As the gang free fell, they felt their bodies suddenly stop. Quin had saved their lives. She slithered from the Octopusukia and clung to the cliff as quickly as possible. The impact of the strain however was enough to rip a piece of her body. It was a sound that Éclair or the others wouldn't soon forget. The woman cringed at both the sight and the sound of it. As they stood in such a vulnerable position, that's when the fiends rushed in. Sausage Torpedo was what they were called. Biting and ripping the Mother Snake apart, they she couldn't hold on forever. ~But she knew the sudden death they were up against, and that was enough motivation for her to hang on. The woman wanted to do something desperately, but she knew she'd be of no help at all.
Not long after, help had come. Kiss and Terry had come out to help their training partner. Éclair saw a little pink ball in her peripheral vision. She grabbed the wing, "Poof Ball no!" Holding him against her as means of protection, she probably had just saved his life. The little wall penguin was going to head straight for a beast that was an even higher class than the Sausage Torpedo's. The woman was shaking in her little boots from this new world. What a welcoming party she thought, but clearly she was the only one. Zebra stood from his chair, "How boring is this? I'm gonna go to sleep inside." She shook her head, "Don't let boredom get the best of you too quickly." She pointed at the strange floating faces surrounding them. Smoke began to shroud, and with it took Toriko and Coco. "No!" The woman screamed, but it was too late. It was so fast that it was out of Sunny's range in a matter of seconds.
The woman saw his face as he was lifted away. He didn't seem panicked at all. In fact, he was still giving orders. Zebra fired off his Voice Missile at the surrounding beasts, and Éclair sighed. "Fighting is all well and good, but shouldn't you help Toriko and Coco?" Zebra shook his head, "Think of the worst scenario here. We need to avoid getting wiped out. If I went with them, there would be a chance of that happening." Sunning nodded in agreement, "He's right. We don't know our opponent her in the Gourmet World. They'll be okay." "You're right Sunny." The blond woman went to pick up the tray again. "Let's see if any data has been transmitted." She shook the tray irritably, "Damn, this fog is messing everything up!" "I can't even use my echolocation." "That's why I used my hair remote to keep a tracker on them. They'll be alright."
The woman sat down, "Well what do we do now? Wait until they come back?" Sunny fell silent for a moment. Éclair looked over at the man, "What? What happened?" "This is bad." Those were words she didn't want to hear, but at the same time, she knew they were coming. Her eyes looked back at the tray in her hand, "I just got sent some data. What is this!?" Sunny grunted, "They're surrounded!" She continued to look at the information on the screen. She was shocked at what was happening. Then new information appeared, and things began to make sense. "Soy Milk Road, capture level 487!?" Sunny nodded, "I know, they were surrounded by them from the beginning, and there are a hell of a lot of them." She clenched the tray in her hand. Her palms were so sweaty that if she wasn't holding on so tight it would have slipped right out. She had to remember though, this is the Gourmet World, and even predators become prey.
She took her eyes off of the screen for but a moment and noticed there were no more surrounding clouds. "We're~ on the ground?" She set the tray down, "Look there's Toriko! Hey! You scared me for a second!" As the men made their way up, the blunette explained. "It was all just an illusion. I got rid of him using Ultimate Routine. I showed him something that was sort of real." The woman pulled on her partner's shirt, "Wait a second! It was all fake!?" She looked over at Zebra, "Is that why you were bored? You could have let me know! I would take boredom over fear any day!" The man shrugged, "Yep, and now I'm hungry." She stood proud, "Well I'm just glad everyone is okay. Let's not let that ingredient go to waste. I'm sure Zebra's not the only one who's hungry. Kick up your feet boys. I'm gonna feed you."
The woman was again contributing to her being on this journey. She cooked up a fervent meal, and readied the men to eat. "Okay, the Tounyuudou is finished! I made it many different ways, so pick your favorite and chow down." They all put their hands together. "I give thanks for the vast bounty this world provides, now let's eat." The woman smiled, "Terry, Kiss, Quin, Poof Ball, eat up! You too Octo-chan!" She sighed as she looked down at her bowl, "It was so hard to leave my sister in Human World. ~But it's moments like this where I can eat among friends that remind me it was worth it." She quickly broke out of the sentimentality and pointed. "Look at this pot I used! It's big huh?" Sunny raised an eyebrow at the cookware, "Yes, actually I was just going to ask you where you got it from." "It was inside Octo-chan if you can believe it! It totally worked out too~ be~ cause.." Her words faded out as she heard the screeching of a car, and a sight she'd never beheld before.
