Traveling to multiple planets in one day could make it easy to lose track of time. But between Avalar and Zathura, the Marzipans eventually felt weariness after returning to space, so they found a nice asteroid to park the ship.
Augustus donned his pajamas, consisting of a dark-yellow sweater with an image of a smiling pig and the text Hungry Boy, along with soft blue pants and socks. Just as he finished brushing his teeth of lollipop residue, he stepped out of the bathroom, nearly bumping into Tressa.
"Oh, hey, Cap!" she greeted. She was wearing a light-brown nightgown with little boat slippers. "You must need a while to brush your teeth~"
"Believe me, you don't wanna skip out on your dentist appointments. My mom taught me that the hard way."
Tressa snickered. "Did your mom also get you that shirt?"
"Hey, she knows I'm a hungry boy! At least I don't have ships for feet!"
"You can't tell me my Slip-on Ship-ons aren't cute."
"Yeah, well…they totally are actually, I'm kind of envious." He spoke with genuine honesty. Just seeing her in those slippers really highlighted her cuteness.
"Well, they're not for sale. But, listen, Captain, I wanted to ask you something. Like, when you convinced me to join you on this adventure… I actually felt a little special."
"It was my honor~" He smiled smoothly.
"Yeah, but, seeing so many other girls onboard… I dunno, it makes me feel differently."
"What's that mean?"
"It just… feels like you just like picking up girls."
"Pfft, I get that the gender ratio could use some balancing out, but I don't just pick up girls for no reason. I only pick up crewmen if I see potential in them, if I have a strong need for them, or if they just happen to get onboard because they need something from me. Like Kohaku and Melon Girl wanted to get on to see the outside world, or how I needed Yuzu for this Gourmerry mission and the Gourmet Hunt itself."
"True. I guess you only wanted me to come so you didn't have to pay for my map."
"I-It's not like that." Augustus blushed. "After getting to know you a bit, I also thought you had the right stuff for this voyage. I like having you onboard. What, do you not like it here?"
"No, I do. It's been pretty exciting so far, and getting off the planet is refreshing. It's just… I dunno what I was expecting." Tressa scratched her head, looking away with a frown. "I guess the way you were talking to me… just made me feel like I was different. …Time to brush my teeth!" She entered the bathroom and shut the door.
"Hm…different?" Confusion on his mind, Augustus began the walk to his room- "Oh!" before shortly encountering Yuzu. "Heh, just bumping into everyone now!"
"Captain, I think Tressa likes you." Yuzu said simply. She was wearing a white nightgown with light-blue socks.
"Well, I am pretty likeable." He replied agreeingly.
"Captain!" Yuzu puffed her cheeks in frustration. "You played with her feelings. She thought you liked her because of how you were flattering her."
"But I do like her." Augustus walked around to continue on to his room, with Yuzu following.
"But you act that way to almost every girl. Saying things like, 'Oh, she's a looker' or something."
"Excuse me if I admire people of the opposite gender. You're a great cook with two great personalities, Kohaku's a tough-as-stone tribe girl that has a cute curiosity with an assertive approach, and Haylee's a genius with confidence in her many talents…" He walked by the kids' room, where Tama and Suika had mats next to each other as they were talking. "Even Tama's gonna grow up to be an epic-looking kunoichi, won't you, Tama?"
Tama gasped at hearing that. She formed a big smile and blushed. "O-Tama hast been blessed by August'n's prophecy!"
"My point is there's just a lot of cool girls with cute styles going for them, and I have a broad range and admiration for them."
"Sigh, you remind me of Jinta. He admires girls, too… even if he has trouble admitting it. And one time, he hurt Ururu's feelings in a similar way. But eventually, you'll just have to settle for one girl with one style, and they won't feel special if you just talk nice with every girl."
"Yeah, well… why're we talking about this, anyway?! We're supposed to be hunting for food, not girls! Regardless of how many females we meet along the way!"
"Fine, whatever. 'Guess I'd better get to bed." Yuzu turned to head back into Haylee's room (where all the teen girls slept).
Incidentally, it seemed Haylee and Kohaku were eavesdropping from the doorway, staring at the captain with disbelief. "You know, I never paid you back for that Gorilla remark." Kohaku stated, stepping out while cracking her knuckles.
"Yeah, well how's this?" August smirked. "Does Senku ever sing a song like, 'My girlfriend is a gorilla, gorilla, gorilla, gorilla~'"
Haylee cringed at the Gym Partner's a Monkey reference. Meanwhile, Kohaku, her rage ignited, increased her fists to maximum size.
CLOK! CLOK! CLOK! CLOK! After four bashes to the head, Kohaku leapt into the air and delivered the last with a slam-dunk technique. CLOK!
As she walked back into the bedroom, Haylee and Yuzu both raised hands, and Kohaku slapped them with satisfaction. "Yep… how can you not like that…" August grunted as he limped back to his room.
