Ava EQ 18 - The Crane Hermit Finale

The Crane Hermit Finale

Medium Quest

Requirement: Must have completed The Crane Hermit Part III.

Reward: 1,000 zeni and Crane Cloak.

After your brutal show of strength, Master Shen is inspired to start up a new Crane School. He has set his eyes on a temple in the snow mountains, inhabited by some monks. Go and evict them. But, beware, they are master martial artists, so you'll need to use everything you know.

Crane Cloak - Accessory - A heavy cloak worn by the students of Master Shen. Increases strength by 500 + 8% of base attribute in combat. Boosts all XP gained from training by 1%.

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Ava woke up in the morning to the familiar cold, wet feeling on her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked around her room. She sat up and looked down at her pillow. It was stained with blood. She sighed and thought back. She only had a few more days left. She had grown used to the pain and wasn’t flinching anymore when she felt it shooting through her body.

She got up and walked off to the bathroom, dragging her pillow with her. She washed it in the basin and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were still red but other than that, everything had changed. She was pale; her hair lacked its usual lustre and looked weak and thin. There were dark rings under her eyes and her face looked sullen with a tinge of blue for an undertone, reiterating the fact that she was a dead woman walking.

She sighed. She had the sacred water and Senzu Bean from Korin, both of which would heal her in no time, but she felt that she didn’t deserve to be saved by something so sacred. She had let everyone down, Master Roshi, Master Korin, Master Kami, Agan, and Kaval.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She deserved what was happening to her now. She turned and walked out of the bathroom, going to hang up her pillow to dry in the sun.

She stood out by the washing line, after hanging up her pillow and looked up at the sky.

She smiled as a gently breeze picked up and whipped her loose hair off gently to one side. The sun was warm and comforting on her face, making her forget about her impending death just for a moment. And then that moment was over. She would miss this, the silence, the breeze, and blue sky, the green grass.

She sat down on the grass and lay down, looking up at the clouds. She wondered what hell would be like. Would it be like all the humans descriptions of hell, swelteringly hot and mostly comprised of rock and lava, with the sound of pain and suffering filling the air?

Who was there? She knew Chiller, his father, King Cold, and brother were there, but who else would be waiting to torture her, a Saiyan. Would she be the only one there? Surely not, surely this had happened to someone before her. She couldn’t be the only one who had died of Bloodlust.

“Having fun?” Simon said to her, watching her from a little distance away.

“I am.” she said to him.
“What do you want?” she asked him, without looking up at him.

“Master Shen wants to see you.” He said, waiting for her to get up.
She sighed and got up slowly and they began to walk back to the dojo.

“You don’t look well.” Simon said to her.

“I’m not well.” She looked at the elderly man who walked with a walking stick.
“I’ve got some medical problems. It’ll soon be over.” She said, walking with him.

“You found a solution, a cure?” Simon asked her.

“No, it will claim my life in three days.” She said, walking into the dojo.

Simon stopped.
“No, this can’t be.” he said softly to himself.
She was his only hope of freedom. How could she be dieing?
He ran off after her.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked her.

“I mean I’m dieing. I only have three days left, if I’m lucky.” She said, walking into Shen’s classroom.
She walked to the middle and bowed.

“You wanted to see me.” she said to him.
She had stopped calling him Master Shen after she had met with Roshi, Agan and Kaval.

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” he asked her, with his back turned to her.

“It is.” She said, quiet unemotionally.
You would never have said just a few minutes ago, she was smiling in the sunlight.

“Do you like it?” he asked her, still not looking at her.

“Slightly.” She said, distanced again.

“I hate it.” he said, finally turning to look at her.
“When I was banished here, they told me I was going to a place that I would hate.” He said, standing up.
“They knew I liked the cold.” He smiled.
“With the new success of my school, I would like to relocate.” He smiled.

“But you’ve been banished. You can never go back.” she reminded him.

“With my strongest student at my side, who can stop me?” he smiled.

“True.” She added. No emotion playing over her face.

