Still presently running down the worn gravel path, Goku continues his exciting journey to collect all seven Dragon Balls!
"So, does turtle taste any good? Grandpa used to talk about them a lot." Goku randomly asked the sea-dweller, hanging on tight from behind.
"NO!" The turtle screamed, petrified from the boy's sudden question, and nearly slipped off. "Th-that is… I mean… they say sea turtles are quite nasty really… absolutely foul… A-HAHAHA…!" He nervously laughed, unsure if the boy would buy into his rambling.
"Yeah, well you sure don't look yummy!" Goku nodded, never taking his eyes of the road, as he continued to carry the large turtle in the guided direction, hopefully towards the ocean.
"—Hey, wait up, you guys!" Someone yelled, just before catching up to the speedy Goku and his newfound companion, the sea turtle. Rias, driving Goku's capsule bike with Akeno hanging from behind, pulled up besides the two, then yelled: "You can't get to the ocean without me, or her!" She motioned to Akeno, who was holding onto Rias.
Surprised, Akeno continued along with Rias. "We're all in this together, Goku! You might be tough on your own, but nothing beats friendship!" She yelled at him, smiling.
Goku didn't slow his pace, but turned and smiled back at the two girls. "Okey-dokey!"
"Huh? See," Rias laughed, "now how hard was that?", and quickly took the lead—driving right in front Goku. "Let's get this dumb turtle back home!" The young devil kicked up the vehicle's speed, with the little monkey boy running closely behind her.
And so, another hour or two passed by like temporal clockwork, and the group had finally reached their long-awaited destination: the great, vast ocean.
"We're here!" Exclaimed Rias, as she and Akeno drove over shore. Eventually, the girls parked the motorcycle off to the side, then climbed down, both taking bare steps on the beach's silky sand underneath. Goku's constant running pace slowly came to a dead stop, and then he gently let the sea turtle hop off his back. Quickly, the two girls joined his side.
"Wow. It's beautiful…" Akeno awed, blown-away from seeing an actual ocean for the very first time. The large spread off endless ocean was a deep, mysterious blue; with no waves to ruffle it's fine, calming texture. The sand underneath their feet—all barefoot besides Goku—was cool and smooth, hardly even a little gritty. Surrounding the beach were a few tall palm trees; a trickle of soft wind tenderly flew by, swaying their fronds ever so slightly.
Slowly, without knowing it, both girls suddenly felt their attention being drawn to their sides, at the small monkey boy whom they had been journeying with…
"You've done it lad! It's the sea!" Both the girls' thoughts were immediately interrupted by an old, ecstatic sea turtle—happy beyond words that he was finally back home.
"Whoa!" Goku's jaw dropped. "What a wide river!"
"No, no, argue all you wish…" The Turtle's beak curled back in a grin. "That is the sea!"
Rias frowned, unsure as to why she was suddenly annoyed again. "Who's arguing?"
Goku smiled and watched the sea turtle wiggle back into the water. "Must be pretty roomy, huh?" He laughed, glad he'd returned the creature back to his rightful home.
The turtle turned around and vigorously nodded, tearing up. "How can I ever thank you?! Really, I say such generosity must not go unrewarded!"
Suddenly, a thought came to mind, and the turtle turned back around toward the sea. "Could you wait there for just a little bit? I'll bring back a lovely reward, really!" He yelled, before submerging underneath the ocean waters; swimming far, far away.
"Reward?" Asked Goku, puzzled by the foreign vocabulary.
Rias groaned. "I can't wait to see a turtle's idea of a reward…" She exhaled, sarcastically, truthfully not expecting much… or anything at all for that matter…
Goku, however, wasn't the least bit concerned with the turtle's promise, and ran into the water. He took in a mouthful of the shallow water, then immediately spat it all out, "GLEHH!", completely and utterly disgusted. "Who put all the salt in the water?!"
"Fu-Fu-Fu." Akeno chuckled. "It's not for drinking, Goku. The ocean is full of saltwater."
The young boy, quite discouraged from the experience, waddled out of the water, wet up to his knees, and found himself a spot on the beach to sit. There, he began playing with the sand, his monkey tail wagging back and forth like a puppy's.
While Rias stood, waiting for the turtle's return, Akeno quietly walked over to the self-entertained Goku, then took a comfy seat besides him. For a minute she said nothing, simply watching him build up a mound of sand.
"Goku… do you have any family?" She gently spoke, unsure of the consequences. Rias overheard Akeno's question, and decided to listen in.
The boy took a break from his sand sculpting, he thought for a second. "I used to live with Grandpa, but he died a long time ago."
