Ch 5

DuGorge glared at the dust cloud in the distance. Something in his gut told him that the Wonder Chef was the cause of that explosion and that Leo had failed to stop him. Or maybe it was the cream stew he had a bit ago. Either way, it was another few hours before the bridge would be in sight and he couldn't afford to have this part of his master plan ruined so soon.

"Sauri! You're next! Stop that meddling little brat of a cook! He's probably after us to get his little friend back." he ordered the lithe little cook. She nodded and leaped off the Elemental Cargo, spinning like a ballerina into the air with her long gold teaspoon acting as a flying blade in concert with her knee-length ponytail. She hovered for a few seconds, then gently landed, waiting for her opponent to come to her. DuGorge sat back and smiled, tapping his fingertips together.

"Knowing that little baby Adam is coming for this doll is proof that it is holding the Ultimate Recipe!" he remarked happily, "At last! I shall finally have what was denied to my family for so many generations! The Recipe that should have belonged to us!"

The noonday sun hung high overhead as Pepper raced to keep the line of Elemental Cargos in sight. Wren wasn't used to flying and the mana beast's flight speed wasn't as fast as her land speed, something she had worked out by playing so many games of Fetch when she was earthbound. To milk out every bit of speed she could, Pepper imagined the cargo holding Caleb hostage was a giant ball that she had to fetch for Wren. The Wonder Chef hung on tightly, eyes shut and face turned away from the wind as Pepper sped on, a white and red blur against the green of the grasses and trees.

Once again, Pepper had to stop suddenly, paws and claws digging large trenches into the earth as she came upon another Dark Chef standing before her. She gave a small shriek of annoyance as Wren dismounted to see what was going on now. The girl ahead only smiled, the spoon in her hand set into the earth like a staff that reached above her head. She was petite, smaller than Wren, and looked almost elfish.

"Agh, not another one!" Wren groaned in exasperation, "Listen, you! I've got no beef with you, so get out of our way!" The Dark Chef agent laughed as she pulled out something small from her pocket.

"That's funny! Really!" she giggled and popped the item into her mouth, chewing a few times before swallowing. "I love having my Sugar Speeder candies! You'll learn to hate them, though! Ready to get cooking?" Wren blinked and went defensive, bringing his fork up to block as Pepper darted aside to watch and cheer for the blonde cook.

"What are you up to, you little creep?" he murmured. The girl laughed and held her spoon horizontally.

"My name is Sauri, and you'll be feeling sorry soon enough! Here I come, sweetheart, don't blink!" Sauri cried and darted forward. In a flash, she seemed to dissolve into the air. Wren cried in shock, then again in pain as the back of the golden spoon slammed against his shoulders, throwing him forward. "You blinked!" He stumbled ahead a few steps, then spun around with a gasp, staring in confusion at the little cook.

"H-how?" Wren exclaimed. Sauri smiled brightly.

"I was always the fastest cook in Sybak, and my natural grace and agility let me stay on top as the fastest and best!" she replied, then took on a darkly vicious expression, "Then one day, some idiot came to Sybak and was hired at a rival restaurant to cook for them. Suddenly, everyone was going to him to eat! Why? I was the fastest! I got everyone their dishes in record time! I could make miso stew so fast, it's still burning hot when it reaches those pathetic non-chef customers!"

"A cook in Sybak...?" Wren whispered, "Could it have been... Caleb?"

"I joined the Dark Chef Alliance to prove to the world that my speed and agility in cooking makes me Queen of the Kitchen! And I'll start by using my candy-enhanced speed to turn your insides into milk pudding!" Sauri declared and ran after Wren once more.

"Candy-enhanced...?Yow!" the blonde cried and dodged aside as the woman slammed down the end of her spoon and vaulted into the air. She twirled in mid-air to change her direction, then shot downwards, still spinning tightly as she slammed him again. Both cooks tumbled across the earth but Sauri was the first to rise, spinning in the earth to send herself spiraling onto her feet. Wren curled up painfully, gasping as the Dark Chef raced around the clearing to regain her top speed before leaping up to slam him again.

"You've baked your last shortcake, Wonder Chef!" she laughed and dove after him. Wren waited a moment, then quickly rolled aside, letting Sauri slam into the earth as he snatched up the Wonder Fork and darted away to recuperate.

"Speed in cooking isn't everything! If you don't take time to really cook your meals and prepare them as the people wish, then your food will never be as good as it could be!" he told the girl as she struggled to climb to her feet. "You have to put your heart into it!"