New Galaxia
The Land of Hills and Rain was a world that existed under constant rainfall. Unlike the peace and tranquility of Light and Rain, there were all kinds of hazardous rain that plagued this world. The Poison Rain Prairie was just as toxic as one would expect, but the Gourmet Hunter displayed no fear before it. He was a lean, charming man in a black suit with green bands around his legs, wrists, and waist, with more covering his black hair.
Using his amazing poisonbending to repel the poison rain at a great radius, Coco strolled across the valley with a reserved mind. The Elite Hunter approached a pool of chocolate ooze steaming with gas. Coco dipped a finger in and lightly licked the chocolate. He swished it around a bit and spat it out. "Too toxic to serve at the festival. But I'm sure Tylan and I can filter it out."
…
The Land of Little Cubes and Tea was a very pleasant mountainscape with enormous teapots situated on the peaks, and sugar cubes covering the ground like snow. The pots were white with black, silhouetted designs of cats. "That journey to Light and Rain was just what I needed." Sunny said with a brush of his long, flowing, colorful hair of blue, green, pink, and white strands. "Its beauty was worthy of my presence… but this planet is highly appealing as well. A realm of tea is so refined… so elegant… I can feel it touching my very soul."
"For once, I agree with you." replied his chef partner. Erina Nakiri (from Food Wars) was a teenage girl with honey-blonde hair and pinkish-purple eyes. She wore a purple school uniform with a red tie, a brown patterned skirt, and had long bluish socks into black school shoes. "I can imagine myself enjoying a nice picnic here… with someone else."
"Such a toxic girl for someone so 'divine.'" Sunny sneered. "But I suppose that's the price of pairing with a high-schooler. Hm?"
They were approached by a large, pink, obese monster with bat wings and two horned heads. They both had a white mustache, interlocked at the center, and one head had bulbous white, bug-like eyes. "Suddenly, this world is far less elegant!" Erina cringed.
"Roooaaaar!" The beast charged at the intruders.
"To think I must sully my hair against you!" Sunny stretched two bundles of strands to blast the creature away. The beast recovered and began to engulf sugar from the ground, spitting out cannonballs of sugar. Sunny and Erina dodged as the hunter grabbed them in his hair and hurled them back. "At the sea for a thousand years, and at the mountains for a thousand years, breathing the wind and drinking pure water. That is how one gains Life Return, to control the most minute senses of the human body!"
"You're much older than you already looked." Erina said.
"I'm 28! Nnuh!" He spun and whipped his cluster of hair against the monster. "And my face is flawless!"
GKND H.Q.
After the Marzipans had awoken, Haylee sent a transmission to GKND, her face appearing on the monitor in Nebula's office, which resembled a wood ship cabin. "Gourmet Corp. had a Brotherhood member with them, Mr. Washer, and one of their agents confirmed that the Brotherhood is allied with them. Also, Yuzu said that she thinks they're targeting other Gourmet Hunters, because it sounds like they attacked Iizuka and Mera. I don't really know who they are, but…"
"Basically, it sounds like this situation is more dire than we thought." Nebula said. "And you already said that Team Rocket works with them… I already have all the KND on alert for Gourmet Corp., but it sounds like they're covering so much ground in such little time that there's no good way to trace them. At any rate, I'll definitely send more operatives to oversee the festival. I have no doubt they'll try to pull something there. And I'm sure the operatives won't have much problem going to a festive-"
"PICKLE-BEANS! PICKLE-BEANS!" A band of little mutant vegetables with big mouths charged in, wielding toothpick spears. "RAAAAAHH!"
"AAAH!" Nebula screamed. "I'm under attack!"
"What?! Is Gourmet Corp. there?!"
"I don't know!"
"Hey, get back here, you wart-covered bastards!" Bender yelled, running into the office. "Oh, hey Nebula! Care to try our Battle of Pickle-Bean Valley Surprise?" He was carrying two plates of the bean-shaped pickles engaged in war, fuming the office with green smog. "With charcoal-flavored pepper?"
"I told you we should've fried them with propane!" Apis yelled, following him in while hauling a propane tank.
". . ." Nebula's eyes were blank as her mouth hung agape. "Haylee, I'll talk to you later!" She ended transmission.
Ace Hunter
"Okay… enjoy your meal." Haylee said to the blank screen with confusion.
Augustus whistled a merry tune as he stepped out to the bridge. "So, gang, ready for…um…" He paused awkwardly at seeing Tressa, leaning by Stewie's desk. "Hey, Tressa!"
"Hm? You need something?"
"Oh, no, I…" Augustus approached her. "I was wondering if you were upset about… last night."
"Man, I thought I heard some bangin' outside." Rallo remarked.
"WHAT?! That's not what happened!"
Tressa giggled at his reaction. "Look, I was just a little confused and I just wanted to talk it out with you. I'm still having fun on this voyage, so I'll stick around, just… well, let's forget about any misunderstandings we had."
