Sacred Water (Vegeta and Khaos) (Complete)

Sacred Water

Hard Quest

Requirement: Must have completed Senzu Magic.

Reward: Sacred Water

Korin tells you about some magical water he has a in a tea pot that will increase the strength of those who drink it. Before he will let you have some, you must prove yourself. He sends you into the Cave of Darkness and one of your greatest fears.

For the first time since he'd arrived in the Sacred Lands half a month ago, Vegeta was being put through actual real training, the kind he'd initially been looking for. As soon as he'd returned with the sack of Sensu Beans, the villagers below seemed to forget all about the stolen shoes, and instead treated him like a hero for the remainder of that day and night. Within the hour, a festival celebrating a 'successful harvest' of some sort had erupted, and the number of villagers seemed to double and triple. It occurred to Vegeta that the healing properties within those beans had probably healed the vast majority of the villager's ill, which would explain the sudden population growth.

As the day progressed, wine, cider, sodas, beers, and multiple other liquids were produced by Korin, who had come down to keep a closer eye on his now official pupil. The festival progressed quickly, from a simple makeshift party to an actual feast-like ball of sorts; Vegeta took the opportunity to gorge himself on the wild turkey and boar, siding that with gravy and potatoes that tasted far too good to have been produced by simple magic. In fact, it was worthy of a Saiyan Chef, who were known as some of the best; after all, a race of heavy eaters tend to have recipes. Some good, some bad, most edible. So of course, someone who would eat nearly anything would know what tastes best, and be capable of creating something brilliant out of such foods.

As such was the wild boar.

Aside from eating, there were physical contests that the Saiyan Prince partook in: a fight tournament that was similar to sumo wrestling, except using muscle over weight, a series of spars, a test to see who could climb highest up Korin's tower (which Vegeta won with ease...) Most of them Vegeta used almost none of his power for, if only because he was in a good enough mood not to slaughter everything that tried to punch him (strangely enough.) Eventually, the part died down, and the Prince rented a cabin-like tent just behind Korin's Tower, which was hidden from view unless you walked all the way around.

He'd managed to set up a bit of a headquarters not in the tent-cabin, but rather under it. In the dead of night, he'd moved the bed and blasted just-big-enough hole into the ground, burrowing through that and clearing out a cavernous croft a good ways down. There, he stored a few handfuls of Sensu Beans he'd stolen, intending to use them in order to abuse Zenkai. He also left some scrolls and books he'd stolen from the larger tents that had interesting titles- "Magic versus Ki," "Planet Namek," "A Higher Understanding of the Astral," and "Energy Types and Fields." The Prince also had to notice that Korin's tower was visible from his croft, and appeared to dig much, much deeper into the Earth than there.

After exiting, Vegeta had been sure slide the top of a barrel over the hole, then load dirt on top of it until it blended in with the rest of the floor again. He'd then replaced the bed and set out his less criminally obtained belongings, before allowing himself to pass into rest.

Which didn't seem to last more than sixty seconds.

Get up, Bum. Just because you got a little buzz going last night doesn't mean you get to slack off today. Get up to the tower, Princess! Today's training is gonna be weight lifting.

Weights, eh? Maybe this has all been for nothing, then. I've been training in gravity for months now, haven't I?

Of course, Vegeta was entirely wrong. The pots of water and boxes he shifted around the Tower seemed to only grow heavier with each step he took, forcing him to his full power just to lift one of the smaller ones. On the second day of the training, he'd been tricked into drinking a liquid that robbed him of his ability to fly, then shoved off the tower entirely. Of course, he had to climb all the way back up just to retrieve the cure- then had it thrown back down, forcing him to descend the tower. When he eventually did get the cure, he was too exhausted to fly, but too infuriated not to confront Korin, forcing him to climb the tower a third time. He'd then passed out entirely at the top, half on the stairs, half hanging in the air.

The third day, he'd found himself chasing Korin in an attempt to get his hands on the zeni he'd 'borrowed' from Kane, only managing to retrieve it a literal day later when Korin, hungry for the first time, stopped long enough to nom a Senzu. The training continued in a pattern like that for days, keeping him awake for most of the week, exhausted and hallucinating as the weekend came. It was then Korin gave the Saiyan Prince time to rest- though he'd found that the Sensu beans acted as the perfect supplement, keeping him full much longer than regular food seemed to.

