Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Adam's story is companion to Caleb: Center of the Storm, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time. Also, anyone interested in reading the complete Cast From Paradise poem should be able to find it on my dA gallery. ht tp: / digi-dolphin .deviantart. com/art /Cast-From -Paradise- 31802503
Ch 2
Morning brought dread and tension as Adam explained the situation to both Martel and Orator with a heavy heart. This wasn't how he wanted things to go without Caleb around to referee them. Did he really need the doll around to keep the friction between him and Ginger from erupting into something like this? But, they spent a whole week together in isolation and everything turned out okay, right? Granted Adam's whole world was torn apart right in front of him, but at least he hadn't taken it out on Ginger, right?
"I take it the title I gave her didn't help." Orator rumbled thoughtfully as Martel shook her head sadly.
"You realize that no matter what happens, you will lose her to death at the hands of those horrid cooks." she murmured. Adam nodded.
"I know. And the idea of it... it hurts... like something stabbing into me and twisting around in my stomach." he muttered and gazed skyward at the faint comet that still could be seen up above. "I've been thinking about things all night, so forgive me if I'm still a little sleepy, but I believe I can still save her. I can't make candy, but I can make desserts, and chocolate happens to be the main ingredient to a recipe I recently acquired."
"And there is still much I need to discuss with you both about this Dark Chef group and the threat to Symphonia." Martel added, "This battle between you and Ginger will bring no good to either one of you."
"That's another thing. I know there is something very wrong at home." Adam went on, suddenly looking back at the goddess with a grim expression, "My communicator can't make contact with home base and I can feel that my twin sister, Eve, is in trouble of some kind, but also that her emotions and her mind are closed to me. I can't stay here like Caleb wanted; I have to go back and find out what's wrong." Orator nodded and stood up.
"I understand, Lord Adam. Very well. I shall judge your contest with the highest severity. When shall it begin?" he asked. The blonde looked back at the mana beasts and Genis Sage trying to put together an appropriate battleground.
"As soon as the kitchens are set up."
Genis put together the makeshift ovens as best he could and sighed. His first meeting with Ginger after returning from a trip to NeOzette was anything but cheerful. She had scowled when she learned he was a half-elf and fumed for a few minutes before she could manage to introduce herself without doing harm to the boy. Genis sidled away to talk to the Wonder Chef about the whole mess, but he gave him such a depressed look that the mage couldn't bring himself to ask why he was traveling with a human with such a hatred for half-elves when he himself was kind to all races.
So Genis remained clueless to all that was happening until after Ginger declared the setup to be adequate enough to use. He scampered off in relief. He would take his mana beast research any day over this, though he was curious to find out how the Wonder Chef would do in a cooking battle. Genis had seen Regal in a contest against one of the Dark Chefs in Meltokio and thought it to be a clever, though odd, way of settling disputes. At least, no one got killed.
But this Ginger girl, she was a strange one. He mentioned he had done a study on mana beast diets and she suddenly seemed interested in learning all about it. So he talked about his notes as he worked, naming a few foods he discovered were especially liked by certain clans.
"I hope this turns out well for Wren." Genis sighed as he sat on a tree stump and watched the two chefs take to the kitchens.
Ginger looked over her collection of ingredients and smiled. She could already taste victory and all its chocolate-coated goodness. Thanks to Genis, that half-elf kid staring at them from the sidelines, she had an edge to win. She glanced over at Adam and blinked.
The Wonder Chef stood there easily, gazing out at Orator as the mana beast prepared to judge the competition before his eyes wandered over to watch the other mana beasts playing, snacking, working, relaxing. Ginger raised an eyebrow. What the heck was he doing?
"This competition is between the current cooking champion, Lord Adam, the Wonder Chef, and the challenger, Lady Spicewood, the Last Confectioner!" Orator declared as he stepped forward. Martel sat by Genis and watched the events with a sad expression. Ginger felt herself faltering, then shook her head and cleared her mind. Her focus had to go into her candies; her wounded pride would settle for nothing less than perfect chocolate candy! "The main ingredient is chocolate! You may use any ingredients and methods you wish to create your dish, as long as chocolate comprises the majority of the dish! I shall taste each creation and judge them on flavor, creativity, and benefits!"