"What happened to your parents?" She edged closer, till she was snug with his arm. A lingering pain crossed her delicate heart, and the girl needed to open up with someone. Rias, herself, could hear it in Akeno's soft, heartbroken voice. The girl had held everything in too long.
"I dunno." Replied Goku, as he turned to face the young girl. His black, coal colored eyes met hers purple, nebula colored irises. Suddenly, with a cheerful smile, he laughed. "I guess they abandoned me in the mountains when I was a baby. Then Grandpa found me and decided to keep me! Heh, heh, heh, heh…"
"H-How can you laugh about that…?" Her expression turned sullen, and her eyes dropped. "That's so sad…"
"Were you abandoned cause you have a butt on your chest?" Goku suddenly asked, again changing the mood.
"It's not a butt!" Akeno yelled, causing Rias to giggle.
She glared back at the young devil, then added: "And I certainly wasn't abandoned!"
The screech in her own shrill caught her off guard, and the girl sulked away from Goku, curling up into a ball. An awkward silence filled up the beach, with Rias unsure of what to say to the poor girl, and Goku just being confused like normal.
"My mother was human, a shrine maiden of a village several days out, and one day, she saved the fallen angel Baraquiel, who had been wounded in battle—"
Rias, slowly, sat besides Akeno, amazed. "…A fallen angel commander is your father…"
The girl nodded. "The bond they formed that day led to my conception." She gently massaged the back of her neck. "These corrupted wings of mine… I hate them so much. I'm such a repulsive being… fitting, I suppose, for someone with sullied blood running through her veins. That's why everyone has tried to kill me… only my mother protected me… and now she's gone." She whelped, as tears began to form at her eyes.
"Akeno… I had no idea…" Rias muttered, saddened from the story.
Goku watched the blue girl for a moment, then shrugged. "But I like you, Akeno."
"…!" Both girls sharply turned to face him, giving the young monkey boy their full, unabiding attention. "Goku…?" Akeno whispered, while sniffling.
"I dunno what a Bara… quiel is, but even if I did, that doesn't mean I'd dislike ya, nothing's changed. I still think you're pretty cool!" He smiled brightly like the sun, then went back to building his mound of sand. "Now what should I—"
Suddenly, Akeno leapt from the ground and embraced the small boy in a tight hug.
"A-Akeno…!?" Stuttered Rias, utterly aghast.
Realizing she was indeed taller than him, Akeno gently snug her tear-stained face into the boy's wild hair. "…You know just what to say… and now you have… I feel as though I can really be serious with you… Goku." She looked back into his face.
"I, Akeno Himejima, am all yours…" As she finished her declaration, the girl began to move in closer to his face…
"NOOOO!" Rias screamed, just before rushing forward, into the sand, to break the two up. "He's mine! Goku's all mine, and servants can't have servants!"
Utterly cross, Akeno retaliated. "NO! He's not your servant, you big meanie!"
The cat-fight began, and the two girls began to wrestle each other on the beach, pulling hair and clothing alike, getting sand and dirt everywhere.
Meanwhile, Goku watched the edge of the sea, carefully…
"Hey, it's the turtle! He's coming back… but there's somebody ridin' on 'im…"
The two girls stopped, mid-fight, glared at one another, then pulled themselves back together. Goku, thankfully, wasn't looking when they both used magic to quickly repair their own clothing, making it seem as though there was no scuffle in the first place.
Rias peered out in the ocean. "Y-You can actually see that far, silly?" She coughed, then fixed her stunning, crimson hair. "So who in the heck…"
As the turtle neared closer and closer to the shoreline, "sorry to keep you all waiting," the strange figure on his back suddenly came into view.
"Aloha~!" He greeted the three companions, then jumped down, onto the beach. "Off we go!"
"Just what we needed." Rias rolled her eyes. "An old man…"
He was short—thanks to considerable prolonged age—and bald, with a thick white fu manchu mustache and beard. An expensive pair of dark Ray-Ban sunglasses hid his eyes; and he wore a large beach shirt that nearly went over his shorts, and a purple turtle shell on his back. He carried a unique walking stick, shaped like an oversized rock club, in his right hand.
"Howdy, young'uns!" He nodded, while carefully studying them. "So you helped my friend here?" He pointed to the excited turtle with this walking stick.
"Who are you, old timer?" Asked Goku.
"I?!" He yelled, as if offended by the boy's lack of knowledge. "I am Kame-Sen'nin! Master Roshi, the Turtle Hermit!" He proudly explained, although Goku and fellow company still had no clue to who he actually was.
He turned back to the turtle. "These three help you?"
The sea creature shook his old head from left-to-right. "Only the lad, I'm afraid."