One evening- an evening in which no training seemed to take place, but rather acted as a day of rest and thought for Korin, and a day off for Vegeta- the Prince was given orders to come to the top of the tower at midnight for further orders on the training. In hopes it would be something of what the Super Saiyan might have experienced in visiting the area, Vegeta went hurriedly.

He landed in a manner similar to usual, his aura flashing out as the wind rushed in behind him, his feet tapping lightly against the tiled floor. The shoes he'd borrowed still had an odd glow about them, but it had changed colors as to blend into his Ki, which was helpful to an extent. Korin's eyes lingered on the footwear for a long moment, before he drew a breath and held out a pot of water to Vegeta. The Prince, similarly to Korin, stared at the vase for a long moment, taking notice of a holy-like glow coming through the gap between the lid and the insides of the vase.

"What's that, exactly?"

"You've been training under me for nearly a month now, Vegeta, even if you didn't consider Llurk and Kane a form of training. You got stronger by facing them, as you did by sparring Gohan and Greed. Now, there is one final test, but I refuse to allow my newest pupil murdered. This enemy I'm sending you to face will be stronger than any you've dealt with before, and you'll need all of the power you can muster to handle it. So..." Korin leaned forward, forcing the Vase into Vegeta's hands. "When you drink this, you'll either gain immense power, or the water will deem you unworthy. If you're unworthy...Then you are no pupil of mine."

Vegeta blinked, his dark blue eyes resting on the vase. In his tired state, the small voice in his head had no power; no, his Saiyan heritage was far stronger than any water that might murder him, and it would survive whatever that water had to offer. With a confidence only a Saiyan could muster, Vegeta tugged the lid off, leaned his head back, and tipped the vase to his lips, chugging it quickly....He shook, the vase fell and shattered, and he collapsed on the shards, blood staining his hands as they cut themselves on the glass. He twitched, feeling a rush that he'd only ever felt as an Oozaru; his muscles went into shock, his eyes squeezing shut tight, his lips pulled back in a beast-like snarl. He felt his hair stand on end, felt energy exploding through him that shouldn't have been there. His muscles bulged like they would if he was just starting the transformation process, causing the tiles to crack.

A literal hour passed before, finally, Vegeta's muscles loosened, though they didn't shrink back as much as they would have. His hair settled back into place, his tail going from stunned to twitching with delight- or was it frustration? Slowly, he propped himself up on his knees, staring down at his cut hands. There was much, much more power flowing in and around them than ever before. He continued to his feet, and stretched, letting his still somewhat tense body relax a bit. After five or so minutes, the Prince turned his attention to Korin.

"So, did I pass?"

"You lived, yes. I might regret giving you the water yet, though."

"Oh? Why's that, Cat Hermit?"

"Below this level is a purely white Gi that I want you to keep on at all times. As the next few weeks progress, it will begin to change, developing a Dogi that fits what you are and stand for, colors that will befit who you ally with, magical properties that will take affect based on your actions. It will grow with you, and will repair itself after combat. You may wear it under or over other clothing, but for the time being, I'd like you to wear the uniform alone. Once you're outfitted, you may go where you wish. But be wary, for the first two days of wearing the Gi, bad things will happen almost constantly, forcing you to fight almost all the time. Who you spare and who you kill will do as I've said to the Gi...If you fail my test, there won't be repercussions; instead, your training under me will end here. Do you understand, Vegeta?"

Vegeta frowned, ignoring the cat and taking the stairs to the lower level. After outfitting himself, he returned. He'd been trained, given the opportunity to abuse his Zenkai twice, given Magic Water that had tripled, if not quadrupled his power, and a magic outfit that would boost his power eventually. In other words? The damn codger of a cat's games were done. "I'll report back in the morning, Korin. In the meantime, I need rest. I have been training these last few days." The way Vegeta spoke, anyone could tell he wasn't going to follow the last test as Korin had wished.

Yet Korin simply nodded and waved him off.

---
WC: 1,712

Jeraph had just awoken after a nice nights sleep, his training with Korin taking a turn for the worse as of late. Every ounce of him hurt, there was very few places on his body that didn't have a bruise, scratch, scrape, cut, or burn. Korin had been teaching him how to manipulate the ki of others when it was blasted at him. Teaching him to channel his own ki into his hands to catch orbs, and waves and send them back at the opponent.

