34
The surge of electricity pouring into him at the teleporter pad had been startling, which was something Caleb felt only for an instant, followed by a blast of pain, the mana channels in his body flooding with the energy and scoring along the charms engraved on the metal. If he was of the mind to describe the feeling, it would be something along the lines of having a thousand sharpened razor blades slicing into his soul.
He twisted involuntarily, screaming as he tried to get away from the blast of electricity that held him in place. The faint voices of the kids behind him barely registered to him, and then everything went dark.
"Hey, Caleb!" Lloyd exclaimed with pleasant surprise, waving at him from just outside his house, "What brings you to Iselia?" Caleb jogged up to the brunet with a laugh, the massive white mana beast that accompanied him trilling happily.
"Just thought I'd drop in for a visit!" the android replied, stopping in front of the red-clad swordsman. He shrugged, one hand resting on his satchel. "Wren sent me to Iselia to pick up a few ingredients for his restaurant while he went to Murin to get the rest. Since I was in the neighborhood, I figured I'd visit and see how you and the family were doing." Caleb smiled, a bright and pure expression that had Lloyd's face soften.
"You're really not like him, are you?" he murmured, and shook his head with a grin when Caleb blinked at him, puzzled, "Nothing." He gestured towards the Wonder Fork strapped to the redhead's back. "Does Adam know you're carrying his fork around?" Lloyd asked and Caleb nodded, looking over his shoulder at the gleaming metal and wood utensil.
"Yeah, he gave it to me when I promised I'd wait for him to be reborn in the future and asked that I return it to him when the day came that we met again." the android returned and looked faintly sheepish, "Still kind of shocked that we were able to make this one together, after that chef war destroyed the original Wonder Fork." Lloyd shook his head, chuckling as he set his hands on his waist.
"You did good work crafting it. All that's left is learning to use it yourself!" he teased, laughing as Caleb playfully complained, -'This thing only works for Wonder Chef-class cooks! How am I supposed to get that good if I can't taste food?'- "You'll have plenty of time to practice! C'mon in; Colette would be glad for the company. Maybe you can help us get the kids to settle down, too!"
"Don't you get it? They took everything from me!" Asch snarled, hand trembling with fury as he leaned towards his companion, "Everyone I loved, everyone I cared about, my friends, my family, my life! All of it!"
"Oh, I get it." Caleb returned coldly, expression unmoved as the wind lifted his hair and coattails, the Wonder Fork strapped across his back, "I understand what you're feeling perfectly. Know what might help?" The armored redhead lifted an eyebrow, intrigued. Caleb reached behind himself and pulled out an ornately decorated sheath holding a beautiful sword. He tossed it towards Asch, watching him catch it easily and examine the hilt of the sword, sliding the blade out to smile at its wicked design.
"A lovely gift, my friend. And what, pray tell, may help me with my loss?" he murmured. Caleb smiled, a freezing expression that made Asch feel a little less confident in his situation.
"How would you like to be known as the Bloodlust General?"
Caleb hummed to himself cheerfully as he bounded up the steps to the house with the sacks of ingredients in both arms. His little visit had sidetracked him for a day or so, nothing too bad. With Pepper's flight, the android was able to make it back to the Voraci household while the fruits and vegetables were still fresh. He pushed the door open, letting himself in.
"Wren! Ginger! I'm home!" he called out, hooking an ankle back to nudge the door shut. His hearing picked up soft sobs, and Caleb followed the sounds, concern replacing the cheer. He moved through the house to the den, stopping at the entrance as he took in the sight of the raven-haired confectioner sobbing on the sofa, her children crying in a huddle nearby. Raine Sage sat by the woman, sad expression on her face as she rubbed Ginger's back gently.
He was confused. Why were they like this? What was Raine doing here? The half-elf lifted her gaze, spotting the redhead at the entry.
"Zelos? ...No, it's you, isn't it?" she greeted softly, "Caleb..." He nodded, still confused.
"What's going on, Professor?" he returned, gaze drifting to the rest of the Voraci Family in concern, "Did something happen while Wren and I were away from the house?" Raine stood up from the couch, walking to stand a few feet in front of the redhead.
"There was... an altercation... in Murin..." she began softly, the same expression of grief on her face.
Caleb dropped the bags of ingredients, eyes wide.
"Aww! I almost had it!" Arche complained, straightening on her broom as she floated before the ruins of her targets. She snapped her fingers in annoyance and looked down at the redhead standing there, giant fork in hand. He shrugged.
"Well, it was a good try." Caleb remarked and smiled up at the half-elf witch, "Want to give it a rest for now? I can whip up a lunch for everyone." Arche cooed, eyes sparkling as she floated down to his side.
"Ooh~! I'm feeling exotic today; can we have okonomiyaki? Please?" she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at the android as he laughed.
It sounded hollow, empty of real joy.
