Chapter Twelve: New

Max and Monica strengthened their weapons on the train, something they hadn't done in a while. Their weapons were still the same, but they were now stronger and closer to being built up. Gokuu, seeing this, wished he could train, but there was no one he could train with.

"Don't worry," Monica said. "I'm sure that wherever we're going, someone will be able to spar with you."

"Yeah," Gokuu said. "Kamesennin said I should explore the world, but I haven't done much of that. Rainbow Butterfly Wood was the first place I went and then I met you guys, so I dunno where we're going."

"That makes three of us."

"Maybe there'll be monsters there to fight with, too! I'm not friends with any other monsters, so that'll make for better training!"

"My guess is that they're twice as tough compared to the monsters from Rainbow Butterfly Wood."

"Alright!"

The train came to a sudden stop. Max, Monica, and Gokuu were thrown into the seats in front of them.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…" Monica said as she stood up. She had her hand on her forehead. "What the heck was that?"

"Let's go see," Max said. He led the way out the train. Erik was waiting for them.

"Sorry 'bout the sudden stop, folks," Erik said. "We didn't see those stalactites 'til the last second." He pointed to giant stalactites on the tracks that blocked the train's path. Cedric and Borneo were staring at the rocks. Borneo was scratching his head.

"Want me to move them again?" Gokuu said, winding his arm up.

"Yeah, that'd save us a lot of trouble."

Gokuu ran to the stalactites. He looked around. He spotted the river. He lifted a stalactite and threw it into the river. He did the same with the other stalactites blocking the path.

"All done!" Gokuu said.

"Thanks," Borneo said.

"No problem!" He went back to Max, Monica, and Erik. "Can we keep going now?"

"I don't think so," Monica said. "We're in Balance Valley now."

They were in a cave, but the cave had been converted into a train station. It was similar to the train station in Palm Brinks, save the river and its location.

"This is Balance Valley Station," Monica said. "Balance Valley was also destroyed by Griffon." She, Max, and Gokuu began walking towards the exit that led to the outside. "In the future, Starlight Temple will be built. That's where all the sages gather. And Crest is the master of those sages."

When they got outside, Max flinched, as the sun was in his eyes. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around. There were six plateaus in the middle of the land. Two of those plateaus were joined with bridges. The other four were like islands. There was a house ahead.

"It looks like some people already live here," he said. "Let's check it out!"

The trio ran to the house. Gokuu opened the door. The house was like a cabin, made entirely of wood, but decorated like a normal house. There was a bed with a purple-haired girl in pigtails sleeping in it. An owl, perched on a stick, flew to the trio.

"Hoo! Hoo! Who are you? Get out!"

"Y-You can talk!" Monica said.

"Why do we need to leave?" Gokuu said.

"Because!" the owl said. "Can't you see I'm busy right now? Out!"

"But you were just sitting there doing nothing. I saw you."

"Out!"

"Hold on, Mr. Owl!" Max said. "Maybe we can help you with something. Like that girl over there. She doesn't look too well."

The girl in the bed was wheezing and sweating. It looked as though she was in a bad dream that she couldn't get out of.

The owl perched itself and looked at the girl. "Yes. Lin… She was Crest's apprentice and has been in shock ever since Crest died trying to protect the Moon Crystal."

I think I have a hunch who he was trying to protect it from, Monica thought.

"What's the Moon Crystal?" Gokuu said.

"The Moon Crystal is something that gives the sages their energy," Monica explained. "It's something very important in the future. Let's focus on the present right now, though."

"As for Lin, she needs a housecall from Dr. Dell!" Max said. "He's a doctor in Palm Brinks. I'm sure he'll be able to cure Lin! But he looks like a duck, so don't be surprised when you see him."

"Of course not, Max," Monica said. "I've just seen a talking owl."

"I'll go back to Palm Brinks and get him."

"Oh, please do," the owl said.

"Be right back!" Max ran out the door.

After half an hour, Max came back in with Dr. Dell. Dr. Dell went over to Lin and examined her carefully.

