Chapter Thirty-seven: Into the Roaring Cave
The group's heads snapped toward the footsteps. Gokuu and Kuririn slid to a stop before them.
Gokuu held three Geostones toward Max and grinned. "I got some Geostones."
"Great." Max took them. "Thanks, Gokuu. I'll get started." He reached into his pouch and pushed a button. A whirring noise enveloped the area, and the ground shook. The Carpenterion flew over the distant rocks and lowered itself close to the ocean, waves below it scattering. Kuririn and the others stared at it, wide-eyed.
"What's that?" Puar said.
"It's the Carpenterion. We've been using it to restore the world."
"Are you going to bring back the people who used to live here, too?"
"I can't do that since Griffon wiped them all out. I've brought people from my hometown of Palm Brinks, and things have always worked out just fine."
Gokuu faced Ocean's Roar Cave. "I'm goin' back in. Do you want me to pick up Shingala while I'm gettin' the Geostones?"
"We'll take care of that." Muten Roushi looked at Yamcha and Kuririn. "Right?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah." Yamcha nodded.
"Yes, Muten Roushi-sama," Kuririn said.
"Alright. I'll be goin', then." Gokuu dashed into the cave.
Pau turned toward Kuririn. "Why didn't you get Shingala like you said?"
Kuririn placed his hand on the cut in the back of his head. "Ouch!" He removed it. "Uh, right. Monsters attacked me while I was pulling Shingala out of the cave. Shingala escaped while I was fighting them, so I couldn't get him. I'm really sorry. Those monsters are pretty tricky to defeat."
Pau narrowed his eyes. "Excuses…"
"All the more reason for us to go in together," Muten Roushi said.
"I think I'll stay here where it's safe," Buruma said.
Max turned to her. "Buruma, why don't you help me fix up Veniccio? It'd make everything go a lot faster."
"Hm, I guess I could try to figure that machine out."
"Then the rest of us will bring back Shingala," Muten Roushi said.
Pau glared. "Try not to come back empty-handed this time."
Kuririn snorted. He, Muten Roushi, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong entered Ocean's Roar Cave.
"This doesn't look like a cave," Oolong said. "This is more of a shoreline."
"There are stairs that lead to the cave," Kuririn said.
A Sea Bat and a Goyone flew and swam, respectively, in the distance.
"S-since we're looking for Shingala, we should probably just ignore them. We can train later, right?" Kuririn looked at Muten Roushi.
"Yes, I suppose. But only until we find Shingala."
"I see stairs over there." Puar pointed to sand-stairs to their right. The group ran down the stairs, Yamcha in front. The stairs led to a path some feet long, and the path led to a dead end.
"Looks like we can't go any farther." Yamcha saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Wait a minute." He walked to the wall and bent down. "There's a hole over here." He squinted. "But I can't see anything."
"A hole? Move over." Oolong took Yamcha's place. "Where do you think it goes?"
"Maybe it goes to wherever Shingala went," Kuririn said.
Yamcha turned around. "Puar, go through that hole and tell us where it leads."
"B-but…"
"I know you're scared, but just transform into something inconspicuous, like, well, I dunno, a monster or something. Besides, I'll dig my way to you if you have any trouble. If something happens, just call, and we'll get there as quick as we can."
Puar nodded. He transformed into a Sea Bat and then flew into the hole. He screamed.
"Already?" Yamcha began to use his hands to enlarge the hole. Kuririn ran to his side and aided him.
"N-not yet. Um, it's just really dark in here."
Yamcha struggled to keep his voice calm. "Don't scare us like that. No false alarms."
"Okay. I'm going in." Puar flew through the tunnel, looking around and concentrating on sounds. However, the hole remained silent.
At the end of the tunnel was a small clearing. A large treasure chest sat in the middle. Puar flew to the chest and gulped. I hope there isn't something scary in here. He looked around and then de-transformed. He placed his hands on its lid. He used all his strength to pull upward.
The chest's lid flew open, and Puar fell on his back. He sat up. The chest glowed golden. He hovered above the chest.
"W-wow." Then, he yelled, "Yamcha-sama, I found some treasure."
Yamcha grinned. "Treasure? Can you bring it back?"
Puar gripped the bottom of the chest and tried to lift it. "No, it's too heavy."