The rain beat down on the smoldering ruins of the town, shallow puddles in the streets and fragments of shingles dangling from what was left of the roofs of the buildings. Wood and stone alike was blackened, dark with soot and ash and the rust-red of long dried blood. Figures lay everywhere, twisted and burnt beyond recognition, some laying in piles and others half inside houses or shops. The clouds were dark and roiling over the town, and the occasional flash of lightning would illuminate the remnant of the sign that once proclaimed this to be the town of Murin.
Caleb knelt in the street, eyes wide as he stared out at the horrors of the dead town, fingers digging into the dirt and cobblestones, not even caring that the rain soaked his clothes and made his hair cling to his face. It blended with the constant streams of tears running down his cheeks. He was the only speck of color and life in Murin, a dot of green and bright red in the center of all the black and gray.
He uttered a soft sob, then finally forced himself to rise to his feet, letting the rubble fall from his hands limply. Then he turned and began walking away, head bowed, as the rain continued pouring down. The Wonder Fork remained strapped to his back, the metal prongs shining brilliantly with every lightning flash. He walked, and began his journey again, a journey that would carry him through many rebirths of the world called Symphonia.
"Nngh..." Caleb groaned softly as his motor function systems came back online. He lifted a hand to his head, rubbing it gingerly as he ran a quick diagnostic check on his internal systems. The shock must have scrambled his personal memories for a second or two, put them out of order as they were pulled up. He sat up, pulling the Wonder Fork into his lap as he noticed and then blinked at the sudden appearance of the people before him.
Those clothes, those neckerchiefs, those utensils...! His eyes widened and he gasped, scooting backwards from them in shock.
"It can't be!" he blurted out, "You're all Wonder Cooks, aren't you? The Wonder Organization's back?" He looked around desperately for the other teens. Where were Raven and his friends? Shouldn't they have also come through the teleporter? Or...?
The trap!
"The Wonder Organization has existed for centuries! Who are you to know of our secret assembly?" one of the cooks demanded, prodding him with his spoon. Caleb glared up at the young cook, about to snap back a retort, only to halt when another voice interrupted, cutting into the air.
"Is that the one who spared our greatest secret?" a voice tainted with a light Italian accent questioned. The cooks all snapped to attention, stepping aside quickly and saluting as Caleb slowly got to his feet, a mix of emotions painting his face that had his eyes wider than they've ever been before. The Wonder Fork remained tightly gripped in his hand, and he could only stare before himself as the one who spoke stepped into view with a playful bounce in his stride.
He wore a green traveling version of the chef's clothes, a red cape draped down his back from where it was wrapped around his neck, and a white chef's hat sat on top of his head. He was blonde, short-haired, his fringe swept aside to cover one of his blue eyes. His face was youthful, almost pretty, and very, very familiar.
Danny sucked in his breath sharply, staring at the figure as his friends gaped at the change in situation.
"Wonder Organization? That thing you were talking about back in Valerie's level?" Sam asked in surprise, "He was serious about it? These people are seriously secret agent cooks?"
"More than that." Danny whispered, lifting a hand to point at the lithe chef in green clothing, "That's Caleb's best friend, the Wonder Chef himself. He's the leader of the entire thing."
"It can't be...!" Caleb echoed softly, the tone of someone who found an oasis after years in a parched desert. Tears ran down his face as he reached a hand forward, wanting to touch but afraid to do so. "Is it... is it really you? Wren?" he cried softly.
The blonde chef blinked, then his own eyes widened in recognition, mouth falling open as a hand lifted to it.
"Diosa mia! You... it's you!" he blurted back, tearing up as well. He choked on a sob and ran forward, arms out for a hug, "Caleb! Caleb!" The android matched his joyful cry, dropping the fork to catch the little blonde in a tight hug, lifting him off his feet as the redhead spun happily, laughing and crying.
"Wren!" he cried and finally set him down, framing the blonde's smiling face with both hands, "It's really you! Younger than I last saw you... h-how?" The blonde reached up, placing his own hands over Caleb's.
"Reincarnation. Well, actually a mana transfer, but the Organization had to wait until my new body was born before my soul could be placed in it." he explained tearfully and laughed, a short bark as Caleb pulled his hands away to run his fingers through the strands of golden hair, "We used your records to do it, can you believe it? If it wasn't for you keeping track of it all, I don't know if my memories would have stayed as intact as they are."
"Oh, Goddess, your memories..." Caleb breathed in wonder, stepping back and covering his mouth with both hands, eyes wide. He finally gestured towards the chef wordlessly before finding his voice again. "Are they...?" Wren smiled wider, nodding, and Caleb sank to his knees, grabbing the blonde's hands and gripping them tightly, pressing his forehead to them. "You're back." he sobbed, "Dear Martel, thank you, thank you, thank you, for letting him come back. Goddess, Wren, I've missed you so, so much..."
Jazz blew into her handkerchief, sniffling as the group watched the scene in silence, smiles on their faces.
All, save for Danny, who had that suspicious look on his face again.
"They really were the best of friends." Valerie murmured with a wistful expression, "Look at them. Have you ever seen Caleb be that emotional before?" Her face softened further. "He looks so happy, truly happy. That's a joy so, so real it's almost a shame the rest of the world can't see this and be more like them. There wouldn't be any wars then."