“There is a dojo in the upper caucuses of the Eastern Mountain range.” He said to her, walking up to a map.
He pointed out the dojo with his staff.
“It is the school of the Eastern Dragon Temple.” He said, looking at her.
“I want you to go there and evict the current occupants, so I can take over.” He told her.

“What if I say no?” she asked him.

He turned to her and saw the glimmer in her eyes. He was losing control of her. He needed to give her something in return to convince her to do it.

“Are you well?” he asked her.

“Very.” She said, looking at him.

“You don’t look it.” Shen said, walking up to her.

He gestured for her to sit and she did. He walked around her. Something seemed to be very wrong with her. She didn’t look herself.
“Were you injured the night you went out to the other dojos?” he asked her.

“No.” she said.

“The Dragon’s Heath Tournament?” he asked her.

“No.” she answered, turning her head to look at him.

Her red eyes looked even more intimidating next to her pale ashen skin.

“There is something wrong. I can sense and see it.” he told her.

“Careful Shen. A warrior never shows worry or weakness. Concern, is a weakness.” She told him.

“Indeed.” He smiled.

“I’m impressed. But you are straying from my teachings.” He told her.
“If you pass this, your last test, I will give you, my very own Crane Cloak.” He said, looking at her.

“Your cloak?” she asked him.

“Yes.” he said, looking down at her.

“This will be my last test?” she asked him.

“Yes.” he said.
“Then you are free to leave and go home.” He smiled.

She stood up and turned to face the door.
“I’ll be back with news.” She said, walking out.

She went to her room and packed up a few things. She looked at both the bottle of sacred water and the Senzu bean as she packed up. Just one drop should help her get through the next few days. She opened the bottle and stuck her finger in, and pulled it out, with a single drop of the water hanging off the tip of her finger. She let it drip into her mouth and waited. But she felt nothing. Maybe the magick had worn off already. She sighed, corked it back up and put it in her bag.

She stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder. She looked over at her shell, sitting alone in the corner of her room. She barely had the courage to look at it, let alone wear it into battle one last time. she sighed and walked out, leaving it behind.

She walked out towards the gates. Simon was waiting for her with some packed food.
“Here. Maybe it will give you some strength.” He smiled at her.
She took it from him and smiled.

“I have a feeling nothing can help me now.” she said, slipping the food into her bag.

“Ava, when you get back, I have a proposition for you.” He smiled at her.

“You better find someone else to say it to. I don’t think I’ll be coming back from this one.” she smiled at him.
“Take care Simon.” She said, bowing to him and walking out.

He watched as she walked off out over the desert plain and up onto the mountain path. He wondered why she wasn’t flying.

She peaked over the top of the mountain and looked back. She had learned two days ago, she had lost her ability to fly. She was becoming a human as Jane and Emily.
She rounded a corner on the path and felt the pain shooting through her body again. She involuntarily doubled over forward, landing on her knees. She felt something rushing up from her insides. She opened her mouth and blood came pouring out. She watched as her blood stained the rock and soil, turning it deep red. She sat back and wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand. It was close. She could feel the cold portal of death pulling her closer.

She sighed, got up and walked on.

She made her way towards the mountain, knowing full well that she wouldn’t make it in three days. But hey, as long as she was away from Shen.

She travelled for two days, through fields and towns, a city and another two villages before she even saw the mountain off in the distance.

She knew she wasn’t going to make it. She sat down next to the road and looked up at the mountain. She could either go up there and go try and evict the occupants, or she could make one last stand. She decided on the latter.

She got up and looked at the mountain. She made her way towards the next town, the one at the base of the mountain. A little sleepy winter town called Sestone. She walked into town and saw that everything was closed, except for the local tavern. She walked up to the door and looked up at the name.

“The Topaz Flask… a good place to die…” she smiled and walked in.
The place was full of men and women drinking and having a good time. Ava pulled her jacket around herself and walked up to the bar. She sat down and the barman walked up to her.

“What will it be love?” he asked her.

“Water please.” she said to him.

She looked around.
He nodded and poured her a glass of water. She reached out and took it in her hand. She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. She put it back down on the counter and looked at the rim of the glass where her lips had just been. There was blood running down the sides of the glass.

