To The Moon Cave

Vegeta didn't have to go far to catch up with Kushi. There she was, sitting just outside the village.

Issun: "You OK, sweetie?"

Kushi: *pant* "Don't try to stop me, Issun. Or you, Snowy. If Orochi's chosen victim runs away, disaster will befall Kamiki. But... That's not why I'm doing this."

Issun: "What!"

Vegeta: "Then why are you doing this?"

Kushi: "There's too much suffering in the world. I'm going to use my sake to rid us of this evil menace!"

Issun: "Are you crazy! We're talking about the dreaded Orochi here! That attitude's gonna get you killed! You really think you'd win with a little jug of sake!"

Kushi: "Yes, Issun... I guess I am crazy. But it's the only way. My sake is the only answer."

Kushi stood up and faced the saiyan and Poncle. There was a fire in her tone of voice now.

Kushi: "I'm going! And I'll defeat that monster with my sake!"

Suddenly, Vegeta grabbed Kushi by her clothes and tossed her onto his back.

Issun: "Not you too, Geta! Dang it! Why ya gettin' all worked up? There's no hope of winning!"

Vegeta: "You may have given up already but I haven't! Even if I die, at least I'll have died trying!"

Issun: "Well, don't say I didn't warn ya!"

With Kushi on his back and Issun mumbling about their odds, Vegeta started for the Moon Cave. Up the paths and down the hill leading to the middle of the lake. Soon enough, there they were again. The familiar eire and evil little island that was home to Orochi. The saiyan ran along the same path as before, but this time there wasn't going to be any turning around. He wondered if Amaterasu, his own mother, felt as nervous as he was. All too soon, the cave was right in front of them... And so was Waka!

Waka: "I knew you'd come, Vegeta. I take it you enjoyed your rendezvous with the sacrificial girl, eh?"

Issun: "None of your business, ya half-baked prophet!"

Acting as if he hadn't heard Issun, Waka performed what seemed like a little dance. As Kushi slid off of Vegeta's back, Waka pulled out a familiar crystal. The Serpent Crystal.

Issun: "Hey, that's the Serpent Crystal he stole from us!"

Waka left the crystal floating in front of the barrier and backed up a little. He then drew his sword and jabbed it into the ground behind the crystal. Then, Waka played that same musical tone that he played before. The Serpent Crystal seemed to suck the barrier in and in no time, the barrier was gone.

Waka: "Well, the Moon Cave is open. You've played your part. Now leave the rest to me, Vegeta."

Vegeta: "Like hell I will!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

Vegeta: "What now!"

From within the cave came a black shadowed head. It lunged passed Waka and nearly knocked Vegeta away before it snatched up Kushi and pulled her back into the cave! Vegeta quickly gave chase! But no sooner was he inside the cave, Waka resealed the Moon Cave! The saiyan stopped and looked behind him as Issun hopped off and started banging on the barrier. Very soon Vegeta joined Issun and started hitting the barrier as well, but not even he could do any damage.

Issun: "Why you...! What's the meaning of this!"

Waka: "Meaning? Hmmm... Does the saying 'like a moth to a flame' ring any bells?"

Vegeta: "Why you little-"

Waka: "I mean, you went in on your own accord, no? Of course, only one other besides the victim is supposed to get in."

Vegeta: "You knew about this!"

Waka: "But of course! And I guess you really don't count, my little bouncing friend! Ha ha ha!"

Issun: "Dang it! Looks like we've been set up again, Geta!"

Waka: "But were you not planning to enter the cave anyway, ma chérie? It is time for you to shine, Vegeta! Just like your mother. Now, let me leave you with this little prophecy - Look, the moon! The moon! The moon came out! Heh heh. Pardon, ma chérie... That wasn't a very good one. Au revoir!"

And just like that, Waka was gone... Leaving Vegeta and Issun behind.

Vegeta: "God I hate that man!"

Issun: "Bah... Guess we're stuck here. But we were planning on taking care of that Orochi anyway! Cut it out, Geta. It's no use. Let's go check the place out!"

Vegeta stopped banging his paw-like hand against the barrier as Issun hopped back on him. With one final glance at the barrier, Vegeta ran into the cave. Little did they know that they were followed. Inside, a long stairway awaited them. The saiyan ran up the steps with ease but he stopped at the half-way point. He couldn't go any further because of a massive hole.

Issun: "Huh? Oh great... The stairway has crumbled away. God or saiyan or not, this is just too big of a leap for you!"

He hated to admit it, but Vegeta knew Issun was right. There was no way he could jump over a massive hole like this.

Vegeta: "So now what?"

Issun: "We either have to find a way around, or we can go our way."

Vegeta: (With a big grin) "Remind me what our way is again."