"Too heavy?" His grin widened. "Alright, we'll be right there." He faced the others behind him. "Did you hear that?"
"Sure did," Kuririn said. "Let's start digging."
Yamcha and Kuririn began to dig, enlarging the tunnel so that all of them could crawl through it. Once finished, they crawled to the end of the tunnel, one behind the other. Puar hovered to the side of the chest. He spread his arm.
"Here it is."
Yamcha rushed to the chest, the others not far behind him. He scooped up some of the treasure, and it illuminated his hands.
"Zeni and Gilda." Yamcha's tongue hung out the corner of his mouth. "I didn't think they had Gilda anymore. I'm rich. Finally, I'm rich."
Kuririn poked his back. Yamcha looked back at everyone's narrowed eyes.
"Okay, we're rich."
Muten Roushi lifted his sunglasses to his forehead. "Yes, a bit of this won't be bad for a payment."
"Payment? You never told us about a payment."
"I'm telling you now. Some of this is mine." Muten Roushi lowered his sunglasses to their original position. "Now, let's get this back to Veniccio. I'm sure that Max lad or whatever his name is has a place we can keep this until we get Shingala."
Kuririn ran to one side of the chest. "Gimme a hand, Yamcha."
"I'm on it." Yamcha ran to the opposite side. "On the count of three."
They slid their hands underneath the chest.
"One, two, three." Yamcha hoisted the chest to his shoulder, lifting Kuririn with it.
"Are you trying to be funny?" Kuririn said.
Yamcha chuckled. "I must be stronger than I thought."
"Get real."
"I'll push this chest through the tunnel, then."
Kuririn dropped to his feet. Yamcha placed the chest in the tunnel and pushed it forward a little ways. He crawled into the tunnel and began to push it through, the others behind him. Once out the tunnel, Yamcha carried the chest toward the stairs, the group following.
Two Corsairs crawled through the tunnel.
"Why do we have to check on this all the time?" one said. "It's not like any of the other monsters care about our treasure enough to look for it. I mean, why do they need Zeni and Gilda, anyway?"
"Captain's orders, you know that," the other said. "Monsters always keep Gilda on them. You never know what could happen. Way back before you joined our crew, all the monsters stole Gilda from the humans. Us Corsairs and Captains kept the majority of it for ourselves, since we did all the hard work. The monsters could become greedy and decide to steal it."
"They have no reason to get greedy."
"I know, but still. Monsters only carry Gilda just in case we need to pay the humans."
"What are the chances of that?"
"Hey, you never know what could happen."
The first sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I were Captain. I'd take all the other monsters' treasures and keep them for myself."
They hopped down the ledge. The chest's lid was open. No golden light emanated from it.
"Now, what reason would anyone have for stealing our treasure?" the first said.
The second shrugged. "Who knows? Humans haven't been here in years, so I doubt they stole it. Let's go ask the monsters. We have to find the treasure before the Captain finds out."
The two Corsairs climbed into the tunnel.
Goyones swam close to the stairs. The group stood at the top, out of their sight.
"How do they swim without water?" Puar said.
"They're monsters, not fish." Muten Roushi turned to Yamcha and Kuririn. "Looks like it's time for your training to begin. Get out there, and good luck."
"Yes, Muten Roushi-sama," Kuririn said as Yamcha dropped the chest.
Something behind them hissed. "Humans!"
They turned around. Two Corsairs stood behind them, their cutlasses raised.
"I think we took their treasure." Yamcha cracked his knuckles. "We'll have to take on these guys first."
Kuririn gulped and glanced at the Goyones on the shore. "Let's not get the attention of those fish monsters up there. Fighting six monsters at once wouldn't be good."
The two ran toward the Corsairs.
"I thought all the humans were destroyed long ago," the first said.
"It doesn't matter now," the other said. "We have to get our treasure back, or the Captain will make us walk the plank."
Kuririn jumped toward the first Corsair, his leg outstretched. When he came close, the Corsair swiped its cutlass. Kuririn moved his leg upward so that the cutlass passed beneath it. He slammed his shin on its head, and the Corsair crashed into the ground.
