Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ House of Ashes ❯ Second Chances ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: Yes, I know it's been a while. And all I can blame at the moment is Darth Writer's Block, the end of school, and too many stories. But I'm back! And also, first chapters have been editing for a few grammar mistakes I found.

I only do update emails through a mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nadialist

Responses: I'm too tired to do individual ones right now, so I'll just say thanks for reviewing. And keep reading. Your questions will probably be answered as the story moves on.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I do, however, own various OCs, with the exception of Diana, who belongs mostly to Lisse, and is used with permission.

House of Ashes

Chapter 3: Second Chances

The sun was bright but not overbearing, the breeze was brisk but not windy, and the crowd was attentive but not rowdy. It was a perfect day, and the Saiyans had chosen a perfect orator to woo the audience that had gathered in the massive park. The perfect orator had a perfect family, a tall blonde wife who could have been a model, and a tiny baby that rested in her arms, dark crop of hair barely visible at the edge of the blanket that shielded her from the sun.

While the orator talked and persuaded and generally won the people over in favor of the Saiyans, his wife stood quietly at the edge of his circle beneath the shade of a tree and smiled benignly, the perfect family support.

If anyone had bothered to look closely, they would have realized she was a very good actress.

In truth, the blonde wife of the Saiyan's spokesman wanted nothing to do with the Saiyans. She thought they were ruthless, crude apes and wanted them off her planet. Twelve years ago she had actually been a part of the first army that had tried to do so, one of thousands who had followed her Queen into battle against the alien invaders. She had also been one of only about two hundred who had walked away with their lives.

Nobody knew this, of course; if they did she would have met an unfortunate accident a long time ago. Life outside the island had been hard, but she'd survived. She'd ignored the Saiyans and tried to make a new life for herself; one away from her people and her destiny. At some point along the line she'd befriended the orator she married, and only recently had given birth to a little girl who would probably never know her true heritage.

And it hurt, but that was life.

The woman smiled politely at a nearby bigwig's wife and bent over her daughter, trying to ignore the disgust stirring in her heart. Here she was, supporting the faction that had so ruthlessly murdered her Queen and destroyed the island she called home. It sickened her. She rested her face against that of her baby, smiling when a tiny hand brushed against her cheek. There were still some things left to live for.

A low chuckle sounded behind her. "Ah, she's a precious one, she is."

The baby's mother jerked her head up, glancing towards the origin of the sound. Leaning against the tree trunk was a woman whom she'd never though she'd see again. She narrowed her eyes and clutched at the baby protectively. "Diana."

"Sera," the girl piped up brightly, drawing glances from the nearby listeners. "I thought I'd find you here."

The woman rolled her clear blue eyes. "Knowing you, you've probably been following me for a week Diana."

Gray eyes flashed impishly at her. "Two."

The blond woman sighed and stepped out of the circle of listeners, pulling the other woman with her. Having someone who looked like she ought to be reading palms in some little traveling carnival around wasn't good for her husband's image. She didn't want them to get too suspicious. "What do you want, Diana? This isn't a good time!"

"Do I really need a reason to come and visit my favorite fellow Priestess?" She gave her a bright smile and plopped down in the grass, several tiny vials and flasks tumbling out of her numerous skirts.

Sera remained standing, resisting the urge to lash out. "I'm not a Priestess anymore," she replied in a forced tone. "And neither are you. There's nothing left of us."

One pale eyebrow quirked in that totally infuriating fashion that made her want to kill something. "Ah, but have you looked? Really closely?"

She glanced towards the sky for patience. Not finding any, she settled for pinning the woman a few years younger than herself with a fierce stare. "There's nothing left. They blew up the entire island!"

"Flower?" Diana held up her hand, a daisy clutched between her long fingers. "They're really rather lovely."

Sera wasn't sure if she wanted to commit homicide or laugh hysterically. The woman truly had no grip on reality most of the day. She plopped down in the grass across from the younger woman, rearranging the baby so she could see the wind rustle the branches of the tree above them. "What. Do. You. Want?"

Diana beamed at her again, tucking the flower in her pale hair. "A traveling partner."

"No." She retorted immediately as her husband began yet another long spiel on the other side of the tree. "I have a baby now and a husband who loves me. There's no room in my life to go gallivanting around the globe learning the secrets of alcohol production!"

Sera really shouldn't have been surprised at the response she got; it was Diana, after all. But still, she wanted to throttle her.

"Oh!" Shuffling through her skirts, she came up with a small flask that hung off a thong. "I found this in Bohemia. It's the best I've ever come across, guaranteed to inebriate a Saiyan. Want some?"

She wanted to scream. Really, she did. Dealing with Diana was like trying to reason with a baboon. Sometimes they made perfect sense, and other times they made weird faces and shot off in a different direction entirely. Wiping her bangs off her brow, she sighed, at a loss for what to do next. "There's nothing left for me to do."