She rubbed her blue eyes thoroughly, "At the risk of sounding stupid~ does anyone else see a frog driving a frog car?" The frog hopped out of the car and began, "Gero. Gerrou ngero gero gero gero." The woman pointed, "Wow! It really is a frog driving a frog car, and now it's speaking frog! ~But the weirdest thing is that it actually believes we can understand it." The frog sighed, "Oh right. Sorry, sometimes I forget I am speaking frog." Toriko pointed, "You're that frog I saw before! I'm sure of it." He nodded, "Yes, allow me to introduce myself. My name is gero gerogero gero." Éclair shook her head, "He really doesn't grasp the concept of language well." "Sorry about that again. My name is Mappy, and I am from Bewitching Food World. This is my car Careru. Nice to meet you. I came here to meet you guys on the Daruma Hermit's ordeeeers. So what I'm trying to say is gerogerrou gero gerrogero~" The blond grew impatient with this language barrier very quickly, "What the hell is wrong with you!? Speak our language Mappy! You clearly know how!"
Zebra's ears held onto a familiar name, "Daruma Hermit? What's that old senile man of the Bewitching Food World want?" Éclair remembered for a moment of Zebra's full course, "That's right, you have Daruma Hermit's Tribute on your full course yes?" Coco nodded, "And if I can recall, you borrowed his horse." Mappy continued, "Daruma Hermit iiis the chief of our villaaage." Éclair clasped her hands in excitement, "Ooh, Bewitching Food World. That's where Mr. Brunch is from." "Yes he's waiting there with his nose outstretched." The woman began to prance around, "How exciting! I can't wait to try the food there. Let's go!" Mappy looked at the group, "So what shall I do? Shall I guide you there." Toriko nodded, "Well Chichi said when we're lost we should follow our appetites. We're following you Mappy!"
They all hopped back on Octo-chan and were ready to embark once again. "Follow Careru!" The car was not large, but it was fast as it left everyone in the dust. Éclair screamed out, "Go Octo-chan! Go!" Mappy began to relax as he went along for the ride. "This island, Yutou, it's a maze. It's even difficult when the mist clears. Especially at night." Éclair sat next to the man, "Are the nights here really that bad?" "There is a big difference between night and day because night is when the Eight Kings become active." The woman shuttered, "Sends a chill up my spine to even think about that. Knowing how powerful Terry, Kiss, and Quinn are only furthers my fear. They are the descendants of the greats, but they're still just kids." Suddenly the kings felt that same chill Éclair felt, only much more magnified. Toriko looked around "That aura." As his eyes gazed off the side of Octo-chan, he noticed something that could only be described as other worldy. A hoof print that was multiple times bigger than the Octopusukia.
Mappy looked at the print, "This continent Area 8 is where the Horse king Heracles rules over. That is his footprint from several thousand years ago. It's just a dead space now where the footprint is. Depending on the king and their mood, their footprint can become flower beeeds or beautifle laaaakes. The Eight Kings are the apex predators of their respected area's in Gourmet World, and when they get moving, that becomes Gourmet World's night."
The woman began to fan herself, "Thanks for that information Mappy. I think I need a seat~ and water~ and possible medicine to calm my nerves." "During the nights the beasts become stronger too. There are ways to make the trips significantly easier though. Gourmet Highways. They don't cover all of Gourmet World, and even still there are places within them that are exceptionally dangerous." Toriko pondered the man's words, "When Éclair and I were in the Gourmet World for that year and a half, it was by no means an easy journey, but we may have entered one of those Highways when we followed along the rest spots."
"Without food luck you would not be able to simply stumble upon the Gourmet Highways. ~And I am talking about exceptional food luck. They all link to seven civilizations that once existed in the Gourmet Wooorld. One of those still remains here in Area 8. Bewitching Food World." Éclair rubbed her hands together, "Highway or no highway, I'm ready for whatever this world's got." Mappy pointed, "Glad you're feeling enthused, because it looks like the Gold Swamp is in sight. It links Yutou Island and Area 8. Once we pass the swamp we'll finally reach the main islaaand where Bewitching Food World is locateeed."
Both Sunny and Éclair relished in all of the glory of the swamp. "Why would they call this place a swamp? It's so beautiful." Sunny nodded, "It truly is." "Gero! Geroeeee!" The woman turned around, "What is it Mappy, you're speaking Froglish, or Frognese, or Frogese or whatever the hell it's called. What's wrong?" He pointed, "Steel Clouds are descending! We can't dive under either! If we do, we're certain to die. We'll just have to hurry and cross before the Iron Foot comes down." They all looked up and saw a literal iron foot crashing down. There were hundreds maybe even thousands of these iron feet coming down. Éclair held her position so she wouldn't fall over. She heard the sound of another frog, and Careru as back. He looked a bit upset that Octo-chan wasn't able to keep up, but now wasn't the time for attitudes.
