Part 11: The Crane Hermit Part III

The Crane Hermit Part III

Hard Quest

Requirement: Must have completed The Crane Hermit Part II

Reward: 3,500 zeni and 10 Villain Points.

Master Shen is satisfied with your skills in battle. But, your deeds in the last tournament have earned you a bad reputation. It seems a few wannabe heroes are looking to pick a fight with you. But, defeating them will not be enough. Do your worst and make their families pay too, to set an example of what will happen to those who challenge the Crane Hermit and his pupils.

Since the tournament, Ian had been training with Master Shen. the plateau that they had been training on I got many battle scars. Ian's body has been strengthening and his fighting ability had improved significantly. Ian couldn't believe himself how strong he had gotten.

"very good Lancaster," said Shen. Jim had repeatedly threw punches at me and hoping to break through the defenses that you had significantly improved so much so that Shen was starting to worry about whether or not his own master the true Izon would be able to beat him when he came back. this made him doubt his own master's ability and he wondered if Izon was this man standing before him.

"You have improved your physical capabilities Ian, it is still one of your weakest points but it is satisfactory. Now let us work on your strengths. The amount of energy that you can let into a single ball is quite impressive now let us see if we can make that even more constructive than more powerful than you could ever imagine." Shen looked around the Yunzabit heights for an area which Ian could train at. This place was a wasteland which meant that there is quite a bit of space or Ian himself could go all out.

Often distance about 50 miles stood a Mountain. It dominated the rise in which proved to be an excellent target practice on. Shen pointed at the mountain, "I want you to go to that mountain, there you'll find much space to practice in. I want to have that eye sore removed from my view. You have two days to do so. If you are not back in two days, I will stop training you and you will be on your own."

Ian nodded. The mountain range was massive. Looking to the left and the right, and it reached out as far as the eye could see. "The..."

He couldn't finish his sentence as Shen simply nodded, knowing exactly what Ian was going to ask. The whole thing. This was going to prove to be a difficult challenge for him. He'd have to think his way out as well as push his capabilities to their max.

Reaching into his pocket, Shen pulled out a couple of items. A small vial and what appeared to be a bean. "Take these. They may or may not help you. The vial contains liquid I took from Korin's tower a couple years back. I took too many. One can only drink so much of this before they die. It makes you stronger, but it's also poison in a sense. The bean I also took from Korin's tower. I was going to save it for when I fought against Roshi, but well, you may find use for it. It will rejuvenate you quickly, allowing you to continue. It contains a kind of natural speed, along with some other elements which I do not know anything about. Wait until you are exhausted and then eat it. It will make you feel like you haven't done anything and you are fired up. I will be further impressed if you don't use it and you manage to destroy the mountain range in the two days. But I won't be surprised if you need to use it, nor will it reflect badly on you.Now go. Be back by this time in two days."

Ian took off as quickly as he could. He had a lot of power, he just now needed to extend that a much as he could and plan how he wanted to take on this massive feat. He was teraforming the planet, not an easy task. He could clear some land, but to take down an entire mountain, he figured he probably wasn't going to be able to do it and that he would be returning to his business.

The mountain loomed over him and stretched as far as he could see. Two days to do this, and only one bean. Well, first thing was first, he needed to get more powerful. He popped the cork on the vial and downed it. He was expecting it to taste horrible, but it didn't. It was water.

"Curse the old man!" Ian wasn't very happy until his body began to feel warm. He could feel the power coursing through his body. What the hell was that stuff? He couldn't believe how much power was coursing through him. He pulled his hand back and channeled energy into it. Light extended out between his fingers. Once his own hand was forced open, he turned to the left and in a sweep of his arm from left to right, energy poured out.

Small orbs of energy scatters, spreading over several miles of land. He watched as each one struck and erupted into a blinding light of power and magnificence. Once the cloud of dirt and smoke cleared, he sighed. The vial he could tell increased his power, but not enough. The energy he unleashed only made small craters.

"This was going to be even more difficult." He had to find out which one of his techniques was going to work the best for this. His arms drew back as more energy flooded into them.

Throwing them forward, several streams of energy bombarded a smaller area of the mountain. Then to cover more of it, he strafed. Left to right, up and down. The explosions were deafening. First came the strain of his muscles, then the exhaustion. He had to stop. He let out a ragged breath and watched in defeat as though he did significant damage to the mountain, it wasn't enough. The tip had been shortened, but he put in a lot of energy into that and had little results.