"I'll put your heart into my hand and add that to my victory feast!" Sauri hissed and shot forward, swinging the teaspoon wildly. Wren yelped in surprise and brought his fork over defensively again, blocking only a few of the many strikes that pummeled him. With a sudden swing to the side, Sauri knocked the blonde chef to the ground once again, then leapt back to gain distance and speed for her final strike. "For gourmet glory, meet your Baker in the name of the DuGorge Family!" she cried and launched herself into the air for one last drill slam, her body twisting and spinning faster.

Pepper had barely made the decision to interfere with the battle when a white and gold blur shot out from the trees, leaped up after Sauri and slammed into her, sending the lithe little Dark Chef tumbling away in screams. Wren gasped painfully as he managed to sit up and take in the scene.

Standing protectively over him was a young woman in white chef's clothes, the pants replaced with a loose white skirt, knee-length boots of soft leather, and long, shimmering golden hair held back with a white barrette at the nape of her neck. In one hand she held an arm-length silver teaspoon as if it was a rapier. Though she lacked the chef's hat, it was clear that the woman was a Wonder Cook. Wren pressed a hand against his throbbing side and blinked.

"Eve?" he whispered in shock as the woman turned to look at him, her bangs swept aside to hide one of a pair of large, deep blue eyes framed with elegant eyelashes. She smiled cheerfully, as if oblivious to how close the chef had been to almost certain death.

"Buon giorno, Twin! I bet you didn't expect to see me like this!" she exclaimed. Wren stood up, Wonder Fork in hand once more.

"Wha-... what are you doing here? I thought you were still modeling in Meltokio!" he went on, unable to understand what his sister was doing in a Wonder Cook uniform. Eve winked with a giggle.

"Daddy said you needed help rescuing your friend and stopping those mean old Dark Chefs, so I suited up, grabbed a spoon and told him I was finally gonna be who I really am deep down inside!" she declared, "A dietician!" Wren's face went blank.

"A meal-planner. It's perfect for you." he muttered in a flat tone. He shook his head clear and grinned. "Well, it's great to see you've finally accepted your heritage of being a Wonder Cook! Now, let's get this speed freak and save Caleb!" he added with a thumb's-up. Sauri got to her feet and fumed at Eve.

"You little witch! Nobody outspeeds me! I'll fry you into a tart first, then haul your has-been brother to DuGorge for a promotion to Queen of the Culinary World!" she screamed and shot after the blonde cook. Eve smiled and leaped up, somersaulting into the air before diving down to intercept Sauri, kicking her spoon aside with a downward sweep of her leg to throw her off balance.

"Get moving, Adam! I'll handle this! You have to stop the Dark Chefs from taking over the world and giving everyone fattening food!" Eve declared, looking over her shoulder at her brother. She winked and blew him a kiss, "Take that to your cute friend! Good luck and bon appétit!"

"Bon appétit, Eve! Thank you!" Wren cried and leaped onto Pepper once again, "Come on, Pepper! Hurry!" The mana beast shrieked out and raced off again, tearing up the highway as she did her best to regain lost time.

DuGorge stopped facing forward after a few minutes of watching Sauri drop out of view. The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge was just up ahead, and the half dozen ships were waiting to receive the shipments of food and supplies. Everything was almost set, but the Master Chef couldn't stand the idea that something would ruin the whole plan at the last moment. He looked over at his final lieutenant, the best of the three he had brought along on the venture.

"Darla, I want you to get off here and make sure nothing gets by you, understand?" he ordered. The woman turned and smiled at him, the same mad look she had on her face since the day her own Exsphere had been discovered to be faulty and was removed. "Nothing gets by here. Nothing!" DuGorge emphasized.

"This'll be fun! I get to tenderize this one, right?" Darla asked hopefully.

"Tenderize, marinade and leave overnight for roasting. Do the works, Darla, as only you can do!" the Dark Chef encouraged and grinned as the woman cheered and leaped off the Elemental Cargo, her cleavers in her hands. With her standing guard over the road, DuGorge felt much more secure and sat back to relax, smiling at the victory that would soon be his.

--

Down in the cargo hold, Caleb was pressing the Sorcerer's Ring Altessa had made for him against the wall of the crate. Firing its tiny flames continuously, the doll was slowly burning a hole in the wood. What he hoped to accomplish doing so was beyond him, but it was something to do.

Pepper gave an annoyed shriek as she halted once again, glaring at the woman standing before her with sharp cleavers in her hands. Wren sighed as he slid down to face the new opponent.

