Disclaimer: I wish I owned DBZ and/or the Dark Jewels. Misfortunately we cannot always have what we wish for can we? *sobs *

Priceless Jewels
Chapter 10-The Discovery

ChiChi looked back at the guys, as she tried to figure out where to begin. She glanced quickly at 18 who gave a little shrug. She looked back at the guys again and smiled brightly, "Well I guess since most of us are here that we should go ahead and start explaining a few things before Bulma gets here."

"Good idea, let's start with why we all needed to be here, out in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, we're meeting here because this is an altar where we're going to have a priestess send us through a gate into Kaeleer."

"Just be silent and let us explain," 18 demanded when it looked like Krillin was going to ask another question. She nodded at ChiChi, signaling to her to continue.

"Alright, well first of all, we're not normal humans," she paused a second glancing at 18 who had raised an eyebrow in amusement. She corrected herself, "Have never been normal humans or androids, at all…ever. The reason that we've never been normal in the generalized sense of the word is because we are what is not really known as Blood since all Terrillian records of us have been destroyed."

"Bulma's coming soon, hurry it up."

"Would you like to do this 18?" ChiChi snapped peevishly.

"Fine. We're witches from Kaeleer. We're among the only women who have a triple gift, but we'll get to that later. The point is we're here now because a few years ago, a couple before I was turned into an android as a matter of fact, an enemy presence entered the Abyss. All of the strongest Blood from the original First Circle descended into the Abyss to attack the intruder. None of them returned. That was how Gero captured my body, I had been killed trying to find what had happened to them, and my body was still fresh, still trying to make the transition to demon dead. Now the presence is after Bulma and we have to be there to protect her. Did I leave anything out Chi?"

ChiChi's mouth was hanging open until she snapped it shut. She stared amazed at 18 for a minute before bursting out, "I can't believe you told them that like… well that! And yes you left a lot of stuff out! Like how about we happen to be able to create tangled webs that can rip a man's mind to shreds! Or maybe you were just going to blurt out that we both have a small snake tooth under our right ring finger with poison strong enough to kill a Super Saiyan. How about the fact that we're Queens and that going back to Kaeleer might mean that we have to establish a court depending on how things are there, and that establishing court there means never returning here! Maybe we should just add in that I happen to be the descendant of the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih, or that your great, great some number or other Grandmother Karla was the Queen of Glacia. Ooh and here's a tasty tidbit Bulma happens to be the descendant of the High Lord of Hell and his Queen Jaenelle, Heart of Kaeleer, Queen of Darkness, The Living Myth, Dreams made Flesh, and Witch who was incidentally enough afraid of this presence in spite of the fact that she was the most powerful being in the entire world!!!!"

*Smooth move ChiChi. *

ChiChi slapped a hand over her mouth. *Oh SHIT! *

"Well, now that you mention it yeah, what she said," 18 said turning away from the red faced ChiChi, toward the wide eyed males who had been staring at them since the beginning of their little discussion. "Besides, it's not like they can force us to establish court just because we've made the Offering. I'm certainly not," she added turning away from the still frozen males. ChiChi's eyes were still wide as she thought about what she had just revealed in her annoyance; she slowly turned to look at her husband who was staring at her bemusedly.

" So you're a…queen? Wow, when did that happen ChiChi?" Goku asked her in his clueless, cheerful manner that showed he accepted everything that he was told. ChiChi wanted to weep.

"Don't say that as if it's a good thing Goku. You don't know how drastically it would change everything if I was needed to establish a court, because that's the only way I would willingly do so. If I am forced to set up court it will be because things are very bad and I don't want Gohan… you or Gohan exposed to the dangers of court. It's just not safe, and you're way too trusting."

"She's right. I'm not sure I would want even Krillin to be exposed to the danger if Kaeleer is that bad without the restraining influence of the First Circle. And he's much more clever then Goku. No offense, Goku," she continued when he waved it away adding his easy agreement to her statement, "It shouldn't be that bad but the occurrences within the abyss might be spilling over into what we perceive as reality and if it is, we'll have to set up court, which means probably never returning to Terreille."