"Yeah." Danny agreed softly, feeling his heart twist in place with pain, "Too bad it's all fake. Caleb's been blindsided; he's not going to survive this level."
Caleb picked up the Wonder Fork, turning it in his hands with a faint smile before holding it out to the blonde. Wren blinked in surprise and beamed up at the android, taking it into his hands.
"You remembered our promise!" he exclaimed, "Grazie! Oh, Caleb, you've kept it safe for so long; it's just like I remembered it when I gave it to you!" The Wonder Chef marveled over the utensil as Caleb gave an elegant bow, laughing. The remaining cooks finally drifted back to their stations around the ship's bridge once they realized their leader knew the stowaway quite well.
"I told you I would protect it until the day you returned to me." the android murmured with a smile. The blonde returned it warmly, and Caleb gasped slightly, clapping his hands together. "Ah! I almost forgot! I have some friends I want you to meet!" he remarked and looked around again, "We're traveling through the Book of the Underworld to fight Nebilim and burn it; I met them in their home city of Amity Park." Wren blinked, looking around with him in confusion. "I took the teleporter first, but it was booby-trapped and I was electrocuted. Maybe it shorted the trap and they made it through safely?" Caleb questioned worriedly, "They're young Heroes; Danny Phantom and his friends. Have you seen them?"
"I'm sorry, no. You were the only one that appeared on our ship's sensors." Wren told him and Caleb paused, giving him a strange look. The blonde sighed. "I don't know what's happened exactly, but you're talking about an event that happened almost two thousand years ago." he explained quietly, sliding the Wonder Fork into place across his back, "There was an explosion of demonic power in a place called Amity Park, and all the records we managed to salvage from the Archives said you were last seen there. You disappeared without a trace in the blast."
Caleb stared at his friend in shock. Wren sighed, shaking his head. "You showing up here, now? It's the first sign of you in twenty centuries." he finished, "You've missed so much, Caleb; more than you realize."
"Wh-what? But...!" the redhead protested weakly, one hand pressing to his forehead, "What happened to Raven?" Wren perked at the name, more attentive and puzzled.
"Who?" he asked.
"Raven, Danny Phantom, my friend..." Caleb tried to explain, gesturing pathetically with a lost expression, "He... he got past my perfect neutrality, and we became friends, so... I gave him a name..."
"Caleb...!" Wren sounded hurt, a faint look of betrayal on his face, "You tried to replace me?"
"No!" the android blurted out, waving his hands wildly, "I could never replace you! We're the best of friends, we're practically blood brothers!" He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing harshly. "I mean... we're kindred spirits. We've been through things together that would have destroyed us both if we were anyone other than who we are." he muttered and gazed down at the blonde. "Raven... was someone who reminded me of you."
"So now you're old news?" Tucker questioned, one eyebrow raised as he looked over at Danny.
"I told you something isn't right about all this." the halfa growled, "They're trying to convince Caleb that this whole quest is already over and done, and that we lost and he's the only survivor." Sam folded her arms over her chest, glaring at both the blonde and the redhead as they walked further into the bridge.
"I don't like how he just handed over the Wonder Fork like that." she pointed out, "He's just lost control of Incineration. This level's bewitched and disarmed Caleb in the space of ten, fifteen minutes. This isn't good."
"Nebilim's using psychology to nullify Caleb's strengths." Jazz added with a scowl, moving with the group as they followed the pair of old friends, "His defenses drop when around friends, right? They barely exist around this Wren guy."
They moved into the main part of the bridge, looking around apprehensively as the many cooks there worked on various computer consoles, giant utensils of various types strapped to their backs. No one seemed to notice the bunch of them, as if there wasn't a Goth, a young para-psychologist, a ghost hunter, a techno-geek, and a half-ghost just standing on the bridge of their little space ship right behind an android and a chef that had been separated from one another by countless centuries.
Well, no one... except for two officers on that bridge. And Danny noticed the presence of one of them right away when a puff of ice-blue mist drifted from his mouth.
"Ghost sense!" he exclaimed in surprise, hand lifting to just before his lips, "There's a ghost here!"
"It's gotta be Desiree, the Wishing Ghost!" Sam blurted out grimly, "Nobody make a wish!" She suddenly clicked her tongue derisively. "Darn it! Caleb can't hear us or see us because of Nebilim's booby-trapped teleporter! We can't warn him, and with all this around him, you know he's bound to make a lot of wishes! Especially if they involve Wonder Boy over there!" Jazz rubbed her chin thoughtfully, snapping her fingers in realization.
"I bet this is why Danny's level was so simple in comparison to Valerie's level!" she exclaimed, eyes wide, "The more expansive and complex a level is to house a Trial, the more power it probably takes to create and maintain it. Nebilim must have used up a lot of power and resources on Valerie's level because it served two purposes; it was Valerie's Trial for her sin, and it was a massive trap for Caleb to keep him from finishing the Key Crest and possibly destroy him." Danny turned to look up at her, startled.