"Okay… Well, is everyone ready for our next adventure?"
"Always ready when you are!" Yuzu cheered.
"Gourmerry!" The Firstborn was excited for her next meal.
"Great! Then we're going to Glacia! Stewie, bring 'er up!"
Stewie displayed an image of Nel huggling an Augustus doll that was her size. "Yeah, I saw that coming." The captain sighed.
"Always a pleasure." Stewie smiled wryly. He then switched to an image of a humongous, snow-white whale mountain with bodies of water and valleys of snow around it.
"Ooo, we going Pinocchio?" Tressa asked.
"Hardly. That valley is the home of the Imuchakk."
"Imuchakk?" Yuzu repeated. "Wait, didn't Zebra mention that name?"
"That's what gave me the idea. The Imuchakk are like natural opposites to the Fanalis. Well, opposite in terms of their snowy and desert homelands, and their hair colors. Otherwise, they're both super strong. But they're masters of underwater combat and renowned for their fishing ability. I'll bet their waters have quite the abundance of exotic fish we can hunt for."
"Wilt the frostbitten natives take kindly to us fishing in their waters?" Tama asked.
"I read about the Imuchakks once." Tressa said. "I heard they used to be pirates confined to their planet, before they settled where they now live."
"That's why we might be able to find a kinship." Augustus smiled surely.
"We 'might'?" questioned Yuzu.
"You don't gotta worry. I heard they're pretty friendly to visitors. Though, they can be a little intimidating, since they're… giants."
"Giants?!" Kohaku gasped.
"Small giants, but… still pretty hefty."
"Suika wants to meet giants!" Suika jumped. "Grown-ups already look giant to Suika!"
"It looks like a pretty place." Tressa smiled. "It'll make for a nice walk!"
"Then let's dress up! It's pretty, but it's gonna get hella cold!"
Glacia; Imuchakk Country
The Marzipans boarded the Ace Sailor and crossed the chilling sea of the ice planet. The pleasant night sky glittered with stars, veiled by the flowing aurora curtain, and the valley and whale mountain ahead were coated by a fluffy blanket of snow.
Yuzu wore a white coat with a kitten ear hoodie and black pants, Augustus wore a brown coat, Tressa had a fur scarf and furred boots along with her coat, and Kohaku had a blue coat, mittens, cozy boots, and earmuffs. "Wow, Kohaku, you look so different in that gear!" Tressa beamed.
"I usually don't wear this much. And I doubt I'll be very agile in this gear."
"You look so cute though!"
"Tehe…thanks!" Kohaku's cheeks turned red like her nose.
"At least Suika doesn't have trouble moving." Haylee said, wearing a sky-blue coat.
"Hahaha!" Suika rolled out in her melon and stretched to full height, dressed in a full-body coat of cotton. "Stewie made Suika a pillow coat! When Suika goes in," she shrank into her melon, "the coat goes with me, and Suika feels warm and cozy inside!"
"Come to think of it, does it snow where you're from?" Yuzu asked.
"Of course!" Kohaku nodded. "Suika loves to play in the snow. But winter isn't exactly the best time of year for our village."
"August'n, look over thither." Tama pointed. "Art those the giants?"
Several yards across the coast, they could see two blue-haired men fishing on a wooden boat, their muscles and feet bare, but wearing blue armbands and pants with white-furred edges, as well as horned helmets. They were wrestling with a huge koi fish with bright blue eyes. "Yep, those guys are Imuchakk."
"They don't look that big." Kohaku said.
"The average adult can go up 8 to 9 feet." Augustus replied. "Infants make it to two-and-a-half feet, and by the time they're 10, they range close to six feet."
"So, we're about the size of young children to them?"
"Eh, ten's a pretty ripe age for kids." Haylee replied with a shrug. "The point is, they may not be full giants, but they're still hefty."
"Their village should be up there on Whale Mountain. Let's pay them a visit." (Play "Glitterglaze Glacier" from Yooka-Laylee!)
Menu 5: Aurora Bream
Recipe: Climb to the Imuchakk Village.
Act 1: White Whale Mountain
The team of August, Yuzu, and Tama rowed to the snowy shore on a boat, the ninja carrying Gourmerry in a cozy backpack on her green coat. Augustus alerted them to strange patches in the snow, and he purposely punched one to reveal an icicle trap underneath. They carefully stepped around these traps, until they encountered a longer, wider trap. There were two signposts on either side of the trap that Yuzu could link with a Soul Rope, the team balancing across it.
They came to a river with large chunks of floating ice, a common obstacle in this environment. The trio jumped the ice as it bobbed from their weight, so they were careful in their actions. Frog creatures with snail-like eyes emerged from the water, spitting globs of freezing water at the intruders, but August KO'ed them with Gobstopper throws. One of the ice chunks was upturned, its pointed tip facing skyward, so August roped the tip with his Licorope, pulled, and turned it to its flat side. Some of the following ice chunks were bobbing in and out of the water, so they could only jump while they were above.
