze, who looked at it in confusion.

"How-how didja--?" she started.

"It's a secret, okay?" Hope said.

Laze nodded and the two shook hands for what would be the last time.

"I shoul' be off ta Guldove. I'll see ya once in awhile alrigh'?"

"Yeah."

And with that, Hope ran like the wind, before large Dragon Wings protruded from her shoulder blades, claws grew at her hands and feet, horns came from her brows, her tail unwound from her waist, and she shot off into the sky.

The two blades clashed violently, and the gang watched the battle silently. Finally, the fighting pair jumped away.

"It's 'bout time we left," Laze said with a sigh.

"Oui," Ancha said, and walked over to the large vessel.

Laze and Elvor glared each other down, then raised their blades to their faces, the blades nearly touching their nose. They were silent for awhile, until they both sheathed their blades.

"Don't be a stranger!" Chichi said with a smile, dressed up in normal El Nidoan clothing.

"We'll try," Haelles said with a chuckle, and he and Laze got aboard the ship.

They all waved their friends farewell, and Laze stood on the bow, waving her arm to them, a smile on her face. They all staid there until the ship disappeared on the horizon.

Chichi pushed another pillar with Bulma's help, and after sometime, it finally stood in place. It had been a year already since Laze, Ancha and Haelles had left for Zenan after having received word from Guardia. Viper Manor was really coming along well. The entire city of Termina had volunteered for the reconstruction, and even a few people from Arni, and it was going faster than anyone had planned.

Bulma wiped the perspiration from her forehead with a sigh.

"Whoo! We're going through this pretty fast, huh?" she said to the raven-haired girl.

Chichi smiled and said: "Yeah. But why is there no electricity here?"

Chichi still couldn't understand why the people of El Nido didn't want electricity, television, radio, and stuff like that.

"Chichi, they just don't need it here," Bulma tried to explain. "They believe that there are other ways to amuse yourself, and I do too, because if they had television, no one would be outside and no one would've volunteered to help us. WAAAAAAAAH!!" she suddenly screamed.

"What?! What is it?!?!" Chichi asked.

"I'm starting to sound like Laze!!!"

Both girls laughed loudly about that.

Elvor screamed, and lashed out at an invisible opponent with the Murasame. Vegeta, Bulma and Chichi were watching him as he trained, not stopping for anything.

"Vegeta, how did you and Elvor meet in the first place?" Chichi asked.

"Yeah, I'd been dying to know that too!" Bulma said.

Vegeta smirked.

"Well, let's just say we didn't really start off well at first."

Next chapter's a flashback. Haven't had that for awhile.

Reviews:

veggie-girl: I'll try.

veggie's boo: No.

Ciria: Why are you so happy?? The Frozen Flame has the same color as any normal flame has. Trigger. What gave you that idea? [smirks] Whoever said she's gone for good? Oh and, thanks!

Ryu: I think most were.

ketsui-8: You mean the TimeDevourer and Schala? Nah, they're not in this story. FATE was the final boss in this story.

MoonlightPrincess: Well, DUH!!

samicat: Thanks for the compliment.

REQUEST

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