A/N: I'm not dead or anything. This chapter is merely to let you know that I haven't given up on the TOS fandom just yet. The final chapter of HoC is roughly 50 percent done and should be uploaded by the end of the week, provided life doesn't run me over again. After that, the only stories left for the fandom will be the Wonder Chef/Caleb series and when those end, that's it. No more TOS stories from me. So, here's a little bit for Bittersweet and thanks so much for being so patient with me. HoC will be done soon. Those waiting for UoS, it's on the way as well.

Ch 4

Pepper lifted her head in sudden interest, watching the three Dark Chef grunts struggling to carry a large crate and stuff it into one of the ECs waiting outside the building. Her ears pricked forward as the crate disappeared and joined the hundreds of others in the fleet of Elemental Cargos. She cocked her head and looked to the food bank in expectation. There was no sign of danger, but no sign of good news either. Whimpering slightly, she sat back down, waiting for her guardian to come out and rejoin her. Caleb never took so long in any area by himself, so this was very worrying. She thought about probing the building, just to see if he was still working on things, but she thought of the strength of her probes when trying to get someone's attention and decided against it, figuring she might accidentally hit someone else with that force.

Up on the rooftop where he had left, Wren reappeared in a blast of smoke and looked down at the food bank. He cried out in surprise as the Elemental Cargos began to move out, motoring along in a single file line as the Papal Knights gave them clearance to leave.

"No! What's going on?! They weren't supposed to leave until the morning!" he exclaimed and hurried to a balcony on the mansion. He leaped down to it agilely, then jumped from there to another, then to the ground. "Pepper!" A copse of trees near the food bank produced a furry white head as the mana beast looked out at him and whistled in worry. Wren ran up to her and entered the copse, spotting the spoon and shield left on the ground. "Pepper, where's Caleb?! Why are the Elemental Cargos leaving now?! Why isn't he stopping this?!" he cried out in a panic. Pepper whistled in a low tone, ears drooping as she slumped in guilt. She looked over at the food bank as the last of the ECs departed. Wren followed her gaze, then burst out of the copse towards the building.

The Papal Knights saw him running and lowered their halberds, ready to meet his blind charge. Wren skidded to a halt and gulped as the group began to stomp towards him.

"Pepper! Help!" he called and the mana beast leaped out with a shriek of anger, wings spread as she planted herself beside the chef. The knights stopped in shock at the sight of such a large white beast screeching at them.

"What's that monster?!" they wailed and scattered as Pepper breathed her illusory flames at them. Wren cheered and ran ahead to the building.

"Thanks, Pepper! Scan the building and let me know if Caleb's inside!" he called back and disappeared into the food bank.

The interior of the building looked almost chaotic, with crates shoved out of place and skid marks on the floor. Wren walked through the aisles, calling out Caleb's name as he searched. His anxiety over the doll's safety grew as time passed and no sign of Caleb emerged.

Finally, Wren's attention was caught by the sight of three coin-sized holes in a wall. On closer investigation, he found a strip of green cloth buried in the center hole. He pulled it free and studied it carefully.

"What in the world is...?" Wren murmured in confusion and winced suddenly as Pepper projected an image into his mind with more force than necessary. A room with only him standing in it, it was the best the mana beast could think of to express an empty building. "So Caleb's not in here at all? Well, where the hell could he be?! The Dark Chefs are racing out of here like...!" He stopped and stared at the green strip in growing realization. "...Like they've been found out! I recognize this green now! This is from Caleb's coat! And those holes are from a fork!" Wren pulled down the Wonder Fork and slid it into the impressions, "A fork built to match the Wonder Fork! Only DuGorge would be nuts enough to get one made to copy it! Whatever happened here could not have been good for Caleb!" He threw down the scrap of cloth and raced for the exit, sure now of what had happened.

Caleb kept his eyes lit on the damaged circuitry in his body as he used the tool kit in his pouch to repair them. What he couldn't salvage in his own body, the doll patched with pieces of machinery from a Cybit, bits of the drone that he had carried since he had visited the Iselia Ranch weeks ago. Each time he touched a live circuit by accident, he would receive a shock to the system and cry out painfully. The first time it happened, Caleb yelled in surprise that he could actually feel that. Now, as he learned to associate the shocks with the strange sensation of extreme unpleasantness called pain, he began to understand what it really was like to be alive.

"Why now, of all times?" he sighed and pulled the tool away for what he hoped would be the last time. He tried to move his legs, and cheered as they responded. They weren't at full strength but at least they moved. Caleb pressed his hands against the walls of the crate next and tested the strength of the wood. It was solid and he could hear the sounds of other crates jostled against his. Breaking out of his prison would only bring the rest of the cargo down on him, possibly doing more damage than he could repair, or worse. Resting in the makeshift nest of straw, the doll sighed in resignation and began to focus on his sister.