Ginger took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Things will be fine. Her candy was top notch. She had every confidence that they would win. She had her edge; Adam was just daydreaming. She stiffened in sudden anger. He'd better not throw this battle just to please her!
"Give me everything you've got, Wonder Chef! I'll kick your ass if you hold back on me!" she yelled at the blonde. Adam blinked and looked at her in surprise. "You heard me! Bastard!" He scowled and turned away, turning his focus on the ingredients he set before himself.
"Begin!" Orator suddenly barked and both chefs set to work, mixing and whipping and blending chocolate, nuts, fruits, cream... everything they had on hand to create the recipes they selected.
Ginger hummed softly to herself, the memories of being home with her father, grandmother and two older brothers, making chocolate bon-bons by the dozen for sale in Ozette, surfacing as she worked. The smells and sounds filled her mind as she melted the chocolate down on the makeshift stove and poured it into a shallow pan filled with small indentations. The extra chocolate drained into a second pan. Over the first pan, she poured a creamy mix of crushed berry and nougat, followed by the second coat of chocolate. Ginger smiled and set the tray to drain again before setting it aside to cool.
On Adam's side, the blonde had finished mixing up the batter and poured it into a cake pan. Sliding that into an oven of his own, he returned to cleaning off the remaining leaves of mint he had, set them aside and began chopping nuts while he waited for the brownies to bake. He, too, hummed softly, taking his time as worked. There were many plans his mind drifted through, picking them apart and looking for any flaws that may give him cause for alarm later, and some that he set aside to be implemented as soon as he had the chance. Genis was cheering for him, Orator stood in patient silence and Martel waited quietly, the solemn expression never leaving her face.
The brownies were done, he could sense it. Sliding them out of the oven, Adam set them to cool on the tray and sprinkled the nuts over the batch of them before cutting the fudge into manageable pieces.
Ginger tested the candy sample on the tray and carefully extracted the remaining bon-bons, setting them to finish cooling on a paper covered pan before drizzling the last of the cream over them. She set the tray aside and smiled warmly at her completed recipe. Her family's bon-bons had always sold well, and with the modifications made after listening to Genis's lecture, maybe this new version would be equally as popular. She would find out once she began producing candy for sale again.
Still smiling, Ginger looked over at Adam's dish and blinked, startled. What was that? It looked like cake, but cake wasn't that flat or heavy-looking! And it seemed to be made of pure chocolate... had the Wonder Chef gone insane?
"What the hell is that?" she blurted as Adam carefully planted sprigs of mint into each piece on his tray.
"Fudge brownies. Dwarven recipe." he answered briefly. He sounded distracted, as though his mind was far away from the here and now. Ginger looked a little worried; Adam didn't usually sound or look like that when he was cooking. Was it different when he was having a cooking battle?
"Are the contestants ready for judgment?" Orator boomed, stepping forward. Both Adam and Ginger nodded and stepped back from the dishes, hands behind their backs as they waited. The mana beast walked forward and sniffed at the brownies. "Tell me about these." he ordered, "What recipe is this?"
"Fudge brownies, mint and walnut variant. Standard recipe makes a baker's dozen." Adam replied, again in a distant voice. Ginger wondered briefly if he was going to pass out, but the chef stood still and steady. Orator maneuvered a paw and picked up one of the pieces, eyeing it carefully.
"It is a rather unique and unusual recipe, looks intriguing. The green of the mint on the darkness of the chocolate is rather pleasing to the eye." the mana beast remarked and bit into it, chewing experimentally. He swallowed and paused. "Delicious flavor, almost overwhelming to the senses." Orator remarked and smiled, "Ah, the crisp, refreshing mint helps to subdue the power of the fudge and the crunchy nutty texture breaks up the monotony of the chocolate while adding a delicate flavor undertone. And from the effects of the recipe... I would say it has a moderate mana restorative ability. Highly useful for mages. I give this ten points."
Ginger broke into a nervous sweat as she watched a small smile form on the other chef's lips. A perfect ten? Right out of the oven? How? She groaned softly and shook her head. What an idiot she'd been! Of course it would turn out like this; Adam wasn't Wonder Chef for nothing!