"Terreille?" the small boy asked, frowning up at the adults.

"Listen well Gohan. Many years ago, more years than most are capable of living the Earth was broken into three territories. After the war between Witch and Terreille all of the tainted Blood were dead and Terreille was left to the lindens to care for. We're in Terreille right now. All of the known countries on this planet are Terreillian lands because the other territories are so well protected that no one from these places even remembers them and the tangled webs surrounding them ensures that no one will ever stumble across them by accident, this is because Kaeleer totally closed it's borders. Does that make sense?"

"Uh huh," the little boy nodded to show that he had understood his mother.

"You say you have all these powers," Piccolo stated from where he stood floating, "so why haven't you ever used them before?"

"Because we're in Terreille," 18 stated calmly.

"Wait, what's that got to do with it? Piccolo's right on that, I mean when Freeza came along we could've used some of that stuff you said you could do ChiChi," Krillin frowned, his gaze shifting between his wife and her friend as something silent passed between them.

"We aren't supposed to use our powers in Terreille," ChiChi admitted softly. "That was the price we paid for being able to have a chance at a normal life. We could live as we please here in return for not exposing the others. You have to understand, not all of the Blood were killed in Terreille and of those that remained living, not all of them returned to the Shadow Realm."

"Since not all of the Blood left there is a number of half-bloods and quarter bloods existing around the world and without a lot of craft users our powers stand out when we use them. We had to choose between two parts of ourselves, and we chose you," 18 added softly looking at her husband as she spoke, willing him to understand.

"Hey, why can't you use your powers? I mean I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Goku asked, frowning, confused again.

ChiChi smiled at him, thinking it was so cute that he expected everything to be fair for everyone. "Because our using our powers with all of the half bloods and such running around the world would be like shouting in a quiet room. And if they can hear it then they're going to try to find it. If they try to find it then they'll eventually stumble across either the gates or us. Either way," she shrugged, "the result is undesirable."

"If they find a gate then there's the chance that they might actually light the candles in the proper sequence. If they find us, our lives would be no better than they would be if we had stayed in Kaeleer. Beyond that, do you really want a bunch of ghost hunters banging on your door in the middle of the night, or spying on us when we're training Krillin? It would attract attention to all of you, especially to Vegeta, Goku, and Piccolo, which is why we decided it would be easier to give up using our powers than risking exposing all of you."

"Um, okay, I can see that, but what about the jewels? I mean, you don't wear jewelry 18," Krillin stated, changing the subject as his mind tried to absorb the impact of what he had just learned.

"Think of the jewels as a focus for the power that we potentially have. When we have the birthright ceremony then we learn our basic power potential, then we make the Offering and we achieve our full adult strength," a familiar midnight voice cut in from nowhere. The air began to shimmer and then parted. Reality returned to its normal state and Bulma smiled at her friends, while Vegeta grumped quietly to himself. Bulma ignored him.

"There are 13 jewel ranks achievable by most people, and two that only Witch has ever achieved. The lighter the jewel the weaker the powers. You know, from White to Yellow, Yellow to Tiger Eye, Tiger Eye to Rose, Rose to Summer-sky, from Summer-sky to Purple Dusk, and from Purple Dusk to Opal, which is the dividing jewel between light and dark. So it descends in strength from White to Black. Beyond Black there is only Ebony and Twilight's Dawn, and only one Witch, my grandmother Jaenelle, has only achieved Twilight's Dawn. She was murdered last night by the enemy within the abyss."

There were exclamations and quiet offerings of sympathy from all of the males, while the females extended comfort through a communication thread, which Bulma gratefully accepted. She slowly smiled again, holding her tears back. Everyone was surprised when even Vegeta offered her silent sympathy by rubbing a hand quietly along her back before stepping away and glaring stiffly at everyone else. Goku shot a look at ChiChi. When did this happen? She shook her head, sending him the thought through their bond, Later.