"Martel? Can you hear me? I need a message sent to Pepper." he called out.

"Pepper and Adam are currently chasing after a group of Elemental Cargos that is bound for the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. I'll give them both the message." the goddess answered. Caleb frowned.

"What? The Cargos are in motion? Ah, that explains the movement I've been feeling." he muttered and sighed, "Well, tell them that the scheme we've uncovered is being spearheaded by DuGorge. Also, that I was kinda captured and am now being sent to the Dark Chefs' home base for interrogation."

"Interrogation?"

"Yeah. Somewhere along the way I think I wound up with what might be the Ultimate Recipe and these guys want to poke in my brain to try and get it out. Only problem is, I don't know the Ultimate Recipe! I don't even know for sure that's what I erased, because I can't remember what I deleted! That's the point of it all!"

"I'll deliver the message. Once you have the ability to do so, I want you to go to Lloyd's house and speak to him about carving a few stone settings into Pepper's bell. Then come talk to me in the meadow. I'll have a gift for you." Martel replied and her voice faded from Caleb. The doll shifted in the crate and sighed.

"I'm never traveling coach." Caleb muttered and tried to get a bit of rest.

Pepper was boiling mad at the idea that her guardian and friend had been stolen from right under her nose. After stomping about and setting the copse aflame with a larger variation of Lethal Flora, she projected the image of Wren riding on her back in a search and rescue to the blonde chef.

"I know. I want to go out and rescue him, too. But, I have to stay here and wait until the other Wonder Cooks come." Wren explained. Pepper snorted and eyed his hat almost viciously. Wren yelped and held it down with one hand. "No, not again! Not the hat!" The rescue image came again. "Okay, okay! I'll contact Father and tell him to reroute the Wonder Cooks towards the bridge." he acquiesced, "You can be very persuasive when you want to, you know?"

"Adam! This is Martel! Can you hear me?" the voice of the Spirit of the Mana Tree called out. Wren jumped and looked around warily. "I was once called Tabatha, older sister to Caleb, remember? I have a message for you and Peppermint FireBlossom." Pepper clacked and seemed to calm down at the sound of her voice."Caleb is all right for the moment. The Dark Chef Alliance is responsible for the shipment of the seasonings, which was collected under the guise of being a peace offering to Iselia."

"So, they weren't going to hijack the food! They set this up so the people of Meltokio would fund them by mistake!" Wren cried in shock.

"Yes. Caleb was captured alive only because their leader DuGorge discovered that he was an automated doll and believes he holds all of the information in the Wonder Archive, including the Ultimate Recipe you possess." Martel went on. Wren groaned and sat back, shaking his head.

"Oh no. This is all my fault, then! I'm the one who gave him the Recipe, but Caleb erased his memory of it! He used to know it, but he doesn't anymore!" he exclaimed and looked glumly at the ground, "If I hadn't become friends with him, Caleb would never have gotten into the dangers he's in now."

"It is not your fault, Adam. And if you hadn't met Caleb, you would have most certainly died in Gaoracchia Forest." Martel scolded and sighed, "Currently, Caleb is being taken to the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge for shipment to the Dark Chef Alliance's home base, where he will be interrogated for the knowledge he possesses on the Wonder Organization."

"Thanks for the message, Martel. Pepper! We're going to rescue Caleb!" Wren declared and dug into his own travel pack, bringing out a small disc of shining gold. He pressed his thumb against the rim and it popped open to reveal a mini-projector. "Father! It's me! I have news of the Dark Chefs!" he called. Moments later, a small projection of Estéfan appeared to hover over the base of the disc.

"What is your situation, Adam?" the elderly chef asked in concern.

"The Dark Chef Alliance has taken the Elemental Cargos ahead of schedule. Have the Wonder Cooks try to intercept them before they can reach the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. They must not board those ships at all costs!" Wren urged.

"Has something happened?"

"DuGorge kidnapped Caleb to try and steal his copy of the Wonder Archive. I have to rescue him!"

"The Dark Chefs already have a majority of our information in regards to recipes and legends. Is there something else Caleb has in his possession that would warrant a kidnapping?" Estéfan questioned in confusion. Wren paled and quickly shut off the projector, clapping the disc shut and stuffing it into his pack.

"If I don't speak, I can't lie." he murmured and looked up at Pepper, "Let's go, Pepper!" The mana beast knelt to let him climb on, then raced after the cooling trail of the Elemental Cargos.

DuGorge rode in one of the Cargos as it proceeded down the road to the bridge. Meltokio was already fading in the distance and he could taste the upcoming victory already.

It was too salty.