They returned to safe land and could proceed up a hill near the base of the mountain. To their right, it seemed that Kohaku was nimbly leaping along some mini icebergs while Tressa and Suika were crossing a cliff ledge. August passed them a smile as they hurried up the hill, where they would ultimately reunite with the other group. "I see you're taking the easy way."
"Hey, there's more than one way to get where you wanna go." Tressa said.
"I'm getting a little used to these clothes." Kohaku said, making the last jump off the iceberg trail. "But is it really cold like this every day of the year?"
"That's how Glacia is." Augustus replied. "And all the creatures that live here are naturally built for the cold. Including the Imuchakk."
"Konayukiiiii?!" They could hear a girl's voice calling from around a cliff path. "Yukiiiii?"
An Imuchakk girl jogged out and turned their direction as she looked around absentmindedly. "Oh!" She stopped at spotting the large crew. While she looked to be in her early teens, she was a couple heads taller than Augustus, wearing a white top, dark-blue skirt, and had short hair with yellow eyes. "You must be travelers. You haven't seen a girl anywhere, have you?"
"It'd be hard to miss a big girl like you~" Augustus smiled coolly. "Imuchakk sure knows how to make a pleasant welcome."
"Ugh!" Tressa groaned. "We haven't seen anyone else. We just got here."
"Oh…" The girl frowned and looked around a bit. "Maybe she didn't come down this far. Sigh, babysitting is a pain."
"I knew I felt a kinship with you!" August beamed. "Care to join my crew? I could use some help watching the brats."
"Already, Captain?" Yuzu sighed.
"Um, no thanks…" The girl smiled awkwardly. "Well, if you're visiting Imuchakk, just be careful on the way up. Konayukiii!" She headed back the direction she came.
"Yep, this is going to be a beautiful place." Augustus was ascertained.
"No wonder why you wanted to come here." Tressa said.
"Hey!" Kohaku gasped, eyes darting toward a pile of snow. "Look at that snow. Isn't there something weird about it?"
The pile in question seemed to have an oddly-shaped tuft sticking from it, almost like it resembled hair. A curious Augustus approached the snow… and a pair of big pink and blue eyes opened on it. "NEW FRIENDS!"
"AAAAAHH!" Augustus wasn't prepared when a large creature pounced him from the pile.
"Hahahaha! I love outsiders! They're so tiny and cute!" She was a young girl with a human face and hands, but her white hair was as long as her body and wide enough to hide it. Yellow heart designs were on her hair, had bangs that looked like hanging bunny ears, and were dyed purple on the ends. She wore a white furry dress, had bundles of white fluff on her arms, and seemed to wear white boots with brown soles and had clawed toes. Pink heart designs were on the knees of her 'boots.'
"Yowch, you're a big girl!" Augustus grunted under the weight of the large child. "I don't suppose you're who she's after?"
"Yeah! Pipirika couldn't find Konayuki in the snow!" She sported a sweet grin, showing a gap in her teeth. "Now Konayuki can play with new friends!" She giddily bounced on the grounded teen like a rabbit. (She comes from Katanagatari.)
"Ow! Ow! Ah! Ow! Stop it!"
"Tehehe!" Kohaku giggled. "I guess we found the captain's match."
"O-Tama wilt save thee!" Tama whacked her staff against Konayuki's tuft, but it simply bounced off the soft surface. "Ahh! She is too strong!"
"Ooo! What's this little thing?" Konayuki reached over and picked Tama up by the backpack, dangling the ninja as she studied Gourmerry.
"Gourmerry!" the spirit beamed, hers and Kona's faces upside-down to each other.
"Agh…crushed under the feet of a monster child… so, this is how I die…" August gasped.
"Kona-chan, could you please get off Augustus?" Yuzu asked.
"Oh?" The child looked down at the blue-faced captain and stepped off. Tressa bent down and tried to pump his chest, and breath slowly returned to him.
"Wow! A kid giant!" Suika beamed. "Snow World is so big and cool!"
"But you don't look like an Imuchakk." Tressa noticed.
"Konayuki is half-Imuchakk! She's also half-yeti!"
"Half-yeti??" Kohaku questioned.
"Hahaha!" Kona raised a "boot" and wiggled the clawed toes.
"So, this fur is actually real." Augustus stood and felt the fluff on her arm. "I've never heard of hybrids between these two races, but I guess it ain't the weirdest thing."
"Prithee, saveth O-Tama!" The ninja flailed her arms and legs in Kona's grasp.
"Hahaha!" Konayuki then gripped Kohaku's skinny frame and raised her up. "Why have outsiders come to Imuchakk?"
"Huuurrr!" Kohaku struggled to shove herself free. "Augustus, I'm sorry for laughing at you! Please help!"
