Ava's Earth Quest 16 - The Crane Hermit Part II

The Crane Hermit Part II

Medium Quest

Requirement: Must have completed The Crane Hermit.

Reward: 2,000 zeni and 10 Villain Points.

Master Shen was impressed with your performance, but he has seen many things you need work on. He shows you some of his best moves and then has you test them out. Nothing like beating up weaklings, right? There is a small time martial arts tournament in East City. Head there and wipe the floor with the competition. The more enemies you kill, the better.
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It took Ava nearly a week to recover from taking that Kamehameha blast full on. She limped around the Crane school, watching Master Shen practising his moves out by the pond. He was good, Ava had to admit, but there was something about him that scared her. He was human and if it came down to a fight, she could kill him, but would she.

She wasn’t quite so sure if she could. She heard the voices of Master Roshi, Master Korin and Master Kami in her head, telling her that she was not the person he was trying to mould her into. But she was here now. She might as well learn something from him.

He looked over at her thinking deeply on the porch and interrupted her.

“Hey.” He shouted at her. She looked up quickly.

“Oh, I’m sorry master, I was just watching you…” she said, getting up, leaning heavily on her crutches.

“Thinking about things too much is stressful. It’s not good for inducing the mind of a fighter.” He said, looking over at a tree log and holding up his hand. He breathed in once and thrust his hand through the log, splitting it in half.
“You need to be quick, decisive and powerful. That’s what makes you deadly.” He said, looking over at her.

“Yes master.” She bowed.

She had learned that Master Shen had a tyrannical outlook on training and an even more destructive temper. It was best to just nod and agree with him, if she didn’t want her dinner ration cut in half that night.

“Have you been watching me long?” he asked her.

“N… no master, just a few minutes?” she stuttered.

It seemed that even though she was from the Saiyan warrior race, this man struck fear into her heart more so than Chiller.

“Then where were you the rest of the five hours?” he asked her, looking at her from behind his sunglasses. She had no doubt that it he was piecing into her soul with those hidden eyes.

“I… I was re-dressing my wounds, master.” She said to him softly.

“FOR FIVE HOURS!” he shouted at her, with no remorse.

“No master…” she whispered.

“I didn’t hear you, what were you doing the rest of the time?” he asked her threateningly.

She glanced up at him, wanting to rip his tongue out through his neck and throw it across the courtyard and telling him to go fetch it. But she thought better of it.

“Where… were… you?” He whispered to her.

“Sleeping… Master…” she hissed the last word.

“Sleeping… I’ve been out here since sunrise, and you were SLEEPING!” he shouted at her.

“Yes…” she whispered.

He rushed up to her, lifted up his cane and brought it down on her upper arm, splintering it. She didn’t even flinch.

He stared at his broken cane and gasped. She looked up at his expression and smiled.

“That’s the third one this week.” He said, looking at her.

He walked off, walking back to his logs. Ava had a little bit of a chuckle at his expense.

“What are you?” he asked her.

“Human…” she answered quickly.
If he found out she was a Saiyan like Agan, then he wouldn’t train her at all.

“Then why do you have a tail?” he said, picking up a new cane and pointing it at her.

“Uh… birth defect…” she said, looking back at it.

“Parents?” he asked her.

“Died, in a fire. My brother too.” She said to him.

“How long ago?” he asked her.
She realised he was digging for the truth.

“23 years ago.” She said, looking away from him, feigning pain.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” she added, sitting back down.

“Stand up, get back to your training.” He ordered her.

“I’ll train when I’m good and ready.” She challenged him.

“What?” he asked her, walking back up to her.

“I’ll… train… when… I’m… good… and… ready.” She repeated slowly.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY!” he shouted at her.

She felt her anger bubbling just beneath the surface.

“You heard me…” she whispered through gritted teeth.

“Why you arrogant girl…” he said, making to punch her in the face. She stood up quickly, ignoring the pain in her legs and body.
She caught his fist.

“First off, I’m not girl…” she said.
She suddenly let out a burst of energy, sending white ki waves circling around her and flying off into the air.

“Secondly, how can you expect me to train when I can barely breathe…” she hissed.

She grabbed his collar and lifted him up into the air. Her eyes flashed green with no irises.

“And lastly, and this is very important, so don’t forget it.” she smiled at him,
“I can kill you in this state, do not be mistaken. And I have only let you live this long so I can gain your human knowledge. But cross me again, and I might find that the humiliation you continually subject me to, over rides my desire to learn.” She smiled, feeling the evil consume her again.