Orator cleansed his palate and headed for the pan of bon-bons. Ginger swallowed hard as the mana beast studied them carefully. There was still a chance she could win, right? She had the edge; she knew what mana beasts liked in their food. Adam was just daydreaming, wasn't he? Or was watching the mana beasts what gave him the idea to add the mint and nuts that Orator liked so much? How does watching someone help a person cook for them?
"Explain this recipe." Orator's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Spicewood Chocolate Bon-bons. Berry crème nougat center." Ginger recited in a tremulous voice. She dared another look at the blonde, who watched her and the judging with full attention. Whatever had been consuming his mind earlier must have had its fill or something.
"Interesting. The swirls of light nougat on dark chocolate provides a nice contrast of color, the small size adds an air of sophistication; this is meant to be enjoyed delicately, fully." Orator went on and carefully picked out a candy with a claw, popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. He swallowed and paused, mulling over it carefully. "The taste is remarkable!" he finally mused and clacked once, "A creamy river of smooth chocolate and naturally sweet berry pulp... it tickles the senses and leaves one with the sensation of ecstasy!" Ginger brightened and smiled cheerfully. That was what Spicewood candy was all about, making people feel good when they eat the treats. "Ah, delectable! For a mana beast, one bon-bon is nothing, but for a human, I can understand how it can be such a treat!" the mana beast purred and cleared his throat, "However, from what I can sense of its intended effects, it is only a small mana restorative. Not bad, though I think it has a potential for more if the confectioner works at the recipe a bit harder." Ginger's smile faded. Orator tilted his head in thought, then nodded. "Ten points. An excellent treat, indeed."
"A tie?" Adam asked in confusion as the mana beast sat down between the two kitchens again. Ginger shook her head angrily.
"No way! We have to a have a winner! There's no tie in a cooking battle!" she yelled, "I thought you could give us a clear answer!"
"I'm not finished, Lady Spicewood." Orator replied stiffly, fur lifting around his neck. Both chefs quieted and waited nervously as the mana beast calmed and thought carefully. "This is an unusual situation, and I've taken the three main points of a recipe into consideration, the same three points Lord Adam explained are judged in any contest of this caliber." he remarked, "And the answer comes to a perfect score for both parties. Now, adding a fourth point to this may help. I've judged each recipe on creativity based on appearance; flavor based on tastes and textures; and usefulness based on the effects they would have on warriors who may use them in battle." Orator paced for a bit, then stopped in mid-step. "The three-point system works well to a certain degree, but I believe you humans have forgotten another thing. Not only must a recipe taste good, look good, and have good benefits for warriors, but we must also decide on its ease of use."
Ginger and Adam looked at each other, lost. Genis blinked and jumped up in realization, waving an arm.
"Oh! I know! When Lloyd and I and everyone were fighting monsters, sometimes we had a hard time putting together a recipe to help us in battle." he told the group, "So if a recipe was easier to work with in the heat of battle, that would be the one we'd like and use the most!"
"Exactly." Orator agreed with a nod of his head, "And this is where the deciding vote comes." He turned back to the two chefs. "Lord Adam, your recipe is powerful indeed and a great benefit to mages everywhere. However, I have watched you prepare it and it is a rather complex recipe to put together, especially if lives are in immediate peril and every second counts." The blonde blinked and looked down at the tray of brownies with a puzzled frown.
"I need to simplify it some more then. But if I do it too much, the recipe is ruined. Man, this is going to be tough." he murmured to himself. Orator looked at Ginger.
"Lady Spicewood, knowing how there are very few true confectioners left in this world, your candies will be difficult to come by, but they are available already prepared for instantaneous use, despite the minimal benefits." he went on, "In a fierce battle, when a sliver of a chance is all that stands between one and eternity, a ready made bon-bon given to a mage can save the lives of an entire party." Orator looked between the two chefs that stared at him and nodded.
"I declare Lady Spicewood the winner of this contest." he announced and sat down, "Judgment is final." For a moment, there was only silence, then a strangled cry.
"Nooo!"