"So the reason why my level was so small..." he began in shock.
"Was because he was building up power to create this one! The level meant to break Caleb once and for all!" Sam finished for him fiercely, her fists at her sides, "Without him and the Eternal Sword Pin, Nebilim figured we wouldn't dare use the Soulfire against him, not without killing ourselves too!" She turned to kick at a nearby cook in frustration, her heavy combat boot and leg just passing through the white-clad young man as if she were the ghost in the group.
They fell into silence again at that, gazing down at their shoes with dread on their faces. So that was it? Danny felt his jaws clench together at the thought. Without the team there to snap Caleb out of this little fantasy world, he'd strand them in the Book. They were trapped, and by the very guy who had hammered it into their heads just how much that would be The Epic Suck for them and for the world outside.
He ran his hands through his hair, gripping his head tightly as his mind raced, trying to think of something, some way out of this, some loophole. There had to be something! His eyes drifted to the redhead paying attention to the little blonde with a stunned expression. More surprises from his precious Wren?
"Caleb, please!" Danny whispered helplessly, "Don't listen! That's not Wren! That's not the friend you lost so long ago! He died, he died because he was human!"
"I can't believe it." Caleb whispered once the Wonder Chef finished explaining things. The redhead glanced away, a fresh wave of tears making his eyes shimmer, the green light shining as he assimilated the new data. "You're saying that I disappeared, and because I was lost for so long, Martel went insane and started enslaving whole worlds? She took over Symphonia... I mean Earth, and started traveling through space to other worlds?" Wren sighed, rubbing his head before nodding. "I just..." Caleb shook his head fiercely, "I can't see Martel doing that! She loves the world! All the life on it, everyone... she'd never hurt them!"
He gripped the edge of the console before himself, imprinting the cushioned fiberglass under his fingertips before pulling his hands away from the console.
"And, the Wonder Organization was recreated to fight her? On these starships that travel the galaxy?" he murmured, "You... you're going to try to kill my sister..."
"She traps the planet under a massive mana shield that repels everything." Wren explained firmly, "We try to beat her Seeds to the worlds, and when we fail to destroy them, we try to slip some of our ships and cooks onto the planet before the shield is completed, so that we can at least keep the people fed and healthy while we search for Martel herself." He reached out, tapping at some keys on the touchscreen console, and the field of stars on the giant screen before them vanished. In its place was the image of a massive tree, huge and beautiful, and floating through space in a bubble of mana, its roots wrapping around a chunk of earth. "This is what the Yggdrasill looks like now. Martel travels through the galaxy with her Tree, and produces the Great Seeds that make up the bulk of her forces. Each Seed, when it lands on a planet, germinates and creates another Mana Tree, which creates the shield around that world and maintains contact with Martel." the Wonder Chef went on grimly, his hands resting lightly against the sides of the touchscreen, "The only way to shut down the mana shields on the enslaved worlds is to find Martel herself, and destroy Yggdrasill." He sighed, bowing his head. "So yes, Caleb, we're pretty much looking for Martel to kill her. I'm sorry." he whispered.
"No! That's not good!" Danny blurted out, panic racing through his whole body. Mithos had a powerful connection to his sister, a loyalty and love that was so deep, he went completely insane with grief at her death. Martel dying was the reason why he created the whole Chosen thing and separated the worlds and put so many people through ages of suffering. If he was right in his suspicion about Caleb, and Martel was 'killed' in this level...!
"I'll say. If she goes, what's gonna happen to Earth?" Sam pointed out, completely missing why Danny was worried. Her eyes lidded in suspicion as she tilted her head, gazing up at the viewscreen. "Her tree's beautiful... but I wonder. What goes on under those shields of hers when she puts them up?"
"Yeah, the Yggdrasill Tree is supposed to act as a protector and provider of mana, right?" Valerie questioned, arms folding over her chest as she studied the image herself, "If we look at this from Martel's point of view, she's trying to save those worlds by planting Seeds on them that will cover them in life-enriching mana. So does this make the Wonder Organization the bad guys?" She twisted her lips in confusion. "That doesn't make sense either. We don't know as much about the Wonder Organization as we do about Lloyd and his gang fighting Mithos and Cruxis."
"No, we don't. But Danny might know." Jazz put in quietly, watching her little brother glare at the blonde chef trying to console a heartbroken android. "Caleb told him more about his life, and from the way he reacted to everything, it's a safe bet that most of Caleb's early adventures were closely connected to the Wonder Organization."
"We can fill in the rest using the Archives and their online database." Tucker supplied helpfully, patting the laptop in his arms.
Sam reached out and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, startling the halfa, his eyes wide with surprise as he snapped to look in her direction. She gave him a questioning look and he returned it with a tight smile before gazing back at Caleb and Wren.