The very volatile nature of ki made this difficult, and with Korin throwing objects at him the entire time it made it even harder to keep his concentration. The entire night Jeraph had dreams of every blast that exploded against his body, every pot, or other household object that battered his body. Every bit of training he had been going through kept replaying in his mind throughout the night. What this does was it allowed his very soul to completely memorize what he had learned, and where he had made mistakes.

Jeraph remembered the dreams, he laid there thinking about the dreams for several minutes trying to get his body to work properly. Eventually he managed to claw out of bed, and gather his belongings. He reslung his sword over his left shoulder, checking the belt length, the quick release clasp, and several other things as he got prepared for another hard day of training. Finally ready to face the day he emerged from the room, and began to seek out Korin.

Korin wasn't like many of the other powerful inhabitants of the earth, his energy was always hidden, making his existence more of a legend to the general public than a known fact. This made it that much harder to locate him even if you were staying as a guest on his tower. Jeraph eventually found him tending to a pot of a sour smelling liquid boiling on his wood burning stove. Jeraph's eyes watered at the smell of the liquid, and it made his face twist on its own into a look of dislike, almost disgust.

"What's in the pot?" Jeraph asked " I hope it's not lunch or tea" he added jokingly.

"Oh this is called Sacred Water, after your last few days of training I figured I'd help your training along in a hurry. But there is a test in order to earn the water" Korin answered.

"Another quest, well if the liquid will be that big of a help I'm willing to go through almost anything" Jeraph said sounding a little frightened.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. North of here about an hours flight is a cavern, the cavern itself is haunted some say. In here you will face the quest" Korin tells Jeraph.

"So what will I be facing?" Jeraph asked innocently.

"That's just it, it depends on the person. It may not be a fight but something else you need to face be ready for anything" Korin responded.

"I'll head that way as soon as possible, as a matter of fact right now" Jeraph said proudly.

"Good, I'm going to send another of my students to the cave as well, you may meet him there, his name is Vegeta" Korin explained.

"Good, the more the merrier" Jeraph called out as he turned to walk away.

Jeraph walked to edge of the platform that Korin made his house on. As he walked he began to contemplate the meaning behind what Korin has said, about be ready for anything, and that it depends on the person. Many thoughts raced through his mind, including a shape changing creature, illusions, and several other things.

What really stuck out in Jeraph's mind was the possibility of meeting a new person. Jeraph had no idea who or what this being was, or even if he was a friend. Jeraph figured Korin wouldn't train an evil being, but with some of these people you never know. Jeraph finally reached the edge of the platform where his nimbus was waiting for him.

He climbed on the cloud and took off, flying as fast as the cloud could carry him toward the cavern that Korin had described. As Jeraph flew he passed through clouds which left him wet, and cold. It also left his clothing stuck to his skin. A few minutes later he met a flock of birds, the birds freaked out, several of them actually falling dead right there, apparently of a heart attack.

Jeraph finally reached the mountain with the cave in the side of it. Jeraph couldn't land at the cave, and every time he tried to enter the cavern flying, an invisible barrier pushed him back out. After several attempts at entering at different speeds he decided to just give in and land at the base. The cavern was no where near as high as Korin's Tower, and the mountain looked like it would be pretty easy to climb.

Jeraph landed at the base of the mountain, the wooded area surrounding the mountain wasn't very thick, there were very few flowers. The flowers that were present were of an odd purple color, and smelled slightly sour, unlike the flowers over the rest of the continent. The trees themselves although green with leaves were gnarled, bent, and twisted. Even the sky seemed to darken as soon as Jeraph landed.

The sun suddenly became hidden behind some clouds. The clouds were very dark, causing the woods around him to become very haunted looking. The whole scene looked like something out of a cheap budget horror movie. The shadows being cast from the trees, looked as if they were reaching towards Jeraph, like gnarled skeleton hands.

Jeraph let out a slight shudder at the scene, then he began to climb the giant rock. The going was tougher than it looked, several times the hand holds would break off from the mountain. This would cause Jeraph to tumble down part of the mountain until he could get another grip and begin the climb anew. Eventually Jeraph did reach the mouth of the cave, as he did he sat down and regained his strength.