Shen watched from the plateau. His chair was out and he sipped tea. He could see the extent of explosions that Ian was throwing at it, even from this distance. But he also knew, these mountains were iron heavy, so the iron was helping to protect the mountain. He wasn't sure if this was going to be impossible for Ian or not. But if Ian couldn't do it, then his own doubts were going to be erased about his master. But if Ian could do it, then that would raise so many more questions.

He had one other task of Ian. Shen turned and saw the other task on their way. There was a group of them. A group of warriors. They rushed past, flying towards Ian. They were a group of warriors the mountain men hired after Ian tore them to pieces. This was the other test. A test to see how resourceful he could be. Could he beat all ten of them and destroy the mountain in two days? This was gonna be worth watching.

Ian sat on the branch of a tree, resting and regaining his energy. He wanted to wait on the senzu. He only wanted it if he absolutely needed it. He had a few techniques left. He wasn't even sure if his telekinetic ability would work or not. There was a lot of mountain to cover. He let out a sigh. Other than that, he also learned how to erupt his energy into an explosive dome. It would certainly do a lot of damage, but it would tire him out a lot as well.

Floating up, he rose back above the trees and put his hands forward. He focused his mind on the ground, letting his energy to seep within the rocks and life below. His energy gripped the very fabric of life. The molecules. Then he tore at them. The mountain exploded into a plume of dust and debris.

The cloud rushed all around him. The group coming up had to stop and cover their eyes or get blinded. But when the dust cleared, Ian had only caused a gash. He really was starting to think there was nothing he could do. He hadn't known anyone who could clear out the miles of mountains. Not even that brat did as much damage when he attacked his building site.

"Are you Ian Lancaster?"

Ian turned and saw a group spread out. Anger on their faces, their blood boiling with fury. Then it hit him. He could have them destroy the mountain. It would be dangerous, but he could force a battle to drag out and have them destroy it over the two days.

He nodded. "I am. What can I do for you?"

The warriors looked at one another, then they came at him, circling him. This was going to be very dangerous. It'd be hard to keep an eye on all ten of them. He figured out the leader rather quickly though. It was a young Saiyan. His tail was around his waist which only made Ian grin more. He wondered when the next full moon was. He hasn't really seen an Oozaru in action yet, but it would be interesting. He figured one could probably lessen this mountain to rubble fairly easily.

Ian deflected the first strike. A punch that was delivered by a human female. He pushed her fist away as he danced around her. Then the next, a kick by another human. Male. He dodged each attack, using what he learned from Shen to deflect the hits away. He still barely knew how to actually attack with his limbs, but that was fine. He wanted to get them angry enough to go all out and unleash doom upon the mountain.

And that didn't take long. Ian back up towards the mountain as the warriors lined up, energy gathering. Then they unleashed their attacks. Weak, but it was better than nothing. He pushed himself, vanishing from site as the attacks all crossed through where he was. The attacks bombarded the mountain range, taking a chunk out of the side. Yet it wasn't enough.

"Tch! How the fuck am I going to do this? At this rate, it'd take me weeks." Looking back at the children. "Come on! Can't you brats do better?" This angered the Saiyan more than anything.

Ian backed up so he was back in the trees, but this time on the side of the mountain. He strafed to the right as the Saiyan plunged his fist into the ground, causing yet another crater. More energy followed, Ian too slow to react put up his barrier as the energy bombarded and continued to break away at the mountain. He could feel the burning of the heat from the energy. No way could he compete with so many at once. He had to breat them up. He had to make them attack everything.

There was one final explosion and the air filled up with dust. He bolted for a cave that was nearby. He wasn't sure how deep it went, but if he could bring them into there, more damage would surely be done. Before he entered, he fired of a quick beam at the kids, getting their attention, then he was gone.

"Coward! He's going to hide!"

The human girl looked at him. "Caro, we could trap him in there."

Caro shook his head. "We have to make sure he dies Laysa. We've all been able to climb out of rubble. No, we have to go in there. Come, let's go."

All ten took off into the cave, using their energy as lighting. Ian was gone, deep, no light. His own demon eyes allowing him to see better in the dark without light. There had been many passages and he went for one at random. This was a much deeper cave than he had anticipated.

