Chapter 21 – The ball and the bird

"How on earth did we get stuck into all this?" Michiru asked as the plane was flying to the north, towards the volcano. "We were just in the mall, minding our own business when suddenly poof, Rei calls and wants us to host four Saiyans. And then we land here, have to fight some shadowy thing, save the Universe from total destruction and now we're off climbing a volcano? Seriously, I'm supposed to be an artist!"

Goku seemed a bit sheepish. "Whoa, really, I'm sorry that we got you into so much trouble… but then again, we couldn't have defeated that demon without you guys."

"We couldn't have defeated it without your help either," Michiru agreed, softening. "But climbing into a volcano…!"

Bulma looked up from the holographic map. "We don't have to climb the volcano. The Dragonball is in a cave near the volcano and the cave seems to be big enough to walk in. We won't even have to crawl and the place isn't too hot either."

"Besides, I don't think we'll all have to go down there to get one single crystal ball," Taiki said. "It's not the size of a truck, is it?"

"Not bigger than an orange," Trunks replied.

"Almost there," Haruka remarked as the plane descended a little. Bulma blinked and looked at the map again.

"So quickly? But…"

"We have a professional racer behind the wheel, what did you expect?" Vegeta asked with a grin. "Okay people, I'll go get that ball, you just sit here and wait. If we all go there, someone will definitely get into trouble."

"Maybe, but I'm coming with you anyway." Everyone turned their heads to see that Yaten had stood up and was heading towards the exit.

"Now what's the big idea?" Seiya asked. Yaten glanced at him.

"I don't get to lurk around on another planet seeking for magical crystal balls every day, you know. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Want me to compile a list?" Haruka asked. "At least wait until I've landed this thing, the landscape isn't exactly… flat. And don't even think about leaving without me," she added with a grin.

"Or us!" Trunks shouted. Goten nodded frantically.

"Count me in," Goku said, grinning. Seiya hesitated a little and then stood up too. Bulma yawned and sat back on her seat.

"Knock yourselves out," she said. "You have the radar, I hope you'll all be able to get back without burning your legs off. I'll just take a little nap here… Michiru, Hotaru, Taiki, are you staying?"

"I'll stay," Hotaru said, "I'm still feeling a bit unwell. You won't need me there, I think… or actually, I hope."

Taiki had stood up.

"I can't let those two airheads go without me," he said. Michiru nodded and chuckled.

"Same goes for this airhead here," she said, looking at Haruka who frowned and pulled the steering lever, landing the plane on a small plateau.

"You're the artist around here, remember? Bulma and Hotaru, I entrust you with the plane, it won't take long, at least I hope so." She pressed the button which opened the door. "Let's get going then."

Everyone hopped out of the plane and looked at the mountains. The air was dry and hot; the rocks were all brown and were reaching for the sky, sharp and ominous. The huge dark mouth of a cave was in the other side of the plateau and that's where they headed to.

"How can a Dragonball be in that cave if it flew through the air?" Seiya wondered.

"It can drill itself nicely through those rocks, landing pretty deep," Vegeta replied. "They have incredible speed and since they turn into stones after being used, they're quite heavy."

"Drilling through those rocks… have you any idea what kind of power it takes?" Taiki asked as his eyes widened when he looked up to the mountains.

"Not that much power." The prince of the Saiyans was the first one to reach the cave, now he pushed his fist against the wall. The rock cracked and Vegeta's fist disappeared into it. As the prince pulled his hand out again, there was a deep hole in the cave's wall. "See? Rocks may look tough but many things are a lot tougher."

Taiki blinked and stared at the hole as they entered the cave. It was dark and Trunks pulled out a flashlight.

"I knew it was a good idea to bring that," he said. Vegeta grunted something and formed an energy orb around his fist. Goku did the same and Michiru pulled her talisman out, just in case they run into something.

"Having a bad feeling?" Haruka asked her.

"Like any normal person who has just entered a dark spooky cave… AAAAHHH!" Michiru's squeal filled the cave as dozens of little shadows whizzed towards them in the sudden burst of light. The Aqua Mirror flashed brightly and then faded again.

"It's just a few bats," Haruka said, raising her eyebrows as Michiru backed against her, staring at the bats with the talisman shaking in her hands.

"I… hate… bats!" the girl hissed, glaring around frantically.

"You were able to deal with three-eyed rats in our basement and you can't handle normal bats?" Vegeta asked, raising his brows as well.

"Don't worry Michiru, they're all gone now anyway." Seiya stepped ahead, ignoring Haruka's annoyed glare. "They don't like the light."

"They will be back though," Yaten added with a mean grin, stepping ahead too. Michiru squeaked.

"The Dragonball isn't far away." Vegeta was now looking at the radar. "Let's move it. Try not to step into bat poo."

"That stuff is extremely valuable, you know," Taiki remarked as they were all going deeper into the cave. Trunks and Goten stared at him.

"What, bat poo?"

Taiki nodded. "Guano. The floor of this cave is covered with real fortune."

"I wonder if Mom will let me take a few home to keep as pets," Goten muttered. At the same moment Vegeta stopped and turned his energy orb off. It wasn't necessary any more because there was light in the other end of the tunnel.

"Ooh, are we reaching the paradise?" Goten asked.

