Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Adam's story is companion to Caleb: Center of the Storm, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time. Also, anyone interested in reading the complete Cast From Paradise poem should be able to find it on my dA gallery. ht tp: / digi-dolphin .deviantart. com/art /Cast-From -Paradise- 31802503
Ch 3
"You heard him, Loser; I win, so fork over the fork!" Ginger whooped, "Yeeaah! I won! I won the battle! I told you my candies would beat your stupid desserts any day!" Genis looked shocked and covered his mouth with his hands, an expression of regret flashing across his face. Martel remained still, never moving from her spot.
Adam snapped his mouth shut after startling the group with his cry of shock and horror. The color had drained from his face and Ginger worried for a moment that the blonde was going to pass out for real now. It was soon carried away by a renewed elation. She had won!
"I've done it! I've beaten you fair and square in a cooking battle! Now give me the Wonder Fork and the title of Wonder Chef like we agreed! That was the deal!" Ginger declared. Adam stared at her, then sighed and bowed his head, eyes hidden by the blonde hair as he stood frozen at his own kitchen. The dark-haired confectioner waited for something to happen, a concerned look beginning to spread over her face.
After a minute or so, Adam slowly reached back and slid the ancient fork from his back, walking towards the green-clad woman as though going forth to meet his end. Ginger stiffened and swallowed a rising sense of panic. This didn't look right. Why was he still hiding his eyes? She watched him twirl the fork once in the air above his shoulder, then bring it down in both hands to offer to her.
"As promised. I, Adam Voraci, step down from the position of Wonder Chef. I place in my stead Ginger Spicewood, to carry the line and continue the battle. My life is forfeit in service to the Wonder Chef." he whispered tonelessly, "As Wonder Chef, you must carry the Ultimate Recipe." Ginger took the fork in her hands numbly, unaware that only one of Adam's hands fell away from the utensil. "When Caleb returns, ask for the crystal used in Hima. Speak the name of the half-elf of legend and learn the Recipe. Guard it with your life."
"This is wrong." Ginger whispered, concern growing into a sudden sick dread and realization, "No... Adam, this is wrong! I'm sorry; I shouldn't have demanded this! Take it back!"
"The Wonder Fork should recognize you as Wonder Chef, if Wonder Chef you truly are. Use it well." Adam continued, ignoring her pleas, "My life is forfeit; there is nothing more I can do as Wonder Chef."
"Adam!" Ginger blurted, shaking her head with wide-eyed horror. Genis shouted in realization as Orator ruffled his feathers and fur.
"His hand!" the half-elf cried.
"Good-bye, Ginger." the blonde whispered softly as he lifted his hand from the wooden handle of fork, leaving only his fingertips in contact. All he needed to summon the power of the Wonder Fork a final time... and vanish in a burst of shimmering white smoke.
"Adaaaaam!" the confectioner screamed and dropped to her knees, clutching the utensil to her body as she sobbed.
Eve gazed down at the console before her. Once she learned that her brother had returned to the mortal world, she moved quickly to implement the next part of DuGorge's plan. She severed the connections between the Wonder Organization and all communicators in the field, effectively cutting off all contact between them and the Wonder Chef. She tapped out a new frequency and stood before the projection of Gluttonious DuGorge, Master Chef of the Dark Chef Alliance.
"How goes things on your end, my dear?" DuGorge purred as Eve saluted him briefly.
"Adam has returned. Communications between him and the Wonder Organization have been eliminated, now commencing secondary stage of overthrowing the Organization." the Wonder Cook reported, her mind subdued and controlled by the Exsphere mounted below her neck, hidden under her clothes. DuGorge nodded, smiling proudly at her.
"Excellent. Talk to that stupid Council of Gourmet Chefs. Let them think we're on the same side, but don't let them know who we really are. The more support we have on the inside, the easier it will be to destroy the entire Organization without much casualty on our side." he ordered and vanished as the projector closed. Eve nodded and turned to follow orders, stopping at the door when it opened and Estéfan stepped through.
"Ah, Eve. I was looking for you." the elderly blonde chef remarked, "How goes the search for your brother's communication signal? Can we get in contact?"
"No, Father. Communications systems are down. I suspect sabotage from the Council of Gourmet Chefs." Eve answered coldly, "Please let me pass. I have business to conduct elsewhere." Estéfan watched her leave with a concerned expression.