"Okay. I don't know a lot about them, but between what I know and the Archives, we should have a handle on how things work here." he finally replied with a deep breath. He shook himself off and turned to his friends. "Without that, we won't have a chance at figuring out the real story here and using that to get Caleb to snap out of it and see that this is all a lie." he went on, "And no matter what, we can't let Martel get killed!"
"Doesn't look like Caleb's on the boat with that one either." Valerie remarked dryly, "But he's also not completely against listening to the Wonder Chef's reasoning. He's waffling."
"He's torn between two loyalties." Jazz sighed, rubbing her fingers against her temple, "Oh, just great."
"It's a lot to take in, I know." Wren murmured, watching Caleb struggle to come to terms with everything, "And, yeah, it was a huge shock to me too. I remember how kind and gentle she was, a perfect Goddess of Mana." He managed a small smile, the expression growing as Caleb returned it with his own grin, green eyes meeting blue.
"Even when she was yelling at us for being stupid?" he returned dryly. The blonde shrugged, rolling his eyes as he lifted his hands.
"We were younger at the time, you most of all!" he exclaimed, "Not like we were the most brilliant people back then. You were, what? Six months old? Maybe eight?" Caleb scoffed, reaching out to flick a fingertip across the end of Wren's nose.
"I was a full three seasons old!" he declared haughtily, then gave the chef a faintly odd look, "You know, you're not speaking Symphonian language right now; we've been talking in modern-day Earth English." Wren nodded.
"Yeah, I was raised to speak and understand English, even though all of my memories of my past life is in angelic, Old Runic, elven and Symphonian." he replied and gestured for the angelic android to follow him as he walked away. "Maintain course!" he ordered the crew and smiled at his companion, "C'mon. Let me show you to some quarters you can use while you're with us. I'll explain how the new Wonder Organization is put together once we're there."
Caleb nodded, following the blonde quietly and pausing only long enough to give the bridge a puzzled, worried look. It lasted only a moment, then he shook his head and jogged to catch up to his friend, unaware of the group of teens that tagged along with him, clustered almost protectively around him.
"The Wonder Organization during Caleb's time was this huge assembly of cooks and chefs with one main purpose." Danny began carefully, one finger curled over his chin as he considered what he knew. The teens sat in a circle on the floor of Caleb's new room, half their attentions on the fact that the redhead and the blonde were sitting at a table nearby, chatting amiably while Wren outlined the new Organization. "They made sure that the people of Symphonia had healthy food to eat, meals that were prepared to serve a family of eight from ingredients that could barely feed three people. These were like miracle dishes."
"The same kinds of food that Caleb cooks for us?" Valerie asked in surprise, pointing at her arm, "That stew he gave me once made this gash in my arm disappear like nothing ever happened! You're saying regular people came up with those recipes and made food that could do all that?" Danny nodded.
"Yeah and no. I'll get to that in a bit. Cooking with limited ingredients was their greatest skill. These cooks trained like crazy to be able to make these kinds of foods with even the skimpiest of ingredients." he went on, spinning a finger in the air, "That's because the Wonder Organization was created to help fight famines and make food last through droughts and stuff. Ever notice how Caleb doesn't seem to use a lot of ingredients when he makes our meals, but we always feel full and super-good when we eat?"
"I just figured he was good at working with what he had." Sam mused aloud, tapping a fingertip against her lips, "That was a requirement of training for this Wonder Organization?"
"Those are actually some great skills. Why keep it a secret?" Jazz questioned and Danny's face went grim, his arm stretching out to point at the blonde gesturing as he talked with Caleb.
"Because of him. The Wonder Chef. That's the Organization's second purpose for existing. They all work together to hide and protect the Wonder Chef; he's not just their leader and the very best chef in the world, but he carries that Wonder Fork and knows something called the 'Ultimate Recipe'." he answered darkly, "Caleb explained it like this. Imagine having the head chef of a five star-restaurant make all your food for you. Imagine how awesome it tastes, how healthy and great it is for you. That's the level of skill a run of the mill Wonder Cook has. Those are the grunts of this Organization!" The teens stared at him, eyes wide with awe. Danny nodded, mouth set in a thin line. "Now. Keep that in mind. If the average Wonder Cook is like a five star chef, then their leader is twice as good. Wonder Cooks can hit the kind of skill level a Wonder Chef has now and then, and you can tell because of the way the food tastes and what it does, but they can't do it constantly. The Wonder Chef always hits that high mark, and his food is not only healthy and delicious, it can act like miracle medicine!"
"Ah! The stew!" Valerie cried in realization, "It healed the gash on my arm! And the fruit mix Caleb gave to Qwan to cure his headache! That's the skill level of a Wonder Chef?" Sam snapped her fingers.
"The mixed punch that he gave me in Valerie's level wiped out my concussion and headache in one go!" she blurted out, eyes wide. "You're saying that the Wonder Chef can cook like that every time, and he's just a normal human?" She stared at the halfa, then looked up at the little blonde laughing at something Caleb had said, then back again. "He doesn't even look any older than Jazz!" she added incredulously, "And you're telling me that he can whip up any dish in the world and have it do some kind of magic healing or something?" Danny nodded, folding his arms on top of his knees and resting his chin on them.