He knew they were coming. He could hear their minds. They had separated, thinking since he didn't attack back, that he was weak. They obviously didn't his holes he had made. Ten of them. He would play with their minds. He would let them break up more and force them to attack the shadows.

He retreated deeper into the cave which opened up wide into a cavern with stalagmites and stalactites all over. More caves could be seen. He doubted they could sense him, or they would've come straight to him.

He went down the third to the right, following it deeper until he knew he was far enough away. Then sitting down on a rock, he reached out with his mind. Furthest one away. Alone. A human. Nick.

Nick!

The boy froze and looked around, sending his energy ball around him. It was weak, but bright. He heard his name, but who was it? A light shown further down the cave. Nick wanted to be the one to finish off Ian. His brother was one of the ones killed in Ian's attack, and he would make sure he paid for what he had done. He rushed forward, flying at high speeds, the light just staying out of reach.

"Get back here Ian! Get back here so I can kill you!" Nick pushed himself to his limit, his aura exploding into a fury. He crashed through walls and pillars that held up the ceiling, unaware that his actions were bringing down the cave.

Movement out of the corner of his eye. He froze and fired a massive wave that smashed through several walls. The area erupted in debris as the wave from the explosion tore through what the blast didn't. Nick brought up his arms, protecting himself from what flew at him.

More movement. Nick charged after it. Nick! Come get me! I'll kill your sister if you don't stop me! That angered Nick even more. His sister was precious to him. She was only ten. Not even old enough to have witnessed the world. His own anger made it difficult for him to turn corners, forcing him to land on the walls and push off again.

Ian grinned as the cave was more and more unstable. He wasn't expecting them to die from this, but he would certainly meet his goal. He continued to sit back, playing with Nick as he tore through the caverns.

They came to a dead end. A large cavern. Nick looked down and saw a shadowy figure with a glowing orb. It was the image Ian put into his mind. It was the image the boy housed for him.

Nick brought his hands back and gathered up energy. He shot the massive blue blast which tore through the ground where Ian had stood. The shadow moved, forcing Nick to break the beam and fired another one. This one tore through the roof and punched a hole to the outside. But the shadow was evasive. Nick gathered more energy and threw both of his hands forward and in a wide horizontal arc around him as several orbs of energy tore through the rock. The ceiling collapsed under the constant force being applied to the rocks. Nick moved around trying to dodge the fallen debris, but he was a bit slow as a large chuck caught him and crushed him against the floor and the rocks that were already on the ground, a stalagmite piercing his abdomen. Lava exploded out through the holes in the ground, breaking more rock free and melting it. And soon the boy was engulfed by the super heated liquid.

Ian smiled, as his eyes opened. That went pretty well, thought that was still only a portion of the mountain. He had to get one of them to make a much larger explosion to bring down this mountain.

Shen watched from afar as a beam tore through the mountain. Then another. And even with the distance he was at, he could see a large chunk collapse. He knew Ian was using the battle to his advantage. He was a bit more intelligent than a typical warrior. He used his greatest asset, the ability to talk to people and get people to do what he wants them to do.

Ian reached out to his next victim. The female human. She had a sense of justice. She wanted him gone because he was a villain. That was her purpose. He knew just the thing.

Laysa paused as she saw Ian standing there. She had a much more detailed picture of him. Ian stood there, holding Nick by his throat, then crushing it. Her friends, or partners came at him and he took them all down, breaking their necks, tearing limbs.

She watched in horror as he tore the tail off Caro and rammed it down his throat and tossed him aside. She was a knight. She was a paladin. She was justice. She had to stop him even if it meant her life!

She tightened her fists as she gathered the energy. Ian gave her the time she needed to max it out. Then when she couldn't hold it any more, she unleashed a massive wave of energy. It disintegrated everything it came in contact with.

Shen watched as a massive dome of energy took out a large section of the mountain range to the right. He wondered if that was Ian, or one of the others. Either way, it was getting to be a good show, even from this distance. Even if it wasn't all leveled, if Ian came back, he'd be very impressed.

Laysa collapsed to her knees, the open sky above her. She looked around, then up and saw Ian floating there, grinning at her. Anger welled up inside her and she let out a roar that shook the heavens. He shot upwards and threw a punch at the image which moved out of the way and back down toward the remaining peak of the mountain.