"Look, I've dealt with the first brute, my sister is dealing with Sauri... why don't you just step aside and let us pass?" he told the Dark Chef agent. The woman was smiling. Her expression hadn't changed as Wren spoke, which was slightly unnerving. "Um, ma'am? Did you hear what I said?" Wren called out. She kept smiling and Wren grew anxious for some kind of response. "Miss?" he tried again.

"The Master Chef said nothing passes me. I get to tenderize you! I love working with fresh meat." Darla finally remarked with a happy laugh, "I live to tenderize and chop meat up real good!" Wren blinked and stepped back cautiously.

"Oh great, a butcher. And a creepy one, too." he muttered, "So, what are you called?"

"Darla! Name's Darla, and I'm gonna chop you good!" the woman screamed and hurled both cleavers at him. Wren yelled in shock and darted aside as Pepper went airborne to avoid the blades. "Hold still! Meat turns gamey when they run!" Darla shouted as she whipped out more of the large knives and began throwing them one after another.

"Yahh! Stop!" Wren wailed, racing around to dodge the cleavers and assorted other knives the woman had in excess. Pepper set herself down and watched in shock as the mad woman ran after Wren, throwing all kinds of sharp things at him, from chef's knives to pizza cutters. Most of the blades were missing him entirely, but one nicked his arm and Wren halted to check the damage.

"Now, let's chop you into bite-sized bits!" Darla laughed as she ran for him, a butcher knife in one fist. Pepper shrieked and threw her Ascension power at her, holding Darla back as she delved into her mind to change her target. Something strange, something that the mana beast could only think of as a bubble, suddenly bounced her power off. In shock, Pepper jumped back, blinking as Wren bolted at the sound of her shriek, narrowly dodging Darla's attack. Pepper snorted and went back to focusing on the woman as she continued racing after the Wonder Chef, hurling a fresh wave of cleavers and knives after him. Again that strange bubble surrounding Darla's form pushed back. Pouting, the mana beast tried it again, sending her power up against the bubble in an attempt to not only figure out what this weird thing was that definitely did not belong, but also make it go away. The bubble pushed harder, then suddenly seemed to expand and swallow Pepper up.

Pepper found herself standing on a dusty landscape in a world of utter darkness, blinking in surprise. This had never happened before. She checked her limbs, swished her tail, flapped her wings and wiggled her ears. Everything seemed to work. Confused, the mana beast walked on, sniffing around in hopes of finding something familiar.

Up ahead was something dark and ominous. Pepper's fur began rising on end as she lifted her head in concern. There was something here that didn't belong. Something that was making this world so dark. She could feel it all around her. As Pepper continued walking, the something ominous that was giving her the strange feeling was pooling together. She stretched her psychic powers and tentatively searched the area ahead of her.

After a moment of poking, it became clear to the mana beast that this wasn't anywhere near where she was supposed to be. She looked around, then slowly lifted her eyes above her, blinking at the mass of inky black and shimmering blue that was forming itself into a dragon twice her size. Pepper whimpered as she stepped back slowly, watching as the dragon flapped and hovered above her, eyeing her almost predatorily. She remembered the first time she had to battle a dragon; it had been smaller than this one, but just as mean-looking, and the battle that finally subdued it had nearly killed her as well as her two friends. She'd used Mana Light and her own claws, and in the end it took three head-on charges to bring it down. Even then, with all their strength poured into fighting, she, Wren and Caleb had only managed to put the wyvern to sleep, not kill it. How could she handle something far bigger than anything she'd ever had to face before, alone?

Before she could come up with any thoughts or plans, the dark dragon uttered a feral scream and dove straight for the mana beast. With a startled cry, Pepper leaped back from the first attack and retaliated with Mana Light, piercing the darkness as she aimed the bursts of light for the weak spots she hoped were there. The black dragon pulled itself from the ground as if flowing away, then materialized to attack again. This time, instead of diving for her, it remained airborne, unleashing a beam of intense blue light right at her. Pepper raced aside from it, mind speeding through what she could do to attack again. She tried another burst of Mana Light and the dragon zipped aside, dodging it as the stream of blue light flowed on from its maw, ripping into the dark earth.

This wasn't going to work out. Pepper made her annoyed sound, half-hiss and half-growl, as she studied the dragon hovering overhead, the light attack ceasing for the moment. It fired the beam again, soaring towards her as it dug a wide path into the ground. There was a weakness there, Pepper just had to find it. A moment later, she had it. The dragon's back was open as long as it continued to use that steady stream of blue fire. In a flash, Pepper was in the air as well, shooting towards the dragon's exposed spine as it tried to stop its breath and bring itself around to defend its rear, its reflexes slowed from spewing the light that tore through the barren land of this strange reality. Claws and teeth sank into iron-hard scale as the mana beast struggled to bring down the strange specter that had haunted her at night. The two fought viciously until the dragon suddenly melted away from Pepper's grip and flowed back into the air, reforming. Pepper shot after it again, but as soon as the dragon was back in her grip, it only melted and escaped her claws. She yelled in a fury and fired Mana Light wildly, letting her anger control her aim. The dragon only seemed to feed off of her rage and, before she could realize it, it had slammed into Pepper from what seemed like all sides at once, a barrage of powerful charges that felt as if they would turn her bones to shards.

