Chapter 10: Celebrations

A full hour had passed since the fighting had ended and Shang Tu's Sky Battalion had returned home to Shang Tu. Shuigang's fleet had returned home too sans King Dail's ship. He had wanted to join The Magister for something that he wanted to be a part of before returning to his kingdom so his ship had followed the remainders of Shang Tu's Sky Battalion back to the blue-coloured kingdom. Once everybody had arrived and the fleet was docked, Lilac and friends entered the Royal Palace with General Gong and Neera Li leading them inside. Once they were inside, they were led up to the throne room by the two pandas and Neera knocked on the door. The Magister allowed them in and they entered the room. The Magister and Zao looked evidently pleased to see that everybody had made it back in one piece. They were quick to notice Lilac and Natalya's injuries, especially the former's missing tendrils and thus, The Magister offered to let the two have a moment together in his healing spa before they could chat to him. The two dragons accepted the offer and now they were both out of their clothes and lying in the lovely warm water of the spa. They could feel their injuries healing up as they relaxed. Lilac's cut and burns were fading and her tendrils were beginning to grow back. Natalya's burns were healing and the stinging was easing. The two dragons would never know how The Magister had managed to get such a magical bath but they were eternally grateful for it. Their injuries were healing faster than they would have done naturally and in no time at all, they'd be back to normal. Lilac watched as her tendrils began to grow back, slowly and steadily as the spa's magic worked on her. She wondered if the bath could heal a missing arm or leg if somebody with such an injury stepped into the bath. She'd had the same thought when the healing spa healed her from Lord Brevon's torture last year.

"It always amazes me what a dip in this bath can do to ya." Lilac said as her tendrils finished re-growing, "I mean look at this!"

"Just a few minutes in here and your twin tendrils have regrown." Natalya said with an impressed smile on her face, "I guess that's how you got them back after Brevon supposedly cut them off."

"Indeed." Lilac nodded, remembering how when Natalya and Brevon had teamed up, she had mentioned this to Natalya, "I bet you were well angry to hear Brevon had done that to me since cutting off a dragon's hair is sacrilege."

"I was when you mentioned it but at the time, as you probably figured out, I lied to put up a pretence in front of the alien monster." the elder dragon said grimly, "When I fought him that day, some of my anger was from the fact he'd done that to you last year. I absolutely HATE it when somebody cuts off a dragon's tendrils! It's the ultimate, disgraceful way of violating them! The tendrils add to their grace and beauty. Cut them off, you're violating their beauty and that's why it angers me so much…"

"I gathered from how angry you were at Memphis for doing that…" the young dragon murmured, "Say um, sorry to mention Memphis again but…did he ever tell you about his past at all?"

"I suppose he told you about his sad childhood to try and ignite sympathy from you did he?" Natalya muttered bitterly.

"I'll take that as a yes." Lilac replied, "Well um…is it true?"

Natalya nodded slowly, circling her fingers around in the water and making ripples that reached out to the edges of the spa.

"Oh yes. Every bit of it." she confirmed, "Stephen even told me how he'd abandoned him and his parents just to get away from the racism he was plagued with in his home town of Shogun. I didn't believe Memphis would do that at the time but didn't express my disbelief to your father in fear of upsetting him."

"I see. And how did you feel when Memphis told you his story?" Lilac asked.

"I pitied him. I'd had a bad childhood myself as you know so I had every right to sympathize with him." Natalya said, "But when he killed Dawn and Stephen, any sympathy I had for him was gone. Gone like a snap of the fingers. I had a bad childhood but I didn't go around killing people so how could I sympathize with him after he'd done that?"

"And yet mom's death really affected you in the worst way possible…" the teen-dragon mused.

"That was because, as you know, she was the first person who ever showed me love and compassion." the former crime boss noted, "She kept me sane after my horrible experiences and the killing of my parents. Memphis took her away from me…and my sanity slipped. But now I've seen the light and unlike Memphis, I strive to redeem myself."

"Given how much good you've done for us lately, I'd say you've more than redeemed yourself Natalya." Lilac said with a smile, "Mom would be so proud of you for striving to better yourself."

Natalya smiled with pleasure at her adopted daughter. No wonder she loved her so much. Lilac was such a sweet child just like her mother before her. Dawn really did live on in Lilac and that was what made her so special to her. She was the last piece of her best friend she had now and she was all too happy to treasure Lilac for years to come.