She was a student of Roshi and she powered up the signature attack. The Kamehameha wave. Thrusting her hands forward, the massive wave plowed forward and crashed into the mountain, tearing it asunder.

Ica jumped back as the beam tore through where she was just standing. Her arms lowered as lava exploded out of the hole, dousing her in the firey fluid. She let out a cry of pain as her body melted in seconds.

Ian led her down into the hole. She was no longer thinking. It was the problem with warriors. Emotions usually ran high for them. He own sense of justice quickly becoming her downfall. She froze as Ian vanished in the lava that rushed up towards her.

She brought up her arms and a barrier went up. The lava struck, engulfing her barrier. The heat was intense and if she didn't do something quickly, the heat would kill her. She unleashed what little energy she had left in a shock wave of destruction. What remained of the peak was obliterated, and the lava geyser stopped, only flowing slowing out of the hole.

Ian's eyes opened. He didn't have much time. The entire mountain was shaking from what they were doing. He had to get deeper. Right now he risked getting crushed or the lava getting him. The area was already getting warmer.

He stood up and took off deeper into the cave. At parts it narrowed, but he was able to clear enough to break free. Once he got a few more miles in, he found another spot and continued to work.

Ica was spent. She was useless. He'd have to kill her when he left here. The Saiyan though would be a fun one. But he wanted save that for last. There was still a lot to do and only one mountain was gone. A few more were left.

There was another saiyan in the group though. A child. From what Ian could read from his mind, merely fifteen. What the hell was a child doing here? Why would a child be dragged into something like this? Well, he was a saiyan. So guess it wasn't too hard to realize it.

Saiyans were easily taunted. Their pride was there biggest weakness. Hurt their pride, watch them erupt with anger and tear through the world to get at you just so they could prove themselves to them self.

Lacro looked around the deep cavern. He had felt the earth quakes and felt the heat of the lava that was flowing through some of the caves. He himself was cut off from the rest and from the outside. He was trying to find another way out without destroying the rest of the mountain. It was already unstable enough. He felt Nick's energy vanish and Ica was barely alive. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew Ian wasn't any where near them. The caves were a massive maze making it difficult to locate him. There were caverns every where and with each cavern were a dozen more paths to take.

Three of them were down. Laysa, Ica and Nick. He was the only one of the group that could sense anything, but Caro insisted that they split up. Though he could sense Ian, there was no telling where these caves led to.

Lacro. You know where I am, don't you? But you can't seem to get to me. I've already kill two of your companions and there's been nothing you can do about it.

Ian's voice seemed to be bombarding him from everywhere. He didn't know where it was coming from. His patience was wearing thin. Maybe it was best he just destroyed everything, but the last three had already been doing that and it was useless.

"I won't listen to you Ian. Forget it."

Ian thought a moment. This one was going to be tough. He was calmer, more cool headed. Not a typical saiyan. A half saiyan maybe? He would be more difficult to trick with his ability to sense. He could see an image of him and simply ignore it. But he could read his mind. He had a family. He was a half saiyan. He even had a girlfriend he was very fond of. Talking certainly could bring forth his anger.

That girlfriend of yours. Quite cute.

Lacro paused. "How do you know about her?"

Ami is her name. Lives just down road from you. Goes to school with you and even knows about your powers. How sweet. I wonder how good she tastes.

Lacro fought to keep a cool head. "You'll be long dead before you can touch her. Why don't you come out so I can see you?"

Ian let out a laugh that echoed throughout. You seem to enjoy trying to find me. Kids love hide and seek don't they?

"I prefer to face you head on. Now come out!"

Ian felt another mind nearby. Someone was in the tunnel next to him. They were so close. He could feel them because of Lacro's ability. It was the other Saiyan. He continued to reach out with his mind. They were all getting closer. This was going to be a bad thing. He broke contact. They were all close to him. Much closer than he could've imagined. He knew where they all were at.

Moving on, he flew deeper and deeper into the mountain. Then there was a pit that glowed red. He paused above it and grinned. It was active. It was rising. He wasn't sure where in his position he was, but he knew that most, if not all of the current mountain was gone. If he could provide enough pressure here, he may be able to destroy the rest of the mountains with its own lava.

He lowed himself and rested just a few feet from the lava. His barrier enveloped him as he began to focus his mind. He reached out with his energy, chipping away, allowing the lava to flow in other directions. He connected tunnels and blocked others.