"So, if things as simple as juice and stews can do all that," Jazz murmured in a puzzled tone, "what's so special about this ultimate recipe thing?" The halfa shrugged. "He didn't tell you about that?"
"Caleb tried, but he..." Danny began, a strange look on his face as he recalled that particular conversation in Welgaia, "It's weird, but he looked like he just blanked out. He said, 'It's the ultimate recipe of life and death'; his words, not mine." He held up his hands, perplexed. "I know, I know. Doesn't make much sense, but when he tried to explain it more, it was like something was making the words stick in his mouth." the halfa went on, "As if someone had... tampered..." He trailed off, eyes wide as he snapped around to stare up at Wren. "He did! Caleb said that Wren had done something to him once, and erased a huge chunk of his memory, plus did some tweaks to keep him from trying too hard to find that lost piece of memory! I bet Caleb knew more about the Ultimate Recipe back during Symphonia, and Wren erased his knowledge of it to protect it!" he cried in realization, straightening up like something zapped his back, "The Wonder Chef's main purpose was to know the recipe and keep it safe, hidden! His cooking skills had to be the best of all, in case he actually needed to make that Ultimate Recipe!"
Tucker hadn't spoken at all since they first sat in the circle, alternating between listening to Danny and listening to the two friends sitting at the table. He kept most of his attention on his laptop, PDA in one hand displaying a series of codes that he typed into the Archives of the Twin Blades online directory. Seeing the internet connection had not broken in the transition from the last level to this one meant either one of two things; two thousand years from now, the internet's still going and was in serious need of an update, or Caleb's squeaky clean bestest best friend was telling one hell of a lie right to the android's face. Tucker scowled at the thought, then returned to his task.
The search for information had been going well, until he started prodding for records of the Ultimate Recipe. Things turned sketchy then, with the barest of notes and a lot of requests redirected to a system that absolutely refused to budge to his demands for access.
"This one's got some serious protection on it." Tucker sighed, rubbing his head, "I threw one of my best hacks at it; I could've sworn it beat the thing to deletion and laughed at me!"
"Give up on getting past that security system, Tuck." Danny told him flatly, "Caleb himself couldn't hack it, and for a good reason." The techno-geek gave him an incredulous look. "It's a virtual copy of Caleb's own mind and personality, like an online twin. It learns as he learns, so you're facing down Caleb himself." the halfa explained, rolling his eyes, "And we know how stubborn he can get about making himself into a perfect little wall."
"Well, I'll deal with it later. Check what I managed to find out anyway." Tucker replied with a shrug, bringing up various windows, "That Ultimate Recipe you're talking about? It's ancient, like 'older than Mithos and Martel's baby pictures' ancient. At the time Caleb was brand-spanking new and wandering about barely knowing anything, that thing was about seven thousand years old."
"Anyone ever make it successfully?" Sam asked, pulling the laptop open a little more to peer over the top of the screen at the windows.
"Yeah. Two people; the recipe's original creator, some guy everyone's calling the First Wonder Chef -that's an actual title, by the way- and the True-Blood Wonder Chef... Adam Voraci." Tucker replied, clicking on windows until an image popped up, the smiling face of the blonde that was now sitting by Caleb and loudly denying some embarrassing story or another.
The teens looked between the photo and the actual teen several times before giving the screen a collectively dubious stare.
"Yeah, like I'll believe that." Valerie snorted, rolling her eyes, "How about what it does? Can we see that?" Tucker clicked between the windows, pulling up another page.
"Sketchy, but there's a record." he replied, peering at the window and scratching his chin as he read off of it, "It's conditional, from the looks of it. According to the record, if a Wonder Chef with a pure heart makes the Ultimate Recipe, a single bite will restore life to the lifeless. But if a Wonder Chef with hate in his heart makes it, the smallest taste with destroy a person completely." The group stared at him in shock, the techno-geek still puzzling over that before snapping his fingers with a bright look. "I bet it's fruitcake!" he exclaimed, looking around as the teens groaned and fell back against the carpeted floor.
"Tucker, I would hurt you if we didn't need you alive to keep the Soulfire up." Sam grumbled, one arm slung over her eyes. After a moment, she lifted it, one eyebrow raised, "Hey, wait a second. Why's Adam called the True-Blood Wonder Chef?" She sat up, giving the blonde a suspicious look before turning it on Caleb. "Caleb never mentioned that about him, did he? Wonder if that's in the Archives...?"
"So besides being the Wonder Chef, again," Caleb remarked with a chuckle, shaking his head at Wren's exasperated shrug and cry of 'I just can't get away from it! It's not my fault I'm good at cooking!', "you're the Grand Admiral of the Wonder Fleet?" He sipped at a glass of water, thinking it over. "That's odd. How were you able to prove that you were Wonder Chef-class if the Wonder Fork was with me all this time?" he asked in confusion, tapping a fingertip against his cheek.