"Lilac…your kindness never ceases to impress me. That was a lovely thing to say." the draconian woman said softly.

"You deserve it Natalya." the draconian girl said kindly, "You did bad things but you're sorry you did them and want nothing more than to be good again. You deserve my kindness for that. And I'd like for you to know that I'm happy I decided to let you adopt me. With you around…it's like a piece of my mom is back in my life again."

"Given I was her best friend, I witnessed her wedding and held you as a baby, I can see why you think that darling." Natalya said brightly, "I was as much a part of your life as your father and mother and even your uncle."

"Please…don't call Memphis "my uncle". He's no family of mine after what he's done…" Lilac said grimly, shuddering despite the warm water she was bathing in.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." Natalya apologized.

"It's OK." Lilac said, "Though one last question in regards to him and then we'll never mention him again."

"Oh yes? What is it?"

"What happened to that crazy cult that shaped him into the bad guy he became?"

Natalya was slightly taken aback by the question. She supposed she should've known Lilac was going to ask that question. She had never told her the cult's fate before and Memphis clearly hadn't told her either. It was now time that Lilac got her answer.

"They were arrested, every single member." explained Natalya, "You see, before I went mad and formulated the Red Scarves, I sent an anonymous tip to the three kingdoms explaining where the cult was located. All the armies of the three kingdoms stormed their hideout and arrested the entire cult. They were considered too dangerous to be kept alive though so they were all secretly executed. I only know this because I spied on them just to see what was going to happen to them. Their deaths were kept so secret that literally only me and Memphis ever know what really happened to them. Everybody else assumed the cult had been sentenced to exile or something along those lines. Some even thought they died from natural causes or some disease. But now I'm the only one who knows their true fate…and now you do as well Lilac. But you MUST NOT tell anybody this. Remember, executions aren't allowed anymore so telling about this could cause the kingdoms to doubt their leaders. I didn't tell anybody because I was glad the cult was gone."

Lilac took in what she'd heard in total disbelief. So it seemed that the three kingdoms of Avalice had something to hide the whole time. They had executed a cult of fanatic dragons that had delusions of grandeur and very bigoted views on themselves for the safety of the entire world despite the fact that executions had been outlawed. But Lilac supposed it was for the best. The cult deserved to die. It had turned Memphis into the biggest monster that had ever plagued Lilac's life. If the cult hadn't existed then Memphis would never have caused so much damage to her life. Her parents wouldn't be dead, Natalya wouldn't have turned evil and her exile would never have happened. All the things Memphis did were the fault of those bigoted dragons. They had also influenced Natalya in some way for after turning evil, she had started following their visions and ideals for the world. And yet Natalya had been the one to rat them out.

"That...that's quite surprising Natalya...but I don't understand. Why did you start acting like them despite the fact you got them killed?" Lilac asked.

"I did it to spite Memphis for killing Dawn and Stephen. I still followed their morals and such but the whole thing was done for revenge more than anything." the older dragon explained, "Though now I kinda feel bad about doing so since I basically got several of my own kind killed. Then again, ancient dragon scrolls I once read did say that dragons can only kill other dragons if they're a threat to the world. The cult was a threat so they had to die. If they were still around now, Avalice would have had more than me, Brevon or even Memphis to deal with..."

"So in a way, you kinda saved us all by squealing on the cult..." the heroine of Avalice murmured, "Guess we could call it your last act of heroism before you went bad."

"I guess so my dear. But we don't need to think about that cult or my days as a villainess anymore...those days are over now, for all of us." Natalya said, "Now, the present is what matters. Me and you are together as mother and daughter and the demons that plagued our lives can no longer stand in our way. Our lives are still ahead of us child, and I'm glad that I'll be living the rest of it with a wonderful little girl like you."

"Aww thank you Natalya. That's very kind of you to say." said Lilac appreciatively, "And I'm glad that we're starting our relationship all over again...as allies instead of enemies. Oh I wish mom could see us now..."

"I'm sure she's looking down on us from the heavens Lilac..." Natalya said with a warm, motherly smile on her face, "And she's probably smiling at us now."

Lilac grinned from ear to ear as the pleasant image of her mother looking down on her with a loving smile on her face filled her head. What a lovely image it was and the very thought made Lilac feel warm inside. Dawn and Stephen would be so happy to see their beloved daughter being best of friends with Natalya and forgiving her for all the bad things she had done in her life. Their daughter was united with their best friend. What union between two dragons could possibly be better for them...?