"That was a tough climb, but apparently an even more difficult obstacle lies ahead" Jeraph thought to himself as he regained his strength.

Finally feeling strong enough to take on what ever the cave had to offer against him, he rose to his feet. He began to walk into the cave. As soon as he entered he noticed that no light filtered in from the sunlight outside, the cavern itself had some sort of crystals that produced their own light, casting an ominous blue light that caused everything to glow eerily.

Jeraph continued to walk inside the cavern, he began to take in the actual sight of everything. There was absolutely no life that he could see, although the whole cavern felt slightly off. There were stalagmites and stalactites growing every where, some actually formed what appeared to be people. Jeraph walked up to one of these "people" shaped natural occurring structures and began to investigate it thoroughly.

"Dear gods it is a real person" Jeraph thought to himself perturbed to say the least.

"Show me what you fear" A voice bellowed, seemingly coming from the cave itself.

"What the hell was that" Jeraph thought to himself.

"Ah, your fear has been found, and will be used against you." The voice called out once more "fail this and forever become part of me"

Jeraph had no idea what the cave was talking about, until he remembered the human statue. It had been frozen in rock like a medusa had looked into it's eyes. Jeraph began to wonder what his fear was the cavern was speaking of, when the lighting changed from blue to red. Suddenly he saw himself standing before him.

The being he looked at was exactly as he was, except for a few differences, there were horns protruding from the head. The aura was a red instead of the shadow grey of his own. Other things were off too including the eyes. Jeraph knew his eyes were a piercing ice blue, but the creature that stood before him had blood red eyes.

"What is this some sort of trick?" Jeraph asked out loud.

"Watch and see what happens if you let the demon inside you take over" The cavern answered.

At that point the being standing before Jeraph began to move, the movements were exactly like his own. They were very agile, and graceful, well trained in every aspect. This wasn't what started to get to Jeraph though, what did was suddenly the cavern was no longer there and they were standing in front of Capsule Corporation, in Central City.

Immediately the creature before him started to destroy everything in sight, it began by launching massive ki orbs at the buildings toppling the tallest ones that were close. The screams of the innocent people inside could be heard all over the city. As the buildings toppled, humans began to run in a panic, the monster version of Jeraph began attacking these people slicing them down with it's sword. It wielded the sword exactly the same way he did.

The scene of massive destruction continued, Jeraph kept trying to stop it and save the people but it was almost like he was a ghost. Everything passed through him, the people paid him no attention, the buildings would pass right through him, hell even the ki attacks would. Jeraph tried attacking himself, but that didn't work either, the sword he swung went straight through his alternate self.

"That's not the worst of it" The voice from the cavern said.

The scene changed again this time, it became the planet Kanassa. His demonic self was talking to a being who resembled Alberdyne, when suddenly it unleashed his most powerful attack. It let out a fully charged Ki Blade Rank 3. The blade sliced directly through the person it had been talking to. The being had no idea what hit him, he had no idea what was coming, and had no idea his friend had betrayed him.

The scene abruptly changed once again, this time to Korin's Tower. The tower looked just as it had when Jeraph left. Korin was still there brewing the Sacred Water, his Senzu Bean's growing nicely in the green house. Everything looked serene and perfect, until the beast launched its attack. It began to destroy everything in sight. The bean plants it made short work of, by hitting the green house with a Cosmic Cannon.

Korin tried to interrupt but a large piece of the green house hit him as it flew from the blast. A being that looked a lot like Crono was next to step in. The being rushed the mad Jeraph with his katana drawn. Khaos easily dodged the blow and countered with his own blade. His sword finding it's mark, at the base of the person's neck. The defender fell limp from the blow, his blood spilling out of his neck and coating the ground. The demonic Jeraph laughed evilly as he watched the blood spill.

"Enough, that is not me" the real Jeraph yelled, his power charging up as he saw more and more.

"I know you are afraid of the demon taking control" The cave replied "you do a good job of keeping it sated and under lock and key, but I know all."

"I have done far more good for this planet than I ever will do evil" Jeraph called out "these images you are showing me are nothing more than parlor tricks."