Diana now had a handful of daisies, which she was happily braiding into a chain. "You can always do your duty," she commented idly.

"Our people are dead, Diana, if you've somehow missed that fact in the past decade." Her tone was sharper than acid. "I have no more responsibilities to them."

The comment brought the other woman back from whatever psychedelic cloud she was floating on to the ground, and she suddenly found herself facing a pair of wise eyes. "We might not have Priestess duties to the Amazons any longer, Seraphim, but we do have Amazon duties to the rest of the planet."

She considered her answer for a long moment. "Two of us. Against all of them? It took five of them to wipe out our entire army! Five! Fighting back is suicide."

Diana shrugged, adding another daisy to her chain. "There are more left of us than two, and you know that. There are young ones out there that need teaching. Eventually, we'll be strong enough to take our planet back."

Seraphim sighed. "It's hopeless, Diana."

The other woman smiled mysteriously. "Hopeless, perhaps. But not impossible." She turned back to her daisy chain, humming along beneath her breath as she added yet another flower.

Seraphim closed her eyes. She was really too tired for this.

"So," Diana chirped cheerfully, "will you be coming with me to Mt. Frypan?"

Seraphim blinked. "Mt. Frypan? But there's nothing there. The general checked-the Queen didn't have anything up there of any importance, and the Princess just disappeared."

"I know something you don't know," Diana hummed, dropping the now-finished daisy chain around her neck. "Mt. Frypan isn't empty anymore."

Seraphim couldn't take it anymore. "Look," she hissed, "I'm sick of your games. Tell me whatever it is you came to tell me and let me live my life in peace."

And, much to her surprise, Diana actually listened to her for once. A long long time ago, Diana had been very, very important, actually above Sera in a few matters although they were supposed to be equal. When Diana actually volunteered information not couched in riddles, something big was about to happen.

The younger woman titled her head and smiled enigmatically. "The Princess went home."

For a moment, the only sound was the little girl babbling happily up at her mother, totally oblivious to the woman's feelings. Then her mother exploded. "WHAT?"

"Sssshhhh!"

Sera didn't bother to spare the others an apologetic glance; she simply leaned forward over her baby, who began grabbing at her buttons. "You're kidding."

Diana shook her head and leaned closer too. "The flames on Mount Frypan have been extinguished," she whispered conspiratorially with a grand gesture. "And the Princess has returned. I saw her myself."

Something in Sera's heart that had died twelve years ago began to stir again.

The younger woman opened the flask she still held in her lap and swallowed thoughtfully, before offering it again to her. "Drink?"

Sera was too startled to protest this time, and nicked the flask from her hand to swallow the liquor, closing her eyes as its fire raced through her veins. After another swallow, she felt a bit more like herself and passed it back. "So what now?"

"Well," Diana murmured quietly, "there is a Princess who needs teaching. And there's no-one better qualified than you."

Sera frowned. "But I have a family now. My husband loves me."

Diana's gray-blue eyes flashed knowingly. "But do you love him?" She smiled sadly to herself, watching something that only she could see. "The time has come when choices will have to be made, and sacrifices too." She tilted her head at Sera, and reached over to tweak the baby's nose, and she gurgled happily in response. "In the end, the choice is yours, but…" her eyes faded again. "We will all be needed, and I will see you again regardless."

Before Sera could do anything more, Diana had gathered her things and was gliding away, melding seamlessly into the crowd despite her odd appearance. Sera sat back against the tree and cradled her daughter, unable to do anything more than think. Her duty was warring with the life she had made for herself, and she had to think carefully about the decision she was going to make.

In the end, there was only one thing she could do.

When her husband wandered over later, his speech done, he found his wife sitting against the tree, playing with her daughter in the comfort of the shade. But something was different-he excelled in reading people, and he could tell his wife had changed. "Seraphim?"

Seraphim Satan lifted her head from tickling Videl, blue eyes sparkling with intensity he'd never seen before. She smiled rather grimly at him, and he sensed that something in her had gone cold, while something else had woken. Extending his hand to help her up, she grasped it politely like she might a stranger. "Hercule, we need to talk."

Hercule blinked. Never once in the years he'd known her had she ever seemed dissatisfied, like she did now. "About what?"

His wife smiled rather sadly at him. "About our difference of ideas."

Videl Satan babbled cheerfully at her father, unaware that this would be one of the last times she would ever see him.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, out on the ruins of an island in the Pacific Ocean, an old man with a blue dragon tattooed on his arm was talking to a cluster of people who were armed with things like swords and spears.

Back on the mainland, a woman named Bulma Briefs was getting a very similar message.

The daughter of the people who had very nearly driven the Saiyans off the planet was back. And with her at their side, the Rebellions would finally have a second chance.

TBC….