"We need to hurry up and leave for Kaeleer so that I can make my Offering. But before we leave… can I ask you two to do something for me?" she addressed the other women. When she received their agreement she held out her hand, a shielded flame of yellow energy appeared, spinning lazily above her palm. "Tell me what you sense when you search the strength of this." They looked at each other before they extended a probing thread of power that stopped at her shield. Bulma put a lighter shield around it, dissolving the darker one. Their powers slipped through the small dome, brushing against the flickering flame.

18 drew her power back, drawing a sharp breath. ChiChi drew her power back a second later, quickly discovering what 18 had realized only seconds before. She extended her power once again to reassure herself that she wasn't mistaken. She looked at 18 before they both turned raised eyebrows toward Bulma.

"Where'd you get this?" ChiChi asked.

"Whose power is that?!" 18 demanded at the same time.

"I wasn't mistaken was I? It really is there isn't it?" Bulma asked them uncertainly.

18 spoke hesitantly, "Bulma this energy is strange, but if I was feeling it right with my jewel, it has the potential strength to be-" Just then a dark robed figure stepped from the shadowy stone building.


A/N: AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! *ducks flying objects* Ha, you missed! I'm soooo sorry for ending this right there. Oh wait, no I'm not! But don't worry! I will make it up to all of you! Just wait, mwahahaha!!!! *rubs hands together gleefully*
Kissing Bloody Roses(KBR) is still getting put up, so check it out, Oh yeah, I've decided to just finish this story first k? Also, I might not get a chapter up tomorrow cause we're having prom, how stupid is that? It's like a week before freaking graduation. #_#

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silverstar: Yes eventually. There's a bit more to Veggie's thing, but the revelation will come later. As to my ability to frequently update, this is due to my total lack of anything resembling a life. Thanks for reviewing though!

Shadowfire: Uh, glad to be inspiring. ^_^ It pleases me that you like it. Which characetrs were you using for your X-Men fic cause Rogue and Gambit rock!(they're my favorite couple can you tell?)lol thanks for reviewing.

saiyangirl16: That's ok. I'll accept reviews on all chapters. In fact I think I'd accept multiple reviews on a single chapter...maybe not ^_^ thanks for reading though. I like frequent customers.

Asiolek: I am sooo sorry that you've never heard of Anne Bishop before. I tried to include some stuff about the jewels. I'll toss in more stuff about the rannkings later if that'll give you a clearer idea. Sorry, Bulma doesn't have a horn. Witch is human and other so she tends to revert back to her regular form when around others. Most people can't handle talking to a half naked human animal chick with enough power to rip a chunk out of the side of the planet. Hm, wonder why?

Daniela: As I explained to Silverstar I have no life, and no 6th period class since my course is finished at the college. *shrugs* Besides, people have been reviewing. If people didn't seem interested I wouldn't even have bothered. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm sorry they didn't get to see the new and improved Bulma. Poor things just aren't ready for it...yet. ^_^

nattie: I'm glad you approve my efforts. Thanks for reviewing as always.

Roya: Your welcome, welcome, welcome. I am planning on it, lol.

IneiTenshi:Thanks x2, hope the explanations were interesting enough. Sorry, people were starting to look at me with an expression of 'Qui?' on their faces. Thought I should do some clarifying. thanks for reviewing though.

manga: Thanks for asking and yes if you beg, you too shall recieve. Guess what Veggie's going to learn next chapter? Yup, sorry it didn't come out this time I couldn't resist giving them a nudge to Kaeleer before they have to deal with their new discovery.

Raksha: Yes, as a matter of fact they will. In fact, a portion of them just were ^_^. But yes the others will as well. More discoveries are forthcoming. I wish I didn't have to spend so many chapters explaing the Jewels but if I don't the action later will make no sense ~_~. in the meantime, thanks for the faithful reviews and the Darkness embrace you as well sister.