"These are not parlor tricks, these are images of what may happen if you ever lose control" the cavern retorted "I know you have a demon inside you, young shin. It was your people who gave me this power"

WC 1979

The Saiyan Prince stood tall atop West City's tallest skyscraper, his aura ignited to its brightest, his energy raised up to levels that Vegeta had never before experienced. His very presence was drawing a storm from a few miles off, rain pouring down on the city. Somewhere below, he knew Bulma was cooped up inside, sipping tea and wondering where her prince charming was, and talking all about him to her Knight in Shining Armor, Yamcha. Of course, Vegeta had little reason to bother with her, due to the escalating powers in the Universe. He needed to become stronger; for his sake, for his pride, so that he could set a good Saiyan example for his son...And so he could finally become a Super Saiyan.

Since leaving Korin's Tower the night before, Vegeta had bought himself a pair of black baggy pants and a jacket to cover up the 'magic' Gi, which had grown a tad bit darker in color, if anything. It'd be a few days before he could move his base of operations to the City and out of the croft he had under Korin's tower; after all, he'd gotten the training Korin had to offer him. Getting the snot beaten out of him, and drinking a potentially poisonous drink that did wonders for his power level. Otherwise, there was pretty much no reason to hang around the Cat Hermit anymore...Except for trying to glean extra information about energy fields and astral viewing.

Super Saiyan," Vegeta thought, turning his head and eyes skyward. His arms were crossed over his chest, his legs straight. just what did you do, to become so powerful? I can see now, comparing our powers, you never actually bothered with Korin...When I faced Greed, he was nothing like you...But I know I sensed you on that Lookout, too. Is it possible that you trained there, and not with Korin, then? Did that Namekian somehow teach you the secrets to becoming a Legend? or...Are you not a legend at all, but instead a Saiyan so powerful as to seem like one? Is there any real difference between those two things- a Saiyan and a Super Saiyan? Is Super not just a title we've added to our race, not just a way to describe one who has ascended above and beyond the average Saiyan Warrior? Is my father, then, a Super Saiyan? Surely not...His energy and yours are nothing alike...So what, then, has made you what you are!?

As Vegeta pondered, his mind wandered into the realm of energy, taking the well-practiced route to the Super Saiyan's Ki signature. This time, the Legend was sparking all the more in power, seeming to be provoked in a serious battle. He grew rapidly furious- and yet that very same unnerving enjoyment of the rage was there, lingering under the sixty ton power. The Super Saiyan unleashed a blast that caused a massive rift in the Earth's energy for a long moment, before it reformed as a new energy. The explosion shook the astral realm hard...

Or was that an actual Earthquake?

Vegeta's eyes snapped open as he realized he was on his butt, the city shaking rigorously. He blinked away the surprise quickly, then took to the air as to avoid being further scrambled by the sudden earthquake. Three minutes passed before the Quake ended, and five before the aftershock died down. As things settled, Vegeta wondered what exactly had caused the Earthquake- before taking notice of a deathly energy flowing over him and all those surrounding. The Prince took a brief moment to shoot part of his mind back into the Astral, pinpointing the source of the dark energy and taking notice of a line of Ki leading back towards the Sacred Lands.

Great. Back to Korin's oddities, it seemed. Vegeta focused on the energy that the Sacred Water had given him, fully aware it was still fusing with his own natural Ki. It was a bit unstable to work with because of that, but he'd have to in order to arrive back in time to confront whatever that...That shadow was. He ignited the blazing white energy of the Sacred Water, vanishing into the horizon and leaving cracks in the pavement behind him.

* * *

Thirty or so minutes passed before Vegeta passed over the first of the trees, the Sacred Water's energy starting to get tainted blue, like his own. It had become gradually easier to manage along the way, and at this point was almost perfectly the same as his natural Ki. Soon, the two would mesh, and he'd be able to use the full extent of these new powers.

Luckily, the source of the 'Shadow' was much closer to the rim of the Sacred Lands, meaning Vegeta arrived that much sooner. Having actually passed it by a mile or so, he circled back, angling down towards the almost pitch black clearing from which the energy was spreading. His blue-white aura lit the darkness as he arrived on the ground, allowing him to see a few feet away.

Ssskt!

Vegeta's head whipped around in time to see a dark purple claw swipe at the ground, only to flinch away as it entered the light Vegeta was putting off. Another scratching sound drew his attention, and this time he could see the entire body- humanoid in all but the hands and feet, which were two foot long claws. The thing let loose a shrillish scream as it got too close to the light, and steam seemed to roll off it before it retreated back to the darkness. The Saiyan Prince dropped either arm to his side, drawing his aura into himself, letting the shadows collapse towards him...