As Kuririn landed, it stabbed its other cutlass into his kneecap. Kuririn yelped and backflipped, forcing the cutlass out. The Corsair staggered to its feet. It threw one of its cutlasses at Kuririn's head. While it flew, the Corsair ran toward him.
Kuririn swayed. Muten Roushi caught the cutlass and crushed it. The Corsair stopped, gawking.
"Not a very good idea." Muten Roushi opened his hand, and the cutlass's pieces fell onto the sand.
The Corsair gripped the cutlass with both hands and held it toward Kuririn, its teeth gritted.
He's not as strong as the Corsair earlier. Or smart. Kuririn disappeared. The Corsair looked around, swinging its cutlass in all directions. Kuririn reappeared behind it and kicked its back, sending it into the wall. Sand fell on it as it disintegrated.
"Definitely easier than before."
Yamcha ran toward the Corsair. The Corsair remained in place, its cutlasses on opposite sides of its body. Yamcha threw a fist toward its head. The action appeared to be a blur to the Corsair, and the punch connected. It flew across the corridor. It fell and skidded, water splashing on both sides of it.
Yamcha flipped over it and stomped on its face, stopping it. The Corsair thrust its cutlass into Yamcha's knee. Yamcha stomped on the Corsair's head repeatedly. The Corsair did not remove its cutlass.
As much as it'll hurt… Yamcha pulled his leg away. The cutlass was removed, and Yamcha flinched.
The Corsair stood and then jumped to Yamcha. It swiped its cutlasses. Yamcha backflipped. The Corsair ran toward Yamcha, its cutlasses outstretched. Yamcha grabbed both its cutlasses.
"You're a little too slow for me." Yamcha flipped the Corsair into the ground. It landed headfirst and disintegrated.
"That wasn't too bad." Yamcha looked at Kuririn, who had also finished. "What did you say about this being too hard?"
"You didn't have trouble because you weren't fighting three at once."
A hiss came from the shoreline. Puar sped behind Yamcha, and Oolong ran behind Muten Roushi, who stood at the top of the stairs. Four Goyones floated at the cave entrance in front of Muten Roushi.
"Humans," one Goyone said. "They're back, and now they're trying to take over our territory."
"We must defeat them," another said.
Muten Roushi grabbed Oolong's wrist and ran behind Yamcha and Kuririn. "This training is for you, not me. You two'd better get going."
"We both take on two?" Yamcha said.
"Yep," Kuririn said.
The Goyones swam toward Yamcha and Kuririn, their spears outstretched, and Yamcha and Kuririn ran toward them.
Kuririn jumped toward one. The Goyone swiped its spear. Kuririn kicked it out of its hand. He slammed his foot between its eyes. He landed, and the Goyone fell on its side.
The other Goyone tossed the fallen spear. The first Goyone stood, catching it. They swam toward Kuririn, one coming from the front, the other coming from the side. Kuririn jumped, and the Goyones crashed into each other.
Kuririn watched from above. That would've been a great display of teamwork if they'd counted on me jumping.
He stomped on their heads with one foot each. He landed behind them. The Goyones stood.
Kuririn flipped over them. The Goyones turned so that they faced him when he landed.
One Goyone threw its spear toward Kuririn's neck while the other swam toward him. Kuririn caught the spear and tossed it sideways while the Goyone thrust its spear into Kuririn's stomach. It pushed the spear further in. Kuririn grabbed the spear using both hands and pulled.
The other Goyone picked up its spear and thrust it toward Kuririn's neck. Kuririn swayed his head and then kicked the Goyone. The Goyone flew backward.
Kuririn lost his balance and fell on top of the Goyone before him. He released a cry, as the spear had buried itself deeper into his stomach. He stood, the Goyone lifted with him. He pulled the spear out, the Goyone holding onto it, and threw it into the wall. He jumped to the wall and punched the Goyone's eye. The Goyone disintegrated.
Kuririn landed. The remaining Goyone thrust its spear into Kuririn's open wound.
Not again. Kuririn grabbed the spear, pulled it out, and spun it, the Goyone spinning with it. The Goyone slammed into the wall.
"Should've let go." Kuririn flipped the Goyone into the ground, and it disintegrated.
Yamcha ran toward the Goyones, holding out fists. The Goyones charged toward him, their spears outstretched. Yamcha smashed his fists into the Goyones' faces at the same time. He kept running, the Goyones attached to his fists, until the Goyones slammed into the wall.