“And replaces it with my desire for bloodshed.” She smiled, putting him down.

He looked into her eyes and saw something he had never seen before. Her irises flashed from green to red. Her nails sharpened up and she seemed angrier than ever before. She was no human, but then what the hell was she?

“I’ll train when I’m good and ready.” She repeated, heading back inside.

He gasped; she had so much power at her disposal and so soon after her near death experience. He had clearly underestimated her. He smiled. She was the student he had been waiting for his whole life, cold, ruthless, strong, angry, powerful, bloodthirsty. She was perfect.

“SIMON!” he called out for his assistant.

He came running, holding a broom.

“Ye… yes master?” he whimpered.

“Sign her up for the Dragon’s Heath Tournament.” Master Shen smiled.



Two days later, her dressings came off and she began to train. Shen seemed more respectful to her, teaching her as an equal and not an underling. She knew threatening him would do the trick.
At dinner that night, he told her about the Dragon’s Heath Tournament.

“I’ve signed you up for a tournament.” He said to her.

“Yay, more Zenni!” she smiled happily, eating her food.

“Zenni will not be you only reward for this tournament.” He smiled.

She reached across the table and picked up a new bowl of rice.

“Dragon’s Heath is a maximum security prison.” He explained.

She looked up at him over her rice bowl rim, shoving it in.

“The most horrible men from across the world are incarcerated there. Murderers, rapists, that sort of thing.” He went on.

She nodded and went for a pork leg next.

“Every year, they hold a tournament. For all the prisoners on death row.” He smiled.
“The rules of the tournament are, fight to the death. The winner gets to go free.” He smiled.

She chocked. How is it that a place like that existed on this planet? Surely if you did something wrong, you would get punished.

“And how is it that I’ve been entered into a tournament like that. I’m not a prisoner, and not a man.” She pointed out.

He smiled. She was quick one.

“I know the warden. He lets me enter one of my students every year, but I must admit it’s been a while since any of them came back…” he said, rubbing his chin.

“But you’ll do fine.” He smiled.

“I’m in.” she smiled across the table.




The next day, they left early hours of the day, walking towards for Dragons’ Nest Island, where Dragon’s Heath Prison was situated. It was painstakingly slow for Ava. She knew she could get there in less time it took for them to cross a mountain peak, but Master Shen wanted to walk. He didn’t believe in flying or something like that.

When they got there, Ava looked at the high walls and barbed wire fences atop of that. She wondered how many men had escaped by flying out. She walked in at the visitor’s entrance, accompanied by Master Shen and Simon. They walked through a narrow passage way of fences and barbed wire, with the other prisoners cat calling her on both sides, waving their hands for her to come closer. They walked out into a fighting arena like any other. White tiles on a raised platform, but instead of grass on the edges, there was sand and bones. Ex competitors, Ava guessed. There were many people in the stands already.

Master Shen stopped suddenly and she stood behind him, looking around. There was a line of cells on all the surrounding walls, each holding a fighter.

“What is my mission, master?” She asked him.

“Win.” He said, moving off towards the stands.

“Win.” She repeated. That would mean that she would have to kill everyone here. She smiled. She was okay with that.

She was shown to a cell and locked in. She sat down and flexed her hand into a fist. This is what she was born to do.

“Welcome one and all to the annual Dragon’s Heath Tournament…” the announcer said, hidden from sight.

“As everyone who has been here before knows, the rules of this tournament are very simple.” He added.

“No real names will be used here. When a prisoner walks in that door, he is no longer the man he used to be and is given a new name appropriate to his crime.” The announcer said.

“Two fighters are chosen at random and their cells opened remotely. They then proceed to the ring, where they fight till one fighter is left standing and the other is dead.” He explained.

“By the end of the day, we will have two fighters left, and they will fight to the death, determining a winner. The winner gets their criminal record expunged and they are free to leave.” He added.

“Well, the loser not so much…” he laughed.

Ava smiled. This was going to be fun.

Up in the office, the warden added her name to the list and threw a piece of paper with her name on it into a hat.

“Are you sure you want to sign a girl up for the tournament? The last five men you entered are lying in the sandpits below.” the warned asked Master Shen, Simon hovering nearby.

“I’m sure. She’s my strongest fighter yet.” Master Shen smiled as the warden shook his head.

“Very well.” He said, as another man handed him the hat. He shook it around and pulled out the first name.

Across the courtyard, Ava heard the first cell door slide open. She watched as a burly man with tattoos walked up into the ring and looked around. He was tall, tanned and huge. A worthy opponent, no doubt.