Mappy pointed, "Everyone into Careru, we're going inside the Octopus!" As everyone went in, to their surprise, Octo-chan was very spacious and roomy on the inside. It was like a mansion. Éclair looked through a window, "I wish we would have known about this before. We could have traveled much more comfortably." Mappy panted on the ground, "There's no hope for us now. Weeere doomed." The woman scratched her head, "Wow, it's usually me that's the pessimist, but you've beat me to it. Can't Octo-chan just swim the rest of the way?" The frog shook his head, "No. It's impossible. The only way through underwater is in a giant cave the gold dust flows through. It is nicknamed the Gold Labyrinth. Once you enter, you can never come out. There is no record of anyone ever making it through." Toriko looked toward the frog, "Well we can always wait until the storm has died down right?" "Nope, it won't stop for another few yeeeears. Plus it is impossible to resist the flow. We're already being sucked in."
Éclair took off her backpack and began to read an old magazine, "Whelp, I guess we'll just have to let the flow do its job. ~Ooh, celebrities without their makeup. I knew it wasn't a mistake to read this. ~Yikes!" As she read she noticed everyone looking at her, "Why is everyone looking at me? I only brought one magazine okay, so you can read it when I'm done." Toriko shook his head, "No! Didn't you just hear Mappy? The only way through this maze is by someone who is blessed with luck. It's your time to shine." She'd set the magazine down and smirk, "Oh hell yeah! I'm finally needed for something. ~Um, but I'm not good at puzzles." Coco looked at a map on the wall, "Seems like there's a pilot cabin for operating Octo-chan. Let's head there."
The woman sat in the chair and cracked her knuckles, "Alright! ~I'm clueless. I can't believe you guys want me to pilot this big ass melon!" Toriko put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Éclair. We'll be right here, and we'll help you as much as we can." "Thanks guys. Hey Zebra, can ya tell me what I'm up against? Your map does work here right?" The man nodded, "Yeah, it's a real maze. This cave is worth taking on, so make sure you guide us right girl." She nodded, "Sure, sure. Leave it to me. Now where's a control stick thingy. Is there a steering wheel or~" Coco pointed, "Here." She grabbed on, "Okay! For my first trick, I think I'll take~ a~" "It's right!" Toriko yelled out. "I see strong electromagnetic waves coming from there." "Muffin, it's right!" Zebra pointed, "No it's left!"
The woman raised a hand, "I need quiet!" She impulsively pulled it in any direction and was led straight to the mouth of a beast. Mappy sighed, "This is what I was afraid of. We're gonna die." She swatted the men away, "Hey, right now you four put me in charge, so let me do my job!" Even still her words fell on deaf ears. They gave her control, but that didn't mean they wouldn't still try to go in the direction they wanted.
Still running into certain obstacles, they were alive and well. Along the way they were able to pick up many treasures from dead ends and such. Their nerves were a bit shaken, but so long as blood was still flowing through their veins, they were fine. Coco pointed, "Look!" "Is it the surface!?" Toriko yelled out. Éclair smiled, "Let's hope so! Come on Octo-chan! Please tell me that's the surface!" Octo-chan jumped out and sure enough it was the surface. Éclair fell back out of her seat and onto the floor, "I'm so exhausted and quite frankly, I'm terrified." She pulled on the pant leg of Toriko, "It's your turn to lead again kay?" He picked the girl up off the ground and embraced her tightly, "You did it Éclair!" "Muffin, your food luck is really something!" She shrugged, "I still have no idea how the mechanics of food luck works, but yay!"
She jumped out of the grasp of Toriko as they felt something rock Octo-chan. Mappy excitedly hopped off the ground, "We're in Gigantic Rain, also nicknamed Megarain. Every kind of rain falls here." Coco looked out "If it's just water Octo-chan should be fine. He should feel refreshed actually." Éclair sighed, "Speaking of refreshed, "I say we all take a hot bath and eat. ~Well, I'm not gonna take a bath while you guys are in there, that's absurd. This naked body only gets the viewing pleasure of one person. ~Me." Toriko looked at the woman, "Éclair~" "I know what you're gonna say, you've seen me naked before, and I'm overreactin~" "Actually I was going to say you didn't need to explain." "Sure you were. Anyway. Let's get a bit more relaxed shall we?"
After eating a meal and of course taking a long bath, Éclair sat back at the top of Octo-chan and enjoyed the weather. Mappy pointed, "Look there is the entrance to my hometown, Bewitching Food World. It's finally in sight." Éclair took a quick glance, but then turned her attention away again. She looked at the ring on her finger. She could find herself gazing at it for hours if she could. Vanilla's precious wedding band was tightly strapped around Éclair's finger, and it gave her a great sense of power and bravery like no one would believe. "Nilly, I promise you I won't lose my way~ not until my final breath of air."