Then he dipped down below the lava when he was finished. The heat didn't get him but it didn't take long for his clothing to evaporated in a flame, leaving him stark naked. He followed the tube down, deem in the mountain. He figured he was even well beneath the earth's crust by this point.

It was getting hot and he was having a harder time dealing with the pressure so deep and his own barrier was beginning to falter. Then he found it. Hundreds of tubes spread out from this one spot. He was deep and he figured the tunnels led to the other mountains. He himself was running out of time. He closed his eyes and focused his energy into his body. He let it build up inside of him. He'd have to collapse his barrier when he unleashed it, which meant he only had a few seconds to get clear before he was over taken by the lava.

Once he reached his own body's breaking point, he pulled the energy deep, condensing it into a tiny ball the size of a ball bearing. It flowed out of him. It left him and the barrier. He thought he would need to lower the barrier, but it passed through. Instead, he'd use the barrier to hitch a ride back to the surface.

The tiny bead of energy floated down and vanished from sight. He waited what seemed like ages, his energy ready to give out. Then it happened. He was jolted around as the sound wave struck him. Then he felt the intense pressure from his massive blast pushing him upwards.

There was a slight rumble, then he exploded through the surface of the lava. The entire cavern was lite up from the energy that was behind him. He smiled as he passed by the others who were sprinting through the caves, trying to flee. Then his smile faded as he braced for impact against the ceiling. He crashed through, then took what little energy he had left and pushed himself off the dome and skyrocketed up and away.

Shen watched as the entire skyline lit up. Rock, trees. Every vanished in the bright light. One after another, the hills exploded with debris. Lava and energy erupting for as far as the eye could see.

Ica tumbled down the hill as the shock wave struck her. Lacro and Cora were the only two to have made it out, plowing through the rocks like they were nothing. They exploded out of the side of what was left of the mountain and took off to get as far as they could get.

The sky was darkening from the eruption of miles and miles of volcanoes. Ian watched from afar as the static in the air created a lightning storm in the dark clouds that rose from the mountain that was once there.

He had done it. It only took a few hours as well. He wondered if Shen had something to do with those that came after him. It was certainly within his personality to do so. He turned and flew off. He wasn't sure if the others were dead or not, but he suspected they won't try for him again, not for a bit.

Lacro and Caro had found Ica who was unconscious. According to Lacro, out of the ten that went to kill Ian, only they were left and Ian was still alive. None of them were in the shape to fight and any more damage to this area could mean the utter destruction of the planet. They'd have to take down Ian after things settle. Until then, others would need their help as this ash would spread around the world.

Ian landed on the plateau which was now thick with ash. Shen stood there, smiling. "That was a brilliant show Ian. Completely brilliant."

Ian bowed and pulled out the bean. "Here, you may have this back."

Shen shook his head. "No, keep it. You've proven yourself a wonderful warrior and tactician. I am surprised you were able to do kinda do as I asked, though it will be a bit before this clears up. The world is going to be dark for a couple of days I suspect. But no worries. Let us get some tea and eat dinner, and get out of this ash. It's bad on our lungs."

Ian followed the master inside where they shook off the ash that had accumulated on them. Ian looked out the door at the ash that fell. It was beautiful in an eerie way. Almost like snow. How had he managed to do this? What was he doing? He had the world by its throat if he wanted to and yet, he didn't even want to do that. He only wanted to learn how to protect himself, not destroy planets, and yet that's what he was doing. Wiping out entire villages and destroying an entire mountain range. Next would be entire countries, then continents, and then the world.

He shut the door and sighed. Was this what he should expect in the future? He just wanted to run a business, not the world is at steak because of him. Why did he leave hell? Hell, why did he kill his wife and allow himself to be killed? He regretted some of his decisions, but it wasn't too long before he was back to doing what he did best.

It took three days for the volcano to stop and the sky to clear. It was an ashy wonderland and with everyone trapped in doors, even West City was a ghost town. Ian flew over his construction site. The foundation had been laid and some of the works of the first floor was in progress, though even that was abandoned. He found his home completely covered. Something he'd have to make sure he got remedied.

Shen had released him. There wasn't much more he could teach him, though Ian begged to be taught hand to hand. Shen told him he didn't need it. He knew how to defend and he had the power to obliterate whatever happened. Ian left reluctantly to continue on his work on the training center and capsule corp. Familiar ground.

WC:5014