"You call this filet mignon?!" he snapped at the servant who had brought him the meal, "It's not fit to feed a starving cat! Get out of my sight!" He sat back and frowned, then smiled as he remembered the extra cargo on his vehicle. "It won't matter soon anyway. Once I have the Ultimate Recipe, everything else will fall into place." After a moment of self-gloating, he looked back at the retreating city and noticed something speeding towards the fleet of ECs. "Hmm. Looks like more unwanted guests. Leo!" DuGorge ordered as he turned to the Dark Chef grunt who sat on the vehicle as a guard, "Get off here and stand watch over the road! Don't let whoever is coming get through! Do what you can to stop them!"

"Got it, Master Chef." Leo grumbled and picked up his immense salad fork, jumping off the Elemental Cargo to land in the road, unharmed amazingly enough.

Down in the cargo hold, Caleb was trying to figure out how to deal with the fact that he was shoved into a wooden crate that didn't allow much in the way of leg room. He kicked at the walls, punched at the lid, and yelled until he couldn't stand the sound of his own voice.

"Wren, Pepper, I hope you find me soon." the doll murmured.

Pepper came to a halt and blinked at the cook that blocked her way, wielding a giant fork and looking as if he wanted to run her down with it. Wren looked around her head to see what had happened and yelped at the sight of the bulky cook.

"That's a Dark Chef agent!" he exclaimed and hopped off of the mana beast, "Leave this to me, Pepper!" He ran ahead to face the cook that stood between him and the dust cloud that marked the receding trail of Elemental Cargos.

"Master Chef says no one goes through." Leo growled, "That means you, little Wonder Cook!"

"Wonder Chef, you meat-head!" Wren shouted, waving his fork at the man, "Can't you tell the difference between me and the other Wonder Cooks?!"

"The Master Chef says you don't have the skills to be called the Wonder Chef. So, you're a Wonder Cook."

"That's it! Cooking battle! Here and now!" Wren yelled back in a fury, free hand shaking viciously at the behemoth before him, "No one gets away with stalling and insulting me at the same time!"

"If I out-cook you, then I'll get a real chef's hat and become second-in-command to the Dark Chef Alliance!" Leo laughed, "Okay! Then the recipe is... Okonomiyaki Explosion!" Wren scowled angrily, bringing the Wonder Fork up as a spear.

"That's one of the Wonder Recipes! How dare you defile it and turn simple pancakes into an explosive!" he yelled. The Dark Chef was already working on the preparations of the recipe. Wren quickly began his own, mind racing through the steps as he checked each ingredient in his pack for freshness and flavor. Next came the frying and cooking, done on portable metal plates for that purpose. Pepper helped Wren out by carefully feeding the flame with her breath and making sure she focused the ends of it where they would be best used.

"Now, for the duel!" Leo declared and both cooks slid the end dish onto their forks, standing back to back in the road, "Walk ten paces, turn and fire! Slowest launcher gets to be fried to a crisp in hell!"

"Fine with me." Wren muttered, "One!" They walked forward one step. "Two!" They walked another. The count continued as Pepper stood by with her paws over her eyes and wings trembling with anticipation. Finally, the cooks reached the tenth count, then spun around to hurl the food at one another. "Ten! Hiiyah!" Wren yelled and used the force of spinning to sling the dish ahead of him.

"Booyah!"Leo roared, launching his own with an underhand swing that sent it flying. Both dishes exploded a few seconds apart in a massive black cloud of dust and debris. Pepper shrieked, jumping back in surprise before beating her wings to blow the dark smoke and dust away. She stepped ahead gingerly as the cloud began to dissipate, searching for her friend.

Wren lay on one side just past a crater in the earth, covered in dust and slight burns. The Wonder Fork had fallen from his hand and he seemed too still and quiet for the mana beast's liking. Pepper trotted over and whistled softly, nudging the blonde's cheek daintily before giving him an experimental lick. Wren winced and blinked his eyes open, looking aside at her.

"Ouch. I never knew... okonomiyaki... could do that..." he murmured and sat up, shaking his hair free of small pebbles and dirt. He rubbed his head, winced again at the throbbing pain, then picked up the fork and walked over to Leo.

The Dark Chef agent was lying fast asleep in the road and didn't budge even after Wren kicked at his leg experimentally. Unlike Leo's straight out, brute force dish and attack, Wren opted for a recipe that would do only what he needed and nothing more. A sleep-inducing ingredient mixed into the dish coupled with the speed of the spin to launch it directly into Leo's face was all it took to knock out the big cook and throw off his aim to avoid the lethal blow. Wren grinned and gave him another small kick.

"Serves you right for messing with a Wonder Chef." he gloated and climbed back onto Pepper's back, "Let's go, Pepper! We don't have much time left!"