"Suika will save you!" Suika sneakily rolled behind the hybrid and began to climb the back of her hair.
"We're looking for fish." Augustus replied simply, unwrapping his next lollipop. "What're the most exotic fish you have in this region? You know where we can get them?"
"Um…Kona doesn't know." The hybrid frowned as she casually studied Kohaku's frame like a dolly. She put Tama down and used her other hand to move Kohaku's arm. "I don't fish, but I love to eat fish! Let's look for Big Bro Hina! He's fishing now!"
"Where is he?" Tressa asked.
"I dunno! Let's go find him together! Follow Konaaaa!" She tossed Kohaku up in the air and began happily prancing up a mountain path.
"Waaaaahhh!" Suika clung tight to her hair as it flailed behind Konayuki.
"Suika!" Kohaku grit her teeth in anger and raced after them, with Tressa tailing behind.
"Let's just head to the village first." Augustus suggested, heading to the route that Pipirika took.
"Shouldn't we help them?!" Yuzu asked.
"They'll catch up." he replied surely. Yuzu and Tama shared a shrug and followed him. Entering the entrenched path, they paused before a pit of frozen water, with horizontal icicles mounted along either wall. Augustus could see the fragility in some of them, so he asked Yuzu to shoot those weak ones down. Afterwards, the girls held onto him as he used the Licorope to swing the stable icicles, setting foot on the opposite side. Shortly after, they were stopped by another chilly river, which seemed to flow around a snaky part of the trench. However, there were blue, goggled dolphins bouncing along the river with joyous faces, and the dolphins were long enough to be used as platforms.
"Whooooaa!" Tama screamed as she clung to her dolphin. "Slow down, Dolphin-dono! Wouldst thou like a snack?!"
"Looks like they'll take us right where we need to go!" August cheered. Some dolphins were leaping high and some were low, but when their dolphins were about to bump them against a ceiling of icicles, the trio quickly jumped down to some lower dolphins. Those dolphins were about to bump them against a horizontal barricade, so they leapt to the high-leaping dolphins to go over it. There was a platform they could jump off on to give their selves a break.
The following pool had dolphins jumping either left or right, and would submerge beneath the water once at the opposite side of the gorge. The trio quickly jumped the flying "platforms," and they had to Licorope a sideways icicle to swing to the next set of dolphins. Some of the dolphins had Ice Hermits with pointy shells, so August hit them off with the Gobstopper before jumping to the dolphins. Afterwards, they could return to safe ground, finding their selves atop a snowy hill with several indented paths winding around in a complex fashion, ending at a stone door at the bottom.
"Wheee!" Konayuki suddenly jumped down from a ledge and splashed snow over the trio. "Oops! Sorry, new friends! Oh, look! We're at the Snowling hill!"
"Snowling? What's Snowling?" Suika asked, clinging onto Kona's tuft.
"It sounds like bowling with snow." Yuzu replied as they pushed the snow off.
"Yeah! We roll snowballs down the hill and hit targets. Oh, but I'm not good at making snowballs…"
"That's okay!" Suika cheered. "Suika knows a trick! Uh, but which path does she go down?"
"Hmm…" Augustus focused on the path ending at the stone door and traced it back to their hilltop. "Suika, roll down this one."
"Hai!" Suika curled up and rolled down that path. The snow accumulated on her melon and grew into a huge snowball. With how big it grew, it seemed like it would force the door open… but the snowball merely bumped and stopped against it. "Darn, it didn't have enough momentum." August said.
"You need to open that door?" Konayuki asked. "Let me try!" The hybrid child bounced down the hill, moved the snowball aside, and shoved the door open with her bare hands.
"Well, that's a waste of a puzzle."
The trio slid down the snow to join her. "Kona-chan, are you a KND operative?" Yuzu asked. "You seem pretty strong. Especially with how you nearly defeated Augustus."
"No she didn't!" the captain argued. "But I wasn't gonna go all-out against a brat!"
"Hahaha! No, silly! I'm the weakest kid in the village!"
"I beg to disagree with that statement!" Kohaku shouted, rushing down the hill with breakneck speed. "THERE! I got you!" She slapped Konayuki against the nose, the child's head only barely budging. "Now give Suika back!"
"TAG!" Konayuki thrusted her hand against Kohaku and blew her into the snow pile. "You're it again! Hahahaha!" She lifted the large snowball with Suika inside and ran into the doorway.
Tressa slid down and pulled Kohaku out of the snow. "You okay?"
"I won't be satisfied until I beat her at this silly game!" Kohaku resumed the chase.
"Yeah, children are just the best." Tressa remarked sarcastically as she followed. Augustus's trio passed the doorway as well, but while the others chased Konayuki up a right hill, the captain proceeded up a left path. The fluff-covered hill was steep and difficult to trek up, and Augustus alerted them to lumps of snow moving around the hill. Eenos rose from them and rolled large snowballs down. Augustus destroyed them with Haki punches and hurled his Gobstopper against the Eenos, dealing much more head trauma than a snowball would.