A few minutes later, the two dragons had finally finished healing from their injuries in the healing spa and once they'd gotten dressed again, they walked back into the throne room to meet The Magister. He was joined with Zao and Dail in the room, the two pandas standing on either side of him and smiling at the sight of the two dragons. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Clifford all stood before the leaders and they turned to see the two dragons coming to meet them. They smiled, pleased to see them looking so much better now. They were pleased with Lilac in particular for she now had her famous "hair" back. General Gong and Neera Li stood to attention and they bowed before the two draconian females as they entered. Lilac and Natalya bowed back and then turned to face the three leaders. Zao and Dail looked happy to see them whereas The Magister remained as he always did, blank and hard to read. But his relaxed stance suggested he was happy to see them too. The leaders all bowed before the two dragons. Lilac and Natalya bowed back politely. Then the leaders rose up and The Magister spoke, his deep voice cutting through the silence.

"We have heard all about your successes in the battle over Jade Creek." explained The Magister, "Your friends apprised us on everything whilst you were bathing. And I must say...I am proud of you for your efforts, especially you young Lilac. Could you step forward?"

Lilac nodded and stood forward. She knelt down before the three leaders and waited to hear what they had to say.

"Not only did you come up with a great, strategic plan that saved most of my fleet but you managed to fend off Memphis and come out on top despite the loss of your famous appendages." the royal Avalician said, "You deserve all our love and thanks for your heroism today dragon blood. And it's because of this that we three can now say the words we've been longing to say for a week..."

Lilac smiled, knowing what was going to come next.

"Your sentence is overturned and your are allowed back in our kingdoms and all the lands the kingdoms own." The Magister announced.

"We were all too happy to agree on that, especially since everybody knows your innocent now." Dail said brightly.

"And this decision is by far the best one I've made in a while." Zao added, "Welcome back Lilac."

"Thank you so much your majesties. Thank you." Lilac said appreciatively, "I'm so glad that you're letting me back into the kingdoms I once swore to protect. You have my sincerest thanks."

"You can thank Memphis also since he pretty much gave us the excuse we needed to overturn your sentence." Dail noted.

"So I guess he did something good for once. Bet that makes him mad..." the she-dragon muttered, "Speaking of Memphis, are you gonna comb Jade Creek for his body at all?"

"Certainly." The Magister declared, "Once we find his body, we can have him buried and have a gravestone to mark where he is so that we can confirm to the world that he's gone."

"I doubt he'll have anybody bidding him farewell..." Lilac muttered nonchalantly.

"He won't be getting flowers from ME! That's for sure!" Zao declared hotly, "I mean after what he did, he deserves a lonely funeral!"

"Can't argue with that." said Lilac agreeably, "Say Zao, are you now officially the Mayor of Shang Mu again since Memphis is gone?"

"Indeed so." the red panda announced, "If the winner of the elections resigns or dies before his years are completed, either a new election is hosted or the previous mayor returns to the seat depending on the circumstances. As I'm still alive, I can take back my seat until the next elections commence in four years time. I assure you though, I will NOT make the mistakes I did that led up to this mess again. I'm going to be a much better mayor than I ever was, and all in your name Lilac. You saved many lives today and saved my kingdom. It's the least I could do to honour your heroism."

5+ HONOUR

Lilac nodded at Zao. The mayor seemed very genuine in his claims. It seemed that he'd been changed for the better by the whole experience. She certainly appreciated the mayor's kind words despite the fact that he had unwillingly caused all of this to happen in the first place.

"I'm still not ready to forgive you yet...but thank you." she said softly, "That's very kind of you to better yourself in my name. It's a start in earning my forgiveness and I appreciate it."

"Glad to hear it my friend." Zao said brightly, "Shang Mu owes you its eternal thanks for your heroism tonight."

"And I'm grateful for it. It's good to be welcomed and appreciated again." Lilac said, looking at all three of the rulers, "Though just know this. I'm not the hero I am because I want a good rep. Not anymore. I'm what I am because I love my planet and I'll do anything I can to protect it. Promise me you'll remember that next time it looks as if I've gone bad or anything OK?"

"That is a promise we intend to keep." The Magister announced, "We will never forget your love for our world and the reason you fight for our lives, serenity and freedom. If your allegiance is doubtful ever again, we won't jump to conclusions. We will instead be on your side and help you fight what's controlling you to return the favour for what you've done for us."