Master Roshi nodded, then approached Goku. "Well, m'boy, we owe you one! An' I'm paying up with a mighty nice reward!"
Goku simply nodded, without saying anything.
The Turtle Hermit spun around to face the sea, held up high his walking stick, then shouted: "Come to me… Immortal Phoenix!"
"The Phoenix!?" Exclaimed Rias, as if aware of what creature the hermit was summoning.
Everyone waited for something grand to occur, but nothing happened; the ocean remained silent. Akeno turned and whispered to Goku. "Was that 'immortal'… or 'invisible'?"
The turtle waddled up to Master Roshi. "Sir… if you'll recall the unpleasantness with the tainted bird seed…"
He thought for a moment, then exclaimed: "GAAA, that's right! We lost the poor feller…"
Akeno tilted her head, out of confusion. "The 'Immortal Phoenix'… died?"
The hermit scratched his beard and sighed, pondering. "Well… bleach'll do the trick…" He continued to think. "I was gonna ask him to grant you immortality, but I guess we'll scratch that… I've got it!" He suddenly claimed, excited. "This is even better!"
Again, he turned to the ocean and shouted: "Come to me… Flying Nimbus!"
Suddenly, from far away, flew a small, yellow cloud. HYOOOOO… The cloud circled the group like a bird flying high above the skies.
"What is that!?" Shouted Rias.
"It's a self-flying c-cloud! How!" Yelled Akeno.
"Wagga!" Goku awed, then grinned.
The cloud dropped, then came to a hard halt before the group with a loud SCREECH! There, it floated just above the ground, awaiting it's rider like a patient horse.
"This is Kinto'un, the Flying Nimbus, and I give it to you!" He motioned to Goku.
The young monkey boy looked at the old hermit. "How do you eat it?"
"You don't eat a magical cloud!" Shouted Master Roshi. "You ride it, boy. It'll take you wherever you desire!"
Rias crossed her arms and frowned. "Wait, why does a 'Turtle Hermit' have a magical cloud? You're no magician. I mean, where's the logic?"
Master Roshi glanced down at young devil. "Deal with it."
"Wow!" Laughed Goku, beyond ecstatic. "Y'mean it'll really fly me?!"
"That's the ticket, my boy!" The hermit nodded. "But, unless you're pure of heart, it'll never let you on! This cloud's got standards!" He faced the Flying Nimbus.
"Here…" Suddenly he jumped forward and right over the cloud, butt in the air. "Watch this!"
SHHHPP! Like a knife through butter, Master Roshi fell through the cloud and crashed into the ground with a loud GRAK!
"EEE—YAAA! My hip!" Master Roshi wailed in pain, as he struggled to stand back up.
"M-Master, how can this be…?" Awed the distressed turtle, shocked the Nimbus wouldn't accept it's previous master. "Surely it's defective…"
"BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" Rias, unable to keep herself in check, burst out laughing, wholey entertained from the sudden incident.
"Needs a little mystical tune-up, mebbe…" Pondered Roshi, while he rubbed his sore cheeks.
"Let me try!" Yelled Goku, as he leapt high into the air. "WHOO!" Like magic, Goku landed onto the soft pillow-like cloud with a gentle TUP. "I'm on a cloud! I'm on a cloud!" Yelled Goku, as he danced on the fluffy, yellow Nimbus.
""""Huh?"""" Everyone present, collectively responded in a similar matter.
"It seems… fixed, sir…" Awed the turtle, amazed at what he was seeing.
Master Roshi, too, couldn't quite find words to respond. "Maybe just a power surge…"
Goku leaned forward, balancing himself atop the fluffy edges, then commanded: "Go, cloud!"
HYOOOOONNNNN…
The Flying Nimbus instantly took off, cruising through the sky like a superpowered jet fighter.
"WA-HOOO!" Goku cheered, as he spun, looped, and dove around the sky. "WHEE!" After one more exaggerated turn, the cloud dipped down, then flew Goku back to his friends.
"This is great!" Goku smiled, as he looked down at the bewildered Turtle Hermit. "Thanks a billion!" He yelled, sitting on the yellow Nimbus.
Master Roshi nodded. "Y'make it look like it was meant for you, boy…"
"Hey, old timer, hey!" Rias got in front of the Turtle Hermit. "I insist you give me a reward to, for me troubles! It would only be fair!"
"Eh?" He looked over at the turtle. "Y'said this little girlie didn't help you?"
"No sir, I dare say! But, she did give me salt water when I needed it most, truthfully."
"See?" Rias placed her hands to her hips and smirked, confidently.