After persevering up the hill, they were stopped by a wall in which the hill continued above. Tama created a Shadow Clone stack to help herself up onto the ledge, with Augustus to hoist them up and allow the top Tama to make it. The child struggled to stay balanced on the edge of the steep fluff, but managed to pull herself up the hill, where a large snowball waited. She got behind and shoved the snowball downhill, where it would roll off the ledge and smashed into a pile, burying the Tama clones and her friends. Augustus poked above the snow and yelled, "Give us a warning next time!"
"Sorry!"
He and Yuzu could climb the pile to join Tama and proceed to the next area. They were within a wider canyon with very tall, segmented ledges. Yuzu curiously took the first steps, glancing down in a passive way—"WAAAH!" The square-shaped shadow of a jagged-tooth mouth lurked under her Converses, and she barely dodged back in time before a blocky snake emerged from the fluff. It rose 10 feet high before sinking back in the snow. The trio hurried away from the Bitefrost's shadow, but it seemed the upper ledges were too high. They sought the Bitefrost's help, so they tricked it into emerging and dodged as Tama tossed a dango into its mouth. The big-mouthed beast munched the treat gently.
It sank below the snow again, but instead of raising its mouth to bite them, the Bitefrost allowed its face to be used as a platform. Once on an upper ledge, they had to tame another Bitefrost to raise them to the next. From here, they had to cross to a platform that was 15 feet away. There was a Bitefrost hidden in the cliff beneath them, so Tama dropped a dango to make it stretch out. The serpent served as a bridge for them to cross and jump to the next platform. They had to make another Bitefrost rise up, but a wall-crawling Bitefrost stretched out to bite them, so Tama quickly tossed it a dango to seal its mouth. They climbed onto its face and crossed to the base of its body, where a Bitefrost jutted out from another wall, but the process repeated.
From there, they climbed a set of smaller ledges to reach a lake. It was small, but still very wide. Imuchakk kids were swimming around, and an adult man seemed to be wrestling with a dark-blue hippo with large, rounded scales. "Hahahaha!" Hearing a familiar laugh, the crew looked up to see Konayuki prancing over a bridge. Kohaku had finally caught up and slapped the hybrid's back.
"There! I got you!"
"Real mature, Kohaku." Tressa said. "Hey, check it out! Are we above some kind of swimming area?"
"How come those giants don't need to wear coats or shoes?" Suika asked. "Aren't their toesies gonna freeze?"
"No, silly!" Konayuki laughed. "Imuchakk aren't bothered by cold at all! My papa says they have skin like a whale!"
"They look so tough! Way tougher than Magma!"
"Well, there are the others." Augustus observed. "I guess we'll just have to swim across."
"Swim in THAT?!" Yuzu exclaimed. "We'll freeze!"
"No, look." The captain indicated the spots of steaming bubbles along the lake. "If we stay near those things, we can make it."
"We'll be freakin' cold after we get out of the water!"
"Then change us to our swimsuits with your little gadget thingy."
"I guess…" Yuzu pulled out the Compowder, a small, pink pocket mirror device that scanned the three of them, swapping out their coats for swimsuits. "Hfffff!" The chef was immediately chilled by the frigid air.
"Hurry and get in!" Augustus ushered, allowing Tama and Merry to ride his back as he swam in the lake. The water near the bubbles was of a reasonable temperature, so they made sure to swim near them. Some of the bubbles were switching on and off, and during those off periods, the water became freezing (and there wasn't even any residual heat, for some reason!). Two of the Imuchakk kids saw the strangers and decided to splash waves at them, because pool kids are so annoying!! Regardless, the trio evaded the freezing waves and could climb onto the opposite shore. The chill of the air quickly took affect, so Yuzu swapped them back to their coats.
Konayuki and the others crossed the bridge and stepped down a path to reunite with them. "Hahaha! Are new friends having fun?"
"Swimmingly good fun." Augustus remarked.
"Hahaha! I get it! Swimming!" Konayuki clapped hands in glee.
"Yeah yeah, are we getting closer to the village or what?"
"Konayuki will show you!" The child grabbed Augustus and pranced up a narrow, entrenched path.
"Ahhh! Kid, take it easy! Whoa!" The walls became spread out as ceilings of icicles aligned either side, and some fell, threatening to stab the captain. Augustus chucked his Gob-Spinner at them ahead of time. Konayuki had to jump boulders in the road—"WHOA!" Augustus hastily ducked as he was nearly brought up into the icicles. Once atop this hill, they were on a ledge over a watery pit, and there were pillars with faucet handles on them. When Augustus hit them with the Gobstopper, geysers of water emerged from shorter pillars. Konayuki could jump these spouts, but August would have to trigger the following ones quickly before Kona's foothold wore off.