The blonde fiddled with his own glass of water, considering his words carefully. "I was... automatically given the title... because I'm a perfect reincarnation of my old self. My memories, my skills, it all transferred over into this body." he murmured, "Officially, I'm the Reborn Wonder Chef. My name is Adam Voraci the Second, but I made a demand that I be called Wren casually." He managed a smile. "I told you it was a more comfortable name for me." the blonde added, glancing up at Caleb. The android tilted his head, giving him a puzzled look.
"You didn't want to use your real name?" he questioned and Wren shook his head.
"Nah, I like the one you gave me. Made me feel more real than my own name did back then." he answered, and stretched his arms over his head, yawning. A strange expression flashed across Caleb's face before it vanished, replaced with an amused look.
"Tired?"
"Yeah, but I have to finish my shift on the bridge. We're heading to the next planet, hoping to beat the wave of Seeds." Wren replied, getting up and patting Caleb on the shoulder, "Get some rest. We'll catch up some more later, okay?" The redhead nodded, gazing into his glass as the blonde moved to the door, touching fingers to a panel that had it slide open with a soft hiss.
"Wren?" Caleb called out suddenly, making the teen pause and look back at him, "In Hima, you erased a part of my memory; remember that?" The Wonder Chef nodded slowly. "Can you tell me now what it is that I've forgotten? Is it safe at last for me to have that memory?" Caleb pressed, hands clutching the glass tightly.
"Not yet. Wait for me just a little longer." Wren returned softly, "We'll talk about it later." And with that, he left the room.
Caleb gazed at the now closed door, sighed, then folded his arms on the table just enough to drop his head on them and hide his face. He held that for a minute or so, then suddenly slammed a fist down onto the table, rattling the two glasses. He got up, sighing harshly and looking around.
"Raven! If you're invisible right now, drop it! Let me see you! Let me know you're here!" the redhead hissed and dug his hands into his hair, "I want to believe this is real; I want it so badly." He fought back fresh tears, looking around himself. "It has to be real. I scanned him, when I touched his face, I felt it... that mana... it's Wren's, it has to be him." he whispered and hugged himself, pacing the floor. "But you're real too! I know it! I have your ectomana signature, I have records and memories of you!" Caleb protested weakly, "But I can't pick it up now, it's like you don't even exist! Where are you? Are you even here? Didn't you take the teleporter? You were supposed to wait five minutes and then follow me; it's been longer, so where are you?"
"Damn it." Danny sighed, hiding his face in his hands as he stood before the android hugging himself tightly, "I'm right here, and he can't pick me up! The teleporter couldn't have fried his sensor systems, he's not acting damaged!" Tucker tapped at his PDA, shaking his head.
"One percent, like he said. He's pretty much perfectly okay." the technophile reported, "That jolt of electricity was probably there to stun him and make us hold back while Nebilim set things up to have us be the ghosts here."
"Divide and conquer." Sam huffed, reaching out to spin the laptop around and study the windows herself, "With us out of the way, Nebilim can focus on convincing Caleb that he was imagining us or something and with the Wonder Chef as the perfect incentive to believe it, he's more likely to go to the reality he wants."
"But he's still searching for Danny." Jazz pointed out in a troubled tone, hand hovering just before Caleb's face and passing through his fringe without making even the slightest change in his torn expression, "And now here's another layer of split loyalties. He's torn between following the Wonder Chef and following Danny, two people who are very much alike in thoughts and personality." Valerie nodded slowly in agreement, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Hey... you think this has something to do with his sin?" she asked, wagging a finger at the redhead, who was now searching the room, running his hands over the walls meticulously, "That big one the Spook was gabbing about?"
"Probably. Maybe." Danny replied, feeling a weird conflict of thoughts on that, "But... no..." He growled, ruffling his own hair roughly. "I don't know! It could be Caleb's sin, but it could also be the sin of the soul inside him!" Jazz gave him a look, the one that said she was getting the idea that he knew more than he let on and if he didn't talk and fast, someone was going to be sharing embarrassing stories about a certain little half-ghost brother. He gave her a warning glare in return. "I don't know! Maybe I've got a suspicion, but that's all it is, and I can't even trust it because it was Nebilim that's been hinting at it." he repeated more firmly and gestured at Caleb, "Let's just focus on trying to get him to realize we're here. Can we touch anything in the room?"
Sam reached out and stuck her arm through the bed nearby, waving it around before pulling it back out and waving it at Danny. All this, and she didn't bother to look up from the laptop. The halfa rolled his eyes. Okay, so they were intangible to everything and everyone except for each other. That didn't help anything.
Negative. Negative. Negative. Caleb growled under his breath as he pulled his hands back from the walls. If the half-ghost had come through the teleporter after him, then he should have at least tried to follow him around, even invisibly, which meant phasing through the walls of the ship and leaving a trail he could scan. But he got nothing. There wasn't a trace of ectomana anywhere! No ectomana, no Danny Phantom.