"Looks like toxic mist," Dr. Dell said. "Unfortunately, there's no cure…"

"No, that can't be true!" the owl said. "I know there's something! Something, anything!"

"And there is."

All eyes were immediately on Monica.

"In the future, there'll be a place called Starlight Temple built. That's where all the sages gather. A place called Lao Chao's Bistro will also be built, and Lao Chao can make miracle dumplings that can cure anything."

"Ah, I get it," Gokuu said. "We go there and he makes us some and we give it to the girl!"

"That's right! But first, we have to rebuild the present."

"What are you waiting for?" the owl said. "Go! Go now!"

"I'll be in the train," Dr. Dell said, opening the door. "Call me if you need anything."

The trio walked out behind the doctor.

"We do the same thing as we did in Sindain, right?" Max said. The trio was standing outside near the bridge going towards the canyon. "Go to the dungeon, get the Geostones, rebuild?"

Monica nodded. "This time, we're going to Starlight Canyon." She pointed to a path in the distance. "We just have to cross these two bridges. Rebuilding here will be a little different, and I'll explain that after we get the first Geostone."

They entered Starlight Canyon. A Ram was at the entrance. It charged towards Monica and then headbutted her stomach. She flew off the canyon and fell down towards the river.

"Monica!" Max yelled, running to the edge of the canyon. Monica was rapidly falling towards the river.

Gokuu went up to him. "Monica fell? That's not good." Gokuu's body blurred. Then, he disappeared.

Max's eyes widened. "Gokuu…!"

"Huh?"

Max turned around at the direction the voice came from. Gokuu was next to him, Monica in his arms. Max was speechless.

"Thanks, Gokuu," Monica said as Gokuu put her down.

"Uh-huh!"

Monica turned around and, just as she thought, the Ram that had hit her was still there. The Ram charged at Monica again. Max got in the Ram's path and hit it in the forehead with his wrench. The Ram stopped, its eyes becoming glassy as it fell in and out of consciousness. Next, Max shot it with his gun. The Ram fell and disintegrated.

"These monsters don't seem so hard to beat," Max said.

"I wonder what the Gate Key here is?" Monica said. "Gokuu had cut all the trees leading to the next floor in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. What would a monster drop that would lead to the next floor here?"

"There's only one way to find out," Gokuu said, "and that's fighting! Let's go!"

A Masked Tribesman came around the corner and towards them.

"Looks like the monsters are coming to us this time," Monica said. "That's weird."

"It could be because we've been standing here for a long time," Max said.

Gokuu ran towards the Masked Tribesman. He punched it, his fist going through its shield, and sent it off the canyon and into the river below. It left behind Giant Meat. Gokuu picked it up and opened his mouth to eat it.

"Gokuu, wait, don't eat it!" Monica said. She and Max ran over to him. "That could be the Gate Key!"

"This…food?" Gokuu said, cocking his head and raising one eyebrow. "I don't get it."

"I don't either, but let's try to find the exit and see what happens."

Monica found the map, and they made their way towards the exit. The exit was also the location of the Geostone. Some monsters approached them, but a flick of their weapons made them fall over the edge, into the river and to their deaths.

As they came closer to the exit, more and more enemies appeared. They now appeared in groups, giving them more trouble. A group consisting of Masked Tribesmen, Smiling Fairies, and Rams were blocking the exit. The Geostone happened to be near the exit as well.

"This seems familiar," Monica said. "Well, at least it's not like that going away party we got in Rainbow Butterfly Wood."

"C'mon, let's go!" Gokuu charged towards the group of monsters. Max and Monica did as well.

Max's Smash Wrench clashed against a Ram's hammer. One other Ram put its hammer on the hammer that was directly on Max's wrench. Another Ram put its hammer on the second Ram's hammer, making a stack of three hammers. The Rams pushed against Max's Smash Wrench with all their strength, and Max pushed back with all his strength. However, Max was overpowered. His Smash Wrench flew out of his hand and slid close to the edge of the canyon. It looked as though if it was blown on it would fall.