"I'm very happy to hear that your majesty." Lilac said graciously, "You all have my eternal thanks for your generosity and for welcoming me home like this. It means so much to me."

"You've saved our world on many occasions and fought off criminals who threatened our peace, you deserve all our thanks." Dail declared.

"Thank you. Oh and Dail? I'm sorry for what happened to Spade..." the dragon said, her expression becoming a little sad, "I know he's family and all and I tried to save him but..."

"It's OK Lilac." the king said gently, "Carol told me what happened to my brother. I don't blame it on you at all. I'll admit that despite being a criminal and being part of those evil Red Scarves...he was still family and I did kinda hope that he could be turned eventually. It's sad that that'll never happen...but Spade brought it on himself. People who embrace the criminal life seldom get rewarded in the end as they say. At least he won't ever steal from us again."

"Yeah...I suppose so." Lilac murmured, "Anyway, is that all for now?"

"It is indeed Lilac." The Magister said, "You may go home now. Your REAL home of course."

"Thank you. Goodbye your majesties. And it's been my utmost honour to save your kingdoms again." the dragon said with one final bow.

"Goodbye Lilac. And thank you for coming back to us." The Magister said, bowing to Lilac along with Dail and Zao.

With the meeting now over, Lilac turned around and walked towards her friends. They all had big, smiling faces that suggested they were very pleased with how things had gone between her and the rulers. Her reputation was restored. She was the heroine of Avalice once again, no longer feared or doubted by any and she was no longer sentenced to exile. She could come home and live back in her tree house again. This was easily the best night they'd experienced all week and they would remember it forever and ever. Lilac smiled back at her friends, pleased to see their smiling faces. What a night this had been! Reunited with her friends again after a week of missing them, her uncle finally dead and out of her life and now she was allowed to return home and pretend her exile had never happened! This was a night Lilac wasn't going to forget anytime soon and she knew it. With nothing left to stay for, Lilac and her friends left the Royal Palace and began heading off home for the one place Lilac wanted to be more than anywhere in the world. Her beloved tree house. It would be good to be back in the tree house again and be sleeping in a bed instead of in a shelter and having proper food instead of having to steal it from delivery trucks.

"So Lilac, what shall we do once we get home?" asked Carol.

"Well, we'll all get some shut eye since it's quite late and I'm pretty pooped after tonight." Lilac decided, "And tomorrow, we can all set up a buffet table, hang up some balloons and banners and have a big party to celebrate my come back. What do you think?"

"I love it! It sounds like fun!" Milla squealed delightedly.

"And it'll be even better since my grandpa can join us!"" exclaimed Carol excitedly, "You could use some of your magic to make the party really something to remember grandpa!"

"I suppose I could sweetie." Clifford chuckled, "I'd love to be a part of this party. I haven't experienced one in five years! I was a big party animal when I was a youngster and I've quite missed the feeling of excitement and joy one receives from a party."

"We're glad you can join us Clifford." Lilac said brightly, "And we're glad to have you part of our family too."

"I hope the house has a spare room for him." Miguel noted, "Where will he sleep if there isn't?"

"He can share a room with Natalya if he wants." Lilac suggested, "Is that OK Natalya?"

"I suppose I can share with him." Natalya said kindly, "He did save our lives earlier so what need have I to say no to him?"

"Well if you're OK with sharing a room with me Natalya, that's fine with me." Clifford said brightly, "I'm just flattered that you're all letting me live with you in Lilac's tree house. It's very kind of you to offer me a space in your home."

"You're welcome Clifford." Lilac said kindly, "Consider it a token of gratitude for offering me food and shelter when I was in exile and also for saving our lives back in Shang Mu."

"It'll be wonderful having you living with us grandpa." Carol said gleefully, hugging her beloved grandparent lovingly.

Clifford could only smile and embrace his beloved grandchild in return. How wonderful it felt to be back in Carol's life again after five years of exile. When he had been sentenced, he had been convinced that he'd never see his granddaughter again. And yet here he was, five years later, back in Carol's life and embracing her again. And not only had he been allowed back in Carol's life, he was now being accepted as part of her new "family" in a way. He was not only with his granddaughter again, he was with her friends and being invited to live with them. If only his long lost daughter Amanda the Wildcat was here too to complete this happy image he was in now. Where was she and why couldn't he sense where she was? He put those thoughts aside as Lilac suddenly chipped in.