With a sigh, the android flopped onto the bed and then fell back against it, arms stretched out as he gazed up at the ceiling. So if he couldn't pick up Danny, did that mean that he really didn't exist? Then, where did the records come from?
"Something's going on. There are things that aren't quite right here." he muttered and rolled to one side, thinking it over.
He'd vanished from Earth two thousand years ago, and during that time Martel became twisted and enslaved the planet, then left to do the same to other worlds. To combat her, the Wonder Organization was recreated and turned into the Wonder Fleet, flying through space to fight Martel's Seeds and provide food for the worlds that didn't escape being sealed.
But that went against Martel's personality. Yes, she'd be sad and grieve the loss of her little brother, but the two of them had agreed long ago that no matter what happened, the world was to be kept safe and the beings on it free to live as they chose. Doing anything else would endanger the Yggdrasill Tree, since it needed the love and adoration of the people to survive, and last Caleb checked, enslaved people weren't exactly the happiest around.
"Somebody's lying to me." the redhead growled softly, and he couldn't help but yearn deep inside that it wasn't his dearest friend.
"Well, this is a bust." Sam sighed, her tone dry and flat. The teens had phased through the closed door of Caleb's room, leaving the android to rest while they explored the ship. She walked by Danny, her arms folded over her chest as she scowled at no one in particular. "Stuck in a level that practically caters to our guide's greatest wish, can't touch anything, no one can see us or hear us..." she went on grouchily, "This is like being in the Ghost Zone, but without the fun or the danger."
Valerie rolled her eyes, then glanced aside as they passed another room, its doors open. She halted, one hand reaching out to grab someone by the arm, in this case Jazz's, as she pointed into the room in shock. Jazz opened her mouth, ready to protest being grabbed, when she also spotted the interior of the room and stood still. The rest of Team Phantom walked ahead several more steps before realizing they were missing two people and headed back hurriedly.
"What happened?" Danny demanded, blinking as Jazz just pointed into the room, mirroring Valerie's earlier gesture. The halfa followed her outstretched arm and peered into the room, Sam and Tucker doing the same.
Inside, the room turned out to be a very large kitchen, the ship's galley, and various chefs and cooks were all busily cooking, preparing dishes, and reading off recipes. A line of cooks stood before the Wonder Chef, the blonde looking oddly smug and pleased with the people before him. Each cook held a dish in their hands, presenting their completed work to the young chef for judging. The sheer number of people, the varying types and presentations of food and meals, was all stunning to see.
"Look at all that food! And we can't eat any of it!" Tucker wailed, running in to marvel at the dishes more closely, eyes watering as if to burst into tears at any moment. He gave the Wonder Chef a vaguely jealous glare as the blonde tasted each dish and then gave a rundown of the food and preparation to the cook presenting it.
"He's got kind of a point." Sam agreed dubiously, looking over at Danny in concern, "Caleb's the one who carries the rations, all the ingredients for cooking. If we can't touch him, or get in touch with him, how are we going to eat? Fighting without food to give us energy or heal us is just a really bad idea." The halfa scowled a little in return, put off by those words for some reason.
"I can cook! I've done it a couple of times before, remember?" he protested and the Goth shrugged, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah... but you're not Wonder Chef level, and Caleb's still got the ingredients." she pointed out with a shrug. Jazz wandered the galley, marveling at the speed and efficiency of the cooks before tentatively touching one of the carrots set aside for use in some dish. When it wobbled slightly under that bit of contact, she squeaked and jumped back, eyes wide and growing larger when she realized she'd just passed through a cook rushing by with a beautiful cake.
"Danny~!" she began, hurrying away from the food to grip her brother's shoulders, oblivious to his now flat expression as Valerie went to join Tucker at the rapidly filling table full of food. "Danny! Danny!"
"WHAT?" the halfa finally exploded, throwing his arms out in exasperation.
"I can touch the food!" Jazz whispered to him excitedly. That caught the attentions of Sam and Danny, the only ones close enough to hear that whisper. The Goth directed this new knowledge towards the table of food, hurrying forward to join the huntress and techno-geek to share the tidbit and sneak out samples of the dishes left on the table.
Danny, on the other hand, had a new idea. They could touch food, but not people. Did that extend to utensils as well? He absently murmured for his sister to go ahead and eat, then floated over to delicately tap his fingertips against several spoons and forks, pots and pans, testing them. And it turned out that, yes, he could touch them. These things were solid and he could push the utensils around. When he was sure that no one was watching him, Danny reached out and picked up a spoon, twirling it around before setting it back down. He gave it a thoughtful look, one eyebrow raised.
He could touch ingredients, he could touch utensils; this meant he could cook, but what good was that? As much as Danny didn't like to admit it, Sam was right. He just didn't have the same skill that Wren did, couldn't make a dish that could heal a wound, or clear up a headache, or cure cancer or whatever.
How could touching food help him?
As he pondered on that train of thought, the Wonder Chef finished sampling the most recent dish, turned his glance aside at where Danny stood in thought... and let the corners of his lips turn up in a little smile.