Then she heard a second door open and another man walk up into the arena. He was small and pale, with very little muscle tone, but he looked smart. She saw that he had hidden a knife in his sock.

“Clever…” she exclaimed, getting up. She walked to the cell door. She leaned against the wall and looked out at the fight.

“First up will be Demonslayer, the man who attempted to kill our world president and Braintaster, the cannibal of Carnmist islands.” The announcer said and the two men looked at each other.

They didn’t waste any time and launched at each other. The bigger man, Demonslayer, was slow and bulky where as Braintaster was quick and nimble. He dodged Demonslayer’s attack and reached down for his knife in his sock. He ripped it out and plunged it into Demonslayer’s back, piercing his heart.
He fell to the ground like a piece of meat and Braintater held up his knife in victory. The body was swept off the edge of the arena and landed on the sand. Ava guessed he would be left there.

“As we have said before, there are very few rules in this tournament.” The announcer laughed.

“Now for the next match.” The announcer said. Her cell door opened. Ava was finally called up. She walked out, dropping her shell behind her. She didn’t need it anymore.

She walked up into the ring and the crowd fell silent.

“Red Widow will fight Limbkeeper.” The announcer broke the silence.

“Red Widow, I like it.” she smiled to herself as a man walked up to her side.

“Are you from Master Shen’s school?” he asked her.

“Yes.” she looked over at him.

He was taller than her, about six foot five; he had long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail and a dazzling smile. He had deep blue eyes.

“Limbkeeper, how did you get that name?” she asked him.

“Well, instead of fish mounted on my walls, I have limbs of my victims.” He smiled, liking his lips.

“Pity I never ran into you.” He said, looking her up and down.
She wrapped her tail around her waist and he gasped.

“You’re not human…” he said, stepping back.

“Not even close.” She said, launching at him.

The last thing he saw was her fist heading towards his face.
She knocked his head right off his shoulders, sending it spinning off behind him, pumping blood every where.

The body slumped to his knees and fell over backwards, squirting blood from his still beating heart all over the arena. Some blood sprayed up onto her face and she didn’t even flinch. She turned and walked back to her cell, where they promptly locked her up again.

Next to fight was Sleepbutcher, a man from Northron Hills, who broke into boarding schools and slaughtered entire hostiles of children. He was due to be put to death three months from now. He was 5 foot 7 and slender, with blonde hair and green eyes.
He was matched against Plaguesender, a well built, tall African man with skin as dark as midnight. His black tribal tattoos were just visible under his skin. He was in jail for terrorizing villages out in the East, killing men and then stealing their woman and children, claiming their wives as his own and making the children work in the harshest of conditions.
The match was quickly over, Plaguesender winning by snapping Sleepbutcher’s back in half and tossing him out the ring like a toy.
He walked off back to his cell.

Next up was Painwreaker, a well known doctor from East City, who used high end painkillers to immobilise his victims before dismembering them while they were still alive, leaving their head for last. He was a stately man with brown short hair and brown eyes and an olive skin tone, who was carrying a makeshift scalpel. He was matched against a man called Lambstrangler. He used live out in Maidhollow to the south. He used to strangle lambs out in their paddocks and then lay in wait for the farmer to come check what the hell was happening. He then attacked the farmer and strangled them with his bare hands, before fleeing off into the night, and doing it all over again the next night.
He was tall and well built, having arms like tree stumps. He took one look at the doctor and laughed. He walked up to him and snapped his neck like he was a lamb. He picked up his body and tossed it out of the ring. He turned and looked at Ava. He smiled. And she smiled back. She would enjoy killing him.

Next up was Braintaster against Plaguesender. Braintaster was quick and evasive; aggravating Plaguesender, but soon, his anger helped him. He grabbed Braintaster by the throat and lifted him up into the air. Braintaster was gasping for air and biting at Plaguesender hand. Plaguesender smiled and squeezed his neck harder and Ava heard the bones in his neck being crushed. She watched at Plaguesender squeezed harder and popped Braintaster head off his shoulders. He threw the body over the edge of the arena and kicked his head off after it, like a soccer ball.

Next was the Red Widow against the Lambstrangler. She walked up and saw him waiting for her, standing with his arms crossed over his chest.
He walked up to her and smiled.

“How about I just take you to my cell now?” he licked his lips.

“How about I just kill you now?” she smiled.

“It wasn’t very wise to enter this tournament, Widow. You’re just a little girl.” He laughed.