"We'll be veer happy to have you living with us Clifford." Lilac said brightly, "Your magic can be put to good use when we have to save people from villains and criminals and such and the fact you're Carol's grandfather will make you even more welcome in our lives. And I assure you, my tree house is very comfortable. There's plenty of space and plenty of conveniences. You'll settle down just fine."

"That sounds wonderful Lilac." Clifford replied.

"Thank you. And tomorrow, we're all in for a fun day when we get my liberation party started." the dragon said cheerfully, "But first, we're gonna need a good night's sleep. I'm actually looking forward to getting into bed for once!" she chuckled.

"Well you haven't slept in it for a week so no wonder!" Carol giggled in return.

The others chuckled, seeing the funny side of Lilac's remark. They were all ready for bed too, exhausted from tonight's events and in need of a good night's sleep. The Avalicians carried on heading back to the tree house with Lilac leading the way. Despite how dark it was, being close to midnight in fact, they could see well enough as they headed off back to Dragon Valley. Lilac found herself smiling as every step she took carried her closer to her tree house. Returning home at last. That's what it felt like to her and it was a grand feeling to finish off the day with...

The next day dawned bright and sunny. The sun shone brightly, its rays streaking through the leaves of the trees in the forest all around and making every inch of land that it shone upon look cheerful and happy. The sky was an endless sea of blue with not a single cloud in sight. The weather was warm and inviting which was expected from the summer season of Avalice. Upon returning to the tree house last night, Lilac and her friends had immediately gotten into their beds and fallen asleep quicker than even the world's laziest man. They had all slept heavily and peacefully and now the morning was here, bright and welcoming and peacefully enticing them out of their slumber. It was late in the morning, about 9:30, by the time everybody had gotten out of bed and gotten ready for breakfast. Clifford had decided to provide breakfast for everybody this morning, wanting to show the Basset family and Natalya his magic powers. He had single-handedly created a hearty breakfast of sausages, bacon, grapefruit and stacks of pancakes for everybody to share with a wave of his staff. To everybody's delight, the food tasted as good as it would have done if it was fresh and organic. Clifford had explained that he'd practiced hard on this spell to make sure that every scrap of food he created as 100% authentic and natural despite being created by magic. It was common for the spell to go wrong and the food ended up tasting artificer so he had made it his desire to get the spell right when he had first started learning it. The satisfied faces of everybody around the breakfast table told him how well he'd succeeded at it. Carol's face had made him the happiest of all since she was the one he'd often use his magic to make food for. It was good to see her eating his magically prepared meals again.

After breakfast, Lilac had decided to go out somewhere before they set up the big party to celebrate later. She was going to visit her parents' graves. They had been buried in Dragon Valley, something that they had requested in their wills as they felt the most fitting place for a pair of dragons to be buried was somewhere in the valley. Their graves were a half-hour walk away but Lilac made it there in a few minutes by running at top speed. She saw their headstones, still looking in good condition and barely disturbed by nature itself. They had been buried beside a tree with their initials carved in it. That very tree was where Stephen had proposed to Dawn and had been their first choice of where they wanted to be buried. Lilac felt tears coming to her eyes as she observed the tree. Her parents had shown it to her when she was five years old. She had been very touched by the sight and had decided that the tree was going to be a souvenir she would treasure for ever. She visited the tree whenever she could and was always happy to see nobody else had carved anything on it to ruin what was left of her parent's love. A simple carved love heart on the wood saying "Dawn & Stephen". She knelt down by her parents grave stones and laid down a bunch of flowers she had brought for them. She allowed some tears to trickle down her face as she laid down the flowers.

"A present for you mom and dad Hope you like it." she said to the gravestones as if hoping her parents could hear her through them, "I've got some good news for you both by the way. Your killer, Memphis, is dead at last. He died last night. He fell to his death. Now you're finally able to rest in peace with your killer gone for good. As for Natalya...me and her are friends again. No not friends...we're family. I let Natalya adopt me. She's my new mom now. I bet you're very happy to hear that."

In her mind, she could hear her parents expressing their delight over how happy they were that Natalya was good again and she was now mothering Lilac in Dawn's place. Their once best friend was the perfect person to be looking after their beloved daughter now. Lilac wiped her eyes dry and smiled at her parent's graves.