One Goyone thrust its spear toward Yamcha's stomach. Yamcha grabbed the spear and broke it in half using both hands. The Goyones slid onto the ground.
"No weapon to use now." Yamcha dropped the spear's halves. "Now what're you gonna do?"
The Goyone opened its mouth. It reached inside and pulled out a saliva-covered spear.
Yamcha scrunched up his face. "O-okay. I wasn't expecting that."
The Goyones threw their spears toward him. Yamcha jumped in place, and the spears flew under him, landing in the wall opposite them.
As he was in midair, the Goyones pulled out more spears from their mouths and threw those. Yamcha caught the spears, broke them in half, and dropped them.
As Yamcha caught the spears, the Goyones pulled out more spears. Yamcha landed, one broken spear piercing his left foot.
"Ouch!" Yamcha grabbed his foot and hopped in a circle. One Goyone threw its spear. Yamcha ducked, and the spear flew over him. The other threw its spear. Yamcha swayed, and the spear flew past him.
Yamcha flipped over the Goyones, the Goyones withdrawing more spears. While he was in midair, the Goyones thrust their spears. The spears buried themselves in his stomach and chest.
As Yamcha landed, the Goyones took out more spears. The Goyones swam toward him and stabbed their spears in his sides. They pushed, further embedding the spears. Yamcha grabbed each spear with one hand and pulled. The spears came out, and he lifted the Goyones via the spears. He threw them in the air. He jumped higher than them. He stomped on one Goyone and then stomped on the other repeatedly, as though he were climbing stairs. He continued until they disintegrated.
Both his feet landed on spears. He yelped and jumped backward.
"Yamcha-sama, are you okay?" Puar whizzed around his head.
Yamcha pulled out the remaining spears. "Yeah, Puar, I'm fine."
Kuririn smirked and crossed his arms. "So, what did you think that time? I didn't have that much trouble with my monsters, by the way."
"W-well, it wasn't that bad." Yamcha's smile twitched. "They may have tried to make sushi out of me, but it wasn't that bad."
"Liar."
"Pfft."
Yamcha and Kuririn walked toward the stairs.
"You two know the rules," Muten Roushi said. "Running at all times."
The group ran toward the stairs, Puar holding onto Yamcha's shoulder, Muten Roushi gripping Oolong's wrist.
A red time gate appeared before the group. Everyone stopped.
Yamcha groaned. "Now what?"
"I've never seen anything like that." Muten Roushi eyed Yamcha and Kuririn. "You two, get ready to fight whatever comes out of there."
"Yes, Muten Roushi-sama." Kuririn made a battle stance.
"Even after all the fighting we did." Yamcha sighed. "You got it." He copied Kuririn.
The time gate disappeared, leaving a red-haired girl in its place. Her back faced the group. Muten Roushi and Oolong blushed, and they looked the girl from top to bottom. Out of the corner of his eye, Muten Roushi saw Yamcha begin to pounce. He held out his hand and shook his head.
"But—"
"Hush. She doesn't know we're here yet."
"Whew. Thank goodness I made it." She looked around. "Looks like I'm not in Veniccio like I wanted, though. This looks like Ocean's Roar Cave. The time travel might not have gone the way it should've. I hope I'm in the right time."
She turned around, facing the group gawking at her, Puar quaking.
"Sorry to scare you all. I'm looking for two guys. One has blond hair and wears a hat all the time, and the other has black, spiky hair. Have you seen them?"
Muten Roushi stepped closer to her. "Are you talking about Max and Gokuu, miss?"
Monica's smile grew. "You know them already? That saves me a lot of trouble. Can you take me to where they are?"
Muten Roushi ran to her side as Yamcha picked up the chest. "We would gladly take you to where they are. Follow us."
She began following them out of the cave, staring at Muten Roushi with a raised brow. "If Max and Gokuu have already made friends with you all, I guess I can trust you, too. I'm Monica."
Oolong, who walked beside her, said, "I'm Oolong. Hi."
Monica stepped away. "Y-you talk."
Oolong narrowed his eyes. She's not very bright, is she?
The rest of the group introduced themselves to her.
"Gokuu said something about saving you earlier," Kuririn said. "What was that all about?"