Once across this segment, Kona began prancing up another hill, but August could see the Bitefrosts underneath. He had to chuck the Gobstopper at large icicles above the monsters, prompting them to bite the icicles when they fell. Konayuki could bypass them with ease.
The road led to an open field that appeared to be a frozen lake with several cracks and holes within it. Near the middle of the lake was an Imuchakk man with long hair, his bangs covering his eyes. He appeared to be surveying the lake with a harpoon in hand. "Look! There's Big Bro Hina!"
"Oh, that's the guy you ment—IOOOOONED!" Augustus was unprepared when Konayuki began running again.
"Hinaaaaaa! Hinaaaaa! Look at my new friend!"
Hearing her voice, Hina turned with a gasp. "KONA! Don't come over here! The-!" (End song.)
"RAAAAHH!" A giant blue serpent rose from the lake with a hiss! It had the head and horn of a unicorn, along with a magenta mane. The beast lashed at Konayuki horn-first, but although the girl dodged, the force of the head knocked the child on her back and unconscious. Augustus flew out of her hand and rolled along the ice for a second. "Kid!" The captain was quick to get back up, concerned for the child, but the unicorn turned its sights to him instead.
Its horn came thrusting, but Hina shoved August aside and suffered the blow himself. As Hina lay weakened on the ice, the Raging Unicorn prepared for its next attack. "You know, the fish in this kingdom are really ugly!" Augustus retorted as he intercepted it with a hardened fist to the nose. The unicorn was knocked back by the captain's strength, but its tail sprung up from beneath Augustus to fling him into the air. It lunged to stab him, but Augustus air-dodged and grabbed its horn. "KNIFE!" Augustus sliced the horn clean off, the beast crying and shaking Augustus off.
The captain kept hold of the horn as the unicorn came for another counterattack, but Augustus dodged and shoved the horn directly into its brain. The serpent shot to the air, flailed about, and bellowed one final cry before collapsing on the ice.
Hina helped himself up, moving the hair away from his awestruck eyes to comprehend what he just saw. "Well, that guy was a pushover!" August smiled boastfully. "Hi! Name's Augustus!"
"You slew the Raging Unicorn…"
"Yep! …He wasn't a religious idol, was he? It looked like it was giving you trouble."
"I've been fighting the Raging Unicorn since yesterday… and you defeated it like it was nothing. How did you-"
"BIG BRO!" They viewed across the lake to see Pipirika hurrying their way. "Wait… is that Kona?!"
"Hey, Captain!" Augustus then looked to see his crewmates catching up. "What the heck happened over here?!" Yuzu called.
"Kona, are you hurt?" Pipirika asked as she knelt over the hybrid.
"Mmmm…" Konayuki groggily returned to her senses. "Ahh…Kona's head feels like snow. …Pipirika! Hina! Hahaha! Meet Kona's new friends!"
"New frie-…" Pipirika then took a moment to process the sight before them. Seeing the corpse of the monstrous unicorn, her eyes beamed with joy. "WOW! You did it, Bro!" The younger sister gave Hina a big hug. "You defeated the Raging Unicorn! Congratulations!"
"I…I did?"
"Are we interrupting some kind of tradition?" Tressa asked.
"Oh, you're the travelers I met before!" Pipirika looked down at the small explorers with a smile of realization. "Haha…yeah, I guess you picked an awkward time to arrive. Why don't we take you to the village? We'll explain everything then! We have to carry this thing up, too."
"I wanna help!" Konayuki cheered.
Hina carried the head of the unicorn, Pipirika carried the middle body, while Konayuki tailed behind with the tail above her. They trekked up a hill leading to the gate of a tall, wooden fence. "Um, Pipirika… there's something I need to-" Hina tried to say.
"Come to think of it," his sister interrupted, "you guys wouldn't be involved in the Gourmet Hunt, would you?"
"You know about the Hunt?" Yuzu asked.
"Duh! Isn't it, like, the most popular thing going on right now?"
"I just wasn't sure if this region received Intergalactic News. I mean, it feels sort of…"
"Do you think we're primitive?"
"N-Not exactly, just…" Yuzu smiled awkwardly, struggling to think of the right term.
Pipirika giggled at her response. "Yeah, we are a traditional tribe, but we're not like shut-ins! We have our own part in the Cooking Festival."
"Then I guess we'll be seeing you around~" Augustus said in a flirting fashion, hanging by the towering girl. "Name's Augustus. And yes, I am a Gourmet Hunter. Been in the business for 10 years, almost."
"Ten years, huh?"
"Yep, I'll be turning 20 this year."
"Oh! Heh, I wouldn't have guessed that. I'm actually 13, but you look about Konayuki's age."
Augustus's face fell. "Oh…that's younger than I thought."
"Well, try again when I'm legal, little guy." Pipirika winked. Tressa and Kohaku shared a giggle at the captain's embarrassment.