"Goodbye mom and dad. See you soon." she said, "And remember...I still love you very much. I miss you deeply but I know that you're still with me...in my heart. Rest in peace mom and dad...and see you again soon."

She had then left her parent's graves and headed off back home. There was a couple of hours left to kill before the party could begin setting up when she arrived back so Lilac had decided to spend the rest of the morning playing with Carol and Milla. Carol had given her a bike ride and Milla had taken her for a lovely morning flight. She could tell the girls had missed her company gravely during the horrible week she'd spent in exile. Every minute they had spent together felt as if this was the first time in years they'd ever played together. Lilac of course had enjoyed every single moment she'd spent with Carol and Milla. To her, her life was now back to normal because of this. She'd even decided to come up with something to play next with Carol and Milla following her lead due to how much she was enjoying herself. The dragon had challenged the two for a friendly running race to see who could keep up with her the longest. Carol had won the race but Milla had come surprisingly close to drawing with the wildcat. Lilac had been impressed and had enjoyed herself immensely as they had raced.

Now the afternoon had arrived and the party was ready to begin. While the children had been playing, the four adults had seen to setting up the whole thing. Miguel, Lela and Natalya had put up balloons and banners all over the living room. The biggest banner was sparkling silver with the words "Welcome Home Lilac!" stretched out across it. The balloons were helium filled, something Lilac had requested so they could have a contest to see who sounded the funniest after sucking in helium. Clifford had been given the most obvious task of all, the buffet table. He had used his great magic to prepare a grand feast for the party. There were nibbles and snacks galore on the table ranging from sushi to crisps to little cocktail sausages, salads, cheese boards, meat platters and much more. There was also a party-themed cake standing at one end of the table with the words "Welcome Home Lilac!" written in icing around the top. There were bottles of sofa that had been taken from the fridge since Clifford couldn't conjure up drinks himself set before the food with plastic cups for people to drink out of. The hounds had set up the radio and speaker systems so they could play party music as they feasted and played. The party was fully set up at last and the four adults waited for the kids to come home. They weren't waiting for long for Lilac, Carol and Milla arrived back at the house and upon entering, Miguel, Lela, Natalya and Clifford all popped some streamers each and yelled out loud "WELCOME HOME LILAC!" The dragon gasped delightedly at the pleasant sight before her, almost driven to tears by how wonderful the sight before her was. The house looked fabulous and the food looked good. With her hands over her heart, Lilac smiled graciously.

"Oh thank you so much! The place looks great guys!" she cried, "You all did a great job!"

"You're welcome." Natalya said brightly, "I will say, I'm quite looking forward to this. I've never really been part of a party before save for Dawn and Stephen's after-wedding party."

"Well now's your chance." Lilac said brightly, "Especially since this place looks amazing right now!"

"I'll say!" Carol piped excitedly, "This place already looks like Partysville and we haven't even started yet!"

"We did do our best sweetie." Lela said cheerfully, "Thank you."

"Welcome." the wildcat replied.

"I'm glad you like what my parents, Natalya and Carol's grandpa have done for you Lilac." Milla said sweetly, "So are we ready to have some fun?"

"Of course we are!" Lilac exclaimed, "I requested a party so let's party like we've never done before!"

"Oh yeah! Let's PARTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Carol shrieked at the top of her voice.

The next few minutes were spent having a grand time full of joy and fun. The Avalicians all took part in fun and games and feasted as much as they dared to. Lilac and Carol managed to get through two platefuls of food and still have room for the cake. Natalya had eaten a surprising amount too despite looking like the kind of person who didn't eat much. Miguel, Lela and Clifford didn't eat much but nonetheless were filled up from what they did consume. After the eating had ended, the party-goers had taken it easy by playing some games to let their food settle down. They had played pass the parcel, a game of mahjong, musical statues and some board games. They also hosted the "funniest voice" competitive Lilac had requested. Each Avalician had sucked up some helium and spoken a single sentence to see how funny their voices sounded. Natalya ended up winning the contest for everybody ended up agreeing that it sounded funny hearing their former enemy with such a high-pitched voice. Natalya had even laughed at herself, amazed at how funny she'd sounded with a throat full of helium. Now everybody felt like they'd settled down enough, Lilac switched the radio on and the whole group began to dance m eerily in time to the tunes that blared out of the radio. Lilac, Carol and Milla did their trademark dance moves as the music played. Miguel and Lela danced together, showing that they had great skill at the sport and were no strangers to it. Clifford just moved around slightly as if worried he would pull a muscle while dancing. Natalya, who had never danced before, tried copying what the others were doing. In the end, she ended up dancing the same way Lilac did, swaying her upper body back and forth and swinging her arms back and forth like she did. Lilac couldn't help but giggle at her foster mother. She looked weird when dancing but in a funny and somewhat charming way. The dancing had gone on for many minutes before the radio was switched off and everybody sat down to have a rest. Lilac wiped sweat off of her forehead and smiled at her friends.