She looked around the tavern. She never imagined she would die in a dingy old drinking hole. Her thoughts went back to the day she last saw Kaval. He was so handsome. She smiled at the memory of his face. He was so worried about her and she just blew him off. But what could she do? If the sacred water wouldn’t heal her, then nothing would. From the day she had chosen to ignore Kami’s advice not to go to Shen, her fate was sealed. She looked back ahead of her and looked at herself in the bar mirror. She looked worse than ever. She reached up and touched her face. She looked like death warmed over. She looked down at her hands and saw how pale and thin they looked.

She felt her heart jump suddenly and she gasped, loud enough for everyone to hear. She reached for her chest and felt for a heartbeat, but there was none. She looked up at the bartender in shock. His ugly mug would be the last face she saw. He saw her eyes rolls in their sockets and her head flip over forward. Her forehead hit the bar with a loud thud and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

The bartender sighed.

“We have another one here Cyne.” He said to one man sitting off in the corner of the bar. The monk got up and walked over to her. He looked into her face and gasped.

“A…Ava…” he asked, picking her up into his arms.
He held his ear to her chest and felt no beating whatsoever.

“Brothers, she’s dead.” Cyne said to the other monks who had gathered around them.

“The Master can help her.” one monk said to him.

Cyne nodded and they all left the tavern, heading up into the mountains, towards their temple, the Eastern Dragon Temple.

They arrived a while later, and he set Ava down on the stone floor in front of their master.

“Master Thorin, I beg of you, bring her back.” Cyne begged his master.

His master turned and looked at him, and then down at Ava. She was cold and blue, lifeless.

“She’s been dead for 2 hours; it will take a lot of time and power.” Master Thorin looked at Cyne.
“Is she worth the effort?” he asked Cyne.

“Yes master, she is the young Saiyan I told you about. She good and pure of heart and strong.” Cyne looked down at her.
“Whoever did this to her was pure evil.” He added.
“Please master.” He begged.
Master Thorin nodded.

“Take her to a room. Get the young ones to bring me some warm water and my crystals.” Master Thorin ordered.

Cyne nodded, picked her up and carried her to a room.
Master Thorin came in afterwards, closing the door behind him. He saw the water and his crystals sitting on the nearby table. He set the crystals up all around the room. He walked up to Ava and touched her cheek. She was ice cold.

“Very well then dear one, come back to Earth.” He said, sitting down at her head and beginning to chant, his hands on her forehead.


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Ava woke up on a hard surface and looked up at the red sky. She blinked and sat up slowly, expecting pain but there wasn’t any. She looked around. The sky was yellow with a tinge of red on the horizons. She looked down and tried to remember what had happened. Then it hit her. She reached up for her chest and felt for movement. There was none.
She looked around again and got up.

“Hell…” she said softly.
She saw two ogres coming towards her and she got into her fighting pose.

“No need for that Ava.” The red one said.

“We’re here to take you to your cell.” The other light blue one said to her.
She dropped her fists and looked at them.

“This really is Hell isn’t it?” she asked them.

“Yes. It is, come with us please.” the red one said, heading off.

Ava sighed and walked off after them. They led her to a stone cell guard by two other ogres. They opened the barred door and she walked into the darkness. She heard the door slam behind her.

“Welcome to Hell. Enjoy your stay…” they laughed as they left.

She growled at them and walked deeper into the cell, looking to see if she was alone. She was surprised to see that it was in fact a large landscape encased in the one cell, with black rocks and red lava running in streams. Hell was everything the humans had described it to be. She came to an opening in the mountain, stepping out into a cave mouth. She looked down and saw that she was in a cave in a sheer cliff. She looked down at the plains below.

She gasped when she saw Chiller standing there with his father and brother.
The gasp echoed and was amplified, making it audible to the others below. They all looked up at her.
They saw her standing there.

“Well well, what do we have here?” Chiller said to his father.

“That’s a Saiyan, isn’t it?” King Cold asked him.

“Yes. It is. The woman I fought on Namek.” Chiller smiled.

“Well, let’s not just stand here, go welcome here.” King Cold said to Chiller. He smiled and flew up to her.
When she saw him flying up to her, she turned and ran for the gates, slamming into them.