Pepper dropped to the ground and stood weakly after a few moments of dazed pain, shaking her head as she tried to understand what had just happened. The dragon hovered overhead, the corners of its jaws seemed to curl into a cruel smile. The mana beast looked up at it tiredly. What was she doing wrong? Why was this thing so hard to beat? She'd attacked it just like the other dragon! It fell, so why wouldn't this one just fall, too? She cried in anger as she pawed at the ground.

All of this was wrong. No matter what she thought up to use on the creature, it only seemed to read her intentions and find some way of eluding attack. And its own attacks on her seemed to hurt much more than they should. But her wounds only flickered with pain before just disappearing into her fur as if they never existed. She scanned the sky, blinked up at the churning darkness that seemed almost a part of the black dragon that screamed in victory above her. The colors made her think of the strange bubble surrounding Darla, black and shimmering blue. Pepper directed her psychic energy outwards, searching the skies and the earth for something that would give her a clue to where she really was. As the mana beast pressed all around her, it finally occurred to her what was wrong with the world.

There was no mana.

This place was nothing but illusion, a place where she and that cursed dragon could exist and battle with attacks that used large amounts of mana, without actually using any mana at all. A world where mana did not exist, where her invincible opponent was a recreation of her secret fears and nightmares. This was her memory of Moria, used against her.

This was an outside force turning her own power against her.

Turning back to the black dragon that seemed to be engulfing the dark sky, Pepper let out a shriek of realization and fury, focusing the full brunt of her power for one final blow. A blow that would free her from her own mental prison.

"Enlightenment!"

Pepper erupted into a burst of brilliant white light so large and powerful it completely dominated the landscape, swallowing the darkness, the black dragon that sought to escape, and even herself. The illusory dragon shrieked in fury and pain as the expanding light shredded through its defenses and finally burned it to nothing, stretching far back through it to the original source of the madness that had tried to trick Pepper.

Followed it all the way back to Darla.

Pepper snapped out of her trance and sat down in shock as Darla suddenly cried out and fell forward in a heap, dazed. The Wonder Chef halted his mad dash but looked ready to run at any moment, afraid of what would happen next. His hand gripped the cut on his arm, stopping the scarlet that spread on his sleeve and was his only injury. After a moment, Darla groaned and sat up, rubbing her head.

"What happened? I feel like someone threw me in a blender..." she moaned and looked around, then at herself. "Um?"

"Are you okay? Have you come to your senses?" Wren asked carefully. Darla blinked up at him.

"I... think so. I don't quite know what I've been doing all this time. Do you?" she questioned. Wren managed a grin.

"Uh, you've been acting strangely for a while, but you're going to be fine now. My friend Pepper over there must have healed you." he told her. Darla looked back at the mana beast, who only smiled and waved a paw at her. "Do you know that you're a Dark Chef?"

"Am I?" the woman asked and looked at her clothes, "Huh. I guess I am. I don't suppose this means I was doing anyone any good? Man, and I just wanted a job with benefits!"

"Are you good with cooking anything?" Wren asked. Darla shook her head, "So how'd you get involved with the Dark Chefs?"

"I was trying to get a job at a restaurant and when I didn't get it, I was approached by a chef in blue clothes who asked if I wanted to make it big as a chef lieutenant. Since I had nothing else better to do, I said yeah and here I am." she answered and frowned. "I think I'll quit. Cooking is hard." She smiled suddenly. "But I've always wanted to have a little farm and grow stuff. Maybe I'll be a farmer!"

"Uh, yes. You do that." Wren agreed with a forced grin, unsure of how the whole battle had ended. He sighed at last and wrote out a recipe. "Take this along and have a cook make this for you. It'll help you regain your strength. I have to go and catch up to your old boss." he added.

"Okay, no prob." Darla answered, accepting the paper, "Just be careful! That guy's pretty strong now that he's got an Exsphere!" Wren looked startled.

"An Exsphere? How did DuGorge get an Exsphere?" he murmured and stood, racing towards Pepper, "Let's go! We don't have much time left! The Elemental Cargos must have reached the bridge by now!"