"Well, I've only got the one magic cloud… but… I suppose there is somethin' else I could give you if…" He paused, mid-sentence. "No, she's too young… darnit!"
"I say, sir! Really, now! I mean you know, really! What in Kami's name were you suggesting?!"
"Cut me some slack!" Master Roshi, flustered, shouted back. "It's hard being the Turtle Hermit! I deserve the occasional undie-oglin'! Besides, I wasn't planning on askin' the girlie for anything! Maybe in four more years… but not now, certainly!"
The turtle frowned, ashamed of his master. "Well, now we know why the cloud…"
"OH, SHUT UP!"
"Wait," Rias interrupted the heated argument, "what's that? The item hanging from your neck?"
"Y'mean this old thing…?" Master Roshi pulled out the necklace from his undershirt, revealing large, beautiful, round jewel. He handed the ball over to the young girl. "Purty, ain't it? Skimmed it off the ocean floor 'bout a hundred years back and put in in this, here, necklace…"
Rias held the crystal ball in her hands, gleaming. "D-Don't tell me… it's a…" The orange ball glowed, illuminating three symmetrical stars. Rias waved to the airborne Goku, who had continued flying around aimlessly in the sky this whole time. "Hey, Goku! Come down here, now!" She loudly ordered.
The boy flew down to her, on his Nimbus. "What's up?"
"Look at this! Do you see it?!" She waved the ball, excitedly. Goku jumped off the Nimbus, then grouped up with Akeno to join Rias's side. He took a close look at the ball in her hands.
"A Dragon Ball!" He exclaimed.
"Looks like this wasn't all for nothing!" She replied, happy too.
"Oh, my! Three stars… that means we've got four Dragon Balls, all together; also meaning we only have three more to find! We're more than halfway there, great!" Akeno nodded.
"What luck," Rias laughed, heroically, "what unbelievable luck! I didn't even know that there was a Dragon Ball located here! Thank you so much, old timer!"
"Y'mean that thing's valuable…" The hermit pouted, unsure if he had made the right choice in just handing the Dragon Ball away.
"Oh, don't worry," reassured Rias, "here's compensation for your Dragon Ball; take it."
Suddenly, a crimson sigil deployed in front of Master Roshi, and a large stack of assorted magazines appeared right before him. The old man walked over, and he carefully looked over the front cover, before nearly breaking out in a nasty nosebleed.
"M-Master…?!" The turtle gasped, shocked by his master's temptations.
"Huh, what're these?" Goku asked, as he waddled up to the tall, devious stack.
"Wait!" Shouted Rias, suddenly flustered. "Don't, Goku!"
The young boy picked up the top magazine, then flipped open to the inside pages. "How sad," he frowned, while looking at the pornography, "these women are so poor that they can't even afford clothes. And even I have clothes—"
""NO!"" Rias and Akeno, collectively, snatched away the little boy, covering his innocent eyes with both their hands.
"Okay, okay, okay." Master Roshi ignored them, as he gracefully picked up the tall stack of adult magazines, then hopped back onto the turtle—heading for the sea. "You can keep the ball, kids!" He shouted back, as he ventured further and further, out into the vast ocean.
"See?!" Goku laughed from above, expertly riding the Flying Nimbus, "Now aren't you glad we helped that turtle?!"
"It was pure, dumb luck, silly!" Rias shouted back, as she and Akeno drove right besides him, both girls on the same, shared bike. "Hey, we're back!"
The capsule house was back in sight, and the three companions were finally home. Rias parked Goku's capsule bike next to the house, then her and Akeno got off. "Let's go in and change, Rias," Akeno advised, "Goku, are you gonna come inside?"
"HEH, HEH, I'm good, thanks!" The boy smiled, as he lay back into his Nimbus. "This is such an awesome reward, I'll stay here."
"You do you, Goku." Rias sighed, then the two girls, both, went inside the house.
Ten minutes passed, Rias clicked the reconfiguring button, and the futuristic house, that they'd spent a night in, suddenly reverted back into a tiny capsule. Rias, changed in a cream summer dress, turned around to face Goku and Akeno. "Alright, let's go!"
Goku nodded, then jumped up, onto the Flying Nimbus.
"Wait, Goku." Rias stopped him. "I'll make better time on your magical cloud. Your bike isn't as fast, and flying for long periods of time will drain my magic. As your rightful master and owner, you will let me on."
"Hey, that's no fair!" Complained Akeno.
Goku looked down at crimson haired princess, who felt as though she was always entitled to everything. "No way!" He shook his head. "The turtle said you've gotta be pure of heart!"
"And…?" She pouted. "I might be a devil, but I don't think anybody's heart is purer than mine!"