“Please, please let me out…” she begged the guards.
They ignored her.

“Please, they’re going to kill me…” she said, looking back, seeing Chiller walk out of the shadows.

“You’re already dead.” he smiled at her.

It was like the cave vision all over again. She began pulling at the bars wildly, trying to get out.

“No use trying to get out. The bars are too strong, even for me. And the guards are deaf, so no use begging either.” He said.
She felt a tail that wasn’t her own wrap around her waist. Chiller pulled her away from the bars and turned her to look at him. She looked into his face and felt nothing but fear bubbling up from inside her. She began to tremble.

“You know, you’re the only woman in this cell.” He smiled.

“YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!” she shouted, struggling against his tail.

“I bet some of my closest henchmen will be glad to see you again.” He smiled.

“No… no, not Lukil.” She begged him.

“He’s missed you terribly. He said to me when he first saw on back on Namek, that you took his breath away.” Chiller smiled.

“I bet now he’ll be taking yours.” He laughed.

Back on Namek, Lukil had found her and seen that she was a Saiyan, and while he tried to collect her for Chiller, he made several passes at her, even saying that if Chiller kept her, she would be Lukil’s favourite plaything.

“Please, anything but that.” She said, looking into the darkness behind him, waiting to see Lukil walk out.

“Anything?” Chiller asked her.

She nodded wildly, not realising what he was saying..

“Anything, just not Lukil.” She begged him.

He pulled her closer to him and she watched as he did, unsure of what to do. There was nothing she could do anyway. She was probably the weakest person here.

“I’ll protect you. But only if do something for me.” he whispered into her ear.
She nodded again, more slowly this time..

“What?” she asked.

She felt his lips touched her neck softly as he planted a kiss on it. She felt him lick her neck slowly, running it up the side. Her skin crawled and she tried to pull away, but his tail held her tightly.

“Be my pet, my plaything…” he whispered.

“Ne… never…” she whispered back, trembling even more.

“If you die here, then you cease to exist.” Chiller whispered to her.
“Do we have a deal?” he asked her.

She looked away and knew she would regret her next decision.
She nodded.

“I’ll do anything you say.” She said, softly, looking into his eyes.

He smiled and set her down.

“Come.” He said, turning and walking off into the darkness.

“Are you still so hung up on Kaval?” Chiller asked her.

She looked away from him.
He could have her as his pet but she would give him very little else.

“Fine then, ignore me. For now.” he smiled at her.

She couldn’t believe she had made that deal with Chiller, of all people.

She joined the group of evil people, all looking at her as if they wanted to rip her clothes off. She guessed Chiller was right about her being the only woman here. The men she had seen on Namek who were so eager to kill her back then, were not so eager to kill her now.
She stuck close to Chiller seeing as he wrapped his tail around her and kept her close, and tried to devise a way of getting out.

When night fell, she became worried that Chiller would make her do good on their deal, so she snuck away from him and found a cave of her own, hiding out from everyone.

She lay curled up on the floor. She knew that someday, Chiller would come for her and invoke their deal. It scared her to death.

How did she get here? She surely hadn’t been so evil to be classed with Chiller and King Cold and Lukil? She heard something at the entrance of the cave and just moved her eyes to look who it was.

It was Lukil. She gasped silently, trying not to move as to alert him that she was there. He smiled and walked into the cave anyway.
“I know you’re here, I can smell you.” He said to her.
She stood up and walked into the light.

“What do you want?” she asked his hostilely.

“You still have to ask.” He said, launching himself at her.
He grasped her around her waist and held her tightly while he kissed her deeply. She pushed him away forcefully and wiped her mouth off. She walked back into the darkness.

“Stay away from me, or I’ll tell Chiller.” she said from the darkness.

“I don’t think so.” He said, rushing after her.

He looked for her and searched the cave but she was gone. He searched into the next morning, but she really was gone.


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Back on Earth, her brown eyes shot open and she gasped for breath. Her body wrenched violently as she shot back to life.
She lay back down; sweat dripping from her neck onto the bed she was laying on. She looked around and saw an old man sitting at her head. She looked at him and he smiled at her.