Issun: "You know... Our way! It's so obvious! It's that saying of mine! 'Leap before you think.' I know it'll take a lot of guts to do that now!"

Issun had a point. There was no telling how deep this hole was.

Vegeta: "Guess there's only one way to find out."

Without any hesitation, Vegeta leaped into the hole! He fell down into the depths of what was called the Calcified Cavern. It was a long fall, but they finally reached the bottom. The cavern were walls of rock and ice. The place was cold, but not cold enough to affect the saiyan prince.

Issun: "Whoa... That was quite a fall. What've we gotten ourselves into this time? Well, now that we're down here, i hope ya can sniff out Kushi's whereabouts, Geta."

Suddenly, there was voice talking to Vegeta from behind. It was one of two Imps guarding a door.

Imp 1: "Hold it right there, buster. Whaddya think you're doing? What business do you have at the Moon Cave, stronghold of our master, the great Orochi!"

Issun: "Over there!"

Imp 2: "! Oh! You!"

Imp 1: "Never thought I would see your face here. I could spot you a mile away!"

Vegeta: *Uh oh! This isn't good!*

Issun: "You fixin' for a fight, ya chumps! Well, we don't have time to mess around with bit players like you! But if you insist, then hurry up, so I can cut ya to shreds!"

Imp 2: "Why, you're just a dumb old man."

Issun: "Huh?"

Vegeta just looked at them with a dumb look, adding to the Imps belief that he was just a dumb old man.

Imp 1: "Yeah, look at that foolish mug. You've got to be the dumbest looking man I've ever seen!"

Imp 2: "And to stray so far into a place like this... You're not too bright, are ya, gramps?"

Imp 1: "I don't think gramps here is much of a threat. Let's not waste anymore time here."

Imp 2: "Yeah... I wonder if the old man's just hungry..."

And Imp 2 threw some food out at Vegeta, who only took it as to not offend the two Imps. These two weren't going to let them in so the saiyan turned around to see if they could find another way in. The Calcified Caverns were a bit chilly but not enough to make the saiyan shiver. While walking down a path, they found Kushi's Thunder Brew.

Issun: "Hey, isn't this that babe Kushi's sake? Hm, there's still some left."

Vegeta: (Holding his nose) "No kidding."

Issun: "But I'm not sure it'll be enough to take care of Orochi."

Vegeta: "Ugh... Still, we have to try."

After Issun somehow packed the sake away, they continued looking around the caverns. Further and further into the caverns they went before they came across a Devil Gate.

Vegeta: *Why would a Devil Gate be here?*

Although it was strange to see a Devil Gate in the Moon Cave, Vegeta still walked through it cautiously. Suddenly, a new Imp appeared. It was black and had a drum on it's back. It was a Black Imp. The Black Imp beat his drum a few times and four flaming skulls appeared around it. But Vegeta wasn't in the mood to play around.

Vegeta: "Get the hell out of my way!"

Vegeta slashed the Divine Instrument on his back with tremendous force at the Black Imp! The Imp was no match. The battle was over and a chest appeared in front of them. But Issun had something else on his mind at the moment.

Issun: "We're in Orochi's lair, Geta. There'll be monsters all over the place so stay alert!"

Vegeta: "I figured that a long time ago."

Vegeta turned his attention back to the chest. He smacked the chest with his hand and it opened, revealing a blank Imp's Mask inside.

Issun: "Hey, this is one of those masks those Imps wear."

That gave Vegeta an idea.

Vegeta: "Maybe I can wear this to sneak passed those guards and maybe even move around here without too much trouble from the other Imps!"

Issun: "That could work! But this one's so plain. No design on it or anything. Of course, any respectable artist can't resist a blank canvas. I mean, you just wanna paint something on it, ya know? Hold on a sec, Geta. I'm gonna spiff it up a bit!"

Vegeta: "Ok. Just make sure it resembles something those Imps would wear, Issun."

Vegeta stood back as Issun worked his magic. The Poncle drew a symbol that they had seen on a few Imps numerous of times. When he was done, Issun helped Vegeta put the mask on him.

Issun: "Hm! Aha ha ha ha ha ha! It doesn't look half bad on ya! In fact, you look better than your run-of-the-mill Imp!"

Vegeta: "Just as long as I can fool these Imps, I'm fine with it."

Issun: "Oh you will! But seriously, this is no time to fool around! Only an Imp would get a kick outta wearing a mask like this. While we're screwing around here, that Orochi's gonna take poor little Kushi and... And... I can't bear to think about it!"

Vegeta: "Then let's stop chatting and get moving!"

Hoping that those two Imps guarding the door would be fooled by the disguise, Vegeta bolted back the way they came. Although how he was able to see through the mask was a mystery to him, Vegeta didn't really care so long as he was able to see. Within minutes, the saiyan was back at the door. He prayed that the mask would work.