"Have we grown so distant in the years we've been apart, dear daughter?" he murmured and looked toward the screen. The soft light that symbolized Adam's communicator disk pulsed comfortingly from somewhere in Tethe'alla's forests, near the ruins of Ozette and the remains of the Tower of Salvation. He walked forward, pressed at the frequency console for a few moments, then sighed as only static answered him. Whatever had damaged the communications network would take time to repair, time they needed to have to escape the Organization and rebuild elsewhere. He would have to go and fetch Adam himself; once the Wonder Chef realized the scope of the situation, he'd have no choice but to agree and carry the supporters that remained to Alvanista. Once there, the Family and the supporters would begin moving into the secret base Estéfan had some old dwarven allies build for him. From that base, the Wonder Organization will be reborn, supported by what few allies were left to the Family.
"Adam, you must live to rebuild what Eru created, what the Council is now trying to destroy." Estéfan murmured and left the room.
Edela reclined on the sofa, reading through an old leather-bound journal by the candlelight, long, pale blue hair cascading over her shoulders freely. After a moment, she frowned. A sense of unease came over her and settled uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. Setting the book aside, she stood and walked to a bowl of clear water resting on a small table, surrounded by candles flickering and casting their light into the bowl. Edela placed a fingertip to her lips, then reached down and touched the surface of the water.
"Pool of vision, clear and deep. Tell me the vision that you now keep." she whispered and watched the images form from the depths of the water. After a moment, she gasped and the water surface broke, shattering the vision into nothingness. "Adam!"
Fears growing by the moment, Edela turned and threw off her robe, moving freely in the light gown of deep blue cloth held by a band of silver around her waist. She headed for the door, determined to see her son, then paused.
"Dragons take days to reach the place I seek." she murmured and turned to look at a narrow door not far from the table that held the bowl of water, "But I still have..."
In another moment, Edela was ready for travel, racing down the halls to the hangar as swiftly as her boots could carry her. She didn't care who may see her leave on the transport of her choice; her life could end this day and she would only regret the pain it would cause her family. Her son's life was threatened; she had to protect him, no matter the cost.
First, searing pain; then a burning heat that demanded him to scream though he refused; then a bitter chill that stole his breath, and finally, the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.
This was all that Adam remembered of those few moments before awakening from the teleportation. The Wonder Fork really didn't like this type of travel, and to keep him on proper track to get him to his destination, the utensil somehow managed to blend its properties into Adam's body for the time it took to get him to wherever he was going in one piece. Hence, the burning and freezing and the pain that made him crave a swift death.
But it was over and he was free. Just like he always wanted.
"Yeah, friggin' right." the blonde muttered hoarsely and crawled out from under the table in the Wonder Organization's library. Losing his title wasn't so bad and it actually helped his idea quite well. The plan had worked out so far; teleport home at the first chance and find out what the hell was going on so he could stop the Dark Chefs from whatever it was they were doing. This would keep Ginger from trying to do it herself and get killed. With the Wonder Fork in her hands and useless to her- Adam knew it wouldn't respond to her, she was superior in making candy, true, but that was not enough to warrant use of the Wonder Fork's power- Ginger would be trapped in the meadow, and if Adam didn't have the fork, it couldn't be stolen from him if things went horribly wrong.
Which he hoped wouldn't.
He staggered down the hallway towards the information center, passing several cooks who gasped at his appearance and tried to come to his aid. He waved them aside, ordering each one to forget he was there, his mission depended on him slipping through the base unnoticed. Once he had the data from the center on what the Dark Chefs' latest moves were in the world, Adam would have a better chance at predicting their intents before heading off to locate his sister and father. He would definitely need their help in stopping DuGorge, and they could provide transportation in the form of the flying dragons in the hangar. The doors to the information center opened and he looked through briefly before entering to check the computers. The room was dark, notes were stuck to the consoles, reporting damages that rendered them useless to the Wonder Organization and thus in need of dismantling later.
"This can't be right." Adam growled and knelt to pop open the doors under the consoles themselves. He gasped in shock at the wires that were ripped apart, the boards of strange black chips crushed and broken, as though someone had taken a sledgehammer or something to the computer's insides. He closed the compartment and stiffened as he heard the door open behind him. He spun around, hand reaching blindly for anything he could use as a weapon. His hand closed around a utensil of some kind and he tensed.
The door slid open and Adam leaped forward with a yell, brandishing the utensil at the young boy that stepped in. He blinked at the object and lifted it for a better look as the boy yelped in fright and jumped back, dropping a clipboard.