“Welcome back.” he smiled, handing her a glass of water.

She looking at it suspiciously, but then she grabbed it and gulped it down.
She finished it and wiped a few drops off her chin with the back if her hand. She looked at the old man.

“Who are you?” she asked him.

“Master Thorin of the Eastern Dragon Temple.” He smiled at her.

How could this be, she was just in the cave with Lukil rushing towards her and now, she was here.

“I died, didn’t I?” she asked him after a while.

“Yes, I brought you back using an ancient art known only to a few masters like myself.” He smiled.
“You have a new lease on life; I suggest you not waste it like you last one.” he said, getting up and walking out.

She got up and walked out after him. She had been sent here to chase them out of this temple. How could she do that to them now? She walked out after Master Thorin to the courtyard. She looked over at several young men training in their martial arts.

“They’re really good.” Ava said to him.

“Cyne has taught them well.” He looked at her.

“Cyne?” she asked him.

“Yes, Ava. Me.” Cyne walked up to her and bowed.
“It’s good to see you again.” he smiled.

“And you.” She bowed back to him.
“I can’t thank you enough Master Thorin.” She bowed to him.

“You can. Go back to Shen and relieve him on his school.” Thorin said to her.
“He’s evil and he killed you. He doesn’t deserve to have a school.” He added.

“I was planning on killing him anyway.” She smiled.

“No more killing Ava.” Cyne said to her.

“That’s what got you in this.” Thorin said to her.
“You need to change your ways and follow the right path from now on.” He added.

She bowed to him.

“You’re right.” She bowed to him.
“Thank you, for everything.” She said, looking at two of them.


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She smiled when she found that she had he full range of skills back. She shot off and headed back to the Crane school.

She landed in the courtyard and walked to her room. She packed up the last of her things and swung her shell over onto her back, and headed towards Shen’s room. She stomped in, showing no respect. He shot up from the floor and looked at her.

“And, how did it go?” he smiled.

“I refused to do it.” she said, throwing her things down on the wooden floor.
“You have done nothing but make my life hell for this past month. And I quit as your student.” She smiled.
“And believe me, I would rather be in hell than be your student.” She added.
“I have been instructed to relive you of your school.” She said, holding up her hand, a white ki ball forming in her palm.

“But… I taught you… and you did so well.” He begged her.

“I did evil. There is a difference.” She added but then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She looked back and saw that it was Simon.
She lowered her hand.

“I will take over from him. There is no need to kill him.” Simon said.

“SIMON!” Shen shouted at him.

“Enough brother.” Simon said to him.
“I have watched you run our old master’s school into the ground with your ruthless teachings and power hungry ways. No more.” Simon said, walking up to Shen and ripping off his cloak.

“You are no longer the master of this school. And if you have a problem with that, you can speak with Ava.” Simon said, handing the cloak to Ava.

“Here. You’ve earned it. You may not have done what he asked, but you followed your heart and defied him. That means you pass in my books.” Simon smiled.

She took it from him and folded it up in her hands.

“Thank you, Master Simon.” She bowed to him.

He smiled and bowed to her.

“Now, Shen, the broom is waiting for you. The courtyard needs sweeping.” Simon smiled.

Shen stormed out past them and they both laughed at him.
Ava looked at Simon. Who knew they were brothers?

“Please tell me you won’t run the school like he did?” she asked him.

“I won’t. By the time I’m done, the Crane School will have its name restored to glory. The good kind.” Simon smiled.

“Thank you Simon.” She bowed to him.

They bowed and she left shortly after, heading back to her house in Lilly Town.
She had missed it terribly. She made a decision that day, to never do evil again. She couldn’t go back to Hell, that was for sure.


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“SHE’S WHAT!” Chiller yelled at Lukil.

“Gone, master…” he whimpered.

“Where did she go?” Chiller asked him on the point of killing him.

“No idea…” Lukil whispered.

Chiller sighed.

“No matter, our deal still stands, and she’ll show up one day.” Chiller smiled to himself.
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END
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Quest Status – Completed.
WC - 4427