"I'll explain when we meet up with him and Max."
As they walked up the stairs, Monica said, "So, how did Max and Gokuu meet you all?"
"We're Gokuu's friends," Kuririn said. "We just met Max a few hours ago. We came here to train for the next Tenkaichi Budoukai."
Monica eyed the wall. "There's another one a few months away for people who use weapons. Max and I are entering."
"We'll be sure to cheer you on," Muten Roushi said. "If you'd like, I can train you a little."
"But you only train people in martial arts," Yamcha said.
"My training is useful for everyone."
"You trained Gokuu, though, right? Max and I will end up almost as strong as him if you train us." She chuckled. "That's actually kinda scary. But, sure, you can train us."
Muten Roushi bent so that his ear was to Kuririn's mouth.
"I'm thinking of asking for a payment."
Kuririn narrowed his eyes. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"
The group's feet fell on the shore. They walked toward Ocean's Roar Cave's entrance.
"We're at the beach, so I'm sure I'll see a little more of her soon. If I'm lucky, she'll change into a bikini."
"Have Max and Gokuu brought you up to speed on what's happened so far?" Monica said.
Muten Roushi straightened. "Max was in the middle of it, but then this sea dragon ran away."
"I think you mean a Shigura."
"Some rabbit had it as his pet," Yamcha said. "I think that its family was calling it or something, so it ran away. That rabbit wants us to get it back." He glared at Kuririn. "Actually, Kuririn was supposed to get it, but he got too tired."
"I did not."
"I've never met this 'rabbit' or his Shigura," Monica said, "so I can't make a judgment myself. If he's that upset over losing his Shigura, then we should try to find him. Why are you all heading out?"
Yamcha held the chest higher. "We found this while looking for him. We're going to take it back to Max for safekeeping."
"Wow, what's in it?"
"Zeni and Gilda."
"I've heard of Zeni, but never used it. My kingdom uses Gilda."
The group cocked their heads as they walked onto Veniccio's coast. Eight piers in two rows, four in each row, lay in the ocean extended from the original pier. Four iron houses sat on the four piers closest to the shore, the one closest to the original pier painted red, the one beside it painted blue, the next painted green, and the last painted purple. A shop boat sat between the blue and green iron houses. Max, Buruma, and Pau stood in front of the green house.
"Do you mind if I move in this one?" Buruma said.
Max scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'm not sure if we need anyone specific there yet."
Buruma looked past Max at the group running toward them. Max and Pau took notice and turned around.
Pau's body sunk. "Still no Shingala."
"I'm sure they have a good reason." Max waved. His eyes brightened as he saw a red-haired girl toward the back of the group. He grinned and waved faster.
The group ran up the pier to Max, Buruma, and Pau. Monica ran to the front of the group, meeting Max.
"Monica, you're—are you—did Griffon—I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
Monica raised a hand. "Yes, I'm fine. Griffon did do something. Don't worry about it. Where's Gokuu?"
"He's getting Geostones. We decided to have him go through Ocean's Roar Cave and pick up all the Geostones so we could restore Luna Lab, without defeating the monsters. That way, the scientists could come up with a way to get back to Griffon's time, and we could save you as soon as possible. But it looks like you saved yourself."
Monica's expression softened. "I could tell you were rushing to save me. I really appreciate that. I'll explain everything when Gokuu gets back."
"Oh, right, before I forget." Max withdrew the Serpent Slicer from his pouch. "This is for you. It's Lin's gift for restoring Starlight Canyon."
Monica took it. She swung it twice. "It handles pretty well. What was Lin doing with this?"
"I dunno, but it might have something to do with that fact that she's a sage now."
Monica's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "What?"
"Yep. She replaced Crest. Uh, I guess Gokuu and I could explain what happened on the lighthouse while you were unconscious."
"Please do."
Yamcha placed the chest on the ground.
"Where's Shingala?" Pau said.
"Don't get all panicky." Oolong pointed at the chest. "We just came back to bring this chest for safekeeping. We're going right back in to get your pet."
"He's not a pet. He's my friend. You have to hurry and find him. There's no telling what's happened to him."
"Calm down. We'll get him back."
Pau crossed his arms. I'm about to get Shingala back myself.