"It had a nicer way to get in," Haruka remarked with a frown, "and the air was better. Sheesh, those Dragonballs should land here more often, that way there'd be more air holes."

"Would you look at that!" Goku admired at the same time. He had reached the end of the cave and was now standing next to Vegeta. The others caught up with them and gasped.

They were looking at a huge cave that was filled with soft light penetrating from a few small holes in the ceiling. There was a small pond in the bottom of the cave, other than that, the walls were smooth and the place was almost empty. Almost. A single stalagmite reached out from the floor of the cave and on top of that, there was a nest, apparently made of fresh branches. It was hard to imagine that leaves could stay fresh and green in such hot air but they had to believe what they saw. Since the end of the tunnel was in the middle of the cave's wall, the nest was right in front of their eyes. It was empty.

"The Dragonball is down there," Goku said, pointing at the pond. Now they noticed a glittering orange ball in the bottom of the pond.

"I'll go get it," Vegeta said, floated up in the air and entered the cave. At that moment a loud screech filled the air and something zoomed out of the darkness in the other end of the cave. It was a big red bird with a golden tail, about the size of a swan. It attacked Vegeta who was so surprised that he floated back next to the others.

"There's a nuisance… would someone hold the bird while I get the ball?" he asked. "I don't feel like flying down there with my mouth full of feathers."

"Why is this bird living here?" Michiru asked in surprise. "It can't possibly find much food here, or what?"

Taiki looked at the bird that was now fluttering in front of their faces, glaring at them. Then he looked at Vegeta. "Is that the birdie you once saw here?"

Vegeta nodded. "An annoying little critter. Probably the only living creature around here. If you ask me then it could use a nice little blast in the…"

"Are you out of your mind?" Taiki gasped. "It's a phoenix!"

Haruka frowned. "Are you sure?" She looked at the bird. "They're nothing but a myth."

"This one is an extremely kamikaze-ish myth," Vegeta said with irritation. The bird gave another screech and tried to attack his eyes. Vegeta grabbed its throat and pushed the bird aside. It fluttered back in a second.

"Of course I'm sure. Look at it. Red with a golden tail, lives near a volcano, what else could it be? A robin?" Taiki looked at the phoenix. "It won't be easy to get past it. They're very powerful."

Now Goku floated up in the air too and a second later he was holding the phoenix by its neck. "Vegeta, get down there," he said, "before that birdie kicks my guts out." The phoenix was now shrieking furiously and slapping Goku with his wide wings. It didn't have much effect though and Vegeta was already in the bottom of the cave, picking the Dragonball up.

"Of all the places on this planet it had to land here," he remarked, flying up again. "You can let it go now, Kakarot."

"Are you sure…?" The phoenix was getting more and more furious, its little eyes were gleaming and its screeches filled the whole cave.

"What happened to those famous beautiful melodies it's supposed to sing?" Seiya moaned, covering his ears. The others were forced to do the same. Goku gazed around with a tortured look on his face, he wasn't able to close his ears since he was holding the phoenix and the bird was now yelling right into his ear.

"Well, my mom can sing too but try to break into our house while she's taking a little nap," Trunks shouted back at him. Yaten snorted and took the string that was holding his hair together. He stepped up to Goku and before the phoenix could understand anything, the guy had tied its beak up.

"Nice," Haruka complimented. Yaten grinned. Michiru looked at the phoenix with a sigh.

"Such a majestic and rare creature… and look what we did to it," she said. The bird was now glaring at them, it had given up kicking Goku.

"I can always take the string off," Yaten snorted. "Shall we go now? This place is too sultry."

"What do I do with the bird?" Goku asked. "It'll most likely attack again when I let it go." Yaten had turned around and left towards the exit already, his loose white hair was gleaming in the darkness.

"Might as well bring it along, we can let it go when we get on the plane," his voice echoed from the shadows. Goku shrugged and they followed Yaten.

Bulma could just stand and stare when they came back to the plane.

"One Dragonball and one phoenix, any other requests?" Vegeta asked her with a grin, handing her the Dragonball.

"I'll take the Dragonball, keep the change," Bulma laughed. Yaten went to Goku and took the string back. The phoenix didn't even scream any more, it was too offended for that. The guy tied his hair up again and then pulled a small feather from the phoenix's wing, earning another offended glare.

"Just in case," he said. "Let it go, Goku."

The phoenix didn't try to attack them any more, it just sat on the plateau where Goku had put it and glared at the plane until it disappeared.

"You have seriously been reading too much "Harry Potter"," Haruka told Yaten. "Why on earth would you need that feather? Besides, the tail feathers were supposed to be magical."

"Its tail was almost three feet long and I don't think the rest of his feathers are less magical," Yaten replied. "You'll never know where such things might come in handy."

"Yeah, buy a pot of ink and start giving autographs with that feather," Seiya suggested sarcastically.

"Yaten is right," Hotaru suddenly said. "Phoenix feathers are powerful. You'll never know when or where they might prove useful. Keep it well, Yaten."

Yaten nodded. "You bet. So, where shall we go now?"

Bulma looked at the map again. "The nearest one is in the bottom of the ocean, a couple of hundred miles to the east. Haruka?"

Haruka nodded and the plane accelerated again.