Disclaimer:I am not in possession of the rights to the characters of DBZ or Dark Jewels, so don't sue me, I'd actually just cry.

A/N: If you skipped chapter 13 because it was a note from me go back and read it since a real chapter has replaced it. If you would like Bulma to go psycho skip to page 5…or whatever ^_^. Sorry, I'm a bit…yeah, at the moment. Oooh great story idea! I'll tell ya later k? Also if you care about the jewel ranking the list was in chapter 12, if it doesn't matter to you what color they are we'll just say that the women are witches equivalent in magical skill as the z-fighters skill in fighting… aka uberpowerful chicas.


Priceless Jewels
Chapter 14-The Keep

Bulma made a quick descent, amassing her strength. She quickly snapped the strongest shield she could create around all of them. 18 flowed the strength of her Ebon-gray jewel through the shield Bulma had created, reinforcing it with Sapphire. Soon ChiChi added the strength of the Red and Gray to the weave of the shield. It wasn't until the shield was firmly in place 18 and ChiChi realized what Bulma had left outside the shield- herself. Before they could say anything they felt the world begin to swirl, circling down. Spiraling.

Bulma spiraled down, submerging her mind into the darkness that was her power. She felt the power pulsing through her, pulsing through the black sky where seven sparkling stars were enclosed in a pulsating dome of colors. She felt the intent of the power, felt its desire to destroy her, possess her. Desire? How strange… Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt the entity she recognized as her body began to move of it's own volition… she didn't care. She gathered her strength, descending beyond the Black into the Ebony. Then she began to focus it, weaving strands of her power together quickly… cautiously. Hurry! You won't have enough time unless you… there!

Bulma triggered the web that would release the witch storm that would cancel out the other. She observed the impact of the Ebony against the magic of the unknown source; realized almost too late what would happen when the two forces pushed away from each other. She drained even more power from her Ebony jewel, not caring what toll her body would pay. When her jewel was about to shatter she rose to the Black, siphoning off all the power she safely could while maintaining the shield she had created around her companions. Then she quickly began to pour the strength of the Ebon-gray into her own defenses, protecting her Self.

Bulma managed to hold the power she had pushed into the shields around the fighters and the land, managed to empty raw power into her own defenses, strengthening her inner barriers barely in time to keep the backlash from tearing her mind apart. She felt a crushing agony rip through her body causing her to scream out in anguish. The world swam before her tear filled eyes before she fell sinking into the spiraling, down into embracing Darkness. Vegeta…

The others saw her body slowly begin to spin, gaining in speed as her power visibly grew around her body. She abruptly stopped; extending the arms that had been wrapped around her body toward the dreadful power that was coming directly toward them. She raised her hands above her head, cradling a ball of black power that slowly began to expand. The dancing energy pulsed around her, black, but somehow all other colors at the same time, radiance within emptiness. Then she released the ball, releasing it toward the violent energy.

The ball expanded, fed by her strength, growing to match the fury of the other psychic storm. Lightening lanced across the sky, crashing forcibly into power of the enemy bolts with a savage strength. The psychic storms impacted, the power washing out hitting the invisible shield Bulma flung up. However, not in time to keep her body from slamming into the shield she had created around her friends with a sickening thud. Her body began to fall forward and the shield flickered where her strength was giving out. ChiChi and 18 dropped the part of the shield they were holding and dived toward her.

Vegeta was already there.

They clustered around her motionless form; trying to call to her, beg her to wake up. Suddenly Vegeta yelled, "Shut up!" They froze in shock.

"She needs medical assistance, immediately. Where's the best doctor in this land?" he demanded harshly.

"You're holding her," 18 informed him coldly. "But you're right. We need to get her to the Keep. We'll be able to take care of her there."

"We need to hurry. I'm not sure how serious her injuries are but she channeled too much power at one time. Man her body is going to suffer. Look, you can already see from her arms that she burned up too much muscle."

"What happened to her?" Gohan asked, staring at the skeletal arm.

"Her power is great. When you have that kind of power your body is a receptacle for your power. Sometimes you're power is greater than your body can handle, and your body consumes itself trying to be a focal point for the power that you channel. Bulma is more powerful than most so the danger of her power destroying her own body is higher than it is for say one of us, especially since she used her power to shield us, the land and herself." They sped on their way toward the Keep as ChiChi explained what happened to Bulma when she had unleashed her power to stop the psychic storm directed at them.

Vegeta was only partially paying attention, absorbing what was being said without concentrating on what it meant. All he could think as he flew, looking at the frail body cradled against his heart was She called to me… I was the last thing she thought of…

"We're almost there!" 18 called out. She sent a thought out to warn Draca that they were coming, while ChiChi started to list all the things that she'd need when they land.

As soon as they landed large man with wings rushed up to them assuming a wary stance, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet as he stared mistrustfully at the strange males. His long black hair flowed down his back and he wore tight fitting black pants. His gold eyes narrowed with rage as soon as his eyes landed on Bulma. One second he was about to ask them their business, the next he had Eyrien war blades in his fists.


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

Raksha: Glad you like it. Yeah, finals are a time for teachers to get back. I 've been dealing with them all this week. No that chick isn't the Cassandra that we knew in the story, she…well I'll explain her later. But yes all the others Draca, Lorn, Saetan and Geoffrey are alive. ^_^ Your reviews are as appreciated as ever Dark Sister.

manga: Sorry if I didn't clarify this enough. Yeah, I know it's outrageous to have them all so powerful but I hope my explanations scattered throughout explained the necessity. It's no ordinary villain who could crush them in less than 2.5 seconds that's going to go after them. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing though; it helps me know what points I need to clarify.

Inei Tenshi: Glad the explanation helped. Please keep reviewing.

Roya: Sorry I didn't get this out sooner. I had finals, but we finished today so aside from all the last minute Senior crap that they're going to make us go through before they give us our stupid slips of paper saying we aren't total morons, I'm going to have more time, yay!

silmir: Thanks for reviewing, aren't DBZ and the Jewels wonderful?

Sailor Purgatory: Favor granted. It just so happens to be a fairly convenient one too since he was going to e in there anyways since he didn't give his life (or non-life) to Jaenelle's web. ^_^ Besides my theory is this, if he's been around for over 50, 000 years he can handle another 20 or so at least. Thanks for reviewing though!

Bulma: Glad you like it; you've been added to the really small mailing list. Oh wow, I guess it is a mailing list since there's more than one person wanting updates on when I've posted a new chapter. Wow. O_o *and then just because it annoyed the reporters she repeated * Wow! Lol

kapies: Yeah, you could be right, although I think Goku is smarter than people give him credit for at times, especially when it comes to training, cause that's what craft would come down to for them, a different type of fighting. But still I'm glad you liked his ranking. I appreciate the reviews.

Silverstar: Yeah, that was my theory too. You have to figure a lot more thought went into creating Vegeta than Goku, but Goku has the definite advantage of knowing how to use his emotions. Did that make sense? Actually when they're Super… well you might be a bit disappointed in that regard, although not so much as I've probably just led you to believe that you will be. Hm…@_@ Thanks for the reviews.

Asiolek: Your wait is now over. Yeah, I always felt Vegeta was potentially stronger than Goku, I mean think of his genes people! Thanks for reviewing.

Kandy: You know that scene was better accepted than I had thought it would be, especially since Vegeta ended up totally OOC. But I'm glad my story has gotten you interested in the Dark Jewels series. Anne Bishop is awesome and the Daemon is hot! Wait, I want Lucivar… no Daemon, aaahhh! Anyways……thanks for dropping me a line. ^_^