Imp 2: "Hm? ... ... What're you doing here? Looking for intruders?"

Issun: "...?"

Imp 1: "There was that silly-looking old man a while back... But nothing else out of the ordinary."

Issun: "?"

Imp 2: "We got this place covered. Get back to your post, now!"

Vegeta: (Whispering) "Issun... Say something!"

Issun: "Post? What post?"

Imp 1: "The sacrificial ceremony for the great Orochi is to be held today. Everyone's busy getting ready. There's no time to play around!"

Imp 2: "Whaddya waiting for! Get in there and help!"

Issun: "Oh, uh... OK, I'm on it."

The Imps opened the door and Vegeta ran inside. Once the door closed, he let out a big sigh of relief!

Vegeta: "That was nerve racking..."

Issun: "Can't argue there!"

After Vegeta felt his heart starting to relax, he looked up and looked around. They were finally inside and one step closer to Orochi! The place was somewhat descent. In the center of the cave was a pool with a crank elevator in it. High above the elevator was a barrier which Vegeta had to figure was where they needed to go. But they needed to get the barrier down. Along the way up were numerous of walkways. To the right at ground level were some curtains with the outline of a pot on them. Clear on the other side of where the saiyan was standing, was a small shrine with a bell hanging inside. Suddenly, Vegeta noticed the smell of something cooking and a shiver of panic went through him!

Vegeta: *God I hope I'm not too late!*

The prince followed the smell through the curtains and into what looked like a kitchen. There was a giant pot on top of a huge fire. Floating above the pot's lid were two Konohana Blossoms. An Imp in an apron was standing next to the door.

Imp: "Hm? This is a fine time for the chef to disappear! Last time I remember, he was right in front of that big pot. Where could he be!"

Hearing where the chef was last time this Imp saw him, Vegeta got this crazy idea. He ran over to the steps and up to the pot. The saiyan called out for the scroll and he drew a vine from each Konohana Blossom to the hooks on the lid. The Konohana Blossoms pulled the lid up and inside the boiling stew was the chef, Ajimi!

Ajimi: "Owie! Owie! Owie! Hot stuff! Hey, sweetheart!"

Vegeta: "ME!"

Ajimi: "Yeah, you! Get me out of here before I end up well-done! Owie! Owie! Owie!"

For a second, Vegeta stood there, still in shock at being called 'sweetheart'. But very soon he snapped to his senses and helped the chef out of his own dish.

Ajimi: "Phew... That was a close one, darling. I'm the fabulous head chef of this kitchen, by the way."

Vegeta: *First time I've ever heard of the head chef falling into his own dish.*

Ajimi: "No need for formalities. You can just call me Ajimi!"

Issun: "What happened?"

Ajimi: "I was cooking with such tender loving care that I totally spaced out and almost cooked my own goose!"

Issun: "Tender loving care?"

Ajimi: "What an absolutely fabulous mask you have there, sweetheart. Say... How would you like to be my assistant!"

Issun: "Assistant! Oh, no I-"

Ajimi: "I have to whip up a lip-smacking appetizer to whet Lord Orochi's appetite before the time comes for the human sacrifice course."

Vegeta was letting Issun do the talking to the Imps around here since he was sure if they would recognize his or not. But hearing what Ajimi had just said, he slipped!

Vegeta: "So Orochi hasn't eaten Kushi yet?"

A split second after he finished his sentence, the saiyan bit down his lips. Fortunately, Ajimi didn't notice a thing.

Ajimi: "Please! I'll make it worth your while!"

Issun: "Wait, wait! We, uh... Didn't come here to help, you see. Oh, how should I put it..."

Ajimi: "Tsk, tsk! Never mind that! It's just that I've run into a wee bit of a problem. I'm almost done, but alas! I've run out of my secret ingredients! I could finish up without them... But then I wouldn't be putting my heart into my beloved's meal!"

Issun: "Beloved?"

Vegeta: *I'm thinking the same thing!*

Issun: "Well, I can relate to your obsession with detail. I mean, quality does suffer when you cut corners. All artists know that! Anyway, I'm in, fruitcake!"

Vegeta chocked.

Ajimi: "That's fabulous news, sweetheart! There are 4 secret ingredients I'll need you to find. Now pay attention. All of them can be found somewhere in the Moon Cave. OK, here goes... Ogre Liver! Lips of Ice! Eyeball of Fire! Black Demon Horn! Got that? OK then, I'm counting on you! Oh, silly me! I almost forgot... Here, take this key with you. The rest is up to you, darling!"

Ajimi gave our hero's an Exorcising Arrow. Vegeta remembered seeing a lock for it earlier and headed for it. It didn't take the prince long to reach the lock and the Exorcising Arrow did its work.