And then he let it explode, this time deep blue. The energy burst through his new jacket and pants, leaving only the white- now gray- uniform Korin had given him. The shadows were caught by the aura, burning away rapidly. The Prince set his eyes towards a briefly illuminated cave up above, and recalled something that the Cat Hermit had mentioned briefly- something about a cave he sent his students to to fully evaluate how they'd progressed. Was this, then, what Korin had intended Vegeta to visit from the start?

Figured.

He took a moment to let the shadows settle away from him, then shot forward, his aura streaming bright behind him. He landed at the base of the cliff, leaping up a good few meters before latching his hands into holes in the rocks, using them to continue propelling himself up. It didn't take him long to reach the top, driven by adrenaline and fear- fear of those shadows that were just waiting for him to slow down and grow weary so that they could attack. He needed to reach the top and confront whatever energy was inside...

"Enough, that is not me!"

The owner of the voice finished his scream just as Vegeta hauled himself into the gaping maw of the Cave, where the shadows seemed to stop coming. He breathed a sigh of relief, letting the aura die away so that he could rest a little. The Prince waited a moment, listening to some strange conversation a ways into the cavernous tunnel.

""I know you are afraid of the demon taking control, came a deep, dark, echoing voice. It almost sounded hypnotic...enticing...Horrifyingly powerful. "you do a good job of keeping it sated and under lock and key, but I know all."

Vegeta cocked his head, suddenly curious. Who was the yelling boy that seemed so scared, shocked, and angry? What was this booming voice? Which one was producing the dark energies? Was it both, or was it all an illusion by Korin to lure Vegeta to the last leg of his training? "I have done far more good for this planet than I ever will do evil," the boy called, his voice bleeding a warning. Continue to screw with me, you'll regret it. "these images you are showing me are nothing more than parlor tricks."

So there was another entity inside, and he was probably the one causing all of the oddities Vegeta had seen in the last hour of his life. Vegeta began walking into the cave, deciding to end the flow of dark energy manually.

"These are not parlor tricks, these are images of what may happen if you ever lose control," The voice boomed- it seemed to grow distracted, seemed to try and change tactics, as if it knew a new guest was there. It wouldn't get the chance to draw Vegeta into the madness, though. "I know you have a demon inside you, young shin. It was your people who gave me this power...

Vegeta felt the voice moving closer to him- and intercepted accordingly. He pointed his Sacred Water-charged arms up and forward, in the direction he'd heard the voice coming from, and let his aura ignite once more, lighting the cave. Just a few feet away, he could see the boy who had been talking- black haired and obviously Xeno, despite similarities to an Earthling. "You might be his demons, fool, but I'm your end. Boy, I can sense you're a tad bit stronger and faster than me. Head for the exit, but make sure you keep your aura ablaze. There's some crazy shit out there."

"Vegeta," a voice disturbingly similar to his father's boomed, "You...You disgraceful fool! You've abandoned your race, and for that, you'll di-"

Now. First and foremost, Vegeta despised his father, despite the respect he had for his power. And second, he was determined to distance himself from Korin's crap as soon as he could. "You don't even KNOW how easier you made this, Invisible One! Take this...AND DIE!" Vegeta thrust his Sacred Water-charged hands forward, using a form of the Big Bang Cannon he'd developed in his fight with Kane Shimizu- the Double Big Bang Cannon. The beams connected with the back of the cave and the roof, drilling into it a good bit before it came to the brink of exploding. The Prince made sure that the boy had started for the entrance before shoving the explosive portion of the beam forward, turning, and sprinting towards the entrance right alongside the boy.

BOOM!

Dust and debris were the last of what Vegeta saw before a stray rock knocked him unconscious.

---
WC: 1736
TWC: 3448

Jeraph didn't know where the thunderous boom had come from, or where the brilliant ki blast had originated. He was still trapped inside his land of fears. He was trapped until the explosion caused the entire cavern to change it's shape. As soon as the shape was changed, and the cavern started to collapse he snapped out of it. He began to bolt for the door, when he noticed the young man running beside him.