"A spatula?" Adam murmured and frowned, "I thought I told those cooks not to make pancakes in the information center!"
"Wonder Chef, sir! You're alive! How? When did you get back?" the boy cried in shock and Adam blinked at him next, spatula forgotten.
"Ardee?" he questioned, "What's going on? What happened to the center?" Ardee shook his head and took several calming breaths.
"You scared the holy hell out of me, sir! But I'm glad to see you're okay." the youngster breathed and rubbed his head, "It's been chaos here, sir, ever since we lost your signal ten days ago. The Council was getting ready to declare you dead and have your family exiled!" He gasped suddenly. "That's right! We have to protect you!" he exclaimed. The boy began flapping his arms hysterically, "I have to take you to your father and uncle right away, Wonder Chef, sir! Evacuate to Alvanista... the new base... new Organization... lots of converts!" he babbled. Adam shook his head slowly, looking more and more baffled as the one-sided wailing went on.
"Wait, wait... Ardee! Quiet!" he finally snapped and the boy went still, eyes wide. "Calm down. Slowly; tell me what's happening."
"The Council has over four hundred cooks on their side now." Ardee began and went into a panic as Adam groaned and sank to the floor, "Wonder Chef!"
"This isn't happening... that's more than half the Organization, Ardee!" the blonde cried and sighed, "Continue..."
"Your father has called for all your supporters to gather together and await your return, then we would evacuate to Alvanista with your help. Once there, we're to move into a secret base and begin building a new Wonder Organization." the dark-haired young chef answered and stepped closer, bending slightly to look at the older chef from above his head, "You don't look good. Are you sick? Or hurt?"
"Take your pick. I'm all of them." Adam sighed, gazing up at what appeared to be an upside down cook, "How are we to build a new Organization with only a handful of chefs?"
"Dunno, but your father says we have to, 'cause the Council's all corrupt and junk. Where were you all that time? We were really worried that one of their chefs got to you or something." Ardee replied softly.
"Somewhere that blocks our signals. What happened to the center?"
"Somebody destroyed it and a good majority of our security measures. We haven't been able to track food supplies for a while now."
"So DuGorge has another spy in here? That's the only way this could happen; without this center, we can't keep an eye on Dark Chef activity."
"He must have also cut off communications; we can't get through to anyone outside."
"That explains why I couldn't call back here."
Adam sat up and dusted himself off, then frowned thoughtfully as Ardee toddled over and sat beside him, a faint expression of awe on his face. Adam noticed and sighed again.
"Ardee..."
"Yes, Wonder Chef, sir?"
"Don't look at me like that. I don't deserve it."
"But you're the Wonder..."
"No, I'm not."
"Sir?"
The blonde looked down at the confused little face gazing back at him, framed by messy brown hair and dominated by large amber eyes, and sighed again. He reached down and ruffled the boy's hair a bit.
"Nothing, never mind. So, we have a spy again. Why would he be destroying our technology when its our new recipes that are the bigger prize?" he murmured as the boy sat closer to him and carefully rested his head against the older chef's side.
"I miss my dad. It's been so long since he was taken away to the human ranch in Palmacosta." Ardee sighed wistfully, "If it hadn't been for you rescuing me, I would probably have been taken along with him by the Desians. I don't think I ever got a chance to say thank you, y'know, for looking after me all that time."
"I wasn't going to let them hurt you. I'm still a little upset that I couldn't save your dad, though." the older chef replied quietly. Ardee shook his head.
"But you still helped me. You fought off the Desians to save me, even though the rules said you weren't supposed to do that. You could have gotten in big trouble for it, but you did it anyway!" the boy protested hotly, "You did so much to help me and lots of other people like me! I'm glad you're the Wonder Chef; look at all the good you did!" Adam smiled sadly and shook his head again.
"And look at all the bad I've done, too. If you only knew what else I had to do, you'd hate me in a flash. Nothing purely good comes from being Wonder Chef, trust me on that." he murmured, taking in the small boy's puzzled expression, then stood up. "Well, now I know what's going on here. Time to see if Eve is okay or not." he added in a stronger tone. Ardee stood with him and dusted off his shorts.
"Oh, her? She's been acting funny lately." he agreed. The blonde paused and stared at him, puzzled.
"How so?"