Yamcha opened the chest. Everyone, save Pau, peered into it, the treasure illuminating their faces golden.
"See, it has Zeni and Gilda in it," Yamcha said. "I haven't seen Gilda in ages."
"But I thought everyone used Gilda," Max said. "I've never heard of Zeni before."
Yamcha's eyes widened. "Never heard of it? You still pay for things with Gilda?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, Palm Brinks was cut off from everyone, so we never had a need to use Zeni."
"Zeni is what the majority of the world uses as their currency," Monica said. "Except my kingdom. We still use Gilda."
"You must be from a poor kingdom, then," Oolong said.
"I am not. My kingdom is doing very well." She paused. "It was before Griffon, anyway."
"Your kingdom was attacked, too, was it?" Muten Roushi said.
Monica clenched her hands. "Yeah."
"What's with this whole Zeni and Gilda thing?" Max said.
Muten Roushi stood straighter. "Before Griffon destroyed the world, Gilda was the currency that the majority of the world used. Only a few places used Zeni. Griffon destroyed most of the towns and cities that used Gilda. One of the few places that wasn't destroyed is Palm Brinks. I think that because Griffon destroyed the majority of the towns and cities that used Gilda, the most-used currency became Zeni."
"But in my time," Monica said, "the entire world uses Gilda. I've never even heard of Zeni before."
"Your time?" Puar said.
"Yeah, I'll explain everything when Gokuu gets back."
"I'm guessing that, somehow, Gilda became the most-used currency in Monica's time," Max said. "Who knows how?"
Gokuu sprinted out of the cave, carrying three Geostones. He jumped onto the pier and then skidded to a stop beside Max.
He grinned. "Hey, Monica, is that you?"
"Sure is."
"How'd you get back?"
"We should get everyone caught up on everything, and I'll explain what happened to me while I was in Griffon's palace."
Max, Monica, and Gokuu finished explaining their adventures, Max and Gokuu finished explaining their adventures without Monica, and Monica finished explaining her experiences in Griffon's palace.
"Wow, quite a bit happened at the lighthouse," Monica said. "You don't feel guilty about Crest, do you, Gokuu?"
"A little. We were supposed to save him, not kill him."
"At least we got a good replacement for him, and Lin can talk to him without him physically being there."
"I'm glad you're alright, Monica," Max said. "I'm sorry about hitting you so hard earlier."
"Don't worry about it. You had to stop me somehow. Besides, if you hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to go in Griffon's castle, and I wouldn't have been able to use that energy." She grinned. "That energy was amazing. When I dented the vault, I didn't get hurt. If we could use some of it during our fight with Griffon, we'd have a much better chance at winning. I'm not sure I believe him when he said that the all the energy in the palace wasn't enough to kill him."
"Like you said, there's something inside him keeping him alive," Max said. "If we could somehow get to that something, we could kill it."
"Would we need to kill Griffon next?" Gokuu said.
"Who knows?" Monica said. "Do you think that the thing inside of him is controlling him?"
Everyone shrugged, some saying, "Dunno."
Monica eyed the green iron house. "I kinda get the feeling that it is. Think about it. Griffon's been watching us. He's seen everything we've done to help the monsters, even though they've attacked us for no reason. Whatever happened to him in the past has convinced him that all humans are bad, and we're proving him wrong. He likes us, but this thing inside him doesn't.
"Also, if Griffon wanted the last Dragonball, he could probably just take it from us. After all, he's sent things from his time to ours. It may be able to work the other way around. If he's as powerful as he says he is, then he could do anything to us at anytime."
Puar hid behind Yamcha. "Anything at anytime? That's scary."
"That's why we gotta beat him up quick." Gokuu cracked his knuckles. "As soon as Luna Lab's back, we'll go right to his time and beat him up so he doesn't do anything like this again."
"We should go back to Palm Brinks for now," Max said. "We need to recruit Claire and Donny. Let's take the train."
Pau turned toward Ocean's Roar Cave. "I'll stay here just in case Shingala comes back. Hurry back. I need you guys to find Shingala for me." If they don't hurry, I'll go in myself.
"Relax," Oolong said. "I'm sure that sea dragon can take care of himself."
The group walked toward the pier leading to Veniccio Station, Pau glaring at Oolong.