"Yeah right!" Laughed Akeno. "There's no way that's right!"
Despite being the refined girl she was, Rias growled like a dog. "Oh, shut up!"
Goku smiled. "Well, wanna try?"
The devil smiled, then flew in the air with her wings. Carefully, she softly dropped down next to Goku, hoping that— ZZHH… BAM! Rias fell through the cloud like a dropping icicle; right on her pretty, little face. Goku shrugged. "Told you so."
Akeno burst out laughing, while Rias sat on her butt, tearing up and sniffling. "But why?! Why?! Why?! Is it a sin to be too beautiful?!"
"Pride, vain… are you sure you're not a devil?" Akeno giggled.
"Shut up! You're so annoying!" Rias complained.
Suddenly, a foreign magical circle appeared next to the group, interrupting their growing dilemma. Rias and Akeno, immediately, stood up—unsure of what was happening.
"Another witch?!" Yelled Goku, who jumped next to the two girls.
"That house sigil… Sitri… no way!" Rias exclaimed, as two figures—similar in size to them—suddenly appeared out of the dark fluctuating light: a young girl and slightly older boy, both devils. The young girl wore a pink dress, and sported an expensive pair of spectacles; her hair was dark and short, but not as deep or long as Akeno's. The boy was older, perhaps thirteen or so, and wore proper devil wear akin to something out of 20th century England.
"Yo, cousin!" He greeted Rias and her company, his violet eyes flashing with excitement.
"Sona, Sairaorg… what are you two doing here?!" Gasped Rias, as she rushed forward to greet them.
"Well, it's boring during the summer—down in the underworld—so we decided to come along and help you find all the Dragon Balls." Sona smiled. "Plus, being your lookout kinda blows."
"Sona invited me," grinned Sairaorg, "and you know I can't pass up adventure! I'll do whatever it takes to get stronger, especially for Mom! Plus, I wanna check out the human world too, you know?!"
"Guys!" Rias whined. "C'mon I'm super busy—"
"Hey, is that him?!" Gasped Sona, who pointed at the monkey boy standing in the back. "Is that your first peerage member?! And who's she…?"
Rias turned around to look at Goku and Akeno, pondered what to do, then simply gave in.
"Come over here, please…"
Goku and Akeno glanced at one another, then slowly approached the newcomers.
"Sona, Bael… this is Son Goku and Akeno Himejima… Akeno, Goku… this is Sona Sitri, my childhood friend, and Sairaorg Bael, my cousin." She looked at the devils. "These two are my friends… not my first peerage members," she straightened herself out, "and they're still nice enough to willingly help me find the rest of the Dragon Balls. We've already found four!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you…" Akeno politely nodded.
"Same to you, Akeno!" Grinned Sairaorg.
"Yes, it's a pleasure." Nodded Sona, always wanting to have the best manners.
Goku, however, said nothing, then quietly pat at Sona's bottom privates… right in front of everybody…
"EEP!"
"Oh, so you're a girl—" SLAP! "Owie!"
Rias and Akeno both hit Goku, directly in the back of his head. ""What are you doing, you idiot?!""
"Wow!" Exclaimed Sairaorg, impressed. "That's so manly!"
"""No it's not!""" Loudly exclaimed—nearly shrieked—all three girls, unanimously.
At the exact same time… somewhere, far away… surrounded by similar mountain ranges and nature… a girl waited, patiently.
"What's going on…" The girl pondered, confused with what she was seeing; in her hand, the beeping on the radar device still wasn't returning. Trying something different, she expanded the signal and found the last dot… pulsating in-and-out on the green tracker screen with a faint yellow. "Is there really only one Dragon Ball left, now?"
The girl was a human teenager, sixteen, and had naturally blue colored eyes and hair. A red ribbon tied back her braided hair into a ponytail, and she wore a very short pink dress, with her name labeled on the front, with blue sneakers and purple socks.
"Someone must already have five of the balls, and I have no idea how they're blocking out the Dragon Radar…" She put the device back in her satchel, then returned to the TURBO car she'd been driving. "This sucks… but that means someone else is doing all the work for me."
She started the car, taking off down the dirt road. "All I gotta do is get to this next Dragon Ball before they do… then figure out what to do from there!"
Bulma, the genius teen inventor, drove off into the sunset, excited for what was to come!
Everyone's on a quest for the seven Dragon Balls, but who'll get the ultimate prize? It seems more and more adventures are on the way! Will we see new villains? Will Sairaorg be far more tolerable than the strange creature, Son Goku? And just what on earth is Rias's darn wish? Find out next time on "Gotta Heed The Call of Magic Dragon Balls!"