“I’m… not… a… girl…” she said, plunging her hand at him, right into his chest, grasping his heart.

She watched his face as he realised it was all over. He looked down and saw her hand struck in his chest, holding his heart. She smiled and pulled back, ripping the heart out off his chest. She held it in front of him and he saw his heart beat three times before he collapsed at her feet. She smiled and held up his heart. The crowd cheered for her as she spun around slowly. Her arm was bloodied up to her elbow, the blood running down her arm.

“Where the hell did you find this girl?” the warden asked Master Shen. Lambstrangler had killed three of his guards and he barely took a breath with her in the ring.

“She just showed up one day.” Master Shen smiled.

There was a brief break before the finals. Everyone walked off to go get their snacks, but Ava was in her cell, washing off the blood of Lambstrangler. She watched as the stadium began to fill in yet again. She watched as her cell door slid open. She stood up and walked out into the arena. Plaguesender was there waiting for her.

“You’ve seen how this goes. Just stand still and I’ll kill you quickly.” She said to him.

He shook his head.

“I too have earned my way to this spot. You will go down like all the others.” He said to her, moving into his starting position.

“Ah, a martial artist, nice.” She said, moving into her starting position. They check each other out. He noted that her core wasn’t very strong. She had a tiny waist, which meant that her organs were close to the surface.

She noted that he walked with a slight limp on his left leg, from the knee. She looked and saw a scar on the inside of his left knee. He had been shot in the knee at some stage. Probably when the cops brought him in.

“I’ll give you a fair chance, and not use my full power on you, okay.” Ava smiled at him.

“Don’t you dare hold back. When I kill you, I want to know I killed the best.” He smiled.

“Very well, but you’re digging your own grave.” She said, launching herself at him.

She wasted no time and went straight for his left knee. She grabbed it and swung around on it, snapping his leg. He toppled over and fell over onto his back. She walked over to him and stooped over him, her hands on her hips.

“I’ll kill you quickly now.” she said, holding out her palm to his face. He saw a red ball of ki form in her palm.

He reached up and grabbed her hand and pulled her off her feet just as she was about to blow him up. He swung her around and flung her across the arena floor. She landed on her side and skidded to a stop not long after. She got up and dusted herself off. She walked back up to him and looked down at him yet again.

“It’ll take more that that to kill me.” she said, holding out her hand again. A red ball of ki formed in her palm again.

He then saw her tail wrapped around her waist.

“Saiyan?” he asked her.

She dropped hr hand and smiled.

“Yes.” she admitted.
“Well done. Most have never seen one.” she added.

“Do you know Agan?” he asked her.

“Yes…” she said to him.

“He put me in here.” he said to her.
“I hate him.” he added.

She didn’t know what to say. She had never hated Agan except for those two weeks after the Cave of Darkness.

“I promise, you won’t feel a thing.” She whispered to him, lifting her hand to his face again.

She filled her palm with ki and blasted out towards him, filling the arena in front of her with red ki. She saw the colour. Her ki seemed to have been stained with blood. The blood of the people she had killed. She stopped the blast and dropped her hand.

Her innocence was drowning in the blood of everyone she had killed through out her life. She stood there motionless. Unsure of whether this path she was heading down was right for her. It was making her evil. She would have to draw the line somewhere.

“And the winner is Red Widow.” The announcer said eventually.

She snapped out of it and she looked around. The crowd was silent, terrified of her. She turned and walked out toward the exit. Master Shen collected her winnings and started off, back home.

She had to talk to someone. She flew off to West City, knowing Shen would take a few hours to get back. She landed outside the Capsule Corp. House and powered up.
Kaval came walked out just a few seconds later.

“Kaval… I need help.” she said, walking up to him, her hands stained with blood.

“I can see that.” He said, looking at her hands.
“Your ki is red, isn’t it?” he asked her.

She nodded.

“Bloodlust.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You’re sick with Bloodlust.” He said to her.

“How do I cure it?” she asked him.

“You don’t. You have to live with it and learn to control it.” he said, looking at her terrified face.
“Agan told me you fought him a few days ago. That was stupid.” He said to her.

“I know, but Shen wanted his head.” She admitted.

He looked her up and down. She was no longer the woman he loved.

“Mediation. That should help.” he said, walking off.

“Good luck.” He added, walking into his house.

She sighed and flew back to the Crane school and began to meditate. She hoped it would help her get over her lust for blood.

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END
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Quest Status – Completed
WC - 3764