"Whew that was epic! I haven't had this much fun in ages!" she gasped.

"It's the most fun I've ever had in my life." Natalya said, wiping beads of sweat away, "I never knew a party could be so much fun."

"Glad you enjoyed it." Carol said happily, "I know I did though I think I had a bit too much cake and soda..."

She then let fly a surprisingly loud belch that made everybody giggle childishly at her. Carol blushed but said nothing, instead choosing to laugh with her friends.

"This party was so much fun! Can we have another one?" asked Milla eagerly.

"Maybe when we have a birthday in this house we can sweetheart." Lela promised, smiling tenderly at her daughter.

"We'll try and make it as fun as this one was if we have another party." Miguel said, "Especially if said party if for Milla's birthday."

"Oh that sounds wonderful daddy!" Milla squealed excitedly, "I look forward to it!"

"I do too." Lilac put in, "A party like this would be great for Milla, Carol or even my own birthday when they come. I wonder if there's any birthdays coming soon now that we're thinking about it?"

She was about to get up and check her calendar but before she could do so, a surprising sound filled the room. It was coming from outside but sounded pretty close. Not close enough to damage the house but close enough to make it shudder slightly. The leftover food, plates and cubs began to shake slightly as the thing grew louder. Everybody gasped, wondering what was happening. It sounded like...rockets! But who could possibly be landing on Avalice just near Lilac's tree house? The dragon had a good idea on who it was.

"Hey...I think I know who that is!" she cried excitedly.

The dragon then suddenly ran out of the house and her face lit up as she saw what she had expected to see, a rocket landing on the grass and its engines dying down into silence. The shuddering stopped and everything was still again. The rocket was the same rocket she had last seen three weeks ago and carried the familiar markings that she and her friends had drawn on it, a love heart, a paw-print and "Carol Wuz Here". Lilac climbed down the rope ladder and ran over to the parked rocket. The boarding ramp hissed as it lowered down to the ground and out of the ship stepped just the occupant that Lilac had expected to see. It was Torque! The alien Chaser had returned once again to Avalice and only three weeks had passed since she'd last seen him! Torque had come to Avalice to help Lilac and friends defeat Lord Brevon once again and whilst there, Lilac had managed to confess her love for him. He had left that day and yet now, he was back again, looking very happy to be back. Torque wasn't alone though. He was with his best friend and lieutenant, Terra once again. The turquoise alien looked pleased to see the dragon as she stared at the two Chasers delightedly.

"Hey Lilac!" Terra cried gleefully, "Didn't think we'd run into you so suddenly!"

"I'll say." Torque chuckled, "Hello again Lilac. How's it going?"

"TORQUE!" Lilac squealed excitedly.

She ran over to her alien love-interest and threw her arms around him. She kissed him on the lips, pleased to have him in her arms again for the first time since she'd confessed his love for her. Torque hugged Lilac back, pleased to feel her body against his and his lips locking with hers again. To him, it felt like a lifetime had passed since their first kiss. Terra just watched with awe, feeling very happy for the two lovers. Once the kiss had broken up, Torque began to chuckle.

"I take it you missed me again huh?"

"Of course I missed you!" Lilac exclaimed, "I love you Torque and I was really hoping that I'd see you again! I'm really glad you're here!"

"Thank you Lilac, that's very kind of you to say." Torque said graciously, "So how's it been since I left?"

"Believe me, I've got a VEEEEEEEERY long story to tell..." the dragon replied...

Well, that's the end of this story! I hope you enjoyed this epic fanfic and all its action, heart and humour and I hope you enjoy the next Freedom Planet fanfic!

Speaking of my next fanfic, it's a Torque story! :D Join me next time as we witness what Torque and Terra have been up to during "The Darkest Day" and "Life in Exile" in their very own solo-story, "Planet of the Serpents"! See you later! ^^