"Hahaha! Konayuki is 11!" the hybrid cheered. "Small boy is older than me?"
"We have a few babies who are, like, 37 years old." Yuzu replied.
"Outer space people sure age weirdly…" Kohaku said.
"Pipirika, I need to tell you-" Hina tried to say again.
"We're here!" the sister announced. "Travelers, welcome to our home!"
"Mmmh…" Hina moaned in anxiety as he shoved the gates open.
The Imuchakk Village was built with huge wooden houses that had giant horns jutting from the rooftops. Some houses had the bones of monstrous fish placed on their roofs. The town was a lively place as adults were going about their business, the men carrying fallen beasts and the women carrying baskets of fruit (though some also hauled their own captured prey). There were children happily building a snowman and sticking spiked bones into it.
The Imuchakk were in awe as the long, hefty corpse of the unicorn was hauled through their main street. They were also rather curious by the little outsiders accompanying Hina and Pipirika.
A burly, heavy-coated Imuchakk with a long, white beard and mustache approached them. "So, my son… you've finally seized the Raging Unicorn… YAAAAAAAAHH!"
"YAAAAAAAHHH!" The tribesmen mimicked his bellow.
"Man, I can smell that testosterone!" Tressa remarked.
"Hmm? Oh, you've brought visitors?" asked the father. "What a momentous time! I am Gorohoho, the chief of this village."
"Your dad is the CHIEF?!" Augustus gawked.
"Uh-huh!" Pipirika perked up.
"Today is the day my son becomes an adult! From this day forward, your name will be Hinahoho. We will present this bounty to the Cooking Festival along with our other captured game, and celebrate the coming of our new adults. But most importantly… our hauls will blow those puny Fanalis OUT OF THE WATER!!"
"YAAAAAAHHH!"
"You guys hate the Fanalis?" Yuzu asked.
"We're kickball rivals." Pipirika replied. "We hold tournaments on each other's planet every year, but it's not like we would kill them!"
"Hey, I ran into a Fanalis yesterday!" Augustus cheered. "He was a jerk! Punched him in his stupid nose!"
"YAAAAAHH!"
"Ha ha ha! And who might you be, young man?"
"Name's Augustus. We're part of the Gourmet Hunt."
"Ah, hunters, I see. We just had a pair of hunters come by a couple days ago. Nice young Amazon. Good lookin'." The chief smiled dreamily.
"Dad!" Pipirika flushed in embarrassment.
"You got some good-looking ladies yourself." Augustus smiled as he studied the beefy females of the village. "Mind if I poke around a bit?"
"UGH, you're not even TRYING to hide it!" Tressa groaned.
"Come on, Captain, we're supposed to be looking for fish!" Yuzu stated. "Mr. Chief, forgive us for intruding, but… where could we find some good fish?"
"I doubt a group of hunters would settle for anything in our shops." Gorohoho chortled. "You may fish in our waters however you please. But if you travelers desire a little challenge, perhaps you should search the Shiverspine Falls."
"What is this shivering spine thou speakest of?" Tama asked. ("Gourmerry?")
"Opposite from this village, toward the White Tail," the chief pointed toward the colossal tail of the whale mountain, "there lies a great lake poured from a wall of freezing water. Beyond those falls lies a cavern of the richest fish, and the most monstrous. I've seen many a brave hunter try to cross those falls, and some have succeeded."
"Sweet! We'll be on our way then." Augustus whirled around to the village exit.
"Captain!" Yuzu protested. "Why do we have to go to a place like that? What's wrong with a nice, relaxing fishing experience? Just chill by a lake, fishing rods in hand, sitting and listening to the ripples of the chilling water and gazing at the aurora waving over the snowy expanse…"
"Gourmerry, you wanna check out the dangerous fish cave, right? Who wants to check out the fish cave!"
"Gourmerry!!"
"O-Tama believest that as a 'yes'!"
"Sigh…what's an adventure without danger?" Yuzu sighed.
"Well, you have fun with that." Kohaku said. "I'm going to check out the village. Pipirika, are you a warrior yourself?"
"Yeah, I'm getting there." The taller girl smiled with a flex of her arm. "Did you wanna spar or something?"
"I was wondering if you could teach me the art of 'tag.'" Kohaku thrusted her palm forward.
"Uh…tag?" The female Imuchakk cocked a brow. "You mean the children's game?"
"TAG!" Konayuki blasted Kohaku with a sudden slap, the Historian flying across the village. "You're it! Hahahaha!"
"Grrrr!" Kohaku pushed herself out of the snow with furious eyes. "I WILL MASTER THIS GAME!!" And she bolted after the hybrid once more,
Hina's eyes were drawn to Augustus as he, Yuzu, and Tama exited the town. Deep down, Hina knew he was unworthy of his new name… but why hadn't Augustus said anything? He had to go and ask him.