Max fell on the ground, and the Rams began to bash him with their hammers and stomp on him. This went on until Max stopped a Ram's foot with both hands. He threw that Ram into the other two Rams, sending them all off the cliff. However, a Ram's foot caught the Smash Wrench, and the Smash Wrench fell down the cliff.

"No…!" Max ran to the edge to try and catch it but, as he was running, he tripped over a rock and fell off the canyon.

"Max!" Monica yelled. But she wasn't in a position to be worrying about others, as a Smiling Fairy had its dagger up to her neck while four other Smiling Fairies had her pinned down by her arms and legs. The Smiling Fairy with its dagger to her neck touched her neck lightly and watched the blood trickle down.

Meanwhile, Gokuu fought against the Masked Tribesmen. He punched through the mouth in a Tribesman's mask, but before his fist could reach the Tribesman's face, the mask bit down on Gokuu's arm.

"Ow, ow! Get off! That hurts, damn it!" Gokuu tried to pull his hand out. Instead, he ended up dragging the Masked Tribesman towards him. The other Masked Tribesmen grabbed their comrade's arms and pulled the opposite way.

"Man, you guys are strong," Gokuu said as he pulled. "You weren't this strong before. Why are you so strong now?"

Gokuu lifted them up into the air and then slammed them as hard as he could into the ground near the edge. The ground cracked and then broke, sending the Masked Tribesmen, along with rocks, down towards the river.

Max, who was falling down with both arms outstretched to catch his Smash Wrench, felt a sharp pain in his head. He looked up. There were three Masked Tribesmen and countless rocks falling towards him. He looked at his wrench. It was within grabbing distance. He took it and hit the falling rocks, breaking them. He also hit the Masked Tribesmen in their sides, redirecting their path away from him.

Max looked at the river. He was falling towards a rock that was the size of a small island. He'd break some of his bones if he hit the island while falling at his current speed.

Monica used all her strength to throw the Smiling Fairies holding her down off her. The Smiling Fairy with its dagger up to her neck looked back and stared, wide-eyed, at its comrades flying into the distance. Monica used this opportunity to punch the Smiling Fairy in the face. It fell on its back from the force of the punch. It immediately got up and ran towards Monica, its dagger outstretched.

Monica's sword clashed against its dagger, and sparks flew. They separated, Monica and the Fairy both backflipping. Monica made her move first, running towards the Fairy. She threw her sword towards the Fairy's shoulder as though she were going to stab it. The Smiling Fairy put its dagger in front of its shoulder to guard. Then, Monica changed the course of her sword and aimed at its neck. The Smiling Fairy had no time to react, and it was beheaded.

Monica looked at Gokuu. He had finished with his enemies as well. They ran towards the edge of the canyon. Max was close to hitting the river.

"Kintoun!" Gokuu yelled. Kintoun was by his side in an instant. "Go get Max!"

"Hurry!" Monica added. "It looks like he's about to hit a rock!"

Max outstretched the hand holding his Smash Wrench to try and stop his fall. He came closer and closer to the rock, and he knew he would hit it for sure. He saw a white blur, and the next thing he knew, he was in the air, riding on Kintoun.

Kintoun flew him towards Monica and Gokuu. When Kintoun stopped, he got off.

"Thanks, Kintoun," Gokuu said. "You can go now."

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Kintoun," Max said, waving as Kintoun flew away. "I'd be toast if it wasn't for you."

"Now we have to worry about the Gate Key," Monica said.

"Yeah," Gokuu said, taking out the Giant Meat. He lifted it over his head and examined it. He began to drool. "If this isn't the Gate Key, can I eat it?"

A condor flew over Max and Monica and picked up the Giant Meat with its talons, also picking up Gokuu. Max grabbed Gokuu's feet, and Monica grabbed Max's feet.

"I hope he's taking us to the next floor!" Monica yelled as the condor flew them away.