"Well, she talks weird now, like she doesn't care about anything. Sometimes she talks to herself and she ignores everybody unless she says they're in her way." the brunet answered, checking items off on his fingers, "And her eyes are scary." He shuddered. "Scary."
"How?" Adam asked in a low tone, not liking where this was going.
"Like she sees right through you, like you're not even there. And cold. Very cold."
Ginger sat against the roots of the tree as she held the Wonder Fork limply in her hands. Her tears had long dried, but she still shuddered as if ready to burst into sobs at any moment.
"Wh-what went wrong? What happened? Where is he? Where's Adam?" she stammered between hiccups. Martel stood from her seat and walked to her, gazing down at trembling young woman.
"Ginger, did Shadow tell you about Eru?" she asked and the confectioner looked up in confusion. "Don't ask how I know. I'm the Goddess, remember? I know everything, but I like to hear confirmation of what I learn."
"Y-yes... He s-said that Eru survived the ambush. But what does that have to do with anything?" Ginger mumbled back, still slouched in grief.
"Does Adam know who he is?" The confectioner's confused expression was answer enough. Martel sighed and gazed up at Derris-Kharlan. "Very soon now, he will face that which he feared all this time. Unfortunately, because the Wonder Fork is not in his possession, this is the only way now for him to save those he loves."
"Derris-Kharlan?" Ginger asked, tilting her head and looking more confused.
"No. What he faced on Derris-Kharlan."
"But, he said he'd never been there..."
"He lied, Ginger." Martel interrupted with a stern look, "He lied to you, and to Caleb, and to everyone who didn't witness that incident." Ginger blinked in surprise. "At this moment, poisoned gels are being sent all over the world for soldiers and warriors. Addictive candy is being sent to select kings and government officials to enslave them. Lethal sweets have been sent to each of the Heroes of Union, in hopes that they will accept them as gifts and die from poisoning. Your candy is going to give the Dark Chefs the power to destroy this world."
"I was going to tell Adam. I thought I told him, but he didn't listen. I was going to use the power of the Wonder Chef to stop them, but the fork won't work for me." Ginger began a fresh sob.
"Stop that!" Martel told her harshly and looked out at the forest, "You are familiar with human ranches and Exspheres and all that, correct?" Ginger nodded.
"Uh-huh. What does that have to do with candy or Adam or anything?" she murmured as Genis sat in to listen as well, horrified at the idea of poisoned candy going to his friends.
"Martel, we have to stop them! My friends and my sister are in danger!" he cried and went silent when the goddess shot him a stern look.
"I will tell you why the Wonder Chef fears Derris-Kharlan, and why he is going to face that fear to save this world that Lloyd created." Martel began in a softly harsh tone, "When Lloyd's power began to grow with the breaking of the seals, and the food of the Wonder Chef further enhanced them, Mithos created a contingency plan called Subject A-481, the Final Chosen..."
The Council of Gourmet Chefs looked first at each other, then at Eve in contempt. They had granted her audience only because she posed no threat to them, and after spending the last few minutes listening to her speak they were doubly sure she could do nothing to help her brother.
"You honestly expect us to believe that you want us to force your twin to step down?" Chef Dao sneered. Eve nodded. The Council laughed, a cruel mix of voices.
"You've seen for yourself the chaos and havoc Adam creates; the disgrace that he will continue to bring as long as he remains in power." Eve told them coldly, "My employer will aid you in bringing down this false Wonder Chef. He believes in your ideals, your cause to preserve the current well-being of this world, over Adam's radical ideas of breaking tradition just to advance his own fame." The group of chefs paused and looked interested in this.
"Your employer?" another chef questioned. Eve nodded.
"He wishes to remain anonymous for now, but says he will soon come to your aid personally." she explained, "Now, Adam has returned and will eventually make his way here to assert his power once more. We must strike quickly and either force him under your power, or kill him if he refuses."
"You would execute your own flesh and blood?" Chef Dao exclaimed in shock. Eve stood motionless before them, hands tightened into fists.
"I would and I shall if it comes to it." she finally answered the group of chefs, "However, it would be more beneficial to us all if he lived, though under your control."
"And how are we to do that?" another chef grumbled. Eve closed her eyes, the Exsphere at her neck shimmering as it further subdued her mind.
"There is a certain kind of stone that can force a mind into complete obedience to a master when equipped to a host with a proper mount..." she began and the chefs looked at each other with greedy expressions.
"Oh, we know of such a stone, Ms. Voraci. In fact, we have one already prepared right here..." they mused.