Was this the man Korin spoke of, the student that was intended to help him pass the test and gain the sacred water? Jeraph came to terms with the fact that it had to be, considering he had stopped the cavern's massive assault on Jeraph's mind, and emotions. It had stopped just in time too, Jeraph body had been gathering ki for the last several minutes of the psychic onslaught. Soon it would erupt with a massive blast of ki, Jeraph himself wasn't sure exactly what it would have accomplished or what the blast would have been but it wouldn't have been good.

As he caught up to the man who had saved probably his life and any tribes that were near as well, a rock tumbled from the ceiling and nailed the man in the head. The man's body slumped and fell to the ground completely knocked out. Jeraph saw this and started to run over to the downed man. Another rock began to fall and would squash the man completely, Jeraph aimed and blasted the rock with a ki ball.

The concentrated ki hit it's mark and rendered the falling rock into nothing but pebbles and dust. Jeraph made it to the man who was knocked down, he then lifted the man in a firemen's carry on his shoulders and continued to run to the exit. As soon as he touched the light from the sun outside of the mouth of the cave, the nimbus was waiting for him. He leaped onto the nimbus with the passenger in tow.

The cloud immediately sprang to life, and launched directly into the sky. It made it's own course, Jeraph had absolutely no idea where it was taking them, although the unconscious man on his shoulders was getting heavy. The Nimbus was having some difficulty carrying the extra weight and was flying barely at the canopy of the forest. The were so close Jeraph could pick out individual leaves, vines, flowers, and everything. Jeraph hadn't noticed that as soon as the cavern had collapsed that the forest around it and the sun returned to normal.

Eventually the cloud set down in a clearing with a huts in it. The huts were made of adobe, and decorated with primitive drawings. Some are like deer, others bears, other rabbits, and then there is the hit with symbols like the cave that Jeraph had just come from. The mouth of the cave was shown, then a spirit, and the scene changing over and over. It was from this hut several beautiful women emerged. Each had a strange headdress on, and were wearing next to nothing. The walked over and took Vegeta off of Jeraph's shoulders with out touching him.

Vegeta just lifted off of his shoulders, almost like he was being lifted by an invisible spirit. Jeraph went to fight and try to save the man, but something spoke inside his mind.

"He will be unharmed, we are wishing to help him" a woman's voice said calming Jeraph as it spoke.

Jeraph let them take the man, which they laid on the ground and every one of them began to crowd around him touching him in different spots. Jeraph began to get jealous since he had never had a woman's touch that he could recall. But the jealousy was short lived, he was still mentally shaken from the cave and what he had seen. He didn't think he could ever do all of those deeds, but he knew that some where inside him he still was a demon, no matter how well he had meshed with it.

The demon called out every time he fought, guiding him to do the right actions, helping to steel his resolve, and prepare him for every blow before it landed. Some how he had managed to make himself and the demon act as one, talk as one, and battle as one, but he was unsure how long that would last. His whole body trembled with everything he had witnessed, and knowing it was completely within him to do all that stuff, and that he had no power to actually stop it. Jeraph's attention was drawn back to the ladies working on or above the knocked out man when the voice came back over his mind.

"He must remain here, but you can go back to Korin and continue your training" it said.

Jeraph didn't want to leave the ladies but he knew he must. He allowed the nimbus lift him and take back off to Korin's Tower. The flight was uneventful and calming, as it took about forty minutes. When he arrived Korin was waiting for him with a bottle of an amber liquid, it had the same smell as what he was brewing earlier.

"Congratulations, you passed the mental trial. Here is the Sacred Water" Korin told him.

"Thanks, and Vegeta is knocked out with a tribe of women" Jeraph responded.

"He's in good hands, and he will be healed soon. As for you, take this and drink it. It will make you more powerful than you can imagine" Korin responded.

Jeraph took the bottle of the fluid from him, and lifted it to his lips, the smell was nauseating, but he drank it none the less. Swallowing every last drop he could feel his body becoming stronger with every swallow. Finally he drained the last drop and handed the bottle back to Korin. After the liquid fully entered his system Jeraph completely blacked out, once again dreaming. The dreams came were of the violence he saw himself performing while in the cave. Every time his mirror image killed some one, or did some damage his muscles would twitch, tighten, and he would toss and turn.

WC 1034
TWC 3013